Coachella Valley Weekly - February 21 to February 27, 2019 Vol. 7 No. 49

coachellavalleyweekly.com • February 21 to February 27, 2019 Vol. 7 No. 49

Sacred Cowboys

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Starlight Cleaning Co

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Yonee

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Hollywood Vampires

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Pueblo Viejo

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February 21 to February 27, 2019

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Palm Springs Convention Center

February 22, 23, 24, 2019 Fri. 10-5, Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-4

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FREE SEMINARS Kitchen Design – Looks That Last!

Enjoy HGTV’s “Desert Flippers” Erik & Lindsey Bennett on Saturday at 1pm as they share unique strategies in designing your kitchen for that “WOW” now, and for years to come.

Sponsored by Mr. Cabinet Care Home Improvement Summit

70 Money Saving Tips to Save Cash Growing Great Palms in the Desert Tickets Adults $5.00, Seniors $2.00, Under 16 Free • Fri. Only Seniors $1.00 Online Tickets only $3.00 • Military: Active, Retired, or Veteran Free Admission with id

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Coachella Valley Weekly (760) 501-6228

publisher@coachellavalleyweekly.com coachellavalleyweekly.com facebook.com/cvweekly twitter.com/cvweekly1 Publisher & Editor Tracy Dietlin Art Director Robert Chance Sales Team Kirby Club Crawler Nightlife Editor Phil Lacombe Feature Writers Lisa Morgan, Rich Henrich, Heidi Simmons, Noe Gutierrez, Avery Wood, Tricia Witkower, Jason Hall, Crystal Harrell Writers/Contributors: Robin Simmons, Rick Riozza, Eleni P. Austin, Craig Michaels, Janet McAfee, Bronwyn Ison, Haddon Libby, Dale Gribow, Laura Hunt Little, Sam DiGiovanna, Rob Brezny, Sunny Simon, Dr. Peter Kadile, Bruce Cathcart, Flint Wheeler, Denise Ortuno Neil, Dee Jae Cox, Patte Purcell, Angela Romeo,Aaron Ramson, Lynne Tucker, Elizabeth Scarcella, Aimee Mosco, Matt Claborn, Michelle Anne Rizzio Photographers Robert Chance, Laura Hunt Little, Chris Miller, Iris Hall, Esther Sanchez Website Editor Bobby Taffolla Distribution Phil Lacombe, William Westley

CONTENTS

Swing N' Hops on El Paseo ..................... 3 Breaking The 4th Wall - Celebrating Black History in American Theatre..... 5 Theatre - Greater Tuna........................... 5 Sacred Cowboys.................................. 6-7 Starlight Cleaning Co ............................. 7 Yonee - KIND Music Festival.................. 8 Willie Nelson at Agua Caliente.............. 8 Hollywood Vampires at Fantasy........... 9 Backstage Jazz - Farewell Patte............ 9 Consider This - Luther Russell............. 10 Art Scene - Desert X – Specter ............. 11 Pet Place ............................................... 12 The Vino Voice ...................................... 13 Club Crawler Nightlife .................... 14-15 The Pamered Palate - Pueblo Viejo...... 16 Brewtality .............................................. 17 Screeners .............................................. 18 Book Review......................................... 19 Safety Tips ............................................. 19 Haddon Libby ....................................... 21 Dale Gribow........................................... 21 Sports Scene......................................... 22 Desert Living Home Show................... 22 Awaken with Lizzy & Aimee................ 23 Mind, Body & Spirit.............................. 23 Free Will Astrology............................... 24 Life & Career Coach.............................. 24 Cannabis Corner .................................. 26

THE 4TH ANNUAL SWING ‘N HOPS

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wing dancing. Live music. Craft beer. Interactive art. Food trucks.

Contests. Cocktails. Classic cars.

These are a few of the things that make Palm Desert’s only swing dance/craft beer themed event so diverse, unique, and fun.

Every year from November through May, the City of Palm Desert offers a variety of fun – and FREE – events. One event each month is highlighted as their featured event. For the month of February, that event is Swing ‘N Hops, making a return for its fourth year. In this unseasonably cold February, this popular event was rescheduled due to heavy rain and instead of happening on the first weekend of the month, is now THIS Saturday, February 23 from 1-5 pm.

This outdoor street party celebrating swing dance, craft beer, and art happens on El Paseo, which will be closed between San Pablo Avenue and Larkspur Lane, for the free four-hour dance party that transports guests to a time when swing was king.

Joining the Swing ‘N Hops stage for the first time are The San Andreas Sisters, a 7-piece band with a trio of talented female singers. These ladies will be singing the classic tunes of the swing era, as you jump and jive out on the dance floor. For swing newbies, free dance instruction will be available during the event, courtesy of The Limónadas Dance Company. Attendees are encouraged to revive the glamour of the swing era by wearing fun fashion representative of the 1920s through 1940s.

Hair styling by Sherry Mesa the Salon will be on hand to help the ladies with their pin-up victory rolls. There will be a costume contest and a swing dance contest with great prizes including restaurant gift certificates, hotel getaways, golf outings, and more.

Local brews from Coachella Valley Brewing Company and La Quinta Brewing Company will be available for purchase along with a large selection of other adult beverages provided by Trio Catering. Hungry party-goers can grab some delicious food from one of the food trucks with a variety of street fare – hot dogs, ice cream, and even vegan tamales! In addition to a multitude of food and retail vendors, attendees will be able to get creative at interactive art exhibits and children’s craft booths throughout the event. People can challenge their friends to

February 21 to February 27, 2019

BY TRICIA WITKOWER

a little competition with lawn games – there will be Jenga, cornhole, Connect 4, lawn dice, and more! Back by popular demand are the classic autos from the swing era courtesy of Jerry Martin and El Paseo Cruise Night.

Event attendees will also have the opportunity to win a pair of tickets to the 2019 Stagecoach Country Music Festival.

Marker Broadcasting will be onsite, with a live remote from the event where attendees can register to win. Winner must be present at the time of the drawing.

For more information on Swing ‘N Hops visit www.swingnhopspd.com and for all other First Weekend events, visit www. discoverpalmdesert.com/first-weekend.

See you this Saturday on El Paseo from 1-5 pm!

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February 21 to February 27, 2019

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CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY IN AMERICAN THEATRE

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e seldom stop to appreciate the varied histories of American theatre, believing it to be one history, writing primarily by white men for white America. African American theatre, though rich in history, tradition, mythology, music, song and dance, was originally reduced to the traveling minstrel shows of the 19th century, written by white male minstrels (Traveling musicians,) and based strongly on racial stereotypes.

After the American Civil War blacks began to perform in minstrel shows (then called “Ethiopian minstrelsy”), and by the turn of the 20th century most of the producing writing, and acting was being done entirely by black Americans.

The first real success of a black dramatist was Angelina Weld Grimke’s, ‘Rachel.’ Grimke was the daughter of prominent bi-racial family of abolitionists and civil-rights activists.

‘Rachel,’ was produced in 1916 and published in 1920 and is about a young woman who is so horrified by racism that she vows never to bring children into the world (a radical notion at the time).

Black theatre seriously began to take root during the Harlem Renaissance, (1920’s and 30’s) when African American culture, particularly in the creative arts, flourished and is remembered as one of the most influential movements in African American literary history. Literature, music, theatre and visual arts, began to reshape and present black Americans from their own experiences and perspectives outside of the white stereotypes that had influenced black peoples’ relationship to their heritage and to each other.

Experimental groups and black theatre companies emerged in Chicago, New York City and Washington, D.C. It was during this time that the Ethiopian Art Theatre, established Paul Robeson, as America’s foremost black

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actor. Robeson, was the son of a former slave. He obtained a law degree at Columbia University, but due to lack of opportunity for blacks in the field of law, he moved into an acting career with great success.

Garland Anderson’s play ‘Appearances’ (1925) was the first play of black authorship to be produced on Broadway, but black theatre did not create a Broadway hit until Langston Hughes’s, Mulatt,o won great success in 1935.

Hughes was one of the most important writers during the first half of the twentieth century.

His work gave voice to the black experience, something sorely lacking in American literature and culture.

The Federal Theatre Project, was also founded in 1935, providing a training ground for black actors. In the late 1930s, black community theatres began to appear, revealing talents such as those of Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. By 1940 black theatre was becoming more established and organized in America.

After WWII black theatre artists grew more progressive in their efforts to establish an identity outside of the predominant white theatre culture. Councils were organized to abolish the use of racial stereotypes in theatre and to integrate black playwrights into the mainstream of American theatre.

In 1950, actress Juanita Hall, became the first African American to win a Tony Award, (Best Supporting Actress,) for her role as Bloody Mary, in the stage version of Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s, South Pacific.

Lorraine Hansberry’s drama, ‘A Raisin in the Sun,’ staged in 1959, was the first show written by a black woman, to ever be produced on Broadway. Hansberry used her own resources to help raise money for the production.

The title was taken from Langston Hughes poem, ‘Harlem,’ What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?

At the age of 29, Hansberry won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, making her

February 21 to February 27, 2019

BREAKING THE4TH WALL

SUZAN-LORI PARKS

RUBY DEE AND OSSIE DAVIS

the first African American dramatist, the fifth woman, and the youngest playwright to do so.

Hansberry died at the young age of 34 from cancer.

Hansberry’s, ‘A Raison in the Sun,’ and other successful black plays of the 1950s and 60’s, portrayed the difficulty of blacks maintaining an identity in a society that degraded them.

Theatre has always been a reflection of cultural attitudes and a mirror to reflect the best and worst in society. The 1960s saw the emergence of a new black theatre, more defiant than its predecessors with a goal of breaking racial barriers and stereotypes.

Playwright Amiri Baraka (birth name LeRoi Jones) was one of the strongest proponents of depicted whites’ exploitation of blacks. He established the Black Arts Repertory Theatre in Harlem in 1965 and inspired other playwrights to create a strong “black aesthetic” in American theatre.

In the contemporary era of modern

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theatre, playwrights such as August Wilson, Suzan-Lori Parks, Lynn Nottage, all Pulitzer Prize winning playwrights, (Parks was the first African American woman to win the prize, Nottage was the first African American woman to win it twice,) have become strong symbols of achievement in American theatre.

Black theatre has grown immeasurably.

Theatre artists have founded their own theatres and companies, written and performed in Pulitzer Prize winning productions. They have created dramas, comedies, musicals and every conceivable form of creative expression and the contributions of African Americans in the performing arts is vital to the growth, history and evolution of American theatre.

Dee Jae Cox is a playwright, director and producer. She is the Cofounder and Artistic Director for The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Project. losangeleswomenstheatreproject.org palmspringstheatre.com

“GREATER TUNA” IS A HILARIOUS THEATRE SEND-UP OF SMALL-TOWN MORALS AND MORES

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ANGELINA WELD GRIMKE

PAUL ROBESON

RAISIN IN THE SUN - PHOTO BY KEVIN BERNE

LORRAINE HANSBERRY

arch 22 – 31 at the Annenberg Theater. Performances at 7:30 or 2 PM depending on the day.

A Q&A session with cast members will follow the Thursday matinee. Tickets are $45 – $55 for matinees and $50 – $60 for evening performances.

Coyote StageWorks’ Tenth Anniversary season will conclude with a production of “Greater Tuna” by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard. This popular comedy set in the fictional town of Tuna, Texas, the “third-smallest” town in the state. The wacky inhabitants of this town – men, women, children and animals – are all played by two skillful, transformative actors who must change parts at a rather breakneck speed and use inventive voicework. It is an affectionate comment on small-town, Southern life and attitudes but also a withering satire of the same. Alan Denny and Chuck Yates will be the featured performers who will take on 22 roles, and

the production will be directed by Larry Raben. “Greater Tuna” is the very first production Coyote StageWorks mounted ten years ago.

Annenberg Theater/Palm Springs Art Museum is located at 101 Museum Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262. 760-325-4490; For group sales, call 760-318-0024. psmuseum.org/annenberg-theater

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February 21 to February 27, 2019

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SACRED COWBOYS – AN INTERVIEW WITH W. EARL BROWN

he seed was planted in 2003 when a group of friends sat around playing songs at parties and BBQs. It grew from backyards, to barrooms, to theaters, to Stagecoach Festival 2009. After their momentous Stagecoach performance, Sacred Cowboys took a several year hiatus.

The combination of individual careers and schedules proved too daunting to overcome at the time, so the ‘boys were put out to pasture.

Their friendships never ended though. In 2018, that same core group got together, invited some new friends along, and realized there was still a lot of music left in them. Sacred Cowboys will ride again on Thursday, February 28th at Pappy and Harriet’s performing with Pearl and The Canyon Revelry Band and Starlight Cleaning Co. Tickets are $10. Doors open at 7 p.m. and show starts at 8 p.m. This is an ALL AGES event. You can purchase tickets at pappyandharriets.com.

Sacred Cowboys are W. Earl Brown (vocals, guitar), Peter Spirer (lead guitar, mandolin), Ralph Stevens (keyboards, banjo), Jeff Robertson (lead guitar, harmony vocals), Mike Johnstone (pedal steel guitar, mandolin), Alan Strommer (drums, harmony vocals) and Bruce Duff (bass).

Coachella Valley Weekly saddled up with actor, writer, producer, and musician W. Earl Brown, perhaps best known for his role as enforcer Dan Dority on the Emmy Award winning HBO series Deadwood (2004-2006).

With Deadwood the feature film slated to be released later this year, Sacred Cowboys could not have chosen a better time to rededicate themselves.

CVW: Tell us a little about your family and what you’re up to currently.

Brown: “My wife and I have one daughter attending the University of Oregon, she’s 20. My wife and I are from the same small town in Kentucky. We met in high school and stuck together through all of this. My day job is movie television stuff. We completed an HBO film for Deadwood that we finished in December ’18 and then I have a role on this show on Hulu. We go back into production at the end of May ‘19. We did a pilot for them right before I did the Deadwood film and I have a film on Netflix that will come out called The Highwaymen starring Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson that I have a significant supporting role in. That comes out the end of March ’19.”

CVW: Sacred Cowboys has a multitude of sounds, Country, Bluegrass, Gospel and Blues.

Should we just agree that it’s only rock and roll? I love your sound and that Led Zeppelin tinge is apparent. How did it begin?

Brown: “Sacred Cowboys all started with Peter and I. We worked on a film together and we started to play guitar together and I realized I knew his rock band The Toyz from the 80’s out of Miami, his band was on MTV. He didn’t listen to country music at all and our wives became friends and we took them to see the Down From the Mountain tour which was inspired by Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

We had already seen it when it first came through and we caught it again on the second leg and he had never listened to Bluegrass music and he was mesmerized by the level of musicianship. He had never paid attention to it. So that was the birth of the band. We

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both have a love for hard rock. That’s what we grew up on and that’s what he played for the longest time so it really started with that.”

CVW: Once it was determined that Sacred Cowboys would be a band, what do you remember about that time?

Brown: “Right before Deadwood the series went into production, I was turning 40 and we rented the Cat Club for my birthday party and I hired a band. Peter said ‘I’ve got a buddy who’s a real good rock drummer, do you have a bass player? Let’s do a 45 minute set before the band you hired.’ That was kinda the birth of it. It was supposed to be a one-off thing but we really enjoyed doing it and got a lot of positive feedback. At that point we were doing cover band stuff. We had written one song as a group but otherwise it was covers.”

“After the Deadwood season two, we had the wrap party at the House of Blues and the producer of Deadwood, John Hawkes, who was in Deadwood also, was a musician who fell into acting. He asked if we wanted to play.

Mike Johnstone was a featured extra on the show and I knew he was a pedal steel player.

I knew he was an extraordinary musician but I didn’t know how damn good he was until we all started playing together. I invited him and Ralph Stephens was my former neighbor and we remained friends, he used to play with Jackie DeShannon many years ago.

That’s how the band became this 7-piece band. I love The Allman Brothers Band and I wanted to do all these guitar harmony parts.

Jeff on bass and I can play guitar but I’m not a great guitarist. We brought in another bass player, added a third guitar and that was the band. After that gig Peter said I’ve been in bands with four pieces but this is like being in a damn orchestra. It was so powerful. We started booking gigs and we got a monthly at Knitting Factory in Hollywood. We booked a gig in the main room and filled it up. A lot of those people who showed up worked on Deadwood. That standing gig lasted almost a year and a half.”

CVW: What do you remember about what led up to your Stagecoach ’09 set and the performance itself?

Brown: “One thing led to another and we found ourselves invited to play Stagecoach 2009. That went really well. We were on the Palomino Stage on Saturday afternoon. I went to the all of the Stagecoach festivals. I

saw the very first performance of the very first day at the first Stagecoach. Going to all of them and then being on the stage at one of them was a rush. We played a big show once before in Deadwood to do their Wild Bill Days, which is a free concert with 25,000 people in attendance, but Stagecoach is Stagecoach. I remember the audience coming in droves as they heard the acapella based on a Jimmie Rodgers tune, Blue Yodel. I had seen so many heroes play that very stage we were on. I think George Jones played that stage the next night. Just thinking that we are on the same stage that George Jones is going to be perform on was awesome! It’s hard to put into words. On the periphery stage, they book a lot of great people. That’s where I spend my time going back and forth between Palomino and a variety of other stages. We played a few Goldenvoice shows. They hired us to open for Gretchen Wilson. Stagecoach was the pinnacle of it. Suddenly we were contacted about availability for other things but I couldn’t commit. I missed it. After a few years of not having that outlet, I missed it like crazy. And I missed all the guys.”

CVW: You have a good number of members in Sacred Cowboys. What’s it like on stage when all cylinders are firing?

Brown: “We have a new rhythm section.

Tony our bass player had moved. There was a different drummer because the drummer we normally drum with was playing for Alan Parsons Project. We played in a room and we felt it. Hopefully we’ll get back to the place we were when we dropped off, ten years ago almost. As a musician, a pure player, I’m the weakest link in the whole band. A couple of those guys are extraordinary musicians that understand music on a different level than I do. Live is my milieu. Connecting with an audience, connecting with the band. I still get a thrill whenever the muse whispers in my ear, with what I do in TV and movies; everything kind of comes from the same place anyway.

The need for expression and the desire to connect other spirits through some creative expression, it comes from the same place.”

CVW: Where do you find inspiration in television, films and music?

Brown: “I was a writer on Deadwood. I find whether it be a story or a melody, I start dreaming about it. Unless I get it down and out of my head that’s when I know I’ve got to follow

BY NOE GUTIERREZ

this, if it’s haunting my subconscious. There’s been some stuff that I didn’t immediately latch on to it but that can come from any form, writing for a short story or a script or a song.

The people that I admire the most, people like Kris Kristofferson. I got to know Kris well and we became friends through movies, we did a couple of films together. We hung out every night passing the guitar back and forth and telling stories. He’s one of my heroes. To listen to the stories behind the songs was incredible.

It’s what I aspire to. Guys like Chris Stapleton and Jason Isbell. Jason spent three days on Deadwood playing in the background. I listen to Jason’s songs and he just blows me away.

That’s what I’m aiming at but I ain’t quite there yet. Look at someone like Terry Allen, a lot of people don’t’ know him or his songs but he is a sculptor and visual artist and has written several great country songs. Kris and I had that exact conversation. Teri said it all comes from the same place man! Look at Shel Silverstein. He was a cartoonist for Playboy and he wrote children’s books. He wrote adult literature and he wrote all those songs. The act of creation gives me a thrill.”

CVW: You’re performing at Pappy and Harriet’s with Pearl and The Canyon Revelry Band. How do you know Pearl Aday and how familiar are you with Pappy and Harriet’s?

Brown: “With Pappy and Harriet’s, I’ve always known the place and Johnstone, our steel player, has played that place dozens of times over the years with a variety of bands.

For most of the band, it will be our first time being there. We play a lot with Pearl Aday and she’s the one who brought it up. I’ve known Pearl, her dad is Meatloaf, and I played Meatloaf in the film that VH1 made about him 20 years ago. It’s a small world, the guy who played Jim Steinman in the movie is her lead guitar player in PEARL, funny how everything’s come full circle. She’s an extraordinary singer.

When she had her son, Revel is six now I think, music took a backburner to being a mom, her husband Scott Ian is a successful rock star in the heavy metal band Anthrax so she’s back making music and she fired up just about the time Sacred Cowboys got back together. It’s always a pleasure to be on a bill with them.”

CVW: Where do Sacred Cowboys go from here? More live shows?

Brown: “We just picked up a monthly gig at Molly Malone’s in Los Angeles. It starts at the end of March. It will be the last Saturday of every March. We’re still picking up gigs as they pop up that are within driving distance.

We’re going to put our eggs in the residency basket like we did with the Knitting Factory.

We played Molly Malone’s in December with PEARL.” CVW: Is new music on the horizon?

Brown: “We’re doing an EP right now because the movie is coming out. We had made a record and did it all our own. We mixed it in Nashville at Blackbird Studio. We got a deal with that studio. We never had distribution on it. We’re going to work with a radio promoter and we’re gonna do an EP of songs that are really all involved out of Deadwood, South Dakota. So they lean more towards the country tunes but they’re mostly story songs. So we’re going to put all of those together, a couple of them we’ve already recorded, but we’re doing different versions

MUSIC

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February 21 to February 27, 2019

STARLIGHT CLEANING CO. – “WASHING AWAY IN THE MOJAVE”

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tarlight Cleaning Co. will be purifying your ears on Thursday, February 28th at Pappy and Harriet’s opening for Pearl and The Canyon Revelry Band and Sacred Cowboys. Starlight Cleaning Co. is Rachel Dean on lead vocals, Tim Gray on lead vocals and guitar, Dan Sandvick on bass and Sal Romano on drums. For the Pappy’s show, Rachel and Tim will be performing as a duo.

Tickets are $10. Doors at 7 p.m. and show starts at 8 p.m. This is an ALL AGES event. You can purchase tickets at pappyandharriets. com. Coachella Valley Weekly interviewed

sparkling sweethearts Rachel and Tim for the first time.

CVW: You’ve both performed at Pappy and Harriet’s numerous times before as a band and in other projects. In your opinion, what is it about the enchantment brought on by the venue?

Rachel: “I first started coming out to the desert in 2006. The first time was to see a friend’s band play. At the time, I wanted to move out of L.A. and was thinking about Portland. That all came to a screeching halt when I visited Pappy and Harriet’s. I had

of them so we’re putting those together in a little six song EP and then try and go the formal route through Americana Radio and see if we get any kind of traction. Everybody in the band writes songs. Ralph and I have written several things together. We’re gonna start cutting some demos now that we’ve got the live stuff going. Then we’ll decide what we’re going to do next after this EP. It’s all tracked, we’re in the middle of mixing it right now.”

CVW: Is there any consideration of transitioning to retired life whatever that looks like for you?

Brown: “If the guys stay together and we continue to get joy out of it, absolutely not.

As far as my day job. I’m 55 and I’m still in touch with my high school buddies. We get together often. Mickey is a schoolteacher in Tennessee. He’s at a point where he can take his retirement. He asked me if I’ve given thought about what I’m going to do when I retire. I said, retire? I do the same shit I did when I was five years old! I play ‘cowboy’ and I get paid for it! So what am I gonna retire from? I don’t want to. As long as the joy and the muse is there. I still do those things I did as a kid. I’m just one of the blessed few to find a way to make money out of it.” sacredcowboys.com

never experienced anything like it before and started coming out on a weekly basis until finally moving in 2007. It was all because of Pappy’s. The people I met there, the music, Robyn Celia and Linda Krantz, all of it. The energy that the venue breeds is not like any other. It is really, the main reason I moved out here.”

Tim: “My first time visiting Pappy and Harriet’s was in the winter of 2009. I was playing guitar in another band that had a show opening for Rachel’s band. We arrived at night, there was snow on the ground and the stars were incredible. Oddly, I never met Rachel that night, but there is something to be said about the way paths are interwoven and seem to intersect at places like Pappy and Harriet’s. In the dark and under the stars.”

CVW: You’ve toured the country extensively. How do you think the rest of the country views this area and our music scene?

Tim: “I think the rest of the country thinks of the whole of California as ‘Los Angeles’ and I think a lot of people overlook the fact that it is so massive and has uniquely different settings, scenes and sounds.”

Rachel: “I think that the people that are aware of Joshua Tree also seem to be aware of the music that surrounds it, or at least, is associated with it, like Gram Parsons, etc.”

CVW: How much does the desert influence your lifestyle and music?

Rachel: “Well, for me it’s about peace and being able to make noise. In the city, I felt like I was always holding back physically and psychologically. It can be stifling. Living in the desert affords you different freedoms.”

Tim: “The desert influences our lifestyles in that it requires us to be creative in what we do and how we make a living. Obviously the vacation rental influx creates a lot of easy pickup work when we need it and although the cost of owning a home keeps going up, the cost of living is significantly less than city living, which allows more time to write and create music.”

CVW: Is there a back-story behind the name “Starlight Cleaning Co.”?

Rachel: “There is actually. A few years ago, an old employer wanted us to move to New Orleans to work on a project there. I was really hesitant as I wanted to stay in the desert. I had never lived outside of Southern California. We moved and turned our home into a vacation rental, something I swore I would never do. We didn’t last long, 7 months, before we came back home. On the drive home, we were trying to figure out what the hell we were doing next. We thought, ‘well, there are so many vacation rentals now in the desert, let’s start a cleaning company’. We wanted to hire a full staff, but were having issues finding the right people. We came up with the name Starlight Cleaning Co. and we loved the name so much we said that if the cleaning company doesn’t work, we should totally use it as our band name. We eventually gave up on the idea of our cleaning empire and used the name as our band name.”

CVW: What’s next for Starlight Cleaning Co.? New release?

BY NOE GUTIERREZ Rachel: “Actually yes! We are so excited! With the help of musician/producers, Bart Davenport and Joel Jerome, we decided to make a record! They brought the studio to us here in the desert. (Last year, Oakland band, Vetiver and producer Thom Monahan, stayed at our house and made a record, which totally inspired us!) So, we hunkered down for five days and recorded ten songs. The record is currently being mixed and mastered. We’re hoping for a late summer (maybe even sooner) release.”

Tim: “It was an exciting process and the speed at which we recorded made for an interesting ‘capture the moment’ sort of a record.”

CVW: What artists do you admire in the Coachella Valley/High Desert?

Rachel: “We absolutely LOVE Victoria Williams, Carol Ann Crandall and Bobby Furgo. They were some of the first people I met here and then had the honor of playing with them for years in the Sunday Band at Pappy and Harriet’s. They inspired me and honestly, helped me grow as a musician.”

CVW: You’re performing an acoustic set at Pappy and Harriet’s on 2/28. What should we expect?

Rachel: “Tim and I have played as an acoustic duo a lot. We have had a couple acoustic tours with Tommy Stinson of The Replacements, which are so much fun. Our set is mostly the same songs we play as a band, but altered slightly to be played acoustically.

(When we say acoustic, we mean just voices and guitars, but we still plug in and keep the energy up).”

CVW: You’re performing at Furst World on 3/9. Have you been there before and have you met Bobby Furst? What should we expect from you for that show?

Rachel: “Yes! It’s been years since I’ve been there. It’s such an incredible space and Bobby Furst is so cool. We can’t wait to play there. This one will be a full band show!”

Tim: “It will be my first time being there, actually. Always excited to play new spots in the High Desert!”

CVW: Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

Rachel: “Thank you! We hope you can make it one of these shows!”

As for their sound, their song, “Something Kills (In The Way You Love),” is no “Islands In The Stream” duo. The lyrics are straightforward, “Well, I guess it’s all a joke to you,” and the sound is nostalgic-contemporary with an almanac of 60’s and 70’s punk. If you miss their Pappy’s show, the full band will be performing at Furstworld on Saturday March 9, 2019.

Upcoming shows 2/28 – Pappy & Harriet’s-Pioneertown, CA 3/9 – Furstworld-Joshua Tree, CA starlightcleaningcompany.bandcamp.com

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February 21 to February 27, 2019

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www.coachellavalleyweekly.com

YONEE – IT’S JUST THE BEGINNING

t 5 p.m. on Saturday, February 23, 2019, you might want to step out of ‘Chillville’ and head to center stage at the KIND Music Festival where you’ll have more room to shake your ass to the sounds of YONEE, a multi-cultural pop-singer born in Orlando who is ready to build on his two current hits, “Make It Happen,” featuring Mozy and “Slide Through,” featuring Strong G. You can still purchase tickets at kindmusicfestival.com.

Also on the bill are Miguel, A$AP Ferg, Reese LaFlare, Starcrawler, D.I.E. and All My Friends Hate Me. In addition to the musical line-up, motivational speaker and author of Manifest Now, Idil Ahmed, will be raising awareness on global consciousness and the power of positive thinking. Your host for the evening is entrepreneur, global influencer, talent manager, philanthropist, and social media powerhouse Yes Julz.

KMF is a one-day “pop-up” micro-festival event at the future site of the Tyson Ranch Resort, a 412-acre entertainment complex, luxury glamping resort and cannabis research and design facility in Desert Hot Springs. Tickets are still available at kindmusicfestival.com.

KMF will transform the desert into a pop-up concert experience complete with food trucks, a ‘Chillville” with 100 specialty bean bags; a fun zone featuring massive inflatable rides, obstacle courses and mazes, bar area, vendor village and limited edition hoodies…a truly unique music festival experience where all ages are welcome!

KMF salutes California’s progressive stance on cannabis and its updated recreational/ medical laws that went into effect on January 1, 2019. However, there will be no sales or giveaways of cannabis products at the festival.

KMF looks forward to making that a reality in the near future.

Coachella Valley Weekly spoke with YONEE as he prepped for the show.

CVW: You have a diversified background.

How much has that influenced you and your music?

YONEE: “My mom is from Israel, her parents are from Yemen. My dad’s side of the family is from Eastern Europe. I grew up in Florida, which is obviously very Hispanic-influenced. I really draw influences from everywhere and you’ll hear it in my music. It has a very worldly and international feel.”

CVW: What type of show are you bringing to KIND Fest?

YONEE: “I started DJing in 2010 so I come from a very energetic show background. So I want to bring the energy of a DJ show to the live performance. We have four dancers, beach balls, co2, and a bunch of featured artists coming out, champagne, and so on. It’s going to be a fun really energetic show. I get the luxury of playing with my cousin, Michael Burman, he’s an amazing guitarist. He’s written for ASAP Rocky, Machine Gun Kelly and Carrie Underwood, so he’s going to be playing live guitar throughout the performance. A buddy of mine, Tiernan Kelly, will be doing some keys work and drum stuff, we’re incorporating all that with the effects and dancers and create the full experience. In addition, it’s perfect timing.

WILLIE NELSON & FAMILY

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ne of the most beloved and respected artists in American music, superstar Willie Nelson makes a welcome return to The Show at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa on Saturday, May 18, 2019, at 8 p.m. with his full band, Willie Nelson & Family.

With a six-decade career and 200 plus albums, this iconic Texan is the creative genius behind the historic recordings of “Crazy,” “Red Headed Stranger,” and “Stardust.” Willie Nelson has earned every conceivable award as a musician and amassed reputable credentials as an author, actor, and activist. He continues to thrive as a relevant and progressive musical and cultural force. In recent years, he has delivered more than a dozen new album releases; published the book It’s A Long Story: My Life, the unvarnished and complete story of his life that landed him on the New York Times’ bestsellers list; again headlined Farm Aid, an event he co-founded in 1985; received his 5th degree black belt in Gong Kwon Yu Sul; headlined the annual Luck Reunion food and music festival at his ranch in Luck, TX during SXSW; launched his cannabis companies Willie’s

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My set is around sunset. It will be such a good vibe.”

CVW: Have you ever visited the Coachella Valley before and where are you currently based?

YONEE: “Tiernan is from there. He went to high school out there. I’ve only been to the Coachella Valley once. I was there for Coachella last year, which was a blast. I’m originally from Orlando, Florida, lived in Chicago for about four to five years, I went to college there. I’ve been out in Los Angeles for four and half years now.”

CVW: What does music mean to you and share with us your odyssey?

YONEE: “I play the guitar and piano. It’s been a journey. Music is a journey. Figuring yourself out as an artist and writing and constantly making music to kind of figure out who you are as an artist and make the best possible product.

That’s kind of culminating in this project of the music I am going to be performing. I only have two songs out right now. The rest of the 8-9 songs that we are doing are all unreleased songs, which are amazing and fun songs.”

CVW: I’ve read that you’re a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to your music.

YONEE: “I did a little radio tour in London about a year and a half ago. I used to try and fix and make sure every little thing was tight and this and that but performing live I realize it’s about preparation and once you’re fully prepared for something you’re able to express everything to the fullest without any worries. We’ve been rehearsing for the last couple of months so once we get there it’s show time and we have all our energy dedicated to putting on a great show.”

CVW: You’ve performed all over the world.

What are some of the differences in the music realm?

YONEE: “It’s just different taste buds. In Europe, things work that don’t necessarily work in the US. When I go to find new music now I go to Spotify’s charts by country. The more time goes on the more we get connected with the rest of the world and the more all these other genres

BY NOE GUTIERREZ of music whether it’s in the UK or whether it’s or music from Africa or the Caribbean people become more aware of it and it all starts to blend. There’s less compartmentalizing of genres and there’s more influence from different types of culture within music, I think that makes the coolest art.”

CVW: You have a unique connection with Mike Tyson.

YONEE: “Yeah, I’m a huge fan, everything they’re doing right now is brilliant, I actually write music with his son Miguel Tyson. He’s an amazing vocalist and songwriter as well. Nothing but great things to say about Tyson Ranch. He’s a legend.”

CVW: If our readers are unable to catch you at KIND where can they see you perform and what is the new music looking like?

YONEE: “I perform once a month in Chicago, it’s kind of like my home base. I perform twice a month in L.A. The next step is to release the music that we’re sitting on. We have a lot of tracks that are awesome and some collaborations with some other amazing artists.

The new music is more up-tempo, “dancier” pop-urban with Latin flavor, like Despacito with a little more English and less Spanish. Fun music you can dance to, go out party at the club, drive in your car, listen to, a lot of feel-good music.

The new stuff is really next level. I’m so excited to play it. It’s going to be a really good show.” yoneemusic.com kindmusicfestival.com

MUSIC SUPERSTAR MAKES MUCH ANTICPATED RETURN TO THE SHOW AT AGUA CALIENTE CASINO RESORT SPA ON MAY 18, 2019.

TICKETS ON SALE THIS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, AT 10 A.M.

PHOTO BY DAVID MCCLISTER

Reserve and Willie’s Remedy; and graced the covers of Rolling Stone and AARP The Magazine.

In November 2015 the Library of Congress honored Nelson with their Gershwin Prize for Popular Song for his contributions to popular music. He is the first country artist to receive the distinguished award. That year he released a new studio album with Merle Haggard titled Django And Jimmie, which debuted at No. 1 on

Billboard‘s Country album chart and No. 7 on Billboard‘s Top 200 album chart. The following year began with the release of Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin, a collection of 11 newly recorded Gershwin classics. The album debuted at No. 1 on both the Top Current Jazz chart and the Top Traditional Jazz chart, as well as earning him a Grammy Award for the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. In September 2016, came For the Good Times: A Tribute to Ray Price, an album of newly recorded interpretations of 12 Ray Price songs. In 2017, he released two albums of newly recorded performances: God’s Problem Child, with 13 new songs, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Country album chart and No. 10 on the Billboard 200, and Willie Nelson and The Boys (Willie’s Stash, Vol. 2), that includes 11 country classics and one brand new song performed by Nelson and his sons Lukas and Micah.

In April 2018, he released Last Man Standing to celebrate his 85th birthday, comprised entirely of songs newly-penned by Nelson (and longtime collaborator and producer Buddy Cannon). And September saw the release of My

EVENTS

Way, a collection of newly recorded standards and classic originally made famous by Nelson’s close friend and musical colleague Frank Sinatra.

These new songs and performances add to his classic catalog, and find Willie Nelson rolling at a creative peak, writing and singing and playing with the seasoned wit and wisdom that comes from the road, which he still travels along performing for fans.

Audiences are in for a special, unforgettable night when the legend that is Willie Nelson & Family returns to The Show at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa. To see such an iconic artist in an intimate space with extraordinary design and award-winning acoustics is an experience not to be missed.

Date: Saturday, May 18, 2019, at 8 p.m.

Location: The Show at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa, 32-250 Bob Hope Drive in Rancho Mirage.

Purchase tickets: Prices: $99-$129, based on seat location. Every pair of tickets for this show includes a physical CD of Willie Nelson’s forthcoming album.

HotWaterCasino.com; (800) 514-3849

www.coachellavalleyweekly.com

February 21 to February 27, 2019

THE HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES – EVENTS BACKSTAGEBYJAZZ PATTE PURCELL JOE PERRY, JOHNNY DEPP & ALICE COOPER JOIN US FOR ONE LAST JAZZ JAM BEFORE WE MOVE TO FLORIDA!

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erosmith guitarist Perry vows that this group is going to blow people away. ”There will be rumbling in ears and there might be blood trickling out of one ear,” Depp warns audience members. Adds Cooper: “Then we’ll know we’ve done our job,” – USA TODAY The word “supergroup” gets thrown around a lot these days, but truly, it doesn’t get much super-er than Hollywood Vampires’ lineup….” – YAHOO Music Following The Hollywood Vampires’ wildly successful show at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles, their massive concert in front of 100,000 screaming fans at the Rock in Rio Festival in 2015, their spectacular worldwide television debut on the 2016 GRAMMY Awards telecast reaching a global audience of almost 25 million people, and their 2018 European tour which won them an SSE Live Award at The SSE Arena, Wembley for Best Group to perform in 2018, fans worldwide demanded more. And now The Hollywood Vampires - Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and Johnny Depp – are giving their fans what they want and will play a show at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino on Saturday, May 18, 2019.

Completing the Hollywood Vampires lineup will be mainstay guitarist Tommy Henriksen (Alice Cooper) along with rock star musician friends Glen Sobel (Alice Cooper) on drums, Chris Wyse (The Cult) on bass, and Buck Johnson (Aerosmith) on keyboard and vocals.

Joe Perry of The Hollywood Vampires is looking forward to the show. “Here is a gang of friends who came together really by chance and… we were finally able to wrangle our schedules and the energy just

PHOTO BY ROSS HALFIN

fell into place. Playing with this line up is like a dream come true. After seeing the reaction at Rock in Rio in front of 100,000 fans, I know this band is going to tear the house down. Hell, I would want to be in the audience to see us rip it up,” Perry says.

In 1969 on the Sunset Strip at a club called the Rainbow Bar & Grill, the original Hollywood Vampires were born in the upstairs bar. It was a gathering place for the rock stars living in or passing through L.A. “To join the club, one simply had to out drink all of the members,” says Alice Cooper, a founding member of the original Vampires. Cooper and good friend Johnny Depp got together and decided the spirit of the Hollywood Vampires should live again (minus the drinking). Joe Perry, who is an old friend of both Cooper and Depp, joined them and the Vampires began again as an environment for great artists to hang, laugh and play together.

The Hollywood Vampires’ self-titled album, released in 2015, contains original songs by Cooper, Depp and Perry as well as rockin’ covers like their version of “I’m A Boy” by The Who. Tickets for the 8pm Hollywood Vampires show on Saturday, May 18, 2019 are on sale now for $99, $79 and $59 at the Fantasy Springs Box Office, via telephone at 800-827-2946 or online at www.

FantasySpringsResort.com.

t has been my pleasure to write about one of my favorite topics, Jazz, for the last 5 years for CV Weekly. I am also been grateful to Tracy and Phil for their unwavering support of my Jazz events by being my sponsor. Karl and I are getting ready to move to Florida where we will be growing bamboo and continuing with our Jazz events but we are having one last big farewell party before we go.

The Farewell Jazz Soiree and Jam will be held on Tuesday, March 5 from 5-8 pm at Venus de Fido in Palm Desert. We are pleased and privileged to bring you some of the finest artists that we have come to know during our tenure in the desert.

Our first artist is an amazing composer, piano, and sax player with her own style of music she calls ‘Blusion’. Deanna Bogart is a 4 time National Blues Award winner and travels the world performing with such energy and zest. The first time I heard her was at Melvyn’s jam when she reached over Michael Healy and played boogie woogie piano with him, her red hair flying. I was enthralled. I had no idea who she was but I wanted to find out. My friend Joe Baldino knew her and when I held our ‘Summer Jazzfest’ at Hacienda in July, I hired her to play. She wowed the crowd. Since then, I have included her in every major event I’ve had and plan to continue to bring her to our new Florida shows. Deanna will be on Grand Piano as you enter the Grand Foyer. She will be playing and singing while other artists join in. This was extremely popular at the last two Jazz Soirees we held at Venus. Guests enjoyed the ‘up close and personal’ opportunity to jam with such a superstar! It has the feel of a big house party.

In the main ballroom Keisha D and Heart of Soul will be performing jazz, standards and R&B. Wear your dancing shoes! If you have never heard Keisha you are going to be blown away. In my humble opinion she is by far the most powerful singer and performer I have ever known. Her range, performance skills and costuming make her shows ‘one of a kind’. She belongs on the concert stage.

She packs the room everywhere she goes. At our last Jazz Soiree she performed one song, “Summertime,” that brought her a standing ovation. The first time I heard her, she sang in one of our Celebrity Jazz Jams. I was stunned,

that’s all I can say. Other musicians will be jamming with her during the evening.

Our third performer is a good friend of mine and an artist I’ve worked with for the last 5 years.

Joe Baldino is the most passionate musician I have ever met. He lives, breathes and sleeps music. His original music is mesmerizing. He has been recording a new CD with superstar Brian Bromberg that includes all original organic music, recorded and played to perfection in the New Age guitar genre.

Joe will be outside on the beautiful piazza performing some of his favorites. All songs are original and composed by Joe. Laurie Loftis, CEO of Venus de Fido, plans to have informal modeling during the event to showcase their newest line of clothing from their Boutique, direct from the LA and Las Vegas shows.

The Cafe offers healthy and decadent appetizers if you’re hungry and also has great outdoor seating.

Although this is NOT a 420 party (The State of California wants a $10,000 license to do that). We welcome back some of our vendors who have now switched to legal hemp based CBD products or are simply becoming advertising sponsors to support our efforts.

Please note, hemp does not have any high.

Our good friend Danny Stevens has a new line of hemp CBD topicals called Aunt Betty’s.

It’s a topical for muscle and joint pain. He will be there. Check out his table. He’s a great guy and has done many events supporting our efforts to bring Jazz to the desert.

One of our very favorites, Know Label has added a new CBD wine tincture, this high CBD tincture is made with premium hemp from the Santa Cruz mountains with premium grapes from a vineyard in Arroyo Grande. Their hemp based Balmz Away is a high CBD topical that works miracles on arthritis, rheumatism, cramps, sprains, headaches and burns.

Tickets are only $20 in advance or $25 at the door (Cash only). To get yours visit our ticket site at purplepass.com/jazzsoiree or call to place your order at 1-800-316-8559.

For questions or to get a vendor table contact Patte at 1-702-219-6777. Venus De Fido is located at 73600 Alessandro Drive Palm Desert, CA. Please join us as we say good bye to our many wonderful friends in the desert.

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February 21 to February 27, 2019

CONSIDER THIS

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ne of the continued delights that come with being a music lover is getting turned on to new music.

It’s particularly sweet when the artist you discover has been around awhile, amassing an impressive body of work. For many, that was the case last year, when Luther Russell released a career overview entitled Selective Memories: An Anthology.

It turns out Luther has been creating stellar music for nearly 30 years, furthering a musical heritage that began with his Grandfather, Bob Russell. A well-known lyricist, he collaborated with everyone from Duke Ellington and Quincy Jones. He had huge hits like “Babalu” and “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” to “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.” Bob’s wife, Hannah, wrote children’s songs and film music and her brother, Bud was also a legendary songwriter responsible for “Flat-Foot Floogie (With A Floy-Floy)” and “Sentimental Journey.”

Luther grew up in the Central Coast towns of Carmel and Big Sur. The Beatles were an early inspiration, followed by Stevie Wonder, Chicago and Van Morrison. He picked up piano pretty quickly and gained a reputation as an accomplished drummer before hitting puberty.

His early forays into songwriting were captured on a Tascam recorder. Ollie, the older brother of his friend Rein, encouraged his ambitions by giving him a cheap guitar and teaching him the basics.

Ollie’s easy-going mentorship allowed Luther to hang with the older, in-crowd, providing a safe haven for his musical ambitions. But tragedy struck when Ollie was hit by a truck while driving his motorbike. He hung on for 12 days and then he died at age 19. Crushed, Luther left town and moved to Los Angeles to stay with family.

Although he was just 17, he quickly made some important musical connections, meeting Tobi Miller and his pal Jakob. Along with Aaron Brooks, they formed the Bootheels.

The moniker is a not-so cryptic tribute to the song “Mr. Tambourine Man,” famously written and recorded by Jakob’s dad. Although the collaboration was short-lived, it provided entrée to the Los Angeles music scene.

Soon, he began playing with bassist Jason Hiller. With the addition of Dave Sobel, Chris Joyner and Craig Aaronson they became the Freewheelers. Their Roots Rock sound incorporated elements of Country and Soul. In 1991, their debut was released through DGC records. A few years later they switched to Rick

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www.coachellavalleyweekly.com

LUTHER RUSSELL

Rubin’s Def American label for their second album, Waiting For George, which arrived in 1996. Even though their music was in the same wheelhouse as Americana torch-bearers like Wilco, Son Volt and The Jayhawks, and despite an ardent fan base, they couldn’t gain a foothold in the music industry. The band tried relocating to Portland before they amicably parted ways.

A prolific songwriter, Luther had written more than enough for an album. His solo debut, Lowdown World (And Other Assorted Songs), arrived in 1997. He was also gaining a reputation as a sympathetic producer. For the last 20 years he has struck a balance, pivoting between production work for artists like Fernando, Richmond Fontaine, Sarabeth Tucek, Noah & The Whale and Miranda Lee Richards, and recording his own music.

His all-instrumental effort, Down At Kit’s appeared in 1999. Two years later, he recorded the pastoral Folk of Spare Change. Six years elapsed before the arrival of the bare bones Repair and 2011 saw the release of his epic Invisible Audience album.

During this era, he also briefly paired with ex-Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford as Federale. They signed a record deal and were dropped before any music was released, (ah, the fickle record industry). Somehow, he has also found time to moonlight as a guitarist for Robyn Hitchcock’s band, the L.A. Squires, and formed Those Pretty Wrongs with legendary Big Star drummer, Jody Stephens. Their selftitled debut, released in 2016, received rave reviews.

Last year, Hanky Panky Records assembled Selective Memories: An Anthology, a careerspanning two CD set that covered his entire oeuvre, It featured choice Bootheels, Freewheelers and Federale cuts along with songs from his solo albums and a plethora of unreleased gems. (Burger Records released a companion version as a two-cassette set, perhaps the vinyl Gods will finally put it on LP….). It served as an introduction for many to his herculean talent. Now he’s returned with his sixth solo effort, Medium Cool.

If the Alex Chilton and Paul Westerberg went over to T-Rex’s house to make a record, it might sound something like the full-tilt boogie of the opening track, “Deep Feelings.”

Glittery guitar shudders and quakes over feral bass lines, shimmery stylophone and a chunky back-beat. Luther is equal parts sanguine and sincere as he lays out the obvious; “I’ve got deep feelings for you, you’ve got deep feeling for me…yes, you do/Let’s move closer, come in tighter, be composer to my writer, Come On! Let’s make a song.” A veritable tsunami of guitars crash over the break, underscoring the song’s lubricious urgency.

Somehow, this album evokes an earlier, less complicated era of Rock N’ Roll, somewhere between the late ‘70s and late ‘80s. During that algorithm-free epoch, Bad Company, Blondie, Fleetwood Mac, Foreigner, the Cars and Disco, all co-existed in the same musical eco-system. Punk Rock was something of an outlier and the advent of Hair Metal was just around the corner. But we all experienced and absorbed the same music. To quote Charles Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Consequently, it was the age of wisdom and foolishness. (Seriously, Styx was popular).

“MEDIUM COOL” (FLUFF & GRAVY RECORDS)

BY ELENI P. AUSTIN

The Power Pop crunch of “Can’t Be Sad” opens with jangly guitar, angular bass lines and an insistent tom-tom rhythm. Drums gather speed heading into the chorus as Luther unravels a mercurial relationship with a girl who’s “been uncouth just like a Rubik’s Cube,” but is also “the best damn puzzle that I ever had.” Still, he’s clearly ride-or-die, noting “Tho your little hammer pounds nails into my hands, it’s the best damn crucifixion I’ve ever had.” By the bridge, the instrumentation revs up, adding corrosive piano, shang-a-lang rhythm guitar and a sinewy lead guitar before collapsing into a sweaty, satisfying heap.

Splayed guitar chords are followed by elastic bass and a tumbling beat on “Have You Heard,” a coast-to-coast celebration of the power of Rock N’ Roll. Rapid-fire riff-age intersects with ringing, Byrdsy strumming and plinky piano, as Luther reminds us that Rock is “deep inside me and you…it’s deep inside your Soul,” PLUS, it can be found in Brooklyn-town, Frisco, Milwaukee, El Paso, New Orleans, Tulsa and L.A., so at least America has that going for it.

Perhaps John Fogerty coined the term “choogling,” 50 years ago, in anticipation of Luther’s song, “Sad Lady.” Waspish guitar riffs are bookended by whip-crack percussion and wiry bass lines. Over wah-wah licks, Luther tries to coax a morose matron out of an emotional funk; “Life ain’t nothin’ but an uphill climb so, let your heart break another time.” His patience evaporates rather quickly; “Sad Lady, who you foolin? This party’s fuckin’ rulin’ (so) quit glancing and start dancing, post-haste.”

The action slows for a few numbers. “At Your Feet,” is a sweet and sunny charmer that shares some musical DNA with the Byrds deep cut, “Ballad Of Easy Rider.” Acoustic riffs ring and ripple over murmuring bass and swelling strings. Luther wears his heart on his sleeve as he consoles the object of his affection. There’s a tremulous catch in his voice as he quietly confesses he is patiently waiting for her to get past her heartache and let him in; “An old song breaks through the radio waves, you stand frozen in time as it plays, meanwhile, I’m all drowned out as I lie at your feet.”

A little self-flagellation is the order of the day on “Talkin’ To Myself.” Sparkly guitar, a clip-clop beat and a tambourine shake can’t camouflage this mordant marital postmortem. The blows couldn’t be softened through chemical consumption; “Sure, I got by, by staying drunk and getting high, I screwed around, I bottomed out drowning in my own self-doubt/Every face they saw right through, and they all looked just like you, I

was unmoored in a strange town, cracking up while draining down.” The chiming guitar on the break shapeshifts from melancholy to majestic and the clouds part as Luther confides an epiphany of sorts; “Something’s lost, something’s gained, and some things are just maintained, like the scarred-over hole buried deep within my soul.”

Meanwhile, “Blue Balloon” mines the sad/ happy angst that Brian Wilson perfected with the Beach Boys on “Pet Sounds.” Plangent guitars shimmer and sway under tender verses and then flange, phase and accelerate on the jaunty chorus; stacked harmonies kind of ache in all the right ways.

The album’s best tracks, “The Sound Of Rock & Roll” and “Corvette Summer” bump up against each other in the middle of the record. The former blends cascading acoustic and soaring electric guitar before drums and bass kick in on the chorus. Luther deftly sets the scene, with a few neatly-turned phrases.

He unspools a story of unrequited love, a chance encounter in a club, and is able to harness it to the restorative power of music.

The instrumentation and arrangement ebb and flow, blissful one minute, mournful the next. “Now you’re drunk, and she’s high, and your heart wants to die/And the music plays so loud as you float above the crowd, you’ve been set free…” A spiraling guitar solo is tart, sugary and bittersweet.

The latter is a perfect summer anthem. 40 years ago, it would have sandwiched nicely between Foreigner’s “Hot Blooded” and Steely Dan’s “Josie” on any AM radio dial. Slashing power chords collide with rumbling bass lines and a bristling big beat. The candy-coated crunch is tempered by Luther’s raspy vocals.

The lyrics pay sideways homage to the Mark Hammill cinematic muscle car opus, “Corvette Summer.” “He’ll be cruisin’ for a sweetheart down on Van Nuys Blvd. Gonna feel so alive now, with his right-hand drive now, when he rolls.” The souped-up guitar solo gets positively cyclonic and the rev’d up outro references a classic Cars track, “Bye Bye Love.”

The record closes tender acoustic ramble of “Can’t Turn Away.” The infectious melody belies the lyrics’ serious subject matter, sticking by a friend in need. Even though Luther admits he “doesn’t want to face the truth,” he can’t turn away. A somewhat sober end to a seriously wonderful album.

Although Luther played nearly everything here; guitars, piano, synth, stylophone and percussion, he had a little help. Derek Brown played drums, Danny De La Matyr provided harmony vocals, Liam Hayes added guitar on “Blue Balloon” and old compadre, Jason Hiller pitched in on bass.

Much like the 1969 film that shares its name, Medium Cool is a dazzling fusion of fact and fiction, only Luther wraps His stories in indelible melodies, incandescent arrangements and crisp instrumentation. His sound hits that sweet spot between Big Star and the Replacements. With another Those Pretty Wrongs record scheduled for later this year, it looks like 2019 is shaping up to be the year of Luther Russell.

www.coachellavalleyweekly.com

ARTSCENE ALL THAT GLITTERS MAYBE FLUORESCENT.. BY ANGELA ROMEO DESERT X IS NOT THE ONLY SHOW IN TOWN!

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nder the stewardship of it new Arts Events Coordinator, Terry Hastings, UCR-Palm Desert will be bringing several new exhibitions to the valley.

The current exhibition is The Landscape Legacy of Dan Kiley. This show runs February 19 thru April 12. Dan Kiley (1912-2004) was one of the most important and influential Modernist landscape architects of the 20th century and worked with equally significant architects, such as Eero Saarinen, Louis Kahn and I.M. Pei, to create internationally acknowledged design icons.

In 2012, The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) created a traveling photographic exhibition that serves as a retrospective of Kiley’s life and career and chronicles the current state of 27 of Kiley’s more than 1,000 projects. The exhibition has several stated goals: “[1] engage viewers with beautiful photography of Modernist landscape architecture; [2] educate viewers about Dan Kiley and the art of landscape architecture; [3] artfully document the present day state of Kiley’s design legacy to illustrate the stewardship of historic designed landscapes; and [4] draw attention to the continued threat to Modernist landscape architecture, and build a greater appreciation and stewardship ethic for this body of landscape design.”

Along with the Dan Kiley show the campus will host Ansel Adams photos of the Mid-Century Modern architecture of the UCR campus. For more information visit palmdesert.ucr.edu.

JTAG also continues a tradition of avante-garde shows. WANDERLAND Art Exhibit by Karin Skiba runs through March 2, 2019. Sikba’s mixed media works uses a constructed collage technique with photos and paintings on paper. The work captures her impressions of her first year in the in her Joshua Tree studio. WANDERLAND imagery

February 21 to February 27, 2019

is the result of “wandering within the studio environment while living in wonder of the desert.” For more information visit joshuatreeartgallery.com.

Before you visit Desert X’s installation Specter by artist Sterling Ruby, check with the Desert X app for updates. The recent weather has made travel to some of the installation precarious.

Specter is located at 98-2 Snowcreek Canyon Road, Whitewater. The work appears on the desert landscape as one of those things that just does not seem to fit.

It is bright, Fluorescent orange geometric sculpture intended to create “a jarring optical illusion, resembling a Photo shopped composite or collage.” The block, according to the artist, Specter is “mimicking the form it could be — a shipping container, a military bunker, an unidentified object, an abandoned home-stead.”

Sterling Ruby is an American artist known for his use of including ceramics, painting, drawing, collage, sculpture and video. The work is most often presented in large and densely packed installations.

Ruby cites, among his influences “aberrant psychologies, urban gangs and graffiti, hip-hop culture, craft, punk, masculinity, violence, public art, prisons, globalization, waste and consumption.” No matter Ruby’s influences, his Specter is there to give all pause as to the state of the desert.

For more information on Desert X visit www.desertx.org/sterlingruby.

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February 21 to February 27, 2019

PET PLACE

www.coachellavalleyweekly.com

BY JANET McAFEE

VALENTINE’S THREATS TO PETS

L

ast week we celebrated Valentine’s Day, happy for the love in our lives including that provided by 4-legged companions. Boxes of chocolate, now half empty, sit on kitchen counters and coffee tables. In the excitement of celebration, folks may not realize that all types of candy may be lethal for their hovering dogs and cats.

Cats and dogs cannot metabolize candy like humans. Chocolate contains caffeine and a compound called theobromine which can be toxic to both cats and dogs depending upon the dose. Cats sense of taste is not as drawn to sweets foods, and they are not as likely as dogs to gobble up a box of chocolates.

Symptoms of chocolate poisoning are digestive upset, vomiting, diarrhea, restlessness, hyperactivity and trembling.

If you suspect your pet ate candy or other harmful substance, contact your veterinarian immediately. Veterinary offices tend to be busy during the days after holidays, when access to certain rich foods causes medical problems for animals.

Xylitol, a sugar substitute found in some sugarless gums and candies can also be very harmful to dogs and cats. (This

MEET RILEY This handsome 5-yr-old Tuxedo boy promises lots of love if you take him home! Riley is “king of the castle” and prefers to be the only cat in his home. Rescued by www.

ForeverMeow.org, call (760) 335-6767.

MEET CHARLIE Charlie waits to meet you at the Coachella Valley Animal Campus, 72-050 Pet Land Place, Thousand Palms. This senior Shepherd mix boy is full of love and happiness he wants to share with you! Call (760) 343-3644, refer to dog ID#A0739369. www.rcdas.org

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substance favored by dieters can also pose health risks to humans!). If your dog ingests Xylitol, symptoms initially include vomiting, weakness, and lack of coordination.

Ultimately, the substance can cause hypoglycemia, seizures, and liver failure.

A pack of sugarless gum inside your purse could create a major medical problem for your pet.

The simple solution is to keep Valentine candy secured in a location above the animal’s reach. However, a motivated dog

can acquire the ability to scale high counters to reach a dish of candy or other morsel.

Containers with a secure lid will prevent problems and reduce the tempting smell.

What’s inside all those wrappers isn’t the only problem. The wrappers themselves can be harmful, and dogs may ingest the bag along with the candy inside. This can

result in bowel blockage or at the very least, stomach irritation.

Other foods from holiday meals may also be hazardous. Raisins, grapes, macadamia nuts, avocados, onions, garlic, unbaked bread dough, and alcoholic beverages are among pet toxins found in the kitchen. Fatty table scraps should be avoided, no matter how many longing looks you get from Fido.

However, not all human foods are toxic to our pets. A small amount of canned pumpkin can actually aid their digestion. Apples are an excellent source of phytonutrients that support their overall health. Cooked lentils provide dietary fiber, supporting heart health and a healthy digestive system. A small portion of steamed and chopped green vegetables provide another healthy treat.

For immediate assistance and advice, contact the Pet Poison Helpline at (800) 213-6680, www.petpoisonhelpline.com.

The only local emergency vet clinic, open 24-hours 7 days a week, is VCA Valley located at 46920 Jefferson Street in Indio.

Keep their phone number, (760) 342-4711, handy in case of any pet medical emergency.

Janetmcafee8@gmail.com

www.coachellavalleyweekly.com

THE VINO VOICE

BY RICK RIOZZA

A MALBEC MOMENT IN TIME

A

s your friendly neighborhood wine steward in Palm Springs, I’ve noticed that the recent rain and cold weather has brought a more than moderate amount of Malbec shoppers. Of course it’s a no-brainer: what wine comes to mind when one wishes to be warm and cozy surrounded in draped velvet?

Malbec wine fits the bill as it is rich with tons of smooth fruit flavors along with that touch of oak to give the wine its toasty and warming characteristic. It’s a crowd-pleaser that’s easy to drink and it’s as popular as ever.

I remember in Orange County back in the 70s and 80s, there was this kinda hole-in-thewall unique Argentinian restaurant in Costa Mesa near Harbor and Newport Boulevards.

We’d go in to order from the Italian/Spanish influenced menu. And then there were these strange labeled bottles that contained the darkest red wine we’d even seen. But it was very tasty with good fruit that went well with the meat and pasta dishes.

It turned out that we were enjoying the Malbec that Argentina really wasn’t interested in exporting. But have times changed! Over the past ten years it has become one of the most popular red wines on the American market. Indeed, I now read reports that Argentina is the fifth largest wine exporter in the world. And most of the wine they do export is your Malbec.

As I’m always quick to chat it up with our wine customers, I find many new wine drinkers thinking that Malbec is an Argentine vine. They are often amazed that Malbec was and is one of the blending grapes that produce a red Bordeaux. When their interests expand, we start to talk about “le vin noir”—the black wine of Cahors, a region in the southwest of France, where pure Malbec is poured.

In the mid-nineteenth century, a group of alert Argentine winemakers consulted the French for their take on a grape they should plant in order to improve the quality

February 21 to February 27, 2019

of Argentine wine. The winemakers took vine cuttings from France and brought them back to Argentina, primarily planting them in the wine region of Mendoza. In the hot high-altitude of the region, just down from the tall Andes mountain range, the Malbec vines thrived, producing grapes with a much fruitier taste profile than the leaner ones from France.

(But by all means, please look for a Malbec from Cahors. It’s higher in acidity with more floral, black pepper, spice and tannins—it’s often blended with a bit of Merlot.)

But for almost 100 years after being planted, Malbec remained a wine consumed inside Argentina, enjoyed by the gauchos on the pampas plains and paired with their famous beef. And the wine got better and better.

Quoting from the Wall Street Journal, “Malbec took off in the U.S. due to its populist appeal. It was a wine not discovered by sommeliers, but by regular wine drinkers seeking a wine that was both delicious and affordable. The wine’s popularity spread via word of mouth, not wine lists, and to this day is still found more in people’s homes than in restaurants.”

Other colorful comments I’ve heard is that “people love to call Malbec a working

man’s Merlot, as the wine has many of the same characteristics that make Merlot easy to drink, with an added spice and acidity that makes it seem less polished. Malbec is the guy who rides the Harley to Merlot’s guy that drives the Vespa.” Everyone’s a lively wine critic these days—huh?

Of course you foodies are well aware of the health benefits associated by means of very dark fruits with all of those antioxidants hanging about. Same with this wine: all current health studies find that Malbec is one of the healthiest along with the Tannat grape. (Interestingly, Cahors’ Malbec and Midiran’s Tannat are from the same region in France.)

A glass of Malbec or Tannat can provide comparable health benefits similar to those reaped by drinking green tea. It helps in the prevention of heart attacks and stroke, while actively increasing your good cholesterol levels. It may also prevent certain cancer and improve longevity. Wow! Now we’re ready for that big fat steak!

Besides the steak, Malbec pairs up quite nicely with spicy Mexican, Cajun, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese or Italian fare. Most of you readers know this already with your pairings at home.

The Malbec flavor profile starts with a predominance of black cherries, plums, and spices. Then things start to open up: dark chocolate seems to permeate around other flavors of blackberries, dried fruits, earth, game, leather, licorice, tobacco, and vanilla.

No wonder it can match all of the mentioned cuisines.

Since Argentina has taken charge, almost all Malbec that you find at our markets are from South America. The range from $8 to $20 will get you a decent to very good quality wine.

For kicks and grins, it’s fun to imagine quaffing this high-priced spread: 2015 Viña Cobos Malbec Perdrriel Marchiori Estate, $225. Viña Cobos Winery is the dream of Napa Valley’s trail-blazer Paul Hobbs. The Cobos flagship wines are produced from the most vintage vines of Marchiori vineyard. These wines are elegant and subtle, highly powerful and concentrated with good complexity and balance; “A lithe red, with cedar spice accents to the dried cherry, raspberry and sarsaparilla flavors, lengthening out with minerally freshness.”

Back down to earth, we always love the 2014 Bodega Norton Malbec Reserva Mendoza; fresh and herb-tinged, with cherry, mountain berry, and a whiff of Chinese five-spice. It’s a good tasty deal at around $18.

Argento Malbec Mendoza is a really good buy at around $13; “Rich and robust, with flavors of red currant, roasted plum and cherry tart. Accents of white berry show on the fresh finish.” Here’s to a taste of white berries—Cheers!

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February 21 to February 27, 2019

www.coachellavalleyweekly.com

THUR FEBRUARY 21

29 PALMS INN; 29 Palms; 760-367-3505 Bobby Furgo & Co 6pm ACE HOTEL; PS; 760-325-9900 Pedro Le Bass 9pm AGAVE LOUNGE@THE HYATT REGENCY; IW; 760-674-4080 Tyler Simmons 7-11pm AJ’S ON THE GREEN; C.C.; 760-202-1111 Bill and Doug Duo 6:30pm BART LOUNGE; C.C.; 760-799-8800 DJ and Touchtunes 7pm BERNIE’S; RM; 760-202 4499 Barry Minniefield and Brian Dennigan 7pm BIG ROCK PUB; IND; 706-200-8988 Industry Night w/ Guy Worden 9pm BLUEMBER; RM; 760-862-4581 John Stanley King 6-10pm CASTELLI’S; PD; 760-773-3365 Patrick Tuzzolino 5:30pm CASUELAS CAFÉ; PD; 760-568-0011 Johnny Meza and Co. 6-10pm CATALAN; RM; 760-770-9508 George Christian 6-9pm CHEF GEORGE’S PICASSO LOUNGE; PD; 760200-1768 Michael D’Angelo 6:30-9:30pm, DJ 9:30pm COPA NIGHTCLUB; PS; 760-866-0021 Lipstick hosted by Bella Da Ball 8pm, DJs Banks and Ax 10pm CUNARD’S SANDBAR; LQ; 760-564-3660 Bill Baker 6pm DESERT FOX; PD; Vinny Berry 9pm DESMOND’S @ THE S; RM; 760-328-2111 TBA 5-8pm DHS SPA LOUNGE; DHS; 760-329-6787 Karaoke w/ DJ Scott 9pm EUREKA; IW; 760-834-7700 TBA 8-10pm FISHERMAN’S GROTTO; PD; 760-776-6534 Barry Baughn Blues Band 5:30-8:30pm FRANK’S PLACE; IW; 760-797-8700 Patricia Welsh 6-9pm

HENRY’S SPORTS BAR AND GRILL; CC; 760656-3444 DJ 10pm THE HOOD; PD; 760-636-5220 Red’s Rockstar Karaoke 9pm HOODOO COCKTAIL GARDEN @ THE HYATT; PS; 760-322-9000 Chris Lomeli 7pm HOTEL PASEO; PD; Michael Keeth 4-7pm JOSHUA TREE SALOON; JT; 760-366-2250 TBA 9pm LANDMARK LOUNGE; LQ; 760-289-6736 DJ Alex Harrington 7pm LA QUINTA RESORT; LQ; 760-564-4111 Steppin Out 6-9pm LAS CASUELAS TERRAZA; PS; 760-325-2794 Hot Roxx 6:30pm LIT@FANTASY SPRINGS; IND; 760-345-2450 Country Night w/ Christian Simmons 9pm THE LOUNGE, AGUA CALIENTE; RM; 888-9991995 Quinto Menguante 8-1am MELVYN’S RESTAURANT & LOUNGE; PS; 760325-2323 Ron Greenip 8pm NEIL’S LOUNGE; IND; 760-347-1522 Karaoke 8pm THE NEST; PD; 760-346-2314 Kevin Henry 6-8pm Tim Burleson 8pm PAPPY & HARRIET’S; PT; 760-365-5956 Jade Jackson, Matt Hopper and The Roman Candles 8pm PLAN B LIVE ENTERTAINMENT AND COCKTAILS; TP; 760-343-2115 So Cal Comedy Night w/ “French Accent” and Brent Gill 9pm PURPLE ROOM; PS; 760-322-4422 Sharon Sills 6:30pm RED BARN; PD; 760-346-0191 TBA 9pm ROWAN; PS; 760-904-5015 TBA 6-9pm SAMMY G’s; PS; 760-320-8041 Evaro Brothers 8pm SHANGHAI RED’S @ THE FISHERMAN’S MARKET; PS; 760-322-9293 The Smooth Brothers 7pm SULLIVAN’S STEAKHOUSE; PD; 760-341-3560 Dude Jones 6:30pm TACK ROOM TAVERN; IND; 760-347-9985 Karaoke 9pm THREE SIXTY NORTH; PS; 760-327-1773 Mike Cosley 6:30pm VICKY’S OF SANTA FE; IW; 760-345-9770 Robert Salisbury 4:30-6pm, The Steve Oliver Band 6:30-10pm THE VINE WINE BAR; PD; 760-341-9463 Live Music 7pm WANG’S; PS; 760-325-9264 Trio NV 5-8pm WOODY’S PALMHOUSE; PS; 760-230-0188 Linda Peterson 6:30pm ZELDA’S; PS; 760-325-2375 Banda Night w/ Banda Sin Nombre and DJ Markuz Area 9pm

FRI FEBRUARY 22

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19TH HOLE; PD; 760-772-6696 Live Music 8pm 29 PALMS INN; 29 Palms; 760-367-3505 Fast Heart Mart 6:30pm ACE HOTEL; PS; 760-325-9900 Fishbeck (Live) and Reverbnation Radio DJs 10pm AGAVE LOUNGE@THE HYATT REGENCY; IW; 760-674-4080 Avenida 7-11pm AJ’S ON THE GREEN; C.C.; 760-202-1111 Live Music 6:30pm AMERICAN LEGION; PS; 760-325-6229 TBA 5:30-7:30pm BART LOUNGE; C.C.; 760-799-8800 DJ 7pm BERNIE’S; RM; 760-202 4499 Barry Minniefield, Brian Dennigan and Leon Bisquera 7pm BIG ROCK PUB; IND; 706-200-8988 Lisa Morgan’s Bday Bash w/ Lisa and the Gents 8:30pm BLUEMBER; RM; 760-862-4581 The Stanley Butler Trio 6-10pm CASCADE LOUNGE, SPA RESORT CASINO; PS; 888-999-1995 DJ Chase Martinez 9-1am

CASTELLI’S; PD; 760-773-3365 Patrick Tuzzolino 5:30pm CASUELAS CAFÉ; PD; 760-568-0011 The Myx 6:30-10pm CATALAN; RM; 760-770-9508 George Christian 6-9pm CHEF GEORGE’S PICASSO LOUNGE; PD; 760200-1768 Michael D’Angelo 6:30-9:30pm, DJ 9:30pm COPA NIGHTCLUB; PS; 760-866-0021 Viva Friday’s w/ DJ Banks 9pm CUNARD’S SANDBAR; LQ; 760-564-3660 Bill Baker 6pm DESERT FOX; PD; Nick Hales and Stevie Jane 9pm DESMOND’S @ THE S; RM; 760-328-2111 Slim Man 5:30-9pm DRINGK; RM; 760-888-0111 DJ Journee 9pm ELECTRIC SPORTS LOUNGE; YV; 760-228-1199 DJ Ceddy Cedd 9pm EL MEXICALI CAFÉ 2; IND; 760-342-2333 Cesar Daniel Lopez on the harp 6-9pm FISHERMAN’S GROTTO; PD; 760-776-6534 Gina Carey 5:30-8:30pm FRANK’S PLACE; IW; 760-797-8700 Frankie DiSalvo 6-9pm GADI’S BAR & GRILL; YV; 760-820-1213 Robbers, Landroid, Sky Parade: Crossing the Ascendent 8pm HENRY’S SPORTS BAR AND GRILL; CC; 760656-3444 Karaoke w/ KJ Marjovi 9pm THE HOOD; PD; 760-636-5220 Se7en4, The Hellions and Mega Sun 9pm HOODOO COCKTAIL GARDEN @ THE HYATT; PS; 760-322-9000 Keisha D 7pm HOTEL PASEO; PD; Michael Keeth 4-7pm HOT SPOT@SPOTLIGHT 29; INDIO; 760-7755566 Nacho Bustillos 8:30pm INDIAN WELLS RESORT HOTEL; IW; 760-3456466 Bob Allen 6pm JOSHUA TREE SALOON; JT; 760-366-2250 Karaoke 7:30pm KILO’S CANTINA; TP; 760-835-1363 TBA 9pm KOKOPELLI’S; YV; 760-228-2589 Karaoke 8pm LA FE WINE BAR; PD; 760-565-1430 Lance Riebsomer and Friends 9pm LANDMARK LOUNGE; LQ; 760-289-6736 Morgan Ashley 7pm LA QUINTA RESORT; LQ; 760-564-4111 Steppin Out 6-9pm LAS CASUELAS TERRAZA; PS; 760-325-2794 Hot Roxx 7:30pm LIT@FANTASY SPRINGS; IND; 760-345-2450 Rhythm Nation 9pm THE LOUNGE; AGUA CALIENTE; RM; 888-9991995 DJ Jerry 9pm MASTRO’S; PD; 760-776-6777 TBA 6:30-11pm MELVYN’S RESTAURANT & LOUNGE; PS; 760325-2323 Ron Greenip 8pm MOXIE; PS; 760-318-9900 Eevaan Tre 6-9pm, DJ Pedro Le Bass 9:30pm NEIL’S LOUNGE; IND; 760-347-1522 Karaoke 8-1:15am THE NEST; PD; 760-346-2314 Kevin Henry 6-8pm Tim Burleson 8pm PALM CANYON ROADHOUSE; PS; 760-3274080 Moonchild 9pm PALM DESERT COUNTRY CLUB; PD; 760-3450222 Off the Cuff 6:30pm PAPPY & HARRIET’S; PT; 760-365-5956 Buick 6 and John Bardy 8pm PEABODY’S CAFÉ; PS; 760-322-1877 Karaoke 7:30pm PLAN B LIVE ENTERTAINMENT AND COCKTAILS; TP; 760-343-2115 Red’s Rockstar Karaoke 9pm PURPLE ROOM; PS; 760-322-4422 The Judy Show 8pm RED BARN; PD; 760-346-0191 TBA 9pm RIVIERA; PS; 760-327-8311 Michael Keeth 8pm

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SAMMY G’s; PS; 760-320-8041 Evaro Brothers 8pm SHANGHAI RED’S @ THE FISHERMAN’S MARKET; PS; 760-322-9293 Barry Baughn Blues 8-11pm SHANGHAI RED’S @ THE FISHERMAN’S MARKET; LQ; 760-777-1601 The Smooth Brothers 8-11pm SHELLY’S LOUNGE@TORTOISE ROCK CASINO; 29 Palms; Rojer Arnold & Bobby Furgo 9pm SOLANO’S BISTRO; LQ; 760-771-6655 Michael Madden 6-9pm SONOMA GRILL; PD; 760-340-6600 Denny Pezzin 6-9pm SOUL OF MEXICO; IND; 760-200-8787 Latin Rock 10pm SULLIVAN’S STEAKHOUSE; PD; 760-341-3560 Demetrious and Co. 6:30pm TACK ROOM TAVERN; IND; 760-347-9985 The Refills 9pm THREE SIXTY NORTH; PS; 760-327-1773 Dennis Michaels 6:30pm TRILUSSA ITALIAN RISTORANTE; PS; 760-3282300 Julius & Sylvia Music Duo 6-10pm VICKY’S OF SANTA FE; IW; 760-345-9770 “Meet the Corwins” 5:30-7:30pm, The John Stanley King Show 8pm THE VINE WINE BAR; PD; 760-341-9463 Jack Ruvio 6pm WANG’S; PS; 760-325-9264 DJ Galaxy and the House Whores 5pm WESTIN MISSION HILLS; RM; 760-328-5955 Michael Keeth 5-7pm WOODY’S PALMHOUSE; PS; 760-230-0188 Rose Mallett 6:30pm ZELDA’S; PS; 760-325-2375 Fantasy Friday w/ DJ LF and Cali Redd 9pm

SAT FEBRUARY 23

29 PALMS INN; 29 Palms; 760-367-3505 Bev and Bill 6:30pm ACE HOTEL; PS; 760-325-9900 Reverbnation Radio DJs noon, poolside, and 10pm AGAVE LOUNGE@THE HYATT REGENCY; IW; 760-674-4080 Steppin’ Out 7-11pm AJ’S ON THE GREEN; C.C.; 760-202-1111 Cabaret on the Green Open Mic 7:30pm BACKSTREET BISTRO; PD; 760-346-6393 Linda Peterson 12:30-3:30pm BART LOUNGE; C.C.; 760-799-8800 Dirty Perreo w/ J Patron and Dxsko 7pm BERNIE’S; RM; 760-202 4499 Barry Minniefield, Brian Dennigan and Leon Bisquera 7pm BIG ROCK PUB; IND; 706-200-8988 Anthem Road 8:30pm BLUEMBER; RM; 760-862-4581 Gennine Francis 6-10pm CASCADE LOUNGE, SPA RESORT CASINO; PS; 888-999-1995 DJ Michael Wright 9-1am CASTELLI’S; PD; 760-773-3365 Patrick Tuzzolino 5:30pm CASUELAS CAFÉ; PD; 760-568-0011 The Myx 6:30-10pm CATALAN; RM; 760-770-9508 George Christian 6-9pm CHEF GEORGE’S PICASSO LOUNGE; PD; 760200-1768 Abie and Natasha 6:30-9:30pm, DJ 9:30pm COPA NIGHTCLUB; PS; 760-866-0021 DJ Banks and Mr. Miami 9pm CUNARD’S SANDBAR; LQ; 760-564-3660 Bill Baker 6pm DESMOND’S @ THE S; RM; 760-328-2111 Philip Poe Epstein 5:30-9pm DHS SPA LOUNGE; DHS; 760-329-6787 Karaoke w/ DJ Scott 9pm DRINGK; RM; 760-888-0111 DJ Journee 9pm ELECTRIC SPORTS LOUNGE; YV; 760-228-1199 DJ Ceddy Cedd 9pm

EL MEXICALI CAFÉ 2; IND; 760-342-2333 Cesar Daniel Lopez on the harp 6-9pm FISHERMAN’S GROTTO; PD; 760-776-6534 Jack Ruvio 5:30-8:30pm FRANK’S PLACE; IW; 760-797-8700 Frankie DiSalvo 6-9pm GADI’S BAR & GRILL; YV; 760-820-1213 Pretty Pirates 8pm THE GROOVE LOUNGE; SPOTLIGHT 29; INDIO; 760-775-5566 DJ 8pm HARVEY’S LOUNGE; PS; 760-320-6868 SLS Event Group Presents: Vinyl DJ Sets 9pm HENRY’S SPORTS BAR AND GRILL; CC; 760656-3444 DJ Ray 9pm THE HOOD; PD; 760-636-5220 The Rock Show w/ Aphrodisiac Jacket, Empty Seat and Frankeatsthefloor 9pm HOODOO COCKTAIL GARDEN @ THE HYATT; PS; 760-322-9000 The Carmens 7pm HOTEL PASEO; PD; Michael Keeth 4-10pm HOT SPOT@SPOTLIGHT 29; INDIO; 760-7755566 Nacho Bustillos 8:30pm INDIAN WELLS RESORT HOTEL; IW; 760-3456466 Bob Allen 6pm JC’S CAFÉ; PD; 760-568-0733 Vinny Berry 3-7pm KILO’S CANTINA; TP; 760-835-1363 TBA 9pm KOKOPELLI’S; YV; 760-228-2589 Karaoke 8pm LA FE WINE BAR; PD; 760-565-1430 Vinny Berry 9pm LANDMARK LOUNGE; LQ; 760-289-6736 Eevaan Tre 7pm LAS CASUELAS TERRAZA; PS; 760-325-2794 PS Sound Company 1pm, Hot Roxx 8pm LIT@FANTASY SPRINGS; IND; 760-345-2450 Rhythm Nation 9pm THE LOUNGE, AGUA CALIENTE; RM; 888-9991995 TBA 9pm MELVYN’S RESTAURANT & LOUNGE; PS; 760325-2323 Ron Greenip 8pm MIRAMONTE; IW; 760-341-2200 Trio NV 6-10pm MOXIE; PS; 760-318-9900 Derek Jordan Gregg 6-9pm, DJ Pedro Le Bass 9:30pm NEIL’S LOUNGE; IND; 760-347-1522 Karaoke 8pm THE NEST; PD; 760-346-2314 Kevin Henry 6-8pm Tim Burleson 8pm PALM CANYON ROADHOUSE; PS; 760-3274080 Moonchild 9pm PALM DESERT COUNTRY CLUB; PD; 760-3450222 On the Rocks 6:30pm PAPPY & HARRIET’S; PT; 760-365-5956 Shadow Mountain Band 5pm, The Evangenitals 8pm PEABODY’S CAFÉ; PS; 760-322-1877 Karaoke 7:30pm PLAN B LIVE ENTERTAINMENT AND COCKTAILS; TP; 760-3432115 Red’s Rockstar Karaoke 9pm PURPLE ROOM; PS; 760-322-4422 Iris Williams 8pm RED BARN; PD; 760-346-0191 Drumhall 9pm ROWAN; PS; 760-904-5015 Lance Riebsomer 6-9pm SAMMY G’s; PS; 760-320-8041 Evaro Brothers 8pm SHANGHAI RED’S @ THE FISHERMAN’S MARKET; PS; 760-322-9293 Barry Baughn Blues 8-11pm SHANGHAI RED’S @ THE FISHERMAN’S MARKET; LQ; 760-777-1601 The Smooth Brothers 8-11pm SHELLY’S LOUNGE@TORTOISE ROCK CASINO; 29 Palms; Rojer Arnold & Bobby Furgo 9pm SONOMA GRILL; PD; 760-340-6600 Denny Pezzin 6-9pm SOUL OF MEXICO; IND; 760-200-8787 Latin Music 10pm SULLIVAN’S STEAKHOUSE; PD; 760-341-3560 Demetrious and Co. 6:30pm TACK ROOM TAVERN; IND; 760-347-9985 Lisa and Nelson’s 80’s Prom Bday Bash 9pm

February 21 to February 27, 2019

THREE SIXTY NORTH; PS; 760-327-1773 Reggie “Vision” Alexander 6:30pm TRILUSSA ITALIAN RISTORANTE; PS; 760-3282300 Julius & Sylvia Music Duo 6-10pm VICKY’S OF SANTA FE; IW; 760-345-9770 Rose Mallett and Co. 5-7pm, Kal David, Lauri Bono and the Real Deal 7:30pm THE VINE WINE BAR; PD; 760-341-9463 Live Music 7pm WANG’S; PS; 760-325-9264 Live Music 6:30pm WESTIN MISSION HILLS; RM; 760-328-5955 Michael Keeth 6pm WOODY’S PALMHOUSE; PS; 760-230-0188 The Stanley Butler Band 6:30pm ZELDA’S; PS; 760-325-2375 Snapchat Saturdays w/DJ LF and Cali Redd 9pm

SUN FEBRUARY 24

29 PALMS INN; 29 Palms; 760-367-3505 Bob Garcia 6pm ACE HOTEL; PS; 760-325-9900 DJ 11am poolside, Victoria Bailey and Eric Roebuck 9pm AJ’S ON THE GREEN; C.C.; 760-202-1111 Sunday Brunch w/ Live Music 11am BART LOUNGE; C.C.; 760-799-8800 Faded w/ DAS and Touchtunes 7pm BERNIE’S; RM; 760-202 4499 Patrice Morris 7pm BIG ROCK PUB; IND; 706-200-8988 Songwriter’s Spotlight 7-10pm BLUEMBER; RM; 760-862-4581 Michael Keeth 5pm CASCADE LOUNGE, SPA RESORT; PS; 888-9991995 Nash with Quinto Menguante 9pm CASTELLI’S; PD; 760-773-3365 Patrick Tuzzolino 5:30pm CHEF GEORGE’S PICASSO LOUNGE; PD; 760200-1768 Paul Douglas 6-9pm COACHELLA VALLEY BREWING; TP; 760-3435973 Acoustic Afternoon w/ Wes and ben, Tim and Val, Lance Riebsomer, Mario Quintero and Marc Saxe 2-5pm continue to page 20

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February 21 to February 27, 2019

THEPAMPERED PALATE

www.coachellavalleyweekly.com

BY DENISE ORTUNO

GET FESTIVE AT PUEBLO VIEJO GRILL’S HAPPY HOUR

E

njoy a fun and festive time at Pueblo Viejo Grill’s excellent Happy Hour, with generous food and drink discounts!

I always had a good time at Pueblo Viejo Grill’s Palm Desert location off of Cook Street.

It was super convenient for me as I used to live just down the way from the tasty spot, almost in walking distance if I wasn’t wearing heels, thank goodness for Uber. I discovered it during a lunch excursion, but once I got wind of their Happy Hour deals, I was hooked!

The family run restaurant started in Indio with their original location back in 2005, opening their second spot several years later. Both restaurants offer exceptional Mexican dishes, friendly efficient service and an extensive drink menu, including high end tequila’s. For me, I have been a creature of their Palm Desert location, mostly for the close proximity to where I hang my hat, and place my heels.

Their Palm Desert location has a cozy set up, with a comfortable dining room that leads into the bar area, and an intimate outdoor patio. Happy Hour is served in the bar area daily from 3pm to 6pm and again from 8pm to closing, meaning that yes, you can get happy twice in one night if you so choose. The menu offers up some Mexican dishes at great prices, and also fabulous drink discounts. For food on the $6 tier, try the Cheese Nachos al Carbon, Cheese or Veggie Quesadilla’s, Ceviche Tostada or Buffalo Wings. On the $7 tier, you can have the Nacho’s with steak or chicken

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(the steak option is seriously delish!), or the Trio of Tacos with your choice of chicken, steak or carnitas.

Their drink specials are pretty impressive with domestic draft beers at $3, and import drafts for $3.50. Craving a margarita? Well, enjoy their House Margarita for only $4.75 and flavored varieties (strawberry, mango or Tamarind) for only $5.75. Well drinks are $4 and all other libations including bottled beers are $1 off their original price.

Of course there is much more to enjoy at Pueblo Viejo Grill besides their great Happy Hour deals such as bountiful Burritos,

Tacos, Fajitas and House Specialties including Arroz con Pollo (grilled chicken topped with ranchera sauce and melted cheese served on a bed of Mexican style rice, topped with sour cream, guacamole and pico de gallo) Chile Verde, Carnitas and many more.

Whether you’re stopping by Pueblo Viejo in Pam Desert or Indio, for their Happy Hour, or just regular dining, you are sure to have a “Muy delicioso” experience!

Pueblo Viejo is located at 36-901 Cook St, Palm Desert CA, 92211 and 81-931 Hwy 111, Indio CA, 92210 www.puebloviejogrill.com

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BREWTALITY

B

etween 1830-1860, a powerful wave of German immigrants fled their homeland and moved to the United States, bringing their culture, food, and drink with them. Settling the Midwest states like Minnesota, Michigan, and particularly Wisconsin, the cuisine that German immigrants enjoyed became regional staples over time, particularly bratwurst. A combination of the German words “brat”, which means finely-chopped meat, and “wurst”, which means sausage, the practice of simmering chopped onions and bratwurst in beer became a Wisconsin favorite, and is one of the most iconic and familiar ways that Americans cook with beer.

It’s also super basic compared to the epicurial rabbit hole that I’m traveling; you need to leave that trife drivel behind and come with me.

While I have nothing personal against you wanting to turn your favorite pilsner into hotdog water, I am gonna judge you (hard) if that’s the extent of your gastronomical adventures with beer. Have you never had beer-battered fish and chips or beer-battered onion rings? Oh, my goodness, they are delectable and are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to cooking with beer. The use of beer in food recipes isn’t a random choice, beer affects dishes in three distinct ways; by leavening, tenderizing, and

COOKING WITH BEER

adding taste.

Because beer is brewed with so many of the same ingredients used to make breads (let’s be honest, it’s liquid bread. Holy cow, a Barleywine has 300 calories in a 12-oz bottle. That’s liquid cake), it’s no wonder that it works so well when baked into biscuits and frittatas, adding a complex range of toasty and earthy notes that compliment both sweet and savory dishes. Because beer has a low pH of around 4, its acidic enough to reduce gluten formation when mixed into doughs, resulting in a lighter, less dense crumb. It’s this exact reason that beer-battering is so popular.

The carbonation and pH of an amber ale or lager will create a crisp, airy coating when fried, not to mention add those toasty, earthy flavors that you won’t get from a water-based batter.

The acidic nature of beer as well as its alcohol content makes it a powerful meat tenderizer, breaking down and denaturing even the toughest muscle and connective tissue. I made a carne asada marinade using an IPA, where the citrusy hop notes would be complimented by the flavors of chili and lime; the resulting dish was some of the most tender flank steak tacos I’d ever had, and only reinforced the fact that beer should be used for marinating almost every kind of meat there is. Brown ales, reds and stouts also make excellent marinades, depending on what style of dish you are cooking. The same foods that would pair with a beer style can easily be cooked or marinated in it.

Dark ales can add rich, earthy flavors to soups and stews that makes them taste like they’ve been simmering for hours. When food is cooked between 280 to 330 degrees Fahrenheit, a nonenzymatic browning occurs called the Maillard

reaction. This is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars, and it gives toasted and browned food its distinctly deep flavor. Roasted barley malts have undergone the Maillard reaction, and it’s what gives stouts, porters and brown ales their signature roasted and caramel-like flavors. I cooked a chili using a bourbon barrel aged stout and finely ground espresso roast coffee grounds (sprinkled over the simmering beef along with the cumin, paprika and other spices), and it ended up one of the best chilis I’ve ever made, due in no small part to the complex flavors contributed by the stout.

The Craft Beer Cookbook is my favorite resource for getting inspiration as well as tried

February 21 to February 27, 2019

BY AARON RAMSON and true recipes for cooking with beer. Not just a clever title, Cooking with Beer is another fantastic recipe book that’s chock full of ideas on how to booze up your next brunch, and if neither of those are books that you can get your hands on, the internet is rife with recipe ideas that are only a Google click away.

A basic rule of thumb is to never cook with something you wouldn’t drink, as you would want to enjoy the flavors imparted to your food by the beer. A common worry for those unfamiliar with using alcohol for cooking is the possibility of being inebriated from eating food prepared with beer. A valid apprehension, especially where children or those who choose not to partake of alcohol are concerned. It’s a widely-accepted misconception that heat removes all the alcohol from food, yet It’s been proven that alcohol remains even hours after cooking. The good news is that even pan-fried dishes, cooked over high heat for a short amount of time, has so little alcohol left in it (less than one tablespoon per serving) as to be negligible.

It’s widely accepted that the consumption of cooked beer is safe for minors and pregnant women, but you should always consider the religious and moral concerns of those you are cooking for. Teetotalers who are serious about abstinence and sobriety should always be considered, and you should never unwittingly serve someone a dish made from beer without first disclosing to them what they’re eating.

17

February 21 to February 27, 2019

SCREENERS

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No. 357

DO ANDROIDS HAVE CYBER SOULS?

BY ROBIN E. SIMMONS

NOW SHOWING: ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL

Sometimes, FX heavy futuristic sci-fi action adventures are worth seeing just for the eyepopping CGI if not for the story itself. Moviegoers love being whisked away to another world so unlike the one with which we so blithely claim familiarity.

But as in real life, the bigger questions of who we are and why we’re here still intrigues.

Based on Yukito Kishiro’s multi-volume

Japanese manga, director Robert Rodriguez and long-time friend producer/co-writer James Cameron have fashioned an epic adventure around notions of identity and memory.

It all begins when Alita (a terrific Rosa Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she is but finds herself in an unfamiliar future world in the year2563, 300 years after “The Fall.” It’s a world split between the earthly proletarian Iron City and the elite, upscale Zalem, where the privileged live.

Most of the often-violent action takes plays in the dilapidated, junkyard like Iron City patrolled by Centurion robots. It’s a place where the strong prey on the weak. It’s also a place where Alita finds herself drawn to the ultraviolent gladiatorial-like Motorball games where she gets to use and show off her killer instincts and heightened combat skills including the lethal “Panser Kunst fighting moves.

She is taken in by Doc Ido (Christoph Waltz), an empathetic doctor who realizes that somewhere in Alita’s orphaned cyborg’s shell is the heart and soul of a young human woman with an extraordinary past.

As Alita she learns to navigate her new life in the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido attempts to shield her from her mysterious history.

When Hugo (Keean Johnson), her streetsmart new friend offers to help trigger her memories, she discovers the deadly and corrupt forces that run Iron City.

Alita not only uncovers clues to her past – she soon realizes that those in power will stop at nothing to control her unique and awesome fighting skills. If only she can stay out of their grasp, she might be able to save herself, her friends, family and the world she’s grown to love.

This film works best – if at all -- if you study its backstory a little in advance.

Make no mistake, this goofy and ambitious misfire could and should have broken new ground with a story that matched the stunning images. It’s a mess, but a glorious one.

The great cast includes, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, Michelle Rodriguez, Eliza Gonzalez, Jeff Fahey and Casper Van Dien.

We believe him when he says, “Existence can’t be without meaning.” And then “Without painting I can’t live.” Later: “When I look at nature I see more clearly that ties that unite us all. Vibrating energy speaking in God’s voice.

Sometimes it’s so intense I lose consciousness.”

Van Gogh’s letters and journals inspired Vincent’s memorable dialogue. But this is not in any way a forensic biopic, but rather a reflection of Van Gogh’s mindset as revealed in his art and life events.

In a moment of clarity and salf-awareness, Van Gogh says of his art, “I can make people feel what it’s like to be alive.” Has there ever been a better description or definition of this man’s extraordinary gift to the world?

Rupert Friend, Mads Mikkelsen and Oscar Isaac co-star in this wonderful recreation of a world long gone but still with us in beloved images.

HANNIE CAULDER (1971)

NEW BLU FOR THE HOME THEATER: AT ETRNITY’S GATE

18

Van Gogh’s story is both ecstatic and tragic.

And who better than an artist to tell it? Director Julian Schnabel takes us on a deep dive into the mind of a genius obsessed with capturing and understanding the mysteries of life and existence itself.

Not only an accomplished and acclaimed filmmaker, Schnabel is an artist in his own right who for decades has claimed an affection and emotional connection with the Dutch artist. Luckily, his long friendship with actor Willem Dafoe further informs and empowers his magnificent and memorable film. Dafoe is spellbinding and utterly convincing as the complicated and driven artist.

In Burt Kennedy’s robust British-financed western, Raquel Welch plays Hannie Caulder a frontier woman seeking revenge for rape and the murder of her husband. The movie also features one-time sexpot Diana Dors as a plump madam, Christopher Lee as a gunsmith and an un-credited Stephen Boyd as an ineffectual preacher.

The story starts with vicious, inept outlaws Emmett (Ernest Borgnine), Frank (Jack Elam) and Rufus Clemens (Strother Martin) going on a rampage with a bloody bank robbery. They escape and kill a stationmaster before gang raping his wife Hannie, leaving her for dead.

She survives makes it to a well where she encounters Thomas Luther Price (Robert Culp), a friendly bounty hunter. She asks him to train her to exact revenge. At first, he refuses but eventually relents after Welch offers herself as payment for his services.

But first, Price tells her they have to see a man (Christopher Lee) about a gun in Mexico.

Welch is in top form here playing a character who just wants to survive a lawless and brutal west where the army sleeps on the job, the sheriff looks the other way and the only justice comes from the end of a bounty hunter’s gun? robin@coachellavalleyweekly.com

BOOK REVIEW

-----------------------------------------------------

"WEST"

BY CARYS DAVIES FICTION

-----------------------------------------------------

T

he American frontier continues to captivate the imagination of readers and adventure seekers.

There is something still alluring and romantic about its natural beauty, imposing terrain, and indigenous peoples. In Carys Davies’ West (Scribner, 153 pages), one man sets out to search the wild west for wild beasts.

The story takes place after Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Clark return from their exploration of the west. Cy Bellman has followed the reports of their adventure and studied their maps.

When he reads about a discovery of giant animal bones and huge tusks he is mesmerized by the thought of the creature and decides he must find the beasts in their natural habitat. Other than the remains, there is no evidence that the creatures still exist. But in his mind, he imagines the giant elusive beasts roaming the west and he must see them for himself.

Obsessed with the magnificent creature, he leaves behind his young daughter Bess in the care of his taciturn sister.

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WILD BEASTS

Bellman, a widower, takes some of the personal belongings of his dead wife – ribbons, beads, buttons, knitting needles, etc. – to trade with the native tribes. He sets out on his journey with a stovepipe hat, a thick brown dress coat and a few weapons.

He is totally unprepared.

Meanwhile, his daughter Bess must deal with her disparaging aunt and the mean gossip about her father. “He is a fool” and no one believes Bellman will ever return.

Coming of age, Bess has several uncomfortable encounters with men. Her aunt cannot protect her and she must fend for herself until her father comes home. But will he return?

The premise of this story completely intrigued me. I was sent back into a time when a newspaper article was the only source of disseminated information. I could imagine how interesting it would be to follow the news about the Lewis and Clark expedition into uncharted territory.

Then Bellman reads a report about the uncovering of enormous bones, which was certainly extraordinary and exciting news from an unknown world. Indeed, Bellman could not stop thinking about the mind-blowing, albeit limited, information.

Apparently, at the time, Woolley Mammoths were unknown? But, scientists must have known about elephants?

Beyond Bellman’s intrigue with the

February 21 to February 27, 2019

BY HEIDI SIMMONS

“discovery,” the reader never really understands for sure what the remains are -- Mammoth, a dinosaur, alien? – or why he was driven to seek answers about its existence.

The only answer we get is when the aunt speculates it is a “mid-life crisis” – only not expressed in those words.

Bellman’s adventure teams him up with a Native American teenager as they trek the west for two years. The boy continues to work for Bellman being paid in beads and trinkets.

At the end of Bellman’s journey, he seems to have learned nothing. Not even in a feverish state does he consider the beast as a metaphor for the pain that lingers from the loss of his wife, or a fear of not being successful. He hardly regrets leaving his daughter.

West is more a novella than a novel. At times, it felt like a children’s adventure story

SAFETY TIPS

never delving into the deeper thoughts or pathology of an adult man obsessed with a creature that no longer exists.

Young Bess is never fully actualized in the story either. I kept waiting for her to find the truth about her father’s giant beast.

I wanted her to prove to the community that these creatures did roam the west and could possibly still be out there.

As a western, I was disappointed that Bellman did not experience Native American culture in a more personal way. He was not a naturalist or zoologist. His adventure into the wild certainly would have put him in contact with elk, grizzlies and buffalo.

Nothing is said about those magnificent beasts freely roaming the landscape.

The author captured the small town feel of the community and the challenges of the era. The differences between a growing Eastern town and the untamed wild west were clearly delineated as the story moved from character to character.

Perhaps the story is an allegory and has a grander theme that I missed.

I did like young Bess and I felt for her uncertain future. Perhaps the author will write a sequel with Bess seeking the creature and find her own fate is a monster out west.

BY FIRE CHIEF SAM DIGIOVANNA

AFTER THE RAIN CHECKLIST

T

he recent and future forecasted storms have dumped several inches of rain that can invade your home.

No matter how well protected your home is, you can have water damage!

Start at the top with your ceilings then the walls in your home. They are likely places and indicators of rain water damage.

Stains or discoloring with blistering paint or peeling wallpaper are signs of water damage. Check for leaks around light fixtures that hang from the ceiling.

Take a look inside your attic because all roofs can be compromised by rain. Check inside your attic for possible leaks. If you find wet insulation, pull it out immediately and replace it.

If you have a raised foundation, check underneath it. Even if the water is just rain, you must get it dried up quickly.

Check your carpets and floors. If damp or pretty soaked you may have to have them professionally cleaned and/or dried. On tile and hardwood floors use mops and towels to dry them up. Open doors and windows to create cross-ventilation. Use fans if necessary.

The foundation of your home is extremely susceptible to water intrusion.

Water seeks its own level and can find its way back into the concrete cracks around the base of your home.

Remove excess leaves, needles, twigs, and other debris from both roof and yard gutters and drains. These accumulate from wind and rain. Make sure that the openings to all downspouts are clear.

Make sure water from gutter downspouts and drains are draining away from your home, not pooling towards it.

Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

19

February 21 to February 27, 2019

CLUB CRAWLER NIGHTLIFE continued from page 15

DHS SPA LOUNGE; DHS; 760-329-6787 Radio 60 3-6pm EL MEXICALI CAFÉ 2; IND; 760-342-2333 Cesar Daniel Lopez on the harp 6-9pm FRANK’S PLACE; IW; 760-797-8700 Ted Herman 6-8pm THE HOOD; PD; 760-636-5220 Comedy Night w/ Sara Weinshenk 8pm LANDMARK LOUNGE; LQ; 760-289-6736 Scott Carter 7pm LAS CASUELAS TERRAZA; PS; 760-325-2794 PS Sound Company noon, Hot Roxx 6:30pm MELVYN’S RESTAURANT & LOUNGE; PS; 760-325-2323 Sunday Jam 3:30-7:30pm, Mikael Healy 8pm NEIL’S LOUNGE; IND; 760-347-1522 Karaoke 8pm THE NEST; PD; 760-346-2314 Sunday Jam Session 2-5pm, Kevin Henry 7:30pm PALM CANYON ROADHOUSE; PS; 760-3274080 Alvin Taylor and Friends All Star Jam 7pm PAPPY & HARRIET’S; PT; 760-365-5956 The Sunday Band 8pm PLAN B LIVE ENTERTAINMENT AND COCKTAILS; TP; 760-3432115 Open Mic w/ Rockin’ Ray 7pm SHANGHAI RED’S @ THE FISHERMAN’S MARKET; LQ; 760-777-1601 Jack Ruvio 6-9pm SULLIVAN’S STEAKHOUSE; PD; 760-341-3560 The Myx 6:30pm TACK ROOM TAVERN; IND; 760-347-9985 Cinch 4-7pm THREE SIXTY NORTH; PS; 760-327-1773 Darci Daniels and Reggie Vision 7pm VENUE@VENUS; PD; 760-834-7070 Sharon Sills 12pm VICKY’S OF SANTA FE; IW; 760-345-9770 The John Stanley King Trio 6-9:30pm WANG’S; PS; 760-325-9264 Live Music 5pm WILDEST GREENS; PD; 760-636-0441 Lance Riebsomer 11-2:30pm WOODY’S PALMHOUSE; PS; 760-230-0188 Motown Too! 6:30pm

MON FEBRUARY 25

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29 PALMS INN; 29 Palms; 760-367-3505 The Luminators 6pm ACE HOTEL; PS; 760-325-9900 TBA 8pm AJ’S ON THE GREEN; C.C.; 760-202-1111 Bill Marx 6:30pm BACKSTREET BISTRO; PD; 760-346-6393 Johnny Morris 5:30-9pm BART LOUNGE; C.C.; 760-799-8800 Meh Mondays 7pm CASUELAS CAFÉ; PD; 760-568-0011 The Mighty Sweet Nothings 5:30pm CASTELLI’S; PD; 760-773-3365 Patrick Tuzzolino 5:30pm COPA NIGHTCLUB; PS; 760-866-0021 DJ Banks and Mr. Miami 8pm DESMOND’S @ THE S; RM; 760-328-2111 Sergio Villegas 5:30-9pm DRINGK; RM; 760-888-0111 DJ Journee 9pm FRANK’S PLACE; IW; 760-797-8700 Larry Capeloto 6-9pm LAS CASUELAS TERRAZA; PS; 760-325-2794 PS Sound Company 6:30pm MELVYN’S RESTAURANT & LOUNGE; PS; 760325-2323 Mikael Healey 8pm NEIL’S LOUNGE; IND; 760-347-1522 Karaoke 8pm-1:15am THE NEST; PD; 760-346-2314 Kevin Henry 7:30pm PAPPY & HARRIET’S; PT; 760-365-5956 Open Mic 7pm PURPLE ROOM; PS; 760-322-4422 Keisha D 6:30pm ROWAN; PS; 760-904-5015 Michael Keeth 6-9pm VENUE@VENUS; PD; 760-834-7070 Jazz and Fashion Party 5-7pm VICKY’S OF SANTA FE; IW; 760-345-9770 Barry Baughn Blues Band 6:30pm WANG’S; PS; 760-325-9264 Nick Sosa 7pm WOODY’S PALMHOUSE; PS; 760-230-0188 Motown Mondays 7pm

ZELDA’S; PS; 760-325-2375 DJ LF hosted by Cali Redd 8pm

TUE FEBRUARY 26

29 PALMS INN; 29 Palms; 760-367-3505 Dana Larson 6pm ACE HOTEL; PS; 760-325-9900 Ace Karaoke with Kiesha 9pm AJ’S ON THE GREEN; C.C.; 760-202-1111 Shelley Yoelin Group 9:30pm BACKSTREET BISTRO; PD; 760-346-6393 Live Jazz 6:30pm BART LOUNGE; C.C.; 760-799-8800 TBA 7pm BERNIE’S; RM; 760-202 4499 Chris Lomeli 7pm BIG ROCK PUB; IND; 706-200-8988 Big Rocking Country Tuesdays 6-10pm CASTELLI’S; PD; 760-773-3365 Patrick Tuzzolino 5:30pm CHEF GEORGE’S PICASSO LOUNGE; PD; 760-200-1768 Lizann Warner 6:30-9:30pm, DJ 9:30pm CUNARD’S SANDBAR; LQ; 760-564-3660 Bill Baker 6pm DESMOND’S @ THE S; RM; 760-328-2111 John Carey 5:30-9pm FIRESIDE LOUNGE; PS; 760-327-1700 Red’s Rockstar Karaoke 9pm FRANK’S PLACE; IW; 760-797-8700 Terri Olsen and the Perfect Blend 6-9pm HENRY’S SPORTS BAR AND GRILL; CC; 760656-3444 Karaoke w/ KJ Danny 9pm THE HOOD; PD; 760-636-5220 Bingo Tuesdays 9pm HUNTER’S; PS; 760-323-0700 Karaoke 9pm JOSHUA TREE SALOON; JT; 760-366-2250 Ted Quinn’s Open Mic 7pm KOKOPELLI’S; YV; 760-228-2589 Karaoke 7pm LAS CASUELAS TERRAZA; PS; 760-325-2794 PS Sound Company 6:30pm LIT@FANTASY SPRINGS; IND; 760-345-2450 Brad’s Pad 7pm MELVYN’S RESTAURANT & LOUNGE; PS; 760325-2323 Mikael Healey 8pm

NEIL’S LOUNGE; IND; 760-347-1522 Karaoke 8pm-1:15am THE NEST; PD; 760-346-2314 Tim Burleson 7:45pm PALM CANYON ROADHOUSE; PS; 760-3274080 Acoustic Music Lounge 7pm PLAN B LIVE ENTERTAINMENT AND COCKTAILS; TP; 760-3432115 Game Night w/ Luke 8pm PURPLE ROOM; PS; 760-322-4422 Rose Mallett 6:30pm TACK ROOM TAVERN; IND; 760-347-9985 Country Night 6pm VICKY’S OF SANTA FE; IW; 760-345-9770 John McCormick and The Shelly Scott Band 6:30-10pm WANG’S; PS; 760-325-9264 Alex Santana 5-8pm WOODY’S PALMHOUSE; PS; 760-230-0188 Yve Evans and John Bolivar 6pm ZELDA’S; PS; 760-325-2375 Coachella Tuesday w/ DJ Jeezy and Cali Redd 9pm

WED FEBRUARY 27

29 PALMS INN; 29 Palms; 760-367-3505 Daniel Horn 6pm AGAVE LOUNGE@THE HYATT REGENCY; IW; 760-674-4080 Azhia 7-11pm AJ’S ON THE GREEN; C.C.; 760-202-1111 Jazz Jam w/ Doug MacDonald & Friends 7pm BART LOUNGE; C.C.; 760-799-8800 Whiskey Wednesdays w/ Touchtunes 7pm BERNIE’S; RM; 760-202 4499 Chris Lomeli 7pm BIG ROCK PUB; IND; 706-200-8988 S.O.M. Band 7pm BLUEMBER; RM; 760-862-4581 Michael Keeth 6-10pm CASTELLI’S; PD; 760-773-3365 Patrick Tuzzolino 5:30pm CHEF GEORGE’S PICASSO LOUNGE; PD; 760-200-1768 Barry Minniefield 6:30-9:30pm, DJ 9:30pm COACHELLA VALLEY BREWING CO; TP; 760343-5973 Open Mic 6-8pm

COPA NIGHTCLUB; PS; 760-866-0021 Issa Wednesday Humpday w/ DJ Ax 9pm CUNARD’S SANDBAR; LQ; 760-564-3660 Bill Baker 6pm DESMOND’S @ THE S; RM; 760-328-2111 Joe Baldino 5:30-9pm DRINGK; RM; 760-888-0111 S.I.N. w/ DJ Mirage 9pm ELECTRIC SPORTS LOUNGE; YV; 760-2281199 Karaoke 7:30pm FRANK’S PLACE; IW; 760-797-8700 Terri Olsen and Patricia Welsh 6:30pm THE HOOD; PD; 760-636-5220 Open Mic Hosted by Josh Heinz 8pm JOSHUA TREE SALOON; JT; 760-366-2250 Karaoke 7:30pm KOKOPELLI’S; YV; 760-228-2589 Open Mic 8pm LAS CASUELAS TERRAZA; PS; 760-325-2794 Hot Roxx 6:30pm LIT@FANTASY SPRINGS; IND; 760-345-2450 Latin Night 7pm MELVYN’S RESTAURANT & LOUNGE; PS; 760325-2323 Mikael Healey 8pm NEIL’S LOUNGE; IND; 760-347-1522 Karaoke 8pm-1:15am THE NEST; PD; 760-346-2314 Kevin Henry 6-8pm Tim Burleson 8pm PALM CANYON ROADHOUSE; PS; 760-3274080 Roger & Friends 7pm PLAN B LIVE ENTERTAINMENT AND COCKTAILS; TP; 760-343-2115 Red’s Rockstar Karaoke 9pm PURPLE ROOM; PS; 760-322-4422 Michael Holmes Trio 6:30pm THREE SIXTY NORTH; PS; 760-327-1773 Katheryn White 6:30pm VENUE@VENUS; PD; 760-834-7070 Sober Wednesday w/ Joe Baldino 5-7pm VICKY’S OF SANTA FE; IW; 760-345-9770 The Slim Man Band 6:30-10pm WANG’S; PS; 760-325-9264 Jeff Bonds 5-8pm WOODY’S PALMHOUSE; PS; 760-230-0188 Shelley Yoelin’s Jazz Showcase 6:30pm ZELDA’S; PS; 760-325-2375 Calentura Nights w/ DJ LF 9pm

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PUMPING SERVICE

Septic Tank & Grease Trap Pumping Sewer & Drain Cleaning Odor Control

20

760-404-6325

HADDON LIBBY

W

ith the passing of Cathedral City’s longest serving council person and mayor, Greg Pettis, Mayor Pro-tem Mark Carnevale stepped in to complete Pettis’ 2019 term. One of the first things that he, now Mayor Pro-tem John Aguilar and newly elected council members of Raymond Gregory and Ernesto Gutierrez must decide is how to fill Greg Pettis’ council seat.

The first decision was made on February 13th when the council unanimously agreed to appoint someone to fill Pettis’ seat rather than holding a costly special election. With that decision made, all individuals wanting to be considered were encouraged to submit their applications by the February 19th deadline.

What makes this appointment particularly challenging for these council members is

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A CATCH 22

that the city is in the midst of a move to district elections. This change means that each council position represents relatively even segments of the population. With last November’s election, Carnevale, Gregory and Gutierrez were elected to represent their city districts. During the 2020 elections, the at-large seats of Aguilar and Pettis will be replaced with district seats.

The idea behind the move toward district elections statewide is to insure that every area of a city is fairly represented as required by the California Voting Rights Act. In the past, people from the more affluent areas of a town were over-represented while the less affluent were under-represented. This problem was compounded by low voter turnout in less affluent areas where many felt disenfranchised by a voting system that seemed skewed against them.

While some cities like Cathedral City moved to district elections by choice, most have made the change in order to avoid or

DALE GRIBOW ON THE LAW

SCAMS OF 2019

W

e often read about the generous things people do for complete strangers. But the opposite is also true. This is the time of the year when crooks come out of the woodwork in the CV. Merchants are most at risk. With crowds during our winter season it is easier to steal and not be noticed.

Booster Box/Bag: A larger hollow box or bag is placed down over a slightly smaller shopping bag, purse or product placed on the ground while looking in a showcase.

The spring loaded bottom secures the item about to be stolen. The thief then walks away without anyone seeing what happened.

RFID: Unfortunately your credit card information can also be stolen without taking the physical credit card. Thieves have an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device) which is half the size of a laptop. When they walk by you in a restaurant, airport or department store the card reading device, costing less than $100, automatically steals your personal info off your credit card. The Radio Frequency Identification is a tiny chip in our credit and debit cards. If your card has the symbol of 4 waves )))) or says Pay Pass, Pay Wave or Blink it has RFID. Your personal information from the RFID

end a lawsuit. As Eric Dunn, the city attorney for the City of Hesperia told The Los Angeles Times, no city has ever won a lawsuit to preserve general at-large elections for its city council. Malibu resident and lawyer Kevin Shenkman has made suing cities a key part of his legal practice since being contacted by Darren Parker, chairman of the African-American caucus for the California Democratic Party in 2012.

With this as the backdrop, do Cathedral City council members choose a person who lives in the district that Pettis would have represented officially following the 2020 election or do they choose another at-large council person?

With two new council members on the dais, someone with experience seems like the odds-on favorite to serve out the balance of Greg Pettis’ term.

By choosing someone from Pettis’ district like former city council person Shelley Kaplan, the city council would be giving someone an

February 21 to February 27, 2019

advantage in next year’s district election.

By choosing an at-large candidate who does not live in Pettis’ district, the council would be leaving a district of the city unrepresented which could spark a lawsuit in our increasingly litigious state. If an at-large council person is chosen, former Mayor Stan Henry seems like an obvious choice as he ran unopposed for Mayor just over four years ago and is liked by the majority of city residents.

Given that Pettis’ district had two of its residents on the council before the move from at-large to district elections, one can argue that a brief period without representation is nothing when compared to other areas of the city that felt inadequately represented in the past.

Whatever choice the council makes, the work done in recent years by Councilmen Aguilar, Carnevale, Henry, Kaplan and Pettis along with city staff have positioned the City of Cathedral City as one of the up and coming areas of the desert with a bright future ahead.

Haddon Libby is Managing Partner of Winslow Drake, an investment advisory practice that operates exclusively as fiduciary advisors. For more information, please visit www.WinslowDrake.com or email HLibby@ WinslowDrake.com.

LEGAL REPRESENTATION OF THE INJURED & CRIMINALLY ACCUSED

can be instantaneously transferred onto a hotel credit card sized room key. That room key is now a “ YOUR credit card” which can be used to swipe and charge things against your card account. To avoid this you can put your credit cards into a protective sleeve that has an aluminum lining. This type of theft can occur with your passport at an airport so you should buy protective sleeves for both.

Fake Shipping: For the last 4 months, I have received emails notifying me my package is on its way. Be careful and don’t click when you get this notice, as it may contain a link or attachment that will take you to a site that installs malware. If you didn’t order anything, don’t click on it.

Gift Cards: They can be the perfect gift...

IF not already opened. However, crooks go to stores and write down the numbers and pin on the back of the card. When they see someone purchase one they go online and use up the amount on the card. Thus you must be sure the wrapping on the card has not been disturbed, or the pin revealed.

Fraudulent Charities: During the holidays, and catastrophic fires, hurricanes and earthquakes, we are all more inclined to help our fellow man and may fall for one of dozens of phony charities. If you don’t recognize the charity don’t donate to them.

E-Cards: Many people now send holiday and birthday cards via email rather than through the mail. Be careful before you click

on them if you don’t recognize the name of the sender. These are often phishing scams, aimed at getting you to provide more personal information.

IF your credit card is stolen or compromised, report it to the major reporting agencies below.

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285. To place a fraud alert 888-766-0008. To order a credit report call 800-685-1111.

Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742 to place fraud alert. To order a credit report call 888-397-3742.

Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289 to place a Fraud alert. To order a credit report call 800888-4213.

Social Security Administration: (fraud line) 1-800-269-0271.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE ARTICLE? CONTACT DALE GRIBOW 760-837-7500/ dale@dalegribowlaw.com.

DALE GRIBOW - Representing The Injured and Criminally Accused “TOP LAWYER” - CA’s Prestige Magazine, Palm Springs Life (PI/DUI) 2011-19 & “TOP LAWYER” - Inland Empire Magazine 2016-19 PERFECT 10.0 AVVO Peer Rating “DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE OR TEXT AND GET A DUI OR ACCIDENT... CALL A TAXI, LYFT OR UBER....THEY ARE A LOT CHEAPER THAN CALLING ME”

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February 21 to February 27, 2019

SPORTS SCENE

W

ith less than a third of the 2018-2019 NBA regular season left to play, we check out the futures odds for NBA MVP and look at the case betting for and against the front-runner James Harden.

In Mid-December the race for the MVP trophy seemed like it had several serious contenders including Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard.

At that point in the season the Rockets were 12-14 and Harden had averaged a very impressive but still human 30 points per game. Then Harden exploded for 50 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists against the Lakers, and he hasn’t slowed down since.

The Rockets then reeled off nine wins in their next 10 games to vault themselves back into the playoff picture and Harden’s scoring has been nothing short of amazing, putting up 41.5 ppg in his last 31 games, beginning with that triple double against L.A. James Harden over his last 12 games: 40.1 points, 9.0 assists, 6.6 rebounds, 64.0 true shooting percentage (35% from 3 equates to 50% from 2 point land), Rockets are 11-1, went from the 14-seed to the 4-seed. Those scoring feats have separated Harden from the rest of the pack in the futures odds for NBA MVP: Regular Season MVP - Currently, Las Vegas has Harden at a ridiculous -300 favorite.

No one else is even close as a cast of all-stars currently sit at; +275 Giannis Antetokounmpo, +900 Paul George, +2000 LeBron James, +2200 Stephen Curry, +3300 Joel Embiid, +4000 Kawhi Leonard, +5000 Kevin Durant.

EVENTS

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HARDEN NBA MVP SEEMS LIKELY

But is there a possibility that Harden doesn’t take home the hardware this season? We take a look at the case betting for and against The Beard’s MVP chances.

THE CASE AGAINST HARDEN This Historic Trend - While Harden’s 36.6 ppg average is absolutely staggering, there is actually a historic trend of absurdly highscoring seasons not being rewarded with MVP trophies.

Before this year, only 10 times in NBA history has an NBA player averaged 35 or more points per game over a season. In just two of those years (Wilt Chamberlain in 1960 and Michael Jordan in 1988) did that player also take home the MVP trophy.

Team Success - One of the biggest factors that contributes to a player being awarded

the MVP award is team success. Over the last 35 years, 33 MVP winners were on teams that finished with the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in their conference. The only two exceptions to that were Russell Westbrook two years ago, and once again Michael Jordan in 1988 (and Jordan’s Bulls team was a No. 3 seed).

Currently Harden’s Rockets team is fifth in the Western Conference, just one game ahead of both San Antonio and Utah in the standings. If Houston falters down the stretch and finishes with the sixth or seventh seed, do voters start second-guessing Harden as the MVP choice?

Other Worthy Candidates - If there were no other players truly deserving of winning MVP this year, this would be an absolute lock for Harden regardless of the points raised above. But the truth is, his closest rival for the MVP would be a leading candidate in most other seasons. Giannis Antetokounmpo, ticks all the boxes for an NBA MVP. The Greek Freak is averaging 27.2 ppg on 58.1 percent shooting, along with 12.7 rpg, 6 apg and plays excellent defense while leading a surprise team to the top of the NBA standings. If Harden wins this year it certainly won’t be for lack of competition.

THE CASE FOR HARDEN Improved Defensive Play - No, Harden isn’t going to be mistaken for Gary Payton anytime soon but he’s also not the defensive joke he was for much of his career. He’s third in the league in steals per game with 2.2 this season and has come up with key defensive stops in crucial points of close games.

Scoring Efficiency - It’s not just about raw numbers in today’s NBA, it’s about advanced

BY FLINT WHEELER metrics as well (which is kind of why Carmelo Anthony can’t seem to find a job these days).

When it comes to those, Harden’s scoring becomes even more impressive. Harden has a true shooting percentage of 62.2 this season. By comparison in Jordan’s two seasons with 35+ ppg his true shooting was 56.2 and 60.3 percent. In Kobe Bryant’s 2006 season where he averaged 35.4 ppg his true shooting was 55.9 percent. Harden isn’t just scoring an incredible amount of points, he’s doing it efficiently.

Supporting Cast - Unlike many of the other MVP candidates, like Paul George, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, Harden hasn’t had much help around him. Harden went on his record-breaking tear only after Chris Paul was sidelined with an injury and he’s also played much of the year without Clint Capela as well. He’s often had to put the Rockets on his back for extensive stretches of games and frankly the Rockets would be well out of the playoff picture if not for his ridiculous scoring.

THE VERDICT When it comes right down to it, Harden’s feats have been the biggest story of the season so far and he is without a doubt the most likely player to win MVP, barring an injury or end of season team collapse. That being said, if you don’t like the -300 value for Harden, Giannis at +275 has to be tempting.

G’Luck!

DESERT LIVING HOME SHOW RETURNS TO PS

BY CRAIG MICHAELS

M

uch like the residents who live here, the Coachella valley is very diverse in its blend of architecture. As you drive around the neighborhoods, you’ll find Spanish and Midcentury mixed in with new contemporary and California ranch style homes. Every February, the desert comes alive with home aficionados who are equally diverse in their appreciation for all types of architecture, design and decor.

The Desert Living Home Show returns for its 9th year at the Palm Springs Convention Center Friday, February 22, 2019. You’ll find everything you need for creative DIY projects or tap into the experts for your next house or garden design. As you do your research and get new ideas, don’t be afraid to ask questions, most of the professionals

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will be available to give you the information you’re looking for. Bring your garden pest and disease problems to the Master Gardeners or browse the vendor displays for the latest home products. These folks come with a lot of knowledge.

Home buyers, realtors and contractors can get information about building codes, restrictions, inspections and processes with representatives of the City of Palm Springs Building Department. The three-day Desert Living Home Show will continue to be a popular product showcase and resource expo of expert advice for Coachella Valleyarea residents planning to improve and update their homes’ value, livability and beauty.

Something special this year will happen Saturday at 1 pm. when the Desert Flippers

of HGTV, Eric and Lindsey Bennett, appear and offer advice on Kitchen Design – “Looks That Last” Sponsored by Mr. Cabinet Care. Homeowners looking to remodel, build, landscape or redecorate should make a beeline to the Desert Living Home Show where you can take advantage of

vendors’ special show discounts and FREE SEMINARS! Check out the Garden Market Place at the show. The plants are all grown for local Palm Springs conditions and these experts will tell you how to make them thrive in your garden.

I invite you to visit by my booth #425 and drop off a business card to win a complimentary 2-night stay at Shore Acres Lodge (non-holiday) courtesy of Big Bear Vacations. Plus grab a free copy of Palm Springs Life Homes Magazine and other swag while it last!

The show runs Friday, Feb. 22, 10am5pm; Saturday, Feb. 23, 10am-5pm; and Sunday, Feb. 24, 10am-4pm. Admission: $5.00; children under 16 are free. Seniors 55 + $2, & on Friday only $1.

Military: active, retired, or veteran have Free Admission with id. Discount tickets on the website are $3.00. For more information visit www.desertlivinghomeshow.com.

Written By: Craig Michaels Leaskou Partners Inc. - BRE# 02038709 (760) 880-3848

AWAKEN W/LIZZY&AIMEE

www.coachellavalleyweekly.com

BY ELIZABETH SCARCELLA & AIMEE MOSCO

CROSSROADS WHERE TECHNOLOGY AND SPIRITUALITY MEET

I

t seems a stretch to think that spirituality or spiritual development is connected in any way to technology.

The truth is, the two are more intertwined than you might think.

You have heard Elizabeth and I talk about the “new unity paradigm” that (we) collective humanity is moving into, right? You have probably also read our commentary on how this new paradigm represents an opportunity to expand conscious awareness, in turn, triggering greater spiritual remembrance of who we really are and why we are here.

The world is shifting to support this unity paradigm and we are beginning to respond more to the innate desire to connect with one another, to feel like we belong in this collective weave, and to be valued for our unique contributions. As this awareness and spiritual remembrance grows deeper and stronger, unity among human beings becomes not just a possibility but our fundamental soul expectation.

For this reason, technology is potentially one of our greatest spiritual tools to date.

It’s not an accident that the inception of the unity paradigm and the acceleration of technological communication have occurred at nearly the same time.

The internet has opened countless channels that allow people to connect and communicate volumes of information instantly and freely. While the world is still mind-blowingly vast, the internet has removed many of the limitations associated with human connectivity in relationship to navigating the globe.

Think about how social media has changed your mindset. Think about how many people you are connected with on Facebook or Instagram. Think about how many of those people live on the other side of the world, or at least the other side of the country. Dividing lines imposed

by proximity, culture, language, finances, time, equipment and a host of other once significant roadblocks are fading because of our ability to communicate so freely.

This type of unobstructed union with others is very important to our spiritual studies and growth in the atmosphere of the new paradigm. We are almost without limitations on the connectivity front at this point. Now it’s up to us to use this amazing tool with purpose to reach our greatest potential in the new unity paradigm.

In our pursuit to help you connect more deeply with one another and further re-discover your gifts as an enlightened being, we invite you to join our interactive Facebook group and watch our show “Evolve through Love”. Go to facebook. com/groups/evolvethroughlove.

Elizabeth Scarcella, Brand and Goodwill Ambassador, EFT Practitioner, Weight Loss and Inner Beauty Coach, is dedicated to helping others discover Wellness in all aspects of life. Elizabeth can help you awaken to your best self yet. For more information, find her at info@gogetyoung.tv Aimee Mosco is an Author, Intuitive Channel, Spiritual Teacher and Co-Founder of Intentional Healing Systems, LLC. Aimee’s passion for helping others inspired her book “Gratitude + Forgiveness x (LOVE) = Happiness”. For more information, find Aimee at aimee@ihsunity.com

February 21 to February 27, 2019

MIND,BODY & SPIRIT

BY BRONWYN ISON

REACH FOR THE STARS

H

ow many times have you desired for something but were too intimidated? Stepping outside our comfort zones translates change.

Change means potential disruption to our comfortable flow of life. However, if you’re like me, I welcome new experiences. I love to change it up because I thrive on learning what life has to offer.

We all have desires placed on our hearts, personally and professionally. Of course, part of life is succeeding in accomplishing your dreams and goals. One thing I always keep top of mind, timing is everything.

While we may want something immediately, now may not be the best time for your dreams to come to full fruition. I speak from experience. There are certain personal and professional dreams I’ve had and patience has be required. There have been numerous times I’ve applied or gone for something and it did not happen. I learned this is perfectly fine and not to be disappointed. If I were meant to have something, personally or professionally it would have happened.

Or, maybe it’s still going to happen but not right now.

Making a shift from what comforts us can be scary. I recall a time that I needed to make some significant changes. Personally and professionally, I decided it was time to color outside the lines (responsibly). I needed to take action in certain areas of my

life where fear dominated. In other words, I needed to overcome some very big personal hurdles. I took the leap of faith and I cannot begin to tell you how liberating it feels. I’ve become fearless in most things. I’ve truly adopted the old adage, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

The more responsible risks, the bigger the blessing, the more I’ve received. The most important lesson I’ve learned, it’s better to have taken a risk than never have known my abilities. I’ve surprised myself with what I have been able to achieve. I also learned, if it’s a thought, it can be a reality too. (Thoughts become things) I’ve recently made some very big decisions (of which I am very pleased) and time will only tell. All I need to do is remain confident and press on. Momentum is everything. Once you have a good pace it’s important to maintain a steady. Might I encourage you to set a goal and go for it as soon as possible.

You’ll never regret taking a risks. You’ll be pleased with taking a chance. Write down a lost of ventures that make you fearful. Over time you’ll check one thing off at a time. It’s time you reap your rewards.

Bronwyn Ison is the owner of Evolve Yoga, www.bronwynison.com YOGA ON DEMAND and “Better For It Now,” An online 7-Principle program to assist the Entrepreneurial, Single and Busy Mother. 760-564-YOGA (9642)

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February 21 to February 27, 2019

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

Week of February 21

ARIES (March 21-April 19): In December 1915, the California city of San Diego was suffering from a draught. City officials hired a professional “moisture accelerator” named Charles Hatfield, who promised to make it rain. Soon Hatfield was shooting explosions of a secret blend of chemicals into the sky from the top of a tower. The results were quick. A deluge began in early January of 1916 and persisted for weeks. Thirty inches of rain fell, causing floods that damaged the local infrastructure. The moral of the story, as far as you’re concerned, Aries: when you ask for what you want and need, specify exactly how much you want and need. Don’t make an openended request that could bring you too much of a good thing.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Actors Beau Bridges and Jeff Bridges are brothers born to parents who were also actors. When they were growing up, they already had aspirations to follow in their mom’s and dad’s footsteps. From an early age, they summoned a resourceful approach to attracting an audience.

Now and then they would start a pretend fight in a store’s parking lot. When a big enough crowd had gathered to observe their shenanigans, they would suddenly break off from their faux struggle, grab their guitars from their truck, and begin playing music. In the coming weeks, I hope you’ll be equally ingenious as you brainstorm about ways to expand your outreach.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): According to Edward Barnard’s book New York City Trees, a quarter of the city is shaded by its 5.2 million trees. In other words, one of the most densely populated, frantically active places on the planet has a rich collection of oxygengenerating greenery. There’s even a virgin forest at the upper tip of Manhattan, as well as five botanical gardens and the 843-acre Central Park. Let’s use all this bounty-amidst-the-bustle as a symbol of what you should strive to foster in the coming weeks: refreshing lushness and grace interspersed throughout your busy, hustling rhythm.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): As a poet myself, I regard good poetry as highly useful. It can nudge us free of our habitual thoughts and provoke us to see the world in ways we’ve never imagined. On the other hand, it’s not useful in the same way that food and water and sleep are. Most people don’t get sick if they are deprived of poetry. But I want to bring your attention to a poem that is serving a very practical purpose in addition to its inspirational function. Simon Armitage’s poem “In Praise of Air” is on display in an outdoor plaza at Sheffield University.

The material it’s printed on is designed to literally remove a potent pollutant from the atmosphere. And what does this have to do with you? I suspect that in the coming weeks you will have an extra capacity to generate blessings that are like Armitage’s poem: useful in both practical and inspirational ways.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In 1979, psychologist Dorothy Tennov published her book Love and Limerence: The Experience of Being in Love. She defined her newly coined word “limerence” as a state of adoration that may generate intense, euphoric, and obsessive feelings for another person. Of all the signs in the zodiac, you Leos are most likely to be visited by this disposition throughout 2019. And you’ll be especially prone to it in the coming weeks.

Will that be a good thing or a disruptive thing? It all depends on how determined you are to regard it as a blessing, have fun with it, and enjoy it regardless of whether or not your feelings are reciprocated. I advise you to enjoy the hell out of it!

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Based in Switzerland, Nestle is the largest food company in the world. Yet it pays just $200 per year to the state of Michigan for the right to suck up 400 million gallons of groundwater, which it bottles and sells at a profit.

I nominate this vignette to be your cautionary tale in the coming weeks. How? 1. Make damn sure you are being fairly compensated for your offerings. 2.

Don’t allow huge, impersonal forces to exploit your resources. 3. Be tough and discerning, not lax and naïve, as you negotiate deals.

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© Copyright 2019 Rob Brezsny

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Sixteenth-century Italian artist Daniele da Volterra wasn’t very famous for his own painting and sculpture. The work for which we remember him today is the alterations he made to Michelangelo’s giant fresco The Last Judgment, which spreads across an entire wall in the Sistine Chapel. After Michelangelo died, the Catholic Church hired da Volterra to “fix” the scandalous aspects of the people depicted in the master’s work. He painted clothes and leaves over the originals’ genitalia and derrieres. In accordance with astrological omens, I propose that we make da Volterra your anti-role model for the coming weeks. Don’t be like him. Don’t engage in cover-ups, censorship, or camouflage. Instead, specialize in the opposite: revelations, unmaskings, and expositions.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): What is the quality of your access to life’s basic necessities? How well do you fulfill your need for good food and drink, effective exercise, deep sleep, thorough relaxation, mental stimulation, soulful intimacy, a sense of meaningfulness, nourishing beauty, and rich feelings? I bring these questions to your attention, Scorpio, because the rest of 2019 will be an excellent time for you to fine-tune and expand your relationships with these fundamental blessings. And now is an excellent time to intensify your efforts.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Michael Jackson’s 1982 song “Beat It” climbed to number three on the record-sales charts in Australia. On the other hand, “Weird Al” Yankovic’s 1984 parody of Jackson’s tune, “Eat It,” reached number one on the same charts. Let’s use this twist as a metaphor that’s a good fit for your life in the coming weeks. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you may find that a stand-in or substitute or imitation will be more successful than the original. And that will be auspicious!

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The Space Needle in Seattle, Washington is 605 feet high and 138 feet wide: a tall and narrow tower. Near the top is a round restaurant that makes one complete rotation every 47 minutes. Although this part of the structure weighs 125 tons, for many years its motion was propelled by a mere 1.5 horsepower motor. I think you will have a comparable power at your disposal in the coming weeks: an ability to cause major movement with a compact output of energy.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In 1941, the Ford automobile company created a “biological car.” Among its components were “bioplastics” composed of soybeans, hemp, flax, wood pulp, and cotton. It weighed a thousand pounds less than a comparable car made of metal. This breakthrough possibility never fully matured, however. It was overshadowed by newly abundant plastics made from petrochemicals. I suspect that you Aquarians are at a phase with a resemblance to the biological car. Your good idea is promising but unripe. I hope you’ll spend the coming weeks devoting practical energy to developing it. (P.S. There’s a difference between you and your personal equivalent of the biological car: little competition.)

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Cartographers of Old Europe sometimes drew pictures of strange beasts in the uncharted regions of their maps. These were warnings to travelers that such areas might harbor unknown risks, like dangerous animals. One famous map of the Indian Ocean shows an image of a sea monster lurking, as if waiting to prey on sailors traveling through its territory. If I were going to create a map of the frontier you’re now headed for, Pisces, I would fill it with mythic beasts of a more benevolent variety, like magic unicorns, good fairies, and wise centaurs.

Homework: Choose one area of your life where you’re going to stop pretending. Report results to FreeWillAstrology.com.

---------------------------------------Rob Brezsny Free Will Astrology freewillastrology@freewillastrology.com

LIFE & CAREER COACH

BY SUNNY SIMON

CLEARING THE BAR BIG TIME

R

ecently a friend complimented me on the name of my business, “Raise the Bar High,” and asked how I selected it. Good question. I explained I am a country western fan. One day I heard a song by Sugarland with the lyric “tired of shooting too low, so raise the bar high” and I thought that’s it! (The song, written

by Jennifer Nettles, Kristian Bush and Tim Owens reached the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.) It was the perfect name because I enjoy coaching people with lofty goals who are ready to do the work.

Think about it. What do you get when you set a goal that can be accomplished with minimal effort? No doubt the answer is, you receive minimal return. So don’t cheat yourself by low level goals. Set a huge goal and you may surprise yourself by finding you have more potential than you thought.

Super-sized goals require both supreme focus and a commitment to stay in the game.

In my mind, the secret sauce to having that stick-to-it mentality involves celebrating.

After all, who doesn’t love a celebration? It helps us truly enjoy the journey.

Try this exercise. Go to the drawing board. Sketch out your largest goal and break it down into steps. Next decide where the milestones fall. For example, we can all

relate to weight loss goals. Let’s go with 50 pounds as a number. Setting our milestones in 10 pound increments makes sense. We can stop for a beat and savor the victory with a small reward. (Of course, celebrating with a non-food item is recommended).

Recognizing how far we’ve come is highly motivational. Hitting and acknowledging that milestone drives us on toward finish line.

Here’s another hint to attaining large goals. Practice the power of patience.

Acknowledge that nothing happens overnight. A child who wants to win a spelling bee drills, right? If you want to run a marathon, you need to train, correct?

Build that mentality into your daily thought process. Tell yourself your mountain is not too big to climb, it just requires patience and a steady effort.

So dream big, visualize yourself raising the bar high and clearing it. You may not jump high enough on the first run, but don’t let that deter you. Get right back up and try again. You will get there!

Ready to tackle the week and work on your BIGGEST goals? Excellent. Stop reading and start NOW! Sunny Simon is the owner of Raise the Bar High Life and Career Coaching. More about Sunny at www.raisethebarhigh.com

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February 21 to February 27, 2019

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February 21 to February 27, 2019

CANNABIS CORNER

TERPENES

T

erpenes are aromatic metabolites which are in all plants. Their function is to defend the plant and to attract pollinators. Terpenes are a part of the cannabis plants’ survival instinct. In cannabis, terpenes live in the trichomes, or “crystals”, of the cannabis bud. The trichomes are small hairs that live on the flower (bud) and leaves of cannabis. Not only do terpenes live in the trichomes but cannabinoids and flavonoids exist there as well. There are at least 100 terpenes found in the cannabis plant. A strong visual terpene profile usually indicates that the grower of that specific plant handled it with care and keen discernment of harvest, curing, trimming, and packaging. With such care, the consumer opens their fresh jar to receive distinct flavors, colors, and smells thanks to the well kept trichomes.

Humans have an endocannabinoid system in which terpenes and cannabinoids directly work with. Terpenes alert the endocannabinoid system to which terpene rich strain will best suit the needs that the endocannabinoid system has for regulation.

Pinene: Pinene has anti-inflammatory properties. It is found in orange peels, pine needles, basil, and parsley. It is known to counter short term memory loss, it works with the respiratory system to promote improved airflow, and promotes focus.

Myrcene: Myrcene is found in mangoes, hops, thyme, and lemongrass. In cannabis it can compose up to 50% of a cannabis plants terpenes. It is useful as an anti-inflammatory, a sedative, and a muscle relaxer. Indica strains commonly have high levels of myrcene which

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BY MICHELLE ANN RIZZIO

can make one feel as though they are having a more cerebral and sensory experience as well as a relaxed and rest oriented experience.

Limonene: This terpene has a citrus fragrance to it that is hard to miss. This terpene promotes mood elevation, stress relief, and actually is antibacterial and antifungal--most commonly these benefits are gained through tincture and salve use.

Humulene: Another anti-inflammatory terpene which also suppresses appetite. It works with the cannabinoid THCV and is found in strains rich in this cannabinoid. This terpene has a strong spicy and earthy aroma similar to coriander and cloves.

Linalool: This terpene interacts with THC to balance out anxiety from too much THC. This is very helpful for folks intending to use cannabis to work with their mental landscape.

Linalool not only eases anxiety, it also has antidepressant tendencies. There are also studies which suggest it is an immune system booster, and significantly reduces lung inflammation.

Caryophyllene: Found in cinnamon leaves and black pepper, this terpene helps to treat anxiety, depression, and acts as an antiinflammatory. It can be recognized by its peppery and spicy nose.

Terpinolene: Coming in as the least common terpene, terpinolene produces sleepy, sedative high. It is an antioxidant, and includes antibacterial properties when used topically.

This terpene is known to depress your central nervous system which can assist for those who suffer from nervous system disorders. It also is known to promote that couch lock feeling.

Be sure to ask your budtenders about strains rich in the terpene that would assist you in finding relief.

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February 21 to February 27, 2019

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February 21 to February 27, 2019

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