DOPE Magazine - Arizona - The Entertainment Issue - February 2018 by DOPE Magazine

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SUPER TROOPERS 2 PROFILE

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JOHN WATERS MAKES TROUBLE SOUND GOOD

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COCO JENKINS AND NAT THE LIONESS: THE POETIC HIP-HOP DUO

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FEBRUARY 2018 | THE ENTERTAINMENT ISSUE

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Best known for cult films such as Pink Flamingos and Desperate Living, as well as the 1988 major motion picture Hairspray (now a successful Broadway show, which spawned a 2007 remake of the same name), John Waters is an American pop culture icon. When asked how he maintains self-confidence in the cutthroat world of show business, Waters remarks, “I don’t think anyone in show business has self-confidence . . . Because why else would they go into a field where strangers have to like us to make a living?” Our Entertainment Issue is packed with in-depth features on artists and entertainers from all walks of life. It’s a diverse collection of profiles, interviews and thoroughly researched culture articles from a group of global writers who all have one thing in common—their appreciation and respect for the plant.

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DOPE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2018 | THE ENTERTAINMENT ISSUE Februar y marks the month of entertainment here at DOPE Magazine, and few things are more entertaining than movies! Renowned comedy troupe Broken Lizard, famous for everything from Super Troopers to Beerfest, is back with a long-awaited sequel: Super Troopers 2. Steve Lemme and Kevin Heffernan joined us for a quick smoke, some crazy stories about the making of both Super Troopers films, their careers and how cannabis is— and has always been—a part of their lives.

SUPER TROOPERS DO IT AGAIN PROFILE

CULTURE

ENTERTAINMENT

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JOHN WATERS MAKES TROUBLE SOUND GOOD

DOPE ON THE ROAD: LAS VEGAS

COCO JENKINS AND NAT THE LIONESS: THE POETIC HIP-HOP DUO

HAS THE INTERNET MADE PORNOGRAPHY TOO ACCESSIBLE?

PROFILE FUNKADELIC REEFER HUNTING WITH SINGER KENDRA FOSTER

COVER PHOTO: JORDAN SWENSON

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EFENDING UR LANT VERYWHERE As a lifestyle publication, DOPE Magazine is dedicated to creating purposeful, relevant conversations. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve built a steadfast framework of inclusivity when speaking about gender, race, class, politics, family and cultureâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;with the ethos DEFEND. Not just our plant, but our people, patients, and planet. Our highly curated content continues to focus on people and lifestyles that have a relationship with cannabis. While cannabis remains our central theme, it is our belief that creating conversations about real people and relatable experiences is the best way to normalize the understanding of cannabis in society as a whole. Our aim is to continue to illuminate issues that deserve our attention and must be addressed if we wish to both promote and create change. We are grateful for your time, we welcome your feedback, and are truly grateful for your participation to create positive change in our world. Defending Our Plant Everywhere.

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MAC AND FARVA ARE BACK! SUPER TROOPERS 2

PHOTOGRAPHY: FOX SEARCHLIGHT

T H E E N T E R TA I N M E N T I S S U E

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FEATURES 32 CULTURE

COMEDIAN JESSIMAE PELUSO’S NEW DISPENSARY

RUNNING A BUSINESS IS NO LAUGHING MATTER! 36 CULTURE

ADULT ENTERTAINMENT

HAS THE INTERNET MADE PORNOGRAPHY TOO ACCESSIBLE? 42 PROFILE

FUNKADELIC REEFER HUNTING

SINGER KENDRA FOSTER ON HER COLLABORATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL ADVENTURES 48 PROFILE

JOHN WATERS MAKES TROUBLE SOUND GOOD SPEAKING VOLUMES ON HIS FIRST RECORD 52 ENTERTAINMENT

GREAT DANE

TOP DAWG CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO 58 ENTERTAINMENT

COCO JENKINS AND NAT THE LIONESS LAS VEGAS’ VERSATILE, POETIC HIP-HOP DUO 62 ENTERTAINMENT

HAVE YOU EVER MET THAT FUNNY REEFER MAN? THE ORIGIN OF THE JAZZ CIGARETTE 64

#SCOUTEDBYDOPE 66 DOPESHOTS

WINNER LEIGHLANI WIGLITTON 68 EDITOR’S CHOICE

SISTERS OF THE VALLEY

THE WEED NUNS’ HEAVENLY CBD PRODUCTS 70 CULTURE

DOPE ON THE ROAD LAS VEGAS

C O V E R F E AT U R E

SUPER TROOPERS 2 DAVID BAILEY JORDAN SWENSON &

COURTESY OF FOX SEARCHLIGHT

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“

ittering and...? Littering and….? Littering and…? Littering and… smokin’ the reefer.” There’s a number of quotes I could pull from Super Troopers right meow. I mean, it infected an entire generation, teenagers and adults alike. We were all quoting it—maybe too much. One could say it even set the scene for numerous cult classics to follow, including Broken Lizard’s Beerfest. As one of the most iconic cult classics to date, Super Troopers’ comedic approach began normalizing cannabis before most of us knew what NORML was. Treated as just another accessory to their shenanigans, marijuana was both the main storyline and the comedic relief in the film. Even in the conservative South where I grew up, dads and their teenagers were laughing at the same pot jokes and images of state troopers getting high at the station. As Broken Lizard members Steve Lemme and Kevin Heffernan tease now, “At our stand-up shows, it’s half stoners and half cops!”

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Here we are 17 years later, and Super Troopers 2 is finally hitting the screens on no better day than 4/20. Every stoner’s favorite holiday. These guys have been busy since Super Troopers took off, and while we’ve all enjoyed their movies since, this has been a long-awaited sequel for fans. Broken Lizard, as a group, has executed five major film productions since their inception, not to mention the individual careers they’ve each spawned from their inaugural success. And they’re still at it!

THE EARLY DAYS OF BROKEN LIZARD

Essentially just five dudes that went to college together, destined to become the members of Broken Lizard sought to turn their passion for film, sketches and bullshitting into a career. Jay Chandrasekhar, Steve Lemme, Kevin Heffernan, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske all had an interest in film and acting as students, but, like most people at that age, didn’t have a solid career direction. While the majority of the group finished their degrees—as Kevin likes to point out, “Lemme dropped out!”—they all moved to New York City over the course of a few years and began doing sketch comedy together before deciding to try their hand at filmmaking. Watching The Tinfoil Monkey Agenda, one of their first shorts, you get a feel for their signature humor and direction. Their first fulllength film, Puddle Cruiser, was a breakout college comedy in many respects, but as Kevin fondly recalls, “We didn’t know shit when we did that one. We didn’t know anything!”

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“

IF THAT COP KNEW HOW HIGH WE WERE, HE COULDA FUCKED WITH US.

”

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SUPER TROOPERS Puddle Cruiser garnered attention in the festival circuit, but no one could’ve seen the hilarity coming that was Super Troopers. Despite the debauchery, the film, at its core, is entirely relatable. This wasn’t by accident. Some of the best scenes, and even the original inspiration for the film, came from real life. “The cops thing [from Super Troopers] was [based on] us driving around,” Steve told us. “Five us were in a car and we were going to all these weddings—and we would be high, and we kept getting pulled over, and we’d be talking shit—and then the cop would come up to the car and we’d kiss his ass—‘Yes sir, no sir, sorry sir’—and then he’d walk away,” Steve laughs. “And we were like, ‘We shoulda fuckin’ killed that guy!’ But we [joked later], ‘If that cop knew how high we were, he coulda fucked with us,’ and that was sort of the genesis [of Super Troopers].”

CLUB DREAD, BEERFEST AND BEYOND Taking little time off between projects, the group quickly started on Club Dread after the success of Super Troopers. They still reminisce about the warm beach weather while filming in Mexico, but the workload on Club Dread was far from easy. Broken Lizard members all play a direct hand in writing, directing and producing everything they make together, in addition to their onscreen roles. If you’ve seen The Dukes of Hazard (2005), you’ll recall cameos from each of the Broken Lizard members—that’s because Jay directed the film, solidifying a relationship with Warner Bros. that eventually led to the creation of Beerfest. Beerfest, like Super Troopers, developed an enormous cult following and likely inspires thousands of frat boys to drink themselves silly annually. It’s also one of their best received films to date. It didn’t hurt that they brought in pot icon Willie Nelson for a post-credits scene and started rumors of a Potfest sequel. We’re still waiting for that one, but Super Troopers 2 will tide us over in the meantime.

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SMOKING WITH STEVE AND KEVIN If at this point you don’t remember which one is Steve and which one is Kevin, Steve Lemme played Mac in Super Troopers (the crazy one who ‘steals’ the Miata in the opening scene), and Kevin Heffernan played Farva (the awkward idiot who puts soap in Rabbit’s coffee, among other things). That’s right, I got to kick it with Mac and Farva. The 14-yearold fan in me that fell in love with their work years ago needed to calm the fuck down, and, luckily for me, they were super chill. As I walked around the corner of the parking garage with Josh Shelton of Green Street Agency to greet the guys, I saw Steve standing comfortably outside liked he lived at the place. Lacking even the slightest air of pretentiousness, Steve and Kevin were both ready to hang out, but get shit done in the process—a skillset few people possess. As we finished up the photoshoot and prepared for the interview, Josh politely sparked up a few joints for everyone. Having had the chance to smoke with quite a few celebrities, I immediately noticed that these guys were different. They were normal. These guys are dads, husbands, businessmen. They asked what we thought of the new recreational cannabis market in California, the political climate we’re all enduring, even how our days were going. And shit, they were funny! We weren’t smoking a lot—it was probably the perfect amount to consume before an interview, actually—and Kevin hit me with a story every smoker can relate to: Being too high to talk. Broken Lizard once smoked with Snoop Dogg, and he got them way too lit. Apparently, the opportunity to meet Snoop came shortly after Super Troopers, and, as Steve laments to this day, “We’re lightweights.” They weren’t prepared for what was to come. After a few rounds in the traditional stoner circle, Snoop had them all too faded to talk. It was dead silent. Snoop asked them a question, and no one responded. Finally, after a long silence, Snoop asked, “Ain’t y’all motherfuckers supposed to be the funny ones?!” They guys nearly cried from laughter and were finally able to come out of their haze. As we finished up the interview and played our “Do You Even Vape, Bro”? game—where we ask people to choose between two celebrities and determine which one vapes e-cigarettes—we continued to see a fuller picture of the Broken Lizard crew. These guys are hard-working, passionate individuals looking to make you laugh—and hopefully laugh a bit themselves while doing it. Luckily for us, they’ve been hard at work for something we’ve all longawaited: Super Troopers 2. BROKENLIZARD.COM @BROKENLIZARD @THEREALBROKENLIZARD @BROKENLIZARD

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ou may recognize Jessimae Peluso from her stand-up, or her guest appearances on Girl Code, Getting Doug With High and Comedy Central’s The High Court. Peluso has been doing standup for 14 years, starting out in New York and later moving to California in 2013. Between meetings, touring, shooting pilots, hosting her own late show and building her TV profile, she’s somehow found time to open a dispensary, LA Flora Organica. It was only a year ago that the idea of opening a dispensary crossed her mind. Soon it will be a reality. Peluso and her trusted business partner, Travis, want to improve people’s lives. She says the process has been like painting: “You add a color, walk away . . . add something else…”

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I DON’T SMOKE TO GET HIGH. I SMOKE TO GET RIGHT. – COMEDIAN JESSIMAE PELUSO

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The dispensary is still in the process of licensing and is expected to open soon. “It’s stressful dealing with the idea of being a business owner,” Peluso laughs. She made the transition to smoking marijuana when she moved to California, stating, “I don’t smoke to get high. I smoke to get right.” She continues, “A joint and a bottle of red wine. That’s how I wine and dine myself.” And she considers herself a conservative smoker: “I don’t fuck with dabs. I’m old school. I like flower.” Peluso’s involvement in the cannabis industry was the result of numerous factors: some of her family members were sick, California had just legalized recreational use, and opportunity struck at the right time. “Comedy is my bread and butter,” she explains. “It’s not about the money. People deserve to have a happy, healthy life. Look at the opioid epidemic. If I can help people in recovery, I want to be part of that.” LA Flora Organica opens in June 2018 near USC in South Central Los Angeles. The dispensary will feature all-organic products from esteemed cannabusinesses such as Honey Bear Farms, among others. JESSIMAE.COM @JESSIMAEPELUSO @LAFLORAORGANICA

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HAS THE INTERNET MADE PORNOGRAPHY TOO ACCESSIBLE? SCOTT PEARSE

“I can say with absolute certainty that the fantasies I had about rape, homicide and submission were never there before hardcore porn use from [ages] 18-22. When I stayed away from porn for 5 months all those fantasies and urges were gone. My natural sexual taste was vanilla again and still is. Thing with porn is you need harder and harder material, more taboo, more exciting and ‘wrong’ to actually be able to get off.” - Anonymous user on YourBrainOnPorn.com

his isn’t an experience that reflects a normal relationship with pornography, but in our digital age, stories like this are becoming more common. The Internet has completely revolutionized the way pornography is consumed. New, free content is constantly being uploaded, and the barriers to access—cost, permission, membership—are at all-time lows. Are we able to self-regulate porn consumption? And what are the consequences of this new age of pornography? If pornography often depicts behaviors that many adults do not perceive as mainstream, or even consider enjoyable, why are we viewing these images in private?

BEYOND BLONDE HAIR AND BIG TITS

Gary Wilson, author of Your Brain on Porn: Internet Pornography and the Emerging Science of Addiction, writes, “We’ve all preferred to believe that ‘porn use is normal, so all types of porn use must be harmless.’ Every study so far that has looked at men’s porn use and sexual/relationship satisfaction has found that more porn use correlates with less sexual/relationship satisfaction.” But if porn is straining our relationships, why do we continue to consume it? Psychiatrist Norman Doidge wrote in The Brain That Changes Itself, “When pornographers boast that they are pushing the envelope by introducing new, harder themes, what they don’t say is that they must, because their customers are building up a tolerance to the content.” Researchers call this habituation, and in its more lasting forms, desensitization. In addicts, it’s what drives tolerance, or the need for increased stimulation. Doidge continues: “During the mid- to late 1990s, when the Internet was growing rapidly and pornography was exploding on it, the content of what patients found exciting changed as web sites introduced themes and scripts that altered their brains without their awareness. Because plasticity is competitive, the brain maps for new, exciting images increased at the expense of what had previously attracted them.”

Mike Stabile, Director of Communications at the Free Speech Coalition, the peak industry body representing the adult entertainment world, states, “What has changed is that as a culture we’re much more aware of variations in sexuality and gender than we were twenty years ago. We’re more aware of our own sexualities, and our partner’s sexualities, and we have an easier time talking about sex freely. Truthfully, I think [this] is what scares anti-porn activists the most. The people fighting porn are very often the same people who are fighting against LGBTQ rights, reproductive rights and comprehensive sex ed.” Much of the diversification of pornography in the Internet age has occurred to include entertainment for segments of our community previously ignored by mainstream productions. “During the DVD era,” Stabile notes, “producers wanted to make as generic a production as possible, in order that it might attract the widest audience possible. Often, that meant white women with big blonde hair and large breasts. There wasn’t much room for anyone else. Distributors didn’t want niche titles, and most stores were only willing to stock a handful. Today, niche content dominates the market. Consumers are able to access very specific things they find erotic, and small producers have been able to flourish. We have a better vocabulary for articulating our desires.”

PORN USE IS NORMAL, SO PORN MUST BE HARMLESS

D O P E M AGA Z I N E .CO M

“

EVERY STUDY SO FAR THAT HAS LOOKED AT MEN’S PORN USE AND SEXUAL/RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION HAS FOUND THAT MORE PORN USE CORRELATES WITH LESS SEXUAL/ RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION. – GARY WILSON, AUTHOR OF YOUR BRAIN ON PORN

”

D O P E M AGA Z I N E .CO M

ACCESS WITHOUT CONTEXT And though it would seem conversations about what an appropriate relationship with pornography looks like are few and far between, like porn itself, the conversation flourishes online. Gary Wilson from Your Brain on Porn explains: “Many guys are quite open about discussing their porn fetishes anonymously online. These communities normalize the fetishes, but the key point is that these users believe their fetishes are ‘who they really are’ sexually. This is what happens when you spend your adolescence training your sexual arousal to particular porn fetishes. It is that first step that today’s porn users are not warned about—so they don’t see their options. Nor are they told that many users are astonished to see their fetishes fade away after they stop using Internet porn.” Who should take responsibility to prepare young people for unlimited access to adult entertainment? Stabile points the finger at politicians, arguing, “The material we produce isn’t sex ed, any more than The Fast and the Furious is a replacement for Driver’s Ed. It’s called ‘adult entertainment’ for a reason—it’s for adults, and it’s entertainment, not education. We wish that politicians would listen to health educators and researchers to create forward-thinking sex ed programs, rather than succumbing to religious pressure. When people are of age to watch adult material, we want them to have some context for it.”

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SINGER KENDRA FOSTER ON HER COLLABORATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL ADVENTURES SCOTT PEARSE

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hough Kendra Foster has spent the majority of the last decade calling N e w Yo r k C i t y h o m e , it’s difficult to hide the Tallahassee in her voice. “I like to collaborate and get into cahoots with it,” Kendra remarks, accent in full swing, regarding her work with funk and R&B masters George Clinton and D’Angelo. And though many artists would certainly like to be in cahoots with the legendary George Clinton and travel with his Funkadelic all-stars—then be called in for songwriting and vocal duties on D’Angelo’s massive 2014 album, Black Messiah, and win a couple of Grammys—it was Kendra Foster who got the call. “I was a true fan before I was anything else with the Funkadelic and T h e Va n g u a r d ,” K e n d r a emphasizes. “Working with George and D’Angelo was my dream.” As a serial collaborator, Ke n d ra’s p h i l o s o p hy i s simple: “I don’t come into collaboration with an idea of, ‘It has to be like this,’ and ‘I need that’—no, I just want to create. But I have to remind myself, ‘Kendra, they called because you have your own magic. Maybe you didn’t know it until you met George, but this stuff that was coming out of you was actually good.’”

“

WE SERIOUSLY WERE ON SUCH CRAZY CONQUESTS FOR ACQUIRING REEFER AND MAKING SURE WE HAD IT EVERYWHERE WE WENT... EVERYONE IN THE BAND CALLED US THE FEMALE CHEECH AND CHONG. – SINGER KENDRA FOSTER

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THE ADVENTURES OF INDICA AND MARY JANE GREENLEAF Touring the world with the Parliament-Funkadelic all-stars left plenty of time between shows to find other avenues of creative expression, and as is often the case with artists, art soon began to imitate life. “We seriously were on such crazy conquests for acquiring reefer and making sure we had it everywhere we went,” Kendra recalls. “All over the world.” Kendra and George Clinton’s granddaughter, Shonda ClintonDrennen, lived the outline of a story that became a comic, The Adventures of Indica and MaryJane Greenleaf: “We would have to speak in charades when we didn’t know the language in Scandinavia; we’ve stopped people coming out of phone booths to lead us to the hood in places like Bristol. We’ve jumped out of moving cars in Canada—you name it. Everyone in the band called us the female Cheech and Chong.” But what to do with all this inspiration? “We realized, much in keeping with Baba George’s philosophy, we should become characters,” Kendra notes. To continue the Parliament-Funkadelic flavor, Kendra and Shonda recruited keyboardist and illustrator Danny Bedrosian. “He showed me some illustrations and that was that,” details Kendra. The team is ready to push the project forward, and they continue to live out some of the inspiration for the comic’s storylines while touring.

THE GRAMMY DOUBLE WHAMMY 2014, after over a decade of silence, marked the return of the reclusive D’Angelo. The album, Black Messiah, was a critical and commercial hit. Kendra’s collaboration with D’Angelo as a member of The Vanguard earned her two Grammys: Best R&B song for “Really Love” and Best R&B Album for Black Messiah. Kendra says of the collaboration, “Those people asking me to work with them, that makes me know this, making music—I’m supposed to do this.”

STANDING ON HER OWN Kendra is still hard at work on a forthcoming solo album, as well as working on a number of collaborations with other artists. Her prolific output is best described by Kendra herself: “I know when to indulge in the magic of my dreams.” Those dreams are collaborations with “many amazing artists.” Her single, “Da Da,” is available on Spotify, and a “truly, really far out there” music video is in the works. Kendra’s music is dusted with the driving funk one would expect from someone who toured extensively with Parliament-Funkadelic, but also fizzes with experimentation in vocal lines and melodies fans would recognize as the influence of not just collaborators like D’Angelo, but of other offbeat pop artists such as Erykah Badu or Lauryn Hill.

FREE FROM THE NEED TO BE FREE

And if there’s a secret to Kendra’s ability to create art in so many different arenas, then seamlessly collaborate with true legends of the music industry, it’s the wisdom gleaned from her mentor. “There is something that George says that I think I’m finally starting to understand,” Kendra shares. “He talks about ‘being free from the need to be free.’ I always thought it was something about being passive, but if you can see yourself past the construct that looks like it has you powerless, you will be free simply because you believe you have the power. Once you acknowledge that you’re stronger than the construct, how can it hold you?” If you, like Kendra Foster, believe in the power of dreams, it doesn’t seem like it can.

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SPEAKING VOLUMES ON HIS FIRST RECORD SHWA LAYTART COURTESY OF GREG GORMAN

ohn Waters is the unequivocal American Artist of the 21st Century. His style and personality is part Little Richard, part vaudeville illusionist. No stranger to performance, Waters has been producing art for over sixty years. His first performances began on a stage in his parents’ living room when he was eight. By the age of twelve, he was a puppeteer. Waters has produced just about every visual art form imaginable, and is best known for cult flicks like Pink Flamingos and Desperate Living to more mainstream films such as Cry-Baby and A Dirty Shame. His film Hairspray was not only a major motion picture success, it was also turned into a hit Broadway musical. But like any great mixed media, multidisciplinary artist, his talents are not limited to one category. Waters has written and directed over fifteen films and acted in over a dozen films and television shows, not including his appearances on late-night TV and in various documentaries. He’s written six books, which he also does the audiobook readings for; one of his most recent novels, Carsick, was (loosely) based on his actual hitchhiking experience while in his sixties. Waters is also an acclaimed photographer and stand-up

comedian who has consistently taken his one-man show across the country. He’s now added a spoken-word vinyl recording to his repertoire. Waters’ first spoken-word vinyl record, Make Trouble, is through Jack White’s Third Man Records. “I met Jack before, and I’m a fan,” Waters notes. “We’ve talked. I think the promoters from my Christmas tour were dealing with him and they asked me if I wanted to do this record, and I love the idea because I thought it was good for my street cred to be on vinyl . . . I love the idea that it will be a collected addition . . . in ‘Perry Como red,’ like my parents had when I was young.” Waters also worked with the world-famous, Grammywinning producer Ian Brennan on the record. They first re-recorded a commencement speech Waters gave to the Rhode Island School of Design’s graduating class of 2015. The rest of the album contains conversations and excerpts with Brennan about Waters’ latest book, Make Trouble. Even though Waters isn’t a fan of hearing his own voice, in 2014 he received a Grammy nomination for best spoken-word album with the audiobook for Carsick.

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I DON’T THINK ANYONE IN SHOW BUSINESS HAS SELF-CONFIDENCE, TO BE HONEST . . . BECAUSE WHY ELSE WOULD THEY GO INTO A FIELD WHERE STRANGERS HAVE TO LIKE US TO MAKE A LIVING? – JOHN WATERS

”

Waters starts off Make Trouble by explaining how he was kicked out of his college dormitory due to his first ever scandal involving cannabis. So did that experience scare him away from the wacky-tobaccy? “I have pot for my guests, but I don’t smoke much, as it makes me worry,” he divulges. “Maybe once in a while with my friend, Frankie. On a Friday night we’ll smoke a joint, have a martini and just start ranting and laughing.” He’s obviously not against cannabis, and points out with a giggle, “I had a great time when I was young and had a great time with pot. But now that it’s legal, it’s boring.” One of the themes that stands out in John Waters’ work, and particularly throughout Make Trouble, is his never-ending well of self-confidence, patience and persistence. Throughout his career, Waters has had his share of negativity. So what’s his secret to dealing with adversity and maintaining his confidence? “I don’t think anyone in show business has self-confidence, to be honest,” he remarks. “Because why else would they go into a field where strangers have to like us to make a living? My secret is you have to believe for real what it is you’re saying. Like when I do my show, I am exaggerating and doing it for humor, but basically everything I make fun of I really like.” And that’s why his career has lasted so long. Everything that John Waters likes, we Earthlings seem to like, too.

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E N T E R TA I N M E N T

TOP DAWG CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO LUNA REYNA

COURTESY OF GREAT DANE

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fter wandering off on my own to catch TOKiMONSTA’s set at What The Festival 2015, I found my crew at another stage completely enthralled by a face-melting, bassinfused, hip-hop-laden mixture on stage. As if the sound waves hit us all at the same time, my friends and I looked at one another in excitement, moving with the beat, getting closer to the stage to get a better look at the man behind the music. That man was Great Dane, Co-founder of the L.A.based collective of producers and beatmakers known as Team Supreme. Great Dane, aka Dane Morris, challenged himself and Preston James (aka Virtual Boy and one half of Penthouse Penthouse) to make a oneminute beat in one hour using a set BPM and vocal samples from The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Mo Money Mo Problems.” They used the Biggie lyric, “My team supreme, stay clean/triple beam lyrical dream, I be that,” and the name Team Supreme stuck and the first TS members were selected. Their beat-making challenges were released for free online as mixtapes, which proved crucial to the growth and sound of each individual producer in the collective, as well as the growing TS fan base. Eventually the mixes stopped, and each TS member went on to make music and tour solo— until recently.

ONCE YOU PUT YOUR VOICE ON SOMETHING, IT’S KIND OF LIKE OPENING UP YOUR SOUL A LITTLE BIT. The TS crew has brought back their beat sharing experiment, but with a new twist: “Pass The Aux” started in March of last year. Before shows, members of TS allow young, up-andcoming beatmakers to bring tracks of their own to showcase to the audience. “We poke fun at each other, like, ‘Yo, what kinda 808 [drum machine] is that?’” Morris laughs. “Or, ‘What sample pack you usin’, bro?’ Stuff like that. But it’s all in a loving, fun, encouraging way.” But it’s more than giving people an opportunity to share their beats to a crowd. “The cool thing we found out about doing [“Pass The Aux”] is that . . . there are a lot of little music communities that are coming out to the show and then meeting each other in real life. They had no idea their neighbors were doing the same thing they we’re doing, so it’s really cool to connect people to that.”

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The pleasure Morris finds in music and the community is palpable. But Morris wasn’t always a producer. He’s a singer who majored in vocal performance, and up until recently hadn’t merged his beats and voice together. “Putting vocals on things seemed harder to do,” he reveals. “I think mostly it’s just being self-conscious. Once you put your voice on something, it’s kind of like opening up your soul a little bit. It’s a tough balance. You want to be able to express yourself with all the tools you have, and your voice is a huge one. When I saw [my] song “To Stay” take off and do really well, the payoff was insane. It just felt so rewarding to have people that know my lyrics . . . but then again, I just want to do what makes me happy, and making beats makes me really happy.” Outside of his music Morris has been vocal on his social platforms about everything from women’s rights to racism and white privilege. “I have kind of turned into an activist by default,” he explains. “I’m trying to help in every way I can without basically turning my twitter into a political twitter. Riding the line of, ‘Hey here’s my new music,’ but also, ‘Women are people!’” he laughs, adding, “In case [people] didn’t fuckin’ know that.” Coming from a family of strong women—including his mother and grandmother, who were always the head of their households—the degradation of women’s rights doesn’t sit well with Morris, which is why the rape allegations against Gaslamp Killer during the #MeToo campaign hit close to home. Morris has toured with Gaslamp Killer, a fellow electronic musician. “I don’t know him super well,” Morris notes, “but obviously it was definitely the one that hit closest to home of all the [allegation] stories. It’s heartbreaking. It’s been hard for me to even articulate how I feel about it . . . Men need to call each other out and say, ‘That’s not okay,’ in the moment. If they know something about someone, then they need to be the ones to shed a light on it as well.” Artists like Great Dane have been breaking genre-confining boundaries from the jump, introducing the world to new ways of discovering and engaging with music. Expect to hear much more from this powerhouse producer in the years to come. @GRRRREATDANE @GRRRREATDANE @GRRREATDANE

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LAS VEGASâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; VERSATILE, POETIC HIP-HOP DUO LISSA TOWNSEND RODGERS

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s soon as rapper Nat the Lioness and bassist CoCo Jenkins began creating music together, Nat found herself asking the question: “In our music, why don’t we not cater to just one audience—why don’t we expand? We can do whatever we feel, but with that hip-hop base.” As Nat & CoCo, the duo has been creating a buzz around Las Vegas with their unique, stripped-down style. Essentially, it’s Nat’s free-flying rhymes and Coco’s cello accompaniment. With verbal acuity and a dark, semi-acoustic sound, it’s a giant step away from the current trends of simple couplet rhymes and elaborate, computer-generated production. Their sound is more likely to evoke comparisons to the RZA or Portishead than Lil Yachty. The project’s fluid nature isn’t a temporary state, but part of an overall plan. “We’re doing this together, with us as the foundation, but the idea is to incorporate different homies across the spectrum of musicianship,” emphasizes CoCo. The pair have invited rappers, beatboxers, producers and even santoor players to add flavor to their sound. Nat feels that Las Vegas offers something to this kind of collaboration that her former home didn’t. “Being from L.A.,” she observes, “people will cut you off, just be into their own clique and not really expand. But out here, people are just more accepting . . . It’s just a different kind of emotional connection.” With CoCo based in Las Vegas and Nat in Los Angeles, the two musicians made their connection via the Internet. “I saw Nat on Cypher Effect,” CoCo recalls. “It was like, ‘Wow, she is fire! Who is that? I don’t know who she is, but her flow is so dope! What she’s rhyming about is dope!’” The pair missed meeting up during a Las Vegas Warped Tour stop—Nat had been on the tour, but didn’t play Vegas; Jenkins had played it a few years earlier—so CoCo looked her up on a later trip to Los Angeles. “I went to L.A. and I thought, ‘Let me hit her up and see if she’s down to link,’” CoCo recalls, “‘and we can chop it up and see if we can work on stuff.’ We kicked it, we vibed, it was good energy and I was like, ‘Yo, come out to Vegas!’”

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So Nat did. “That first weekend that I came out here was our first time ever practicing, rehearsing, doing anything together—and we did a show,” laughs CoCo. “We literally stayed up all night, rehearsed until 3AM. ” Their oneoff was enthusiastically received and turned into an ongoing project, and Nat relocated to Las Vegas. “I knew she was going to be taken care of, the way the community reacted to her,” insists CoCo. While the two grew up far apart, they both came to their love of music early. “All I heard growing up was jazz,” remarks CoCo. “I didn’t hear Earth, Wind & Fire, I didn’t hear Al Green, I didn’t hear any of the standard black music repertoire. But I heard Miles [Davis] and [John] Coltrane and Herbie [Hancock].” She began playing cello at age 11, when her mother accidentally signed her up for orchestra instead of band. She later picked up the conventional six-string bass during high school.

THEIR SOUND IS MORE LIKELY TO EVOKE COMPARISONS TO THE RZA OR PORTISHEAD THAN LIL YACHTY. “I’ve always loved music since I was a small child,” shares Nat, recalling how she and her brother used to record raps in the closet as kids (they were Kriss Kross fans). “I’ve been writing raps for eight years—poetry since I was, like, 13. I’ve been in the church choirs, I was in drama.” But now the duo is looking toward the future. “I feel like we’re just bringing out new things in one another,” notes Nat. “I’m starting to sing and she’s starting to rap, and I don’t really do that.” CoCo agrees: “We’re pushing each other creatively.” They’re also debating whether to come up with a new handle that will be more all-inclusive than just “Nat & CoCo,” and reflect the collaborations they hope to create. “I’m excited and looking forward to playing with everybody,” declares CoCo. “It’s going to be dope.”

”

@MCAXXEL_FOLEY | @NAT_THE_LIONESS

@COCOJENKINSBASS | @NATTHELIONESS

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THE ORIGIN OF THE JAZZ CIGARETTE JAKE UITTI

ve r yo n e’s h e a rd t h e t e r m “ j a z z cigarette” before. It’s a ubiquitous little phrase that, in today’s era, is more comical than anything else. It’s a slang term uttered with a smirk that veils its actual meaning: a joint. The term, coined in the 1920s in jazz clubs and brothels where jazz musicians played, was appropriate in its original use. Jazz artists would use cannabis to bolster their improvisational imaginations and, unlike whiskey or beer, weed allowed them to play long into the night without slowing down.

D O P E M AGA Z I N E .CO M

That’s the simple history of the term. But the more difficult, in-depth history of the jazz cigarette, which is inseparable from jazz music, marijuana, race and the American legal system, is much murkier and harder to swallow. Around the turn of the twentieth century, New Orleans was one of the most popular, festive and debauched U.S. cities. With ports, sailors, tradesmen and music, the city—which had its own profitable red light district—was a favorite among travelers and cavorters. And “jazz cigarettes” were right in the middle of it all. But with New Orleans’ gallivanting reality came naysayers, of course. Jazz musicians—especially the great ones of the 1920s—were predominantly black. And these black musicians often used marijuana, just as their white counterparts in the clubs and brothels did. Various organizations, caught up in false claims of drug addiction, menacing behavior and outright madness, convinced Americans and those at the top of the government food chain, that marijuana— particularly in the hands of popular, prolific black musicians—was a danger to society.

“

As a result, swift laws were passed, harsher penalties were cast down, and those who loved jazz cigarettes were in deep danger. But by the mid-1920s, the issue crept outside Louisiana and into the black districts of New York City, specifically Harlem. And as time passed, popularity in jazz cigarettes—and all things marijuana—only increased in nationwide popularity, despite the handful of groups trying to quell its allure. By the 1930s, “reefer songs” and places to smoke called “tea pads” were all the rage among the hip. Weed was beginning to trickle into Europe. Yet all the while, the music culture surrounding cannabis remained under fire. Nevertheless, jazz, its players and the jazz cigarettes they smoked wouldn’t fold. Instead, more marijuana-related music came out, like Cab Calloway’s “Reefer Man” and Benny Goodman’s “Texas Tea Party.” And, in the end, it’s because of these efforts that the term “jazz cigarette” remains popular to this very day, on the tips of the tongues of happy marijuana users and music listeners alike.

JAZZ ARTISTS WOULD USE CANNABIS TO BOLSTER THEIR IMPROVISATIONAL IMAGINATIONS AND, UNLIKE WHISKEY OR BEER, WEED ALLOWED THEM TO PLAY LONG INTO THE NIGHT WITHOUT SLOWING DOWN.

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“MOMMIN’ AINT EASY” BRACELET AND POT LEAF ACCESSORIES BY DEVIANT IMPRESSIONS Deviant Impressions has got something for everyone, but DOPE was particularly excited about highlighting a gift for the Moms out there. If your Mama is of the cannabis-smoking variety, she’s sure to love this Mommin’ Ain’t Easy bracelet. Each bracelet is individually hand-stamped, giving the lettering slight variations in the spacing, depth of impression and alignment, making each bracelet unique. BRACELETS: $15.00 | KEYCHAIN: $10.99 | NECKLACE: $23.00 | RING: $10.99 ETSY.COM/SHOP/DEVIANTIMPRESSIONS @DEVIANTIMPRESSIONS @DEVIANTIMPRESSIONS

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ister Kate is certainly not your typical nun. In fact, most people would not consider her a nun at all, but Sister Kate and the Sisters of The Valley emulate five elements of a traditional convent lifestyle—with their own variations, of course. As is expected in the monastic community, the sisters live together on the property. They wear the same clothes, take a vow of obedience (to the moon cycles), a vow of chastity (which doesn’t require celibacy) and a vow of ecology, which means they must do no harm while making products. It was this very commitment toward ecology that led to

Sister Kate becoming a self-proclaimed nun. Sister Kate started Sisters of The Valley as a company dedicated to erasing the negative stigmas surrounding cannabis while uniting women who believe in the plant’s healing powers. Following the moon cycles, the sisters only manufacture cannabis from the new moon to full moon and hold a ceremony under the stars to bless their work table while giving thanks to Creator God and Mother Goddess for calling them to this profession. As driven activists, the Sisters of The Valley are “on a mission to empower people to heal themselves.” Their array of products reflect

this ethos, including cannabidiol-infused oils, tinctures, salves, gel caps and even a clary sage spray—in case you can’t burn sage on the go! The Sisters continue to ordain new nuns into their order in hopes of changing perceptions about the healing power of cannabis and the importance of respecting “the breadth and depth of the gifts of Mother Earth,” shares Kate. SISTERSOFCBD.COM @SISTERSOFTHEVALLEY @SISTERSOFTHEVALLEY

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JONAH TACOMA

D O P E M AGA Z I N E .CO M

he flight from Seattle to Las Vegas, N ev a d a , w a s a s h o r t o n e ; I h a d made the trip over a dozen times in the last year, but one was standing out in my head above the others. Vegas had become something of a mecca for cannabis trade shows, and there seemed to be a new industry event popping up in Sin City every other month. In spite of its apparent liberal leanings, Nevadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s approach to cannabis had been notoriously conservative in the past. Possessing even a tenth of a gram would catch you a felony in the state until November of 2000 when medical use for chronically ill patients was approved, setting the groundwork for full recreational adult use on January 1, 2017.

I came here for funding three years ago w h e n my ow n c a n n a b i s b u s i n e s s w a s beginning to take off. I had started a lifestyle brand based around the dabbing scene that was coming online in 2012; the medical market was already in full swing on the West Coast and starting to produce its own cannabis rockstars. I jokingly dubbed them Dabstars and began posting mugshot-style photos with small biographies for captions to our social media. Before I knew it, we were touring the country and reaching millions of cannabis enthusiasts each week. The plane screeched to a landing at McCarran International airport, jolting me from my thoughts. Duane Woods and Nick Woodward of Ekho Solutions greeted me at the terminal. They had started as liquor reps for Jesse James Bourbon, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d spent some wild times on the road together in the past.

The boys lit up a pair of oversized joints and began passing them around the car. I grimaced as we passed the Wynn. It was here that I met our New York investors for the first time. They had flown me out in style, picking me up in a limousine and renting the top floor of the luxury hotel. An attempt at shock and awe, which had admittedly worked on this small town boy from the mountains of Colorado. What followed was an unparalleled weekend of drugs and debauchery not fit for print in any magazine worth its ink. Suffice it to say, I nearly lost everything that trip and ended up rohypnoled and broke with a $10,000 hospital bill for my troubles. The whole thing had left me with a kind of Vegas PTSD that still had not worn off in the years since... A client scored us a suite at Treasure Island and we headed up to cover the smoke detectors for a quick dab sesh before heading

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THE MIXED LEGAL ENVIRONMENT MAKES IT TRICKY FOR UPAND-COMING BRANDS LOOKING TO BRANCH OUT OF THEIR HOME STATES AND ONTO THE NATIONAL SCENE.

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”

out into the streets. This was a work trip, but you wouldn’t know it from the look of us. Cannabis was not for the Harvard MBA—these were normal, red-blooded Americans who saw cannabis as their last real chance at the American dream. The federal government had allowed the cannabis industry to flourish under the Obama administration, even enacting federal protections for states with cannabis laws on the books. These protections would later be altered by Trump-appointed Attorney General Jeff Sessions, further muddying the waters. The mixed legal environment makes it tricky for up-and-coming brands looking to branch out of their home states and onto the national scene. Federal laws still prohibit and harshly punish interstate trafficking, ultimately reducing the industry to regional factions, with each legal state boasting a handful of breakout brands. Nevada was a new slice in the pie and many of these brands now found themselves in Las Vegas, entrenched in backdoor negotiations with those lucky enough to have scored a license to produce in the state. Vegas itself is no ordinary city. Annual revenue here exceeded 25 billion dollars in 2016, catering to a staggering 40 million tourists each year. For an up-and-coming cannabis brand looking to be the next Coke or Pepsi, Vegas is a chance to expose their product to a national market.

Founded in 1905 from the deserts of what once was Mexico, Las Vegas sprang to life as a small water stop on the trade routes from Mexico to California. It was not until 1931—when construction began on the Hoover Dam, thus quadrupling the population in Las Vegas proper—the true makings of a city would emerge. Recognizing the potential to cash in, Nevada legislators reversed their previously conservative stances, passing a bill to legalize gambling that same year and giving birth to the Vegas we know today. Here we were, decades later, and Nevada is cashing in again, clearing a cool 3.7 million in revenue during the first month of recreational cannabis sales. This nearly doubles Colorado’s first month of revenue, while covering a population gap of more than 3.5 million people and an insatiable tourist market. I woke up early day two, shaking off the previous night’s festivities in the oversized, cascade-style shower, the endless supply of hot water slowly bringing me back to life. Hailing a cab I arrived at Essence, one of the dozen or so dispensaries now licensed in the area. A small sign split the line into medical and recreational customers and I took my place behind a group of tourists buying legal cannabis for their first time. Smiling, I spotted a few standouts in the display case. Vegas had its share of homegrown cannabis brands, but I was surprised to see some familiar West Coast brands alongside the locals. Fo r t h e f o r w a r d - t h i n k i n g c a n n a b i s entrepreneur, the map was beginning to look a lot like a chess board, and Vegas was beginning to look like the golden goose—a chance to reach a broader market in an industry wracked with growing pains and stifled by regional restrictions. W h a t eve r t h e f u t u r e wo u l d b e , t h e momentum seems unstoppable: Cannabis is here to stay, and (for now) the people who made it possible still have a stake in the game. This was always an industry of believers, and as I took once more for the skies towards Seattle, I was proud to count myself among them. Next stop, Hawaii... DABSTARS.COM @JONAH_TACOMA

F E B R UA RY 2 0 18

QUESTIONS TO ASK ...before you invest in an enzyme formula IS IT REGISTERED WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AS AN ENZYME? Any enzyme product that claims to benefit the root zone must be registered in California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. This registration process protects consumers by authenticating products in the market. Online databases are available to check product registration. Make sure the product is registered as an enzyme, not as a fertilizer.

ARE ENZYMES LISTED ON THE LABEL AS ACTIVE INGREDIENTS?

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ARE CLAIMS TO BENEFIT THE ROOT ZONE ON THE LABEL?

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DOES IT PASS THE TISSUE TEST?

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The fresh, bright flavor of tangerines is intense, filling my senses as I take my first sharp inhale of tangy smoke. The heady effects come on a moment later, gradually building in my brain like ripened fruit ready to be picked. The sensation spills into my nerves and muscles, silencing my stress and anxiety with sweet relief. Before long, its nocturnal genetics take over and sweet sleep is all I crave.

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rownies are near and dear to my heart, so I had no trouble accepting this assignment. I unwrapped the package to discover what looked like a piece of chocolate chip cake with walnuts—it looked amazing! To my delight, the cake was moist on the inside and a little crunchy on the outside, with an even bake throughout. The chocolate chips reminded me of semi-sweet chips. My

first overall thought? “Perfection.” The flavor is similar to a classic chocolate chip cookie. About an hour after eating a quarter of the bar, a strong high came on slowly. I began to feel mildly euphoric and my pain quickly faded. My muscles relaxed enough to take on the day, with effects lasting about three hours. I felt creative and was inspired to take photographs and write the afternoon away.

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snap open the protective case to my disposable cartridge from Sunday Goods on my morning hike, eager to meet the premium Lemon Jack concentrate within—a blend of the everpopular Jack Herer coupled with classic, citradelic Lemon Kush. My first pull takes some extra lung power to break the seal before releasing a healthy plume of sativa-dominant vapor that goes down full and smooth. Mellow flavors of creamy citrus linger on my lips like a soft kiss as I exhale a satisfying hit. A bright relief builds behind my eyes, releasing endorphins and calming my cerebral anxiety. A few tokes later and I’m completely at peace, able to focus on the brilliant beauty all around me as my body releases its tension. Returning to the vape pen periodically throughout my day, I found the effects to be of the same high quality, making this the perfect companion, consistent to the last drop. PRODUCED & PROVIDED BY SUNDAY GOODS SUNDAYGOODS.COM @SUNDAYGOODS

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ana Meds is hands down one of the best cultivations in Arizona today. Mother company to Dutchie, DroPak, Love, Carissa, Dirty Girl and Nice Bug, they feature a wide variety of products to meet any patient’s needs and standards. Split between two sites, the master grow lays nestled in the quiet town of Chino Valley, spanning 50 plus acres, seven of which are dedicated to cultivation. Overseeing the ‘cleaner-than-clean’ operation is Master Grower Trevor, who came out with his team from San Dimas six years ago in hopes of “elevating standards [and] maintaining quality control [in a] growth-oriented environment,” he shares. The perpetual cultivation is expertly staffed twentyfour hours a day and fills approximately 40,000 square feet with more than 2,100 plants, split between a fully automated hydroponics greenhouse and a meticulously tuned hoop-house, coco-soil crop. Cultivating more than 80 strains at any given time, 42 are harvested every 68 days to be dried in their curing room, filled floor to ceiling with mouth-watering strains like Gorilla Wreck, Bubba Kush and Alien OG. From there, the dried flower is transported to the Tempe facility for processing and packaging. Included onsite is a germinating/stablegenetics testing lab and an additional 10,000-squarefoot indoor grow, also split between soil and hydroponics. Each plant is given more than one foot of circumference, ensuring plenty of room to “bushel” and “lollipop,” according to Rudi, Tempe’s Master Grower. “We can get a bigger yield this way,” he told me, “and too many plants can become too difficult to manage. Less is definitely more here, but our quality makes it worth it.” The pristine, well-trimmed, resin-caked, glittering sea of green before my eyes said it all. I couldn’t agree with Trevor more that Hana Meds is absolutely “providing the best-quality medicine to the state of Arizona.”

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LESS IS DEFINITELY MORE HERE, BUT OUR QUALITY MAKES IT WORTH IT. – RUDI, HANA MEDS’ TEMPE SITE MASTER GROWER

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F E B R UA RY 2 0 18

GLASS

UDDERLY BADASS ROB MORRISON’S “SELF PORTRAIT #1” WIND HOME

n outstanding artist in many mediums, Rob Morrison created this piece as a reflection of himself, titling it “Self Portrait #1.” The piece was made in October 2017 and is the first of his rapidly growing selfportrait series. Rob’s inspiration to start this project was the desire to make a more personal series that reflected his own life. Rob, although ablebodied, suffers from serious chronic pain. I’m certain some days he feels a walker would make it easier to get around. The walker, by the way, was added after the cow portion of the piece was finished—it didn’t stand correctly, and he needed to find a way to sturdy it up a bit. This piece is currently available for purchase, along with several other self-portraits from the series. Contact Rob via Instagram (@ rmorrisonglass) for more info. His glass can be purchased both retail and wholesale, and select pieces were recently shown in Las Vegas at the American Glass Expo in January.

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PROFILE

CONTEMPORARY CABARETâ&#x20AC;¦WITH A TWIST JESSE PERRY

COURTESY OF PYRRHA SUTRA

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he first time I saw Pyrrha Sutra, my standard of entertainment changed forever. I recall peering over a fourth floor railing to see her on the pool deck below as she began one of her performances. With leather-clad dancers on either side of her and synchronized mermaid swimmers at her feet, the night caught fire as she performed an unforgettable display of acrobatics and pyrotechnics; the performance culminating in her lighting a blunt with flames that shot from her nipple pasties. Born Christy Decker, Sutra was raised in Arizona with a family well-rooted in the entertainment business. Her uncle, Louis Crandall, was creator of the Wild West-themed amusement park Legend City in Tempe. Growing up around performers, classical dancers and musicians, Christy found herself “fascinated with Old Hollywood glamour,” she recalls, and decided from an early age that she “was going to grow up and be like that.” But it wasn’t until her introduction to 1960s burlesque legend Angel Walker that Christy would become Pyrrha Sutra, her fiery onstage persona. Around that same time, Christy’s unique talents were gaining recognition. In 2004, she was asked to design a burlesque variety show for a nightclub in Phoenix called Palazzo, owned by former Studio 54 set designer Steve Rogers. This is where Pyrrha Sutra stepped in, and with the guidance of her mentor, Angel Walker, Pyrrha conceptualized and choreographed “Scandalesque,” a popular burlesque show. This prestigious, provocative spectacle was a variety show that entailed burlesque, aerial acrobatics, pyrotechnics, vocalists and circus-style entertainment featuring whips, chains, latex and so much more. The show’s reputation quickly gained notoriety, propelling Pyrrha into a career that would take her on world tours and get her airtime on MTV and the Travel Channel.

“

GROWING UP AROUND PERFORMERS, CLASSICAL DANCERS AND MUSICIANS, CHRISTY FOUND HERSELF ‘FASCINATED WITH OLD HOLLYWOOD GLAMOUR’. . .

F E B R UA RY 2 0 18

”

In 2013, however, Pyrrha fell on hard times. With several deaths in her immediate family, a divorce, and an unhealthy relationship with her business partner, she was “burnt out.” “All the glitter was gone,” remembers Pyrrha. “I got tired of perfecting my persona, instead of [perfecting] myself as a human being . . . so that’s what I did.” After taking the necessary time to process her grief and make some tough decisions, Pyrrha emerged from the ashes of her despair like a fiery phoenix. This time, she did so under her own label, PS Presents. In 2014, Pyrrha moved to L.A. in search of what was next. She focused on her craft, developed business relationships and worked with a wide variety of performers and charities that she remains connected to today. A year and a half later, Pyrrha moved back from L.A. to settle in the desert. “It was a short stay, but I got a lot done,” she remarks of her time in the City of Angels. Pyrrha is currently presenting and performing in her own burlesque dinner theater called “Lavish” at the Majestic Theatre in Sedona. The Vegas-style variety show features fresh per formances that include cabaret-influenced burlesque, silk aerialists, movement artists, sultry jazz vocals, flamenco and, of course, fire! In addition to her performance life, Pyrrha also teaches ballet, tap and jazz and does freelance floral design for high-end events for clients who include Will Smith, Waylon Jennings and Alice Cooper. Truth be told, Pyrrha is a down-to-earth woman with a topshelf follow your passion attitude. Her dedication to the modern art of burlesque is a testament to her skill as a performer and showcases her understanding and respect of a long-gone era all while continuing to innovate and propel her industry to the forefront of entertainment. PSPRESENTS.COM @PSPRESENTS @PYRRHASUTRAPRESENTS

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RECIPE

APPROVED BY THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA HERSELF! LAURIE AND MARYJANE

ears and years ago, during cooking school, I worked for Ina Garten (“The Barefoot Contessa”) on a bunch of catering events in East Hampton, New York. For those of you not familiar with that part of the world, it’s pretty divine, save the traffic and houses that can rent for $300,000 dollars for a summer month or two. It’s there, under The Barefoot Contessa’s watchful eye, where I learned to make these Chocolate Biscotti. The addition of cannabis and a bit of espresso powder make these the best biscotti I’ve ever tasted. Per fect for Valentine’s Day, the biggest chocolate celebration of the year! LAURIEANDMARYJANE.COM

INSTRUCTIONS

INGREDIENTS Yield: 30 pieces, 2 per serving

Heat oven to 340ºF.

2 cups 1/2 cup 2 tsp. 1 tsp. 1 dash 6 tbsp. 1 cup 2 1 tsp. 6 oz. 2 oz. 1 oz.

In a large bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda and salt.

In an electric mixer, beat the cannabutter with the sugar and the eggs for two minutes. Add the vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir to combine.

White all-purpose flour Unsweetened cocoa Espresso powder Baking soda Salt Canna-butter Granulated sugar Eggs Vanilla Chocolate chips Chopped dates Pecans, chopped

4. Add chocolate, dates and pecans to the dough and mix well. 5.

Divide into three pieces and roll each piece into a six-inch log. Place a sheet of parchment on a baking sheet. Place the three logs of dough on the baking sheet. Flatten a bit. Bake for 28 minutes. Allow to cool.

6. When cool, carefully cut the rolls on the diagonal into ½ inch slices. 7.

Lower oven to 325°F.

8. Bake the individual slices on parchment paper for six minutes per side.

9. If you want to make them a little more special, dip the biscotti slices halfway into melted chocolate. Allow to set.

D O P E M AGA Z I N E .CO M

LIFESTYLE

STRIPPING AWAY THE NEGATIVE STIGMA JESSE PERRY

COURTESY OF ELLE AIME PHOTOGRAPHY

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here is, without a doubt, an image that pops into everyone’s mind when hearing the words ‘pole dancer’—a scantily-clad woman in sixinch stilettos twirling to a song by White Snake, collecting dollar bills in her florescent G-String. Of course, that’s not how the art of pole began, nor where it is headed. Pole dancing originated in China during the 12th Century. Circus professionals, like today’s Cirque du Soleil performers, would use a rubberized (or ‘stickied’) pole made of bamboo, wider and taller than today’s poles. These predominantly male per formers were fully clothed in ornate costumes and showcased feats of great strength and agility, including positions still used today, such as ‘the flag’— hanging outstretched at a 90° angle. Indian culture similarly has pole traditions tracing back hundreds of years called “Mallakhamb,” which translates to “wrestler of the pole.” These wooden poles were used for training and would be slicked with oil, requiring athletes to train nearly nude and barefoot. Playful competition would often inspire techniques beyond standard training, such as running and flipping directly onto the pole. Fast for ward to the American movement. Said to have originated in the 1920s during the Great Depression, traveling fairs would entertain tent c a m p s a n d s h a n t y t ow n s w i t h Vaudevillian-style variety acts. The Hoochie Coochie dancers, as they were known, used the poles and splints holding up the tent as their stage as they swayed suggestively in front of the crowd, bringing smiles to faces—and earning a few extra dollars in the process. The movement began to evolve, influenced by belly dancers from the Middle East, as well as French per formers of the Moulin Rouge and Latin Tango dancers, resulting i n a m o r e e xo t i c a r t f o r m . T h i s contemporary dance incorporated the striptease, an ancient Sumerian dance used by Inanna, the Goddess of Love, to pass through the seven gates of the underworld; at each gate, she was forced to remove one item of clothing to continue her journey.

F E B R UA RY 2 0 18

Although this ancient, expressive art form developed a seedy stigma in the Western World, the contemporary version is starting to shift away from lowbrow venues and backdoor night clubs. In 1994, the craze started to take shape with the advent of pole fitness classes taught by Fawnia Dietrich, a world-renowned Pole Artist who now operates her own Pole Fitness Studio, teaching classes to thousands all over the world. This opened the floodgates in the U.S. to men and women interested in discovering a new form of self-expression to fit their active lifestyles. Over the next 20 years, the scene would further develop into a thriving “Pole Community” rife with opportunities for athletic and artistic performances alike. One such company is Flux Vertical Theatre, a Bay Area dance company founded in 2015 that specializes i n t h e d i ve r s e a r t o f p o l e p e r f o r m a n c e , ra n g i n g from the risqué to f a m i l y - f r i e n d l y. Conceptualized by two runaway circus performers with a lifetime of experience in dance and musical theatre, Leah Marie and Kirsten Gerding, the two joined forces to create a contemporar y performance that challenged the modern concept of pole while simultaneously embracing its full-spectrum diversity. “The initial idea was to create a dance company with a one-way stigma and force people to look at it in a different light,” declares Co-founder Kirsten. “We provide a safe space for people to perform in a way they never felt they could before.” “But we’re not strippers,” adds Co-founder Leah. “We see the pole as an apparatus, a tool. It’s a like dance partner.” These perspectives are challenging Old World ways of thinking and elevating the fine art of pole performance. Although the pole will never lose its place in strip clubs, it may soon find a home in the Olympics. That’s right, the International Olympic Committee is currently being petitioned to include pole as a professional sport. We’ll just have to wait and see if pole will finally be given the athletic credit it deserves.

“

WE SEE THE POLE AS AN APPARATUS, A TOOL. IT’S LIKE A DANCE PARTNER – LEAH MARIE, CO-FOUNDER OF FLUX

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