Echo Magazine - Arizona LGBTQ Lifestyle - Mar 2020 by OUTvoices Phoenix (former Echo Magazine)

ECHO EATS

SINK YOUR TEETH INTO OUR ANNUAL FOOD ISSUE LGBTQ NEWS, VIEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT | Vol. 31, #6 | Issue 726 | March 2020 | COMPLIMENTARY

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INSIDE THIS

Courtesy of Sushi Roku.

ISSUE Issue 726 | Vol. 31, #6 | March 2020

NEWS 8 Editor’s Note 12 News Briefs 14 Datebook

COMMUNITY 46 52 54 56 58 60 62 64

Without Reservations Bands At the Box Oﬃce Opening Nights Recordings Between the Covers Talking Bodies Not That You Asked

Out & About 16 Echo Night Out at Cabaret 18 One Community Block Party for Equality one 24 Fresh Brunch 38 Women’s March 67 Project Nunway: Nunder the Sea 70 RipplePHX Winter Carnival 72 Honoring Phoenix Legends

Eat Your Veggies! Michelle Talsma Everson makes your mouth water with a look at several exquisite vegan and vegetarian dishes from around the Valley. Read about what makes up these tasty plates and what the chefs say about these meat-free options.

Nikki Knowles by Silas Gutierrez

ON THE COVER Wood roasted carrots at /p r’sepSH( )n/. Photo by Maria Vassett.

ECHO EATS

SINK YOUR TEETH INTO OUR ANNUAL FOOD ISSUE LGBTQ NEWS, VIEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT | Vol. 31, #6 | Issue 726 | March 2020 | COMPLIMENTARY

MARCH 2020

ECHOMAG.COM

Bevvy Uptown adds a drag brunch to their menu Plenty of folks live for brunch. This Phoenix restaurant decided to spice theirs up by adding drag queens to the menu. Tim Rawles fills you in on the details. Stop in to get served!

Trixie Mattel. Photo by Albert Sanchez.

New event alert: Loteria

RipplePHX strives to make new strides in addressing HIV in Maricopa County’s Latinx community. Tom Reardon talks to Ripple’s Jason Jones about their new Lotería Project, the fun weekly event that builds community through in-person engagement.

Family mealtime adventures Kimberly Blaker wants to see more on kids’ plates than chicken nuggets. Join her for a tour of culinary dishes and customs to share with your young eaters.

Megan Greenwood.

Opening Nights: Trixie Mattel

Meet Megan Greenwood When this Phoenix transplant realized her love of brewing beer, she went next-level with her passion. Tom Reardon talks to the founder and owner of Greenwood Brewing.

What doesn’t Trixie do? This singer, actress, and season 3 winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars is on tour with a Phoenix stop on March 13. Ashley Naftule caught up with this dynamo to talk about a variety of topics, including Drag Race, working with a full band, and honeybees.

WEB EXCLUSIVE It’s all about /p r’sepSH( )n/ The recently-opened central Phoenix restaurant has been earning rave reviews. Echo’s Jeﬀ Kronenfeld dives into this modern eatery’s dishes and development. Visit echomag.com/persepshen-phoenix-2020 for the delicious details.

Jason Dwight of /p r’sepSH( )n/. Photo by Maria Vassett.

ECHOMAG.COM

MARCH 2020

EDITOR’S NOTE By Amy Young

ungry? If not, Echo’s annual Food Issue might get you there.

See those carrots on the cover? The Echo crew tried a pan of the gorgeous orange veg after the crew at /p r’sepSH( )n/ roasted and adorned them with barbecue sauce, peppadew peppers, and crispy onions and we were collectively hooked. Our primary food critic Jeff Kronenfeld ventured to this Cen-Pho spot to try a variety of their menu options. An Echo web exclusive this month, visit our site for his full review. Michelle Talsma Everson presents several solid cases for plant-based eating in her round up of exquisite vegetarian and vegan dishes from restaurants Valley wide. From beet burgers to artfully-crafted vegan sushi, these highlight just some of the many meatless options available. Drag brunch in a sports bar? Why not? Bevvy Uptown has packed the menu with delish options like huevos rancheros, sweet potato protein pancakes, and a churro waffle. If that wasn’t tasty enough, they upped the enticement by making it a drag brunch event. Tim Rawles got entertained by some local drag performers and sampled some food, too. Sometimes beer is food, right? Megan

Greenwood is about to open her own brewery in downtown Phoenix, making her spot Arizona’s first woman-owned-andoperated brewery. Tom Reardon talks to her about Greenwood Brewing and how she got into making her own beer. We’ve also got a review of Deez Buns, whose name alone makes it a must-visit destination, and Kimberly Blaker’s list of cultural dishes to help broaden the palates of young diners.

LGBTQ NEWS, VIEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT PUBLISHER: Bill Orovan ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Bill Gemmill EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR: Amy Young CONTRIBUTORS:

Food for thought: RipplePHX is tireless in their mission to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS. Their new Lotería Project serves to educate while attendees gather at the welcoming Stacy’s @ Melrose to play Lotería (AKA Mexican Bingo). A team of eight Latinx community leaders put a lot of work into creating this important and informational event. Tom Reardon got the scoop from the org’s Jason Jones.

Kimberly Blaker Grace Bolyard Edward Castro Jenna Duncan Buddy Early Michelle Talsma Everson Melissa Fossum Tamara Juarez Justin Keane Jason Kron Jeff Kronenfeld

And if change in this country is something you’re hungry for, remember to vote in 2020!

ART DEPARTMENT

Amy Young is the managing editor of Echo Magazine. A longtime journalist, her work has appeared in numerous publications, regional to international. Please contact her at editor@ echomag.com.

Laura Latzko Logan Lowrey-Rasmussen Tuesday Mahrle Judy McGuire Ashley Naftule David-Elijah Nahmod Tia Norris Timothy Rawles Tom Reardon Terri Schlichenmeyer Colby Tortorici

PHOTOGRAPHY: nightfuse.com. ADVERTISING DIRECTOR OF SALES AND MARKETING: Ashlee James ECHO READERSHIP: 50,000 SUBSCRIPTIONS: $29/year ACE PUBLISHING, INC.

MEMBER:

Echo Magazine is published by ACE Publishing, Inc. Echo is a registered trademark of ACE Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Written permission must be obtained in advance for partial or complete reproduction of any advertising material contained therein. Opinions expressed therein are not necessarily those of the publisher or staff. ACE Publishing, Inc. does not assume responsibility for claims by its advertisers or advice columnists. Publication of a name, photograph of an individual or organization in articles, advertisements or listings is not to be construed as an indication of the sexual orientation, unless such orientation is specifically stated. Manuscripts or other materials submitted remain the property of ACE Publishing, Inc. 8

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ASOCIACION DE PROVEEDORES MEDICOS EN PHOENIX Dr. Douglas Cunningham Pueblo Family Physicians, Ltc. Nosotros ofrecemos el envio por correo de las pruebas casera de autoexamen para el VIH. Si usted esta interesado por favor. Visite nuestra pagina del web: CANHIVTEST.ORG

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NEWS BRIEFS

LGBTQ rights advocate Mary Griﬃth (with husband Bob) on the set of Prayers for Bobby. Photo: Lifetime / Ben Mark Holzberg

transformed herself into a national crusader for LGBTQ+ youth. Brian K. Bond, Executive Director of PFLAG National, the first and largest organization for LGBTQ+ people, their parents and families, and allies, said, “The PFLAG family is deeply saddened by the loss of Mary Griffith, who led by heroic example on changing hearts and minds by sharing her personal story. After the devastating loss of her son to suicide, Mary found PFLAG and learned that one can love both their child and their faith and not have to choose between them. Mary used this personal journey to help countless other parents, so that they would not have to face the same loss that she did.”

Mary Griffith, champion of LGBTQ rights, has passed away Sigourney Weaver starred as Mary Griffith in the Emmy Award-nominated and GLAAD Award-winning movie Prayers for Bobby Courtesy of PFLAG National

ary Griffith, iconic crusader for LGBTQ equality, passed away after a lengthy illness on Friday, February 7, 2020 at her home in Walnut Creek, California. She was 85. She is survived by her husband, Robert; children Joy Griffith, Ed (Suzy) Griffith and Nancy Griffith; grandchildren Caiden, Ernesto Jesse, Jordyn, Ben and Clancy; and brother Charles Griffith. Sigourney Weaver starred as Mary Griffith in the Emmy Award-nominated — and GLAAD Award-winning Lifetime movie, Prayers for Bobby, Weaver received nominations for Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild awards for her portrayal. Based on the landmark Harper Collins book by journalist Leroy Aarons, Prayers for Bobby is the story of the emotional journey that led Bobby to his tragic conclusion, and equally so the story of Mary, a fearful churchgoer who first prayed that her son would be “healed”, then anguished when he died by suicide in 1983. Mary ultimately 12

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Continued Bond, “Mary Griffith was a force to be reckoned with, and her story — told both in the original book by Leroy Aarons and the beautiful awardwinning film Prayers for Bobby — continues to change lives around the world. We’re grateful to the Griffith family for their generosity and support of PFLAG National, which will ensure that Mary’s story continues to change the lives of LGBTQ+ people and their families. The hearts of PFLAGers everywhere are with the Griffith family.” “Mary’s life story has been embraced by millions of people globally, said Daniel Sladek, Executive Producer of Prayers for Bobby. “On behalf of myself and my producing partners Chris Taaffe and David Permut, we are heartbroken to learn of our dear friend Mary’s passing. While soft-spoken and endlessly kind, Mary’s dedication was absolute. The thousands of emails and letters we received on Mary’s behalf are validation of the impact she has made on people’s lives. She was a fierce advocate on behalf of LGBTQ equality and she will be deeply missed.” In celebration of Mary’s life, contributions can be made to PFLAG National at pflag.org/ marygriffith. Founded in 1973 after the simple act of a mother publicly supporting her gay son, PFLAG is the nation’s largest family and ally organization. PFLAG is the first and largest organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people, their parents and families, and allies. With over 400 chapters and 200,000 members and supporters crossing multiple generations of families in major urban centers, small cities, and rural areas across America, PFLAG is committed to creating a world where diversity is celebrated and all people are respected, valued, and affirmed. This vast grassroots network is cultivated, resourced, and serviced by the staff of PFLAG National, the National Board of Directors, and the all-volunteer Regional Directors Council. Visit pflag.org. NEWS

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DATEBOOK February 26

Sondheim on Sondheim runs through April 5 and features a set list of familiar favorites. Hear tunes from classical musicals like West Side Story, Follies, and Sweeney Todd. Tickets are $32. Showtime is 8 p.m. at The Phoenix Theatre Company, 1825 N. Central Ave. phoenixtheatre.com

March 1

February 29

This party is a doubleheader. The Phoenix Pride and the Greater Phoenix Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce 40th Anniversary Celebration features a DJ, appetizers, and a no-host bar all in honor of the decades of service these organizations have given to the greater community. Tickets are $25. There’s also a special announcement that will be made during this party that runs from 7 to 9 p.m. at Young’s Market, 402 S. 54th Place, in Phoenix. phoenixgaychamber.org

More than 50 local vendors will be at the Melrose Vintage Market oﬀering an array of vintage treasures in styles like midcentury modern, prewar, and deco. There’s also food trucks, coﬀee carts, and bakery items. At the Kids Zone, the little ones can play retro games like hopscotch and hula hoops. Admission is free and the fun happens from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 700 W. Campbell Ave., in Phoenix. melrosevintagemarket.com

March 7

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) advocates for LGBTQ rights. Join hosts Jeﬀ Rahm and Christiana M. Hammond at the HRC Arizona Annual Dinner Gala. The event helps support this vital organization and includes a reception, silent auction, award presentations, and an after party. Tickets range from $150 to $225. You’ll be celebrating from 5 to 9 p.m. at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn, 5402 E. Lincoln Drive, in Scottsdale. hrc.org/steering-committees/phoenix

March 14

The Brides of March are upon us. It’s time to don your favorite white or oﬀ-white bridal gown and bring canned food that will be donated to St. Mary’s Food Bank. A can of food gets you a penny beer. Participants will engage in fun challenges and games throughout the day. azcacophony.org/brides/

March 15

February 29

Native PFLAG hosts Arizona’s Second Annual Two Spirt Powwow. Events include dance and drum contests, a market, and food. Performers include dancers Sky Duncan, Maurissa Two Two, and Dewayne Pierce. Ryan Rumlee is the emcee. The free event happens from noon to 5 p.m. at South Mountain Community College’s Performing Arts Center Amphitheater, 7050 S. 24th St., in Phoenix. nativepﬂag.org 14

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March 12-16

The Southwest Leather Sir, Leather boy & Community Bootblack Contest is a regional event that sends winners to the ILSB-ICBB in Dallas, Texas. Events take place at various locations, including a victory party at Nutowne and a post-event underwear party at Anvil. southwestlsb.com

At the Miss & Mister Phoenix Pride Pageant, you get to honor the 2019 titleholders, Vanity St. James and Gray Matter for their service to the community. It’s also an opportunity to see qualified contestants compete for the 2020 crowns. General admission tickets are $15. VIP tables are available. The event runs from 3 to 10 p.m. at DoubleTree by Hilton Tempe, 2100 S. Priest Drive. phoenixpride.org

Mark Our Calendars

To have your event considered for Echo’s print and online calendars, submit your event details to echomag.com/community-calendar *All submissions are subject to Echo’s discretion.

LGBTQ Night Out at Cabaret

Jan. 17 at Arizona Theatre Co., Phoenix. Photos by nightfuse.com.

For more Echo photos visit echomag.com/2020-photos. 16

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OUT & ABOUT

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MI LWA U K E E RE P E RTO RY T HE AT E R

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One Community Block Party for Equality

Jan. 11 at Van Buren Street and Fourth Avenue, Phoenix. Photos by Bill Gemmill.

For more Echo photos visit echomag.com/2020-photos. 18

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OUT & ABOUT

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Where to find it: Taco Guild (tacoguild.com) The chef says: “It’s a great alternative to the classic barbacoa dish,” according to the Taco Guild culinary team. “The oyster mushrooms shred like meat and soak up all the broth. The best part about it is that it’s vegan. We want to show people that vegetables can be cooked in different ways and don’t have to always be a side item.”

Lasagna Urban Beans

The dish: Vegan Lasagna

Where to find it: Urban Beans Bar & 24 Hour Cafe (urbanbeans.com)

Eat your vegetables!

The chef says: “We use a high quality noodle, add our scratch made marinara, ricotta, sausage, and throw in some spinach,” says Virginia Senior, executive chef and founding partner.

Chefs dish on their vegan and vegetarian creations

“Top it off with scratch made mozzarella and bake it. The result is an Italian dish your mother wished she could make. All plantbased, of course. We choose to create healthy delicious food; it’s got to be both healthy and delicious. We have found that using vegan ingredients, we create foods that are lower in unhealthy fats, provide protein and ingredients that are good for everyone.”

of the vegetarian and vegan dishes we’ve rounded up, he might change his tune. The dish: Mushroom Barbacoa: grilled oyster mushrooms in house guajillo Chile broth, avocado, charred onion and micro beet greens. Mushroom Barbacoa

ne time, my very vegetarian sister-inlaw asked my son if he planned on being vegetarian like his auntie. In his firm preschool voice he replied, “NO! I like bacon too much!” We all laughed and it’s one of our favorite stories to tell. But, the joke is on him, because I bet you if he tried some

The dish: Chilled Raw Pad Thai: spiraled zucchini, carrots, bean sprouts, Brussels sprouts, raw almonds, chili almond dressing and a tamarind glaze. Farm and Craft Pad Thai Salad

Compiled by Michelle Talsma Everson Photos provided by featured venues

Where to find it: Farm & Craft (ilovefarmandcraft.com) The chef says: “This dish is a play on a traditional Pad Thai,” says Chef Cameron Cortese. “It is super clean, high in nutritional 20

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FEATURE STORY

Vegan Omakase at Sushi Roku

benefits, packed with flavor and, to top it all off, it is vegan.”

Pita Jungle’s Caramelized Cauliﬂower

The dish: Wood-Fired Caramelized Cauliflower with Tahini: cauliflower, evoo, garlic-cilantro tahini sauce, caramelized onions, and toasted pine nuts.

Where to find it: Pita Jungle (pitajungle. com) The chef says: “Everyone is loving cauliflower these days and for good reason,” says Bassel Osmani. “Cauliflower is extremely healthful as is it low calorie and rich in folate, vitamin C, E and K and fiber. Tahini is a good source of protein and also high in fiber — as a plus the dish is very tasteful. This dish is one of our menu staples and top sellers for everyone, regardless of their diet.”

Unbeetable Burger

The dish: The Unbeetable Burger

Where to find it: True Food Kitchen (truefoodkitchen.com) The chef says: “The concept of a burger combined with scratch cooking and whole foods is very appealing to everyone, not just someone eating a plant based diet,” says Chef Robert McCormick. “The fact that this is actually a vegan sandwich, that is loaded with nutrient dense, whole foods such as red beets, jicama, avocado, and butter lettuce, is a bonus.” FEATURE STORY

The dish: Tacos Barbacoa Casa Terra, Barbacoa Taco

The dish: Avocado Hanabi-Pressed Sushi Rice tossed in a signature Hanabi Sauce, topped with a yuzu and avocado infused puree, finished with shaved parmesan. Where to find it: Sushi Roku Scottsdale (sushiroku.com) The chef says: “I really enjoy this dish due to the flavor profile of the avocado puree,” explains Executive Chef David Miles. “It has a very sharp acidic finish due to the use of the yuzu mixed with the avocado. The cheese gives it a nice salty finish that pairs very well with the crunch from the sushi rice. It is a vegetarian dish and it is unlike any I have ever tried. This dish screams umami flavor profile that leaves you wanting to eat more.”

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MARCH 2020

The dish: Soil & Seed Beet & Radish SemiSalad: This foraged salad features Detroit Beets two ways: marinated and as a purée stamp. Crisp Daikon radish and the essence of Preserved Buddha’s Hand top the earthy beets along with leafy Shungiku. Viola edible flowers bring the garden full circle, with a house-churned smokey butter to pair with the oversized Fried Brioche.

The dish: Mediterranean Bowl: rosemary potatoes, roasted tomatoes and house marinated artichoke hearts, with organic arugula, shaved organic carrot ribbons, and red onions, topped with a vegan lemon-garlic aioli and dusted with rosemary.

Where to find it: Intentional Foods Cafe and Market (intentionalfoods.org) The chef says: “Having a family with life threatening food allergies and dairy sensitivities, I had to get creative in the kitchen to satisfy my three daughters’ desires for delicious, flavorful food, free from the top eight most common food allergens,” says Chef Brendan Heath. “This dish quickly became a family favorite. The mix of potatoes, arugula and carrot ribbons give an awesome texture along with a very savory flavor profile.”

Why create vegan or vegetarian dishes? “In general, we believe that a clean plant forward diet is not just a trend, but an evolution forward to a healthier and more sustainable future,” says Chef Cameron Cortese. “We need to get away from processed foods and go back to our roots of eating whole foods again.” “I make vegan food for three reasons, and it’s why I only make vegan food,” says Chef Jason Wyrick. “It’s a kinder way of living; treating other creatures as commodities is the exact opposite of that. When you use unprocessed plant-based ingredients, it’s a healthier way to live. In fact, I lost over 100 pounds and reversed Type II diabetes by going vegan. Finally, it’s a way to step out of the animal agriculture cycle, which is causing a vast amount of harm to our planet.”

Bamboo Sushi

The chef says: “This dish is packed full of flavor,” says Chef Jason Wyrick of Casa Terra. “It’s tangy, spicy, a little sweet, a little salty, a little bitter, and it’s served on beautiful handmade tortillas. The barbacoa also showcases smoked oyster mushrooms as a meat replacement, a technique I helped pioneer years ago. It’s not that vegans and vegetarians should try it, it’s that everybody should try it. Plant-based food is for everyone.”

Mediterranean Bowl

Where to find it: Casa Terra (casaterra.com)

The dish: Green Machine: Tempura fried green bean and green onion, topped with avocado, and cilantro sweet chili aioli. Where to find it: Bamboo Sushi (bamboosushi.com) Where to find it: Quiessence at The Farm The chef says: “This dish is a great representation of finding different ways to utilize the same vegetable,” says Chef Dustin Christofolo. “Quiessence always want to approach a vegetable with a unique way to be eaten and the layering of flavors, not the norm. This is a great dish for vegetarians to experience.”

The chef says: “We’ve managed to create a roll that has become our #1 seller, companywide, year after year that just happens to be vegetarian; not really common for a sushi restaurant,” says Culinary Director Mike Theriot. “When the first Bamboo Sushi menu was created there was a need for just one more roll and we always set out to have a strong part of our menu be plant-based. The Green Machine sauce, a cilantro sweet chili aioli, is what makes this signature roll famous.

The sweetness balanced with the flavor of the Oregon Coast Albacore, and the savory crunch of the tempura fried green bean, creates the perfect bite.” Michelle Talsma Everson is a freelance writer, editor and PR pro. A graduate of NAU, she’s been writing for Valley publications for more than a decade. You can find out more at mteverson.com. 22

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FEATURE STORY

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one•n•ten Fresh Brunch

Feb. 9 at JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa, Phoenix. Photos by nightfuse.com.

For more Echo photos visit echomag.com/2020-photos. 24

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OUT & ABOUT

Make it happen at Maricopa enroll-maricopa.com

10 COLLEGES | CERTIFICATE AND DEGREE PROGRAMS | UNIVERSITY TRANSFER | AFFORDABLE TUITION The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) is an EEO/AA institution and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, or national origin in their programs or activities. For Title IX/504 concerns, call the following number to reach the appointed coordinator: (480) 731-8499. For additional information visit: www.maricopa.edu/non-discrimination.

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MARCH 2020

Mya McKenzie.

It’s not a gay bar, so it doesn’t seem like the typical place to have a drag brunch, or even a drag queen let alone three, but the affair sells out almost every time. Bevvy Uptown sits on the fringe of the Phoenix LGBTQ landscape, “Bevvy doesn’t necessarily identify itself as a straight or a gay bar,” says General Manager Liza Loewenhagen, who also works behind the bar during drag brunch, her concentration focused on making drinks while servers bombard her with constant orders. “We are an altogether friendly, upscale neighborhood sports bar with many offerings — lunch, brunch, happy hour, dinner, late night,” she says. Drag brunch has become more and more popular over the past few years. Thanks to RuPaul and celebrity drag queens the straight public has sort of embraced brunch as a humorous threshold to the artform. In some ways the straight crowd may appreciate the raw talent and craftsmanship that goes into each performance more than fellow queens who may look at it more critically. As for Bevvy Uptown, where female servers and hostesses dress in black belly shirts and short shorts, the brand seems more focused on appealing to the straight male crowd, but Loewenhagen says the regulars are loving it and it has grown in success every month. “We have not experienced any backlash — and in fact, have had so many positive reviews that we changed our initial plan of a quarterly drag show to a monthly one,” she explains. Another demographic outside the LGBTQ community are straight women who appear to love drag brunches or just drag shows in general. Bachelorette parties or birthday celebrations are popular events that also add to the success of drag entertainment.

Eat, drink, and be Mary at a sports bar By Timothy Rawles. Photos by Silas Gutierrez

hat is it about drag brunch that makes people so happy?

It might be that it’s the weekend, or maybe it’s the guilt-free indulgence of day drinking, or maybe seeing performers dressed as exaggerated women lip-syncing to pop hits and randy hip-hop lyrics. Or could it be the food?

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ECHOMAG.COM

Whatever it is, on the third Saturday of every month along Seventh Street in Phoenix, a crowd can be seen forming at the entrance to Bevvy Uptown, a swanky gastropub with a giant central bar, numerous flatscreen televisions; some playing meme-inspired video clips and others the latest sports broadcasts.

Drag brunches are the perfect places to induct them into the theatrics of it all, plus it happens during broad daylight and bigger tables can be reserved for parties larger than four. In these times of Insta-ready social media scrapbooking, drag is the perfect photo op. You will probably see Mya McKenzie hashtagged in a lot of those photos. She’s the drag queen who headlines the program and has been since its debut just over a year ago. Her opening act begins with an energetic pep talk before going right into her routine which varies from show to show. Her costumes are gorgeous and as she works the room gathering dollar bills from the hands of patrons, she gets a feel for the crowd. During the show I saw, she elicited gasps from brunchers as she showed off her feminine curves. McKenzie is perfectly happy playing to her straight fans at Bevvy. She knows that the venue is different, and that’s fine by her. FEATURE STORY

Naomi St. James.

“Even though it’s not a gay bar the staff and patrons there are absolutely amazing. So very friendly and accommodating,” she says. But there is also another aspect that Bevvy patrons may not be aware of — some of McKenzie’s co-stars are trans. Recently there has been some criticism about trans women doing drag, especially when it comes to RuPaul’s Drag Race. But at Bevvy they are welcomed with open arms. “They do identify as female,” says McKenzie. “I love my trans brothers and sisters. We have a new cast every month and that includes my trans brothers as well.”

and Bevvy has made a menu of pretty tasty items. From breakfast dishes that range from chilaquiles to churro waffles to avocado toast, the list is pretty extensive. I had the Brunch Burger and a Diet Coke. But the cocktail menu is filled with specialty drinks, or if you prefer the traditional route a mimosa will set you back $8 a flute. Bevvy Uptown isn’t a very big place and the “stage” is placed up toward the entrance which makes it hard for people sitting in the back booths or T-tops to see. It doesn’t appear to have been built as a showplace, but the entertainers stroll around the room and interact with the guests during the extensive show. Since this isn’t a designated gay bar or nightclub, the patrons come from all walks of life. I noticed representation from the gay community and its allies. There was no disrespect except from the queens who let adults-only zingers fly much to the delight of the attendees who seemed to want more. With all of its success, Bevvy is sticking to its schedule, but have added another drag entertainment tradition.

Brunch noms.

On the day I went, Nikki Knowles and Naomi St. James, both trans women, stunned the crowd with their revealing costumes. There was no clear demographic of straight or gay patrons at a glance, but that didn’t matter; everyone was having a great time. The other part of drag brunch is the food, FEATURE STORY

“The staff and management of the bevvy are so welcoming to all the performers and patrons,” she says. ”When you are comfortable and safe at an establishment, you can easily put on a great show.”

“As of now, we do not intend on adding more shows a month,” says Loewenhagen, who personally looks forward to it. “However, following the success of our Drag Brunch we have added Drag Bingo to our list of monthly events.” As for McKenzie, who will also host bingo, these events are more about fun than where they’re held.

Bevvy burger; photo by Jeﬀ Rawles.

Bevvy Drag Brunch happens every third Saturday of the month at Bevvy Uptown, 5600 North Seventh St. #100, in Phoenix. bevvyuptown.com. Timothy Rawles is an award-winning journalist and California native who moved to Arizona with his husband and two children in 2019. He attended San Francisco State University many years ago and somehow managed to pass math and continue pursuing his journalism degree. His story is not as interesting as the people he writes about, but Timothy has discovered that everyone has one, and good or bad, they all share the same thing; heart. ECHOMAG.COM

MARCH 2020

Join Phoenix Pride in Celebrating and Honoring the reigning Miss and Mister Phoenix Pride 2019 Vanity St. James and Gray Matter for their amazing service, not only to Phoenix Pride, but to our entire community. WHO WILL BE YOUR NEXT MISS AND MISTER PHOENIX PRIDE? Get to know the 16 qualified contestants of the Class of 2020 that will be competing for the title of Miss & Mister Phoenix Pride 2020 and join Phoenix Pride as they crown their Miss and Mister Phoenix Pride 2020.

March 15, 2020 Doors open 3pm Pageant starts 4pm

*Cash & Credit Bars and Food Available* Order your tickets today online at www.phoenixpride.org

ALL AGES EVENT Tempe DoubleTree by Hilton 2100 S Priest Dr., Tempe, AZ General Admission: $15 Dancer Passes: $10 (available to contestants only) VIP Table: $200 (Sits 10 people)

Proceeds benefit the Phoenix Pride Scholarship Fund

Honoring Vanity St. James and Gray Matter

2020 MISS AND MISTER PHOENIX PRIDE CONTESTANTS MISS BS WEST 2020 ANITA NEWHART

MISTER BS WEST 2020 HADES HEARTBREAK

Anita has been performing in the community since 2015. She has previously won Star’s choice at BS West and was crowned with the title of Diamond City EOY F.I. 2018. By competing for Ms. Phoenix Pride she hopes to inspire weirdos everywhere to follow their dreams, be true to themselves, and to live every moment as their authentic selves.”

Hades Heartbreak is a co-student of both Western New Mexico University and Glendale Community College. He is the secretary of GCC’s LGBT+ club, and is running for Pride to set an example to the community that anyone can be a leader and can do anything they set their mind to.

Isak Hernandez also known as Tyra Marie is an Arizona native who has been involved in the art of female impersonation for over 15 years. Isak is an Arizona State University Graduate with a bachelor’s degree in communications and currently works for a foreign Cosmetic Company. Tyra is a former Miss Gay Phoenix America, Miss Gay Arizona America, Arizona Entertainer of the Year and Empress XIII of the Imperial Court of Arizona.

Edward Michael is a first time pageant contestant born in Tucson, Arizona. In 2014 he began his journey as a volunteer for the Phoenix Pride Organization as the Entertainment Manager. After receiving the Linda A Hoffman Spirit Award he felt that becoming Mister Phoenix Pride would be his next step in helping his organization of choice.

MISS ROCK 2020 TYRA MARIE

MISS KOBALT 2020 KRISTINA FATALE CHRISTIAN Aristeo Hernandez Soto IV I represent Miss Kobalt 2020 as Krisstina Fatale Christian, KFC if you’re hungry. I have been fortunate to do what I have for the past ten years. That includes involvement with in many fundraising event for many organizations. I can’t wait to compete for Miss Phoenix Pride this year and show case what I have off to this amazing community of ours.

MISTER ROCK 2020 EDWARD MICHAEL

MISTER KOBALT 2020 JAY K ALEXANDER This is Jay’s 4th time competing in the Phoenix Pride Pageant. 2019 was an incredible year of change for Jay and he’s coming into the Pageant a new man. He wishes the very best to all the contestants and he’s deeply honored to Represent Kobalt Bar this year.

MISS IMPERIAL COURT 2020 CARNITA ASADA Carnita is internally grateful for our community. It is the community that has blessed them with their solid foundation. They want to wish the most Photo credit: Corey Boyette diverse pride class the best of Photography luck! In closing, Carnita says, “You are never too old to change..” “You can change your mind, your community, and anything you once thought was impossible.”

MISTER IMPERIAL COURT 2020 HAZE H. JACKSON Haze is honored to represent the Imperial Court. His claim to #Fame will be that with hope and love he’ll be able to Photo credit: Corey Boyette inspire, uplift, motivate, and Photography educate our community. Haze would like to wish the Pride Class of 2020 the best of luck.

MISS BOYCOTT 2020 IONNA DOUBLEWIDE

MISTER BOYCOTT 2020 SIR NATE

Ionna has lived in Phoenix for over 29 years and has been a continuing fundraiser for the Rodeo Association, the Imperial Court of Arizona and the Grand Canyon Sisters. She has been a State title holder as Miss Arizona Gay Rodeo Association for 2009 & 2018, and is a International Title holder as Miss International Gay Rodeo Association for 2010 and 2nd Runner Up for 2019.

Sir Nate originally of Chicago planted their roots here 12 years ago. Entertaining as a male impersonator almost three years with their wife of four years. Very few people of color and even less lesbians, Nate set out to be the change they wanted to see. Nate hopes of raising more funds and bringing full unity and absolute inclusiveness to our community.

MISS SUPREME PRIDE 2020 Té THE DIAMOND Té the Diamond grew up on the Fort Apache Reservation in Northern Arizona & has been performing in drag in Phoenix since 2016. This is her 2nd time competing for the Pride pageant first as Miss Twisted, & now as your Supreme. #VisibiliTé has always been the goal as Té is still the pageants first openly Transgender Native American, representing the White Mountain Apache Tribe.”

MISS CRUISIN’ 7TH 2020 SERRA TONAN: Kendra Tonan-Lizzarago - is the current President of Trans Spectrum of Arizona, serving her forth year. She has earned the position of Lady of the Imperial Court of Arizona for Reign XIV and enjoys fundraising on a regular basis. The past year she has focused her talents on creating her Drag performer known as Serra Tonan. She is excited to represent Cruisin 7th as Miss Cruisin 7th 2020 for the Pride pageant system.

MISS STACY’S 2020 DESIREE A. DEMORNAY Desiree is from New Orleans Louisiana and has been in the business for 28 years. She has represented many pageant systems, as a former Renaissance Plus, Miss Large and Lovely, Miss USofA at Large, Miss Sweetheart International Plus, Victorian International Plus, Continental Plus, and Miss Black Universe . Demornay is part of local organizations like BLAEQ. Demornay hopes she will be the next Miss Phoenix Pride with hopes of Bridging all of our communities!

MISTER SUPREME PRIDE 2020 COMMANDER SINS Commander Sins has been performing in the art of male impersonator drag for the past 5 years. Starting in Ohio and new to the Phoenix scene he is making his mark, bringing his art and imagination to life and stepping outside the traditional “male drag persona.” He is entering his first Phoenix Pride pageant and is excited to represent you as the first Mister Supreme Pride.

MISTER SONORAN PRIDE 2020 OWEN MICHAEL PARKER Parker just a small town country boy turned city slicker who loves entertaining and business development. Parker hopes to mix all the things he loves about art and business into something that can engage, educate and unite the city of Phoenix, and the entire state of Arizona, around our community and the Phoenix Pride Scholarship Fund.

MISTER STACY’S 2020 DANNY R. JACKSON Daniel Lukas, a performer by the stage name of Danny R Jackson, was first introduced to drag at 19 years old. His brother had started a drag show at Phoenix college and invited him to perform. It was that night that Jackson fell in love with not only the performers and community but performing. In 2014 he won the title of 1st Alt. to Mister Phoenix Junior Pride. His family motto is, “Love over hate, All are accepted” and that is how he tries to live his life.

Saszy De la Cruz, Geo Johnson, and Aubrey Ghalichi

RipplePHX’s new weekly Lotería event mixes education and entertainment By Tom Reardon. Photos by Scotty Kirby

nce upon a time, Thursday nights were a lot of fun. For about two decades, NBC ruled the TV world that night of the week with shows like Cheers, Friends, Frasier, Seinfeld, and Will & Grace (not to mention the convicted sexual abuser, Bill Cosby, who had a hit Thursday night show, too). It was a night when “everybody knew your name and they were always glad you came.” It was also just one day before the weekend started.

What is Lotería, you say? Well, it is best to start at the first of several beginnings. Some people refer to lotería as “Mexican Bingo.” Game play is similar, but instead of having numbered ping pong balls, lotería uses cards that are displayed to the players during game play. Each card has a different image and each participant is given a tabla, which features rows of four random images that match the images from the fifty-four-card deck. As cards are turned over, players look for matches, just like in bingo, and when four in a row are matched, players shout, “Lotería!” 30

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RipplePhx’s board chairperson, Jason Jones, seems more than just a little excited about Lotería, which is just one part of RipplePhx’s outreach activities, as a way to Raul St. James

If your Thursdays have been in need of a little shot in the arm as of late, never fear because RipplePHX’s Lotería is here every Thursday night at Stacy’s at Melrose on North Seventh Avenue in Phoenix.

From 7 to 9 p.m. at Stacy’s @ Melrose, the talented team from RipplePhx’s Lotería Project will host the festivities to help spread awareness surrounding HIV/AIDS to Phoenix’s LGBTQ+ community. This project was initiated in 2019 and received funding from the National Library of Medicine’s Community Outreach Project, which helps cover the costs for the first year.

get the Latinx population in Phoenix talking about HIV and AIDS. “I think we all have different experiences. While some in our community were born in Mexico, I was born in the United States and my experience would be a little bit different. There’s the kind of macho mentality in the Latino community and just being gay is one thing, you know, and I think we all have different experiences with that. My dad was a super macho kind of guy and his role in our family was the provider. When I came out, I wondered how he was going to take it, but he came around pretty quickly. When I came out as being HIV positive to him, which was about four years after my diagnosis, he was like, ‘What do you need?’ But again, I think a lot of us have very different experiences and it’s an incredibly hard thing for lots of us to talk about,” says Jones, 45. For Jones and his partner, Jeremy Bright, who is the executive director of RipplePHX, the importance of building a grass roots campaign to open conversations around HIV and AIDS in Phoenix is a necessity, especially within the Latinx community. During our conversation on a lovely February evening, it became very apparent that Bright and Jones FEATURE STORY

are doing this work for the right reason and that is to save lives.

In addition to partnering with other agencies such as Chicanos Por la Causa and Terros to help with outreach activities who can provide services to Valley residents, RipplePHX has also been putting on events in the community and partnering with other community events to spread awareness. They do three Carnivals each year to help build understanding around HIV and raise some funds to help keep the program going. The carnivals are fun events that also have information about HIV as well as testing available on site. The next one will happen during Phoenix Pride weekend (April 4 and 5) at Stacy’s at Melrose. “I think it’s important to normalize that conversation. Just because someone’s living with HIV doesn’t mean it defines them. It doesn’t define their life. It doesn’t define their day-to-day. You can live a long and normal happy life, but it is a piece that we do need to be aware of because it doesn’t have to overwhelm or consume anything, you know? I think we try to live that and breathe that, and we can still come together as a community. We can still enjoy things as a community and have a beautiful spirit, but also be aware of this,” says Bright.

Celeste Montiel

RipplePHX was started in April 2018 in the apartment that Bright and Jones shared at the time and by June of that year, they had their 501c3 status as a non-profit. In a short amount of time, the duo (with the help of volunteers, initially) started getting out into Phoenix and sharing a message based around the idea of having open, honest conversations about HIV/AIDS, how to protect yourself, how to get tested, and above all, just being aware that the disease is still out there and men who have sex with other men are still very much at risk without taking proper precautions.

As funding was approved and the reality of the Lotería project set in, it was apparent that there would need to be a team of hosts to cover each Thursday event. Dominguez reached out to Geo Johnson, who was 2016 Mr. Phoenix Pride and Mr. Gay Arizona America in 2018, to be a host and to also help find other hosts. “Since the beginning it just sounded like a great opportunity for me to be part of educating my community. I had been helping our community in different aspects and I enjoyed doing that since I’m a little more of a public figure. So, when this came across, I’m like, ‘what better way than to address this now? It’s something that’s more personal to me because I’m Latino, which is the Latinx community,” says Johnson, who joked about his name not being very Latino. After Johnson came aboard, he started reaching out to other people and he helped recruit Tucson resident and fellow performer Raul St. James to join the group. St. James is excited to be a part of the team, even though he has a long drive on a regular basis.

“For me, it’s important to be vocal about my (HIV+) status. I think, you know, growing up in our families, you know, even in school, you didn’t hear too much about HIV. That’s just something that we didn’t talk about or even gay sex we didn’t talk about within our culture. I think for me to be open about my status will give hope to others and give them the courage to be able to talk about safer sex, about HIV, and being open about their status,” says Dominguez, who is also one of the Lotería night hosts.

“I’m so happy to be here and be part of this group. I’m excited to get involved with this community and spread the word about HIV awareness,” says St. James. The eight-member team also has drag queens Aubrey Ghalichi, Celeste Montiel, Jimena Cavalli, and Saszy De la Cruz, as well as performer Karloz Quinto. While Ghalichi, Montiel, Cavalli, and De la Cruz were busy getting photographed for upcoming events, the rest of us discussed their yearlong mission and what drives them to be part of the group. “I’m part of the Vaqueros (Spanish for ‘cowboy’) community so this is a great way

Karloz Quinto and Jimena Cavalli

“We wanted to go back to grassroots. We knew that AIDS-related grassroots projects back in the 1980s were really successful because they focused on empowering the community and building the community up around an illness that was affecting our community. In the last ten years or so, HIV has lost the headlines, but the virus is still very present,” says Bright, 42.

In June, RipplePHX was able to bring on AJ Dominguez as the prevention outreach manager/Ripple-maker and the team started kicking around ideas for innovative ways to continue getting the message out to underserved populations such as Latinos. Dominguez began working on Lotería after their grant request was approved in August of 2019 and RipplePHX began recruiting the Lotería project team.

Maricopa County is currently in the top 50 counties in the United States for new HIV infections, even in the day of Truvada and other drugs that can help stop HIV transmissions. For the Latino population, the number has been increasing for men that have sex with men. This is why the Lotería is led by eight Latinx community leaders. “That’s where our focus is. The Lotería project has shifted it. We wanted to make sure we put an emphasis on that and that it was driven from the community. This is completely led by this group to empower them to affect their community from a very genuine place,” says Bright. FEATURE STORY

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to show other vaqueros that it is okay to talk about HIV and it’s okay to be HIV positive. Vaqueros usually have the attitude that it’s not going to happen to me. ‘I’m this tough guy, Mexican guy, it’s not going to happen to me,’ so I this is a great opportunity. I knew it was going to be a hard job and a lot of time was going into it, but Lotería is totally worth it and I love it,” says Quinto, who is getting married in March. There is a learning process for each member of the Lotería team that they seem to not only embrace but also relish the challenge of learning more about HIV and AIDS in order to become an expert on the subject. The passion for this project was tangible as we sat outside of the photo shoot at RipplePHX’s headquarters. It is obvious this group can accomplish great things. “We’re all going to grow together. We want them to learn as we’re going, you know, about HIV that we can share all the information with all their social groups that are out there,” says Dominguez. “That’s another reason I’m excited about this project. I’m learning how to take care of myself and sharing with my friends how to take care of themselves. If there are things I need to know, I can just go to Ripple and they’ll get me the information or I can just tell people to go to Ripple,” says St. James. In addition to their hosting duties, each member of the Lotería Project team will also have a web presence with regular updates to an ever-growing content library of information that they have significant control over. “It’s an awesome website. I feel like you want to keep on searching and seeing everything that’s in there. Each one of us has a different topic, so it’s not the same thing over and over. I think that’s also a great way to let them know all about it,” says Quinto. “We’ve all been very involved in choosing how we want to talk about our topics. We are involved with the look of the website, which is what this photo shoot is for, and we are coming up with memes that will be eyecatching for the community,” says Johnson, before adding, “and Lotería is a very fun way to engage the community and get people feeling really comfortable about talking about HIV.” Visit ripplephx.org for details. Tom Reardon loves to write about people who are doing something to contribute to our community in a positive way. He also loves his family and family of friends, his pets, music, skateboarding, movies, good (and bad) TV, and working with children to build a better world. Tom’s favorite movie is Jaws, his favorite food is lasagna, and he loves to play music with his friends. He’s a busy guy, but never too busy to listen to what you have to say so tell him a story. 32

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AJ Dominguez FEATURE STORY

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Give your kids a taste of culture with family mealtime adventures By Kimberly Blaker

eaching kids about different cultures is a great way to defeat stereotypes, break down barriers, and help kids value and respect people who are different from them. So why not give your kids the opportunity to experience the many cultures that make up our diverse planet and country? A fun way to explore our diversity is by trying out foods and mealtime customs of other nationalities and unique American regions. If your kids are picky eaters, don’t sweat it. There are yummy foods from every culture kids will love. Try some of the following dishes at local ethnic eateries. If you can’t find the cuisine in your area, find recipes online for your whole family to enjoy cooking together. Middle-Eastern. There are many different Arab cuisines. The most popular in America is Lebanese. Hummus and pita bread is a healthy mouth-watering appetizer. If your family has only tried store-bought hummus,

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they’ll be in for a real treat with fresh, authentic hummus. Deliciously seasoned chicken shawarma, which you can order as a dinner or in a pita sandwich, is a favorite Lebanese meal.

A northern India favorite is mutter paneer, a curry dish made with peas and fried cubed cottage cheese in a tomato sauce. There are several Lebanese meal customs to keep in mind. First, dress well. Then greet your elders first and wait to be told where to sit. Also, hold your fork in your left hand (knife goes in the right), try all foods at the table, and be prepared to take seconds and thirds at the offering of your host.

Indian. The food of India varies somewhat by region, but there are several Indian dishes kids love. Curd rice, a yogurt rice dish of southern India, is a favorite. Eat it plain or combine it with lentils or a meat dish. Also, nearly everyone loves Tandoori chicken, including kids. A northern India favorite is mutter paneer, a curry dish made with peas and fried cubed cottage cheese in a tomato sauce. A few meal customs to observe include thoroughly washing your hands before the meal and eating with your hands. Avoid mixing utensils between different dishes. Also, hygiene is essential, so Indians don’t dip into shared bowls, share cutlery, or pass food with their fingers. In rural settings, Indians dress comfortably and sit on floor mats. Native American. In the United States, there are 562 Native American tribes, so traditionally, their foods vary depending on FEATURE STORY

region and availability of certain foods. Today, they eat much of the same foods as nonnative Americans. But Indian fry bread and Navajo tacos are still quite popular and loved by kids and adults alike. Succotash, another tasty dish, is made with vegetables and flavored with bacon.

For dessert, don’t miss out on sticky rice served with mango. Mealtime customs vary by region, but traditionally for many tribes there was no set mealtime. Everyone just dipped into “the eternal cooking meal” when they were hungry. Greek. Pita gyros stuffed with chicken or pork, tomatoes, and lettuce are the most popular Greek food. There’s also spanakopita, which is a great way to get kids to eat their veggies. These turnovers are stuffed with zucchini. There’s also crispy and gooey Tyri Saganaki, fried cheese, which everyone loves. To eat like the Greeks, be prepared to adjust your meal schedule. They eat lunch at around 2 p.m. and don’t eat dinner before 9 p.m. Also, eating with your fingers rather than silverware is common, even with meat. Irish. Shepherd’s pie is an all-time favorite Irish dish. But don’t let ‘pie’ fool you. It isn’t a dessert. Instead, it’s a tasty entree of beef or lamb, vegetables, and mashed potatoes. Boxty (potato pancakes) is another Irish food kids love, as well as leek and potato soup. Irish food customs are quite familiar. But keep your fork in your left hand preferably with the tines turned down. Also, keep your elbows off the table, and don’t get wild with hand gestures while holding your silverware. Polish. Pierogis are one of the most famous Polish foods with kids. These dumplings are stuffed with potatoes, sausage, or even fruit. Polskie nalesniki, or Polish pancakes, is

another tasty dish served a variety of ways including with cheese, meat and vegetables, or fruity quark. In Poland, don’t begin eating until everyone is served and the host says it’s time to start, usually with the word “smacznego.” Your fork goes in your left hand and knife in the right. When you’re done eating, your knife and fork should be placed horizontally on your plate, facing left. Thai. Pad Thai is an introductory dish loved by everyone. This sweet and savory noodle dish is made with peanut sauce. Gaeng Daeng (red curry) is another delicious choice. Thai is the hottest (spicy-hot) cuisine you’ll find. So request mild for your kids. For dessert, don’t miss out on sticky rice served with mango! Thai people typically use a fork and a short spoon for eating, rather than chopsticks. Each person gets a plate of rice. Then all the other dishes on the table are shared among each other and poured over rice. Young kids usually sit on their parents’ laps and are spoon-fed rather than sitting in high-chairs.

Spanish. Not to be confused with Mexican food, one of the dishes of Spain that kids enjoy is paella, which is a rice and meat dish. It can be made with rabbit or squid, which some kids won’t be too keen on. But it can also be made with chicken or other seafood. Another yummy entree is empanadas, which are pockets filled with tuna or ham and cheese. Late dining is also standard in Spain. Plan to eat lunch between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. and dinner between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Also, Spaniards don’t eat and run. They sometimes linger for hours enjoying good company and conversation. Cajun. This style of Louisiana cooking is well-known for its shellfish dishes and spice. Jambalaya, made with sausage, shellfish, celery, and rice stew, is one of several favorites. Another is gumbo, made with meat stew, seafood, and okra. In southern Louisiana, food is relished, and preparation is taken quite seriously. Cooks aren’t content to serve mediocre food. So conversation about what you had to eat the night before is common. Vietnamese. The most famous Vietnamese dish for both kids and adults is Pho. This noodle soup is often made with beef or chicken. But it’s much more substantive than the chicken soup Americans eat. It’s usually served with fresh veggies on the side. Another yummy dish is banh goi. These deep-fried pockets are filled with meat, mushrooms, and other vegetables. The Vietnamese typically eat with chopsticks and a soup spoon. As a sign of respect, a bowl and spoon are handed to the eldest man at the table first. Don’t begin eating until everyone is seated and the most elderly man takes his first bite. Kimberly Blaker is a freelance family writer. She also does blog and content writing for a variety of industries and is an expert in on page SEO.

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Models Open Daily: 10AM- 5PM; Sunday 12PM-5PM (480) 887-4933 opt. 3 | 1555 E. Ocotillo Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85014 | www.WattCommunities.com/16-Ocotillo Xavier Wolf | 16ocotillo@WattCommunitiesAZ.com Brokers must be procuring cause and must register clients upon initial visit. In the continuing effort to improve our homes, Watt Communities, LLC and its affiliates reserve the right to make changes or modifications to plan specifications, pricing, materials, features, site plans, move-in dates or floor plans without notice. Stated dimensions, options and square footage are approximate and should not be used as representation of the homeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s precise or actual size. Homes are subject to prior sale. Construction by WCA Development Services, Inc. ROC# 294976. Sales by Trust Realty Advisors, Inc. Paul Timm designated broker, BR008514000. Arizona DRE#CO 002614000. Information deemed reliable as of February 2020.

Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s March

Jan. 19 at Arizona State Capitol, Phoenix. Photos by nightfuse.com.

For more Echo photos visit echomag.com/2020-photos. 38

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OUT & ABOUT

Meet Megan Greenwood: you may already love her beer By Tom Reardon. Photos courtesy of Greenwood Brewing

hange is brewing at the corner of Fifth Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Phoenix and the pun is definitely intended. For the first time in Arizona, there will be a brewing company that is solely owned and operated by a woman. Let that sink in for a second, friends, maybe as you let the foam on your own beer settle. Megan Greenwood is opening Greenwood Brewing on Roosevelt Row later this Spring (late April, early May) and the landscape of Phoenix beer culture is going to change forever. Some of you have been enjoying Greenwood’s craft beer at local establishments since 2018. Restaurants such as Ocotillo, Pita Jungle, and The Arrogant Butcher, to name a few, have added Greenwood brews to their menus since it became available and currently, this brand is

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available at over 50 local establishments. When Greenwood Brewing opens their physical location, though, they will brew onsite, have a beer garden, and offer a brand new and inviting event space at the edge of downtown.

also refreshing. There is no hint of typical “beer snob” arrogance with the young entrepreneur, and if you’ve got a friend or family member who is a self-proclaimed know-it-all about beer, then you understand the reference.

At 31, Greenwood has been living in the Valley since 2012, after growing up in Iowa. She went to the University of Iowa and has a degree in Industrial Engineering. During her early professional life, she worked for manufacturing firms and her career eventually landed her in Chandler, where she was working on alternative energy products. During this time, she had a roommate who was interested in home brewing and a spark ignited.

She is not going to bore you with beer facts, but she’s more than willing to celebrate a tasty brew by saying how much she loves it and truly wants to know why you love it, too. This will serve her well as she gets to know her customers in the coming months.

Greenwood’s enthusiasm for craft brewing is obvious when you speak to her and

Echo: How did your love of beer unite with brewing?

A busy person, as well, we finally found a moment to chat over the phone a few weeks ago about how she found herself in the position to be the first of her kind, her new brewery, and her love of craft brews.

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Megan Greenwood with her first-ever brew.

Yikes. You weren’t messing around. So, it blossomed from there? My roommate also really enjoyed brewing and my neighbor, so it was kind of a hobby. We built a microbrewery in my garage and it was a 25-gallon system. It was fully electric, all-grain (which is a brewing process where the wort is made from malted grains and water) … (pauses) those are like homebrew words. We were brewing weekly and just developing recipes and I had eight beers on tap in my garage. Wow. What year was this? It must have been in 2015. You must’ve been popular in your neighborhood. Yes. We had parties all the time. Everybody came to our house and our garage and we had big dinner parties. I was much more popular then (laughs). All our friends were enjoying the benefits of our hobby. When it was brew day, though, it was serious. We were trying to brew delicious beer. You went from zero brewing to serious home brewing and are now the proprietor of the first solely woman-owned-andoperated brewing company in Arizona. How did you make that last leap? I was working in corporate America at the same time (2014/2015) and I was having a lot of my important conversations over craft beer. I was working in sales and a lot of my 42

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customers were men and liked craft beer. I felt, at the time, the beer industry was a little stuffy. If I wasn’t ordering an imperial stout or a double IPA then I really wasn’t welcome in the beer industry and I didn’t love that feeling. Greenwood whipping up a brew in the garage.

Greenwood: I had a roommate and he got me a brewing kit for my birthday. He told me he thought I would really enjoy brewing. I didn’t just enjoy brewing, though, I totally fell in love with it. My first beer that I ever made with it was a Belgian Trippel, which I am re-releasing on February 14th. I made it again for the first time since my first time, but this time on a commercial scale. It’s called, “First Love,” which is very fitting for Valentine’s day week. It was the first beer I ever brewed, and it was absolutely delicious. It was also 10% alcohol.

women. In the beginning of 2017, I started a company called The Elegant Beer Drinker and we started to survey women on how they chose their beer. What did you learn? I hired a marketing team and we did 200 surveys with women to understand how they chose their beer to see if they felt this same underrepresentation that I was feeling. At the same time, I was figuring out how I was going to launch this brand. We got the results back and at the same time, which was so ironic, the brewers association was doing similar work and asking women if they felt underrepresented in the beer industry and 65% of women felt underrepresented in the beer industry. It was very cohesive with what I was finding with my own research on women. Then I did some research on who the owners of these breweries were. I found out in 2016 it was 2% of breweries that were owned by only women. 20% were owned by owned by women and men throughout the United States and that meant 78% of the breweries were owned solely by men. So, it made sense that they’re thinking of themselves, you know, when they’re brewing the beer, which is why I wasn’t feeling represented as a woman in the industry and other women weren’t feeling that way. Greenwood Brewing came out of these results and it was more of a brand that women could resonate with, but it is also a beer for everybody. I don’t just think about, and this is a stereotype, the typical beer drinker being a male with a flannel shirt and a beard and that’s not the only person I’m thinking about when I’m making my beer. I wanted to create something that I could resonate with, and other women could resonate and feel comfortable with, as a consumer, so I launched the brand on December 5, 2017.

I was brewing at the time so I knew what I was doing and I was making good beer, so when I would go to these places and felt like I wasn’t included because I was ordering a pilsner or whatever, I thought there was an opportunity for inclusivity or to build something that was more inclusive for other people that, maybe, are intimidated by beer, which includes a lot of women. That idea never left my head. I loved my job and I was living a very comfortable lifestyle. And you know, you hear these stories of people who didn’t love their job and needed to get out, but that was not me. I loved what I was doing, but I just could not get this idea out of my head and it took me four years to actually launch it. I finally got the courage to do it. So, I launched a marketing company to understand if what I was feeling was actually real. I wanted to know if my market existed, the one that I thought that felt underrepresented in the beer industry and that primarily included

And now here you are, on the verge of opening your own microbrewery. What do you look forward to most about the physical location of Greenwood Brewing? The first time we brew, for sure, the first brew day. They’re always my most fun days. I love every aspect of this business. Don’t get me wrong, but our brew days are, I mean, it’s just a different energy because you’re making a product. You’re actually creating a product and adding value to someone’s day. Tom Reardon loves to write about people who are doing something to contribute to our community in a positive way. He also loves his family and family of friends, his pets, music, skateboarding, movies, good (and bad) TV, and working with children to build a better world. Tom’s favorite movie is Jaws, his favorite food is lasagna, and he loves to play music with his friends. He’s a busy guy, but never too busy to listen to what you have to say so tell him a story. FEATURE STORY

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Photo by Cyriel Jacobs.

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We got a chance to talk to the Drag Race star about her cosmetics line, her thoughts on the popularity, and what a Trixie Barbie would look like. Echo: I wanted to start off by asking — if Mattel ever made an official Trixie Barbie doll, what would it be like? Mattel: I think it’s more likely they’d make an official indictment for me to be sued than a doll! I’m a big fan of Mattel, obviously — I’ve got a lot of reverence, or like an irreverence, for them ... I think they’d make me a doll that would be pretty far out. With hair that could be changed out into different wigs. I think that’d be really cool. Yeah, that does sound good. Speaking of making your own dolls, there was this company called Galoob — I think they were Canadian. They approached the Spice Girls back in the day to say “Hey, we wanna make Spice dolls.” And I think they invested like 50 million or something into these dolls and ended up making hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars. And they weren’t a toy company! People can make their own toys. You don’t even need to wait for them to make a drag queen doll. Drag queens — we don’t wait for people to tell us anything. We just do it. Ask questions now, get sued later. Switching gears to music: what is it like working with a full band for this tour? There’s a lot of rehearsal and preparation, because they’re professional musicians and I’m not. I’ve been playing guitars and stuff since I was 13, growing up in the deep, deep country. I didn’t have cool people to be in a garage band with.

Trixie Mattel can do anything you can do — but she can do it while wearing uncomfortable shoes By Ashley Naftule

ith eye make-up as fluttery and black as moth wings and a blonde wig that looks like it was plucked straight off Jayne Mansfield’s rolling head, Trixie Mattel is an imposing sight. A drag queen, singersongwriter, comedian, avid Barbie doll collector, and RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars winner, the country-fried Trixie looks like she stepped out of a Bizarro Grand Ole Opry where all the tears in beers are tinged with mascara and the cowboys vogue on top of bulls.

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While Trixie came into prominence for her fun and fiery persona on Drag Race, she’s carved out a niche for herself as a touring performance artist. On albums like Two Birds and One Stone, she’s shown off a talent for crafting catchy queer country songs. Her latest album, Barbara, pushes her song into more freaky psychedelic dimensions. Trixie is taking her flip-your-wig music on the road for her Grown Up tour, which will be passing through Phoenix on March 13.

So we’re learning the songs off my record and we also have to rehearse everything else: the jokes I wrote for the show between songs, all my costume changes, the wig changes, the videos. It’s spinning a lot of plates cause as I’ve grown up the show has grown with me. Do you ever worry you’re doing too much onstage? No, but of course it’s a challenge. What I do every year is think of the people who’ve seen me every single year. What can I do that’s like so Trixie and so natural to me, but they’ll never see it? What’s something I haven’t done already? You want to make a show where people are going to get what they came for, but you also want to pull the rug out from under them a few times. And I got to think of all the people who come see me for the record. Some people only listen to my records. Some people only come see me because they like my comedy. They like my YouTube show. Some people only come because they watch Drag Race. So I really have to make a show that can work for any type of audience member. On the subject of music videos — who ENTERTAINMENT

came up with the concept behind “Yellow Cloud”? It’s a really striking video, full of puppetry and crazy kid show stuff. It’s always me. I come up with something and then I fish for people who also think it’s cool and have the skills to make it happen. Early Pee-Wee Herman was definitely an inspiration for this show and the video. For the video Seth Bogart, who’s a visual artist, built the whole set. He built all the puppets and the stage. And I was like, “Let’s go really bananas” during the shoot. I really wanted to get visuals that would help usher people who are so used to me doing the yee-haw thing into this new sound — this sort of sugarysweet ‘60s pop sound.

You’ve pledged to donate a portion of your cosmetic line’s sales towards the preservation of honeybees. What inspired you to take on this initiative? Without bees, we’ll all die. There’d be no planets, no air, nothing … When I used to work at makeup companies, I liked it when

there was some kind of philanthropic effort attached to a product because it makes you just a little bit prouder to use it. So for my product, I really wanted to do something environmental. When you help honeybees, you help everybody, you help people, you help the earth. I also have to worry about if I am going to be able to find a charity that’s going to be willing to work with me cause people are ashamed of working with drag queens sometimes. And the honeybee conservationists were so nice and they invited me to the offices. I got to tour the hives in drag. I got to reach into the hives and pull out honey and eat it. It was wild! Bees are crawling all over me and, I mean I love them but it’s also a little scary. It was definitely a test of my nerves, but it was cool. Did you get stung at all?

Photo by Albert Sanchez.

What’s the biggest misconception that people have about what it’s like to be on RuPaul’s Drag Race?

People take for granted how much you have to do. If you’re on Top Model, you just have to model. And if you’re on Project Runway, you have to make an outfit. And if you’re on American Idol, you have to sing. And if you’re on Last Comic Standing, you gotta tell jokes. On Drag Race you have to do all of that. All of it. You can’t win Drag Race unless you can literally do everything. We have to do everything normal straight people do but we have to do it in more uncomfortable shoes and on a tighter budget.

No. They smoke the hives ahead of time. If you put smoke in the hives, the bees can’t go into attack mode because they communicate through scent and the smoke throws that off. As someone who’s been in the drag game for a while, how do you feel about the medium’s growing popularity? Drag is more mainstream and visible now than it’s ever been. When I started on Drag Race, I remember the way even gay people at the time felt about drag. It wasn’t always good. In the gay community, people see us better now. It used to not be — you were not cool if you did drag back then. Guys did not want to talk to you or date you. People did not want to be your friend. You were a weird crossdresser, you know? Now within the gay world, it’s gone from something that was not cool to something that’s like really cool. It’s been like the gay community’s best kept secret that we have this really cool art form. And now everyone else is into it — which is fine! But you know, gay people inventing something and straight people showing up in the 11th hour is not a new concept. Gay people are sort of the cultural tastemakers and everything. So it just makes sense that Drag Race, which we like to call the gay Superbowl, caught on. Who wouldn’t like it? It’s cutthroat competitions of extremely creative people with really rich backstories, liberated people, finding themselves in an art form that wasn’t celebrated by most people. What could be more compelling than that? Trixie Mattel’s Grown Up tour hits The Orpheum Theatre on Friday, March 13, at 8 p.m. Ashley Naftule is a writer and theater artist from Phoenix, AZ. His work has been published in Pitchfork, Vice, Bandcamp, Phoenix New Times, Popula, Longreads, The Outline, SYFY Wire, AZCentral, and Java Magazine. He’s a resident playwright and artistic director at Space55 Theatre. You can find him at @Emperor_norton on Twitter.

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MARCH 2020

WITHOUT RESERVATIONS

(L-R) Kevin Rosales and Justin Park, co-owners of Deez Buns.

Deez Buns are fresh: New Tempe lunch spot offers Korean Fried Chicken, Filipino Pork Belly, and lots of Bao By Jeff Kronenfeld

he name of the new restaurant Deez Buns may be cheeky, but its food is no joke.

Co-owners Justin Park and Kevin Rosales are a breath of fresh air in Tempe’s lunch scene. Their playful and surprising menu draws from Korean, Filipino, and other culinary traditions, without ever being bound by convention. Whether thin slices of charred pork belly, Korean fried chicken, Filipino cured sausage or even an impossible meatless patty, it all gets stuffed into a heavenly pale bun popularly known as a bao. The food is as affordable as it is rich in flavors and textures. The only reason the restaurant isn’t completely overrun is its limited hours and location. Checkout 46

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Deez Buns if you need a quick midday pick-me-up during the work week or are just hunting for a fresh new flavor. The co-owners and co-chefs first met while working at Artizen Crafted American Kitchen and Bar, which is in the Canby Hotel. Park cooked and Rosales served drinks at the swanky Biltmore-area establishment. Then as now, the pair were always dreaming up new ideas for dishes, drinks and restaurants. Park left the hotel to start his own pub in Mesa. He named it the Drunken Tiger. There he introduced Korea’s rich heritage of bar food and Soju cocktails to the Valley. Like Deez Buns, the Drunken Tiger is the kind of gourmet hole in the wall you could

easily see at home in LA, New York or Seoul. Rosales also ventured off on his own. He launched a pop-up restaurant and catering business called Good Fortune Kitchen. He worked food festivals and other events, sharing the traditional Filipino foods he grew up eating. The well-mustached chef described the archipelago’s culinary heritage as being as diverse as its islands are numerous. For perspective, the Philippines are made up of 7,641 islands according to the country’s National Mapping and Resource Information Authority. Rosales and Park rekindled their friendship while working at the first PHX DINING OUT

Night Market in 2018. The event brought together culinary traditions from across the Pacific Rim and beyond, plus over 10,000 visitors. Park was happy to see Phoenix finally creating something like LA’s 626 Markets, which started in 2012. Phoenix’s 2018 event was a success for both chefs, but it was grueling too. “The first PHX Night Market was so rough on both of us that we were like, ‘if there’s a second one, you want to collab together?’” Park said. “We reconnected there.” The pair joined forces for the second — and as it turned out last — PHX Night Market the following year. Things got creative with dishes that were “Korean food slash Filipino food,” according to Park. They ended up with some leftover bulgogi mash. Bulgogi is a Korean specialty which literally translates as fire meat. Fire it is, usually consisting of thin cut beef combined with a variety of ingredients, everything from onions to grated Asian pears. If you haven’t had the pleasure of Korean barbeque, you really are missing out. Their bulgogi was used to make lumpias, a Filipino food somewhat like spring rolls, for the festival. However, now they wanted to try something different.

The Satay comes with a chicken satay patty, pickled atchara, spicy peanut sauce and tomato.

Park asked a server at Drunken Tiger to grab some hamburger buns on the way to work. They grilled up the bulgogi in patties and made burgers. The sandwiches turned out to be pretty good. Afterward, Kevin mentioned that he was baking siopao, the Filipino equivalent of bao and that it might be good to combine them. Never ones to waste food or a good idea, the culinary experiment led to the idea for Deez Buns. The soft opening for Deez Buns occurred in mid-August of last year. A date for the hard opening isn’t set, but they are open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays for now. This is partly due to the location. Despite the light rail and a few apartment complexes, the intersection of Washington Street and Priest Drive is mostly office parks. It becomes a ghost town by sundown. Another reason is that Park dashes east after closing to make it to the Drunken Tiger, which opens at five. They hope to extend hours in the future, potentially opening earlier and adding a breakfast menu. The interior is still in transition, like a restaurant that hasn’t quite forgotten its past life, but Deez Buns isn’t about airs. It’s all about the food. My first visit was in the morning soon after opening on a Tuesday. Hungry workers came in steadily, but the small line moved fast. I tried the longsilog, which is like an entire Filipino breakfast wedged between a sliced bao. The base is a hearty portion of cured Filipino sausage, which DINING OUT

The Longsilog comes with cured Filipino sausage, an egg, pickled atchara and spicy mayo served on a sliced bao.

The Korean Fried Chicken — or K.F.C. — comes with a housemade chicken nugget. ECHOMAG.COM

MARCH 2020

pickled radishes and a red sauce from the Drunken Tiger. There should be no surprise that this is the most popular item on the menu according to Park, given the real cultural moment chicken sandwiches are having. The bao really makes this one stand out.

was subtly sweet and held together nicely. There is also an egg, spicy mayo and pickled atchara, a kind of papaya salad, which added fruity crunch. Light but filling, this was plenty to power a hungry writer deep into the afternoon. It made me excited to see what they dream up for the breakfast menu they may add. The price is right at only six bucks, the same for all the bao sandwiches. You can add a big order of fries and a drink for three more, as I did. A New Year’s resolution for moderation got quickly left at the wayside, an occupational hazard in food writing. I also ordered the chicken satay, another bao sandwich. The huge chicken patty cantilevered over the edge of the circular bun. A big slice of tomato sat on top of the chicken, drenched in a hot tangy peanut sauce. Below was a bed of pickled atchara and other goodies. This was a perfect blend of heat and sweet, bringing my mouth to life without making my eyes water. It seemed to hit every flavor group, including that umami savory note so often overlooked. My next visit came a couple of days later in the afternoon. The lunch rush had come and gone. A mural of Ren and Stimpy stared down with gleeful joy. I was excited to try the Korean fried chicken sandwich, naturally shorthanded to K.F.C. I’m not sure how it works legally, but in terms of taste, this one really hit the mark for me. They call the patty a homemade chicken nugget, but I feel that hardly does it justice. Like the satay, it is actually bigger than the bun and an inch thick. The breading was crunchy while the insides were soft and moist. I could detect though not decode the unique savory spice blend, likely inspired by an authentic Park family recipe. And we haven’t even got the dressings. It comes with a not-too-wet slaw, 48

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I also gluttonously devoured a pork-belly, lettuce and tomato sandwich, helpfully abbreviated as a P.B.L.T. The pork comes in strips where two of the sides are charred black and two are nearly as white as the bun. Every bite of the tender meat is rich with garlic, vinegar and smoke. The swine is piled on a bed of lettuce, tomato and a house spread. The meat on this sandwich really sings. I also ordered to go what is perhaps the least adventurous of the sandwiches, the American. Also called the quintessential American Burger, I opted for the non-meat Impossible Burger for this one. My usual dining companion had a tough day and this was a guaranteed smile inducer. It traveled well, too. It filled them up. The balance of sauce, patty and lettuce were just right, and all the better on the almost cloud-like bun.

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If you’re like my hungry friend and can’t visit due to work, fear not. Park and Rosales bring their creative yet authentic style to a number of food festivals throughout the Valley. They may not always be under the Deez Buns banner, sometimes going as Drunken Tiger, Good Fortune Kitchen or some blend thereof. They’ll be at both successor events to the PHX Night Market, including the Asian District Night Market on Feb. 22 and 23, but also the Hawkers Street Market on April 24 and 25. Of course, they’ll be at the Bao and Dumpling Fest on March 21, as well the Arizona Matsuri on Feb. 22 and 23. Park and Rosales bring a fun new twist to the Valley’s culinary landscape, whether at the restaurant or a food festival. We will be sure to keep our eyes locked on Deez Buns for many years to come. Jeff Kronenfeld is an independent journalist based out of Phoenix, Arizona. His writing has been featured in Java Magazine, the Arts Beacon, PHXSUX, and the Phoenix Jewish News, where he received the Simon Rockower Award for excellence in news reporting from the American Jewish Press Association. Links to his previously published work are available at www.jeffkronenfeld.com. DINING OUT

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Come to be an ally. Stay for the drag show. By Will Rogers Director of Artistic Programs, Arizona Theatre Company

llies are important. They are the people who pick you up when you fall. They are the people who carry you out of the darkness when you have taken yourself as far as you can go on your own. They are the people who help you to see the grand forest around you when you have been focused so long on manicuring an individual tree. No community knows the power and importance of allies more than the LGBTQIA community. Arizona Theatre Company’s The Legend of Georgia McBride is a celebration of what is possible when we exercise our collective power. This co-production with Milwaukee Repertory Theatre heads to the Herberger Theater Center starting April 2, just in time for Pride. Georgia McBride is set in Panama City, Florida, playwright Mathew Lopez’s actual hometown, and is as much a joyous celebration of drag queens and their culture as it is a reminder to be ever vigilant in looking around and asking “how can we help?” Casey (Kevin Cantor), the protagonist of the play, is a broke Elvis impersonator with a baby on the way. When the owner of the run-

good chance you will see great people doing great things, and they want to help you. We see Nate Rhoton and his team at one•n•ten harnessing support to ensure that the queer youth of Phoenix have tools to accept themselves. We see Angela Hughey and her team at ONE Community creating a coalition of businesses, faith leaders, and individuals to build bridges for ideas and ensure equality in our state. And there are so many more out there.

down bar where he works brings in a drag show to attract more customers, Casey must learn to beat his mug and walk in heels or be out of a job. The Legend of Georgia McBride is a reminder that our path to fulfillment can take unexpected turns and lead to beautiful places if we allow it. This play shares an essential message in a frightening time when it seems like the LGBTQIA communities have advanced so far, but still, our equality, our bodies, and sometimes just our right to go to the bathroom is under attack. Sure, individually, we may be thwarted, but look around. Here in Arizona, there is a

Reach out to these people, ask for their help. Ask them how you can help. That is the spirit at the heart of The Legend of Georgia McBride. It is a play about acknowledging the allies you can see and opening yourself up to those you haven’t even noticed. While we still have paths to forge in the LGBTQIA communities, it is a crucial practice to take a moment and appreciate the people around us that make that acronym stong. So gather your tribe, collect your allies, and celebrate Phoenix Pride with Arizona Theatre Company and The Legend of Georgia McBride. We will remind you that sometimes it takes a costume change to change the world ... and some fresh lipstick, of course.

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MARCH 2020

Side by side in life and music. Photo by Matt Monath.

BANDS

Fab the Duo liken themselves to Sonny and Cher but say they’re both Cher By Timothy Rawles

reg Driscoll and Brendan Eprile make up the pop-defying group known as Fab the Duo. They are colorful, flashy, fashionable and in best of all, in love. They have a new single out now titled “No Prince Charming” that might just raise them to status of their diva idol if they keep doing what they’re doing. But even in this current musical landscape where LGBTQ artists are making history, Fab the Duo want to be more than just a label, in fact they would like to do away with it altogether. “We don’t like to confine ourselves to one genre, but the way we describe it is ‘poprock plus,’ or ‘Instagram pop-rock plus,’ like it’s kinda like that,” Driscoll laughs. “Honestly,

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we are kinda anything and everything at any given time.” The couple first met on Tinder three years ago and it didn’t take long for both of them to realize they shared more than just their love of music. They both have a musical background which also means music has always been a part of their scenery. Driscoll was heavily into musical theater growing up and Eprile pursued his dreams through singing and songwriting. Their dynamic is palpable, and you can see that when you view any of their music videos. But that energy is also prominent when they speak, sometimes finishing each other’s sentences or thoughts without reprimand.

They are a couple for sure, but they don’t want audiences to concentrate on that at first. “I feel like there are artists who are genrebased and then there are artists who are story-based,” says Driscoll. “And I feel like we are just trying to tell a story and the music helps us do that in whatever way it does.” Eprile speaks with enthusiasm and interjects, “I think that the musical landscape is changing a lot and I think a lot of the newer artists like Lil Nas who did a country rap song, people don’t really care about specific genres anymore. It’s a lot more crossing over and using a lot of different elements. I feel like in the future we are going to find people are less and less defined by genre.” ENTERTAINMENT

Fab the Duo by Arianna Jadé.

For now, the dance chart is where mainstream LGBTQ artists seem to land. The heavy beats of EDM or dense synth recipes get powerplays across the DJ decks in clubs and YouTube. And if that sound is not fast enough, BPM injections through remixing garner downloads. This isn’t necessarily where Fab the Duo want their journey to take them right now. “We don’t want to be labeled as gay first,” Driscoll says that’s a given, “we are not going into a closet, but we want to be music. Our whole thing is about being you and being proud, so for us we don’t particularly care if we fit in with the typical gay scene so to speak.” Eprile adds to that by saying the gay scene isn’t just one scene. “I’m hoping that people will see other kinds of LGBT music which could be LGBT rock, and soul and hip-hop even, because our latest song has some hiphop in it and that’s pretty rare. There’s not that many LGBT rappers. It’s just showing the world that you can do anything and not just stuck to one of the, like you know, what society labeled you.” The couple have already made a name for themselves. They released the singles “American Icon,” and “I Want a Man” with moderate success last year and their fanbase is growing. The guys are gaining ground among an unexpected section of people too. “We’ve been really shocked that some of our biggest fans are straight guys,” chuckles Eprile. “It’s not just the LGBT market and I feel like people, especially when we’re live, I think people can tell we are authentic and not trying to be anything. We just like releasing music that we believe in, that we love and that tells our story. Pretty much every song is like telling our story.” They want to make it clear that they aren’t actively trying to discount their LGBTQ listeners. “We just do what we do and people like it or they don’t, and we just keep doing what we do,” Driscoll says. With all of this fierceness, you may wonder why they don’t have it in their band name. Well they do, you just don’t see it. “It’s a funny story,” Driscoll explains. “We were just talking one day about band names and kept rolling things out, some good, some bad and then I remember somehow we were taking about something and ‘fierce ass bitches’ came up and I was like I wish that was a name — then I was like F-A-B, and then boom! So it’s actually an acronym for Fierce Ass Bitches.” “Yeah, it’s fun because it’s sort of a doubleentendre,” Eprile adds. “We always ask during our shows, ‘what do you think ‘fab’ stands for, of course everyone’s like ‘fabulous!’ and we’re like, ‘no, fierce ass bitches.’ And then the duo part was literally due to social media, we couldn’t just be called ‘fab’ because no one would be able to find us. So we put the ‘duo’ and it kind of just stuck.” ENTERTAINMENT

It fits for more than just their singing. They love fashion and incorporate it into all of their shows. They wear high heels, jewelry and different gender-bending outfits. This showmanship is a product of Driscoll’s history in musical theater, something that inspired them to do showstopping live shows. “When I first met Greg I didn’t like musical theater at all and I thought it was super campy and like Greg always tells me, ‘No, it’s literally just music telling a story.” These components are front and center in their video for “No Prince Charming,” featuring Mariahlynn. The video follows a jilted woman who with the help of her fairy godfathers gets her confidence back and moves beyond the grief. “I think the ideas behind our song is superuniversal,” says Eprile. “Like in terms of ‘No Prince Charming’ sure we’re gay men singing about how we don’t need a man even though we’re a couple. There are so many of our friends who are girls who say they identify with it so much.” Their upcoming EP is going to tell a story, too, they say. It’s kind of like an earbud confidential that will take listeners on a journey that reveals a lot about who they are

but will also be relatable. When it comes down to it, Fab the Duo has what it takes to go all the way to the top and straight through the roof. What they told their younger selves about success is finally coming true and that path has brought them together. Their harmony transcends the art they are making and just like Sonny and Cher, there’s more to their composition than just the music. “Our thing has always been we make music that we like that we think will help other people in whatever way,” says Driscoll. “We want to be the heroes we never had as kids. We do it for us first and then hopefully that resonates for other people.” Timothy Rawles is an award-winning journalist and California native who moved to Arizona with his husband and two children in 2019. He attended San Francisco State University many years ago and somehow managed to pass math and continue pursuing his journalism degree. His story is not as interesting as the people he writes about, but Timothy has discovered that everyone has one, and good or bad, they all share the same thing; heart. ECHOMAG.COM

FEBRUARY 2020

AT THE BOX OFFICE

Four films in theaters this month By Tuesday Mahrle

Run This Town In Theaters March 6 | Rated R | 69 Minutes | Drama

When young Bram (Ben Platt), a newspaper reporter in Toronto, uncovers scandalous information about the city’s mayor, Rob Ford (Damian Lewis), he finds himself moving from desk job to hardhitting news reporter. Ford’s close aides Ashley (Nina Dobrev) and Kamal (Mena Massoud) are trying to spin Bram’s story while he’s probing them for information. Scott Speedman, Gill Bellows, and Jennifer Ehle also star in this salacious drama.

My Spy In Theaters March 13 | Rated PG-13 | 102 Minutes | Action, Comedy, Family

Hardened CIA operative JJ (Dave Bautista) is tasked with surveying a family undercover. When nine-year-old Sophie (Chloe Coleman) discovers he’s watching them, she blackmails him into teaching her to be a spy in exchange for keeping his identity a secret. Hilarious and heartwarming, this movie is fun for the whole family.

The Informer In Theaters March 13 | Rated R | 113 Minutes | Crime, Drama, Thriller

Pete Koslow is a former Special Ops soldier who finds himself jailed after engaging in a fight in order to protect his wife. He’s given the opportunity to get an early release if he becomes an informant for the FBI. Pete finds himself caught in the crosshairs when an undercover cop is killed during a sting operation. He must return to prison to find a way to save his family from the mob, the NYPD and the FBI. This film stars Joel Kinnaman, Rosamund Pike, Clive Oven, and Common.

Mulan In Theaters March 27 | Not Yet Rated | 129 Minutes | Drama, Action, Adventure

An all-star, all-Asian cast that includes Yifei Liu as Mulan, Donnie Yen, Jet Li, and Gong Li present Mulan, the live-action story of a young girl fighting against all odds. When the Chinese Emperor decrees that a man from every family must serve in the Imperial Army, Hua Mulan, the oldest daughter of an ailing warrior, masquerades as a man to save her father’s life. Mulan is an inspiring story for all women, proving that anything he can do, she can do better. Tuesday Mahrle is a film critic and host of “Whiskey and Popcorn,” a Phoenixbased movie podcast. 54

MARCH 2020

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ENTERTAINMENT

Celebrating

26 Years!

The BEST independent films from around the world, celebrities, parties, workshops and more!

February 22-March 1, 2020 www.SedonaFilmFestival.org 928.282.1177

OPENING NIGHTS

Bernadette Peters showcases diverse repertoire at Chandler Center for the Arts The legend discusses her tools of the trade By Laura Latzko. Photos by Andrew Eccles

ony Award-winning actress and singer Bernadette Peters is known for her iconic voice and look. A star of Broadway, film and TV, the actress has been performing since she was a young child.

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Peters will visit the Chandler Center for the Arts on March 7 to sing music by Stephen Sondheim, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Jerry Herman. She’ll also throw in classics like Peggy Lee’s “Fever” and “When You Wish Upon a Star.”

Peters has appeared on stage in shows such as Annie Get Your Gun, On the Town, Mack and Mabel, Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, Gypsy, and Follies. As a TV and film actress, she has

ENTERTAINMENT

appeared in Annie, The Jerk, The Longest Yard, Smash, Pennies from Heaven, Grey’s Anatomy and Ugly Betty. She was also the voice of Rita, the stray gray and white cat, on Animaniacs. Peters has released solo albums and singles throughout her career and has written New York Times bestselling children’s books. Her work has earned her Tony and Drama Desk awards and nominations, as well as Grammy Award nominations. In 1998, she and fellow actress and friend Mary Tyler Moore founded Broadway Barks, an organization dedicated to helping rescued dogs find homes. Recently, Peters played Dolly Gallagher Levi in the musical Hello Dolly! and appeared on the TV shows Mozart in the Jungle, The Good Fight, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, and Katy Keene. Throughout her career, she has shown herself to be a triple threat as a singer, dancer and actress. Over the years, she has noticed the most growth in herself as an actress. She said TV and movie roles have helped her to hone her skills. Playing different types of characters has allowed her to continue to keep developing as a performer. “My career is about how much can I learn? How much better can I get? What can I learn? How can I grow?” Peters said. When working with composers such as Stephen Sondheim, she has found that it isn’t hard to immerse herself in the roles. “If you really just follow what he’s writing and why he’s writing it for the character, it makes so much sense. Certain shows like Sunday in the Park with George, where there were certain songs that are different time-wise, you have to learn the rhythms and timing, especially for the duet with George. But otherwise, he writes a really good character,” Peters said. Peters said that for her, it is important to play roles with which she has a connection. “When you are doing a show eight times a week, you really have to love it. That’s all you do is you involve yourself in the show because you can’t be going out. You can’t be wrecking your voice. So, it all has to be about the show. So, you have to choose carefully,” Peters said. Being a performer has meant continually working on her craft and developing different skills. She has worked with experts on different aspects of performance, such as speaking with an accent. For one role when she was younger, she had to learn jump rope, a skill that was new to her. Peters said it has been important for her ENTERTAINMENT

to keep her body in shape to be able to keep playing high-energy roles such as Dolly Gallagher Levi. “If you are in a musical, you have to really exercise your body and get your body in shape to be able to move around and dance,” Peters said. She was typecast more often early in her career but has been able to forge her own path by proving herself as a multitalented entertainer. Peters has resisted singing in one genre. That’s due to having an eclectic taste in music. She likes to lend her voice to different styles. “What I always try to do is just free my voice so that I can emotionally get to where I want to get to. The emotion of the song is the most important thing for me,” Peters said. Playing challenging roles has meant the

actress has had to know how to use her voice correctly. “You have to protect your voice, not strain yourself while you are learning the music, not strain yourself while you’re in the show. You have to learn how to breath. You’ve got to learn how to say the dialogue so that you’re not straining yourself,” Peters said. Bernadette Peters is scheduled to perform at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 7 at Chandler Center for the Arts. Tickets start at $68. Visit chandlercenter.org for details. Laura Latzko is a Phoenix-area freelance writer, originally from Michigan, who holds a bachelor’s degree in English and communication studies from Hollins University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. ECHOMAG.COM

MARCH 2020

RECORDINGS

usically, 2020 is off to an interesting start. There is a ton of cool stuff coming out and some of it is even local to Phoenix. It might not be the newest material, in some cases, but luckily music can be recorded, saved and even improved upon with the right technology. Here are some singles that you should listen to this month and maybe a few you want to avoid.

By Tom Reardon

Grey Daze — “Sickness”

Off the upcoming album Amends, “Sickness” features the late Chester Bennington’s first band, Grey Daze, revisiting some old vocal tracks done by the Phoenix native when the band was active in the middle ‘90s. Bennington went on to help form Linkin Park, as you probably know, and later sang for Stone Temple Pilots as well, but this track is definitely worth a listen for fans of Bennington’s music and even for those who just dig the heavier alternative music of the ‘90s and want to hear something you probably missed out on if you weren’t living in Phoenix in those days. “Sickness” delivers a nice antidote for some of the pain Bennington’s fans may be feeling after his 2018 suicide. It is certainly nice to hear his beautiful voice again.

Napalm Death — “White Kross”

Even if you don’t like the more extreme genres of metal, everyone should see Napalm Death at least once in their life. Seriously, there is nothing like a Napalm Death show and you get to tell you friends things like this, “I went to see Napalm Death last night” and then check out the confusion on their faces. “White Kross” is a Sonic Youth cover off their iconic Sister record and boy do Napalm Death deliver the noisy weirdo goods here. Don’t be scared, friends, you’ll live to see another day and who knows, you might even find that you like it.

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Morrissey — “Love Is On Its Way Out”

Pixies — “Mal de Mar” (Demo)

Clutch — “Spacegrass (The Weathermaker Vault Series)”

The first thing you should do before listening to this song is hit your local dispensary and ask for the strongest dose of THC they have. After paying and tipping your budtender, get to safe place, grab a bag of Oreos and a pint of ice cream, toke up, and hit play. For a band like Clutch, who sometimes are too selfindulgent for their own good, “Spacegrass” finds them at the top of their game. Stony, heavy, and perfectly formed to melt your brain and prolong the munchies long enough for the ice cream to be ready to scoop. At just over 7 minutes long, “Spacegrass” is the perfect length to get your buzz going.

record from 2018, but this one is decidedly different in both feel and flavor. Barnett adds some vocal stylings that complement Calvi’s song completely. This track is from Calvi’s forthcoming record, Hunted, which will come out later this year and revisit the songs of Hunter with multiple guest musicians helping out. Definitely a must for Barnett fans, as well.

Raise your hand if you remember when the Pixies used to be interesting? You’re probably over 40 if you’re sitting there with your hand raised and probably mad at yourself for raising your hand and even madder that the Pixies have been reduced to churning out releases of their own demos. Let’s face it, stuff like this should only exist in a shoe box in the back of the drummer’s closet, in this case David Lovering, because there is always one pack rat in every band. Don’t waste your time with this version of “Mal de Mar” because it sucks.

Anna Calvi/Courtney Barnett — “Don’t Beat The Girl out of My Boy” (Hunted Version) Anna Calvi, with help from Courtney Barnett, delivers a haunting little ditty with nods to Cat Power and The Clash in “Don’t Beat The Girl out of My Boy.” Fans of Calvi will remember this song from her killer Hunter

In this song, Morrissey sings, “Did you see the headlines?” before he goes on to talk about the “sad rich hunting down elephants.” Unfortunately for the singer fans call Moz, the headlines regarding himself haven’t been so kind in the last few years and what could have been a passable piece of his musical history just sounds trite and a little constipated. While there is an ongoing argument in the music and popular culture world about separating the art from the artist, songs like this from an artist like Morrissey just make it hard to accept anything the man does anymore without feeling a bit ripped off for liking this douche in the first place. Tom Reardon loves to write about people who are doing something to contribute to our community in a positive way. He also loves his family and family of friends, his pets, music, skateboarding, movies, good (and bad) TV, and working with children to build a better world. Tom’s favorite movie is Jaws, his favorite food is lasagna, and he loves to play music with his friends. He’s a busy guy, but never too busy to listen to what you have to say so tell him a story. ENTERTAINMENT

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MARCH 2020

BETWEEN THE COVERS

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

ho are you?

There are many possibilities. You can answer with ethnicity, gender, social strata, or surname, mention your species, family origins, religion, or hobbies. So many things and yet, as in the new book Becoming Eve by Abby Chava Stein, only one answer really matters. Yisroel Avrom Ben Menachem Mendel was born on the 24th of Tishrei in the year 5752 — or, for those who are not Orthodox Jews, the first of October, 1991. The sixth child and firstborn son, Yisroel’s birth was the cause of great jubilation: one main forebear was Baal Shem Tov, a holy leader and the founder of Hasidism. In their Brooklyn community, that made Yisroel a member of royalty. Almost from the moment of birth, the future was set: Yisroel would follow the same path laid out for the males of the family, starting with ritual circumcision and religious observances, then yeshiva to study the Torah and Jewish law, marriage at age 18, and hope for sons to continue the line. There was no alternative. The entire family lived like this, like “eighteenth-century Eastern Europeans,” and had done so for centuries. The exception came when then-four-yearold Yisroel insisted on having always been a girl. Later, though other childish things were forgotten, those thoughts never were. They were constant, remembered, boxed up, ignored, or excused. Even when theological questions roared, when religious texts seemed to confirm Yisroel’s suspicions of girlhood, when sex — a subject no UltraOrthodox Jew was supposed to know about until days before marriage — made an allboy yeshiva more bearable, questions of gender were suppressed. At 18, matched with and married to a woman who was nearly a stranger, Yisroel burned with envy that wearing a bridal gown would forever be denied. Naming their firstborn son was devastating. “Oh, and gender?” says author Abby Chava Stein today. “It started punching me in the face.” Without a doubt, Becoming Eve may be one of the most fascinating books you’ll read this winter. Certainly, it’ll be one of the most unusual. Set in a community that is meant only for adherents, author Stein’s story is told in rich detail that lets readers imagine everyday life with restrictions that most of us would chafe under, and without the internet, blue jeans, fast food, or English. These day-to-day details are relayed in a matter-of-fact tone that makes the severity of the “laws” seem even more astounding because of the seeming scarcity of emotion associated in their telling.

MARCH 2020

ECHOMAG.COM

Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman by Abby Chava Stein c.2019 | Seal Press | like in the other book’s pricing | $35.00 Canada | 272 pages Stein’s lifelong question of gender almost seems secondary to those astonishments, but as the tale progresses, her demand for answers grows quietly in a way you almost won’t notice until it pounces on you. Whoosh, it’s a relief you never knew you were waiting for. And yet, relief is fleeting: Stein leaves readers hanging by not including an up-todate, which could be frustrating in any other story, but this unusual book’s end still feels just right. For that, Becoming Eve is a most satisfyingly unsatisfying book, and you’ll love it no matter who you are.

ike father, like son.

When you were small, people said you looked just like your dad. As you grew up, they said you had his sense of humor or his temper, you laughed alike, you walked alike. Today, you may be close or you may have a chasm of miles or emotion between you, but as in the new book Gay Like Me by Richie Jackson, you’re a lot more like Dad than you think. From the time he was small, Richie Jackson knew two things: he “felt lucky to be gay,” ENTERTAINMENT

and he wanted to be a father someday. “Everything good that has happened to me is because I am gay,” he says — and that includes the birth of his son, born to a surrogate when Jackson was in his thirties. Since then, in the meantime, the sentiment has surely doubled since Jackson’s son came out as gay. That was his “greatest wish for” his son, that he know the joy of being gay because it’s “a gift.” Says Jackson, he is “thrilled for the flight ahead of you” and “wary of the fight ahead of you” because wonderful things could happen but vigilance is required, and the knowledge that pain sometimes comes from people you didn’t think would hurt you. Still, Jackson is excited for his son, who is college-age now and who grew up at a time when AIDS isn’t a death sentence, hiding isn’t mandatory, and so many large battles have already been fought by people at Stonewall, in the military, in marriage equality, and in everyday life. These things give Jackson hope as he launches his eldest son in the world as a gay man, but he has advice. Know who you are, he counsels, and “never diminish your essence.” Know the heroes who went before you. Never let your sexuality shame you and never use it to shame others. Know your partner’s HIV status in advance. Don’t fall into the same drugs-and-alcohol trap that’s ensnared so many other gay men. And “vote as if your life depends on it, because it does.”

Gay Like Me: A Father Writes to His Son by Richie Jackson c.2020 | Harper | $24.99 / $31.00 Canada | 163 pages Is there a modern teenager in the world who takes his father’s advice? Perhaps not, but if he’s a gay young man, he might still be glad to have Gay Like Me. Written with enthusiasm and gratitude, author Richie Jackson also displays a lot of loving steel hidden in the things he wants his son to know. His advice is fierce but tempered with the kind of acquired fear that traumatically becomes a part of one’s DNA.

Nathan Johnson ENTERTAINMENT

In the sweetest of dad-tones, he’s honest, using a please-don’t-do-as-I-did warning, heavy on the “please.” He doesn’t just write words to his son, but he penned them about

his son, and they’re caressing, but difficult, words that aren’t only for the sake of, or aimed at, one specific, specifically-young man. You don’t, in other words, have to be young or gay or even a man to enjoy Gay Like Me. Mothers of gay teens will want it, fathers and sons alike. Terri Schlichenmeyer, The Bookworm, lives on a hill in Wisconsin with two dogs and 13,000 books. She’s been reading since age 3 and, to this day, she never goes anywhere without a book. ECHOMAG.COM

MARCH 2020

TALKING BODIES

for 30g of fiber per day. Fiber is essential for digestive health, and is found in fruits, vegetables, some supplements, and higher nutrition grains. Usually, once people commit to higher quality foods, they find the fiber goals easier to hit. Sodium, in a sentence, is much more important to athletes who sweat more. Sweat rates are highly variable, depending on each person, the climate, and the activity. Essentially, the more you sweat, the more sodium you’ll need to replace. Sedentary individuals should monitor excess sodium intake due to lack of sweat.

Food and fitness 101: using food to reach your goals By Tia Norris

’m going to cut right to the chase: the world of diet is downright confusing AF. It’s a labyrinth, with mountains of misinformation, contradictory advice, and an overwhelming array of options … how is the average person supposed to know which way is up? The truth is, each person’s ideal diet is a unique puzzle that evolves over time, other health conditions, and goals. Your best bet to understanding how to use food to your advantage is to understand the pieces that are involved, and then how they can work together to solve your own unique puzzle in any given program. Let’s explore briefly what each of the main players are: Calories Calories are the general “how much” of the diet equation. A calorie is a unit of energy, so, food is energy. There are several processes that combine to determine how many calories your body burns per day, including: exercise, your basal metabolic rate (a product of age, height, weight, and sex), the thermic effect of food (the calories burned to digest and process food), and non-exercise activity (like standing, walking, fidgeting, etc.). The total estimate of your calories burned each day is called your “total daily estimated expenditure” or “TDEE”. To simplify things, you could Google a TDEE calculator to find this number for yourself. Energy balance is critical to achieving fitness goals. Someone that wants to lose weight must consume less calories than their TDEE. Someone that wants to gain weight most consume a surplus. Someone who wants to excel in performance needs to break even or consume a slight surplus. Calories are relatively straightforward, and I mention them first in this article because they hold arguably the greatest transformative power in changing physique or fueling performance. Calories matter, and I encourage the vast majority of my clients to at least ballpark their caloric

MARCH 2020

ECHOMAG.COM

Water. Do we even need to discuss this one? Your body is 70% water, and most people simply don’t get enough to replace what is used each day. Depending on a person’s sex, size, climate, and activity, aim for 60-70 ounces per day at a minimum and 100 or more ounces in hot climates or with increased activity.

intake to understand their fitness goals better.

Quality

Macronutrients

Quality matters! Most of the considerations above would fall under the “quantity” umbrella, but don’t neglect the power of “quality”. Let’s keep this common sense … of course, chicken breasts and spinach are better for you than pizza and beers. You don’t need a doctorate in nutrition to know what’s generally best. Don’t overthink this — shoot for about 80% higher quality choices, with 20% indulgence, and you’re doing better than most. Remember, your body is only going to last as long, and go as far as, the quality of fuel that you’re putting into it. Respect your body now, or you’ll be forced to do so later, when it starts to break down.

There are three main macronutrients (“macros” for short): carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Technically, alcohol is a fourth macronutrient but let’s skip over that for now. Each macro has a conversion rate from grams to calories; the total calories of the three macro’s combined, equate to one’s total caloric intake. Carbohydrates and protein account for four calories per gram; fat accounts for nine calories per gram. So, 100g of both protein and carbs equate to 400cal each; 100g of fat equates to 900cal. If you’ve already calculated your TDEE, and committed to either a deficit or a surplus, your next step is to work backwards from that calorie goal to complete your caloric puzzle with macronutrient ratios. So, what is the golden ratio of carbs, to protein, to fat? Unfortunately, there simply isn’t enough space in this article to delve into that – know this, though: most diets out there have a time and place and ideal person they’ll work best for. If you don’t know what you’re doing, I highly recommend a more balanced macro split — beware of the extreme diets that highly restrict one macro or more. Generally speaking, here are some extremely broad guidelines: weightlifters need more protein; endurance athletes need more carbs and fats; reduce carbs to lose weight; increase carbs to gain weight; dietary fat doesn’t make you fat; more sedentary individuals should reduce carbs and fats. Please seek a nutrition professional to help define your ideal ratio. Micronutrients There are a myriad of micronutrients in the ballgame, but let’s make this quick by focusing on fiber, sodium, and water. Outside of a GI issue, most females should aim for 25g fiber per day and males

Other considerations for the advanced class My advice to any newbie who wants to tackle the diet: start with calories, macro’s, micro’s, and quality first. Truly, you could fill years of experimentation and results with just those considerations alone. Down the road, of course, there are other things to consider: meal timings and feeding windows, supplements, cheat meals, re-feeding schedules, pre/post/during workout fuel and timings, and so much more. But, my advice would be to start with the bigger beasts first, before diving into these details later. The way to cut through the complexity of diet is to start with the big considerations, and to start at square one with a simple plan. Start with meticulous calorie tracking, with a balanced macronutrient split, with good quality, and you’re seriously ahead of 95% of people out there. Make it as simple as you can and handle the task one bite at a time. Tia Norris is the president and head trainer at FitPro, LLC, a local fitness company. Find out more at fitprollc.com. HEALTH & FITNESS

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MARCH 2020

NOT THAT YOU ASKED

station when a complete stranger walked past and slapped her on the rear end. This friend – close to my age – had very clearly had enough of this nonsense and decided to take a stand right then and there. She summoned the police, who arrived minutes later and arrested the man. I applauded my friend then and I still do. It goes without saying that she has endured much more in life than me, at least as far as inappropriate sexual conduct is concerned. The circumstances of that butt slap and the stakes involved were much greater than anything I’ve faced. Her stand on that day was for all women who, for most of their lives, have had to put up with shit like randos slapping their butt, rubbing their back, placing a hand on their knee and stroking with one finger in that way that makes you want to shed your skin, and worse. I guess that’s the conundrum we face in 2020. How do you know what someone’s threshold is? Can you predict whether someone likes to have their butt grabbed? You really can’t. which is precisely the point. It’s probably best to assume most people are not thirsty like me and are not OK with that kind of butt attention.

Nobody grabs my butt anymore By Buddy Early

hen I was in my 20s and early 30s, I suppose I was a bit of a barfly. You could’ve found me in any one of a half-dozen watering holes somewhere between two and five nights a week. I didn’t always drink a lot when I was out, but I enjoyed being in community spaces where I could be my authentic self, instead of at home watching Law & Order reruns … like I do now. So, there I was: at Wink’s, Roscoes, Padlock, or Charlie’s, spending money that might’ve gone toward repayment of a student loan or on a car that didn’t make a weird thud every time I made a right turn. Some pretty inappropriate things went on in gay bars of yesteryear. I’m not too much of a prude to admit I once rendezvoused in the bathroom at Wink’s. Before Charlie’s expansion, you couldn’t walk from one side of the crowded bar to the other without having some part of your body groped at least twice. And – let’s be honest – none of us went to Padlock unless we wanted to do some stuff or see some stuff.

MARCH 2020

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Damn me for saying this, but I miss it. Not the bar-flying and drinking, but the inappropriate behavior. I know I am at risk of being canceled by the culture for stating this, but I wish more people would grab my butt. When I came out, I was impressed with a social scene that had few identifiable boundaries on sex, where people were blatant in their quest to simply get laid. This was refreshing. For a young man who had suppressed all sexual desire and activity for 25 years, I liked being viewed as a sex object and did not mind if someone only saw me as a piece of meat. This may sound odd coming from me, especially if you remember my column last summer in which I divulged I had been celibate for five years. And if this reads like I am proposing we all go around grabbing people’s butts, nothing could be further from the truth. But I wouldn’t mind if someone grabbed my butt. Some years ago, a female friend was pumping gas at a north Phoenix gas

(Let me be clear: it was a nice butt. Perky and round. It was very grabbable. These days I have a “last call butt” at best and I’ve come to terms with that.) Again, maintaining my current celibacy doesn’t make me a prude, and wanting my butt grabbed doesn’t make me a hypocrite. Rather, these things demonstrate how I am in control of my sexual desires and behavior, and I can say no (or yes!) to someone who might ask me for sex. (I do it all the time on a “dating” app called Scruff.) A person bold enough to, as we used to say, “put the moves on me,” does not require me to be triggered. A sexual advance does not necessarily equate to harassment and assault. Sexual freedom is something so many of us and the generations before us have been fighting for. If we’re not careful we might go down the path of the puritanical society we’ve warned against: a country where merely expressing our sexual longings and intent is shameful, and where getting laid is immoral. I’m not saying grab my butt when you see me out. But I probably won’t call the police on you, either. Buddy Early grew up in Tempe and has been involved in various communities across the Valley since. He is a former managing editor of both Echo Magazine and Compete Magazine. COMMUNITY

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MARCH 2018

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LOCAL BUSNESSES

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FEBRUARY 2018

Project Nunway: Nunder The Sea

Feb. 8 at The Parsons Center, Phoenix. Photos by Melissa Fossum.

Locally, gay owned, organic, plant based cafe!

4810 N 7th St, 602-237-6724 www.whyldass.com LOCAL BUSNESSES

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Mark Our Calendars!

For Echo’s complete event listing, visit

echomag.com/communitycalendar.

For more Echo photos visit echomag.com/2020-photos ECHOMAG.COM

MARCH 2020

PHOENIX BARS 18

21 4 24

15 9

14 25

5th

32nd St.

23 19 2

e. Av

1 13 22

11 3

10 *MAP IS NOT DRAWN TO SCALE

MARCH 2020

ECHOMAG.COM

ANVIL

2424 E. Thomas Road

602-334-1462

M, D, L

BAR 1

3702 N. Sixteenth St.

602-266-9001

M, E, N

BLISS/ReBAR

901 N. Fourth St.

602-795-1792

MF, N, R

BOYCOTT BAR

4301 N. Seventh Ave.

602-515-3667

MF, D, E

BS WEST

7125 E. Fifth Ave., Scottsdale

480-945-9028

MF, D, E

BUNKHOUSE

4428 N. Seventh Ave.

602-200-9154

M, L, N

CARAVAN TAP ROOM CLOSED

4835 N. Fifteenth Ave.

602-592-9386

MF, E, N

CHARLIE’S

727 W. Camelback Road

602-265-0224

M, E, D

11 9

CRUISIN’ 7TH

3702 N. Seventh St.

602-212-9888

M, E, N

2 10

DICK’S CABARET

3432 E. Illini St.

602-274-3425

11 13

FEZ

105 W. Portland St.

602-287-8700

MF, R

12 14

FLEX SPAS PHOENIX

1517 S. Black Canyon Highway

602-271-9011

M, A

15 13

KARAMBA NIGHTCLUB

1724 E. McDowell Road

602-254-0231

D, E

14 16

KOBALT

3110 N. Central Ave., Ste. 175

602-264-5307

MF, E, N

17 15

LOS DIABLOS

1028 E. Indian School Road

602-795-7881

MF, N, R

16 18

NU TOWNE SALOON

5002 E. Van Buren St.

602-267-9959

M, L, N

17 19

OFF CHUTE TOO

4115 N. Seventh Ave.

602-274-1429

MF, A

20 18

OZ BAR

1804 W. Bethany Home Road

602-242-5114

MF, N

21 19

PLAZMA

1560 E. Osborn Road

602-266-0477

MF, E, N

22 20

ROYAL VILLA INN

4312 N. Twelfth St.

602-266-6883

M, A

23 21

STACY’S @ MELROSE

4343 N. Seventh Ave.

602-264-1700

MF, D, N

24 22

THE CASH NIGHTCLUB AND LOUNGE

1730 E. McDowell Road

(602) 244-9943

F, D, N

25 23

THE CHUTE

1440 E. Indian School Road

602-234-1654

M, A

27 24

THE ROCK

4129 N. Seventh Ave.

602-248-8559

MF, E, N

25 28

2601 ON CENTRAL

2601 N. Central Ave.

602-466-2074

MF, E, R

MAP CODES: M F MF

Mostly Males Mostly Females Mixed Male/Female

A Adult Retail & Accomodations D Dance Club E Entertainment (Karaoke, Drag)

L N R

Leather/Bears Neighborhood Bar Restaurant

ECHOMAG.COM

MARCH 2020

BAR SPECIALS

RipplePHX Winter Carnival

Jan. 31 at Stacy’s @ Melrose, Phoenix. Photos by nightfuse.com.

BUNKHOUSE S HH and $1 Drafts all day. Indian Fry Bread M T W T F S

with Joe Jackson Thames 12 p.m. - 9 p.m., Live Jazz with Kenny Thames 7:30 - 10 2-4-1 8 a.m. - 2 p.m., HH 2 - 8 p.m., Pool tournament 9 p.m. 2-4-1 8 a.m. - 2 p.m., HH 2 - 8 p.m. 2-4-1 8 a.m. - 2 p.m., HH 2 - 8 p.m., Karaoke 9 p.m.-close 2-4-1 8 a.m. - 2 p.m., HH 2 - 8 p.m., Underwear/Gear night $1 off drinks if in gear or underwear 8-close, WMW dancers 10-12 2-4-1 8 a.m. - 2 p.m., HH 2 - 8 p.m. $2.50 Miller 8- close 2-4-1 8 a.m. - 2 p.m., HH 2 - 8 p.m., $2.50 Bud 8 - close

CHARLIE’S S Super HH 4 - 7 p.m., $3 pitchers; $3 Long

Islands open - close

M 2 - 8 p.m. 2-4-1 well & domestic bottles,

T W

T F

$3 pitchers; 8 p.m.-close, 1/2 off drinks for wearing underwear, $3 Jack Daniels 2 - 8 p.m. 2-4-1 well & domestic bottles, $3 pitchers; 2-4-1 cocktails & beer 8 p.m - close 2 -8 p.m. 2-4-1 well & domestic bottles, $3 pitchers; $3 Three Olives vodka, 8 p.m. close 2 - 8 p.m. 2-4-1 well & domestic bottles, $3 pitchers; 2-4-1 drinks open - close 2 - 7 p.m. 2-4-1 well & domestics, $3 pitchers; HH 7 - 9 p.m.; $1 well & domestics, $1 drafts 10 p.m. - midnight Noon - 7 p.m. 2-4-1 well & domestics; HH 7 - 9 p.m.; $1 well & domestics, $3 Absolut & Bacardi 10 p.m. - midnight

STACY’S @ MELROSE S $2 Wells, RR & BL Drafts, 2-7; $3 Bud Light

M T W T F S

Bottles, 2-Close; $3.50 Fireball shots, 7-Close; Happy Hours & $5.00 Absolut cocktails, 10-Close Happy Hours & $3 RR & Bud Lt Draft, 4-Close; $3.50 Fireball, 8-Close Happy Hours, $4 Margaritas, $3 RR & Bud Lt Draft, 4-Close; Taco Tuesday, $1 Street Taco 2-4-1 all day, No Shots, 4-Midnight; Happy Hours, Midnight-close; 2-4-1 Chits good all night Happy Hours, 4-close; We Accept 2-4-1’s from Other Bars, 4-close Happy Hours 4-8.; $3.00 RR & Bud Lt Draft,4-Close; $5.00 Deep Eddy flavors & Fireball, 8-Close Happy Hours 4-8; $3.00 Rolling Rock & Bud Light Draft,4-Close; $5.00 Deep Eddy flavors & Fireball, 8-Close MARCH 2020

ECHOMAG.COM

For more Echo photos visit echomag.com/2020-photos OUT & ABOUT

Call Jeffrey today to find out about his personal approach to limiting your tax burden. If you owe the IRS or have unfilled tax returns I am authorized by the US Treasury to help you negotiate a settlement option you can afford, sometimes for less than you owe. Have you been charged a penalty? Let me see If I can eliminate it, and have the money refunded to you.

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MARCH 2020

Honoring Phoenix Legends

Jan. 26 at Changing Hands Bookstore Great Room, Phoenix. Photos by nightfuse.com.

For more Echo photos visit echomag.com/2020-photos.

MARCH 2020

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Phoenix ... Summer is coming!

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MARCH 2020

ADVERTISER DIRECTORY Please support our advertisers who help keep Echo free

ACCOUNTANTS/

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ADULT ENTERTAINMENT Flex Spas Phoenix

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APARTMENTS East and West Apartments

ATTORNEYS Jackson White Attorneys At Law

AUTO DEALERS Infiniti on Camelback

AUTO SERVICES Community Tire Pros & Auto Repair

BARS & CLUBS Bunkhouse

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Matthew Hoedt, Realty One

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EDUCATION College District

Brunch Cafe

China Chili

Shaneland Arts

Hula’s Modern Tiki

Whyld Ass Restaurant

HOME SERVICES AZ Perfect Comfort

Rainbow Bug

Valdez Refrigeration

Benefits Arizona

MARKETING LGBTQ.one

MORTGAGE Mortgage Corp.

Oﬀ Chute Too

Calvin Goetz, Strategy Financial Group

SALONS Salon 24

SENIOR LIVING Beautitudes Campus

WELLNESS

PHARMACIES CVS specialty Pharmacy

Fairmont Pharmacy

Arizona Gay Realtors Alliance

RETAIL

RETIREMENT PLANNING

INSURANCE

Berney Streed, Re/Max Excalibur

EVENTS

Exposed Studio & Gallery

REALTORS

Maricopa County Community

Community Church of Hope

RESTAURANTS

GALLERIES

Jeremy Schachter, Fairway Independent

DENTISTS

3 66

American Regenerative Medicine CAN Community Health

5 10,11

FitPro, LLC

Kneads Therapy

Ripple PHX

Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS

Bobbi Ryals, HomeSmart

Stonewall Institute

A-List Show

Bradley B. Brauer, HomeSmart

Swampt Waxing Services

“Are You Worth A Rug Burn” filming

David Oesterle, ReMax

Terros - Turning the Tide

Edward Vasquez, Allstate

Willo Medi Spa

Arizona Broadway Theatre

To find out more about advertising in Echo, call 602-266-0550 74

MARCH 2020

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