San Antonio Current — May 3, 2023

San Antonio Current

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35 Music

Family Style

Ahead of San Antonio show, the Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Susan Tedeschi talks about work and sacrifice

Critics’ Picks

15 Feature

The Kendall Batchelor Trial Class, coverups and consequences in the Texas Hill Country

09 News The Opener News in Brief

CityScrapes

San Antonio’s term limits constrain leaders’ ability to address real city problems

27 Screens Unifying Force

Alejandro Cabrera in post-production on Star Wars documentary linking film franchise to Texas

29 Food

Amor and Amari

Bad

Takes Starbucks treats its workers like shit, and politicos allow the company to get away with it

19 Calendar Calendar Picks

24 Arts Dark Comedy

Ceramic artist Michael Guerra Foerster embraces the playful and the ephemeral

Tasting flights of the bitter spirits reveals their wide variety and subtle differences

First Look

San Antonio’s Tokyo Cowboy offers mashup of craft cocktails, Asianinspired eats

Hot Dish Table Talk

Krazy Katsu co-owner Phillip Gonyea made the jump from home cook to restaurateur

Kendall County Sheriff’s Office

On the Cover: Many are watching a trial soon getting underway in Kendall County because of its potential twists. Design: Samantha Serna.

HCouncilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez faced a homophobic attack as he fights for re-election to his District 2 seat. Last week, one of the first-term councilman’s campaign signs was defaced with the word “Groomer!” — a reference to the way in which child predators coerce their victims. The term has recently come into popular use as a right-wing attack line. McKee-Rodriguez, a progressive, is the first openly gay Black man to serve on the city council.

Six Flags Fiesta Texas is getting a new, state-of-the-art gaming center. The attraction will include 52-seat lounge, 50 custom gaming PCs, console-style gaming set-ups and a large theater for viewing game play. “This cutting-edge gaming arena is a first for the amusement industry, representing our dedication to offering a premium experience in every aspect of our guests’ visit,” Six Flags Park President Jeffrey Siebert said in a statement.

HA bill advanced by the Texas Senate last week could effectively end transition-related medical care for people of all ages in the state. Senate Bill 1029 would override typical medical malpractice rules and make insurance companies liable for patients’ lifetime medical and pharmaceutical costs related to complications from transition-related care. The Senate has already passed a total ban on gender-affirming care for minors

For the first time, Gruene Hall has been nominated for an Academy of Country Music Award. The iconic New Braunfels-area venue, which opened its doors in 1878 and calls itself the state’s oldest continually operating dance hall, is up for the 2022 Club of the Year award. Gruene Hall will go up against four other venues for the prize, including Billy Bob’s Texas of Fort Worth. The award show takes place May 11. — Abe Asher

Bringing up the immigration status of innocent shooting victims with Gov. Greg Abbott

Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark.

After repeatedly trafficking in racist comparisons of border crossers to “invaders,” Gov. Greg Abbott is now under fire for identifying the victims of last week’s mass shooting in Cleveland, Texas, as “illegal immigrants.”

On Friday, an intoxicated man shot and killed five people, including an 8-year-old boy, after his neighbors dared ask him to stop firing off an assault rifle while a baby was trying to sleep.

In a subsequent statement, Texas’ Republican governor offered condolences to the families, but not before identifying the innocent victims as “illegal immigrants.” He also announced a $50,000 reward for the suspect, who remains at large at press time.

“Five human beings lost their lives and Greg Abbott insists on labeling them ‘illegal immigrants,’” former Mayor Julián Castro tweeted in response.

Meanwhile, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) blasted the governor’s statement as “dehumanizing anti-immigrant rhetoric.”

The ILRC added: “The victims here were your neighbors. They were your friends. They were

your colleagues.”

What’s more, several Twitter users shared evidence suggesting that at least one of the victims may have been a permanent U.S. resident.

In reality, no one should be surprised to see Abbott react with such callous disregard.

After all, this is the same assclown who lied during a 2021 San Antonio press conference that migrants were causing “carnage” at the border, adding that “people are being threatened with guns daily.” He offered no supporting data for either claim because there was none.

This is also the same assclown who, during the heat of last year’s election campaign, repeatedly invoked “invasion” rhetoric similar to that in a fundraising letter he sent out a day before the 2019 El Paso Walmart shooting that left 23 people dead. Before that rampage, the shooter posted a hate-filled screed about striking back against immigrant invaders.

There’s no reason to expect an authentic display of empathy from Abbott, a leader who’s repeatedly shown his willingness to grovel for the votes of white supremacists and those in the throes of anti-immigrant hysteria. — Sanford

Nowlin

Two of the eight defendants sued for allegedly harassing and intimidating a Joe Biden campaign bus driving north out of San Antonio during the buildup to the 2020 presidential election have agreed to settle. Former state Sen. Wendy Davis and three others traveling on the Biden bus brought the lawsuit two years ago, arguing that the Donald Trump supporters who penned in the bus with their vehicles and slowed it almost to a stop violated Texas and federal law. The case against the six other defendants is scheduled to go to trial next April.

Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia is calling for an investigation into the closure of Texas Vista Medical Center, the South Side’s primary hospital. Steward Health Care, the hospital’s owner, has said it’s closing the facility because of the cost of operating in an area where many patients can’t pay for their care. But in a secret audio recording from a March leadership meeting, hospital CEO Jon Turton said Steward is “trying to get out of lease obligations.”

The federal government last week temporarily blocked Elon Musk’s SpaceX from launching another rocket after the last exploded and rained particulate matter on South Texas Environmentalists and activists have repeatedly raised concerns about the effect of SpaceX’s operations. The company now must coordinate with state and federal agencies to analyze the impact of its latest launch and come up with environmental mitigations efforts.—  Abe Asher

YOU SAID IT!

“This isn’t about kids’ safety. This isn’t about medication safety. It’s specifically targeting transgender people because they’re a small group of people who are easily marginalized.”

— Christopher Hamilton, CEO of nonprofitTexas HealthAction to theTexasTribune about Senate Bill 1029.

Nominate your favorite people, places, & things to do around San Antonio!

vote daily until may 15

San Antonio’s term limits constrain leaders’ ability to address real city problems

BY HEYWOOD SANDERS

CityScrapes is a column of opinion and analysis.

It’s spring in San Antonio. The mountain laurels have bloomed, and the esperanza is starting to grow again. Our lawns, brown and burned out from a brutal summer, are finally turning green. Front yards also are sprouting the signs for local political candidates that appear in odd-numbered years. Yet the signs for mayoral candidates appear unusually sparse this time.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg appears to have only token opposition. And that’s not really a function of his record or the absence of any serious issues or public needs in San Antonio. It’s the result of the term limits the voters put into effect in 1991.

A petition effort led by the Homeowner-Taxpayer Association put a term proposition on the ballot back then. The specifics of the HTA effort were draconian: two two-year terms, followed by a lifetime ban. With a broad array of candidates opposing incumbent Mayor Lila Cockrell — from Nelson Wolff and Maria Berriozabal to Van Henry Archer, Jimmy Hasslocher and Kay Turner — the mayoral race and a proposal to halt the proposed Applewhite dam and reservoir project got most of the media attention. Term limits? Not so much.

When the votes were counted, the term limit initiative garnered a massive 65.3% “yes” vote, with majorities from all sectors of the city.

In retrospect, the broad voter support for term limits was easy to understand. For some, it was the spending spree of the Cisneros years, including the development of the Alamodome. Then there was the questionable judgement of then-City Manager Lou Fox in engineering the purchase of a number of downtown buildings including Municipal Plaza, in part from a Houston developer he had personally done business with. And finally, with the Texas oil bust of the late ’80s and the drop in city revenues, Mayor Cockrell called for a property tax increase — a hike that was rolled back in a citywide vote.

Over the past two decades, there have been efforts to ease the drastic term limits adopted in 1991. As a result, Nirenberg can now seek a fourth, and final, two-year term. But for potential challengers the political logic is clear. Why fight an incumbent with substantial name recognition and a campaign war

chest when you can just wait two years and try for an entirely open seat? In that contest, the only necessity is to rack up just enough votes to get into a runoff with the leader.

So, on May 6, we’re left with a

for mayor.

limited set of choices

It’s a far cry from where we were in spring of 2017, when a politically ambitious Nirenberg chose to run for mayor against incumbent Ivy Taylor. In that race, Nirenberg placed a big focus on leadership, criticizing Taylor’s “lack of vision” and contending she had never met a lobbyist or developer she didn’t like. He stood for a more environmentally sensitive approach to development and potential growth, and he pledged to put a light rail plan on the ballot. Then there was his promise to reform ethics at city hall with an independent “ethics auditor,” and rebuild the public’s trust in government.

Shortly after his victory in the June 2017 runoff election, the Express-News called on Nirenberg to “deliver… on his bold and inclusive vision.” The editorial provided a lengthy list of civic issues, starting with the city’s 300th anniversary and “reimagining the Alamo,” running through the promise of a vote on a light rail package, innovative policing, luring new employers, getting a Major League Soccer team and

“partnering with Austin on rail.”

Credit

The newspaper’s priorities were not necessarily mine, then or now. But San Antonio remains a city that’s succeeded in growing in population and spreading outward while remaining poorer and more economically segregated than its peers. The issues that demanded mayoral attention largely remain today.

My concern is not with Nirenberg’s promises or his record. It’s with a structure of city government — mayors and councilmembers limited and constrained by term limits, electoral participation and attention weakened by the May election date, and indeed the city manager system itself.

The two-year council terms and city manager arrangement that business leaders such as Walter McAllister saw as their means to control city government in 1951 aren’t necessarily well suited to the far larger, more diverse and more challenged San Antonio of today.

And while I don’t fault local politicos for their ambition, we are today, even more than in 2017, a community that genuinely needs both vision and leadership — and a government that’s up to the task.

Heywood Sanders is a professor of public administration at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Starbucks treats its workers like shit, and politicos allow the company to get away with it

BY KEVIN SANCHEZ

Editor’s Note: Bad Takes is a column of opinion and analysis.

If your employer is willing to break the law to stop you from starting a union, that’s probably a pretty good reason to start a union.

A year ago this month, then-Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz told a town hall meeting of employees, “We can’t ignore what is happening as it relates to companies throughout the country being assaulted in many ways by the threat of unionization.”

Assaulted? How exactly does a worker exercising their legal right to unionize represent committing an assault?

The National Labor Relations Board spells out things pretty clearly.

“You have the right to organize a union to negotiate with your employer over your terms and conditions of employment,” the NLRB notes on its website. “This includes your right to distribute union literature, wear union buttons or T-shirts, solicit coworkers to sign union authorization cards, and discuss the union with coworkers. Supervisors and managers cannot spy on you, coercively question you, threaten you or bribe you regarding your union activity. You can’t be fired, disciplined, demoted, or penalized in any way for engaging in these activities.”

That’s the law. But tell that to Robert Hernandez. He was the lead organizer at the Shavano Park Starbucks at Northwest Military Drive and Loop 1604 Starbucks, which voted to form a union last November. After two years of dedicated service to his customers and coworkers, management recently shitcanned him for reasons he argues had never been cause for discipline in the past.

Or tell Madeline Gierkey, a barista in Houston.

“We know that we are valuable as workers, we respect each other, and we know what we deserve,” she told Houston Public Media after her store won its union vote.

According to Starbucks, though, what she deserved was to be thrown out on her ass.

Or tell Alexis Rizzo, a shift supervisor at the shop that ignited the Starbucks Workers United movement. She was terminated for being late four times in seven years. After being fired, she spoke outside her store and directed choice words at Shultz.

“I have given every ounce of everything that I have to this company,” Rizzo said. “There’s no one who has worked with me that will tell you that I do not love and care for this place and my customers. My heart is broken. You know that you’re a heartless monster. I don’t know how you sleep at night; I don’t how you

look at yourself in the mirror. You have hundreds of thousands of people giving everything that they have so that you can make another dollar, and then you treat us like we’re dirt. It’s disgusting. You know what kind of a person you are and everyone else is going to find out.”

If you’d like to help these workers with rent and other life expenses while they petition the NLRB to get their jobs back, please look up their GoFundMe pages online.

All these firings occurred days after Shultz showed his ass late last month as he appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, chaired by Senator Bernie Sanders.

“I take offense with you categorizing Starbucks as a union-buster,” Shultz said, instantaneously provoking raucous laughter among attendees in the hearing room. Further, Shultz continued to refer to massive violations of relevant labor statutes as “allegations” and insisted that Starbucks hasn’t broken the law.

But when a judge at the NLRB rules on a complaint, that’s no longer a mere allegation. That’s a presumptive finding of criminal malfeasance. Out of over 500 unfair labor practice charges, judges, understaffed though they are, have found Starbucks broke the law 130 times.

That’s not an allegation, Mr. Shultz, them’s the facts.

On April 24, Starbucks’ new CEO announced socalled “connection sessions,” two-hour online meetings allowing employees to taste coffee together and play games. A Starbucks Workers United representative called the new program “nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt by the company to continue its unprecedented union-busting campaign.”

Meanwhile, in federal court, Starbucks asked to subpoena employees’ text messages and emails, which would better enable executives to target union organizers for retaliation.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Even though 301 Starbucks stores won their union elections, they’ve so far achieved zero union contracts to show for it, thanks to the company’s brazen obstruction.

Jaysin Saxton, a wrongfully fired Starbucks worker later reinstated by the NLRB, testified after Shultz in front of Sanders’ committee, and subsequently told Democracy Now! about the $100 billion corporation’s arbitrary work schedules.

“A partner — which is what Starbucks calls its em-

ployees — can work 25 hours one week and the next week work five hours,” he said. “There’s no stability in how much you’re earning or in how many hours you’re getting. So, you can’t afford to pay your bills and you have to choose between gas and food.”

Meanwhile, Shultz, the proud owner of a $120 million superyacht, objected to committee members even calling him a billionaire. (His net worth reportedly hovers around $3.9 billion.) And the public acts of fellatio Republican senators performed on the CEO during the hearing expose the lie that the GOP could ever pretend to be a party of the working class.

Republican senators from Mitt Romney to Markwayne Mullin offered nary a cross word about Starbucks’ flagrant union-busting, and Rand Paul, true to his name, actually quoted from an Ayn Rand novel while praising capitalism for every civilizational advancement of the 20th century, conveniently ignoring the role of organized labor.

Not that the Democrats are much better.

Back in March, Jon Stewart grilled Lawrence Summers, a former treasury secretary under Clinton, about economic planners’ deliberate attempt to induce a recession to curb rising prices.

“You’re saying to me, ‘Jon, market forces are market forces’, but when there’s a tightness in the labor market, the workers, just following the same capitalistic principles that allow companies to charge more for their products, shouldn’t charge more, because wage inflation is driving inflation,” Summers said.

Then he admitted that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes are likely to quell consumer demand and lead to “a somewhat looser labor market” with unemployment projected to exceed 5% by year’s end.

So, when flush corporations gang-markup their prices, that’s just the free market at work. But when workers go on strike to demand a living wage, that’s an assault which necessitates the strictest of discipline.

Corporations like Starbucks think we’re too stupid to tell the difference between genuine cooperation based on shared decision making and phony exploitative “cooperation” papered over with “we’re all family here” slogans.

Bottom-line: we should stop buying Starbucks coffee until they reach an agreement with the union organizers who have served as an inspiring example to us all.

Michael Karlis

The Kendall Batchelor Trial Class, coverups and consequences in the Texas Hill Country

BY MICHAEL KARLIS

Earlier this month, a San Antonio judge handed down a sentence to District 10 San Antonio City Councilman Clayton Perry that many perceived as a slap on the wrist for charges he faced of fleeing the scene of a hit and run while drunk behind the wheel.

Despite his involvement in what could have been a deadly collision, Perry received just 12 months of probation and 24 hours of community service.

What’s more, local authorities didn’t file a DWI charge against Perry until a month and a half after the crash, leading to more speculation that he received special treatment due to his status.

Next week, South Texas will again play host to a trial involving another high-profile defendant accused of causing a crash while intoxicated behind the wheel. Documents also suggest the person at the center of that trial — Kendall Lauren Batchelor, the daughter of prominent former car dealer Ken Batchelor — may have received special treatment from authorities.

The trial for Batchelor, who’s accused of striking and killing motorist David Belter, 49, in a 2022 wrong-way collision, is set to begin May 15 in Kendall County District Court.

“There’s been a lot of public interest in this case for class reasons, that the [defendant is the] child of someone who has a very publicly recognized name,” San Antonio criminal defense attorney John T. Hunter told the Current. “And with that, I think there are assumptions that there’s affluence, that there’s privilege and opportunity. And society loves a good story about how the wealthy and powerful are human like the rest of us and make mistakes.”

He added: “I think it’s a little bit of a morbid curiosity and the social class structure of South Texas.”

However, records suggest that some of the public interest in the trial extends not only from the defendant’s blood ties to Ken Batchelor, who founded the upscale Northwest San Antonio dealership that still bears his name, but how local authorities handled a previous incident she had behind the wheel.

Observers said the most recent crash and its outcome also may shed light on an entrenched culture of drunk driving in San Antonio and South Texas.

Head-on crash

While the Perry collision drew plenty of local media attention even though no one was seriously

injured, Batchelor’s resulted in the death of a Texas Hill Country resident.

That crash occurred just after 10 p.m. June 2, 2022, when Batchelor was heading west on State Highway 46 outside Boerne, according to the allegations against her. She was driving on the wrong side of the road when her 2021 black Ford F-250 pickup slammed head-on into the sedan driven by Belter, according to a Texas Department of Public Safety crash report obtained by the Current

Belter died on impact. And although it’s unclear from documents how fast Batchelor was driving, the force of the collision was strong enough to send her three-quarter-ton pickup rolling, the crash report said.

Batchelor was later found to have had a blood alcohol concentration of .166. She also tested positive for methamphetamines, cannabinoids and opiates, the crash report states.

Although Batchelor’s exact whereabouts prior to the crash will likely remain unclear until details come out during the trial, an attorney representing Belter’s parents in a $1 million wrongful death suit subpoenaed Oben Werks LLC, the owner of Boerne’s Richter Tavern, for all “pictures, surveillance camera footage or photographic material of any kind,” from the bar on the date of the incident.

In response, the attorney representing the bar’s owner filed a protective order.

“Richter Tavern does have receipts and video available regarding Ms. Batchelor but requests a protective order to protect all other patrons captured on the video and proprietary information of Richter Tavern,” the motion said, suggesting that Batchelor was served at the bar the day of the crash.

Prior charges

While the details of the crash are salacious, potentially more alarming is that Batchelor appears to have avoided a late-2021 DWI charge after she was involved in another collision. That decision by authorities not to bring charges came despite her existing police record.

In July 2019, when she was 19, Batchelor pleaded guilty to a DWI in Kendall County, according to court documents. She was ordered to pay a $500 fine and was sentenced to nine months of supervised release. Months prior to that arrest, Batchelor also was cited for underage drinking in Brazos County, according to records.

San Antonio attorney Hunter said such charges frequently receive little serious punishment, noting that most first-time DWI offenders get probation.

“A minor in possession of alcohol charges is nothing,” he added.

Even so, those charges color the subsequent police incident involving Batchelor on Dec. 23, 2021. That time, the events are murkier in police and court records — and despite more potentially serious consequences, she ended up facing no charges.

Eyewitness to a hit-and-run

Boerne residents Mackenzie Woodie and Kennedy Jones were smoking cigarettes on a friend’s front porch at the Burning Tree Condominium complex around 3 a.m. when they saw a pickup truck smack into a pair of parked vehicles.

Batchelor was behind the wheel of the truck and driving at a “high rate of speed,” according to a 16

Kendall County Sheriff’s Office

15 crash report from the incident. The force of the impact turned one of the parked cars sideways and pushed another onto a nearby sidewalk. Luckily, no one was inside either vehicle.

According to both Woodie and Jones, Batchelor tried to flee the scene in her badly damaged truck. Jones jumped in her car, which was parked nearby but hadn’t been struck. Woodie stayed behind and called the police.

Batchelor’s badly damaged ride didn’t make it far. It sputtered out in the parking lot of Boerne Champion High School, where Jones caught up and confronted her, according to police records. Batchelor appeared to be intoxicated, according to Jones.

“I smelled it on her,” she recalls.

Boerne police officers Amy Breedlove and James Estrada arrived on the scene shortly thereafter, according to Jones. However, the two cops didn’t appear as concerned about what could have been a fatal hit-and-run crash as they were to whether Jones had laid hands on Batchelor.

“[Estrada] kept saying stuff like, ‘I’d be pretty mad if someone hit my car,’” Woodie said. “Then he grabbed his iPad and started taking pictures of her [Jones’] hands, because Kendall kept saying she assaulted her.”

No assault charges came, but Breedlove suspected that Batchelor was intoxicated, according to her initial police report. In a report filed at 3:15 a.m., the Boerne officer referred a DWI charge against Batchelor for prosecution.

The damage, too, was not insignificant. “The tow truck drivers who were trying to pick up the cars off the lawn kept saying how bad it was,” Woodie told the Current. “[Batchelor’s] pickup was spewing oil all over the neighbors’ cars.”

Changing case number

Despite Breedlove’s referral, the officers allowed one of Batchelor’s friends who’d shown up at the scene, Alex Babineaux, to drive her to the hospital, Woodie recounts. Before departing the crime scene, Breedlove and Estrada gave Woodie and Jones their business cards with the case number of the incident scribbled in blue ink.

Batchelor would never be charged with a DWI in relation to the December 2021 incident, police and court documents show. If she had, it would have been her second, resulting in a minimum three-day jail sentence and a suspension of her license under the Texas Penal Code.

Under state law, that suspension would have lasted between 180 days and two years — long enough to have prevented her from legally getting behind the wheel on June 2, 2022.

Instead of pursuing a DWI charge, Estrada filed a second Boerne police report at 10 p.m. on Dec. 23, some 19 hours after police documents show that Batchelor plowed into Woodie’s vehicle.

In that report, filed under a different case number, Estrada only recommends charges of Hitting Unattended Vehicle and Leaving the Scene.

Kendall County Criminal District Attorney Nicole Bishop subsequently pursued just hit-and-run

charges against Batchelor, misdemeanors far less severe than the potential second DWI that could have landed her in jail for up to a year, per the Texas Penal Code.

In March 2022, Woodie requested a copy of the police report using the case number provided by Breedlove and Estrada so she could file a claim with her insurance company. However, Boerne police informed Woodie via email that she had “inadvertently” been given the wrong case number. Instead, they provided her with the case number written by Estrada recommending the hit-and-run charge.

“I’ve heard of multiple instances where [Batchelor’s] been intoxicated and wrecked a vehicle,” Woodie’s friend Jones said. “She hasn’t learned from the previous times before, and they did nothing from it. And now she’s killed somebody while driving under the influence.”

Records request

The Current was able to obtain both police reports via a June 9, 2022, open records request. However, attorneys representing the City of Boerne initially declined the request on June 23 of that year, filing an injunction and requesting that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervene. Among other things, the lawyers argued that the records were “of no legitimate public interest.”

Paxton’s office ultimately ruled in the Current’s favor.

That same month, Kendall County Assistant District Attorney Robert F. Lipo and Boerne Police Department Detective Micha Binkley declined the Current’s request for comment as to why the county declined to pursue a DWI charge against Batchelor for the December crash.

After follow-up reporting from the Current, Kendall

County DA Bishop reached out via email, stating that her office rejected the case because there was “not sufficient evidence to support a DWI charge.”

Bishop declined to say whether police administered a Breathalyzer test to Batchelor on Dec. 23. She also declined to say why Batchelor was allowed to be transported to a hospital by Babineaux immediately following the crash.

Woodie, Jones, Breedlove, Estrada and Babineaux have all been subpoenaed to testify in the upcoming Batchelor trial, according to court records.

‘I’m going to get you out of jail’

Even after the June 6 collision that killed Belter, Batchelor appeared to have made a relatively soft landing in the legal system.

For the intoxication manslaughter case, Batchelor was booked and charged from her hospital bed since she’d suffered serious injuries from the accident, according to the crash report. At the time, Kendall County Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace Debby Hudson marked her warrant “no bond.”

Even so, a Bexar County magistrate judge, without explanation, signed off on Batchelor’s release on $120,000 bail just two days after the incident, court records show.

Batchelor ultimately made bond, but her freedom was short-lived. After missing six in-home Breathalyzer test screening windows between June 21 and June 22, Kendall County pretrial services revoked her bond, court records show.

Batchelor’s father would later testify to the judge

Kennedy Jones

MA photo shows the wreckage left in the wake of a collision involving Batchelor in December 2021.

presiding over the case, Texas 451st District Court Judge Kristen B. Cohoon, that his daughter withdrew $60,000 from his bank account during the time she was out on bail, the Boerne Star Reports.

The former car dealer told Cohoon — the same judge who presided over his daughter’s 2019 DWI case — that he feared she might flee, according to the paper’s reporting.

Even so, Judge Cohoon told Kendall Batchelor during a Sept. 30 hearing that she was doing everything in her power to get her out of Kendall County Jail, the Boerne Star also reported.

“I’m moving you on a fast track,” Cohoon reportedly said. “I’m going to get you out of jail one way or the other, but at this juncture I cannot.”

Despite that assurance, Cohoon ultimately declined Batchelor’s attempts to get bonded out four separate times, according to court documents. Through court staff, Cohoon indicated she would be unavailable to discuss terms of the case.

South Texas’ DWI problem

The incidents involving Batchelor and Perry, and the recent drunk driving arrests of other San Antonio elite including longtime KSAT-TV news anchor Greg Simmons and KABB-TV daytime television show host Esteban Solis, are emblematic of a drunk driving problem plaguing San Antonio and the surrounding area, observers said.

In 2021, San Antonio was ranked as the No. 4 worst city for drunk driving in the nation, according to a BuyAutoInsurance.com report based on FBI crime statistics. The city recorded 1,111 DUI arrests per 100,000 residents annually.

“I’ve lived in a lot of places before, but San Antonio appears to have an unusually high rate of uninsured drivers and hostile drivers, and unfortunately, a strong culture that encourages irresponsible drinking,” said Evita Morin, CEO of San Antonio-based drug and alcohol treatment group Rise Recovery.

Morin also attributed San Antonio’s alarming rates to the city’s lack of walkability and paucity of public transportation options.

San Antonio, and Texas in general, also offer fewer mental health resources, meaning more residents are likely to seek solace in a bottle, Morin said.

“It’s a struggle I see here as far as people not getting the help that they need,” she added. “I think that is a national problem. I don’t think people are always assessed as having an issue until a consequence like a DUI happens, and then they start to realize that ‘maybe this is a problem for me.’”

In Batchelor’s case, that problem could result in serious jail time. Given her current charges, she faces up to 20 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of two years behind bars, according to Hunter.

Batchelor’s high-profile DWI attorney, Louis D. Martinez, told Judge Cohoon in pre-trial hearings that his client has post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, anxiety and substance abuse problems.

Batchelor’s array of issues stems from the brutal slaying of her mother, Martha Batchelor, on July 6, 2013, the attorney said. (Martha Batchelor had

divorced Ken Batchelor in 2007, according to media reports.)

A suspect, Bradford Hudson, was arrested for Martha Batchelor’s killing in 2019. Although Hudson was extradited to Bexar County from Northern California that same year, the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office dismissed Hudson’s capital murder charge “pending further investigation.”

Hudson died in a Bexar County Medical facility in 2020, according to media reports. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office never received a report regarding Hudson’s cause of death, according to KSAT-TV.

Although San Antonio attorney Hunter said that “all bets are off” when it comes to what kind of punishment the public could expect to see if Batchelor is found guilty, he did say that mitigating circumstances could play a factor.

“The fact that this person experienced a really horrific kind of childhood trauma, the violent death of her mother, yeah, I think that goes hand in hand,” he said. “There’s a lot of people in the world who are using substances to cope with something.”

Yet despite Batchelor’s alleged mental anguish and San Antonio’s strong drinking culture, the biggest contributor to South Texas’ drinking and driving problem could be the state of Texas’ lenient sentencing when it comes to drunk driving.

According to Hunter, most first-time offenders in Texas get probation, with others even managing to plead their charges down to obstruction of a highway. At the same time, those under the legal drinking age can sometimes convince a judge to place them on a juvenile diversion program.

About 28% of the 69,000 DWIs in Bexar County between 2009 and 2022 were pleaded down to obstruction of a highway, a misdemeanor charge, the Express-News reported this year in a data-driven

investigation.

Natalie Paulus, Mothers Against Drunk Driving’s manager of victim services in Texas, told the Current such statistics are why her organization is working to introduce local and national legislation to force new efforts to curb drinking and driving.

“We were integral in the past legislative session nationally to help push through the Halt and Ride Acts, which if passed, will mandate new vehicles to have technology to detect alcohol impairment,” Paulus said.

But for all the consternation about the dangers of drunk driving, prosecutors may have a hard time earning a conviction against Batchelor.

The state must prove that Batchelor was not only intoxicated, but drunk, at the time of the crash. Hunter told the Current that proving intoxication isn’t as cut and dry as it might appear to the public.

“If I took 20 shots of tequila in a row at the bar, and I walk out of the bar immediately after, and I get into an accident pulling out of the parking lot, I’m probably not intoxicated,” Hunter explained. “That alcohol hasn’t been absorbed into my bloodstream yet. But I’m going to be blackout drunk by the time they get me to the station and get a blood sample.”

Hunter also said that Batchelor’s defense team could question the results from the blood sample taken at the scene, noting that there can be errors in the way blood is collected.

Batchelor, unlike many defendants, can afford a top attorney to pursue those lines of questioning. And that means — just like in the Dec. 2021 incident — she could skate on the charge.

The difference may be that this time, San Antonio will be watching.

qKendall Lauren Batchelor and Ken Batchelor pose for a pic shared on social media.

WED | 05.03

THEATER TOOTSIE

Tony Award-winning musical Tootsie tells the story of Michael Dorsey, a seasoned Hollywood actors whose reputation as a perfectionist has made it impossible for him to land new roles. He’s on the verge of giving up acting until his roommate tips him off about a soap opera holding an open audition. The problem? It’s a female role. In an act of desperation, Dorsey reinvents himself as “Dorothy Michaels” and earns a spot on the small screen. “Dorothy” puts a feisty feminist spin on the character, who was originally written to be passive and docile. The turnaround transforms the show into an overnight sensation. What was meant to be a shortterm gig snowballs into a multi-season contract, turnup up the pressure on Dorsey to maintain the act. The turmoil comes to a head when he begins to develop feelings for his co-star Julie, which could force him to expose his secret before the acting contract expires. Broadcasting his double life could result in a lifelong blacklist, and Dorsey must decide whether it’s worth risking has career for a shot at romance. $39.60-$99.50, 7:30 p.m., H-E-B Performance Hall, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624, tobincenter.org. — Caroline Wolff

WED | 05.03SUN | 05.07

THEATER

HARPER LEE’S TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

The 2018 stage adaptation of Harper Lee’s iconic novel To Kill a Mockingbird makes its way to San Antonio as part of its first

national tour. The play follows 1930s Alabama lawyer Atticus Finch’s defense of Tom Robinson, a Black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. But, unlike the book, Aaron Sorkin’s stage version unfolds from the perspective of Finch himself rather than that of his 6-year-old daughter Scout. That switch amplifies the internal and external challenges the trial places on Finch, while moving two Black characters, the wrongly accused Robinson and Calpurnia, the Finches’ housekeeper, into the foreground of the story. The tour’s cast includes Emmy-winner Richard Thomas as Atticus Finch, Melanie Moore as Scout Finch and Yaegel T. Welch as Tom Robinson. $45 and up, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 2-7, Majestic Theatre, 224 E. Houston St., (210) 2263333, majesticempire.com. — Dana Nichols

THU | 05.04

SPECIAL EVENT

SAN ANTONIO FLAVOR

The Current’s annual San Antonio Flavor event will return to the grounds of the San Antonio Museum of Art, featuring bites and cocktails from nearly 30 of the Alamo City’s most popular restaurants. This year’s live, on-stage Culinary Showdown will be the biggest yet, pitting five superstar chefs

— and their celebrity sous chefs — against each other for the coveted title of Flavor Champion. Hosted by KENS5’s Maggie Laughlin, San Antonio Flavor will give celebs including KSAT’s Meteorologist Mike Osterhage, Texicanas star Mayra Farrett and local influencer Donovan Thomson their chance in the culinary spotlight. Chef-prepared bites, as well as wine and beer, DJ sets and the sprawling grounds of the San Antonio Museum of Art create an evening of food-driven revelry. Sold out, 7 p.m., San Antonio Museum of Art, 200 W. Jones Ave., sacurrentflavor.com. — Nina Rangel

SAT | 05.06SUN | 10.29

ART

‘IMAGINARY WORLDS: ONCE UPON A TIME’

Giants have made their way to San Antonio. “Imaginary Worlds: Once Upon a Time” — created by Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal and originally displayed at the Atlanta Botanical Garden — makes its debut at the San Antonio Botanical Garden this month, presented by the

Mays Family Foundation. For the exhibition, eight giants have planted themselves throughout the garden’s sprawling grounds. An almost 25-foot-tall dragon can be found in the Lucile Halsell Conservatory, along with a mermaid in the Hill Country area and a peacock in the Rose Garden. These massive sculptures are made from steel forms covered in soil and sphagnum moss, planted with thousands of tiny plants. Additional tie-in events will take place while these statues are on view in the garden, including DIY programs for crafts, gardening and cooking along with family events and summer camp programs for kids 5 to 11. $13-18, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday-Tuesday, 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday, San Antonio Botanical Garden, 555 Funston Place, (210) 536-1400, sabot.org.

Reminder:

Although live events have returned, the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Check with venues to make sure scheduled events are still happening, and please follow all health and safety guidelines.

— Christianna Davies

Courtesy Photo / Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Courtesy Photo / Majestic Theatre

Jaime Monzon

Courtesy Photo / San Antonio Botanical Garden

SAT | 05.06SAT | 06.17

ART ‘CATHARSIS’

Corpus Christi artist Franceska Alvarado’s self-portraits are both intimate and surreal to the point of dissociation. They’re rife with symbolic imagery, yet they pull from an anecdotal space that examines her emotional experiences as a young woman. The title of her solo exhibition, “Catharsis,” frames the pieces as a feat of emotional and mental purging, leading to a sense of renewal. The body of work can be viewed as an exploration into the human subconscious, but more particularly, they represent her own personal depictions of anxiety and paranoia and her relationship to those sensations, spawned both in memory and physical sensation. The collection serves as a personal narrative as much as it does an opportunity to delve into the dreamlike subconscious. Alvarado’s creative odyssey into the psyche doesn’t stop here — she received her BFA from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and she will continue her artistic education with an MFA this coming fall at the University of Notre Dame. Free, 7-11 p.m., Saturday, May 6, on view by appointment May 6-June 17, Presa House Gallery, 725 S. Presa St., presahouse.com. — Dalia Gulca

FRI | 05.12

FILM

BILLY ELLIOT: THE MUSICAL

Based on the 2000 film of the same name, with music by Elton John, Billy Elliot: The Musical took theater lovers by storm, racking up 10 Tony Awards — including Best Musical — in 2009. Following its acclaim, the stage production was distributed on celluloid in 2014. This May, the Tobin Center will host an outdoor screening of the 2014 film of the musical, bringing the magic of live theater to San Antonians at no cost. Billy Elliot: The Musical tells the story of a young boy growing up in England’s coal country during the 1984 miner’s strike. After his mother’s death, Billy lives in a hypermasculine household with his brother, father and grandfather. Times are tough financially, but Billy — unbeknownst to his family — uses what little money he has to pay for dance lessons, remembering how much his mother loved to dance. Billy soon finds solace in dance and discovers that it may be his family’s ticket out of poverty. However, chasing that future could turn everyone he loves against him. This classic musical — soulful and triumphant in soundtrack and story alike — is fit for audiences of all ages. No outside food or drink will be permitted at the screening, but patrons will have access to a concession stand and on-site bar. Guests are asked to bring their own lawn chairs or blankets and to leave pets at home. Free, 8 p.m., Will Naylor Smith River Walk Plaza, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts,

SAT

ART

MCNAY ART MUSEUM PRINT FAIR

Art collecting newbies and veterans alike can explore, and maybe even find something to bring home, at McNay’s annual Print Fair. Now celebrating its 27th year, the event bills itself as the only one of its kind in Texas, in that it puts the national art-collecting world in reach of the average visitor. Browsers will have plenty of art to choose from, no matter what their interest — whether it’s in contemporary pieces or 19th century French landscapes. Fifteen art dealers from across the country will offer thousands of prints, drawings, watercolors and photographs for sale — in a number of styles, from a number of periods and in a range of prices. Visitors to the museum can peruse the works, meet and get to know the dealers, learn how the art market works and have the chance to buy one — or more — nationally renowned art pieces and prints. $10-$20, 10 a.m-5 p.m. Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday, McNay Art Museum, 6000 N. New Braunfels Ave., (210) 824-5638, mcnayart.org.— DG

and authoritarianism. It follows the story of Duke Vincentio (Mark McCarver), who hands over power to the strict Lord Angelo (Michael Roberts) in a bid to clean up the city’s vices. Angelo is a harsh enforcer of the law, sentencing a young man named Claudio (Guy Martin) to death for improper behavior with his fiancée. Claudio’s sister Isabella (Randee Nelson), a young nun, is forced to plead for her brother’s life. As the lives of these characters intertwine and knot together, the play brings up surprisingly relatable questions about the dangers of autocracy. This production of the iconic play will also feature an audiovisual installation by local artist Mark Anthony Martinez, inspired by Measure for Measure’s themes. $24-$39, 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, Radius Center, 106 Auditorium Circle, (210) 589-8450, classictheatre.org.

— Macks Cook

THU | 05.11 -

SUN | 05.28

THEATER

MEASURE FOR MEASURE

Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure walks the line between comedy and tragedy, with emotional elements mixed in with its humorous puns and hijinks. Directed by Liz Fisher, a newcomer to the Classic Theatre of San Antonio, the play explores themes of bodily autonomy, justice

Franceska Alvarado / Courtesy of Presa House Gallery

Courtesy Photo / McNay Art Museum

Courtesy Photo / Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Courtesy Photo / Classic Theatre of San Antonio

FRI | 05.11SAT | 05.13

COMEDY

ADAM CONOVER

Best known for his hit truTV comedy series Adam Ruins Everything, Adam Conover is coming to San Antonio for a five-show stand as part of his summer stand-up tour. Following the cancellation of his series, which featured him explaining the truth about common historical misconceptions — such as how Christopher Columbus was a genocidal lunatic and why the TSA doesn’t actually make flying safer — the humorist and political commentator launched another show, The G Word with Adam Conover, on Netflix in 2022. Spoiler alert: the “G-word” is government, and the series explains how bureaucracy positively, and negatively, affects United States residents’ everyday lives. $44-$176, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 7:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, 618 Northwest Loop 410, (210) 541-8805, improvtx.com/sanantonio. — Michael Karlis

SAT | 05.13

SPORTS

XFL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: DEFENDERS VS. RENEGADES

After hard-fought victories last weekend, the XFL’s improbable South Division champion Arlington Renegades and dominant North Division Champion D.C. Defenders are heading to San Antonio for the football league’s first-ever championship game. The Renegades, who boasted a regular season record below .500, served a major upset to the favorited Houston Roughnecks on Saturday. Although the Renegades managed to pull off an unlikely win, it’s unclear whether the South Division champs have enough talent to best the Defenders, who have lost only one game during the entire season. Although San Antonio Brahmas supporters would rather see the hometown team playing in the season finale, fans still have one more chance to witness some gridiron excitement from the fledgling league. $35.50 and up, 7 p.m., Alamodome, 100 Montana St., (210) 207-3663, alamodome.com. — MK

Courtesy Photo / XFL

Courtesy Photo / LOL Comedy Club

Dark Comedy

Ceramic artist Michael Guerra Foerster embraces the playful and the ephemeral

BY BRYAN RINDFUSS

Artists frequently use their websites as a platform to present themselves as accomplished professionals with zero evidence of personality.

On his quirky, colorful website, San Antonio’s Michael Guerra Foerster turns that pretentious trend upside down by using the juvenile font Comic Sans — in bubblegum pink, no less — and a headshot that shows him grinning in a bowtie with his arms cov-

ered in wet clay slip.

Displayed in bubbles above his head are examples of his sculptural “Floops,” smiling creatures partly inspired by the cartoons of his youth — Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Adventure Time among them. In stark contrast to the playful vibe, Foerster’s artist statement explains that his work actually explores dark and pensive issues including grief, trauma and “the incredible toll of the human experience.” That di-

chotomy — silly versus serious — is a hallmark of his practice, as is a tongue-in-cheek approach that pokes fun at the very trappings of art.

Born in Seguin and raised in San Antonio, Foerster had a less-than-perfect experience at Lutheran High School. However, he cites two important takeaways from those years: he met his longtime girlfriend Sarah Saeger and also discovered ceramics there.

“I immediately knew that’s what I wanted to do, which was such an interesting feeling,” Foerster told the Current. “It was like love at first sight.”

After high school, Foerster enrolled at the University of Texas at San Antonio and immersed himself in ceramics. Upon graduation, he started interning at the tuition-free youth arts program SAY Sí, where he now works as an instructor. Curiously, his first solo exhibition out of college was not ceramics but a soft sculpture show.

“I was really struggling to figure out how to continue making ceramic work without the facilities and equipment,” Foerster explained. “So I continued working in a similar style, just doing soft sculpture. And that was an important experience — to work with a different medium but with similar ideas and concepts. … You can create a ceramic object and it’s so different from a stuffed animal. The things I make now are hollow — the material is hard and rigid — whereas a soft sculpture is almost just a toy. So, I went from making these things that appeared to be toys to things that literally were toys. That was a really fun show. There were tons of kids coming through … There was stuff hanging from the ceiling and people were reaching to try to grab stuff. People brought their dogs and the dogs wanted to grab things too.”

Foerster first caught the Current’s attention last year with “Every Time We Say Goodbye,” a memorable Artpace exhibition comprised of ceramic Floops he pit-fired — an ancient technique he describes as violent, spontaneous and nostalgic.

“I just love that process because it reminds me so much of camping when I was a kid,” Foerster said. “You essentially build a campfire on top of your work … and the pieces will accumulate ashy, sooty marking on them.”

Foerster also used that exhibition as an opportunity to introduce a concept that’s become important to his process: giving his work away for free. Assisted by a Floop filled with carnival tickets that could be redeemed at the reception desk, Foerster distributed all the smaller pieces long before the show closed.

“I’ve always felt weird about selling work,” Foerster admitted. “It might be the capitalistic associations of putting your heart and soul into something and then putting a price tag on it. It’s kind of off-putting to me.”

For his followup exhibition “I Remember,” hosted at Brick Gallery last December, Foerster opted not to fire his work at all, rendering the pieces incredibly fragile and — if placed outside — primed to disintegrate and return to the earth. Not only did he give work away at that show, he destroyed all that remained and upcycled the clay for future projects.

Now preparing for a busy summer punctuated by a stint studying at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Tennessee and a residency at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Maine, Foerster spoke to the Current a few days after leading a seed bomb workshop held on Earth Day at Artpace.

Ned Meneses

When did you start giving work away and how did that come about?

It’s been a process. For a long time, I’ve been thinking about pricing and selling. That’s a huge part of any art practice, really. But I feel that in ceramics, it’s really pushed to make work that sells, make functional, utilitarian objects and to get into the art markets, art fairs, put up booths, sell stuff, make stuff, production — all that stuff. I was really turned off by all of that. So, it’s kind of a reaction to that. But the first time was at the show at Artpace last year. A lot of people have really strong reactions to it, because they’re not expecting to come away with something that somebody actually made from an art show. … And I think that is a really strange experience. And it’s a lovely experience too — that whole relationship of me giving something to you and you taking it home and continuing to live with it and use it. That’s my favorite part of selling is that somebody wants your piece and keeps it and interacts with it. Selling is like a gate between those interactions.

If you didn’t have a day job, do you think you would still entertain that idea?

So, that’s another thing. The reason that I can do this type of work is that I apply really vigorously for funding and grants. I totally understand why people sell their work — obviously people have to pay their bills and they have to eat. I’m very lucky to have a job and a partner and that we can sustain our livelihood — but also that I’ve had mentors in my life. I’ve had schooling that showed me how and where to apply for grants and where to look for grants. And I’ve been lucky enough to actually receive money that can fund this stuff. I got the San Antonio Individual Artist Grant that they just started a couple of years ago. The first time they did it, I got it. And that was what funded the work at Artpace. If I hadn’t gotten that money, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to do that.

I found it amusing that you use Comic Sans on your website.

I’ve gotten tons of comments about that. When I first decided to really ham it up, my resume was in Comic Sans — and like 10 different colors. I don’t think that did so well. Just because it’s such a silly, stupid font, I was drawn to it. But it’s also a font that has been proven to be more accessible to people with dyslexia. I didn’t know that [at first] but when I learned about that I was like, “Wow, people are hating on this font — but this font is helping people.”

In your artist statement, you mention grief and traumatic experiences, but your work feels very playful and exuberant. What can you share about that dichotomy?

A lot of the work that I make is a reaction or response to those kinds of events that happen in my life. Without sharing too much, it really talks about feelings of abandonment. … There was a lot of death that happened in my life up to this point. Through this work, I’ve tried to address those things by poking fun at things. I’ve always been a class clown. So that’s kind of a way that I cope with stuff is to just make jokes. I also am trying to talk about people I love, and talk about them in a way that honors them. [My work] talks about them in a way that [combines] their image with images that I associate really positively from my childhood. So, in doing that, I’ve tried to heal from those things. … It’s not quite so simple. It’s super complicated, the whole healing process. … I’ve talked about how giving away things and making these super-happy forms, I was trying to reconcile some things. And I was trying to heal myself.

Does your decision to not fire work and let it sort of return to the earth relate to what you’re trying to convey?

Absolutely. So, I had a show at Brick in December where I really wanted to play with

those ideas. I wanted to let go of that shinynew-toy kind of look that a lot of my work had before. So, I left it super-marked with my own fingerprints. There were no smiles involved in the work — except for the work I gave away. I [was] maybe thinking more realistically about the relationships that I’ve had, and the things I’ve gone through. And about the lifecycle, how things change over time and how healing happens over time. And [how] things that exist go from existing in such a big, major way — and then return to nothing. But because it’s clay, it becomes something again, someday. [I was thinking about] this kind of resurrection, lifecycle, history of the work. I’ve decided that the work [I showed at Brick], I’m gonna try to not fire it and continue to reuse it. In that way, the medium gathers those experiences — it becomes this, and then it becomes something else.

Does that mean that you’ll actually reuse the pieces from your Brick show once they disintegrate?

I’m in the process of reclaiming all that stuff. I’ve reclaimed a ton of it. After that show ended, me and Sarah went in with sledgehammers and broke everything down, which was a weird, cathartic experience. Because I’m like, “I created you, but you’re part of me, and now I’m gonna break you down again — to nothing.” I felt really weird about it because there’s this attachment to the things you create. So, we broke it all down, and we shoved it in buckets and into boxes. I’ve reclaimed about 300 pounds so far. And I still have like 300 left. … [Unfired clay is] almost infinitely recyclable. I’m gonna have a show in February at Contemporary at Blue Star, and I’m gonna use this same clay to make big, unfired clay sculptures.

Find more arts coverage every day at sacurrent.com

Chris Mills

MExamples of Foerster’s “Floops” at Artpace (left and right) and Brick Gallery (center).

Courtesy of Michael Guerra Foerster

Chris Mills

Unifying Force

Alejandro Cabrera in post-production on Star Wars documentary linking film franchise to Texas

BY KIKO MARTINEZ

San Antonio-based filmmaker Alejandro Cabrera was first introduced to Star Wars by his mother in the summer of 1996. The year prior, the original three films were re-released on VHS. “She was playing them one day and trying to get my attention,” Cabrera, 34, told the Current during a recent interview. “She was like, ‘Look, that’s Luke Skywalker. He has a twin sister like you. And that’s Darth Vader like your father.’ My parents are divorced.”

Little did Cabrera know that his first experience with Star Wars 27 years ago would lead him to the release of a documentary he made about the beloved franchise. Cabrera’s film, In the Lone Star Wars State, takes viewers on a journey into the films’ Texas fandom and examines how they connect to the Western genre.

During the doc, Cabrera interviews Star Wars experts and collectors along with the always-fascinating fans, who take their love for the franchise galaxies beyond that of casual moviegoers. Cabrera began shooting In the Lone Star Wars State in 2015. He hopes to hold his first public screening of the film later this year.

Just in time for Star Wars Day, May 4, we talked to Cabrera about what drew him to Star Wars as a fan and a filmmaker and what he learned about the franchise as he made his documentary.

Why did you want to make a movie about Star Wars fandom in Texas?

I feel that oftentimes in film and television, these sorts of fandoms are depicted in a very comedic way. What I found very interesting was that regardless of your financial bracket, belief system, age, generation, gender, [Star Wars] is something that unifies people. I think now more than ever, we need reminders of that in this world.

Star Wars has expanded so much in the past half century, hasn’t it?

You know, Star Wars is part of that change that happened in cinema in the 1970s with Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather) and Steven Spielberg (Jaws). You had all these young filmmakers who changed movie industry. I think [this documentary] is a time capsule of this moment today. I’m a ’90s baby, so I wasn’t around in the ’70s, but I’ve always had that fantasy of traveling back in time to see

what it was like going to the cinema back then.

There’s been a lot of Star Wars content that’s premiered since you started shooting your film eight years ago. Did it feel like you were making it in real time? It did make it feel like it was in real time. I think it’s added to [the film] and kept it fresh. What I thought about as I was filming was to make sure the conversations that I was having would be relevant 10 years from now. For example, I interviewed a Texas woman whose husband was dying of cancer in 2015 and was granted a last wish to see [Star Wars: The Force Awakens] before it was released. This film is a love letter to Star Wars and a love letter to Texas.

Do you consider yourself a Star Wars nerd?

For me, there are different levels of fandom. I’m a fan of the innovation behind Star Wars. What it represents for me is a thumbprint for a very special time in my childhood. I have a very visual memory, so when I think of Star Wars, I think about where I was when I saw the movies, and I get nostalgic about that time. Every generation has a Star Wars film that they relate to.

What was it like listening to people talk

about their own experiences with the franchise?

It was interesting hearing about people’s experiences, not only when the films came out, but when the toys came out too. We feature several collectors in the film. It was a much simpler time back then. I remember when I was a kid, I would get a Luke Skywalker action figure and it made my whole month. There’s something very pure and innocent about that.

Give me an example of something you learned about the relationship between Star Wars and Texas?

I learned about all the connective tissue between Texas and science fiction. I learned that Princess Leia’s hair was inspired by the women of the Mexican Revolution and how much [Westerns such as] The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly influenced Star Wars.

What do you want audiences to take away from your documentary?

Hopefully, they will be inspired. We meet a lot of different people in different places in their lives. I hope people can see themselves in these stories. I got to meet people from all walks of life. We all may have different belief systems, but we are more alike than people think. I hope this film reminds people of that.

Alejandro Cabrera

Amor and Amari

Tasting flights of the bitter spirits reveals their wide variety and subtle differences

BY RON BECHTOL

Credit for America’s recent awakening to the joys of bitter spirits can likely be bestowed on the Negroni, a bracing cocktail of gin, sweet vermouth and Campari. Of course, it also got an assist from that inescapable Instagram darling the Aperol Spritz.

While we’re assigning credit, let’s also recognize Italy as the spiritual home of the amaro tradition — a variety of bittersweet herbal liqueurs made by infusing an alcoholic base with herbs, aromatic bark, spices, flowers and the like.

These spirits evolved through the toils of medieval monks who were involved in the making of bitter, allegedly curative, brews — presumably when said monks weren’t otherwise occupied in prayer. By the early 19th century, though, production had shifted away from the monastic and medicinal to the frankly commercial.

As a whole, the category defies categorization, with some amari — the Italian plural — traditionally being thought of as aperitivi (to be consumed before a meal) or digestivi (to be enjoyed after). But even that distinction is largely ignored in today’s cocktail environment.

Grasping for an organizing principle, I decided to go from the lighter, such as Aperol, to the darker and generally more daunting, such as Fernet. The latter is the famed “bartender’s handshake,” consumed as a bracing shot after a shift.

The tasting gang — which also included a poet, a photographer along with a journalist and musician — dutifully sampled all spirits neat and at room temperature first. However, we found that we appreciated most of them best with an ice cube and a splash of soda. We also found that popularity didn’t guarantee favorites.

“I never want to taste Aperol straight again,” said one taster of the amari category’s social media darling. It landed at the bottom in the first flight of six. That flight also included Negroni-component Campari, which tasters found “medicinal” and bracing; saffron-infused Meletti 1870, bitter and spicy; Poli Airone Rosso, grapey sweet with moderate bitterness; wine-based Cappelletti Americano Rosso, complex and medium-bitter; and grappa-based Amaro Nonino Quintessentia, pretty and subtle.

Make any of these into a spritz with sparkling wine topped with soda.

The second flight moved into the browner

and deeper amari. Two similar products, the artichoke leaf-based Cynar and the cardoon thistle dominant Cardamaro both scored high, the Cynar for its pleasantly bitter-earthy notes and the Cardamaro for its slightly brighter nose and hints of orange peel. Venerable Amaro Ramazotti, with suspicions of cinnamon and cola, was pronounced pleasant but not especially distinctive. One taster dubbed the mildly bitter Montenegro Amaro Italiano “a gateway” amaro. In its home of Calabria, Vecchio Amaro del Capo is traditionally served straight from the freezer. Lightly chilled it was everyman-herbal. And then, at 39% ABV, there’s the fearsome Fernet-Branca: medicinal on the nose, menthol-minty on the palate, and with some mitigating sweetness to blunt the shock.

Round three took us out of Italy and into France. The French didn’t do away with bittering elements such as cinchona bark and gentian, but the results often seem more floral. Bigallet China-China wears its 40% ABV lightly while revealing its distilled base of both sweet and bitter oranges. An indispensable substitute for Campari in the White Negroni, Suze leans heavily on gentian root for its refreshingly dry floral and lemony character. And Genepy le Chamois waves

the banner for alpine wormwood — think absinthe — bolstered by chamomile.

Not to be outdone, American producers are surging into the spotlight. As the name suggests, Bruto Americano seems built on the Italian model. Coming across as sage-like on the nose and Fernet light on the palate, it might work swapped in for Campari in a “Newgroni.” Forthave Spirits Marseille’s name is more about a back story than any French parentage. One of the few that was actually appealing neat at room temperature, it conjured eucalyptus and mint. Along with the uniquely flavored Brucato Chaparral, flaunting California-sourced yerba santa, it was one of our five favorites, described by one taster as evoking “leaning in to kiss the neck of a new lover.”

Needless to say, It was getting late by the time of that pronouncement.

The Americans amari may be harder to find on local shelves, but the remaining three favorites — Amaro Nonino, Cappelletti and Genepy — should be easier to locate. Easier yet, check out local bars such as Bohanan’s, 1919, Rock and Rye and Hands Down for cocktails incorporating amari, which remain the best way to turn bitter spirits into long-term lovers.

Ron Bechtol

FREE MOVIES AT THE MARQUEE 2023 ENJOY

BRING THE ENTIRE FAMILY FOR FREE MOVIES UNDER THE SAN ANTONIO NIGHT SKY. Movies will begin shortly after dusk. Come early to grab your spot! Movie

subject

change. Visit MissionMarquee.com or the Mission

Plaza Facebook page for the latest information.

First Look

San Antonio’s Tokyo Cowboy offers mashup of craft cocktails, Asian-inspired eats

BY NINA RANGEL

When developers of new downtown eatery Tokyo Cowboy billed it as a “Japanese whisky diner,” it’s a safe bet many local diners were left wondering just what the hell that meant.

However, a Thursday, April 27 sneak peek of the street-level spot for local food writers was illuminating. The preview showcased a casual combination of creative craft cocktails and hearty diner-inspired eats with both Japanese and Texas touches.

Tokyo Cowboy’s stylish yet approachable interior bore a similarity to owner Chris Hill’s other downtown ventures — he operates the equally spiffy Esquire Tavern, Downstairs and Hugman’s Oasis on the same block. Natural light washed in from the restaurant’s banks of windows, showcasing warm wood tones, cool green accents and delicate shell light fixtures.

The setting evoked calming, casual vibes, allowing the food and drinks to provide even more of a punch to the palate.

Food writers sampled half a dozen of the eatery’s bites, which its partners call “Tokyo-meets-Texas” fare. Those included a brisket egg roll, a crab butter roll, Spam musubi, dashi corn waffles and steak bavette. Developed by partner Ben Cachila, formerly of Austin’s nationally renowned Japanese eatery Uchi, the dishes all bore heavy Asian influences.

That means adventurous diners can expect touches such as a kimchi vinaigrette and katsuobushi, or simmered, smoked and fermented skipjack tuna shavings.

The brisket egg roll married pickled collard greens, queso asadero and its titular smoked meat in a crispy fried wrapper. A chili-herb ranch dipping sauce provided a dose of heat.

The crisp dashi corn waffle was topped with a tower of pork belly, blanched shrimp, kewpie mayo and

Katsuobushi flakes. The complex bite ended up being our table’s favorite. The steak was also a winner, featuring expertly prepared, succulent flank served with charred scallions, chili and a complex pesto-chimichurri hybrid.

Cocktails ranged from boozy, high-octane affairs to easy drinking, tiki-reminiscent sippers. At our table, the consensus was that the Fist of Fury — rum, lychee, strawberry and mint served over crushed ice —was the most balanced, if heavy on the ice. The Liquid Sword should come with a warning, since its complex flavors of Japanese gin, plum wine, dry vermouth, sherry and shisho bitters aren’t for the faint of heart.

The preview made clear that Tokyo Cowboy offers a different and more approachable feel than Hill’s other spots. It’s easily the most low-key in appearance, and the eclectic food and drink are interesting enough that they may appeal to casual diners rather than folks seeking an elevated bar experience.

Tokyo Cowboy will open to the public Saturday, April 29, at 135 E. Commerce St. It’s in the River Walk space that previously housed Vietnamese comfort food spot House of Má.

The restaurant’s operating hours will be 4-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 4p.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday.

NEWS

Betty’s Battalion, a landmark bar in the Government Hill area serving military personnel and veterans, has closed after 37 years.

Vegetarian-friendly food truck Righteous Pie is no longer in operation. The mobile kitchen’s owners cited road construction and inflation as their reasons for leaving the business.

The founder of San Antonio’s El Camino and Bésame food truck parks will open a sports bar near UTSA, in the former Cantina Sports Bar.

Owners of San Antonio dance club Cream soon will christen a multi-level goth nightspot at St. Paul Square, just steps from 1902 Nightclub and jazz haven Versa

The Illinois-based Beerhead chain will open a

spot in San Antonio later this year specializing in craft brews and pub grub.

OPENINGS

Asian-inspired beer garden Wurst Behavior is now open, offering accessible, beer-ready food with an Asian twist. 358 East Craig Place, (281) 433-1292, wurstbehaviortx.com.

Mila Coffee opened its second location at Make Ready Market on May 1, slinging coffee-based sippers at the owners’ first standalone brickand-mortar shop. 203 W. 8th St., instagram.com/ milacoffeesa.

Bunz Express, from the minds behind Bunz Handcrafted Burgers, has opened in far Northwest San Antonio. 6819 N. Loop 1604 W., (210) 354-3555, tastybunz.com.

Brandon Rodriguez

Nina Rangel

Betty’s Battalion

Krazy Katsu co-owner Phillip Gonyea made the jump from home cook to restaurateur

BY BRANDON RODRIGUEZ

Name:  Phillip Gonyea

Title:  Co-owner of Krazy Katsu with wife Jessica Gonyea

Age: 46

Birthplace: Rice Lake, Wisconsin

Phillip and Jessica Gonyea’s Olmos Park restaurant Krazy Katsu has humble origins. The pair began making Japanese-style chicken sandwiches out of their home, which quickly became the talk of their neighborhood and evolved into a ghost kitchen. One day, as 150-plus cars lined up outside their front door for pickup orders, the pair knew they needed to expand, quickly. Last July, roughly a year later, Krazy Katsu was born. Within its first two days of service, the restaurant went through 1,200 pounds of chicken. Krazy Katsu is located at The Yard, 5257 McCullough Ave.

Can you describe those early day of working out of your home to me?

Some people say “home,” but officially it was a ghost kitchen — or more like a speakeasy for chicken sandwiches. Cooking out of the kitchen was tough. At first, it was my wife and myself. Then we brought on my brother, who’s a teppanyaki chef. Jessica was the glue that made everything work while I had to work my real-life job. She ordered all the product, shopped for the groceries, made all of the sauces, brined the chicken and was our original sandwich builder. She was literally a one-man show until the day of cooking and we had folks that would come in. It got to the point where we had five guys in the kitchen and three people delivering for lunch on a Tuesday. We had to be super clean and efficient because we lived in the space, and I didn’t want to be cleaning up all night, which is why I’m fanatical about keeping the restaurant clean. You’ll never see fries or flour, even panko on the floor. The cooking was way different in that we had propane turkey fryer platforms and 22-inch pans we’d cook in. And moving to a really nice commercial deep fryer is a game changer. We don’t miss cooking out of here at all! Jess will tell you, it’s nice to have a

butcher process our chicken and a team to do what we used to do.

It is quite the jump from serving sandwiches out of your home to running a brick and mortar. What’s been one of the biggest challenges for you and your team so far?

We thought we were ready for the masses on our grand opening … we were way wrong. One-thousand-two-hundred pounds of chicken in two days was nuts. We had a skeleton crew and just tightened up our [boot]straps and cooked. Today we are much better. The process is streamlined, and we have key roles for each employee. Like everyone, the biggest challenge is hiring folks, but the guys we have know that we’re onto something and love what they do, and for the most part, they don’t mind the hours.

Many places tend to overcomplicate their menu offerings, but you stick to doing one thing well. What made you want to keep things so simple and straightforward?

We want to eventually grow and have multiple locations. We felt like the easiest way to do that is to keep the menu simple with several [limited time offerings] and have the katsu be the star of the show, with the sauces being the co-star. We play with other ideas often that are not katsu-forward, like we have a pandan smash beef burger now on Wednesday, and it’s doing really well. We’re reintroducing a couple rice dishes, orange chicken and teriyaki chicken. You know when you go to a burger spot, you don’t have a lot of items — several burger choices and variations — but for the most part, it’s beef on a bun and whatever else they want to top it with. We’re kind of the same.

There are nods to flavors from around the world on your menu. One in particular is the Korean ingredient, gochujang. How’d that end up on the menu? My three favorite foods are Japanese, Korean and Spanish. I love the funkiness and spice from gojuchang and thought it would make a great barbecue

sauce. When developing it, I grilled with it and fell in love. I was making my own barbecue sauces, and people would buy them, so adding the gojuchang was a no brainer. It just made sense. We made a couple tweaks to taste better on a fried sandwich, and it’s been a top seller ever since. We’re in the process of mass producing several of our sauces for retail shelves and K-POP is one of them.

Could you talk about what drew you to katsu, the breaded cutlets that are the centerpieces of your sandwiches?

I grew up cooking katsu in my house. We’re Japanese — my mom’s from Okinawa and I’m the first born here. It’s my comfort food. On Sunday, we’d make a ton of tonkatsu [with pork] and eat it throughout the week. We’d get tired of eating it with rice, so we’d make sandwiches, faux cordon bleu, katsu parm and other Japanese foods like katsudon or katsu curry. It was a way to stretch the food. I feel like everyone has a katsu item now, and I’m not mad at it. Ours is different in that we brine it for a long while, 18-20 hours. We worked hard at the right brine and the right brine times for the size of chicken we have. Traditionally katsu isn’t brined, and the star of the show is the katsu sauce and the meal as a whole. We wanted the chicken stand on its own.

What’s the biggest compliment you can receive when it comes to your food?

I’ll never forget, there was a lady that came to the restaurant. She must have been in her 80s and looked like my grandmother. She was from Okinawa and ordered a sandwich and cucumbers. We brought her all kinds of stuff and she said, “This tastes better than Okinawa.” That was awesome for me. For us, we know you can go anywhere for good chicken sandwiches or just good food for that matter. We strive to be consistent on what we put out daily and also provide you with over-the-top service. When you look at our reviews, the food and service are what most people comment about.

Taste of the Republic.

Family Style

Ahead of San Antonio show, the Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Susan Tedeschi talks about work and sacrifice

BY MIKE MCMAHAN

After performing alongside musicians considered royalty in the jam band world, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi — leaders of the Tedeschi Trucks Band — have emerged as aristocrats in their own right.

After years winning over fans with its stirring delivery and instrumental chops, their 12-piece powerhouse has mapped out a summer schedule that includes headlining shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden and Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

But before those high-profile gigs, Tedeschi Trucks Band will hit San Antonio’s Boeing Center at Tech Port on Saturday, May 6.

Tedeschi’s soulful voice and guitar playing have earned comparisons to Bonnie Raitt and landed her a spot touring with outfits including Double Trouble, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s former band. As a solo artist, she’s also played gigs and guest spots with Grateful Dead members along with luminaries such as Bob Dylan.

Guitar hero Trucks — the nephew of The Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks — burst on the scene as a teenage guitar prodigy, mastering the Grateful Dead songbook with bassist Phil Lesh’s solo band. He also was a driving force behind the Allmans’ revival and joined the band full time in 1999, at the ripe old age of 20.

Somehow, Trucks managed to balance that gig with his own Derek Trucks Band, finetuning a stoic onstage persona that sharply contrasts with the fire he conjures from his six-string.

Tedeschi and Trucks met at an Allmans gig that she opened, and in 2010, they combined their solo acts into the Tedeschi Trucks Band. The ensemble combined the blues rock that is the basis for both of their styles but rolled in a significant amount of Southern rock, jazz and soul.

The Tedeschi Trucks Band’s most recent studio album, the ambitious I Am The Moon, was released in four parts and even featured an accompanying film. The Current caught up with Tedeschi ahead of the band’s Tech Center appearance.

You earned a music degree from Berklee College of Music at 20 years old. How did being formally schooled impact your music? Many rock players are self-taught. Well, I was self-taught, and I went to music

school to learn to arrange, learn more about the business and things like that. And the one thing I realized is that the things I self-taught myself were the things that I was going to carry with me later on in life. The things that really hit home and make you the artist that you are, a lot of times you find that on your own. I was right out of high school. I started college at 17. I was a little bit more of a folkie and [into] country blues before I got there, and then once I really discovered that whole world, that really changed my whole perspective. I didn’t really know who I was before I went to school as a singer.

A lot of fans in the jam world — for better or worse — have their obsessions and listen to the Dead and the Allmans or Phish, and that’s sort of it. Whereas you have fans that like that stuff but might enjoy hearing your solo albums, which have a different vibe.

Absolutely. One of the things is that Derek and I are both very versatile. We cover a lot of ground. ... People love [Derek] in the jam world because he is such an improvisational player. He can stretch out, and he’s so musical that he can do any kind or sound of music,

really. But for him, he wasn’t really into the Dead until he played with Phil [Lesh] and Friends, you know? And he grew up with The Allman Brothers, one of the best bands that America really had.

Obviously, there’s a family aspect to the Tedeschi Trucks Band. Is that hard? Relationships are challenging, whether they’re romantic relationships or creative collaborations. You and Derek have both. Is that difficult?

It goes in stages, you know? It’s very difficult and it’s very easy. It’s just like any relationship, like you’re saying. They take work. And sacrifice. It’s hard work and communication. You have to have all those things or it’s not really gonna work. But we also have a lot of things we love. We love a lot of the same music. Blues and gospel music. Also, we both love sports, which is not really a thing when you’re with musicians.

A longer version of this interview is available online at bit.ly/3oTJIO9.

$25.50-$125.50, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 6, Boeing Center at Tech Port, 3331 General Hudnell Drive, (210) 600-3699, boeingcentertechport.com.

Reminder:

Although live events have returned, the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Check with venues to make sure scheduled events are still happening, and please follow all health and safety guidelines.

Shutterstock / S. Kuelcue

critics’ picks

Thursday, May 4

Black Dahlia Murder, Terror, Frozen Soul, Fuming Mouth, Phobophilic

After the tragic 2022 death of Black Dahlia Murder frontman and scene icon Trevor Strnad, the band’s Brian Eschbach jumped from guitar to vocals to keep things going. Expect a hard-hitting show that pulls equally from each record in the group’s extensive back catalog of blackened death metal releases. With Strnad’s passing still fresh on fans’ minds, the emotional impact of witnessing Black Dahlia Murder perform its classics live will undoubtedly be potent. $26-$30, 7 p.m., Vibes Event Center, 1223 E. Houston St., (210) 255-3833, facebook.com/vibeseventcenter. — Mike McMahan

Friday, May 5

Snow Tha Product

Latina singer and rapper Snow Tha Product showcases her melodic, bilingual flow on her latest release, 2022’s To Anywhere Born Claudia Feliciano in San Jose and raised in San Diego, she first came to prominence when Latin pop artist Jamie Kohen featured her on his 2009 single “Alguien.” She also gained notoriety on the Hamilton Mix Tape version of “Immigrants (We Get The Job Done).” $41 and up*, 9 p.m., Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com. — Danny Cervantes

Beyond Reach, Slow Pulse, End Means, Joust, Nun

This lineup of San Antonio and Austin bands encapsulates the spirit of the hardcore punk genre, delivering on both rage and technical skill. The show celebrates the release of a new EP by headliner Beyond Reach. Austin act Slow Pulse and SA’s End Means, Joust and newly minted Nun round out the high-energy bill. $10, 7:30 p.m., Snakehill Social Club, 1522 E. Grayson St., instagram.com/snakehill.satx. — Dalia Gulca

Monday, May 8

Mareux

Those wanting to explore the burgeoning darkwave genre may want to give Mareux a spin. After having a TikTok smash last year with “The Perfect Girl,” the performer graced the stage at the iconic Coachella fest. Mareux’s sound takes Depeche Mode-sounding synths and vocal melodies but cranks the gothy aspects to 11. Other times his cool-but-doomed approach evokes a lost soundtrack from a noir film. Warning: this show may cause simultaneous dancing and depression. $17-$18, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — MM

Wednesday, May 10

UTSA Underground of Chaos

This stacked lineup assembled by the UTSA Musicians of Business features more than 20 Texas artists, most hailing from San Antonio, and promises to spotlight anything from hardcore and emo to hip-hop and soul-pop. The three Alamo City-based headliners — indie-rockers Floats, metal band Sanity Slip and hard-edged emo act Warstories — promise to bring this smorgasbord of genres to three separate stages in the university’s underground tunnel system for a free, day-long showcase. Free, 5 p.m.-11 p.m., UTSA Tunnels (under Arts, Multidisciplinary Studies and Flawn Sciences Buildings), 1 UTSA Circle, Instagram. com/utsa_mob. — DG

Rockbottom String Band

The alchemy of San Marcos’ Rockbottom String Band lies in taking traditional roots music such as bluegrass and folk, splicing it with punk and metal elements and performing the hybrid at breakneck tempos. The quintet also brings a lively jam-band feel to its shows, so expect a good time. $10-$45, 8 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, 330 E. Grayson St., (210) 223-2830, samsburgerjoint.com. — DC

Thursday, May 11

David Foster and Katherine McPhee

The musical union of composer and arranger David Foster, a 16-time Grammy winner, and American Idol runner up Katherine McPhee, led to their marriage in 2018. This tour features the musical and life partners running through a catalog of both their hits, including McPhee singing Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” a song Foster produced for Whitney Houston. $46.50$89.50, 7:30 p.m., Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624, tobincenter.org. — DC

Friday, May 12

Origami Angel, Pinkshift, Sweet Pill

Vocalist-guitarist Ryland Heagy and drummer Pat Doherty make up the backbone of Washington, D.C.’s Origami Angel, which mines a unique blend of pop-punk and emo. The duo’s ambitious 2021 double album Gami Gang delivers strong metal-tinged musicianship with Heagy’s self-deprecating lyrics. Don’t snooze on Pinkshift, whose take on pop-punk and grunge is reminiscent of Paramore. $20, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — DC

Saturday, May 13

Megafauna, HoneyBunny, Powered Wig Machine

Austin-based psych rockers Megafauna bring in riffs that are heavy enough to hook Monster Magnet fans but flexible enough to please folks who miss the classic 120 Minutes era. Consider “Meteor City” from the band’s 2019 album Ghost Coast. But Megafauna can also keep it mellow and trippy too. That side of the band is highlighted on its recent single “Sometimes Island.” The show will celebrate the new Megafauna LP, Olympico, which dropped April 28. San Antonio’s HoneyBunny is also in on the action, serving up its heady mix of indie folk-rock with a smattering of danceable grooves. Imagine a way hipper Gwen Stefani fronting such an outfit and you’re close to their sound. $15, 7 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx. com. — MM

Monday, May 15

Deadwolff, Wild Pleasures, Diamond Denim

Sometimes great bands look like they sound. And with their long shags, mustaches and jean jackets, Deadwolff have nailed the visual aspect of bringin’ the rock. Yes, this trio could appear in the ’80s-shot documentary Heavy Metal Parking Lot, but they’re way younger and they’re living the lifestyle right now. The band bills itself as a mix of “Motörhead, Judas Priest and WASP,” but most listeners are going to find this heavy on the Lemmy love. Local heshers take note. Free, 8 p.m., Faust Tavern, 517 E. Woodlawn Ave., (210) 257-0628, facebook.com/thefausttavern. — MM

Deadwolff

Courtesy Photo Deadwolff

EMPLOYMENT

Senior Tax Accountants at Britts & Associates, LLP DBA Britts CPA Firm – San Antonio TX.

Prep of biz 1040 & State Tax Returns. Review indiv & biz tax returns. Up to 10% domestic travel to customers’ sites. Req’d: Bach degree in accounting/finance/reltd fld/foreign eqv’t + min 1yr exp as tax acct, tax anylst, tax prpr, or rltd position + min 1yr exp prep of state & fed tax form process & accurately prep forms for each + min 1yr exp in doing bank reconciliation for book keeping & making journal entries + min 1 yr exp in using MS Office & QuickBooks + min 2yrs exp in using tax prep software & troubleshooting tax program challenges. To apply, send resume to mariam@cpasatx.com

Looking for a personal care provider for my mother. The day is full time, and pays $20/hr. The caregiver’s work is 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday. Anyone who is interested can email me at ( tjohn24434@gmail.com ) for an interview about the caregiver job.

La Regia Tortilla Factory, LLC is seeking a Accountant in San Antonio, Texas to Prepare and analyze detailed accounting records and financial statements to review with management and jointly determine, maintain, and analyze budgets. Examine inventory of all departments to verify journal and ledger entries. Collect and analyze department records – including reports for warehouse inventory of raw ingredients and equipment, production, packaging, shipping, and sales, and merge data to prepare periodic reports that compare budgeted costs to actual costs of all departments and review with production and sales department management to assess financial conditions and facilitate financial planning. Process invoices for payment to vendors and maintain records for audit files. Confer with production management to review alternate vendor options for raw materials and factory equipment to jointly determine most cost-effective options. Review and maintain customer payment records, including preparing invoices and processing incoming payments. Manage company financial accounts and conduct audits. Maintain accurate and updated records and calculation of assets, net worth, liabilities, surplus, income, and expenditures. Prepare, analyze, and verify annual reports, financial statements, and other financial records, including IRS and state filings, ensuring compliance with payment, reporting, and other tax requirements. Supervise administrative payroll assistant. Send resume via email to jose@laregiatortillafactory.com and reference job for Accountant.