Riverfront Times, July 13, 2022 by Chava Communications

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Publisher Chris Keating Editor in Chief Rosalind Early

E D I T O R I A L Managing Editor Jessica Rogen Editor at Large Daniel Hill Digital Content Editors Jaime Lees, Jenna Jones Food Editor Cheryl Baehr Staff Writers Ryan Krull, Monica Obradovic, Benjamin Simon Copy Editor Evie Hemphill Contributors Thomas K. Chimchards, Joseph Hess, Reuben Hemmer, Andy Paulissen, Famous Mortimer, Mabel Suen, Graham Toker, Theo Welling Columnists Ray Hartmann, Dan Savage Editorial Interns Julian McCall, Carlos Mendoza, Lulu Nix, Kasey Noss, Olivia Poolos A R T

& P R O D U C T I O N Art Director Evan Sult Creative Director Haimanti Germain Production Manager Sean Bieri Graphic Designer Aspen Smit

COVER Death from Above Eight people died from fentanyl poisoning in February, the worst mass overdose in St. Louis history. But with the rise of fentanyl, it’s probably not the last Cover photograph by

M U L T I M E D I A A D V E R T I S I N G Associate Publisher Colin Bell Account Manager Jennifer Samuel Directors of Business Development Rachel Hoppman, Chelsea Nazaruk Directors of Sponsorship Sales Deanna Schmidt M A R K E T I N G Director of Marketing & Events Christina Kimerle Marketing Coordinator Sydney Schaefer Social Media Coordinator Jamila Jackson B U S I N E S S Regional Operations Director Emily Fear C I R C U L A T I O N Circulation Manager Kevin G. Powers

THEO WELLING

E U C L I D M E D I A G R O U P Chief Executive Officer Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Officers Chris Keating, Michael Wagner Executive Editor Sarah Fenske VP of Digital Services Stacy Volhein VP of Marketing Emily Tintera, Cassandra Yardeni www.euclidmediagroup.com

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HARTMANN Missouri Democrats Are Their Own Worst Enemy Fear of Lucas Kunce’s maverick campaign shows why they keep losing Written by

RAY HARTMANN

f you want to know what’s wrong with today’s Missouri Democratic Party, look no further than Trudy Busch Valentine’s U.S. Senate candidacy. As heiresses worth up to $215 million go, Valentine comes across as down-to-earth and empathetic. Based on conversations with many who know her, I don’t doubt that she is. She did choose to devote her life to helping others as a nurse despite the comfortable circumstances of her birth, which says a lot about her. But that has nothing to do with whether Valentine is equipped to participate in the blood sport of running for U.S. Senate in Missouri. She is not. The most recent proof came last week when KMOV had to cancel a scheduled debate between Valentine and Lucas Kunce because Valentine and her campaign didn’t even extend the professional courtesy of a response to the station, an act of political malpractice. Kunce and Valentine are the top two contenders for the Democratic Party nomination in the August 2 primary. That Valentine refuses to debate Kunce in this and all other forums is a slap in the face to Missouri voters in general and Democrats in particular. And a real sign of weakness. Valentine won’t debate because she cannot debate. She doesn’t have the chops. As the RFT reported, this is a candidate who has consistently ducked the vot-

ers because, essentially, she’s not ready for the stage (See Ryan Krull’s “Trudy Busch Valentine’s Campaign Worries Missouri Democrats,” June 15, 2022). In contrast, Kunce has traveled the entire state with old-fashioned retail politics for nearly 18 months. He has garnered an astonishing amount of national news coverage, including multiple appearances on Fox News, where lots of potential converts are watching (even if that’s heresy to mainstream Democrats). Kunce raised more than $3.3 million in mostly small donations through the first quarter of the year, which his campaign says is the largest such total in the nation. That number is certain to rise substantially when second-quarter totals come out later this week. Kunce is unscripted, unvarnished, unhandled and unlike Valentine. He has done the work. She has not. Worse, she displays all the enthusiasm for diving into campaigning that most reserve for a root canal. Consider this troubling passage reported at stltoday.com: “Valentine, who owns farmland in Montgomery County, said she will spend much of the primary election focusing on Democratic voters in the state’s major population areas. “But she pledged to make more forays into the rural, red part of the state if she wins. “‘We need to talk about the issues that are facing the farmers,’ Valentine said.” I don’t believe those words have ever been said out loud until now. Even behind closed doors, no serious statewide candidate in Missouri says that they’re going to snub the most critical part of the Missouri electorate — outstate Democrats and independent voters who left the party to support Donald Trump. But Valentine’s pivot to talking about “the issues that are facing the farmers” was perhaps still more troubling. Note to Valentine’s handlers: Could you please inform your candidate that the vast majority of voters in outstate Missouri are not farmers? The folks in small towns and cities throughout the state — the ones you see at Walmart or Dollar General — are regular people providing goods and services to one another just like people do

in the major population areas. Perhaps they deserve a visit. Kunce is one of them. He grew up poor in Jefferson City and lives in Independence. To borrow a favorite line from former MSNBC anchor Brian Williams, “He speaks American.” One year and a week ago, I wrote about Kunce in this space under the headline, “Finally, a Missouri Democrat Who Brings the Heat.” I’m not in the habit of quoting myself (who is?), but here was my first impression of the guy: “Unlike any statewide Democrat in memory, Kunce has come out of the gate with fire in his eyes and a forceful style made for the moment of the digital age. He has a swagger, campaigning as if he’s already won the Democratic primary. “Kunce calls disgraced ex-Governor Eric Greitens ‘a flat-out criminal who should be in prison.’ He describes vigilante lawyer Mark McCloskey as a ‘clown’ and a ‘criminal’ and ‘Mansion Man.’ “Kunce has unveiled a dramatically populist campaign, attacking ‘massive corporations and corrupt bureaucrats.’ He describes the national group where he has his day job — the American Economic Liberties Project — as ‘a nonprofit fighting large corporations who use their monopoly power to stick it to the middle class.’” That first impression is unchanged today. Kunce, a 13-year former Marine, is the rare Democrat who can connect with the voters whom the Democrats have been losing to the culture wars in recent decades. He’s fearless in attacking Democratic leaders, along with Republicans, for their failure to stand up to major corporate interests. Democratic party leaders hate that. Missourians across party lines love it. Kunce is prone to swearing and doesn’t care if he offends you. Good. Someone please gift the Democratic Party a GPS system. This is Missouri. Kunce doesn’t traffic in phrases like “marginalized peoples,” but his firebrand politics will do more for them than Democrats ever have with the soothing sounds of political correctness. Such irony. It is nothing short of appalling to see how Democratic Party leaders have refused to embrace Kunce’s maverick style. They just cannot stand the guy, which is why they

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have lined up like ducks to support Valentine. Why? Mostly because she’s not Kunce and as a nice nurse with no controversial positions, she keeps them in their safe space. I don’t know if Kunce can win in November against one of the sycophants in the Trump-infested Republican field. But I do know the Democrats won’t win bringing a plastic spoon to this knife fight. Valentine might hold the Democrats’ 41 percent floor from recent election cycles by running as a nurse and decent person. But that won’t entice outstate voters (or even those from Kansas City) to get behind a radical-socialist heiress from St. Louis, which is how the Republican mudslingers will portray her. (Sorry to break that news.) Perhaps like Kunce, I don’t care what Democrats think of what I have to say. This seat is too important for any of that nonsense. It’s not about Missouri; it’s about the future of American democracy. Missouri is in play and could represent the 50th Democratic vote in the Senate. Or more optimistically, the 52nd, which might Manchin-and-Sinema-proof the party’s majority, thus helping end Republican obstruction by filibuster. It does not matter which of their candidates the Republicans choose. Sure, the eerie Erics — Greitens and Schmitt — are the creepiest. These snarling blobs of testosterone are poster boys for the need for red-flag laws to take guns away from the unbalanced. But U.S. Representative Vicky Hartzler (R-Harrisonville) is even more of an anti-choice, antiLGBTQ bigot than they are. And she voted 100 percent in support of Trump’s insurrection. This U.S. Senate seat is a mustwin for Missouri Democrats now that it’s in play thanks to the Republicans’ pathetic field. Democracy hangs in the balance. The fundamental rights of women — among others — hang in the balance. This will be an all-out vicious fight. The kind that Lucas Kunce welcomes. And it’s no time for Democrats to play nice. n Ray Hartmann founded the Riverfront Times in 1977. Contact him at rhartmann1952@ gmail.com or catch him at 7 p.m. on Thursdays on Nine PBS and St. Louis in the Know with Ray Hartmann from 9 to 11 p.m. Monday thru Friday on KTRS (550 AM).

JULY 13-19, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

NEWS

Prison Death Leads to Lawsuit

Sexual Harassment Rocks St. Louis County

Missouri prison allegedly waited hours to call 911 after fatal attack, inmate says

Written by

corrections sergeant’s serial sexual harassment was allowed to continue unabated for years at the St. Louis County Jail, according to internal documents given to the Riverfront Times. A 73-page report into the conduct of Aaron Mitchell outlines accusations against him by four women, as well as email evidence of improper communication between Mitchell and more than a dozen others. The accusations from the four women span five years, from 2016 to 2021, though there is indication that Mitchell’s practice of sexual harassment likely began earlier. Mitchell was employed by the county jail from April 2001 until being placed on suspension last October. One female county jail employee told internal investigators that in 2019 Mitchell frequently came into her office without being invited. He “physically backed her into a corner behind her desk.” At one point he unzipped his pants and pulled out his penis, the report states. On another occasion, Mitchell bent down and whispered in the woman’s ear, “What’s under your dress?” Another female coworker accused Mitchell of exposing himself to her in a break room three years prior. This employee told a superior about what happened, though the report doesn’t indicate any disciplinary action occurred. A third female coworker accused Mitchell of attempting to kiss her, and a fourth accused him of making frequent advances and consistently asking her for her phone number. The RFT received no reply from Mitchell after contacting him via email and calling multiple phone numbers listed as his. The internal investigative report into Mitchell also includes a cache of emails Mitchell sent to female coworkers in which he wrote things like “I’m horny” and “I am truly in love with you. “ The coworker to whom Mitchell sent the latter message replied, “[Y]ou are completely crossing ALL boundaries.” The report zeroes in on a handful of specific days of Mitchell’s emailing. On Continued on pg 9

County employee was allowed to prey on coworkers for years RYAN KRULL

RYAN KRULL

wo inmates at the Northeast Correctional Center have been charged with the January 8 murder of 43-year-old Joshua Hewitt, who was in prison with them in Bowling Green. grand jury indictment filed in Pike County alleges that inmates Elijah Kent and Matthew Marshall also tampered with evidence by attempting to clean or conceal Hewitt’s blood at the scene. Kent, 35, is serving a seven-year term for domestic assault. Marshall, 32, is serving an 18-year sentence for murder. Hewitt’s death was covered by the RFT in January and later in March. (See Ryan Krull’s “Black Hole,” March 2, 2022.) In the weeks after his death, Hewitt’s parents struggled to get information about what exactly had occurred. Missouri Department of Corrections spokeswoman Karen Pojmann confirmed that Hewitt was assaulted on January 8 and died in the hospital three days later. But the Hewitts had to rely on hospital records and an organ transplant center employee to piece together a rough timeline of what happened to their son in the hours after his assault. They found that he arrived at the hospital in St. Louis around 3 a.m. on January 9. But they didn’t know at what time he’d been assaulted. “I’m also concerned about, did this assault take place at six o’clock, and he wasn’t found until midnight?” Hewitt’s father, Pat, told the RFT at the time. Pat ewitt has now filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Missouri Department of Correc-

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Joshua Hewitt was attacked in prison and died three days later. | VIA PAT HEWITT tions as well as the prison warden over his son’s death. The lawsuit accuses the prison of negligence. It claims that shortly before Hewitt was assaulted, inmates elsewhere in the prison staged an “orchestrated disturbance” to distract the guards. During this time, Hewitt was assaulted for approximately 40 minutes. The suit goes on to claim that the prison did not follow its own policies, and as a result Hewitt was left unsupervised in his cell for longer than he should have been, creating an environment in which such a sustained attack could take place. In a message obtained by the RFT, one of the men now accused of murdering Hewitt says that several hours passed between the time of the altercation with Hewitt and Hewitt’s being transported to the hospital. Elijah Kent wrote to an individual outside the prison that his alleged assault on Hewitt was written up by prison authorities as having occurred at 8:21 p.m. Pat Hewitt’s lawsuit states that his son arrived at Mercy Hospital at 2:57 a.m. To drive from the Bowling Green prison to Mercy Hospital St. Louis takes about 75 minutes, meaning that if Kent is telling the truth more than five hours elapsed between the assault and Hewitt leaving the prison in an

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ambulance. “If he didn’t leave here till midnight, then yeah, these people definitely fucked up,” Kent wrote. Kent also says that Hewitt was intoxicated when the incident occurred. He acknowledges hitting Hewitt, but expressed disbelief that the injuries Hewitt sustained in their altercation would have been fatal. ewitt had a significant criminal history prior to his death. His father, Pat, told the RFT that Hewitt was an alcoholic. “He was in and out of prison for the last 20 years, which is pretty much most of his adult life,” Pat said. In 2012 in Hollister, according to a probable cause statement, Hewitt touched a minor’s breast through clothing, leading to a conviction for misdemeanor sexual misconduct. He was sentenced to time served and, as part of the plea bargain, had to register as a sex offender. In 2021, he failed to register as a sex offender in Taney County, resulting in a four-year prison sentence. He’d served a little over four months of it when he died. “Honestly, we always felt better when he was incarcerated,” Pat said in the wake of his son’s death. “We knew he had two or three square meals a day, and he had a place to put his head down. We knew exactly where he was at.” n

January 11, 2019, for example, the investigators wrote, “You sent or received 205 emails from your work account. Of the 205 emails, one was work related.” One of the women who accused Mitchell of harassment spoke to the RFT, but asked that we not print her name. “At times, he would touch me like he was trying to help me fix my uniform, but he was almost groping me,” she says. “The supervisors, the administration that was in place, kept sweeping it under the rug,” she goes on. “I would tell certain people things that he would say or ways he would act towards me, and they would tell me, ‘You could say something, but it won’t go anywhere.’ That’s what they always said.” She adds that it was understood nothing was going to happen because Mitchell was “tight with the administration, going along with that whole family dynamic that they have.” Multiple individuals involved in county jail operations and reform have spoken to the RFT about “the Family,” a group of administrators and employees at the jail who cover up for each other and block efforts to hold staff accountable. The jail employee who spoke to the RFT anonymously says that she sees the Family’s influence at work in the jail. Some people not in the Family get in trouble for minor infractions whereas people in the Family, like Mitchell, seem to get away with egregious violations. “You’ll see some people get in trouble for things that aren’t really a big deal,” she says. “But then you’ll see lieutenants and captains are still there after they release detainees [into the public] that they weren’t supposed to release.” The Reverend Phillip Duvall has been attempting to blow the whistle on the Family since May when he resigned from the St. Louis County Justice Services Advisory Board. The board was formed in 2019 as a response to inmate deaths in the jail. But after two years, Duvall quit in frustration, saying that efforts at reform were being stifled by the Family. An individual familiar with the inner workings of the county jail said that back in 2002, Mitchell’s second year on the job, a female detainee alleged that Mitchell brought a male detainee in to have sex with her, and then forced her to perform oral sex on him. This source said that Mitchell was “disciplined” for this, but was eventually “restored” and allowed to return to the jail, ultimately working his way up to the rank of sergeant. Duvall says that when he was a member of the advisory board he did his own looking into Mitchell. After Mitchell was restored, Duvall alleges, “he came back

and picked up where he left off.” Duvall believes Mitchell was able to do that because “he was part of the Family.” The Tony Weaver Connection The woman whom Mitchell harassed said that when Tony Weaver was appointed by County Executive Sam Page as the jail’s “change management coordinator” in December 2019 things began to change, albeit slowly. She says that when she reported the harassment to Weaver, an investigation into Mitchell began. “Tony Weaver just kept telling me things were gonna change — that certain people, you’re gonna look up one day and they won’t be there. It’s going to be a more comfortable environment,” she says. Officially, the report on Mitchell is authored by Justice Services Director Scott Anders, but many aspects of it indicate that Weaver had extensive involvement in collecting the information that formed its basis. The name Tony Weaver is now familiar to many St. Louisans, but for reasons that have nothing to do with his work reforming the county jail. In June, Weaver was indicted in federal court for helping a businessman fraudulently apply for COVID-19 relief funds in exchange for a cut of the money. Weaver allegedly spoke openly about

Tony Weaver (above) helped stop Aaron Mitchell, a sexual harasser at the county jail. | RYAN KRULL the scheme with an individual wearing a wire, the same individual whose recorded conversations led to the indictment of three St. Louis aldermen. Weaver has long-standing connections to the politically prominent family of former Councilwoman Rochelle Walton Gray. He previously worked as an aide to Gray before she lost her seat. At that point, Page hired him on to work in the jail — and nearly doubled his salary, to $82,500.

Indictments Clear Path for Mayor With her main opposition gone from the Board of Aldermen, Mayor Tishaura Jones signs budget, has nominations confirmed Written by

SARAH FENSKE

wo months ago, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones found her plans for a Detention Facilities Oversight Board facing potentially fatal opposition from the St. Louis Board of Aldermen. What a difference two months makes. On June 30, two nominees to the board whose nominations came under fire garnered aldermanic approval. A third, who’d walked away just after being confirmed, has now rescinded her resignation. “Thank you for nominating me ... and for working so hard to assure that the original nine members have been ap-

Mike Milton is now on the Detention Facilities Oversight Board. | DANNY WICENTOWSKI proved by the Board of Aldermen,” Pamela Walker wrote in a letter to the mayor on June 30. “It is an honor to be nominated and it would be an honor to serve.” Walker’s about-face was triggered by the restored nominations of two Black activists. Both men had faced opposition for their previous work lobbying to close the city’s workhouse. Mike Milton, best known for his work starting up the Bail Project’s St. Louis office, saw his nomina-

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Last month, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on emails sent from Deputy Jail Director Darby Howard to the jail’s personnel director accusing Weaver of trying to solicit “negative information” from jail staff. Howard’s emails also accused Weaver of “defaming” corrections officers. Jane Dueker, a candidate for county executive who hopes to replace Sam Page, was quoted in the Post-Dispatch slamming Page for Weaver’s “abuse of power.” Weaver’s attorney, Timothy Smith, issued a statement in response, defending Weaver’s work at the jail. “Weaver worked with the Justice Center Advisory Board and played a key role in communicating internally and externally about issues and initiatives impacting the County Justice Services employees,” the statement read in part. Duvall says that Weaver was hated by the Family because he was at times an effective check on their power. “He was able to uncover lots of things because those corrections officers and employees that were being harassed and mistreated, they would share stuff with him. As would inmates,” Duvall says. Mitchell was fired earlier this year. The woman who spoke to the RFT anonymously says, “Everybody was breathing a sigh of relief, knowing that he wasn’t there.” n

tion voted down. The nomination of Reverend Darryl Gray, an activist who’s led protest marches, also faced resistance — and was withdrawn. In April, Walker, the city’s former health director, suggested that without Milton and Gray the board would be doomed to a “contentious and combative relationship with the social justice community.” She quit one day after winning confirmation. With the three members now back in the fold, the board is fully empaneled. The June 30 vote may suggest that city government is now functioning with a whole lot less rancor. Opposition to Milton and Gray had been led by the now-indicted former Alderman John Collins-Muhammad and then-Aldermanic President Lewis Reed. Without them on the board, the two activists found smooth sailing. The city’s troubled jails aren’t the only area where Jones is finding less resistance — at least for now. In late June, she signed a budget passed by the Board of Aldermen — something that used to happen every year but hadn’t happened since 2019. For all the goodwill emanating from City Hall these days, the detention oversight board has a lot of work ahead. n

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

MISSOURILAND

A ManySplendored Thing PrideFest returned to downtown St. Louis with extra security Words by

ROSALIND EARLY Photos by

THEO WELLING

fter a two-year hiatus, PrideFest returned to downtown St. Louis June 25 and 26. The festival, which in past years has been one of the largest in the region, includes a parade, outdoor concert and festival. This year, however, organizers partnered with the FBI to help keep visitors safe. In mid-June, 31 men, who were connected to the white-supremacist group Patriot Front, attempted to start at riot at the Pride parade in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. The men were arrested, and the group included a man from Missouri and a man from Illinois. Given all of the shootings at public events, the move for extra security seems prescient, and PrideFest went off without a hitch. n

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A C E L E B R AT I O N O F T H E U N I Q U E A N D FA S C I N AT I N G A S P E C T S O F O U R H O M E

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

The Dealer on the 14th Floor

By Mike Fitzgerald

RIVERFRONT TIMES

JULY 13-19, 2022

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Eight people died from fentanyl poisoning in February, the worst mass overdose in St. Louis history, but with the rise of fentanyl, it’s probably not the last

On February 5, St. Louis Metropolitan Police officers began following the trail of the deadliest mass drug overdose in t. Louis history. It was a cold bright aturday morning when they entered Parkview partments number 1 1 at 44 1 orest Park venue. Police discovered five people: Three were passed out but still clinging to life. Two others men ages and 1 had already died according to city police reports. ll had smoked crack cocaine tainted with fentanyl a synthetic opioid painkiller up to 1 times more powerful than morphine. t about noon the same day police found the body of a man who had overdosed in nearby Park Place partments at 4 orest Park venue. inety minutes later police once again entered Parkview and took the elevator to the 14th floor then hustled to apartment 141 . There they found the bodies of two more men who died from fentanyl poisoning police records show. ust after midnight the ne t day and only three doors down police discovered the lifeless body of a 4-year-old man in apartment 141 . n hour later they found a -year-old man who had collapsed outside the 14th-floor elevator. The final fatality was a woman 4 whose body was discovered around p.m. on ebruary in apartment 14 4 police records show. During this three-day window do ens of t. Louis police and firefighters

swarmed the building to look for new overdose victims as 11 call followed 11 call. woman who lived in the building and didn’t wish to be identified told the Riverfront Times she first heard about the overdose deaths after waking up from a nap on ebruary and talking to a relative on the ground floor. The relative said ‘They just found three bodies ’ she recalls. The ne t morning her relative gave her an update: ‘They found five ’ and I’m like ‘ h my God.’ irens blared morning and night that weekend. an listening to it was so scary says the woman who has since moved out of Parkview. It was like ‘ h my God we were living in a movie. It started to almost become normal to see these people — they were just wheeling bodies out. man who asked to be identified as . . has lived on Parkview’s 14th floor for many years. e said the floor was flooded with police throughout that ebruary weekend. They came in like they did a raid . . recalls. They came to my door. Bam. Bam. Bam. I jumped out of my bed. They said ‘ nybody else in there with you ’ I said ‘ o it’s just me.’ ost of those who died had lived or hung out on Parkview’s 14th floor. Each was well known and liked by other apartment residents. They were super-nice super-sweet the e -tenant says. ou’d always see Continued on pg 14

In a single weekend in February, seven people in the Parkview Apartments died after smoking crack cocaine laced with fentanyl. | THEO WELLING riverfronttimes.com

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FENTANYL DEATHS Continued from pg 13

them in the hallways at some point, like downstairs in the front.” The overdose deaths that weekend included a man nicknamed reckles a frequent 14th-floor visitor. e lived with his mother in a nearby apartment house. There was Re-Re, a big woman who used a wheelchair and Calvin, who had long supported himself as a house painter and handyman. And there was Andre, a University ity igh chool graduate who, according to a family friend, had been sober and drug free for years before relapsing the day of his passing. Andre had been an amateur boxer in his youth, along with his older brother, Robert, who spoke proudly of him at his memorial service in late ebruary. “I was a lefty,” Robert told mourners during a service shared on ouTube. e was a righty.

ll told, 11 people overdosed on fentanyl-tainted crack cocaine at the Parkview and Park Place apartments between ebruary and — resulting in eight deaths. All the victims were Black and were between the ages of 43 and 61. It is the second-deadliest opioid overdose event in U.S. history. The deadliest single fentanyl overdose cluster in American history happened just a week before, in late January, when nine people died from consuming fentanyltainted crack cocaine bought from a dealer in Washington, D.C. Despite the high death toll, that mass overdose event received almost no national attention. Also escaping any national attention was a mass overdose event on ebruary when si people overdosed — five fatally — in a single apartment in Commerce City, Colorado, after consuming what they believed was pure cocaine, but which in fact was fentanyl. Two weeks later, another mass overdose event flew under the media radar on March 4, when 21 people overdosed — three of them fatally — at a homeless shelter in downtown Austin, Texas, after ingesting crack cocaine and methamphetamine laced with fentanyl. A mass overdose event that did make national headlines, however, occurred on the same day in March. Six people — including five est Point cadets among them a member of the military

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Carolyn Reed holds an image of her daughter, Chuny Ann Reed, allegedly responsible for distributing the fentanyl-laced crack cocaine. | THEO WELLING academy’s storied football team — overdosed on fentanyl-laced cocaine while on a spring-break trip to lorida. one died. Like the victims of the Parkview mass overdose in St. Louis, the people who overdosed in Washington, D.C.; Texas; Colorado; and lorida apparently had no idea they were consuming drugs laced with fentanyl. The growing number of unsuspecting people ingesting fentanyl has led to a nationwide spike in deadly mass overdose events like the one at Parkview. It’s a worsening trend that led the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to issue an urgent nationwide bulletin in early April. “In just the past two months, there have been at least 7 confirmed mass overdose events across the United States resulting in overdoses and overdose deaths,” the bulletin states. “Many of the victims of these mass overdose events thought they were ingesting cocaine and had no idea they were ingesting fentanyl.” The bulletin also includes this harrowing statistic: “Last year, the United States suffered more fentanyl-related deaths than gunrelated deaths and auto-related deaths combined.” In the 12-month period end-

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In Missouri in 2020, almost 1,900 Missourians — a new record — died from drug overdoses, with the vast majority stemming from fentanyl, according to Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services data. ing in October 2021, more than 105,000 Americans died from drug overdoses with two-thirds of those deaths caused by fentanyl and other synthetic opioid painkillers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ere in issouri during the same period, almost 1,900 Missourians — a new record — died from drug overdoses, with the vast majority stemming from fentanyl, according to Missouri Department of ealth and enior ervices data. The fentanyl crisis has hit St. Louis with special ferocity. igures show the city’s overdose mortality rate is 4 per 1 people. It is even higher for Black males in St. Louis city, according to Missouri Institute of ental ealth figures. Physicians have used fentanyl for decades as a painkiller and

anesthetic, but always closely watched patients who were administered the drug. It causes “wooden chest syndrome,” which is characterized by extreme tightness in the chest muscles, airways and the diaphragm. Up until only a few years ago, fentanyl was relatively rare as a street drug. But now it is so ubiquitous and cheap that it has virtually replaced heroin in St. Louis and many other large cities. Today fentanyl poses an extreme danger to all users of illicit drugs because it is commonly added as filler to crack cocaine methamphetamine and to imitation pharmaceutical drugs known as counterfeit drugs, says Assistant Special Agent in Charge Colin Dickey, head of the DEA’s St. Louis regional office.

Journalist Merijn de Waal. | MIKE FITZGERALD

Chuny Ann Reed with her daughter Emily who has cerebral palsy. | THEO WELLING The DEA is trying to stop fentanyl and other illicit drugs from coming into America from China — where the precursor chemicals to make it are cheap and readily available — and Mexico, where criminal gangs smuggle it across America’s southern border. The quantities crossing the border can be staggering. Police in late June seized 150,000 fentanyl pills — worth an estimated $750,000 — from a car during a traffic stop in entral alifornia. Through its national One Pill Can Kill program, the DEA is also warning community groups about the dangers of fentanyl mixed with other drugs. The counterfeit pills are manufactured by overseas drug networks and are made to look identical to prescription medications such as OxyContin, Adderall, Percocet, Vicodin and Xanax. The DEA estimated in a May report that 40 percent of counterfeit pills contain potentially fatal doses of fentanyl. Adderall is one of the most popular black-market pills, thanks to college kids trying to focus while studying for exams. Mass overdose events like the one that hit Parkview Apartments are likely to recur, according to Dickey. “As long as the situation stays as it is, I think we do anticipate we could potentially see mass overdose events like this in the future,” he says.

huny Ann Reed, 47, used to live on the 14th floor in Parkview Apartments. Now, she awaits trial at the Pulaski County Detention Center, in Ullin, Illinois, about 155 miles southeast of St. Louis. She faces federal charges of distribution of cocaine base and of fentanyl resulting in serious bodily injury. If convicted, she faces at least 20 years in prison, according to federal charging statements filed ebruary in the . . federal court in St. Louis. So far, Reed is the only person charged in connection with the Parkview mass overdose event, and she has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Reed has not been charged in connection with either the Parkview deaths or the Park Place fatality. No one has yet publicly suggested how fentanyl contaminated the crack cocaine that Reed allegedly sold from her Parkview apartment. Like many substance users, Reed — who for years used both heroin and fentanyl — long supported herself by selling drugs, according to federal documents and people close to her. Reed’s first criminal conviction occurred in December 1997, when she pleaded guilty in St. Charles state court to a felony charge of cannabis possession. Court records do not show how much jail

time, if any, she received. A year later, Reed was convicted in St. Louis state court of two charges: illegal possession of cocaine base (crack) and a controlled substance. She was sentenced to three years in a state prison but was released in July 2001, court records show. By 2019, Reed had moved into Parkview with her teenage daughter Emily. By all accounts, theirs was a low-key existence. Neighbors describe Reed as friendly and quiet. “We never had any problems or confrontations,” J.J. recalls. “We spoke a couple times,” the ex-tenant quoted earlier says. “Actually, she wanted me to do her hair.” Problem was, Reed seemed high all the time, but would ask, “‘Can you do my hair like this?’” the woman says. “I was like, ‘Talk to me when you’re sober.’” ne of the survivors of the ebruary 5 mass overdose admitted to DEA agents that he regularly bought crack cocaine from Reed “for approximately two years,” according to a federal affidavit filed in Reed’s federal court case. Surveillance video showed a Black male entered “Reed’s apartment and stayed for several minutes,” according to another DEA affidavit. e then departed and returned directly to his apartment. Later in the day, this individual was discovered dead inside his apartment from an apparent overdose. At the scene of the overdose death, investigators recovered and seized a crack pipe with trace amounts of a suspected controlled substance inside the pipe.” Diane Dragan, Reed’s federal public defender, declined to com-

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ment on the federal affidavits. Danielle Reed, 30, is the oldest of Chuny Ann Reed’s four children. Danielle acknowledges her mother has used drugs for a long time. “But my momma, she didn’t hurt people,” says Danielle, who describes the lengths her mother would go to in order to care for her younger sister Emily, a teenager who is severely disabled with cerebral palsy. “She’s loving, caring,” Danielle says of her mother. “Everybody who do drugs is not a bad person.” I met Danielle on a Saturday morning in early May at her apartment off Jefferson Avenue, a short distance northwest of the Lafayette Square neighborhood. I was joined by a Dutch journalist named Merijn de Waal, who covers the United States and South America for his newspaper, NRC Handelsblad, of Amsterdam. De Waal had contacted me a few months earlier from his home base in msterdam after finding articles I’d written about the opioid crisis in St. Louis. De Waal wanted to write about the Parkview overdose deaths to help his readers understand America’s surging drug overdose crisis — by far the worst in the developed world, according to the United Nations and other health watchdogs. De Waal was in St. Louis for a weeklong visit to do some reporting, so we found our way to Danielle Reed’s place. Reed acknowledged during our interview that her mother is a longtime substance user. “And was she only using crack or also other stuff?” de Waal asked. “My momma didn’t do crack,” Danielle said. “What did she do?” eroin Danielle said. entanyl has all but replaced heroin in the St. Louis area. “There is no heroin in St. Louis,” he said. “Well, fentanyl,” Danielle amended. Danielle said her mother would never have intentionally mixed the fentanyl with the crack cocaine that led to so many overdoses. Someone else must be responsible for the fentanyl getting added to the cocaine. “My mom doesn’t know how to make the powdered shit,” she said. According to Danielle, the person who could make the crack cocaine base was her mother’s boyfriend, who has not been arrested. “I’m 100 percent and then

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FENTANYL DEATHS Continued from pg 15

some,” she said. “My momma did not rock that shit up. She don’t know how to do it. And I’m 100 percent sure I know he did it, and I know my momma’s taking the fall for him.” “Did she tell you?” de Waal asked. “I just know,” she said, shaking her head. “It was totally an accident. The people at Parkview, they know her. They love her. She is a good person. My momma don’t hurt people intentionally.”

arkview Apartments is home to nearly 300 tenants when at full capacity. It stands just off the heart of the Central West End neighborhood — three blocks east of Forest Park, and a few blocks north of Barnes-Jewish Hospital, the Washington University medical campus and the thriving Cortex area. Before COVID-19 hit in March 2020, current and former tenants described the apartment complex, which is owned by the St. Louis Housing Authority, as a reasonably safe and clean place. But over the last couple years the quality of life at Parkview has declined, according to tenants and to 17th Ward Alderwoman Tina Pihl, who took part in two town-hall-style meetings with tenants in late April. Tenants complained about cleanliness, especially problems with bed bugs, the closure of the building’s community room, and building managers who ignored complaints, Pihl says. “One of the issues … is there hasn’t been accountability,” she says. Another major issue was water leaks in the apartment. The ex-tenant quoted earlier said she went to management five days in a row to complain about leaks in her apartment and only after the fifth day did anything get done. “Y’all don’t care about the people, and it shows,” she says. In the months since the Parkview deaths, the St. Louis Housing Authority has worked with the Habitat Company of Chicago, which manages the complex, “to enhance the current systems and has contracted with a new security company,” according to a statement released by Indira Murray, a housing authority spokeswoman. What’s more, “The Habitat Company’s on-site team members are prepared to assist in addressing the most severe opioid abuse con-

Danielle Reed. | MIKE FITZGERALD cerns,” the statement goes on. The housing authority works with regional agencies to provide services to residents. These include mental-health and drugcounseling services. The housing authority even partnered with the People’s Community Action Corporation to provide onsite resources for Parkview residents. As for complaints about insects and water leaks, Murray says the housing authority meets regularly with the Parkview Tenants Affairs Board and “therefore is aware of some of the resident complaints at Parkview Apartments. Working with Habitat Management, we have immediately addressed those complaints.” Murray further notes the housing authority has received approval to begin several capital projects, including repair of the parking lot and replacement of all elevators. The authority has also submitted a grant application to upgrade the building’s safety and security, according to Murray. As a result of the Parkview mass overdose, 17th Ward Alderwoman Tina Pihl has started working with experts at nearby Saint Louis University to improve living conditions and set up a pilot opioid harm-reduction program. Ideas for the harm-reduction program began forming in the wake of an April 30 listening sessions held at Parkview and nearby Cortex. “The biggest thing is we were able to give them a voice,” Pihl says. “My goal is to take this initiative and make it happen. A lot of times people listen but nothing happens.” Harm reduction, according to

many experts, is the only strategy capable of reducing the number of fentanyl-related overdose deaths. Examples of harm reduction include proactively distributing Narcan — a drug that revives unconscious opioid overdose victims — in neighborhoods with histories of substance use; handing out fentanyl test strips; and performing free chemical analyses of street drugs, like what’s already being done at the Mo Network in St. Louis. Pihl says that the earliest her ward’s pilot program could launch is six months from now. A big problem that must be addressed is what to do with people who get into opioid treatment and complete it but wind up back in the neighborhoods where drugs like fentanyl are plentiful. “Are we putting them back into the environment … without resources?” she asks. The St. Louis Fire Department has already started some harmreduction efforts. Three years ago, it started carrying boxes of Narcan on all its pumper trucks and vehicles driven by battalion chiefs, according to Dennis Jenkerson the city fire chief. But fentanyl’s hold is so powerful that many revived victims — despite their close brushes with death — go out and immediately get high again, Jenkerson says. “We hit them with the Narcan, and within 20 seconds they’re looking at you and they’re all upset because you just messed up their high,” Jenkerson says. “And they walk away. We can’t handcuff them and keep them there until a health-care worker gets there.” The overdose epidemic has reached the point where Jenkerson has joined efforts calling for the city to invest in something he would never have considered even a few years ago: controlleduse centers, where substance users can have their street drugs tested for fentanyl and then use them safely under supervision. Users would also be encouraged to seek treatment and be provided with help to obtain it. “I’m not 100 percent sure that controlled centers are the way to go,” Jenkerson says. “But you got to try something. ... You can’t do the same things over and over and expect different results.”

n his sixth day in St. Louis, de Waal and I visit Parkview to talk to tenants. After a couple hours we walk to his rented Mini Cooper, get in and drive the four miles north to the home of

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Chuny Ann Reed’s mother. While he guides his rented car along Grand Boulevard, I ask de Waal — a man paid to think and write about America — what is going on with this country during what seems like a fraught moment in its history. I note that experts have blamed America’s drug-overdose crisis — like its gun-violence problems — on runaway capitalism, as well as the loneliness and alienation that a ict many especially men. “Where is America headed?” I ask. “They say every big empire has a lifespan of 250 years,” de Waal replies. “If you start counting from 1776, you have four years left.” He looks at me and laughs. A few minutes later we park in front of a modest brick house in the Mark Twain neighborhood. Carolyn Reed is seated on the front porch. Even though we show up unannounced, she is welcoming and invites us to join her. Reed acknowledges that her daughter Chuny Ann Reed is a longtime substance user. Parkview was not a good place for Chuny Ann, her mother says, especially during the pandemic. “I went there during the pandemic,” Carolyn says. She remembers seeing a lot of drug users. “They were roaming real tough there. They might be isolated, but they’re going to get what they need and go home.” huny nn Reed’s finances took a hit three years ago when it was suspected that her daughter Emily — who is severely disabled with cerebral palsy — had been exposed to fentanyl. That led the state of Missouri to take custody of Emily, according to Carolyn. De Waal wonders if Reed started selling crack cocaine after losing the state financial assistance she had once received to pay for Emily’s living expenses. “She wasn’t able to pay the rent?” he suggests. “She was always doing something,” Carolyn says. “She didn’t sit back and be supported by Emily’s check.” Carolyn warned her daughter to stay out of trouble, she says. “‘Don’t be doing nothing you might get caught up in,’” she recalls of the advice she gave. “‘If you do it, do it by yourself. Don’t have your friends and you.’ That’s my daughter’s problem. When she did be sociable, she was too sociable.” n Mike Fitzgerald is a journalist who lives in St. Louis. He can be reached via Twitter @MikeWearAMask.

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CALENDAR

BY JENNA JONES

THURSDAY 07/14 In Bloom o filter necessary for this news: St. Louis’ Instagram-worthy sunflower field is in bloom. The yearly blossoming is a great opportunity to grab your friends and snag the perfect ’gram photo, and it’s also a chance to take in the beauty of nature. The Missouri Department of Conservation has staggered the sunflowers’ planting to keep them in bloom from early July to mid-August, weather depending; they also planted extra so the flowers will be more visible. Visitors can’t pick the sunflowers though. Those closer to St. Charles who want in on the Instagram action can visit the Weldon Springs Conservation Area (6990 S. Missouri 94, St. Charles) later this month to see its sunflowers bloom. The Columbia Bottom Conservation Area (801 Strodtman Road) is open 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes before sunset and is free. Bring your own flowy dress floppy hat camera and poses.

Walk It Out Just because Pride month is over doesn’t mean we have to stop learning about and celebrating the LGBTQ+ community in St. Louis. If you’re in the market to learn something new, See STL: Gay Liberation in the Gateway City is the walking tour for you. Gay Liberation in the Gateway City consists of nine stops around the Central West End. Much of the tour is based on the CWE’s heyday as a gay neighborhood in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. The neighborhood also was the starting point for t. Louis’ first Pride march. The tour dives into “little-known stories” about queer people in the neighborhood during the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression. See the sights with Gay Liberation in the Gateway City (Central West End, mohistory.org/ see-stl) on Thursday, July 14, at 6 p.m. The tour is open year-round to the public or to private groups. Public tours cost $15 for Missouri History Museum members and $20 for non-members. The

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Emo Nite is a celebration of the music genre — it’s not a phase, Mom. | ACACIA EVANS tours are two hours in length, and guests are advised to bring plenty of water.

FRIDAY 07/15 Art For Our Sake Bread and Roses Missouri hosts its festive Art For Our Sake Auction Preview Reception this weekend featuring inspiring works of art and fun activities. Food, drink and live music will be on deck as guests peruse the objects that will be auctioned the next day. Notable among the auction items are two 20th-century Regionalist paintings. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres, wine, beer and champagne will be served. The reception is located at Selkirk Auctioneers & Appraisers (555 Washington Avenue, 314-380-0174, breadandrosesmo. org/2022/06/22/art-for-our-sake/) from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, July 15. RSVPs are required. The auction takes place the following day at 10 a.m. in person and online at

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selkirkauctions.com.

Climate Control Climate change’s existential threat hangs over the entire world. A recent Supreme Court ruling restricting what the government can do to tackle the issue has helped it stay in the headlines. But what if we can’t stop climate change in its tracks? What will our future look like? See World imagines just that. Set in the future, See World is a performance art piece that grapples with both capitalism and climate change using burlesque, pole dance, contortion and aerial forms. Cities have moved underwater and their inhabitants are forced to survive as the elite have taken the technological advances that would enhance their survival for themselves. Those not wealthy enough to afford those advances consumed radioactive waste and hoped to pass down altered genes to the next generation. A tale of a late-stage climate crisis, See World is the story of those children, liv-

ing in spite of it all. There will be humor, joy, sensuality, sadness, grief and perseverance as the story progresses. See World takes the audience along for the journey. Aurora STL hosts See World (7413 S. Broadway, aurorastl.com/events/ see-world) on Friday, July 15, and Saturday, July 16. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show begins at 7 p.m. General admission costs $25.

SATURDAY 07/16 Not a Phase Maybe you once uttered the phrase, “It’s not a phase, Mom,” and then the phase ended mere months later. That’s OK. Emo phases come and go, but the music remains. Emo Nite, a tour dedicated solely to the genre, makes that abundantly clear. The event isn’t a band or DJs but rather a traveling tour dedicated to “playing music we love,” according to organizers. Emo artists curate playlists of favorite songs, and the party begins.

WEEK OF JULY 14-20

Sunflowers have bloomed in Columbia Bottom Conservation Area. | DAN ZARLENGA Take in the music of your angsty phase (or maybe you still really enjoy the music — that’s cool, too!) and let go for a night. Bust out the eyeliner one last time. Dance the night away. Relive the best parts of your emo phase, this time without the teenage hormones. The goal is to remember emo has impacted every aspect of culture, and as it makes its re-entry into the mainstream, that it is worth a party. Visit Red Flag (3040 Locust Street, emonite.com) for Emo Nite and reminisce on the good old days on Saturday, July 16. Tickets begin at $16 for general admission, and the show is 21 or older. Doors open, and the show begins at 9 p.m.

artist walk into a bar … OK, no they didn’t; they actually walked into the Central West End for the monthly Art Stroll. Live music and artist demonstrations fill the streets as attendees walk around the neighborhood. DIY art workshops are also available for the kiddos, courtesy of Perennial. Don’t miss the balloon twister or stilt walker touring around McPherson — and there’s also word of a magic house. The Art Stroll (McPherson Avenue, cwescene.com/artstroll) runs from noon to 4 p.m. and is free to attend. Live music from Jason Garms ends at 3:30 p.m.

North St. Louis Eats SUNDAY 07/17 Historic North St. Louis is on dis- Steampunk play with the Taste of North St. Louis this weekend. Enjoy food, Summer entertainment and history as the festival hits the streets. Vendors include Just Pastas, Pretty Pop Gourmet Popcorn and more. Visit Taste of North St. Louis (Crown Square Plaza at 14th Street and St. Louis Avenue, saintlaaafab.com) from 1 to 7 p.m. Saturday, July 16. Admission is free; all ages are welcome.

Central Viewing A stilt walker, balloon twister and

With gadgets and gizmos aplenty, the Soulard Art Gallery plans to host a Steampunk St. Louisan Summer in its newest gallery. Aptly named, Steampunk Summer is a juried art exhibit that allows local artists to transform widgets, gears and fantasy into steampunk-themed art. The art gallery has hosted this exhibit for the last several years. Visit Steampunk Summer at the Soulard Art

Amanda Clark leads one of the many See STL tours. | R.J. HARTBECK

Gallery (2028 S. 12th Street, 314258-4299, soulardartgallery.com) from Sunday, July 17, until Friday, August 12. Hours of operation for the gallery are Sundays 1 to 5 p.m., Thursdays 4 to 8 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays noon to 8 p.m.

MONDAY 07/18 Nom Nom St. Louis Burger Week returns for seven days with a new app featuring insider info and a special giveaway. It is available for download on Android and iOS. During St. Louis Burger Week, participating restaurants offer $8 burgers. Restaurateurs do their takes on the American classic, with some venues offering off-menu specialties and gourmet blends. If you check in with the app at four or more participating locations during the week, you will be entered to win a grand prize. You will also earn points for eating burgers and drinking Dogfish ead beer specials. The person with the most points at the end of Burger Week is named the Biggest Burger Lover in St. Louis and wins a grand prize. Plus, the app has information about participating restaurants and what Burger Weekrelated specials are on tap. St. Louis Burger Week (burgerweekst-

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louis.com) begins Monday, July 18, at participating spots. The app is free to download. Some of the participating restaurants will include Kingside Diner, Over/Under Bar & Grill, Crispy Edge, Hi-Pointe DriveIn hake hack and Defiant Dough. — Rosalind Early

TUESDAY 07/19 Pieces, Please The mind is a vast place, similar to the game library at Pieces, a boardgame bar in Soulard. So it’s the perfect place to raise some money for mental health, which is what Places for People will be doing at its Gaming For Mental Health night. Places for People helps those with mental illnesses and substance-abuse disorders, providing services to more than 2,000 individuals a year. Check out any board game, order some food and drinks, and get playing. Board games will also be for sale from Game Nite. Whatever you do while you’re at the bar is up to you, but a portion of the proceeds made that night will go to help the nonprofit. isit Pieces t. Louis for Gaming For Mental Health (1535 S. 8th Street, placesforpeople.org/ events/gaming-for-mental-health) on Tuesday, July 19, beginning at 4 p.m. Entry is free. n

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HAPPY HOUR SPECIALS MONDAY-FRIDAY 11AM-4PM

WEDNESDAY, 7/13/22

SUNDAY, 7/17/22

STEVE REEB 4:30PM FREE SHOW! SEAN CANAN’S VOODOO PLAYERS PRESENTS: VOODOO BEATLES 9PM

TBA 4PM MONDAY, 7/18/22

GERARD ERKER 5PM FREE SHOW! SOULARD BLUES BAND 9PM

THURSDAY, 7/14/22

BUTCH MOORE 4PM COTTON CHOPS 9PM

FREE SHOW!

TUESDAY, 7/19/22

FREE SHOW!

FRIDAY, 7/15/22

KEVIN BUCKLEY 4PM FREE SHOW! STEVEN WOOLLEY BAND 10PM

STEVEN WOOLLEY 5PM FREE SHOW! ERIC LYSAGHT 9PM FREE SHOW!

SATURDAY, 7/16/22

ALL ROOSTERED UP 3PM FREE SHOW! JAKE’S LEG 10PM

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ORDER ONLINE FOR ! CURBSIDE PICKM-UP 9:30PM

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CAFE

DuckBill’s offerings include (clockwise from top left) roasted cauliflower, Chooch’s Popcorn Chicken, caramelized Brussels sprouts, hand-cut fries and crispy tofu. | MABEL SUEN

Another, Please! Eat DuckBill’s dazzling bar fare means one serving is never enough Written by

CHERYL BAEHR Eat DuckBill 4501 Manchester Avenue, 314-799-0662. Open every day from 4 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

rant Heman can’t help but smile when he gets a certain error message on his Clover point-of-sale system. Similar to etfli ’s judgy re you still watching?” pop-up message, it’s not uncommon for him to get a note across his screen asking whether or not an order he’s just rung up is correct. It’s a reason-

able question. fter all why would a credit-card number be used for the e act same order within a matter of minutes? The answer is clear once you’ve had the chicken. s eman e plains it’s not uncommon for him to sell a single large order of hooch’s Popcorn Chicken to a party of two who think it will be enough for the both of them. It’s a reasonable assumption the amply si ed nuggets are generously piled into a red-andwhite paper food tray each portion consisting of appro imately 1 pieces. alf of that should be enough to satisfy a typical appetite, but one bite in, his guests are often so da led that they put down their fork, walk right back up the counter and inform him they need an entire order to themselves. Heman has known he’s been onto something with his popcorn chicken well before the orders started rolling in at Eat DuckBill the food counter he owns and op-

DuckBill’s Grant Heman alongside Platypus’ Tony Saputo and Meredith Barry. | MABEL SUEN erates inside the eight-month-old Grove bar Platypus. n industry veteran who has worked at a number of upscale restaurants around town eman had been making his hand-breaded chicken-thigh nuggets for the family meals he prepared for his cowork-

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ers over the years. Their reactions let him know that he had created something special. When he was approached by Platypus owners eredith Barry and Tony aputo to handle the food component for their bar it was natural that he’d

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Meredith Barry mixes a drink behind the bar. | MABEL SUEN

Platypus features a rotating menu of cocktails. | MABEL SUEN

EAT DUCKBILL Continued from pg 21

gravitate toward popcorn chicken as the basis for the concept. Part of his reasoning was that it was the perfect delicious and whimsical bar food to go with what Barry and Saputo were creating. However, he also saw the opportunity as a chance to create a brand that could become larger than any one space — not because of ego but because he wanted to honor his daughter, Chandler Heman, who he lovingly refers to as “Chooch.” As he tells it, Chandler, who is now a young adult, was a picky eater as a kid, but one of her favorite foods was popcorn chicken. He sees Chooch’s Popcorn Chicken as a way to both honor her and build a legacy that he can leave to her sometime in the future. It’s not an unrealistic vision. Heman’s popcorn chicken is utterly magical — perfection of the nugget form, a dish so often cast aside as fro en fare fit for picky children. However, as he shows with Chooch’s Popcorn Chicken, such a humble item can be revelatory when done properly. Such preparation requires exacting standards; Heman begins with whole chicken thighs and butchers them on site (almost always himself) to as perfectly symmetrical an elongated cube shape as he can make from an asymmetrical raw product. He brines the meat, weighs out his flour and seasoning to the gram and hand breads every portion to order. He likes to joke that it’s not uncommon for people to approach him at the end of the night asking if they can have his leftovers. In his world, there is no such thing. The result of his efforts is gorgeously seasoned, juicy, bite-sized perfection. Served searing hot,

DuckBill is the food concept located inside Platypus in the Grove. | MABEL SUEN the nuggets have the Goldilocks amount of breading: not too little so that you don’t get the joy of biting through a savory crunchy layer but not so much that it overtakes the meat. And that meat. ucculent flawlessly cooked and subtly sweet and seasoned from the brine, it makes you wish to depart from nuggets made from dry breast meat forever. Heman puts as much care into his sauces as he does the popcorn chicken itself. Aside from the ketchup and sweet chili sauces, he makes all of the condiments in house, including a ranch that is luxuriously creamy and generously seasoned with verdant herbs, a piquant Buffalo that could give Frank’s RedHot a run for its money as the king of Buffalo sauce, a sweet and subtly smoky barbecue

and an outstanding agave mustard that will make honey mustard hang its head in defeat. In addition to the chicken, Eat DuckBill serves crispy tofu; the creamy soy cubes are dusted in Heman’s Chooch’s Popcorn Chicken-seasoned flour and fried which makes for a satisfying vegan offering (Heman notes that, aside from the chicken, every other dish on the menu, including condiments, is vegan). Caramelized Brussels sprouts, another Eat DuckBill option, are expertly cooked to the point of becoming browned and crispy without crossing over into burnt. Heman tosses the sprouts in his agave mustard, which gives the funky vegetables a pleasant, sweet zip. Likewise, roasted cauliflower is beautifully browned here, he uses red-pepper sauce

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that has the taste of sweet bell peppers, which adds an earthy tang to the dish. No bar-food concept would be worth its salt without nailing its French fries, and Eat DuckBill exceeds that requirement. Its potatoes are hand-cut to a thickness similar to Belgian fries and generously salted and seasoned — not quite to the point of being considered a “seasoned fry” but almost there. Though Heman offers ketchup, the better path is to dip them in his glorious ranch sauce. Just go ahead and grab three or four cups of it; like everything at the magnificent Eat DuckBill, one is not enough.

Eat DuckBill Chooch’s Popcorn Chicken (large)........... $11 Crispy tofu ....................................................$7 Hand-cut fries ..............................................$7

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SHORT ORDERS

[FIRST LOOK]

Flexitarian Paradise Station No. 3 is a vibrant gastropub with some damn-good vegan burnt ends Written by

KASEY NOSS

olorful umbrellas top wooden picnic tables that dot the outdoor patio at Station No. 3 (1956 Utah St, 314-925-8883, station3stl.com). A lush collection of purple coneflowers and wild grass line the perimeter, the occasional tiki torch brightening the path. As the sun sinks behind the red-brick buildings of Benton Park, the growing dinner chatter mixes with the gurgling of a fountain at the far end of the patio. The restaurant’s indoor seating is equally atmospheric, with its exposed-piping along the ceiling, brick walls and ambient lighting. On a cool summer night, however, outdoors wins. Station No. 3, clearly, was made for summertime. The restaurant has been open for just over a month, but owners Natasha Kwan and Rick Roloff (the minds behind Frida’s, Diego’s and Bonito Bar) have worked hard to cement themselves in the surrounding community. Although a small parking lot sits next to the restaurant, it’s almost always empty — according to Kwan, most diners have simply walked over from nearby apartments. Pets are welcome, and various neighborhood dogs make frequent appearances. The pair often brings their own pet bird to join in the fun. The menu is almost entirely vegan except for a handful of items denoted as fle or fle itarian. Far from a collection of salads and Beyond Burgers, however, the menu offers all the delights of a classic gastropub, such as mozzarella sticks, a crispy chicken sandwich and a brisket sandwich — all vegan. Kwan, Roloff and their team

From left: Vegan burnt ends with scallions, Signature Station Burger with pickle fries, Barramundi Sandwich. Diego’s Margarita and Frida’s Hibiscus Margarita. | LULU NIX have worked tirelessly to craft the perfect recipes for the vegan dishes. Kwan is especially proud of the vegan soft serve — which comes in flavors such as chocolate, vanilla, s’mores and boozy Mexican chocolate — and their recently perfected vegan burnt ends, which taste surprisingly like the real deal. “I’ve had people that are downright meat eaters, and they’re like, ‘There’s absolutely no way I would be able to tell that this is vegan ’ Kwan says. Station No. 3 is located in the space formerly occupied by Utah Station, which closed abruptly in June 2021 after the co-owner shot a teen who tried to steal the tip jar. Kwan cites the story of the property’s previous tenant as one of the biggest challenges to getting the word out about their own establishment. “Some people have said to us, ‘I was apprehensive about coming because I really liked the place before us,’ and we’re not the place before us Kwan says. Decades before Utah Station rented the property, it was the site of a full-service gas station. It is this aspect of its history that Kwan and Roloff hope to highlight. The autoshop’s bright-green garage doors are still fully functional and, when the weather is nice, can be opened to join the indoor dining room to the outdoor one. Inside, a series of black-and-white photographs near the entrance pay

homage to Kwan’s grandparents, who proudly owned a Shell gas station in the Philippines before they moved to the United States. Kwan emphasized that though vegan options feature heavily on the menu, she and Roloff have been deliberate in keeping the restaurant accessible to all. They hope they’ve established a neigh-

borhood spot where people can kick back and enjoy each other’s company, regardless of dietary preferences and restrictions. “It’s a place you don’t have to be vegan to go to Kwan says. e have fle itarian items so everyone can have a meal around the table together. This is heart, and this is family. n

[FOOD NEWS]

the inconvenience. Will reopen soon.” However, a banner advertising a new concept, Mariscos el Gato, hangs below the Mandarin House sign on the front of the building. It is unclear whether or not this forthcoming concept is related to the Mariscos el Gato Mexican seafood restaurant on Gravois Avenue in south St. Louis; that restaurant’s phone number is not operational, adding an additional layer of mystery to the situation. Mandarin House opened in an Overland strip mall off Page Avenue in 1979, serving diners a mix of traditional Chinese food and dim sum alongside a menu of American-style Chinese dishes. Known for its sprawling dining room, the restaurant enjoyed a robust banquet business in addition to regular dinner service. Eventually, the restaurant relocated to Olive Boulevard in University City in an even larger building that allowed it to accommodate additional banquet business. However the blessing of real estate in boom times became an albatross during the pandemic; as recently as this past March, a visit to Mandarin House on a Friday evening revealed a nearly empty dining room. A follow-up lunch visit during the week roughly a month later painted a similar picture. n

Another Mainstay Falls Mandarin House, a beloved St. Louis institution, has closed Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

et another longtime St. Louis dining institution has gone dark: Mandarin House (8004 Olive Boulevard, University City; 314-427-8070), one of the foundational names in the area’s Chinese restaurant scene, has closed. A source with knowledge of Mandarin House’s operating status and who wishes to remain anonymous confirmed the closure to the Riverfront Times last week but offered no further details. Neither the restaurant’s Facebook page nor its website provide any information about the closure. A note on the front door says that Mandarin House is “closed temporarily due to leaking roof” but adds, “Sorry for

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JULY 13-19, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

KURTIS CONNER Sat, July 16

BIG GIGANTIC PLUS: INZO, YOUNG FRANCO, COVEX

SUN, JULY 17

THREE DAYS GRACE PLUS: WAGE WAR AND ZERO 9:36

FRI, JULY 22 KSHE PRESENTS

GRAND FUNK RAILROAD & FOGHAT SAT, JULY 23

LITTLE FEAT

45TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR SPECIAL GUEST NICKI BLUHM

SUN, JULY 24

BREWSKI KICKS ON ROUTE 66 16 BREWERIES, 30+BREWS, FEAT. THE BOBBY FORD BAND

SAT, JULY 30 KSHE PRESENTS

PAT BENATAR & NEIL GIRALDO Mon, August 1 MUSIC… MONEY… MADNESS…

JIMI HENDRIX IN MAUI

SPECIAL SCREENING

Fri, August 5 89.1 KCLC PRESENTS

COURTNEY BARNETT

PLUS LUCY DACUS & QUINN CHRISTOPHERSON

Tue, August 9

OLIVER TREE PLUS JAWNY AND HUDDY

Sat, August 13

RIVERFRONT TIMES

JULY 13-19, 2022

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[FOOD NEWS]

Call the Manager Karen’s Diner, where rude staff reign, is coming soon to St. Louis Written by

JENNA JONES

arens everywhere, beware: St. Louis’ newest pop-up experience isn’t taking any shit. Karen’s Diner opens its doors this September, but that’s where the customer service ends. The waiters at Karen’s Diner are dishing more than just food: They’re also delivering terrible customer service, and they aren’t going to listen to your complaints. In a concept similar to the Wiener’s Circle in Chicago or to the nationwide chain Dick’s Last Resort, staff get to unleash their inner Karens and turn

The wait staff at Karen’s Diner wants to give you terrible service. | COURTESY EXPLORE HIDDEN/ KAREN’S DINER the tables. Karen’s Diner will be at a “secret location” on Gravois Avenue — perhaps 5800 Gravois Avenue, the former Lem-

mons location, which has played host to several past pop-ups, such as Neverland, the immersive Peter Pan bar, and the Alice, an immersive bar based on Alice in

Wonderland. The menu includes “dirty” American burgers, shakes, fries and cocktails. Vegetarians and vegans will be accommodated — but the staff “won’t be happy about it.” The wait staff also perform during the service. Guests are encouraged to unleash their full Karen because the staff will, too. The new experience also heavily features the “biggest Karen of them all,” the manager. “Don’t miss out on this great food but awful service,” the press release reads. “You’re in for a horrendously good time but whatever you do, don’t ask for a refund!” Karen’s Diner has had services in Australia, and is also expected in cities such as Austin, Texas, and Cleveland, Ohio. Tickets cost $15 per person, and the ticket price will be deducted from your bill at the restaurant. Kids can attend before 6 p.m. You can pre-order your tickets now on explorehidden.com, which will notify you when dates and times become available. Organizers will then book you for your preferred time and dates. n

[FOOD NEWS]

Frontside Grind Mission Taco Joint’s new taco raises money for St. Louis’ skate church Written by

JENNA JONES Mission Taco Joint (multiple locations including 6235 Delmar Boulevard, 314-932-5430) co-owners Adam and Jason Tilford grew up skateboarding. The brothers went through high school and college on four wheels, and now they have a chance to give back to that community through a partnership with SK8 Liborius, a nonprofit organization that doubles as an arts center and workshop for St. Louis skaters, artists and more. Through July and August, a portion of the proceeds made from a new taco will be donated to the organization. The new offering — called the Frontside Grind after a skateboarding trick — includes fresh ground brisket and chuck with chili beans and chipotle, Mexican crema, crispy jalapeños, pico de gallo and queso con cerveza on a flour tortilla. vegan version of the taco can also be cooked up

The Frontside Grind taco has fresh ground brisket and chuck with chili beans and chipotle, queso con cerveza, pico de gallo, Mexican crema and crispy jalapeños on a flour tortilla. | COURTESY MISSION TACO JOINT upon request. The Frontside Grind is available through Wednesday, August 31, at all St. Louis locations. Mission Taco Joint’s donation will be used to help SK8 Liborius meet its fundraising goal to renovate north city’s St. Liborius Church, which SK8 Liborius founders Dave Blum, Brian Bedwell and Joss Hay have turned into Liborius Urban Art Studios — a skate park and art, music and education center. The project has been 10 years in the making.

“We didn’t have a sanctuary like SK8 Liborius that helps people of all ages channel their creative energy,” the Tilfords say in a statement. “As community leaders, we are committed to help make [this] vision a reality. It’s like making our own childhood dreams come true.” The space is the oldest neo– gothic church west of the Mississippi River. Blum, who previously worked as a welder on the Cassilly Crew at the City Museum, says that he received the church for free during his time at the museum.

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“From the moment I walked in, I knew it would be the most epic skate park,” Blum says. Although it’s not open to the public quite yet, those intrigued by the skate park can stop by for SK8 Liborius Volunteer Days. The next such day is Saturday, July 30, from noon to 6 p.m., and Mission Taco Joint’s food truck will also be on site. Tacos and refreshments will be available for volunteers and St. Louisans alike, with 100 percent of sales from the food truck going to SK8 Liborius. n

JULY 13-19, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

ST. LOUIS STANDARDS

Rob Duerscheidt (left) bought the eponymous restaurant (right) from his uncle, Frank Papa, on April Fools’ Day. | ANDY PAULISSEN

The Papa Way Italian restaurant Frank Papa’s has become a storied St. Louis mainstay by transforming customers into family Written by

CHERYL BAEHR Frank Papa’s Ristorante 2241 South Brentwood Boulevard, Brentwood; 314-961-3344 Established 1994

hen Rob Duerscheidt bought the storied Frank Papa’s Ristorante from his eponymous uncle, it represented the culmination of his culinary career, a homecoming to the place where he became a chef and a passing on of his family’s legacy. It was also April 1. “Yes, I bought a restaurant on April Fools’ Day,” Duerscheidt laughs. “The irony of that date is not lost on me.” Considering Frank Papa’s position as an icon of the St. Louis restaurant scene, the foolish thing for Duerscheidt to do would have been pass up such an opportunity. Since its founding in 1994, Frank Papa’s has been an integral thread in the area’s Italian dining fabric with roots that go back to some of St. Louis’ biggest food names, in-

RIVERFRONT TIMES

cluding the Pasta House’s late Kim Tucci and the late Vince Bommarito, who founded Tony’s. Frank Papa came up in the business under these esteemed names, leveraging the knowledge gained from them, as well as his culinary school training, into a place of his own that has achieved a staying power few restaurants enjoy. However, the roots of Frank Papa’s stretch even farther back — all the way to Papa’s grandfather and Duerscheidt’s great-grandfather, a Sicilian immigrant whose passion for cooking became the Papa family way. After immigrating to the United States, the patriarch worked as a laborer for the Alaska pipeline. A talented cook, he saw the mess being made in the mess hall and asked if he could help out in the kitchen. It became his permanent posting until he returned to St. Louis. There he started his own restaurant, a humble tavern in north St. Louis that became a gathering spot for local train conductors and drivers and where Papa Sr. cooked up fish stews and soup. Sunday dinners became a Papa family ritual where he served dishes more involved than his tavern fare — he even had an addition built on the house just to accommodate his large brood. Ravioli, chicken cacciatore and his special large bowl of salad were the norm, and it was expected that the younger family members would lend their hands in preparing the meal.

JULY 13-19, 2022

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“He probably started me and Frank’s culinary career,” Duerscheidt says. “We’d get there early to set the table and peel potatoes. He’d teach us with a peeler so that when he handed us a paring knife, we were doing the same motion.” Frank Papa’s father was a passionate home cook, but he never pursued a career in the restaurant business. Instead, he worked for aerospace company McDonnell Douglas but made sure to instill in his son a love for food. Frank Papa took that passion and ran with it, getting his feet wet at an early age in Italian kitchens around town before heading off to culinary school at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island. When he returned to town, he dreamed of opening his own place but instead chose to gain experience working for veteran chefs. In 1994, Frank Papa and his wife, Diana finally felt ready to take the leap into restaurant ownership. They found a location they liked in Kirkwood but got into a bidding war with another Frank — Frank Kane, who would go on open the beloved steakhouse Citizen Kane’s. Undeterred, they kept looking and found a small storefront right off Brentwood Boulevard that felt like it was 20 minutes from everywhere. They signed the paperwork, opened that April and were greeted with success. Almost immediately, his uncle invited Duerscheidt to work under him as a culinary apprentice

following a several-year gig with the chain restaurant Perkins. Though that corporate job taught Duerscheidt a great deal, he feels his culinary career truly began under his uncle, whom he credits with giving him the knowledge and skills he needed to succeed in the industry. Duerscheidt leaned on that training when he relocated to Chicago and took on a leadership role at the iconic Italian Village. Duerscheidt later moved out of restaurant work into food sales and distribution with Sysco, a job that he kept after moving back to St. Louis a couple years ago. It was a fine-enough gig but one day he walked into Frank Papa’s and was greeted by his uncle, who made an important observation. “He told me I looked miserable,” Duerscheidt says. “His sister, my mom, had just retired, and he was thinking about retiring, too. He said that he could sell the restaurant to a stranger and hope that it worked out, or I could take it over. … I was part of the family; that was the whole point — to keep the legacy going.” Upon returning to Frank Papa’s, Duerscheidt first focused on the front of the house so that diners could develop a rapport and comfort with him. When the restaurant’s chef left to pursue a career in real estate, he moved to the kitchen and began sketching out the transition with his uncle. COVID-19 put their plans on hold, but in March of this year, things

[

]

ICONIC PEOPLE, PLACES & DISHES T H A T A N C H O R S T L’ S F O O D S C E N E

Frank Papa and his wife, Diana, opened up the restaurant in 1994. | ANDY PAULISSEN fell into place. “Customer support [during that time] was amazing,” Duerscheidt says. “For a while, all we did was carryout, and there would be a couple of hours every night that we’d be rocking. The generosity of customers was phenomenal; there were exorbitant tips, and when we finally reopened we had one customer come in with a piece of paper that had on it the dates he would have dined here. He handed us cash and said that it was what he would have spent.” Duerscheidt knows that people responded as they did during those difficult times because the restaurant means so much to them. He feels honored to be the one now in charge and is protective of his family’s legacy. In that sense, he is emphatic that he plans on keeping things running as they always have. “People fear change, so I don’t plan on doing a lot of change,” Duerscheidt says. “There’s no point in doing that. I just want to keep the train on the tracks.” One particular dish Duerscheidt knows not to touch is the restaurant’s penne amatriciana, also known as the Eviction Notice. Though he’s not quite sure where the legend started, the dish is said to induce labor in people past their due dates who need a little push.

“I actually have doctors who will send their patients here who are close but not quite there,” Duerscheidt laughs. “I’m not sure of the science behind it; there’s talk that it is about the red pepper or oil or sausage or pancetta. My personal opinion is that the dish helps, but it is more about the relaxation. … [I] made the pasta for [my sister in-law] at her house. She took one bite, and her water broke. As far as I know, she was ready, but I am claiming it.” That Frank Papa’s has such stories is the core of its success. As Duerscheidt notes, the food is important, but it’s the relationships developed over the years that endear diners to the restaurant and vice versa. He has several staff members who have worked for him for 10, 20, even 25 years, and their tenures have allowed them to get to know their customers as more than just guests; they are family. “When you have been around as long as us, you have the happy moments and the sad moments,” Duerscheidt says. “You watch people grow up and get married, but you have also been to way too many funerals. That’s the business. There is a passion for food but also a serious passion for people. If you don’t enjoy it and love it, you need to go work for McDonnell Douglas.” n

Frank Papa’s success has come from its relationship with its customers. | ANDY PAULISSEN

The penne amatriciana, known as the Eviction Notice, is said to help induce labor in people past their due dates. | ANDY PAULISSEN

riverfronttimes.com

JULY 13-19, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

JULY 13-19, 2022

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REEFERFRONT TIMES

[WEED NEWS]

Rollin’ in Green Missouri cannabis industry marks $30.94 million in sales for June Written by

DANIEL HILL

or the fourth month in a row, Missouri’s medical marijuana industry has raked in more than $30 million in cannabis sales, according to June numbers released by the Department of Health and Senior Services. Missouri cannabis dispensaries did $30.94 million in sales last month, DHSS reports, bringing the total amount of money brought in by the industry to $393.09 million to date. That’s a serious chunk of change, to be sure. But there are signs that growth is beginning to level off. Since October 2020, when the first dispensaries in the state opened their doors, growth in retail sales of weed has been fairly steady, besting the previous month’s numbers with nearly every new report. But with three months of similar sales numbers, it appears to have hit a plateau. At the same time, June saw the number of new patient applications fall for the third consecutive month, adding only 2,611 new patients. But while new applications are trending downward, renewals are up significantly and have been climbing steadily. DHSS issued 7,338 renewals in June, compared to only 4,779 in February. As of the end of June, Missouri had 187,018 active, card-carrying patients. Soon, though, those numbers could become much less significant in the grand scheme of things, with the potential legalization of recreational weed in the state serving as a major wild card. Legal Missouri 2022, the group that is leading the charge to get adult-use cannabis legalized in the state via a ballot initiative, submitted more than 390,000 sig-

It’s the fourth month in a row that sales have topped the $30 million mark. | VIA MISSOURI DHSS natures to the Secretary of State’s office in ay — more than double the number required to get the measure on the ballot. If that effort is signed into law, it would allow Missourians 21 and older to purchase, possess, cultivate and consume cannabis legally. Furthermore, it would result in automatic expungement of nonviolent marijuana offenses, making issouri the first state to have such a measure put into place directly by voters. That would be a welcome development for those who have been convicted of such crimes, since Missouri’s expungement process at present could be best described as “labyrinthine” and “Kafkaesque.” While it’s common for signatures to be disqualified for a variety of reasons during the process, reps from Legal Missouri 2022 are confident they’ve submitted enough to move forward. Those signatures are still in the process of being verified but should that

If recreational weed is legalized in the state, sales numbers for the industry are predicted to skyrocket. verification process shake out according to plan, there’s also a lot of optimism that voters will come down in favor of legalization. Recent polling conducted by SurveyUSA indicates that some 62 percent of Missouri voters are in favor of recreational weed. Of those surveyed, 71 percent of those ages 18 to 49 said they support legalization, while voters between the ages of 50 and 64 came

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in at 59 percent in favor. Only those over the age of 65 came in at less than half — 4 percent — in favor of legalization. But even still, only 35 percent of that group indicated that recreational cannabis should remain illegal, with 18 percent remaining undecided. If recreational weed is legalized in the state, sales numbers for the industry are predicted to skyrocket. BDSA, a market research firm for whom the legal cannabis industry is its primary focus, projected $360 million in annual sales for Missouri in its 2022 Market orecast — and with ’s total so far just over $178 million, the industry is right on track to hit those numbers. But if adult-use recreational consumers are included in the picture, that number jumps to a whopping $650 million. Time will tell, but that’s a likelihood that’s increasingly looking more like a “when” than an “if.” In that case, today’s sales ceiling is sure to be tomorrow’s floor. n

JULY 13-19, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

CULTURE

[GRAPHIC DESIGN]

Banners Highlight Heroes A collaboration among the Contemporary Art Museum, GatewayGIS, artists and student groups celebrates north St. Louis history Written by

KASEY NOSS

series of eight vibrant banners hang along the west facade of the Contemporary Art Museum (3750 Washington Avenue, 314-535-4660) along North Spring Avenue. Each pair of banners honors a St. Louis hero as well as the neighborhood he or she hails from. There’s James “Cool Papa” Bell, a star pitcher for the Negro National League from JeffVanderLou; singer and dancer Josephine Baker of midtown; Lois Conley, founder and CEO of the Griot Museum of Black History and St. Louis Place resident; and Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who went to Vashon High School in JeffVanderLou before going on to become the most senior African American woman in Congress. The banners are an effort of GatewayGIS, an educational organization launched in 2019, to familiarize North St. Louis students with STEAM. The GatewayGIS Neighborhood Banner Project: Learning North St. Louis History Through Design does so by exploring the intersection of art and technology through graphic design. The project, which will be on display through Sunday, September 18, is the culmination of almost two years of collaboration between GatewayGIS and the Contemporary Art Museum’s education team. It was the brainchild of Rosalind Norman, founder of GatewayGIS, which has a mission of using geospatial and other technology to foster community building,

RIVERFRONT TIMES

The GatewayGIS Neighborhood Banner Project: Learning North St. Louis History Through Design explores the intersection of art and technology through graphic design. | COURTESY CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM education and other development for those who are under-resourced or underrepresented. The project seeks to elevate and celebrate African American leaders and neighborhoods while exposing St. Louis children and teens to the art of digital graphic design. A resident teaching artist assisted in the creation of each banner, helping the students execute their visions and teaching them how to use the design software. However, the kids took the reins on everything from researching the history of their subjects to the shading of their subjects’ faces. “They were the creative directors,” says Kevin McCoy, one of the resident teaching artists. “They really did craft it to make sure that it looked exactly the way that they intended.” McCoy worked with the Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club to design the James “Cool Papa” Bell banner, which was modeled after a vintage baseball card. Norman created GatewayGIS largely in response to the advent of a new National Geospatial Intelligence Agency campus in the JeffVanderLou neighborhood, where she grew up. She feared an influ of technologically skilled workers would price residents out of their neighborhood. She was at once heartbroken for her community and compelled to help it, resolving to create a space where North St. Louis students could

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The banners will be on display through Sunday, September 18. | COURTESY CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM learn the technological skills missing from their educations. ith this specific project orman hopes to demonstrate how arts and technology can work together to ignite a sense of hope and possibility among participat-

ing students. She hopes those students can serve as positive role models for the children who come after them, as well as inspirations for the broader community. During the research process, many students found it difficult to gather sufficient information on their subjects, despite their vast accomplishments. To Norman, this only further demonstrates the lack of representation available to students in North St. Louis and the necessity of endeavors such as these. “I used to go to a museum when I was younger, and the art that I found [on the walls] did not represent my lived experience,” McCoy agrees. “To celebrate someone that looks like you, maybe someone that’s from the same city that you’re from, that’s from the neighborhood that you’re from — that’s a big deal.” When summarizing the goal of this project, Norman brought up a saying told to her by a friend at the Contemporary Art Museum: “Ellos intentaron enterrarnos. Ellos no sabían que éramos semillas.” (They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were seeds.) “When you strip people of who they are and their heroes, you’re burying them,” Norman says. “It’s so important that we not allow communities of color to be wiped away. Let’s help the seeds to develop so people can see the beauty of who they are.” n

“Representation, equity, these kinds of things don’t just happen on their own. We have to pay attention to them ... and make sure that we’re thinking about making space for people.”

[POETRY]

Poetry Taps St. Louis Poet New editor Adrian Matejka hopes to expand representation, create opportunities at the venerable journal Written by

JESSICA ROGEN

he new editor of Poetry: A Magazine of Verse takes me on a short video-conferencing tour of his place after we talk. The thing to see, actually, is the world outside Adrian Matejka’s space: majestic views of downtown Chicago. He points out the Sears Tower. “It just feels like a whole different thing,” he says. “I’m glad I got to show you it today, when it’s all blue and fine.” Getting the post-interview tour is a bit unusual. But I know Matejka from before he was the editor (and the first-ever Black editor) of what’s arguably the most influential and well-funded literary magazine in the U.S., before he was the poet laureate of Indiana, before his poetry collection The Big Smoke was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. At the time, he directed the reading series for St. Louis literary magazine River Styx (where I was an intern) and taught at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Though his home was in Edwardsville, St. Louis is where Matejka truly lived, often worked and played pickup basketball with a bunch of writers and “old timers.” Matejka, 50, who left in 2015 to take a job in his hometown at Indiana University, always imagined returning to St. Louis. “I miss it,” he says. “I miss the literary community so much. I miss how I felt when I drove over 64 across the bridge, almost there. Like I’d always get this feeling of being so excited to be back.” When Poetry first invited Matejka to interview, he wasn’t sure he wanted the job. But “as the process went on, I was like, ‘Now, this I can see,’” he says. The appointment makes sense. Matejka constantly draws in people, creates opportunities for others and works to bring attention to new, underrepresented voices in poetry. That commitment to representation — alongside his many other accomplishments (five books and a graphic novel, teaching and magazine experience,

Adrian Matejka is the new editor of Poetry magazine. | POLINA OSHEROV editorial work, accolades and so on) — makes Matejka’s appointment unsurprising. “I get the chance to do this to give back in the ways that I’ve been given so much,” he says. Getting named editor of Poetry is a big deal because Poetry is a big deal. Since its beginnings in 1912, the magazine has published luminaries (Robert Frost, Sylvia Plath, Raymond Carver) and poems (“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T. S. Eliot) so famous that even an indifferent high schooler might recognize them. It has also published work by unknown writers (see Eliot), helping bring success to many. It was already one of the most prominent, though sometimes cash poor, publications in 2002 when Ruth Lilly, heir to the Eli Lilly fortune, announced she was bequeathing what turned out to be more than $200 million to the journal. The gift became an endowment that secured the financial future of the magazine, and helped establish the Poetry Foundation, a nonprofit working to increase poetry’s visibility in contemporary culture.

Founding editor Harriet Monroe hoped Poetry would be open to all. In her opening letter from the editor, Monroe wrote, “May the great poet we are looking for never find it shut, or half-shut, against his ample genius! To this end the editors hope to keep free of entangling alliances with any single class or school. They desire to print the best English verse which is being written today, regardless of where, by whom, or under what theory of art it is written.” “She created this magazine to give space for people who didn’t have space before,” Matejka says, noting that Monroe had office hours and accepted submissions year-round. “It was a really radical idea.” Poetry lived up to Monroe’s ideals — except when it didn’t. In 2020, then-Poetry editor Don Share resigned amid backlash over publishing a poem with offensive terminology. A month earlier, the president and board chairman resigned following criticism of how the foundation had failed to support individuals from marginalized communities. Matejka doesn’t talk much about

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those incidents. Throughout his professional career, Matejka has opened poetry’s doors to underrepresented and marginalized voices. He’s done so subtly, as a teacher and in booking the reading series. He’s also done so more explicitly as Indiana poet laureate from 2018 to 2019. “Representation, you know, equity, these kinds of things don’t just happen on their own,” he says. “We have to pay attention to them and manage that and make sure that we’re thinking about making space for people. … That’s one of the things that I’ve been trying to do is figure out ways to invite people.” Matejka says that Poetry, especially under the leadership of interim co-editors Fred Sasaki and Lindsay Garbutt, had already begun doing that important work. He hopes to continue that transformation and plans to demonstrate that commitment in the magazine’s pages. The first issue that he’ll have worked on comes out in October. He believes it will demonstrate that Poetry is still all about quality and the history of poetics but also about building community and creating spaces. Matejka looks forward to that. But he also anticipates the sweet quotidian aspects of the job: walking down Superior Street in downtown Chicago with a cup of coffee and reading poetry all day. “As challenging as this job is going to continue to be, I just feel so lucky to be able to do this stuff,” he says. “Every day I get to, maybe, put somebody in who has not been in the magazine before. I get to send an email or call somebody and say, ‘Hey, you know, we really want this work from you.’” n

JULY 13-19, 2022

RIVERFRONT TIMES

MUSIC

[HIP-HOP]

King of the Castle St. Louis music producer Torrey Holliday’s music videos have amassed over 117,000 subscribers in only five years Written by

BENJAMIN SIMON

orrey Holliday bummed a ride from his grandfather to shoot his breakout music video. Holliday was 17 at the time, living with his aunt, without a car and attending Hazelwood West. He wasn’t a professional videographer by any means. He was just a kid whose cousins wanted to rap — and Holliday volunteered to shoot their video. He ordered a camera off of Amazon, bought a $5 manual and watched music-video tutorials on YouTube during shift breaks at Subway. Shortly after getting the camera, Holliday heard a song, “Murder On My Mind,” by little-known St. Louis rappers Jugg Squad and KUB Dee Huncho. “Oh, this is hard,” Holliday remembers thinking. But they needed a music video — a real music video, not something shot in a bedroom with a cellphone. He happened to know one of the guys from high school. Holliday texted him and offered to make a music video for free. “Let’s work,” he wrote. They worked. Holliday got that ride from his grandfather to the west side, on Wabada Avenue, where he spent the afternoon shooting a music video for Jugg Squad and KUB Dee Huncho in front of a boarded-up brick home. It might have been the second or third video Holliday ever shot. He doesn’t remember. But he does remember one thing: The video exploded. The whole city was singing the song, Holliday says. People were sharing it all over Facebook, and the video eventually reached over

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Torrey Holliday got his start after his video for “Murder On My Mind” by St. Louis rappers Jugg Squad and KUB Dee Huncho exploded in popularity. | COURTESY TORREY HOLLIDAY 150,000 views. So at 17, Holliday quit his job at Subway, scratched his college dreams and made filming rap videos in St. Louis his full-time job. Five years later, Holliday has skyrocketed to one of the top hiphop ouTube film directors in t. Louis. His page, Torrey Production, has amassed over 117,000 subscribers and 75 million total views on YouTube. He’s worked with some of the city’s most famous rappers, such as 30 Deep Grimeyy, 3 Problems, Benji Brothers and Bizzie Gambino. He has done it all at just 22 years old, though he seems like he’s been at it much longer. He speaks fast, rarely pausing, rattling off names of obscure St. Louis rappers and thoughtfully reflecting on how he has crystallized a career out of a self-created YouTube page. “I’m like a prized possession,” Holliday says. “They’re like, ‘You our key out the trenches.’ Everybody telling me this. ‘You the way, you the way.’” Music videos were the way for Holliday, too.

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“I’m like a prized possession. They’re like, ‘You our key out the trenches.’ Everybody telling me this. ‘You the way, you the way.’” Growing up in the St. Louis area, Holliday never had a consistent home. He describes himself as homeless. His father was in his life but struggled with drug addiction. His mother worked two or three jobs at a time but couldn’t secure a stable home. As a kid, Holliday never stayed anywhere for more than one year. He lived with his grandma, his mom, his dad and his aunt.

For a stretch, he moved to California and stayed in a shelter. At another point, he lived in the attic of a boarding house in the Central West End and, later, with his aunt in St. Louis County. “I lived in every part of every bit of St. Louis,” Holliday says. “I done went to about 15 different schools.” Holliday never had a consistent place to call home, but he always had movies. Everywhere Holliday stayed, he brought a big stack with him. Bootleg movies, mostly, DVDs that the household would get from the “movie man” — four for $20. Even when the family didn’t have a TV, Holliday’s mom would scrape together a few bucks to buy a DVD player. Together, they would share headphones — one earbud in Holliday’s ear and one earbud in his mom’s ear. Movies were their escape, he says. “I think that’s probably why I really love movies and TV shows so much,” he says. “I used to always watch TV shows with my mom

and stuff. It’s just me and her in a room.” That’s where Holliday says he got the cinematic quality he brings to his music videos. “I like being hands-on,” he says. “That’s what I tell people — it’s an art thing for me; it’s a passion. It’s not about the money. I really like working and doing it, especially when it’s something dope.” nlike many rap film directors Holliday’s videos aren’t muddied by heavy editing. “I don’t really like the trippy style. It’s really cheesy to me,” he says. Rather, Holliday gets out of the way, letting his subjects and their background speak for themselves. He’ll shake the camera, zoom in and out, or play with natural light, but other than that, Holliday’s videos are focused on the subject. He doesn’t place the artists in front of green screens or elaborate sets. They’re in front of St. Louis brick homes, abandoned warehouses, the Floy and Lenora intersection in Jennings, the civil courts building downtown and the Arch. Holliday is there only to capture them as they are, in their space. He calls it “an organic vibe.” “I’m letting the environment and what they’re giving me paint the image,” he says. Almost every shoot goes by without any issues. Torrey Production has hundreds of videos, maybe thousands, to show for it. He works with all kinds of artists, too — rap groups, R&B artists and random guys who want a video. His job comes with its risks, especially when making videos for rival gangs. “It’s dangerous, dawg, that’s why you gotta be in and out,” he says. “I pull up, and you’re not here? I’m not gonna sit and wait for you, bro. You’re not here, I’m gone.” Take one look at his YouTube page, and you’ll see videos with people waving guns and aiming a laser sight at the camera. Before ever arriving at a shoot, Holliday tells his clients that everyone must empty their chambers. Other than that, “as long as they’re on time,” he doesn’t have many rules. He calls the occasional dangers just an “aspect of business.” “It’s part of the job,” he says. “It’s like saying — they’re building a building. They’re climbing 10, 30 stories high. Why are you doing that, bro? It pay good! You could

Holliday shoots video of rapper Karma2zz at a birthday party. | COURTESY TORREY HOLLIDAY fall off a building. “No risk, no reward.” Holliday has thought about leaving St. Louis. Occasionally, he’ll fly to Los ngeles or tlanta or Chicago to shoot videos for artists who can pay more. He wants to be a movie producer. He recently got his passport and hopes to travel the world to places like Greece, the site of his favorite movie, Troy (“I love that type of stuff — Percy Jackson, Zeus, all that stuff,” he says.) But he’s not leaving just yet. “My job here is to help these people get what they need to do,” he says. Holliday’s trying to expand his repertoire. He recently created a series called UNDERDAMIC, where artists rap in front of a dangling microphone as if they’re performing live — similar to the “Open Mic” segment produced by Genius. He has also released a multi-part interview series called UNDERDALIGHT with St. Louis influencer eavy G. “I’m really just trying to bring different platforms to the city that

we don’t have,” he says. “We don’t have a lot of different outlets here.” In June, he put out nearly 40 videos, almost all with St. Louis rappers. People are constantly calling his phone — so often that he had to get a second business phone. Holliday admits to feeling “drained,” adding that he’s taking a break at the end of the month. When he comes back, he wants to make fewer quickly made “run and gun” videos and more carefully planned “treatment” videos. He’s far from done. Holliday, who has a tattoo of the Torrey Production logo on his right forearm, calls himself a local business — just like Imo’s, he says. He doesn’t plan to change that. When people need a rap video in St. Louis — anyone and anywhere — he wants to be the business they call. “I’m on top right here. I’m the king of the castle right now, you see what I’m saying? King of the castle, don’t give me no hassle,” he says, looking up at the ceiling and rubbing his hands together with a boyish smile. n

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OUT EVERY NIGHT

ach week, we bring you our picks for the best concerts of the next seven days! To submit your show for consideration, visit https://bit.ly/3bgnwXZ. All events are subject to change, especially in the age of COVID-19, so do check with the venue for the most up-to-date information before you head out for the night. And of course, be sure that you are aware of the venues’ COVID-safety requirements, as those vary from place to place and you don’t want to get stuck outside because you forgot your mask or proof of vaccination. Happy show-going! —Joseph Hess

THURSDAY 14

BUTCH MOORE: 4 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. COTTON CHOPS: 9 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. HUNTER PEEBLES AND BAND: 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521. IVAS JOHN: 7 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. NATE SMITH: w/ Karley Scott Collins 8 p.m., $12/$15. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. SCHOOL OF ROCK ON TOUR: 6 p.m., $9. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

FRIDAY 15

BAD BAD HATS: w/ Gully Boys 8 p.m., $15/$20. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. BROTHERS LAZAROFF: LAZ JAZZ: 7:30 p.m.; July 16, 7:30 p.m., free. The Harold & Dorothy Steward Center for Jazz, 3536 Washington Ave, St Louis, 314-571-6000. CLOWNVIS: 9 p.m., $20.50-$50.50. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. DEBUSSYAN: w/ Breakmouth Annie, Pleasure Center, Fight Back Mountain 8 p.m., $10. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. DREW SHEAFOR AND THE SOUL RANGERS: 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521. HARPO JARVI: w/ Forteana 8 p.m., $10. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. JAPANESE BREAKFAST: w/ the Linda Lindas 8 p.m., $39.50-$45. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. JEREMIAH JOHNSON BAND: 6 p.m., $10. The Attic usic Bar 4 4 . Kingshighway nd floor St. Louis, 314-376-5313. KEVIN BUCKLEY: 4 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. MISPLACED RELIGION: w/ Inner City Witches, Beekman 8 p.m., $10. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. THE MOUNTAIN GOATS: w/ Abby Hamilton 8 p.m., $39.50/$54.50. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. PJ MORTON: 8 p.m., $34.50-$39.50. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. ROCKY MANTIA & KILLER COMBO: 7 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. THIRD SIGHT / DHORUBA COLLECTIVE: 10 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

SATURDAY 16

ATTIC MUSIC BAR 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY: noon, $10. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 S. Kingshighway,

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Japanese Breakfast w/ the Linda Lindas

[CRITIC’S PICK]

8 p.m. Friday, July 15. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard. $39.50 to $45. 314-726-6161. Musician and author Michelle Zauner didn’t activate some spell to make her band Japanese Breakfast a household name overnight, but the Korean-American’s wide-ranging body of work is considered by many to be magical in nature. Take Japanese BreakQuest, for example, a playable video game she developed alongside game designer Elaine Fath to promote the 2017 album Soft Sounds from Another Planet. Furthermore, in 2021 Zauner released Crying In H Mart, a touching memoir about coping with the loss of her mother and reconnecting with her roots through food. The book has been on the New York Times Best Seller list for 50 weeks now and is currently being adapted as a feature film by Orion Pictures with the screenplay and soundtrack handled by Zauner herself. And less than two months after Crying in H Mart was first published, Japanese Breakfast debuted Jubilee, a breakthrough studio album that swiftly boosted the band straight to its current mainstream status. As if that’s not all magical enough, Japanese Breakfast comes to St. Louis only two months after performing live on the recent season

nd floor t. Louis 14- 1 . BEYOND FM 3RD ANNUAL BIRTHDAY BASH: w/ Steve Ewing 7 p.m., $10. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. BILLY BARNETT BAND: 3 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. BROTHERS LAZAROFF: LAZ JAZZ: July 15, 7:30 p.m.; 7:30 p.m., free. The Harold & Dorothy Steward Center for Jazz, 3536 Washington Ave, St Louis, 314-571-6000. COMEDY AT THE KRANZBERG: 8:30 p.m., $15. Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N Grand Blvd, St. Louis, 314-533-0367. DIESEL ISLAND: 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521. ELWAY: w oly ess The addonfields p.m. $13. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. EMO NITE LA PRESENTS EMO NITE: 9 p.m., $16$31. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. JAKE’S LEG: 10 p.m., $12. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. JEREMIAH JOHNSON BAND: 7 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. KELSEY WALDON: 8 p.m., $15/$20. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. KURTIS CONNER: 7 p.m., $36.50. The Factory, 1 1 uter 4 Rd hesterfield 14-4 . MARK HARRIS II AND THE AVENGERS: 7:30 p.m., $15. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. SHAWN MENDES: 7:30 p.m., $20-$196. Enterprise Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-1888.

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Japanese Breakfast has fully entered the mainstream American music zeitgeist with its recent SNL performance. | PETER ASH LEE finale of Saturday Night Live, and the band will follow up this string of shows with a global tour of the world’s most renowned music festivals in South Korea, Japan and England before coming back to the United States for a rigorous schedule that continues for much of 2022. Summer Break: The Linda Lindas probably didn’t expect to go big time viral in

2021 when the Los Angeles Public Library posted a video of the young band playing its song “Racist, Sexist Boy.” Here we are a year later and the group has signed to Epitaph Records, contributed music to a Netflix series and released its debut album Growing Up. Arrive on time and don’t miss out. —Joseph Hess

SPLIT MY SIDES ALBUM RELEASE PARTY: 7 p.m., free. The Luminary, 2701 Cherokee St, St. Louis, 314-773-1533. TALKIN TRASH WITH BOBBY STEVENS: 6 p.m., free. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. THE ROBYN PARTY – 10TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR: w/ ADVENTURE[S] 8 p.m., $12/$15. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. TONY HOLIDAY BAND: 11 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. TRAIN: w/ Jewel, Blues Traveler, Thunderstorm Artis 6:30 p.m., $9-$110. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. THE YOWL: 8 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.

314-436-5222. SKEET RODGERS & INNER CITY BLUES BAND: 3 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

SUNDAY 17

BIG GIGANTIC: w/ Inzo, Young Franco, Covex 6:50 p.m., $30.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 4 Rd hesterfield 14-4 . CHASE ATLANTIC: w/ Leah Kate, Xavier Mayne 8 p.m., $35. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. FOREST RAY: w/ Kitz Row 8 p.m., $10. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. HELLZAPOPPIN CIRCUS SIDESHOW: 7 p.m., $22. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. HULDER: w/ Devil Master, Skeleton, Extinctionism 8 p.m., $18. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. LOVE JONES “THE BAND”: 7 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis,

MONDAY 18

BOULEVARDS: 8 p.m., $12. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. SIRSY: 7:30 p.m., free. The Attic Music Bar, 4247 S. Kingshighway nd floor t. Louis 14- 1 . SOCIAL HOUSE: 7:30 p.m., $22-$40. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. THIRD SIGHT BAND: 7 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

TUESDAY 19

ERIC LYSAGHT: 9 p.m.; July 24, 9 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. JOHN CLIFTON BAND: 7 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. ST. LOUIS STRING COLLECTIVE RIBBON CUTTING AND OPEN HOUSE: 4 p.m., free. St. Louis String Collective, 3532a Greenwood Blvd, Maplewood, 314-325-2294. STEVEN WOOLLEY: 5 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. WEASEL WALTER AND THE ST. LOUIS ENSEMBLE: w/ Alex Cunningham, Seth Davis, Damon Smith, anet mas Bitchfit p.m. 1 . The inkhole 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309.

WEDNESDAY 20

120 MINUTES: 7 p.m., free. Just John’s Club, 4112 Manchester Ave., St. Louis, 314-371-1333. ANDREW DAHLE: 4 p.m.; July 25, 5 p.m., free.

[CRITIC’S PICK]

A former keyboardist for Maroon 5, PJ Morton is an institution in New Orleans music. | LAIKEN JOY

PJ Morton 8 p.m. Friday, July 15. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Boulevard. $34.50 to $39.50. 314-726-6161. Bodies of water contort and mountains move to make way for PJ Morton whenever he releases a new record. Sure, calling the New Orleans songwriter the top R&B artist of the modern era sounds a bit like hyperbole, but hear me out: PJ Morton has received four Grammy awards in the past four years, including Best Gospel Album, Best R&B Song and Best Traditional R&B Performance. He even took home a Grammy for his contributions to We Are by John Batiste, which won Album of the Year at the most recent ceremony. He followed up this landmark achievement in late April with the release of Watch the Sun, a new solo record that predictably dropped to rave reviews — not that his dedicated fanbase needed anyone to validate the quality of a PJ Morton album. Just take a look at the comment section of any PJ

Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. BIG RICH MCDONOUGH & THE RHYTHM RENEGADES: 7 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. MC CHRIS: w/ Crunk Witch 8 p.m., $20. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. ROB ZOMBIE: w/ Mudvayne, Static-X, Powerman 5000 6 p.m., $22-$149. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944.

THIS JUST IN THE AUSTRALIAN PINK FLOYD SHOW: Sat., Sept. 10, 8 p.m., $39.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 4 Rd hesterfield 14-4 . BEAU DIAMOND: W/ The Centaurettes, Chainsaw

Morton video (we suggest “How Deep Is Your Love” featuring YEBBA), and you’ll find a sea of comments that reference the R&B songwriter’s ability to evoke a shockingly wide range of emotional responses. In between touring with one of America’s finest R&B bands and working as the keyboardist for Maroon 5, PJ Morton spends much of his time deeply involved in the New Orleans music community, where he organizes and advocates for preserving the city’s rich musical heritage. Delmar Hall is considered to be a smaller, more intimate venue for an artist of this caliber, and showgoers will see a concert dripping with style, substance and a strong sense of purpose. Jack of All Trades: Where PJ Morton finds the time to appear in a number of films and TV shows we’ll never know. Catch him on NCIS: New Orleans, Nobody’s Fool and Soul City, to name a few, where he typically plays himself or performs on screen with a full band. —Joseph Hess

Boyz, Fri., Aug. 5, 8 p.m., $10. Blueberry Hill The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. BIG RICH MCDONOUGH & THE RHYTHM RENEGADES: Wed., July 20, 7 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. BILLY BARNETT BAND: Sat., July 16, 3 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. BOZ SCAGGS: W/ the Robert Cray Band, Wed., Aug. 17, 7:30 p.m., $59.50-$79.50. The Factory, 1 1 uter 4 Rd hesterfield 14-4 . BREWSKI KICKS ON ROUTE 66: W/ the Bobby Ford Band, Sat., July 30, 1 p.m., $20-$75. The actory 1 1 uter 4 Rd hesterfield 314-423-8500. CELEBRATING BILLY JOEL: Thu., Oct. 27, 8 p.m., $39.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd,

hesterfield 14-4 . CITY SLICKER: Sat., Aug. 27, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. CLINTON KANE: Tue., Sept. 27, 8 p.m., $28.50$33.50. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. CLOUD MACHINE: W/ At My Worst, the Doubted, Unknown & Sailing, Sat., July 30, 8 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. CONTROL YOUR NARRATIVE ARISE NORTH AMERICA TOUR: Fri., Dec. 9, 8 p.m., $25.99. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. COURTNEY BARNETT: W/ Lucy Dacus, Quinn Christopherson, Tue., Aug. 9, 7 p.m., $36. The actory 1 1 uter 4 Rd hesterfield 314-423-8500. CRYWANK + CHASTITY: W/ Todd Moved To Portland, Tue., Sept. 13, 7 p.m., $15. The Ready Room, 4140 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929. DANIEL HOWELL: Sat., Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m., $39.50. The actory 1 1 uter 4 Rd hesterfield 314-423-8500. DAYTIME TELEVISION: W/ Stoker, Sweetheart, Sat., Aug. 6, 8 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. THE DRIVER ERA: W/ Summer Salt, Fri., Sept. 2, 7:30 p.m., $30-$105. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 4 Rd hesterfield 14-4 . ECHOSMITH: W/ Phoebe Ryan, Band of Silver, Mon., Oct. 31, 8 p.m., $25-$30. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. FARSHID ETNIKO DUO: Thu., Aug. 11, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. FLEECE: Fri., Sept. 30, 8 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. THE GASLIGHT SQUARES: Sat., Aug. 13, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. THE GOLDENRODS: Thu., Aug. 18, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. GOV’T MULE: Wed., Sept. 21, 8 p.m., $35-$45. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. GRAHAM CURRY & THE MISSOURI FURY: Thu., Aug. 4, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. GRANT’S WORLD TOUR SERIES: W/ Celtica, Thu., July 21, 7 p.m., free. Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, 7400 Grant Road, Concord, 314-842-3298. THE HANGOVERS: W/ Ex Cathedra, V Formation, Gavin Crowe, Sun., July 31, 8 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. HITCHCOCK & THE HITMEN: Fri., Aug. 5, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. HOOTEN HALLERS: W/ Glory ‘n Perfection, Thu., Sept. 8, 7 p.m., $15. The Golden Record, 2720 Cherokee Street, St. Louis, N/A. HORROR SECTION: W/ Starter Jackets, Sat., Sept. 24, 7 p.m., TBA. The Ready Room, 4140 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929. HOT HANDS WONDERLAND: Sun., July 31, 3 p.m., free. KT’s Smokehouse, 4574 Telegraph Road, South St. Louis County, 314-892-7788. HULDER: W/ Devil Master, Skeleton, Extinctionism, Sun., July 17, 8 p.m., $18. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. INDIE ROCK ICE CREAM SOCIAL: W/ Starwolf, Youpeopl, Jesus Christ Supercar, Amber Skies, Fri., Aug. 12, 7 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. INNER PEACE: W/ Rob Funkhouser, Hippyfuckers, Fried E.M., Sun., Aug. 7, 8 p.m., $12. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. IVAS JOHN: Thu., July 14, 7 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. JACKOPIERCE: Thu., Aug. 25, 8 p.m., $40-$50.

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Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. JEREMIAH JOHNSON BAND: Sat., July 16, 7 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. JOE PARK & THE HOT CLUB OF ST. LOUIS: Sat., Aug. 6, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. JOHN CLIFTON BAND: Tue., July 19, 7 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. JUDAH & THE LION: W/ Smallpools, Fri., Sept. 23, 8 p.m., $38. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, hesterfield 14-4 . KURTIS CONNER: Sat., July 16, 7 p.m., $36.50. The actory 1 1 uter 4 Rd hesterfield 314-423-8500. LANGHORNE SLIM: W/ Lilly Hiatt, Tue., Dec. 13, 8 p.m., $25-$30. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. LOVE JONES “THE BAND”: Sun., July 17, 7 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. THE MALL: W/ 18andCounting, D.Sablu, Scott Plant, Kong, DJ Sex Nintendo, Fri., July 29, 7:30 p.m., $15. The Golden Record, 2720 Cherokee Street, St. Louis, N/A. MIDDLE CLASS FASHION: W/ Beth Bombara, Boxcar, Fri., July 29, 8 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. MISS JUBILEE: Sat., Aug. 20, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. MOON VALLEY: Fri., Aug. 12, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. NEIL SALSICH & FRIENDS: Fri., Aug. 19, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. NORMA JEAN: W/ Idle Threat, Sat., Aug. 27, 7:30 p.m., $22. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. OLIVER TREE: W/ Jawny and Huddy, Sat., Aug. 13, 8 p.m., $39.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 4 Rd hesterfield 14-4 . OVER HEAD DOG ACOUSTIC: Sat., July 30, 6:30 p.m., free. 9 Mile Garden, 9375 Gravois Rd, Affton, 314-390-2806. PATRICK SWEANY: Tue., Sept. 20, 8 p.m., $20. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. PIFF THE MAGIC DRAGON: W/ Puddles Pity Party, Sat., Oct. 29, 7:30 p.m., $49.50. The Factory, 1 1 uter 4 Rd hesterfield 14-4 . PUSCIFER: W/ Night Club, Thu., Nov. 17, 8 p.m., $39.50-$74.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd hesterfield 14-4 . RACHEL HOLLIS: Sat., Oct. 8, 7 p.m., $39.50$69.50. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, hesterfield 14-4 . ROCK PAPER PODCAST 1000TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY: W/ the Maness Brothers, Old Capital Square Dance Club, Samantha Clemons, Ben Diesel, Egan’s Rats, Sat., July 23, 7 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. ROCKY MANTIA & KILLER COMBO: Fri., July 15, 7 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. THE SHINS: Tue., Sept. 6, 8 p.m., $45-$145. The actory 1 1 uter 4 Rd hesterfield 314-423-8500. SKEET RODGERS & INNER CITY BLUES BAND: Sun., July 17, 3 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. SLEACH: W/ Cannvas Visuals, cøde, Fri., Aug. 19, 8 p.m., $15. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. ST. LOUIS STEADY GRINDERS: Thu., Aug. 25, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090.

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[CRITIC’S PICK]

Hulder will emerge from the depths of the forest to wage battle on Off Broadway’s stage this Sunday. | VIA ARTIST BANDCAMP

Hulder w/ Devil Master, Skeleton, Extinctionism 8 p.m. Sunday, July 17. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue. $18. 314-498-6989. In these confusing modern times, it’s not uncommon to find ourselves filled with the desire to retreat to the woods and hold a sword aloft in glorious battle. When the stress of the workplace becomes too much, when the emails just keep coming and the drudgery seems endless, who among us can resist the call of the Dark One himself that we submit our steel — and ourselves — to his unholy command? It’s only natural, of course. And no one knows that better than Marliese Riesterer, the Belgiumborn, Portland-dwelling forest creature behind medieval black metal act Hulder. As the band’s sole member, the talented multi-instrumentalist employs guitars, vocals, bass, keys and a drum machine to conjure a sound most foul, a blackened chunk of symphonic evil hearkening

THIS JUST IN

Continued from pg 65 ST. LOUIS STRING COLLECTIVE RIBBON CUTTING AND OPEN HOUSE: Tue., July 19, 4 p.m., free. St. Louis String Collective, 3532a Greenwood Blvd, Maplewood, 3143252294. SWEETIE AND THE TOOTHACHES: Fri., Aug. 26, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. THE TAYLOR PARTY: TAYLOR SWIFT NIGHT: Fri., Nov. 11, 9 p.m., $15. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. THEM COULEE BOYS: Fri., Sept. 9, 8 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. THIRD SIGHT / DHORUBA COLLECTIVE: Fri., July 15, 10 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. THIRD SIGHT BAND: Mon., July 18, 7 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. TONY HOLIDAY BAND: Sat., July 16, 11 p.m., $15. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. TRAUMA HARNESS: W/ Finn’s Motel, Soft Crisis, Electric Toothbrush Sisters, Sat., Sept. 3, 7 p.m.,

to the glory days of the genre. Hulder’s January 2021 full-length, Godslastering Hymns of a Forlorn Peasantry, came on the heels of a series of demos and singles, and rapidly caught the attention of metalheads who prefer music that’s replete with blastbeats, Tolkein imagery and throaty, guttural vocals. The band has since landed on several tastemaker blogs, and even saw its latest track, May’s “Evil Incubation,” released as part of Decibel Magazine’s flexi series. Hulder is dark, cold, surprisingly melodic and most definitely not for the faint of heart, and its Off Broadway performance this week is sure to inspire the warlord in you to cast off the shackles of civilized society and take to the wilderness. Brothers in Arms: Hulder will be joined at this show by Philadelphia black metal/punk act Devil Master, Austin thrash metal band Skeleton, and St. Louis’ own death metal group Extinctionism. Be prepared for a night of relentless riffage and unstoppable evil. —Daniel Hill

$15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. TURNPIKE TROUBADOURS: Fri., Aug. 19, 7 p.m., TBA. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield 14-4 . UMLOUSE: W/ Buy Her Candy, Natural High, Sun., July 24, 8 p.m., $13. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. VOODOO EAGLES: Wed., Aug. 10, 9 p.m., $12. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. VOODOO PIGPEN: Wed., Sept. 7, 9 p.m., $12. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. VOODOO UNCLE TUPELO & WILCO: Wed., Aug. 31, 9 p.m., $12. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. VOODOO WOODSTOCK: Wed., Aug. 17, 9 p.m., $12. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. W.A.S.P.: W/ Armored Saint, Tue., Nov. 8, 8 p.m., $35. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield 14-4 . WET LEG: Mon., Dec. 5, 8 p.m., $25-$30. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. WILLIAM FITZSIMMONS: Sat., Oct. 15, 8 p.m., $20. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. n

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SAVAGE LOVE Dick Down BY DAN SAVAGE Hey, Dan: I’m a cis woman in her 30s who lives on the East Coast. I’ve been in an LTR with the same cis man for 12 years. No issues there at all! But we are considering opening up our relationship and I have a question about my sexuality. Basically, I’m attracted to people with penises. PIV is only sex that really arouses me — the only kind of sex I like to have or fantasize about — although I do enjoy everything that leads up to it. I’m that rare woman who comes easily during PIV and honestly prefer it over all things. So, although I am attracted to people regardless of what they look like, if I were to hook up with someone who didn’t have a penis, I would be disappointed. I hooked up with two women during group sex and I liked their breasts and kissing them, but I uic ly reali ed do not find vaginas sexy at all. So, what am I since not all people with penises are men? I ask because I don’t want to use a label on hookup apps that’s transphobic in any way. I’m mostly attracted to people with penises, but I want non-binary people with dicks to slide into my DMs too. So, I am attracted to all men and non-binary people with penises (no matter how they present themselves). Is this messed up? I don’t know. I have searched for a term that describes this fixation on specific genitalia but have yet to find any. o am ust straight It seems some people think attraction and sexuality are separate from genitalia and anything else is transphobic, but for me, it’s the opposite. Dick or bust. I’ve also never been on a dating app, so I am not sure if classifying myself as straight would still leave me visible to non-binary folx looking for women. Maybe that’s true, and finding a nuanced label doesn t really matter. Limits About Bodies Expressed Lovingly & Sensitively You could make this complicated. You could describe yourself as an AFAB (assigned female at birth), cis-gender (not trans), femmepresenting (just what it sounds

JOE NEWTON like) allosexual (opposite of asexual) phallophile (dick lover) in an ENM (ethically non-monogamous) LTR (long-term relationship) seeking masc-presenting and/or nonbinary allosexual AMAB (assigned male at birth) phallus-havers-andwanna-users for PIV. (And by the way, “phallophile” was the term you were searching for.) Or you could keep it simple, LABELS, and just say you’re straight. Which is what you are. You’re a heterosexual woman — you’re a cis woman who’s attracted to members of the opposite sex — and while you require dick and dicking, you’re open to sex partners who don’t identify as men so long as they 1. have dicks and 2. want to use them. And who knows? In addition to getting dicked down by cis men and nonbinary AMAB peeps, you might enjoy getting pegged down by cis women or AFAB non-binary peeps who 1. have a strap-on, 2. know how to use it, and 3. won’t ask you to eat or touch their vaginas/front holes. All of the above could be included in your bio on whatever hook-up app you’re using. Oh, gee. Look at that. The less complicated option took longer to

explain than the more complicated option. What a world. Anyway, LABELS, there’s nothing transphobic or gynophobic about clearly and respectfully stating who and what you’re looking for. Use a positive framing (what you want), not a negative one (what you don’t). Indeed, letting people who don’t have penises know not to waste their time on you — cis women, non-binary AFAB peeps, trans men who didn’t opt for bottom surgery, trans women who did — is a courtesy, not an insult. You might hear from some people who aren’t what you’re looking for, LABELS, but you aren’t obligated to respond. Hey, Dan: I had an “argument” with my wife recently. I’m a 48-year-old straight cis man. I’m also poly and kinky. My wife is a 42-year-old cis bi/pan woman. We’ve been married for 12 years. We are active in our local BDSM scene. Two weeks ago, a mutual friend approached me for a scene at a kink club. She’s a trans woman. he wanted me to og her. It was a great scene and we both (I hope) enjoyed ourselves. Let me state that it was purely an impact scene and there was nothing sexual

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about the scene on my end, but I did provide some basic aftercare in the form of snuggling afterwards. The day after the scene, this friend texted me, thanked me for the scene, and then asked me to dinner. I said I would need to check with my wife, assuming the invitation was for both of us. She then made it clear she was asking me out on a date. My problem is I am not attracted to her. The primary reason, to be honest, is because she is trans or more specifically because she has a penis. I think she’s a great person and I’m totally down to get to know her better as a friend, but there’s no attraction on my side. If she was post-op, I’d be more open to it, but knowing she has a penis is a dealbreaker for me. I declined politely, saying I would be open to hanging out as friends, but I wasn’t interested in dating. She asked if it was because she was trans and I told her the truth. She said she was disappointed, of course, but she understood and appreciated my honesty. When I told my wife about this, she said I was transphobic because I’m not interested in our friend romantically or sexually. I was insulted. I’ve never held any prejudice against people who are transgender! A cousin who was trans committed suicide in the late 1990s and that really opened my eyes and I’ve had a girlfriend for more than a decade now whose daughter is trans and I love that girl. Maybe that sounds like, “I can’t be racist! I have Black friends!” but these are facts! (And I’m Black!) My wife, however, thinks that it’s discriminatory and transphobic for me to reject our friend simply because she has a penis. She insists the presence of a penis should be a non-issue for me. I think this is unfair and, in all honesty, it’s really pissing me off. I like our mutual friend as a person, Dan, and I literally just played with her at a public event! I’m just not interested in dating her! Who’s in the wrong here?!? Extremely Not Into Dick The full version of Savage Love is now exclusively available on Dan’s website. To continue reading this week’s column, go to savage.love/ savagelove! n questions@savagelove.net Check out the Savage Lovecast @FakeDanSavage on Twitter

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Riverfront Times, July 13, 2022

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