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C o u r te s y Ve r t i c a l E n te r t a i n m e n t
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Mail-in voting is safe and secure, and a nonpartisan group is hoping to make it happen in Texas.
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METROPOLIS
Reining in Police Spending
A growing number of conservatives, moderates, and progressives aim to reduce police funding. B Y
E D W A R D
B R O W N
Around a dozen activists representing a wide range of political affiliations gathered recently at a restaurant on the Near Southside to discuss the CCPD. Fort Worth’s Crime Control and Prevention District is fueled by a half-cent city tax, and in the wake of ongoing protests against the killing of unarmed black men and women by white police officers, conservative- and progressive-minded activists see eliminating the tax as serving both their aims. The tax-funded program, which provides crime prevention, enhanced enforcement, community education, and officer training, is up for renewal via a public vote on Tuesday, July 14. The city’s website says, “Since the [CCPD] was created in 1995, the city’s population
Static We have a lot of hospital beds but no vaccine. So. Business as usual, ya’ll! That’s the message from Gov. Greg Abbott as cases of COVID-19 in Texas continue to surge at a time when all businesses statewide are at least 50% open. The governor recently told KYTX-TV in Tyler that there’s “no real need” to dial back reopening because “we have so many hospital beds available to anybody who gets ill.” Never mind that for people who get sick, a hospital bed does not guarantee recovery from the novel coronavirus. And most of the infirmed won’t be only seniors. Increasingly, young people are testing positive, which is why Abbott went out of his way recently to scold them for not taking safety precautions seriously, especially when twentysomethings are going out to the places he’s reopened. “A lot of people have let down their guard,” the governor said on KLBK-TV in Lubbock. “The summer’s here. Things are opening up. [People] feel like they can go out without having to wear a face mask, and they are not realizing this very important fact: COVID-19 still exists in Texas, in America, and across the globe.” If you do not wear a face covering, wash your hands, or maintain a safe distance from others when out in public, he warned, “you will test positive.” Infections among people between the ages of 20 and 29 are going up at a “record pace,” he told KRGV-TV in McAllen, basing his statement on the data available to him from health departments and county judges around the state.
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COVID-19 Surges, Guidelines Go Unfollowed
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Daily coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in Texas for all demographics have been breaking records. Though not unexpected, the increases mean we are at a critical juncture, according to numerous public health experts. Where we go from here depends on, well, you. Should you stay home and be safe or not wear a face mask or practice social distancing and go out to the places Abbott has reopened and risk contracting a deadly illness? “Social distancing works,” said Dr. Erin Carlson, associate clinical professor and director of Graduate Public Health Programs in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation at UTA. “It is one of the oldest methods we have to curb disease spread, having been used widely in the 1918 Flu Pandemic and even prior to that event. Further, we know that the aerosolized droplets we produce when coughing, talking, or sneezing do not usually travel beyond 6 feet. Hence, the guidelines of social distancing are based on science and work well to curb disease spread when they are followed. “The problem we are seeing with a rise in cases in Texas,” she continued, “is not because the science of social distancing doesn’t work. It is because social distancing isn’t being practiced. ‘Social distancing’ means staying home as much as possible, avoiding gatherings, and staying at least 6 feet away from other people when we must go to public places. Clearly, that definition of social distancing does not describe much of the behavior we are currently witnessing since Texas reopened.” The latest Tarrant County woman to die from COVID-19 had no underlying conditions. She was the 198th person to be claimed by the coronavirus. There are 7,642 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Tarrant County, according to health officials. The recoveries number 3,299.
has grown by 93%. During that same period, the number of Part I crimes (murder, rape, aggravated assault, burglary, robbery, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson) per 100,000 citizens has gone down by 63%.” Libertarian Wesley Fisher said his “big issue” with the CCPD tax is mental health. “I have had bad experiences with the police. For me, this effort is about telling the police that we are going to take your funding until there are real reforms.” Without mentioning specifics, Fisher said he had a mental health crisis that led to a hospitalization two years ago. Police were sent to his home, and he sustained a permanent injury to his right arm during the subsequent arrest. Instead of taking him to a dedicated mental health facility, the cops put him in jail, he said. Fisher, a white man, said police brutality affects people of all races. He believes tax funds would be better spent on providing jail diversion programs for people who live with mental health conditions. Just under 30% of the CCPD’s annual budget of $85,733,428 goes to “enhanced enforcements” that include SWAT and Special Response Team officers, according to the city. “Instead of militarizing the police,” Fisher said, “let’s find lasting solutions to our crime programs. Let’s stop making the prison system the mental health system.” Studies consistently document that just over half of adults in U.S. jails and prisons have at least one diagnosed mental health condition. “People are taxed enough already,” self-described anarchist Republican Amy Hedtke
For the week beginning June 7, 1,188 new coronavirus cases were confirmed by Tarrant County, the most yet. The second highest was 1,118 for the week beginning May 3. In a press conference Tuesday, Abbott said that on the same day Texas reported a new single-day high of 2,622 COVID-19 new cases, the number of patients hospitalized reached an all-time high of 2,518 patients. Though Abbott said he’s a little concerned about those precious beds, he’s not worried about much else. “There is no reason right now to be alarmed.” More people are being tested, it’s true. Though Austin has been unable to meet its promised 30,000 daily tests consistently, testing has increased a modest 7% since May. That still doesn’t explain the rising infection rate. The infection rate, or how many people are testing positive out of the total number tested, has been trending upward since late May. On May 26, the state’s seven-day average infection rate was 4.27%. Last Thursday, it was 7.05%. After declining throughout May, the number of hospitalizations in Tarrant County has also begun to rise. Along with more infections at high-risk areas like meatpacking plants, nursing homes, and prisons and with more people going out — more young people, it seems, because what are they gonna do? stay home and knit? (not that there’s anything wrong with that) (actually, that sounds pretty awesome) — Memorial Day shindigs are partly to blame for the higher numbers. “Clearly,” Dr. Carlson said, “when there is mass testing at a site,” like a meatpacking plant, nursing home, or prison, “a jump in reported local cases will result. However, the overarching increase in cases we are seeing in Texas cannot be attributed to one place
or mass-testing event. The increase in cases is occurring in cities throughout Texas and during a similar timeframe. This indicates an overall increase in cases not attributable to one facility or business. It may be that the reopening of Texas has led some people to believe that it is safe to proceed with life as usual without employing social distancing, mask wearing, and sanitizing. However, these three measures are still expected and encouraged by the state and local governments and health officials.” Some are already pointing fingers at the protests, blaming them for the increases, when in fact we will not know the effects of the protests until several weeks from now. Does Dr. Carlson believe we’ll have to bring back social distancing? “Social distancing never stopped being a strong recommendation,” she said. “It is still a health guideline very much in place according to federal, state, and local health guidance. What’s changed is people’s use of it. We need to change our approach in how we promote and facilitate social distancing, wearing face masks, and sanitizing. Currently, these are our only weapons against contracting COVID.” Or we can just stop testing. Like the math genius in the White House has said: testing fewer people equals fewer positive results. In a way, Abbott’s ploy is pretty ingenious. He’s a lawyer, remember, so it makes sense that he would shift the blame away from himself and to the Texans he has sworn to protect. — Anthony Mariani The Weekly welcomes submissions from all political persuasions. Please email Editor Anthony Mariani at anthony@fwweekly.com.
BACK TO BUSINESS!
have taken to holding signs that list Fort Worth Police Association donations to city councilmembers. “Every time you have something like this, there is always a community that [financially] benefits from it,” Republican precinct chair Bill Eastland told me during the restaurant meeting. “That community has a tendency to use union dues to donate to politicians. The government should be the least government possible. Over time, you have a tendency to spend money on things that you would never have if you were making normal, rational decisions in a budget-making process with regular tax revenue. I predict that if [the vote to renew the CCPD] is defeated, you might see them try to do it again.” John MacFarlane, chair of the Greater Fort Worth Sierra Club, said his environmental group would like to see CCPD tax revenues used to fund the Trinity Metro. “Although Fort Worth is the 13th largest city in the United States,” MacFarlane said, “we are years behind other metropolitan cities in regards to mass transit options like light rail, trolleys, bus rapid transit, and commuter rail. Because of this, the air in Fort Worth contains extremely high concentrations of ground-level ozone, which the EPA considers unhealthy for sensitive groups.” The Fort Worth police department has not responded to requests for comment. The city, in a statement about the CCPD program, said the tax is for “purposes that are connected to crime control and prevention. That does not mean the CCPD dollars are all used by the police department. In the current year, the CCPD funded afterschool programs at dozens of schools across multiple school districts within the city, partially funded the operation of the One Safe Place resource center for victims of domestic violence, and provided dollars to other vital community programs. If continuation of the CCPD is not approved, the sales tax rate within the city would be decreased by one half-cent, and the total amount of revenue available to be programmed for use in meeting needs within the city would be decreased.” l
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said. “I was already against taxation and [police] brutality. As an anarchist, I don’t like seeing the government use force to take things from people. That’s what a tax is. You may be choosing to pay a sales tax, but the business owner has to collect it and turn it in, or his business license is in danger. It removes choices from the market.” Several of the activists I spoke with that day cited fiscal reasons for opposing the CCPD tax. That evening, Trey Holcomb, Libertarian candidate for Texas’ 12th Congressional District, addressed a largely leftleaning group of protesters at the Tarrant County Courthouse. After briefly describing the CCPD program and upcoming vote, he began handing out yellow doorknob hangers that included a website (Endthepolicetax.org) and that read, “Fort Worth City Council and Fort Worth police department need to have a serious conversation about their policing policies before getting more money from taxpayers.” Past reporting by the Weekly has documented questionable spending and lax oversight related to how the CCPD fund was used. In 2004, shortly before the CCPD’s second five-year renewal, the Weekly found that $600,000 of CCPD funds went to pay overtime for police guarding events at Texas Motor Speedway and Bass Performance Hall (“Controlling the Crime District,” Dec. 15, 2004). CCPD board members, who are tasked with approving expenses, were directed to “not nitpick” approvals, according to Clyde Picht, a former city councilmember who sat on the CCPD board at the time. In 2009, shortly after voters renewed the CCPD district for the third time, Mayor Mike Moncrief disbanded the independent board and placed city councilmembers in charge. That remains the current system. The nine current CCPD board members consist of Fort Worth’s eight city councilmembers plus Mayor Betsy Price. Self-described conservative Joe Palmer said greater community representation on the crime prevention board is needed before he feels comfortable allowing tax money to be used through the fund. Protesters, as part of their daily rallies,
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(From left to write) Trey Holcomb, Amy Hedtke, and Lucid Shinobi are putting aside political differences to focus on eliminating the CCPD.
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Voting Reform on the Horizon? E D W A R D
B R O W N
C o u r t e s y M O V E Te x a s
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n light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its more than 100,000 U.S. casualties, voting reform has become a heated topic. In Texas, electoral politics have been reduced to two talking points: public safety versus voter fraud. “Protecting the integrity of elections is one of my most important and sacred obligations,” Ken Paxton said last month. The indicted attorney general’s statement came soon after a May 15 Texas Supreme Court ruling to halt the expansion of mail-in voting during the COVID-19 pandemic. One week before the Supreme Court order, Paxton had asked the Lone Star State’s top court to take action to stop a Travis County trial court’s decision to allow expansion of voting by mail. For many Texas voters, the ability to vote without risking contracting a deadly and highly infectious disease is a health consideration and not a political one. Senior Texans, the most vulnerable population when it comes to COVID-19, are predicted to use mail-
JUNE 17-23, 2020
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A nonpartisan grassroots group says voting in Texas shouldn’t be a life-or-death ultimatum.
Bonner said teen voters and twentysomethings are more focused on specific issues than partisan affiliations.
in ballots in record numbers this fall. Low poll numbers have historically served incumbents here and across
the country. Many progressive and nonpartisan groups believe Paxton’s efforts to maintain restrictive voter laws
during the pandemic will backfire come November 3. The Travis County effort to expand mail-in voting was based on the state’s current rules for absentee ballots. Under the current rules, eligible Texas voters must be 65 years or older, disabled, out of the country, or confined in jail to qualify for absentee voting. Democrats in Travis County and supporters of the litigation, who ultimately lost their case, contended that lack of immunity to COVID-19 qualifies voters for mail-in ballot-casting under the election code’s definition of disability. Disability is defined as “a sickness or physical condition that will prevent him or her from appearing at the polling place for an election.” Although the Texas Supreme Court has made its stance on COVID-19 immunity and disabilities clear, legal challenges to the state’s voting-by-mail rules continue in federal courts, including one in the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that is currently being appealed. Challenges to
C o u r t e s y M O V E Te x a s
voting restrictions may end up before the U.S. Supreme Court this year, many legal experts have noted. The Texas Supreme Court ruling repeatedly stated that it is up to voters to assess their own health conditions. Voters who “cite disabilities can take into consideration aspects of [their] health and [their] health history that are physical conditions in deciding whether, under the circumstances, to apply to vote by mail because of disability,” the court said. Voter registration applications, including absentee ballots, are handled by county voter registrars. Final votes are tallied by the Elections Division of the Texas Secretary of State. Charlie Bonner, communications director for MOVE Texas, said voting restrictions, such as limited mail-in ballot options, should be seen for what they are. “We have to understand that limiting access to the ballot is an intentional measure to prevent voting,” he said. “That is something that has been built up through voter-suppression laws.” MOVE Texas, a nonpartisan nonprofit that works to engage young voters, was one of the plaintiffs in the suit that the Texas Supreme Court ruled against. A recent poll conducted by the Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler found that, among Texas voters, 76% of Democrats support allowing universal mail-in voting while 42% of Republicans support expanding mail-in voting.
MOVE Texas volunteers complete voter registrar requirements in several adjacent counties before registering voters at public events.
“We are seeing strong arguments being made about vote by mail,” Bonner added. “Many states already have this. Texans are asking for the right to make their voices heard. This is the logical and right thing to do.”
Travis County is not alone in its efforts to create safe and more convenient options
for voting. A slew of recent litigation in Texas has sought to make voting more accessible in the Lone Star State. Bonner and his colleagues predict that 2020 will see a sharp increase in mail-in votes, even if the current absentee guidelines remain in place. A large percentage of displaced college students will be eligible for mail-in ballots under Texas guidelines, and Bonner anticipate that a large percentage of senior voters
will use mail-in ballots to avoid potential exposure to COVID-19. Every state offers some form of mail-in absentee ballot, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Twothirds of U.S. states offer mail-in options to any eligible voter — no questions asked. In one-third of states (including Texas), some level of qualification must be met. Five states (Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, and Utah) currently conduct elections entirely by mail, according to the NCSL. Those states have an “election period” rather than an election day due to the fact that ballots are mailed out well ahead of Election Day. In 1998, Oregon became the first state to pass the vote-by-mail system. Today, voters in the Beaver State overwhelmingly support their system. According to a 2016 poll by DHM Research, a nonpartisan opinion firm, 61% of Oregonians reported “very positive” impressions of their voting system, while 26% of residents reported “somewhat positive” impressions of the state system. Since 2000, more than 250 million votes have been cast via mail-in ballots throughout all 50 states, according to the Vote at Home Institute. In 2018, more than 31 million Americans (25.8% of voters) cast their ballots by mail. Two of President Donald Trump’s recent tweets about mail-in ballot voter fraud prompted Twitter to add “Get the facts about mail-in ballots” disclaimers.
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The social media company said the alerts are part of a new policy to identify false and misleading statements. “Mail-in ballots are vulnerable to fraud,” Paxton recently said in a public statement defending his swift action to push back against expanding mail-in ballots. “Two-thirds of all election fraud cases prosecuted by my office involve mail ballot fraud.” Paxton’s strongest case for voter fraud resides in Tarrant County (“Voter Fraud or Politics as Usual?,” December 2016), where one of his investigations led to the arrest of four alleged vote harvesters — Leticia Sanchez, Leticia Sanchez Tepichin, Maria Solis, and Laura Parra — who were
indicted on 30 felony counts of voter fraud for what the AG said were efforts to sway the votes of elderly Northside residents. In November 2018, a Tarrant County jury found Ortega guilty of voting illegally. She was sentenced to eight years in jail. Leticia Sanchez is currently awaiting jury trial in Tarrant County. We have not been able to confirm the whereabouts of the other two women. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan law and policy institute, voter fraud remains “infinitesimally small” despite the widespread use of mail-in ballots in the United States. In Oregon, more than 100 million
mail-in ballots have been used since 2000, and the state has documented around 12 cases of proven fraud, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. That amounts to 0.0000001% of all votes cast. “We see little to no evidence of voter fraud or any of the associated arguments that partisan conspiracy theorists [like Paxton] whip up,” Bonner said. “When they make those arguments, real people do get hurt when real voters lose rights. We have to push back on that.”
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Star State residents could be forgiven for not knowing that our voting system is considered onerous and restrictive when compared with most of the country. Proponents of voter reform argue that voter restrictions translate to low voter turnout and better odds for incumbents. Texas consistently ranks near dead last among states in voter turnout. In 2014, the Lone Star State was one percentage point away from sparing Indiana the ignominious title of state with the worst voter turnout. “As far as voter restrictions goes, this is one of the most difficult places to register voters,” Bonner said. A 2018 study conducted by Northern Illinois University ranked Texas as the fifth most difficult state in the nation in which to cast a ballot. Texas is one of 12 states that does not allow online voter registration. Bonner classified voter registration into three groups. The gold standard, he said, is automatic voter registration. According to NCSL, 19 states and the District of Columbia have automatic voter registration policies. The next best option, according to Bonner, is online voter registration. According to NCSL, 39 states plus the District of Columbia offer online registration. Texas residents can request voter registration applications via Votetexas.gov/register-to-vote, but they must fill out the handwritten form and mail it at least 30 days before the election date. Relying on handwritten applications (the “worst” possible system, according to Bonner) creates errors that can lead to voters being turned away from the polls on Election Day, Bonner said. Volunteers who wish to register voters have significant hurdles to jump through. According to the Texas Secretary of State, “volunteer deputy registrar appointments are made on a county-by-county basis,” meaning that anyone who is deputized to register voters in Tarrant County cannot register a Parker County resident unless that volunteer completes training and is deputized by a Parker County voter registrar. Bonner, a resident of Austin, said, “It is easier for me to fly to Colorado and register someone to vote than to drive to San Antonio and register someone in Bexar County.” To work around that restriction, MOVE Texas volunteers complete voter registrar requirements in several adjacent counties before registering voters at public events. Bonner and his network of volunteers are working on several fronts to expand access to voting in the Lone Star State. The nonprofit offers an online portal (Movetexas.org/register) that Texas residents can use to register to vote. Once completed, a pre-filled voter registration application (with postage included) is mailed to the applicant’s residence for final submission.
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Steps are being taken to lower the risk of spreading COVID-19 during upcoming elections. Gov. Greg Abbott recently took steps to expand the early voting period for the July primary runoff elections, which include the prominent race between MJ Hegar (a former Air Force helicopter pilot) and Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.
Early voting for the July 14 runoffs will begin June 29 instead of July 6. Local election officials are being left to decide how to safely conduct voting under the ongoing pandemic conditions. Tarrant County elections administrator Heider Garcia said in an email that his group will “provide every poll worker with a fresh mask for each day, masking tape to mark 6-foot separations for voters in line, wipes with a disinfecting solution to wipe the machines every 30 minutes, and hand sanitizer for voters to apply before they show the ID to the poll worker and again after they have cast their ballot in the scanner.” MOVE Texas volunteers see expansion of voting rights as inevitable. Texas voters are trending younger in age. Indeed, the Lone Star State has one of the youngest populations in the nation. A 2019 article in the Texas Tribune predicts that one in three Texas voters will be under 30 by 2022. Bonner, himself a twentysomething, said that voters in their late teens and 20s are less concerned with partisan affiliations and more focused on issues like climate change and voting rights. A 2018 pre-election poll conducted by Tufts University found that onethird of voters between the ages of 18
and 24 identified their political views as independent. “We are finding that young people are more disconnected from parties,” Bonner said. “They are still interested in being involved with their communities. Student debt, campus sexual assault, and voting rights are nonpartisan issues. Our group is trying to show young voters that these issues can be impacted by their vote. Our work is making sure that we can engage people in the political process even if they are not tied to a party.” Trump’s claims that mail-in votes will lead to “tremendous fraud” and Paxton’s threats of criminal sanctions against third parties that advise voters to apply for a mail-in ballots “based solely on fear of contracting COVID-19” are disheartening, Bonner said. “Many roadblocks are being put up to prevent people from voting, even in the middle of a worldwide pandemic,” he added. “I think that this is going to be a critical year. I think that you are going to see many people turn out, whether they are 6 feet apart or preferably by mail. You will see people show up” to vote for politicians who support safe and equitable voting, because people are “angry with how this was handled.” l
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MOVE Texas staffers are working with counties across the state to ensure that there are adequate resources to receive and count mail-in ballots. The nonprofit predicts a sharp increase in the number of senior citizens and displaced college students who will opt for absentee ballots. Voter ID laws, limited access to mailin ballots, handwritten voter applications, and the county-by-county voter registrar requirement are onerous burdens designed to disenfranchise voters, Bonner said. “What the pandemic has done is shine a light on inequities,” he said. “This pandemic has amplified the problems in Texas’ voting system, which is forcing us to take action right now, so we have free and fair elections in July and November. We could see the highest turnout election in history.”
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LIVING Local
Meet Amy Cortez James: Owner & Card Designer Shout Out DFW recently connected with Amy Cortez James of Amy’s Social Butterfly. Here are excerpts from that conversation. What was your thought process behind starting your own business? Before, I started my own business of creating three-dimensional greeting cards, I was making them on my own just for friends and as I began expanding my creativity my friends started paying me for the cards and encouraged me to consider opening my own business. Share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others? My greeting card company has nothing but handmade 3D cards created by myself. Each card is different. I do it all by hand from cutting the cardstock to the size of a greeting card to the last step of creating the final design of the card. I believe what sets me apart from other greeting card companies is my personal customization. Also, I am most excited about having the opportunity to attend the Secret Room Red Carpet Event in honor of the 2016 Academy Awards Gifting Suite, where I created greeting cards for all the Oscar Nominees. My cards were also featured in INSTYLE Magazine as well.
Amy on the Cynthia Austin Show on KTXD-TV
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to? I would take my friend to several places. You see I live right in between Dallas and Fort Worth, therefore, I would first take them to see the new Ballpark in Arlington, then to take a tour of the AT&T Stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play. I would then take
them to eat at Angelo’s Bar-B-Que in Fort Worth. Afterwards, I would take my friend to Botanical Gardens in Fort Worth and to see Sundance Square. Read the full, unedited conversations with this business and others at ShoutOutDFW.com.
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Why is it so hard for white people to talk Wednesday about racism? Find out at 7pm. New World United Methodist Church is studying the book White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism. One of the three chapters covered this week is called White Women’s Tears, and the irony is not lost on me #ally. This online Zoom event is free to attend but requires the book. Reserve a spot via Facebook.com/NewWorldUMC.
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Juneteenth is not just one day in Fort Worth. At least not this year. Four Thursday days of celebrations kick off at 7pm with the Juneteenth Pop-Up Virtual Film Screening sponsored by Jim Austin Online and the Denton Film Festival. Friday and Saturday, there is a two-day Juneteenth Livestreaming Music Festival featuring zydeco and the blues with headliner Fat Daddy. Saturday, you can view a stage play by Greg Ellis
— former all-pro defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys — called Juneteenth. Then on Sunday, there’s the City Men Cook 2020 Virtual Tribute to George Floyd and All Men Mentors on YouTube. The film screening and cooking tribute are free. The music festival and play tickets are $10 each at JimAustinOnline.com/ JuneteenthFestival. If you don’t know about Juneteenth, this is a very affordable way to educate yourself.
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Instead of their usual booze, Bendt Distillery Co. (225 S Charles St, Friday Lewisville, 214-814-0545) produced free hand sanitizer for first responders during the lockdown. Now you can buy it from them, too. With their outside facilities now open, at 4pm you and Pop can eat, drink, and shop for gifts — and hand sanitizer — at Cocktails with DAD in the Whiskey Garden. Fort Worth roots-rocker Jacob Furr will perform. Admission is free. Bottle purchases include free custom engravings for Father’s Day.
Jubilee’s Triumphant Return
Like many theaters earlier this spring, Jubilee Theatre went on a three-month hiatus. Now they are back open just in time for their 39th anniversary. Their spring season, Shades of Us premieres Fri at 8pm and runs thru July 19. On Thursdays thru Sundays, see Nate Jacobs’ How I Got Over, a gospel music celebration honoring Mahalia Jackson and other gospel greats and featuring songs like “Precious Lord, Take My Hand.” Jackson was also known for her activism and was close to Martin Luther King Jr. “A voice like this comes not once in a century but once in a millennium,” Dr. King once said. She performed at his I Have a Dream speech and his funeral. Shows at Jubilee Theatre run Jun 19 to Jul 19 at 506 Main St, FW. Tickets are $28-35. Call 817-338-4411 or visit JubileeTheatre.org.
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I just love Joanna Gaines. For her, Magnolia means her empire in Waco. For Sunday us, it is a street on the Near Southside. My love for TV shows like Fixer Upper with Joanna and husband Chip Gaines makes me think I’ll know what’s what when I check out the virtual Historic Fairmount Home Tour. Instead of viewing the Craftsman bungalows and Victorian homes of Waco through the boob tube, I’ll be seeing what Fairmount has to offer here from noon to 5:30pm online Saturday and Sunday. Tours are free, but donations are encouraged. Simply visit HistoricFairmount.com/Home-Tour.
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Due to COVID-19, the free art classes normally in the makerspace at the Monday library in downtown Arlington have gone virtual. At 2pm, join the Arlington Public Libraries online for their free Art Is for Everyone class. Today’s subject is monoprinting with artistinstructor Sumbai Mushtaq. The class will be at Facebook.com/ArlingtonTXLib.
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Is there a young person in your life who is interested in learning about a career Tuesday in law enforcement? Maybe they want to be the change they seek. At 6pm every Tuesday, young people ages 14 to 21 can check out a free Explorers meeting hosted by the Haltom City Police Department at Post 502 (5110 Broadway, Haltom City). Call 817-222-7000.
By Jennifer Bovee Mahalia had the audience of the King.
Cour tesy of Jubilee Theatre
FRI 7/3
Summertime is always tough for kids who depend on school lunches for daily Saturday nutrition. This summer will be even harder. To help, Dog Haus Biergarten (4000 Bagpiper Way, Arlington, 682-2766686) is sponsoring a No Kid Hungry Food Drive from 11am to 6pm benefiting Arlington Charities, a nonprofit fighting hunger locally. Items needed include canned protein, vegetables, and soups; dry pasta; rice; and jelly. When you donate your bag of goodies, you will receive a free slider burger and other specials on a future visit.
the Kimbell Art Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, and MondoMostre. Caravaggio, The Flagellation of Christ (detail), 1607, oil on canvas. Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, Naples. Patrimonio del Fondo Edifici di Culto, amministrato dalla Direzione Centrale per l’Amministrazione del Fondo Edifici di Culto del Ministero dell’Interno
Promotional support provided by
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This exhibition is organized by the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, Naples,
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And so it came to pass that after three solid weeks of protests against racial violence by the police and a vote by the city council to take down the city’s most prominent Confederate memorial, a film by a Fort Worth native that’s set among our city’s African-American community comes to an actual theater screen. Even more than that, Miss Juneteenth arrives on schedule even with a pandemic forcing movie theaters around the world to go dark. This Friday, precisely 155 years to the day after slaves in Texas discovered that they had been freed, Channing Godfrey Peoples’ drama starts at the Grand Berry Theater, which opened to the public last week at partial capacity. If you’re worried about tickets running out because of that last bit, you’ll be glad to know that the film will continue its run there into July. Channing Godfrey Peoples grew up in Fort Worth and went to Our Mother of Mercy Catholic School (now Cristo Rey Fort Worth College Prep) in the southern part of the city. She won’t give her age, saying, “You don’t ask a Southern woman that!” but describes herself as “seasoned.” A stint at historically black Bennett College in North Carolina was enough to get her into the theater program at Baylor. She wanted to act, a passion she credits to her mother, who worked with the Sojourner Truth Players, Fort Worth’s first African-American theater troupe, whose cofounder, Rudy Eastman, would go on to found Jubilee Theatre. “Acting was what I saw was possible,” she said from lockdown on the West Coast. “I got to see African-American plays there, and you saw aspects of being onstage.” Only when she started splitting time between Fort Worth and Los Angeles did she glimpse other possibilities. “I didn’t understand the specifics of cinema. I was writing little plays and short stories, and later I acted in short films in Southern
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For Juneteenth, there’s a movie about the holiday filmed in Fort Worth.
Nicole Beharie and Alexis Chikaeze enjoy some Texas barbecue in Miss Juneteenth.
California. I became fascinated by what was behind the camera.” She wound up entering USC’s storied graduate program for filmmakers, where she had her pick of professional mentors and chose Charles Burnett, the black director of the 1990 masterpiece To Sleep with Anger. The experience, she said, “really gave me the tools to apply my ideas to cinema.” Miss Juneteenth isn’t Peoples’ first film, but it is her first feature. The movie is set in the summer of 2019 as Turquoise Jones (Nicole Beharie, best known as the female lead from the Fox TV show Sleepy Hollow) is wrapped up in preparations for a Juneteenth pageant as her daughter Kai (Alexis Chikaeze) is about to turn 16. Estranged from her auto mechanic husband (Kendrick Sampson), Turquoise works two jobs, one applying cosmetics to corpses at a funeral home and one waiting tables at a barbecue place on Rosedale Street, trying to scrape together enough money so that Kai can win the pageant that she herself won years ago. However, Kai isn’t about the pageant life and is more interested in hip-hop dance, not a hobby that sits well with Turquoise and her genteel circle. Kai suspects that beauty pageants are silly and outdated, but Miss Juneteenth isn’t so easily shrugged off with its history. Peoples determined that her first feature would be shot in her hometown and take in the Texan tradition of Juneteenth. “People have been aware and
supportive of my journey,” she said. “I was putting this community on screen that is not often seen. I wanted to make sure and get it right, to portray them with dignity and respect.” Indeed, while there have been other films about African-American life in the genteel (or not-so-genteel) South, Miss Juneteenth emphasizes the particular Western aspects as well as the Southern ones in Fort Worth, with black rodeo cowboys trailing through the barbecue joint and scenes among the black churchgoing crowd that Turquoise finds herself alienated from. While Peoples was developing the project at the Sundance Institute, Anne Lai contacted Sailor Bear Productions to gauge their interest in helping this Fort Worth project be filmed in the city. “I met up with Channing and [producer] Neil [Creque Williams] at Spiral Diner, and we just really hit it off,” said Sailor Bear cofounder James Johnston. “I hadn’t even read the script, but I decided to go with my gut, so before we left, I told them that I’d love to partner with them and produce the film if they would have me.” Peoples was particularly keen to work with the actors, coming from an acting background herself. She found Dallas native Chikaeze through her casting directors. “It’s hard to believe that this is her first feature film,” Peoples said. “She blew all expectations away.”
Johnston had the chance to watch Peoples work with her cast: “Her approach to filmmaking is so grounded in building up the story through various layers of performance.” After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival last January, the movie saw its distribution rights sold to Vertical Entertainment with plans for a full theatrical release to coincide with the holiday. Such is no longer possible, but Johnston says the promotion hasn’t changed too much, with phone calls and videoconferencing replacing the customary press junkets. Of course, both the holiday and the film celebrating it come to us at an unusual time, as Black Lives Matter protests over the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, Atatiana Jefferson, and so many others at the hands of law enforcement have swept both Texas and the entire world. Sampson was shot by rubber bullets during the demonstrations in Los Angeles, while Chikaeze reported being teargassed along with her family in Dallas. “We’re still navigating our freedom,” Peoples said. “I’m happy to have another black story in the world. I’m also saddened that we’re here yet again.” At such a time, Peoples yearns to repeat her experience making a film in North Texas. “Many of my films are about black women taking a step forward. They have so much world in them. You’ll see black Texas again.” l
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In the continuing efforts to address the violence inflicted on our indigenous Black community by 400-plus years of slavery followed by systemic oppression, the local food community is just as divided as everyone else. That’s a shame. Supporting restaurants owned by Black families seems like a no-brainer. Nobody’s asking you to atone for any participation that your greatgreat-great-whomever had in the shaping of the America we’re struggling with now. Buying Black is a choice, and if you don’t want to, you don’t have to. And yet simply asking for a list of Black-owned restaurants to support has somehow become political. The Buying Black movement predates the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Atatiana Jefferson. The movement predates the 1921 lynching of Fred Rouse on Samuels Avenue in Fort Worth’s North Side. At the end of the 19th century, politician Marcus Garvey asserted that Black families needed to buy what they needed and shop where they wanted to without being at the mercy of white business owners who didn’t particularly value the custom of Black people. Say what you will about Garvey (and there’s a lot to say), but the idea has merit. It’s carried forward in the blog We Buy Black. Before you pass judgment, read the excellent post about entrepreneurship and pivoting by D’Jaun Hopewell. There is a difference between working a job that puts food on a table and owning a business where the proprietor has complete control over how she or he spends their profits. As an aside, cheers to Locavore (715 Hawthorne Av, 817-524-4699). The swanky event venue and rental space is waiving the $125 fee for Black-owned businesses to use its industrial-quality kitchen space.
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Supporting eateries owned by AfricanAmericans is more important than ever.
blessed memory) and Buttons (of blessed memory). His name’s synonymous with old-school Southern comfort food, but at Ovation, he dabbled in Italian cuisine and the fine art of White Castle burger mimicry (“All That Jazz,” September 5, 2007). Tareka Lofton of Loft22 Cakes (106 E. Daggett Ave., 682-841-1771) was carving a niche creating gourmet wedding cakes when COVID hit. Lofton enjoyed a good 15 minutes of fame when she created a layered “Quarantine Cake” that looked like a roll of toilet paper –– the delicacy garnered her national recognition. My birthday week coincided with Breonna Taylor’s birthday on June 5. I wouldn’t have known this, except for the fact that the Louisville EMT was shot and killed in her own home by police who executed a no-knock warrant for someone who didn’t live there. That weekend, Lofton sold her Blackout Cake (four fancy layers of sumptuously moist chocolate cake with oozy chocolate layers in between, all topped by black chocolate icing) and donated 50% of the proceeds to Black Lives Matter. More recently, I’ve fallen in love with Black Coffee (1417 Vaughn Blvd., 817-7829867). It’s the only business of its kind near Texas Wesleyan University, and owner Mia Moss has done her best creating a space for the community to gather. Not wanting to rely on my own knowledge, I asked around. Lauren Phillips is a coworker at my other freelance side hustle and is relatively new to town. Her picks also include Smoke-a-Holics (1417 Evans Ave., 817-386-5658), where she singled out the smoked leg quarters and mac ’n’ cheese, and Carpenter’s Café (1116 Pennsylvania Ave., 682-499-8630), where she said the Southern Slapped Garden Salad, with its scoop of smoky chicken salad, is hard to pass up. Ooowwweee Wangz and Catfish (3951 Sycamore School Rd., Ste. 117, 817-294-7777) has a backstory that resonates with us in the Fort: Coowners Matt and Martha left their day jobs to pursue their love of food. And Lauren reminded me about Dough Boy Doughnuts (4910 Camp Bowie Blvd., 682-841-7797), home of the Fruity Pebbles donut and the donut breakfast sandwich. If you’re interested in home meal delivery, check out personal chef Scotty Scott’s Cook, Drank, Eat (Cookdrankeat. com). If you want to learn more about local Black history and our chefs, check out the woman-owned Soul of DFW (Soulofdfw.com/tours). Co-owners Deah Berry Mitchell and Dalila Thomas list their favorite places on the website. Finally, you can support Black-owned restaurants without sifting through the “all restaurants matter” comments on your local neighborhood Facebook page or reading what a well-meaning white writer has to say about greens. DFW Black Owned Restaurants on Facebook provides enthusiastic reviews along with pictures of the food –– without the side of imperialism and discord. l
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Black Restaurants Matter
that Black lives matter, it behooves me to use my spending money to show what I value. If I feel anything patronizing Blackowned eateries, it’s usually full and happy.) “Lots of small independent restaurants are struggling right now.” (Fair point. Spend your money as you will.) “You’re REVERSE RACIST.” (My choice to spend my money where I think it will help is capitalism, not racism. Know your ’isms.) “DON’T BOTHER EXPLAINING, I’LL SHOW MYSELF OUT.” (If you don’t like supporting Black businesses, DON’T. Be done with it. And if you can’t be kind, be quiet.) It’s a sad statement that many of the Black-owned restaurants I’ve reviewed over the last 12 years no longer exist. Tbone’s Mississippi Style BBQ in Arlington, Pig City Barbecue on 8th Avenue near-ish to TCU, Tollie Giddings’ eponymously named ’cue joint, Lady and the Pit, and my beloved Angie’s Bikkles did not survive into the second decade of the century. The professional eaters at the Weekly review Black-owned restaurants because this publication tends to favor unpretentious local businesses. Much has been made by us (and you) over the years about Madea’s Down-Home Cooking (1019 W. Enon Ave., Everman, 817-5519295), and Drew’s Place (5701 Curzon Ave., 817-735-4408), which has bounced all over the Fort in the three decades that Drew Thomas has been cooking smothered pork chops and spicy fried catfish. Damian Placide Sr. continues to make Creole magic in the kitchen at Damian’s Cajun Soul Food Café (2001 S.E. Green Oaks Blvd., Ste. 190, Arlington, 817-649-7770). You can find fried catfish and something Cajun daily, but go on Thursdays, when you can also get the smoked meatloaf. Barbara Renfro was born and raised in Jamaica, and she’s dazzled Arlington palates for better than a decade with authentic island cuisine at Jamaica Gates (1020 W. Arkansas Ln., 817-795-2600). Samson’s Market Bistro (4307 Camp Bowie Blvd., 817-373-5646) continues to flourish in part because of the love that co-owners Samson and Jenber Yosef have for the flavors of their Ethiopian homeland and the ceremony with which they present your beautifully plated food. Franzon Nwaze parlayed his original Chef Point Café in a gas station in Watauga into a second, more formal location: Chef Point Modern Bar and Grill (5220 Hwy. 121, Colleyville, 817-482-5030). You’ll find mac ’n’ cheese and stuffed pork chops on the menu along with veal osso buco and lobster bisque. Which brings me to a point: Black chefs can specialize in any cuisine they choose. Fried, baconated, and covered in gravy with a side of greens and yams? No problem. But let people cook what they want to, not what you think they should. See also Chef Keith Hicks of Ovation (of
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In the last two weeks, members of neighborhood and foodie groups have posed the seemingly innocuous question, “Who has a list of Black-owned businesses we can support?” Pizza Verde cofounder Jennifer Cabarubio posited this question to Fort Worth Foodies, a Facebook group with 2,200 members as of this writing, “Considering the movement going on in the world, it seems like an awesome time to lift up Black owned restaurants since that would still be applicable to the groups theme of amazing food.” Member Craig Reed posted, “Keep racism out of this group. … We are for food, no matter what ethnicity it is.” Another member wrote that the issue “has been addressed many times,” to which Cabarubio asked, “If so, why can’t I find a post?” Allegedly, Cabarubio was blocked from posting, and the string was ultimately deleted –– but nothing ever really goes away, thanks to the magic of screenshots. Fort Worth Foodies administrator Connie Bally created a list of Black-owned restaurants and developed a regional map for ease of viewing. She’s still getting pushback from her members. It’s the worst kind of privilege to tell other people why you won’t shop at a Black-owned business. “All restaurants matter” is much more of a statement of where you are in your heart and with your Jesus than “We Buy Black.” And you cannot both use and emulate Black American culture –– the music, the clothes, the language, and the slang –– and refuse to see that economics matter as well (“Hot Box Biscuit Club in the Hot Seat,” June 6). The noise on Fort Worth Foodies was nothing compared to the flame-and-flounce exit of members of The Eight One Seven community. A member compiled a list of Black-owned establishments, which caused some members to clutch their pearls. I am going to save you the time and trouble of commenting at the end of my article, because it has quite literally all been said before. Below are excerpts of actual comments that were posted and responses from those of us who clap back against “all restaurants matter.” “I know a lot of people aren’t going to like this but it needs to be said.” (Your need to say it speaks volumes about your privilege.) “I mean this very sincerely and with respect.” (No, you don’t, but it makes you feel better to cloak your venom in polite words.) “I thought the point of choosing a restaurant was because of … [merit], talent, quality … without regard to the skin color of the owners.” (Ah, so you’re edging toward the MLK quote about the content of our characters and not the colors of our skin.) “And now we are congratulating one another for using race to virtue signal and to feel morally righteous for going to restaurants because the skin color of the owner is different than yours?” (If I believe
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Black Coffee Fort Worth 1417 Vaughn Blvd Facebook.com/BlackCoffeeFW We specialize in interfusing global flavors into our very own craft beverages. Black Coffee is upping the scene of artisan coffee roasts in East Fort Worth. More info at BlackCoffeeFW.com Creme De La Crème 6511 Lancaster FB @CremeDeLaCremeCakeCompany Creme De La Creme Cake Company is a unique bakery specializing in creating not
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Kim’s Donuts 3633 E Lancaster Ave Hours are 6 am to 12 noon every Monday to Friday.”They have most of the standard varieties of donuts plus some excellent breakfast sandwiches. Very good coffee and a small, chilled display case of juices and soda.” -Larry Crouch, (Review from Zamato.com). La Rueda Restaurant 2317 Oakland Blvd Facebook.com/La-RuedaRestaurant Authentic Mexican Restaurant in East Side
Fort Worth. Try them at a discount by going to Groupon.com/Biz/Fort-Worth/La-Rueda. Los Pastores Carniceria 3822 E Rosedale St LosPastoresFoods.com We are dedicated to serving our community with our Mexican dishes and products. Los Pastores is a family-owned business in Fort Worth. It was created by husband and wife Rosario and Alejandra Villalpando in 1996. Marisco’s La Jaibita 1224 S Ayes Ave Serving authentic Mexican seafood in East Fort Worth. Open 10am to 11pm seven days a week. Popular items include fajitas, tacos, and catfish. For more info search Mariscos La Jaibita Fort Worth on Yelp. com.
Smokey’s BBQ 5300 East Lancaster Ave Facebook.com/SmokeysBBQTX We open when the BBQ is ready and close when we sell out! Smokeys BBQ is the leader in Fort Worth when it comes to authentic Texan BBQ. More info at SmokeysFortWorth.com. Taqueria Tepito 1510 NW 28th St Facebook.com/TepitoTaqueria We represent the gastronomic culture of Mexico and have a wide variety of flavors, colors and textures that make our Mexican food a delight. The basis of our cocinase is the predominant use of corn, beans, chiles, tomatoes and various meats and herbs, along with Mexican spices. “Taqueria Chilanga Antojitos y mucho más.”
Texas Style Chicken & Seafood 3854 E Lancaster Ave They are old-school, but you can find out what their fans think by checking out their location page on Facebook. Search by Texas Style Chicken Seafood. The Urban Cowboy Saloon 2620 E Lancaster Ave Facebook.com/TheUrbanCowboySaloon The Urban Cowboy Saloon is Fort Worth’s Largest LBGTQ Community bar. Formerly known as “Best Friends Club” it catered to a majority lesbian crowd, but as slowly positioned itself as a pillar in the community and is frequented by all.
To submit new information, email Jennifer@fwweekly.com See more listings online at www.fwweekly.com
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Philosophical flow-mason Clay Perry might have found a cheat code for digital music marketing, but the strength of his rhymes is what’s earning him the clicks. B Y
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It’s an almost comical understatement to say that local musicians can’t compete for people’s attention right now. With the myriad profound and life-altering circumstances occupying any person’s every available neuron at all times, giving notice to a homegrown artist’s latest single is a level of luxury many are struggling to achieve. That a track by an underground Fort Worth rapper that dropped unceremoniously in the
HearSay They had me at “Arkestra.” Fort Worth’s Rage Out Arkestra will always tickle me for being named after one of my favorite artists of all time. And all solar systems. Though Sun Ra died in the 1993 after being born in 1914 — on Saturn (!) — his Arkestra lives on. Led by saxophonist Marshall Allen, the band still performs occasionally. The big question is, Are there similarities? Between Rage Out and Sun Ra? The answer: not so much, though this is not necessarily a bad thing. You could almost think that some of what makes Rage Out rage out would have found a home in the spaceman’s latter-day oeuvre, like the Fort Worth ensemble’s polyrhythmic grooves and vibe-enhancing fretwork. I think Sun Ra would be proud. Though I’ve seen Rage Out Arkestra a couple of times over the years, most recently at Shipping & Receiving Bar, where the ensemble regularly gigged before the pandemic, I can’t say I ever sat down and listened to them. Like the jazz jams at the legendary Black Dog Tavern,
FO R T WO R T H W E E K LY
JUNE 17-23, 2020
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They Travel the Spaceways
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a place known very well by most of the guys in Rage Out, it’s always hard to focus on live straight-ahead, occasionally free jazz when there’s beer to be drunk and convos to be had. The background noise comes to the fore when it’s between your ears during a pandemic. Like it’s doing to me right now. The album that Rage Out released a couple of months ago is, of course, a live recording, this one from a gig at Harvest House in Denton in 2017. Recorded by Zaach Williams and Cameron Ermish, mixed by Taylor Tatsch at his AudioStyles studio outside of Austin (Maren Morris, Cutthroat Finches, Shadows of Jets), and mastered by Clint Niosi at his Orange Otter Audio in Fort Worth, Rage Out’s self-titled full-length is like one long, polyrhythmic groove generously salted with some stellar individual horns, keys, and guitars. Though primarily experiential music, Rage Out’s output rewards a seated, headphones-on listen. Like in any good groove, the time signature may fall away completely, but the momentum continues surging forward. Going from loud to soft and back again as Rage Out does here is one way to keep the drama ratcheted up, to keep the listener couch-locked. The soloing
Salvador Luna
Starting to Roll
Perry: “If I had done this 10 years ago, I would probably literally have millions of fans.”
the power of the streaming platforms and take advantage of them. He’s coy about his methods, preferring to relate the tools he’s learned to utilize to other artists directly on how to fully capitalize on digital distribution. He does allow that social media is instrumental. “I remember back in the day looking on Twitter and thinking, “Man, if you could somehow generate a huge following on here, even if they didn’t know your music, you could manipulate that into helping them find your music,’ ” he said. “So I kind of already had a mind for it. The game might look different, but nothing’s changed. I mean, everything’s changed, of course,” laughing, “but if I had done this 10 years ago, I would probably literally have millions of fans.” Despite any boost he might have received from his newfound digital
Rage Out Arkestra album cover ar t by Gar y Joe Uribe Cour tesy Bandcamp
MUSIC
middle of this hellish spring would ping the average person’s radar, much less find its way into someone’s earholes and/ or eyeballs more than 2 million times, is nearly inconceivable. But in two short months, Clay Perry’s “Roll N’ Ride” has accomplished just that. “When I first finished it,” Perry said, “I knew it was a good song, but I didn’t really know how good it was gonna be, but as soon as I dropped it, it just caught fire. It’s steadily growing by 2,000 hits a day. I’m constantly getting messages 24/7 from people from like 10 different countries. I’m having to use Google Translator all the time now to talk to these people.” It’s easy to see why fans are responding to the track. “Roll N’ Ride” is the quintessential chilled-out smoking song. (Perry fittingly released the standalone single on April 20.) With producer Epik The Dawn’s crystalline laid-back bop and Perry’s casual, syrupy flow, the sedating devotional to getting stoned and driving around will leave you with bloodshot eyes, the bitter thickness of cottonmouth on your tongue, and a very questionable recollection of just how you’ve gotten to wherever you are. The trick, though, is how to get people to hear it. Without the possibility of the typical big release with accompanying listening party or live performances available, artists must look to other ways to try and get in front of people. This is where Perry’s savvy away from the mic comes into play. After spending the last few years steeping himself in digital analytics, Perry thinks he’s learned a simple way to harness
Recorded live in Denton, Rage Out Akestra’s debut album is a polyrhythmic journey.
is mostly tasteful, save for the occasional angry honk or aggressive Coltrane-esque vocalization. From what I remember of Rage Out in person, there’s not a lot of movement onstage, just hands pounding and fingers tickling. Listening to the band on tape, though, it’s like you’re watching fireworks over a raging ocean: Percussionists Eddie Dunlap, Parker Anderson, and Dieudonne Samudio (with special guest Gerard Bendiks) never stop moving, and the brass/woodwinds (Dave
marketing chops, Perry credits the song itself for its success, with impressions well north of seven figures across all platforms. “One-hundred-percent, it’s the song,” he said. “I did the same thing with ‘Survival of the Greatest,’ which I released a month after ‘Roll N’ Ride’ in the exact same format, and I didn’t see near the success on that one. It’s still generating numbers but not moving on its own like ‘Roll N’ Ride.’ ” The buzz surrounding the puff-puffgive anthem has helped precipitate some new and substantial opportunities for Perry. He’s been hard at work on the second part of a trilogy of concept albums he plans to release centered on his own voyage of self-discovery that he began with 2018’s I.K.I.K.N (I Know I Know Nothing.). As well as “Roll N’ Ride,” Exodus, the title of the forthcoming sophomore disc, will boast two tracks that Perry anticipates will be the biggest of his career. Each will be coops with legendary Houston producer Mr. Lee (Scarface, Bun B, Paul Wall), and one of them will have a guest feature that Perry, despite being giddily excited about, asked to keep off the record. If true, it’s huge. Perry plans to drop Exodus and its accompanying potential career-defining singles later this summer. In the meantime, he’s busy battle-planning, sharpening his digi-distro toolkit in preparation for the crossroads he’s found himself at. “Everything [I’ve done] in my life, right now, is coming to a head,” he said. “I feel like I found lightning in a bottle. I’ve just got to figure out how to handle it and use it to my fullest advantage.” l Williams, Chris White, and Jerry Smith) explode and dissolve, explode and dissolve, their voices sometimes delightfully sparring but mostly harmonizing — the “Acknowledgement”/A Love Supreme refrain on “The Good Voodoo” is as melancholy as it should be. Aside from a couple of nicely restrained solos, guitarist Darrin Kobetich, scorching bassist Canyon Kafer, and keyboardist Joe Rogers mostly stick to fueling the groove. The musicians who really get to step out are the brass/woodwinds: Williams, White, and Smith. Their interplay on “Airbell” is like a dance of sorts, and sometimes the hot/cold dynamic between a fiery sax and ethereal, twinkling flute makes for a kind of star-crossed-lovers call and response. White’s trumpet on the Middle Eastern-tinged “Michelle” is perfectly serpentine (and graciously augmented by Kobetich’s Cümbüş, a Turkish instrument that looks like a small banjo but sounds like a sitar). If, as Sun Ra said, space is the place — and indeed it is — then visit RageOutArkestra.bandcamp.com and soar. — Anthony Mariani Contact HearSay at hearsay@fwweekly.com.
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