Inweekly april 16 2015 issue by Inweekly

Independent News | April 16, 2015 | Volume 16 | Number 16 | inweekly.net

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winners & losers 4

outtakes

news

6, 7

buzz 8

You go through life and you won't see a lot of X change... noticeable and then all of a sudden boom.

a&e

cover story

calendar 17

publisher Rick Outzen

art director

Shelby Smithey, T.S. Strickland

editor & creative director Joani Delezen

contributing writers Jason Leger, Jennifer Leigh, Ben Sheffler, Chuck Shepherd,

culture 22

Independent News is published by Inweekly Media, Inc., P.O. Box 12082, Pensacola, FL 32591. (850)438-8115. All materials published in Independent News are copyrighted. ÂŠ 2015 Inweekly Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

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COMING UP THIS WEEK* • April 16 – 22 *Guest schedules are subject to change.

Mollye Barrows Guest Co-hosts The Daily Brew with Carly Borden Special Guests include Leah Munsayac Seacrest, Cindy Bear Bonner, Rachael Gillette, & Rick Outzen

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winners & losers

Marty White

winners MARTY WHITE The longtime WXBM onair personality is retiring after 42 years on the air, with 37 of them on Pensacola radio. As a fixture on Pensacola morning radio, White woke up Pensacola area listeners on 102.7 WXBM's "Hometown Morning Show" for over 20 years. White drove race cars at 5 Flags Speedway, flew with the Blue Angels, danced atop radio station vans as "Billy Bob" Ace Traffic Reporter and even donned a snakeskin dress, "Dolly Parton" wig and heels at the Beulah Sausage Fest. Boy, we miss that radio era.

PENSACOLA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The orchestra recently

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kicked off its new partnership with Belmont Youth Band. Its goal is to mentor the young musicians and foster a lifelong love of music. The Belmont Youth Band is a nonprofit organization that seeks to help keep music education alive by providing free instruments and instruction to students of all musical talents and levels.

BARBARA GRICE The former board

president and dedicated volunteer of the Pensacola Humane Society was determined to find a solution for the problem of pet overpopulation in our area by providing spay and neuter services at reduced rates. Through Grice’s bequest and subsequent donations in her memory, this dream is now becoming a reality. The Barbara Grice Memorial Spay & Neuter Clinic at the Humane Society will be dedicated on May 18.

losers VETERANS AFFAIRS A year has passed since the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs uncovered the VA scandal during its hearings. Congressman Jeff Miller released a statement on the anniversary saying that the VA’s chief problem was a widespread lack of accountability. Not a single VA senior executive has been fired for wait time issues. Further, VA employees at the heart of the scandal in Phoenix remain on paid leave. CBRE Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward

sent out two memos praising the listing agent for the maritime park as a world-class company. His praise apparently came with a $1-million price tag. The mayor also announced he was cutting their commission from a prospective developer for hotels and luxury residential at the park from $2.5 million to $1.5 million.

RICK SCOTT During the 2014 governor’s race, Governor Scott went after Democratic challenger Charlie Crist for flip flopping on issues. State Sen. Don Gaetz went after the governor for his latest statement in opposition to a Senate plan to draw down federal money to expand health insurance. Previously, Scott said he supported Medicaid expansion and wanted to see the legislature come up with a plan. The Senate delivered a plan, which the House opposes. Scott has sat on the sidelines, refusing to get engaged until his recent statement. Gaetz and his colleagues are clearly frustrated.

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outtakes

by Rick Outzen

SMALL WORLD We really live in small world, where slight degrees separate us from major stories and newsmakers. In July 2009, Pensacola and much of the nation was caught up the investigation of the murders of Bud and Melanie Billings. I was reluctantly dragged into covering the murder investigation, because Inweekly didn’t routinely cover homicides. However, the prime suspect, Patrick Gonzalez, was from Gulf Breeze, and my phone began ringing the moment his arrest was announced. Using the blog, I wrote about nearly every tip we received as well as covered the seemingly endless stream of press conferences as the sheriff’s office made one arrest after another. Thanks to locals wanting to see us beat the national media to the punch, we broke a lot of news. One morning, I received an email from a writer who did work primarily for National Geographic magazine, but also cover true crime for Vanity Fair. He lived in Montana, but his brother-in-law, Craig Barker, was the mayor of Destin. He had been asked by The Daily Beast to cover the murders, but had other assignments. Barker was a fan of the blog and had recommended he contact me. Eventually, I agreed to write for The Daily Beast. My articles drew national attention,

even garnering me a profile in the New York Times. The writer who coaxed me into reporting for The Daily Beast was Mike Finkel. This weekend, his life will be portrayed in the movie, “True Story,” with actor Jonah Hill playing him. In 2001, Finkel was a star reporter at The New York Times Magazine. All that came to a crashing end when his editors discovered the title character of an article, "Is Youssouf Malé a Slave?," was actually a composite of several young men. Finkel was fired. He retreated to his Montana home to wait for the outfall from publication of his dismissal. There he got a call from an Oregon reporter who knew nothing about the firing. He wanted to know about Christian Longo, a man arrested for killing his wife and three children. Longo had been caught in Cancun, Mexico posing as Mike Finkel. Finkel sought Longo out and wrote about the murders and Longo’s trial in “True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa.” Brad Pitt purchased the movie rights, and the rest is history. I texted Finkel this weekend to congratulate him. He reminded me that I still owe him a beer. When we do share that beer, we will toast how small our world really is. {in} rick@inweekly.net

The writer who coaxed me into reporting for The Daily Beast was Mike Finkel. This weekend, his life will be portrayed in the movie, “True Story,” with actor Jonah Hill playing him.

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SEEKING A BETTER WAY TO GIVE

By Rick Outzen Mollye Barrows Vigodsky is on a mission. The Pensacola Today investigative reporter wants to do more than report news. She wants to be part of a solution that helps this community deal with homelessness and panhandling. “Locally, those who work with the homeless believe it's an issue that's continuing to grow,” Vigodsky said during a recent interview on “Pensacola Speaks” on News Talk 1370 WCOA. “You had Escambia County that recently tried to toughen up their panhandling ban by extending the no panhandling zone a half mile from the interstate,” she said. “The city of Pensacola addressed it recently, repealing some of the ordinances they passed a year or so ago in reaction to citizen complaints about homeless camping in the parks.”

Vigodsky talked about the complexity of the homelessness. “The four main feeders of homelessness are people being released from prison; people being discharged from the hospital after a long stay; people discharged from mental institutions; and those who are aging out of the foster care system,” she said. “It's complex, and a wide, varied array of issues that put people out on the street, so it takes a lot of partnerships between these social service agencies to meet all of these needs.” She said there are no quick fi xes. “We've really got to address the root issues of homelessness. It's not just going to be as simple as putting a roof over somebody's head. We've got to do that, but we also have to meet their needs and what got them there in the first place.” Vigodsky is working with the Studer Community Institute to develop an awareness campaign that she hopes to launch this summer. “It's going to be called ‘There's A Better Way to Give’ campaign,” said the reporter. “It's a homeless outreach campaign aimed at raising awareness in the community of the different faces of homeless. Everything from children, to families, to battered women, to veterans, to those who are suffering from mental illness, to those with drug addiction and alcoholism.” “There’s A Better Way to Give” will raise awareness of the many facets of homelessness and the different social service agencies that are in the community

and what we have to meet the needs of homeless. “Homelessness impacts everything from education, healthcare, insurance costs, to tourism and how we're perceived because of panhandlers on the street,” she said. “Because at the end of the day, it's about people, and people impact all of us in one way or the other whether we want them to or not. I think it's better for the community as a whole if we address the root causes, because then we're helping people better their lives so they can in turn better the community.” Vigodsky said the campaign will launch in July with the Studer Community Institute and will have a separate web page on its site. She said, “It will be a compilation of stories, a lot of information about homelessness and the different agencies that are there.” The campaign will also discourage people from giving cash to panhandlers. Instead they want donations made to homeless trust fund. “We're going to create a model that will show it works, why that's a good idea, where that money will go, how it will be used,” Vigodsky said. “Ideally, part of it will be incentives to social service agencies to be on the same page. There’s consensus that there needs to be a case management approach—that the funding needs to follow a client, per se, and not necessarily with the social service agency. When everybody's on the same software and the same page when it comes to trying to address needs, then everybody benefits.”

“Because at the end of the day, it's about people, and people impact all of us in one way or the other whether we want them to or not.” Mollye Barrows Vigodsky

“There’s A Better Way to Give” is based on some of the “Toxic Charity” principles of Dr. Robert Lupton, whom Vigodsky covered for Pensacola Today last summer. Lupton wrote several books based on his experience of working in urban neighborhoods in Atlanta for 40 years. “The heart of his ‘Toxic Charity’ concept is that you're taking the dignity out of the process when you're just giving to somebody without necessarily asking for something in return,” she said. “It's more of saying, ‘You have nothing to offer me, so I'm going to give you something because you need my help, but there's nothing you can offer me.’" She visited Lupton’s Georgia Avenue Food Co-Op. Vigodsky said, “It's run out of the basement of a big church up there. Members pay $2 or $3 once a week. They get $50, $60 worth of groceries in return, but everybody plays a part in the process. Some people work the office, they identify the food that needs to be picked up from the bank, other people drive the trucks to go get the food, other people help unload it, others help distribute it, but during the whole process, there's a relationship. They have prayer meetings, they talk, they discuss what's going on with each other.” She said several local nonprofits, churches and faith-based groups listened to Dr. Lupton speak in Pensacola earlier this year. She said she hopes her efforts will help them implement some of Lupton’s principles. Vigodsky said, “It’s a complex thing, but this campaign hopefully can be the first step toward addressing the root causes, improving community awareness, and getting all of our local leaders and social service agencies on the same page to address that.” {in}

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Twice the Power to Serve You

Last year, Escambia County officials started taking notice of landfills and borrow pits. Residents of the Wedgewood community unleashed an outcry over the proliferation of landfills in the area and finally got local, state and national attention to their plight. Nearly a year since those come-to-God moments, the Wedgewood community is working to ensure the issue doesn’t slip off of the county’s radar. They are also pushing for a radical reshuffling of the landscape. “Why should they have landfills and such in a neighborhood,” asked Wedgewood resident Willie Lawrence, standing outside the Escambia County Commission chambers. “They should be closed.” Residents recently approached the commissioners with their concerns. The impetus for their visit this time was Longleaf Construction and Demolition Disposal Facility’s submittal of a pilot study proposal to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The proposal—essentially outlining a mandated remediation plan for the currently closed site on Longleaf Drive —doesn’t appear to be a big deal. It’s Longleaf’s attempt to better a past record of groundwater-pollution issues. But any movement on the Longleaf front makes the Wedgewood residents nervous, invoking fears the site will reopen. It also provides an opportunity to press their ultimate goal: taking back their neighborhood from the collection of dumps and borrow pits that have moved in over the decades. “You can’t go out in the yards and have parties and barbecues like you use to,” said Lawrence, a 51-year-resident of the Wedgewood area. “When I go outside and work out there I have to wear a mask.” In spring 2014, Wedgewood residents cried foul about the Rolling Hills C&D facility. The smell of rotting eggs—a result of decomposing drywall—was tough to ignore in the heat. They

medial efforts taken at the facility to address groundwater concerns. The remediation isn’t optional. “They had to address their groundwater impacts,” explained Brandy Smith, external affairs manager with the DEP’s Northwest District. In 2009, the state agency informed Waste Management that it would need to address “several parameters present in concentrations that were above the Primary and/or Secondary Drinking Water Standards in several wells.” The Longleaf site was testing too high for iron, aluminum, ammonia and vinyl chloride, a volatile organic compound. Since then, C&D debris at the site has been capped with a 30-millimeter thick polyethylene geomembrane and covered with soil and vegetation. The pilot study involves monitoring the effectiveness of such measures for two years. Waste Management has no plans to open the site. Rene Faucheux, its community affairs manager for the Gulf Coast region, said, “Currently, we’re not entertaining any plans for reopening.” In a February groundwater monitoring report, based on samples taken in November 2014, the DEP notes that there are still issues. The numbers were still high for Aluminum, Iron, Arsenic, Boron, Benzene, Sodium, Vinyl chloride, and Sulfate. Subsequent tests by Waste Management have yet to be submitted to DEP and Smith said that pre-pilot testing couldn’t be weighed too heavily because “it is still too early to know if the cap is effective.” At the county commission meeting, Dr. Horning presented a more recent report she said was obtained by requesting it from Test America, the Colorado company working for Waste Management. “Well, look what I’ve got,” she told them, “the water test results.” The Test America results were similar to numbers already on record with the DEP. In some instances, the results worsened—not a good initial sign for the pilot program. A call to Waste Management inquiring about the results presented during the recent commission meeting had not been returned as of press time. Horning and the Wedgewood activists are using the Longleaf results as leverage in their efforts to rid their area of disposal sites, but they understand shutting down the landfills is a long shot. “I don’t think it’s going to happen, but it’s what I’d like to see happen,” said Wedgewood resident Lafanetta Soles Woods. “Or — there’s always an ‘or‘ — they can buy us all out and put as many landfills as they want out there.” {in}

Coldwell Banker United, REALTORS

By Jeremy Morrison

talked about how health conditions had deteriorated in their neighborhood. Rolling Hills has since been smacked down by both the DEP and a special magistrate, each citing numerous infractions — ranging from exceeding height restrictions to accepting unapproved materials and noxious odors. It could lose its permit if corrective actions are not taken in about a month. Escambia County placed a moratorium on landfills as it considers how such facilities should be handled going forward. However, Wedgewood residents, where local black families migrated mid-century as they entered the middle class, are still leery of the recent rumblings from Longleaf. So is Dr. Gloria Horning, a local environmentalist and University of West Florida instructor that has been active in fighting Wedgewood’s battle. Discussing the issue over breakfast, Horning mentioned the rumor, or “scuttle,” in the community that Longleaf has intentions to reopen because Rolling Hills could be on its way out. “They’ll just close Rolling Hills and that’ll leave Longleaf,” she surmised. On April 9, Horning joined Wedgewood residents before the commission. She added scientific bluster to the emotional equation and took the opportunity to remind everyone about both parts per million-counts as well as the fact that commissioners had previously closed a local borrow pit via strong-armed code enforcement orders despite asserting that they had no such authority when it came to Rolling Hills. “I just don’t see where’s there’s any care, any hope,” she told the county commissioners, charging them with being too relaxed with landfills in predominantly black areas. “Environmental racism, period. It’s a black and white issue.” Horning said the Wedgewood Homeowners Association was planning to petition the DEP for an administrative hearing regarding Longleaf’s pilot project proposal. This move is purely precautionary, as the study doesn’t entail any new activity at the closed site, but it speaks to the community’s concerns that any movement from Longleaf might signal an eventual return to business as usual. The pilot program proposed by Longleaf owners Waste Management is actually a step in the right direction. Horning understands this. “It’s an interesting pilot program,” she said. “I applaud them.” The Longleaf pilot project outlines re-

WRESTLING WITH WASTE

RULES CHALLENGE THROWN OUT

Meanwhile, the department still faces two other challenges to the proposed rule. Those challenges, which have been consolidated, are scheduled for a hearing April 23.

SHIFTING CHAIRS After a year in the

spotlight, City COO Tamara Fountain appears ready to move into the background and let others deal with the media. Two weeks ago, Eric Olson, a former Naval aviator who was hired as special projects coordinator last year, was made the Mayor Ashton Hayward’s third city administrator in three years. Fountain, Olson and CFO Dick Barker had shared the duties since August 15, 2013 when Colleen Castille resigned. On April 13, Fountain announced that she was giving up public information duties. Vernon Stewart, whose most recent jobs were with Sunshine Health and Florida Department of Children and Families, is the new PIO. Sergeant Stewart served in the Marine Corps from 2000-2004 as satellite communication operator. He served in both

Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom.

ONE VACANT CHAIR LEFT Hosts

Don Parker and Jim Sanborn interviewed Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward on their News Talk 1370 WCOA radio show, “Good Morning Gulf Coast.” When asked about finding a replacement for Airport Director Greg Donovan who resigned last July, the mayor said, “We’ve been searching long and hard, if you will. We’ve had a couple of good candidates, but not exactly who I would like to see.” The mayor did have two positive releases about the Pensacola International Airport. TRAVEL+LEISURE Magazine ranked the airport’s Pensacola Beach House as ninth in its “12 New Airport Restaurants That Make Going Through Security Way More Rewarding.” Also Silver Airways announced it would offer non-stop flights between Jacksonville and Pensacola, Monday through Friday.

FOURTH ANNUAL

The News Service of Florida reported on April 10 that administrative law Judge Elizabeth McArthur dismissed a challenge to a proposed regulatory framework for carrying out a 2014 law that allows limited types of non-euphoric medical marijuana in Florida, such as Charlotte’s Web. The challenge was filed against the state Department of Health by an attorney for 4-year-old Dahlia Barnhart, who has an inoperable brain tumor, according to documents filed in the case. The challenge argued that the department did not follow the law when drawing up a proposed regulatory rule, in part taking issue with the way the department would select “dispensing organizations” that would grow, process and dispense the cannabis. Judge McArthur ruled on April 1 that the child didn’t have legal standing to challenge the proposed rule, but the ruling gave the girl’s attorney an opportunity to file an amended petition that would address the concerns. McArthur, however, issued a final order Friday dismissing the case, saying the attorney had not filed an amended petition or other documents.

VOTE FOR PROJECT GREENSHORES

Project Greenshores, the coastal restoration project along the Downtown Pensacola waterfront that was completed in 2007, is a top 10 finalist in Solution Search’s national contest, “Reducing our Risk: Innovation for Disaster Preparation.” The contest identifies and celebrates the many ways Americans are working to reduce the risk of weather-related disasters on their communities. The goal is to build greater awareness and preparedness across the country. The winner of the $25,000 prize is picked via online voting. Beginning in 1999, Gulf Power and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection partnered to develop a demonstration project that would begin to address many of these issues. Gulf Power donated $100,000, which FDEP leveraged it into a total investment of nearly $6 million. Phase I of Project Greenshores was completed in 2003, with Phase II being completed over the summer of 2007. Supporters can vote for Project Greenshores daily at solutionsearch.org/entityform/121. {in}

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DIFFERENCE MAKERS 2015 Career Academy Awards Announced The Career Academy Awards recognize outstanding career academies, extraordinary career academy students, dedicated teachers, and business partners that have made a significant contribution to district career academies. With 43 high school career academies, 17 middle school career academies, and more than 40% of our secondary students enrolled in those career academies; Escambia County School District has made a clear commitment to providing our students with opportunities to more deeply explore a career pathway through classroom and workplace training, to get a head start on their career pathway, and to prepare themselves for college and entry into a never-changing job market. Career academies consist of more than a sequence of elective courses. They are places where academics are made relevant when applied in the technical world of work; a place where students belong as part of a group of other students with like interests and goals; and a place where achievement may mean earning a certification credential recognized by the industry in which they have a career interest. For all of these reasons and more, we celebrate the best of what makes career academies effective: exemplary students, teachers, and business partners. Escambia County School District and Santa Rosa County School District 2015 Career Academy Award Recipients:

Finance Industry Partner Navy Federal Credit Union Thomas Greek STEM Industry Partner University of West Florida Innovation Institute Kathy Denkler Healthcare Industry Partner West Florida Hospital Multimedia Industry Partner Matthew Coughlin Photography Manufacturing Industry Partner Northwest Florida Manufacturers Council I.T. Industry Partner Randy Ramos Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Middle School Career Academy Student of the Year Robert D. Vose I.T. Academy Woodham Middle School

Middle School Career Academy Teacher of the Year Pamela â&#x20AC;&#x153;Kimâ&#x20AC;? Ridings Robotics and Energy Academy Workman Middle School Middle School Career Academy of the Year Santa Rosa Medical Center I.T. Academy Hobbs Middle School Middle School Career Academy of the Year Health Academy Workman Middle School High School Career Academy Student of the Year Stephanie Long Digital Multimedia Academy Milton High School High School Career Academy Student of the Year Seyviana Johnson Early Childhood Education Academy Pensacola High School

Middle School Career Academy Student of the Year Dayna Beason Microsoft I.T. Academy Woodlawn Beach Middle School

High School Career Academy Teacher of the Year Heather Renfroe Academy of Multimedia Design & Technology Gulf Breeze High School

Middle School Career Academy Teacher of the Year Jennifer Hensley Microsoft I.T. Academy Woodlawn Beach Middle School

High School Career Academy Teacher of the Year Angela Irby Cybersecurity Academy Pine Forest High School

High School Career Academy of the Year Academy for Health and Medical Professions Gulf Breeze High School High School Career Academy of the Year New Media Academy Pine Forest High School High School Career Academy Student Intern of the Year Siantra Williams Gulf Power Academy West Florida High School High School Career Academy Student Intern of the Year Makenzie Madsen Pharmacy Tech Academy Locklin Tech High School Career Academy Scholar of the Year Mariah Bush Health Science Academy Booker T. Washington High School High School Career Academy Scholar of the Year Rachel Nation Aviation Academy Milton High School

Sponsored by Quint and Rishy Studer April 16, 2015

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RECORD STORE DAY

Revolver Records Owner Eric Jones / Photo by Hana Frenette

W April 16, 2015

e know itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not an actual holiday (yet), but we really think Record Store Day should be. And it pretty much is around the Inweekly office. In honor of our favorite Saturday, we decided take a trip down memory lane and wax sentimental about our favorite vintage scores and record stores and we asked one of our favorite DJs, Albert Lao, to do the same. We also rounded up the best live music happening around town to celebrate RSD, mapped out our personal wish lists and, of course, figured out where to shop.

RSD Cheat Sheet If you’re new to Record Store Day (RSD) or just need a refresher on how it works, here are the basics. RSD started in 2007 and is always celebrated on the third Saturday of April. This year, the big day will fall on April 18. RSD only happens at participating independent record stores, which means just because a store sells records, it doesn’t mean they are going to have RSD goodies. And even if a store is officially participating, there’s no guarantee they are going to have the records you want. Even though there are more participating stores and artists each year, RSD is still pretty much a gamble for stores and shoppers. Some of the releases are extremely limited, others are easier to come by, but it’s still a toss-up because the stores aren’t guaranteed anything they order. So it’s important to double check and make sure your record store of choice is actually participating in RSD and once you confirm that, you can start bugging them to order the stuff on your wish list. Before you can start making said wish list, you’ve got to do your homework and read up on the official list of RSD releases. Luckily for you, we’ve already done that and made notes. Here are some highlights from this year’s releases (in no particular order) and details on the two local shops that are officially participating in RSD this Saturday.

•Built To Spill’s new album “Untethered Moon” is being released exclusively Saturday. (CD and digital versions won’t be out until April 21) •St. Paul and the Broken Bones are releasing two live songs on a transparent crimson record that’s shaped like the state of Alabama. •Neko Case is doing a special pressing of her long out-of-print LP, “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood,” on red vinyl. •Brand New is reissuing their classic “Déjà Entendu” on 2xLP. •Father John Misty is releasing an acoustic version of ‘I Love You, Honeybear’ and ‘Never Been a Woman’ in the form of a heart-shaped 7-inch. •Mumford and Sons are issuing a hand numbered and stamped 7-inch of their new single ‘Believe.’ •Vampire Weekend are releasing 3,000 white vinyl 12-inch pressings of “Step” including the original track, remixes featuring Danny Brown, Heems, and Despot, and an instrumental version. •There are plenty of soundtracks to get excited about including AMC’s “The Walking Dead Vol. 2,” “The Darjeeling Limited” and “I’m Here”—which is short film by Spike Jonze and features tracks from Sleigh Bells and Animal Collective. •Bob Dylan’s “The Basement Tapes” will

be reissued on both mono and stereo 12inch vinyl. •Florence and The Machine will preview their upcoming album with a 12-inch twosong single. •The Decemberists will reissue “Picaresque” to mark its 10th anniversary. •Foo Fighters “Songs From The Laundry Room” will feature a demo version of ‘Big Me’ and a cover of ‘Kids In America.’

Pensacola’s Participating Stores:

RECORD STORE DAY 2015

WHEN: Saturday, April 18 DETAILS: recordstoreday.com

Can You Dig It? Every song needs a producer, every movie needs a score and every party needs a DJ. And I love being that DJ. Don’t let my boyish good looks fool you, I’ve been at it longer than you might think. My friends and I decided to start a DJ crew in high school. We would save all our money and spend it on vinyl records. I worked at the mall and right after getting my “huge” paycheck I would go to Funkytown Records in Torrance, California and get the hottest 12-inch singles for the week. I could only afford to buy four records at a time, and we would all pool our vinyl collection together and murder the house party or bar mitzvah gig with those 25 records, because that’s all we had and all we needed. As time passed, my DJing got better, my record collection became bigger and my DJ crew got a summer residency at this place called Northern Lights in Long Beach. One night the promoter brought in the local radio station and a very young DJ by the name of Vice played that night. 212 1

This was before DJ AM’s style became mainstream and Vice killed the dance floor playing everything from rock, original breaks, hip-hop and house—all vinyl. All the DJs in the booth were amazed how much he knew his music and, of course, his vinyl collection. Fast forward a couple years, I was able to get myself a residency at The Arena in Hollywood. By this point, I had every major record label sending me singles to the house, so I kind of didn’t need to go record shopping. But I still did. Every weekend. I would stop at Aron’s Records on Highland because they had the best used vinyl section in Los Angeles at the time. By then, Vice and DJ Echo gave me their secret spot for the rare records—the place was a two-hour drive and the store front was like Blue Dot before Blue Dot had signs. If you knew, you knew. Every record was $25-$50, including Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It,” which I gladly paid $30 for. Of course, technology evolved, people’s taste changed and even DJs started

Remember, these are just a few select highlights and this list is no way meant to be comprehensive—it’s not even touching the regional releases at all. Make sure you visit recordstoreday.com for the complete (and utterly overwhelming) list.

Doors open on RSD at 10 a.m. 9 E. Gregory St. facebook.com/RevolverFL

Doors open on RSD at 9 a.m 3960 W. Navy Blvd., #6 facebook.com/musicboxpensacola

By Albert Lao

to think, ‘Why spend an afternooncrate digging when you can pay something like $29.99 per month and have all the MP3s in the world neatly divided by genre in your inbox?’ It makes me sad to think this generation of DJs (and music fans in general) are going to miss out on these experiences—like tasting Junior’s Cheesecake because it just happened to be next to Beat Street Records on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn or going to different record stores in San Francisco, Atlanta, Philly and P’cola and digging with fellow music lovers. But Record Store Day reminds everyone there’s still plenty of good stuff out there and in case you’re wondering, I still DJ with two turntables and vinyl (except

it’s time coded control vinyl with Serato). It’s my little way of “keeping it real” and remembering where it all came from. And yes, I’m going record shopping Saturday— but I can’t tell you where my secret spot is. *You can catch DJ Mr. Lao every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at Seville Quarter.

inweekly.net

April 16, 2015

Playing Favorites

Photo by Hana Frenette In honor of Record Store Day, we asked some of the Inweekly team to tell us about their favorite record stores and records in general. Here’s what they said, to varying degrees of sentimental detail.

Joani

What’s your favorite record store? I’ve worked at a few and shopped at more than I can recall, but Revolver Records is hands down my No. 1. There’s just something about having a hometown shop, where the owner knows your name and what you like, that means everything in my book. I also have to give a shout out to my no. 2 and no. 3 spots: Euclid Records in my home away from home New Orleans and Vinyl Fever in Tallahassee (RIP). Do you remember the first thing you ever bought on vinyl and if so, what was it? The first record I ever owned was called “Cabbage Patch Christmas.” What can I say, it was the ’80s and I was really into my Cabbage Patch Kids. Fast forward a bit and I actually bought my first record (the other was a gift from Santa) and that was Whitney Houston’s “Whitney” (again RIP). What’s the most prized record in your collection? I have more than a few I’d never part with, but my most prized is actually that Cabbage Patch Kids record—and not because I’ve loved and cherished it my entire life. But because it somehow found it’s way back in my hands recently, after being sold in a yard sale two decades earlier. My friend Jessica was working at The Music Box at the time and randomly stumbled upon it. Thankfully my mom labeled all my music and books back in the day, because she spotted my name in the top corner and knew we had to be reunited. What’s on your RSD wish list this year? I’m dying to hear Ryan Adams’ alternate take of ‘Come Pick Me Up’ and Death Cab for Cutie’s cover of ‘Bad Reputation.’ I’d also love to score the Interpol 7-inch with artwork by Shepard Fairey, the new Built to Spill record and like every other White Stripes fan, “Get Behind Me Satan.” 414 1

Hana

What’s your favorite record store? I really love the strip of record stores/junk shops on Barrancas. One of them used to be called "The Merry Go Round," but I'm not sure if it still goes by that name anymore. There's no air conditioning though, so if you go when it's hot out, bring a towel for your upper lip. Do you remember the first thing you ever bought on vinyl and if so, what was it? Simon and Garfunkel's "Bookends." What’s the most prized record in your collection? My most prized record is definitely an old copy of Francoise Hardy's “The Yeh-Yeh Girl From Paris.” I love her and had never come across any of her records before until a couple of years ago. I was looking through some records at a street sale in Brooklyn when I saw it and was so excited that I was incapable of even pretending to play it cool and haggle with the seller. I asked how much, and they responded with "How much you got?" I gave them all the cash that was in my wallet— which was about $17. What’s on your RSD wish list this year? Bob Dylan's “The Basement Tapes,” The Darjeeling Limited soundtrack and WuTang Clan “Protect Ya Neck.”

Jason

What’s your favorite record store? This is a no-brainer. Revolver Records is extremely well run and any vinyl business I have will always go to Eric. I've also seriously spent a good portion of my life in Tom’s Records, which is now The Music Box and still a good spot. Do you remember the first thing you ever bought on vinyl and if so, what was it? The first vinyl record I purchased was my second favorite album, “Brother, Sister” by mewithoutYou on limited edition white vinyl. What’s the most prized record in your collection? My most prized record is Conway Twitty’s greatest hits, because it always makes me think of my childhood

album on vinyl. I had actually come across it one afternoon in a dusty corner of a junk shop. It was missing its cover, which I thought might be a good sign I could fool the shop owner into selling it to me for cheap. But he knew what he had. But years later my friend (and fellow Inweekly writer) Hana, by some form of voodoo or magic, found the album—cover and all—and gave it to me for Christmas. What’s on your RSD wish list this year? If you couldn’t already tell, I’m a fan of the oldies. The Sun Records compilation album, curated by Record Store Day looks great. There’s no Elvis, but there is Jennifer some Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Jerry What’s your favorite Lee Lewis. I’m also very intrigued by record store? I love “When I Reach that Heavenly Shore: walking up the Unearthly Black Gospel.” And to stairs to Central throw a random one in there, Square Records I’d love to snag the “Hedwig in Seaside. When I was 5, and the Angry Inch” Broadway You wouldn’t I was determined cast recording. I didn’t see the think that in that I would marry stage production, but I do love the middle of that movie. I can see a few solo a beach resort Elvis Presley. dance parties to “Sugar Daddy” you’d find such in my future. a neat store. I also love how friendly their staff Richard is—I once ordered a CD What’s your favorite record store? there and they held it for the Definitely Revolver Records. Eric has inentire two months it took for me to make it troduced me to some of my favorite bands back there. I’ve also had a lot of luck at Dr. over the years. Music in Fairhope. Do you remember the first thing you Do you remember the first thing you ever bought on vinyl and if so, what ever bought on vinyl and if so, what was was it? Simon and Garfunkel “Bridge over it? Michael Jackson “Thriller.” It’s a cliché Troubled Water.” for sure, but I love MJ and not in an ironic What’s the most prized record in your way, but a heartbreakingly real way. It was collection? ”Loveless” by My Bloody one of my first visits to Goodwill and the reValentine— Eric introduced them to me in cord was only $.99. I didn’t even have a record high school and they eventually became player at the time, but I had to have it. on of my favorite bands, taking me down What’s the most prized record in your a rabbit hole of a genre I never even knew collection? When I was 5, I was deterexisted. A few years ago, I was fortunate mined that I would marry Elvis Presley. In enough to find a very rare first pressing of my later years, I learned to settle for loving the album Loveless. his voice. I’ve collected a lot random Elvis What’s on your RSD wish list this year? music on vinyl, cassette tap and CD. But OFF! live 10-inch, Built To Spill “Untethe one piece that I wanted most and has thered Moon” and Bruce Springsteen’s eluded me for yeas is his debut, self-titled “Nebraska” remastered. {in}

and my grandparents. My grandma loved Twitty and I remember her crying when he died. When I procured that album, I wish she could have been there with me to spin it the first time. What’s on your RSD wish list this year? I would really like to snag the Decemberists’ re-issue of ‘Picaresque,’ Father John Misty’s ‘I Loved You, Honeybee’ on heart-shaped red vinyl, Mastodon’s ‘Atlanta’ picture disc, Metallica’s ‘No Life ‘til Leather; re-issue on cassette and The Replacement’s 10-inch EP.

inweekly.net

Alive & Live Around Town Sluggo's 5th Year Anniversary Fest If you’re excited about Record Store Day, you’ll probably be equally excited to find out that there is a lot of live music happening around town on Saturday too. Music and community is what RSD is really all about, after all.

Waxahatchee at Vinyl Music Hall

Waxahatchee, named after the Waxahatchee River in Alabama, is the solo music project of Katie Crutchfield. Crutchfield just released her third album “Ivy Tripp” this month on Merge Records. Waxahatchee will be touring with a full band and sounds substantially reminiscent of Liz Phair, later Hole and the mid-90s in general. Her show at Vinyl Music Hall with Wet Nurse and The Goodbye Party kicks off at 8 p.m.

As a general rule, you can’t (or at least you shouldn’t) talk about the local music scene and not talk about Sluggo’s. Over the years, they’ve inhabited several different spaces around Pensacola and are actually celebrating their fifth year at their Jefferson Street location this week with a five day festival featuring a mix of local and out of town bands, solo acts and DJs, plus a little karaoke thrown in for good measure. The festival will start on Thursday, April 16 and will still be going strong on RSD with Noiseheads, The Ian Quiet Band, Gar Gar, The F'n A-holes and The Alley Cats. WHERE: Sluggo’s, 101 S. Jefferson St. COST: $5 DETAILS: sluggospensacola.squarespace.com

Wet Nurse

Photo by Hannah Bozenhardt

By Hana Frenette

We had a chance to catch up with the Orlando-based garage punk band, Wet Nurse, before their RSD shows and talk about first records, cars without cassette players and playing shows in record store parking lots. “We were going to be in Pensacola anyway, for our tour with Waxahatchee,” drummer Vanessa Brewster said. “We found Eric from Revolver Records on email and just reached out and asked if he was doing any Record Store Day events.” Wet Nurse and Revolver quickly agreed on a show for Saturday and were able to procure the proper equipment for the outdoor event. “Eric from Revolver has been so helpful in making sure we had all the right equipment for the show,” Brewster said. “He even helped us find an amp.”

Anyone who regularly shops at or follows Revolver Records on Facebook knows that owner Eric Jones usually orders tons of RSD merchandise and this year is no different. In addition to the 100 or so RSD releases he’s hoping to get in, Eric also said he’s going to have plenty of freebies and swag on hand for early birds and live music later in the day. To celebrate RSD, the shop will host two bands Saturday—a local group called Splatter and Wet Nurse (who will be opening for Waxahatchee at Vinyl Music Hall later in the evening)—plus a local DJ who spins vinyl. The bands will set up in the parking lot and start around 3 p.m. But anyone who’s ever been to RSD anywhere knows the good stuff goes early, so our advice to you is to show up in the morning, shop the limited releases while they’re hot and come back in the afternoon for the live music and general shopping. WHERE: Revolver Records, 9 E. Gregory St. COST: Free (with the purchase of tons of records of course) DETAILS: facebook.com/revolverfl

WHERE: Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox COST: $12-14 DETAILS: vinylmusichall.com

In-Store Shows at Revolver Records

Wet Nurse’s quick, poppy garage punk sound will provide an energetic soundtrack for RSD shoppers to peruse the store, compare finds, share stories and swap vinyl to. The latter being a classic way many people discover their new favorite bands. “A lot of my favorite records were hand me downs from my dad—old country stuff, Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn,” Brewster said. “Those are very special to me, but then I have some newer records that are important too. We are touring with Waxahatchee and we kind of swapped records the first time we met, at a show.”

After the record exchange, a few months later Wet Nurse was contacted by Waxahatchee and invited to join their tour for the string of Florida shows. “After the Florida shows with Waxahatchee, we will be going on another tour in September, after our new album comes out,” Brewster said. ‘We’ll be going all over—Canada, the west coast and back. The last tour was great but we didn’t get to branch out as far.”Brewster and the band are excited for the tour. However, it will be different to travel in a van with no cassette player this time. “The old van had piles of them inside the doors,” Brewster said. “They are so

cheap to get, we’d pick them up all the time on tour. Maybe we can get one installed in this new van.” Wet Nurse hasn’t revealed the title of the new album, or the label that is going to release it, but they have shared that it’s going to have the same fast-paced, to-thepoint mentality as the last, but with some additional musical arrangements added to the mix. The songs will still be short, but there are a few that clock in over three minutes this time, differing from their last album where the longest song comes in at 2:47. It will be available on vinyl and cassette, for all the vehicles out there that still proudly offering a working tape deck. {in} DETAILS: facebook.com/wetnurse

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FIORE

Ears & Fingers by Jason Leger

The Mountain Goats “Beat the Champ”

John Darnielle has a gift for offering words that come to life and move on their own by being seared with experience and passion. His new album as The Mountain Goats, “Beat the Champ,” is no exception and the songwriter only seems to be gaining steam with 15 albums under his belt. “Beat the Champ” is a concept album about professional wrestling. Before you stop reading, allow me to let Darnielle explain. "These were comic book heroes who existed in physical space. I was a child. I needed them, and every week, they came through for me." There are few

THURSDAY 4.16

WINE TASTING AT AWM 5 p.m. Try something new every week at Aragon Wine Market’s regular wine tasting, only a few blocks from downtown. Aragon Wine Market, 27 S. 9th Ave. aragonwinemarket.com RODNEY ATKINS 7 p.m. Fish House Deck, 600 S. Barracks St. Free with a donation for Manna Food Pantry. fishhousepensacola.com SLUGGO’S ANNIVERSARY FEST

Sluggo’s is celebrating fi ve years at their downtown location with a fi ve day fest. Day one kicks of with a Jaclyn Kerry, Dalton Wright, Jupiter Machine, Al Mirabella, Travis Noonan, Dull Actors, jarrodreiss, Kid Eternity and Kevin Lawson. Sluggo’s, 101 S. Jefferson St. $5 sluggospensacola.com.

April 16, 2015

collections of sentences I understand as well as that one. Wrestling was something I could lose myself in when I was a kid, and it was a means of connecting with my grandpa because we would watch it together. Darnielle’s experience was obviously extremely similar. However, while I sat with my grandpa and watched, Darnielle’s stepfather, a frequent source of terror in his songs and apparently his childhood, would root for the villains and make fun of Darnielle and his love for the heroes. Asshole, right? Well, “He was my hero back when I was a kid. You let me down, but Chavo never once did. You called him names to try and get beneath my skin. Now your ashes are scattered on the wind,” is Darnielle’s brutal response to his stepfather’s chiding of him and his hero, from the album’s lead single, ‘The Legend of Chavo Guerrero.’ All that considered, to think this album focuses on Darnielle’s relationship with his stepfather would be missing the point. “Beat the Champ” is about a select group of people who don’t normally get the recognition they deserve as heroes or as athletes. Everyone knows Hulk Hogan. Everyone knows the Macho Man. Today a lot of people know Seth Rollins, John Cena and The Rock. Those are household names. This album isn’t about them either. This album is about the guys who traveled from town to town without the

FRIDAY 4.17

WINE TASTING 5-7 p.m. Out and about in East Hill on Friday night? Stop by City Grocery for their free weekly wine tasting before settling in or heading out for the night. City Grocery, 2050 N. 12th Ave. COUPLES COOK: SUSHI TECHNIQUES 7-9 p.m. Learn how to

make your own sushi with your partner. Feel free to bring your own wine. Pensacola Cooks, 3670 Barrancas Ave. $50. pensacolacooks.com “21” WITH KATIE BYL 7 p.m. In the early 1990s, the MIT Black Jack Team mastered the art of card counting and took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings. Their story was told in the hit film “21”. Katie Byl, a member of the team, will tell stories of the real MIT Black Jack team on which the movie is based,

promise of much money or fame, strictly for love of the sport and entertaining the few fans they may have garnered. This album is about the guys who lived and died doing what they loved and helped other people to love it too. This album is about the heroes who were there for little boys and girls who needed them to be every week. Professional wrestling was an important part of my childhood, as well as Darnielle’s, and we aren’t ashamed of that because it helped to make us who we are and helped to teach us right from wrong. We are eternally grateful, and “Beat the Champ” is The Mountain Goats’ poignant aural offering at the altar of the sport. “Beat the Champ” is out now via Merge Records.

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pressed & dried floral art

gardens

jewelry wine champagne candles unique gifts

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holiday decor

cake stands weddings classes & demonstrations Deliveries Daily

TRACK OF THE WEEK:

Tyler, the Creator ‘Deathcamp’

The recent outpouring of great hip-hop from Kendrick, Action Bronson and Earl Sweatshirt continued last week with the announcement of a new album, “Cherry Bomb,” from Tyler, the Creator. The announcement also came with two new tracks, ‘Deathcamp’ and ‘F*cking Young/ Perfect,’ as well as an app created by Tyler called Golf Media. Stream both songs over at Tyler, the Creator’s Soundcloud page and snag “Cherry Bomb,” which is out (shocker) now via Odd Future/Sony RED Records. {in}

and then there will be a special screening of the movie. Pensacola MESS Hall, 116 N. Tarragona St. $5. pensacolamesshall.org GALLERY NIGHT 5-9 p.m. Stroll through downtown Pensacola and experience an eclectic array of music, art and cuisine. Explore galleries and businesses featuring the works of local artists. downtownpensacola. com SLUGGO’S ANNIVERSARY FEST

Day two of Sluggo’s five day anniversary fest featuring Mad Happy, Flossie and the Fox and Cookies and Cake. There will also be a vintage trunk showcase before the show. Sluggo’s, 101 S. Jefferson St. $5. sluggospensacola.com

SATURDAY 4.18

JUSTICE JOG & STREET PARTY

8 a.m. All proceeds from the

Free Parking

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850.469.1930

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event will benefit the Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz Justice Foundation scholarship fund for local seniors. Following the race there will be a family friendly street part with a free Budweiser beer garden, food and a kids zone. AWKO Building, 17 E. Main St. #200. $15-$25. active.com PENSACOLA HUMANE SOCIETY BATHE-IN 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Bathe-

ins offer low-cost dog bathing, grooming, nail-clipping and flea dips. Prices vary based on dog’s weight. Proceeds provide a substantial portion of the shelter’s revenue. Pensacola Humane Society, 5 N. Q St. pensacolahumane.org PALAFOX MARKET 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Fresh produce, live plants, baked goods, fine art and antiques are just a few of the items offered at the weekly Palafox Market. Items originate 17

calendar directly from participating vendors, including dozens of local farmers, home gardeners and area artists. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza, N. Palafox. palafoxmarket.com EARTH DAY PENSACOLA 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Eco-conscious vendors and exhibits, children’s activities, art, live music, speakers presenting on topics related to green living are part of Pensacola’s annual Earth Day celebration. Bayview Park, 2001 E. Lloyd St. Free and open to the public. earthdaypensacola.org RESTORE DIY CLASS 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Pensacola Habitat for Humanity DIYers will teach participants how to distress furniture and create the “shabby chic” look. Pensacola ReStore, 5810 N. Palafox. pensacolahabitat.org JR. CHEFS: SPRINGTIME TREATS 2 p.m. This week’s class will make carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, as well as golden and marbled eggs. Ages 6-9. Pensacola Cooks, 3670 Barrancas Ave. $20. pensacolacooks.com SR. CHEFS: SPRINGTIME SALADS & TREATS

4 p.m. This week’s class will make springthemed salads with homemade dressings, carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and golden and marbled eggs. Ages 10-12. Pensacola Cooks, 3670 Barrancas Ave. $25. pensacolacooks.com MESS HALL RAISES THE STAKES 7 p.m. A casino-themed fundraiser, where guests will explore probability and random chance in a

fun environment. In addition to traditional casino games, the MESS Hall will have special games of luck highlighting different areas of math and science. Katie Byl, a member of the MIT Black Jack team that the movie “21” was based on, will be on hand all evening to teach guests the fundamentals of black jack and card counting. Pensacola MESS Hall, 116 N. Tarragona St. $35 (includes starting supply of chips). pensacolamesshall.org SISTER HAZEL 7:30 p.m. With Lewis Brice. Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox. $15-20. vinylmusichall.com THE FLEX 8:45 p.m. With Red Death, Wrists Grow Cold, Dope Fiend and Crisis Point. The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. pensacolahandlebar.com WAXAHATCHEE 8 p.m. With The Goodbye Party and Wet Nurse. Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox. $12-14. vinylmusichall.com SLUGGO’S ANNIVERSARY FEST Day three of Sluggo’s fi ve day anniversary fest featuring Noiseheads, The Ian Quiet Band, Gar Gar, The F’n A-holes and The Alley Cats. Sluggo’s, 101 S. Jefferson St. $5. sluggospensacola.com

SUNDAY 4.19

$25. vinylmusichall.com

BREAK AWAY 9 p.m. With Malice At The

Palace, Point Blank, Saul and Face It. The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. $10. pensacolahandlebar.com SLUGGO’S ANNIVERSARY FEST Day four of Sluggo’s fi ve day anniversary fest featuring Sydnei Mickel, Serious Sam Barret, Pinehill Haints, Dicks from Mars, I’m An Intestine, Company of Ghosts and Rezolve. Sluggo’s, 101 S. Jefferson St. $5. sluggospensacola.com

MONDAY 4.20

COOKING FROM THE HERB GARDEN WITH CAT MCCREEERY 5-6:30 p.m. Menu is based

on the freshest ingredients from Cat’s heirloom garden. The meal prepared in this hands-on class always includes a main dish with side and a dessert. You are welcome to bring wine to the class for no additional charge. Pensacola Cooks, 3670 Barrancas Ave. $25. pensacolacooks.com SLUGGO’S ANNIVERSARY FEST The fi nal day of Sluggo’s fi ve day anniversary fest featuring DJ PJ and karaoke with everybody’s favorite lady hip-hop duo Cookies and Cake. Sluggo’s, 101 S. Jefferson St. $5. sluggospensacola.com

SUNDAY NIGHT LIVE 7 p.m. A fusion of po-

etry, R&B And old school hip hop, featuring JUKEBOX in an encore of The Rebirth of Love Jones. Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox.

TUESDAY 4.21

TUESDAY NIGHT POETRY NIGHT 7 p.m.

Free open mic poetry event every Tuesday.

Sluggo’s Vegetarian Restaurant, 101 S. Jefferson St. facebook.com/TNPNS BANDS ON THE BEACH 7 p.m. Category 4 will perform at this week’s Bands on the Beach— which is a free outdoor concert series featuring regional artists held every Tuesday night through Oct. 27. Gulfside Pavilion at Casino Beach, 735 Pensacola Beach Blvd. visitpensacolabeach.com DANCECRAFT SWING CLASS 7:30-9 p.m. This class teaches the skills necessary to become a practitioner of West Coast Swing, a popular partner dance that can be enjoyed with virtually any kind of music. Additional classes and a social dance are held each Wednesday for a chance to put your skills to use. Tuesday class fee is $10 per person or free for people 30 years of age and younger. DanceCraft, 8618 Pensacola Blvd. dancecraftfl.com

WEDNESDAY 4.22

WEST COAST WEDNESDAYS 6:30 p.m. Learn the West Coast Swing at this weekly class, which is followed by a social dance at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday classes are $10 per person and the social dance is $5 per. DanceCraft, 8618 Pensacola Blvd. dancecraftfl.com IT LIES WITHIN 8:30 p.m. With Nevada Rose, Scream Out Loud, Forever War, Calamity and Safe Harbor. The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. $10. pensacolahandlebar.com

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calendar Bars and Nightlife

≥bar games Thursdays

POKER 8 p.m. The

Ticket 1, 7250 Plantation Rd., ticketsportsbar.com

POOL TOURNAMENT

8 p.m. The Ticket 2, 2115 W. 9 Mile Rd., ticketsportsbar.com Fridays

DRAG BINGO 6-8 p.m. Ages 21 and over. Emerald City’s The Other Side, 406 E. Wright St. emeraldcitypensacola.com

POOL TOURNAMENT

8 p.m. The Ticket 1, 7250 Plantation Rd., ticketsportsbar.com Mondays

TEXAS HOLD ‘EM FOR FUN AND TRIVIA

7 p.m. The Sandshaker Lounge, 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd. sandshaker. com TRIVIA NIGHT 7-9

p.m. World of Beer, 200 S. Palafox. wobusa.com/locations/Palafox BAR BINGO 8 p.m. Apple Annie’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com MONDAY NIGHT TRIVIA 9:30-10:30

p.m. Mugs and Jugs, 12080 Scenic Highway. facebook.com/ MugsJugs Tuesdays

TUESDAY TRIVIA 8

p.m. The Bridge Bar and Sunset Lounge, 33 Gulf Breeze Parkway. facebook. com/thebridgebargb

TICKET TEAM TRIVIA

8 p.m. The Ticket 1, 7250 Plantation Rd., ticketsportsbar.com POKER 8 p.m. The Ticket 2, 2115 W. 9 Mile Rd., ticketsportsbar.com DRAG BINGO 10 p.m.-Midnight. Ages 18 and over.

Emerald City’s The Other Side, 406 E. Wright St. emeraldcitypensacola.com Wednesdays

PUB TRIVIA NIGHT

7-9:30 p.m. Goat Lips Beer Garden, 2811 Copter Road. facebook.com/ goatlipsdeli

WEDNESDAY QUIZ TRIVIA 8 p.m. The

Cabaret, 101 S. Jefferson St. cabaretpensacola.com TICKET BAR BINGO

8 p.m. The Ticket 1, 7250 Plantation Rd., ticketsportsbar.com TEAM TRIVIA 8 p.m. Hopjacks. 10 S. Palafox. hopjacks. com BAR BINGO 10 p.m. Play, 16 S. Palafox, Suite 200. iplaypensacola.com

Saturdays

Hub Stacey’s Downtown, 9 p.m. 312 E. Government St. hubstaceys.com Sundays

Lili Marlene’s at Seville Quarter, 8 p.m. 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter. com The Sandshaker Lounge, 9 p.m. 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd. sandshaker. com Mondays

≥karaoke Thursdays

ville Quarter, 8 p.m. 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter. com. The Cabaret, 9 p.m. 101 S. Jefferson St. cabaretpensacola. com Hub Stacey’s At the Point, 9 p.m. 5851 Galvez Road. hubstaceys.com

VFW Post 706, 6 p.m. 5000 Lillian Highway. vfw706.org Lili Marlene’s at Se-

The Cabaret, 9 p.m. 101 S. Jefferson St. 607-2020 or cabaretpensacola.com Tuesdays

The Sandshaker Lounge, 8 p.m. 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd. sandshaker. com Play, 9 p.m. 16 S. Palafox, Suite 200. iplaypensacola.com

≥live music

THURSDAY 4.16

BEN LOFTIN 6 p.m. Peg Leg Pete’s, 1010 Ft. Pickens Rd, peglegpetes.com BRYAN LEE 6 p.m. Paradise Bar and Grille, 21 Via De Luna Dr. paradisebar.com JOHNNY BARBATO AND KEN SMITH

6:00 p.m. Hub Stacey’s Downtown, 312 E. Government St. hubstaceys.com LUCAS CRUTCHFIELD 6 P.M. The

Deck, 600 S. Barracks St. fishhousepensacola. com TYLER MAC BAND

8 p.m. The Sandshaker Lounge, 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd. sandshaker. com. PETE O’DEA 9 p.m. Traditional Irish Folk. McGuire’s Irish Pub, 600 E. Gregory St. mcguiresirishpub. com CORNBRED 9 p.m. Rock ‘n Roll. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com

FRIDAY 4.17

LUCAS CRUTCHFIELD 5 P.M. The

Deck, 600 S. Barracks St. fishhousepensacola. com BRYAN LEE 6 p.m. Paradise Bar and Grille, 21 Via De Luna Dr. paradisebar.com DAVE AND JOE SHOW 6 p.m. Peg

Leg Pete’s, 1010 Ft. Pickens Rd, peglegpetes.com

THE BLENDERS 8:30

p.m. Hub Stacey’s Downtown, 312 E. Government St. hubstaceys.com PETE O’DEA 9 p.m. Traditional Irish Folk. McGuire’s Irish Pub, 600 E. Gregory St. mcguiresirishpub.com CORNBRED 9 p.m. Rock ‘n Roll. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com HIGH HORSE 9 p.m. Rock ‘n Roll. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com TRUNK MONKEY

9 p.m. The Sandshaker Lounge, 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd. sandshaker. com

SATURDAY 4.18 THE NOUVEAUX HONKIES 6 p.m.

Paradise Bar and Grille, 21 Via De Luna Dr. paradisebar.com DAVID MEDOWS 6 p.m. Peg Leg Pete’s, 1010 Ft. Pickens Rd, peglegpetes.com PETE O’DEA 9 p.m. Traditional Irish Folk. McGuire’s Irish Pub, 600 E. Gregory St. mcguiresirishpub.com CORNBRED 9 p.m. Rock ‘n Roll. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com HIGH HORSE 9 p.m. Rock ‘n Roll. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com TRUNK MONKE Y 9 p.m. The Sandshaker Lounge, 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd. sandshaker. com

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VISAGE An exhibition by BFA candidates that uses various media to portray the human form March 23-April 24, 2015 at Gallery 88 UWF’s BFA exhibition Visage will feature student artists Jaime Diffee, Elizabeth Guerry, Jasmine Holmes, Kenneth Jordon, Lexie Reames, and Jenea Wood.

Join us on Wednesday, April 22nd at Tree House Cinema in Gulf Breeze beginning at 5:30 p.m. with a reception to be followed by a viewing of Plastic Paradise. The film will be followed by a panel discussion discussing plastics in the environment, impacts, to other species, and our health. Tickets are required for this event and can be obtained at link: https://eventbrite.com/ event/16344493821/. This event is being brought to you in partnership with Earth Day Pensacola, Taylor, Warren, & Weidner, Earth Ethics, League of Women Voters, and Florida Clean Water Network.

For more information visit

www.earthdaypensacola.org

11000 University Parkway, Bldg. 88, Pensacola, FL | 850.474.2787 April 16, 2015

culture

by Emily Richey

Card Counting and Robots

Katie Byl / Courtesy Photo “I’m incredibly risk averse.” This is not a phrase you expect to hear from a woman who used to be a player on the famously successful MIT Blackjack Team. Katie Byl, now a member of the UC Santa Barbara Electrical Computer and Engineering faculty, played on the team in the early 1990’s, when she was known as Katie Lilienkamp. So how does someone who doesn’t like taking risks end up as a professional gambler? Byl, who now works in robotics, has a passion for solutions, and blackjack conveniently has one—card counting. While the technique isn’t for the dimwitted, the MIT Blackjack team consisted of generation after generation of brilliant minds, and made millions of dollars in winnings throughout the 80’s and 90’s. In 2008 a movie was made about the team, called “21” starring Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, and Kate Bosworth. “The movie is more of less completely made up.” Byl remarks, in terms of charac-

successful investors (like the people on to help figure out optimal strategy and the MIT Blackjack Team) and innovative calculate how the odds change as the cards engineers.” in the deck change. After she completed While Byl no longer plays blackjack, this, she wrote more software that worked she has taken that perspective into her as a simulation and allowed her to practice current career in robotics. Right now, in playing and betting. collaboration with Jet Propulsion Labs “I even wrote software just to assist in (JPL) in California, she is currently working creating card faces for the game. I love the on a four-legged, ape-inspired robot called idea of being able to figure out things and RoboSimian. Her team is competing in the find clever solutions.” DARPA Robotics challenge this June, which A new team started when Byl was 22, is a contest inspired by the need for better and finally of age, she jumped on board. robots for humanitarian disaster reports. The initiation process for becoming a “You shouldn’t look at life as a choice member was extremely rigorous, enough in fact that it turned many people away. There between being practical and having fun. Blackjack definitely combined both for me, were multiple classroom exams, and then and robotics does, as well.” one big final exam at the casino. Initiates Her work in robotics is not just fun and would receive envelopes containing $5,000 in the parking lot, and then enter the casino games though, and in this way Byl has come a long way from her days of high-stakes and play for several hours. gambling. Byl, one of the few to make it through “At the end of the day, the real probthe intense process, then played on the lems we have with 7 billion people on team for eight years. They considered the planet are going to require physical themselves the “Next Generation,” and solutions. Part of the beauty of being a proironically enough, always joked about “The fessional gambler is that you intentionally Movie” and “The Book” that would be divorce yourself from those sort of impactmade about their experiences. (Both of related consequences—you are not part of which happened.) When players became the problem, but you are also not part of a skilled enough, and had amassed the solution.” {in} wealth necessary, they would sometimes start their own teams, so that there were multiple teams playing at the same time. They became so advanced that they employed several different WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday, April 17 techniques for beating blackWHERE: Pensacola MESS Hall, 116 N. Tarragona St. jack, other than “card countCOST: $5 ing,” and ultimately made a DETAILS: pensacolamesshall.org fortune in winnings. On their success Byl notes, “I think there must be a certain WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday , April 18 combination of having an WHERE: Pensacola MESS Hall, 116 N. Tarragona St. analytical mind and thinking COST: $35 probabilistically, with an ability DETAILS: pensacolamesshall.org to weather short-term defeats with an eye toward long-term goals, that characterizes both

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ter relationships and story line, but she doesn’t blame Hollywood. “Trying to capture the details of the real team would require something more like “Game of Thrones”with complicated characters, continually entering and exiting a captivating-yetwandering plot line. At any given time, there were roughly twenty people on the team.” Despite her success in college, Byl didn’t come from a high-rolling background. She grew up in Ashland, Virginia, where her dad was a professor of philosophy and her mom was an accountant. While neither of her parents were big gamblers, they did have mathematical leanings. “My parents were both pretty analytical—my mom was an accountant, and my dad always enjoyed estimating the odds-from playing bridge to tracking baseball statistics and handicapping horse races.” Around the same time as Byl was taking day trips with her father to bet on horse racing in Charles Town, West Virginia, Atlantic City was making moves to legalize gambling. It was the mid-70’s, and the first generation of the MIT Blackjack Team was also in the process of forming. “Atlantic City was within driving distance for students who had read Ed Thorpe’s ‘Beat the Dealer’ and wanted to try card counting for themselves. By the time I came to MIT in the late 1980’s, the first generation MIT Blackjack Team players were already pretty well-recognized in the casinos.” Byl found out about the team freshman year through a boyfriend. After hearing stories of the epic success of the original team and becoming good friends with some of the current players, she began to teach herself the game. While she was still too young to play at the casino at this point, she primed herself by developing software

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news of the weird THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY On Feb. 9 a single traffic stop in Alderson, West Virginia, resulted in the arrest of six people from the same family, trafficking in stolen power tools (including one man who traded a leaf blower, hedge trimmer and weed trimmer for Percocet pills). However, a month later, members of an even more charm WAIT, WHAT? Several theaters in Denmark reported in March that they had begun adding subtitles -- to Danishlanguage films, because so many customers complained that the dialogue was incomprehensible. Apparently, it is widely known that spoken Danish is harder to understand than the written, but Copenhagen's website The Local reported that actors had rebelled at improving their diction, claiming that their "mumbling" adds "realism" to the films. ATTENTION TO DETAIL Major League pitcher Max Scherzer, new this season to the Washington Nationals, informed manager Matt Williams in March, according to a New York Times report, that he requires assistance when he warms up during daily practice sessions. He spoke of the importance of simulating actual game conditions, and since Scherzer is a starting pitcher, he needed someone to stand beside him and hum "The Star-Spangled Banner" before he begins his practice pitching. PERSPECTIVE Lawyers Brendan and Nessa Coppinger live in a Washington, D.C., row house next door to a tobacco user, whose smoke seeps into their unit, and (especially since Nessa is pregnant) the Coppingers have filed a $500,000 lawsuit against the neighbor. However, the anti-corruption website Republic Report found that one of Nessa Coppinger's clients is Suncoke Energy, which is being sued by four Ohio residents who allege that Suncoke does to them what Cop-

by Chuck Shepherd

pinger's neighbor does to her and her fetus. (Suncoke's "clouds or haze," containing particulates of lead, mercury, arsenic, chromium, creosote, coal tar pitch and other alarming substances, allegedly threatens the neighbors' health and property values.) QUINTESSENTIAL AUSTRALIA In March, the Simoneau family in a town near Australia's Sunshine Coast at first considered the three-foot-long slitherer to be one of the country's ubiquitous snakes, but the home invader was moving very slowly and, it turned out, was merely from one of those hair-raising Australian species -- gigantic earthworms. (2) Dogs and cats, as well as wild animals searching for food, sometimes show up with their heads caught in fences, buckets or food containers (and, to avoid starvation, need to be freed by helpful humans). In a suburb of Adelaide, in March, a deadly Eastern brown snake turned up needing similar aid, but it being Australia, its head was stuck in a beer can.

LEAST COMPETENT CRIMINALS Didn't Go As Planned: (1) Surveillance cameras revealed a man with a gun inside the Circle K in Palm Bay, Florida, on Jan. 31. Since the clerk was in the back, with the cash register locked, the man decided to wait for him -- for 17 seconds, according to the video -- but then, impatient, fled empty-handed. (2) According to a February Ormond Beach, Florida, police report, Matthew Semione, 26, handed a holdup note (implying that he was armed) to a Sun Trust bank teller, who walked away to get money. Semione grew weary of waiting and left empty-handed, but was arrested minutes later.

Reception: Assorted Butler Passed Hors D’Oeuvres JCB No. 21 Brut Sparkling Wine JCB No. 69 Brut Rose Sparkling Wine 1st Course: Herbed Lobster Risotto, Creamy Roast Pepper Puree, Truffled Toast Points 2011 Buena Vista Carneros Chardonnay 2nd Course: Slow Cooked Pork Tostadas, Avocado Crema, Smoked Pico de Gallo 2010 Buena Vista Carneros Pinot Noir

3rd Course: Iron Seared Harris Ranch Hangar Steak, Parmesan Hasselback Potatoes, Wilted Spinch 2011 Buena Vista Carneros Merlot 4th Course: Bittersweet Ghirardelli Chocolate Flan, Toasted Almond Dust 2013 Buena Vista “The Count” Red Blend

Send your weird news to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa, Fla., 33679 or weirdnews@earthlink.net, or go to newsoftheweird.com

April 16, 2015

SUMMER COURSES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA ARE CONVENIENT, ACCESSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE. Short Terms in 6 Weeks or Full Term in 13 Weeks • In-Person or Online • Financial Aid Available for Qualified UWF Students

HAVE A STUDENT HOME FOR THE SUMMER? Did you know they can take summer courses and transfer credits back to any public university or state/community college in Florida? For more information visit the Florida Virtual Campus website at flvc.org.

UWF.EDU/SUMMER Independent News | April 16, 2015 | inweekly.net