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VIEWS

EDITOR’S NOTE

DON’T COUNT ON LOUISVILLE TO BE A SANCTUARY CITY

By Scott Recker | leo@leoweekly.com

In 2019, Metro Council passed an ordinance making investigations, citations and arrests of adults over 21 years old possessing a half ounce of marijuana or less “the city’s lowest law enforcement priority, without superseding existing state or federal law.”

In other words, a suggestion to the police.

A pinky promise to the public.

In a WFPL article titled “LMPD Says Marijuana Decriminalization Ordinance May Not Change Much,” a sponsor of the ordinance, then-District 8 Councilperson Brandon Coan, said: “The officer should confiscate that drug, but send that person on their way instead of putting them through the criminal justice system, and leaving that person with a mark on the record and something that could impact their lives and their family’s life.”

But, in the same story, Jessie Halladay, a spokeswoman for the Louisville Metro Police Department, said that the department would follow state law. “I’m not sure exactly that you would see any major changes by this department and how they operate because we follow the state statute,” she said.

In 2019, County Attorney Mike O’Connell announced that his office would stop prosecuting people for possession of less than one ounce of marijuana for those over 21 and not in possession of a firearm.

In several police citations reviewed by LEO Weekly over the last eight months, Louisville citizens are still being charged with possession of small amounts of marijuana and police are still using the smell of marijuana as probable cause during traffic stops. In one case, a woman who did not show up to her court case for possession of marijuana had a bench warrant put out for her arrest, although her case was ultimately dismissed after she eventually showed up to court. Had she interacted with a police officer while the bench warrant was out, she would have likely ended up in the city’s troubled jail.

O’Connell’s move was pretty progressive, but why are cases even still getting to the court system? It’s likely because that Metro Council ordinance is weak, and is given little respect by police.

And maybe that encapsulates the heartbeat of Louisville politics — symbolic talk and actions, but very little progressive bite.

So, as we enter uncharted territory with a

cruel abortion ban, it’s hard to take the calls for sanctuary, and the murmurings about a Metro Council ordinance, seriously.

When Democratic mayoral nominee Craig Greenberg recently said that if he is elected mayor, Louisville police “will not be the enforcement arm of a ban on reproductive healthcare, be it abortion or other medical decisions,” it’s hard to actually believe.

In a statement to LEO Weekly, Jefferson

County Commonwealth’s Attorney Tom Wine said that the potential investigation and prosecution of abortion law violations could go forward even if LMPD is told not to pursue such cases.

It’s going to be a long and tedious fight.

But, if there’s going to be a pro-choice victory, it will likely come from activist groups in court, and not from city officials. •

MARC MURPHY

AFTER the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade triggered Kentucky’s absolutely horrifying and absurd abortion ban, there’s been a lot of talk about how the city of Louisville can stand in defiance.

To what degree do our leaders have to enforce the law?

Can we become a sanctuary city?

But, the real question might be: Do city officials actually have the guts to stand in unison against the state and/or federal government?

Recent history suggests no.

When similar-size metros across the country declared themselves as sanctuary cities in 2017, refusing to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as then-President Donald Trump intensified deportations, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer used more careful and vague language.

He called Louisville “compassionate” and “welcoming.” He claimed that Louisville police already didn’t work with ICE. He downplayed the term sanctuary.

“This term sanctuary city has become very politically divisive, and obviously, there is no one place that you register to become a sanctuary city,” the CourierJournal reported Fischer saying in January 2017 at a pro-immigration rally outside the Muhammad Ali Center.

Months later, in the fall of that year, a story from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting revealed that the LMPD responded to at least 23 requests for assistance from ICE in 2017.

The city government scrambled after the news broke, and Fischer announced there would be policy changes.

In 2017, Metro Council passed an ordinance saying that LMPD officers cannot work with ICE agents unless a judge signs a warrant or if there’s a risk of danger to the public.

Although, under the ordinance, city employees are still allowed to provide information to ICE and other agencies.

Some advocates thought it fell short, that it was only partially protective and still had holes.

But, either way, people suffered because of a lack of action at the beginning of the problem. The hesitancy to defy the Trump administration, the fear of losing federal funds, caused citizens confusion and harm.

LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

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VIEWS

THE MIDWESTERNIST

PREPARE FOR THE NEW WAR ON DRUGS

By Dan Canon | leo@leoweekly.com

IN 2014, a Phoenix cop killed 34-year-old Rumain Brisbon.

Police got a tip that Brisbon was selling drugs, so they went to find him. When Brisbon tried to pull what officers said they thought was a gun from his pocket, they opened fire.

Only he didn’t have a gun at all — just a bottle of Oxycodone.

This is not an unusual story for anyone paying attention to the news in America over the last 50 years. Brisbon was one of countless casualties of our ill-conceived War on Drugs. We will occasionally catch the names of collateral damage — Breonna Taylor is a notable example — but for the most part, we’ve accepted the constant buzz of unnecessary assault, state-sanctioned home invasions, robbery and death as background noise. The War on Drugs is a war, after all, and we can’t be expected to monitor every injustice of a war, can we?

By now, it is widely accepted that the American drug war has been a colossal failure. Mainstream conservatives like the Koch brothers admit that our continued obsession with drug crime has had “huge negative manifestations, not only for the individuals who get trapped in that system, but also for society.” Even the most fringe of GOP fascist loonies support legalization of cannabis. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll see drug incarceration rates continue to fall.

Ah, but the prisons are still standing, and the prisons demand bodies.

Enter the War on Abortion. Elective abortion is now functionally illegal in more than 20 states. In those states, the mechanisms used to keep providers in check will be those we utilize to deal with all other crimes: police, courts and prisons. At a bare minimum, we can expect that those caught aiding and abetting anyone who seeks abortion care are going to have their houses raided by SWAT teams, their personal affects scattered about, their bodies twisted and mangled, their pets killed and their freedom summarily revoked. The patients themselves are not safe either, no matter how much mainstream antichoice groups say that they have “never advocated for penalties for women.”

Women have already been charged with murder, feticide and manslaughter for miscarriages. We’ll see more of that.

But do we think these bodies, without more, will meet the needs of the insatiable criminal-industrial complex? Surely not. A War on Abortion, like a War on Drugs, is an everexpanding concept, something that adapts so as to claim as many victims as possible. Even now, the idea that IUDs and Plan B should fall into the category of “abortion” has worked itself into mainstream conservative thought. And if those are valid targets of the War on Abortion, why not synthetic estrogen and progesterone pills? Why not spermicidal lubricant? Why not barrier methods like diaphragms and condoms? Why not onanism?

God forbid the feds get in on this, but if the GOP ever takes control of both houses of Congress again, that’s exactly what will happen. Now that the courts are out of the way, nothing stops a Republican Congress from passing a

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50-state ban on abortion that will supersede whatever “safeharbor” laws blue states put in place. Then the antichoice movement will have fully co-opted the machinery used to create so much misery during the Drug War Era. You can be sure they will use it. Perhaps the FBI will form an Abortion Crimes Task Force. Perhaps the Customs and Border Patrol will establish an elite Abortion Travel Enforcement unit. Perhaps an entirely new agency, like the DEA, will be necessary to police all the “abortion” happening everywhere — a Reproduction Enforcement Agency.

A new war on American soil will help ensure the continued employment of the boys in blue, too. If millions of law enforcement officers could be conscripted into kicking in doors to private homes and killing people over a bag of marijuana or a bottle of Xanax, it should be even easier to find soldiers in the War on Abortion. What nobler cause could there be than saving innocent babies?

Like their drug warrior predecessors, these abortion warriors will make sure the prisons stay full for yet another generation.

Back in 1989, Justice Thurgood Marshall denounced what he called the “drug exception to the Constitution,” referring to the idea that the courts tend to turn the other way when individuals fall victim to the nebulous crusade of the War on Drugs. The Bill of Rights, international human rights standards, our communities’ norms and mores, any basic notions of decency; these are all pushed aside to make way for the mass grave we’ve dug in the name of stamping out narcotics. There is every

reason to think that the same atrocities — and worse — will happen when the government fully commits to the War on Abortion. There is no fantasy too dystopian, no prediction too bleak, no outlook too pessimistic for what lies ahead.

The cop who shot Rumain Brisbon never faced criminal charges for his death. I never heard Brisbon’s name until I sat down to write this, or if I did, I don’t remember it. I likely will have forgotten it again by next week. When the War on Abortion claims its casualties from the periphery of what reasonable people might call “abortion,” will we care any more than we did during the War on Drugs? When the 100th person is shot grasping a bottle of birth control pills, will we remember her name? It seems unlikely. • Dan Canon is a civil rights lawyer and law professor.

His book “Pleading Out: How Plea Bargaining Creates a Permanent Criminal Class” is available for preorder wherever you get your books.

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NEWS & ANALYSIS

THE STATE OF ABORTION IN KENTUCKY THE “TRIGGER BAN” HAS CREATED A LOT OF QUESTIONS. HERE’S WHERE THINGS STAND.

By Josh Wood | jwood@leoweekly.com

THE WORST, BEST & MOST ABSURD THORN: KENTUCKY’S ABORTION BAN With the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade, a law went into place in Kentucky banning abortion even in cases of rape or incest. Even in cases of rape or incest. Similarly, there are no carve-outs for age of the individual or viability of the fetus. This is how Kentucky’s Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman summed up the impact on the Commonwealth at the time: “Today’s Supreme Court ruling means that now in Kentucky, a 12-year-old girl who is raped and impregnated by her father, has no options.”

THORN: BIDEN’S ANTI-ABORTION JUDGE PICK FOR KENTUCKY Just days after the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade gave Kentucky a law that would be at home in Gilead, a massive scoop by the Courier Journal revealed that President Joe Biden was planning to nominate a conservative anti-abortion lawyer for a life-long appointment as a federal judge in Kentucky. Even more grating: An additional scoop by the CJ showed that the nomination was set to take place on June 24, the same day as the Supreme Court Roe v. Wade reversal.

A protest in downtown Louisville following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. | PHOTO BY KATHRYN HARRINGTON.

WITH the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade on June 24, Kentucky’s strict “trigger ban” outlawing abortion (even in cases of rape and incest) went into effect.

The law, which only allows abortion in cases where a pregnant individual’s life is in jeopardy, also carries criminal penalties for people who perform abortions or provide medications to terminate a pregnancy.

Abortion providers and their advocates quickly launched a lawsuit against the ban and a separate law that barred abortions if cardiac activity was detected. On June 30, nearly a week after abortions ceased in Kentucky, a Louisville judge granted a temporary restraining order allowing abortions to restart. On July 6, a hearing will be held on whether the hold on the law will continue while the lawsuit is litigated.

After the Supreme Court’s deci-

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THORNS & ROSES

LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

sion upended nearly five decades of precedent, LEO Weekly took a look at some of the key issues surrounding Kentucky’s abortion ban.

WHERE DO THINGS STAND NOW?

By the time you’re reading this, it’s likely that either a temporary block of the law is in place or abortion is again illegal in Kentucky.

A hearing slated for July 6 is set to determine whether abortions will continue while Kentucky’s abortion laws are challenged in court or whether the abortion ban will be reinstated as litigation continues.

IF THE BAN REMAINS IN PLACE, WHERE WILL THE NEAREST PLACE TO GET AN ABORTION BE? According to the pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute, in the

aftermath of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, all of Kentucky’s neighbors save for Illinois and Virginia are set to ban or severely restrict abortion.

Assuming Kentucky’s abortion ban goes forward and abortion bans are also in place in Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee, the closest place to Louisville to get an abortion will likely be southern Illinois.

Abortion providers in states where abortion is anticipated to remain legal are preparing for influxes.

Earlier this year, the Tennesseebased Choices abortion clinic announced it would be opening a branch in the southern Illinois city of Carbondale that would serve as “a lifeline for people in the southeast who need an abortion.” That clinic, scheduled to open in August, will be about three hours and 40 minutes from Louisville by car.

Illinois clinics just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis are a

THORN: THE CLARK COUNTY JAIL Across the river in Jeffersonville, Indiana, 20 women are suing the Clark County Jail saying they were attacked, raped and threatened after a former guard sold male inmates a key to the female section of the facility. A Clark County Sheriff spokesperson told the Courier Journal that the former guard sold the key to inmates for $1,000. The Clark County Jail previously turned incarceration into entertainment by serving as the set for the A&E reality show “60 Days In.” ROSE: TO EVERYBODY FOR MAKING IT THROUGH ALL OF THIS The stripping away of rights. The seemingly constant stream of mass shootings and police killings.

The oppressive heat. COVID. It’s rough out there y’all. Here’s a rose for somehow making it through all of this.

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

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NEWS & ANALYSIS

similar distance from Louisville.

With Kentucky’s only two abortion clinics located in Louisville — and far away from many Kentuckians — Kentucky Health Justice Network Executive Director Erin Smith said they were already used to help people access out-ofstate abortion care.

“Kentucky has very few abortion clinics, which means that we’ve always had to schedule people out of state. It’s just going from some of our callers to all of our callers with the abortion ban and this trigger law,” they said.

The Kentucky Health Justice Network runs a support fund to assist Kentuckians who are seeking abortions. The group also provides transportation assistance for those in need.

WHO IS AT RISK FOR CRIMINAL CHARGES?

Under Kentucky’s abortion law, those who perform abortions or provide medication to terminate pregnancy can be face criminal charges. Exempt from prosecution are pregnant individuals and medical providers who terminated a pregnancy to save the life of a mother.

If the law goes into place again, abortion clinics will be shut down; Realistically, the people most at risk for charges will be healthcare providers whose actions are second-guessed and people illicitly supplying abortion medications.

“With the way that the law is put in place, there’s a lot of discretion for prosecutors to prosecute whatever kinds of cases that they want pretty much,” said Michelle Lawson, an attorney in Hazard who is offering pro bono defense to people charged under Kentucky’s abortion law. “So if you have a more conservative prosecutor in the county, I can see them going forward with that.”

Coy Flowers, a Lexington OB/GYN who is the vice chair of the Kentucky chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, worries the law will have a serious impact on healthcare workers and patients.

“Whenever there’s ambiguity in the law and it’s left open for interpretation by not only those who are directly involved in the care of the patient, but also every single prosecutor and sheriff in every single county in Kentucky, this places both providers and patients at extremely great risk,” he said. “No one who faces a medical crisis should have to fear that their particular physician is pausing or halting while in the midst of doing what

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

that patient needs in order to resolve or avoid the threat of prosecution.”

University of Louisville law professor Jamie Abrams, whose research has focused on reproductive and birthing decision making, said she worries that the criminal penalties in Kentucky’s abortion law will see delays in medical care as physicians may take extra steps to make sure they are within the bounds of the law.

“The idea of doctors conferring with prosecutors or with lawyers before performing emergency care is unprecedented as healthcare in Kentucky or anywhere in America,” she said. “I think it’s less likely that there will be prosecutions, but more likely that there will be delays and that both the court and the prosecutors office will be a voice, if nothing more than a shadow looming over medical care for all pregnant women in Kentucky in ways that will complicate and harm care.”

Medical professionals frequently have to terminate pregnancies to save the life of mothers.

However, Flowers, the Lexington OB/GYN, warned that while healthcare providers might feel that a termination is necessary, those prosecuting might not.

About one in 50 pregnancies is an ectopic pregnancy — a pregnancy where a fertilized egg develops outside the uterus, resulting in a complication that requires termination. Other complications can require termination as well.

“The language in these laws are often incorrect and they’re not clinically meaningful to the real life situations that we face either in emergency rooms or in exam rooms or in labor deliveries every single day,” he said.

In a brief statement to LEO, Kentucky Medical Association director of communications Emily Schott said that Kentucky’s abortion law “raises a number of legal questions for Kentucky physicians” and that the association, which represents Kentucky doctors across the state, was working with legal experts to analyze the

A sign at a protest in downtown Louisville. | PHOTO BY KATHRYN HARRINGTON.

implications of the law.

COULD THE LAW BE EXPANDED?

While Kentucky’s abortion law carries criminal punishments for those who perform abortions or provide medication to end pregnancies, there are fears that abortion restrictions could be expanded.

According to reporting by the Washington Post, national anti-abortion groups are pushing for legislation in red states that would allow private citizens to sue people who help pregnant people get out-of-state abortions. The proposed legislation is modeled off of a law in Texas passed last year that allowed private citizens to sue others helping pregnant people get abortions.

Smith, the executive director of the Kentucky Health Justice Network, said the expansion of restrictions is “always a concern” in the Commonwealth.

“It seems like with the most extreme states that are coming out with the harshest laws — like Texas — when they come out with one, there are other states that will take that and try to emulate that within their own state,” they said.

“And since we do have a [Republican] supermajority that actively tried to impeach a governor even when we’re going through natural disasters and states of emergency, it speaks numbers.”

Abrams, the UofL law school professor, said she is most worried that in vitro fertilization (IVF) will come under attack in places like Kentucky as a result of the

Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v.

Wade.

“If personhood is framed as the moment of fertilization, that entire industry could be foreclosed in Kentucky,” she said.

Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates Kentucky State Director Tamarra Wieder also fears more restrictions.

“If there’s anything we have seen from our legislature in Frankfort, it’s that they are obsessed with abortion, they are obsessed with control, they are obsessed with punishing those that are different,” she said.

Stephen Voss, an associate professor of political science at the University of Kentucky, said with time, the harsher provisions of Kentucky’s abortion law might be eased.

When the law was passed, he said, legislators could vote for it “expecting that it was more of a statement of values than a tangible policy change. But now it’s law.”

When lawmakers see the impact of the law “we might see efforts down the road to lighten some of the harsher provisions now that it’s actually in effect,” he added.

Under Kentucky’s current abortion law, there are no exceptions for incest or rape, nor are there exceptions for age of the pregnant individual or fetal viability.

However, further restrictions might come from the ballot box instead of the legislature.

In November, Kentucky voters will be presented with a ballot question that

NEWS & ANALYSIS

proposes adding language to the state’s constitution declaring that abortion is not a constitutionally protected right in the Commonwealth.

WILL THE ABORTION BAN BE ENFORCED IN LOUISVILLE?

It’s complicated.

Louisville mayor Greg Fischer, who said he was “absolutely disgusted” by the overturn of Roe v. Wade, told LEO Weekly that the city is consulting with attorneys to determine “the degree to which the city is required to enforce this law.”

Craig Greenberg, the Democratic Party’s mayoral nominee to replace Fischer, was quick to declare that, if elected, the Louisville Metro Police Department “will not be the enforcement arm” of Kentucky’s abortion ban.

But, in the end, it might not be up to the city to decide, but instead prosecutors and state agencies.

In a statement to LEO Weekly, Jefferson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Tom Wine said that the potential investigation and prosecution of abortion law violations could go forward even if LMPD is told not to pursue such cases.

While prosecutors across the country — including some in states that have or are likely to ban abortion — have signed onto a pledge not to prosecute abortionrelated charges, none from Kentucky have signed on as June 29.

Wine said he would not be signing the letter, adding: “I swore to uphold the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. I do not believe it wise to create summarily a class of felony offenses that we will not prosecute.”

However, in his statement, Wine pointed out that the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office did not have investigators to review abortion cases and would have to rely on other agencies. He also said that proving an abortion was not medically necessary would require medical testimony “which will be expensive” at a time when his office’s budget is already stretched thin.

Wine added that the County Attorney’s office would be responsible for the initial charging of cases in district court.

Contacted by LEO, Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell said he was “disheartened” by the Supreme Court’s decision and that women “deserve access to comprehensive health care, which includes their right to terminate a pregnancy.”

However, he added, “I am still evaluating my role in these matters following this upending of a half century of settled precedent. With the Jefferson Circuit Court’s temporary restraining order enjoining Kentucky’s ‘trigger law,’ abortion is currently permitted in Jefferson County.”

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a strong supporter of the abortion ban, has yet to publicly offer clarification on how the law would be enforced.

WHAT ARE THE RAMIFICATIONS FOR OTHER ISSUES LIKE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE?

The Supreme Court ruling has also sparked fears that other rights protected by the court could be lost.

In his concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas raised the prospect that the overturning of Roe v. Wade could be a prelude to future reversals of landmark Supreme Court decisions.

“In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell,” wrote Thomas in reference to cases that protected contraception, same-sex intercourse and gay marriage.

Overturns of those could have dramatic impacts in Kentucky, where a constitutional amendment added by a 2004 referendum defined marriage as between a man and a woman and where a samesex sodomy law is still on the books.

Chris Hartman, executive director of the Louisville-based Fairness Campaign, said it’s important to stay vigilant about potential threats to the legality of gay marriage after the overturn of Roe v. Wade, but that he does not see such a threat as imminent.

The impracticality of actually implementing a national reversal on the protection of gay marriage could help protect it from those working against LGBTQ rights, he said.

“Imagine trying to unravel hundreds of thousands of legal marriages and property that’s entwined in that, benefits entwined in that, health insurance entwined in that,” he said. “It would also be a logistical nightmare for the government. And I think that the courts would likely take something like that into consideration.”

While less concerned about an overturn of gay marriage, Hartman said he continues to be worried about legislation targeting trans rights in Kentucky. •

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2022

THE

MUSIC

ISSUE

The Louisville music scene grows so quickly and changes so rapidly that it’s almost impossible to keep up with all of the new musicians and music that pops up in every genre imaginable throughout the city. But, for this year’s music issue, we wanted to zoom in on four Louisville acts that have recently released or are about to release new music. The following artists fall under a variety of styles — hip-hop, post-punk, deathcore and Latin music — but they all deserve your immediate attention.

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By Scott Recker | srecker@leoweekly.com

ponders the slippery nature of time.

“So, it sounds heavy, but, in the moment, my grandmother didn’t mean for it to be such a heavy thing,” Chadwick said. “It was just kind of a colloquial thing.

Just joking around, because we were going on this roundabout that was so long that we were just all sliding to one side of the car. She was just getting frustrated. She didn’t mean it in a deep, heavy way, but the song makes it way heavier.”

“Backflip” is one of the first three singles that are already out from Fairy Rust, Wombo’s third full-length album that is set to be released on July 29. Chadwick, along with Cameron Lowe (guitar) and Joel Taylor (drums) named the album for a play on

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New Lens is a series of

ON ‘FAIRY RUST,’ THE TRIO AIMS TO CAPTURE STAGE MAGIC IN THE STUDIO

A LEAD single from the post-punk band Wombo’s forthcoming album was inspired by an accidentally existential quote from singer/bassist Sydney Chadwick’s grandmother. They were on a family road trip, zooming around a long roundabout, when her grandmother said, “We’re all just gonna meet ourselves at the end of this, aren’t we?”

She meant it as a joke, although the phrase’s deep ambiguity stuck with Chadwick, who used the line as the basis for “Backflip,” an ominous, cutting track that

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words between Brothers placement and finding ways to Grimm and Hans Chriscreate the tones and sounds that tian Andersen-style they wanted on the front end of fairytales and the “failthe production process without ing infrastructure of our overcommitting to mixing on the country.” Chadwick said backend. They would do things that folklore has had a large like record the bass amp in a bathimpact on how she creates. room to create a bunch of reverb, but make it sound more natural.

“That whole realm of fiction, since I was a kid, has heavily influ“We were more hands off mixing enced me and my art throughout the this time,” Taylor said. “We got years, and the way I construct melodies, really good natural sounds.” especially from children’s songs and For the mixing, they shipped it stuff, just keeping it simple,” she off to Dave Vettraino, who they said said. “It feels comforting.” did the perfect amount of tinkering with the tracks.

Wombo’s first album, Staring For the most part, Wombo has always At Trees, was released in 2017, establishing their experimental and considered themselves to be a live band — refreshing style that is familiar and that they’re at their best during in-thepeculiar at the same time, mergmoment creation. Chadwick said that ing the intense, magnetic she sometimes wishes that they and awkward would just record live shows sounds of instead of making studio underalbums, but that they’re ground too meticulous with their ‘90s indie sound to actually do punk with that. whole new “We want that raw, dimenlive sound, but we sions, like are too perfectionist, almostand it’s always so operatic complicated to get it vocals, and right. But the sound imaginative has always been psychedelia. difficult to capture, One thing what we feel like we that is easy to sound like. We always notice about thought we were a better the difference band live than recording, between their early but we’re hoping we’re getting music and what they better at the recording A big concern process. I just feel like are currently releasing is that the new stuff is we’re getting to know for them during equally as weird and ourselves better.” offbeat, but the proIt’s apparent that recording,was microduction is much more Wombo is starting to phone placement and figure out their search clean and vibrant.

They recorded Fairy the sound. Inch by fınding ways to create for inch, they’re finding Rust over eight days with Nick Roeder, the tones and sounds that space in-between putting in about eight the fire and magic that that they wanted on can come from the hours each day in at the studio. and the twists, the front end of the stage turns and ideas that “We were really well-rehearsed, so it production process can develop in the studio. was pretty smooth,” without overcommitThey keep evolvLowe said. “We just ing.

• found a good sound at ting to mixing on the the beginning and just rolled with it more.” backend.

A big concern for them during recording was microphone LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

The Homies are taking 502 hip-hop to Australia. | PHOTO BY MADELINE THOMPSON

THE HOMIES PREPARE TO GO DOWN UNDER TAKING LOUISVILLE HIP HOP WORLDWIDE THE HOMIES are gearing up to leave the country and tour Australia for a series of sold-out concerts with their actual homie, Jack Harlow. Three of the members, Quiiso, Shloob and Ace Pro, took some time out of their busy schedule to tell us a bit of their story.

Louisville has always been a mecca for music.

There is always something brewing, and for The Homies and the other members of their Secret Garden crew, that hard work in the 502 is paying off with national and worldwide attention.

The Homies got their start back in 2012 when members were just coming out of high school and preparing for the start of college. Quiiso moved down from Chicago for school and met up with

By Erica Rucker | erucker@leoweekly.com

2forwOyNE and Schloob. 2forwOyNE knew Ace Pro from high school basketball, and they had experimented a bit with music already. After they all met, the ingredients were right to develop what would become, The Homies.

“We kind of just gravitated toward each other even more,” said Ace Pro in a phone interview with LEO. “And then, we started creating more music together and experimenting with different genres, ideas and concepts.”

In 2015, the band released “FIU,” aka “Fuck it Up” on Soundcloud. They got a good response from locals and decided to keep editing and building on the momentum they’d created.

As they are creating, they grab inspira-

about Jay-Z and Biggie and Tupac, tion and topics from real life. then just experimented from there.

“When we’re writing our music, Just seeing all different branches everything is organic,” Ace Pro said.

“Whatever comes to mind as far as from different artists and stuff. Missy my current state of mind or wellElliot, who was one of my super being, or whatever the case may favorites,” Schloob said. be, even the world. It’s a lot They are preparing to take their hard of current events or just work on tour, cutting their touring stuff that builds up over teeth with sold-out shows opentime. Our music isn’t ing for Jack Harlow. The band made in one day.” has opened for him around the Drawing on the country and now is traveling to world around them, Australia with Harlow. For some they certainly take of the members, it’s the first time inspiration from the leaving the country but being with local scene and they find their good friend Harlow should make the local hip-hop scene that trip easy. a changing landscape.

“Working with Jack is just as natural as With actual bonafide working with each and every one of us in superstars springthe group,” said Quiiso. ing out of the scene They were connected through a mutual into the music world, friend and have since maintained their own artists like Bryson relationship with Harlow, often collaboratTiller, Jack Harlow and ing on music. Harlow did a feature on The EST Gee, the Homies are Homies’ “White Lies.” in the right place and the right “We’ve all made our own relationships time with the right connections. They’ve with Jack, and it’s always been love from known Jack Harlow for a long time. the beginning,” said Quiiso. “It’s just as nat“It’s changing a lot over these past few ural as working with the rest of The Homies, years, ‘cause now we got actual stars out and we were all very excited to go over representing us. So if you see the three big to Australia. This is all of our first times stars going on right over there. And for now, Tiller, Jack and bunch of us, it’s Growing up, the group areally Gee, there are three our first time totally different out of the country. I listened to the usual types of sounds,” went to London in suspects of hip-hop at 2020, but outside Schloob chimes in.

“And that inspires of that, we haven’t the time, Lil Wayne, the up-and-coming really been outside artists. Even below Outkast, Kanye West of the country. us and even below “It’s gonna be a and now fınd their influ- dope experience for that, they’re all experimenting with to go out there ences amongst other hip us everything they got and see how these going on. hop artists like Azealia Australian crowds “So the sound react to us, and who Banks, Moneybagg Yo gravitates towards us really right now is all over the place, out there. It’s gonna and YK Osiris. but it’s high quality, be exciting.” because even though Being a Louthose three main people got those distinct isville Hip-Hop band, The Homies have sounds, it’s still high-quality, high-talent already launched past the local scene, work.” appearing in major venues and attending Growing up, the group listened to the national award shows like the BET Awards. usual suspects of hip-hop at the time, Lil We’re certainly excited to them grow and Wayne, Outkast, Kanye West and now find to see how their career and Secret Garden their influences amongst other hip hop artcontinues to bloom. • ists like Azealia Banks, Moneybagg Yo and YK Osiris. The variety in what they listen to definitely influences their work in a good way.

“I eventually went back and found out LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

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Left to Right: Josh Smallwood, Melissa Eagle, Austin Crass, and Chris Bindner. | PHOTO BY EVEREST STUDIOS

‘IT IS SO HEALING TO GET UP ON STAGE’ THE CATHARTIC POWER OF DEATHCORE BAND SERO\\TONIN

THE local female-fronted deathcore band sero\\tonin has burst onto the music scene — and that’s a reason to be happy.

Vocalist Melissa Eagle, guitarist Josh Smallwood, bassist Austin Crass and drummer Chris Bindner made their debut as a band in late January. When Crass was putting the band together, he wanted to bring in a female vocalist because the deathcore genre itself is “a bunch of dudes telling you how they feel, what they think,” he said. Centering a female voice was a way to push back against that, to prove that a woman can bring lyrical and aural power to a genre that is otherwise male-dominated.

It certainly worked: since the release of their first single and music video, “No Escape,” in late February, the band has accrued YouTube and TikTok plays in the five digits, plus plenty of supporters. Next month, they’ll be playing in front of thousands of people at Kentucky Irate Fest, sharing a venue with Slaughter to Prevail and Norma Jean — and, no pressure, but it’ll only be their second show ever.

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

By Carolyn Brown | cbrown@leoweekly.com

Not bad for a band that’s only released three songs.

In fairness, sero\\tonin has existed, albeit out of the public eye, for longer than half a year. In 2021, in weekly practices and rehearsals at Bindner’s parents’ house in rural Indiana, they operated under the tentative name ISayDie. It came from a transliteration of “Aes Sedai,” powerful female mages in the fantasy series “The Wheel of Time,” and was meant to honor the fact that they were female-fronted.

Still, Eagle said, the name “just never sat right on all of our stomachs.”

It was Eagle who proposed “Serotonin” instead, though at first she thought it was “lame” — but her bandmates didn’t, and it stuck. The group tweaked the stylization a bit, realizing that they’d need to stand out from Google search results about the namesake chemical, and ultimately settled

on “sero\\tonin” — lowercase, no spaces, two backslashes.

It creates formatting issues on certain platforms, so they occasionally replace the backslashes with lowercase Ls or capitalize some of the name. But, as they wrote in a Facebook post: “People keep asking about our name, Sero\\tonin.

If we’re lacking it, or meant to give it. Well, the answer is, yes.”

By the time they had their first show at 21st in Germantown on April 7, as one of four supporting acts for Left to Suffer, they’d already gotten plenty of time to hone their work. A sold-out crowd of 150 people showed up that night; there were even two separate mosh pits during their set, which Eagle was “hyped” to see.

Still, support from fans doesn’t always guarantee a band’s road will be easy, especially for one with a female lead in

LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

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PRESENTS

LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

a male-dominated scene. Most deathcore musicians and fans are men; although sero\\ tonin does have plenty of male supporters, they’ve also gotten a few detractors. A YouTube comment on one of their videos says that vocalists like Eagle use “too manly of a way of singing for a woman in my opinion.”

Another asks if Eagle’s singing is her own or “male with the girl mouthing the lyrics?”

One reads, “Billie Eilish needs to stick to pop…”

Eagle, who had blue hair for 10 years before a recent switch to blonde, is no stranger to Eilish comparisons — not all of which are derisive — nor to more general sexism in the scene. In the band’s earliest days, some men told her she should present a more sexualized image, which she refused.

Those comments, as well as those that suggested it’d be easy for a female musician to get popular in the metal scene, “made me feel gross, because I’m working hard here!

These songs, I’ve poured my heart into. And I’ve spent the time writing and rewriting, rewriting, rewriting to record [audio] and then record music videos, just for people to look at me and be like, ‘Oh, you’re just getting this attention because you’re a woman.’”

“It’s been very difficult, but also, I like the challenge. I’m gonna stay me. I’m not gonna change to appease anybody, and I’m going to continue to get my point across,” she said. “When you work this hard, vocally, you’re gonna get somewhere.”

On the plus side, at least, she and her male bandmates have a comfortable chemistry — but you might think otherwise from watching the music video for their single “193.” The video starts off with Eagle dragging Bindner’s dead body, wrapped in a tarp and covered with (fake) blood.

Between shots of the band playing, we see what led up to the moment: as Eagle, in uncaptioned dialogue, vents to her bandmates, they roll their eyes, shrug her off, or nearly ignore her altogether. Her frustration builds until she snaps: one by one, she kills them, stabbing Smallwood with a knife, strangling Crass with a loose bass string and unlocking a jack above Bindner, crushing him underneath a car.

The twist: It was all a dream, but implied (perhaps) to be a diegetic revenge fantasy.

For what it’s worth, Eagle’s actual

dynamic with her bandmates is far better.

She and Crass have been friends since they were teenagers, and he introduced her to Smallwood and Bindner, “these lovely people who have never, never ever given me a reason to be like, ‘I don’t like you,’ even in the slightest.”

Still, the video has a dark origin: it was inspired by the true story of Susan Wright, “The Blue-Eyed Butcher,” a woman who stabbed her husband at least 193 times, for reasons that are still debated. Eagle made it clear to me that she does not condone Wright’s actions in any way, but she wanted to explore the theme of her case at a deeper level — through the lens of someone who is pushed to an out-of-character breaking point.

It’s not the first time the band’s drawn inspiration from real life — that is, in fact, where all of their songs come from. “Call of the Void,” whose name comes from the French term “l’appel du vide,” is about suicidal depression, which Eagle struggles with (“All these demons / will finally die / along with me / fuck it!”) “No Escape,” whose music video stars a tarantula called Nevermore, is a song about “how it feels to be caught in the web of a spider” — figuratively, as the song alludes to a sexual assault (“Fleeting nightmares of your mattress / Haunt me still to this day / But I’ll drag that skeleton with me / Until we both land in our graves.”) An upcoming song, “Chasing Highs,” which will be released on Sept. 23, is about Eagle’s struggles with her late brother’s heroin addiction.

For Eagle, singing about those issues is deeply cathartic.

“When you go through some of these things, you do get filled with a lot of anger.

When you’re not heard, and you’ve been through these situations, for me, it is so healing to get up on stage, to get into that garage, and scream my head off about things that I want to scream my head off about,” she said. “That’s my favorite part.”

That translates into a cathartic experience for the listener, too. Deathcore is a heavy genre, of course, lyrically and otherwise, but jamming to ferocious vocals backed by strong instrumentals is one formula for happiness. If you’re a fan of screams and snarls, listening to Louisville’s newest femalefronted deathcore band is a great way to get plenty of sero\\tonin. •

HIP-HOP ARTIST NISE, THE NYMPH began her music career in a rather offbeat way, by becoming obsessed with the app Magic Piano as a nine year-old. Her mother noticed that obsession, gave her a keyboard, and from there, Nise taught herself piano, graduated to a baby grand, then taught herself Garage Band on her iPhone to create beats that she tried to get other musicians interested in. Around 16 or 17, pissed off because she couldn’t get anyone to buy the beats she was selling online, she decided to use them to create her own songs. Now, at 19, she is the sole composer, lyricist and producer of every song she releases.

NISE, THE

NYMPH:

FROM MAGIC PIANO TO MAGIC ON THE MIC

By Melissa Gaddie | leo@leoweekly.com

Nise, the Nymph got her start with an app called Magic Piano. | PHOTO BY NIK VECHERY.

Nise was born and raised in Louisville to a family that has always been supportive of their children’s dreams. She is the baby in her family, something she considers unfortunate only because she says everyone in her family is overly protective of her. Her older sister is a musician as well, and Nise remembers her family doing what it took to help her sister pursue a musical career including moving to Tennessee when Nise was in eighth grade. She recently spent time in New York visiting her sister, and they collaborated on a track that she recorded at Off Record Studios in Manhattan

during her visit, something Nise is hoping to do more of in the future.

As for her music career in Louisville, Nise believes it’s a great place to have made her start.

“I think that this is honestly the perfect place to start, being that it is such an intimate city,” she said. “Louisville has always been in its own pocket, in its own realm, really. And for artists I think it’s such a good start because it’s a small start, but it’s also a good achievement and a good stepping stone.”

LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

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She also feels supported and embraced by the music community in Louisville: “I receive a lot of love, a lot of messages and a lot of support from my peers, for sure. They believe in me — they sometimes believe in me more than I believe in myself which is inspiring as a whole.”

Nise credits having sole creative control of her music with helping her stay prolific as an artist. She released two albums less than one year apart, after her most recent record, Positive Pain, came out July 1.

As far as where she finds inspiration in the music industry, Nise’s answers run the gamut and would have you believe she is older than 19.

“I really am a big huge, huge fan of Kendrick Lamar,” she said.

“Everything that he’s doing and his recent album was like phenomenal for me and really a real eye opener to some things for me. So, I would definitely say him for sure.

“I really love J. Cole and Mac Miller, Isaiah Rashad. Old school-wise because I am an old head — I don’t really mess with too much of the mainstream scene right now. I’m just not really into it, I like the underground scenes. But old school, I would definitely say Tupac for sure; MC Light, The Brat, Jermaine Dupri, 100% Pharrell [Williams], the Neptunes, OutKast, Lauryn Hill. I’m a huge fan of Tierra Whack too.

There’s also this girl that’s new, Doechii, she’s on Top Dawg [Entertainment]. She’s amazing, phenomenal, I like her a lot.”

Outside of music, she draws inspiration from nature and the outdoors, and cites botanical gardens as places she loves to spend time. She’s also recently gotten into photography, videography and film, and is working with a local filmmaker to learn from their process and editing. She’s taking that education and using it for her own promotional videos and future music videos.

Some of these video collaborations appear on her YouTube channel, most notably “Day in the Life with Nise, the Nymph.”

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Up next for Nise after her album release is to film more music videos, keep promoting her album, and continuing to perform.

She has shows lined up in Huntsville, Alabama and Chicago in a few months. She is also working on a merchandise line, including hash trays, rolling trays and lighters.

In the next year, she wants to create a website, set up a tour, put together a team to help her instead of being a one-woman show, and she wants to move to Nashville, which will definitely be Louisville’s loss, although she says Louisville will always be her home.

To close out our conversation, I asked Nise what she wanted the world to know about her music: “I would say that the most important thing that comes from my music is that it is soul music, in the aspect of anyone who listens to it can feel it if they have a soul.

And I think a lot of people say ‘soul music’ meaning a specific genre, but I think soul music is just music that you can feel. I think that’s what I make, and I’ve been noticing in the five years that I’ve done this that I reach so many different kinds of people and different kinds of cultures, and different types of people that come from different places and are in two polar-opposite areas of their lives. They still love my music equally, and I think that that is really important. I feel like music should bring people together and promote equality. You know, not really base it off of, if you’re a rapper, you automatically have to talk about selling drugs or exploiting women, or if you’re an R&B singer, you always have to talk about getting your heartbroken. We often have these stereotypes of music, and really, it should just be music that you feel.” •

Magda Sanchez has traveled the world and landed in Louisville. | PHOTO BY ALLAN GARCIA VERA

SHE’S GOT THE GIFT SINGER-SONGWRITER MAGDA SANCHEZ IS FOREVER EVOLVING AS A PERFORMER

s p m o w p S o T b d k S t

S b

H t w

By Sarah Kinbar | leo@leoweekly.com m w

ON MARCH 11, Louisville Orchestra conductor Teddy Abrams collaborated with Latin artists through a relationship with Kentucky Refugee Mission to deliver a beautiful performance celebrating Latin music. The event, which took place at Logan Street Market, was produced by Fred Bogert, a producer and composer with credits for miles, who once used the famed RCA Studio

O

B in Nashville as his home base. Now living t in Louisville and enjoying the fresh wave of creativity that can happen many decades intoD a career, he volunteers with the Kentucky S Refugee Mission (KRM), sharing his music c skills with artists that he connects with h through the organization. s “Teddy asked KRM if somehow we a could put together a Latin assemblage of

some kind that he could jam with in live performance. So I got nine of these intense musicians, of which Magda Sanchez was one,” said Bogert. “What I saw happen was Magda, who ended up being the front person, standing there with that microphone.

She was dressed in white and she just took off. She directed the audience’s attention to Teddy on the piano and Tito on the trombone for a solo and this and that. She just drove the bus, in terms of leadership, and knowledge of how to handle an audience.

She has that intuitive sense that you can’t teach. She’s a true performer.”

It is performance that has defined Sanchez’s career, and what a journey it has been.

Until February of 2016, Sanchez lived in Holguín, Cuba, a city of about 300,000 on the northeastern side of the island of Cuba, where, according to Sanchez in a lyrical moment, “the sun was silver and the days were counted backwards.”

A singer studying opera at José Maria Ochoa Conservatory, her life would soon transform.

DISCOVERING MAGDA SANCHEZ

In the world of entertainment, discovery comes from the outside. Typically, the artist has already discovered themselves in some sense. As their creative expression blooms and their thoughts and activities shift into

ever more creative spaces, the artist tends to set their hopes on being seen and heard by somebody who can catapult them into the spotlight, or, as they say, “put them on.”

A&R’s who are part of a pipeline to real professional work, actual success, are few and far between, no matter where you are in the world. So when a talent scout looking for acts to perform in China found Sanchez in her native Cuba, the stars aligned.

Along with three bandmates in a group called Vista Cuba, she was signed to a live performance contract and whisked away to Wuhan.

In a sense, she was lucky.

Lucky that China established a consulate in Cuba in 1879. Lucky she was born and raised in Cuba. Lucky that Cuba and China enjoy healthy trade relations and vibrant cultural exchange.

In China’s massive economy, there was a place for Sanchez.

All that good luck in no way diminishes her talent. Her voice conveys emotion with a sweet, smoky tone, pulling you closer, like a magnet. Sanchez’s 2014 video for the song “Si yo pudiera” is an early look at her emergence and possesses a mysterious quality that serves as a portal to another world, a world of Sanchez’s own making.

MOVING TO CHINA

The move to Wuhan, a city with the population and magnitude of New York City, was a major transition.

“At first, I felt fear because I knew that this decision would change my life forever… I was only 20 years old. But, before

signing my contract, I read it several times LANDING IN LOUISVILLE and I felt that everything was going to be “I returned to Cuba and was there for a fine. I had very little knowledge about that month when I decided to move to the United country and its culture. I didn’t even know States. I came here with my Spanish passthat they ate with chopsticks, so it was very port in 2017, and after a year and one day, I strong culture shock,” said Sanchez. applied for citizenship The trip could be through the Cuban She has stayed in described as arduous.

Adjustment Act,” She and her bandmates Louisville, and records recalled Sanchez. traveled from Holguín “I chose Louisville to Havana, then from with Bogert at his because I had some Moscow to Shanghai, Cuban friends here home studio. Sanchez and and from Shanghai to discovered that the Wuhan. Not having Cuban-American comgraduated from slept in days, they munity was growing.”

Jefferson Community were escorted to the She has stayed in Renaissance Hotel, Louisville and records & Technical College with Bogert at his where they would be living and performin May with a science home studio. Sanchez ing, where they were graduated from Jefdegree, and is now fed and introduced to ferson Community & their team: a manCollege in more free to focus on Technical ager, public relations May with a science officers, their degree, and is now her music. translator and more free to focus on lots of staff. her music. She just dropped a new album, Soon they settled into a La realidad Diferente, which is rich with posh lifestyle with all ballads about the ephemeral nature of life, the creature comforts. the journey of exploration and magical Sanchez found that moments. As you find with songwriters — frequent performances all artists, really — there’s a solitary feeling — five nights per week — akin to loneliness, yet different — that — for an entire year permeates her songs. Her lyrical subjects sharpened her skills. One and the mood of her music seem to be outof two singers in the comes of her incredible journey. group, Sanchez was “I’m really happy to meet people like accompanied by Magda, and she’s not alone, but she does piano, guitar and stand out in the sense that she has so many bass. The band of the pieces of the very complex puzzle lived a luxe life that it takes to succeed in show business.

— a picture of At a very young age, she was addressing success that the world market and holding her own on many artists that level,” said Bogert. “My prediction for dream of — Magda is that she continues to push as an and then adventurer, as a true artist does, to get closer it was to finding who she really is and what that time to means and how she would express it and go back who she can reach.” • home.

Some of the bandmates had children back home in Cuba and could not stay away forever.

LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

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Full list at LEOWEEKLY.COM/DISTRIBUTION LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

STAFF PICKS FRIDAY, JULY 8

Coat Check Pool Party (21+)

American Turners | 3125 River Road | Search Facebook | $15 at the door | 9 p.m. - 2 a.m.

This adults-only outdoor pool party will STAY COOL keep your summer going swimmingly.

Three DJs will provide the tunes, and make sure to bring some cash for the bar, which will be stocked with a collection of brews from Against The Grain.

—Carolyn Brown

SATURDAY, JULY 9

Bluegrass VegFest 2022

Mellwood Art Center | 1860 Mellwood Ave. | mellwoodartcenter.com | No cover ($5 suggested donation) | 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

A celebration of plant-based foods, Bluegrass VegFest will feature speakers, cooking demos, food trucks, food samples, vegan craft beer cocktails and many HOMEGROWN other activities. Whether you’re decades into a veggie or vegan diet and you’re just a little curious about the diet and lifestyle, VegFest is going to be packed with information and delicious eats. —Scott Recker

SATURDAY, JULY 9-SEPT. 30

‘The Nod’ book and exhibition

fifteenTWELVE Creative Compound | 1512 Portland Ave. | fifteen-twelve.com | Free

Louisville illustrator August Northcut and his ART brother, New York photographer Thomas Northcut, have collaborated on an art book titled “The Nod.” It’s about life’s connectedness, said the Northcuts. “This universal phenomenon — it’s about love and friendship and how the internalization of that is shared outwardly, even without words.” The exhibition features photographs, drawings and monoprints ‘All for All’ by August Northcut and Thomas Northcut. Mixed media. from the book. The book release party and reception are Saturday, July 9 from 6-9 p.m. with music by the Weak Signal and Evan Patterson and food by POCO. —Jo Anne Triplett

SATURDAY, JULY 9

Games on Tap: Hi-Wire Brewing

Hi-Wire Brewing | 642 Barret Ave. | Search Facebook | Free | Noon - 5 p.m.

The weekly game night meetup DICE ROLL goes to Hi-Wire this weekend with dozens of different tabletop and board games.

Learn how to play a new one (or several), or feel free to bring your own. — Carolyn Brown

LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

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STAFF PICKS

SUNDAY, JULY 10

Beach House

Old Forester’s Paristown Hall | 724 Brent St. | productionsimple.com | Prices vary Beach House’s sprawling dream-pop is a silky and cinematic masterclass of achieving everevolving exploration while still carving out a distinct, dynamic sound. The LISTEN band’s textures are so thick and layered it almost feels that, as a listener, you’re melting into the music. And the Baltimore band, which was formed in 2004, has had one of the most consistently good stretches of records this century. —Scott Recker

THURSDAY, JULY 14-17 Say hello to our senior beauty, Annette! Annette is a gorgeous, mellow, cuddly old lady who is looking for a companion to share her golden years. This fourteen-year-old calico queen came to the Kentucky Humane Society when her previous owner passed away. She was used to a quieter life than we could provide her in the shelter, so we found a wonderful foster family to care for her while she waits to be adopted. In her foster home, Annette loves to sit next to her foster mom and be petted and loved. Being a golden girl, she is fairly low energy, but she does enjoy playing on occasion with feather toys! More than anything though, she likes to spend her time napping beside her foster family. In the past, Annette has lived successfully with other cats but did not get along with dogs. She has not lived with children before and her back end can be a little sensitive so she would do best in a home with ANNETTE kids who will respect her petting preferences. Overall, Annette is a very relaxed and sweet girl who will make a wonderful addition to someone's life.

Annette is currently in a foster home so if she sounds like the one you've been looking for, fill out an application located at www.kyhumane.org/cat-app to meet her today! Annette is spayed, micro-chipped and up-to-date on her vaccines.

Meet Georgia, sweet Georgia! This lovely, seven-year-old Retriever mix weighs just 44 pounds and came to the Kentucky Humane Society when her owner could no longer care for her. Now she's ready to settle down with a true forever family! Georgia is a sweet but sensitive little lady who is looking for a quiet home to spoil her. She loves to get in laps and she really loves some butt rubs! She's met several dogs and enjoys the lower-energy canine friends who prefer sniffing together over wrestling or chasing. In her previous home, she lived with cats and reportedly barked and pestered them. Because of this, she would more than likely do best in a cat-free home. She has not had experience with children but you are more than welcome to bring your kiddo to meet her to see if they can be best pals!

Georgia is spayed, micro-chipped, and up-to-date on vaccinations. Read for information on how to apply for Georgia. Georgia is part of our shelter dog GEORGIA training program. If you are interested in meeting her, please first submit an online adoption application located at the following URL: www.kyhumane.org/dog-app. Once we have received your adoption application, our staff trainers will follow up and provide you with more information.

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

Hedwig And The Angry Inch

Play Louisville | 1101 E. Washington St. | dragdaddyproductions.com/events | $25 | 7:30 p.m.

Gilda Wabbit and Drag Daddy GLAM Productions are bringing to life the critically-acclaimed musical, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” The play shares the story of Hedwig Robinson, a genderqueer singer from East Germany who fronts a rock band.

With music and lyrics by Stephen Trask and original story by John Cameron Mitchell, the tale borrows the androgynous glam of the ‘70s remniscent of Bowie and early Stooges.

Don’t miss a chance to see this moving story. —Erica Rucker

STAFF PICKS

FRIDAY, JULY 15-19

The Sound of Music

Iroquois Amphitheater | 1080 Amphitheater Road | actlouisville.com | Ticket prices and times vary The Von Trapps are at it again — this time on the stage of the Iroqouis Amphitheater and not in the Swiss Alps. ActLouisville is bringing the classic Rodgers and DO-RE-MI Hammerstein musical to life for seven performances. Featuring legendary director William P. Bradford II and rising Broadway star Caroline Glazier, the hills will come alive once again with a few of our favorite things and favorite people. “The Sound of Music” will shine on the Iroqouis stage. If you haven’t learned the entire soundtrack by now, what are you waiting for? This is definitely sing-a-long-worthy. —Erica Rucker

THROUGH JULY 23

‘I’m Just As Strange As You: The Frida Series 20122022’

My Bluegrass Heart

Quappi Projects | 827 E. Market St. | quappiprojects.com | Free Joe McGee has spent most of his artistic life intrigued by Frida EXHIBITION Kahlo. At 68, he’s reflecting on his attraction to the Mexican painter. “It is hard for me to explain,” he said, “but it is much more than … [a] simple connection and it did not happen overnight. [But] I can pinpoint the exact moment my general interest in Frida turned into an intense fascination that I cannot shake.” His series, over 40 paintings, is on display at Quappi Projects. The exhibition, hung salon-style, is insight into both McGee and Kahlo.—Jo Anne Triplett

December 14 // Brown Theatre ‘The Thorn is Pulled’ by Joe McGee. Mixed media collage on canvas.

TICKETS: KENTUCKYPERFORMINGARTS.ORG

LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

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STAFF PICKS

THROUGH JULY 31

‘Something Beautiful’ By Mary Craik

garner narrative contemporary fine art | 642 E. Market St. | garnernarrative.com | Free Mary Craik was beloved in Louisville. The fiber artist, who died in 2019 at the age of 95, was a promoter of NuLu (her studio and home was on East Market Street), QUILTED education, feminism and quiltmaking. Garner narrative is the gallery representing Craik’s estate and is holding an exhibition and sale that benefits her passion project, the Dr. Mary Craik Scholarship for Women Students at UofL. “I just wanted to make something beautiful,” she said. “I didn’t have any deep meaning. It was that I just wanted people to enjoy seeing it. That’s sort of my deeper soul involvement, whatever you want to call it, is.” —Jo Anne Triplett

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Main Office

Website

1941 Bishop Lane, Ste. 102 Louisville, KY 40218

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

‘Pink Water Lilies’ by Mary Craik. Quilt.

@leoweekly

LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

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MUSIC

THE ADOPTION RATE OF ATMOS TECHNOLOGY WILL INDICATE WHETHER LOUSIVILLE IS READY TO BECOME A MAJOR MUSIC CITY

By Sarah Kinbar | leo@leoweekly.com

(From right) Ace Pro of The Homies and mastering engineer Jeff Dickerhoof visiting studio designer Greg Geddes in his Atmos-enabled home studio. | PHOTO BY GREG GEDDES

THE MOST beautiful things happen when creativity and technology embrace one another like the lovers they were meant to be. But here in Louisville, where musical artistry knows no limits, there’s a dearth of recording studios offering the kind of production and engineering that will yield recordings poised to satisfy newly-educated listeners worldwide.

As if struck by Cupid’s arrow, music lovers are falling for immersive audio, thanks to the streaming platforms and listening devices that deliver in this arena.

Join the fans who popped in their AirPod Pros and listened to “Gotta Move On” by Bryson Tiller and Diddy, Vory’s album Lost

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Souls, or EST Gee’s album Last Ones Left, via Apple Music or Tidal. The songs were mixed for Dolby Atmos, a magically wonderful technology exported from the movie industry. You will walk away from your personal listening session knowing something different happened, craving more of these captivating sounds, even if you cannot identify the root cause.

WHAT IS IMMERSIVE AUDIO?

So let’s get down to it and explore what immersive audio actually is. No matter how many tracks a song originally has, a stereo mix boils them all down to two tracks, left and right. Meanwhile, an Atmos mix sup-

ports 128 channels, and each track is located and manipulated individually by the mixer.

The mastering engineer has a leadership role in that they need to know the ins and outs of the technology and possess the expertise and creativity to use that technology. But they are not working alone. An artist listening to their own music in an Atmos-enabled environment, a 7.1.4 surround sound environment, can give feedback to the mastering engineer, specifying their preferences for which qualities are emphasized and where the tracks are located.

“Let’s try putting the hi-hat over here, and the kicks back there,” they might say. In the end, a listener gets to experience the music

the way the artist intended, immersed in three-dimensional sound.

A well-done Atmos mix has textures, layers and volume dynamics that are less notable in stereo versions.

WHERE DID IMMERSIVE AUDIO COME FROM?

A year ago on May 17, Apple Music announced that big changes were afoot, stating, “Apple Music is bringing industryleading sound quality to subscribers with the addition of Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos. Spatial Audio gives artists the opportunity to create immersive audio experiences for their fans with true multidi-

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Louisville, KY 40208 LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

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MUSIC

mensional sound and clarity. Apple Music subscribers will also be able to listen to more than 75 million songs in lossless audio — the way the artists created them in the studio. These new features will be available for Apple Music subscribers starting next month at no additional cost.”

VERY FEW PEOPLE PROBABLY UNDERSTOOD WHAT ALL THAT MEANT. DID THIS WORD SALAD PROMISE SOMETHING SUBSTANTIVE FOR THE GENERAL POPULACE?

Indeed, it did.

While Spotify dominated the marketplace, grabbing 32% of streaming listeners globally, Apple Music promised to be a conduit for better listening experiences, and they weren’t lying. Their leadership in this audio category, a quality-driven audio space that is shared with Tidal, Amazon Music and Qobuz, syncs up with the proliferation of new listening products designed for spatial audio. New-to-market speakers, soundbars, receivers, and even models of several brands of earbuds (Apple, Beats, and Sony) support immersive listening.

You might have heard — or you may be — a naysayer dismissing immersive audio as a fad. But we can expect pushback when the tides of change roll in. The thing is, immersive audio has been with us for a long time, utilized in movie theaters, where the audience is not confined to a stereo experience. In a movie theater, the sound comes from all around you. That’s Atmos.

Louisville-based studio designer Greg Geddes has tracked the emergence of spatial audio since its origins. A musician signed to Phillips Records at age 19, he put out albums with his band Hello People and toured with Todd Rundgren, who audaciously skipped his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction last year (“The fans have practically no power to influence who gets into the Hall.”). In 1980, he went to work for Modern VideoFilm in Los Angeles, transferring film to videotape. From there Geddes moved to Chase Productions where he did archival restorations, including remixing “Gone With The Wind” using early Dolby technology.

Building his reputation on his musical artistry and decades of stellar work at California post-production houses, today he designs Atmos studios and his current project is overseeing the build-out of two Atmos rooms he designed for Wildtracks in Burbank, CA. Wildtracks is a full-service post-production audio facility in Hollywood specializing in television, theatrical

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marketing, and commercials. The company is responsible for audio on “Breaking Bad,” “Ozark,” and “The Good Wife.”

“The Dolby Atmos Production Suite renderer being made available for music had a lot to do with record companies being able to hire out,” Geddes said. “Two years ago, studios in Nashville and Los Angeles were suddenly flooded with catalogs to put into Atmos. … The original Atmos renderers were designed for motion pictures for a three man mix on a dub stage. They were expensive. … Then, about a year ago, the Dolby folks made it possible to mix in Dolby Atmos with Pro Tools Ultimate with panners specifically made for music.”

Advancements have come fast and furious, and now Atmos post-production work hardly requires any equipment. Just a laptop.

IMMERSIVE AUDIO AND LOUISVILLE’S MUSIC SCENE

So how does this all tie into Louisville’s music scene? Right now, there are at least four Louisville artists consistently producing new music mixed for immersive audio: EST Gee, Bryson Tiller, Vory, and Jack Harlow. Thanks to a stiff hierarchy that controls information flow in the entertainment world, commercially successful artists like these are tuned into trends and industry shifts, and so they know Atmos mixes are not optional. But what are Louisville artists to do if they want to match the big stars on sound quality?

The trick is to find an Atmos-enabled studio where you can book time.

Geddes explained what an Atmosenabled environment is when describing his home studio: “It’s an Atmos studio because I have the software license for the Dolby Atmos renderer, and I use Pro Tools Ultimate with that,” Geddes said. “And mainly because I have a whole lot of speakers. It’s a 7.1.4 Atmos environment with the speakers in their logical places, but most importantly, I get to use all my learned skills from working in multi-format surround post-production and apply it to my first love — music.”

Finding such a place locally is going to be a challenge right now. There aren’t any Louisville studios marketing themselves as Atmos-enabled. One reason could be the financial investment in speaker systems required to optimize for Atmos; another could be doubts about whether there’s a market for immersive audio production here in town.

The fact is, Louisville is behind with regard to audio technology. There is a Nashville cluster of Atmos-enabled studios

DeShawndra Ray of 7 Ray Media listening to music in a 7.4.1 surround sound environment. | PHOTO BY 7 RAY MEDIA.

on Dolby’s list, and another in proximity is Sweetwater Studios in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

DeShawndra Ray, founder of the production company 7 Ray Media and manager of Bblasian and Cam Harris, has seen all aspects of the local music industry, first as an artist himself and more recently as an artist manager. Ray has solid points of comparison to draw from, having invested significant time in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Nashville, where his clients record.

Ray noted that the lack of availability of Atmos-enabled studios and low numbers of Atmos-savvy artists and engineers is a sign that the local music industry must employ a coordinated strategy if it intends to emerge further: “Arts funding and tax breaks directed at the music scene seem like part of the answer, but it is more complicated

than that. If the music sector were to follow the roadmap of the bourbon industry, unify through organization, build a lobby, we would get heard by state and city officials.

If we were to effectively communicate the economic benefits of fully building out the music sector, Lousiville would become the music city it was meant to be.”

Deep structural changes won’t happen overnight, and some artists won’t wait for a foundation of support to coalesce. They will take matters into their own hands. •

MUSIC

REVIEWS: NEW LOUISVILLE MUSIC YOU NEED TO HEAR NOW

By Syd Bishop | leo@leoweekly.com

SHERI STREETER

THAT SHADOW TOO AM I

There is a quiet seething just under the surface of That Shadow Too Am I, the newest from singer-songwriter Sheri Streeter. From Streeter’s dulcet voice to the coiled calm of their compositions, That Shadow Too Am I recalls the bittersweet brood of contemporaries like Chelsea Wolfe or Emma Ruth Rundle, powerful company to keep. Lyrically, Streeter has an undeniable talent honed by years of craft that is illustrated wonderfully on this album, from the austere intensity of “Inside Her” to the unfortunately timeless (but no less beautiful) “Love in a Time of Hate.” Written some years back now, “Love in a Time of Hate” is an all-too-poignant meditation on finding love in spite of the odds, and one that is particularly haunting after the recent Supreme Court’s anti-choice verdict. In many ways, Streeter’s work remains evergreen, reflecting not on the specificities of our time, but on the commonalities that anyone who has ever felt on the outside understands. It’s goddamn beautiful.

Search Bandcamp

SHITFIRE

HOWDY BITCH

I’m not sure if fucking shit up was on your agenda today, but now it is, because when you listen to Howdy Bitch by Shitfire, you’re about to get rowdy. That should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the garage punk provocateurs, especially on an album joyously entitled Howdy Bitch. The compositions are simultaneously off-putting and hookheavy, pop music that’s certainly left of center and intentionally so, but not afraid of getting catchy as all hell. Tracks like “Leadfoot” really underscore that musical feat, the juxtaposition of dissonant, almost Dischord-esque noise with a vibe that recalls bands like Sleater-Kinney or Bikini Kill. On “No Home,” the band issues an ode to irresponsibility, to day drinking, to fucking up, to the nihilism that capitalism fosters in many. Howdy Bitch is sunshine on a dark day, a five-song anthem to stave off the worst of the world.

Search Bandcamp

JOAN SHELLY THE SPUR

The music of Joan Shelley is a salve for the worst of times. As previously established (and to the surprise of no one), the musicianship here is superlative, a robust use of acoustic instrumentation and light production touches that keep things light, but never too much so. As such, The Spur is an album of moderation, of shifting subjects, of tonal shifts from the serene and pastoral to pensive and melancholy.

At times, there is a world-weariness here, moments of quiet reprieve that demand a turn inward, while, at others, Shelley’s voice is a beacon of light in the night, a reminder to enjoy the moments that you can control. For example, “Like the Thunder” is a study of connection and belonging, of contemplating the people you love and the communities we create to support one another. At least that’s how it seems, as Shelley’s lyrics are left intentionally open-ended, inviting a broad interpretation of the meanings found therein. The Spur is a cipher that rewards your time with gentle melodies and thoughtful storytelling.

Search Bandcamp or Spotify

THURGOOD BARTHOLOMEW LUKA DONCIC

Louisville hip-hop has evolved slowly but assuredly, built on the talents of OG emcees like Thurgood Bartholomew, aka Skyscraper Stereo’s Mr. Goodbar. The album, named for the Slovenian baller for the Dallas Mavericks, is an all-too-short call to action, a three-song EP dedicated to continuing that grind. In the titular opener, Thurgood speaks to his experiences of somehow staying on the outside of the system built to target him. As such, there is a bittersweet victory here, partially underscored by Thurgood’s nostalgia for his youth; he made it and he’s still making it. On “Thunder Over Louisville,” the production references RZA or MF Doom-type beats, lo-fi but high quality, with Thurgood joined on the mic by Dave.Will.Chris and Doh Joker. The record closes with “Porcelain,” a mellow banger that showcases Thurgood’s lyricism. The only problem with Luka Doncic is its brevity, although like all the greats, this EP leaves you wanting more.

Search Spotify

LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

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FOOD & DRINK

RECOMMENDED

MOZZAPI’S PIZZA REMAINS NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART

By Robin Garr | LouisvilleHotBytes.com Built on outstanding fresh-milled grain crust and fired with pretty browned leopard spots, this 9-inch MozzaPi pizza is topped with fresh spinach, mozzarella and ricotta and a spicy fresh tomato sauce. | PHOTOS BY ROBIN GARR.

I’M PRETTY sure I’ve told you before that pizza is one of my favorite foods. I can’t think of one of Louisville’s 60-some pizzerias that I would flatly reject. Well, possibly some of the national chains, unless I was really hungry.

I mean, what’s not to like about pizza?

It’s relatively healthy, a thin base of bread that, excepting the occasional deep-dish pie, imparts barely enough carbs to bother anyone. A layer of delicious tomato sauce, a layer of delicious cheese, some tasty meats or veggies of your liking on top… why, you’ve got all of the food groups on your plate!

So what’s my favorite pizza in town?

I get that question a lot, but I don’t have an easy answer. Coal-fired and wood-fired pizzas appeal, but a proper gas-fired or electric pizza oven with a brick or concrete deck can absolutely get the job done.

Of course I love thin-crust New York City or Italian style, but I won’t say no to a slightly thicker crust, or even, on occasion, for the deep-dish styles of Chicago and Detroit.

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A great pizza, after all, is as much about the bread as it is about the sauce, the cheese and the toppings. To make me truly happy, pizza crust should have the heft, the bubbly texture and crisp exterior, and the good wheat flavor of an artisanal loaf. If you don’t have that excellent base, the rest of the pizza can hardly excel.

When it comes to great bread in a Louisville pizza, it’s hard to beat MozzaPi, happily reopened post-pandemic in its original quarters on the east side of Anchorage. Describing itself as an artisan pizzeria and bakery, MozzaPi takes pride in making its breads and pizza dough with sustainable, organic, locally farmed ancient grains freshly stone-milled in house. It’s tough to get more serious about your bread than that.

“The new pizza paradigm is all about balance,” MozzaPi declares on its website. “Artfully balancing the crust with the toppings, balancing the flavors with the textures, balancing local with seasonal ingredients. It is really about taking natural, healthy ingredients and preparing them in a way that is simple and satisfying.”

Nothing improves kale more than finely chopping and gently massaging it with oil.

That’s just the start for MozzaPi’s memorable kale salad.

FOOD & DRINK

Imagine if you will, a sweet, coarse-grained cookie made from fresh-ground yellow cornmeal and baked to order. It was so good that I ordered two more to go.

Yum! Just reading that makes me want pizza right now.

The current menu is about as simple as it gets: seven speciality pizzas, all nine-inchers, all $14; or classic build-your-own pies with cheese ($11), pepperoni, or sausage

(both $12), plus $2.50 per meat topping, $1.50 per veggie topping, 75 cents for extra cheese and $2.50 if you want a gluten-free crust. A dinner-size house salad or a stunningly good kale salad are $13 each. A side of excellent foccacia is $5, a side salad $6,

and for dessert, a cookie fresh from the oven is $3.

I made a healthy choice with MozzaPi’s spinach and ricotta pizza ($14). A beautiful crust, golden and covered with leopard spots from the oven, was coated with just enough spicy, fresh-made tomato sauce and red-pepper flakes, topped with a thick blanket of fresh baby spinach, and finished with rounds of mozzarella and creamy ricotta cheese. The spinach didn’t wilt, so it was almost like a spinach salad pizza with cheese.

I would definitely try it again, but before I get back to it I’ve got to try some of the other offbeat topping combos first. Sweet onion marmalade pizza, for instance, with blue cheese, andouille sausage, bourbon cherries, and rosemary. Or spicy giardiniera pizza with pepperoni, roasted red peppers, onion, celery, and spicy serrano peppers.

Yeah, I love these pizzas.

Kale salad ($13) was perfect. Plenty of chopped kale was gently massaged with olive oil and lemon dressing, then garnished with grape tomatoes, toasted walnuts, sunflower seeds, and Parmesan slices. Freshbaked rosemary focaccia on the side added a welcome touch.

A side house salad ($6) had potential,

too, with a good concept marrying mixed spring lettuces and baby spinach with cherry tomatoes, graded carrot and chopped cucumber and slices of parm, topped with an appetizing Dijon mustard and lemon dressing.

That’s a lot to like, but it was flawed by a pet peeve: Blackened edges on a few lettuce bits that should have been discarded.

For what it’s worth, though the owner and a staff of three were extremely busy handling the register, the kitchen and running food on a very busy day. They got so much right under trying circumstances that I can’t fault them much for this small slip.

We finished with one of the favorite cookies, a sweet, coarse-grained corn cookie ($3) made from fresh-ground yellow cornmeal and baked to order. It was so good that I ordered two more to go.

Our meal for two was $38.16, plus 22% tip. •

MOZZAPI

12102 La Grange Road 890-4832 mozzapi.com

buy tickets: mastermusiciansfestival.org LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THE GROWING OF IMAGINARIUM

By T.E. Lyons | leo@leoweekly.com

COMING BACK around for its ninth year, the Imaginarium Convention, which welcomes all sorts of creators and consumers of imaginative arts, will be held at the Holiday Inn Louisville East July 8 through 10. This has come to be much more than the original gatherings of science-fiction / fantasy / horror writers and readers — and that’s only somewhat surprising to those who’ve put in the most effort for Imaginarium’s success. LEO had a chance to speak with founder Stephen Zimmer and organizer Holly Phillippe to learn what’s in the 2022 edition. We also exchanged emails with two award-winning creative professionals who’ll be attending.

Zimmer wants it known that the convention has always been for all genres, but it’s taken a considerable messaging effort to get significant attendance beyond fans of the speculative genres. Phillippe points to the results: for instance, this year there will be entire groups of romance writers and mystery writers participating. Lee Pennington, who certainly has a restless imagination but would be considered part of the mainstream, is one of several poets coming.

But beyond writing — and the convention officials are quick to comment that they don’t just mean storytelling that lands in books, but also screenwriting, writing for gaming and what Zimmer calls “all the other spheres” — Imaginarium’s expansion has headed many directions, which make for logistics demands but offer innumerable rewards. Specifically, he said, “the film festival we expected to grow steadily as time went on — and we’re actually very, very pleased with the caliber of projects we’ve had. This year, we’ve had by far our largest field of entries. It’s international, and all genres. We opened up for web series a couple of years ago, so we’ve got that whole category now. We expected that to grow, but it’s grown faster and the quality has grown much higher than we expected to see at this point.

“Gaming actually has been surprising,” he continued. “We didn’t know how long it’d take to develop that, but last year we had a packed gaming room—and it stayed that way. Now we’re hoping that cosplay takes a step in that same direction.”

Whether it’s on the page or on a screen, a lot of what will be shown and discussed this year will be new works created during

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the pandemic years. Imaginarium was already known for having a regular dynamic where an attendee working on a manuscript one year would become a published author and a spotlighted guest in subsequent years — but the lockdown period inspired quite a lot of content development. That might mean a barrage of attention for this year’s guest of honor, legendary editor Ellen Datlow. But it has already meant at least one creative highpoint for a new guest at the convention —Jeff Strand, one of three Bram Stoker Award winners who’ll be in town.

Strand is known for humility and humor beyond the usual for horror writers. But when asked if he and his wife — visual artist and fellow Imaginarium spotlighted guest Lynne Hansen — experienced a different level of productivity or interest in different creative pursuits, he said, “We were both incredibly productive… partly out of having more time to work, and partly out of ‘What if the economy crashes?’ desperation.”

Regarding his Stoker win, which came after so many nominations that he was getting some ribbing from colleagues, he said, “Awards are fun, and ultimately it’s more fun to win than lose, but I didn’t think ‘At long last! Validation!’ The trophy is really freaking cool.”

Jason Sizemore is a well-established figure among Kentucky’s small-press publishers, just as he’s made a name for himself (and for Apex, his magazine and book line) as an editor with an eye for talent and as a devoted nurturer of a richly creative generation of writers. But Lexington-based Sizemore has a remarkable story of combined personal and professional resilience to share.

One might think of the first chapter being Apex had to make business adjustments and venture into crowd-sourcing.

But what came next, and what sealed Sizemore’s determination, is clear in his status summary: “Three years ago, I had my jaw removed and replaced with a leg bone and titanium rod. All things considered, I’m doing well. Despite the current economic hardships, we continue to hang on. Our book line has been doing great. Apex Magazine keeps winning awards. I’m happy with the business. As the world continues to fracture, losing hope is easy. Stay positive. Keep fighting until your last breath.”

Holly Phillippe | PHOTO PROVIDED BY AUTHOR

Jason Sizemore | PHOTO PROVIDED BY AUTHOR

Jeff Strand | PHOTO PROVIDED BY AUTHOR

Stephen Zimmer| PHOTO PROVIDED BY AUTHOR

If the variety in the halls of the convention is too much, perhaps the Apex space is a good place to start exploring the possibilities. Jason Sizemore says he can be found “wearing my editor hat doing panels and Q&As. But I’m happy to talk with people about publishing and writing!” •

Imaginarium Convention tickets are $135 for a weekend pass. More information can be found at entertheimaginarium. com. The hotel was fully booked as of a few days ago, but last-minute cancellations do happen.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

LOUISVILLE REMEMBERS THE LIFE AND WORK OF ARTIST SAM GILLIAM

By Erica Rucker | erucker@leoweekly.com PAINTER Sam Gilliam has died. He was a mark and hanging it in space is always political,” Gilliam said. “My work is as 88. According to the New York Times, he political as it is formal.” passed away at his home on Saturday, June He took inspiration from many German 25, from renal failure. abstractionists and many of the Abstract Gilliam was an Abstractionist who gained fame through his association with the Expressionists, Fauvists, and Cubists of the early 20th century.

Washington Color School in D.C. Though born in Tupelo, Mississippi, Gilliam lived in Gilliam introduced the draped canvas and Louisville, Kentucky, for much of his young explored this as a medium suspended from life, attending Central High School and ceilings, walls, or on floors through much of UofL. He was in the ‘60s and ‘70s. the second group Gilliam grew of Black students fond of jazz and admitted to the let his inspirauniversity and tion move him to graduated with other mediums his B.A. of Fine such as alumiArts in 1955. num, quilts, and After, Gilliam collage work. served in the In 2006, military, but later the Speed Art returned to LouisMuseum held a ville to finish his retrospective of Master of Arts at Gilliam’s work in UofL. conjunction with three other museGilliam ums: the Corcoleft Louisville ran, the Telfair and moved to Museum of Art Washington D.C. in Savannah, after marrying Georgia, and the Dorothy Butler, a Contemporary fellow LouisvilArts Museum in lian who was Houston. the first Black In 2021, reporter at the Sam Gilliam 1966. | Archives of American Gilliam’s work, Washington Art, Smithsonian Institution.

“Carousel Form Post. After his II “(1969) was marriage to Butler, Gilliam spent hung as part of the much of his life with Annie Gawlak, who “Promise, Witness, Remembrance” show was his partner for 35 years before they that honored the life of Breonna Taylor. The were married. piece had been part of the Speed’s permanent collection since Gilliam gifted it to the Gilliam’s work was heavily influenced museum in 2013. by the Civil Rights Movement and the Gilliam introduced a show of Tondo plight of Black people in America. Though paintings one month before his death — his he focused on abstract expression, he often final solo show as a living artist — at the created works to speak to these struggles, and despite his work being shown in major Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in galleries and museums, he kept ties to his Washington, D.C. communities throughout his career.

People familiar with Gilliam had plenty to say about his work and life.

Gilliam commented about this in a 2018 interview with José da Silva in The Art Speed Director Raphaela Platow’s public Newspaper. “The expressive act of making letter said about Gilliam, in part, “It is with LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

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profound sadness and sense of great loss that “Sam Gilliam and I were both students at I share with you the passing of one of our Central High School (the only public school most beloved and groundbreaking artists, for African Americans). I graduated in 1949 Sam Gilliam. and Sam graduated in 1951. I attended Louisville Municipal College (a UofL college “The Speed Art Museum has long colfor students of color) from 1931-1951. In lected the artist’s work, with seven career1951, the Day Law was rescinded and Louspanning examples in its collection. The Museum has also hosted three exhibitions of isville Municipal College closed. I could not his work over the afford tuition at past sixty years: UofL, so I went to The Speed Art Museum Sam Gilliam: A Nazareth College has long collected the Retrospective; (now Spalding Construction: University) for my artist’s work, with An Installation Junior and Senior at the J.B. Speed year. I graduated seven career-spanning Museum by Sam with a General examples in its collection. Education degree Gilliam; and Sam Gilliam: Paintings in Chemistry and and Works on Paper.”

Mathematics. I did not get involved in the arts in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. I eventuShe also spoke about his connection to ally received a Masters of Art in Ceramics Louisville and his work as an artist, and closed her letter with this: “Sam’s passing is and Fiber in 2002 after I retired as a chemist a tremendous loss for the Speed and the arts from Brown-Forman. Sam’s sister Lillian community in Louisville and at large. We Gilliam and I both graduated in 1949 and his send our deepest condolences to his family older sister, Lizzie Gilliam and I attended and friends during this time of mourning Louisville Municipal College. and will forever celebrate the artist’s artistic I love Sam’s suspended wall hangings. legacy.”

I was reminded of him when I had a fiber piece suspended at the Gilda’s Club at the 18th Street YMCA. And I also had a stenLEO reached out to a few of his contemciled wall hanging suspended in an exhibiporaries and they had this to say: tion at the Susan Moreman Gallery.”

ARTIST ED HAMILTON

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“I knew Sam for over 40-some years.

I first learned about Sam when I became a member of the Louisville Art Workshop in 1969. I knew he became quite the artist who took the canvas from the stretcher and create a new way to see paintings. I will never forget spending time in DC for a luncheon he hosted for artists that were in town for an art conference. There we were together sitting on a couch, and I was between Sam and the Harlem renaissance sculptor Richmond Barthé. What an honor that was — sitting with these giants of the art world.

Our last encounter was at the Speed Museum, when we were together on stage with Bob Douglas, William Duffy, and [Elmer] Lucille Allen talking about the Black arts scene in Louisville. That was the last time we would see other in person, but we did talk on the phone a number of times.

I thank God I was able to be in his presence and he will be sorely missed in the art world as we know it.

‘Peace my brother. Now you are with G.C. Coxe and Kenneth Victor Young, all former members of Louisville Art Workshop. I know you are talking art.’”

ARTIST ELMER LUCILLE ALLEN

SARAH BATTLE, 2021-2022 AILSA MELLON BRUCE SABBATICAL FELLOW, CENTER FOR ADVANCED STUDY IN THE VISUAL ARTS, NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART

“As the art world continues to process Sam Gilliam’s passing, my heart goes out to Mr. Gilliam’s family and friends in Louisville, Kentucky. Sam Gilliam may be internationally known for his groundbreaking-style draped canvases associated with Washington Color School movement but, for some, he is also well remembered for his friendships with Louisville luminaries including Professor Robert Douglas, Ed Hamilton, and William M. Duffy, as well as the former Hite art students Bob Thompson and Kenneth Victor Young (and G. Caliman Coxe). While Gilliam’s time in Louisville may be considered short, his impact on the Louisville modern art scene can still be felt today. While we grapple with this tremendous loss, there is solace knowing these memories of his childhood friendships, and artistic leadership in the midcentury Black art scene in Louisville, will continue to live on, forevermore.” •

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

WHAT TO SEE: GALLERY ROUNDUP

BY JO ANNE TRIPLETT | leo@leoweekly.com A gallery roundup of art shows to see in Louisville this month. Note: This list is a selection of current exhibitions.

from the nine neighborhoods in West Louisville.

Organized by Walt and Shae Smith of West of Ninth.

Part of the Louisville Photo Biennial.

Frazier History Museum 829 W. Main St. Hours: Mondays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sundays, noon-5 p.m. fraziermuseum.org “RED, WHITE & BLUE” Through July 16 Show celebrating America.

Gallery 104, Arts Association of Oldham County 104 E. Main St., La Grange Hours: Tuesdays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. aaooc.org “SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL” Through July 31 Exhibition and sale of quilts by the late Mary Craik.

This Ebony G. Patterson work is showing in “Still, Life!” at 21c in July.

“STILL, LIFE! MOURNING, MEANING, MENDING” Through December The show focuses on dealing with loss during the pandemic.

21c Louisville 700 W. Main St. Hours: Mondays-Sundays, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

21cmuseumhotels.com “PRINT MURALS AND SCULPTURES” Through July 19 Art by Donna Stallard and Wende Cudmore.

“IN-TITLE-MEANT” Through July 19 Intaglio and paste-up print murals by Rosemarie Bernardi.

Bourne-Schweitzer Gallery 137 E. Main St., New Albany, Indiana Hours: Thursdays-Fridays, noon-5 p.m.; Saturdays, 1-3 p.m. bourne-schweitzergallery.com “FORM NOT FUNCTION” Through July 16 Annual exhibition of art quilts.

Carnegie Center for Art & History 201 E. Spring St., New Albany, Indiana

Hours: Mondays-Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thursdays, noon-8 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. carnegiecenter.org “THE NOD” July 9 Art exhibition and book release by illustrator August Northcut and photographer Thomas Northcut. �ıfteenTWELVE Creative Compound 1512 Portland Ave. Hours: Mondays-Fridays, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturdays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. �ıfteen-twelve.com “FORGOTTEN FOUNDATIONS: LOUISVILLE’S LOST ARCHITECTURE” Through Sept. 23 Exhibition of photographs and architectural records of destroyed historic architecture in downtown Louisville.

The Filson Historical Society 1310 S. Third St. Hours: Mondays-Fridays, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. �ılsonhistorical.org “WEST OF NINTH: RACE, RECKONING, AND RECONCILIATION” Through September Photographs, artifacts and wall panels featuring stories

garner narrative contemporary �ıne art 642 E. Market St. Hours: Wednesdays-Sundays, 1-6 p.m. garnernarrative.com “SUMMER TRAVELS” Through July 30 Work from the 1950s by the late Carl Brown.

Kleinhelter Gallery 701 E. 8th St., New Albany, Indiana Hours: Thursdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Search Facebook “THE REALITY OF OUR ESSENCE” Through Aug. 14 Paintings of Black women by Sandra Charles.

KMAC Museum 715 W. Main St. Hours: Wednesdays-Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. kmacmuseum.org “DANCING IN THE LIGHT” Through July 31 Featuring art by Ann Klem and Rex Lagerstrom.

KORE Gallery 942 E. Kentucky St. Hours: Wednesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sundays, 12-4 p.m. koreartgallery.com

“COLLECTION CURVEBALLS” Through Dec. 31 A roundup of curiosities from the museum’s archives featuring art, music and pop culture.

Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory 800 W. Main St. Hours: Mondays-Thursdays, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; FridaysSaturdays, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. sluggermuseum.org “SHINING A LIGHT” Through Aug. 7 Annual photography contest and exhibition.

“WHAT LIFTS YOU” Through Dec. 31 Work by Kelsey Montague inspired by Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali Center 144 N. 6th St. Hours: Wednesdays-Sundays, noon-5 p.m. alicenter.org “I BET WE CAN BUILD THAT: WEBER GROUP PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE” Through mid-September A retrospective of the Louisville-based Weber Group design �ırm.

Portland Museum 2308 Portland Ave. Hours: Wednesdays-Fridays, 12-5 p.m.; Saturdays, 12-4 p.m. portlandky.org

Quappi Projects 827 E. Market St. Hours: Thursdays-Fridays, noon-4 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. quappiprojects.com “ALT” July 8-Aug. 1 A group show of artwork made of alternative materials.

Revelry Boutique + Gallery 742 E. Market St. Hours: Mondays, 11 a.m-5 p.m.; Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sundays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. revelrygallery.com “SITES AND SIGHTS OF WORK” Through Aug. 26 Show focusing on printmaking from 19th-21st centuries.

Schneider Hall Galleries, University of Louisville 104 Schneider Hall Hours: Mondays-Fridays, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. louisville.edu “PICTURES FROM PIECES – QUILTS FROM THE ELEANOR BINGHAM MILLER COLLECTION” Through Aug. 21 Features the Speed’s recent gift of 10 American quilts including many from Kentucky.

“THE SUM IS GREATER THAN ITS PARTS” Through July 3 Sculpture by John McCarthy.

Speed Art Museum 2035 S. Third St. Hours: Fridays, 1-8 p.m.; Saturdays-Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. speedmuseum.org

“STORIES IN STITCHES” July 8-31 Fiber art by Kathleen Loomis.

“AND WE FLOATED ON HOME” Through July 2 New work by Teri Dryden.

PYRO Gallery 1006 E. Washington St. Hours: Fridays-Saturdays, noon-6 p.m.; Sundays 1-4 p.m. pyrogallery.com

“DAY IN & DAY OUT” July 16-Sept. 3 Debut exhibition at WheelHouse of art by Colleen Merrill.

“I’M JUST AS STRANGE AS YOU: THE FRIDA SERIES 2012-2022” Through July 23 Joe McGee’s ongoing project on Frida Kahlo.

WheelHouse Art 2650 Frankfort Ave. Hours: Tuesdays-Fridays, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. wheelhouse.art

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Application Royal pain Circus apparatus Laugh or cry, say ‘‘Old MacDonald Had a Farm’’ sounds N.Y.C. retailer with a famed holiday window display Rum ____ Tugger (cat in ‘‘Cats’’) Like a romantic evening stroll, perhaps [someone else’s error] Cause chaos — ‘‘That’s it?’’

Camping shelter Only person to win an Oscar, Emmy and Tony in the same year (1973) Kitty ____, stunt performer once known as the ‘‘fastest woman in the world’’ Four-limbed animals ‘‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’’ biter Plato’s P Halloween decorations that can be made with cotton balls Heavy metal’s ‘‘Prince of Darkness’’ ‘‘Am ____ only one?’’

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Monthly condition, for short Hairstyle protectors Tabbouleh topping Build, as interest Kind of test Board figure, informally Recipe unit Goddess in a peacock-drawn chariot Marilyn Monroe wore a fuchsia one while singing ‘‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’’ Beverage that was a medieval source of nutrition ____ President Literary protagonist raised by wolves ‘‘The Sound of Music’’ household ‘‘Horned’’ creature

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SAVAGE LOVE

By Dan Savage | mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage

QUICKIES

Q: Gay dude here. What the fuck is up with monkeypox? Do I need to be worried?

A: Yes, you do.

I tried to raise the alarm about monkeypox on the May 24, 2022, episode of the Savage Lovecast, back when there were 100 cases in 15 countries, all of them among gay and bi men.

Now there are more than 5,000 cases all over the world, and almost all of them—more than 99% of cases—are among gay and bi men.

“Right now, it’s behaving very much like an STI—and almost all of the cases have been among men who have sex with men,” said Dr. Ina Park, a professor at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine and Medical Consultant at the Centers for Disease Control Division of STD Prevention.

Monkeypox, Dr. Park explains, is the milder, gentler cousin to smallpox, and is spread by skin-to-skin contact or through respiratory droplets.

“But anyone who comes into close contact with someone who has monkeypox could catch it,” said Dr. Park. “And unlike other STIs which don’t live for very long outside the body, monkeypox can live for weeks on infected clothing, bedding, and other surfaces—think 38

LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022

dildoes, slings, fetish gear—and barriers such as condoms worn over the penis or inside the rectum will protect those areas, but they don’t prevent transmission to other exposed parts of the body. If you notice red painful bumps anywhere on you or your partner’s body—especially the genital/ anal area—or if you are exposed to monkeypox, get checked out right away. The sooner you get vaccinated, the better. Check out some resources for monkeypox here.”

(And follow Dr.

Park on Twitter @ InaParkMd.) Okay, that was a quickie question but a long answer. Now onto quickier-quickies.

Q: How soon is too soon to say “I love you” for the first time?

A: On your first date, right after a stranger from an app shows up at your door, during your first threesome with that hot couple you just met a bar—too soon. Even if you’re already feeling it, even if you’re crazy enough to think they might be feeling it already too, you should wait at least six months to say it.

But you know what? Once you’ve said it—once you’ve said “I love you” for the first time—feel free to backdate that shit. Go ahead and say, “I wanted to say it before the entrée even came on our first date,” or, “I wanted to say it when showed up looking better than your pics,” or, “I wanted to say it when you both came inside me simultaneously.”

Q: Is it an overreaction for me, a cis woman who lives in Wisconsin and doesn’t want kids, to not want to have sex with my fiancé since the ruling on abortion? I’ve tried to explain to him that it’s a lot to come to terms with.

A: Each of us grieves in our own way, and at our own pace. If you’re not feeling sexy right now because of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade—if the chance of an unplanned pregnancy in Wisconsin, where a law from 1849 banning abortion can now be enforced, dries you up—that’s totally understandable. And if your fiancé is anxious to get back to penetrative sex, well, pegging counts.

Q: A submissive guy reached out to me via my pretty tame Instagram and wants to send me money and wants nothing in return. Should I say no to this?

A: In this economy?

Q: New to weed. Best edible for sex?

A: Ass. Q: What is it called when a guy jacks off into his own mouth while he’s upside down? Is there are term for that?

A: I don’t think that has a name. Any suggestions, class?

The full version of Savage Love is now exclusively available on Dan’s website Savage.Love! To continue reading this week’s column, go to savage.love/ savagelove! questions@savagelove.net Listen to Dan on the Savage Lovecast.

Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage.

CLASSIFIED LISTINGS LEGAL REPOSSESSION SALE These vehicles will be offered for sale to the highest bidder at the time, date and place stated below. Term of sale is cash only. Seller reserves the right to bid and purchase at said sale. Dealers welcome July 21st, 2022 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU 1G1ZG57B194177694 DIXIE AUTO SALES (502) 384-7766 7779 DIXIE HWY., LOUISVILLE, KY 40258

Cellco Partnership and its controlled affiliates doing business as Verizon Wireless (Verizon Wireless) proposes to build a 35-foot public lighting communications structure at the approx. vicinity of 731 South 11 th Street, Louisville, Jefferson County, KY 40210. Public comments regarding potential effects from this site on historic properties may be submitted within 30 days from the date of this publication to: Trileaf Corp, Jennifer, j.lewishobgood@trileaf.com, 1515 Des Peres Road, Suite 200, St. Louis, MO 63131, 314-997-6111.

PUBLIC NOTICE: Cellco Partnership and its controlled affiliates doing business as Verizon Wireless (Verizon Wireless) proposes to build a 35-foot pole Communications Structure. Anticipated lighting application is none. The Site location is 1919 H Winston Avenue, Louisville, Jefferson County, KY 40205, Lat: [38-12-55.2661], Long: [-8541-9.8057]. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Antenna Structure Registration (ASR, Form 854) filing number is A1218190.

ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS – Interested persons may review the application (www. fcc.gov/asr/applications) by entering the filing number. Environmental concerns may be raised by filing a Request for Environmental Review (www.fcc.gov/asr/ environmentalrequest) and online filings are strongly encouraged. The mailing address to file a paper copy is: FCC Requests for Environmental Review, Attn: Ramon Williams, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554. HISTORIC PROPERTIES EFFECTS – Public comments regarding potential effects on historic properties may be submitted within 30 days from the date of this publication to: Trileaf Corp, Hannah, h.powell@trileaf.com, 1515 Des Peres Road, Suite 200, St. Louis, MO 63131, 314-9976111.

UPCOMING EVENTS Thursday, July 07, 2022 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM EDT

Louisville vs. Indianapolis Comedy Battle

Thursday, July 14, 2022 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM EDT

Comedy Night at Gravely

Gravely Brewing Company

Aloft Louisville Downtown

Thursday, August 04, 2022 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM EDT

Funniest Person in Louisville comic entry

Thursday, August 25, 2022 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM EDT

Aloft Louisville Downtown

Aloft Louisville Downtown

Sunday, August 28, 2022 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM EDT

Funniest Person in Louisville comic entry

Funniest Person in Louisville comic entry The Bard’s Town

REDPINTIX.COM

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tickets on sale soon Margarita Tasting • BACK IN-PERSON! LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 6, 2022