April 2016 - Vol. 2, Issue 4

APRIL 2016 • VOL 2 • ISSUE #4 • THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

15 Rita Dove, Akron’s Pulitzer-winning, Nat’l Poet Laureate 27 Akron Pizza Task Force 35 Gretchen Pleuss goes “From Birth, to Breath, to Bone” FREE

When things get weird

the weird go to Oddmall FIVE FAST QUESTIONS WITH ANDY HOPP: PG 6

table of contents

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6 Five Fast Questions with

Oddmall’s Andy Hopp 7 More Layoffs at UA ...

Wait, you haven’t heard?

13 Who are these Creative Devils?

13 The Devil Strip 12 E. Exchange Street 2nd Floor Akron, Ohio 44308 Publisher:

Chris “is still hoping ‘Swass’ catches on” Horne chris@thedevilstrip.com Cell phone: 330-555-NEVER-ANSWERS Art Director:

Alesa “doesn’t sleep” Upholzer, Talented and Patient Visuals Editor:

Svetla “The Balkan Comrade” Morrison Copy Editor:

Jessica “My name is not Jecca” Cherok

15 Rita Dove, Akron’s Pulitzer-winning,

Nat’l Poet Laureate 18 New/Native: Roommates Edition

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20 Whiskey Dick was an Akron Badass

table of contents 24

24 Urban Explorer in University Park 27 Introducing the Akron Pizza Task Force 31 Lady Beer Drinker Survives the

Rubber City Beer Fest 32 Crawling every bar in Akron

Sales Director:

TJ Masterson TJ@thedevilstrip.com

38 Gretchen Pleuss

goes “From Birth, to Breath, to Bone”

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The Editorial Team Arts Section Editor:

Bronlynn “Space Kitty” Thurman

39 Standing Room:

6 Akron Bands you Should Know

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Assistant Arts Editors:

Megan “Oxford comma slayer” Combs Noor Hindi, Will Get Back to Chris about That

42 Ohio’s Amateur Comedian

Contest Finals

Community & Culture Section Editors:

M. Sophie Hamad, ambitious wordsmith and mama Katie “Miss Scarlet in the Conservatory with a candlestick” Jackson

45 A whole damn page of Comic Strips

Assistant Culture Club Editor:

Jessica “Spreadsheets!” Cherok Ilenia “Our Short, Tired Garbanzo Bean Eatin', WTF Video Girl Writer” Pezzaniti

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Music & Entertainment Section Editors:

Jenny Conn, Real O.G. Storyteller Mackenzie “Needs a whimsical middle name” Mehrl

46 Our award-giving Urine Luck

Restroom Review

Music Editor:

Brittany “Sass Master Flash” Nader Staff Writers, Columnists & The A/V Club:

Emily “Lady Beer Drinker” Anderson; Holly “The Wanderer” Brown; Emily “Potty Perfectionist” Dressler and Marissa Marangoni, Bathroom Culture Enthusiast; “Lost in an Altered Realm” Dan Gorman & Brian Dunphy; Gabe “Softballin’” Gott; Paul “I don’t write” Hoffman; Chris “the Film Freak” Kessinger; Andrew “Has a mighty fine beard” Leask; Jacob Luther, the Towny Townie Toonist; Theodore “Quieter Days” Mallison; Mary “not so contrary, in fact, quite easy to get along with” Menzemer; the absolutely real and totally non-fictional Georgio Pelogrande; Roger Riddle, Wears the Purple Pants; Bronlynn “Enemy of Avocados, Destroyer of PEEPS” Thurman; The Shane Wynn Supremacy

OPTAB D

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Allie Angelo, Rick Bohan, Dominic Caruso, Mary Menzemer, Shelby Heitzenrater, Brit Charek, Craftiest Staff Writer/Maker of Empires; Jessica Conti, Says She’s Not That Clever But Must Be Lying; Heather “Doctor, Doctor” Braun; Eric Morris, Was Abducted By Jojo Pizzaface’; Scott Piepho; Bert Stevens

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Contributors:

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The Devil Strip is published bi-monthly by Random Family, LLC. Akron Distribution: The Devil Strip is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. Copyright: The entire contents of The Devil Strip are copyright 2016 by Random Family, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Publisher does not assume any liability for unsolicited manuscripts, materials, or other content. Any submission must include a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

All editorial, advertising, and business correspondence should be mailed to the address listed above.

PETS

Rane and Rosa are Shepherd / Lab mix sisters that were born around October 2015. They currently both weigh about 25 pounds but still have growing left to do. Rane and Rosa arrived from a neglect case and are extremely bonded and we are requiring they be adopted out together. They are shy girls that are looking for a low traffic and patient family that is wiling to give them time to relax and get comfortable in a new home. Once they know you, these two energetic pups love playing with toys and getting pets. They have potential with other dogs and would do best in a home with older children. If you think you have room in your home and heart for this playful duo, stop in and visit them today!

Meet Mr. Meow! This friendly 5.5 year old guy arrived at our shelter after being brought in by a Good Samaritan. Mr. Meow is a pretty social cat who loves everyone he meets! Mr. Meow enjoys gentle pets around his head, chin and cheek area along with snacking on tasty treats! When the mood strikes him, Mr. Meow loves to bounce around with a fun toy! He especially loves cat nip filled toys! If you're interested in getting to know Mr. Meow better, please stop by our shelter and ask to meet him today!

PAWSibilities Humane Society of Greater Akron 7996 Darrow Rd., Twinsburg, OH 44087 | 1.888.588.8436 | 330.487.0333 info@summithumane.org | www.summithumane.org | www.facebook.com/summithumane

APRIL 2016 • VOL 2 • ISSUE #4 /

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Just before our anniversary party this St. Patrick’s Day, Cristina González told me that the idea for Not Yo Daddy’s Hot Sauce was born the same day our print magazine was, March 17, 2015.

She’d struck up a conversation with Kaley Foster, who started Urban Buzz candles, is the force behind the Akron Sustainer project and organizes the Akron Breakfast Club.

Somewhere in this conversation, Cristina mentions her dad’s hot sauce recipe, which he made for special occasions. Kaley being Kaley, she urged her new friend to make and sell the hot sauce, even offering to connect Cristina with a bottler.

telling the story of who we are and who we can become.

But community isn’t just what we do. It’s how we do it.

Without even one full-time paid staff person, myself included, we’ve leaned on community to make each issue possible. Our editorial teams and contributors meet, plan, research, shoot, write and craft their work between their obligations to their day jobs, families, friends

of creative folks to re-imagine these nowluxuriously odd restrooms. This motley crew of Artspace artists and staffers, SynHak makers, the League of Creative Interventionists, Rubber City Print-ers and Let’s Grow Akron gardeners, made something together that wouldn’t have been as impressive had they done it alone.

We love our creators, makers, orgs and businesses, but real community requires more.

For community to thrive, the audience is vital.

Our readers aren’t just eyeballs for advertisers.

challenge and the opportunity. Those who did indulge in arts and culture events, 54 percent did so outside of Summit County.

It’s not hard to imagine an Akron where just The 44 Percent — or 336,000 Summit County residents between the ages of 18-65 — were actively patronizing our galleries, concerts, plays, films, etc. What if we could get them to do it more regularly? Or bring a friend? If we do more than preach to the choir — if we engage and activate the choir and make them ambassadors to the unwashed heathens who do not already prefer to spend their spare time on arts and culture (#jokingnotjoking) — then the economic and social impact would be enormous.

There’s just one more thing to consider.

Pictured right: The crew hanging out at Urban Eats

Affordable, collaborative and population-dense enough to count, Akron is already a pretty good place for creatives and cultural entrepreneurs, those folks whose businesses contribute significantly to our unique sense of place. But I don’t think we should settle for pretty good when great is so attainable.

Today, Not Yo Daddy’s is available at fine local joints, like Urban Eats ; used in food and drink recipes at Jilly’s Music Room; featured in a recent Unbox Akron shipment; and as the secret sauce for the most addictive croutons you’ll ever eat, sold at Sweet Mary’s Bakery and made with the eponymous owner’s bread.

That conversation between Cristina and Kaley happened at our launch party. We don’t deserve any credit for that at all, but it does illustrate what I want for The Devil Strip, to bring cool and creative people together.

This is what makes us different from the daily paper, other magazines, blogs and electronic media outlets. It is why we exist at all: Community. Our mission is not to inform the electorate or to entertain our readers or to make old folks suspicious that their washers and dryers might kill them. The Devil Strip is a nakedly pro-Akron arts and culture magazine hellbent on building and serving community by

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and other avocational interests. They rely on a network of connections around Akron to find, vet and tell compelling stories. And we all depend on the subjects of these stories to put themselves out there creatively and financially, risking potential failure and humiliation in an effort to do the kinds of cool things that inspire and challenge us.

That’s what made me smile in the first floor bathrooms at the Summit Artspace. Their staff responded to an unflattering critique by Urine Luck by pulling together multiple groups

We don’t need to hunt for big corporations or change our personality to attract hipsters from Austin and Brooklyn, but we do have to change They’re the people who contribute and support our story where it’s most broken. It’s time to Akron with their time, feedback and talents. stop thinking that Akron is a place you leave, a They show up for bathroom ribbon-cuttings, place where no sane person would move. It is generously apply Not Yo Daddy’s to their food, time to believe Akron deserves good and great dance at Jilly’s, tell their friends about Time Cat, things. When we get the BS out of the way hoot and holler at the EP Cooker and hang and can just be what we already are — a city work by Jessica Lofthus in their homes. of good and often creative people who usually know how to get along — you’ll be surprised Which is why I’m thinking about the Knightby what happens next.

GAR Arts Assessment again. That report says 44 Take care, percent of Summit County respondents already prefer to spend their spare time on arts and culture activities. But they aren’t. There’s the

United Way of Summit County

WhaT ThIS pLacE NEEDS IS paThWayS OUT Of pOVERTy.

Chris

Through Bridges Summit county, United Way is building a more prosperous and sustainable community – for all of us.

To donate or volunteer, go to UWSUMMIT.ORG

great things happen when we LIVE UNITED! United Way of Summit County UWSUMMIT.ORG

| THE Devil Strip / APRIL 2016 • VOL 2 • ISSUE #4

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

agenda

big idea WHAT’S YOUR BIG IDEA? We want to help build a year-round, public market for Akron that operates daily. Bringing the people of Akron together, in the middle of the city, to create and enjoy the food we love while learning each other’s stories and building a more vibrant and unified community.

Why pursue it? We want to help connect the greater community of the region to the vibrant collection of chefs, gardeners, food vendors and craftspeople of Akron. We want to provide an opportunity for those who grow food to connect with those who prepare and serve.

Creating a central space where Akron's various communities can connect with each other would help unify the neighborhoods of Akron through meals and shared experience.

The Market would foster collaboration and education in the community through food: a central component of daily life. Markets foster neighborly feelings and pride in the cities where they exist.

When did you know your Big Idea was a good idea? We visited the North Market in Columbus the day after Thanksgiving last

Name: Melissa Olson Age: 29 Hometown: State College, PA Home now: Kent, OH Occupation: Graphic Designer/ Photographer Contact: akronpublicmarket.wordpress.com; akronpublicmarket@gmail.com

Name: Cory Sheldon Age: 38 Hometown: Stow, OH Home now: Streetsboro, OH Occupation: Filmmaker/Professor Contact: akronpublicmarket.wordpress.com; akronpublicmarket@gmail.com

year and realized Akron would benefit from a market of our own in downtown. We have friends working on growing local pop-up style marketplaces, continuing community gardening projects and helping refugees get re-settled in Akron.

How do you hope your Big Idea helps Akron grow? We hope a public market for Akron would help foster conversation and relationship between otherwise unlikely acquaintances. We want to increase food awareness in Akron Public Schools, give opportunities to entrepreneurs and refugees, and generate increased activity in the downtown corridor. The Akron Public Market would be a focal point to act as a springboard for the already happening revitalization of Downtown Akron.

We think a market would be a great place to bring all of these efforts (and more) together into a central, daily marketplace. In neighborhoods with established public markets, there has been a proven benefit to both popup style shops as well as near-by established businesses through an increase in foot-traffic.

Voting: Come for the Ballot...

Stay for the Sticker

by Georgio Pelogrande (@GPelogrande) It’s an election year! How many times do I have to tell you? In the spirit of democracy and republicancy I will call this little article, “Take Me To The River (To Eat Brains, That Is…) It was announced some time ago that the US Government, now known officially as Obamacare, is organizing something out west called the State Carcasses. It is supposedly a travelling week-long celebration of all things political and is reported to feature rock concerts

by Hillary Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars, Colonel Bernie Sanders And His Lonely Hearts Club Band, Donald Trumpet's Horn Review, and of course brothers Tom and Ted Cruz and their unique fusion of South American Jazz and Native Canadian Indian beats.

But I'm here to warn you: it's a trap. And now I'm going to prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt. First, let's start by defining the words chosen as the title for this supposed feature, “State Carcass.” Time to check some facts:

state

/stāt/ • noun used or done on ceremonial occasions;involving the ceremony associated with a head of state

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

carcass /'kärkəs/ • noun You should go check it out. the decaying or worthless remains of a structure The carcass of an abandoned automobile.

You’re getting me off track. Let’s get back to the conspiracy: So what have we learned from a simple The states are going to lure unsuspecting examination of the title? It looks pretty obvious concert goers with the promise of great music to me. It's time to stop dancing around the and outdoor restrooms overflowing with subject. Here's what's really going on, folks: mayonnaise-based summer salads. Once in There are millions of dead rotten smelly voters the venue and drunk on the sweet odor of afloat in the nation’s public waterways and Hellmann's, they will line everyone up and hit they are organizing a cannibalistic zombie them individually on the head with a shovel smorgasbord to clean up the stinking mess, until each person becomes a zombie. (I’m pretty “Walking Dead”-style. sure that’s how that works.) Then, Donald Trumpet will lead the undead flock to the smorgasbord shores of the nation’s once beautiful rivers and /'smôrgəs,bôrd/ • noun lakes like a modern day Pied Piper; skipping 1. a buffet meal of various hot and cold hors shirtless with his blonde locks flowing in the d' oeuvres, salads, casserole dishes, meats, and wind, and playing a New Orleans funk version cheeses; 2. an extensive array or variety of “Sweet Georgia Brown” on a glowing saxophone emblazoned with the words "Make I personally don't like casserole dishes. I think America Grape Again." For showmanship, the it's just a way to disguise gross leftovers as path to the river will be lined with all 456,723 something new because you mix in some current and former Radio City Music Hall daggone noodles and bake it for a little bit.

Rockettes dressed as their favorite cinematic I'm looking at you, mom. Anyways, my uncle Batman. That is when a horrible feast will begin Chaz's restaurant features a buffet that would and the waterway restoration project will be in at the very least rival any zombie brain feast. full swing.

You know what they didn't think of though?

What the Hale-Bopp Comet are they going to do with all those zombies once they're done eating? More than likely they'll just shoot them all in the head and throw them in the river and the problem will repeat itself every four years.

The moral here is, don’t be a mindless horde.

Vote, and then get a free sticker. Also, don’t be a zombie. You know what? Never mind.

I shall now leave you with my favorite quote on political zombies. "Run! Run you stupid morons! Ruuuuuuun! They're tearing at my flesh! No! Not the spleen! It's my favorite organ! Why are you still standing there, Coral?

Ruuuuuuuuu-" --Georgio Pelogrande (as Rick Grimes in the local theater's upcoming production of "Walking Dead, A Slight Return") Until next time, vote or read a book. Be nicer.

Run. Thank you and you're welcome.

// BIO: You can hear Georgio give his sports, traffic and weather reports on The Altered Realm radio show from 8 pm to midnight every Saturday on KRMAradio.com

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fivefast

agenda

questions

With Oddmall founder Andy Hopp, the man who makes Oddmall so… odd

å

I know Oddmall is "part art fair, part craft show, part comic con, part gaming festival, part cosplay extravaganza, part toy show, part antique show, part vintage fashion show, part geeksplosion, part music fest, part magic show, and part various undefinable othernesses" but *why* is Oddmall? How did it come into being?

Oddmall’s roots probably start with a trip we took to Cleveland’s Bazaar Bizarre in 2008.

This was a great show. It overflowed with incredible art and fantastic creations by some very talented artists and crafters. If you have the means I highly suggest you attend (I’m pretty sure it has evolved into Cleveland Bazaar nowadays). The place was packed, although the digs were intensely industrial (some sort of post-apocalyptic abandoned factory, but in a good way) and not very amenable to the toddler and baby we had in our party.

Nevertheless, we were all very impressed by the art on display and the whole sort of general vibe of the thing.

following November. The idea was to present the populace with a show we ourselves would want to go to, so it had to overflow with the sort of things we like. We dig strange and unusual art, so that was the primary focus (especially in the early days when our space was more restricted), but the idea from the beginning was to throw everything we love into the mix (live entertainment, games, geeky things, comics and books, toys, curiosities, tattoos, costuming and cosplay, and everything else fun, imaginative, unique, or wonderful).

Also, it had to be FREE (because we decided to make the show we want to go to and we don’t want to pay, although donations are sincerely appreciated).

ç

Where else has this Oddmall weirdness spread (and how)?

Currently Oddmall: Emporium of the Weird is happening every Spring at the Knight Center in Akron, twice a year at the Culture Center for the Arts in Canton (Oddmall: Expedition Elsewhere in February and Oddmall: Chrishanukwanzmadan in December), and several times a year near Seattle, Washington.

My brother David runs the jazz in the Pacific Northwest. I think he is planning on shows in Tacoma, Washington and perhaps Portland, Oregon soon. We also have plans for another Ohio show this autumn (Oddmall: Hallowondrous), possibly in Columbus or Cleveland (but maybe in Akron). We’ll have details available at the Akron Oddmall April 30 and May 1. Oddmall: Emporium of the Weird (Bluegrass Edition) might also be a thing relatively soon in Lexington, Kentucky.

We already had connections with various venues in the region because we’d been running Con on the Cob (cononthecob.com) for several years by that time. So, inspired by Bazaar Bizarre and just sort of on a whim, we decided to give our own art show a try.

We didn’t want to simply copy a model that was already invented, though, and we didn’t want to compete with or take business from other shows, so we hosted the first Oddmall: Emporium of the Weird in May of 2009 at the Clarion hotel in Hudson. The show was very successful, with about 1500 attendees and 110 vendors. So successful was it, in fact (despite What's your favorite Oddmall story or the obvious learning curve and lessons we’ve moment? What example exemplifies learned along the way) that we pretty much the experience? immediately decided to do another Oddmall the I’m going to ask a few of the friends and peeps

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é

ê

How in the world do you all juggle these events, your games, stories and artwork, and still have a robust family life?

Heather: I loved watching the doors open that I can only answer for myself (Andy), but I do indeed have my hands in many cookie jars. first day at the John S Knight Center. The rush A lot of the credit for Oddmall’s continued of people through our first big scale opening. success should be heaped upon my talented I looked at them and thought, 'How do we assistants Krystal and Greg. They do a lot of provide and entertain all of these thousands of people?' The answer was obvious and keeps on the grunt work so I can try to focus on the creative aspects of the job (writing, illustration, going: Just keep doing what we do for the art & geek communities and they will keep coming. game design, and such). Both Oddmall and Con on the Cob have an extremely helpful base It's a genuine two way experience where we of volunteers and friends who help us give care about and help grow the community and the illusion that things run smoothly. We are they keep coming together with us to create a extremely grateful for the help we get unique experience every time. from our friends in the community and in the local media.

Aurora (age 7): I love wandering around selling Oddmall stickers with my bandolier Of course none of this would be worth doing covered in buttons. if it infringed upon family life. My wife Heather and my daughters Iliana and Aurora are the Jessica: My favorite is seeing people surprised beans in my chili. Wait, that was a dumb by the Zombie Massage. And hearing from those that got a massage how much they loved metaphor. They are the vowels in my alphabet soup. That was a little better. The raisins in my it and hope that she's at the next OddMall! bran? Anyway, they’re awesome, which is why I try to keep work hours as regular as possible Iliana (age 11): My favorite Oddmall memory is when I entered the costume contest with my and involve them in every aspect of the jazz. associated with Oddmall to help me answer this question:

friends and we were all dressed as characters from Five Night’s at Freddy’s.

Kylan: I loved seeing Steve Gonsalves from “Ghost Hunters” come in and hear that he came because someone told him about how cool it was and he came to be around his people.

è

Is there anything particularly Akron or Northeast Ohio about Oddmall and Mutha Oith?

Northeast Ohio has a consistently growing and very exciting art scene. There are so many talented and creative people up here. I like to think we’re doing our part to help bring them all together (along with our friends at Crafty Mart, Wandering Aesthetics, Geek Watch One, Dr. Sketchy, Summit Art Space, SynHak, The Devil Strip, and many other artistic, geeky, and imaginative local endeavors). There’s a wonderful sense of openness and friendship among Northeast Ohio’s creative community that’s practically bereft of the stereotypical arrogance and pretension people often associate with artists and creative peeps.

Oddmall is proud to support and foster an environment where openness, understanding, acceptance, encouragement, and imagination are cherished virtues.

About the Cover The creature on the cover of the magazine is native to this area… kind of. Featured in the illustrated story book “Alphabeast Soup,” it’s called a Flounce and it was born of Andy Hopp’s imagination. He’s the writer, illustrator and game designer who started Oddmall: Emporium of the Weird, which takes over the Knight Center later this month. If you don’t already know, Oddmall is an Akron invention that’s in its seventh year and has spread as far away as Seattle. To get a better handle on the fun, eclectic and strange you can expect at Oddmall his issue, we asked Andy to give us the story (Five Fast Questions, pg. 6). “Alphabeast Soup” will be available at Oddmall and can be purchased online at lowtique.com. You can learn more about Oddmall at oddmall.info and more about Andy at muthaoithcreations.com.

| THE Devil Strip / APRIL 2016 • VOL 2 • ISSUE #4

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agenda

UNIVERSITY OF AKRON LAYOFFS YOU HAVEN’T HEARD ABOUT ...YET The costs of treating higher education like a business An editorial by Chris Drabick

I lost my full-time job at the University of Akron.

I am, until the end of the Spring semester, an instructor in the Department of English, with the job title Temporary Visiting Lecturer. The language itself portends how precarious a position I, and the 100 or so other TVLs, have been in.

Ask the UA administration, and you’ll hear in secret, away from the eyes and ears of the talk of adding academic jobs. It’s a(nother) community they ostensibly serve. lie. In my department, there were nine TVLs in 2015-16. They “added” “Run it like a business.” three new full-time Instructor jobs. Nine minus six. Six of us We’ve heard this a million gone. I can’t speak for other times. The “it” changes, but departments. But in mine, the mantra remains. In what But teaching is what I do, and it is what I’m that means adjunct faculty business would a 30 percent supposed to do. In anonymous evaluations of will teach 300 more students drop in “customers” be my composition courses, my students have said in 2016-17. This is not to tolerated? They love to cite things like: disparage adjuncts, especially “changing demographics,” but considering I’ll be one in the Fall. those numbers have not hurt our “This man is the reason I now enjoy “competitors’” enrollment figures. writing so much.”

Adjuncts have it rough; some work at three or even more different campuses, teaching Perhaps it’s the litany of bad decisions and “I wouldn’t want my friends to miss out half-dozen sections per semester, subsisting short sightedness that makes us feel powerless. on having a teacher like (him).” on something near or below poverty wages We know it all by heart by now: $1 with no job security, and certainly unable to million in renovations, baseball “He wants to help you become a better give the sort of time and attention to student cut for naught, $850,000 to writer (and) see his students succeed.” work that would benefit everyone. But the an unproven startup (started suggestion that the current UA administration up by a man with a federal On these same evaluations, I finish with an is doing anything in the best interests of current fraud investigation over his overall response score always above the or future students, that they care even one head), which now handles department mean. And it’s not because I’m appreciable whit about education, is erroneous the student success once handing out A’s like candy: check me out on in every possible regard. Ask any adjunct. ably handled by, you know, ratemyprofessors.com, and you’ll find students Student Success. One after the commonly classify me as a “Tough Grader” (I’ve Please don’t be fooled by the administration’s other after the other. When we also got one of those hotness chili peppers, flashy, hollow buzzwords, the constant hear that the University “borrowed” which is neither here nor there but makes me doublespeak or outright refusal to answer $4.1 million from its students in the form of feel better about myself nonetheless, which has any direct question, LeBron’s smiling face and illegal fees, it gets added to an already weighty become increasingly important of late as you arm around Scott Scarborough. This is a failed list of what would have once seemed like might imagine). administration. They conduct their business unbelievable nonsense.

“

Run it like a business.

”

But believe it. This actually happened. Has anyone been punished for this tangible, literal thievery, or any of the other crimes—some real, some figurative—that have been perpetrated by this administration of our University, our city, our community? What will it take for us—and make no mistake, it is up to us—to demand accountability, to demand immediate change?

It’s not too late to start again. But it is getting later. And it is going to be harder. This University, this resource, is ours. It is not theirs.

It’s doubtless that you know someone who was directly affected by the much-covered round of job losses last summer. It was devastating.

“Mistakes were made,” they said.

“

There’s no front-page ABJ coverage of this round of job losses. But there will be fewer fulltime instructors in many departments at UA in the fall. Fewer Akronites with health benefits, a decreased tax base, less money for good and services, the real trickle-down economics.

They’ve learned to keep it quiet this round. Don’t let them.

Make some f#¿¶ing noise.

”

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

Make some fucking noise.

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AKRON ART MUSEUM • THROUGH APRIL 24, 2016 GALLERY TOUR: PAUL O’KEEFFE Thursday, April 21 • 6:30 pm • FREE

Join NEO Geo artist Paul O’Keeffe as he leads a tour of the museum’s collection. O’Keeffe brings his point of view as a former student of collection artist Anthony Caro.

Clockwise from top left: Gianna Commito, Court (detail), 2014; Erik Neff, Shoreline (detail), 2015; Natalie Lanese, Depthless Without You (detail), 2015; Paul O’Keeffe, a distant silence IV (detail), 2013; Amy Sinbondit, Section Break (detail), 2011; Kristina Paabus, 3h (detail), 2012; Janice Lessman-Moss, #446 (detail), 2015; Michelle Marie Murphy, Eyeshadow: Going Out ‘n Back Again (detail), 2012.

NEO Geo is organized by the Akron Art Museum and generously supported by Myrna Berzon, Dianne and Herbert Newman, the Kenneth L. Calhoun Charitable Trust and Harris Stanton Gallery. Media sponsorship is provided by WKSU 89.7 and Western Reserve PBS.

One South High | Akron, OH 44308 | 330.376.9185 | www.AkronArtMuseum.org

the arts

EXPLORING THE ARTS IN AKRON

11 WHISKERTIN LIGHTING ILLUMINATES 14 DRAMA ON THE SPECTRUM 16 WHERE SEWING AND ART CONNECT

RITA DOVE

Rita Dove is a National Medal of Arts recipient, a Pulitzer Prize winner and a former National Poet Laureate — but here, she’s the Pride of Akron (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) pg. 15

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

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the arts

ì å

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The palette: April events Our picks for arts events in April

by Bronlynn Thurman

ê

é í ‹ Rubber City Shakespeare Company: The Comedy of Errors April 1-17 at Summit Art Space Directed by Michele McNeal, “The Comedy of Errors” is a Shakespearean play about two sets of identical twins who are separated at birth and find themselves in the same city. This leads to a variety of mix-ups and quirky mishaps as the twins attempt to figure out what’s going on. Tickets are $14 for adults, $12 for seniors/ students and $10 for youth.

å The Sound of Music April 8-10 at Cuyahoga Falls High School The classic musical “The Sound of Music” will be hitting the Cuyahoga Falls High School stage in April. Come out to support students as they take you back in time. The hills are alive!

ç Dr. Sketchy’s Akron: Z the Swashbucklin' Rum-guzzler April 13 at Jilly’s Music Room, 7:30 pm Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School is back again with Z, the Swashbucklin’ Rum-guzzler. Drink, eat and win prizes as you strengthen your drawing skills with a group of local artists. People of all skill levels are welcome, and admission is $10.

é Akron Coffee Roasters: Coffees Around The World April 14 at Akron Art Museum, 5:30 pm Do you like coffee? Art? Well, look no further

10

ë

è as Akron Coffee Roasters host a Coffees Around The World tour at the Akron Art Museum. Taste Colombian, Indonesian, Java and others paired with West Side Bakery sweets. Hurry and get your tickets before they’re gone. Members pay $6.27, while nonmembers pay $11.54.

è2016 Fairlawn Spring Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show April 16 at St. George Fellowship Center, 10 am - 5 pm This large art and craft show will feature local artists of all kinds. Admission is $3.

It’s sure to leave you in stitches. Tickets are $22 for adults, $20 for seniors, $10 for children and $11 for college students that show their ID.

í Lake Effect Poetry Grand Slam April 23 at Hivemind, 7pm Poets Sarah Holbrook and Kisha Nicole Foster will emcee a three-round poetry slam featuring poets who advanced in the eight qualifying rounds. This is their chance to join a team of other local poets. $5 donation suggested.

ì Miles Ahead

April 27 at The Nightlight & Blu Jazz+ Local talent Theron Brown will have his film debut as Herbie Hancock in Don Cheadle’s (A Storytelling Performance) April 21-23 at ACAMP, 8pm “Miles Ahead.” The Nightlight and Blu Jazz+ Kyle Jozsa, storyteller of Wandering Aesthetics, partnered up to have a premiere and show has a way of immersing his audience in the package. Come see a movie and talk to the stories he tells. For Earth Day, check out his new actors afterwards. batch of folktales from around the world. Each have a common thread as they explore both ‹ Oddmall: inner and outer peace. Tickets are $15.

Emporium of the Weird April 30 - May 1 at John S. Knight Center Oddmall: Emporium of the Weird is back for ë Vanya and Sonia and another year. Come check out this two-day Masha and Spike April 21 - May 8 at Weathervane Playhouse event that has everything from cosplay to artists A comedy by Christopher Durang, “Vanya and to LARPers. Admission is free, and you’re sure Sonia and Masha and Spike” is about siblings to have a good time. and their ability to drive each other crazy.

Winner of the 2013 Tony Awards’ Best Play, this is a “sunny new play about gloomy people.”

Lock 3 Summer Arts Experience Have you ever wanted to be an artist’s apprentice for a summer and earn $400? Well, here is your chance.

ê Keep The Peace

| THE Devil Strip / APRIL 2016 • VOL 2 • ISSUE #4

Lock 3 is hosting their Summer Arts Experience which allows APS students (or those who live within the area) from ages 14-17 to work under an experienced artist for the summer.

Subjects of interest include: Steel drums, fashion design, orchard fence sculpture, painted community cans, large mural painting and sculpture.

To apply, email, mail in or drop off the application form at Lock 3 found at this link: http://goo.gl/forms/7sjI4PsJIq Applications are due by April 29. Find more information at facebook.com/L3SAE

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

the arts

ILLUMINATING CHAIN

How two local makers illuminate the dark with their creative creations

by Sarah Koester Having long been interested in using leftover materials for a more creative process, K Company employee Aaron Novak has successfully done so with friend and business partner, Glenn Miller.

Their endeavor began six months ago when Novak brought some ductwork home from a job site. Alongside Miller, they drilled holes in a piece of pipe, wired it with a generic white extension cord and made their first lamp in Novak’s basement. While they were happy with the end result, they wanted feedback. They posted pictures of the lamp online and orders from their friends started pouring in for stock pulley lights and for larger industrial fixtures, complete with an upgraded brown and yellow braided cord with a vintage plug.

As their products started to gain attention, their

friend Andrew Wells (andeewells.com) built a website and created a brand for the business, now officially called Whiskertin.

Pictured above: Whiskertin owners, their lanterns,

“Andy has been a huge part of our success,” said Novak. “He took our idea, polished it, and made it a real thing.”

Cuyahoga Falls, Dr. Howard Nagle Dentistry in Hermitage, PA, and a Rust Belt-themed bar, El Dorado, set to open in Austin, TX.

Even though Miller and Novak had more orders than they knew what to do with, they wanted to branch out beyond their circle of friends.

Whiskertin stock lamps are currently for sale at Hazel Tree Interiors. For more items, check out Whistertin’s Facebook page. The cost of stock lamps ranges from $90 to $300.

courtesy of Aaron Novak)

After the site was completed, 118 Cocktail Bar in Green approached Whiskertin. Impressed with their work, they ordered multiple pulley lights and a 7-foot light fixture. The same day, they met with Great Lakes Brewery, who ordered six hanging light fixtures to be made from their kegs. They are also currently working with Matinee and Mr. Zub’s, Salon Lift in

To see more items or make a special order, contact Miller and Novak on their Facebook page: facebook.com/whiskertin or at

whiskertinlight.com

Imagine what Akron will be like once the 27 winners of our first Knight Arts Challenge launch their projects

Akron Songwriters Workshop ($18,000) Promoting the art of songwriting by hosting a week-long summer songwriters workshop for Akron residents.

Akron Soul Train ($150,000) Supporting the work of grassroots artists by launching Akron Soul Train, a series of refurbished rail cars and shipping containers that will be turned into housing, galleries and studio space.

Akron Street Art Project ($25,000) Enlivening and attracting new people to downtown through public art projects.

Akron’s Toy Marble Railways ($24,000) Celebrating Akron as the birthplace of the world’s first mass-produced toy – the clay marble – with an interactive, kinetic, sculpture

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

garden of toy marble railways at Lock 3 Park and other public spaces.

Art Bomb Brigade ($45,000) Creating an “Art Bomb Brigade,” a traveling group of artists that visits neighborhoods in need of a facelift and engages the community in public art-making.

Bigger Than a Breadbox ($75,000) Providing a platform for Akron’s artists through Bigger Than a Breadbox, a quarterly vaudeville show of local talent that will travel to different neighborhoods.

Helping Create Awareness of Art & Culture in Cuyahoga Falls

by Molly Hartong and Matt Weiss

and their beards: Aaron Novak and Glenn Miller (Photo

THOUGHT EXPERIMENT Akron Art Library ($67,200) Introducing new audiences to collecting art by starting an art rental program, where any resident with a library card can check out works to display in their home.

Cuyahoga Falls: An Art & Culture Collaborative

Dance.r.evolution ($40,000) Engaging new audiences by bringing together classically trained ballet dancers with local hip-hop dancers, graffiti artists and urban/pop musicians to create new work.

Developing Alternatives for Women in New Communities ($6,410) Helping Bhutanese women who came to Northeast Ohio as refugees improve their sewing and craft-making abilities, and market their products.

The Cappies ($15,000) Building the next generation of art critics by having local journalists train high school theater and journalism students in writing reviews, and then honoring the best work at an awards show.

dreamUP ($20,000) Bringing together a diverse group of women in a series of workshops where they will create artistic pieces that reflect their individual life visions and goals.

The Curated Storefront ($100,000) Bringing more art into the city by activating unused storefronts in downtown with multimedia art installations that showcase local and regional artists.

The Glass Menagerie Through the Prism of Autism ($12,000) Providing audiences with a greater understanding of the challenges facing people with autism with a theater experience (continued on page 34)

After about a year and a half of conversations, Molly Hartong, of Molly Hartong Design, and Matt Weiss, of Right Brain Design Group, are working on bringing awareness of the art and culture scene in Cuyahoga Falls into the spotlight. The conversations were consistently about the potential in Cuyahoga Falls. Finally, Molly reached out and connected with Nicole Mullet from ArtsNow of Summit County, and things started happening.

The first meeting of what is now called COLLIDE: Cuyahoga Falls was held at the Cuyahoga Valley Art Center and was attended by about 25 artists and supporters of the arts. The purpose of the meeting was to get a general sense of what the "art scene" was in Cuyahoga Falls, and what the attendees would like to see in our city. A lot of terrific discussions took place that evening. Much of the talk helped define the purpose of COLLIDE. For the next gathering, COLLIDE partnered up again with Mullet and representatives from Better Block Cuyahoga Falls. This mixer was held at the Cashmere Cricket in the Falls and had roughly 50 people in attendance.

After talking with other creatives in the Falls, creating an "art district" and building an awareness of what Cuyahoga Falls has to offer seemed like the primary focus for this emerging art & culture collaborative. Cuyahoga Falls has a wealth of talented, diverse and energetic people, and if COLLIDE can bring that energy together, great things will happen for the community. COLLIDE wants all forms of art, from culinary to tattoo to performing and visual artists to be included.

For any organization to last and thrive, young people need to be willing and able to get involved. So one of COLLIDE’s goals is to reach out to the local schools and work with them on helping develop and support the future artists in our community.

Through partnerships with ArtsNow and other groups in the community, COLLIDE can make great things happen in Cuyahoga Falls.

Keep up with COLLIDE: Cuyahoga Falls on Facebook at: facebook.com/CollideCF

the arts

Meditation Gets a Makeover Two Miller South students bring peace to the walls of Just Be

by Noor Hindi In March, Miller South students and aspiring artists Bella Zetts and Bayan Ahmad were given the opportunity to paint a mural in Just Be Meditation’s new studio in Green. Walking into the studio, you’ll immediately be struck with the beauty and detail of the artists’ work.

“I wanted this mural slap dab in our entry way to captivate people's attention and to possibly prompt them to consider having beauty and art in their own homes and offices,” Just Be Founder Eden Kozlowski said. “That one-of-akind creative works can be accessible, and it can come from unexpected places.”

12

The mural, which was finished just in time for Just Be’s grand opening on March 12, is not the first big project the girls have completed. For First Night in downtown Akron, both Ahmad and Zetts completed the Lock 3 banners.

The mural in Just Be’s studio features various symbols of peace that are accented with a white and gray background. One of the symbols is a dove. “That’s the dove that stands for peace, and (Kozlowski) just wanted something that symbolized peace, so we decided on a dove,” Zetts said.

The project, which Ahmad said took them over three weekends to complete, greeted over 70 visitors on opening day. Previously located in the Kruger Shopping Plaza in Green, the studio is now located on 1790 Town Park Blvd in Uniontown.

Pictured above: Artists Bella Zetts and Bayan Ahmad in front of their Peace Mural at Just Be Meditation (PHOTO: Noor Hindi/The Devil Strip)

For more information about upcoming classes and community events, visit Just Be Meditation on Facebook:

“The bigger space (which has a large meditation room, kitchen/gathering space and two therapy rooms) also allows Just Be facebook.com/JustBeMeditation. to bring in several other colleagues whom I deeply respect and trust to further enhance our // BIO: When she’s not freaking out about poetry, the outreach capabilities and therapeutic offerings,” Nervous Poodle Poet enjoys getting her Namaste on at Just Be Meditation.

Kozlowski said.

Akron Cento

N

ONA ATI L

Poetry MO

NTH

National Poetry Month makes arts editor Noor Hindi want to jump up and down with excitement and WRITE.ALL.THE. POEMS. Not only is this month dedicated to the celebration of all of the fabulous poems and poets who have inspired us and made us better writers, but it’s a great time for us to flex our poetic muscles and be the badasses that we are. Last month, we asked fellow Akronites to send us a line of prose to be featured in our very own Akron Cento. For those of you who aren’t poetry experts, a cento is a poem wholly composed of verses or passages taken from other authors. Akron, you’ve got some poetic genius in you. Also, you really love birds and the sky.

See >> Thanks to poets Paul Mangus, Kate Nypaver, Rachel Lenk, Dillon McCrea, Chris Kessinger, Melanie Anderson, Marianna Hofer, Robin Watton Stevens, Lia Pietrolungo and Twitter user @Aayla305 for contributing a line to our poem.

I drift like an unleashed balloon through cotton skies the intense aroma of nostalgia providing my wings to fly. When I speak of you and I, I use the royal we.

Small birds chittered at each other as they picked through the aster’s dried stems and flowers, picking out seeds. I looked at my camera and realized you’re the bird I couldn’t get a picture of. Gazing through the winterwood in bright anticipation, the wind is whispering to me again, the promise of adventure and secrets kissing my skin. Maybe I just want my blanket back, maybe I can't stop thinking about eggs and my life is in scrambles.

That’s all the creativity I have left.

| THE Devil Strip / APRIL 2016 • VOL 2 • ISSUE #4

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

the arts

Creative Devils

They may not get a certificate and recognition on the loudspeaker, but some Barberton HS kids deserve our recognition for staying true to their art and themselves words and photos by Mary Menzemer Photos courtesy of: Mary Menzemer/The Devil Strip

Barberton used to get a bad rap. Let’s be honest. Lately however, it seems like all of our previous notions about the town are doing a complete 180. In the last year or so, I have heard only of the awesome, creative things that young people are doing to make their town one that is more involved in the lives of its people and a more artistically fulfilling place to live.

In order to find high school students in art classes for this piece, I contacted several local high schools mostly in the Akron Public School district asking them if they had any kids who were outstanding art students and if they were willing to set up a meeting with them. Out of the six or so teachers and administrative personnel I contacted, only one responded: Ron White, art teacher at Barberton High School.

From the art students I spoke with, to the three high school girls organizing the Fourth Friday event, it is evident that young people in Barberton are running their own revolution, one that is dedicated to individuality and creativity.

Xavier Adkins Senior Barberton High School “I do pencil shading because I’m colorblind.

There’s a piece that I’m currently working on of an angel holding a shield. I’ve been working on it for a week because I only have an hour a day to work on it. I’m thinking I want to go to college to be a marine biologist, but keep drawing on the side as a hobby.

I like art because it helps when I get stressed. It helps me with how I think.

I enjoy it, but it helps clear my mind too. I’ve been ice carving a lot too.

I want to do everything with ice. My favorite thing in the world is water. I won’t drink it, but I like doing water things. And when everyone’s asks, ‘Why won’t you eat fish or anything?’ I always do the joke, ‘I don’t eat my kind.’”

Jazmin Jackson

100%

Freshman Barberton High School “Art is a great way to express yourself and put your feelings on a piece of paper. I draw a lot of characters, mostly Japanese animation characters. I draw them in different mediums and different styles; some are realistic and some aren’t. I do want to get involved in professional art, and I’m excited to be in high school because I see an opportunity to get really involved in that. I make Japanese dance videos online with 3D animation also. I want to make art a part of my career, whether I get into art therapy or be an animator. I love it so much and wouldn’t care how much I get paid for it; I just want to do it every day.”

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

Opening April 15th APRIL AND THE EXTRAORDINARY WORLD Directed by Franck Ekinci, Christian Desmares

SHOWTIMES AT

NIGHTLIGHTCINEMA.COM

30 N HIGH ST AKRON HISTORIC ARTS DISTRICT NEAR CRAVE, URBAN EATS, & NUEVO

the arts

Drama on the Spectrum A look into Akron’s newest creative school. words by Andrew Leask photos courtesy of the Center for Applied Drama and Autism

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Like most drama teachers, Wendy Duke and Laura Valendza, co-founders of the Center for Applied Drama and Autism, start their classes with warm-up exercises.

On Saturday morning in early February I sat in on their class at the Balch Street Theatre. Duke had her students practice their body language.

She called out instructions to the children, all between the ages of nine and 12, from a chair up against the wall of the auditorium.

“What does your body look like when you’re sad,” she asked. All at once, the children hung their heads, and their shoulders sagged. They marched around the room, silent and forlorn.

“Freeze,” said Duke. The children stopped in their tracks. As she scanned over the class, she invited her students to inspect their classmates. “We should see statues of sad people,” she said.

Duke continued the exercise by cycling through different emotional states for her students to perform. They had to play angry, nervous and suspicious. And each time, she told them to freeze and to observe the body language of the children around them.

At first glance, there is nothing particularly notable about this exercise. It could be a part of any drama class. But there is a reason why Duke and her fellow teacher, Laura Valendza, have chosen to use this particular exercise with this particular set of students. Most of the children and young adults in Duke and Valendza’s weekly classes are on the autism spectrum.

People on the autism spectrum — a range of related neurodevelopmental disorders — often struggle to read body language and facial expressions. By having their students act out emotional states in front of their peers, Duke and Valendza are teaching them to recognize nonverbal social cues.

as laughter echoed across the auditorium.

But that’s part of the magic of the CADA. It provides more than just acting classes.

“The program is probably the best thing that’s happened to my son,” said Angie Laakso, CADA’s Business Manager. Her 12-year-old son attends classes there. For him, Laakso said, the program provides a safe space where he can just be himself. “He’s always on the defensive,” she said. “Protecting himself from sounds, or feelings, or anxiety, or from embarrassment, or whatever. This is a place where he doesn’t have to protect himself.”

None of this would be possible without the hard work of the CADA’s volunteer teaching assistants, who support Duke and Valendza every week. These young people, some of whom are on the autism spectrum themselves, also comprise the program’s performance troupe, Theatre on the Spectrum. Dedicated to providing hands-on experience in theatrical production to its members, Theatre on the Spectrum also seeks to raise awareness of issues important to the autism community.

This month, on April 23, they will stage an interactive murder mystery at the AES Building in Downtown Akron.

Indeed, the important thing to recognize is that these students are very much a part of the drama community in Akron. According to Valendza, people should let the idea of a disability go, and instead see the amazing contributions these individuals can make. “Not by changing them or forcing them into a certain way,” Valendza said, “but by letting them be who they are, which is what we do.”

“They get it,” she said. “And they are making wonderful theatre.” // BIO: Andrew Leask writes fiction in the company of his wife, Amy, and their two cats, Monty and Nigella.

This is in keeping with the larger goal of the Center for Applied Drama and Autism. Duke and Valendza aim to nurture a passion for drama in their students, while helping them to develop important life skills that will serve them long after they leave the classroom. This was especially evident in the second class I sat in on: The “Transitions” course for teens and young adults. In addition to rehearsing scenes from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, these students took part in exercises that had them improvising scenes based on real-life interactions, such as waiting at a crowded bus stop.

If that sounds like work, one certainly doesn’t get that impression from the students. At times, the class seemed to descend into joyful chaos

Spring session classes with the Center for Applied Drama and Autism begin April 9 in the Evans Building at 333 S Main St., in Downtown Akron. For more information, or to register for classes, visit

centerforada.org

Congratulations!

On March 15, the Center for Applied Drama and Autism was chosen as one of 27 winners of the Knight Arts Challenge.

The $12,000 awarded to the group will go toward staging Theatre on the Spectrum’s first major production, Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie, scheduled for September. The production will include scenes and experiences designed to give attendees a greater understanding of issues related to autism.

| THE Devil Strip / APRIL 2016 • VOL 2 • ISSUE #4

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

the arts

Rita Dove on Love, Race, Family and Akron History An interview in celebration of National Poetry Month

by Noor Hindi

A few months ago, I picked up Rita Dove’s Pulitzer Prize winning poetry collection “Thomas and Beulah,” which tells the story of Dove’s maternal grandparents. My love for this collection was immediate and powerful.

Overwhelmed by the beauty of Dove’s work, I reached out to see if she’d be willing to answer a few questions about the collection and her personal tie to Akron.

Noor Hindi: It's interesting to me that you grew up in Akron and that your family is also from Akron. It's also very significant that your father was the first black chemist to work in the tire industry, which was booming in the mid 1900s. I am wondering how Akron's rich history, as well as your grandparents’ and parents’ lives, have influenced your poetry and work?

Rita Dove: That's a book length question!

I mean, it would require an entire memoir to explain the impact of my parents' and grandparents' influence upon me. For instance, the storytelling ability certainly comes from a legion of female relatives, and the succinct comic element would be the domain of some of my male relatives, who could tell jokes like nobody's business. But that doesn't get at all of the tiny moments that influenced me – my mother's love of literature and her penchant for quoting Shakespeare during very domestic moments; my father's chemical research and his setting, by example, a scholarly rigor that often resulted in joyous discovery; or even Akron as a city, which in the mid 1900s was a vibrant and essential link in the industrial boom felt nationwide. As school children, we felt important—Akron was on the global map because we manufactured tires that rolled out into that wide world; also, Quaker Oats had made the long journey across the Atlantic to find a home right here in our Fair City. There was irrefutable physical proof of our presence on the globe: the Quaker Oats silos, clustered

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

Pictured above: “Thomas and Beulah” photo courtesy of goodreads.com. Pictured left: Rita Dove headshot courtesy of Fred Viebahn wikipedia.com.

Poetry is out to penetrate that protective shield, our superego, and plunge us back into emotions, and so it happens that details, sensory details – anything that engages the five senses -- will help create this emotional scaffolding.

When I was writing the poems that comprise “Thomas and Beulah,” my surging desire was to fill in the vacuum I had felt in life and in art – that representation of black people up to that point, were mostly either cardboard cutouts or in-depth explorations of the poor in concrete in the center of town and pictured and angry black man, the poverty-stricken and on boxes on our breakfast tables; the smell of suffering black woman. Granted, those kinds rubber on Akron’s east side and the very tires of extremities make for dramatic reading; but my father helped develop in his laboratory what of the ordinary life? Daydreaming while at Goodyear. dusting, going to a rummage sale, sitting down to dinner – as long as the quotidian NH: The poems in “Thomas and Beulah” weave consciousness that defines us all as human together complex topics such as love, race, beings was missing, the mainstream (speak: history, and family. I noticed how simple, yet majority) population could easily dismiss an extraordinarily both Thomas and Beulah are entire minority race as caricatures, symbols of written about in your collection. I am curious destitution both physical and spiritual. to know how poetry can be used to open up a wider conversation about large subjects In “Thomas and Beulah” and many other through emotional storytelling and the use of poems, I try to counter such ignorance and average, everyday humans that are just trying thoughtlessness through language – words to get by. that infuse and enlighten us, that complicate and deepen our perceptions so that even in a RD: It comes down to what I tell my students stranger we can recognize echoes of ourselves. all the time: details, details, details! We live That’s what poetry can do; it’s a daunting, our lives in details, while we contemplate our exhilarating undertaking, and I wouldn’t have it lives in the abstract. When trying to recreate any other way. an emotional memory, however, details are the only way to go – for we humans do not // BIO: For more poetic badassery, look out for the apprehend the world in any other way but launch of The Nervous Poodle Poet’s blog on April 15. through our five senses; it is only when we Until then, go write some poems, you poet, you. want to withdraw a bit from the tumult of life's experiences do we begin to think about _________________________________________ our lives rather than live them; do we try to This interview was shortened for print. find suitable representational extractions in our Read the full interview with Rita Dove on language with which to contain our emotions. thedevilstrip.com.

Upcoming events: April 20: Oracle card reader Billy Tyler May: comedian Sarah Jones June: Josh Stone from The Fifth Wheel

the arts

Excerpt of an interview with

Brian O'Donnell "AKRON" writer and director of

by Christine Mayer

The Big Bang: Where Sewing and Art Connect How Connie Bloom got her groove back words and photos by Megan Combs

Growing up in Akron as an only child, Connie Bloom always thought the hole she felt in her heart was because she didn’t have any siblings.

Only later in life did she learn her missing connection was with animals: animals that ended up connecting her back to her art.

In her late 40s, Bloom bought a house in Highland Square that was equipped with a security system. When thieves still managed to break into her garage and steal her brand new bicycle, she felt violated. So she headed to the local animal shelter to adopt a dog.

“I found this beautiful mutt,” she said. “I didn’t like dogs because I had been bitten in the past, but I knew I had room in my heart for a creature.”

Along with being a writer, Bloom has also always been a seamstress, sewing mostly clothing. She didn’t start making modern day quilt tapestries until she brought Emily home.

“You’ve heard that expression ‘my dog ate my homework,’” Bloom asked. “Well, my dog made me do it. She made me want to create again.”

In her Summit Artspace third floor studio, Bloom sits at her precious sewing machine dubbed “Bella,” surrounded by her work.

Her tapestries are all handmade with a noncomputerized sewing machine. Every twist and turn in every stitch is created at her hands. Her fabric is specially dyed, not commercial. And every piece has a story.

“I have never made a bad quilt,” Bloom said.

“I don’t like following other people’s patterns.

I love to mix them up. Everything on my quilts is original. There are no little things from Pat Catan’s.”

As she loads thread onto Bella, a HQSixteen HandiQuilter sewing machine, she explains that there are no feet on the machine to pull her fabric through. And when she starts sewing, she explains that any pattern or stitch she makes just flows from her brain to her hands.

At the time, Emily, a pooch with pointy ears and a sweet face, was about 5 or 6 years old (pictured above). She had a beautiful light brown coat peppered with white and darker brown spots. Because Bloom had never had a dog and didn’t know how to be a “dog mom,” she asked her boss at the Akron Beacon Journal for two weeks off. It was a different sort of maternity leave, but maternity leave nonetheless.

She learned how to take care of Emily and took her to training classes at her local PetSmart.

16

And the pet’s story is almost always different than what the parents say.”

For example, the owner of a black lab wanted Bloom to create a tapestry of her dog before it passed away. Before meeting the dog, Bloom was under the impression that this dog was going to pass soon. When Bloom met the woman and her dog at a dog park, she described the dog as having a coat that “shimmered,” and that it was acting like it just couldn’t wait to get out there and play with the other dogs.

“That dog was so far from death,” Bloom said.

“I ended up stitching him to look like an African warrior with the warrior stripes. When I create animal tapestries, they’ll look like your animal, but in a way you’ve never seen.”

Bloom has her tapestries on display in her Summit Artspace studio, and she also offers prints of her work.

// BIO: Megan wants Connie Bloom to be her fairy godmother.

“I riff on it,” she smiles. “I just let it go like a guitar player. When a human makes shapes in fabric, it’s different than a computer. As an artist, I believe your hands should be in it.”

Bloom’s art inspirations come from nature and animals. She’s immortalized many beloved animals in her quilts, not only hers but other people’s pets as well. But before she does any sewing, she makes a personal visit to each pet and its family.

“I have to meet everyone, especially the creature,” Bloom said. “I ask the parents what the pet is like, and then I ask the pet its story.

| THE Devil Strip / APRIL 2016 • VOL 2 • ISSUE #4

You can find Connie on SummitLive365.com or reach her at connie@conniebloom.com.

See more of her work at

conniebloom.com.

Visit thedevilstrip.com for a video with Connie Bloom

Christine Mayer: By now many people know a bit about the film. It’s a story about young love and loyalty to family. It just so happens that the two young lovers of “AKRON” are both men. And yet, the film is not about that fact per se. It’s not about how everyone else will react to their love or to the fact that they are gay. It has moved beyond those themes to a world – a world that looks a whole lot like modern day Akron – in which both young men are open and free and surrounded by the support of family and friends. What were you trying to say? Is the world of “AKRON” reality? Utopia?

Brian O’Donnell: Yes! All of the above. We are in a time of change right now and I wanted to express that. ...This is a story that has not been told in film, and that’s why I wanted to tell it. Somehow I think the existence of this option – an open, free, supported, embraced life – is made more real by showing it on the big screen. When fathers see a portrayal of a father who loves his gay son without reservation, then loving one’s gay son without reservation can be more of a real choice. I believe this is why people are attracted to “AKRON” — because it allows them to see this relationship in a way they haven’t before, with no shame, no homophobia, no secrecy or fighting the system.

CM: Can you give me a vignette from when we were 18 and one from now that shows how the community of Akron has changed for you?

BO: When I was 18, Akron was much more conservative than it is now. I wasn’t out. I literally did not know a single openly gay person. I moved to New York City to go to college and to figure out who I was and who I could be.

Fast forward to 2014. I return to Akron with a script about two openly gay, happy, healthy college students who fall in love with the support of their family. ...The old differences that seemed to define us just don’t loom so large anymore. In this instance, all of that distance was replaced by love and support.

CM: Any words of wisdom for your hometown?

BO: Sure. Create in Akron! Tell new stories.

Tell them together. Akron seems to be in an exciting period of redefinition, so roll up your sleeves and be a part of that! And for sure come out to see AKRON at the main library in downtown Akron on April 8 at 7:00 p.m. I’ll be talking to the audience and we’re having an open party at The Mustard Seed in Highland Square after the screening. More info on the film is at akronthefilm.com and tickets to the screening are at clevelandfilm.org. ________________________________________ Get the full interview online at thedevilstrip.com

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culture & community CULTURE CLUB

VIRGINIA KENDALL LEDGES

20 FROM FENCING HOOCH TO FENCING WITH FOILS 22 CAN WE SAVE ROBINSON MANSION? 23 DAVE DALY WANTS YOU TO GROW YOUR OWN

It’s time to get outside again and few places are as lovely as the miles-long Virginia Kendall Ledges inside the Cuyahoga Valley National Park just south of Happy Days Visitor Center.

(Photo by Sophie Hamad)

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

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culture & Community ‹ Children’s Concert Society’s Premiere of Verb Ballet’s Peter Pan

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April 6-7 at Akron Civic Theater Children's Concert Society will present the premiere of Verb Ballets Peter Pan choreographed by Pamela Pribisco, suggested for grades K-3. The cost is $5 per student, but scholarships are available for those who cannot pay part or any of the ticket price.

Teachers and chaperones are free. CCS provides transportation for schools in Summit County that cannot provide their own. For more information, call 330-972-2504.

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å Happy Hour on Cascade Plaza

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community events

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Race at the Raffle 2016

April 8 at Cascade Plaza, 5-8 pm Help reimagine Cascade Plaza during a free happy hour event featuring music, games and more. Food and drink will be available for purchase. Remarks from Mayor Horrigan and Summit County Executive Russ Pry start at 5:30 pm

‹ Death and Taxes: Strange & Ghostly Valley Tales April 8 at Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad/ Akron Northside Station, 6:30 pm Ben Franklin famously said that the only certainties in life are death and taxes. With tax season upon us, come out for a special train ride through the valley and hear stories of crooked ghosts, shady dealings, and lost buried treasure. Beer, wine and other beverages will be available in the concession car. Tickets are $20 per person and pre-sale only. Visit cvsr.com for details.

ç Cleveland International Film

Festival: Knight and Day in Akron April 8-9 at multiple locations The Knight Foundation brings the Cleveland International Film Festival to Akron for three days. Friday, April 8 kicks off the event with a 7 pm showing of AKRON: The Film at the Akron-Summit County Public Library. Saturday films will be showing at the Akron Art Museum and The Nightlight all day and night, beginning at 11:30 am. For tickets and information, visit clevelandfilm.org/Akron or call 877-304-FILM. Use discount code AKRON to get $2 off each ticket.

é Microbusiness Center Grand Opening

Feelin’ Lucky?

April 9th at The Tangier

Event begins at 5:30 - Races start at 6:00 Open Bar - Live & Silent Auctions Info & Tickets at canapi.org/events

| THE Devil Strip / APRIL 2016 • VOL 2 • ISSUE #4

April 7 at Akron-Summit County Public Library, 4-7 pm With the help of a Knight Foundation grant, the Main Branch of the Akron-Summit County Public Library has created a multi-use space on the first floor to support emerging entrepreneurs, maker activities, digital media creation and community meetings. At the Grand Opening event, light appetizers will be served, followed by cake, tours and demos.

Please register through Eventbrite.com Call or text Linda Hale with questions at 330-802-0839, or email LHALE@Akronlibrary.org.

professionals in the Akron area by connecting minorities to leaders in Akron's growing startup scene. For Code Akron's inaugural firechat, their first guest will be Unbox Akron Chief Curator, writer and DJ, Roger Riddle. Hosted

by Kevin Lockett, the focus of the talk will be on "Targeting, Building and Maintaining Your Audience." The discussion will weave from Roger's life from DJ to marketer and how he attracts, builds and maintains an audience from the incubator to the dance floor. This event is FREE but strictly for professionals and college students. Please register through eventbrite.com.

è Yoga in the Galleries April 14 at Akron Art Museum, 6:30 pm The transformational power of yoga for individuals, relationships, and communities comes alive in the Akron Art Museum galleries.

Combine breath, flow and art in a beginnerfriendly series taught by a certified Nirvana Yoga instructor. Bring your own mat. No water bottles allowed in the galleries. Register through eventbrite.com. Members: free; Non-members: $10.

‹ 11th annual Girls' Nite April 15 at Zeber-Martell Clay Studio and Gallery, 5-8 pm Mark your calendar for the 11th annual Girls' Nite with NOTO and Zeber-Martell. On Friday, April 15, this annual event returns with food, fun and fashion.

‹ Adventures in Stamping Workshops April 22-23 & Vendors April 23-24 at John S. Knight Center Adventures In Stamping is Ohio's premier rubber stamp, scrapbook and paper craft convention, offering the latest products and techniques by nationally and internationally acclaimed artists, vendors, and teachers. Get inspired by the great exhibits, hands-on classes, booth demonstrations. Have fun with door prizes, make and takes, and lots of shopping.

Check out adventuresinstamping.com for more information and to purchase tickets.

ê Chris Perondi's

Stunt Dog Experience April 23 at Akron Civic Theatre, 8 pm Perondi’s talented celebrity stunt dogs have been rescued from pounds and shelters from across the country. Their mission is to promote pet adoption, responsible pet ownership, and educate on the importance of spay and neutering. For tickets and more information, visit akroncivic.com.

ë Party for the Planet April 23 at the Akron Zoo Join the Akron Zoo for Earth Day festivities as they showcase the zoo’s sustainable and green efforts through different activities, crafts and more. Visit akronzoo.org for details.

‹ Code Akron Q&A: Roger Riddle (Building Your Audience)

April 13 at OSC Tech Lab, 6-8 pm Code Akron is reaching out to the urban

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culture & community

two roommates in Highland Square

We asked what they think of Akron. Here’s what they had to say. compiled by M. Sophie Hamad

new Ashley Suzelis

Age: 34 Occupation: Holistic Esthetician Hometown: Paris Township, OH Neighborhood: Highland Square

What do you wish was more on Akronites' radar? Where are all the late night coffee shops?! One thing I loved about living in Los Angeles is there are several coffee shops that are open all night or at least until the bars close, feature all kinds of local art, have weekly open mics, poetry, collaboration of all kinds. But most importantly, they are a meeting place for creative types that don’t wanna hang out at the bars and want to express their creativity with others. I desperately want to see that culture cultivated in Akron outside of people’s homes!

What is your favorite local cultural asset?

I love that Akron is becoming more of a melting pot with North Hill being very accommodating for non-native Americans. I also love that Akron has a culture of its own which in essence is

native

healing/artistic oriented. The culture seems to be one that is very invested in healing old wounds and creating a more holistic future in all areas.

there are so many gorgeous parks within five minutes of where I live. I love to escape in nature and connect with the Earth. Indigo Lake is one of my favorite spots.

When did you fall for Akron? I fell for Akron several years ago when I moved back to Ohio from California. I was living on my family’s farm and kept finding myself in Akron, meeting very genuine, inviting and inspiring people. I started developing some of the most amazing friendships I’ve experienced anywhere.

The people in Akron are quite amazing. Very resilient, yet kind and giving. The people definitely made me fall for Akron.

Why should everyone try your favorite local restaurant? My favorite local restaurant is the new Mustard Seed in Highland Square! Where else can a health conscious, heart centered gal go and feel completely comfortable eating anything on the menu with the added beauty of being welcomed by friends pretty much every time I go? “Don’t you wanna go, where everybody knows your name?”

Where in Akron do you like to escape?

It wouldn’t be an escape if I told ya! But really,

What is your favorite local cultural asset?

The Metro Parks and the people.

Josh Estafen

Age: 35 Occupation: Director of IT at

Mustard Seed Market Hometown: Highland Square Neighborhood: Highland Square What do you wish was on more Akronites radar? Local focus, healthy lifestyles, self-conscious thought and action, electronic and live music, and technology.

When did you fall for Akron? Akron has always had my heart. It’s my hometown—my birthplace. It’s got roots in who I am. I spent years living in Orlando as well as NYC, and I always "fell" for Akron when I came back home.

Where in Akron do you like to escape?

My home! Never there enough as it is!

Why should everyone try your favorite local restaurant? I will say my favorite restaurant changes from time to time, but right now I'm really enjoying Sushi Asia Gourmet in the valley. As to why: because it’s locally owned and operated.

The food quality is great! One of the more authentic Szechuan menus I've had since Chinatown in Manhattan. Some of the best dishes are only listed on the in-house menu.

It’s been great every time thus far.

吀䠀唀刀匀䐀䄀夀Ⰰ 䄀倀刀䤀䰀 ㄀㐀 䜀䄀吀䔀匀 伀倀䔀一 䄀吀 㔀 ∠ 䜀䄀䴀䔀 吀䤀䴀䔀 䄀吀 㘀㨀㌀㔀倀䴀 䴀䄀䤀一 匀吀刀䔀䔀吀 䘀䔀匀吀䤀嘀䄀䰀 㐀ⴀ㘀 吀䠀䤀刀匀吀夀 吀䠀唀刀匀䐀䄀夀 倀刀䔀匀䔀一吀䔀䐀 䈀夀 䐀⸀䜀 夀唀䔀一䜀䰀䤀一䜀 䈀刀䔀圀䔀刀夀 䄀䰀䰀ⴀ匀吀䄀刀 䜀䄀䴀䔀 倀伀匀吀䔀刀 䜀䤀嘀䔀䄀圀䄀夀 倀刀䔀匀䔀一吀䔀䐀 䈀夀 匀唀䴀䴀䄀 䠀䔀䄀䰀吀䠀 匀夀匀吀䔀䴀 倀伀匀吀䜀䄀䴀䔀 䘀䤀刀䔀圀伀刀䬀匀℀

䜀䔀吀 夀伀唀刀 吀䤀䌀䬀䔀吀匀 吀伀䐀䄀夀℀ 嘀䤀匀䤀吀 䄀䬀刀伀一刀唀䈀䈀䔀刀䐀唀䌀䬀匀⸀䌀伀䴀 伀刀 䌀䄀䰀䰀 ⠀㌀㌀ ⤀ ㈀㔀㌀ⴀ㔀㄀㔀㄀ AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

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culture & community Pictured left: Ernie Kiraly climbing out of Whiskey Dick’s storage room (PHOTO: Courtesy of Ernie Kiraly)

liquor business, Percoco opened the North Valley Grocery, where he further forged a name for himself as a beloved community figure and savvy business man. Percoco would run his liquor out of the back door, down the alley, and into a bar in another nearby building.

During a police raid in June of 1931 the Akron police found the motherlode hidden in a back room; roughly 90 gallons of assorted liquor and 200 pounds of yeast were confiscated, and Whiskey Dick was arrested once more.

North Howard Street Building Connects “Kings of Akron” through the Generations

by Lia Pietrolungo Upon approaching the Kiraly Fencing Academy, you are plucked from Akron and ushered into a medieval castle where a crackling fire greets you from the stone hearth as Ernie Kiraly, owner and fencing master, welcomes you into his kingdom.

Ernie Kiraly at Kiraly Fencing Academy

At the age of twenty, Kiraly began taking karate lessons at the first school in Akron. Seven years later, he began taking European fencing lessons after reading an article on the sport, and went on to learn the Japanese forms of swordsmanship, Kendo and Iaido. Kiraly studied these moving art forms under Master Tetsuya Higuchi, a Tokyo native turned Clevelander.

Kiraly teaches European Foil, épée, sabre, and broadsword, as well as Japanese Tento, Kendo, and Iaido.

Kiraly’s love of swordsmanship took him around the globe to learn teaching methods from the top fencing academies in the world, which he adopted for his teachings at his academy.

During his “quest to see the world”, Kiraly was able to grow his collection of antique arms and armor, as well as his collection of prints, oil paintings, and original medieval manuscripts.

(PHOTO: Paul Hoffman/The Devil Strip)

Resting above the fireplace is the Kiraly family crest: a shield adorned with a lion wearing a crown and holding a scimitar above its head – a symbol that proclaims that the Kiraly family defended their Hungarian motherland against the Ottoman Empire in 1652. The last name “Kiraly” itself translates to “king”.

Kiraly displays his art year-round for the Akron Art Walk, and is constantly updating his collection. Not only are the walls of the academy lined with historical artifacts, but the building itself stands as an historical site once belonging to Liborio “Whiskey Dick” Percoco, Akron’s own larger-than-life bootlegging legend.

Kiraly, a life member of the U.S. Fencing Association, U.S. Fencing Coaches Association, and Académie D'Armes Internationale, has an amicable nature and an air of calm that breathes a personal, homey life to the stone walls of his warehouse-turned-fencingacademy, which he runs with the help of his assistants, Todd Seephong and Tom Murray.

As legend has it, Whiskey Dick used the warehouse as his operations center to house his liquor. A tunnel supposedly runs from the building itself to a field across from the warehouse where houses once stood, but the homes have long since been demolished. The tunnels have yet to be rediscovered, but Kiraly’s unearthing of an otherwise inaccessible storage

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| THE Devil Strip / APRIL 2016 • VOL 2 • ISSUE #4

room suggests that there hides a secret to Akron’s past beneath its soil.

The storage room, built roughly ninety years ago, was discovered accidentally by Kiraly’s friend, who stepped on and broke an old clay pipe that was buried in the ground. While trying to cover up the hole, Kiraly’s foot stomped into the hidden room.

The ten by ten room, which has long since been caved in as a safety precaution, had no accessible point of entry or exit, save for a concrete slab that sealed it off from the outside world. After sledgehammering his way into the room, Kiraly found decades-old, rotted whiskey barrels, presumably belonging to Whiskey Dick.

The 1931 bust was the beginning of an investigation into Whiskey Dick and his liquor ring. Although the case ultimately fell to hands of the federal government, the Akron police were credited for the initial arrests and investigations. The bust that brought the “liquor mob” to its knees happened in the fall of 1931 when federal agents cracked the ring, seizing “470 gallons of liquor and a perfectly good automobile.”

At the end of the prohibition era in 1933, Percoco remained in the liquor business by providing restaurants with legal booze. Percoco opened up his own nightclub, the Ritz, in 1934. Percoco’s most successful business postprohibition, however, was the P & C Bail and Inland Bonding Co., which he co-owned with Sam B. “Sammy” Comeriato.

P & C expanded Percoco’s empire to thirty-eight states, and landed 80 percent of the bonding business in the Akron court system. During P & C’s forty year run, only 47 bond jumpers got away. Percoco was the most well-known and successful bondsman in the business.

In 1980, at the age of 83, Percoco passed away.

Kiraly’s discovery, however, is proof that Akron has yet to see the last of the Italian immigrant success story, Liborio “Whiskey Dick” Percoco.

// BIO: Lia is an avid cereal eater who has been an Akronite for four years. She lives with her cat, Heathcliff, who is an avid cereal bowl-licker. They both favor Panda Puffs with almond milk.

As Kymberli Hagelberg, Author of “Wicked Akron: Tales of Rumrunners, Mobsters and Other Rubber City Rogues,” wrote, "Liborio “Whiskey Dick” Percoco was 290 pounds of ambition, nerve, and connections, stuffed into his trademark trench coat like cotechini topped with a handmade felt fedora.”

Percoco immigrated to America from Italy in 1911 at the age of fourteen. He moved to Akron from Newark, Ohio in 1917 to marry and settle into a factory job. When prohibition created a lucrative demand for illegal booze, Percoco’s horizons changed.

Dubbed the “King of Akron,” Whiskey Dick is said to have operated a 500 gallon still during his peak - the largest in all of Summit County and extended his distribution reach all the way to Columbus, OH. As a front for his successful

The Kiraly Fencing Academy holds an opendoor policy to those interested in learning more about fencing. Visitors are welcome to sit in on classes. For more information about classes offered and pricing, please visit

kiralyfencing.com Mr. Kiraly buys, sells, and collects art by appointment.

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culture & Community 330.434.4722

Hattie's Food Hub Is About to Get Fresh Non-profit brings locally-sourced produce to Lane-Wooster food desert words and photo by Patrick J. Worden The northern reaches of Akron’s Lane-Wooster neighborhood are about to go from being a food desert to a fresh-produce oasis, thanks to Hattie’s Food Hub. The 600 square-foot cooperative market, located at 395 Douglas Street, is set to 'soft open' in early April, with a gala community grand-opening slated for June 23rd. Hattie’s Food Hub is a spin-off venture sponsored by Hattie Larlham, the Twinsburgbased non-profit foundation that provides services to area children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Since 2011, the foundation has overseen Hattie’s Gardens, a sustainable, organic vocational operation at several sites in Summit County, including the Akron Zoo. As part of community-outreach efforts in the neighborhood around the zoo, the Hattie Larlham team learned that the immediate area had earned the unfortunate designation of ‘food desert,’ meaning there were no retail outlets for fresh produce within one mile.

Already working on plans for a commercial facility to wash, package, and process the harvest from Hattie’s Gardens, the team recognized this as a perfect opportunity to benefit multiple constituencies. The idea for Hattie’s Food Hub was born.

The recently completed, custom-built facility includes an indoor market to be open yearround, selling fresh produce and staples such as eggs, milk, and cheese. There is also an education wing, which will host community cooking classes and information seminars.

Dotty Grexa, Hattie Larlham’s Vice President for Vocational and Enterprise Services, said there’s an emphasis on making the educational outreach “kid-friendly,” in order to pass on nutritional awareness to the next generation.

While a large proportion of the fresh offerings at Hattie’s Food Hub will be harvested from the certified-organic grounds of Hattie’s Gardens,

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

the foundation is also partnering with area farmers and other providers. The goal is for as much of the produce as possible to be locally sourced, preferably within a 100-mile radius.

Grexa conceded that this requirement might be relaxed during winter months, to ensure an uninterrupted supply of healthy food for local shoppers.

During the warmer seasons, Hattie’s Food Hub will also be hosting outdoor farmers’ markets, in one of two custom-converted shipping containers located on the property (the second container is to be used as a neighborhood bike-box). The schedule for the outdoor market is yet to be determined, as the team is working to ensure it doesn’t conflict with other farmers’ markets throughout the county.

Grexa says that Hattie Larlham sees this effort as an investment in the community, and as a way to meet a desperate local need while simultaneously integrating the foundation’s clients into the community they’re feeding.

None of that would have come about, says Grexa, had the foundation not taken the time to “listen to the neighborhood.”

Hattie’s Food Hub will 'quietly' open for business by the second week of April. The June 23rd event is planned not so much as a solemn ribbon-cutting, but more as a neighborhood celebration. All of Akron is invited. // BIO: Pat Worden is so Akron he was once a rubberpress operator. He's thankful not to be one anymore.

Akron farmers and gardeners are likewise invited to share what they grow. Think you might want to be one of Hattie’s green-thumbed partners?

Start with a phone call to Zac, the Hub’s produce manager, at

330-760-2876

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culture & community

Historic Akron

Byron W. Robinson Mansion words and photos by Katie Jackson

Tucked away near the corner of East Market and Buchtel streets, you might notice what appears to be an out-of-place, large, run down structure. But what you may not know is that it is the last remaining industrialist mansion on the east side and the only example of a Jacobethean Tudor Revival style home in within the City of Akron. And if you take an

22

even closer look, with oak and mahogany woodwork, stained glass windows, arched doorways and Corinthian detail throughout, this hidden beauty is more than just a diamond in the rough.

The mansion was built by Byron W. Robinson, a prominent Akron business and civic leader, serving as the president of Robinson Clay Products, Co., a bank president, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and a director of The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.

Construction on the home, located on a 2.3 acre parcel at 715 E. Buchtel Avenue, was completed in 1906.

Unfortunately Mr. Robinson only lived in the home for two years before his death at the young age of 48. Following his wife's death in 1936, the Akron Kiwanis Club bought the property and it served as the Florence Crittendon Maternity Home, a safe haven

for unwed expectant mothers which served over 3,000 women before closing in 1973. In the late 1970's, Pi Kappa Epsilon leased the home for its Lone Star Fraternity members, but they were evicted not long after due to damage and abuse to the property.

In 1980, the 37-room home and carriage house was purchased and converted into commercial office space and portions of the mansion were remodeled and renovated by the Junior League of Akron and put on display for their decorator's show house fundraiser in 1988.

However, neglect and age took it's toll and the mansion had fallen into disrepair when it was was purchased by businessman Ted Good in 1990. Mr. Good and his team rescued the home from being torn down, and the property was nominated to the National Register of

Akron HERstory:

By Ilenia Pezzaniti Mary A. Holmes, an African-American woman born in Buchanan, Virginia in 1895, was a member of the Akron community for over 65 years. She was one of the founders of the city’s NAACP in 1918. Three years later, after working as a stenographer and bookkeeper for a small manufacturing company, she and two men started the Black and White Chronicle, a weekly newspaper covering the African-American community in Akron.

Holmes was a reporter, but she was also the bookkeeper and proofreader for the paper.

She was remembered by Opie Evans , a local photographer and reporter as “everything in that office.”

Historic Places in September 1991.

The mansion was brought back to life as Steinway Hall, a showplace for Steinway pianos, and was also the longtime home of the Summit Choral Society. When Good moved Steinway Hall to Boston Heights in 2013, the property went up for sale and has remained vacant ever since. Sadly, some of the beauty of this stately red brick estate is depreciated by it's fast food neighbors: Burger King, Rally's and Papa John's.

Although it make take a new-age industrialist to revive this property to its glory once again, the Byron W. Robinson residence truly is a one-of-a-kind, underused and neglected piece of Akron's architectural history.

Mary A. Holmes

Eventually, she went on to be the secretary of the Colored Women’s Republican Club and president of the Council of Negro Women, which Mary Peavy Eagle, another prominent African-American woman in Akron, founded in 1932.

families, while also working at the North Akron Neighborhood Center.

In 1978, she received the Brotherhood Action Award by churches in the community that acknowledged her role in the city, which included founding Women’s Day in Akron.

Holmes died April 9, 1986.

Holmes also worked with the Summit County Community Action Council. She was a secretary of the Woman’s Auxiliary of the NAACP and from 1962 to 1964, she was the president of the Akron’s NAACP.

Pictured left to right: Stockard, Rumsey, and Mary A.

Before she retired in 1975, she was a “housing advisor,” who helped set up the Emergency House for displaced or evicted

// CREDITS: Endres, K.L. (2013, September 6). Akron Women’s History. A resource of the Summit county Historical Society.

Retrieved from https://blogs.uakron.edu/womenshistory/2013/09/06/mary-a-holmes-d-1986/

Holmes sit together. Photo courtesy of the University of Akron's Archives.

lifesourceyoga.com • 330.835.9945 | THE Devil Strip / APRIL 2016 • VOL 2 • ISSUE #4

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culture & Community

Grow Your Own:

Locally Owned Since 1891 April 2016

An Interview with Dave Daly of Let’s Grow Akron

by Katie Jackson Backyard urban farming is a growing hobby that has multiple benefits including stress relief, pride, and of course, fresh veggies. But what if you don't know where to begin with growing a garden? Or what if you don't have the time or space to plant one? Luckily we live in a community with an amazing resource that not only supports urban farmers, but also includes community outreach as part of their mission. We sat down with Dave Daly (pictured above) of Let’s Grow Akron to get the scoop on their organization, as well as some first time gardening tips.

KATIE JACKSON: What is the mission of Let’s Grow Akron?

DAVE DALY: Let's Grow Akron's (LGA) mission is to overcome urban blight and alleviate hunger in the community by teaching people to grow, prepare and preserve their own food while working alongside them to beautify their neighborhoods.

KJ: What is your role with the organization?

DD: I am the Market & Garden Coordinator. I work in Summit Lake, University Park, and East Akron to create and support neighborhood farmers' markets, as well as community and market gardens. The major focus of my work is to help folks access fresh, nutritious foods (mostly fruits and vegetables) in neighborhoods where that type of access is limited or not available at all.

KJ: How can people get involved?

DD: There are many awesome ways to get involved with Let's Grow Akron and community gardening in general. If you are interested in becoming a member of a garden in your neighborhood, one of the best ways to get involved is to ask a gardener when you see one out by their plots!

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

There are tons of events related to growing food in and around Akron, especially during the growing season. Follow LGA on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter and you'll receive wonderful updates on all the good stuff we and fellow organizations are a part of. You can also join our email list by reaching out to info@letsgrowakron.org KJ: Where are your community gardens located?

DD: All over Akron! Let's Grow Akron supports over 75 gardens to varying degrees. Some we manage on a regular basis, others we might support at the very beginning of the season or sporadically throughout. Folks can reach out via phone or email if they are looking for a garden to join in a particular neighborhood (330-7459700 or info@letsgrowakron.org).

KJ: Are the garden plots leased, donated or granted to LGA? DD: We don't own any of the properties we grow food on. Depending on the land owner, whether public or private, we have a license agreement worked out detailing our access, spacial needs, etc..

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KJ: What plants do you grow?

DD: All the fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs we can get into the ground! Collards, Kale, Eggplants, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Beets, Radishes, Arugula, Potatoes, Strawberries, Radishes, Peppers, Raspberries, among others. Flowers and herbs include Marigolds, Nasturtiums, Echinacea, Cosmos, Zinnias, Chamomile, Oregano, Parsley, Sage, Basil, Mint, Lemon Balm, Thyme, and Cilantro.

KJ: Who receives the food that is grown?

DD: It depends on where the food was grown.

In community gardens with individual plots, (continued on page 43)

Locally Owned Since 1891

All

Locations

Saturday, April 9th 11am to 2pm

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culture & community

Urban Explorer: University Park words and photos by Kristina Aiad-Toss

Populated by college students and comprised of academic buildings, University Park seems to have little to offer other than cheap housing and over priced campus food. However, this neighborhood is as diverse as the students that inhabit it and as interesting as the subjects they study—home to some of the most unique and interesting places in the area. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Pictured right: University Park (PHOTO: Kristina Aiad-Toss/The Devil Strip)

Don Drumm Studios & Gallery

It’s a Kling Thing! House

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Hower House

437 Crouse St. Akron, OH 44311 (330) 253-6268 Hours: Mon-Fri 10 am-6 pm,

Sat 10 am-5 pm dondrummstudios.com

403 Kling St. Akron, OH 44311 Hours: Events posted on Facebook page facebook.com/klingthing

514 E Exchange St. Akron, OH 44304 (330) 252-2270 Hours: Sun 12 pm-9 pm,

Mon-Thurs 11 am-10 pm,

Fri-Sat 5 pm-10 pm

60 Fir Hill Akron, OH 44334 (330) 972-6909 Hours: Wed-Sat 12 pm-3:30 pm,

closed in January howerhouse.org

Hidden amongst the student housing, five colorful houses comprise Don Drumm Studios & Gallery filled with handmade treasures including jewelry, household decor, ceramics, sculptures, glass, and many other creations.

While the Main Gallery features the elaborate metalcasting handiwork of a local artist Don Drumm and the work of other North American artists, the Different Drummer store houses many oddities and quirky items, from the music box that plays Stairway to Heaven to a “Jesus Toast” maker. _______________________________________

Part of a local underground music community that hosts concerts, It’s a Kling Thing! House is a venue that supports local bands by allowing them to play without charge and giving all proceeds directly to the performers. Forget about those overpriced concerts, and check out a show at this venue to feel tangible energy of a unique show that brings you back to the roots of how live music should truly be experienced. _______________________________________

Although the exterior may be deceiving, stepping through the doors of the Taste of Bangkok is like walking into Thailand with the atmosphere, food, and staff all included. With a price that fits a college budget and service that exceeds expectations, this restaurant is dripping with authenticity in both its decor and its flavorful selections, even offering a tailor made spice level for every dish. _______________________________________

Reminiscent of a more elegant time in Akron’s history, The Hower House is a shimmering beacon of local history and jaw-dropping architecture owned by the University of Akron.

Whether you are a history junkie or just looking for something new to do on campus, take a tour of this intriguing museum or attend one of their countless special events and exhibitions. During your visit, don’t miss the attached Cellar Door gift shop for a collection of exclusive Victorian era memorabilia. _______________________________________

Pictured: It’s a Kling Thing! House (PHOTO: Kristina Aiad-Toss/The Devil Strip)

Pictured: Don Drumm Studios & Gallery (PHOTO: Kristina Aiad-Toss/The Devil Strip)

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| THE Devil Strip / APRIL 2016 • VOL 2 • ISSUE #4

Pictured: Taste of Bangkok (PHOTO: Kristina Aiad-Toss/The Devil Strip)

Pictured: Hower House (PHOTO: Kristina Aiad-Toss/The Devil Strip)

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

Food & Drink AKRON FOOD SCENE

26 LOCAVORE LOVIN’ FROM THE OVEN 27 RELAX, THE AKRON PIZZA TASK FORCE IS HERE 28 WANDERING WHAT’S BEHIND THE BLUE DOOR

The Akron Art Museum’s 9th Annual Art & Ale fundraiser party was another huge success. See what our own Lady Beer Drinker thought of the event. (Photo by Paul Hoffman) pg. 30

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

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food & Drink

Locavore Lovin’ from the Oven A Chocolate Cake That Can’t Be Beet words by Lia Pietrolungo; photos by Paul Mangus I was never one for beets as a kid. In fact, I wasn’t too crazy about them as an adult either until I discovered juicing. Sweet, delicious, pain in the ass juicing! I immediately was taken by their earthy flavor, and I guess you could say they took root in my heart. It totally helps that this complex vegetable is incredibly versatile when it comes to crossing over into baking – my first love – too!

The eggs used in this recipe are from Brunty Farms. The eggs specifically come from Golden Comet chickens that are Pasture Raised and cage-free. Their eggs are fresh, organic, and were the perfect binding agent for the cake.

They also contributed to some darn good scrambled eggs.

Pictured right: Honey from Greenfield Berry Farm, Beets from Morningside Farm, Eggs from Brunty Farms (Photo credit: Paul Mangus)

I’ve been an Akronite for a few years now, yet it took nearly three of those years to really discover the rich culture that it has to offer.

The Countryside Conservancy Farmer’s Markets helped to make me feel closer to the Akron community as well as closer to Ohio’s soil. By using locally sourced ingredients I started to feel more at home in my environment, which brought even more love to my tiny kitchen.

I wanted to kick off this column with something chocolatey, comforting, and delicious. What better to make, then, than a beet chocolate cake?

NUEVO MODERN MEXICAN & TEQUILA BAR

RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED FOR SEATING BUT ADVENTURESOME TASTE BUDS REQUIRED FOR DINING

«««««

We had the pleasure of dining here last night. We will be back and we will be telling everyone to (make reservations and) go! We ate at the bar without reservations. All of the staff is excellent - whoever created the menu is truly full of love and genius wizardry. We loved every bite we took from appetizers to desserts. Whoever did the hiring is also genius!

Three cheers and five stars! (1/17/2016)

54 East Mill St. Akron 44308 (330) 762-8000 nuevomodmex.com Hours: M-Th 11-10, F 11-11, Sat 3-11

The beets that I used are from Morningside Farms. Although beets aren’t in season, the Morningside farmers store them at 38˚F at 80% humidity with very little airflow in the boxes to discourage mold without drying the roots out. The result is a fresh root that doesn’t miss a beet when it comes to quality. When roasted, the sugar in the beets caramelizes and intensifies in sweetness and flavor complexity.

The honey that I used is from Greenfield Berry Farm, where their bees are kept by blueberry bushes. The result is a delicious, light honey with subtle floral notes. Better than any I have ever tasted! Greenfield Farm is a part of the Community Supported Agriculture program.

They practice natural, sustainable farming and work with other local farmers to contribute to the CSA passion.

CAKE: 1¾ lbs 8 oz

1¼ cup ¼ cup

½ tsp 1½ tsp ¼ tsp 3 lrg 1 cup ½ cup 1 tsp 3 oz

Red Beets Unsalted Butter, melted, plus more for the pan All-Purpose, unbleached flour Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, plus more for the pan Cardamom Baking Soda Salt Eggs Granulated Sugar Packed Light Brown Sugar Real Vanilla Extract Semisweet Chocolate, melted

GLAZE: 8 oz Semisweet Chocolate, chopped 4 tbsp Unsalted Butter 1 tbsp Honey Preheat the oven to 350˚F. 1. Scrub any dirt off of the beets, halve them lengthwise, prick and wrap in foil. Bake the beets for 50 minutes on a baking sheet, check at 30 minute mark. When they are cool enough to handle, rub off the skin using a paper towel.

Puree in a food processor until smooth. You’ll need 1½ cups of puree for the cake.

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

food & Drink 2. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9x13inch baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust the pan with cocoa powder.

YOUR PIZZA SHOP Akron Pizza Task Force is coming to a pizza shop near you

3. In a bowl, stir together the flour, ¼ cup cocoa powder, the baking soda, the cardamom, and salt.

words by Stephanie Baker, Kevin Wirth and Justin Lyons 4. In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, both sugars, the melted butter, and vanilla until well combined. Beat in the pureed beets and melted chocolate. Fold in the flour mixture until just combined.

5. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the cake just starts to pull away from the sides of a pan. The cake is done when a wooden toothpick or skewer inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.

Photos courtesy of: Justin Lyons/The Devil Strip

H

ello, Akron! We are Akron’s Pizza Task Force. We will work tirelessly to serve you and deploy to all the pizza places around town to ensure you find the best Akron has to offer. Our goal is to make you as excited about pizza as we are. The Task Force will evaluate pizza based on cheese, sauce, crust, cook, price and overall experience. Let’s dive into our first mission, Your Pizza Shop.

different shops. The cook on the cheeses looked vastly different, with the plain pizza looking slightly overdone and the gourmet slightly underdone. Cooking a pizza with a “gourmet” amount of toppings isn’t easy, especially when delivery times are over 45 minutes.

Pictured above: Cheese Pizza from Your Pizza Shop

6. Cool in the pan on a wire rack, then run a metal spatula around the sides and invert onto a serving platter. You may also leave it in the pan as I did.

Pictured right: Meatless Gourmet Pizza from Your Pizza Shop

YOUR PIZZA SHOP was created in Massillon, Ohio dating all the way back to 1951. That 7. To make the chocolate glaze, melt the is 65 years in the pizza business, in case you chocolate in a medium bowl set over a pan of didn’t do the math. Almost 30 years later, they simmering water. Ensure that the bowl does not turned into a franchise and, as of today, have touch the water to avoid burning the chocolate. 11 locations spread between Ohio and Florida.

Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and honey. Cool, stirring occasionally until the glaze We ordered from Your Pizza Shop, located on is a spreading consistency. Spread over the 1077 W. Exchange St., which shares a lot with cooled cake and top with toasted coconut, or Every Blooming Thing. We’d seen this place nothing at all. many times, and wondered what kind of pizza lies within. We hadn’t heard much about this 8. Eat every last bite. shop beforehand, so we were eager to mark it off of our list.

Thank you to all of the famers who contributed ingredients!

Greenfield Berry Farm 2485 Major Rd, Peninsula, OH 44264 (330) 657-2924 greenfieldberryfarm.com

Morningside Farm 1075 State Rd, Hinckley, OH 44233 (216) 406-6621 morningside-farm.com

Brunty Farms 2470 Martin Rd, Akron, OH 44333 (330) 594-7315 bruntyfarms.com

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

Our order was a plain cheese pizza and The Meatless Gourmet. At first glance, the pizzas looked as if they had been cooked at two

RUNNING THE PASS

// BIO: Lia Pietrolungo is an avid licker of bowls and spatulas. Her cat, Heathcliff, is also an avid licker of bowls and spatulas. Together they are the perfect pair.

The cheese pizza was browned and shimmering. After opening the box we were ready to demolish this pizza. The cheese itself had an amount of grease that was to be expected. The sauce was simple and didn’t overpower the flavor of the cheese. The crust was golden brown, crisp on the outside, but a little dry on the inside. If this cheese pizza were to fight The Meatless Gourmet it would be over in minutes. These two pizzas were considerably different, and it wasn’t only by their appearance.

Overall, we found Your Pizza Shop to be good, and at moments, even a little great. It isn’t the kind of pizza that is a product of passion, but it is a pizza you can pick up after a busy day to share with friends and family and not feel too bad. The prices were fair and for large pizza toppings they didn’t gouge you like some places do. If one thing could be improved, it would be the crust. If granted a second thing, it would be toppings not out of a bag or can.

Your Pizza Shop Akron 330-867-7000

The meatless gourmet had a generous coating of small cuts of mushrooms, green peppers, banana peppers, black olives, and red peppers.

The flavor combination wasn’t anything special or carefully planned, but it fit the bill. Toppings are the typical variety, canned or frozen, but of average freshness.

Fire it

Nothing in Akron is buzzing like Chop & Swizzle, a crafted approach to food and cocktails by the dynamic duo of Chef Dick Kanatzar, formerly of Vaccaro's, and Daniel Allyn, aka Swizzle, the man behind Mixology 216 (pictured top left).

They’ve set up shop in a historic building originally constructed as an Akron fire station between Highland Square and downtown, next to St. V’s. You can find them at 60 Maple Street in Akron. For more information, call (330) 283-8041 or visit chopandswizzle.com.

86’d

The mild winter may have brought a few more smiles to our collective faces, but it’s cost us a beloved restaurant in downtown Akron, the Stew Pot Kitchen.

Not only was the grub good, but it was affordable and the small staff were among the friendliest (and quirkiest) in the city. More than anything, owner Scott Malensek’s generosity of spirit made the place special. (As did their zombie apocalypse bathroom decor.)

When all the food finally ran out, he posted a message of gratitude on Facebook, ending with “And now, to

Akron Springfield 330-699-4775 Akron Turkeyfoot 330-644-5550 got out in true Stew Pot fashion, we’ll say the one thing that we haven’t for 6 years: No soup for you.”

In the weeds

You know how they say that you don’t find a book but a book finds you?

Apparently the same thing is true for restaurants, if you’re Zack and Lisa Hirt, owners of Nuevo Modern Mexican (pictured bottom left). They weren’t necessarily trying to expand their Akron restaurant to Cleveland, but when the opportunity to build on the waters across from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they jumped at it. Now, they’re trying to fill a bunch of positions in both Akron and Cleveland as they get ready to open up on the North Coast. To apply, download an application in the careers section at nuevomodmex.com and write either AKRON or CLEVELAND at the top, depending on your preferred location.

Back of house applicants email Zack Hirt (eljefe@nuevomodmex.com), would-be front of house staff email applications to Aaron Redmond (aaron@nuevomodmex. com), bar staff email Erick Hirt (erick@ nuevomodmex.com) and to join the catering crew, email your application to Erin Kirven erin@nuevomodmex.com.

APRIL 2016 • VOL 2 • ISSUE #4 /

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ap

food & Drink

arnie’s public house

Elegantly Casual Dining featuring Modern Twists on Your Favorite Comfort Foods and Classic Cocktails 1682 W. Market St at Westgate Plaza in Akron 330-867-0154 Open 7 days a week 11:00am-2:30am

UR O F O NE TRY O TE PLAZA A WESTG RANTS! U RESTA

The Wanderer Eggcellent Adventure words and photos by Holly Brown

As my personal idol Ron Swanson (of hit sitcom Parks and Rec) says: “You may have thought you heard me say I wanted a lot of bacon and eggs, but what I said was: Give me all the bacon and eggs you have.”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love breakfast food. Particularly savory breakfast and particularly dishes of the egg variety. It had felt like some time since I had let myself indulge in a breakfast issue, so I flipped at the opportunity and scrambled to narrow down which fabulous Akron breakfast I would use this time.

Basically I have been hearing sweet nothings about The Blue Door since moving to Akron, let alone starting my culinary endeavors as your most humble narrator/wanderer. Here’s the tragedy of this story: I just never seemed to get there though it was always on the top of my list. Finally, one uncharacteristically beautiful day in early March, the sun was out and the blue sky pointed me to one place and one place only: The Blue Door. I donned my sunhat, spring dress, and my Ryan and to breakfast we all went.

From left to right: Blue Door: Table full o’ food; Blue Door: Pantone Chart Worthy Grapefruit; Sweet Pea Cafe: The Northern Benedict; Sweet Pea Cafe:

Akron’s Home of the All Day Breakfast featuring a Bloody Mary Menu, Mimosas and much more...

Crab Meat Benedict.

The Blue Door is exactly how I always imagined it being; behind its adorable and inviting blue door is a clean, open, crisp interior. It is decked in whites and neutrals, the pops of accent color literally come from the food: the star of the show. I walked by tables, my eyes reveling in the color and my stomach rolling with foodinduced desire. The beautiful colors of the fresh, local ingredients as well as the perfect plating of each and every dish was impossible to ignore even as we were merely shown to our seats.

much as I did. For good measure, I got a side of greens dressed in the *perfect* amount of balsamic and a broiled grapefruit (had to get all of my food groups represented!). The color of the grapefruit alone almost sent me reeling.

One week later and again I was lucky enough to have to go out and eat eggs for breakfast.

After a long weekend of shenanigans, on Sunday it was time to recharge, refresh, and fuel up; The Sweet Pea Cafe is just the place to do that. With an extensive menu offering Ordering eggs off of the menu was no problem, everything in the egg world from frittata to it was exactly what kind of eggs that were omelette to quiche to benedict, this is where going to be an issue, especially knowing that you can get eggs any way. the menu changes every week to incorporate seasonal ingredients. This could be a one-time- Sweet Pea is innocuous from first glance. The offer!! After much deliberation I finally settled inside of the cafe is simple but upon further on a classic: the Croque Madam (though I made inspection, one notices the hilarious chalkboard sure that Ryan ordered the limited-time egg signs that hang on the wall with phrases such white frittata with mushrooms, potatoes, and a as: “Good looking people sit here,” “‘Ham and balsamic reduction…also stellar).

Eggs’ - a day’s work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig,” and my personal When the food arrived, I was blown away. The favorite “I love life but life only likes me as a brioche just about melted in my mouth. The friend.” As I’ve said before the menu is seriously ham was just thick enough, hearty but never extensive. I’ve been here a few times but I greasy. If, like me, you get choked up by cutting always, always, always have trouble picking out into a perfectly poached egg pillow, by seeing what to eat. My advice is to come here with that beautiful, delicious yellow yolk cascade friends, because the menu is so extensive and over ham and bread, then you would have almost everything is made from scratch, you’re enjoyed that first bite of Croque Madam as (continued on page 29)

1688 W. Market St at Westgate Plaza in Akron 330-867-1114 Open 7 days a week 6:30am-3:00pm Sundays 8:00am-3:00pm WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

Food & Drink isolated communities want to improve their standards of living, they often want to do so without abandoning their way of life by moving to the cities. More and more, Delahanty saw himself working to find ways to help them stay.

Snacking Purpose with a

When Delahanty returned to Ohio in 2013, he knew he wanted to continue what he started in Suriname. This meant finding a way to extend economic opportunity to the residents of the Amazon rainforest. Though he considered several options, inspiration eventually struck in the form of açaí.

An Akron Startup Makes Snacks that Promote the Social Good words and photos by Andrew Leask

There are a lot of considerations that go into picking the food we eat. We ask ourselves, is this tasty? Is it good for me? Will I be embarrassed if someone walks into the room while I’m stuffing my face with it?

From 2011 to 2013, Delahanty was a Peace Corps volunteer in Suriname, a country on the northern coast of South America. There, he served as a Community Economic Development Specialist, living and working closely with residents of the Amazon rainforest. “I had a For Evan Delahanty, founder of snack company thatched roof hut,” he recalls. “The same lack Peaceful Fruits, there is another, more important of electricity, and running water, and toilets, question: how can our food help to make the and all that. Just like all my neighbors.” world a better place?

Through his work, Delahanty learned that It’s not surprising, considering his background. although members of these remote, often (continued from page 28) going to wait but the wait is going to be worth it. Also, bringing friends means that they order something different than you and you get to try it. Win, win, win.

Even more than eggs, I love smoked salmon.

LOVE. I have it with my family every Christmas morning and I find it impossible to not order something with smoked salmon in it when I see it on a menu. I’ve talked about my favorite foods before, and next to cheese smoked salmon is my absolute top favorite. Sweet Pea features smoked salmon on multiple dishes, including an eggs bennie which I sampled for this first time for this very issue! Ryan got the special: a crabmeat benny with a bed of spinach.

Out came my beloved benedict: an english muffin topped with avocado, smoked salmon, a poached egg, and dripping in hollandaise. The Northern Benedict was everything I wanted: salty, earthy, eggy. The hollandaise is housemade and great, not too thick as to overpower the rest of the flavors working together but there and just decadent enough.

And there you have it, a most eggcellent adventure. Catch y’all on the sunny side.

Peaceful Fruits, which Delahanty founded in 2014, imports this naturally organic, wild açaí and uses it to make nutritious fruit leathers.

Though the company combines açaí with other fruit to produce different flavors, açaí remains the main ingredient in its snacks, a fact which, according to Delahanty, distinguishes the company from all of its competitors.

For now, Peaceful Fruits snacks are available at select stores in Northeast Ohio and through the company’s website. But Delahanty, who invested his own money into the startup, is always looking toward the future, to expanding the company. There are many possibilities, but whatever happens, it is important to him that the company succeed financially as well as ethically, so that it can serve as a model for socially responsible businesses. This means ensuring that his business can turn a profit.

“That’s important,” says Delahanty, “because it speaks to the sustainability.”

With a little luck, if Peaceful Fruits succeeds in its mission, people will soon be asking themselves, how can my food save the world?

For more information, visit

peacefulfruits.com // BIO: Andrew Leask spends too much of his free time watching cable news shows and yelling at the TV. He writes fiction in the company of his wife, Amy, and their two cats, Monty and Nigella.

Get to know one of

Akron's Hidden Gems

// BIO: Holly Brown loves adventures and food.

Especially adventures in breakfast.

1970 State Rd, Cuyahoga Falls Breakfast & Lunch: Wed-Sun: 7am - 3pm Dinner: Fri & Sat: 5pm - 9pm ___________________________________

117 Merz Blvd #116, Fairlawn Everyday 7:00am - 2:30 pm Dinner: Fri & Sat 6pm - 9pm

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

Açaí is the small, berry-like fruit of a species of palm tree native to South America. Though the fruit has long been an important food source in the Amazon, it has recently gained popularity in the United States due to its promotion as a source of nutrients and antioxidants. More importantly for Peaceful Fruits and its mission, however, is that harvesting wild açaí provides a source of income for rainforest communities without drastically changing their environment or way of life.

And Peaceful Fruits’ mission extends beyond the Amazon rainforest. By partnering with local nonprofit organizations like Hattie Larlham and the Blick Clinic, Peaceful Fruits offers employment opportunities to people with developmental disabilities, who produce its snacks here, in Akron.

A quality community cafe in South Akron that brings people from different backgrounds together Now serving homemade grits & healthy salads that will fill you up.

Visit us for breakfast or lunch Monday through Friday • 7am to 3pm 798 Grant St., Akron, Ohio | (330) 375-1991

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food & Drink

GETTING CULTURED AND TIPSY Akron Art Museum’s 9th Annual Art & Ale

by Emily Anderson

Since I’m a huge beer lover and have been living in Akron my whole life, I can’t believe I haven’t been to the Akron Art Museum’s Art & Ale event until this year. The 9th annual happening took place on Friday, March 11 and was the first time it reached capacity – 350 tickets were sold at $50 each. I was more than excited to be one of the lucky ones who went.

I’ve been to dozens for beer fests and tastings in the past, but this one had a decidedly different vibe. The first thing I noticed when I entered the museum was the eclectic mix of attendees. Not many people seemed overly concerned about rushing to get beer in their cups, but were shaking hands and greeting friends instead. There was a DJ playing funky, chill, electronic music on the balcony. A lot of people were dressed up, and I was instantly self-conscious of my t-shirt and jeans.

Food and drink could be found on long tables lining the first floor, leaving a nice open area in the middle to socialize, drink and eat.

Speaking of eating -- the food offered here was outstanding. Most beer events offer some snacks to help soak up all the beer, but these guys went above and beyond on the food offerings with 11 different purveyors. I didn’t even try everything and I had sauerkraut balls

from Ascot Valley Foods, creamy pretzel dips from Lucky Penny Farm, a pulled pork sandwich from Old Carolina Barbeque Company, artisanal cheeses from Mayfield Road Creamery, a taco from Nuevo, and a handful of chocolate chip cookies from Sweet Mary’s Bakery (don’t judge).

All the food providers had come prepared with plenty of stock, so nobody was fighting over the last sandwich or rushing around to try everything before it was gone.

judges were local beer writers Marc Bona, Jon Albrecht, and Rick Armon. For first place they choose Hop Ju Ju, an Imperial IPA brewed by Fat Head’s Brewery in North Olmsted. Spider Monkey Brewing out of Westlake took second with their new Kent Stout, and Mystic Mama IPA from Jackie O’s Brewery in Athens came in third. I don’t know how many beers were included in this blind test, but I can vouch that these three winners are truly superb beers.

All the great local food was only there to complement the real star of the show – beer.

The beer, like the food, was plentiful and delicious. There were over 20 unique breweries from all over the country handing out samples.

Although it isn’t fair to try and analyze every beer when you’re having so many in such a short time, everyone leaves with a couple new favorites. A few of my top picks were Canton Brewing Company’s Cascade Pale Ale, Crafted Artisan Meadery’s Codex Combustum, and Ohio Brewing Company’s Double Irish Red. I also got to try a couple brews from Madtree Brewing, a highly regarded brewery in Cincinnati that doesn’t yet distribute to the Akron area.

Overall, Art & Ale was modern, fresh, local, organized and educational. I’m already looking forward to what they’re planning for next year’s event. Organizations like the Akron Art Museum, who work hard to raise cultural and artistic awareness in our community, will always have my support. According to their website, Art & Ale 2016 raised over $20,000 that will go towards the museum’s public programs. Talk about a win-win! Cheers!

// BIO: Emily Anderson has a lot of opinions and loves drinking beer. You can find her at the bar or on Twitter at @ohiobeergirl Photos courtesy of: Emily Anderson/The Devil Strip and TJ Carroll

The museum held its own “best in show” competition with a blind taste test. The

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food & Drink

*NO COVER CHARGE

Highland Square

LIVE MUSIC LINEUP

Friday, 4/1 • 9pm – Midnight Underworld – Blues

Saturday, 4/16 • 9pm – Midnight Daniel Rylander – Indie, Folk & Pop

Saturday, 4/2 • 9pm – Midnight The Ozone – Funk & Roll, Rock &Soul

Sunday, 4/17 • 12 – 3pm Art & Tom – Acoustic Classics & Originals

Sunday, 4/3 • 12 – 3pm Sonny Moorman – Blues Guitar &Vocals

Lady Beer Drinker

Friday, 4/8 • 9pm – Midnight DJ Rodger Riddle – DJ

Rubber City Beer Fest

Saturday, 4/9 • 9pm – Midnight Jazz Shepherds – Jazz

by Emily Anderson

Sunday, 4/10 • 12 – 3pm Little Steve-O Blues Duo – Acoustic Blues & Rock Duo

My favorite thing about the RCBF is that all the breweries in attendance are located in Ohio. I’m a big advocate of supporting local businesses, especially when it involves catching a buzz.

Many of these breweries are very young/small, and many of the beers that were offered at this event aren’t distributed outside their breweries at all. I was excited to see a couple breweries I’ve been reading about and hoping to visit, Upon entering the warehouse-like space at such as JAFB of Wooster, Phoenix Brewing of Lock 3 Park, my first thought was holy crap.

Mansfield, Madcap Brewing of Kent and Scenic The room was completely packed. Live rock Brewing of North Canton. It was amazing to music by the Rhodes Street Rude Boys blared see just how many talented people and creative from the far corner. Despite the close quarters, businesses are thriving here in Ohio, and I can’t everyone was smiling, dancing, and having a lot wait to visit them in person after getting a taste of fun. I was immediately comfortable and dove of their brews! in to get some of that good stuff in my cup.

Friday, 4/29 • 9pm – Midnight Erin Nicole Neal & The Chill Factors – Blues, Rock, Pop, Jazz & Soul Saturday, 4/30 • 9pm – Midnight Steel Drum Trio – Island & Caribbean Music of Trinidad & Tobago Sunday, 5/1 • 12 – 3pm Sonny Moorman – Blues Guitar &Vocals

www.MustardSeedMarket.com

perience our New x E d an Bre r e v wp eO

ub !

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

Sunday, 4/24 Sausalito – Jazz & R&B

HIGHLAND SQUARE: 867 West Market Street Akron, Ohio, 44303 • 330-434-7333

he

T

A lot of drinkers here seemed to be on a mission, and I soon found out why. Not only was all the free merchandise disappearing quickly, some beers were too. I tried to go to the most popular tables first and then wandered around to try a little bit of everything. While mass tastings like this have the disadvantage of wrecking your pallet, I was still able to pinpoint a few favorites.

Saison Possum from Little Fish Brewing of Athens kept calling me back, as did Phoenix Brewing’s Mary Jane Chai Porter and Willoughby Brewing’s Third Planet Pale Ale.

Friday, 4/15 • 9pm – Midnight Zach & The Bright Lights – Uplifting Indie Folk

Saturday, 4/23 • 9pm – Midnight Cedric Rodgers – Americana

Com

March 19th was the 2nd annual Rubber City Beer Fest, organized by the home-brewing club Society of Akron Area Zymurgists, aka SAAZ. (Zymurgy is the study or practice of fermentation in brewing, wine-making, or distilling.) Turnout was twice that of 2015, and tickets sold out after 300 people purchased $30 tickets. Luckily I was able to attend.

Friday, 4/22 • 9pm – Midnight Soulshine – Blues & Rock

Another cool thing about RCBF is that it’s organized by SAAZ and preceded by an annual homebrewing competition between SAAZ and another homebrewing club, the Society of Northeast Ohio Brewers, or SNOBS. This competition yields some interesting brews, and some breweries collaborate with SAAZ to make special beers just for this event. R. Shea Brewing was serving SAAZ Smoked Porter, which was pleasant and smooth, and Cornerstone Brewpub had 3 different RCBF beers. The celebratory nature of RCBF after the SAAZ vs SNOBS competition draws a lot (continued on page 34)

e r a Brew u q S pub in Highland

For details visit or www.ohiobrewing.com 804 W. Market Street, Akron, OH 44303 (at the corner of Highland Ave and W. Market St.)

32

by Leslie Shirley Nielsen

It’s a tough job but someone’s got to drink it

BAR CRAWLER

food & drink

Pictured left: The interior of Karam's Lounge.

I'm estimating that there are close to 200 bars within this city of ours. Nobody knows for sure, but that's about to change. For a town of roughly 200,000 people, we’re up there with Pittsburgh (11.8 bars per 10K people), St.Louis (11.6 per 10K), Cleveland (11.5 per 10K) and Cincinnati (11.5 per 10K), who are tops in the country. It's astonishing, considering that half the people here probably don't even go to bars.

Babies can't drive, and Grandpa only manages to sneak out of Rockynol Retirement Home twice a year to throw a few back at Annabelle's Lounge. So, many of you are off the hook. I'm talking to the rest of you drunkards! It's okay.

We are who we are here. Therefore, own it!

Embrace it! It's apparently a part of the The Rustbelt survival guide.

Some old-timers claim that when Akron was nearing 300,000 people in the 50's and

60's, there were more like 400-500 bars in The Rubber City, which I hope to learn more about in my ventures. For an area that’s not made of money, with an average year-round temperature of a balmy 50 degrees, coupled with about 150 days a year of precipitation, it's not surprising that we Akronites can find nothing better to do. Good thing Dr. Bob and Bill W. didn't take their talents to South Beach to launch A.A..

No matter where you live in Akron, you're just minutes away from a watering hole, if not many. I’m not talking about key clubs, strip clubs or restaurant bars. I’ll get to those later.

I’m talking about places that the general public would go with the sole intent of tipping a few back and committing some kind of sin that will likely, hopefully, be forgotten by the time we wake up.

on East Market, The Taj Mahal downtown, Wannamakers on Perkins St. or The James Dean Bar on Lover's Lane have been gone for years now. Other legendary bars like The Bucket Shop in Highland Square or Mr. Bilbo's downtown have carried on their swilling ways under different names (Ray's Pub and The Lockview). Then there are some, like The Brown St. Cafe or The Southern Tap Room, that are still standing but are no longer in business (and which I’ll feature in the Adopt-a-Bar section). Just imagine sad puppy eyes on their facade (with Sarah McLachlan music playing in the background) and help preserve Akron's bar history by bringing one back to life. Like Donald Trump says, “just ask your parents for a loan.”

I encourage all of you to venture out of your comfort zone and go across town for a change.

We’ll be having a contest soon, so take a selfie with drink in hand whenever you go to one

Due to a lot of cab driving and bartending over my quarter of a century in Akron, I know where most of them are and, sadly, where a lot of them no longer exist. Such legendary bars as The Temple Tavern in Northhill, Katmandu Pictured right: Inside Main St. Saloon

Andy’s in The Park

Harvey Wallbangers

Karam's Lounge

Kevin O'Briens Irish Pub

Main St. Saloon

Paramount Pub & Grille

1751 S. Main St.

1915 Brown St.

1543 Brown St.

1761 S. Main St.

1481 S. Main St.

411 E. Waterloo Rd.

330-785-3737

330-983-9359

330-724-6082

330-724-9782

330-724-8855

330-785-3700

Area in Akron

Firestone Park

Firestone Park

Firestone Park

Firestone Park

Firestone Park

Firestone Park

Established

2014 Bar itself dates back to the 1950s

2011

1970's

2003 bar itself dates back to 1958

1985

2014

Happy Hour

Always

Always

Always

11am-7pm

3-6pm

11am-7pm

Biggest sellers beer/liquor

Mille Lt./Henessy

Bud Lt./Grey Goose

Bud Lt./47 bitches in a Cadillac (47 different kinds of liquor, Yikes!)

Craft Beer/Irish Whiskey

Bud. Lt./Crown Royal

Entertainment

Pool/Darts

Pool/Darts

Pool/Darts

Karaoke/Bands/Pool

Bands/Pool/Darts

Pool/Darts

Food

Bar Menu

Gyros. Nothing but freaking gyros!

snacks

Full Menu

Full Menu

Full Menu

Previously

Stadium Pub

Hershey's Ice Cream store

“Please tell us if you know.”

Boomers/Firestone Park Cafe

Good Question

Scorchers/Rippers

Celebrity personality

Kevin Love meets Kevin Hart

Zach Galifianakis meets Karen Black

Debra Winger meets Joe Cocker

John Daly meets Jack Nicholson

Jesse James meets Lita Ford

Don Ho meets Laura Linney

Comments

Eclectic crowd

If you love hotdogs, this is not your place.

"The 47 Bitches goes down like soda-pop" - Patron.

(Really?!)

The name fits well

Pee Wee Herman would have knocked over all of the Harleys out front.

Nice, friendly atmosphere

| THE Devil Strip / APRIL 2016 • VOL 2 • ISSUE #4

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

food & drink Pictured left: The interior of Spock's Lounge.

in London,” or that it was Fight Club for Geriatric Yachters, but similar for sure. I'll fill you in more when I return with a posse.

of these places. The winner/winners will be awarded something like a t-shirt or a new liver or something, not to mention bragging rights.

Almost everywhere I've gone so far has been very receptive and friendly and if I don't bat a thousand on that, you'll be the first to know. Speaking of which, there is this weird fucking bar out in Portage Lakes that claims it’s open to the public, but I swear I heard a record screech when I walked in. I'm not gonna go so far as to say it was like The Slaughtered Lamb in the movie “American Werewolf

When you belly up to the places I've listed here, make sure to say The Devil Strip sent you. They’ll hopefully say in return, “The tree lawn sent you? That's weird,” or “Where the hell are all these new customers coming from?”

Cheers, and enjoy responsibly!

Leslie Shirley Nielson — The Bar Crawler

Pictured right: Inside Park Place on Aster Ave.

Park Place

Spock’s Lounge

Talk of The Town Tavern

The Secret Tavern

1505 Aster Ave.

2012 S. Main St.

472 E. Wilbeth Rd.

794 Johnston St.

330-724-0887

330-724-1626

330-773-9429

330-252-5112

Firestone Park

Firestone Park

2002

1984

Early 70's

2014

4-7pm

11am-7pm

2pm-8pm

4-6pm

Bud Lt./Bombs

Bud Lt./Crown Royal

Bud Light/Fireball

Bud/Black Velvet

Pool/Keno

Karaoke/Pool/Darts

Pool/Darts

Pool/ Darts

Bar Menu

Bar Menu

Snacks

None

Aster Bar 1950's

The Tally Ho

Believed to have been an Acme

Russ & Marians.

Originally, Harry and Louise's back in the 50s

Todd Rundgren meets Jim Carrey and according to one patron, Ernest Hemingway. Huh?

Linda Ronstadt meets Leonard Nimoy with a hint of Bob Newhart

John Goodman meets Christine McVie

Bob Seger meets Bette Davis

I can't wait to get shitfaced here.

Not the Starship Enterprise, more like the place where your really nice uncle would go to get away from his wife.

Wide open roadhouse feel to it.

Most people that go here probably live within blocks.

Little neighborhood corner bar. Nice folks.

DIVE

Firestone Park

pick BAR

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

7 C 9 A D F L E O Voted #1 Best Irish Pub

With the weather is warming up and the sun starting to shine, you know what that means... our outdoor stone patio is about to open up again!

Visit old97cafe.com for more events

Live music. Great martinis. Private parties.

1503 Kenmore Blvd., Akron, Ohio • 330-745-5493

Bartender of the Month

N K ’S PL A C A E FR

food & Drink

Mondays

CuSTomer APPreciATion niGHT!

Buy One Drink, Get One 10:00 p.m. until midnight Compliments of TPH Productions $1.75 Pint Special $5.50 Burgers Trivia With DJ Larry Win Huge Prizes

(continued from page 30)

Wednesdays Chef Todd’s Food Specials

Fridays 12oz Strip Steak $12.00 Saturdays Check Out Our Live Music Schedule Sundays Karaoke hosted by Natalie (Now 9:00 to 1:00) $0.50 Wings (dine-in only) Super Power Hour From Open - 8:00 P.M. $3.50 Well Drinks $3.50 Bud Light Drafts

HAPPY Hour

Monday through Friday Until 8pm Monday through Friday open at 2pm Saturday & Sunday open at 12:30 549 W Market St, Akron Phone: (330) 376-8307

What was you first night like? Was asked to come in on a whim and it was exhilarating.

Good or bad, what's the one thing that you wouldn't have known if you weren't a bartender? That citrus oil is flammable.

Best tip you've ever gotten? I turned down a $1,000.00 Vegas poker chip that would have required me going to Vegas with someone to cash it in. Instead $200.00 would be the biggest.

Where do you go when you're not at work? With a 60 hour work week....my bed.

What's your signature drink/favorite drink to make? Anything I can put my homemade bitters and fresh fruit into.

or future events, you can check out SAAZ at saazakron.com and SNOBS at beersnobs.org.

Overall, the RCBF was really fun and I got to try a lot of really cool beers that I normally would not have had access to. I got to shake hands and chat with a dozen different brewers and share drinks with hundreds of fellow beer lovers. I left with a bag full of stickers, pins, cozies, business cards, and a long list of breweries to visit. This was one of the best beer events I’ve ever attended and cannot wait to go back next year.

Tuesdays Taco Nights $1.50 to $3.00 Drink Specials Available

Thursdays HALF OFF Regular Burgers (dine-in only)

Name: Wendy Casale • H ometown/Lives in Green, Ohio

Adopt-a-bar

by Leslie Shirley Nielson (The Bar Crawler)

Jo Ann’s Lounge in South Akron

of big names in the beer world. I recognized Ron Shea from R. Shea Brewing handing out beer and saw Fred Karm of Hoppin’ Frog in the crowd. If you’re interested in homebrewing

(continued from page 11)

// BIO: Emily Anderson works hard to taste all the beers so you don't have to. See her favorites on Twitter @ohiobeergirl Photos courtesy of: Lindsay Amerman, Emily Anderson/ The Devil Strip and Paul Hoffman

master class workshops at BLU Jazz+ led by top musicians.

that shows what life is like on the spectrum.

Garage Band ($7,000) Activating a space for artists by turning the Akron Symphony’s garage bay into a stage for local musicians to perform in open-mic events and jam sessions.

Nepali Applause ($10,000) Celebrating the rich history of the Nepali-American population in North Hill with a bilingual variety show featuring art, dance and music.

Nightlight Productions ($20,000) Improving Girls Rock Camp Akron ($20,000) Fostering the cinema experience by purchasing the next generation of musicians by bringing equipment that will allow the Nightlight to the Girls Rock Camp summer camp, where girls create broadcast-quality content, including 10-16 write and perform songs, to Akron.

Skype-based Q&A sessions with directors and filmmakers, high-quality pre-show content, The Heart of Glass ($50,000) Offering creative promotional materials and more. opportunities with a mobile glass studio that travels to schools and events.

Northside Arts District Outdoor Gallery ($22,850) Strengthening the Northside Arts Highland Square Film Festival ($6,650) District by creating an outdoor art gallery with Telling Akron stories through a film festival of digital projections on the side of buildings local works. and yearlong displays of visual art mounted outdoors.

Intensive Music Classes for Akron’s Very Young ($5,000) Fostering the next generation The Optics of Memory ($37,000) Enlivening of artists and arts advocates by taking the Ohio downtown by building a public art series Conservatory’s intensive music class into local based on 2011 Guggenheim Fellow Kasumi’s classrooms and introducing 4- to 7-year-olds to exhibition “The Optics of Memory,” a all the elements of music. multimedia piece about the formation of memory and collective consciousness.

Jazz Master Class ($74,500) Bringing training to local jazz musicians through a series of #overlooked ($5,000) Producing a series

888 Brown Street • Akron, OH 44311 The last time I was here a few years ago, the decor still remained unchanged. It was like your Grandpa did the decorating back in the 70's. I miss this place. Let's keep Akron's drinking history in tact.

of photographic portraits of a cross section of women leaders in Akron set against the backdrop of underused public spaces, as a way to celebrate their accomplishments while empowering them to improve the city’s landscape.

Rubber City Jazz and Blues Festival ($75,000) Building on Akron’s musical legacy by launching a downtown jazz festival that features local and national talent.

Theaster Gates ($17,500) Exploring the role of arts in building community by bringing Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates to speak in Akron and meet with artists and entrepreneurs.

Traveling Stanzas ($125,000) Sharing the voices of Akron by enabling residents to submit a short video of an original poem, some of which will be displayed on posters on local buses and in public spaces.

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

music & entertainment

HOLLOW BONE RECORDS

AKRON’S MUSIC SCENE

38 IN REVIEW: GRETCHEN PLEUSS 39 STANDING ROOM: SIX BANDS TO KNOW 41 ON STAGE: CYRILLE AIMÉE RETURNS

Saturday, April 16 is Record Store Day when exclusive vinyl releases from big names — this year includes David Bowie, Johnny Cash, Madonna and Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention — help drive folks to indie music shops. Three of Akron’s four stores are on Market: Time Traveler, Square Records and Hollow Bone in Fairlawn (pictured here by Megan Combs). DJ Forrest Getemgump’s Calhoun Recordshop is the outlier in Firestone Park but it gets traffic from as far away as NYC.

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

APRIL 2016 • VOL 2 • ISSUE #4 /

THE Devil Strip |

35

music & entertainment released his most recent album, “My Stupid Heart,” last year as a way to work through the heartbreak of his third failed marriage. Local favorites Hey Monea! will kick off the up-closeand-personal event with an acoustic set. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster or at the Civic Theatre Box Office for $30.

‹ Johnnie Clampett & The Walkers, She's Alright, Purple KniF

å

Photo by Scott Green

ë è

µ Photo courtesy of Smashing Pumpkins

é ç

è Helen Welch

ê

Dozen The Devil’s å The Dandy Warhols

Wednesday, April 6 at Musica, 8 pm Noted for their early-to-mid 2000s hits “We Used to Be Friends” and “Bohemian Like You,” The Dandy Warhols are embarking upon a country-wide tour to celebrate the release of their album, “Distortland,” dropping April 8.

The Dandys make their way downtown April 6 for an all-ages show. Advanced cost $20 and are available for purchase at Square Records, Urban Eats Cafe or online at Ticketweb.com.

‹ Peggy Coyle Trio Wednesday, April 6 at Pub Bricco, 7:30 pm As part of its celebrated Live Jazz Wednesdays, Pub Bricco welcomes vocalist Peggy Coyle, accompanied by upright bass and guitar, who blends standard, modern and blues-inspired jazz into her sets. Doors open at 6:30 pm, and admission is free.

ç The Sam Blakeslee Large Group,

by the Tri-C JazzFest Prep Ensemble, featuring special guests Nadav Remez, Dan Pugach and Nicole Zuriatis from New York City. Blakeslee has shared the stage with Aretha Franklin, Wessell “Warmdaddy” Anderson and Sean Jones, among other greats, and currently performs with his Large Group, consisting of a 17-piece contemporary jazz orchestra. General admission tickets cost $15.

é Blue Oyster Cult Saturday, April 9 at Tangier, 7:30 and 9:30 pm “Godzilla,” “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper,” “Burnin’ For You” … need we say more? The classic rock legends — who have sold a cool 24 million albums since the dawn of their career in the ‘70s — will drop by Tangier for two powerful sets to kick off the first weekend in April.

Tickets for the all-ages show cost $40 and up and can be purchased in advance at TheTangier.com.

Tri-C JazzFest Prep Ensemble

‹ Shawn Mullins

Thursday, April 7 at BLU Jazz+, 7 pm Cleveland-based trombonist/composer Sam Blakeslee hits the intimate BLU stage for a special edition of the venue’s big band residency. The performer will be accompanied

Thursday, April 14 at Akron Civic Theatre, 8 pm The Grammy-nominated musician, best known for his 1998 hit “Lullaby,” will bring his blend of folk, alternative and country rock to the Civic on its special cabaret club stage. Mullins

36

Friday, April 15 at Musica, 8 pm Celebrating 35 years of performing, Johnnie Clampett & The Walkers bring their rockabilly stylings to Musica for a seriously special event.

Longtime crooner Becky Armstrong and guests Marky Ray and David Loy will join the musicians as they play a few Eddie Cochran numbers, along with some old tunes from the back catalog and current fan favorites. Purple kniF will kick things off with instrumental surf rock inspired by 20 years of playing lower east side dives and the Coney Island boardwalk. She’s Alright, a side project of The Numbers Band’s Jack Kidney, Chris Butler from The Waitresses and Half Cleveland, along with local greats John Teagle and Bob Basone,, will also perform an eclectic set of blues-inspired, old-school jams.

The show costs just $10 to attend, $12 for those under 21.

| THE Devil Strip / APRIL 2016 • VOL 2 • ISSUE #4

Wednesday, April 20 at Pub Bricco UK native Helen Welch performs jazz renditions of contemporary classics, from Broadway numbers to Beatles hits. She describes herself as Natalie Cole meets Karen Carpenter, Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Connick and Nancy Wilson, marrying a wide range of styles together, while collaborating with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra and other local musicians. She is set to record a new album this month, which Akronites can get a taste of in advance inside the intimate Jazz Room at Pub Bricco.

ê Michale Graves (from The

Misfits), Seance, Dead Federation, C.j. Gunn Wednesday, April 20 at Annabell’s, 10 pm Members of the Fiend Club will recognize Graves as the lead singer for the 1990s reincarnation of the Misfits, as well as Marky Ramone’s band Blitzkrieg in the later 2000s. The punk rock vocalist now performs as a solo act, accompanied by a backing band, and will hit Annabell’s to do a full electric set. Also on the bill are ambient/trance Canton-based Seance, local horrorpunk outfit Dead Federation and Cleveland rocker Cj Gunn. Doors open at 9 pm.

‹ Wylie, Maggie Sailer, Cheap Sk8s Monday, April 25 at Hive Mind, 7:30 pm Hailing from Bloomington, Ind., pop punk band Wylie heads to Akron’s premier DIY space, along with singer/songwriter/ukulele sensation Maggie Sailer and Kent-based hardcore trio Cheap Sk8s. A donation of $5 is suggested to experience this diverse lineup in all its glory.

‹ Girls Rock Camp Akron Fundraiser Thurs., April 28 at Jilly’s Music Room, 7:30 pm

Empowering girls ages 10 through 16 has been the goal of Girls Rock Camp Akron since its inception. After being selected as a winner of the Knights Art Challenge, it’s safe to assume many exciting opportunities are in store for young women in Akron who are interested in playing music. The organization will hold a free, educational fundraising event at Jilly’s, featuring live music by acoustic guitarist and vocalist Diana Chittester. Raffle and auction items will be available, including a guitar signed by the Indigo Girls and many other special items donated by Joan Jett, Chrissie Hynde and several other ladies who rock.

ë Smashing Pumpkins, Liz Phair Friday, April 29 at Goodyear Theater, 8 pm Akron’s newest concert venue will kick off an impressive band roster with a star-studded lineup, featuring legendary alternative rockers The Smashing Pumpkins. The musicians will perform a special acoustic-electro set, dubbed “In Plainsong,” a deliberately more intimate concert experience than their usual sold-out stadium shows. Notorious singer-songwriter Liz Phair will open the evening for her first U.S. tour in six years. Ticket prices range from $49.50 to a special VIP package — which includes a pre-show, three-song acoustic performance and Q&A session with Billy Corgan — for $325, available through Ticketfly.

‹ Teens Rock 2016 Saturday, April 30 at Akron-Summit County Public Library, 6 pm There’s a tremendous amount of musical talent all across the Greater Akron area, and the Main library downtown is giving an up-and-coming demographic a chance to shine. Teen rockers aged 11 to 19 will compete in a battle-of-thebands style event, and one group of performers will be selected to win a grand prize. The event starts early in the evening so audiences of all ages can enjoy listening to their peers play loud and proud in the otherwise quiet venue.

µ AANA Invites You to The Shindig

The Arts Administration Networking Alliance of The University of Akron will be hosting its first fundraising event, The Shindig, April 23, 2016 from 3-7 pm at The Bit Factory, located at 526 South Main Street, Suite 511. Tickets are available for $10 at the door only. Doors open at 3 pm. Refreshments will be available for purchase. All proceeds will directly support the University of Akron graduate student AANA members and will be used toward educational and professional development in the arts and arts administration.

Entertainment shall include music performances by local bands The Beyonderers, The Dreemers, Fancy Legs, and Pizza Ghost. There will also be a photo booth with professional photography, talent and fun with the AANA graduate students, and a dance floor with more surprises.

For more information on AANA, please visit facebook.com/groups/979383622140316/.

For more information on The University of Akron Arts Administration Program visit uakron.edu/dtaa

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Puscifer (Photo courtesy of Rob Laananen)

music & entertainment

THE ‘MULTIMEDIA EXPERIENCE,’ MONEY $HOT PUSCIFER TO BRING ROUND 2 TOUR TO AKRON CIVIC

by Gabe Gott

Puscifer to Bring ‘Multimedia Experience,’ Money $hot – Round 2 Tour to Akron Civic Puscifer will makes its way to Akron Civic Theatre April 4 on the second round of the tour for its third studio album, ‘Money $hot,’ which was released Oct. 30 of last year. The band, of course, is fronted by Northeast Ohio native and Tool/A Perfect Circle vocalist Maynard James Keenan.

The night before starting Round 2 of the tour, which opened on St. Patrick’s Day in Riverside, Calif., guitarist Mat Mitchell explained what it was like getting started again after a short hiatus. “[The hiatus] seemed like it was going to be a long time, and then, you know, walking into rehearsal, it felt like we never left,” he says.

“We added a few new songs that weren’t on the last set, which we’re excited to play, and just made a few tweaks.”

Mitchell, who co-writes the songs and produces the band’s recordings, also discusses how he and the band go about translating, for a live show, songs that were created with a mindset of not worrying about how they would be performed live.

“I think about what elements in the recordings

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

are going to have the most impact, and what kinds of things are the most important elements to be represented, and start there,” he says.

“You know, figuring out who’s going to play those parts and how those parts are going to be represented, and from there just kind of put the puzzle together.”

He continues, “Some things we definitely want them represented as they are [on the album], and then there’s other things that are kind of open for interpretation, and that’s where we use the strengths of each player to kind of reinterpret certain parts or certain sounds.”

At its shows, Puscifer not only gives its audiences a live performance of the band’s songs, it also gives them more of a complete “multimedia experience.”

“Visuals are really a fun element to work with.

We work with a few people; Tamarla Vine is kind of the video director for this show, and she and I have been friends for a long time,” he says. “Kind of working with her, and coming up with ideas, between Maynard’s input and my input and her input, [we] just kind of figure out what it’s going to look like.”

And, he says, seeing it all put together with the music and the lights is exciting.

In addition to Mitchell and Keenan, the touring band includes singer/songwriter Carina Round, who has been a key collaborator with Puscifer since the 2011 album, ‘Conditions of My Parole;’ drummer Jeff Friedl, keyboardist/ vocalist Mahsa Zargarian and bassist Paul Barker round out the lineup. Friedl also plays drums for A Perfect Circle, Zargarian is a Los Angelesbased composer and performer and Barker, the newest member of the band, is the former bass player of Ministry. According to Mitchell, they all have fun performing together. “[It’s fun] being able to reinterpret these things and play for people, and, you know, it’s really fun to play with this group of people. It’s fun to get the reactions of the crowd,” he says.

While each band member does take the music very seriously, there is also a comedic element to their performances. Some fans have even described them as being “part sketch comedy.”

“I love when you leave shows and there’s a smile on your face. You know, like, I don’t think there is anything wrong that, and I definitely know some people are turned off by it because they think that you have to be super serious,” he says. "They see the show and enjoy it — or they don’t — and, you know, I think for us, it is really fun. It’s really refreshing.”

music & entertainment

"From Birth, to Breath, to Bone" INTIMATE PRFORMANCE SPACE, TOURING ARTISTS & LOCAL SONGWRITERS

APRIL 8

AMY VACHAL

APRIL 9

PRIVATE PARTY

APRIL 13

BRENT KIRBY'S 10 X 3 SONGWRITER/BAND SHOWCASE

APRIL 14

NEW SOFT SHOE – PLAYING THE GRAM PARSONS SONGBOOK

APRIL 15

JOHNNIE CLAMPETT & THE WALKERS 35TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW W/ PURPLE KNIF / SHE'S ALRIGHT, SHE'S ALRIGHT

APRIL 16

THE MODERN ELECTRIC

Gretchen Pleuss Album Review

by MacKenzie Mehrl Gretchen Pleuss is an up-and-coming singer/ songwriter with a melodic voice that instantly soothes the listener. She’s said to reflect influences by Paul Simon, Shawn Colvin and Joni Mitchell. Even to new audiences, the local musician feels like an artist one has listened to for years. Pleuss is known for her recent takeover on Searchlight Songwriting Competition and as a finalist in The Great American Song Contest with her song, “Foreign Car.” With two EPs and three full albums out, Pleuss is building her reputation as a musician of the ages. Her recent release, “From Birth, to Breath, to Bone” features light melodies and whimsical vocals.

“The Unknown” is the beginning track , and sets the project’s tone. The heavy drums paired with a fast-paced guitar and accompanying

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BRENT KIRBY'S 10 X 3 SONGWRITER/BAND SHOWCASE

APRIL 21

BRENT KIRBY'S 10 X 3 SONGWRITER/BAND SHOWCASE

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NIGHTS W/ PUNCHDRUNK TAG ALONGS

MUSICA

51 E. MARKET ST. AKRON, OH 44308

LIVEATMUSICA.COM

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LUXOTICA LOUNGE – A CABARET SHOW

bass allows the beat to push forward through the song, causing your foot to bop or head to bob. Each song from the album was written and produced by Pleuss, in accompaniment with Matt Schultzman on production.

Upcoming Shows:

The release contains a total of nine tracks, each showing a different range from Pleuss.

The closing song, “Floating,” is opposite of the opening track’s sound. “Floating” is slower, paired with a modular synth giving it that whimsical, dream-like feel. Pleuss coats the beat with her euphonious vocals, and it feels like you’re entering a new universe. Close your eyes, and her voice will take you away to a new land, one where you feel you may meet Lucy, in the sky, with diamonds.

The Winery at Wolf Creek............. 6/8 @ 7-9pm

U OF M

Mustard Seed Café....................... 4/9 @ 6-9pm Musica w/ The Gage Brothers.........5/29 @ 7pm

Troutman Vineyards.................... 6/11 @ 6-8pm Jilly’s Music Room...........................6/23 @ 7pm (for Songwriter Circle) Jilly’s Music Room w/ Ben Gage, Jordan Kink.................7/1 @ 7pm

“From Birth, to Breath, to Bone” is available for purchase in CD and vinyl, as well as on iTunes.

Vinyl copies are available at Square Records in addition to the options available via:

gretchenpleuss.com.

UA Symphony Orchestra, with student flutist Donavan Laughlin April 7, 7:30 pm // First Congregational Church, 292 E. Market St. Griffes’ Poem for Flute and Orchestra, with undergraduate Concerto Competition winner Donavan Laughlin, flute. Also Mussorsgky’s A Night on Bald Mountain, Borodin’s In the Steppes of Central Asia and Husa’s Music for Prague 1968. Guy Bordo conducts.

CHIL / OF HEART & MIND / SO LAST YEAR / THREE LEGGED CHAIRS

THE PUPILS OF GROOVE / BROCK URSEM W/ DRUNKEN SUNDAY & PSYCHIC RELIC

// Photos courtesy of Emily Speelman Photography

Akron Apex of ENTERTAINMENT

Spring Opera – “Divas and Gold Diggers” April 8, 7:30pm & April 9, 3pm // Guzetta Recital Hall Frank Ward directs Haydn’s La Canterina, Mozart’s The Impresario. Kulas Concert Series: $12 general, $6 non-UA students, free for UA students with ZipCard. 330-972-8301 or concerts@uakron.edu.

UA Steel Drum Band with guest Robert Greenidge April 9, 8 pm // EJ Thomas Hall One of the most successful steel drum players in the world, Greenidge has toured with Taj Mahal, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Harry Nilsson, and Brian Wilson, and has been a member of Jimmy Buffett’s band for more than 30 years.

He is musical director Trinidad's legendary steel band, The Desperadoes. $22 general, $20 for seniors and UA faculty/staff, $11 all students.

Reserved seating. 330-253-2488 / uaevents.com.

Faculty hornist Margaret Tung, with guest hornist Elizabeth Pfaffle April 15, 7:30 pm // Guzzetta Recital Hall An alumna of The University of Akron, Dr. Pfaffle received her Master of Music in horn performance at UA’s School of Music. She is Assistant Professor of Horn at West Chester University of Pennsylvania.

New Music Festival April 19, 7:30 pm // Guzzetta Recital Hall Student composers forum.

New Music Festival – New Music Ensemble April 20, 7:30 pm // Guzzetta Recital Hall Dr. Guy Bordo conducts.

“Shakespeare in Song” – A Shakespeare Celebration April 23, 7:30 pm // Guzzetta Recital Hall UA Choirs and Rubber City Shakespeare Company commemorate Shakespeare’s birth and the 400th anniversary of his death. With faculty violinist Alan Bodman, faculty pianist Laura Silverman and students Theron Brown and Rob Sobnosky. Part of UA's Shakespeare Quadricentennial Celebration. Kulas Concert Series: $12 general, $6 non-UA students, free for UA students with ZipCard. 330-972-8301 or concerts@uakron.edu.

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music & entertainment

å

Standing Room

Six Akron bands we think you should know

å PFV

ç é è

In the mid-’80s, music as we know it was forever changed when rap and rock performers began collaborating, adding a heavy electric sound to poetic and streetwise rhymes. The tradition continues with local hip-hop artists like PFV collaborating with metal projects to create dark, aggressive tracks with high energy and passion. The Akron-based rapper has released two mixtapes since 2014, “Genocide Over Drums” volumes one and two, filled with raw lyricism and clever rhyme schemes. PFV, otherwise known as Matthew A. Gisbrecht, is featured most recently on the 2016 track, “Rise,” with Canton hard rock band Entendre.

ç Stems (post-funk) Making their rounds across the Northeast Ohio region over the past few years, indie rockers Justin Seeker, Joshua Weiss, Michael Voris and Joel McAdams have matured and polished their sound, and — lucky for us — memorialized it on their stellar new fivesong EP, “Identity Believer.” Together, the musicians are Stems, producing pure rock ‘n’ roll made distinct by pleasant layered vocals and clear influences ranging from ‘80s postpunk to ‘60s grooves. The quartet can be seen lighting up the stage at Annabell’s, The Grog Shop, Now That’s Class and festivals in the Akron and Kent areas.

uncontrollable pacing and snake-like slithering across the stage. The juxtaposition draws the crowd in and intrigues the audience while hitting them hard (ahem) with raucous tunes.

The West Akron-based brings its vivacious lives shows sporadically throughout the Rubber City and beyond.

ë The Dreemers

Akron-based The Dreemers looks to channel “The Akron Sound” on its upcoming debut EP, “IS, IS,” continuing the legacy of bands like DEVO and Tin Huey that defined the local sound in the late 1970s. The members, Benjamin Patrick, Robert Keith and Natalie Grieshammer, are influenced by a wide variety of music, from punk to surf and soul, and even ê Roxxymoron Since 2003, Akron venues have been ignited jazz. They are in the mixing and mastering by the incendiary heat of eight-piece ensemble process with the EP, which they recorded on an Roxxymoron. Guitars, mandolin, vocals, analog reel-to-reel in their east Akron studio. cowbell, more cowbell, a healthy dose of horns The official release party for “IS, IS” will be at and percussion give the band a rich sound Jilly’s Music Room on May 13, but the band that makes their cover tunes harmonious and plans to have copies available at Square Records distinguished. For more intimate venues, the and other stores in time for Record Store Day local band becomes an acoustic foursome, aptly on April 16. called The Fourons, notably performing at the opening of the Neo Geo exhibit at the Akron Art Museum. The larger ensemble most recently // Photos courtesy of the artists; Stems - Jamie Suvak; performed at Musica in March and can be Curtail - Dan Cromaz followed for updates on future performances at Facebook.com/Roxxymoron.

é Curtail

ê

If slow, dreamy tempos, understated, minimalist arrangements and drudgy grunge melodies sound appealing to you, Curtail is a must listen. The slowcore foursome includes Jesse Sloan, Eric Sandt on drums, bassist Dan Corby and Ben Hendricks on vocals and various accompanying instruments. The band most recently shared the stage with post-punk and lo-fi performers Florist, Small Wood House and Key to the Mint at Mahall’s and played a benefit show at DIY community art space Hive Mind earlier this year. Catch the atmospheric sounds drifting across assorted Akron venues throughout this year.

è Hard in the Pink

ë AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

With a cheeky name such as this, a show without energy, wit, camp and gritty rock ‘n’ would be a major disappointment.

Fortunately, Colten Huffman, Donald Alan, Nathan Sterley and Donald Swomp make each Hard in the Pink performance memorable with tight guitar, bass and drums creating a jarring contrast with vocalist Swomp’s wild gestures,

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// Photos courtesy of Every Angle Photography

music & entertainment

DIANA CHITTESTER NORTHEAST OHIO’S REAL, LIVE ONE-WOMAN BAND

If you don’t believe an acoustic solo performance can fill a room with raw power, elegance and intelligence concurrently, you haven’t experienced Diana Chittester (pictured above). The first time I saw Chittester perform was a few weeks ago, as an opening act at Jilly’s Music Room on a triple-bill Friday night. To this day I can’t tell you who the headliner was.

I took a seat at the bar and prepared to wait for the weekend to begin. It didn’t take long.

Her intensity hit me first. On stage was a lone woman, fit and young, belting out a hard but folksy original tune as she gracefully bent around her instrument, wringing every deep, rich drop of melody out of that guitar. It was power and passion, driven by pure talent, in her voice and her musicianship. I asked the bartender her name and, that fast, became a Diana Chittester fan.

Her style is described as “percussive multipart playing, mimicking a full band on a solo acoustic guitar.” This is true. To be clear, when Chittester is on stage you could easily mistake her solo act for two or three musicians on stage. But none of this is by chance. She understands the acoustics of her voice, her instruments and the rooms she plays, and unites them like a maestro.

Raised a preacher’s daughter, Chittester learned to play piano in third grade from her mom, who taught her to read music and understand theory. When she was 14, during one of her family’s frequent moves, her dad’s old guitar resurfaced. She picked it up and that was that.

Her dad taught her to strum chords, pick out the rhythm, and finger pick. He taught her “House of the Rising Sun” so she could master

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the more difficult chords like A minor and F. And he taught her easy ways to use lyrics and rhythm to remember chord changes. Those rhythmic exercises sparked her inner songwriter, and by high school Chittester was performing original music at talent shows. Rhythm and lyric still form the heart of her art.

“The guitar directs so much of my writing,” she says. “The guitar riff is created first. It kind of awakens whatever emotion is there, whatever story I need to be telling.”

When Chittester steps onto the stage her guitars are lined up behind her, like fellow musicians. Each is selected for its unique sound.

“To me, every guitar has a voice and it’s perfect,” she says. She’s not just talking about the strings. Chittester beats her guitars like drums. “It’s not highly recommended to do that to your guitars,” she laughs.

She likes her Gibson for finger picking, and her Takamine for its warm, rich tone. They are both cracked where she hits them.

One guitar is not cracked, but it is dented. It’s called a Rain Song and it’s made of carbon fiber. Unlike wood guitars, its neck doesn’t flex, even with the open and alternate tunings she uses, which can wreak havoc on a traditional instrument.

“When I’m hitting it, the sound resonates in the body of the guitar so it sounds more like a bass drum than any other guitar I have,” she says. In fact, she wrote one of her most popular songs, “Breathe Without Air,” because of her Rain Song’s deep bass ring.

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She credits Ani DiFranco as her biggest influence, because of her open tuning techniques and artistry. As for rhythmic strumming and pulling full sound from her guitar, Chittester has drawn inspiration from solo artist Melissa Ferrick, who she’s opened for.

Chittester has performed solo since the beginning, because finding core musicians with the right energy has been difficult.

Even more important, as a solo musician, the connection she creates with her audience is deeply satisfying. When playing larger venues, Chittester works hard at animating her performances, to fill her stage and push hard enough to touch the audience.

“A lot of times with big stages the audience gets pushed back. They’ll have fencing even, to keep the audience separated from the stage,” she says. “That hurts as a solo acoustic performer who likes to really connect with the audience. The further back they are, the further I have to throw my energy to get it to them.”

But throw it she does, and when she leaves a performance exhausted, she knows she’s done her job.

“When you boil it all down, as human beings, that’s how we connect,” she says. “It’s some sort of energy moving from one person to another.”

On several levels Chittester is about keeping it real, and in her world it’s not a cliché.

and her religious background. During recording, it was Chittester and her guitar surrounded by microphones. She performed several takes of each song and the best take went onto the record.

“It was something I was really proud of,” she says. “It was real and honest and flawed. That’s what I try to represent when I’m on stage.”

She walks the talk in her personal life as well. To maintain her endurance as a performer she runs to stay fit, often with her big yellow lab Luke.

She’s vegan and into healthy cooking. She’s also active in Making Waves, an organization committed to ensuring safe water is accessible from Cleveland to Uganda.

Born in Pittsburgh, Chittester now lives in Lakewood with her partner and promoter Jessica Rosenblatt. She’s played professionally for about eight years, all but one on the Northeast Ohio circuit, gracing the stages of E.J. Thomas, the Music Box Supper Club, House of Blues, Jilly’s, Musica and many festivals.

// by Jenny Conn

To buy music or find out where she’s performing next, visit

dianachittester.com

For example, her 2014 album, “Find My Way Home,” was recorded in New Orleans and used no layering. That project she observes how living in the world has put distance between her

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music & entertainment

Vive le Jazz!

French Singer

Gives an Encore Performance at Blu Jazz+ words by Andrew Leask; photos by Svetla Morrison

T

o introduce a song in her set at Blu Jazz+ on Feb. 28, French-born jazz singer Cyrille Aimée told a story. One night, she and her bandmate, Michael Valeanu, were heading home to their respective apartments in New York City after a late jam session. As was their custom, Valeanu walked her to her subway stop first, and because it was late, waited for her train to come. Since the platform announcement screen showed that the next train would be arriving in nine minutes, Valeanu took out a book of poetry from his pocket and read to Aimée until her train arrived to take her home.

Days later, Valeanu asked Aimée to help him finish a song he had started writing. The name of the song was “Nine More Minutes.”

When Aimée finished telling the story, the audience at Blu Jazz+ hooted and clapped.

Valeanu — who was accompanied Aimée on guitar — grinned and pretended to brush dirt off his shoulder. It was Aimée’s second time performing in Akron, and it was clear that the crowd, many of whom had seen her show last year, loved her.

Then again, listen to her sing, and it becomes clear that Aimée is a master at threading needles. From the bluesy shuffle of her rendition of Stephen Sondheim’s “Live Alone and Like It” to the gypsy swing of “Three Little Words;” singing in English, French and Spanish; Aimée makes the music her own, even as she demonstrates an impressive stylistic range.

Speaking with me after her performance, Aimée attributed her stylistic range to her upbringing. Aimée, who is half French and half Dominican, grew up in a small town on the outskirts of Paris which hosts a yearly gypsy jazz festival in honor of Django Reinhardt.

“Each of these styles, they’re all in me,” she said. “So, I just try to be honest, and that’s what comes out.”

We Get You ...

Yet, Aimée was not ready to say she is finished finding her sound. “I’m still looking for it,” she said. “And I’ll be looking for it forever, because it will always change.”

In the meantime, Aimée continues to tour, sharing her unique voice and talent with music fans throughout the world. In her travels, she It’s easy to see why. Rich, but buoyant; airy, has witnessed the growing popularity of jazz but profound, Aimée’s voice lilts along to the music abroad, where performers are greeted rhythm of her four-piece backing band in a by young and enthusiastic audiences. It is way that makes you just want to get into the something she would like to see more of in groove, man. Before you know it, your head is the United States, where jazz music was born, bobbing and your fingers are snapping along to but has over time become a niche genre with a the music. It helps that Aimée’s attitude, like her dwindling audience. music, is infectious. It’s cute, but not cloyingly (continued on page 46) so — a difficult needle to thread, but she does it with ease.

Pictured below: Cyrille Aimée performing with her bandmates. Photos courtesy of Svetla Morrison fotografy.

© Sigrid Olsson / Alamy

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// PHOTO CREDIT: Pete Barakat

music & entertainment I said, ‘Look, you lied to her. Always try to be interested in what she’s interested in, and never let her out of the basement.’”

According to Barakat, most won’t make it in the comedy world, but everyone is welcome to try. Comics come to the club from about a 50-mile radius, and he will get around 10 to 20 performers for the Amateur Night Finals.

Ross appreciates Barakat’s honest feedback, which, he says, helps him grow into a better comedian.

“Pete up at The Funny Stop is probably the most supportive of new comedians there is in the business. And I’m talking about from LA, to Florida, all the way to New York, he is known as one of the most generous club owners there is.

He will give anybody a chance,” Ross says.

The Funny Stop comedy club in Cuyahoga Falls will host the 2016 Ohio’s Best Amateur Comedian Contest Finals on April 19. Each finalist will have to perform five minutes of clean material for a panel of judges. The winner will get to host several shows at the club, which means performing 10 to 15 minutes of material and introducing the featured and headlining acts.

By Gabe Gott

Ohio's Amateur Comedian Contest Finals

Make ‘Em Laugh

“The first time I hosted for him, um, I did not do well because I really, I was nervous. But he was like, ‘Look, I know it was your first time, but you did this wrong, you did this wrong, and next time you’ll do better,’” Ross says. “Now I’ve hosted a bunch of times, and I’m much more confident, and I’ve learned from him. He didn’t just say, ‘Well that’s it, you’re no good.’”

According to Funny Stop owner Pete Barakat, who has been running Tuesday Amateur Night for the past 20 years or so, everyone starts out as an amateur at some point — even veteran comedians like Steve Harvey, who at one time performed at the club. The list goes on of those who started their careers at the small venue or performed there early in their careers. National headlining acts Jeff Blanchard and Mike Conley, as well as local favorites like Mike Polk Jr., Chad Zumock and Bill Squier, all performed at the club in their early years.

This reputation is why amateur performers from all over the area try to get started at The Funny Stop. One such up-and-coming comedian is Akron native Chris Harvey, who has only been doing comedy for a year and a half and won last year’s Finals.

“My long-term goal is to be the best comedian in the world because I’m cocky,” he laughs.

“But I plan on doing big things. I definitely would like to become a headliner one day and be someone that my local club knows as a headliner or a local favorite, and I’ve been working on that at The Funny Stop.”

Since winning last year’s competition, Harvey has hosted for such headlining acts as Dave Landau (of “Last Comic Standing” fame) and the Disgruntled Clown, who is an underground

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favorite. For Harvey, winning was also a sign of his personal growth.

“I dropped out of school, so I never really achieved anything,” he says. “I’ve never had a job more than nine months, so actually doing something over a year, and actually accomplishing something, meant a lot.”

This year, he will attend the competition, though, as a previous winner, he is not eligible to compete. He will be there to open the show so new comedians will have a chance to see how a more seasoned performer — and someone who was once in their shoes — does it.

Kevin Ross of Fairview Park is one of this year’s finalists, but it is not his first time doing comedy. He first performed stand up from about 1991 to 1994, until he married and moved to Atlanta and stopped performing — until about four years ago.

“I was also on Playboy Radio for a little while, on a relationship advice thing [called] ‘Head Games.’ it’s no longer [on air], but, um, it’s funny, because I got that job right after my 18year marriage dissolved. So, I’m not sure why they hired me,” Ross laughs. “But I was always very sarcastic and silly and funny, and the host, Maya Jordan, it was just spectacular working with her. “ Hosting the Internet radio show gave Ross the opportunity to show off his wit and comedic timing off of the stand-up comedy circuit while dispensing relationship advice — for better or worse — to callers around the country.

“I am very spontaneous. I really am silly. Like really,” he says. “I think one guy called in, and

Ross hopes to continue getting more stage time and is focusing this year on getting his promotional materials together, including building a website and getting headshots.

He hopes to grow into becoming a featuring act soon.

“I think [the Northeast Ohio comedy scene] is one of the best for cultivating new talent. I mean, in terms of New York and LA, you will stand in line forever. You’ll possibly get five minutes, if they pull your name from a hat, or if you can bring 10 people,” Ross says.

“And then, even then, I think, the real caliber of comics that are in those cities are just so overrated, and I think a lot of it is that there’s just so many of them, they don’t get the stage time that we do here. And that’s why I think we’re better than all of those places.”

“I mean, I think Chicago is a great scene,” he continues. “But I don’t know of a better place to get your start than Cleveland, and The Funny Stop with Pete... he cultivates true talent like nobody else.”

Harvey, who Barakat has let perform as much as 25 minutes of material, is also getting ready for the next step in his comedy career.

“It’s OK to be cocky, and you can only go as far as your hopes and dreams, as far as you push yourself, and that’s what I plan on doing,” Harvey says. “And The Funny Stop is awesome, I’m going to add that. (Laughs).” _________________________________________ For more information on Ohio’s Best Amateur Comedian Contest Finals, or any other upcoming show, check out:

www.funnystop.com WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

music & entertainment

LGA gardens to check out around town • John Brown Intergenerational Community Garden located behind the John Brown House at Copley/ Diagonal Rd. • The Pump House Agricultural Center in Summit Lake along the towpath, 411 Ira Ave • Beck Community Garden with individual and communal plots on Beck Ave fairly close to Exchange St. • Peter Maurin Center Garden (used for several communal lunch meals) 1096 S Main St, Akron, OH 44301

(continued from page 23) those assigned to each plot grow and take home what they produce. They might share it with friends and neighbors, or donate it. Some gardens are communal in the sense that folks work and harvest from the same large space.

Other gardens are specifically for food donation programs. The Peter Maurin Center on S. Main Street has a garden they grow produce in specifically for their free community meals, served several times a week. The Salvation Army on Maple also has a community garden they harvest produce from for their daily lunch program.

want to do is go weed for an hour or more in your garden!

A Community Garden may be the way to go in terms of supplies, planting knowledge, and camaraderie . Generally, more established community gardens have equipment to share amongst members, access to free or affordable seeds, and leaders who can help novice growers as they progress through their first growing season. Never forget to look to Let's Grow Akron for trainings, garden tours, and other events throughout the growing season!!!!!

We also have market gardens, which we use to grow produce for various farmers' markets we participate in around Akron, including the Summit Lake Neighborhood Farmers' Market.

Sometimes, we eat some of the food we grow too!

KJ: Where would you recommend a first-time, backyard urban gardener start?

(Supplies needed, what to plant, when to plant, etc.)

DD: Start small! Whether in your own backyard or a community garden, don't overburden yourself! A 4' x 8' plot can produce quite a bit of harvest, and will take at least an hour of maintenance a week through the growing season. That doesn't sound like a lot now, but when it's pushing 90 degrees out and you just got home from work, the last thing you might

KJ: What is the most challenging part about urban farming?

DD: City soils can be less than ideal for growing purposes. In some instances they can be toxic, high in heavy metals like lead. Other soils might be depleted in nutrients and will need some sort of remediation. Before choosing a site, always take a soil sample and have it tested!

Come by Hollow Bone Records on Saturday April 16th for Record Store Day 2016.

A Huge selection of RSD Releases!

RSD hours 9:30am - 8pm.

We use the University Of Massachusetts for all our soil samples. They are comprehensive, inexpensive, and the turnaround time for results is about two weeks, relatively quick for lab work. (http://soiltest.umass.edu) KJ: What do you enjoy most out of working with LGA? DD: I love working with people and vegetables! Sharing experiences with folks related to growing, preparing, and eating fresh foods is definitely the best part of my job!

KJ: What is your favorite vegetable?

DD: I love all vegetables, but based on usage....

Chile Peppers! Tiburon and Red Flame are great hot peppers that can be grown for fresh use, hot sauces, or to dry and store for soups and stir fries.

KJ: How did you become interested in gardening?

DD: I think it all started riding around on my Great Uncle Freddy's tractor in Maine back when I was a youngster. He had a couple acres of cultivated land and always took my sister and I out for rides. Almost 20 years later I ended up working on a semester long Agriculture project for a sustainability class. I ended up transferring schools and changing my major to Agriculture!

I've been growing food and working outdoors ever since! // All photos courtesy of Dave Daly

2721 W. Market Street Fairlawn, OH 44333 In Fairlawn Towne Plaza

Live Performance by Run Thomas Run @ 7pm

(234)334-7484 AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

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music & entertainment

JAKE’S HIGHWAY TO SUCCESS FILM FREAK

by Chris Kessinger (The Film Freak)

Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal has taken a long road to gain the kind of notoriety that he receives today. From early appearances in films like “City Slickers” and “October Sky,” Gyllenhaal created a calling card for passionate dedication to every role he accepted. This month may be the biggest dramatic spin that

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Gyllenhaal's career has ever taken. In the latest picture by director Jean Marc-Vallee's (of Dallas Buyers Club), due in theaters April 8th, Gyllenhaal plays a widowed, successful investment banker who struggles after losing his wife in a brutal car accident. With each reflection back into his past, he reveals secrets from decisions that shaped him into the man he is today.

It took a lot of extreme decisions to shape Gyllenhaal into the actor he is today, and one of those is a film that I always wanted to check out, but didn't think would offer anything of substance. Boy was I wrong.

“Highway” (2002) Set in April of 1994, just days after the painful suicide of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, Jack (Jared Leto) and Pilot (Gyllenhaal) are the best of long-time friends. Jack is caught with the wife of his employer, a powerful Vegas thug who sends his goons after Jack. After convincing Pilot to flee with him, they head for Seattle, with dreams of Pilot hooking up with a loving crush. The goons learn

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from Pilot's drug source where the youths are headed, and they follow, hell-bent on breaking Jack's feet. On the road, Jack and Pilot give a ride to Cassie (Selma Blair), a distressed young woman. Together, the three head to Seattle on a pavement of drug-induced madness that has them running from their tortured pasts.

What I found so original about director James Cox's script is that this is punk music filmmaking at its finest, but there's a lot of heart beneath the rough exteriors of the characters in this film. Besides the grungedominated soundtrack, the opening five minutes offer no dialogue, but the backstories of Jack and Pilot are presented with some grainy, edited-in scenes from their childhoods.

What this does is communicate to the audience visually, instead of vocally, some of their most meaningful of moments. I've always believed in a show-and-don't-tell philosophy when it comes to storytelling, and Cox is master of an original style. The film also uses this editing trick in communicating some of the real cause-andeffects from rapid drug use. Several longwinded dialogue scenes overlap each other to

give a point of view from our protagonists that translates their altered states.

Leto is his usual sexy rockstar self, but Gyllenhaal's performance offers a side of him that we have never seen. It's quite a treat to watch a young, charismatic, prominent actor like him presented in such a rage of fire.

Writer Scott Rosenberg makes the most of his transition, supplying Pilot with many quotable one-liners, as well as a loser's story that you can truly root for. The world feels very easy to a man like Pilot, and watching his eyes opening to the realization that there are bigger problems out there humbles his character in a way that is almost heartbreaking to the viewers. The friendship between the two main protagonists is communicated so effortlessly because their on-screen chemistry goes leaps and bounds (continued on page 46)

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April Comics

back of the book

UrineLuck:

Lock 3 and Fairlawn Aldi

This bathroom is decorated in muted browns, darker browns, and lighter browns. Most doors have a small yellow sign asking women to please not flush feminine hygiene products.

Lock 3 is obviously adjacent to the canal, and my extensive plumbing knowledge indicates that the toilets empty into the canals, so I bet all those pads and tampons were mucking things up. Each stall has a trashcan for un-flushables.

Lock 3 and Pee word and photo by Emily Dressler

The walls in each stall extend from ceiling to ground to create a personal fortress. A beige cinder-block embrace. It also provides somewhere to lean your purse against, since there was no purse hook in the stall I visited.

The bathroom features one handicappedaccessible stall, a sink, and one electric hand dryer. It’s a bare-bones basic facility, but the tiling and coloring add a little visual interest.

If there is ever more than one patron in need of a toilet, however, the set-up might be problematic. I’m not a fan of electric hand dryers, but there’s a nice sign above the one installed about saving trees. I like trees as much as the next person, so I used the germ-blower with only minimal cringing.

Cruisin' and Usin' the Big A: Aldi in Fairlawn word and photo by Marissa Marangoni

With all the events at Lock 3, it’s time to step up the bathroom game. The Lock 3 building is in the basement of the State Street Parking Deck. I shouldn’t expect too much from a parking deck, but one that is built on top of the former American Marble & Toy Manufacturing Company should have a little more personality.

To find the Lock 3 bathrooms, walk through the main entrance and turn right at the end of that hallway. A large red sign proudly announces “RESTROOMS” in white letters with an arrow pointing to the left. The sign is hanging from a portable security gate at the end of the short but imposing hallway, and it might as well say “COME USE OUR RESTROOMS THEY’RE GREAT I PROMISE” but with a weird, gritted-teeth smile.

It’s apparent that in the era of downtown renovations, this bathroom is The Land that Time Forgot. To Lock 3’s credit, there are a lot of stalls. A row of sinks, two hand dryers, and a large gray trash can in the corner complete the look. (continued from page 44) above the sometimes hollow directions that the film can take. With anyone else, this film could fail, but it's in the forbidden territory for Gyllenhaal that gives the movie the substance that it needs to keep going.

The film takes a strange turn during the second act when a character with an unusual look is introduced. It does feel like a negative turn, since it changes the mood that was set for this film in the opening act, but there is a bigger picture. Rosenberg's script supplies just the right amount of room for emotional leverage with the audience, so they can pick up on the hints that the movie offers for its moral compass. Pilot in particular transforms the most during this act because he doesn't quite see the world as shallow as some of the other characters do. His intentions are noble, and it only confirms that this is the right character for

46

The diaper changing station was clean and accessible, so that’s one point for Lock 3.

The ratio of sinks to hand dryers is imbalanced.

If each sink were in use at the same time there would be a traffic jam at the hand dryers. The faucets are the kind you have to push down so the water can run for ten seconds. Did you know you’re supposed to rub the soap in for 20 seconds? You can sing the Happy Birthday song if you can’t count that high.

This bathroom is serviceable, but it is not keeping up with the coolness of the rest of the city.

Contrary to its popular pronunciation in Northeast Ohio as “Aldi’s,” Aldi in Fairlawn does not claim possession of anything--except its bathroom game, of course.

There’s big talk about the ways the popular budget-friendly grocery store is currently working to compete with health food grocery stores. It’s doing pretty well. Don’t want to spend $95 on a bag of four organic apples and two small chicken breasts? Take the same hardearned dollars--cash, debit, OR (now) credit--to Aldi and come out with the same things times twenty. Your cart will be full, and so will your heart.

Lock 3 200 S. Main St. Akron, OH 44308 For hours and events information, visit lock3live.com

One might expect a bathroom experience akin to that of Marc’s at Aldi, but this place really works to be customer-friendly on all fronts (or maybe I should say “backs”). The women’s bathroom is located at the far end of the store in front of the registers. It isn’t the easiest place to get to without checking out first if you’re cruising the big A solo (or with small children).

a majority of 96-minute screen time.

(continued from page 41) “Jazz has a connotation,” she said. “It’s changed so much, and it’s different. The young people would love it, but they’re not exposed to it enough, so they don’t even know that they could love it.”

“Highway” offers some unorthodox methods to the way it draws its audience in. But with a perfect blend of bizarre direction, as well as artistic originality, this film cements that no Gyllenhaal library will be complete without his most rebellious of roles. Gyllenhaal would go on to portray a wide array of characters, with film roles in “Nightcrawler,” “Donnie Darko,” and “Prisoners.” With over 25 years of screen credits, he has cemented his place as Hollywood's dramatic chameleon.

“Highway” is available on youtube.com in its entirety. You can find more of The Film Freak's reviews at thefilmfreak.com

| THE Devil Strip / APRIL 2016 • VOL 2 • ISSUE #4

Fortunately, Akronites have Blu Jazz+. In the little more than a year since it opened, the jazz club has attracted national attention, and it continues to regularly sell out shows and draw talent from across the country. As I spoke with Aimée, we were frequently interrupted by fans who wanted to thank her for sharing her music with them. They exchanged hugs, asked Aimée to sign CDs and told her they hoped she would return soon. Without a doubt, jazz is still alive in Akron. // BIO: Andrew Leask spends his spare time plucking ineptly at his electric guitar, while his wife, Amy, and their two cats cover their ears.

Sure, Aldi doesn’t feature a sitting room, fireplace, or informational pamphlets in its bathroom. There’s no gold lining the walls, but a toilet doesn’t need special features to serve the needs of its people. And serve them, it does.

Aldi’s power-to-the-people poop station, coupled with a wide selection of off-brand cleaning products, sales on bedding and laundry baskets, and grapes of both the organic and chemical-laden variety depending on the preferred price point, gets a toilet rating from me.

Aldi in Fairlawn 120 S. Cleveland Massillon Rd. Akron, OH 44313 (844) 955-2534 Hours: 9 AM-8 PM Mon.-Sat.; 9 AM-7 PM Sun.

Cyrille Aimée’s latest album,

Let’s Get Lost is available on CD or as a digital download.

For more information, or to purchase an autographed copy, visit her website at

cyrillemusic.com WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

Because

more coverage matters WKSU 89.7 has you covered with more engaging NPR programs and in-depth reporting in more of Northeast Ohio (22 counties to be precise).

Celebrating 65 years

Congratulations to the winners of the Knight Arts Challenge!

Have an idea for the arts? The challenge is accepting submissions now through May 2!

Photo: Challenge winner the Wandering Aesthetics by Shane Wynn

Find out about their ideas to engage and enrich Akron through the arts at KnightArts.org.