PressureLife Issue 29 by PressureLife

MUSIC / ENTERTAINMENT / ARTS + CULTURE / LIFE / INDEPENDENT / PRESSURELIFE.COM

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S AY WH AT YOU SEE

PressureLife Creative Director, Owner Art Director, Partner Managing Editor, Partner Senior Writers

Staff Writers

Media Producer Contributors

Jim Bacha Hannah Allozi Alex Bieler Adam Dodd Dan Bernardi Kevin Naughton Dave Sebille James Earl Brassfield Tesh Ekman Kevin Naughton Aaron Gelston Anthony Zart @anthony_zart

Casey Rearick

@caseyrearickphoto

Dave Skorepa India Pierre-Ingram Jason Dunlap Jeffrey Spicer Mary Santora Stuart M. Philipps Wilson Rivera Distribution

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CONTENTS FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020

06 Becoming Peachcurls

The evolution of an Eastside musician.

08 The Art Roots Grow Deep in Central

The Deep Roots Art Experience aims to support the creative arts of people of color.

10 Guns in the CLE

The gun culture all around us.

12 (Will You) Mary Me

The six usual suspects of Galentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day.

14 Zhug

Dine with the PressureLife team.

16 State of the City

How Cleveland is faring in 2020 as told by the people who live and work here.

22 Skin in the Frame

How Save My Ink Forever is preserving tattoos for posterity.

24 I-Xploration

A trip back in time when the I-X Center was in the tank business.

26 Tech Trends

The time of headless robo-cats and pizza robots is upon us.

28 A Short, Sweet Q&A

A conversation with Executive Director Mike Suglio.

30 Motivational Sheesh

How to turn your frowns the other way around.

The Unification of Madison The plans to reconnect Lakewood’s 2.7-mile-long neighborhood. and Hingetown continue to develop their own unique identities, Brian Ruthsatz sees the same potential in Lakewood’s Madison Avenue.

AS NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE GORDON SQUARE

As the owner and operator of Rood Food and Pie, Ruthsatz is a part of Madison’s evolution in the past few years. He cites that in the past 16 months, the 2.7 mile stretch from Riverside Drive to West 117th Street welcomed five new coffee shops and 10 new restaurants among other businesses. However, that stretch didn’t feel like a unified road. “I wondered ‘how do we connect it?” Ruthsatz says. “There’s uptown, there’s Birdtown, they want to call this west Madison. It’s two-and-ahalf miles, you don’t need to do all of that – it needs to be Madison Ave.” His plan? Utilize the street’s history to unify Madison and make it a more walkable destination. The idea was sparked by a speech from former Lakewood Planning and Development Director Dru Siley about the lack of parking options on Madison after the Barrio boom. During the speech, Siley referenced Madison’s history of streetcars and how it has more streetcar balconies than any street in Cleveland. Ruthsatz saw an opportunity to utilize this past history to connect what he calls a “melting pot of crazy little restaurants” and other businesses through initiatives like Historical Society walking tours inviting various businesses to sponsor past streetcars and invest in public art. “There are art installations in Gordon Square, Ohio City, and on the East Side, and we have nothing,” Ruthsatz says. “We have a lot of great artists here, but we have nothing, so let’s take advantage of this.” Ruthsatz shared his plans with the city of Lakewood, which he says inspired the creation of the Lakewood Art Mural Program. Ruthsatz also visited roughly 30 businesses on Madison to gauge their interest in adding partially-funded vinyl murals to their buildings that tapped into Madison’s streetcar history. According to Ruthsatz, three businesses – Rood, The CoLab, and Brewella’s – are approved and hope to add murals this spring. Once that happens, he estimates that more businesses will join the fold. He also encourages more business owners and citizens to ask the city about parking studies for other parts of the street or to revitalize the old Madison RTA lot. While some ideas are still a bit down the road, the plan to unify a 2.7-mile stretch of Madison is definitely in motion.

Becoming

PEACHCURLS Hip Hop and R&B done only as Cleveland can. Dave Sebille

eachcurls, born TJ Maclin, never had a choice whether or not he was going to be the artist he is today. That person always lived inside him, but finding the true creative inside often sends people on a wild and twisted journey. This is Maclin’s.

Maclin’s father owned and operated a small label in Cleveland called Red Eye Records. This was the time of No Limit and Cash Money, so independent record labels saw a chance to really change things. Red Eye didn’t see the heights of success other small labels achieved, but it directly influenced a young Maclin to learn how to rap and hang with the big boys. “I thought rapping was for adults, until I heard that first Lil’ Bow Wow album. I was like ‘shit, I’m gonna be a thugged out Lil’ Bow Wow,’” Maclin laughs. The growth didn’t end there. After forming a rap group with friends and recording a few songs, Maclin was pulled in a different direction by his then girlfriend. “She was listening to Ratatat, Bon Iver, and Led Zeppelin,” Maclin says. “But when I heard and saw Jimi Hendrix, I was like, ‘Yo, that’s what I want to be.’”

Image courtesy of V'Avri Visuals

toured the country, played SXSW, and released several successful singles. Even while living in Chicago and enjoying success in the indie scene, Maclin kept honing his skills as a hip hop producer.

I had convinced everyone that the fake me was the real me.

Upon moving back to Cleveland, Maclin started producing beats for Kip Stone, who he claims is, “one of the best rappers in Cleveland.” Despite a falling out years later, Maclin still respects the fact that, “through him I became a better rapper and a real producer.”

Maclin bought a guitar and watched YouTube videos of Jimi Hendrix, pausing them and mimicking the shape of his hands. “It’s hard because he has big hands but if it sounded right I’d be like, ‘Okay that’s how you do that,’” he explains.

In 2014, Thaddeus Anna Greene’s album Bleed was released and the band decided to move on soon after. At this point, Maclin found himself at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens at an event where kids planted bean sprouts. The kids gave their sprouts names and Maclin overheard one say “Peachcurls.” Maclin laughed and said “for real, I’m stealing that.” Peachcurls was born.

This newfound love of rock and roll led to the formation of Maclin’s band Thaddeus Anna Greene. The band signed to ReverbNation,

In 2018, Peachcurls released his debut EP Missing Piece to little press and critical friends.

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“When I went from Thaddeus to Peachcurls, people were like, ‘I don’t like you rapping, it doesn’t feel like you,’” Maclin says. “That was crazy to take in because I had convinced everyone that the fake me was the real me, and when I was being myself they said they didn’t like it.” He now regards the song as the stepping stone between his two EPs. In 2019, Peachcurls released his transforImage courtesy of Rastafari Photography mative EP Eastside, taking on a much more musical and melodic sound than its predecessor, an idea directly spoken about in the lyrics of the album. “I wanted to show everyone that I was an Andre 3000 or Donald Glover-level artist – yeah, I can rap well but I can also write music and sing,” Maclin says. “I work really hard to make music that captures who I am, but is also relatable. It took a long time to get there.” Eastside wasn’t doing phenomenal until the single “Perfume” was released. The single he was once afraid to release because he was “upset that I didn’t sound like D’Angelo” had now boosted Eastside and his career to the next level, but Peachcurls does not take his connection to the East Side of Cleveland lightly. “I am the East Side of Cleveland – when I think of home, I think of the East Side,” Maclin says. “When I get famous, it’s all about bringing it back to Cleveland. All the most talented people I know are from Northeast Ohio, and I’ve been to a lot of places. Think about it – everyone either sounds like Bone or Cudi, they are both East Side. MGK is probably the most successful artist from the city right now. He’s from the East Side.” As for new music, we can expect a full-length album this year titled Amarillo, which is Spanish for yellow. The title is a nod to Maclin’s Afro-Cuban roots, something he was able to explore through conversations with his 100-year-old great great grandmother who told him all about his family’s history of moving from Cuba to Georgia to Detroit and finally Cleveland so many years ago. However you get your entertainment, it’s well worth your time to be ahead of the curve on your local hip hop and R&B master. That way when he’s accepting his first Grammy, you can say I’ve been down with that dude since “Missing Piece.”

Peachcurls’ new single “Going Home” is available now on all streaming services. You can also check out his collection of music videos on YouTube.

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The Art Roots

“A space devoted to supporting the creative arts of people of color,” David states. “The central purpose of this space is to showcase and highlight artwork.” This space began as a seedling of an idea that took root once David and company found a location that had been various spaces for community needs. David created a relationship with the owner and explained the idea of what they wanted to create. After hearing his plans, the owner, Dionne Thomas, gave them the keys the same day. Construction began in the fall of 2018 and Ramsey got the space up and ready within nine months. From forest green walls and gray tiled floors, the space was transformed into white walls that created a bright space with hardwood floors – walls ready to feature artists.

Grow Deep in Central

The Deep Roots Art Experience aims to support the creative arts of people of color. India Pierre-Ingram Photography // David Ramsey

ccording to an investigation conducted by arts news outlets In Other Words and artnet News, only 7.6 percent of art exhibited in the top 30 museums in the Country from 2008 to 2018, including our very own Cleveland Museum of Art, came from black and African-American artists. The abysmal number is evidence of a continuing trend of museums and galleries not acquiring or presenting black artists.

“The goal is to revitalize an area that has always been supportive of and available for black artistry.”

To David Ramsey, this deficit is an opportunity – and he knows the right space. The Deep Roots Art Experience, owned by David and a silent partner, is an arts space that sits at the corner of East 79th Street and Central Avenue in the Central neighborhood on Cleveland’s East Side. An extension of the non-profit HigherArts, the gallery is dedicated to exhibiting artwork of youth of color and black and brown artists. The Deep Roots space was once a grocery store, a campaign space, and a day care. Now the location has now been upgraded to serve the community as an art gallery after David and his business partners worked to make the space what it is today.

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Deep Roots’ first exhibition was titled SheArt and featured artwork entirely by black and brown women. The first show curated by Asia Amour, Deep Roots’ lead curator, and David, featured artists both from Cleveland and from outside of the region. “There is a huge wave of [women of color artists] being recognized, but specifically in Cleveland... Cleveland didn’t really have that,” Asia says. “It was important to showcase the black and brown women in the community.”

With Deep Roots’ first exhibition it was important for them to center the people who helped the most in renovating the space, including helping with construction, which were black and brown women, some of whom would just come in after passing by the space. As stated, there is a dire need for spaces where all artists feel welcomed and valued, but there is a particular need for spaces that welcome black and brown artist aesthetics can thrive. “Anywhere where that black artistry had become popular, there were locations that were dedicated to supporting those arts,” David says.

“The time I’ve spent in Cleveland has proven that the art scene can be a little resistant to our style at times and its suggestive of our skills not being at the same level. That’s just not the case, we just have a different artistic eye and we need a place that is devoted to uplifting and supporting that style." In addition to SheArt, the gallery has featured group shows and opened up for local artists to do weekend pop-up shows. This gives artists the opportunity to showcase their work in a gallery and bring their fanbase into the space. It’s a win-win for both parties. The artwork chosen varies, they have given space to artists like Mr. Soul, Katrice Monee Headd, Gerogio Sabino, September Shy, Asia Amour, and Ariel Watts to name a few. Location is another factor that plays a role in Deep Roots connection to the community. David noted the importance of the Central Cleveland neighborhood to the gallery. “This is the neighborhood that housed Karamu [House], which is the oldest black-owned theater in the country,” he says. “This is the home of Langston Hughes – I grew up in this neighborhood.” Beyond just the gallery, David wants to help revive the corner where Deep Roots lives. He’s working with Dionne to renovate some of her other spaces, such as adding a new bakery and supporting an existing restaurant called Good N Plenty. Dionne is also finalizing plans for a negro cultural center that will be a standalone library for authors of color. “The goal is to revitalize an area that has always been supportive of and available for black artistry,” he explains. “We really want to support revitalizing and rebuilding [the space] to be a space supportive of and available to minorities of our generation who find themselves ostracized from arts spaces and ostracized from public spaces and feel like there isn't a place really caters to them or tailored to them. We want to create [that] not just in the gallery, but within that neighborhood.”

Want to find out more about Deep Roots Art Experience? Check them out on Facebook at facebook.com/deeprootsexperience.

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PRESSURELIFE | ISSUE 29 9

Guns

in the CLE

How Northeast Ohio handles its pieces.

Stuart M. Philipps

un culture in and around Cleveland can be summarized as abundant, but guarded. Embracing, yet exiling. Familial, although suspicious. When you talk about guns with the people of this state, they are either educated sages or blusterous students. The middle ground of gun owner is not entirely absent, but it is one of those unique hobbies where either you’re studied or a student.

Those willing to help teach others are likely a part of your family if you’re from Ohio. Just about everyone who was asked, “how did you get into guns?” responded with a combination of some family members; fathers, grandfathers, uncles, or sometimes their maternal equivalents. The family taught them responsibility and respect for guns, cementing the mantra, “guns are not toys.” However, these same people also learned that guns can be fun within these lessons. Target competitions, hunting expeditions, or showing off your hardware is a bonding experience.

“A gun is not

Of those who are the hardest of the hardcore gun The gun owner who has inherited World War a cureall.” enthusiasts, they are, perhaps unsurprisingly, not II pistols from grandfathers or shot those high very open to communicating with the media. The caliber rifles at once in a lifetime moments when National Rifle Association actually has “guidelines” a cousin comes to town. The fear of firearms is for its members on how to communicate with the nonexistent for casual Ohio gun owners because press. Asking questions at gun shows here in Northeast Ohio leads they grew up around them. This is “‘Merica,” after all. to many a side glance, an unease of suspicion, and a refusal of personal information for quotes. According to the Ohio Violent Death Reporting System 2014 Annual report, there were a total of 3,695 violent deaths by fireThat unease doesn’t mean there was a refusal to help educate on arm in Ohio between 2012 and 2014. Ohio trends right along the the topic of guns. national average when it comes to these violent crime and death statistics. A majority of these violent crimes were suicides by “Gun sales are down across the board – many sellers have had to firearms. This statistic speaks to a deeper mental health aspect consolidate or auction off their inventory,” states Robert Senczylo, of the state that can’t be fully covered in this article. Although, a former scout sniper who now runs Bear Tactical Firearms. one aspect certainly worth citing is the abundant access to firearms, particularly handguns. “When Obama was president, everyone was afraid of the government taking the guns, but with Trump in office that fear has subIn short, this is America. There are ironies that abound in gun sided,” explains Tyler Adams of Sherwin Shooting Sports. culture around the country and the same holds for Ohio. There is a deep distrust of governmental control (assault rifle bans, Many of those willing to speak are ex-military – they would be gun confiscation fears, big brother), but a lot of invested gun the experts after all, one would expect. enthusiasts are ex-military. There is a heavy focus on personal protection, but a good deal of “blue lives matter” vibes in the gun “There has been a lot of vilification of guns, a lot of which can owning community. be remedied by education,” as Adams, a former marine, states. He also stresses, “A gun is not a cureall.” You can open carry in Ohio, but that’s a tricky line to maneuver if you’re of a minority persuasion. However, if we can educate ourIt’s not difficult to educate yourself on guns in Ohio; it is an open selves without becoming obsessive and appreciate our constitutional carry state, concealed carry classes are abundant, and there are freedoms with our fellow Americans when exercising our second 173,405 registered guns in Ohio, so plenty of owners to help with amendment rights, then perhaps there can be universal background preschool for pistols or reading with rifles. respect for everyone’s safety and well being.

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Weekend Warriors

Cleveland GiveCamp gives back to the community. Tesh Ekman 200-plus volunteers will assemble at the LeanDog boat on the shores of Lake Erie in the name of charity. An army of coders, designers, project managers, and other tech workers will convene for three days to donate their time to complete projects for local non-profits.

FROM JULY 19–21,

This is Cleveland GiveCamp, a local chapter of a larger, national organization that held its first annual event in 2010. For Steering Committee Member Caroyln Fertig, it’s the perfect way for her and other volunteers to give back using their professional skill sets. “I manage websites during the day so what a perfect way to project manage a website for a charity,” she states. “What I loved about it is there’s different charities in the Cleveland area that are in desperate need of website help or digital help or something that creates that online presence.” Nonprofits that Cleveland GiveCamp helped as part of the 2019 event include the Cleveland Inner-City Boxing Club, which provides boxing and yoga lessons for at-risk youth as an alternative to the lure of negative pursuits all around them. Another is Music Pebble, a charity which helps K-12 students learn how to play music by providing instruments, lessons, and financial assistance. GiveCamp looks for a “sweet-spot” of about 20 projects small enough to be completed over a weekend with a clear-cut scope. “We would love to do a huge application build for an iPhone, but to do that on a weekend is really difficult so we try and pick non-profits who are serving a lot of people in the Cleveland area,” Fertig explains. The process starts in April when GiveCamp starts accepting applications from local charities to help them with their websites or web-related projects. From there, volunteers are recruited from late May to early June. Project managers work with nonprofits prior to the event to help define the scope of projects and prepare prerequisites for that weekend, such as gathering images, obtaining web hosting, server access, etc. “Overall, people are excited to work all night,” Fertig says. “They enjoy the thrill of it. It’s a bonding thing, working with a bunch of other people, networking with people in other areas.” Some volunteers even pitch tents to make the weekend feel like a real camp. Cleveland GiveCamp provides a unique way for area professionals to give back to the community and for local nonprofits to get the specialized, hightech help they need. To sponsor, apply as a nonprofit, or volunteer for Cleveland GiveCamp, visit clevelandgivecamp.org and follow them on Facebook @CLEGiveCamp.

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(Will You)

MARY ME The six usual suspects of Galentine’s Day. Mary Santora @marysantoracomedy

alentine’s Day can be a particularly hard holiday for any single woman. Everyone asking if you have anything romantic planned gets exhausting. They're never satisfied with an honest answer. They turn their noses up at “I'm going to kick back with a true crime podcast and a six pack before smashing an entire pizza” because no one seems to understand that self love is the best love. Not to mention how horrible dating apps can be for us ladies in the first two weeks of February. No, Trent, I don't want to spend “Valentime’s Day” with you and tacos. Skip this nonsense altogether this year, grab your favorite female friends, and celebrate Galentine’s Day!

I have personally partaken in three Galentine’s Day celebrations and they're always a blast. Getting together for overpriced eggs and mimosas with the women who you can truly be yourself around is unmatched. Whether you're enjoying the festivities yourself or just so happen to see a GDay brunch happening, here's the six usual suspects you will see celebrating Feb. 14 with some girl power.

The Married One.

Ashley has always been the most organized, so it only makes sense that she would take care of the reservations and group text. She's been happily married to her college sweetheart for five years now and they are the definition of #RelationshipGoals. Don’t put it past her to pick up the first round of drinks and all of the apps. It would be annoying if she wasn't the most genuine human being on the planet.

The One in a New Relationship.

Tara and Chase have dated for six weeks now and it's perfect! She will spend most of the afternoon commandeering every conversation back to something hilarious he said or how amazing it feels to have finally found the one, all while assuring the single friends that their true love is out there too! By her second Bloody Mary, she will leak that Chase went to get coffee with his ex today, but he’s like totally honest about it. They have a super strong foundation, so she’s not worried or constantly checking his Instagram. Everything’s fine! Love is amazing!

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The One who Just Got Dumped.

Emma was just let go from a two-year relationship last week and is barely holding it together. The poor girl tears up when John Legend plays and has a full-blown meltdown when the check comes because he was always the one who paid for her “eggs benny.” Everyone tries to be supportive, but her brand-new candy apple red hair and bangs are so distracting. Let her work through this, one box of dye at a time.

The Trainwreck.

In true Kristi fashion, she will show up 45 minutes late, still drunk from the night before. Kristi has been single for six years and is really “living her best life.” She stumbles up to the table apologizing for being late but don't worry, she made it up to everyone with a round of fireball shots before noon! The fourth toast to “Cupid’s birthday” seems to hit her hard, but she assures you it's fine because she didn't drive. Her third DUI made sure of that.

The Flake.

You invite Michelle to everything and she always bails last minute. Things never fail to “come up” and you haven't actually seen her face to face in two years, but all hell will break loose if she sees a group pic from a brunch she wasn’t invited to. She's included out of courtesy and the hopes she might actually show one day, but no one gets their hopes up.

The Flake’s Cousin.

Michelle texted Ash two weeks ago and asked if her cousin could tag along, but of course Michelle is a no-show. Now, you're left with a literal stranger who seems nice enough, but you quickly find out she has her own agenda. Halfway through the meal, she asks if anyone wants to buy Adderall, to which Kristi replies, “Fuck yeah! Let’s day driiiiiiiiink!” They each throw a $20 on the table and are never to be heard from again.

Whether you're a heartbroken Emma, a love-drunk Tara, or an Ashley keeping your friend group together, Galentine’s day is a perfect way to get your mind off men and onto what’s most important: friendship! All mishaps and makeovers aside, these are your girls and you wouldn't be able to function without them. Take this year to celebrate one another for God’s sake, and have an intervention with Kristi.

Pressure Picks Upcoming Events to See.

The Blue Stones Feb. 22 // Grog Shop

We Were Promised Jetpacks Feb. 27 // Grog Shop

Chris Distefano Feb. 28–29 // Hilarities

Tracy Morgan Feb. 29 // MGM Northfield Park

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong March 5 // Agora Theatre

The Boys from The County Hell March 14 // Grog Shop

Dragonforce March 17 // Agora Theatre

#FalconRising March 20 // Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum

Dusty Slay March 20-22 // Hilarities

Letterkenny Live! March 27 // Agora Theatre

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Zhug

What We Ate

The group's menu item ratings Curried Lamb and Apricot Hummus: 5 Crispy Brussels Sprouts: 5 House Made Pickles: 3.5 Smoked Pastrami Shortrib: 5 House Made Labneh 4 Beef Kofte: 3.5

Dine with the PressureLife Team.

or this issue’s food review, the PressureLife crew visited Zhug in Cleveland Heights. While small plates have become more popular, Chef Doug Katz’s newest venture opened late in 2019 to bring shareable Middle Eastern and Mediterranean to the Cedar-Fairmount district. Will the PressureLife diners find Zhug to be a mecca for magnificent mastication or will they share a sense of disappointment? Find out what our fearsome foursome thought of their experience.

JIM:

Best brussel sprouts I’ve ever had in my life – okay, I wanted to get that out of the way. I have a love-hate relationship with Zhug – my taste buds loved it, but my stomach left empty. My favorites were the pastrami short rib, lamb hummus, and brussels. My problem with the hummus is they gave you a pretty big bowl and two pitas for five people. When we asked for more pita, they gave us a plate with one piece at a time. Who has time for that? The shareable concept is becoming more popular these days and I love it. However, shareables need to be large enough to share with your friends right? Unfortunately that wasn’t the case. If you have a large wallet, small hands, and a mouth, this is the place for you.

HANNAH:

Curry Fried Chicken: 2.5

If you are looking for Smoked Octopus: 3.5 a great-tasting restaurant that forces you to adhere to your diet — Zhug is the place for you. It’s pretty much impossible to blow all of your Weight Watcher’s points, because, well, there just isn’t nearly enough food to do so. Which actually works out to be pretty great because the flavors of just about everything were impeccable — I’d have eaten enough to have made myself sick. The labneh, the brussels sprouts, the short rib, and the Zhug no. 6 cocktail are all worth a special shout out. And the lamb and apricot hummus sounds like a concoction of things that I’d mix together and ingest to stay home from school with the stomach flu, but god, does it work. At one point I was eating it with a friggin’ spoon. And that is because there was only two pieces of pita bread for four people. And with three dishes that required bread. Asking for more got pretty weird after the second time, so try to push your luck if you’re in the mood for some fun. Overall, really beautifully done place with exceptional food; it just make sure you understand that “shareable” means you’ll be fist fighting for each bite. Rating: 3.5/5

DAVE:

Pro tip for people going to Zhug for the first time – don’t be afraid to order that extra dish. Dropping an eight-item order for a four-person table may feel excessive, but the more plates the merrier at this establishment. Yes, certain orders are on the slight side – I’m looking at you, smoked octopus – there were several dishes I’d order again in a heartbeat. The pastrami short rib was divine, although that’s probably best to split between two or three people instead of our ravenous group. As Jim said, the sprouts were tremendous. If only six-year-old me knew how much he’d come to love those tiny cabbages. In addition, the hummus and the labneh were wonderful, even if the aforementioned lack of available pita delayed some of the satisfaction. The shareable plates may not be everyone’s favorite format, but Zhug has some damn fine dishes that are well worth the trip.

Occupying a very large, perfectly-lit space, I wasn’t sure if I had under dressed for this dining experience. However, it’s winter in Cleveland and our server was wearing a Metallica shirt, so I think I was fine. The $14 cocktail I ordered (zhug no. 6) was rye whisky based with hints of honey and amaro – no complaints, no letters written home. The lamb hummus was phenomenal and I would highly recommend it. The Brussels sprouts were a standout, especially because we get those everywhere we go. These were probably the best in show. The pastrami was pretty delicious but, like everything, was portioned very sparsely. For your picky eater buddies, the fried chicken is just chicken fingers, and for your culinary badass friend who had a subscription to Food & Wine, the smoked octopus was the most interesting. I don’t want to out anyone here, but I went out with Hannah afterward and she ordered more food, so make this part of your night not the final show. The best way to experience this restaurant would be with two or three people and everyone orders two things – and everyone asks for extra pita. The check came out to about thirty five dollars a person and we all had one drink. Not crazy, not cheap. I’ll fill up on hummus before my next Grog Shop or Cedar Lee experience.

Rating: 4/5

Rating: 3/5

Rating: 3.5/5

ALEX:

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Where CLE Eats Favorite dining destinations from local culinary experts. Who’s going to eat? Melissa Khoury, co-owner and operator at Saucisson, a butcher shop located at 5324 Fleet Ave. in Slavic Village. Where does she suggest? Toast, located at 1365 W. 65 St. in Gordon Square, and LBM, located at 12301 Madison Ave. in Lakewood. Why does he go there? After a hard day’s work, sometimes the best way to celebrate is with a few really well done dishes and drinks. For Khoury, that means trips to either Toast or LBM. “When you think about those two places, it’s just good food, good cocktails, a really cool environment, and comfortable,” Khoury says. “In the industry, we just want easy. We want to relax.” While Khoury’s reasons seem simple enough, her destinations take a few basic ideas and elevate them to delicious levels. Both establishments regularly change their menus, but Khoury highlights LBM’s burger and Toast’s cheese and charcuterie boards as must trys (although she admits she may be a bit biased since Toast sources some of Saucissons charcuterie for their boards). Add in a few tremendous cocktails and you have a recipe for success. “They’re attentive, it’s comfortable, and you feel like you could be there for several hours,” Khoury says. “It’s the next best thing to sitting on your couch.” Of course, your couch doesn’t have the level of service that Toast and LBM offer. According to Khoury, part of what makes both places shine is the attention to detail and a pair of crews that are definitely invested in providing a stellar experience. “They’re both small in the sense of staffing, but you can tell that the people who actually work there are there because they want to be there,” Khoury says. “With how the service is given and the attention to detail, that says a lot for an establishment.”

PRESSURELIFE | ISSUE 29 15

STATE

CiTY of the

BY:

THE CITY Illustrations // Anthony Zart @anthony_zart

Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s note: Some responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.

IN AN EFFORT TO FIGURE OUT JUST WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN OUR CITY, we asked the various experts who live and work here. We reached out to community leaders, local celebrities, and business owners to see what they think about the state of Cleveland in 2020.

01.

ARTS + CULTURE MONICA ROBINS

Senior Health Coorespondant, WKYC Cleveland rocks plain and simple, but it’s never a bad thing to shake things up a little more. Bringing The Bachelor here, despite the original disdain of the contestants, was a brilliant move by Destination Cleveland. It not only showcased the city in a positive light, but also got the city great exposure on social media. I think residents here could be better cheerleaders for their hometown instead of always lamenting the poor performance of certain sports teams. Destination Cleveland is also using the city’s healthcare industry as a draw for new residents. One of the greatest trends I’ve witnessed in the past few years is the improvement of downtown living and neighborhoods. I hope that trend continues to spread and fill those empty storefronts and still blighted areas. Healthcare and medical technology provides the most jobs and is our future. We need to better invest in the education of our young people growing up here. That includes investing in Cleveland

Metropolitan Schools to give students the same experiences and chances awarded to better funded suburban schools. One way you can do that is by offering to mentor a student.

BILL SQUIRE

WMMS Alan Cox Show Co-Host + Stand-Up Comedian Cleveland is figuring out its new self. It’s still a blue collar town, but with a little more swagger these days. I mean we got an outdoor chandelier. One thing I’ve noticed is there’s constantly different events happening all around town and it’s awesome because it wasn’t always that way. Cleveland is still rocking great museums, great food, great people, and still relatively inexpensive!

MIKE TATA

Marketing Coordinator, AEG Presents + The Agora I believe Cleveland has every right to be excited in 2020. It’s a new year, and we’re going to take another big step in the right direction. There’s a lot of potential still to see, and I’m specifically excited to see the progress in Cleveland’s Midtown District. Downtown is growing east, and University Circle is growing west, so it’s only a matter of time before Cleveland’s Midtown connects the two. This will make attending shows at The Agora even more attractive.

AARON SECHRIST Graphic Artist, okPANTS

Looks like we're doing pretty good? Small and DIY business is being supported in a way I don't remember seeing before and that's helped okPANTS get along in immeasurable ways. Edgewater Beach is also very nice now. I'd love to see the design and art scene grow in the same way that the local food and brewing scene has exploded over the last decade. We (artists and designers) have to meet people halfway on that in

producing great work and products, and connecting with the public, but it makes no sense we don't have at least as many galleries and adjacent events as there are craft breweries. I really don't know. I'm here too much and I don't work for the tourism bureau. I'd love to see Tower City Mall turned into a water park. Put a lazy river somewhere around Cleveland.

LAURA WIMBELS

Photographer, Faces of Cleveland + Co-owner + Designer, Sultan’s Press I've watched more and more friends get squeezed out of Lakewood and Gordon Square in the past two years. I say this while sitting in my modest three-bedroom home that I bought seven years ago for $60k in West Park, but holy shit – those $450k-plus townhouses in Gordon Square are truly insane. I knew we were doomed when they started valet parking on Detroit Avenue a few years back, but where are people getting the money to buy these things? Additionally, those of you who can afford to live there, can I interest you in a nice photography book for your expensive coffee table or a handmade t-shirt perhaps?

MARK LAMMON

Executive Director, Campus District The city is continuing on an upward trajectory. Unlike other times in Cleveland history, our growth is more sustainable and mixed use which should prevent drastic burst in our development. We’re finally trying to ensure that all the neighborhoods of this city benefit from our Downtown economic engine. For the first time in my career, there seems to be real effort to break down barriers for access to the region's resources. The region is still developing sprawl despite us knowing this isn’t sustainable with our low population growth and now there’s even a pushback against density in some of our urban neighborhoods. We continue to have the same discussion on regionalism that we’ve been having for 20 years. We need to speed up our infra-

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LOOKS LIKE WE'RE DOING PRETTY GOOD?

–AARON SECHRIST

structure upgrades, especially projects that provide more equitable access to jobs and education. It’s more bike lanes, public art that brings groups together that would not normally talk, a fully funded RTA, and joining the rest of the world by having credit card parking meters.

ASEELAH SHAREEF

Director of Operations + Community Engagement, Karamu House Cultural arts in Cleveland is thriving. Cleveland has immense cultural capital – creatives, practitioners, consumers. People in this city are interested and excited about new and varying ways to experience culture and the city doesn’t disappoint. Curators are continuing to find and define innovation in the space. Audiences have evolved. Passive experiences are no longer enough. People want to be immersed in experiences and I am seeing new ways of presenting and producing art and culture in the city. I think our opportunities are to continue to think about who is not in the space or represented – which voices are still not in the room. As we think about art and culture, it is our responsibility to account for the needs and interests of the many and not the few. Arts in Cleveland is by far my favorite anything about this city. I am a transplant and got my first professional dance job in Cleveland with Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theatre (CCDT). As a Florida girl (West Palm Beach to be exact), I was tempted to leave shortly after arriving, but I found CCDT and established my

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artistic family and that for me became a foundation and a reason to stay. I have come and gone several times since my initial arrival, but the arts in Cleveland continue to be something I’m proud of. As a dancer, I’m partial to that art form. I live and tell my own stories through movement so I celebrate dance here. In recent years, the African diasporic voice in dance has been relegated to the margins but there are some artists working very hard to change that narrative, specifically Errin Weaver of Mojuba Dance Collective and Talise Campbell of Djapo Cultural Arts who happen to be great friends and choreographers with whom I love to work.

02.

BUSINESS + POLITICS CORY HAJDE Owner, BravoArtists

The city seems more lively than it was when I grew up here. I moved back in July of 2019 and there's been a lot of exciting changes. I have primarily stayed on the West Side of town for most nightlife related activities. One specific event that was cool to see here was the AllStar weekend for the MLB. They hosted some pretty huge concerts and a ton of downtown events to coincide with the weekend of activities. It was cool to see Cleveland take part in that.

The food scene is drastically improving. I am seeing more accessible restaurants for vegetarians and vegans. A lot of niche spots that you'd typically only find in bigger cities as well. I've noticed that the East Side isn't doing well. There aren't a lot of small businesses succeeding on that side of town. The whole University Circle project has gone belly up with so many good spots closing over there. I may be a bit biased, but the West Side is even starting to get more concerts and tours even with a majority of the legendary venues being on the East Side. I’d love to see a better initiative on supporting small businesses in the arts, food, and nightlife industries. Helping developers see the importance of growing Cleveland from the inside out is a start. Rooting small business practice over national chains will help develop a sense of community and support near a lot of these areas populated by colleges. I would also like to see our elected officials make use of large empty space to provide homeless shelters that are very much needed.

TREVOR ELKINS Mayor, Newburgh Heights

Cleveland has tremendous potential. However, political and corporate leadership living in the past is holding back an activist movement seeking to advance a positive, forward thinking culture for the next generation of Cleveland's history. Despite the canned corporate efforts to create a vision for Cleveland's next iteration, these "movements" don't seem to translate into transformation because of a failure to be intentional about actually taking the steps toward implementation in a way that honors the spirit of the proposals. If it changes the status quo for the class that has held power for a generation or more, the ideas are lauded in public and put on a shelf in boardrooms. Cleveland needs to improve on creating a new history rather than holding on to a history that is becoming increasingly obsolete. It needs to assert itself politically across Ohio and use that transformational power to advance a progressive environmental agenda for the state and nation.

MATT CHOJNACKI

Author + Publisher, 1984 Publishing Cleveland was the big comeback city of the 2010s, and we're still moving on up. In the arts scene, it's one of the few areas where you can live affordably while making your film, writing your book, or crafting your craft. I love that Cleveland has repositioned itself from being purely a working class sports town to much more. Okay, many still hinge their feelings on the Browns, but nowadays those feelings are replaced by the next big thing happening the following weekend. And normally it's four to five big events a weekend. That's way up from "Hey! Rib burn-off this summer!" Cleveland's out and about, in full force every weekend, and then on weekdays for a big game or concert. I'd love to see that at the smaller concert venues and

JOHN GORMON

Chief Content Officer, oWow Radio + WOW Media Cleveland will be choosing a new mayor in the next election. Will he or she be an accomplished, forward-thinking visionary or a political hack? There is no in-between in a mayoral election. Who are our emerging leaders? We need a healer, not a divider. For good trends, The Metroparks took over Edgewater Park, Wendy Park, and the Towpath Canal connection. The development of Battery Park and the surrounding areas produced a new, outstanding neighborhood with city and lake views. It made perfect sense to connect University Circle to Little Italy to create one thriving location. University Circle, with its museums, recreation, retail, and restaurants is one of the city’s best attractions. For the bad, a separate entity should manage the airports and there must be a rational but

restaurants on weekdays as well. I think that's the next leap into big city life. Oh, and buy from your local book and record stores. Your LP from Amazon will likely be bent in half, anyways. If we ever get close to another Jane Scott in Cleveland, her name is Annie Zaleski. She's a Cleveland-based music journalist that knows the entire music scene, inside and out. Every day she is on the phone with – everyone. "So I was speaking to Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran this morning, and..." is normal lunch conversation.

JOHN SKRTIC

Director of Public Services, Cleveland Public Library Everyone likes to see growth in the city, but for Cleveland to move ahead this decade the issue of tax abatement has to be addressed. Certain neighborhoods grow while others

remain frozen in time or worse decay. Longtime proud city residents take on increasing taxes and local shared services collect less taxes while others reap rewards without having to pay their fair share. I am always optimistic about the residents and the future, but for us to fare better as a whole we must find ways to spread around the dollars to various Cleveland neighborhoods. A fantastic trend in Cleveland is the activation of our Lakefront by the Metroparks. The trend to embrace our greatest asset has included a shift away from reliance on the automobile in a public space. Hopefully, the increased use of towpath trails and clean walkable spaces will show others in the city that this investment has been successful. The expansion of this model would lead to more visitors, homeowners, and increased commerce to different quadrants of Cleveland.

aggressive campaign to improve Hopkins and increase direct and international flights. This isn’t a chicken or egg situation. A fully functional airport will attract new businesses to the region. Once and for all, a decision must be made about Burke Airport – the loneliest, most wasteful plot of land in Cuyahoga County. Either make it a real airport or do something else with it. The West Side Market is another disgrace which needs to be tackled. Cleveland must take a page from the Pike Place Market in Seattle or the Granville Island Public Market in Vancouver. There’s no charm in shabby. There’s no sell when there are empty stalls. The city and the county still tolerates too many backroom deals and after-the-fact admissions. Whether it’s the cost taxpayers paid to get Cleveland on The Bachelor or how tax dollars were spent on certain projects like restructuring of the Rocket Mortgage Field House, or the future of the West Side Market, those facts and figures must be a matter of record – period.

Often each Saturday of my life has started with me shopping at the West Side Market.

WHO ARE OUR EMERGING LEADERS? WE NEED A HEALER, NOT A DIVIDER. I agree that we have to maintain First Energy Stadium, Progressive Field, and the Rock to draw more dollars, which benefits the surrounding less privileged neighborhoods. Put the cards on the table and make it a public discussion before money is allocated and spent. For decades we heard how much money was in Greater Cleveland. Those stories of successful millionaire entrepreneurs are all past tense and pre-war. That wealth, much of it is still here, but it is now held by third, fourth, and fifth generations that did not earn it themselves and have little forethought and interest in reinvesting it. Cleveland is certainly a better place to do business than in the past but it still has a long way. We have to attract 21st century businesses and entrepreneurs to – not from - Cleveland.

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CHARITY D'AMATOCRAWFORD Founder + Designer, Studio Chartreuse

I feel like our city is constantly evolving and growing. Whether through the recent investments in public places like the Metroparks/ Edgewater Beach or more private initiatives like the growth and development in Hingetown and Van Aken, it's really fun to have new places and spaces to explore in town. While I am not a real estate professional, I do love to watch the market. With that said, I've noticed that home prices keep rising and I am concerned that we are pricing out young families and creatives who may want to invest in our region. I wonder if in the next 10 years the prices will grow? If they will drop? If we will reimagine what home-ownership looks like in Cleveland? As an East Sider who drives downtown a lot, I pass many neighborhoods who could

ERIC HO

Owner + Operator, LBM I see a rise in privatelyowned regional chains and I don’t know if the public is done with them yet. For us in the industry, we’re starting to get tired of seeing people make the same exact duplicate of something in another neighborhood. There’s not that much creativity in it to be honest, and the quality of the product slowly declines. I mean, it’s convenient because a lot of the semi-small operators still do a great job at it, but I don’t mind driving the extra 15 minutes to go to Ohio City for something.

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use some love and support. It would be great to see Cleveland setting aside dollars and resources to help improve these communities grow and flourish. Oh, and continued repair of winter pot holes is always welcome.

JOHN NOTTINGHAM

Co-President, Nottingham Spirk Cleveland is a great place heading into 2020. Just yesterday, I read the announcement that Sherwin-Williams will build its new headquarters in Public Square, and that’s just one example of big things happening right here in our city. Technology is always changing the way we work and live, but it’s happening at an exponentially faster pace as technology evolves. The implications of that are impossible to ignore. As a business owner, what I notice most is how tech has improved our ability to collaborate and communicate with one another. Coworking spaces like Limelight allow entirely remote workforces to work for some of the biggest companies in the world, but live here in Cleveland. Or the opposite – some of the most talented employees joining companies here in Cleveland, but live elsewhere. We need to demonstrate more pride for who we are and what we’re about. We aren’t Silicon Valley, but we are the “Silicon Valley of Manufacturing.” In fact, we are collaborating with manufacturers as they transition

from Factory 3.0 to Factory 4.0, the digital transformation of manufacturing. In this arena, Cleveland can be the leading force in the nation. There is a gritty “chip-on-ourshoulders” attitude here in Cleveland that feels unlike anywhere else in the world. We are scrappy, and we make things happen. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

03.

FOOD + DRINK BRETT SAWYER

Image courtesy of Jeanie Brechbill

The last couple of years have been alarming as it is obvious that the attendance has precipitously dropped during open hours. Much has been written about the privatization of this important landmark. The one thing that each person can do if they care about the West Side Market is to visit and support vendors just as generations of Clevelanders have done in the past.

Cleveland is becoming more accepting of newer ideas in cuisine. Anytime you have a boom like what we have going right now with the amount of restaurants opening, you’re going to have a lot of closings as well. That just goes hand in hand with an expanding food scene.

I definitely think the non-alcoholic thing is starting to pick back up. I’m seeing a couple other bars and restaurants around have a specific non-alcoholic on the menu that’s actually built as a non-alcoholic cocktail, not something where if you take booze away from it, it tastes okay. Eric Scott at Thyme Table in Bay Village is someone doing a great job of it right now.

One of the other trends I see happening is more front-of-house focused establishments. Most of the time, chefs open a place and it’s their concept, idea, and execution. In the next couple of years, there will be a lot more bartender or server-driven places that open that is very reliant on front-of-house concepts with supportive food.

Executive Chef + Co-owner, The Plum, Good Company, Pie Squared, + Grains and Greens

We’re seeing a lot more from-scratch kitchens, a lot more quality in the restaurants and in the product they’re serv-

...JUST BECAUSE IT'S LOCAL DOESN'T MEAN IT'S GOOD.

I also think consumers will have to eventually be more objective about things. It definitely happens with craft beer now, but even in the food scene, just because it’s local doesn’t mean it’s good. I’m all for supporting small businesses, but people do need to think for themselves and be more objective. Honestly, give critical feedback to help them improve. Don’t go on a Yelp tirade – that never helps anybody – but offer a true, honest opinion about things.

Even though people are starting to open up to new ideas, people can continue to be more open. Cleveland is a city that likes things a certain way, and sometimes that can get in the way of something great. That goes with any city, really - change is not always welcome with open arms.

BRIAN RUTHSATZ

Owner + Operator, Rood Food and Pie The Cleveland scene just continues to evolve. I feel like what was a big food scene is moving more toward Lakewood. Before, we wanted to be there and now they’re moving here. I would love to see more trends. You almost have to go to Austin, New York, Chicago, or L.A. to see something different and new or you wait for the big chefs to do it, like Doug Katz at Zhug. The smaller guys want to go tried and true – tacos, simple format, walk up at the bar and get your burger. I could eat tacos 24/7, but I also believe we’re deficient when it comes to new and different ideas. I think we have a great food scene, which is why we can have 12 taco places on Madison Ave. The Plum broke out two years ago and their food is different all the time and it’s unique and chefdriven. Plum has a great chef, but is more of that grass roots, organic level I like. I also love what Mason’s Creamery is doing – that uniqueness that you typically find in L.A. or Austin. You don’t normally see that here. An ice cream place 365 days a year, but noodles during the winter? That’s great.

VICTOR SEARCY JR.

Executive Chef + Owner, Sauce the City The general consumers are becoming more well versed in the culinary arts, which is causing professional chefs and cooks to step up their game. I see people wanting hot chicken. I really didn’t see it too much up here, but Clevelanders are getting accustomed to more spice and flavor. I’d like to see more diverse options for consumers, and the consumers need to be ready to try more things and be more open minded and optimistic. I believe that Cleveland is up there with the top food scenes in the nation. There are a lot of professionals in New York and California with roots in Cleveland. Michael Symon is doing well at representing the city and the culinary diversity of it. Chefs like Eric Rogers out at the Black Box Fix is doing a great job of getting different flavor profiles out there. Chef Tiwanna Scott-Williams from PearlFlower Catering is in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and her menu items are so versatile that it’s really refreshing. Chef Brett Sawyer from The Plum, he’s at Ohio City Galley with me and seeing the different ways he approaches the Cleveland food scene is very interesting. Right where we are in the West 25th and Detroit Avenue area, there are so many different bars and restaurants being developed. Cleveland’s on the cusp of great things. In the next couple years, there’s going to be a restaurant boom. We just have to be ready for that boom, so strap up for the rollercoaster, because it’s coming.

JOE KOSKCOVICS

Executive Chef + Operating Partner, Voodoo Tuna When traveling to other cities, it’s easy to compare them to our own. We should be proud that we offer almost everything that all the other great cities have and in some cases offer even more – Cleveland is just on a smaller scale. With continued hard

work and development, Cleveland can grow to be on a larger scale just the same as other major cities. Many other states are trending towards legalizing sports gambling and marijuana. These two would be great for Ohio to legalize and in particularly great for Cleveland via our casinos and dispensaries. We can capture millions of additional tax revenue not only for the state but our own city as well.

Image courtesy of Steven Mastroianni

ing. One of the trends that I’m seeing that aren’t so great – although this happens all over – is that there’s a lot of inexperience. There are a lot of people opening restaurants that don’t really understand what they’re getting into. It’s very hip and cool to own or invest in a restaurant right now. Because of that, there are a lot of people who don’t have enough experience to know what they’re doing.

PENNY BARENDTAGLIARINA

Co-owner + Operator, Saucisson

It’s interesting how many other small businesses are really booming here. There’s a great deal of support from Clevelanders for other Clevelanders and small business. I think that is going to continue because people here see great value in that. Jeremy Umansky’s passion and excitement is contagious. We saw each other at a career day at James Garfield Elementary School and he’s talking about bacteria poop with elementary school kids. What he’s doing here is something I feel would be more widely understood and accepted on either coast, but it’s cool he’s doing it here. He’s also just really fun to talk to and relatable. It’s not elitist. Everyone can learn to understand this, eat this, and enjoy this. I love that. This is a problem nationwide, but we don’t seem to take enough stock in education. We should care more about what young students are learning and helping them navigate what the world is now. I have five nieces in California and when your 6-yearold niece talks to you about active shooter drills, you can’t take it lightly. If we focused more on nurturing, teaching, and kindness, the universe would be a better place. I’ve visited some high schools and elementary schools in the city and I walk around and think that students come there every day and buildings are falling apart. How is that helping them learn to read well or think for themselves or understand history, science, math, or anything? We should put more stock in younger people.

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Skin the Frame

Meet Northeast Ohio’s tattoo preservation experts. Alex Bieler

It’s

another typical Tuesday night when Mike and Kyle Sherwood receive an email from a man who wants the duo to remove most of his skin. Such a request may provoke images of Silence of the Lambs or Craigslist ads gone wrong, but the email is simply business as usual for the duo. Mike and Kyle are the father-son team of morticians behind Save My Ink Forever, a tattoo preservation service based in Twinsburg. Instead of burying or cremating tattoos along with the body, Mike and Kyle work with people to save and frame pieces for posterity. To do so, the duo developed a process to preserve excised skin so that the art lasts beyond a single lifetime. On this particular Tuesday, there are 13 different tattoos arranged on the table in their Twinsburg office, ranging from large torso pieces

How to Save Your Ink Forever Do you or a loved one have some skin you’d like to save? Turns out it’s a fairly simple process (at least for the people not preserving skin). As you may expect, the process starts with death. Once the

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person with the tattoo in question dies, it’s important to have your funeral home or crematory contact Save My Ink Forever within 72 hours. If you don’t have one in mind, you can check out their website to find a preferred provider in your area. Once Mike and Kyle hear from you and your business of choice, they’ll email over a permission to excise tissue form. Once the form is notarized, it’s time to get to work.

to a tattoo the size of a postage stamp. According to the duo, Save My Ink Forever is the only tattoo preservation company you’ll find, and business has grown notably in the past few years. However, their success wasn’t always clear after a slow start. The idea for Save My Ink Forever came from a cordial conversation over a few drinks back in 2014. Mike was over at a friend’s house when his buddy had suggested that it would be cool to have his tattoos saved and preserved inside the riding club he ran. Mike and Kyle did more than just agree – they saw an opportunity. While excited about this new venture, there was a notable problem – the two morticians needed to figure out how to preserve tattoos. Kyle and Mike needed fresh samples to develop a process, so they figured out a way to entice willing volunteers to help them practice.

Before they excise the skin, Mike and Kyle have the embalmer take photos of the skin the client wants removed and measure any applicable tattoos. If neither Mike nor Kyle can come out to the location to excise the skin, they’ll send an instructional video to train the embalmer how to remove, store, and ship the tattoo to Save My Ink Forever so Mike and Kyle can begin the three-month-long preservation process.

So how much does the whole process cost? A five-by-fiveinch tattoo will cost $1,599, which includes tattoo removal, preservation, framing, and shipping. The framing is done to archival standards, which includes UVprotective glass to further protect the art. In general, the total cost goes up $100 per square inch, although Save My Ink Forever provides custom pricing for larger pieces and multiple tattoos.

The solution? Free tummy tucks. The plan was simple – anyone interested would get tattoos on the skin removed during the tummy tuck process. In exchange, Mike and Kyle received fresh skin samples for preservation practice. Fortunately for the morticians, there were plenty of people willing to stomach a few tattoos in exchange for “Instead, he the procedure.

wants his skin formed to a 3D dummy – a flesh mannequin, so to speak."

“We had people in line, man,” Mike says. “They’d each get four tattoos on their stomachs. They had to wear it for a month because it would let the skin heal up and then we’d get to practice, which we really needed.”

After roughly 18 months and 40 tattoos, the twosome developed a top-secret preservation method. In 2016, Save My Ink Forever officially started with a five-person team that included Mike, Kyle, a doctor, and others. However, there was no immediate boom for the business. The company finished 20 total tattoos in its first year, just seven more than what’s currently lying on an office table on a Tuesday night. Over time, the other team members left the project until Save My Ink Forever was left with just Mike and Kyle. “Any new thing that you’re making where it’s even somewhat controversial to some people, it’s going to take a while to get some traction,” Mike says. “I said that it was going to hit, it’s just going to take time. Basically, we invested money in that and stuck it out and we’re starting to reap the benefits of it.” Fortunately for the father-son team, the company attracted some notable attention in 2018. First, tattoo lifestyle magazine Inked shared a piece about the company. Eventually, BBC News and the official magazine for the National Funeral Directors Association picked up on the Sherwood's endeavors. Despite little advertising aside from the occasional Facebook ad, Save My Ink Forever found an audience for people who want to preserve their own or their loved ones’ tattoos. Of course, that’s not to say there aren’t jobs they don’t take. “Alright, this guy just got weirder,” Kyle says while peering down at his phone. It turns out the individual emailing Save My Ink Forever about a full body suit doesn’t want his tattoos flattened and framed like the typical customer. Instead, he wants his skin formed to a 3D dummy – a flesh mannequin, so to speak.

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I-XPLORATION James Earl Brassfield

istory is particular. Not everything can be remembered. Sometimes what’s forgotten isn't really important. More often, what you remember is always skewed. This theory applies to recalling people and places prominent in our lives. Here in Cleveland, we have a structure that has a vast history and a lost past for anyone under the age of 50.

A trip back in time when the I-X Center was in the tank business.

What do you know about the International Exposition Center, better known as the I-X Center? Do you immediately think of the ferris wheel and teens fighting to the death in felt hats, or do you think about home improvement or garden shows happening across the nearly one million square feet of floor space? The real history buff Ohioans are aware of the role the I-X Center played in the Second World War. The giant convention center is where they built the wings of the exact model of plane that dropped the first nuclear weapons. What started as a General Motors plant became a piece of our economy during war times. There have been efforts made to save the history of this place. We have museums to preserve some of the story and a couple photos. Still, it never feels like we have the big picture. The best way to get knowledge of the past is to get a firsthand account. Enter Mary Jane Grospitch Semen. In 1951, Mary began her career in the Cadillac Plant fresh out of high school. The plant was a bustling city within a city. There were dickhead bosses and work parties – a normal job. For Mary, this was

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just a good job for a Northeast Ohio girl to fall into. She went from $35 a week at the bank to $500 a month working for the government in wartime. She understood the importance of what they were doing. Mary, at 19, was working a grown woman’s job. From 1951 to 1959, the massive building was in a third evolution.

Mary worked as a secretary for the gun mounting department. She was the main point of contact for all correspondence in her department. During Mary’s time there, they built the M41 “Walker” Bulldog, a massive, manual transmission, reconnaissance killing machine. Little did she know she was helping build a machine that her future husband fought beside in Korea. Mary came to know this building inside and out – she even knew about what time would turn into the secrets of the plant, such as rumors of tunnels under the I-X Center.

“There are no tunnels in the I-X Center,” Mary screams. “They were underground roads! Three roads the length, three roads the width.” Tanks don’t fit in a tunnel. As Mary describes it, the tank plant was a sprawling classic assembly line on the surface. In the basement was all the paperwork and staff needed to operate a weapons factory during war. Mary recalls the vibrations that would rattle the plate glass windows as the tanks would roll along those roads outside her underground offices. Mary was more than an office girl. She would hang with the guys, cash checks, and anything else that was needed. She had an interest in knowing exactly what was going on above her head. “I really wanted to drive one of those tanks,” she admits. Mary is what you’d get if Rosie The Riveter ended up in the steno pool. If she just could have stolen the keys to one of those beasts,

I-XPLORATION continues on page 27

SKIN THE FRAME continued from page 23 That request was denied. The Sherwoods also turned down an inquiry from a man with a full body suit who wanted to sell his tattoos to interested patrons before he died. They said no to that request because they wanted to create eternal memorials, not pieces of skin for sale or as sideshow art. Both Mike and Kyle are very aware that there are people who hear “skin removal” and think about Ed Gein’s lampshades, which is why they’re sure to turn down any requests that may make people question the integrity of their craft. Instead, they focus on creating a new way to preserve the work an artist has done and allow body art to be shared in the same way as a painting or some other work. “It goes back to the art that these tattoos are,” Kyle says about the work of professionals they encounter at tattoo shows and through work. “These guys are the Rembrandts and Picassos of tattooing. Just because it’s ink and skin, why are we to knock it or degrade it because it’s not on a canvas or parchment?” In addition to the artistic value of their preservations, the Sherwoods also note the importance of the emotional attachment people have for the ink they save. One daughter saved her mother’s matching frog tattoo – the mother got hers after she became sober because “frogs don’t drink.” Another mother wanted to save her son’s chest piece to hold on to a piece of him while the rest of his body was cremated. Each tattoo and individual has a story, and the Sherwoods have developed several relationships in the process. “Honestly, we’ve met some friends,” Mike says. “They feel a special bond to you and I feel a special bond with them because we’re working with their loved one at the most difficult time in their life and it’s a bond that you wouldn’t think about, but it’s happened.” From free tummy tucks to ongoing friendships, a simple idea over drinks has developed into a new way for people across the country to memorialize those who have passed – and it’s all thanks to a couple of guys from Northeast Ohio. If you ever need someone to preserve part of you or a loved one’s story, Save My Ink Forever has plenty of skin in the game.

Need to know more? Head to savemyink.tattoo for more information about Save My Ink Forever.

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TECH TRENDS 2020: The year of the robot.

Dave Skorepa

You

may have been distracted coming into the New Year by the threat of World War 3 trending on Twitter, so it’s totally understandable if you missed all the cool tech headlines that came out of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) out in Las Vegas. Don't sweat it, getting drafted to fight in the end of the world is a big deal.

When all that settles down, make some time to learn about all the crazy robot stuff that's going on at the moment. That's right, we're just weeks away from a real-life Micheal Bay Transformers sequel.

Charmin debuts a toilet paper robot and a bathroom smell sensor at CES 2020. I... I'm sorry about including this one, but if I have to know about it, so do you. I just hope he doesn't do double duty as the pizza making robot (ha, I said "doodie").

The Boston Dynamics robot dog has joined a bomb squad. Okay, this is more like it. I would maybe rewrite that headline to say "Badass robot dog given appropriately badass robot job."

Here's a roundup of some of the wackier, yet still very real, robo-headlines you can see this year.

This walking package-delivery robot is now for sale.

The headless robot cat company has made a headless robot kitten.

This is tame by comparison, but the "now for sale" part intrigues me. This robot is shaped like a humanoid, walks upright, and can carry stuff. Let's be honest, this is just a DIY Terminator robot kit. Honey, it's time to empty the 401k!

Yep. You could already buy a robo-cat that doesn't have a head for some reason, and now you can buy Petit Qoobo, a kitten version of Yukai Engineering’s same freakish design decision. Speaking of robotic balls...

Samsung’s new Ballie robot is like a real-life mini BB-8. Picture the love child of your Alexa and a tennis ball. Now your Alexa can annoyingly follow you around until you step on it, fall, and end up crippled from your strange new robo-assistant being underfoot. Probably not a great purchase for people with dogs either.

Robot-made pizza goes head-to-head with the best Las Vegas slices. Wait, so we finally get robots and this is what you want them to do? Make… pizza? Do they cook it with shoulder-mounted laser cannons at least?

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Roomba’s robot vacuum could grow arms in the near future. Again, it was the wording of the headline that grabbed me. I know robots can't spontaneously mutate and evolve new mechanical parts, but this headline does sure conjure a picture of this little bastard hiding under my bed, building itself shoddy arms from junk it found lying around my garage, reaching up, and choking my unsuspecting throat while I sleep. Or yours. Sleep tight.

This article is sponsored by Aztek, a web design, development, and digital marketing agency located in downtown Cleveland.

aztekweb.com

I-XPLORATION continued from page 24

behind the plant was a test track that is now Hopkins Airport. Mary had the foresight to keep literature and maps from inside the plant during her time there. In speaking with Mary, the most amazing thing was the feeling of community she says was all throughout the Plant. “It was a great job,” she says. “We would have department parties, we would gossip in the ladies locker room. We all worked so closely together that it was like a family.”

“They never let Mary drive a Walker Bulldog. They said it might ‘damage her innards.’”

The ‘50s were dark times. Racist rhetoric and inappropriate office interactions were not uncommon. However, Mary was fortunate not to experience such acts. “In my years there not once was someone inappropriate to me or anything like that,” she says. “It was like we [the office girls] were their sisters. We were very young.”

As for racism, Mary remembers Hellen, a black woman they worked with who was in charge of the locker room area as a shoulder to cry on for all the office girls. Hellen and all the girls came to Mary’s wedding. When you have tanks to build, race and harassing women fall to the wayside. The community inside the tank plant was an incubator for tolerance... most of the time. They never let Mary drive a Walker Bulldog. They said it might “damage her innards.” Talk to your elders and see if they have a lost Ohio story. The stories tied to the I-X Center are different for everyone. Us younger Ohioans have a duty to seek out the disappearing past of these places and people. As the older folks with first hand knowledge of a forgotten Ohio age, they forget and eventually pass on. Find some history on your own, talk to your grandma – unless you want the only stories about the I-X center to involve teen warfare and poorly assembled carnival rides..

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SHORT, SWEET

Q&A Dan Bernardi

A conversation with Executive Director Mike Suglio.

ince 2012, Mike Suglio and company at the Short. Sweet. Film Fest have showcased cinematic gems from unsung filmmakers in the Cleveland area and beyond. With the ninth annual fest just around the corner, we pow-wowed with Mike for a behind the screen scoop.

How would you describe your spark of inspiration for founding the Short. Sweet. Film Fest, and how much did your personal experience as a filmmaker impact its creation? Mike Suglio: As a filmmaker in Cleveland in 2011, there were limited opportunities to showcase your work. Festivals were few and hard to get into and I couldn't afford to rent out a movie theater. I also simply didn't want to toss my work on YouTube, which at the time really just comprised of silly cat videos. While attending a punk concert my friend was performing in, my co-creator Alex Pavloff and I realized the whole audience were fellow

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musicians except for us two. He turned to me and asked if we really had a big celebration of local filmmakers coming together to celebrate and share their art, like this concert. We didn't and thus we decided to start this film festival. You accept submissions from filmmakers across the country, from veterans to students of the craft. How varied do you find participation to be and in what ways does this result in a unique, diverse festival? MS: We receive films that are "for consideration" for the Academy Awards to student films shot on smartphones on the campus of Cleveland State University. Regardless of what quality of a camera filmmakers use, it still all comes down to shots and story. If you have good shot composition and an interesting story, your low-budget film could be just as good if not better than a big production. By having low budget and big budget films often playing right after each, it provides a learning experience for everyone. Maybe students will be inspired

and strive for something better their next time around or maybe a veteran filmmaker will be reminded what it was like to be a student and rekindle some of their old imagination on how to tell a story when you have no budget? The festival is famously Cleveland's largest shorts-only festival. How would you describe the advantages and disadvantages of the short film format? MS: I actually don’t see any disadvantages for having shorts. They allow us to showcase a lot of filmmaker’s work in a short amount of time. From a viewer standpoint, if there is a film that you are not as much into, you can just step out to the concession stand or check out one of our VR films and by the time you return another film will be playing. I feel like the problem with features is you commit to just one film, and if it is not for you then you’re stuck. The festival defines "short" as 30 minutes or less, but how would you define a "sweet" film? In other words, what elements contribute to an outstanding short?

“Regardless of what quality of a camera filmmakers use, it still all comes down to shots and story.”

MS: The “sweet” part is hard to identify, but you know it when you see it. They’re films that have that perfect story, filled with twists and turns, and have the “so what” factor by the end. They leave the viewer wanting more. After nearly a decade of uniting filmmakers and bringing their art to the silver screen, what is your favorite or most rewarding moment at the festival?

MS: Definitely the Q&A after each block. It is so fascinating to hear the journey so many filmmakers go through just to make that one short film. I also love seeing the filmmakers smile when the audience is applauding. That specifically is my favorite part. All that work is to share a story with others. I’m sure there are some people who just make movies for themselves, but most are making a film to share with others. I know I do.

Check out the 2020 Short. Sweet. Film Fest from Feb. 26 to March 1 at the Metropolitan at the 9’s Alex Theater. For more information, head to shortsweetfilmfest.com.

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Motivational

SHEESH Having fun with seven horrible human emotions.

Dan Bernardi

Well,

it’s another sloppy Cleveland winter. If you're a part-time pessimist like me, you could easily find a reason to say the glass ain't half full, it's empty. Rather than succumb to the typical bouts of seasonal depression and Valentine sickness, it’s high time we flip the script on all the negativity and embrace the bullshit. Instead of doing away with those horrible emotions, here's some goopy pseudo-motivation to make them work in your favor. Comb through your hairy history and you're sure to find a grey thread of guilt somewhere in there. We've all done something we regret, big or small, vivid or forgettable. Part of coming to terms with the secret shit you're hiding is to not hide it at all. Tame that shame, mount it, and ride it into a sunset where everyone can see it bright and clear. It makes you more honest and it helps others learn how not to act if they don't want to end up like your sorry ass.

SHAME ON

Anger is passion, and passion is a driving force in the world, so it's easy to allow yourself to flip your top when you feel wronged. What's not easy is taking your anger, bottling it, and then swallowing it with a pride chaser. This is a passive approach, but it may be the best option if your stark raving madness may reap even more discord. Whatever you do, don't ignore the anger; use it as a tool for change. Not like a violent power saw, but more like a safe, emotional Allen wrench.

ANGER MANAGER

We all know the feeling when something doesn't go our way. Maybe your online crush turned out to be a deep-fake, or Trump saw his shadow and we get four more years of winter. Disappointments can reveal expectations we didn't even know we had. While certain expectations may be unavoidable, we can taper them. You don't have to crack a fortune cookie to know that things will go your way if your way goes with things.

HOT DATE WITH DISAPPOINTMENT

What is your greatest weakness? Love? Work? T-Bell? Sometimes weakness is hard to define, especially when we tend to play to our strengths. Identifying your weaknesses and being open about them can be useful. In reality, a weakness is merely an anti-strength. We're human and our bold personalities require anti-strength to counterbalance the many strengths we possess. Yep, your weaknesses are basically merit badges.

Despair is that awful feeling when there’s not always next year. Everything you shoot for backfires – now you’ve lost all hope in existence. Despair is a bad hand to be dealt, and the only realistic solution is to completely remove yourself. Retreat to the woods. There you can rebuild your life with twigs and grass, living off berries, ‘shrooms, and squirrels, eventually forgetting the meaning of hope altogether.

We're all terrified of something. Even if it's seemingly subconscious, it may still manifest itself in one form or another, such as a nightmare where your genitals have grown teeth and those teeth begin to fall out and then your genitals vanish entirely. Horrifying, isn't it? Common human fears of life, death, and genitalia don't have to be crippling. We can use our fears to protect ourselves as we strive to overcome them. Even fear itself isn't worth the fear.

Perhaps the most dangerous of horrible emotions, apathy makes it incredibly easy to not give a shit. A domino effect of detachment can find its way into every aspect of your life and suddenly nothing matters anymore. Before you reach the point of ultimate lethargy, realize that you can apply apathy back on itself. Who cares about indifference? No one. Certainly not you, you careful enthusiast.

THE WEAK-NESS MONSTER

FEAR FACTORS

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DESPAIR-ADO

APATHY, OR WHATEVER

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PressureLife Issue 29

Articles inside

Tech Trends

A Short, Sweet Q&A

Motivational Sheesh

State of the City

I-Xploration

Skin in the Frame

Zhug

Becoming Peachcurls

The Art Roots Grow Deep in Central

Will You) Mary Me

Guns in the CLE