VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3; JANUARY 10 - 23, 2024; WWW.QCNERVE.COM
THE
SKY’S THE
LIMIT Lacey Caroline is poised for a breakout year By Annie Keough
News:
Green advocacy in the Historic West End pg. 4
Food:
Coffee’s diversity problem pg. 10
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@Q UEEN CI T Y N ERV E W W W.Q CN ERV E.COM PUBLISHER JUSTIN LAFRANCOIS
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EDITOR - IN - CHIEF RYAN PITKIN
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DIGITAL MANAGER RAYNE ANTRIM
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STAFF WRITERS PAT MORAN
p m ora n @ q c n erve.c om ANNIE KEOUGH
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TABLE OF CONTENTS NEWS & OPINION
4 The Green Team by Ryan Pitkin
Historic West End Green District advocates for residents on Beatties Ford corridor 5 Lifeline: Ten Cool Things To Do in Two Weeks
ARTS & CULTURE
6 The Sky’s the Limit by Annie Keough Lacey Caroline is poised for a breakout year
MUSIC
8 Emotional Support Band by Pat Moran
Power trio SWAE crafts romantic post-hardcore tunes 9 Soundwave
FOOD & DRINK
10 Black Coffee by Rayne Antrim
LaChrista McArthur helped start an important conversation about race in coffee
LIFESTYLE
11 Puzzles 12 The Seeker by Katie Grant 13 Horoscope 14 Savage Love
Pg. 3 JANUARY 10 - 23, 2024 - QCNERVE.COM
Thanks to our contributors: Katie Grant, Daniel Coston, Alaura Cichocki, and Dan Savage
NEWS & OPINION FEATURE
THE GREEN TEAM Historic West End Green District advocates for residents on Beatties Ford corridor
Pg. 4 JANUARY 10 - 23, 2024 - QCNERVE.COM
BY RYAN PITKIN
To take a walk along the Beatties Ford corridor with Ronald Ross is to recall battles lost and won, compromises collectively settled. In a lot just south of the I-85 interchange sits two Wells Fargo ATMs with a drive-thru lane and a garden. “We tried to get them to build a regular bank branch but they didn’t think that was worth it, I guess,” says Ross. Three large signs placed along the path leading to the ATMs educate drivers and their passengers about pollution, air quality and how to improve it through actions in one’s everyday life. The next lot over sits abandoned. Ross and other community organizers successfully fought plans to build a Popeyes on the property; instead, construction of a medical facility will soon get underway. Across Gilbert Street, in front of the Allegra Westbrooks Regional library, pillars lined with brown vines wait for spring, when the Carolina Jessamine, two-row stonecrop and blue spruce stonecrop will bloom and fully bring to fruition a beautification project that Ross’ environmental community advocacy organization worked on with help from the city’s Placemaking Grant program. Under the vines sits the logo for the Historic West End Green District, marking the territory where Ross, longtime community organizer Mattie Marshall and William Hughes, founder of real estate investment firm CGE Venture Group, have fought to hold developers accountable, push for green infrastructure and educate their neighbors on air pollution . We tour the area just minutes after learning that Ross and his fellow community organizers have been successful yet again in their pushback against a nearby industrial development. Lakemont Property Investors LLC had filed a rezoning petition to clear the way for the development of “warehousing, warehouse distribution, manufacturing, office, and other industrial uses” on a 41-acre site behind the Wilson Heights neighborhood in the Beatties Ford Road corridor. Just as I was preparing to meet with Ross at the property, a representative for the developer called to
tell me that, following a virtual community meeting that saw about 40 people show up to oppose the development, plus a petition launched by CleanAIRE NC that garnered more than 150 signatures against it, the developer withdrew in December and was PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN RONALD ROSS STANDS IN FRONT OF A HISTORIC WEST END GREEN DISTRICT PROJECT. exploring other locations for the development. “I’m just tickled pink for lack of a better term,” at the time, witnessing the fight inspired him to cycling- and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure while Ross said, laughing as we settled in for an interview become more engaged in community matters. pushing to preserve what’s left of the area’s tree canopy. at Allegra Westbrooks Regional. “Just to know that “CMS was looking at having the buses located They will also stay engaged with development we had the support of the community and the in the back of our community, and I know our in the area, especially as developers begin to eye community showed up and the developer did listen community showed up pretty strong for that,” he areas like the Beatties Ford Road corridor as one … Hopefully the Wilson Heights community can said. “They didn’t win it, but that sat with me for a of Charlotte’s Corridors of Opportunities, where get what they want. They would like to see more long time. The voices were ignored.” investment is encouraged by the city. housing, a residential piece implemented, that’s In 2016, Ross, Marshall and Hughes partnered For neighbors like Ron Ross, it’s important to keep what’s needed in Charlotte.” with CleanAIRE NC to measure air pollution levels an eye on just what type of investment that entails. Ross grew up in the Northwood Estates in the Washington Heights, Northwood Estates and “A lot has changed in our community — a lot neighborhood across Beatties Ford Road from Oaklawn Park neighborhoods along the corridor. good, a lot not so good,” he says. “And whichever way Wilson Heights. After living in California for much They were concerned with the lasting effects of it goes, we need to be involved in it and have a voice of his adulthood, he returned to Charlotte around not only the nearby industrial development but the in what’s going on. People do feel left out. Things 2010. While dealing with the smog in his former the city’s two largest freeways both being built right are happening and they’re not involved or engaged, home of Pasadena had made him more aware of air through or next to each of their historically Black so there’s that big skepticism about what’s going on pollution, coming home brought it to the forefront. neighborhoods. and whether it’s actually a benefit for me. I live in the “Moving back to Charlotte and seeing it from a CleanAIRE NC, then called Clean Air Carolina, communities. Is it a benefit to me or is it a benefit for different perspective than I saw it when I was little, established three permanent PM2.5 air-monitoring somebody else that’s coming into the community?” I came to the realization that, even in walking to and sites within the neighborhoods, then compared He emphasizes that he’s not against all from school, we would walk through the woods, the the data with that taken from more affluent, white development, just the proposed projects that don’t creeks, play with the frogs, that doesn’t exist now … I neighborhoods in south Charlotte where industrial take longtime residents into consideration. do enjoy going outdoors, running and biking and that development was nonexistent and highways had “I don’t want us to be viewed as we don’t want type of thing. So those are some things that need to not slashed communities in the mid-20th century. anybody to build anything in our community,” Ross be implemented, too, in our community. We don’t Unsurprisingly, the data showed more air says. “We’re looking for developments and businesses have the greenways. We don’t have the tree canopy.” pollution in the three West End neighborhoods than that can provide services and amenities that our One of Ross’ first memories of community what was found in sites in south and east Charlotte. community sadly lacks, and businesses that are organizing came in the 1990s when Northwood Ross, Marshall and Hughes continued the work, willing to contribute to the community’s economic Estates residents pushed back against plans by forming the Historic West End Green District, through and social development, to increase our accessibility Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) to build a bus which they continued their work with CleanAIRE NC to new technologies that are being developed so that lot for its transportation department behind the to hold workshops with local residents and advocate we can contribute to the work force. neighborhood. for more green infrastructure in the West End. “We take the additional initiative to be engaged It was one of 14 CMS transportation facilities The group advocates for the use of electric and voice our opinions,” he continues. “To the located throughout the city, but Northwood Estates vehicles (EVs), helping to bring a PoleVolt electric businesses that would like to come here, we can residents fought it because the street, Northpointe charging station to the corridor in 2022 and hosting engage them along with our elected officials. We Industrial Boulevard, was already home to a high EV events at Northwest School of the Arts to make just want to be at the table.” concentration of industrial developments, increasing neighbors more familiar with EVs and their impacts. RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM the risk of pollution. While Ross was not involved In 2024, the group plans to advocate for more
ULTRA VIOLET SAPPHIC NIGHT
‘KAMUYOT’ Photo courtesy of Fall for Dance North
1/1
‘KAMUYOT’
If you didn’t catch this performance as part of Charlotte Ballet’s Breaking Boundaries compendium at the McBride-Bonnefoux Center for Dance last fall, artistic director Alejandro Cerrudo is hitting the road for a slate of free performances, beginning at the Mint. As our theatre critic Perry Tannenbaum wrote last October, “Kamuyot stretches out its hands to adults and old-timers to bridge the gap between themselves and their youth. If you miss it at the Mint, catch it at UNC Charlotte on Jan. 12 or the Jewish Community Center on Jan. 13. More: Free; Jan. 11, 6:30-8:30 p.m.; Mint Museum Uptown, 500 S. Tryon St.; mintmuseum.org
THE BLEEPS, GROUND SCORE, JANUARY KNIFE
DHEMO, EMANUEL WYNTER, TECOBY HINES
Pronounced “demo,” Richmond singer-songwriter Dhemo spins skeins of psychedelia and intergalactic jazz through dreamy funk-inflected indie-rock ballads ranging from the haunting “Gentle” to the syncopated and soaring “Motion.” Soul violinist Emanuel Wynter entwines virtuoso technique with jazz and blues grooves, but his true genius lies in his sophisticated gravity-defying compositions. Bolstered with cosmic wordplay and vulnerable vocals, Wynter’s tunes remain emotionally grounded, even when his ace band catapults beyond the Kuiper Belt. Soulful rapper Tecoby Hines mixes swinging jazz beats and trenchant wordplay in an organic update of the spirited Gil Scott-Heron. More: $12; Jan. 18, 9 p.m.; Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St.; snugrock.com
EMANUEL WYNTER Photo by Daniel Coston
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OLD RELIABLE: THE MAMA OF GRIER HEIGHTS
Nobody is doing storytelling, theatre and community TE’JANI, 2 SLICES cultivation in Charlotte quite like Mixed Metaphors After a year that has seen the vulnerable and DODOMEKI, SHEETROCK, PHYSICAL Productions. Inspired by Levine Museum of the New captivating singer-songwriter and producer Te’Jani DIGITAL, JESUS IS THE PATH TO South’s Grier Heights: Community Is Family exhibit, make his NYC debut, Te’Jani returns to the Muse, HEAVEN the team behind Swimcap and FixaPlate host an the venue where he cut his teeth as an open mic Virginia trio Dodomeki gets political with afternoon event that asks two questions: What are performer, to host a follow-up birthday blast, a experimental protest tunes like “100 Corporations,” the ingredients of your community? And what turns celebration for the audience as well as the artist. in which a deep swell of churchyard organ synths and a community into a family? The event will feature With skittering dance beats, sparkling synth-pop massed vocals evoke terror and beauty. Sheetrock performances by the Mixed Metaphors Ensemble, melodies and catchy guitar breaks, foursome 2 Slices unleashes a rumbling bass and wasp-sting guitar community conversations, and a chance to record crafts bright and airy melodic gems like “meltdown” assault on “Microphone.” Physical Digital’s sweet your own oral history. Pop-up performances are that are both energetic and wistful. alt rock grows steadily weird and ramshackle as it scheduled for 1:15, 2:15 and 3:15 p.m. More: $12-$15; Jan. 13, 7:30 p.m.; Evening Muse, veers into hardcore territory. Jesus is The Path to More: Free; Jan. 20, 1-4 p.m.; 3227 N. Davidson St.; eveningmuse.com Heaven is singer-songwriter Jordan Hoban’s goth West Boulevard Public Library, 2157 West Blvd.; folk rumination on Biblical themes. facebook.com/MixedMetaphorsProductions More: $10-$15; Jan. 19, 8 p.m.; The Milestone, NATE BARGATZE He may have grabbed the attention of mainstream 3400 Tuckaseegee Road; themilestone.club TJ & DAVE comedy fans with his spot as host of SNL last You may recognize TJ Jagodowski as one of the two October, playing George Washington in what was FAITHFUL ANNIE, CARELESS guys who used to sit in their car riffing about Sonic arguably the best sketch of the year from that show, but true stand-up fans have known Nate Bargatze ROMANTIC, ROCK UNIVERSITY ROAD on the commercials, but he’s also half of one of the most critically acclaimed improvisational comedy as one of the hottest comics in the world for a few BAND years now. Based out of his hometown of Nashville, The Rooster hosts a local rock bill that’s varied and duos in the country alongside Dave Pasquesi. As Tennessee, Bargatze is on the road for his Be Funny inventive. Atonal guttural guitars snake through a the New York Times put it, “The comics miraculously tour following the release of his fourth special, thicket of chattering drums before Faithful Annie improvise a one-hour play at every performance. Hello, World, in January 2023. While we’re no pearl- singer Chad Longworth unleashes his pure and This is an impressive feat of mental athletics, but the clutchers when it comes to profanity, we can readily soaring prog-rock tenor on “Weighted Down.” results are also observant, complex and frequently acknowledge that the clean comedy from the man Queen City combo Careless Romantic claims to be enormously funny.” This is far and above one of the Atlantic Magazine called “The Nicest Man in Stand- equivalent to a Quentin Tarantino soundtrack. They best entertainment bookings you’ll come across at a Up” proves you don’t have to say “fuck” to be funny. live up to that comparison with moody propulsive brewery this year. More: $39 and up; Jan. 14, 3 & 7 p.m.; Spectrum rockers built around world-weary cinematic vocals. More: $25-$40; Jan. 21, 7-9 p.m.; Heist Brewery, 2909 North Davidson St., Suite 200; Center, 333 E. Trade St.; More: $10-$15; Jan. 19, 8 p.m.; The Rooster, 334 W. tinyurl.com/TJDaveCharlotte spectrumcentercharlotte.com Main Ave., Gastonia; theroostergastonia.com
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Skylark presents a take-no-prisoners local punk bill featuring music for and by outsiders. Boasting two members from veteran Charlotte punkska outfit Bums Lie, incendiary trio The Bleeps craft sophisticated manifestos ranging from the slow-burning, inexorable “The Enemy” to the jackhammering Clash-like “Murder.” Rougheredged yet no-less-committed Ground Score runs full throttle through the rampaging cacophony of tracks like “Call And Response.” A sweating oneman amalgam of icy synth-rocker and pile-driving drummer, January Knife applies vocoder distorted vocals to nightmare scenarios like the sleepless whirlpool “Brain Hates Brain.” More: $10; Jan. 12, 8 p.m.; Skylark Social Club, 2131 Central Ave.; facebook.com/skylarksocialclub
In February 2023, our staff writer Annie Keough wrote an in-depth feature about the lack of lesbiancentered spaces in Charlotte, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t events happening around the city that cater to queer women and femmes. There’s Sapphic Book Club, Queer Storytellers, and Sapphic Night, for example, the latter of which hosts its third quarterly dance party at Petra’s on Jan. 13. DJ Black as the Cosmos will provide the vibes, including a “Sapphic Dance Off” with prizes up for grabs. Other features include tarot card readings, a boudoir photo booth and all the glow, glitter and glam you could hope for. Cherry on top: Proceeds benefit Time Out Youth. More: $10; Jan. 13, 8 p.m.; Petra’s, 1919 Commonwealth Ave.; petrasbar.com
ARTS FEATURE
THE SKY’S THE LIMIT Lacey Caroline is poised for a breakout year
Pg. 6 JANUARY 10 - 23, 2024 - QCNERVE.COM
BY ANNIE KEOUGH
The 23 awards and 18 nominations credited to Lacey Caroline on her IMDB page were not easily earned. The actress, dancer, singer, reporter and onetime mascot has spent about eight years in the entertainment industry, half of which have been marred by a global pandemic and a national writer’s strike. What’s more, both of those events occurred while Caroline, now 17 years old, was in her mid-teens, called the “dead zone” by some in the industry because of the studios’ preference to have younglooking 18-year-olds play teenagers. Despite these hurdles, the nascent Charlotte performer has stayed busy. Having graduated from home schooling at age 16, Caroline debuted the role of Addy in the world premiere workshop of Mecklenburg County Song and Dance Competition in 2023, and won best actress at LA Under the Stars Film Festival for her lead role as Ellie in the short film Worm Radio. She is not slowing down in 2024, as she has already kicked off the new year with a lead role in A Chorus Line, put on by LAD Space and Davidson Community Players (DCP) in Mooresville from Jan. 5-7. She will follow that up with by playing the role of Elsa in DCPs run of Disney’s Frozen JR. at Cain Center for the Arts in Cornelius from Jan. 25-27 — all six scheduled shows were already sold out at the time of this writing — and is currently in rehearsals for Metrolina Theater Association’s presentation of Be More Chill, also scheduled for the Cain Center from Feb. 29-March 2. On screen, Caroline landed her biggest role in 2020 as Mariah in A Christmas Love Story, starring alongside Kristen Chenowith, Scott Wolf and Kevin Quinn in the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. In 2023, she played Young Sam in Jessica Michael Davis’ debut feature film Escaping Ohio and early
this year will begin filming a pilot teen drama with a musical element titled Rise to Fame. It’s a fitting project, as Caroline appears poised to break out in the coming year. The hard-working thespian is focused on the job work, however, rather than the success that may be destined to follow. When we caught up with her in the lead-up to her run as Val Clark in A Chorus Line, the modest Caroline wasn’t ready to claim credit for where her years of commitment to the craft have landed her. “It’s just a really cool coincidence of a lot of good things happening for me,” she insisted.
Where it started
Caroline’s dad, a former professional mascot who worked with the Seattle Seahawks, Carolina Panthers, Nippon Professional Baseball and Charlotte Bobcats, took his then-9-year-old daughter to the Ligue nationale de basket All Star Game in France where he was scheduled to perform. She joined him on the court, performing as Little Hugo in front of 25,000 French fans, surprising her mother, Lyndsey Stogdill. “I’m like ‘Okay, she’s got a whole side of her that I don’t even know what to do with,’” Stogdill told Queen City Nerve while we sat in on one of Caroline’s rehearsals for A Chorus Line. Caroline added that, while her dad still inspires her to this day, her love for performing in front of a crowd quickly evolved past the mascot game, growing over years of competitive cheer and finding a true outlet in local theatre. It was during one of her first plays, Tuck Everlasting, that a castmate’s mom referred Stogdill to a local agent. At 11 years old, Caroline booked her the agent. Her fledgling career started rolling from there, Stogdill said. After a few years in the local theatre scene, Caroline explored the logical next step: film and TV.
LACEY CAROLINE
She found it less stressful in that any forgotten lines or other mistakes wouldn’t be witnessed by a large audience. “[Film] had the perks of theatre with the ability to have a second chance,” she said. In 2019, Caroline bagged her role in A Christmas Love Story alongside Chenoweth, a bona fide Broadway star and role model to Caroline. She remembers sitting next to the Wicked star in her makeup chair, silently freaking out. “It was just this moment that I think back on with just such joy,” she told Queen City Nerve, the excitement still evident in her retelling. Caroline got to live out another childhood fantasy after nailing a casting call and booking what she considers her biggest role yet: NASCAR on NBC’s kid reporter. Despite the far-reaching platform, making her a fan favorite with each interview garnering tens of thousands of views on NASCAR’s YouTube and Facebook pages, Caroline said she struggled to keep up with the unscripted banter in real-time during filming. “That’s why I decided to stick with acting where everything is scripted,” Caroline said.
PHOTO COURTESY OF LYNDSEY STOGDILL
From stage to screen
Eventually aging out of the kid reporter role, Caroline refocused on booking film gigs. She planned to make the move to Hollywood; her parents even listed their house for sale in early 2020. It was then that COVID-19 shut everything down, forcing them to reevaluate. With the future of film and TV such an uncertainty, the family took their house off the market. Looking back, Caroline is glad she didn’t move. “After COVID ended I met some of the best friends I’ve ever had,” she said. “And now I’m having that senior summer with a bunch of people but I feel like if I had moved I wouldn’t have met the people I’ve met.” With no job opportunities available during the pandemic, Caroline attended countless workshops to hone her skills. Through them, she found Avalon Artists Group, a talent agency that now represents her in New York and L.A. Even with her best representation yet, however, as she neared 14 years old, Caroline was about to enter the ‘dead zone.’
ARTS FEATURE Veterans in the industry warned her that actors her age are often overlooked for roles in favor of older performers who can play adolescent characters. Caroline gave the example of the hit show Riverdale, in which 15-year-old characters are played by early to mid-20-year-old actors. “A lot of time people cast over [the 14-17 age range] because they don’t have to school on set [or] ... worry about labor laws,” Caroline said. “There’s nothing going on for 14-to-17-year-olds unless you booked a recurring character when you were younger.” One way around the dead zone is to earn your GED. In the eyes of the entertainment industry, an actor is more hirable after they have graduated high school because they do not have to receive on-set schooling. After attending Northwest School of the Arts for middle school, Caroline decided there was little point in getting bogged down with miscellaneous schoolwork that didn’t apply to her career. She started home-schooling and was able to graduate in May 2022 at 16 years old. “[Now] I can work long hours and they don’t have to school me so that makes them want to hire me a little bit more,” she said. The pandemic and age weren’t the only obstacles in Caroline’s way. After COVID’s major restrictions were lifted, the American actor’s union SAG-AFTRA went on strike,
PHOTO COURTESY OF LYNDSEY STOGDILL
Her transition from playing A Chorus Line’s Val Clark, a woman who sings about her breast and butt enlargements to gain job opportunities in New York, to kid-favorite Elsa in Frozen JR. within a few weeks of each other might have become an inside joke with her castmates — six of whom are playing parts in both shows — but it also speaks to her range. Her ability to jump between genres is apparent in her web shorts, from the popular comedic short Spelling Bee, which aired on UglyStikTV, to the sci-fi short film Worm Radio, showing on YouTube’s DUST channel. Caroline plans to make her move to California in September, after her 18th birthday, with the hopes of gaining some independence and learning the ropes with one of her co-stars from A Chorus Line. Having officially left the so-called dead zone, Caroline hopes to star in a period piece and be part of a long-running TV series — or perhaps do both at once. The long-term goal, she said, is directing. Her years of paying close attention on set and learning from past directors have given her the opportunity to co-direct a few projects already. “That little spark of doing a little something just made me want it more,” she said. “I love learning from people if I can because I’m the type of person where I always have to be improving otherwise I feel like I’m in a rut or like I’m not necessarily good enough. I always have to be getting better and, with acting and directing, I really take that to heart.” AKEOUGH@QCNERVE.COM
PHOTO COURTESY OF LYNDSEY STOGDILL
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LACEY CAROLINE ON THE SET OF ‘WORM RADIO.’
causing another pause in Caroline’s ability to find cities like New York, Los Angeles or even Atlanta in work. terms of showbiz opportunities. Her optimism never wavered, though. There is some progress being made on that front. “I just stuck with it past where I thought I would The NC House Caucus on Economic Development and and I’m proud of myself for doing so,” Caroline said. Foreign Trade in December named Rep. John Autry, a “But it’s just been some crazy circumstances.” former Charlotte City Council member, as co-chair of Through it all, Stogdill said Caroline has been the newly formed Film Committee. studying the industry as deeply as she can. Rather According to a Dec. 6 release, Autry will work than carry a naive optimism about Hollywood, the to bring back the film industry jobs that were lost teen stays hyper-aware of the risks that success can to Georgia since 2015, when the North Carolina sometimes bring for those who are unprepared for General Assembly (NCGA) allowed the NC Film success at a young age. Incentive Program to sunset. After the NCGA ended One of Caroline’s upcoming films, Sugarcane, for their support, North Carolina lost thousands of which she’s currently doing reshoots, focuses on the high-quality, well-paying jobs, from actresses like dangers the dark web presents to young people. Caroline to caterers and lumber retailers. Stogdill said Caroline agreed to work on the film “Before the film program was allowed to sunset with the specific goal of increasing awareness and in 2015 there were 4,200 North Carolinians directly educating viewers on the risks that young women employed in the film industry,” Autry said in the face in the online era. release. “Then consider all those who indirectly “She’s so hard on herself because she wants it so benefited from film in NC — bakeries, dry cleaners, bad. She’s always said she doesn’t want the fame … hardware stores, rental cars, home, and office the fortune wouldn’t be so bad, but not the fame,” furnishings and so on,” said Autry. Stogdill said. “She just wants to do what [she loves].” The committee is set to convene in January and will immediately begin work on legislation to clarify building codes for set construction, unemployment The Charlotte struggle While Caroline said she’s relieved that she and her and other matters, aiming in the long-term to make family didn’t move forward with a premature move North Carolina a more film-friendly state. However, Caroline’s momentum is in full swing to Hollywood back in 2020, she acknowledged that now, so she has made the decision to make the living in Charlotte does presents its own obstacles in move to Hollywood in the coming year. terms of job opportunities. For now, however, she’s booked and busy While Charlotte is consistently and continuously growing, the Queen City hasn’t reached the level of for at least the first quarter of the year here in Mecklenburg County.
MUSIC FEATURE
EMOTIONAL SUPPORT BAND
Power trio SWAE crafts romantic post-hardcore tunes
Pg. 8 JANUARY 10 - 23, 2024 - QCNERVE.COM
BY PAT MORAN
Carlos Fuentes was riding in a teal 1960s Chevy Chevelle convertible with the top down. His grandfather Daniel Penado Cisneros, a Salvadoran guitarist who once toured his native country playing Bolero ballads, was driving. “[We were] on a highway with mountain panoramic views,” Fuentes says. His grandfather didn’t look well, so they pulled over and Fuentes took the wheel. The two men arrived at a pristine beach where the water was a crystal teal. It was all a remarkably vivid dream, explains Fuentes, because Cisneros had died more than a year before this ride to the beach, where he spent time with his grandson one more time. Fuentes, guitarist and vocalist for hard-driving emotive power trio SWAE, turned his dream into the song “Drifting.” The band won’t release the tune until April, but when the band played it at a recent Bart’s Mart show, I witnessed the band ensnaring the crowd with the tune’s enticing spell. In the swell of Jonathan Ramirez’s crashing drums and Ricardo Portillo’s nimble bass, Fuentes’ voice turned hazy and warm. “I dreamt that you drove me, you held the wheel/ And your car, it’s so covered in teal/ And I hear you in every sound/ I’m near you, I’m on the way...” “The song starts melancholic,”Fuentes says.“Towards the end, it’s a celebration, like, ‘I’ll see you when I get up there. We’ll play on the same stage eventually.’” Like all of SWAE’s songs, “Teal” grabs the listener aggressively yet enfolds softly. The song swings as it seizes your heart with an unexpected gentleness. “It’s post-hardcore romantic shoegaze,” says Ramirez. Born in New York to Salvadoran parents, Fuentes came to Charlotte with his family in 2003. When he was 3 years old, Fuentes’ Salvadoran grandfather sent him a guitar. “Ever since then I wanted to play music,” Fuentes says. Born in Mexico City, Ramirez immigrated to Charlotte when he was 12. East Los Angeles-born Portillo likewise moved to Charlotte in 1994. After
receiving a drum set from his brother, Ramirez crossed paths with musician and visual artist PHOTO BY ALAURA CICHOCKI Lisandro Herrera (Bravo Pueblo) and the pair started JONATHAN RAMIREZ OF SWAE jamming with friends. through live band jams — then time and life As the song developed, the anger diminished, At age 14, Fuentes bought an electric guitar. He intervened. Ramirez, now 40, is a family man, and and other emotions emerged. To Ramirez, “Choker” spent the next decade jamming and playing onstage Portillo’s and Fuentes’ lives have gotten busier. is an admonishment to move on and get over things. with local bands like Rothschild. After playing with “We’ve had … to work around our schedules,” “It’s a way of saying, ‘Enjoy life,’” Ramirez says. Portillo in Latin-influenced post-hardcore band Off Fuentes says. “I’ll write a small jam track, like a “It also means retrain you way of thinking, With Their Head, Fuentes landed in Avionsanspilot, scratch track, at home.” because life is beautiful,” Fuentes says. a group including Portillo and Ramirez, in 2013. The He writes the beginnings of a “jam track” at home, In this way “Choker” is like many SWAE songs, trio of friends then formed SWAE. then sends it to either Ramirez or Portillo via email. After taking dark topics and turning them into hard-won A rhythmic Latin influence filtered into SWAE’s it’s worked on and bounced between the bandmates, it affirmations. The dynamic yet drifting “Aqua” is based self-styled “lovecore,” a blend of post-hardcore riffs ends up at Ramirez’s home studio, where everybody on Fuentes’ brush with the danger of prescribed and romantic shoegaze vocals. works on the evolving tune as a band. opioids while he was recovering from back surgery. “Latin music tends to have a lot of heartache, Portillo is a phenomenal bassist who has “Teal” is about his struggles to buy a house in today’s emotional beats of loves lost … and getting your developed some killer riffs, says Ramirez. As SWAE’s grotesquely inflated housing market. heart broken,” Fuentes says. “We tie it into that.” drummer, Ramirez takes inspiration from Led Despite these dire inspirations, SWAE primarily Fuentes also cites the beautiful yet brutal Zeppelin’s John Bonham. crafts songs about the desire to connect, Fuentes says. Deftones as an influence. “When [the song] begins it’s a Carlos idea, but when With the band preparing for another gig at “We all take [Deftones] heavy cinematic postit comes out on the other end, it’s a SWAE song,”Fuentes Bart’s Mart on Jan. 12, Ramirez and Fuentes urge rock feel, then we put our own dramatic twist on it,” says. “The theme is there and we paint around it.” the audience to embrace their creativity and be he says. The result is tunes like “Choker,” one of three encouraged by their music the way they were when Fuentes was not SWAE’s first singer. Originally songs on the band’s self-titled and self-produced EP they first started playing. the group was a foursome fronted by vocalist Digna that dropped in August 2023. “We [hope] we can inspire people and make them Marte. Fuentes, Ramirez and Portillo backed her on Here, Fuentes’ whirlpooling guitar enveloped happy,” says Ramirez. songs like the jazzy “In The Shallows,” which boasts his melancholy vocals like tributaries of a braided Fuentes celebrates the friends SWAE has made Marte’s lyrics. stream. Then, the dam bursts, unleashing power in the process of playing music, colleagues like Alex “Digna has always been a soulful singer, very chords, syncopated drums, swinging yet grinding O’Dell [Physical Digital], who plays additional guitar jazzy … like Sade,” Fuentes says. bass and Fuentes’ conflicted, emotional wail — a with SWAE on stage, or Kevin Kinne [The Real Dolls], The lineup worked for awhile because SWAE mix of pain, anger and empathy. who gave Carlos the persistent nickname “Guitarlos.” would include mid-tempo sections in their songs “So choke on your boredom, and give it a rest/ We Fuentes’ thoughts also turn to his grandfather, where Marte would sing. all know your troubles, so try to make amends/ With the traveling musician who came to him in a dream. “As we evolved, the sound got heavier and it got a yourself...” “He did what we’re doing, in a completely tougher for [Marte] to layer her vocals on top of the Fuentes says the song’s lyrics came from anger. different country, in a different time and with a influences we were bringing to the table,” Fuentes An ex was badmouthing him on social media long different genre of music — but it’s no different than says. At the end of 2022, the band restructured as a after their break-up. me, Jonathan and Ricardo taking off on the road to trio, though SWAE still occasionally backs Marte at “The first thought that came into my head was, ‘How go play shows in different towns,” Fuentes says. “It’s her solo shows. bored do you have to continuously ruminate over things evolving, but … it stays the same as time goes on.” Everything flowed easier with the trio that are so long ago … and continuously drag my name PMORAN@QCNERVE.COM configuration, Fuentes says. Initially, songs like the through the mud?’” Fuentes says. “I [thought], ‘I guess alternately lulling and blistering “Cafe” developed people could end up choking on their own boredom.’”
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10
SATURDAY, JANUARY 20
ROCK/PUNK/METAL Laniidae w/The Dirty Low Down, State of Illusion (The Rooster) Resistor w/ Godseyes, Reflect//Refine (Skylark Social Club) WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17 CREEK (Thomas Street Tavern) ROCK/PUNK/METAL COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Under High Street w/ Kat & Craig (Goldie’s) Justin Clyde Williams w/ JD Graham (Evening Muse) Wiltwither w/ Backslide, Laid Out, Razor Tail (The Milestone) FUNK/JAM BANDS Chuck Prophet & Stephanie Finch (Neighborhood Theatre) The Smokin Js (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar) Joe McGovern w/ Featherpocket, Saint Logic, Jason POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ Scavone (Snug Harbor) Gimme Gimme Disco (The Underground) POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ Digital Noir w/ DJ Spider, Goth Dad, Twin Powers Beats @ Birdsong (Birdsong Brewing) (The Milestone) OPEN MIC The Neveah Experience (Starlight on 22nd) Singer/Songwriter Open Mic (The Rooster) LATIN/WORLD/REGGAE Variety Open Mic (Starlight on 22nd) Larry & Joe (Snug Harbor) CLASSICAL/INSTRUMENTAL THURSDAY, JANUARY 18 Jennifer Koh (Knight Theater) ROCK/PUNK/METAL SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC The Mountain Goats w/ Craig Finn, Bully Beth Nielsen Chapman w/ Sarah Siskind (Neighborhood Theatre) (Neighborhood Theatre) SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC Caleb Davis (Goldie’s) SUNDAY, JANUARY 21 ROCK/PUNK/METAL HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Tool (Spectrum Center) Dhemo w/ Emanuel Wynter, Tecoby Hines (Snug Harbor) JAZZ/BLUES JAZZ/BLUES Omari & the Hellhounds (Comet Grill) Celestial Company w/ Marguerite Beane, DJ Booty Marguerite Beane Jazz Duo (Birdsong Brewing) (Petra’s) LATIN/WORLD/REGGAE FUNK/JAM BANDS Jwadi feat. The Executives w/ The Hourglass Kids Shana Blake’s Musical Menagerie (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar) (Neighborhood Theatre) LATIN/WORLD/REGGAE Jesse Cook (Booth Playhouse) POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ OPEN MIC Hazy Sunday (Petra’s) Groove Centric (Middle C Jazz) COVER BANDS JD feat. Christina Cunningham (India Arie tribute) FRIDAY, JANUARY 19 (Middle C Jazz) ROCK/PUNK/METAL The Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill) MONDAY, JANUARY 22 Jackson Fig w/ Aurora’s Hope, Caelifera (Evening Muse) JAZZ/BLUES Dodomeki w/ Sheetrock, Physical Digital, Jesus Is The Bill Hanna Legacy Jazz Session (Petra’s) the Path to Heaven (The Milestone) TUESDAY, JANUARY 23 Donna the Buffalo w/ The Steel Wheels ROCK/PUNK/METAL (Neighborhood Theatre) Red Rocking Chair (Comet Grill) Faithful Annie w/Careless Romantic, Rock University SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC Road Band (The Rooster) Randy Franklin w/ Nancy Moore, David French (3102 Connor Kelly & the Time Warp w/ Chew, Leopard & VisArt) The Diamond Sky (Snug Harbor) Stephen Kellogg (Evening Muse) Story of the Year (The Underground) POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ JAZZ/BLUES Lost Cargo: Tiki Social Party (Petra’s) Quiana Parler w/ Charlton Singleton (Middle C Jazz) Dark ‘n’ Dirty (Skylark Social Club) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Ryan Perry w/ Braden Hull (Amos’ Southend) OPEN MIC Greensky Bluegrass (The Fillmore) Open Mic Night feat. The Smokin’ J’s (Smokey Joe’s POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ Cafe & Bar) Clarity Eley w/ E’Lon JD, Elora Dash (Petra’s) SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC VISIT QCNERVE.COM FOR THE FULL Mary Fagan & Friends (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar) SOUNDWAVE LISTING. CLASSICAL/INSTRUMENTAL Jennifer Koh (Knight Theater)
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LATIN/WORLD/REGGAE Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet w/ Tambem (Snug Harbor) SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC Russell ‘n’ Woods (Goldie’s) HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ Te’Jani w/ 2 Slices (Evening Muse) Shindig! An Evening Of ’50s & ’60s Music (Tommy’s Pub) Tamar Braxton (The Fillmore) Beats @ Birdsong (Birdsong Brewing) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA OPEN MIC Teal Peel w/ Nolen Durham (Evening Muse) Singer/Songwriter Open Mic (The Rooster) JAZZ/BLUES Variety Open Mic & Songwriters Circle (Starlight on 22nd) Gerald Albright (Middle C Jazz) THURSDAY, JANUARY 11 POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ ROCK/PUNK/METAL Silent Disco (Birdsong Brewing) Umphrey’s McGee (The Fillmore) Ray Volpe (Blackbox Theater) Once Below Joy w/ Momphobia, Thyrio, Nose UltraViolet Sapphic Night (Petra’s) Neighbor (The Milestone) Requiem: Goth Dance Party w/ DJ Velvetine & DJ Betty Grey w/ Alpha Strain, Becky, Fault Union (The Rooster) Sanity Ana (Tommy’s Pub) sayurblaires w/ Cor de Lux, The Real Dolls, Sw33tboy FUNK/JAM BANDS (Snug Harbor) Bullfrog Moon (Primal Brewery) FUNK/JAM BANDS Ben Gatlin Band (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar) Shana Blake’s Musical Menagerie (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar) SUNDAY, JANUARY 14 JAZZ/BLUES ROCK/PUNK/METAL Wycliffe Gordon Group (Booth Playhouse) Gorod w/ Wormhole, Hath, Exist, Blaakhol (The FRIDAY, JANUARY 12 Milestone) ROCK/PUNK/METAL Befell w/ Obsolescence, Fear Illusion, Violent End The Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill) (Skylark Social Club) The Menders w/ Roman Candles, The Hell Eye Seen JAZZ/BLUES (The Rooster) Omari & the Hellhounds (Comet Grill) The Bleeps w/ Ground Score, January Knife (Skylark Social Club) FUNK/JAM BANDS JAZZ/BLUES The Manhattans feat. Gerald Alston w/ The Wycliffe Gordon Group (Booth Playhouse) Delphonics (Knight Theater) Gerald Albright (Middle C Jazz) POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC APE Audio Day Party (Starlight on 22nd) Nathan Storey w/ Dane Page, Thomas Lavine (Petra’s) SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Jeff Moder w/ Southern Gothic Music Club (Evening Muse) Conner Smith (Coyote Joe’s) Annie Haden Duo w/ Don Kodzai (Goldie’s) Charles Walker w/ Kiera Massi (Evening Muse) MONDAY, JANUARY 15 Parks Brothers Band w/ Josh Daniel (Goldie’s) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Eric Travers Band (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar) Charlotte Bluegrass Mondays (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar) Crenshaw Pentecostal (Tommy’s Pub) JAZZ/BLUES Will Slater Band (Thomas Street Tavern) The Bill Hanna Legacy Jazz Session (Petra’s) EXPERIMENTAL/MIXED-GENRE/FESTIVAL OPEN MIC Lil Skritt w/ Red Jesse, Neon Deaths, Maracaboi (The Find Your Muse Open Mic feat. Xtine G (Evening Muse) Milestone) TUESDAY, JANUARY 16 FUNK/JAM BANDS George Porter Jr. & Runnin’Pardners (NeighborhoodTheatre) ROCK/PUNK/METAL Red Rocking Chair (Comet Grill) Tamra Simone & The Finnas (Starlight on 22nd) Smoke Detector w/ No Momentum, sayurblaires, SATURDAY, JANUARY 13 Froggy Nights (The Milestone) ROCK/PUNK/METAL Messer Chups (Neighborhood Theatre) ...Of Sinking Ships w/ BAL, Going Clear (The POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ Milestone) Dark ‘n’ Dirty (Skylark Social Club) Impetus w/ Syndrome, Dollhaver (Skylark Social Club) anees (The Underground) Abyssal Frost w/ Mo’ynoq, Slugcrust, Demiser, Blood OPEN MIC Ritual, Krvsade (Snug Harbor) Open Mic Night feat. The Smokin’ J’s (Smokey Joe’s SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC Cafe & Bar) RC Roadshow Duo w/ Tomson Nystrom (Goldie’s) Chris Reed w/ Bryce Ethridge & Dead Letter Band, Remington Cartee (Starlight on 22nd)
FOOD & DRINK FEATURE
BLACK COFFEE LaChrista McArthur helped start an important conversation about race in coffee BY RAYNE ANTRIM
LaChrista McArthur has been an unseen force in Charlotte’s growing coffee scene on and off for more than six years. Working with renowned local companies like Undercurrent, Hobbyist, Not Just Coffee, Summit Coffee and others, she has crafted creative menus, won Barista League competitions, formulated marketing plans and earned her barista certification — all while cultivating an online community for coffee enthusiasts and professionals alike. In early January, McArthur left the Charlotte coffee scene to take a role as senior marketing manager for Middleby Coffee Solutions, one of the largest espresso machine companies in the world, based in Seattle, Washington. In the lead-up to her cross-country move, we sat down with McArthur to talk about her journey in coffee and what inspired her to address racial inequity in the industry through social media, a decision that will have a lasting legacy not only in Charlotte but for women of color in coffee around the country.
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Getting her start in coffee
McArthur first found herself behind a coffee bar while working on a capstone project in high school. She knew she wanted to tie the project in with her plan to study fashion merchandising abroad after high school and needed to find a skill or profession that could help her pay her way on that trip. “I need to make this something that can be a skill that I can learn and take with me so I can easily get a job wherever I go, whether that be art school in L.A or Paris,” she thought at the time. That’s when it hit her: Coffee shops are everywhere — at home and abroad. Learning the industry could be a transferable skill that could help McArthur pay for food, an apartment, and other miscellaneous expenses, with flexible enough hours to attend school. Once her coffee idea was approved, she needed a location to center her project. She considered Starbucks as well as local mom-and-pop businesses,
but many of the shops she looked into offered frappuccinos and other Americanized drinks — items that wouldn’t carry over if she were to go abroad. Eventually she partnered with Summit Basecamp in Davidson, which allowed her to take over the store for an evening. She named the pop-up shop ‘After Hours,’ creating a mini-menu from scratch, serving pastries her mom helped her bake and making the drinks herself. At 17, McArthur got the chance to act as an owner, barista and cashier, gaining experience over one night shift that would take most team members years to obtain. After high school, McArthur was accepted to an art school in Paris, but tuition proved too high to make it viable. Besides, McArthur had caught the coffee bug during her senior project and was now considering making that her new career path. McArthur did make it abroad eventually, moving to the UK in 2020. It was there that she launched The Barista Coalition, an Instagram account made for coffee professionals to come together as a community, strengthening bonds between baristas in separate shops. While in the UK, she launched a series of Instagram videos featuring content from a number of locally owned shops that included tours, featured drinks, profiles of shop staff, and more. It was content familiar to those who have come up in the influencer era, but McArthur set herself apart by beginning discussions about racial disparity within the coffee industry. McArthur retroactively explored her own experiences as a low-level employee at Charlotte coffee shops, where she was subjected to microaggressions that, with hindsight, she recognized to likely be racially motivated. “There were jobs that I had that I didn’t understand why I wasn’t being promoted,” she recalled. “I didn’t see it as a race thing at the time because I grew up in an environment where it was like, ‘Of course white people love me.’”
production in Brazil, the Caribbean and West Indies. That historical context also inspired McArthur to start conversations about contemporary labor practices in coffee farming. “How dare I preach about sustainability and not care about farmers and the conditions and making sure that this farm is getting paid fair for the lot that we’ve just made thousands off of? We sell a pound for $25. And how much did you pay for the lot?” McArthur said. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BARISTA COALITION LACHRISTA MCARTHUR Looking more deeply, McArthur began to learn When she started discussing her own experiences about the racial overtones in every aspect of the during the summer of 2020 — inspired by Black Lives Matter protests taking place across America, coffee industry, from shop design to marketing. Specialty coffee shops are typically known for which she watched intently from overseas — she their modern, minimalist aesthetic that translate into learned that she was not alone in experiencing coded visual and environmental language, according diversity issues in the coffee industry. “I had these filters on of like, ‘Oh, my teacher to the Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity, with a lot of treats me like shit,’ but I’d never know why,” she infrastructure quite literally being white. In coffee marketing, Black people are mostly continued. “It was just like, ‘Oh, she just didn’t like me as a person.’ I didn’t see the microaggressions depicted only in service roles — and that’s just the because I grew up in environments where white few people of color you do see behind the counter people would be pleasant, but there would be this — while their white counterparts are seen as owners or in leadership roles underlying treatment that I wasn’t aware of.” “Once you see it, you can’t unsee it,” McArthur The lack of Black workers in the coffee industry said. “The sad part is — people have had the makes it less likely for them to connect and share opportunity to make changes and try to make it a experiences like those that McArthur had. According to a USA Today report in August 2023, for better industry, and people are falling short. It takes every one Black Starbucks worker in 2021, there were mental space because you have to think about the six white employees. The Minnesota-based chain wrong and the bad and the evil, and then you have Caribou Coffee reported the same 1-to-6 ratio in 2020. to deal with the psychological side of that.” When asked what advice she has for those Despite being headquartered in the multicultural San who continue to work in the scene — especially Francisco Bay Area, Peet’s Coffee was less diverse, employing eight white workers for every one Black women of color like herself who are so often employee in 2019, the latest numbers available for underrepresented in the industry — McArthur’s answer unsurprisingly centered the importance of that company from the federal data. community building. “I think if there’s a word of advice to this industry, A deeper look at diversity in coffee especially here in Charlotte, just link in arms and To understand the history behind racial injustice uplift each other,” she said. “We need to see more and lack of representation within the coffee pouring back into the community. That means community, it’s important to discuss the effects of putting people of color in positions of leadership. slavery and how the demand for coffee in the U.S. That means if an opportunity comes, create an exacerbated those effects. incubator space — make sure that it could be a Tracing the bean from its discovery in Africa to Black- or brown-owned business.” its spread across the globe, it didn’t cross the pond RANTRIM@QCNERVE.COM until the 17th century. As coffee’s popularity grew, so did enslavement, the source of labor for coffee
LIFESTYLE PUZZLES
TRIVIA TEST
BY FIFI RODRIGUEZ
1. GEOGRAPHY: The Darien Gap separates which two countries? SUDOKU BY LINDA THISTLE 2. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What is Three Kings Day also known as? 3. MOVIES: What’s the name of the supervillain character in the animated film “Despicable Me”? 4. LITERATURE: Who is the author of “The Kite Runner”? 5. TELEVISION: What is the name of the motorcycle-riding greaser in the sitcom “Happy Days”? 6. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Which musical instrument does former President Bill Clinton play? 7. GAMES: In the game Battleship, how many ships does each player have at the beginning? 8. MUSIC: Which famous rock singer was born with the name Farrokh Bulsara? 9. HISTORY: What was the name of the first U.S. Space Shuttle? 10. U.S. STATES: Which state is home PLACE A NUMBER IN THE EMPTY BOXES IN SUCH A WAY THAT EACH ROW to the Mammoth cave system, ACROSS, EACH COLUMN DOWN AND EACH SMALL 9-BOX SQUARE CONTAINS believed to be the longest in the world? ALL OF THE NUMBERS ONE TO NINE.
CROSSWORD
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SHE’S OUT
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LIFESTYLE COLUMN
SAVAGE LOVE
LOADING ZONE Warm, gushy hole
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BY DAN SAVAGE
My boyfriend recently broke up with me. He confessed that he has been battling an addiction to orgies and couldn’t show up for our relationship in the ways I needed him to. Basically, he uses drugs and logs onto Grindr or Sniffies to find sex parties. He is into the kink of anonymous breeding. He bottoms and likes to take and “tally” as many loads as he can. Sometimes these “breeding sessions” last an entire day. I understand his issue is drug usage, but I am curious about the fetish of anonymous breeding as a whole. I have found your podcast and writings to be helpful when it comes to understanding certain kinks, and I’m wondering if you have some specific insights on this anonymous breeding kink. My questions specifically relate to the experience of the bottom, e.g., the person being bred and taking. I numbered my questions for you: 1. Why is being anonymously bred exciting? 2. Any ideas on the psychology behind wanting to be anonymously bred? Specifically, the “no loads refused” mentality? 3. Why is the idea of tallying/counting loads exciting to the bottom? What is the significance of having a running tally written on the body of the bottom with a marker? 4. Why are blindfolds common to this kink? 5. What are the dangers and what safety precautions would you urge a bottom to take? I am, of course, concerned about my ex and his drug use and I have offered him what help and emotional support I can. But learning about his kink threw me and I want to understand it better. SEEKING ENLIGHTENING EDUCATIONAL DOWNLOAD
Before I answer your questions — or before I pass them to a cumdump who can — I wanna enter this into the record: Sexual interests and kinks are personal and subjective and one person’s ultimate fantasy is another person’s worst nightmare.
So, while there are definitely gay men out there who are excited to take anon loads — some gay men are all about getting fucked in the ass by strangers who aren’t wearing condoms — I have to quibble with the way you phrased your first question. You may not have meant to imply that taking anon loads excites all gay men, SEEDS, but some readers (straight ones, young ones, dumb ones) are gonna read your question and think there are two kinds of gay men: the gays who find the idea exciting and are out there doing it and the gays who find the idea exciting but aren’t brave enough and/ or high enough to do it. And that’s not the case. For some gay men — for gay men of my generation — the association between getting bred and suffering an early, protracted, and punishing death remains a powerful boner killer. I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW: We have a daily pill now that protects HIV-negative men from infection and HIV treatments so effective the virus literally can’t be detected in the bloodstreams of HIV-positive men and undetectable equals untransmittable and there’s even a “morning-after pill” that helps prevent the spread of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. Taking anon loads may not be the death wish it was in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but for men who remember when it was … yeah, the vibes aren’t good. And it’s not just older gay men who aren’t excited by taking anonymous loads. Lots of gay men who came of age with PrEP and U=U are content to take a single, solitary load from someone whose first, last and middle names are known to them. And some gay men aren’t into penetrative sex at all — these men, aka “sides,” wanna blow loads on and near hot guys, not in them. But with that said … I’m willing to say … I get it. I’m a gay man, gay men love dick, some gay men binge dick. And the things people point to when condemning and/or pathologizing
anonymous group sex — the objectification, the dehumanization, the mitigatable-but-ineliminable risks — are precisely what turns some people on about anonymous group sex (we are objects, being human is exhausting, danger is exciting). And it’s not just gay men who find orgies exciting. Gay men may have an easier time arranging orgies for all sorts of reasons — hookup apps, men are sluts, less cause to fear sexual violence — but it’s not like we invented orgies or hold the patent. A lot of women love dick and some of those women fantasize about being the center square at a gangbang. (And some of those women — with the help of trusted partners — get to live out their cumdump fantasies.) Okay, SEEDS, I shared your numbered questions with a man who enjoys the same kind of sex your ex-boyfriend enjoys — the cumdump kind — only he doesn’t need drugs to do it and being a cumdump doesn’t interfere with his ability to form relationships. While he’s active online, he didn’t want me to link his social media to avoid getting dogpiled and shamed. So, we’re going to call him Football Jock Bottom…
the load of someone you don’t find conventionally attractive; thus, a blindfold can help make it enjoyable for the bottom from that sense.” 5. “Dangers and precautions are things we don’t talk about enough,” said FJB. “Aside from the biological risk of taking many raw loads, there is a physical safety risk. You are exposing yourself to potential harm from bad actors. I’m a big dude; if I feel threatened, I stand up and show my size. But it’s important to let a friend know where you are and what you’re doing and have them check in with you. I recommend using discretion when chatting online — and if someone gets aggressive over text, they will probably get aggressive in person. I also avoid men who are under the influence of meth. “Besides that, it’s imperative to have a kinkfriendly doctor who will arm you with all of the vaccinations and medications you’re going to need. PrEP, doxyPEP, routine testing, all vaccinations including flu and COVID. I haven’t had an STI since April 2022 and I haven’t suffered any long-term health consequences so far. But like anything, it’s important to practice moderation. Doing this right and doing it as safely as possible requires a lot of 1. “Deep down we are animals,” FJB said. “Men are work and careful planning — but it will always animals that need to come, and we need to come a carry risk. lot. And I find it hot to be able to provide that service “Finally, like this reader’s ex-boyfriend, I used to to other men. They love it: no bullshit, come in, get feel like I couldn’t do this and be in a relationship. your nut, and go about your day. I’ve taken loads from I felt like I wasn’t worthy of love because I was a all types of men: single and married, young and old, cumdump. A couple years of therapy and honestly big and small, fem and masc, cis and trans, out and getting into fisting showed me how to have truly on the DL. That moment when a man is thrown over intimate moments with men again. No one should the edge and can’t hold back anymore is the hottest tell himself he’s not worthy of love just because he thing in the world to me and I get to experience that likes having dudes nut in his ass.” moment multiple times when I am taking loads.” I wanna thank Football Jock Bottom for sharing 2. FJB didn’t address this question in his emailed and quickly address the elephant in the room and/or response. But if someone is turned on by taking as the pipe in the mouth and/or the powder around the many loads as possible in a single session or over nostrils: your ex-boyfriend’s drug problem. the course of a lifetime, having a “no loads refused” Someone who needs to obliterate their policy makes obvious sense, doesn’t it? inhibitions with drugs or alcohol in order to enjoy 3. “I don’t write ‘cumdump’ on myself or use tally something, SEED, is almost always doing that thing marks — that’s not my thing,” said FJB. “But tops in wrong and/or doing it for the wrong reasons. I this scene are constantly asking how many loads you believe our bodies are our own. They belong to us have in you already. If you don’t have enough, some — or they should — which means they’re ours to will wait until you’re sloppier to stop by. For some use, ours to share, and ours to use up. If this is how guys, it just feels great to have a warm gushy hole your ex-boyfriend wants to use his body (or have his wrapped around your cock.” And, really, nothing says body used), that’s his choice. But if he can’t be used “gushy hole” like 10 or 15 tally marks. like this without both abusing and blaming drugs, 4. “I don’t ever wear a blindfold — and most of my SEED, he’s not living his best life and enjoying crazy friends don’t either — but I do like to wear my football kinks. He’s destroying his life and engaging in acts of helmet which creates the‘anon’for me,”said FJB.“Taking self-harm disguised as kinks. vision out of the equation allows me to focus on the Got problems? Everyone does! Send your question to feelings and sensations of getting fucked. Also, being an equal opportunity cumdump sometimes means taking mailbox@savage.love; podcasts, columns and more at Savage.Love.
HOROSCOPE ARIES (March 21 to April 19) It’s better to get an explanation of a colleague’s behavior first, rather than trying to guess at the motive. Speculation can never replace facts. What you learn could lead you to reconsider some of your plans.
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UPCOMING SPECIAL ISSUES MARCH 6 | SPRING GUIDE APRIL 3 | BEER ISSUE APRIL 17 | 4:20 ISSUE JUNE 12 | SUMMER GUIDE JULY 10 | CLT MUSIC ISSUE
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TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Over the course of this new year, you beautiful Bovines will continue bulldozing the TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) The practical Bovine wants barriers that stand between you and the success of your to see some substantive changes in a situation that just doesn’t feel right. You might want to help move things long-term plans. along by offering up some suggestions. GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) The new year kicks off with a major decision about a job change that could involve a GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) You might be of two minds lot of travel. The choice you make could influence other about a situation that seems to fit your needs, but might make more demands than you’re ready for. Use both your decisions down the line. head and heart to reach a decision. CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Familial relationships continue to have a strong influence on whatever long- CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Don’t blame yourself if you term decisions you make involving both your career and can’t figure out that puzzling workplace situation. You might not have enough facts to work with yet. Do more your personal life. research and ask more questions. LEO (July 23 to August 22) Any decisions that you put off making last year should be confronted and dealt with as LEO (July 23 to August 22) It’s a good week to catch up soon as possible. You need to clear away the past and on matters that couldn’t be completed during the hectic holiday season. It’s also a good week to reach out to any make room for the future. new friends you made over the holidays. VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Last year’s disappointments are history. Expect to see more VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) A negative reaction opportunities opening up and waiting for you to use to a request could be misunderstood. Make sure that your reasons for saying “no” are clear. Also, be open to them to your advantage. changing your mind if more facts come through. LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) You still have some trouble spots lingering from last year. Resolve them so LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) The “security” of that you can move on to tackle more rewarding situations. doing things the usual way should be balanced against the possible benefits of moving into a new direction. Also, SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Developments work quickly to avoid a possible family misunderstanding. in the year ahead can be more challenging than you had expected, but the rewards will be well worth your efforts. SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) A personal matter requires attention and might lead to a surprising SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) You are revelation. Meanwhile, the new year could bring some the Philosopher of the Zodiac, and your wisdom will go long-anticipated changes to the workplace. a long way in helping you deal with the challenges of the SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) A new upcoming year. friendship seems to hold less promise than you previously CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Take stock of thought. But make no assumptions one way or another what you propose to do in the new year and get started as without having an open and frank talk first. soon as possible. On another note, last year’s critics turn CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Your creative into this year’s admirers. input could lead to changes in the workplace. Even if AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) This year, the some colleagues disapprove of your efforts, stay the typically gentle Water Bearer can reveal a hidden streak course. You’re heading in the right direction. of steel that few people suspected you had; they will be AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) While this week surprised to see how you use it. is mostly positive, a few negative factors might arise. It’s PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Although new friends best to deal with them before they create problems that open up different social vistas, your penchant for privacy can jeopardize some of your later efforts. is still strong and allows you the quiet time you need to PISCES (February 19 to March 20) You might feel like you indulge in your creative gifts. have all the facts and support that you need to deal with BORN THIS WEEK: You have deep reservoirs of strength a long-deferred situation. Good for you! Once the matter that give you extraordinary staying power amid the most is finally settled, you can move on. difficult conditions. BORN THIS WEEK: You are a sincerely generous person who never has to be asked to do something nice for others.
Trivia Answers
ARIES (March 21 to April 19) The new year holds promise for all you Lambs who know how to take advantage of the opportunities out there. The key is keeping a positive attitude.
JAN. 17 - 23
6. Saxophone. 7. Five. 8. Freddie Mercury. 9. Columbia. 10. Kentucky.
JAN. 10 - 16
2023 KING FEATURES SYND., INC.
PUZZLE ANSWERS
1. Panama and Colombia. 2. Epiphany. 3. Gru. 4. Khaled Hosseini. 5. Fonzie.
LIFESTYLE
LIFESTYLE COLUMN
THE SEEKER
BATHE IN THE SOUND
Sanctuary Imports and the warmth of a winter sun
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BY KATIE GRANT
I can envision a catalog of New Year’s Eve destinations, but none of them include being held captive to a bathroom floor by food poisoning. The nausea, vomiting and — well, let’s just say it was a shitty passage into 2024. From my vantage point, now fully recovered (and highly skeptical of Chilean sea bass), the only place to go is up. Last year I chose “peaceful” as my word of the year, based on whatever lofty intention I was looking to carry out this time last year. But if you’ve been following along, you might remember last year was the antithesis of peaceful. Chaotic? Yes. Emotional? Hell yes! So evoking an ubiquitous calm-like state was not in my cards last year. Noted. Moving on. While my word-of-the-year approach was less prophetic than I’d hoped, I’m still not ready to give up … uh … hope. In hindsight, I understand that I have the power to become the “eye of the storm” through other means — and that peace can look and feel different in each unique situation. For example, I can cultivate a sense of peace in my living environment through soft lighting and natural elements. Who needs a reason to buy more houseplants? Whom I allow into my environment is an even larger factor. Transcending the physicality of this intention is mental peace, a state without perseverating negative thoughts. The quest for peace, both internal and external, requires intentionality — deliberate actions to obtain the goal.
One avenue that I have discovered leading toward inner harmony along my journey is a sound bath — a meditative immersion in various tones and vibrations from instruments like singing bowls, gongs and drums. Once healed from my food-poisoning misadventure, I attended the weekly sound bath offered at Sanctuary Imports in Plaza Midwood, a space that offers a wide variety of metaphysical goods and expertise on how to use them. The facilitators of the sound bath provide a handful of seven brightly colored crystals, which they instruct you to place in key energetic centers along your body as the couple envelopes guests within the meditative sounds of crystal singing bowls, rain drums, chimes, symbols, gongs and more. Before our meditative journey, they explained how our spines serve as conduits for energy throughout our bodies and chakras. When our spines remain clear, the energy that courses through them maintains a harmonious flow. However, blockages weaken the energy supply to our bodies and chakras, hindering their optimal functioning. With the lights low and my eyes closed, I submerged into the song of the seven differentsized singing bowls. If light had a vibration and produced sound, a sound bath would equate to being inside a prism — like a light beam filtering through a geometric piece of glass, throwing a spray of rainbow against the wall. If it were possible to capture that feeling and
lock it in a room, I could live there. Here I will introduce to you the antiquated but relevant English word “apricity,” which I learned recently. It essentially means the warmth of the sun in winter. We’ve all experienced the unexpected warmth on our skin amidst a particularly cold winter’s day, and now there is a word for it. “Apricity” is what I experienced during my recent sound-bath excursion, metaphorically speaking anyway. The music buoyed around me with what felt like the warmth of a winter sun, slowly melting the funk of the past year. Much of that funk, I realize, wasn’t even mine. I’m not sure how I became the dumping ground for so many other people’s feelings, but it’s clear I have some boundary work to do over the course of the next 12 months if I want to maintain that feeling of levity. After all, what’s better than basking in the warmth of the sun on a beautiful day? Not much comes to mind, but whatever that sensation is, I want to encapsulate and embody it.
It’s hard to be a ray of fucking sunshine while you’re waterlogged with negative thoughts, though. Evidently I’ve got some work to do. Despite the inopportune time for a sneak attack against my immune system to kick off the new year, the rediscovery of my own inner warmth has been enlightening. I’ve learned that peace is not a fixed endpoint like the image on a holiday card; it’s pliant and reveals itself in various forms. The harmony between my environment (some of which I have control over) and inner calm, coupled with the effects of the sound bath on my spiritual well-being, has essentially reframed my understanding of what a state of rest can look like. Words alone cannot express how eagerly I bid farewell to the past year’s most unsavory moments (and people), but I welcome an unwritten future. Each new year is a blank canvas, but my personal growth goal is clear: to fortify my positive mental attitude and reclaim a lost sense of warmth, a pursuit that transcends seasons and circumstances. INFO@QCNERVE.COM
A NEW BOOK ON BLACK CULTURE IN CHARLOTTE OVER THE PAST 300 YEARS
Pg. 15 JANUARY 10 - 23, 2024 - QCNERVE.COM
PURCHASES SUPPORT THE CHARLOTTE BLACK JOURNALISM FUND
Concert Calendar GET TICKETS · BlumenthalArts.Org
booth playhouse
J�N� 1�
JESSE COOK
F�B� 2�
F�B� 1� THE ROBERT CRAY BAND
RODNEY CROWELL
F�B� 1� TINSLEY ELLIS & MARCIA BALL
M�R� 1� JONATHAN RICHMAN
knight theater
F�B� 2�
BIG HEAD TODD & THE MONSTERS
BANFF CENTRE MOUNTAIN M�R� 2� M�R� 1� FILM FESTIVAL WORLD TOUR
PAT METHENY