Queen City Nerve Issue 17_2019

VOLUME 1: ISSUE 17 - JULY 17 - JULY 30, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

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GRAMMY AWARD® WINNER for BEST MUSICAL THEATER ALBUM

AUG. 6-25 • KNIGHT THEATER AT LEVINE CENTER FOR THE ARTS

704.372.1000 • BlumenthalArts.org Group Sales: 704.348.5752

Charlotte’s Cultural Pulse STAFF

PUBLISHER • Justin LaFrancois jlafrancois@qcnerve.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF • Ryan Pitkin rpitkin@qcnerve.com

EDITORIAL

ASSOCIATE EDITOR • Courtney Mihocik cmihocik@qcnerve.com STAFF WRITER • Pat Moran pmoran@qcnerve.com

ART/DESIGN

ART DIRECTOR • Dana Vindigni dvindigni@qcnerve.com

MARKETING

MARKETING MANAGER • Jayme Johnson jjohnson@qcnerve.com

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To place an advertisement please call 980-349-3029 Queen City Nerve welcomes submissions of all kinds. Please send submissions or story pitches to rpitkin@qcnerve.com.

Queen City Nerve is published every other Wednesday by Nerve Media Productions LLC. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Queen City Nerve is located in Advent Coworking at 933 Louise Ave., Charlotte, NC, 28204. First Issue of Queen CIty Nerve free. Each additional issue $5.

NEWS & CULTURE

4 State of Emergency by Yen Duong North Carolina continues to lag in health care report cards 5 Keep It 100 by Shameika Rhymes 5 The Scanner by Ryan Pitkin

ARTS

6 The Road to Happiness by Courtney Mihocik DeNeer Davis finds healing in affirmation

LIFELINE

10 How not to kill your social life

MUSIC

12 To the Moon and Back by Jeff Hahne Ashlee Hardee finds strength in music after the death of her daughter 14 Music Issue 2019: Nine Charlotte artists having big years 18 Soundwave

FOOD & DRINK

22 Craft Cooking 101 by Casey Atwell Quick, easy recipes with more beer and less bullshit 23 Behind the Stick: Dustin Lail of Crepe Cellar by Liz Logan 24 The Buzz

NIGHTLIFE

26 Aerin It Out by Aerin Spruill 26 Sudoku 27 Crossword 28 Horoscope 30 Savage Love

Cover Design by: Dana Vindigni

Photo by Christina Hussey

STATE OF EMERGENCY

North Carolina continues to lag in health care report cards

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BY YEN DUONG

ORTH CAROLINA HAS continued to perform below average in a national ranking of state health systems, moving from 35th in 2018 to 34th this year.

In June, the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit health policy research foundation, released its annual report comparing state health systems based on 47 measures including health care access, cost, use and disparities.

Nationally, deaths from suicide, alcohol — which includes both deaths from acute poisoning and chronic conditions such as liver cirrhosis — and drug overdose have grown dramatically. In every state, deaths due to those causes rose at least 3% from 2005 to 2017, according to the report, which aggregates information from the census, various surveys, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other data sources.

These parallel epidemics have affected states in different ways. North Carolina was one of 26 states where deaths from drug overdoses more than doubled in those 12 years, from 11.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year to 24.1.

“The fact that North Carolina has not yet expanded Medicaid is going to put it in an infinitely weaker position to address this issue [of drug overdose deaths] if it continues,” said Commonwealth Fund health care analyst Sara Collins, who co-wrote the study. “More than half of people who have an opioid use disorder have incomes under 200% of poverty. If people in that income range don’t have access to Medicaid, it puts the state at a very distinct disadvantage.”

States that expanded Medicaid had more access to the opioid reversal drug naloxone, which can save lives by reversing opioid overdoses, said study author David Radley. But even in states that took that step toward fighting the crisis, drug overdose

deaths rose considerably.

“One of the things that is definitely impacting the higher rates of drug overdose right now, which we can’t necessarily tease out of the data, is the contamination of the illicit drug supply with synthetic opioids,” such as fentanyl, Radley explained. “Drug users may not even realize that they’re using an opioid or synthetic opioid; they end up overdosing on the opioid because it’s in the illicit drug supply anyway.”

Across the nation, health care costs have risen, which means consumers have been paying higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs. North Carolinians spent 8.2% of their median income on employee premiums for health insurance, more than the national average of 7%, ranking the state 45th in the nation.

“Think about your family budget for a minute.

The total amount that you spend is the result of the price you pay for something and how much of it you buy,” Radley said. “Health care works the same way.”

Although overall spending has risen by about 17% over the past five years, use of health care procedures has stayed about the same, according to the report. That means that the increase in spending comes from higher prices.

North Carolina scored 50th in terms of how many people faced high out-of-pocket spending for medical care, with 14% of North Carolinians spending over 10% of their income on out-ofpocket medical costs.

“Higher prices are associated with higher overall spending, and higher spending is linked to higher premiums that can burden working families and create barriers preventing people from getting the care they need,” Radley said.

The study authors blamed the lack of Medicaid expansion for the fact that North Carolina ranked

GRAPH BY COMMONWEALTH FUND

North Carolina places on graphs charting suicide, alcohol-related and drug overdose deaths.

“IN STATES THAT HAVEN’T EXPANDED [MEDICAID], YOU SEE DISPARITIES BECOMING INCREASINGLY ENTRENCHED.” Sara Collins, Commonwealth Fund

46th in income-related disparities in health outcomes. For instance, 16% of adults said they skipped out on health care because of cost in 2017, but 31% of adults who made 200% or less of the federal poverty level ($51,500 for a family of four) did so.

“In states that haven’t expanded, you see disparities becoming increasingly entrenched,” Collins said. For instance, states with low uninsured rates have much better vaccination rates for adults and children.

With one exception, the 17 states which have yet to expand Medicaid had some of the highest rates of uninsured adults in the country, with North Carolina coming in 9th place with around 16% uninsured.

Access to mental health care is another issue in North Carolina that could be contributing to the number of deaths by suicide, alcohol and drug overdoses.

“It’s maybe telling that North Carolina does rank number 42, near the bottom, among adults

with a mental illness who report having unmet needs … who feel like ‘I have an issue that I’d like to have addressed and I don’t have the ability to get it addressed,’” Radley said. “And so in North Carolina maybe that’s a problem.”

The report, available online for free, does not offer solutions to the trends that it observes.

“We have pulled together [this] data just to give policymakers and stakeholders a sense of the dispersion of these three epidemics across the country,” Collins said. “We do not have all the correlates of what is driving each of these, why there’s those regional differences, and we also don’t have an understanding of what’s effective in preventing the rise of what we’re seeing.”

This story originally appeared at one of our partner news sites, North Carolina Health News, an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit, statewide news organization dedicated to covering all things health care in North Carolina. Visit them at northcarolinahealthnews.org. Used with permission.

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

SCANNER

KEEP IT 100 DATING IN CHARLOTTE

At some point, it’s not them, it’s you

BY SHAMEIKA RHYMES

Dear Shameika, I moved to the Charlotte area three years ago and have found dating to be super difficult.

I have yet to go on any dates while living here. I’m in my mid-40s, so how do I meet a “grown-ass man” when I’m an introvert? My friends won’t hook me up with any potentials and I don’t believe in parading my boobs and ass for men to gawk at. I also don’t believe in online dating and I’m not very good with social media, so where are all the men in this city? Please help!

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LOOKING FOR LOVE IN THE QC

Dear Looking for Love, Welcome to Charlotte, we’re glad you are here, but chile, have you ventured outside yet? There are men everywhere! Now, let’s start at your first comment and break this down.

You say that dating is difficult, and I’ll agree with you only because I have actually dated in Charlotte. But let’s also look at why you believe that. Is it because you are an introvert waiting on your knight in shining armor to come knocking at your door without you even venturing outside? Do you go anywhere besides your regular routine of work and home? If the answer to is yes to the first question or no to the second, then sure, dating is difficult because, as you suggested, it’s nonexistent.

Granted, the dating pool gets more narrow after the age of 35, so you have to get a little more creative. Someone I follow on Twitter said it best: “There needs to be a focused, but not [desperate], approach to dating. Like networking or job searching, place yourself in position for success.”

You need to think of this in terms of how you would look for a job. You could go to conventions, networking events, events geared at your age range.

Shoot, you could even post up at one of these hotels in Uptown and have dinner and drinks with a friend!

You may discover that your “prince” is from out of town and just happens to be strolling through the bar area while you’re sipping your martini. Some folks say you can meet men at church, but I’ve also heard

BY RYAN PITKIN

PEACHES FOR ME A 63-year-old Cotswold man filed a police report last week after he found that someone had been slowly pilfering peaches from his yard over the span of a week. The man told officers that between July 2 and 8, an unknown they can be the devil in disguise, so just use your gift suspect had stolen 30 peaches from his property on Wright Avenue, although it’s unclear if he has of discernment when you can.

Bottom line: Since you aren’t open to the idea an actual peach tree in his yard or just likes to keep of online dating, you need to leave the house. But them lying about for anyone to grab. also, maybe you should have an open mind and just try it. What’s the harm? It’s just like rolling the STUCK WITH YOU July 4 weekend is one of the dice when you meet someone in the grocery store busiest travel holidays of the year, and that can or the gym; you don’t know what you are going to take its toll on people, leading them to act out of get until you have a conversation. No one is saying character — or perhaps just show who they are you have to marry that person after you swipe right behind closed doors. Police responded to a security (or is it left?). Clearly, I don’t do online dating either checkpoint at Charlotte Douglas International Airport on the Saturday following July 4 after two these days but I’m not opposed to it.

You say your friends won’t hook you up, but why family members got into an argument about their should they shoulder the responsibility of you finding travel plans. Though no assault occurred — nor did a bae? Maybe they know your introverted ways and either person claim that one did — the bickering don’t know any man that’s going to put up with an was heated enough that TSA agents felt they needed police assistance. In the end, according to introvert wanting to stay at home all the time.

One of the things that you have to do is some the report, “both parties decided to separate and inner self-examination. Are you really ready to wait for other travel arrangements to be made.” In date? What are you looking for? If it’s coming from an unrelated incident on the same day, officers at a place of lack — such as you are lonely, or you Gate B12 cited a Maryland woman who apparently just want attention, or you’re needing validation “breached a secure door” and found herself out on of some sort, then you might want to work on your the ramp, hanging out with the airplanes. own self-love first. How can you expect someone else to like or love you if you don’t love yourself? I IT ADDS CHARACTER Maybe it’s due to the can see you respect yourself since, you aren’t out popularity of true crime documentaries and podcasts, but one incident that’s been popping up here posting half-nekkid photos online.

You’ve put out the list of what you won’t do, but in The Scanner a lot this year has involved potential what are you willing to do? Are you willing to give crime scenes discovered by unsuspecting citizens online dating a shot? If no, how about baby steps of who turned into McGruff the Crime Dog. One grabbing a friend and going to some of the many woman rented a room at a Budget Inn in north events happening around the city? You have to get Charlotte recently and quickly informed staff that she found what she believed to be blood spatter on out and mingle and look approachable!

So my advice is to really have a good look at your the walls and requested a room change. inner self to determine why you are so ready to find this grown-ass man. Is it just for conversation or are FENG SHUI A 68-year-old east Charlotte woman you looking for orgasm assistance? Be clear on your filed a report after something even more creepy intentions. I have every bit of confidence that you happened in her home — and it happened can navigate the dating waters in Charlotte, you continuously. Officers responded to the woman’s just have to be adventurous and swim out into the home in reference to a call about a disturbance, only to find a disturbance of the supernatural type. deep end, just watch out for mofo’n sharks.

The woman told officers that “unknown people are If you have a dilemma you need help solving, drop entering her residence and moving various items me a line: shameika@themofochronicles.com around” in the home.

BOLD MOVE Security officers at a Walmart on East Independence Boulevard were onto two suspicious characters as soon as they walked in on a recent Monday afternoon, but the suspects still went ahead with their sketchy plans. According to the report, the two suspects came into the store and began filling a tub with random items that in the end were found to total more than $250. The guys then paid for the tub in self checkout, but didn’t pay for the hundreds of dollars of merchandise they had inside. When security confronted the men at the door and asked for receipts, the two guys didn’t panic. They said that wasn’t a problem, they just had to go over to customer service and get the receipts. The officers should have stuck with them, because when the brazen duo arrived at customer service, they actually returned the items in the tub, as if they had bought them on some past excursion, and received gift cards for them. Security eventually became hip to how the two had tried to swindle the store again and called police. Upon a search by police, the men were found to be in possession of MDMA, which might explain their unbridled confidence.

LOW ON DATA A 53-year-old man fell victim to a scamming solicitor in his northeast Charlotte neighborhood recently. The man told officers that the suspect came to his home and told him he was a Spectrum employee and he could quickly make the man’s internet move faster for only $500 — if he paid in Google Play cards, of course (the sign of any scam). The man agreed and watched the guy play around with his router for a while, and only two hours later when his internet showed zero improvement did he realize he had been tricked.

POWERLESS A 35-year-old east Charlotte woman was put out recently she lost power and had to live elsewhere while it got fixed. Some sneaky suspect, however, decided that her loss was their gain. The woman told police that she left the home for three days in late June while the power was put back on, and during that time, someone broke in and cleaned her out, stealing two televisions, a Michael Kors watch worth nearly $2,000, a Macbook Pro, an iPad, a PlayStation 4, a pair of Jordan sneakers worth more than $1,000 and some jewelry.

All Scanner entries come from CMPD reports. Suspects are innocent until proven guilty.

PHOTO BY DENEER DAVIS

LIVE PAINTING WITH DENEER DAVIS July 20, 2-3 p.m.; Free; Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff, 316 Remount Road; tinyurl.com/ DeNeerDavis

THE ROAD TO HAPPINESS

DeNeer Davis uses injury as gateway to creating colorful art

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BY COURTNEY MIHOCIK

F THE INTANGIBLE concept of positivity took a physical form, it would probably look a lot like DeNeer Davis.

When Davis was playing on the Division II basketball team at University of North Carolina at Pembroke, she had aspirations to play overseas after college. The idea of having more money than what the WNBA could offer to send home to her struggling family and being able to play a sport that she loved in another country was so appealing that she asked her coach to help her explore her options. Nothing other than playing basketball seemed like an option.

“My dad said, ‘What you gonna do when you can’t play basketball no more?’” Davis recalled. “And I was like, ‘Dad, I’ll always be able to play basketball.’”

But that dream would never be a reality, as she tore her ACL in 2011, effectively ending her career before it started and sending Davis into a spiralling depression.

“I fell into a deep, deep [dark] place because basketball was all I knew, I didn’t know how to do anything else,” Davis said.

Sitting in her grandmother’s room after the injury, unable to walk by herself and going through physical therapy, Davis picked up a sketchbook. She started sketching and drawing, and eventually posted a picture of a piece online that she did, which depicted the words, “peace, love and happiness” in bright, vibrant colors.

Coworkers took notice to her design and began requesting their kids’ names done in the same colorful style. Eventually, someone donated an old pair of leather shoes to her. After researching how to prepare the material for paint and how to layer the paint without cracking after it dries, Davis turned out her first pair of painted shoes — although they

A pair of Timberland boots painted by Davis.

“I LOVE WHAT I DO. IT COMES FROM A PLACE OF LOVE. EVERY COLOR, EVERY STROKE, EVERYTHING.” DeNeer Davis, Charlotte artist

were ugly, according to her.

“I started incorporating art on it and doing what I wanted to do because I always wanted something different,” she said. “I did something I would wear or wear to school and that’s how I got into it and it took off.”

She was on a track from injured ex-college basketball player to rising Charlotte artist. While she prefers to refer to herself as simply an artist, she knows that some may call her a graffiti artist or a painter.

Growing up, she thought graffiti around the city was intriguing and off-handedly thought she might wield spray-paint cans to a blank space in the city.

After her injury, when she began her journey into the art world, her grandmother let her practice graffiti art at her house, and Davis started to see potential in herself — and the city noticed.

“I was like, ‘Wow, I started getting really good.’

And then Blumenthal reached out, sneaker stores reached out, schools — I painted a school and I

was like, ‘This is crazy,’” Davis recalled.

Her demeanor changed drastically over the past eight years by focusing on her art and what brings peace, love and happiness into her life. Davis no longer has anger for her injury, as she sees the massive silver lining instead.

“Something greater came from it, something much greater. I love what I do. It comes from a place of love. Every color, every stroke, everything,” she said.

Davis recently completed a mural on North Graham Street across from Camp North End. The mural depicts vibrant color blocks with twisting piano keys, butterflies, music notes and roses.

Originally, she meant to create a mural of a face, but when Davis stepped up to the plate she went an entirely different direction.

“I ended up freestyling that [mural] at the end of the day,” Davis explained. “And I want people riding on their morning commute, I want them to feel love, so I took the cans and just started going

crazy.”

The colorful and vibrant end result is a reflection of her personality and her concerted efforts to remain positive every day. Exuding positive energy in her daily interactions and keeping love on her mind is how Davis came back from that dark place she was in after her ACL injury.

“My past is just really dark so it’s just like, ‘Well what’s the opposite of hate?’ Well, love, so let’s try that out for the rest of your life,” Davis said.

While Davis paints inspiring murals around the city for podcast studios, photography studios and the location on North Graham Street, she’ also extends her artistry into painting clothing and wearable items. Davis is leading a leather shoe painting class July 20 at 2 p.m. at Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff on Remount Road in South End. The class has less a follow-and-learn structure and is more a demonstration on how to properly prepare the materials for painting. If the paint is

NCDOT TO HOST A PUBLIC MEETING ON JULY 25TH FOR THE PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS OF IDLEWILD RD IN MECKLENBURG AND UNION COUNTIES.

STIP Project No. U-4913

BON & VIV SPIKED SELTZER CLASSIC LAUNCH PARTY BON & VIV SPIKED SELTZER DRAUGHT IS COMING TO TOWN!

LIVE MUSIC - FOOD - COCKTAILS - RAFFLES - & MORE Local mixologists will show you a variety of ways to incorporate spiked seltzers in your everyday cocktails.

Then, head on over to the custom cocktail bar where you get to create your own!

JULY 23, 7pm-10pm, VISULITE THEATER *THIS EVENT IS FREE- FOOD & DRINKS ARE INCLUDED RSVP NOW BECAUSE SPACE IS LIMITED

The N.C. Department of Transportation proposes to widen Idlewild Road to a multi-lane, mediandivided roadway approximately 500 ft west of Barney Drive to Rockwell Drive, modify the existing I-485 interchange with a “Diverging Diamond” interchange (DDI), and construct a roundabout at the intersection of Idlewild Road and Stallings Road, in Mecklenburg and Union Counties.

The purpose of this project is to provide additional traffic carrying capacity along Idlewild Road, provide accommodations for bicycles and pedestrians, and provide improvements for the intersections at Stallings Road, Steven Mills Road, and the I-485 interchange.

The meeting will be held at Poplin Elementary School at 5627 Poplin Road, Indian Trail, on Thursday July 25th 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Please note that there will not be a formal presentation.

At the meeting NCDOT representatives will display maps and be available to answer questions and receive comments. Comments and information received will be taken into consideration as work on the project develops. Written comments or questions can also be submitted at the meeting or may be done by phone, email or mail no later than August 8th.

As information becomes available, it may be viewed at the U-4913 project website: https://publicinput.com/Idlewild-widening

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For additional information contact: NCDOT Project Consultant, James Voso, PE, Project Engineer (Mattern & Craig) by phone at (828) 254-2201 or via email at jbvoso@matternandcraig.com or Carl Gibilaro, Project Manager, NCDOT Division 10, by mail at 716 W. Main Street, Albemarle, NC 28001 by phone at (980) 229-4091, or via email at cgibilaro@ncdot.gov.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DENEER DAVIS

DeNeer Davis chilling out with one of her murals.

layered too thickly, it will crack when dried. Some brushes will leave an unwanted texture in the stroke of paint. But the demonstration will teach the technical aspects of painting on leather shoes, which can be applied to other leather garments like

bookbags, purses and jackets.

“Pretty much, what I’mma do is teach you how to prepare the shoe, teach you how many layers need to go on the shoe, because I can’t teach creativity,” Davis explained. “I can’t teach you how to create on the shoe, I can teach you how to do it and you can go from there.”

Davis also spends her time leading kid-friendly painting classes, having taught live painting workshops with Bechtler Museum of Modern Art and abstract watercolor art at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for AfricanAmerican Arts + Culture for children in the past.

As an artist who practices what she preaches, Davis wants the people she meets to feel the same way she does — unapologetically happy and loving.

“I just want to tell people to be the best version of themselves that they can be, strive every day to be you, authentic to you and who you are and don’t let anybody steer you away because society will do that,” she said.

Her transformation from a depressed and injured ex-college athlete to a prolific artist also lies in her perception of different colors. Despite having never been to art school or professionally trained in visual art, she explained that her eyes see color in a way she never experienced before.

“My eyes see nothing but colors and I try to [see]

NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who wish to participate in this workshop. Anyone requiring special services should contact Kayla Weber by phone at (919) 707-6061 or by email at knweber@ncdot.gov as early as possible so that arrangements can be made.

Persons who do not speak English, or have a limited ability to read, speak or understand English, may receive interpretive services upon request prior to the meeting by calling 1-800-481-6494.

it different, but I can’t. ’Cause colors vibrate, so those colors vibrate together … On my eye level, that’s how I see them, and they move. To some people, it’s like, ‘Huh?’” she explained. “Some people get it, some people don’t.”

Davis elaborated, explaining that red moves fast and can agitate her eyes, while blue is calming and easy for her to work with. It might be for a more psychological reason than a physical one, as red has a lower frequency and longer wavelengths than blue on the light spectrum.

Because her eyes and mind see colors a different way than what others may experience, she enjoys exploring those receptive organs and others in her art.

“I like using the eye, the brain and the heart [in my art],” Davis said. “Mostly the brain and the heart

Aquellas personas que no hablan inglés, o tienen limitaciones para leer, hablar o entender inglés, podrían recibir servicios de interpretación si los solicitan antes de la reunión llamando al 1-800-481-6494.

for one reason, they’ve got four ventricles each, and they connect to each other and one can’t live without the other.”

While Davis’art depicts colorful and vibrant images and ideas, she practices and explores those positive ideas in her personal life. After discovering a love for reading three or four years ago, Davis has become more calm and centered, spending crucial time to herself to meditate and become a better person through mindfulness and spreading positive messages.

“We go around and do stuff without thinking, without being mindful about it. I’m no yogi, no buddha,” she said. “But I know what peace, love and happiness feel like, and I know what bliss feel like.”

Through Davis’ art, we can feel the love, too.

CMIHOCIK@QCNERVE.COM

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 17TH

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: CRYSTAL

What: The Quebecois company’s latest is more than “Cirque on ice.” While skaters and acrobats vie for attention with Cirque’s lavish production design, Crystal boasts a storyline tracing a heroine’s journey toward self-discovery.

More: $59 and up; 7:30 p.m., runs through July 21; Spectrum Center, 333 East Trade St.; spectrumcentercharlotte.com

THURSDAY, JULY 18TH

CINEODYSSEY FILM FESTIVAL

What: In its third year, CineOdyssey Film Fest aims to encourage the development of aspiring filmmakers and bridge cultural gaps by bringing together diverse audiences and showcasing diverse contemporary films from filmmakers of color from the African, Caribbean, Latino, Asian and Native American diasporas, as well as the U.S. More: $15-75; 5 p.m., runs through July 20; Mint Museum Uptown, 500 S. Tryon St.; cineodysseyfest.org

FRIDAY, JULY 19TH

LIFELINE

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JULY 17TH - JULY 23RD

KING CACKLE

What: With fuzzed-out guitars, jackhammer drums and growled vocals, King Cackle suggests what the animatronic Pirates of the Caribbean would sound like if they got shitfaced and started a punk blues band. Uncle Buck complements the swampy buccaneers with their hard-rocking psych blues.

More: $10-13; 9 p.m.; Skylark Social Club, 2131 Central Ave.; skylarksocialclub.com

SATURDAY, JULY 20TH FIORENTINA VS. ARSENAL

What: With the U.S. women’s national team’s World Cup victory, a deal to bring the International Champions Cup to Charlotte for the next five years and Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper’s desire to bring a Major League Soccer team to Charlotte, excitement around soccer is at a fever pitch in the Queen City. Take part in the zeitgeist.

More: $35 and up; 6 p.m.; Bank of America Stadium, 800 S. Mint St.; tinyurl.com/ArsenalFiorentina

SUNDAY, JULY 21ST ‘HYPE’ SCREENING

What: Inspired by the local popularity of Hype, his web series about hip-hop and startups, Durham-based filmmaker Holland Gallagher is going to film a second season, but first he’s trying to spread the word statewide with a tour of screening events. This one will include a Q&A with Gallagher and a DJ set.

More: Free; 5 p.m.; beSOCIAL CLT, 1519 Central Ave.; hypedurham.com

MONDAY, JULY 22ND

SOUTHERN COMFORT: A HEALTHY & HEARTY BRUNCH WITH A VEGAN TWIST

What: We recently reported on the vegan Southern cooking of Chef Joya, and if the description of her food made your mouth water, then here’s your chance to try it for yourself. Learn how to make a healthy and hearty Southern brunch with items like country biscuits and gravy and Chef Joya’s tofu scramble.

More: $45 and up; 6-7:30 p.m.; 7th Street Public Market, 224 E. 7th St.; tinyurl.com/VeganSouthernBrunch

TUESDAY, JULY 23RD

BON & VIV SPIKED SELTZER LAUNCH PARTY

What: You’ve probably heard of White Claws by now, but Bon & Viv is like their much sophisticated older sister.

Learn about the cocktails you can make with this naturally flavored spiked seltzer. After the lesson, head to the bar and craft your own creation. But it can’t be a party without music, food and raffles, so expect all of that, too.

More: Free, RSVP; 7-10 p.m.; Visulite Theatre, 1615 Elizabeth Ave.; tinyurl.com/BonandViv

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 24TH

MARY J. BLIGE, NAS

What: In case you forgot about the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, she reminded everyone of her icon status by performing her own tribute at the BET Awards, where she was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Oh yeah, and joining her on the King and Queen of Hearts World Tour is only one of the best rappers to ever live.

More: $31 and up; 8 p.m.; PNC Music Pavilion, 707 Pavilion Blvd.; tinyurl.com/MJBandNas

THURSDAY, JULY 25TH

JELLYROLL

What: The drug-fueled rhymes of JellyRoll began as a form of therapy for the Nashville native, and eventually got him linked up with the Hypnotize Minds camp from further west in Memphis. His mixtape Whiskey, Weed, and Waffle House got him in legal trouble with the food chain, but he still eats there. That’s redneck loyalty.

More: $20-25; 7 p.m.; Amos’ Southend, 1423 S. Tryon St.; amossouthend.com

FRIDAY, JULY 26TH

LIFELINE

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JULY 24TH - JULY 30TH

ELONZO WESLEY

What: Performing under a moniker that honors his father’s name, Jeremy Davis rose from the ashes of his indie rock band Elonzo to become alt-folk artist Elonzo Wesley. He kicks off a tour featuring tunes from his next album Songs to No One, which drops September 6.

More: Free; 8 p.m.; Legion Brewing, 1906 Commonwealth Ave.; legionbrewing.com

SATURDAY, JULY 27TH SCALLYWAG SOCIAL

What: If you missed our first event, The Vodka Masters, you messed up, but now’s the time to make up for it. We’re going even bigger with a pirate party that will include free tiki drinks, live painting from Southern Tiger Collective, performances from Stray Cat Sideshow, live music, a parrot rescue on site and more.

More: $15-40; 2-8 p.m.; Norfolk Hall, 2905 Griffith St.; qcnerve.com/scallywag-social-2019/

SUNDAY, JULY 28TH SUBLIME WITH ROME

What: SoCal ska punk band Sublime hit the mainstream with their self-titled 1996 album, but front man Brad Nowell died scant months before the group’s breakthrough to fame. Flash forward 23 years: Sublime lives on — sort of — with two former members and a name change after Nowell’s family threatened a lawsuit.

More: $25 and up; 6 p.m.; CMCU Amphitheatre, 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd,; livenation.com

MONDAY, JULY 29TH

FOSTER VILLAGE CHARLOTTE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

What: Over the past year, Foster Village Charlotte has delivered 96 Welcome Packs, served hundreds of foster parents and logged 560 volunteer hours. That’s more than enough reason to celebrate the one-year anniversary of this local organization that supports foster families in Charlotte.

More: Free; 4-9 p.m.; NoDa Brewing Company, 2921 N. Tryon St; tinyurl.com/FosterVillageCLT

TUESDAY, JULY 30TH CHARLOTTE TALKS: COMMUNITY APPROACH TO ADDRESSING HOMICIDES

What: We’re barely halfway through the year, and the city has already seen more murders than during all of 2018. This forum will explore the factors behind the city’s homicide problem, the roots of violence, what causes young men to solve disputes with firearms, police trust and what community leaders are doing to find solutions.

More: Free; 7:30-9 p.m.; Friendship Missionary Baptist, 3400 Beatties Ford Road; tinyurl.com/WFAEHomicides

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TO THE MOON AND BACK

Ashlee Hardee finds strength in music after the death of her daughter

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J

BY JEFF HAHNE

ULY 10, 2018 was like any other day; nothing was out of the ordinary when Ashlee Hardee’s 21-month-old daughter Cecilia lay down for a nap. And then she just didn’t wake up.

Hardee’s mother, who was babysitting at the time, found Cecilia unresponsive and called 911.

MEDIC rushed her to the emergency room, but it was too late. While Ashlee still wonders if there was some kind of cardiac arrest or abnormality that led to her daughter’s passing, the official cause of death is “undetermined.”

The loss of a child is the worst nightmare of any parent, all the more so when it comes without warning. Finding a way past that loss takes time, and for Charlotte singer/songwriter Hardee, music.

Her tragic loss fueled the creation of The Cecilia Moon Project — a foundation to benefit the Levine Children’s Hospital and LifeShare Carolinas, an organization that coordinates the recovery and distribution of life-saving organs, eyes and tissues for transplantation. It also sparked Hardee’s return to songwriting, leading to a number of new songs that tackle a range of emotions.

She’ll perform some of the new music at a listening party that will also serve as a launch party for the charity foundation entitled An Afternoon of Music, Art and Inspiration Honoring the Life of Cecilia Moon. Though the event is still in the planning stages, Hardee hopes it will serve as more of a listening event than a party, per se.

“I want to bring awareness to families who have suffered through loss and give light to what parents go through,” Hardee says. “I’m passionate about it because I was that parent — I am that parent.”

Hardee is well-known around the Charlotte music scene for her time spent in the band Matrimony, along with her then-husband Jimmy Brown and brothers CJ and Jordan Hardee. Longtime Matrimony fans longing for a return to the sound that gained that band national recognition should ready themselves for something new, however.

“My music is different than Matrimony,” Hardee says. “It’s not folk. It’s more introspective, dark, pop and lyrically focused. This is me, naked as an artist. I call it pop noir because it even has a hip-hop influence. It’s me, in my bedroom, not giving a fuck. The music is raw, real, organic and in-themoment.”

While songwriting provided an outlet for Hardee’s emotions, the resulting content wasn’t focused solely on her daughter. In fact, she says, there’s only one verse that specifically mentions Cecilia. She wanted to leave her music open to interpretation while allowing it to be relatable to a larger group of people.

The music, which is piano-driven, is meant for people who have undergone any kind of loss, stress, struggle or hardship while steering them toward a way to get through it.

“If I can get through this, you can too,” Hardee says. “I hope everyone can leave feeling a little bit more elevated and validated. We’re all the same and we all deal with the same struggles. It’s about human nature.”

Hardee gave a small preview of her new work during a recent R U OK, CLT? event at the Evening Muse, an event themed around battling all types of depression. A few people in the audience could be seen tearing up at the lyrics, while others reached

The Issue

out to Hardee after the show to thank her for her openness and honesty.

“At first, I shut down all my social media,” Hardee says of the time immediately following the death of her daughter. “When I finally got back online and shared my story, a lot of people contacted me and told me I helped them. That gives me motivation — inspired her to immediately change her focus.

“I started doing whatever it takes to make knowing I was helping other parents or people who myself the most healthy person I could for my child, had friends dealing with loss.” no matter what anyone else was doing,” she says. “I put myself on a spiritual path. I knew I was going PART OF ME When Hardee found out she was pregnant in 2016, to protect her and give her the best that I could. I it was a bit of a surprise, she says. The revelation used to have dreams that I would have a child that

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would die — but I was going to nurture and have a connection no matter what and do everything I could for her.”

While pregnant, Hardee would perform for the baby growing inside of her, playing music and singing whatever was on her mind.

“There were certain songs I would sing to her that she would respond to,” Hardee says. “Normally, when I’d play piano, she’d stop moving and be at peace. One song, though, she’d do flips and respond so much. I recorded it on my voice memo and still have it. It’s turned into the song, ‘Gravity.’”

It’s fitting that Cecilia would respond to a song about the galaxy and the moon. Hardee chose the name Cecilia before learning it’s the patron saint of music, with meanings that include being a light in the dark and lily of heaven.

“Cecilia Moon — I just knew that was the right name,” Hardee says. “I felt like I didn’t choose it, but it chose me.”

Not yet 2 years old, Cecilia was constantly drawn to music. Hardee shared videos on social media of Cecilia singing, dancing and trying to play piano. It’s a bond between mother and child that was built in the womb and still lingers beyond dimensions.

THE MUSIC Matrimony made waves in the local music scene for years leading up to the band signing with Columbia Records in 2014. (Full disclosure: They performed at this writer’s wedding in 2011.) The band’s debut album, Montibello Memories, received recognition in national publications, including Rolling Stone and Billboard, as well as song plays in national commercials and the HBO show, Girls.

By 2016, the band was on hiatus as Brown focused on his side project, Bassh, and Hardee prepared for Cecilia’s arrival. Hardee would still write music from time to time, but being a mom became her priority after Cecilia’s birth on Oct. 8, 2016.

She attended hypnotherapy school as a backup plan to help provide for Cecilia. She currently has her own hypnotherapy practice, Creative Transformation, with offices on Park Road.

While she never gave up on songwriting, she just didn’t understand what her subconscious was trying to tell her in her lyrics at the time, she says.

She worked on music a bit while living in Tennessee in 2016 and Ireland in 2017. Only recently did she start to look at the lyrics through a different lens.

“I wrote a lot of introspective songs,” Hardee says. “Some of them I’m now using. When I look

back, it was very telling of my current emotional state, but I wasn’t able to see it back then. Lyrics had a way of coming out through the pain and process even when I wasn’t seeing it that way.”

Her song “Load” includes the line, “I’ve been shaking under the load, I’m feeling all this pressure.”

On “My Way” she sings, “Let me go my way. If you love me, let me go/Say that you need me, but it’s all for show.”

Even looking back at the Matrimony song “Giant,” Hardee said she only realized later on that the lyrics about the toxicity of her parents’ relationship were more prevalent than she originally planned.

“It’s like my deep inner mind is saying things before I realize what’s being said,” Hardee says.

While Hardee spent the first few months after the loss of her daughter in shock, she eventually turned back to music as a form of therapy.

“The way I was able to cope was to sit outside in the sun and have a notebook and start writing lyrics or sing or play piano,” she says. “Those moments are what became the songs that I’ll be singing at the upcoming event.”

THE FOUNDATION The songs Hardee has written may end up as an album or EP down the road — Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene has shown interest in producing an album for her — but Hardee’s current priority lies with the Cecilia Moon Project.

A Facebook page is up and she’s working hard to bring awareness to the cause, which will raise money for the vascular department at Levine Children’s Hospital and for LifeShare — Cecilia was an organ donor.

The upcoming event, which was originally scheduled for July 27 but had to be delayed, will feature Hardee discussing each of her new songs before performing them. Artists and friends have donated moon-themed art to sell to raise money, as well.

“I want it to be a quiet listening room to honor her life and be a place where people can really come and listen to the songs and message,” Hardee says.

In addition to shirts and hats for sale at the Muse, there will be various items from numerous artists, including local visual artists Arthur Brouthers and Sarah Dawn Hellser as well as jewelry maker Megan Escalante. Organizers will also auction off a signed vinyl copy of Amos Lee’s new record, My New Moon, which deals with Lee’s own grief and loss.

Down the road, Hardee hopes to play music for children in the hospital — something she did while

“My music is different

than Matrimony ...

This is me, naked

”

as an artist.

Ashlee Hardee

performing with Matrimony. She’s also working on creating Moon Buddies, crescent-moon-shaped support pillows for kids confined to hospital beds.

Whether helping children in the hospital or individuals and families who are dealing with loss, Hardee’s foundation and music will be keeping

Cecilia’s memory and spirit alive, while keeping Hardee herself moving forward.

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

PHOTO COURTESY OF EDDIE Z

2019 FEATURED ARTISTS

MORE THAN A GIRL PLAYING BASS in her first band at just 13 years old, Abby Kurtz says she never imagined herself as a singer. But sometimes, the natural order leaves one no choice. As the only female in a band full of puberty-stricken boys, Kurtz found herself stepping up to the mic to keep things moving.

“All of the boys in the band took turns singing,” she recalls. “When their voices started changing, I would get so frustrated because we would have to drop songs and pick new ones because they could no longer sing them. That’s when I decided I was going to take on the role of lead singer.”

That was only three years ago, and since then, Kurtz has become a force in and of herself. She took naturally to singing, and says she loves it now as the front woman for the hard-rocking band Abby K, but bass is still her specialty. In 2018, the teenager was one of just 80 people to be accepted out of 1,500 applicants to GRAMMY Camp at the University of Southern California. Of those 80, Kurtz was one of only three bassists.

Later in 2018, Kurtz went on to open for Nina Strauss, the guitarist known for her work with The Iron Maidens and as a touring guitarist with Alice Cooper. She kept in touch with Strauss, and opened for the guitarist a second time at Amos’ Southend in May. Around the end of August, Abby K will release their first single, “It Should Have Been Me,” through Sony/Orchard.

“While most would think it’s about a boy, it’s actually written about an opportunity that I didn’t get,” Kurtz says. “I auditioned for a band about a year ago and it was very clear that I was their best option, but they still didn’t invite me to join. Maybe it was because I was so young or because I didn’t have enough experience at the time. Whatever it was, it hurt. I got so mad. I went home, sat in my bedroom and through my tears, ‘It Should Have Been Me’ was born.”

Hopefully, that band is paying attention. If they are, they’ll have their own regrets about which to write a song soon enough.

Abby Kurtz

PATTI, PATTI, PATTI

BEHIND CYANCA’S melodius vocals and Harvey Cummings’ dreamlike keys featured on “Patti Mayonnaise,” the first single off Cyanca’s new three-track EP I’m Staying Home, lies a rollercoaster of emotions, from the nostalgic ups Abby K of driveway alley oops on a summer day to the painful downs of a young girl losing her mother and violently warning listeners of what she’ll do to anyone who harms the family she has left.

“Two main things that were the goal for this project were to make it universal — very catchy, very relatable to what people have gone through in the past — and at the same time, open up more about where I’m from and what I’ve been through with my testimony.”

By the end of the month, Cyanca expects to drop the video for “Patti Mayonnaise,” which will drip with nostalgia for anyone who grew up watching the Nickelodeon cartoon Doug (Patti is a character in the show, for those who didn’t).

Cyanca and her team have been planning the video for months, writing scenes, casting characters and gathering props.

“We just gonna basically give you guys an episode of Doug,” Cyanca said. “You’re going to have your Doug, Skeeter, Beebe, and of course I’m playing Patti Mayonnaise. It’s going to be awesome. We feel like it’s going to definitely takeoff, because I feel like Doug is a really popular show that all millennials did watch growing up.”

It was always going to be tough for Cyanca to follow-up on her 2017 hit “New Phone, Who Dis?” but if anyone is going to put a brand new earworm in fans’ ears, it’s Patti.

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pullover

Pullover

PHOTO BY BRAIN TWITTY

CYANCA

PHOTO BY AARON KASEY

PULL OUT THE RULEBOOK

Cyanca

PHIL PUCCI has a running list of “rules” he sticks to when he sits down to write a song for Pullover. One of them is that no song can be over three minutes long. But another one that popped up since the five-piece rock band Pullover began their recording journey in the fall is that Pucci must write the lyrics when he writes the song.

Pucci, the vocalist and guitarist for the band — comprised of drummer Alex Smith, bassist Caiti Mason, guitarist and vocalist Nicholas Holman, and synth player and vocalist Brooke Weeks — hasn’t really been singing actual words to some of their songs during live performances.

“A lot of the lyrics for the songs I wrote in the last six months, have been songs that we’ve been playing for a year and a half,” Pucci explained. “I would mumble gibberish and the music we would play in small clubs, we play loud and nobody can understand anyway.”

Pullover is in the final stages before releasing their new album later this year, which is yet to be named. It’ll be the band’s first release with the current members and the first the band has dropped since Repossession Blues in 2016.

“The emphasis on this album is all on the melodies and stuff like that. Any time there’s a melody that I think is really strong, we double it with guitar, piano or something,” he said. “So it’s a very, very melodic album.”

THAT’S CALLED GROWTH

legend statUS PHOTO COURTESY OF LEGEND STATUS

Legend Status

2019 FEATURED ARTISTS

IN ORDER for Jamaal Jackson to reach full Legend Status, which is the name he’s performed as on and off for 19 years, he knew he couldn’t limit himself as a rapper.

“The reason why I started rapping was because I wanted to be one of the dopest emcees, that’s it. That’s my main goal,” he says. “Even now I don’t give a shit about nothing but being great. So I gotta hit all the aspects of it. If somebody’s like, ‘Yo, I need you to freestyle, I want to cypher, I need a dope song. I gotta be ready.”

A veteran of the city’s cypher scene, LS rounded out his resume by leaving the battle stages behind for the recording studio. He put out projects like The Re-Introduction, I Am Legend and I Am Legend 2, cementing his name as more than just a battle rapper.

On March 29, he dropped his newest album, King Legend. Another step in the progression of his music, LS takes on a more poignant and socially conscious vibe, rapping about topics like police brutality on songs like “Free.”

“I wanted to touch different things besides just making dope songs,” he says. “This one was more complete, it was more talking about stuff that’s going on in America as far as injustice, brutality, because I see a lot. Rappers, we have a platform that a lot of people just don’t utilize unless it’s talking about some dumb shit.”

Before the end of the year, LS plans to follow-up on King Legend with another full-length album, The Making of a Legend, and an EP titled All Me, for which he will produce every track, because there’s room for growth.

Legend Status will perform with ReeCee Raps and RoyalCity LiF at STR.DZE at Petra’s on July 20th.

NO LONGER SPARKLING

Susan Plante (left) and Sara Blumenthal Robbins of Faye.

WHEN SUSAN Plante met Sarah Blumenthal Robbins in 2015, Plante told her they were going to be in a band together, and it was going to be called Faye. The next year, they released the band’s first EP, Faye, in May 2016 and were picked up by record label Tiny Engines.

Blumenthal and Plante take a ’90s indie revival approach to their music, which is reminiscent of 2010 Rilo Kiley, and mix it with personal lyrics and driving melodies. Now, as they prepare to step back into the studio for another album, Plante said to expect their four years of experience to translate into the new collection.

“We were new to our instruments [during Faye], so our songs were straight-forward, easy songs but now our sound has developed a little bit and we want to explore,” she said. “I think we’re going to go into it differently and be less intimidated by it, and really embrace it and be creative with it.”

But the new album will also reflect a darker version of the two, as Plante and Blumenthal experiment with a “less sparkling” sound and more thoughtful, in-depth lyrics.

“We’re exploring a little more dissonance, I’d say our lyrics are a lot more in-depth and personal,” Plante explained.

“Because we’ve really been figuring out what we want our sound to be and what we want to talk about.”

However haunting and slow, the city awaits Faye’s first full-length album expected in early 2020.

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GAMEBREAX

Gamebreax

PHOTO BY LYNSEY MARIE

PASS THE STICKS

FAYE PHOTO BY BRIAN TWITTY

“I PASSED his dorm room and he was playing some awesome video games that I had yet to play myself,” Gerreol Hoover remembers. “I was instantly jealous of this guy.”

Hoover is recounting how he met Sean Watson at The University of North Carolina Greensboro. The two men, now both 38, bonded over their love of video games, comic books and anime, Hoover continues, and those shared interests rolled over into a mutual appreciation of hip-hop, rock and electronic music.

As Omega Sparx and SWATS respectively, Hoover and Watson comprise nerdcore duo GameBreax, now five years into spreading the hip-hop gospel of video games. This summer, each of the rapper/composers stepped out of their comfort zones with solo releases. On June 21, Hoover dropped the single “Don’t Touch Me,” a healing balm for sexual assault survivors. Watson released “Never Stand Down” on July 12, a track dedicated to workers toiling in the confines of corporate America. Watson’s single is a teaser for his Reclamation EP, slated to hit this fall, which includes a collaboration with Hoover called “World’s Greatest.”

Nerdcore is growing apace with gamer culture, says Watson. “You identify with reluctant heroes who don’t know they possess super powers,” he explains. “They’re thrust into situations that make them discover who they are.”

something went wrong

Ziggy of Something Went Wrong

PHOTO BY WANDERING WIZARD PHOTOGRAPHY

MAKE CHARLOTTE PUNK AGAIN

DESPITE SEARCHING for a lead singer to head up this punk band, the members of Something Went Wrong ultimately realized that they were meant to stay a three-piece band. Started three years ago, guitarist Shawn “Ziggy” Sloke and bassist Dave West wearily put an ad on Craigslist for a drummer. Alex Cardarelli responded and tried out for the band.

“I knew with [Cardarelli], within 7 seconds of his playing that he was going to be the greatest drummer that I had ever worked with,” Sloke said.

With Los Angeles punk band experience under Sloke’s belt, Cardarelli’s punk music upbringing in Boston and West’s heavy metal background and influences, the trio created Something Went Wrong. Now, they’re finishing up the final tracks for the band’s debut album, expected later this year.

The album will be a 12-track collection, recorded in a home studio in Sloke’s basement that they sound-treated and built over time.

The fast-paced, heavy layers of bass, guitar and drum throw a wall of sound at listeners on tracks like “Musings” and “Downhill,” both currently available on Soundcloud. Sloke and West masterfully harmonize their vocals, even when screaming and yelling on the tracks, in true punk fashion.

And just like in the genre’s 1980s heyday, they’re doing it all DIY.

A LIFE IN SONG

BETTY JOHNSON couldn’t believe that Ken Burns wanted to talk to her. Johnson caught word that Burns, known for crafting multipart documentaries like The Civil War and Jazz, wanted to interview her for his latest film, Country Music, premiering September 15 on PBS. As part of the Johnson Family Singers, Charlotte’s first nationally known music act who broadcasted live five times a week on WBT radio and the CBS network throughout the 1940s, Johnson, now 90 years old and living in upstate New Hampshire, played a crucial role in the development of country music. After the singing family’s run on radio ended in 1951, Johnson moved to New York City, where she carved out a successful career as a pop singer and performer on early television shows. As a solo singer and then back with her family, she performed twice on The Ed Sullivan Show, the influential CBS showcase that introduced The Beatles and Elvis Presley to wider audiences in America.

The musical family won over fans with a repertoire of gospel tunes and hymns supplemented with popular tunes like “Goodnight Irene.”The Johnsons toured with country legends like Bill Monroe and played Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry in 1947, but by the end of the decade their string of successes was winding down.

Betty moved to New York and found success, starting with the 1954 novelty tune “I Want Eddie Fisher for Christmas,” and released two albums on Atlantic Records. By 1964 she was married with a small son. She retired and moved to New Hampshire, but reemerged in the ’90s to perform live and record a series of albums with her daughters. Their most recent album, Four Shades of Gray, was released in 2018.

Singing it seems, remains in the Johnson family blood.

“The greatest thing about performing [is when] you sing a song and you’re looking out at your audience and they’re just loving it,” Johnson says.

“The love goes out from you and it comes back … so it’s like a big beautiful ring of love and enjoyment.”

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PHOTO BY ELIZABETH K,

JAH WILL

Jah Will Band (from left): Taviel Byrd, Jah Will Pinson and Clifton Bundick

2019 FEATURED ARTISTS

TAKE ME HIGHER

PHOTO COURTESY OF DR. KENNETH M. JOHNSON

Betty Johnson

BETTY JOHNSON

“I ALWAYS wanted to be a singer and an artist, but I never knew how that would happen,” Jah Will Pinson says. “The manifestation only came as I got older and more mature.”

Today, it seems the founder and leader of the Jah Will Band has attained his goals on his own terms. The laidback 27-year-old, who radiates calm contentment, crafts a fusion of reggae, gospel and soul that he feels can be a jumpingoff point to a higher plane for many listeners. “[My music] is a fusion of multitudinous genres,” Pinson explains. “We’re trying to pioneer a sound that captivates everybody.” Pinson and his bandmates have also folded trap and hip-hop into their roots reggae mix, along with elements of new age music. After years of struggling to identify what he wanted to do in life, Pinson now hopes to inspire listeners with his brand of “spiritual groove music.”

An EP entitled Elevation is set to drop in mid-to-late August, Pinson says. In the meantime the band is releasing a string of singles this summer, including “Drippn Flow,” which debuts July 21. Set to a sinuous groove that winds through a swirling cloud layer of keyboards, Pinson sings, “Stand tall, you’re a lion roar/Stand firm like you can’t fall/Ride high like you’re ten tall/And never back down.”

“The majority of the songs are coming from a spiritual place,” Pinson says. “I hope people are able to come into a higher consciousness of what’s going on the world today, and who they are as beings.”

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SOUNDWAVE

JULY 17

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Yeah Group Residency: Pullover, Petrov, Gardeners, Pretty Baby, The Wedding Cult (Snug Harbor) Prettymuch, Mackenzie Ziegler (CMCU Amphitheatre) The Mowgli’s, Arms Akimbo, Petal (Underground) If Not For Me, Misery Loves Company (Skylark Social Club) Harriet Brown, Cyanca (Evening Muse) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Open Mic with Leebo (Comet Grill) Josh Daniels, Jeremy Shaw (Smokey Joe’s) DJ/ELECTRONIC

The Wizard’s Roadshow (Siggy’s Bar & Tapas) ROOTS/BLUES/INTERNATIONAL

ONDAS do Brasil (Petra’s)

JULY 18

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ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Acne, Futurists, Paint Fumes, Wine Pride (The Milestone) Xylø, Jane Holiday, Zolita (Neighborhood Theatre) Open Mic Night (Tommy’s Pub) Shana Blake & Friends (Smokey Joe’s) Smile Empty Soul (Amos’ Southend) Dangermuffin (U.S. National Whitewater Center) Mike Strauss Trio (Comet Grill) Magic Beans (Free Range Brewing) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Max & Heather Stalling, Rob Baird (Evening Muse) DJ/ELECTRONIC

Le Bang (Snug Harbor)

The Wizard’s Roadshow (Hartland’s Bar & Grill) Jump Off (Crown Station) Techno Syndicate 002: DJ Keytone, Sam Brook, Omari Nkosi, DjCkole (Skylark Social Club) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL

Crystal Bright and Griffanzo (Squirrel Nut Zippers) (Petra’s) Mac Arnold & Plate Full ‘o Blues plays Muddy Waters (Stage Door Theater)

JULY 19

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Hectorina, Motel Glory, Grand Vapids (Snug Harbor) Abbey Road LIVE! Beatles Tribute (Visulite) Dave Matthews Band (PNC Music Pavilion) King Cackle, Uncle Buck, The Donner Deads, Cosmic Reaper (Skylark Social Club) Angel Incident (Smokey Joe’s) SCR (Sir Cadian Rhythm) (Evening Muse) Frederick the Younger, Grace Joyner, Modern Moxie (Evening Muse) Astrea Corp, Dirty Art Club, Nadia Khan (Petra’s) Mighty Mango, The Walbournes, Striking Silence, Adam Ostrar (The Milestone) Stateline Crossing (Hattie’s) Heroes At Last (RiRa) Cooper Alan (Tin Roof) An evening of Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks benefiting CLT Family Housing (Free Range Brewing) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill) Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers (Neighborhood Theatre) Jeff Crosby & the Refugees (U.S. National Whitewater Center) The HC Oakes Band (Primal Brewery)

Follow our Spotify Playlist PREVIEW YOUR LOCAL CHARLOTTE SOUNDWAVE ARTISTS HERE

1. OPEN SPOTIFY ON YOUR SMARTPHONE 2. TAP THE SEARCH BAR 3. CLICK THE CAMERA ICON IN THE TOP RIGHT CORNER 4. POINT CAMERA AT THE CODE BELOW

DJ/ELECTRONIC

Release:Ramon Rawsoul (Crown Station) The Wizard’s Roadshow (The Fat Parrots Bar & Grill) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

Tupac vs Biggie Night (Underground) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL

Dawn Anthony sings Nancy Wilson (Stage Door Theater)

JULY 20

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Icon For Hire (Visulite) Beach Formal 2019: Sext Message, Gore Gore

Luchadores, Heiress Hilton, Hungry Girl, Dead Sea Scrilla (The Milestone) Próxima Parada, Little Bird (Neighborhood Theatre) Sebadoh, Eleanor Friedberger (Underground) Sunday Boxing (Repo Record) Starrider (Smokey Joe’s) The Unlikely Candidates (Evening Muse) Alternative Champs, Ultrababyfat, The Husbians (Snug Harbor) Most Savage Gentlemen (Tin Roof) Lovely World, Ted Marengos (Evening Muse) Interstellar Overdrive-Pink Floyd Tribute (Amos’ Southend) Naughty Professor (U.S. National Whitewater

Center) Pistoltown (RiRa) Synchroncity: The Police Tribute (Tin Roof) Dan Baird & Homemade Sin (Free Range Brewing) Bullfrog Moon (Primal Brewery)

Bill Hanna’s Jazz Session (Petra’s)

DJ/ELECTRONIC

Find Your Muse Open Mic: Evan Pittfield (Evening Muse) Iron Maiden, The Raven Age (PNC Music Pavilion) Cito Jamorah & Friends (Smokey Joe’s) Fogman, Racket Man , The Hawthornes (The Milestone) Oh, Sleeper with Famous Last Words, Convictions, Empty, Revel (Amos’ Southend)

Frothy Sat. Day Party – Family Friendly Dance Music (Crown Station) #LocalOnly Saturday with DJ Teddy & Mike Boyer (The Milestone) AfroPop! Vol 32: Dynamic DJ Kato and DJ Steel Wheel (Crown Station) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Greensky Bluegrass (CMCU Amphitheatre)

DJ/ELECTRONIC

Hazy Sunday (Petra’s)

JULY 22

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL

Jazzology (Comet Grill) Dawn Anthony sings Nancy Wilson (Stage Door Theater) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Country Music Monday (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL

Tom Joyner, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Kem (PNC Music Pavilion) STR.DZE: Legend Status, Reecee Raps, RoyalCity Lif (Petra’s)

Megan Jean & the KFB present Lounge Act: The Songs of Nirvana as Jazz (Petra’s)

JULY 21

Ex Hex, Spider Bags (Neighborhood Theatre) Blink-182, Lil Wayne, Neck Deep (PNC Music Pavilion) Smokin’ Js Open Jam (Smokey Joe’s)

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Canvas Kid, Amity Pointe (The Milestone) Omari & the Hellhounds (Comet Grill) Metal Church Sunday Service (The Milestone) Third Eye Blind, Jimmy Eat World, Ra Ra Riot (PNC Music Pavilion) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

Pg. 19 July 17 - July 30, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

Jazz Jam (Crown Station)

Bone Snugs-N-Harmony (Snug Harbor) Algebra (Underground) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Natalie Royal, Raymond Joseph (Evening Muse) Josh Daniel& Grateful Band (Thomas Street Tavern)

JULY 23

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Red Rockin’ Chair (Comet Grill) Uptown Unplugged: Jon Caneda (Tin Roof) RAP/HIP HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

Soulful Tuesdays (Crown Station) Blueface (Fillmore) DJ/ELECTRONIC

Lost Cargo: July Edition (Petra’s)

JULY 24 POP

ROOTS/BLUES/INTERNATIONAL

Carly Rae Jepsen (Fillmore)

Open Bluegrass w/Greg M Clarke & Friends (Tommy’s Pub)

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL

Plastician, Klasey (Neighborhood Theatre) Yeah Group Residency: Skewed, Julian

SOUNDWAVE Calendar, Edge Petal Burn, Death of A College Student (Snug Harbor) Jake La Botz (Evening Muse) Long Beach Dub Allstars, The Aggrolites, Mike Pinto (Amos’ Southend) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Open Mic with Leebo (Comet Grill) Josh Daniels, Jeremy Shaw (Smokey Joe’s) DJ/ELECTRONIC

The Wizard’s Roadshow (Siggy’s Bar & Tapas) RAP/HIP HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

Mary J. Blige, Nas (PNC Music Pavilion) Kirk Franklin, Koryn Hawthorne (Knight Theater)

JULY 25

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

The Weak Days, 11:59, Heckdang, Gardeners (The Milestone) Open Mic Night (Tommy’s Pub) Bergenline, Fiction (Petra’s) Shana Blake and Friends (Smokey Joe’s Café) Jelly Roll, Marshall Alexander, Stitchy C (Amos’ Southend)

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Hallow Point, East Viridian, Reflect//Refine, Blackwater Drowning, Skylight Heights (The Milestone) American Aquarium, Bottle Rockets (Neighborhood Theatre) Dollar Signs, Woolbright, Florence & Normandie, Stress Fractures (Snug Harbor) Chicago Rewired, REO Survivor (Underground) Genessa & The Selena Experience (Fillmore) The Menders, Evergone, Queen City Rejects, No Rope (Skylark Social Club) Troublemaker (Smokey Joe’s) Stranded Bandits, Emanuel Wynter (Evening Muse) Sounds on the Square: Caleb Hawley (Spirit Square) Sickman-Alice in Chains Tribute (Amos’ Southend) Courtney Lynn & Quinn (Hattie’s) Heroes at Last (RiRa) 76 & Sunny (Tin Roof) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Le Bang (Snug Harbor) The Wizard’s Roadshow (Hartland’s Bar & Grill) Jump Off (Crown Station)

Ally Venable Band, Cody Blackbird Band (Evening Muse) Christina Taylor, Rebel Union (Visulite) Caleb Caudle (U.S. National Whitewater Center) Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

DJ/ELECTRONIC

DJ/ELECTRONIC Pg. 20 July 17 - July 30, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

JULY 26

Town Mountain, Front Country (Visulite) Jason Manns, Briana Buckmaster & Billy Moran, Paul Carella (Evening Muse) Fireside Collective (U.S. National Whitewater Center) Alana Springsteen (Tin Roof) RAP/HIP HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

Teyana Taylor (Fillmore)

The Wizard’s Roadshow (The Fat Parrots Bar & Grill) HellaColab (Crown Station) Mirror Moves (Petra’s) RAP/HIP HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

Nelly, TLC, Flo Rida (PNC Music Pavilion)

JULY 27

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Elenowen, Foxfie Run, Future Friend (Neighborhood Theatre) Late Bloomer, Jail Socks, Downhaul, House&Home, Petrov (The Milestone) The Regrettes, Small Talks (Visulite) Shannon Lee & the Grab Bag (Smokey Joe’s) Black Ritual, Something Clever, Reflect// Refine, Drown the Mob (Amos’ Southend) Downtown Abby (Comet Grill) Trey Lewis (Tin Roof) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Florida Georgia Line, Dan + Shay, Morgan Wallen, Hardy (PNC Music Pavilion) Josh Morningstar (Evening Muse) Ashley Heath and Her Heathens, Emily Musolino Band (Evening Muse) Jared & The Mill (U.S. National Whitewater Center) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

3rd Bass (Crown Station) DJ/ELECTRONIC

#LocalOnly Saturday with DJ Teddy & Mike Boyer (The Milestone) Everybody Gets Lei’d: Yacht Rock DJ Party With Justin Aswell (Underground) SuCasa (Petra’s) RAP/HIP HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

Eric B., Rakim (Fillmore)

JULY 28

shop small shop local for all of your needs

VINYL LOTS OF CDS, TAPES, & TURNTABLES TOO tons of new & used vinyl needles, sleeves, frames, boxes, cleaners, all of your record needs shop local!

voted creating loafing “best RECORD STORE” 2012-2018

lunchboxrecords.com 825 CENTRAL AVE. CHARLOTTE, NC 704-331-0788

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Heart (Amos’ Southend) Sublime with Rome, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Common Kings, Seranation (CMCU RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Bone Snugs-N-Harmony (Snug Harbor) Amphitheatre) Omari & the Hellhounds (Comet Grill) ROOTS/BLUES/INTERNATIONAL Metal Church Sunday Service (The Milestone) Open Bluegrass w/Greg M Clarke & Friends Like a Storm, Through Fire, Wilson, Stitched Up

‘ charlotte s local

music

CAMMIE NEELY

Pg. 21 July 17 - July 30, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

SONGWRITER

CURRENTLY WORKING ON HER THIRD STUDIO WORK, “FRACTURES,” WHICH IS SLATED TO RELEASE IN THE FALL. MUSIC VIDEO FOR HER SINGLE, “THE FRAME,” WILL BE RELEASED ON YOUTUBE AT THE END OF AUGUST. “We’re pushing the material in new and interesting directions, this time.”

- Producer Michael Lessard TO LEARN MORE VISIT: WWW.JUSTCAMMIE.COM

CRAFT COOKING 101

Quick, easy recipes with more beer and less bullshit

Y

BY CASEY ATWELL

OU’RE ON your way home from work and you really don’t feel like busting your ass over a complex dinner, but if you stop at Bojangles’ one more time this month you’re going to fall into a spiral of shame. You go to Google some recipes only to sift through 30 blogs in which the author feels the need to write 10 paragraphs about their grandmother before even naming an ingredient.

Stop wasting your time. In our new Craft Cooking series, Casey Atwell presents easy recipes with 10 ingredients or less that take no time at all to scrape up. All the better, each one includes a local beer to help you bring some craft into your kitchen.

Pg. 22 July 17 - July 30, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

CHERRY SCALLION CROSTINI

BLUEBERRY SAGE ONIONS

These savory, smokey and sweet charred onions This tart, refreshing and light crostini is the perfect are simple to make and pack a ton of flavor. They snack on a warm summer night. Crack open a bottle make for the perfect side to a pan-seared rib-eye of Daddy Needs His Juice, a foeder-aged cherry steak, topping for a burger with bleu cheese and sour from Wooden Robot, and enjoy with good bacon or have them all alone as a nice veggie snack. company.

Pair with Lenny Boy Brewing Co.’s Seduction Series INGREDIENTS Volume 1, a red wine barrel-aged blueberry sour 1 FRENCH BAGUETTE and enjoy.

2 CUPS GOAT CHEESE INGREDIENTS 6 SCALLIONS 1 LARGE VIDALIA ONION 2 CUPS CHERRIES ½ CUP BLUEBERRIES 2 OZ. HONEY ½ CUP SAGE 1 BOTTLE DADDY NEEDS HIS JUICE FROM WOODEN 1 BOTTLE SEDUCTION SERIES V1 ROBOT OIL OLIVE OIL BUTTER SALT & PEPPER SALT & PEPPER GARLIC PREPARATION Slice cherries in half and remove pits. Add thinly PREPARATION sliced scallions (the white part). Combine in equal Preheat cast iron to medium high heat with a light parts Daddy Needs His Juice and olive oil with coating of oil. salt and pepper. Set in fridge to marinate.

Chop peeled onion into eight equal wedges. Place Place sliced baguette and scallion greens on a onions cut side down in pan with minced garlic hot grill. Flip as needed and remove as both the until charred. Flip to other cut side and repeat. bread and scallions develop a nice char.

Reduce heat to low. Add 5 ounces of Seduction Spread goat cheese across the toasted bread.

Series Volume 1, a half-cup of blueberries and a Build up with charred and chopped scallions few sage leaves. Leave to simmer. and cherry salsa. Drizzle with honey. Serve.

Garnish with sage, fresh berries, salt and cracked pepper. Serve.

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

Cherry Scallion Crostini

PHOTO BY CASEY ATWELL

presents

duu cltt

BEHIND THE STICK HUGHES SHOES TO FILL

Out of this world dentistry finally in your neighborhood!

Dustin Lail keeps tradition alive at Crepe Cellar

-Offering Whole Family Dentistry & Oral Surgery specialty care on an extended schedule

-Locally owned

BY LIZ LOGAN

FOR OVER A decade, the cozy Crepe Cellar has remained a neighborhood fixture with a reputation for quality and a dining experience not found anywhere else in NoDa. Colleen Hughes, one of Charlotte’s bestknown mixologists, helped put Crepe Cellar’s cocktail list on the map, herself becoming synonymous with the bar program. When Haberdish opened up a few doors down, Hughes moved behind the bar there, passing the Cellar torch to Dustin Lail, who now proudly stands behind the stick, kindly attending to each customer while maintaining the reputation Hughes built at Crepe Cellar.

While so many of Charlotte’s bar programs are headed up by dudes, Lail found himself at home with a woman-run bar.

“I’ve never worked behind a male-run bar,” Lail said. “I was raised by a single mom and was around women in dance, so this made sense to me. I’m not macho. I don’t like macho. It’s not something that’s necessary for good service.”

It’s clear that Lail is right where he needs to be at Crepe Cellar. I recently sat down with him for another one of our great convos, but this time on the record.

Dustin Lail

PHOTO COURTESY OF DUSTIN LAIL

Tell us some of your favorite details about the drinks you make.

I’m really into flowers, so I add those whenever it makes sense. I went through this orange blossom phase and was adding that to everything. I like making special syrups, like with calendula flowers, or making cocktails with unique ingredients like house-made carrot juice.

Pg. 23 July 17 - July 30, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

What has been the most rewarding part of your time at Crepe Cellar?

I fell in love with the neighborhood. I love being in a space where you can meet the people around you and not simply care about yourself. I just think, “How can I help the people around me and at the same time, give them nourishment?” I’d say 85 to 95% of Queen City Nerve: How did you find yourself in our customers are regulars and it’s because I’m able to focus on building those relationships. this industry?

Dustin Lail: I grew up around the restaurant business and mom-and-pop diners. I had a general idea of the hospitality industry, knew I had a servant’s heart and had gained good experience. I moved to Charlotte seven years ago to be a dance performance major at UNCC and decided to do what came naturally: serving.

Crepe Cellar has become my favorite place. I’ve been here three years. Growing up, all I knew was Bud Light and Applebee’s mixed drinks, but here, there is a well-thought-out presentation.

I had little experience or knowledge but was ready to learn and expand, and I’ve fallen into this role naturally.

What is your go-to beverage when you get a chance to unwind with a shift drink or out on the town elsewhere?

Oh, that’s a loaded question. If I’m just getting off work, it’s a beer and a shot, but if I’m looking for a good cocktail when I’m out, it’s the Corpse Reviver #2, which is gin, Lillet Blanc, Cointreau served up with and Absinthe rinse. I’d also drink Montenegro straight. Or a simple gin and tonic, with Sutler’s from Winston-Salem. I like to support local as much as possible. Or the Cardinal Barrel-Rested Gin; use this in a Negroni and it’s the perfect balance between [that and] a Boulevardier.

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

7am-7pm and select Saturdays

No Insurance? No Problem! Ask about our in-house Dental Savings Plan

www.StellarDentalCLT.com

University

Noda

9010 Glenwater Drive 704-547-1199

2100 North Davidson 704-688-7120

VOICE OVER CASTING MIX SOUND DESIGN MUSIC WHISKEY

GROUNDCREWSTUDIOS.COM

DILWORTH BAKERSFIELD

Monday: $3 Jack Daniels Tuesday: $3 Tres Generaciones, $10 Don Julio 1942 Wednesday: $3 Bulleit Bourbon Thursday: $3 Espolon Friday: $3 George Dickel No. 8 Saturday: $3 Lunazul Sunday: $3 Larceny Bourbon 300EAST

Monday: 1/2 off wines by the glass Tuesday: 1/2 off beer cans and glasses of Italian reds Thursday: $3.50 local drafts, $8.50 Matilda Wong cocktails Sunday: 1/2 off wine bottles, $5 mimosas & bloody marys, $6 Bellinis BAD DADDY’S BURGER BAR

Pg. 24 July 17 - July 30, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

Monday: 20-oz. draft for 16-oz. price Tuesday: $5 specialty cocktails Wednesday: $3.50 local drafts Saturday-Sunday: $5 mimosas & bloody marys

DILWORTH NEIGHBORHOOD GRILLE

Monday: $4 Crown & Down Tuesday: $4 drafts, $12 pitchers, $5 flights of North Carolina drafts Wednesday: 1/2 off wine bottles and martinis Thursday: $12 domestic buckets, $18 import buckets Friday: $3 craft drafts, $5 flavored vodka Saturday: $5 mason jar cocktails Sunday: $4 bloody marys SUMMIT ROOM

Tuesday: $4 drafts Wednesday: 1/2 off glasses of wine Thursday: $7 Summit cocktails

SOUTH END COMMON MARKET SOUTH END

Monday: 1/2 off select pints Tuesday: Free beer tasting 5-7 p.m.

Wednesday: $2 off select pints, wine tasting 5-7 p.m.

UPTOWN

BIG BEN PUB

Monday: $6 beer cocktails, $2 off vodka Tuesday: $8 mules, 1/2 off gin Wednesday: $6 you-call-it, 1/2 off wine bottles Thursday: $4 wells, 1/2 off specialty cocktails Friday: $5.50 Guinness and Crispin, $6 vodka Red Bull Saturday-Sunday: $4 bloody marys and mimosas, $15 mimosa carafes

THE LOCAL

MAC’S SPEED SHOP

Monday: $3 pints, $5 Tito’s Tuesday: 1/2 price wine, $3 mystery draft Wednesday: $4 tall boys, $5 Lunazul Blanco Thursday: $3 mystery cans and bottles, $4 Jim Beam Friday: $1 off Mother Earth beers Saturday: $1 off North Carolina pints Sunday: $4 mimosas & bloody marys GIN MILL

Monday: $5 Tito’s and New Amsterdam Tuesday: 1/2 price wine Wednesday: $4 draft beer Thursday: $2.50 PBR, $5 Jack Daniels and Tito’s

Monday: $7 Casamigos, $2 Natty Boh and Miller High Life, $5 Jager Tuesday: $3 Modelo, $5 house margaritas, $5 Don Julio Wednesday: $5 Crown & Down, $3 Southern Tier Thursday: $5 Captain Morgan, $7 craft mules, $16 Bud Light buckets Friday: $3 Jell-O shots, $4 drafts, $5 wells Saturday: $3 PBR, $5 Jager Sunday: $7 loaded mimosa, $7 Grey Goose bloody mary, $16 Bud Light buckets THE DAILY TAVERN

Wednesday: $5 whiskey Thursday: $4 pint night Sunday: $4 Miller Lite, $6 bloody marys DANDELION MARKET

Monday: $3 select drafts Tuesday: $15 select bottles of wines Saturday-Sunday: Bloody mary bar

I REMEMBER MY FIRST TIME, DO YOU?

ROXBURY

Friday: $5 flavored vodka drinks, $5 fire shots, $3 bottles Saturday: $5 fire shots, $4 ZIMA, $3 bottles WORLD OF BEER

Monday: $2 off North Carolina drafts and spirits Tuesday: 25 percent off bottles and cans, $5 mules Wednesday: 1/2-priced wine, wheats and sangrias Thursday: $4 old school, $4 well, $4 signature shots Friday-Saturday: $3 shot of the week Sunday: $2 mimosas, $3 bloody marys & beermosas PROHIBITION

Tuesday: 1/2 off everything Wednesday: $3 drafts Thursday: $2 PBR, $4.50 wells, $6 vodka Red Bull Friday-Saturday: $4 call-its

NODA CABO FISH TACO

Monday: $5 El Cheapo margarita Tuesday: $3.50 Tecate and Tecate Light, $5 Altos silver tequila Wednesday: $7 Absolut Lime Moscow mule Thursday: $1 off neighborhood beers on draft Friday-Saturday: $8 margarita special Sunday: $5 mimosas, $6 Absolut Peppar bloody mary, $7 Absolut Lime Moscow mule JACKBEAGLE’S

Monday: $5 Cuervo margaritas Tuesday: $3 drafts, $5 vodka Red Bull Wednesday: $1 off whiskey Thursday: $6 Deep Eddy’s vodka Red Bull Friday: $5 Fun-Dip shots, $5 Crown Black Saturday: $5 Gummy Bear shots, $5 big mimosa, $6.50 double bloody mary Sunday: $5 big mimosa, $6.50 double bloody mary SANCTUARY PUB

Pg. 25 July 17 - July 30, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

Monday: $7 Bulleit and Bulleit Rye, $3 Yuengling and PBR APA

Tuesday: $6 Tuaca, $6 Tullamore Dew Wednesday: $3 Birdsong beers, $5 Sauza, Thursday: $2 Bartender Bottles, $6 Crown Royal Sunday: $3 Birdsong, $3 Tall or Call NODA 101

Monday: $4 Ketel One Lemon Drop, $4 well liquor, $5 Camerena Tuesday: $6 seasonal cocktails, $6 Jameson, $4 Grape Gatorade Wednesday: $5 Green Tea Shot, $6 Blue Balls Thursday: $5 Jagermeister, $6 vodka Redbull, $6 Oxley Gin Cocktail Friday: $5 Fireball, $6 vodka Red Bull, $6 Jameson Saturday: $5 Fireball, $6 vodka Red Bull Sunday: $5 Deep Eddy Flavors, $1 off tequila, $5 White Gummy Bear shots BILLY JACK’S SHACK

Monday: $1 off moonshine, $3 domestics Tuesday: $1 off all drafts, $7 Jameson Wednesday: $1 off bottles and cans Thursday: $4.50 wells Friday: $5 Fireball, $1 off local bottles and cans

Saturday: $4 mimosas $5 Brunch Punch, Sunday: $4 mimosas, $5 Brunch Punch, $5 Fireball, $10 champagne bottles

PLAZA MIDWOOD HATTIE’S TAP & TAVERN

Monday: $6 Pabst & Paddy’s Tuesday: $5 Fireball Wednesday: $3 mystery craft beers Thursday: $6 margaritas Friday-Saturday: $5 well drinks Sunday: $10 domestic buckets INTERMEZZO

Monday: $4 Makers Mark, $2 domestic bottles Tuesday: $4 margaritas, $7 Tito’s mules, $3 Blanche de Bruxelles, $3 OMB Copper Wednesday: 1/2 price wine bottles, $2 off bourbon of the week Thursday: $6.50 Ketel One Botanical Series, $4 Stoli Friday: $4 20-oz. Birdsong LazyBird Brown Ale and Birdsong Jalapeño Ale Saturday: 1/2 price martinis Sunday: $3 drafts

Do you want your bar or restaurant featured in The Buzz?

Contact Ryan Pitkin rpitkin@qcnerve.com

WTF, CLT?

A tale of gun violence and nightlife mixing

Pg. 26 July 17 - July 30, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

BY AERIN SPRUILL

‘‘WHAT THE FUCK CHARLOTTE”, my friend shouted as we shared stories of the most recent acts of gunrelated violence in the Queen City. I sighed, my sentiments exactly. It’s been a couple of weeks now, and I’m still trying to piece together the feelings I have about being a block away from one of those incidents.

It’s no secret that in 2019, Charlotte has quickly gained negative attention for increased homicide rates. As of the first week in July, the Queen City has seen more murders this year than all of last year.

Last year, the total number of homicides was 58. Yes, you read that correctly.

Let’s take a few steps back and recap the events led up to my choosing to write about a topic that will quickly quell your desires to engage in nightlife activities.

Have you ever experienced a moment that made you feel like you were watching a trainwreck happening in slow motion? It’s an eerie feeling, isn’t it? It’s sort of like the sensations of déjà vu, you can’t quite place if you’re excited or scared shitless. You see the chaos building, but your feet are weighed down by sandbags and you can’t turn your gaze away. That’s how I felt in the hours leading up to the frightening events of that night.

It started out as a normal night with a small crowd gathered on the patio of one of my favorite watering holes. As time went on, however, I started feeling like the perfect storm was brewing.

Every few minutes a car full of people would drive by, followed by a large group of people walking from the direction in which the car most likely parked. As each group turned the corner, I started feeling claustrophobic. I’d overheard a few alluding to the fact that they were underage and I thought, given the time of night, everything that my mother would be saying: “Where are their parents?”

“Why are they out so late?”

“Nothing good happens after 2 a.m.”

I struggled to laugh as my friends joked about how much “unfamiliar” foot traffic there was on a Tuesday. Mainly because I could feel my anxiety rise with every wave of newcomers. It wasn’t until much later that we realized they were actually going to a party that was being held in an Airbnb five floors above us — they were just entering one of the gates on the opposite side of the building.

As the traffic slowed, my anxiety started to fall away. But that’s when, as they say, all hell broke loose.

All of a sudden, my boyfriend, a fellow bar regular and I heard a series of pops. They happened so quickly we weren’t quite sure if they were fireworks or gunshots. We stared at one another for what felt like an entire minute searching for confirmation on the former. The next thing we knew, someone came bolting around the corner. We hopped up and ran inside to the bar as handfuls of others started scrambling past.

My heart raced as I watched the chaos unfold outside. There were so many flashing lights from first responders and policemen it was hard to concentrate. I thought to myself, “Did that really just happen?!”

My night was filled with sadness for those involved; tears, fear and inescapable angst. It’s one thing to hear about these types of things happening around the world, even in Charlotte.

It’s a whole other thing to wrap your head around seeing someone getting shot or worse, being an innocent bystander. And what’s worse, this narrative is becoming more and more common. In the past, we’ve had friends leave a venue minutes before random gunshots were fired at the patio.

This is in no way to detract from the reality that three people were injured, and one person will never get to return home after this particular incident while I walked away from the scenario unharmed.

Instead, it’s my attempt to bring these issues to the forefront. We’ve got to stop turning a blind eye to the things that are happening in the Queen City.

The city is growing, that’s undeniable. With that growth, it’s only natural that the number of people from different backgrounds and experiences is going to grow as well. A growing nightlife scene fueled by drinks and drugs only complicates these dynamics.

Do we really want, “What the fuck, Charlotte?” to be the new go-to phrase when we’re engaging in conversation about the state of relations in the city?

Far more importantly, do we really want to continue the narrative of sons and daughters never returning home to their loved ones?

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

ILK-CONCEIVED

Pg. 27 July 17- July 30, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

ACROSS

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42 Hightailed it 44 Forest and desert, e.g.

46 Siam or Sudan ender 48 Cat coater 49 *Credit card feature 54 A portion of 57 Pal, to Pablo 59 Sister of Bart Simpson 60 Verse writer Nash 61 Spur 62 47-Down or 96-Down fuel 63 It precedes Tue. 64 Got tangled 66 Actress Sothern 67 *Gravity, e.g.

71 Eden figure 72 Stool pigeon 74 When doubled, a Gabor sister 75 Horse kin 76 La -- Tar Pits

77 Hawke of film 78 Kazan of film 80 R&B singer Marilyn 82 Stalin’s fed.

83 *Z-to-A data-alphabetizing arrangement 86 Start dozing 88 Mao -- -tung 89 Not stray from, as a schedule 90 Connector to the WWW 91 Elhi support org.

94 Split couple 97 Misfortunes 99 Take back, as the title 101 Esau’s father 103 Family ride 104 Possesses 105 *Emphatic print 107 Silky cats 109 Actress Lucy of “Kill Bill” 110 iPhone voice 111 Enzyme suffix 112 *Hollywood publication for 80 years 115 Word with synonyms at the ends of the answers to the starred clues 118 “Dame” Everage 119 Stately street shader 120 Elderly 121 Counterpart of masc.

122 Chop -123 Sows again 124 Loch -125 Rx watchdog

35 Grounds 39 Eye layer 40 Combine 43 Region west of Catalonia 45 Brunch fruit 47 Kitchen appliance 48 Narc, e.g.

49 This and that: Abbr.

50 Tenor played by Lanza 51 Goof-offs 52 Riles 53 Make beloved 54 Showed clemency to 55 Florid 56 Year’s 12 58 Prominent 63 Advanced music or drama deg.

65 Burning crimes 67 Monetary penalties 68 Web mags 69 Broadway’s “August: -- County” 70 Mediator’s skill 73 Almanac fill 76 Future leaf 79 Digs

DOWN

1 Sprinkling of 2 In -- (conspiring) 3 Hybrid bakery treats 4 Norma -- (Field part) 5 Dazzling effect 6 We, he or it 7 Melees 8 Denver-to-Detroit dir.

9 Not lingering 10 Edit, as text 11 Hockey site 12 DiFranco of song 13 Like pre-Easter periods 14 Abases 15 Savage 16 Slow tempo 17 Put on eBay, say 18 Went beyond 24 Greiner of “Shark Tank” 26 Chop or crop 29 Gear holder for the slopes 32 Orange tuber 33 Tan color 34 English architect Jones

SOLUTION ON PAGE 30

80 Econo Lodge, e.g.

81 Throngs 84 Member of Devo, say 85 Germinated 87 Taylor boy of old TV 90 Fuming mad 91 Is profitable 92 Narrowed gradually 93 Air hero 94 Avoids, as capture 95 Site of Kubla Khan’s palace 96 V-8, for one 98 Lower-priced 100 Promiser’s proviso 102 Doe partner 104 Suffix with invent 105 Bar brew, in France 106 Quotes as an authority 108 Big skin cream brand 109 Low-cal 113 Apt. parts 114 “Sure thing!”

116 Pub. house hirees 117 Sumac of song

JULY 17 - JULY 23 ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Your Aries leadership qualities can help bring order out of all that confusion, whether it’s on the job or in the home.

But be careful to guide, not goad, others into following you.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Applying a more personal view to a job-linked issue could help provide better insight into those persistent problems. Use your keen Taurean logic to cut through the double-talk.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Taking some time off could be the best way to get through that seemingly endless round of demands. You’ll return refreshed and ready to tackle things from a new perspective.

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CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Restoring a sagging professional relationship takes a lot of effort. By all means, state your position. But also make sure you pay close attention to the other person’s point of view.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) A hot prospect intrigues the Big Cat, who is always on the prowl for a promising investment. But be careful that this “promise” has a chance of being kept. Check it out more carefully.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) A friend could use some of your compassion and concern. If he or she doesn’t ask for help, be sure you step up and make the first move. Also, check out a new career possibility.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) You might

JULY 24 - JULY 30 have difficulty getting your opinions heard because of all the noise being made by the other side. But hang in there. Others should line up with you once they learn the facts.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Offering to help a colleague is commendable. But before you commit your time and effort, check to see if that person’s situation is all that he or she has led you to believe it is.

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Is someone at work resisting that Aries charm? Hard to believe. But seriously, Lamb, you might want to back up your ideas with some solid data, and then watch the yeas pile on.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Your hard work could pay off in ways you didn’t expect, but certainly deserve. Tend to that pesky health problem now so you’ll be in top shape to tackle the new projects coming up.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) You soon should be seeing positive results from your recent efforts on behalf of a family member. On another matter, check that you have all the facts regarding a job assignment.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Planning a family event can be stressful unless you make it clear from the start that you’re in charge. You might accept suggestions, but it will be your decisions that count.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Your aspects favor closer family relationships this week.

Take time for visits, whether in person, by phone, by mail or in cyberspace. Let them know how important they are to you.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) You still have a way to go to bring that professional matter to a satisfactory conclusion. Meanwhile, an important personal situation could require more of your attention by week’s end.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) A missed opportunity isn’t always a negative. Maybe your instincts are telling you not to rush into something you “thought” was worthwhile. Make time for family this weekend.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) There’s something about you Fine Felines that makes people want to tell you secrets. But once again, be wary of who is doing the telling. You might not want to be that person’s confidante.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Your sense of humor helps you get through a tricky situation. But some stick-in-the-muds might not be so willing to make the changes that you and others agree are necessary.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Creating a fuss about a family matter might get everyone’s attention. But it might be better to talk one-on-one with family members in order to spare a loved one unnecessary embarrassment.

BORN THIS WEEK: You have a gift for making LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) You’re making everyone you know -- or even just met -- feel progress on that career move, albeit not as quickly important and welcome in your life. as you had hoped. But stay with it. Your personal

life takes an unexpected (but very welcome) new turn.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) If you feel you’ve been unfairly treated in a workplace decision, correct the situation now while there’s still time to do so. Arm yourself with facts and go to it. Good luck.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Devising your own system of doing things might be the best way to handle an increasingly complex situation. But do it tactfully in order to avoid ruffling too many of your colleagues’ feathers.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) A family member’s health problem might once again require you to shift some of your current priorities around.

But this time, make certain other relatives will be there to help.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Catching up on tasks you’ve left undone will take a while to accomplish. But the sooner you complete them, the sooner you’ll be able to take on another timesensitive project.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) You might feel swamped by all that you’re expected to do. But take a moment to come up for air, then handle things one at a time, and you’ll soon get through them all.

BORN THIS WEEK: Although you love being home with your family, you also enjoy traveling and making new friends.

2019 KING FEATURES SYND., INC.

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CHARLOTTEVAPES

DEEP CUCKS

What seems to be the problem?

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BY DAN SAVAGE

I am a bi, white, married man — 35 years old and living in a big Midwestern city. I’d like to know what’s going on in my psyche — from a sex-research perspective. I’ve been hung up on cuckold fantasies with my female partner for years now. I’m a creative person and I’m especially fond of creative fantasizing in bed, and my partner enjoys this as well.

But 9 times out of 10, I’m spinning a yarn about her fucking other men, whether it’s a threesome, cuckolding with me watching, or her going out on dates and coming home a delicious mess. These fantasies took an unexpected turn when I asked her to share stories about people she fucked in the past.

She obliged — and holy shit, was I turned on. The only unfortunate thing is that she did not have many great sexual experiences in the past, so she feels like there is not a lot to share. Anyway, we have an amazing sex life, obviously, and I feel no shame whatsoever about these fantasies or how turned on her memories make us. I’m just curious as to why it turns me on so much. I know others have similar kinks, but it seems so antithetical to the heteronormative expectations of what I should be turned on by. Any ideas?

FANTASIES RELIABLY ENHANCE EVERY DALLIANCE

“‘Why am I like this?’ questions are always rabbit holes,” said Dr. David Ley, a clinical psychologist, author, and sex researcher. “We create rich, satisfying stories that are really just a form of mental masturbation — no bust on masturbation — when the truth is, at least at this point, we really have no clear idea why people have any of the unique sexual fantasies they do.” (Dr. Ley literally wrote the book on cuckolding: Insatiable Wives: Women Who Stray

and the Men Who Love Them.)

One popular explanation for why being cuckolded might turn a man on — why knowing his wife or girlfriend had fucked someone else (or was fucking someone else in front of him) might turn a guy on — was the “sperm competition” theory. To quickly summarize: A man who suspects his female partner recently had sex with another male — and whose reptile brain believes the other man’s semen might be “present” inside her — will have a more powerful and voluminous orgasm when he next mates with his female partner in an effort to “flood out” his competitor’s semen. For a time, many sex researchers theorized that male swingers and cuckolds were subconsciously inducing “sperm competition” reactions — i.e., they were in it for the more powerful orgasms.

“Unfortunately, much of the research into sperm competition is now suspect, due to a failure to replicate many of these findings,” said Dr. Ley. “So to a degree, we’re now saying, ‘You know, it’s complicated, everyone is different, and there are no simple answers.’”

And now that we’ve said that, FREED, Dr. Ley, who has worked with many cuckold couples, has noticed patterns and is willing to put out some alternative theories of his own.

“Many cuckolds have a desire to engage bisexually with other men, using their wife’s body as a sort of proxy,” said Dr. Ley. “Given that FREED is a bi male in a heterosexual relationship, these cuckold fantasies might be a way for him to express his bisexuality while including his wife. Additionally, vicarious erotic fulfillment is often a central component in many cuckold fantasies. This goes beyond simple voyeurism — and FREED’s comment about his wife’s regret at not having enough sexual experiences to share offers us a clue in this direction.

Many cuckolds celebrate their partners being sexually unrestrained. FREED might just be turned on by the idea of his wife cutting loose and sharing that supercharged erotic energy with other partners — past, present and future.”

Finally, FREED, I wanted to add a “ding, ding, ding” to something you mentioned at the end of your letter.

The erotic power of doing something that seems antithetical to the heteronormative and/or vanillanormative expectations heaped on us by culture, religion, family, etc. should never be underestimated.

While not everyone is turned on by the thought of transgressing against sexual or social norms, a significant percentage is. So long as our normativebusting transgressive turn-ons can be realized with other consenting adults, we should worry less about the “why” and more about the “when,” “where” and “how.” (Now, in private, and safely!)

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