Queen City Nerve - July 14, 2021

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 17; JULY 14 - JULY 27, 2021; WWW.QCNERVE.COM

C LTMuSiC IsSuE RETURNING TO THE STAGE: EVERGONE ALAN CHARMER MARIA HOWELL MOONLANDER

PLUS: PHAZE GAWD LAUNCHES PLATFORM FOR LOCAL MUSICIANS HODGE FAMILY TURNS NORTHEAST CHARLOTTE FARM TO MUSIC VENUE

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

NEWS& OPINION PUBLISHER

JUSTIN LAFRANCOIS jl afra n co i s @ q cn er ve.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RYAN PITKIN rpi tk i n @ q cn e r ve. c om

ART DIRECTOR

JAYME JOHNSON jjo h n s o n @ q cn e r ve.com

STAFF WRITER

PAT MORAN pm o ra n @ q cn er ve . com

AD SALES EXECUTIVE RENN WILSON r wi l s o n @ q cn e r ve . com

TO PLACE AN ADVERTISEMENT EMAIL INFO@QCNERVE.COM

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Q UE E N CIT Y N ERVE WELC O M E S SU BM I S SI ONS O F A LL K IN D S . PLE A S E S EN D SU BMI S SI ONS O R STO RY PITC H E S TO IN FO @ QC NE RV E .C OM .

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E AC H A D D I T I O NA L I S S U E $ 5.

4 WRITTEN IN THE STARS BY PAT MORAN Stargazer Fest just the beginning for live music at Hodges Family Farm

6 LIFELINE: A DOSE OF REALITY 8 A PLATFORM FOR ALL ART FORMS BY RYAN PITKIN

ARTS& CULTURE 10 MUSIC 1112 ISSUE 13 14 2021 16 FOOD& DRINK LIFESTYLE

Phaze Gawd launches For Artist by Artist to highlight local talent

MARIA HOWELL BY GREG JARRELL ALAN CHARMER BY JONATHAN GOLIAN EVERGONE BY PAT MORAN MOONLANDER BY RYAN PITKIN SOUNDWAVE

A WOMAN’S PLACE BY LIZ LOGAN Artisan’s Palate serves up great food and local art through a feminist lens

19 PUZZLES 20 AERIN IT OUT BY AERIN SPRUILL 20 HOROSCOPE 21 STRANGE FACTS 22 SAVAGE LOVE

C LTMuSiC IsSuE RETURNING TO THE STAGE: EVERGONE ALAN CHARMER MARIA HOWELL MOONLANDER

PLUS: PHAZE GAWD LAUNCHES PLATFORM FOR LOCAL MUSICIANS HODGE FAMILY TURNS NORTHEAST CHARLOTTE FARM TO MUSIC VENUE

THANKS TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS: PAT MORAN, GRANT BALDWIN, LIZ LOGAN, GREG JARRELL, JONATHAN GOLIAN, ELIAS PITTMAN, SARAH BLENIS, APRIL FREIDLINE, BRIAN TWITTY, LISINTHIUS DAHLIA, HOUSTON ODUM, JOYLAND,

@QUEENCIT Y N E RVE W W W.QCNERVE .C OM

FRANCESKO THE ARTIST, BRANDON SANG, AERIN SPRUILL, AND DAN SAVAGE. COVER DESIGN BY: JAYME JOHNSON

NEWS & OPINION FEATURE

Blakley is a friend of Olivia Hodges, who currently unusual, the event’s bill of eclectic and experimental performers, playing a mix of electronic and acoustic owns the farm, and her grandson Connor Newman, instruments, strays from the Charlotte concert template. who manages the property. Blakley started helping The coupling of space music with actual out on the farm five years ago, and in October 2020, he stargazing also gives the festival an unusual twist. In left his career in IT with companies including Motorola effect, the live concert will serve as the soundtrack for and Nokia to work the Hodges’ fields full time.

Blakley, 34, says he did so because he’s the nightscape. Throw in a night market – an afterStargazer Fest just the hours version of a farmers market where concertgoers ecologically minded and heavily invested in the beginning for live music at can also purchase Hodges Farm’s fresh products – and farm’s regenerative agriculture practices, a system Hodges Family Farm the festival takes on a unique vibe. It may not be out of of farming and grazing that aims to reverse climate change by rebuilding organic matter in the soil and this world, but it’s certainly off the beaten path.

BY PAT MORAN The pairing with Hodges Family Farm was restoring degraded soil biodiversity.

“Right now, we do regenerative agriculture, which seemingly written in the stars. At the same time that Elizabeth Kowalski is perhaps best known as Kowalski was searching for a place where her musical is a nature-centric version of agriculture,” he says. the founder and executive artistic director of New and astronomical space extravaganza could land, “Regenerative agriculture tugged at my heartstrings.”

Music Charlotte, which promotes the creation, performance, access and education around contemporary original music in the Queen City and beyond. Yet that’s not her only passion. Kowalski loves stargazing, trekking to an open field far from city lights and watching the moon and stars shimmer in the night sky.

Characterizing amateur astronomy as relaxing and often magical, Kowalski’s gone stargazing with friends in the past, but she’s always wanted to introduce the experience of connecting with the cosmos to a larger audience.

Kowalski will realize that ambition on July 17 when Stargazer Music Fest lands like an alien mothership in an open pasture at Hodges Family Farm in northeast Charlotte. The event, presented by Charlotte New Music, is described as “a night of stargazing accompanied by interstellar grooves to amplify the cosmic exploration experience.” In layman’s terms, that means the festival ROBERT BLAKLEY features live music from four ensembles, three of which PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN include the word “space” in their act names, along with several telescopes made available by the Charlotte farmer Robert Blakley was looking for a way to host live When the Hodges family started getting into Amateur Astronomy Club. music at the historic site where he’s worked for years. the regenerative mindset, Blakley was encouraged It all takes place on a terrestrial farm, where That’s when he received an unsolicited and to step away from telecom and pick up a pitchfork. the soil is seldom plowed and the animals are never serendipitous call from Kowalski.

With regenerative agriculture, farm workers in buildings and always in open pastures — and rarely ever till the soil. Anytime you plow or till the where the Hodges family hopes to cultivate not only Hodges Family Farm keeps things ground, you disrupt the soil ecology, Blakley says. animal life but new opportunities for social life by The top layer of soil has a different microbiome than welcoming local music acts to perform in an area grounded the soil an inch down, so when you churn up the soil, Situated on 150 acres on Rocky River Road near where the music scene doesn’t exactly thrive today. you’re inevitably moving bacteria to an ecosystem Hodges Family Farm is one of the oldest Reedy Creek Park, Historic Hodges Farm is listed on the where they can’t survive. Simply put, tilling destroys operating farms in Charlotte. It has been owned by National and State Historic registries. The landscape the ecosystem of the soil. the same family for over 100 years, who currently is centered around the Hodges House, built around In contrast to standard farming practices, practice a form of agriculture designed to reverse 1908. Cotton was once grown on the farm, and it regenerative agriculture focuses on soil health. operated as a dairy farm as recent as the 1990s. the effects of climate change.

“Keeping the soil ecosystem healthy and protecting Today, Hodges Family Farm sells its meat and In that same vein, Stargazer Music Fest spotlights it from damage is what makes your soil fertile, without science and wonder, whether it’s imbued in the produce online, offering home delivery, though needing chemical inputs or other amendments,”Blakley verdant farmland below or out among the stars above customers can pick up products on the farm during says. “That’s our bread and butter.” the week. The farm also regularly sets up a stand at — on earth as it is in heaven; as above, so below.

People sometimes confuse regenerative While an outdoor evening music festival is not the weekly Davidson Farmers Market.

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WRITTEN IN THE STARS

agriculture with organic farming, but the two are different, Blakley continues. Hodges Family Farm adheres to many organic standards, but those standards still allow farms to use organic pesticides and herbicides. Farm manager Connor Newman and Blakley avoid all pesticides.

“Anytime you apply a pesticide to a field, whether it’s organic or not, you’re destroying beneficial insects along with the insects that are bad for your crops,” Blakley explains.

All the farm animals are raised on pasture and kept completely outside. Chickens, which are housed in poultry houses in industrial factory farming, are allowed to roam the pasture.

“We move them around in different fields to keep them away from their manure so they have fresh stuff to eat,” Blakley says. Cows, pigs and turkeys are also rotated to different pastures every day. It may sound like free range, but it isn’t. On a lot of free range farms, chickens are contained in a poultry house and given access to a pasture only during the day.

“We never do that,” Blakley emphasizes. “Our chickens are never shut into a building at all.”

Blakley is certain that regenerative agriculture practices like those implemented at the farm can reverse the effects of climate change and ameliorate some of its fallout.

“We have a lot of potential to educate people in what agriculture needs to look like going forward,” Blakley says. “The kind of commercial agriculture we do today isn’t sustainable.”

He’s convinced that humanity has to transition all its agriculture to regenerative practices to avoid more of the ecological disasters devastating the planet.

According to Regeneration International, “The current industrial food system is responsible for 44 to 57% of all global greenhouse gas emissions … A new food system could be a key driver of solutions to climate change.”

As this story is being written, western Canada is reporting record-high temperatures of 121 degrees. Wildfires rage in western U.S. states while temperatures soar. Oil and gas companies are facing a wave of lawsuits alleging that the industry severely aggravated the environmental crisis with a decadeslong campaign of lies and deceit to suppress climate change warnings from their own scientists.

“It would really make me happy if people fell in love with the farm,” Blakley says. “If we can attract people out here with a concert and they have a great time, they can [also] learn about regenerative agriculture. That would mean so much.”

That’s where Kowalski comes in.

NEWS & OPINION FEATURE From the ecosystem to the cosmos

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Stargazer Music Fest has gone through a long gestation process, Kowalski says.

“It started over a mutual love of science and the cosmos, shared between me and some of my colleagues — a few of which are performing.”

The concert features psychedelic trip-hop twosome Space Ballet, comprised of vocalist Kim Milan and drummer/keyboardist Jedd Lygre. Called “the coolest band at the end of the universe,” by Queen City Nerve, Space Ballet crafts eclectic compositions that coalesce around Milan’s voice, which sounds hopeful, mystical, and forlorn in the same breath.

Intergalactic dada duo Spacepants consists of viola player Diana Wade and vocalist Jennifer Beattie, who deliver witty spoken word-minimalist music mash-ups, played on plucked, strummed and rattled viola and a 25-foot long plastic tube that emits sounds ranging from a percussive clatter to a dinosaur’s groan.

Another two-piece, Spatial Forces, features Jessica Lindsey and Christy Banks trading off on bass and clarinet. Lindsey and Banks mix music from their acoustic instruments with digitally recorded sounds from the world around us, which are then manipulated

to create an electronic soundscape. The resulting music is called “electroacoustic” by classical musicians.

Alternative woodwind ensemble Phoenix Down RPG does not include “space” or “spatial” in its name, but that doesn’t stop the trio of oboist Teil Buck and clarinetists Dylan Lloyd and Jessica Harrie from making otherworldly sounds. The trio’s 2018 album Dragon Ballad Volume 1 is the first in a series of role-playinggame soundtracks — in this case, music to accompany a round of Dungeons & Dragons. Tracks range from quirky hip-hop to foot-dragging zombie-paced dirges and medieval pastiches that recall the work of early 1970s English folk outfit Amazing Blondel.

Kowalski’s criteria for picking the Stargazer bands was simple.

“I [wanted] true original badass and brave musical artists, that … could co-create the most amazing vibe for our audience and take us through a variety of well-paired, yet unique, musical experiences.”

As the festival’s bill firmed-up, Kowalski searched for an appropriate venue.

“I was looking for a suitable site for this specific experience design, and [Hodges Family Farm] fit all my criteria,” she says.

Hodges Family Farm had been kicking around the idea of holding concerts on their property for a while, Blakley says. After the family had converted an old

barn built in the 1930s into a wedding venue, they started looking at ways to leverage that distinctive building to draw more people to the farm.

Blakley says they discussed using the barn as a backdrop for a series of concerts.

“We thought it would be fun, and our backdrop would be fairly unique so we figured we would give it a shot,” he offers.

He admits, however, that he is clueless when it comes to the music business.

“I naively thought, ‘Well I can just call some local bands, and they would probably love to come play out here,’” Blakley says with a chuckle. Luckily, he soon heard from someone well-versed in music and the business of making music.

“Elizabeth cold-called us just out of nowhere and said, ‘Hey, I want to run this Stargazing Festival at your farm,’” Blakley remembers. “It was an accidental meeting that has turned into a really good partnership.”

Blakley drew on Kowalski’s booking experience for the Summer Concert Series. Scheduled for Thursday evenings, the series kicks off July 15 with blues and bluegrass combo Chad Andrew Harris and The Blue Herons. Other artists in the series, which runs through Aug. 26, include George Banda, Josh Daniel and XOXOK. For the series and Stargazer, there will be no traditional stage for the performers, Blakley says.

Instead, the bands will set up against the distinctive barn, and audiences are advised to bring blankets and chairs to set down in the adjoining meadow.

In addition to booking bands for the Summer Concert Series and Stargazer, Kowalski turned to Jason Jet and his crew from Grindhaus Studios to provide sound for the shows.

She also recruited the Charlotte Amateur Astronomy Club to provide the skygazing element of Stargazer. The astronomy club will set up several large telescopes through which festival attendees can view the moon and other celestial objects in the night sky.

The farm will also hold a night market during Stargazer featuring produce and meat from the farm.

Pastries and cookies from local business Festin Bakery will also be on hand. All the baked goods use eggs from the farm. Other vendors include Pharr Mill Brewery’s beer truck from Harrisburg, Queen Hemp Company, and Gypsy’s Therapy Gardens. Festivalgoers are encouraged to get some snacks, fresh produce, and baked goods, take a gander through one of the onsite telescopes, and settle into the meadow with their blankets and chairs to enjoy the celestial sounds.

“I look forward to inviting people into this nightscape to experience science and art in a new and personal way,” Kowalski says.

PMORAN@QCNERVE.COM

THU-SAT07_15 - 07_17 NOVEAU SUD’S ‘LA BESTIA’

Through physical theatre, circus arts troupe Noveau Sud’s aerialists, acrobats, dancers and jugglers will trace the torturous and often deadly route Central American migrants take to reach the U.S. border. The performance features the troupe members balancing on canes, juggling and performing on aerial straps, trapezes, and an aerial-borne “train” that depicts La Bestia — the beast. It’s a poetic interpretation of an actual freight train running through Mexico that migrants boarded on their perilous journey. The train was also christened El tren de la muerte,or “The Train of Death.”

More: $10 and up; July 15-17, times vary; Booth Playhouse, 130 N. Tryon St.; nouveausud.org

RENEVLIS, THE PINTOS Photo courtesy of Renelvis

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Have I mentioned that I met Elvis, The King, the Pelvis? He was working customer service at the since-demolished Walmart on Eastway Drive and Central Avenue. Okay, it wasn’t really Elvis Presley. It was Charlotte’s very own beloved Elvis impersonator Renelvis. Philippines native Rene Escharcha has been performing his Elvis act since the early ’90s, even playing the first Lollapalooza festival here in 1992. After a hiatus of far too long, Renelvis is back on stage. Catch him while you can. He’s a sincere, off-the-wall Queen City gem. Bless him.

More: $10; July 14 & 28, 10 p.m.; Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St.; snugrock.com

Singer Phil Pucci’s dreamy vocals glide smoothly through sheets of shimmering reverberating guitars on the lush single “Sentimental Song,” released in December 2020. Since then, Pucci has stepped away for an angst-ridden, but no less gorgeously gauzy-sounding side project Invader Houses. Now Pullover’s back with a battery of crack pop-rock tunes: “Beat up Car,” which rides ringing guitars to a big swarming chorus that conjures memories of Big Star, and the galloping chamber pop of “Dream Away” and “Ride,” which beguiles listeners with a cloud layer of strummed guitars.

More: $15; July 15, 8 p.m.; Neighborhood Theatre, 511 East 36th St.; maxxmusic.com

Born and raised in the North Carolina backcountry, The Tan and Sober Gentlemen absorbed the songs, stories, myths and tunes of the western Carolina mountains, and have launched an exploration of the region’s Gaelic roots. Playing Cat’s Cradle in Asheville, Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival in Pittsboro, the Roisin Dubh in Ireland and more, the band traces a musical bloodline from mist-shrouded valet to Appalachian hilltop. The Local Boys infuse their rollicking bluegrass with country and rock ‘n’ roll.

More: $10-$12; July 17, 7 p.m.; Evening Muse, 3227 N. Davidson St.; eveningmuse.com

Downward dog meets delectable dining in a yoga class and meal centered on comfort and safety. The COVID Conscious Yoga class is an energizing practice built for all levels and will be led by Dancing Lotus Yoga + Arts co-creator Jasmine Vializtakes. The class takes place in The Gathering Common at C3 Lab and is paired with brunch prepared by chef Ken Aponte of Alchemy Restaurant & Bar. Menu options include a vegan waffle, heirloom tomato benedict, French toast and portabello egg in the hole.

More: $35; July 18, 8:30-10 a.m.; Alchemy at C3 Lab, 2517 Distribution St.; c3-lab.com

RENELVIS, THE PINTOS

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NOVEAU SUD’S ‘LA BESTIA’ Rendering by Houston Odum

PULLOVER Photo by Brian BT Twitty

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PULLOVER

THE TAN AND SOBER GENTLEMEN, THE LOCAL BOYS

COVID CONSCIOUS YOGA AND BRUNCH

THE TAN AND SOBER GENTLEMEN Photo courtesy of TT&SG

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Multimedia artist Willie Little incorporates sculpture, painting, sound installations, reconstructed architecture, recycled memorabilia, and real-life stories to craft striking and thought-provoking pieces. His visual narratives document a fading part of rural Southern life while tackling topics of racism, social justice, and the childhood memories of growing up on a tobacco farm in eastern North Carolina. His memoir In the Sticks documents his years growing up as a poor, Black and gay child in the rural South.

More: Free; July 20, 7 p.m.; online; ganttcenter.org

In a relatively short amount of time, Chrisette Michele rose to be one of Def Jam’s heavy hitters, then left the label to form her own imprint Rich Hipster. Developing her vocal chops by singing gospel, Michele arrived in the spotlight after being featured on tracks by Nas and Jay-Z. Milestone, her 2016 debut on her label, makes room for braggadocio and heartfelt melodies. After releasing five successful R&B albums, the Grammy-winning artist cratered her career when she performed at Donald Trump’s inauguration. You’d think she’d know that he kills everything he touches.

More: $32 and up; July 22, 7:30 p.m.; Underground, 820 Hamilton St.; fillmorenc.com

There’s so much more to this rambunctious Missouri trio than their rootin’ tootin’ name. The hard-charging blues-rock trio kicks out galloping tunes that fuse rhythm & blues, rock’n’roll, honky tonk, jazz, soul, and punk with a thematic penchant for the strange and the unexplained. In songs that harken to every raconteur, rabble-rouser, or revival preacher that ever rambled from town to town, the band shifts easily from raucous blues to country ballads. The Hooten Hallers conjures comparisons to Tom Waits and Morphine while retaining their own ragged glory.

More: Free; July 24, 7 p.m.; U.S. National Whitewater Center, 5000 Whitewater Center Pkwy.; usnwc.org

RiFF RAFF, aka Jody Highroller, aka Dale Dan Tony, is the mullet-rocking, neon-sporting rapper who comes out of Texas but looks like he’s from Miami — or West Virginia. He was Mad Decent enough to sign with producer Diplo’s label of that name in 2013, then gained national recognition with the hit single, “Tip Toein’ In My Jawdinz.” RiFF RAFF turns heads with his appearance alone, but his sound is unlike anyone else doing it, and his wordplay and flow are worth your attention. He’ll be joined by openers Nige Hood, Princeton and Bailey Snow.

More: $25-$300; July 24, 8 p.m.; The Unknown Brewing Co., 1327 S. Mint St.; tinyurl.com/RiffRaffUnknown

OPEN AIR: CONVERSATIONS WITH WILLIE LITTLE

CHRISETTE MICHELE

THE HOOTEN HALLERS

CHRISETTE MICHELE Photo courtesy of Chrisette Michelle

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THE HOOTEN HALLERS Photo courtesy of THH

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PLOW

Choreographer Megan Payne, one of the masterminds behind the perennially provocative Ladyfest showcase, is teaming up with avant-garde dance comedian Joy Davis to share Plow. Billed as a dance installation, the work emerges from Davis and Payne’s backgrounds in Appalachia. Plow meditates on the intimacy of home and intriguingly explores the idea of place as a form of stillness. Payne’s work is often hypnotic and lush, while Davis is known for her athleticism and humor, making this a collaboration that promises to break new ground for both artists.

More: $10, July 25, 7:30 p.m.; Open Door Studios, 3706 Central Ave.; opendoorstudios.com

OPEN AIR: CONVERSATIONS WITH WILLIE LITTLE Photo by Lisianthus Dahlia

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ARTS FEATURE

A PLATFORM FOR ALL ART FORMS

Phaze Gawd launches For Artist by Artist to highlight local talent

that shit will really start changing your perspective on a lot of stuff.”

And though he isn’t discussing it in the moment, that statement speaks to Potts’ mission with his latest venture, For Artist By Artist, or FAxA, a new platform he’s launching to serve as a free promotional tool for his fellow Charlotte creatives.

multitude of services to local artists, all of which free of cost: video shoots, photo shoots, content creation (video interviews, storytelling, etc.), marketing, event planning and more.

The inspiration behind FAxA came from Potts’ recent return to Charlotte after spending two years living in Durham.

Having grown up in Charlotte and built his name in the local hip-hop scene as Phaze Gawd, Potts was Preparing for the spotlight concerned that the Queen City was going to miss a Building on the connections that he’s cultivated as a rapper in the Queen City, Potts plans to offer a big opportunity.

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BY RYAN PITKIN

In Anthony Potts’ tiny studio space sits a table with a computer, a chair, a couch and some shelves. Above the couch hangs a lone painting done as a collaborative piece by local artists Traphouse Art and Francesko the Artist. But Potts, a local rapper who performs as Phaze Gawd, doesn’t need to fit much more into the space to serve as inspiration.

After all, just outside the curtain next to his computer is a fortune of local art, all done by the artists housed at Charlotte Art League, a nonprofit visual arts organization located on Raleigh Street at the northern tip of Charlotte’s NoDa neighborhood.

As we walk through the vast warehouse on the way to his studio, we pass a sculpture of Queen Charlotte just like the statue that sits in front of the Charlotte Douglas International Airport — except not really.

Upon closer look, there are differences. First of all, her crown is bejeweled by beer-bottle tops, but less obvious changes include her hair, which is made of extension cords and phone lines.

The sculpture was made for an upcoming show, but mum’s the word on that for now.

Potts has only been in the space for a couple months, but it’s already having an effect on his creative drive.

“Seeing all this local art, these are people in the city, so these are people that are here, my next-door neighbors,” he says. “This is what they do. How could I not know these people? I would be doing myself a disservice not trying to find who these people are and find out what these people do, their journey, because when you really start looking at someone’s art, and really start understanding the concept of art and reading between the lines and getting the stories of the people,

PHAZE GAWD PHOTO BY JOYLAND

He feared that COVID had the potential to undermine the explosive growth that Charlotte hiphop had been experiencing leading up to 2020.

“There was this scarcity,” he said of moving back to Charlotte in November. “Of course, I’m coming back in the midst of the height of COVID, so there was not a lot of stuff going on, but even beforehand I was noting that there were not as many events as there was before — that I noticed, that I saw. I don’t know if it was just a lack of promotion for events, but I just didn’t see as many events being thrown as I had usually seen before moving and coming back. I was not seeing a lot of that movement in the city that I’m usually used to.”

Of course, this is happening to creative scenes across the country in the wake of the pandemic.

Musicians, visual artists and other creatives all around the world have only just begun poking their heads out from whatever their setup was during quarantine, looking for ways to share what they’ve created over the past 15 months and reconnect with their peers and patrons.

But as Potts points out, Charlotte and the Carolinas — specifically the local hip-hop scene — have all the more reason to pick up where they left off, as a spotlight had recently hit the area thanks to the charttopping success of artists such as DaBaby.

“DaBaby has blown up Charlotte on a grand scale, so we have a lot more people coming through the city of Charlotte, a lot more people coming through the Carolinas as a whole trying to find talent, just being here,” Potts says, “so having that new spotlight has definitely opened a lot more lanes and opportunities to be seen.”

But are Charlotte artists ready to be seen when folks come looking?

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ARTS FEATURE

“We’re just bringing a lot of our fellow artist to discuss expanding the open mics that the small friends together to give them this platform to be bottle shop had been sparingly hosting when they seen,” he explains. “That’s the thing I always saw, found the time and performers.

Anthony Potts becomes Phaze Gawd not just in this music scene but elsewhere: A lot of Potts says the hesitancy of local venues to Despite not having been allowed to listen to hip- stuff is still you got to pay to play to be a part of book hip-hop shows along with the new struggles hop as a child due to his mother’s strict adherence something, or you gotta be at a certain tier to have introduced by the pandemic have only inspired a to the traditional stronger drive for DIY conservatism of her folks like himself. faith as a Jehovah’s “What it’s done is Witness, Potts has created a generation known he wanted of artists that literally to rap since he had to do it on our was assigned with own and we had performing the iconic to hustle and make Freedom Williams verse something out of on C+C Music Factory’s nothing. That’s why hip-house hit “Gonna I’ve been grateful to Make You Sweat” find other locations to as a third-grader at perform at like Bart’s Collinswood Language Mart,” he says. “Every Academy in southwest place is a music venue Charlotte. if you put a speaker in He was bitten by it. Bart’s Mart has done the performance bug, some open mics but PHAZE GAWD PERFORMS AT A RECENT OPEN MIC AT BART’S MART. likely handed down by I saw the potential in PHOTO BY FRANCESKO THE ARTIST his father, Gary Potts, it and I said, ‘How can who played saxophone in we make this bigger? numerous Charlotte-area R&B bands as Saxxy G. access or be on a certain platform, and I understand He rapped throughout his high school career those ways, but my thing is I hate the idea of having at Olympic High, performing at talent shows and to pay to be heard. house parties, and would eventually drop out of UNC “As artists we spend our own money already just Charlotte to focus on his music career. He went on to create something,” he continues, “and it’s hard as to form the Phazer Gang collective in 2012, and has an artist just to recoup that already, so now to have released a number of collaborative and solo projects to spend more as an artist just to have something since. His video for “Billy Gram$” was awarded Best seen is kind of asinine.”

Male Hip-Hop video in 2017.

Upon the creation of FAxA, Potts went to work on It was not long after the 2018 release of his EP a number of different fronts, bringing on Charlotte Dark Dreams, a collaborative effort with longtime rapper and longtime Phazer Gang collaborator Railz friend and producer A Man With Antlers (AMWA), the Principle to handle video production, filming an that Potts packed up and moved to Durham to take a interview with fellow rapper Joe Sig to kick things job as a warehouse manager. off.

He kept in touch with his Charlotte cohorts They also shot a collaborative rap video, the through social media, but upon his return last first in a new series titled FAxA Sessions, featuring November found himself wanting to take a more performances from Phaze Gawd and Railz alongside active role in the scene again.

Charlotte’s GHX$T3EYES and Raleigh’s Tanajah.

That’s when the idea for FAxA began to bubble Phaze and his collaborators plan to continue up. building content like that until there’s enough to officially launch the FAxA website, which will consist of music premieres, exclusive videos, reviews and No work shortage here While he pronounces the acronym as “Phaza,” the like.

Until then, Potts is also working on giving local that’s about where the similarities to Phazer Gang end. Potts is adamant that FAxA isn’t a collective, per artists not only a platform but a stage to perform on. se, but an organization that’s open to anyone willing He met with Justin Graham, owner at Bart’s Mart in the burgeoning Eastway Crossing shopping center, to work hard for their art.

How can I get my people involved?’ Justin being the guy he is, he’s definitely open to new ideas, so I was grateful that he was open to that idea so we could have that and show the real talent in the city.”

On June 29, he hosted the first FAxA Open Mic at Bart’s Mart, featuring local rappers performing while Francesko the Artist sold his artwork. The next event is scheduled for July 30.

Potts emphasizes that everyone is welcome to work with FAxA, as long as the artist is willing to put in the same level of commitment that he’s willing to give back to them.

“The idea is to keep as much money in the artists’ pockets as possible, of course without going crazy ourselves,” he says. “It’s all about maintaining a balance — finding artists that are working, making sure that they’re consistently working, they just need that level up … That’s the biggest thing is we want to make sure that we’re helping artists, but we’re also looking for artists to believe in themselves, to step it up. Let’s make sure that you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing, and we’ll do what we can.”

Because when you’re looking to open doors, collaboration is the key.

RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM

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STEEPED IN TRADITION

Maria Howell is a true working musician with an impressive resume

Pg. 10 JUL 14 - JUL 27, 2021 - QCNERVE.COM

BY GREG JARRELL

Everybody sounds good in the shower, but to be a working musician is different. There is the honing of a craft, with all the fine details of diction and theory and timing and leading a band. You need to know your preferred key for every tune, you need to keep the rhythms and the forms, and you need to be able to hold a crowd — whether a couple dozen or a couple thousand. In other words, most singers just sing; only a few singers are musicians.

Maria Howell is a musician, and plenty of Charlotte’s finest musicians are ready to testify to that.

“Maria is an incredible musical conversation partner,” says pianist Noel Freidline, Howell’s most frequent collaborator. The two have released multiple albums together and even co-host a website so fans can find where they’re performing together next. “She is naturally gifted and she works hard at her craft. And beyond that, she’s a terrific human — as genuine and gracious off the stage as she is on it.”

Veteran saxophonist and bandleader Ziad Rabie loves working with Howell as well.

“She’s a true professional,” he says. “She makes a performance easy for everyone. Maria is an incredible singer, and she’s also a great entertainer.”

For that reason, Rabie and his band — including Freidline, Ron Brendle on bass, and Alfred Sergel IV on drums — were thrilled to have Howell join them for the re-opening of the Jazz at the Bechtler series on September 10. That popular series always sells out, and the band will surely be ready to unleash following a long period apart.

A Gastonia native, Howell has taken her craft seriously since singing in church and with choirs as a young person. The energy of a congregation calling back to her while she sang a solo in church opened the musical world to her. She thought she wanted to sing professionally, but traditional music school routes did not present themselves. She pursued a medical degree in college but kept pushing herself musically.

Her former high school choir teacher testified as much in the middle of one of Howell’s Bechtler gigs a few years ago. “She stood up after I recognized her from the stage,” Howell recalled. “She told the crowd that she remembered me saying, ‘I want to PHOTO BY APRL FRIEDLINE

sing every note better than the last note.’ And that’s right. I’m my own challenge. I’m my own standard.

And I’m still pushing myself.”

Howell has done a good bit of acting as well, appearing in numerous television shows and feature films. Her career jump-started when she landed a role in the film The Color Purple, and has continued from there, recently including a role in Hidden Figures. She’s also done animation, video games, voice-over work, and karaoke tracks — almost everything a talented voice like hers could be employed for.

With every opportunity, she’s using her craft to tell a story in the way that only Maria Howell can.

You can catch her versatility on display in one of her multiple upcoming performances in Charlotte.

During an August engagement at Middle C Jazz Club, where she and Freidline are regular performers, the pair and their band will take on the catalog of Chicago’s horn-infused rock.

“I think of myself as a stylist,” Howell says. “I can work in any genre. I want to be able to tell a story, and to do it in a way that has integrity, class, and style.”

She’s also scheduled to perform at the newly reconstructed Memorial Stadium for an upcoming Tosco Music Party, a local mash-up of acoustic performances that serves as a mix of MTV Unplugged and Charlotte’s version of the Governor’s Ball. The stadium concert will be part of the popular Charlotte SHOUT festival, to take place throughout Uptown in late September.

At the Bechtler and in other jazz-friendly settings, she will float atop her rhythm section while scatting a bebop line, then draw tears with an old torch song, following that by digging deep into the blues tradition. Along the way, you’ll see and hear the influence of Nancy Wilson and Sarah Vaughan.

Howell knows the tradition deeply. She’s been a professional long enough, though, that now she’s influencing others.

Forced to choose a preference in genre, Howell returns to The Great American Songbook, a collection of songs from the best and most influential composers from the first half of the 20th century.

“Those songs provoke wonder,” she says.

“They don’t tell you everything. They invite you to imagine settings along with the songwriter and the performer.”

For someone ready to tell a story through all the little details of her craft, they are the perfect vehicle.

She’s sure to have just the right songs picked out when she and her fellow musicians hit the stages around Charlotte and beyond in the coming months.

For Howell’s music and performance calendar, visit mariahowell.com.

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

DO IT FOR DOLO Terrence Richard opens up fully as Alan Charmer

Pg. 11 JUL 14 - JUL 27, 2021 - QCNERVE.COM

BY JONATHAN GOLIAN

PHOTO BY ELIAS PITTMAN AND SARAH BLENIS

From May 2020 through the February release of “Lost/Control,” Richard used his time in quarantine to hone his vocals and even learned to play the piano, all while writing a small library of songs that would become the Alan Charmer library.

Of the three songs currently out, each feels similar in sound but holds something uniquely heavy on the emotional side.

“Lost/Control” speaks of the indecision, hard calls, and regrets of taking a friendship to bed, changing the dynamic in an irreversible way.

“Squeeze” recalls the memories of a past partner, and what little remains after it is all gone, even as one tries to reach across time with a midnight phone call.

The latest track, “Call U Soon,” speaks to the situation Ricard describes above, one in which the realities around us create hallowing images of possible loss — whether it be family, friend or acquaintance.

When the news can amp up the anxiety, sometimes it is too much to take.

Alan Charmer explains his perspective of growing up in the increasingly nerve-wracking atmosphere of America: “You know you’re beautiful, please take your Tylenol, headaches from all the bad news…” he sings. “Said it’d be better if they weren’t all around you/ Said it’d be better if they weren’t always on the news.”

As with many of the lyrics he wrote for Junior Astronomers, Richards makes it easy for listeners to identify with his tales, subbing in their own individual stories to be able to relate to the music.

Alan Charmer, the solo project that combines Richard’s middle name with the nickname of a beloved cousin, speaks softly yet strongly from the heart in a way that might only be possible for him in this format.

When put side-by-side with the work audiences already know him for, the small-but-growing Alan Charmer discography adds another layer for the artist to grow into in 2021 and beyond.

In the era we live in, where life runs at a breakneck pace and clout can make one complacent, starting something fresh can be tough, especially when one has built a strong base through a proven formula.

In the last year, however, many have been presented with the opportunity to break that cycle.

About a month and a half into the pandemic, Terrence Richard, frontman of the hugely popular local alt-rock outfit Junior Astronomers, began to branch out, and over the next year went on to develop an entirely new sound with his solo project, performing as Alan Charmer.

The differences between Junior Astronomers and Alan Charmer are day and night. Where the band blows audiences out with their anthems, throwing them into a frenzy on the dance floor or in the pit, Alan Charmer pulsates an emotional energy that draws listeners in for a more minimalistic atmosphere.

“For me, it’s one of those things that I wanted to make something more accessible, but at the same time have it be just me,” Richard tells Queen City Nerve.

For him, breaking out into the solo world was about expressing himself more as an individual, wearing his emotions on his sleeve even more so than he already had with Astronomers.

“With some music, you don’t want to write something super personal and then have three other dudes have to play a song about it,” he explains. “For instance, one of my songs [“Call U Soon”] is about my mom worrying about a police officer killing me. I don’t want them to have to play that because it might not be their viewpoint, or it might not be what they believe. I mean, they obviously care about that, but in this way I can just say what I want, If you’re looking to see Alan Charmer hit the stage and that’s one of the best parts.” solo, look ahead to when Petra’s Bar celebrates its Alan Charmer has dropped three singles thus reopening in August, as Alan Charmer is scheduled to far: “Squeeze” in February, “Lost/Control” in March, and “Call U Soon” in May. He plans to drop an EP perform there on Aug. 6. sometime in the second half of the year, with an LP INFO@QCNERVE.COM to follow in 2022.

The lyrics in Alan Charmer’s first three tracks provide much of the draw, while the evocative pianos and low-fi vibe of the production creates the perfect dreamscape as a backdrop.

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ROCK EVERLASTING

Evergone returns with first release in six years

Pg. 12 JUL 14 - JUL 27, 2021 - QCNERVE.COM

BY PAT MORAN

PHOTO COURTESY OF CRASH MEDIA

“We’ve been threatening to put out an album for a couple years,” Scott Harding says. The lead singer and rhythm guitarist for Evergone is discussing the band’s imminent release What Went Wrong, the long awaited follow-up to their 2014 debut EP In the Shadows, in which the full-throttle rockers will finally follow through on their longtime threat.

In March 2020, after replacing original bass player James Stratford with Robbie Thornton, the band decided it was finally time to record a fulllength album, Harding recalls.

“We started looking into studios and boom, COVID hits!”

Now with the city and its music scene gradually reawakening from its COVID-related deep freeze, Harding and his cohorts are back in the game.

It’s not often that new music from a group of mature rockers inspires such anticipation, but the resumes of Evergone’s members read like a who’s who of local and regional rock: Harding toured with the band Circle in the late ’90s, lead guitarist Larry Kohler has been in several groups including Mother Fungus and Stunt Shot, Colin Welch-McLoy drummed for Charlotte ska outfit Bums Lie, and bassist Thornton currently plays with The Menders and Witch Motel as well as Evergone.

“We are all quite seasoned,” Harding says.

With that experience comes toughness and resilience. Kohler says he’s weathered a fair amount of music business heartbreak. “[You] watch chances slip through your fingers,” Kohler says. “Not stardom, but [things like] grabbing a record deal. You’d get your hands on it but something would happen and it [would] slip out of your grasp.”

Despite Evergone’s ephemeral-sounding name, its road-hardened veterans, a rock ‘n’ roll band of brothers, craft complex, propulsive, rough-edged music that makes a lasting impression.

In the Shadows contains four songs, each offering tight harmonies and complex arrangements. With its slow build up of roiling guitars, “Rotten Water” combines the ’90s alt-rock roar of Pearl Jam with the nimble ’80s angularity of Mission of Burma.

Harding’s gruff, gravelly vocals duel with Kohler’s grinding guitar and Welch-McLoy’s splashing

cymbals in the anxious “Chapter Book.”

The band’s twin-guitar, double-barrel assault gives way to spiky, spiraling ska on “The One.” Despite slashing guitars and careening drums, “Out of Time” feels melancholy, as if singer Harding is watching helplessly while something vital slowly fades away.

The band played its first show in early spring of 2014 at Roux in NoDa. By the end of that year, they had recorded their debut EP at Studio 1 studios in Charlotte with Patrick Boyd at the board.

Soon, the band started participating in Justin Fedor’s tribute shows at the Neighborhood Theatre to benefit Levine Children’s Hospital. The band members had a good reason to get involved.

Harding’s son was born three months prematurely, weighing in at 2.2 pounds. From Pineville Main Hospital he was quickly transported to Levine Children’s Hospital, where Kohler says his life was saved.

“I could never in a lifetime repay the Children’s Hospital for the care they gave to my Brooklin and my family during that time,” Harding says. “My way of helping and giving back was through these benefits.”

Today Harding describes the band’s music as “Punk Rock Horsepower,” but he’s fine when people compare it to a classic rock’n’roll band or a ’90s grunge combo.

When COVID hit, the band continued to rehearse and did a few live streams. In December 2020, the foursome dove in and started recording with Pete McCoil of Crash Media/805 Recording Studio. The process took three months, and now the completed album is slated for a late summer release.

Then, on June 12, Evergone played its first gig in front of a live audience since the start of the pandemic. Harding calls the experience “priceless.”

“It was an amazing feeling, like Christmas, Easter and Valentine’s Day all wrapped up into one,” Kohler says.

Now, after a seven-year wait, Evergone is releasing new music while the summer heat lingers and the music scene thaw gathers momentum.

Harding says he’d love to hear that the new album gives people hope. Looking back on the band’s career, he sees reasons to roll with the punches and endure.

“Things get fucked up; sometimes you have to force changes to better your life,” Harding offers.

“You have to realize what’s going wrong, and what’s incomplete, and what’s in your next chapter and say ‘Let’s fucking go.’”

PMORAN@QCNERVE.COM

BRIGHT SIDE OF THE MOON MoonLander puts on the rocket boosters in 2021

Pg. 13 JUL 14 - JUL 27, 2021 - QCNERVE.COM

BY RYAN PITKIN

PHOTO BY BRANDON SANG

If you’re putting your music out to the masses, hate should be expected; it comes with the creative territory. And yet, if you do so in high school, and in the era of social media, that adds another level of hate that can stop many people before they truly start.

For Dillon Houston Church, a singer and rapper from Concord who performs under the name MoonLander, the bashing he took when he kicked off his career was merciless. It didn’t help that he started under the pseudonym Lil’ Pickles in 8th grade.

“The Lil’ Pickles thing, instantly people were making fun of me — instantly,” he recalls, laughing. “I would say, ‘Hey I rap, my name is Lil’ Pickles,’ and they’d be like, ‘I’m not even going to listen to that at all.’”

As he entered Jay M. Robinson High School, he shook the briny name and went with MoonLander, building off his middle name (“Houston, we have a problem”) rather than his first (Dillon/dill pickles).

Still, he found hate at every corner.

He recalls a mixtape promotion for which he bought 100 t-shirts with his own money and handed them out for free as long as people promised to tweet about it. That campaign backfired on him.

“People would just tweet videos of them burning the shirts,” he says. “I don’t know, people were just mean at the time, but that’s high school.”

MoonLander stuck with it, driven by a Confucius quote used by Will Smith while promoting his 2006 film The Pursuit of Happyness: “The man who thinks he can and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.”

“I locked that into my mind then, and I was like, ‘This is me, I’m going to the grave with this. I’m either dying or I’m going to be famous,’” he says. “So that’s when I started taking everything real serious.”

A decade after making that realization, MoonLander continues to shoot for the stars, each year setting new goals and tackling them at any cost — sometimes literally. In 2018, MoonLander bought his way onto the Breakaway Festival after DMing the CEO and offering $3,000 for an opening slot.

It was his last shot at the Breakaway stage after spending the spring DMing anyone who had anything to do with the touring hip-hop fest, and it garnered a response. After all, money talks, he explains.

“Sadly, and I think a lot of people are missing

out on this, if you really want to be something and if you’re starting off and you don’t have a fan base, you’re going to have to put money down,” he says.

MoonLander was placed on the bill for Charlotte, and he used that opportunity to open more doors, joining the lineup at Breakaway Fests in other cities and opening on tours with Kid Quill and Mike Stud.

In 2020, he signed with Breakaway’s management team, Prime Artists, and prepared for an even bigger slate of shows around the country.

But alas, as with musicians everywhere, he was stopped in his tracks thanks to the pandemic.

“I had just signed a deal and I was already booked for six Breakaways, I had some other festivals, I was going to go on some tours, so I was like, ‘This is about to be my year,’” he says. “Obviously, it wasn’t. I got stuck in the house.”

Yet MoonLander isn’t one to sit around, grounded. He released Houston 97, a 10-track album of what he felt was his strongest music out of around 100 tracks he had recorded over a five-year period. Even without the constant touring, more people began to find his brand of pop rap, building his monthly Spotify streams to more than 10,000 listeners.

Now that he’s back out, MoonLander is looking to takeoff all over again. He recently released “Brightside,” which pushes the positive message that got him to where he is today, relying more on his natural voice than the autotune that has saturated much of his earlier work.

“This year I just really want to focus on showing a true artist and my growth,” he says. “It’s a totally different sound. I just tried to focus on vibes last time, but I want to be talking about something now.”

In August, MoonLander plans to launch a tour with Brice Vine, as well as perform at Breakaway Fest in Charlotte on Oct. 2. He also has a Halloween costume party concert that he planned alongside local musician and friend Natalie Carr scheduled for Oct. 28 at Neighborhood Theatre.

While he’s found early success touring the country, MoonLander hopes to plug in more with the local scene this year, building on relationships with local musicians like Carr, Yung Citizen and Chris Buxton, who he says share his mix of drive and optimism.

“If I can see that your heart is 1,000% in it, it’s just nice to see people respect themselves as an artist and be like, ‘This is what I want,’” he says. “We all have our different ways of making moves, but I just respect people that respect themselves.”

It’s that self-respect that brought him from Lil’ Pickles to the big stages.

RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM

MUSIC JULY 14 - JULY 27

JULY 19

JULY 21

Jimbo Mathis and the Dial Back Sound (Neighborhood Theatre) Squirrel Nut Zippers founder Mathus has produced a body of work that is a testament to the deep South.

Renelvis, the Pintos (Snug Harbor) Did Elvis Presley once work at Walmart like Renelvis?

No, Presley was too busy driving around with the Memphis mafia, trying to use that DEA badge Richard Nixon gave him.

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

JULY 20

JULY 14

Revelwood Mission weave a tapestry rich with dynamic RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B guitars, vocal harmonies and commanding rhythms.

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Menastree ( Evening Muse) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Renelvis, The Pintos (Snug Harbor) Jesse Lamar Williams’ collective encompasses the Accept no substitutes, Renelvis, the ‘Filipino Spawn of Phaze Gawd, Indigo Jo, Celeste Moonchild, FLLS emotion of soul, the swing of R&B, the complexity of (Snug Harbor) Elvis,’ is the real Elvis Presley impersonator.

Phaze Gawd has made a name for himself within jazz and the firepower of rock.

Sevendust, Austin Meade, Kirra (Rural Hill) Atlanta metal outfit merges crunching guttural riffs the hip-hop community with an original sound that combines new-age hip-hop, raw lyricism, and vocal with soulful melodies. versatility.

RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Malcolm Charles (Evening Muse) Performing as “Cannoli,” this Northwest School of the COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Arts grad creates “head-bobbing” music.

Tan and Sober Gentlemen, The Local Boys (Evening JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Muse) Remember Whensdays (Middle C Jazz) Born and raised in the NC backcountry, The Tan and Sean Higgins Trio with Theresa Rene present a night Sober Gentlemen explore the region’s Gaelic roots. of Nina Simone.

Kevin Daniel, The Bottom Line (Evening Muse) Asheville-based Americana artist Daniel has been ROCK/PUNK/METAL compared to Jason Isbell and Chris Stapleton.

Pullover (Neighborhood Theatre) ROCK/PUNK/METAL Charlotte pop-rock combo boasts dreamy vocals over My Blue Hope, The Hand Off, Duckbeak, Harriet RIP sheets of shimmering, reverberating guitars.

(Skylark Social Club) Taylor Scott Band (US National Whitewater Center) My Blue Hope plays alternative indie emo goth punk Roots-rockers Taylor Scott Band delivers music that is with a southwestern garage-surf twist. heavily influenced by funk, blues and soul.

Pluto Gang (US National Whitewater Center)

JULY 17

JULY 15

RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

Pluto Gang is a high-energy jam soul band out of Josh Waters, Dajulyn (Evening Muse) Charlotte.

Capturing emotions through words and melody, this Wine Pride, Boy A/C, Buried in Roses, Kraftward R&B newcomer brings a unique take on the genre.

(Snug Harbor) Wine Pride is a self-described musical collective intent on fostering artistic integrity and empowerment.

JULY 16 Pg. 14 JUL 14 - JUL 27, 2021 - QCNERVE.COM

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

The Coursing, Den of Wolves, Dying Oath, Until They Bleed, Neverfall, Noxus (Neighborhood Theatre) New-wave metal duo The Coursing wed emotional vocals to aggressive guitars and relentless drums.

Memphis Lightning, Pam Taylor and The Flyin’ Vs (Evening Muse) Memphis Lightning brings their brand of old school rock ‘n’ roll and down-and-dirty blues to CLT. Revelwood Mission (US National Whitewater Center)

JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL

The Look of Love (Middle C Jazz) Michelle Renee and the Noel Freidline Trio explore the music of Diana Krall.

JULY 18

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Kayla Ray, Pistol Hill (Neighborhood Theatre) Singer-songwriter Ray wipes clean the dust of nostalgia and brings the hardest heart to a place of reflection.

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Justin Wells with Adam Lee (Evening Muse) Singer-songwriter Wells goes beyond common ground, transcending politics and race to tap into something far deeper and infinitely more primal.

JULY 2021 w e d j u ly 1 4

MALCOLM CHARLES “CANNOLI” t h u j u ly 1 5

W/ GRANT TERRY

f r i j u ly 1 6

MEMPHIS LIGHTNING s a t j u ly 1 7

TAN AND SOBER GENTLEMEN KEVIN DANIEL & THE BOTTOM LINE f r i j u ly 1 8

KAYLA RAY W/ PISTOL HILL

t u e s j u ly 2 0

MENASTREE

eveningmuse.com

W/ ADAM LEE

NATHAN ANGELO

“DEAL ME IN TOUR”

FT JOHNNY CHOPS

JUSTIN WELLS t h u j u ly 2 2

JOSH WATERS

W/ THE LOCAL BOYS

w e d j u ly 2 1

s a t j u ly 2 4

THE HAWTTHORNS, AARON BOYD THE CANCELLATIONS, THIRSTY CURSES w e d j u ly 2 8

SUNNY SIDE

7-PIECE JAZZ BAND FROM NEW ORLEANS t h u j u ly 2 9

JODAVI

ALBUM RELEASE f r i j u ly 3 0

SAM LEWIS 3 3 2 7 n d av i d s o n s t, c h a r l o t t e n c

JULY 22

RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Chrisette Michele (Underground) Grammy-winning R&B singer continues to attempt to undo the damage she did to her career by singing at Trump’s inauguration.

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Nathan Angelo, Grant Terry (Evening Muse) Angelo embraces classic elements of popular music and celebrating the backbeat of American tradition.

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Bob Margolin Blues Band (Neighborhood Theatre) Acting on advice he received years ago from blues great Muddy Waters, blues rocker Margolin has released his first acoustic record.

Whitehall (US National Whitewater Center) Whitehall is an indie-rock four-piece from Charleston that merges a dancable demeanor with an insatiable desire to get more out of life.

JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL

Thursday Night Jazz Jam and Martinis (Middle C Jazz) Rodney Shelton and Eric Brice present covers and originals.

JULY 23

Sol Fusion (Middle C Jazz) Sol Fusion had its debut performance at Charlotte’s ROCK/PUNK/METAL Alive After Five in April of 2012, and since then, this Brother Moses (US National Whitewater Center) Arkansas rock quartet Brother Moses has garnered dynamic 11-member musical powerhouse has been complimentary coverage by Paste Magazine and featured in large-scale Charlotte public events as Speed Street, Gravediggers Ball, and Charlotte Hornets American Songwriter.

The Donner Deads, Flight Risks (Skylark Social Club) BuzzFest.

Psychedelic-rock outfit The Donner Deads specialize in colorful grooves and fuzzy, washed-out textures.

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Todd Johnson & the Revolvers, Deaf Andrews (Snug The Cancellations, Thirsty Curses (Evening Muse) Harbor) Pop-rock band The Cancellations tell stories of With a rotating lineup of musicians, TJ&R is selfheartbreak, substance abuse, and self-discovery. described as blending the “swagger and romance of Negulators, Somethung Went Wrong (Tommy’s Pub) Rod Stewart and the American cool of Springsteen.”

Punk band Negulators claim they’re concerned that Mike Ramsey and the 5 Ensemble (Stage Door their high-energy show and will quite possibly tear a Theater) hole in the musical universe.

Charlotte songwriter Ramsey has teamed up with a BooHag, King Cackle, The Hellfire Choir (Skylark five-piece Orchestral Ensemble to capture a raw and Social Club) exciting set.

It’s Halloween in July! The swamp-punk juju of JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Columbia’s Boo Hag dovetails neatly with the Keiko Matsui (McGlohon Theater) swaggering, shit-faced pirate punk of Charlotte’s King Internationally acclaimed pianist and composer Matsui Cackle. performes with saxophonist and flutist Paula Atherton.

The Hooten Hallers (US National Whitewater Center)

Pg. 15 JUL 14 - JUL 27, 2021 - QCNERVE.COM

Never miss the catch again.

Ride CATS and get back in the game.

R i d e t r a n s i t . o r g / C AT S C o n fi d e n c e

JULY 24

Hard-charging blues-rock trio The Hooten Hallers kicks out galloping tunes than fuse rhythm & blues, rock’n’roll, honky tonk, jazz, soul, and punk with a thematic penchant for the strange and the unexplained.

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

The HawtThorns, Aaron Boyd (Evening Muse) Americana band The HawtThorns combine sun-kissed songwriting, fiery electric guitar, and lush vocal harmonies.

JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL

Saunders Sermon (Middle C Jazz) Saunders Sermon is a two-time Grammy Awardwinning singer and renowned trombonist. He has toured and recorded with Jay Z, Diddy, Fantasia, Roy Hargrove, and Maxwell.

DJ/ELECTRONIC

Lucii (Underground) Also known as Emily Rose, Lucii combines breathy vocals with yearning and moody electronic pop, creating a genre she’s dubbed “space bass.”

VISIT QCNERVE.COM FOR THE FULL SOUNDWAVE LISTING.

FOOD & DRINK FEATURE

A WOMAN’S PLACE

Artisan’s Palate serves up great food and local art through a feminist lens

Pg. 16 JUL 14 - JUL 27, 2021 - QCNERVE.COM

BY LIZ LOGAN

Christa Csoka sits at the end of an industrial chic, community-style bar table dressed in a Blondie t-shirt, sipping her iced coffee as customers, artists and staff repeatedly call for her attention, not unlike a matriarch of a large, blended family. Patiently, happily, she listens to each question, each life update, each rave about her new dishes as though the person speaking is the only one in the room.

Csoka opened The Artisan’s Palate, a hybrid art gallery and restaurant situated at the southern end of East 36th Street, in July 2019.

The road to restaurant ownership was a winding one, from West Point to Chicago, eventually landing her in Charlotte after her parents and siblings made the move from New York in the early 2000s, back when her dream of NoDa restaurant ownership began.

A windowed garage door opens into a dining room complete with refinished concrete floors filled by a variety of seating — wooden four-top tables, bar tops, metal chairs — and a back wall lined with galvanized piping that supports shelves of unique wines hand-selected by Csoka, bits of graffiti-style art popping up along support beams throughout.

Csoka had scouted a handful of locations around the city before landing on the one-time laundromat that would become The Artisan’s Palate. She’d planned to be the sole owner of her slowly forming concept, though she’d take her brother with her for moral support. She would talk to contractors, discussing what could be done with the space.

The response was the same every time — the male contractors would speak only to Csoka’s brother, ignoring her, the business owner, in the process.

The same thing had happened years prior when Csoka was running her father Louis Csoka’s business, Apex Performance. When moving from Ballantyne to Uptown prior to their closure in 2015, Csoka had worked behind the scenes to design their spot, determine the needs and find architects to help.

Again, the response was the same. Csoka would

take her dad to get his input on the place, show him what she’d been working on, and, “Every question ended up being directed at him, even though I was the one they’d been speaking to,” she recalls.

Csoka refused to work this way. She’d already experienced her fair share of sexism — sometimes violently — in the restaurant world when staging, working as a chef and in culinary school.

While attending the renowned French Culinary Institute (FCI) in New York City, she worked with what she calls “some of the best mentors” like Jacques Pepin, who’d famously worked with Julia Child, as well as other French chefs, many of whom diminishingly referred to her as “sweetheart.”

She always had a desire to work under a woman chef, though the low representation made this nearly impossible. She found herself engrossed in what she deems the “boys’ club” of the restaurant industry.

While in school, she studied under few female master chefs, and whenever she did, a trend emerged.

“They were calmer, more respectful, certainly not sexist, and I thought, ‘That’s what I want to be.’”

After FCI, Csoka spent her fair share of time in toxic male-centric kitchens. Some shattered plates against walls.

Another called her an idiot then threw a pan filled with simmering duck fat that would leave the scar still present on her left arm. She quit the next day, leaving the industry for over a decade.

This is what led her to her father’s business, where she honed in on the skills she thought she lacked. Though the dreams of restaurant ownership had swirled in her mind for decades, she didn’t see herself having the person-centered aptitude required for running anything beyond a kitchen.

Through working with her father, a former West Point professor of behavioral science and leadership, Csoka helped countless veterans, athletes and children with the mental-health skills required for adapting to new circumstances and cultivating resilience.

Csoka says it was rewarding and meaningful work but not her passion.

“It was just like a hotel in some ways,” Csoka says. “These people would come and stay the night and my mom would cook them all dinner and then breakfast in the mornings. As kids we were just like, ‘Okay, we have to do this.’”

Csoka’s first professional experience in the hospitality industry was at the West Point Club, where at age 16 she became a server for banquets and weddings.

She served cadets, generals and beyond, like the time she served then-Vice President George H.W. Bush, “complete with white gloves.”

Eventually Csoka moved to New York City where she went on to work at various roles in the industry.

She worked as a bartender, a caterer, and a coffee shop manager.

Following in her mother’s footsteps, she began cooking for her friends. She’d prepare elaborate meals and take them to the homes of friends, rolling them through the subway in suitcases, the art of cooking still nothing more than a hobby she was excited to share.

Watching from her apartment window, shocked, as the Twin Towers collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001, she determined herself to pursue cooking full-time.

“Life is too short to not do what you love,” she says.

Upon moving to Charlotte in 2003, she spent plenty of time in NoDa, back when it was filled with enough galleries to host weekly crawls. She took it all in, not knowing the seeds that were being planted at the time.

Her later idea for a hybrid gallery and restaurant came from a desire to provide a comfortable space where guests can enjoy well-crafted food and cocktails while supporting a talented local art community.

While at West Point, Csoka’s sister took a job at a craft shop that did automobile repairs and framed medals and guns (“It’s a military base— it’s normal”) and she slowly implemented watercolor and stained-glass classes.

“People would come in on Saturdays and drink horrible government-issued coffee, bringing in a hodgepodge of food and talk about art and music. I will never forget that feeling,” Csoka says. “I thought ‘What if you had great coffee and food and art?’

That’s what I want for my life.”

Those memories, along with recollections of NoDa art crawls and her final FCI project, which she did on the relationship between French Impressionism and cuisine, made the tying of food to art and art to community feel natural.

Watching firsthand her sister’s life as an artist

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As a child, Csoka spent her childhood assisting her mother in entertaining generals, new cadets and athletes at West Point, the military academy in New York, as her father worked.

On an almost weekly basis, the Csoka household would be filled as her mother cooked for any number of people in addition to her own family of six.

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FOOD & DRINK FEATURE unfold and the challenges therein with selling work and finding space, the determined inclusion of art — primarily in a so-called art district now largely devoid of galleries — secured Csoka’s final vision.

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Women in charge

After experiencing the dismissive nature of contractors and architects, The Artisan Palate’s eventual home was the only space in which Csoka felt heard and respected by contractors.

Don Belch with DRB General Contracting, the same company who worked with neighboring 9Round Fitness and Salon 1226, was the only one to look her in the eye, ignoring her brother in the background.

“Until I found him, I kept dealing with the same bullshit,” Csoka says, “The whole ‘I don’t want to talk to you, you’re a woman’ vibe.”

Belch’s respect helped Csoka feel comfortable signing a lease and investing in the 2,500-squarefoot space, and soon thereafter the concept began to come to life.

“I keep it blunt. I’m a New Yorker,” the 51-yearold Csoka says. “I come from a generation of women who do not support one another. I see this new generation doing it differently and I want to be a part of that.”

She’s set out to support women, no matter their position.

“My role in life is to empower younger women and let them know they can do whatever the hell they want. I love to support women artists and love that they are comrades in arms supporting each other,” she says. “In some instances women do still compete but this generation is more ‘We’ve got your back and we are in this together’.”

Csoka says now, as opposed to her days at FCI, she sees a lot of talented women in the industry, which makes the fight for jobs and notoriety less intense, though she still wants to see better representation of women in the industry.

“I watched Whitney Thomas, a talented chef at The Grand Bohemian, be passed over for a job and she left Charlotte. That’s a damn shame. What do we do? Go back to the boys’ network?” Csoka says. “I see it all the time and I just don’t get it.”

Csoka laments the recently announced closure of Earl’s Grocery, one of the few truly women-owned restaurants in town.

She points out that there is a limited number of Charlotte restaurants owned by women and insists

that the few getting media attention and enjoying booked-out reservations, are those that women own with their husbands, the wives often being an afterthought.

Csoka doesn’t have this “advantage” and, rightfully so, “cannot believe we still live in this type of world.”

And so she has determined to make her business as female- and femme-identifying-forward as possible, to the point of taking it beyond restaurant hours.

After her former intern Jada Bennett lost a job offer due to the pandemic, Csoka brought her on as general manager, for a time housing Bennett in her Wilmore Airbnb.

The two work well together, Csoka being more vocal, Bennett being more reserved.

“We’re like yin and yang,” Jada says.

Csoka follows with, “She’s the daughter I never had.”

The staff at The Artisan’s Palate operates like a big family, each one wanting to see the other succeed.

They’ve endured the strife of the pandemic, pivoting to adjust to the abrupt changes that happened less than a year after opening.

They’d just hit a stride and had to start over. A patio was built out front, tables were moved into the gallery space to provide more space for social distancing. Music was performed through an open garage door.

Csoka says the restaurant’s survival shows the power of women.

What’s on the menu

The Artisan’s Palate kitchen is filled with skilled chefs from various backgrounds, both professionally and ethnically, allowing for a merging fusion of cultures on an exciting menu through which unique sights, scents and flavors abound.

Mariana’s Empanadas, named for one of the chefs, are a fusion of Colombian, French and Italian influences with traditionally prepared duck confit, with citrus elements encased in handmade corn tortilla-type shells. It is served with a spoonful of Colombian aji salsa, which combines tomato, green onion, vinegar (as opposed to the traditional lime) and jalapeno, with the addition of olive oil for a slight twist on the traditional recipe.

Sitting on a bed of crunchy watercress, the empanadas are drizzled with an Italian-influenced agrodolce (meaning sweet and sour) that is accomplished with the right blend of apricots and champagne vinegar.

The chefs have created a vegan version with a

filling of corn and potatoes in an almost polenta-like consistency, the flavors differing wildly from the duck but delicious and adventurous nonetheless.

Various boards are on the menu, including the Olive Tapenade Board, which comes complete with step-by-step instructions informing diners of the perfect assembly of ingredients.

Garlic chunks are to be rubbed on the warm baguette, after which lemon and garlic enriched olive oil is to be drizzled over top. Round scoops of goat cheese are to be spread, followed by tapenade made of green olives and pimentos and sprinkled with crunchy Maldon salt.

The Firehouse Meatballs are based on Csoka’s maternal grandfather’s Italian recipe and a bit of her own French training. Pork, beef and veal blend, swimming in a sea of pomodoro sauce topped with slightly browned mozzarella cheese, served with buttered bread for dipping.

Octopus with quick-fried cauliflower and a mild Colombian chorizo makes an appearance on the menu as well as a shrimp & grits bowl with local grits and slow-braised short ribs.

The cocktail list is specially curated, including a house favorite added to the menu after the bartenders’ insistence: Csoka walking by asking for the aptly named “My Drink,” made with Hayman’s

Old Tom gin, balanced with diet tonic and orange peel, a thinly sliced cucumber encircling the glass.

The Painted Garden was the 2019 People’s Choice winner at Charlotte’s Homegrown Tomato Festival.

Combining a house-made tomato and mint shrub, the slightly-astringent though well-balanced beverage tastes like a Southern summer complete with Plymouth gin, which plays well with candied ginger and prosecco and a rim of dehydrated tomatoes, sugar and Makrut lime.

NoDa’s food and beverage footprint is extending in every direction with the implementation of the Light Rail, though the southern end of East 36th Street is residential, making it a hard sell for people to set off on foot for the half-mile trek to NoDa Plaza. Csoka hopes the right turn onto The Plaza will eventually house more of the same types of businesses, taking a new stretch as far as Hattie’s and Tip Top Daily Market.

Take the walk, find a parking spot, support art, support women and find yourself in an atmosphere of elevated service, intentional cuisine and glowing hospitality, just like Csoka’s mother taught her.

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LIFESTYLE PUZZLES SUDOKU

TRIVIA TEST

BY FIFI RODRIGUEZ

BY LINDA THISTLE

PLACE A NUMBER IN THE EMPTY BOXES IN SUCH A WAY THAT EACH ROW ACROSS, EACH COLUMN DOWN AND EACH SMALL 9-BOX SQUARE CONTAINS ALL OF THE NUMBERS ONE TO NINE. ©2020 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.

1. AD SLOGANS: Which company used the slogan “The Uncola” as a way to stand out in the beverage market?

2. ENTERTAINERS: Which actor/ singer created The Cowboy Code in the 1940s?

3. MYTHOLOGY: What item is a werewolf’s greatest weakness?

4. BUSINESS: What is the basic currency of Laos?

5. U.S. STATES: Which state uses the slogan “The Last Frontier” on its license plates?

6. ANATOMY: What is the second largest organ in the human body?

7. GEOGRAPHY: Which body of water separates Saudi Arabia from Africa?

8. TELEVISION: What was the name of the detective agency in the 1980s series “Moonlighting”?

9. SCIENCE: At what wind speed is a tropical storm reclassified as a hurricane?

10. LITERATURE: Truman Capote’s book “In Cold Blood” takes its name from which of Shakespeare’s plays?

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Really ruffle 6 Bozo 9 They may fly at half-mast 14 “-- Mia” (Abba hit) 19 Sao -20 Sway to and -21 TV’s Greene or Michaels 22 Ovine sign 23 S 26 Asinine 27 “-- -Dick” 28 -- -Ball 29 2007 Disney princess 31 Add a letter before that to spell ...

37 Above, to bards 38 “How dumb of me!”

39 Fearless 40 Orbit, e.g.

42 Foliage unit 44 In the manner of 45 “The Zoo Story” playwright Edward 50 Bozo 52 Add a letter before that to spell ...

57 Close amigo 59 Really ruffle 60 Wet-weather headgear 61 Hay fever explosion 62 Former Israeli PM Golda 64 Big fusses 66 Capitol’s top 67 Add a letter before that to spell ...

71 “I know! Pick me!”

74 Novelist Jaffe

75 Two before X 76 Deadly 80 Fruity, sourish dessert 82 The Cowboys, on a sports ticker 83 Falsify 85 Add a letter before that to spell ...

89 Pear, apple and quince 90 Main artery 91 Essen “a” 92 He married Lucy 94 Moor growth 95 Tennis great Jennifer 99 Young -- (toddlers) 101 ‘60s Pontiac muscle car 102 Add a letter before that to spell ...

109 Alveolar trill, as in Spanish speech 110 Tofu source, to Brits 111 Long stretch 112 Perfect little kid 113 Add a letter before that to spell ...

120 Gettysburg victor George 121 C-3PO, e.g 122 Stanley Cup gp.

123 In snazzy clothes 124 Media biggie 125 Tabby cries 126 Dems’ rival 127 Bergen dummy Mortimer DOWN 1 Rival of FedEx 2 With 6-Down, yield a profit 3 Hot stretch 4 Macaroni shape 5 “Such a pity”

6 See 2-Down 7 Popped up 8 Two-pronged vehicle 9 Well-spoken 10 E-giggle 11 Dog’s yap 12 Wildebeest 13 Composer Prokofiev 14 En -- (as one) 15 1989 Disney princess 16 Metric “thousandth” 17 -- Yello (soft drink) 18 Thus far 24 Germ killer in a can 25 Connery of film 30 “-- be an honor” 31 Subjects 32 In direct confrontation 33 “Trauma: Life in --” (old TLC series) 34 Guzzled, e.g.

35 Ill-gotten gains 36 Shimmery gem 41 Bride-to-be’s clothing drawer 43 Lumberjack, at times 45 Nickname of Onassis 46 Phyllis’ last name on the old sitcom “Phyllis” 47 -- -chic (hippie-inspired fashion) 48 Mild cheese 49 Italy’s Villa d’-51 Brand of tea 53 Jacob of social reform 54 Part of ETA 55 “No --!” (“Sure thing!”)

56 Studio tripods 58 Old-time actress Dolores

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# YO U I M P R OV E D # YO U I M P R OV E D

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63 Water quality org.

64 Onetime ring king 65 Longtime soap actress Hall 68 Movie mogul Marcus 69 Bird beak 70 Tonto player Johnny 71 Gymnast Korbut 72 Seat of Hawaii County 73 Sharif of “Che!” 77 Uniform liquid suspension 78 Zend- -- (Zoroastrian scripture) 79 Rent check collector 81 Org. with putters 82 Levi’s fabric 84 Subject 86 Univ. division 87 Hidden mike 88 Uplifting spiritually 93 Like King Atahualpa 95 Movie dancer Charisse 96 Aviation branch of the military 97 Great traits 98 Traffic noise 100 Yarn units 102 Intense ache 103 Real introvert 104 Tank slime 105 Vehicles near igloos 106 Tennis great Monica 107 Cantina chip 108 Grown gal 114 Boot part 115 “Vice” airer 116 Dejected 117 Swiss peak 118 Env. insert 119 Guitarist Barrett

LIFESTYLE COLUMN

AERIN IT OUT TAKING THE GOODROAD

Kevin Martin speaks on a lack of diversity in craft beer and cider

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BY AERIN SPRUILL

A few weeks ago I was hellbent on cleaning up an email inbox that had become overstuffed with promotions and junk mail. Damn near 1,000 emails deep, my eyes glazed over, I settled on one with the subject line: “Brewery Hopping While Black in Charlotte: An Invitation.”

It was in response to a column I wrote back in April in which I expressed the often lonely feeling of hanging out at Charlotte’s breweries as a Black person and decried the lack of diversity on the other side of the bar as well.

“I read your article and it struck me. It felt, how shall I say, familiar. I’d like to invite you to drop by GoodRoad CiderWorks sometime to chat. I’m the head of the fermentation program, lab stuff, IT and do much of the government formula grunt work. I’m also part owner, Black, and a West Charlotte grad :),” the email read.

The sender was Kevin Martin, head of fermentations, lab and information technology at GoodRoad CiderWorks, a cidery and meadery located in South End. Embarrassed by my delayed response, I replied in hopes that my invitation didn’t come with an expiration date. Fortunately, it hadn’t.

A sweet, tangy aroma hung in the air as I entered the door at GoodRoad. I took a deep inhale of excitement as I anticipated my first sip — ciders have been my drink of choice for a few months now.

A quiet evening in the brewery, I scanned the room in search of my pen pal. In the corner, hidden behind an open laptop sat a contemplative man. I approached the bartender to confirm that the gentleman was the person I was looking for.

A gentle spirit and a humble presence, Kevin Martin is one of the most captivating faces behind the industry that I’ve had the pleasure of sharing a cold one with. His knowledge of cider and mead is unparalleled and yet he has a way of explaining things in a way that doesn’t feel condescending or reductive. He was both gentle and educational as he guided me through the current ciders and meads on tap before I settled on an award-winning, semi-dry cider called the Stayman.

We returned with our libations and it didn’t take long before we got down to the nitty gritty. I asked why there aren’t more people of color owning breweries.

“From a business perspective, access to capital is part of it. There’s plenty of BIPOC individuals that have the knowledge but don’t have the money to make those mistakes and mess up,” Kevin told me. “There’s a lot of people who will deny the existence of systemic racism. It trickles into all things, including in the brewing industry. I’ve noticed, when I go into certain places and they don’t know what I do, a lot of times if I weren’t already comfortable, I’d be uncomfortable. And until I say certain things, I’m not taken seriously. That’s why in here [GoodRoad], I make a point to speak to people.”

I inquired if it was just me who noticed a broader disconnect between the craft beer scene and the Black community, to which Kevin comforted me in explaining it was far from just me.

“There is absolutely a disconnect,” he said. “Part of it: The industry has never had a need to reach out because when you’re not affected by something, it’s just not an issue for you. It’s not so much that people are purposely oblivious all the time … It’s not that people haven’t been invited in, it’s just that nobody’s ever been made welcome.

This reminded me of one specific visit to a local brewery during which a bartender gave a well-informed taste test to a white patron ahead of me, only to answer, “I don’t know what to tell you,” when I said I had no idea what I wanted.

Kevin has experienced similar situations, including getting stereotyped. He recalled a time when someone asked if he could make malt liquor directly after learning that he knew how to brew beer.

Why does that question conjure a sigh? Because the question is born, without thought, out of the assumption that as a Black brewer, even though he is a self-taught crafter of mead, cider, and beer since 1994 (and now brandishes a plethora of awards and judge certifications amongst a host of many other accolades), malt liquor is what he is assumed to be well-versed at making.

“When you’re swimming in a pool that’s meant for you, you may not realize that pool isn’t a good climate for other people,” he said. “If you’re having Thanksgiving dinner and everyone you were expecting is already there, and somebody else shows up, you don’t care if there are extra chairs.”

I can’t explain how difficult it is to reduce the twoand-a-half-hour experience with Kevin to a few hundred words, and some of the conversation is reserved for the simple comfort of meeting someone who sees you before ever speaking a word to you.

But I can tell you that Kevin is an intellectual stimulus, a creative innovator, a code-switching revolutionist, and an impetus for diversity. I hope the Q.C. can find more folks like him to participate in this growing but lacking industry.

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

HOROSCOPE

JULY 14 - JULY 20

JULY 21 - JULY 27

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) You dislike waiting for promises to be fulfilled and for commitments to be kept, but resist your headstrong tendency to push things along. Your patience will be rewarded.

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) You’re not Sheepish when it comes to asserting your opinions on what you think is right or wrong. Be assured that you’re being heard, and something positive will follow.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Expect continuing opposition to your plans from die-hard detractors.

However, your determination to see things through will carry the day. A Pisces has romantic ideas.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Your sense of justice makes it difficult not to speak up about a recurring matter involving a co-worker. But, once again, you need facts to back you up before you can act.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) You might be too close GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Romance is still dominant, to a troublesome workplace situation to deal with it successfully. Step away in order to get a better perspective. A solution soon becomes obvious.

and if Cupid misfired before, don’t worry. He’ll take better aim at someone new this time around. Expect favorable news about a financial matter.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) You might suspect that someone you trust has misled you on an important matter, but a more balanced view of things reveals a misunderstanding to be the culprit.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) The zodiac’s Moon Children can expect things to work out pretty much as planned. One negative note involves a minor relationship problem that suddenly turns serious.

just bask in all that admiration or use it to your advantage, especially in the workplace.

to make choices between two practically equal offers.

Which one to choose? Easy. The one most likely to gladden your Lion’s heart.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) The Big Cat’s animal LEO (July 23 to August 22) You’re suddenly being asked magnetism has rarely been stronger. You can either

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Someone who previously balked at cooperating with you on a project suddenly has a change of heart. Accept both help and advice with grace.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Once again, you’re confronted by a workplace problem you thought you’d already resolved. This time, you might need to go higher up to find a just resolution.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Some hazy issues still need to be cleared up before you can move on with your new plans. A friend from the past reaches out to re-establish old ties.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Good for you:

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Continued positive fall-out follows that risky workplace decision you made some time ago. Your payoff will soon prove to be more substantial than you expected.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) You’ll soon get

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) A

personal relationship continues to be affected by a recent unexpected turn of events. Things need to work themselves out without finger-pointing.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) It’s a wonderful week for all you capricious Goats to kick up your heels with friends or family members in some well-earned fun and frivolity.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Caution is advised before making a financial commitment to someone you don’t really know. There are better ways to build friendships than with risky fiscal dealings.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Travel plans continue to be favored. A change of scenery brings new opportunities, both personally and professionally.

Be open to the possibilities.

BORN THIS WEEK: You have a strong sense of

loyalty that shows itself best in your relationships with family and friends.

You’re determined to stick with your goals and ignore those naysayers who might try to discourage you. You’re on the right track. The challenge now is to stay on it.

news that is supposed to help you with a troublesome situation. Use your sharp Scorpion instincts to determine if the information is reliable.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) If you learn someone has betrayed your trust, don’t just accept it and walk away. You need to know why that person decided to do what he or she did.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) A painful family relationship problem could finally begin to heal.

Be prepared to show more flexibility than you might like.

But it could be worth it.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) It’s a good

idea to enhance your career skills so you’ll be prepared to accept a more responsible position when it’s offered. A friend returns a favor just when you need it.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Show that strong, steely backbone that you usually hide, and demand to be included in any family decision-making that could affect the well-being of a loved one.

BORN THIS WEEK: You can be happy being alone at home. But you also love exploring the world outside and meeting new people and sharing new ideas.

2021 KING FEATURES SYND., INC.

Pg. 21 JUL 14 - JUL 27, 2021 - QCNERVE.COM

© 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.

King Features Weekly Service

• The fuller your refrigerator, the more energy-efficient it is.

• In 2005, a Powerball drawing had a stunning 110 second-place winners, all of whom attributed their luck to ... a fortune cookie. No foul play was involved, just a Chinese fortune cookie distribution factory named Wonton Food, which happened to correctly foretell five of the six winning numbers. Each grateful recipient took home between $100,000 and $500,000.

• Master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock was an ovophobe, or someone who is frightened of eggs.

• Children of identical twins are genetically siblings, not cousins.

• Notwithstanding the fact it has no feathers, beak or talons, the Goodyear Blimp is the official bird of Redondo Beach, California.

• James Cameron sold the film rights to “The Terminator” for $1. It went on to earn a worldwide total of $78.3 million at the box office in 1984.

• The comb jelly, aka the warty comb jelly, sea walnut or Mnemiopsis leidyi, is the only known animal to have a transient anus — or, in more common parlance, a disappearing butt.

• The green code in “The Matrix” was actually created from symbols in the code designer’s wife’s sushi cookbook.

• Comic Sans, designed by Vincent Connare in 1995, has been labeled the world’s most hated font. Even its creator isn’t much of a fan, admitting that he has only used it once, to write a complaint letter to his internet provider. At least he received a refund.

• Australia’s Lake Hillier and Hutt Lagoon are known for their vibrant pink and lilac hues, due to the presence of the algae Dunaliella salina. *** Thought for the Day: “There is something beautiful about all scars of whatever nature. A scar means the hurt is over, the wound is closed and healed, done with.” — Harry Crews

July 12, 2021

By Lucie Winborne

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LIFESTYLE COLUMN

PG.19 PUZZLE ANSWERS

SAVAGE LOVE EMOTIONAL ARSONISTS

Jackasses and hall passes

BY DAN SAVAGE

I’m a 19-year-old girl who was dumped few months ago. My partner found out he didn’t like my body when we were having sex for the first time and he told me right after. We were actually still in bed naked when he told me. He kept cuddling me to make me feel a bit better but it still hurt to hear.

Other than slight doubts about genitals and my face (I have Asian features and having my face and living in a western country isn’t always easy), I didn’t go into that experience expecting to be rejected. We had talked about all the sexual stuff we wanted to do and he had previously told me I was attractive and thicc and paid me other compliments.

Undressing for someone and then being rejected was devastating and I don’t have other experiences to weigh this one against and take reassurance from. My self-esteem dropped. I know his tastes and preferences shouldn’t be a problem for me now, since we are no longer together, but I can’t stop thinking about them.

I’ve known him for five years. He means a lot to me and we want to continue to be friends. I wish someone had told me that having sex with someone isn’t a guarantee that everything will always work out. (Having sex with them being sexually open and generous and having nice tits too!)

I started therapy but I also wanted some advice from you.

Pg. 22 JUL 14 - JUL 27, 2021 - QCNERVE.COM

BABE ONLY DESIRES INTUITIVE EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

“People who are brutally honest generally enjoy the brutality more than the honesty.”

The late Canadian humorist and newspaper columnist Richard Needham wasn’t talking about your ex-whatever-he-was when he made that observation, BODIES, but he could’ve been.

Yeah, yeah: Sometimes we only realize we aren’t as attracted to someone as we thought until after we’ve slept with that person. That’s sadly the case sometimes.

But your ex-whatever’s comments were so gratuitously cruel, BODIES, that it’s hard to avoid concluding (if I may borrow a phrase) that cruelty was the point.

He could’ve and should’ve given you a million other reasons why he didn’t want to sleep with you again — this may be one of those rare instances where ghosting would’ve been kinder.

At the very least he should’ve given you a chance to get dressed before he let you know he wasn’t interested in having sex with you again.

That your very first sex partner chose to brutalize you like this — that he didn’t make the slightest effort to spare your feelings — is an almost unforgivable betrayal.

Unless this boy is somewhere on the spectrum and has difficulty anticipating how a direct statement might hurt another person’s feelings, BODIES, there’s no excuse for what he did.

Sticking around to cuddle after saying that shit isn’t proof he’s a good person. The arsonist who sticks around to piss on your house after setting it on fire isn’t being kind, BODIES, he’s warming his dick by the fire and enjoying the blaze.

Please know that being rejected by someone doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with your body, BODIES, or with your genitals or your face or your race or your features. Swiping right on someone who didn’t swipe right on you or sleeping with someone who doesn’t want to sleep with you again isn’t proof you’re flawed or unattractive. It just means you’re not right for that particular person, BODIES, and for reasons particular to that person.

Rejection sucks and it always hurts and for that reason we should strive to be as considerate as possible when we have to reject someone. Considerate but clear, considerate but unambiguous, but always considerate.

And what this guy did to you — not even letting you get dressed first — was as inconsiderate as possible and you have every right to be angry with him.

If you had to get a therapist after sleeping with someone, it’s a pretty good indication that person should have no place in your life — as a lover or a friend — going forward. Keep seeing your shrink, BODIES, and stop talking to this asshole.

I’ve gone through many variations of relationships, from monogamous to open. My new partner is incredibly smart, open-minded, loving, GGG — all the things, right? So, I find myself a bit perplexed and troubled by a statement she made.

She was in a relationship prior to the one with me and the person she was with wanted to be free to do as he wished sexually. She told him that was “fine” so long as he used protection and she didn’t know about it. Apparently that worked so well for her that she made me the same offer after we

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decided to become sexually exclusive: She told me to use protection if I should ever cheat and not to tell her about it.

At first I was like, “Cool, but I’m not going to cheat,” but now I find myself thinking about it.

And if I do cheat I will use protection and keep it to myself, per her request.

So why am I writing to you? I have a high sex drive and a history of parental neglect and abuse. I find that I seek validation from women and I have a fairly good idea that it’s due to what I endured from my mother. We’ve only been seeing each other for a few months since we have been dating and I do love her.

I know people often get caught — even with a hall pass — and I don’t want to lose her because of this. I want to make peace with never being with another person or with using the “hall pass” I’ve been given. How do I do that?

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people who are emotionally healthy — which is a lie — and then we waste time digging through our childhood histories for something that might explain why this thing that’s supposed to be easy — monogamy — is so hard for us. (Spoiler: It’s hard for almost everyone.)

It’s a waste of time, HALLPASS. You can and should see a therapist to help you work through the trauma you suffered as a child, of course, but don’t waste your time with a therapist who pathologizes your relatively normal desires or seeks to assign blame for them.

So what do you do about your girlfriend? How about you … maybe … talk to her?

Your new girlfriend has been perfectly clear — she doesn’t care if you cheat so long as you use protection and she doesn’t find out about it — but you need additional clarity. If you were to sleep with someone else and she found out about it despite your best efforts to prevent her from finding out about it … what then?

If finding out you used the hall pass she gave you is something she couldn’t forgive, HALLPASS, then you obviously can’t use it without risking the relationship.

(You’re right: People get caught.) Additionally, if that’s really how she feels, then your girlfriend shouldn’t be handing out hall passes in the first place.

But if cheating is something she could tolerate — so long as protection was used and some consideration was shown for her feelings, i.e. you at least attempted to be discreet/keep it from her — then you don’t have to hand in that hall pass.

You can make all the peace you want with being monogamous, HALLPASS, but that won’t make being monogamous any easier for you.

Zooming out for a second: Your desire to have sex with more than one person might have something to do with the trauma you suffered in childhood … or it might not.

A lot of people have high sex drives and risk-taking personalities and a desire for variety and not all of them Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage; were neglected or abused as children. But the culture mail@savagelove.net; savagelovecast.com encourages people who don’t wanna be monogamous (that’s a lot of people) or who find monogamy difficult (that’s everybody else) to see themselves as damaged.

And yet we’re told that monogamy is always easy for

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