The Comet Magazine - August 2022

EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE

EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE

everything will be fine

THIS issue

issue #46 - AUGUST 2022

crossword..................................PAGE 7

alyse firefly.............................PAGE 8

write on the river.............. .....PAGE 10

GODDESS OF THE FOLLIES............ PAGE 14

BOB GODFREY..............................PAGE 16

ARTBEAT MAGAZINE....................PAGE 19

STAR WARS: A NEW LOVE ............ PAGE 23

PORN TOONS.....................................PAGE 24

EVERYTHING ISN’T FINE...............page 27

SUNSHINE RANCH........................PAGE 30

beers with the pippin crew....PAGE 34

star bitch..................................PAGE 38

editor: Ron Evans

contributors: Sarah Sims, Cory Calhoun, Skylar Hansford, Lindsay Breidenthal, Jamie Howell, Natalie Dotzauer, Dustin Hays, Christopher F. Hart, JessicaDawn.Co, Anna Spencer, Holly Thorpe, Dan McConnell

Meagen Tilton is Goddess Of The Follies - Photos by Shayla Rae Photography

COMET HEADQUARTERS

Greetings,

When people know you run a magazine you tend to hear lots of kooky stories along with the occasional suggestions for content. You should do an article on this, or a regular column on that - have you talked about the Skookum sign? Oh hey, my uncle makes sculptures out of human waste - you should talk to him. Ok, I made that one up - but if your uncle makes sculptures out of human waste I certainly want to talk to him. Over the phone anyway.

One topic that keeps coming up of late…swingers. Yes, those kinds of swingers. Based on things I’ve seen with my own (forever changed) eyes and conversations I’ve had with trustworthy folks, it’s clear that there’s a substantial swingers community in these here parts. And I’m curious to talk with some of these open minded adventurers for a feature in The Comet. So if you are a swinger and not timid about it, send me an email (thecometmagazine@gmail.com), I’d love to chat with you. It’s a funny thing how so many people are quick to judge the lifestyle and arrangements of others as being risky or something that can never work - all the while the divorce rate of those “normal” relationships continues to climb with no peak in sight. I always tell my pals that are in the middle of likely breakin’ up to maybe… try some shit. Some new shit. You know? I mean, why not? You’re breaking up anyway. Who knows what can rekindle a dampened fire. But...I’m no therapist so, what do I know?

Well, I do know there are groups that get together regularly for swingers events here in town. Through a series of invitations (dares?) I once found myself at a swingers party in a large mansion in the hills of East Wenatchee. I didn’t join in on the festivities but I admired that this wackiness was happening right in a suburban neighborhood. Some elements of this particular party were tame, silly and sweet. And some elements were right out of Eyes Wide Shut. Your sleepy little town ain’t so sleepy folks. There’s doings a transpirin’ all around us! But maybe you knew that already? Anyway. Swingers wanted. Spread the word! Ahem.

Lane change: You may notice the full page plugger in this issue about our Flash Fiction Contest. Holly Thorpe and I have asked Wenatchee author Michael Lee Miller ( I Should Have Worn Panties, Reverie) to join as our third. Judge. Sorry, didn’t want any confusion regarding the above segment. The three of us will be reading all of your entries for a shot at the swell prizes Inner Grove Tea has offered our winners! We will also print the top three finalists in The Comet so get those submissions in! The deadline is September 1st so you still have time for 1000 words or less. See the ad on page 25 for more details.

Well, enjoy these last seasonal blasts from the angry sun out there. I’ll be hiding in my cave with my cat, some cheap wine, cashew ice cream and a furrowed brow waiting for the glorious first cool winds of early autumn to roll in if anyone wants to join. We can start a Hiders Club. It’s not very sexy, but there will be snacks.

Happy Trails, Ron Evans Editor of The Comet

SWINGERS, TEA & JUDGEMENT

PICTURED: Holly and I because we are judging you. Not because we are swingers. Yet...

Puzz e Corner

THEMELESS CROSSWORD#10

ACROSS

1. Either end of a gridiron

8. Rich dessert

15. Nation named for its location

16. The "O" in the Great Lakes acronym "HOMES"

17. Either positive or negative

18. Like some cellphone charges

19. R.E.M.'s "The ___ Love"

20. "The jig ___!"

2. Subj. for an M.B.A.

3. Best Picture nominee of 2021

4. Emmy-nominated "Atlanta" and "Joker" actress

5. Tribute, of sorts

6. Coarse-grained igneous rock

7. Cupid, to the Greeks

8. Bodily

9. Classic card game

10. Pollen producer

11. Domesticated

12. "Tosca" tune

13. Drink garnish 14. Harasses

24. Some cameras, for short

Connect two devices via Bluetooth

More contemptible

One of the five basic tastes

Invoice word

Minute traces

Wipe clean

Pens

140-character message

Way of life

Nights before

Baseball's "Babe"

Gum arabic-yieldingtree

Vegas attraction

Frau's partner

Pond organism

The Kennedys, e.g.

Auto dealer's abbr.

Dynamic start?

Streaming servicethat sounds like a religion

Advance, slangily

Lanolin, for one

COMING NEXT ISSUE: PART 5 OF THE MEGA META!

Seebelowfortheanswertolastissue'sPart 4. Visit tinyurl.com/2022megametarules forcontestdetails.

SOLUTIONS TO LAST EDITION'S META CROSSWORD PRIZE CONTEST

DOUBLE ANAGRAM CHALLENGE

tinyurl.com/coryanagrams<

removed letters (1 per word)

anagrammed words:

wordanagrammed from removed letters:

The meta answer is GREEN (Hint: Find a 5-letter adjective.) So 5 of the longer Across answers were either foods or ingredients for various dishes (PIE DOUGH, HAM GRAVY, GARLIC BREAD, SOYBEANS, CHESTNUT; see grid, in red). So the be food-related, right?

the grid,inred).Sothe meta answer will befood-related,right? Well...

Thelastwordsofthoseanswershavesomethingelseincommon:they're slangfor"money"(dough,gravy,bread,beans,andnut).Notethatthe puzzle'stitle, "FoodColoringfromScratch" includes "scratch," another slangtermformoney Inaddition,fiveDownanswersintersectwiththose slangwords (seegrid,inred) that themselvesarepartoftwo-word phrasesincludingtheword"money": moneyBAGS,moneyORDER, moneyMEN,EDDIEMoney,andNEWmoney. Wherethosewords intersectarethelettersG,R,E,E,and N (highlightedinyellowinthegrid).

Thus,youget GREEN which"colors"thefoodinthepuzzle,and which is not only anotherslang term formoney,butalso a 5-letteradjectivethat satisfiesthepuzzle'shint. Nowinnerforlastedition'smetacrossword prizecontest.Thanksforplaying,andgoodlucknexttime!

SOLUTIONS TO LAST EDITION'S ANACROSTIC CHALLENGE

ANSWERS: out, sauce, cubist, affirm, roses, inch, stoop, assist, ashen, cell QUOTE: A lot of successful businessmen share sociopathic traits. QUOTE'S AUTHOR: OSCAR ISAAC (spelledoutbytheanswers'firstletters)

I CRAVE FEEDBACK! Thoughts? Suggestions? Lemme have it. CSCXWORDS@GMAIL.COM

CORY "DAMN YOU" CALHOUN'S

CROSSWORDS & MORE MADE EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE COMET

FEATURING: @alysefireflyart

Interview with a writer: Nick Hershenow

By Holly Thorpe

When Write on the River announced writing contest winners this spring, one name made the list twice: Nick Hershenow. Hershenow, an author based out of Twisp, Wash., won first place in both fiction and nonfiction categories with his stories “Sucesos” and “Little Chicken.”

“It was exciting to get a little recognition and validation,” Hershenow said. “I thought they were both good, I thought they both had a chance, but to get them both at once is pretty sweet.”

Both stories draw from Hershenow’s travel and work in South America. After working for the Forest Service in central Idaho, Hershenow moved to live with his family at an orphanage in Honduras and later worked on the back roads, backwoods villages and badlands of southern Ecuador.

“I started going to Latin America when I was 19. That was the beginning of my fascination with that part of the world.”

He met his wife in Costa Rica. As a nurse practitioner, she was able to travel broadly for work, and Heshenow traveled with her and their two children to live and work in Honduras.

“It was an extremely valuable and mindexpanding experience for all of us. I had a job where I tried to do research and tried to find their families or what remains of their families,” he said. “I got glimpses of a lot of different scenes and some pretty harrowing or grim situations.”

Later, he and his wife traveled to Ecuador for work.

“My wife and I worked in Ecuador for a year and half and were back in the sticks, and we were privileged to get glimpses into people’s homes and lives,” he said. He pulls these experiences into his work and the characters he creates.

“You are creating an illusion that you are occupying this character’s brain, when in fact you can’t do that,” he said. “It’s definitely an outside observer and not always intimate knowledge, but I try to keep that part real, and not act like I was more a part of it than I was.”

Hershenow published his first novel, “The Road Builder,” in 2000. The novel followed a young American couple traveling through central Africa for the first time.

It was well-received, appearing in book stores throughout the country. It was featured in The New Yorker, reviewed in The Seattle Times and The Denver Post and received the Western States Book Award. And then it disappeared from shelves, Hershenow said, ultimately garnering few readers. Since then, he’s been writing but not sharing or publishing work broadly.

Currently, Hershenow teaches preschool and spends his time working on his unpublished book, “I Followed Fire,” which has grown out of his life experiences.

“I started writing notes 20 years ago,” he said. “It started gestating and bubbling things around, I didn’t have a direction on a story, I had scenes and situations. And before that even, working for the forest service, some of the situations came to me then.”

Hershenow joined Write on the River for a Q&A about his writing processes:

How does being a preschool teacher inform or affect your writing?

“I’ve been asking myself the same question! It doesn’t inform it in any direct way, I hardly write down anything about my preschool experiences, though they do stimulate a lot of thought and emotion. But indirectly, yes, I’m sure there’s a big effect. To closely observe and to some extent occupy a world where perception is fresh and uncluttered and imagination operates freely and spontaneously and logic takes any number of surprising and often hilarious turns – surely all that is fuel for a writer’s brain. The constant exercises in empathy and understanding, in deciphering language and raw displays of emotion, must somehow spill over into the writing.

I’ve learned a lot from the kids, and from the books we read and stories we tell and make up, about the essence of storytelling, drama, comedy, not that jokes that work for little kids are likely to work for adults! Anyway, I read and tell a lot of stories to the kids and I’m always thinking about why they work and why they don’t work, both the ones that are simple and direct and stripped down to the bones and the opposite, stories embellished in any number of extravagant and ridiculous ways.

Also, it’s probably good for a writer, after spending so much time spinning around in interior spaces, to get out of his own head and fully engage with people operating joyfully in the moment and on a completely different plane.

But maybe the main thing is, being a preschool teacher has made me a better person, and I’m going to assume that makes me a better writer.”

How do you face the blank page?

“With terror of course! Maybe that’s why it’s taking me so long to finish my book –as long as I’m still working on it, I won’t have to face that dreaded white expanse. I was looking back in my files at some of my past attempts to explain myself or answer questions like these and I came upon the following, which could be an answer to how I dealt with the blank page

question when I began “I Followed Fire”:

“There’s no single beginning point that I can distinguish, but more of a kind of primeval soup of situations, people, ideas, and images plucked from my life. Notebooks gradually fill with recollections, musings, rough and tentative outlines and sketches. No real story yet, just random juxtapositions, a few weak connections.

But at some point the primeval soup begins to bubble. The juxtapositions trigger mutations; weak connections strengthen and multiply, a fictional dream begins to take shape. Then I start living a double life. Half-living in the normal day-to-day world, but all the time quietly extracting things from it, observing and describing and converting it into a dream. And halfliving in that dream, which starts taking on its own life and no longer requires so many pieces of mine.

The primeval soup metaphor breaks down. Shift to the sculpture metaphor: I’ve got this unformed mass of material, I’m alternately carving at it and slapping new material on, trying to perceive a form, and work with it. It’s ugly and messy but nevertheless I work pieces of it down to finer and finer detail, in the hope that something of beauty will emerge and guide the way to the greater but still illusive form. Or maybe the intricate thing I’ve been working on will turn out to be some ungainly appendage or dead end I have no choice to get rid of it. Then it’s back to the unformed mass.

Forget the sculpture metaphor. This is more like an excavation. I start out digging shallow and wide, so that later I can go deeper and more focused. Descending into a pit, which has dark, unpleasant connotations for many but not for miners or archaeologists, or writers, for whom going into a pit always carries some hope of discovery and illumination.”

How do you approach the revision process? What are the steps of revision for you?

“It’s ongoing. I’m not sure about “steps.” Mostly I’m not working on an actual numbered draft (though there have been actual drafts) but just constantly going

over the chapters, tweaking, pruning, sanding, polishing, finally starting to feel pretty pleased with the whole thing… but then something won’t polish satisfactorily and eventually I realize there is an underlying problem that maybe I didn’t see before. Or I saw it and tried to gloss over it but it’s not going to yield to minor or cosmetic fixes or fussing with the language. So, then I have to take a deeper dive, do a more literal revision. Re-vision. See it again, anew, imagine it altered in some fundamental way. Step back and harden my heart and read the thing as objectively as I can, with a skeptical and unsentimental eye and ear. Decouple from a lot of the emotional attachments and assumptions I have made. What really works and doesn’t work? Is that section I once thought was so great really saying anything or contributing in a meaningful way? What in here advances the story and illuminates the characters and what is just chaff, even beautiful chaff?

Then it’s a vivisection, I have to cut out things I really worked at, that I really loved. Okay, so maybe they aren’t as lovable as I thought. And then rebuild it, put it back together, with invisible seams.

Certainly, a part of my revision process with this novel has been having other people read it, especially in its earlier stages. Although the two things I want from that tend to work against one another: validation and encouragement on the one hand, and an honest, brutal critique on the other.”

What are your writing rituals? Do you write daily?

“I mostly get up between 5 and 6 and while the coffee is brewing, I usually get the blood flowing with a 10–15-minute exercise/stretching routine. Then I sit down in front of the computer and do my best to stay there and focus. Those first 1-3 hours in the morning are generally my most productive writing time. Much more than that is tough, at some point I need to get outside and move! I am not the dedicated ass-in-chair sort of writer, which must be what it takes to write very many books, or to finish them in a timely

fashion. I do try to put in at least a little writing time every day. Mornings when I have to go to work early, I will often get up early and try to squeeze in at least a little time at the computer. Also, sometimes I am able to fire up my brain for an hour or two in the afternoons or evenings, though this is harder and may require an additional spark (marijuana works – up to a point – alcohol generally doesn’t).

One important writing ritual that doesn’t involve actual writing is messing about in the yard and garden or getting out in the hills on a solo walk, ski, or biking outing. That’s when some good free-range thinking can happen, and I am sometimes able to break through to solutions to impasses and conundrums. Whatever inspirations come to me I jot down in a notebook or record on my phone to be later refined (or, just as likely, tossed out) when I’m at the computer.

What advice do you have for new writers tackling their first big project?

Be persistent but also consider abandoning that first big project if it gets unmanageable and reveals too many fatal flaws. Then move on to something else, maybe the second big project. Console yourself with the thought that you might get back to the first someday or use it in some other way. Or just that you learned something.

Try your best to conceive and organize the project before you write much detail, so you don’t have to redo it or throw it all out when the concept and the organization become clearer and, inevitably, different. This seems obvious, I’m sure many writers are able to do it. But if you’re like me you will have to start writing with only a vague concept and organization, which will only begin to reveal themselves slowly, after much preliminary writing, most of which you may have to discard.

To learn more about Write on the River, become a member, or register for events, visit writeontheriver.org. Membership is $35 per year, and offers free or discounted access to all WOTR events. Questions?

Contact info@writeontheriver.org. C

GODDESS OF THE FOLLIES

PHOTOS: SHAYLA RAE PHOTOGRAPHY MODEL: MEAGEN TILTON

WENATCHEE FAMOUS: BOB GODFREY

By Dustin Hays

The history of music in Wenatchee only goes back so far...

The first local band formed in 1897, 27 years after white settlers first came to the area. The Wenatchee World was founded in 1905… Most information about those early bands and musicians exists solely in what has been saved in the World’s microfilm archive. Unless a band lucked out and got their name misspelled in a two paragraph write up (a local rite of passage), the majority of what’s saved from the last 100+ years is from the live music ads that would run in the paper a few times a week.

“Live Music Tonite”, “Country/Rock/ Blues This Weekend!”, “Jazz For Your Enjoyment. 9 To Close”, “Dance This Friday

To A Live Band!”

Almost all of the Wenatchee players from the 1950s and earlier are long gone. Most recently, the local musicians from the ‘60s and ‘70s are beginning to pass away more and more. Bands form and break up, venues are built and torn down. As is the case with most regional music scenes - the years go by and those names and stories fade from our collective memories.

For a guy that loves learning about the local music history of this valley, there’s a shrinking number of upper-classmen I can

cold-call for stories and information about the Wenatchee music scenes of the distant past. Bob Godfrey was that missing link to our musical past. A drummer. A record store owner. The senior-most member of the Wenatchee music scene.

Born in Wenatchee on April 5th, 1928, some of Godfrey’s first memories of music were listening to the popular tunes of the 1930s and ‘40s on the local KPQ radio station. In 2014 he recalled to me “I first started really paying attention when the Big Bands were popping up.”

As the Jazz genre began to evolve through the 1940s, Godfrey picked up learning the drums, with popular Bebop & Jazz drummer Shelly Manne as an early inspiration. Godfrey stated in the school’s yearbook that his post-high school ambition was to “play drums in Sam Keppard’s ‘Hot-Cha-Rhythm’ Jazz Band.”

“After I graduated I got into the music biz”.

The first year out of high school, along with a small group of friends, Mark Sorely (KPQ salesman) and Bill Van Hoose (local bank teller), Godfrey booked Nat King Cole, then performing in the King Cole Trio, to play at the Wenatchee Auditorium.

Through the ‘40s, dances were held several nights a week at the Auditorium, one of the oldest venues in town. Hosting music and dancing since at least the early

1920s, the building sat on the east side of Wenatchee Avenue between 1st and 2nd Street. A long brick building, with an open dance floor and a raised curtained stage on the east end of the room.

The King Cole show was a huge success, the trio played to a sold out crowd that evening. Godfrey and his friends promoted a few more national acts to perform in town like the Herb Miller Orchestra & Stan Kenton and his Orchestra, but after several flops, they bailed on the whole venture. In the early ‘80s, the entire block was demolished to make way for the Stanley Civic Center, which currently houses the Convention Center and Numerica Performing Arts Center.

While working at Belmont Radio & Music (31 North Wenatchee Avenue), Godfrey started playing with a broader group of local players. “The returning veterans would have jam sessions, I would go to them, they’d say ‘why don’t you sit in’and I did.” In the years following, Godfrey played for several groups around town, playing at schools, private dances, grange halls, even at the Liberty Theater. Over the next decade and a half, Godfrey performed frequently with pianists Jack Brownlow and Glenn Isaacson, bassist Jay Anderson, trumpeter and bassist Jay McCament and saxophonist Don Lanphere.

Belmont Radio & Music (referred to,

almost exclusively, by locals as “Belmont’s”) was owned by the father of Godfrey’s friend Don, Beany Lanphere and was one of two local music stores that occupied the Wenatchee Valley at the time, the other being Barnharts Music House (11 South Wenatchee Avenue). “Barnharts was like Belmont’s, but they had more pianos and sheet music.”

In 1950, still a salesman at Belmont’s, Godfrey married Mary Miller, a local singer. The two had been classmates in high school. Mary had been a member of the school choir, and after graduating, would sporadically join combos for live performances. Some time after the pair married, they appeared together as members of the John Prabucki Band.

A short two years later, he went into the service. “I was in the coast guard on the Great Lakes - in an icebreaker ship - but spent most of my coast guard career in an office building in Cleveland, Ohio”, doing payroll for the enlisted ship workers for the Great Lakes region. “Used a hand crank calculator and a typewriter!”

Back in Wenatchee by 1955, Godfrey bought the record department inside Barnharts. Changing the name of the record section to Bob Godfrey’s, he was there for a couple years until Barnharts was sold to new owners.

Godfrey and his wife Mary welcomed

Bob Godfrey in the 19A location on his last day March 31, 1990. Photo provided by John Godfrey

their first child, John, into the world in 1958. Two years later, in ‘60, their second child Sally was born.

During his time playing the more ‘adult’ rooms like the Golden Rooster Restaurant, the Kiltie Room inside the Columbia Hotel, and various clubs throughout town, Godfrey recalled “many of the musicians I played with were school teachers.” Guys like Cashmere High’s music teacher - pianist Larry Johnson, Wenatchee High’s music teacher - saxophonist Bob Yetter and Art Newman, a retired Wenatchee music teacher. “We’d play at the elks club a week at a time, and then three or four months later we’d play a week or two at the vets club - we played there a lot.” “Usually a trio or quartet.”

Godfrey’s friend Don Lanphere had lived in Chicago and New York in the ‘late ‘40s and within a few years recorded several records with Jazz trumpeter Fats Navarro, Saxophonist Stan Getz and Big Band leader Artie Shaw, gaining some notoriety in the Jazz world. After being arrested on a drug charge, his father brought him back to Wenatchee to work at Belmont’s. Lanphere continued to play around the Northwest and would frequently bring Seattle players to town for ‘jam sessions’ with Godfrey at the Golden Rooster.

Throughout his career, Godfrey was also a member of Wenatchee’s Musicians

Union. During the few decades it was active, the Musician’s Protective Union, Local No. 233, served as an added layer of protection against promoters and venue owners that refused to pay or underpaid players. Where a non-union gig would pay each musician $5-$10 a night, members of the union were guaranteed $12. Godfrey remembered the Musicians Union as a bit of a joke, recalling that they were more effective in bigger cities.

After Barnharts Music House sold, Bob Godfrey’s moved across the street to its 2nd location (15 N. Wenatchee Ave.) between Anderson’s Hardware and Webb’s Clothing Store - the space had formerly been occupied by the Emerson Photography Studio. A fire on December 31, 1961 that originated in Anderson’s destroyed both the Hardware store and Godfrey’s shop. The building was torn down the following October. The spot still sits empty, between The Antique Mall and Mela.

Bob Godfrey’s third location was just down the street, in the Public Market (11 N. Wenatchee Ave). The Market neighbored Anderson’s Hardware to the south and suffered smoke damage in the fire, but reopened a few months later, with Godfrey’s occupying the rear left corner of the Market’s main floor. That location lasted a few years, after which, in 1966, the Public Market was sold off.

Godfrey then moved his record shop to its fourth and final location at 19A N. Wenatchee Avenue, where it would remain a local staple for the next 24 years.

Godfrey’s son John shared with me “Dad worked Monday thru Saturday. He would often go into the shop on Sundays to do some work without interruptions from customers and sometimes we’d get to tag along.” Mary Godfrey was the only other employee at the record shop, helping her husband during the Christmas rush every year. The few times the Godfrey family left on vacations, he would hire friends Paul and Pat Merriman to manage the business during their absence.

Bob Godfrey’s was beloved by multiple generations of local music lovers. From what I’ve heard, the shop had impressive Blues and Jazz selections, but probably most importantly, was one of the preferred spots to buy physical copies of both old favorites and the latest greatest hits. Bob Godfrey’s saw the final years of shellac 78s, the height of LP and 45 single popularity, commercial reel-to-reel tapes, cassette tapes, and the beginning of the era of the compact disc.

Godfrey’s son John had followed in his father’s footsteps, learning to play the drums from a very young age. By the mid ‘70s, John was playing locally in a band called Panorama, a nine-piece rock group

in the same vein as national groups Blood Sweat & Tears and Chicago. John lives in Tumwater, WA now, and most recently played drums with Mike Hart & The Classic Vinyl Band.

This week, John recalled this about his family, “Sally really inherited the artistic genes of our mother, who was also quite the artist as a painter. Certainly thanks to our parents we were exposed to a ton of music growing up. Sally became an artist and I followed in my dad’s footsteps as a drummer.”

He continued: “My parents were both very influential in my own development as a musician. They didn’t force me to rehearse or teach me technique, they basically guided me towards what to listen for when listening to music. My dad would point out the nuances of a particular drummer such as Shelly Manne. How he was driving the band in a tasty non-intrusive way. My dad was the same type of player. Nothing fancy, just great feel and happy emotion when driving the band.”

Godfrey retired from playing the drums (at least publicly) sometime in the early ‘80s. “I stopped playing when all the guys I played with moved away from town.”

The Wenatchee music scene had changed drastically over the course of Godfrey’s time playing locally. After the rise of rock n’ roll, the night-life scene in town was un-

Bob Godfrey behind the counter at the Barnharts shop location. Photo provided by John Godfrey

Bob Godfrey smoking a cigarette inside a listening booth inside the Barnharts store location.

Photo provided by John Godfrey

recognizable to that of the scene 30 years prior. The Musicians Protective Union, Local No. 233 had fallen out of style decades earlier, and was absorbed by the Yakima Union by the end of the ‘80s. There were a couple local spots to see Jazz, but most of the local venues were filled with Hard Rock cover bands, and country acts. Godfrey never recorded any music, at least not for commercial release - some of his live performances were recorded on some level, but as of yet never shared with the public.

“I worked all my life on that 1 block”

In 1990, Godfrey turned 62 and retired from the ‘music biz’, selling his business to Dan Kuntz, a young customer and local disc jockey. Kuntz ran the shop as “Kuntz Music” for four years, before closing the store.

Up until a remodel early this year, the residue of metal letters that spelled out “Bob Godfrey’s Record Shop” were still visible on the facade of the building at 19A North Wenatchee Ave.

Running a record store in a small town is always a finite business venture. All told, Bob Godfrey’s lived on Wenatchee Avenue for 45 years. It probably helped that Godfrey never lost his sense of humor over all those years, a slogan used in a

1984 Wenatchee World ad read “Bob Godfrey’s Record Shop: Dying In Downtown Wenatchee Since 1955.”

His shop has been closed for more than 30 years now, but LPs with Bob Godfrey’s price tags can still easily be found at thrift stores across Central Washington. I found one a few months back, a hundred miles south, in Yakima.

Into his 90s, Godfrey still cited some of his favorite artists as Stan Getz, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey. Those Jazz greats from his youth had never lost his favor.

Godfrey passed away after a short illness on June 29th, 2022. Two months after celebrating his 94th birthday.

I first interviewed Bob Godfrey in 2014, way before my area of interest had broadened to all local music history - at the time, I was deep into my obsession with the ‘60s Wenatchee label Julian Records. I had blinders on. I was sitting in the living room of a local music legend - and all I wanted to ask him about were some small pressing 45s, put out by bands that had been inactive for 50+ years. I quickly realized the answers to my questions were inconsequential in the scale of Godfrey’s memory, but his recollections of other aspects of his

life remained crystal clear.

Through two nauseating hours of “umm”s, “soo”s and way too many “innnteresting….”s, I unconfidently and entirely unprepared, asked him a scrambled series of questions about his life in music.

A handful of times in 2020, I called up Godfrey to ask him random Wenatchee music history questions; things only he and I would know about - names and venues that haven’t existed for the better half of the last century.

“Do you remember Chili Meyers?” “What about Rixta Will?” “Did you ever play at Triangle Ballroom?” “How often would customers break 78s?” “Where did bands load in at the Columbia Hotel?” “How bad was the sound in the Auditorium at H.B. Ellison.. It had to be awful, right?”

Those phone calls were always out of the blue, and he was always more than happy to reminisce about the old days.

My last call with Godfrey was more than a year ago. He told me stories of non-union Seattle pianists that local lounge rooms would hire, sax player Steve Laughery that he played with a few times through the 1950s, a short lived acetate cutter Beany Lanphere had in Belmont’s, and an old union secretary Connie Rose.

The phone calls with Godfrey are now a thing of the past, and as time goes on the list of questions I have to ask him will get longer and longer. To me, it didn’t feel like there was a 60 year gap between us when it came to talking about playing music. I saw him as my upperclassman. It’s all the same, no matter what decade, style or time signature you’re playing in. It’s guys and girls learning and writing songs, booking shows, loading and unloading gear in different rooms and playing hours upon hours to crowds of other Wenatcheeites, all for the love of music. I was honored to pick his brain as much as I was able to.

The quotes I’ve pulled for this column are from my 2014 interview with Godfrey. The surrounding information is from that interview and from notes I took during the phone calls I had with him over the last two years. Other tidbits were contributed by Godfrey’s son John. Other pieces were learned from Chris Rader’s impressive write-up she did on Godfrey in 2011, published in the Confluence Magazine Vol. 27, No. 4 (It’s fantastic - you can find copies in the Wenatchee Museum Gift Shop). C

Bob Godfrey and Don Lanphere at the Golden Rooster. Photo provided by John Godfrey

Godfrey and his wife Mary (to his right) inside the 19A Record Shop. Sometime during the ‘70s. Photo provided by John Godfrey

The John Prabucki Band performing at WVC in 1947. Mary Miller singing, Godfrey on drums.

Photo provided by John Godfrey.

ARTBEAT

FIRST FRIDAY ART WALK MAP INCLUDED

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE NCW ARTS ALLIANCE AUGUST 2022 FREE

ON THE COVER: “Salish Sea” by Terry Valdez Artist Reception, First Friday, Aug. 5, 5-7 p.m. at Pybus Art Alley

SO WHAT IS THIS NCW ARTS ALLIANCE ALL ABOUT ANYWAY?

out at ncwarts.org. Of course, we’ve established both a digital and print versions of this monthly ARTBeat publication. (Many thanks to Ron Evans and The Comet!)

We’re working hard to become a primary support mechanism for the First Friday Art Walk, and we’re beginning to build the fundraising mechanisms, membership and partnership structures that will help sustain this organization into the future.

By Jamie Howell

The North Central Washington Arts Alliance (NCW ARTS, for short) is a brandnew 501c-3 non-profit dedicated to establishing and maintaining a regional infrastructure that connects artists of all stripes to each other and to the communities of North Central Washington.

That’s a long way of saying we want everybody here to know everything they can all the time about what’s going on with the Arts across our region (or at least know where to look to find out).

When we talk about goals, we talk about heightening awareness around Arts events and initiatives; supporting working artists; increasing access to art education and opportunities; and, in the process, strengthening the regional economy and enhancing public wellness on behalf of all who call North Central Washington home.

Right now, this young organization is taking its first baby steps. A new website hit the internet this past month – check it

FEATURED VENUE OF THE MONTH THE OLD BARN DRINKERY

But that’s all just the start. Ultimately, NCW Arts hopes to provide a centralized hub of information and access for all things Arts in our area – a catalog of artists, a calendar of events, listings of Arts opportunities (grant deadlines, classes, calls for artists, etc.), for example. In addition, we want to become an active advocate and supportive resource for all our artists.

The “we” of the NCW Arts Alliance at present is simply a small and committed group of local citizens, artists, educators and business owners who believe in the power of the Arts to transform community.

The time has come now for us to begin expanding that group with more board members, more volunteers, more artists and more believers in the transformative powers of the Arts. This is where you come in!

Want to find out more about the NCW Arts Alliance?

Contact us at arts@ncwarts.org

MUSE WORTHY by Lindsay Breidenthal

community by claiming concern over safety, sanctity, and security. The problem with silencing what we don’t agree with is that pretty soon, as Vonnegut points out, there is nothing left to say. Is this what we want instead of risking an offense, a cancellation, or lost revenue? Art has been the canary in the soul mine for as long as the powerful have relied on control. A real master of subversion uses beauty and humor as they draw a line around our vulnerabilities. I can’t think of anything more frightening to a regime with something to hide than an outspoken citizen. Dave Chappelle summed it up when he said, “The only way you can know where the line is, is if you cross it.”

If you’ve never encountered this delightful little venue amidst the orchards, wind your way along the road toward Monitor any Thursday evening in August to the Old Barn Drinkery at Sunshine Ranch and take in a show. Founded by local musical couple, Brad and Lisa Petit (formerly of the band Lynus and Lucy, and later, Gideon’s Daughter), they’ve transformed their 1900s wooden barn into a charming, relaxed and well-stocked event center. On Aug. 18th, for example, they’ll happily bring you a charcuterie board and a wine slushie while you kick back to the sounds of Bay Area bluegrass marvels, Fog Holler. They’ve also chosen to completely ignore inflation at the Old Barn Drinkery, with concert ticket prices ranging from $0 to $10. Check out all their events at thesunshineranch.wedding/events.

AND THAT’S JUST ONE OF YOUR OPTIONS! CHECK OUT THE FULL CALENDAR OF EVENTS AT NCWARTS.ORG

“Who is more to be pitied, a writer bound and gagged by policemen or one living in perfect freedom who has nothing more to say?”

~Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut

I’d like to hand it to the masterful marketeers who are so carefully branding the current forms of censorship. A tool in chameleon’s clothing, the censor acts on the fears of the

Lindsay Breidenthal

ART TRIP: UNINCORPORATED THORP, WA

Population

200 (give or take), 90-minute drive from Wenatchee. Follow your nose to Thorp and find yourself at PUNCH Projects this August.

This lil’ hamlet holds host to Punch Projects, a dedicated group of artists who are pushing artsy glee onto the sleepy streets of unincorporated Thorp. If you haven’t already day-tripped yourself over to the old fire station on the curve of Thorp High-

way to Punch Projects, I do suggest you get yourself there one of these Saturdays. Each Month Punch Projects hosts new and inspiring shows complete with cool art, visiting artists from all over the country, and the Hidden Snacks bar that serves Iron Horse beer for a great deal. This August don’t miss cross-disciplinary Edison artist, Ries Niemi. He’ll be showing his work titled “The Mute Project,” paying homage to musicians that have died from Coronavirus through December 2021. He has over 100 portraits including Le Thu, Cy Tucker, Calypso Joe and Ellis Marsalis Jr. to name a few that caught my eye. Each work embroidered on paper is lovingly detailed; en masse, the series paints a sobering picture to the cost of life during this current

pandemic. Niemi remarks, “They are all equally important, are all Royalty, and are all being Muted by the virus before their time.”

Niemi will be there Saturday August 6 from noon-4 pm, spinning yarns about music, art and craft you won’t want to miss it. Seriously, this man should have a podcast!

Take the day Saturday and wind your way over the hill for art, community and inspiration. Mostly go because you will get a great heart squeeze from this welcoming bunch of artsy entrepreneurs.

They will have visiting artist Neville Barbour, a Washington, DC artist, on the premise and Ellensburg-based reggae and hip-hop DJ outfit Black Grenade playing on the PUNCH Stage out back. Don’t

mind the weeds and be sure to wave as you roll into town.

Natalie Dotzauer is a working artist and professor of art at Wenatchee Valley College.

PUNCH Projects (formerly PUNCH Gallery) was founded in 2006, has worked to promote visual art made form artists outside of the urban centers. They strive to promote artwork that is thoughtful, fresh and contemporary combined with a desire to further bridge urban-rural connections. PUNCH Projects seeks to support the cultural vibrancy of rural art scenes by spurring creative awareness, cross-cultural engagement and economic vitality

Ries Niemi - Le Thu

Ries Niemi - LaCerda

Ries Niemi - Cristina

Natalie Dotzauer

SCAN FOR DIGITAL INTERACTIVE

FIRST FRIDAY MAP!

FEATURED OPPORTUNITY OF THE MONTH MAC ARTIST FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

You’ve got until midnight, August 10, to get your pitch in for either a $10,000 or a $5,000 award from the Robert B. McMillen Foundation’s MAC Artist Fellowship Program. This one’s for the visual artists out there, especially you emerging or mid-career creatives. What could you do with an extra $10,000 in art supplies? Find out at mcmillenfoundation.org.

FIRST FRIDAY ART MAP

1. MAC Gallery

Lead Pencil Studio: Shadow Aperture, 5-7 p.m.

2. Wenatchee Chamber Tasting Room

David Morris, metal sculpture; wines by C.R. Sandidge Winery, 5-7 p.m.

3. Numerica PAC

Pippin, musical theater, 7:30 p.m

4. Lemolo Cafe & Deli

Hans Joseph Hessburg, live music, 6-8 p.m.

5. Two Rivers Art Gallery

Albert Kissler, artist reception; Pat Thompson and Glenn Isaacson, live music, 5-8 p.m.

6. Tumbleweed Kealani Clay Jewelry, 5-7

7. Gilded Lily Amy Wall, paintings; 1-6 p.m.

8. Ye Olde Bookshoppe

Jessemyn Cackova, watercolorist; C.G. Dahlin, eclectic travel collection; Tarot by Sage, 4-7 p.m.

9. Museum And Cultural Center

Free museum admission and outdoor beer garden, 4-8 p.m.

10. Collapse Gallery Layers of Meaning”, Susan Steinhaus Kimmel & Jim Huber, 4-7 pm

11. Pybus Market Terry Valdez, artist reception; Indigo, live music 5-7 p.m.

Online map courtesy of the Wenatchee Downtown Association wendowntown.org

By DOUG and Kayla Nunn

Iconsider myself relatively nerdy. I didn’t grow up watching many movies or playing video games, but I did read a lot of books and as an adult I’ve made up for all the television and movies I missed. Especially since I met my now-husband. He grew up watching movies and its been one of my favorite things about our relationship, visiting classics and obscure titles alike.

For most of my life, I’ve hated Star Wars. To start, I didn’t get the hype. Growing up with the original trilogy, I found it boring. Old British men, Harrison Ford? These were movies for my Dad. What I did like were the Ewoks. Wicket was simply the most adorable creature I’d seen in my life. There were two straight-to-TV Ewok Movies, “The Battle for Endor” and “Caravan of Courage.” These I would watch on repeat. Cindel and Wicket, with their friendship and adventures, who wouldn’t be enamored!? Apparently, a lot of people. They were critiqued as “aggressively simple” by New York Times columnist John J O’Connor (1984). But they still hold a very special place in my heart.

In the late 1990’s, three more Star Wars movies were made. Again, I didn’t care much. I was a teenager and there was a lot of politics. Who was fighting? Why should I be invested? What were they even fighting about? None of it made sense. The only thing I took away from it was JarJar Binks. He was hilarious and clumsy and getting into absurd situations,

and somehow coming out of them with the upper hand. I love JarJar so much that at my bachelorette party in 2016, I gave a drunken speech to all my friends proclaiming my love and I didn’t care what it said about me that he was my favorite thing about Star Wars. Fuck the haters!

In 2019, we went to a convention in Puyallup. I don’t even remember how the conversation started but I ended up talking to a gentleman about how I didn’t like Star Wars, explaining that the fandom was so obsessive and I didn’t understand it and I refused to participate. He simply replied, “That’s ok, you don’t have to like Star Wars.” And suddenly something clicked. Just by one person giving me permission not to like Star Wars, I decided I would give it a real shot. Looking back, maybe I was being a jerk, maybe I was just being a contrarian. But, whatever it was in me that changed, I’m really glad it did.

Pretty soon after that, “The Mandalorian” was released. It was the first thing I watched once I decided I could give Star Wars a chance. I knew so little about the universe, and honestly I was a little overwhelmed at just how much content there was. I’ve put off watching Star Trek for the same reason. But the appearance of Grogu/ The Child/Baby Yoda made me an instant fan. The relationship between Din Djarin and Grogu is simple and sweet. The characters are complex, as are their situations and circumstances. Since then, I’ve revisited all the movies and started watching the “Clone Wars” and “Rebels” animated series. I even recently picked up a novel!

I’m currently reading “Darth Plagueis” by James Luceno. I plan on reading the “Thrawn” trilogy by Timothy Zahn. I can pretty easily hold my own in a conversation with even the biggest of Star Wars Nerds. Including my own husband.

The original trilogy (episodes 4-6) has so much more depth now that I have all this knowledge of the universe and where the characters come from, and where they end up. I don’t even have time here to get into the marvel of filmmaking. The prequel films, while there are still several parts I have a hard time sitting through without rolling my eyes, mean so much more after the animated series of “The Clone Wars.” Seeing who Anakin Skywalker was as a Jedi, we don’t get to see much of that in the films so I found it hard to care why it meant so much to everyone when he turned to the dark-side. His adventures with ObiWan and Ahsoka round his character out and show the good in him.

There is so much more content now for the Star Wars universe, even released within the last 5 years with new stuff being rolled out constantly. Not all of it good. But I do find all of it entertaining so far. There are endless characters, organic, droids and cyborgs, each bringing something to the story. Some dark, some light, always in balance.

The most beautiful thing I’ve encountered in the Star Wars universe isn’t even the content itself and was one of the reasons I was so hesitant to get on board to begin with. The fandom. Where I thought people were being pretentious and over-

bearing, I’ve learned that there is simply so much to love and the more one asks questions and talks about theories and emotions behind the stories and characters, the more fun the whole thing is. Any question can spark the most interesting conversations. Of course, there are always going to be disagreements, but since it’s all made up anyway, it’s fun and no one has to take it too seriously (with nerdy passions, that’s kind of impossible to avoid though).

Now, Star Wars is a part of my everyday life. Not a day goes by that something in the franchise isn’t mentioned in my household. There are new shows coming out this year, I’ve got a stack of books I’m reading and we are even planning a trip to Disneyland to visit the Galaxy’s Edge theme park. Ten years ago, that would have sounded so dull to me. Now, I’m looking forward to it and saving money for tchotchkes. I still have plenty of other hobbies and obsessions, but to be a part of this fandom is great fun, full of adventure, hope and rebellion.

Doug and Kayla Nunn are owners and operators of The Time Capsule, a retro media hub that celebrates all things nostalgic and pop culture related.

Find them: @retromediaman | 23 Orondo Avenue, Wenatchee and at timecapsulecollectibles.com C

Likenesses owned by The Walt Disney Company

EVERYTHING ISN’T FINE

By Varuca Salty

Content Warning: body dysmorphia, negative self-talk

It’s been a few months since I’ve written an “Everything is Fine” article because the truth is… everything hasn’t been fine. I’m deep in burnout and survival mode just dealing with my own personal life struggles… not to mention all of the political stuff going on. I’m just trying to get by, day by day, without raging out about the injustice and/or melting down from sheer exhaustion. I keep coming back to the fact that all I can do is focus on my small world, be the best I can be to my immediate friends and family, and hope that it has some kind of ripple effect. Just taking the next right step each day. And when I fuck up (and oh, do I fuck up), I own my mistakes, apologize, and move on. I still occasionally let shame consume me and try to convince myself that I’m a terrible person, but often enough I can stave off the neurosis and let logic and compassion in. Anyway, I think that about catches us up. And now, for my thoughts on the beauty

industry as a person living with chronic physical and mental illness. Enjoy.

As I sit here, trying to enjoy the summer season, I find myself more and more worried about my self-image. I’m too pale, better get some fake tanner or go to a tanning salon. Oops, my skin is too wrinkly, better look into fancy eye creams and Botox. My double chin is turning into a real problem, better get a lavish rose quartz stone to massage my jawline with. None of my clothes fit right, probably should get an entire new wardrobe. Oops I got a zit… better buy some medicated zit patches and harsh chemicals to burn the acne from my flesh. My belly is flabby, guess I’ll buy a beach body membership along with all of the exercise equipment only to do two weeks of workouts before losing interest. Oh, and I’m noticing some cellulite on my butt, I’ll just buy some special cream that claims to cure cellulite (even though cellulite is a natural and NORMAL part of having a human body). And geez, my teeth are looking yellow, but not to worry! I just ordered a new LED blue light teeth whitening kit. And and and and and… the list is

never ending. I can sit here for hours picking apart every single thing that is “wrong” with me. And that’s just the physical stuff. Don’t even get me started on the mental/ emotional troubs.

I will buy anything and everything selfhelp related that claims to solve my low self-esteem and overwhelming sense of impending doom. Self-help books? Check. Tarot cards? Check. Having my astrological birth chart read? Check. Positive affirmations and gratitude journals? Check. Classes for yoga, meditation and deep breathing exercises? Check. Check. Check. I will try ANYTHING if I think it will fill the void. Only…. I’m realizing.. the void is unfillable. And it’s not even my own doing. It’s designed that way. The health and beauty industry are shamelessly profiting from my mental unwellness and low self-esteem… and always have been. They are weaponizing self-care and poor body image and using it to make a pretty (pun intended) penny.

Each year as summer approaches, I can’t tell you how many self-deprecating

thoughts run through my brain just for existing in a body. Sure, my body may be what some consider plus sized. And sure, society/media has told me over and over and over that it’s not ok to exist in a body like mine. But that doesn’t negate the fact that it’s a total mind fuck that I’m trying my best to unlearn. Especially with children who are watching me and learning from me. It has taken years of hard mental/emotional work to get to the place I am now. Where I can even wear shorts (something I didn’t allow myself for about 10 years because I thought I was too big/ unattractive/gross). It’s not ok. I’m slowly learning to be comfortable in my body. I still have a lot of intrusive thoughts, but I don’t believe them so strongly anymore. My kids talk about my soft belly, calling it a fluffy marshmallow. And I think we can all agree that marshmallows are delicious and amazing and a true thing of beauty. So try to go easy on yourself this season. Wear the damn shorts. Rock that swimsuit. Delight in all of your imperfections. The beauty industry is lying to you. You’re already enough. Always have been. C

THURSDAY, AUGUST 4 AT 6 PM

Champagne Sunday LIVE at Collapse Gallery

Collapse Contemporary Art Gallery

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5 AT 6 PM – 9 PM

O&W LIVE!!! Older & Wiser @ Centennial Park Centennial Park

SATURDAY, AUGUST 6 AT 9:30 PM

Ando’s Birthday Bash! With Psycho 78, Ball Bag and Bill and His Six String plus guests

Wally’s House of Booze

SATURDAY, AUGUST 6 AT 9 AM – 3 PM

Pangborn’s Festival of Flight

Pangborn Aviation Services

FRIDAY, AUGUST 10-13, 2022 at 7:00 PM Matinee: August 13 at 2:00 PM

Short Shakespearean Present - Much Ado About Nothing Riverside Playhouse

FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2022 AT 8:30 PM

Friday Night Flicks - Goonies

Ohme Gardens

SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2022 AT 9:30 PM

Weird Animal, Past Tense of Draw plus guests! Live at Wally’s House of Booze

Wally’s House of Booze

Wanna plug your kickass event? Send it our way at thecometmagazine@gmail.com

SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2022 AT 7 PM – 11 PM

Best Darn Karaoke Night Around Riverhouse Cigar Bar

SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2022 AT 9 AM – 2 PM

Clever Chic Creations Pop-up @ Pybus

Pybus Public Market

SATURDAY, JULY 23, 2022 AT 8 PM – 9:30 PM

Sigillo Cellars Chelan

SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2022 AT 1 PM – 4 PM

Jessica Lynne Witty Bianchi Vineyards

SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 4-9 pm Music Theatre of Wenatchee

Comedy Show w/ Kermet Apio

Auditions for A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder

THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2022 AT 7 PM – 9 PM

Corban Welter Music

McGlinn’s Public House

FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2022 AT 9 PM

While I See Sound, Anavanam, and Levels&Layers live at Wally’s Wally’s House of Booze

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2022 AT 9:30 PM

MDC-Millions of Dead Cops live at Wally’s Wally’s House of Booze

THE SUNSHINE WEDDING RANCH

By Ron Evans

Brad and Lisa Petit have been staples in the local music and entertainment culture for as long as I can recall. Some may remember them packing in the local dance floors as Lynus and Lucy, later on they were focusing more on original music as Gideon’s Daughter. Their latest project is running The Sunshine Wedding Ranch and Old Barn Drinkery, a sprawling venue seated between Wenatchee and Monitor hosting weddings, live music, movies and private events. The Ranch has been busy this

year booking some amazing live acts and even providing home base for rehearsals for Modern English as they prepared to launch their PNW tour a few months ago. I reached out to the duo to chat about this completely unique performance and events space and to see what they have planned for the future.

Was your initial plan to convert the grounds to a wedding and events space?

No, not at first but we knew the moment we first walked through the property with our real estate agent that if we bought it we would want to share it and host par-

ties with our friends and family. It’s such a beautiful and peaceful place. But it took a lot of work to get it ready. For two years we worked on the paperwork we needed for the county to approve us. Meanwhile we were deep cleaning the barn, taking out each original floor board and using a special wash to prepare it. We had a lot to do because the barn was used for livestock since 1907 but it was such a fun project. We also had to put a lot of thought into landscaping, planting flowers and figuring out our parking plan.

I’d assume there are many unique accommodations you have to make when

hosting weddings. Talk a little about working with people on their big day and what the ranch has to offer for people looking to get hitched. We wanted to help people make their wedding day special and fun, so making it easier for them was the way to do that. We have great packages that include the necessities like tables, linens, chairs, banquet tables, and lots of extra charming decor like old orchard ladders, apple boxes for cupcake displays, wine barrels, antique doors and gates, and chandeliers. We tried to think of everything, so we sell ice and have water misters for hot days and outdoor heaters for the colder ones.

AND THE OLD BARN DRINKERY

We want each person to set up their wedding however they’d like, it needs to feel unique to them. We’ve met some amazing people in the last 9 years!

Aside from weddings, you have been hosting live music at the ranch. Are these outdoor shows? Do you hold events inside the barn?

Hosting live music has been a dream of ours from day one. We just built a beautiful outdoor stage but we have had music inside the barn on bad weather days as well. Both settings work great and feel really intimate and comfortable.

You have also done some movie nights outside - are you still doing those? What kinds of movies have you shown? We try to do “pop up” outdoor movie nights whenever we have a free weekend. We try to choose movies like The Princess Bride, E.T., Stand By Me, Tim Burton’s Big Fish, and of course we have to do some scary movies in October for Halloween!

A few years back you acquired a liquor license. Tell us about The Old Barn Drinkery. Are there plans to grow the drinkery as a standalone watering hole? Or will it mostly remain an addendum to the events held there? We’re definitely talking about how The Old Barn Drinkery is going to evolve. We plan to add a kitchen in the barn in the very near future and would love to be able to open for more than just our Thursday nights. We’re also searching outside our valley to bring in regional and national touring bands. Our goal is to throw bigger concerts out here periodically.

We never really expected for our Thursday Live Music events to grow so quickly the way they have but there’s such a need in this valley for what we’re doing. Brad makes homemade organic wine slushies and a pineapple jalapeño popper sangria as well as fresh mojitos while Lisa is in the kitchen making delicious loaded charcuterie boards. We’ve been called the best kept secret in Wenatchee because you can’t get drinks like these anywhere else in town and also because we’re tucked away on an acre and a half right off of Easy street surrounded by pear and apple orchards. If you drive by on a Thursday night you’re sure to see a packed parking lot with an over flow of cars parked along the street. The secret is getting out!

Both of you come from an events/per-

formance heavy background - how has all those years on stages, in venues and on the road shaped how you approach running your own venue - and with hosting artists and performers?

Being musicians who have played music in the valley for years, we both understand what it takes to perform and how it’s not just that one performance, it takes practice time, set up and tear down time, travel time, there’s so much more to it and it’s a big job so we want to make sure our musicians feel taken care of while they’re here, we want this to be one of their favorite places to play.

Speaking of hosting artists - the Ranch had a very cool opportunity to host Modern English a few months ago as they rehearsed for their upcoming US tour which started in Wenatchee. Tell us how that all came to be - and what that experience was like. We loved having Modern English here at the Ranch. Their manager contacted us to see if they could rent the barn as a rehearsal space before they kicked off their tour. They wanted a space that would help inspire them but also a place that was private. They loved our ranch and we made fast friends with them - they’re all great guys. We cooked dinner for them on their last night of practice and even got to sing their hit song “I Melt With You” with them after dinner on our back deck. It was so much fun!

What would be a dream booking for your brand new outdoor stage?

We talk about this all the time. John Paul White. Formerly half of the duo The Civil Wars. It will always be John Paul White! Would also love to have Shakey Graves, Pokey LaFarge or The Punch Brothers. The list is long, but definitely John Paul.

What are the plans for the Ranch looking down the road?

We have so many plans. Buying some more land close by for parking is always on our mind. We want to turn the barn loft into a luxury suite for our Brides and Grooms but also for a private rental. We’d love to add some small cabins for overnighters as well. The list goes on, but mostly we just want to keep doing things that are special and unique.

We want to spoil our guests. We want them to leave the ranch thinking how unforgettable their experience was, to feel cared for and special and maybe just forget about the worries of the world when they’re here, at least for a little while. C

Never Come Down performing at the Ranch.

Over the years at the Wenatchee Valley Museum, there have been some odd and strange things that have been donated to the collection. While currently there is a screening process and procedures in place for donating items, this wasn’t always the case. We occasionally find oddities lying around from years gone by with little or no explanations.

To the untrained eye this piece may look like an unassuming floral embroidery but if you take a closer look, things are not as they seem. This piece of art was made from the hair of a human, and whoever it belonged to is most likely long passed, but whether that be before or after the creation of this piece remains unknown. Making pieces of art like this one that now sits in the Museum collection was a popular trend in the 19th Century, many of which were made from the hair of deceased loved ones. Whether viewed as sacred or morbid, we are unsure if this piece is an example of that type of work.

Curated and written by Anna SpencerCollections Coordinator at Wenatchee Valley Museum And Cultural Center wenatcheevalleymuseum.org

Dear Moxie Rose, I’m not understanding what “pressure wave toys” are. I keep hearing people talk about them and how much they love them but when I look at them I don’t understand how you’d use one. Help? -L.

L.-

I can absolutely help with this- these are a particular favorite of mine! Pressure wave (sometimes called “air pulse”) toys are a type of clitoral stimulator. What sets it aside from other clitoral stimulators, however, is that it makes no direct contact (unlike things like vibrators or wands which make direct contact). If you look at pressure wave toys, no matter their design, you’ll see an opening somewhere on them with a moving diaphragm down inside. The diaphragm’s movement creates a gentle suction and release, done at a rapid pace (so rapid sometimes it can feel almost like a vibration). But because the diaphragm is down inside that opening, where you’d hold it to the clitoral area, the source of the stimulation itself never actually makes contact with you.

But why does this matter? Some people just prefer the sensation but the largest draw to them is deterring over-stimulation. With things like vibrators or wands making direct contact, the clitoral area (which,

at 8000 nerve endings, is already very sensitive) can become over stimulated quickly. This often looks like:

Feeling SO sensitive (especially after climax) that any contact with that area is almost painful.

Feeling like you can get SO CLOSE to another orgasm but you plateau and can’t get enough sensation to reach climax.

Feeling an almost numbing sensation in the clitoral area.

And while these are all temporary, if you’re not ready to be “done”, it can be frustrating. Pressure wave toys help prevent this from happening or greatly lengthen the time you have before over-stimulation (depending on your body) because it’s able to use suction and release to create a stimulating feeling with no direct contact.

can be a sign of many things so anyone listening to these symptoms shouldn’t automatically assume they have vaginismus. Vaginismus (for those who don’t know) is the body’s automatic fear-based response to any sort of insertion into the vagina. This could be fingers, penis, toys, even a tampon. Often times the person doesn’t actually feel any sort of fear but the body responds as if they are. Normally the vagina stretches to accommodate something being inserted into it with ease, arousal making it even easier with larger items like a penis or dildo. But with vaginismus, the vagina not only doesn’t stretch, it actively flexes against whatever is inside it and spasms, causing extreme pain. Occasionally, you can get vaginismus even if you have previously enjoyed painless penetrative sex. And they have no control over it and they’re unable to stop it.

to make their body more limber and flexible (making sure to use something like a water based lubricant to keep your skin hydrated and help with the skins elasticity).

Dear Moxie Rose, Which is better for someone with ED to use (working on getting a prescription)? Pump or ring?

R.

R.-

Dear Moxie Rose, How can you treat Vaginismus?

S.

Hi S., Before we go on I want to make sure people understand that they shouldn’t diagnose themselves. Pain in the vaginal area

Unfortunately not much is known yet about vaginismus as the potential treatment for it and it’s causes are still being studied. Treatment can include professional psychosexual work to overcome the psychological part of vaginismus but one of the most helpful physical treatments are dilators. Vaginal dilators work just like they sound! They’re inserted into the vagina and the gradually increase in size- at your own pace and comfort. Think of it like the stretches dancers and gymnasts do

While these can be used separately, they’re best when used together. Especially with ED (erectile disfunction). The pump works like a vacuum to draw blood into the shaft of the penis, forcing the erection, and the c-ring (cock ring) works like a tourniquet to trap the blood in the shaft, maintaining the erection. If you have no issues getting an erection and more of an issue maintaining it, you can skip the pump and just use the c-ring.

Moxie Rose: (sex and kink advice/education) from For The Love Of It in Wenatchee, WA.

The information provided in this column is for educational purposes only, and does not substitute for professional medical advice. C

Rockabilly McGregor and Moxie Rose - photo by Keith Friedle

BEERS WITH THE PIPPIN CREW

Evans: Oh, that’s good. Did you just make that up?

Donegan: No, I’ve been working on it. Because the rest of it starts to get a little convoluted. In reality, most productions I’ve ever seen of this show have been absolutely terrible. Because no one pays attention to the subtext and what is down there, below it all.

The only production of this that I have ever seen that inspired me, actually didn’t do that either. But it was the Broadway revival in 2013. And they paired it with like, it wasn’t Cirque du Soleil - but it was a Cirque du Soleil style, kind of circus group. And so it came to life in a different way. And it was great. And it was fun, and it was lovely.

And I happened to go and see it with my cousin who had weeks to live. And it literally changed me - holding onto someone’s hand and watching this song that’s called “No Time At All.” And “you’ve got to keep living” dah dah dah…while holding the hand of someone that was not going to be there in two weeks. And that was so powerful for me. And that, I think probably made me look at it with fresh eyes. It totally changed me. It’s the first time I’ve ever loved the show, because I never did before.

Evans: Wow. So how do you take that kind of experience and put it into your own version of this show?

By Ron Evans

On Thursday, August 4th Wenatchee summer staple Hot August Nights returns to the Numerica Performing Arts Center with Pippin. I wanted to learn more about this musical so I invited director Jaime Donegan to drink cold beers with me at Hellbent Taproom at Pybus. Donegan brought along some other willing day drinkers involved with the show; assistant director Vicki Michaels, choreographer Bethany Christine Elkin, PAC Director of Programming & Marketing Alex Haley and Box Office Manager Zach Missal. Mingling in the wings were Development Director Marissa Collins and Executive Director J. Woody Lotts.

The following is the abridged but uncensored transcript from this chat. There were laughs, tears, spilled beers and hijacked interview notes. In the end, I didn’t learn all that much about Pippin - and yet somehow I only want to see it more.

Evans: So I have looked up Pippin online, found some stuff - but I still have no clue what the hell this show is about.

Donegan: That’s good. That’s how it should be, especially with this production. But the bottom line is, this show can be pretty much anything you want it to be. I’m not certain that it was written with that intention. There’s a lot of historical characters in it. But it doesn’t take place in any particular time frame. My take is this is happening today. It’s happening right now, as the audience is seeing it…and (server comes over) oh hi, I’m gonna have the Funky Red Patina.

Evans: That’s a good one. I’ll do the House IPA and a shot of Jameson.

Elkin: Oh, they have liquor!

Donegan: So…with that said, my simple answer on this is it’s a young man’s journey to have an extraordinary life.

Donegan: So initially, when we were going to do this two years ago, I was going to do something really stupid. And I fully admit to that, because, again, I got changed in that process.

Evans: That’s right this was supposed to happen pre-Covid.

Donegan. Yeah. And if the director can’t be changed and transformed during any production, and they’re just like this, then they’re not really directing, they’re dictating. And I want to make sure that my cast always has a say, I’m going to give them a vision. And we’re always going to have play time. In the end, it’s not about being a tyrant. We are getting there together. And we’re making this.

Haley: Not a tyrant? Oh, this show must be different I guess.

Others laugh.

Donegan: Fuck you.

More laughs. And the beers arrive.

Server: IPA?

Evans: Yeah I got one of those.

Server: Shot of Jameson?

Evans: Yeah I got one of those too.

Haley: Guess the first round goes to Ron. Evans: Ok…so what changed the path you were heading down?

Donegan: I started looking at it and asking, why? Why is this all happening? Why, and the why just kept getting bigger and bigger and more broad. And in the end, I created a backstory that I think is necessary, and somebody else might do it and create an entirely different backstory. But what I realized was that it was important to establish a backstory that you share with your cast, and then you let them go from there. And my backstory is the premise that makes this show work for me. And that’s all that matters. Fuck them

Gestures at others at the table.

Michaels: Tyrant.

Evans: So do you think the Covid year(s) actually helped in steering this production in a better place?

Donegan: It wasn’t Covid, it was the time. The time where we were allowed to not do anything that made me want to look at it deeper and discover it for myself. And when I did - sadly…

The others giggle knowingly.

Ok, so I had a conversation with Don Fox, my producing partner and my set designer to give him kind of a basic layout of a set design, which I thought would work. And we just kind of briefly talked about it. And he goes well, I’m not going to be able to get to that for a while. So let’s talk more about it. Two days later, I woke up, possibly tequila-induced. And I said, oh my god, that’s all wrong. This is what it needs to be. And so I sat down and wrote this long, detailed email and sent it to Don and then I called Bethany and I was like, this is what I think it has to be. It’s got to be this. And she was all excited, right? And then I’d gotten a very terse email from Don

When the interviewee takes over your notes...

Fox that said “I spent 10 hours yesterday working on this set. I can’t with you right now. We’ll revisit it in three weeks.” The original idea was to do it like a globe style theater with a second tier.

And then I remembered Chicago, which we had done some similar things -

The others at the table groan at the mention of that stage setup.

- so then I said, let’s go back to the original idea that you had. I’m not gonna tell you, because I don’t want to ruin it. But when Don and I did finally sit down and start to talk via Zoom calls he started seeing it and suggesting how we could pull it off. And then all of a sudden, I was like, yes, yes, yes. Yes, we are on the right track. This exactly. And so we were moving in the right direction.

Missal: We did get to see some of the songs for the review in the courtyard last year, even though we didn’t know we’d even be doing Pippin at that time.

Donegan: Yeah we didn’t know then. But the songs stripped down event was great because it introduced three songs from Pippin and also introduced Christina Capehart and Anthony Ieradi as these characters to help drum up the commercial interest in doing Pippin. And it was really - oh shit.

Donegan spills beer on my notes.

Haley: That’s for your dead homies.

Evans: To the homies.

So you didn’t even know if the show would come back - it wasn’t on hold, it was canceled.

Donegan: Yeah we had no idea until recently we’d get to actually do it. All but one of the original cast members were able to return to do it. And we now have a new Executive Director at the PAC (J. Woody Lotts) and the sponsors have really been showing up so, after a brutal couple of years, it’s coming back. Don and I talked about reeling things in at first. Maybe just come back with a smaller, simpler thing - but Woody and Alex both said, let’s do this. Let’s go big. So we are going big.

Evans: Tell us about your Assistant Director?

Donegan: Well, first of all, I have never

had an Assistant Director so this is all new. I have told Vicki for years that she should direct a show. She agreed to be my Assistant Director which basically means she’s my bitch.

Michaels nods.

Donegan: But Vicki and her husband (Tom) are also leading sponsors so in the end, whose bitch is whose?

Michaels: Very true. So far it’s a lot of admin work. And I’m basically a glorified Girl Friday. But more like Monday - Friday. Honestly, I really just wanted to see how Jaime directs. I’m learning a lot. And he’s learning to enjoy not having to deal with all of these tedious sort of things that go into a production.

Donagen: Oh my god, if I had to deal with what she’s having to deal with…I would have shown up drunk already.

Evans: That ability of delegating things goes back to not being a dictator I suppose.

Michaels: He’s a dick.

Evans: But not a tater.

Michaels: Jaime directs in a completely different way than other directors I’ve worked with. It really does feel like there’s room for play. There’s room for ideas and it’s fun to come to rehearsals when you feel like your input is appreciated and heard.

Elkin: Jaime leads with questions as opposed to statements and that creates opportunities for discovery for everyone involved. It’s very rare on any level.

Evans: Also rare, Jaime you actually know the composer of Pippin yeah?

Donegan: Yes, Steven Schwartz.

Donegan and Elkin: (in unison) With a Z.

Donegan: Yes, we are very close friends and have been for a very long time. It’s interesting to work on a show where you know who created it, you know what their vibe is. He’d had success with writing the music for Godspell of course in 1971, and then Pippin became a hit on Broadway and they brought in the big hot director which at the time was Bob Fosse. He was older by then, and he brought a sort of darkness to it that wasn’t sitting well with Stephen and things got so heated that Fosse banned

Stephen from rehearsals for his own show. Fosse made it all about the choreography. Which, you know we have amazing choreography in this production but it’s a means to an end. And while we’re keeping some of the dark stuff in there, because you can’t have true light unless you have darkness, you have to have a balance.

Evans: On the topic of choreography, where do you start with all of that?

Elkin: I think regardless of whatever role you’re in, you need to go back to the story. And what is different? And what are we exploring, because if the movement is going to be successful, in my opinion, it needs to be an exploration of that story. I actually reread the original and I reread the revival scripts to see if I could find anything in either one that resonated or anything I felt were missed in the revivals.

Michaels: I think your choreography in this is really telling a story.

Elkin: Thank you. I grew up in the Bob Fosse world, I learned the “Manson Trio” and a lot of this iconic material from Ann Reinking, who was Fosse’s muse and was in the original production. I was 13, learning this material. And that’s a huge honor. And yet, I wasn’t interested in recreating material that is iconic into existence. And so that was a big conversation that Jaime and I had was, do you want me to come on so that I can recreate what was? Or do you want to find something new? He wanted to find something new. And that was exciting to me and sparked a fire in me. And so we found a movement that I believe really honors what Pippin and the players are exploring and experiencing throughout the piece.

Evans: How does it work when you are putting on a licensed production like thishow much leeway do you have in terms of interpretation and style?

Donegan: Interestingly there’s a forum online for Pippin where people doing the show can ask questions about it and Stephen Schwartz or his assistant Michael Rose will answer them. Someone was planning to do Pippin and they wanted to add like…80s music to it. And Stephen Schwartz answered him and said, you know , I’m not gonna say no but I do question your motivation for doing that. Like... why? And seeing that he was open to even something like adding 80s music for zero reason - that made me feel like I can just

do what I need to do, I didn’t tell him what my plans were - he knows we are doing the show and he’s excited about it. He sent us a video greeting for the cast and crew and it was really nice. But I decided to just keep it within this theater and it will be what it will be. I can say that I’m adding something before the show that I think sets the tone of why this is happening. And this solves some things….look - theater people all across the globe love this musical. But many of them don’t know what the fuck it means. I really believe that. So, I’m not adding lines to the script or anything like that, but this is how I would like to make a statement that really helps to understand the show. And how we are doing that - is very now.

Evans: Well I’m excited to see it. Even though I still don’t have a fuckin’ clue what it’s about.

Michaels: Nobody does! That’s the beauty of it.

Donegan: Once you understand where this truly takes place, then you realize it can be anything.

After another round, and many more things said that even The Comet can’t print, it was time to pay up and call it a night.

Everyone hugs (or gently high fives if you’re Alex Haley with a hand injury which I could swear was on the other hand yesterday) and I look for my bill.

Evans: Wait, who paid my tab?

Nobody answers as they all head out into the sweltering summer heat toward the PAC for an evening of rehearsals. C

SHOWINGS FOR PIPPIN

AUG. 4-6, 10-13 AT 7:30PM

MATINEES: AUG. 6 & 13 AT 1:30PM TICKETS

THE FUNNY PAGES COMICS AND NOVELTIES

DAD JOKES OF THE MONTH

What’s brown and sticky? A stick.

Two guys walked into a bar. The third guy ducked.

Why are elevator jokes so classic and good? They work on many levels.

1) According to a study done by the security firm Symantec, you are actually three times more likely to get a computer virus visiting THIS type of website than if pornography websites.

A) Anything that ends in a .edu

B) Government Websites

C) Religious websites

D) Antivirus websites

2) Scientists in China believe they may have developed a new eco-friendly plastic that can be much less damaging to our environment. One of the key ingredients to this new eco friendly plastic is this:

A) Crickets

B) Hippopotamus fat

C) Frog ligaments

D) Salmon Sperm

3) This famous musician was known for their partying lifestyle, and sadly was the first famous person to OD on fentanyl in the united states.

A) Janis Joplin

B) Scott Weiland

C) Sid Vicious

D) Eddie Money

4) Stranger Things season 4 wrapped up recently, and in my opinion, we got some of the best Stranger Things to date. There’s a very minor spoiler with this question.

At one point during the season finale, we see Jim Hopper brandish a sword while battling demons from the underworld.

We all know this show is RIPE with easter eggs, and this sword was no exception. In fact, this sword was a SCREEN USED prop from something very famous. What was the sword we saw him wield?

A) The Atlantean Sword from Conan The Barbarian

B) Anduril - The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King

C) Ice from Game of Thrones

D) The MacLeod Longsword from Highlander

5) Last year, a woman in Missouri won a 5.2 Million dollar settlement with Geico Auto Insurance. She filed the claim when she was in a car with the insured when this happened:

A) The man driving the car flicked his cigarette and ash got into her eye, causing partial blindness

B) The driver of the car was driving too fast and it gave her a rare but serious ailment called “permanent motion sickness disease”

C) The passenger window mechanism malfunctioned, catching the woman’s hair while it rolled down, causing her to be nearly scalped

D) The woman had sex with the man in the back of the car and caught an STD he didn’t disclose that he had

August horoscopes are a Love and Hate edition:

Aries - Loves themselves, hates...also themselves.

Taurus - Loves adventures, hates actually leaving the house.

Gemini - Loves telling stories, hates when people don’t listen with their undivided attention.

Cancer - Loves being in love, hates maintaining relationships.

Leo - Loves being happy, hates the effort it takes to do the things that bring them joy.

Virgo - Loves to have their cake and eat it too, hates that expression.

Libra - Loves that lavish lifestyle, hates the 40/hr work week.

Scorpio - Loves being highly sensitive and intuitive, hates the idea of anyone finding out they’re highly sensitive and intuitive....

Sagittarius - Loves being independent and free, hates having no one to blame their problems on.

Capricorn - Loves validation, hates accepting compliments.

Aquarius - Loves being alone, hates being lonely.

Pisces - Loves offering their honest opinion, hates when someone else offers their honest opinion to them.

Salmon Sperm.

D) Eddie Money - he survived the OD. 4 - A) The Atlantean Sword from Conan The Barbarian. 5 - D) The woman had sex with the man in the back of the car and caught an STD he didn’t disclose that he had.