The Comet: Issue 5 January, 2018 by The Comet

THE COMET

BEAUTY AND

CHAOS PAGE 12

EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE

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THE COMET

THIS issue co-editors: Ron Evans & Holly Thorpe contributors: Cory Calhoun, Dustin Hays on the cover: “Gaia” by Bryant Goetz WEB: thecometmagazine.com facebook.com/thecometmagazine instagram: @thecometmagazine info@thecometmagazine.com

twitter: @cometmagazine

jack of all trades...............PAGE 4 b-sides..................................PAGE 5 crossword...........................PAGE 7 events..................................PAGE 8 Beauty and chaos................PAGE 12 museum mysteries..............PAGE 16 comet tales.........................PAGE 18 edgar rue comic..................PAGE 20 the spacepod.......................PAGE 22

BRYANT GOETZ IN HIS ELEMENT

THE COMET

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COMET HEADQUARTERS january 30, 2018 Note From The Editors. Artists are by definition, by nature, by default, kinda weird. And we like weird. Weird’s our type. The beauty of weird folks is that they have really great stories to tell. They lead interesting, bizarre lives and they share their stories with other people. My favorite part of this job is hanging out with artists and trying to understand a little better how their brains work. And we did that this issue with all sorts of strange and wonderful people. I interviewed Bryant Goetz, a lovely human being who is endlessly passionate and knowledgeable about his craft. Bryant and I dive into the meditative and self-exploratory aspects of making art, what an artist’s studio says about them and why sharing your work (yes, your work) is so, so important. I hope you feel as hopeful and excited about art and artists after hearing what he has to say as I did when I spoke with him. Ron got to hang out with two of Wenatchee’s coolest movers and shakers: Andy “Ando” Peart of Snatchee Records and Kasey Koski of the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. For those of you who haven’t been to the museum since you’re fifth grade field trip, I implore you: go. As Kasey points out, our museum is far from “stuffy” or “academic.” Their exhibits are unique and carefully curated and have a little of something for absolutely everyone, and her interview with Ron really explores that. Plus, she gave us some exciting details about the weird bones and half-eaten sandwiches they have in storage (yes, you read that right). Ando is the type of person who is almost intimidatingly cool. Ron asked him eight questions about his printmaking and his involvement with Wenatchee’s very own indie music label. Plus, check out the list of shows he’s helped book at Wally’s House of Booze on page 8. The dude makes shit happen. As always, you’ll find some locally-sourced, artisanal, gluten-free goodness from our contributors. Dustin Hays tells a story about tshirts that is, frankly, fascinating. Plus, he’s got deets on the expanded exhibit at the museum featuring local band t-shirts from past decades. Cory Calhoun, on the other hand, continues to make people around this fine valley look to the sky and curse his name. So we’ve taken to just calling him Cory “Damn you!” Calhoun. His crossword puzzles

are wickedly clever, and every single issue he stumps and amazes us again. As for Ron’s Spacepod segment this month, it’s the final installment of the Mel’s Hole story. Nothing I can say will prepare you for this mindfuckery. Good luck. This February, we urge you: keep submitting your work, telling your stories and being just a little bit (a lot bit) weird. And we’ll keep on loving it. Cheers, Holly Thorpe Co-editor, The Comet Magazine

Ron Evans is the co-owner of RadarStation art gallery at 115 S. Wenatchee Ave., host of the Tales from the Spacepod podcast, author of “Edgar Rue,” and creator of many other things, many of which have robots in them. He is co-editor of The Comet and our lead designer.

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Frank Geiger: jack of all trades and master of some

by holly thorpe

rank Geiger is a musician and maker of many things. He was recently a featured artist at Ye Olde Bookshoppe and had his handmade paper, candles and soap on display. He has made paper from bluejeans, orange peels and apple pulp. We talked with Geiger about how he earned the awesome title of “Jack of all trades, master of some,” and why he doesn’t think it’s entirely true. The Comet: Tell me a little bit about your background: What have you done for work? What are your hobbies (I know you sing!)? Are you from the area originally? Frank: I am 55 chapters old. I currently live in East Wenatchee. I was born and raised in Southern California. I have worked in construction, installing cabinets in condominium developments. I was a forklift driver at a warehouse. I was a silk screen operator, printing t-shirts. I worked in a UPS distribution center, loading and unloading trailers. I went back to school and got a degree in electronics. After that, I moved up to Silicon Valley to work at a

company called AMD (Advanced Micro Devices). They make the microprocessors and memory chips, for computers. I would fix and maintain the machines that make the computer chips. I did that for about 18 years. I have always been into music. I was in my high school marching band and jazz band. I currently play the trumpet with the Leavenworth German Band, and sometimes with the Wenatchee Big band. Sometimes, I even get asked to play in the pit orchestra for local musicals. You’ve been described as a “jack of all trades and a master of some.” Where did that come from? What have you mastered? Which ones do you want to master next? I have always been good with my hands and figuring things out. I was 10 when I fixed my first television set and also a record player/radio. I got the nickname “Mr. Fixit” while working at the computer company. It is true that I have been called a “Jack of all trades and a master of some,” but I do not think that I have mastered

any of them. There are always new things to be learned in anything one does. I am quite good, at a few things, but I will always be learning. I can cook, pretty well, sew better than most, and am quite good at woodworking. But, I do not think I have mastered them. I am currently learning metalworking. I took a welding class at the college. What drew you to making paper? What do you think people what find most interesting about the paper-making process? Paper making came as an offshoot of trying to make hair oil for a friend. She was talking about wanting to find an all natural hair oil, that was similar to Moroccan hair oil. I experimented and finally made something that was pretty good. I bottled it and wanted to put the bottles in a box. So, I decided to make my own boxes. And, since the oil was all natural, I wanted the boxes to also be made from all-natural paper. So, I figured out how to make paper without harsh chemicals. Depending on the materials, paper making can be as easy as just putting the fibers and water, into a blender/beater and making it into a pulp. Or, it can be a long process of soaking the material, in water, for a few days, cooking it, to get it soft enough, and then putting it in to a blender/beater to make the pulp. I am currently working on making my own Hollander beater, to make a better pulp. And I am also working on making a rolling press to make the paper smoother and less porous. Tell me about what’s going through your mind whenever you’re making or creating. When inspiration strikes, it is like a challenge to me. I want to learn how something works and

then find out how to make it. Recently, I got curious about crystal radio sets. I know how they work, but I wanted to figure out how to make them work better. This lead me to try and make the individual parts better. While trying to make my own ferrite core, I came across an idea for making my own version of a superconductor. So, I built an electromagnet, to help process the raw material, to make a superconductor. This experiment is ongoing. What else should people know about Frank Geiger? I think the willingness to learn new things and see if I can do something is what drives me. As a junior in high school I rode my bicycle from Southern California to Oregon. As a forklift driver, at a warehouse, I rode my mountain bicycle across the United States. I have run marathons, played in a rock band, cooked at a lumber camp, built an igloo, and climbed The Great Wall of China. Through it all, learning something new about myself and the world around me. This quote, by Mark Twain, best describes my outlook on life: “The best way, to know something, is by finding out.” We each have a story to tell. Each word is but a day. Each sentence is but a week. Each paragraph is but a month. And each chapter is but a year. There are many more words and many more chapters, to my story. Not the end...

Note from the editor: We couldn’t confirm that Mark Twain actually said that. But it’s good advice, so we wanted to leave it in. To see some of Frank Geiger’s work, visit Ye Olde Bookshoppe at 11 Palouse St., Wenatchee.

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B-SIDES: “We’ve got t-shirts for sale in the back...” - An Exhibit

Lopez performing live at the IOOF Hall in the late ’90s. A teenage concert goer wearing a Wayward Youth shirt seen in the crowd. Photo by Matthew Smith

Actual Eddies circa 1988. Photo by Brian Ohme

n extension to the “Apple Capital Records” exhibit at the We n a t c h e e Museum & Cultural CenDUSTIN HAYS ter opened to Musician/Music Historian the public earlier this month. “Rock & Roll TShirts of Wenatchee,” a display of 50 local band t-shirts from the last 30 years opened Jan. 5 in a small room on the second floor of the museum. T-shirts first began being worn by US Navy soldiers in the early 1900s, issued to be worn under their uniforms. In the later decades, the garment gained popularity among the “civilian” public and by the 1950s the t-shirt had become a common dress for the youth of America. Though often banned in school dress codes, the

’60s was the first decade to see an uprise in the shirt being utilized for advertising purposes by businesses and (most importantly in this case) musical groups. Elvis Presley and The Beatles were two of the earliest groups to capitalize on selling custom printed shirts to their fanbase. In the decades that followed The Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, The Ramones, The Misfits & Nirvana were just a few of the bands that added to a now classic selection of rock & roll memorabilia. Nowadays, modern reproductions of these classic designs can purchased almost anywhere that sells clothing. If my memory serves me correctly, I bought my first band tee, a 1977 Zeppelin American tour shirt, at the Wenatchee JCPenney around 2004. The first instances of local band t-shirts I was able to confirm were

Not All There tee on display at Hot Topic. Photo by Matthew Smith

from three late-’70s Wenatchee rock bands: River City, Belle Starr and Hard Luck. Unfortunately all of those shirts have escaped their original owners and aside from a few surviving photos, been lost to time. As time went on, more and more of the valley’s groups had shirts made up. Limegrind, Moss Dog, Wayward Youth, The Michael Dickes Band, 427, Loomis, Actual Eddies & The Losers are just some of the bands whose aged and faded shirts are being displayed in the exhibit. The spread of worn “artifacts” helps instill (for the average Wenatchee museum-goer) that the area has always had a vibrant music scene waiting just around the corner. For the more veteran members of the local scene it’s an opportunity to reminisce about bands you hadn’t thought of for ages and see some of the shirts

you’ve worn proudly across town in the years past. The main exhibit, curated by Kasey Koski and me, will be taken down after the museum’s First Friday event on Feb. 2. Wenatchee’s longest standing punk band Not All There will be performing on the museum’s stage from 7-9 p.m. This display of the valley’s band shirts will remain up through the month of February and will be taken down in March. Dustin Hays is a Wenatchee musician, local music history aficionado and enthusiastic member of the local music scene. He performs as a solo singer-songwriter around the area and as a member of one of the valley’s newest groups The Nightmares. Hays also hosts “Sounds of the Valley” a weekly radio show on KORE FM Community Radio (99.1/105.9 FM) focused on the local music scene, both past and present.

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THEMELESS CROSSWORD #1

Made exclusively for The Comet by Cory Calhoun

Have puzzle ideas or feedback? Email info@thecometmagazine.com ACROSS 1 Controversial drug once pitched by Sally Field 7 Where some who lose traction may end up 15 Certain battery terminals 16 Subject of compound interest? 17 Does this IRL: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 18 Snuggle, e.g. 19 Eddie ___, chef and inspiration for TV’s Fresh Off the Boat 20 Where semi conductors work? 21 Drs.’ weekly mag 22 Yale student, informally 23 Apple debut of 2001 25 Playwright Čapek who introduced the word robot 26 Kitchen appliance brand 28 Specialty drill-bit material 30 Stereotypical female pin-up term 32 They’re below capts. 33 First Muslim to win an acting Oscar (for Moonlight, 2017) 36 1990s Charles S. Dutton sitcom 37 Stereotypical male pin-up term 38 Duchamp’s wheelhouse 40 The Handmaid’s Tale, e.g.

45 46 47 48 50

52 54 55 56

Opposing side in an informal game, say Skirt length Kitchen appliance brand Veteran soap actress Hunter ___ Hammy 2010 NL MVP Joey ___ of the Cincinnati Reds Fit of rage Matched up Short golf-course descriptor Irish-themed Vegas casino with a leprechaun mascot Abnormal narrowing of bodily channels Like some affairs

DOWN 1 Shindigs 2 Like The Handmaid’s Tale 3 Blind Melon song of “Bee Girl” video fame 4 Norse goddess 5 Cookout offering 6 Dolt 7 “Woe is me” 8 Rookie 9 UFO pilots 10 Cagney or Lacey: Abbr. 11 Glacial river-blocker 12 Sushi offering 13 Pope #4 14 Announces things to come 20 Part of a hairdresser’s arsenal

30 33

37 39

27 28 29 31 33 34 35 36 39 41

42 43

24 25

32 35

36 38

Matchmaker Paddler protesting petroleum production Four pecks: Abbr. Microarray device for genotyping Like some gold accents 1989 ‘Weird Al’ comedy Do-it-yourselfer’s nightmare Do it yourself Election loser to DDE Wickerwork plants “Pass me the ball!” It’s often free in Chinese restaurants Yoked plowers Like cabins and

48 49

campfires “Uh, lemme think … sure, that’s fine” Corp. bigwigs Wheel shaft

51 53

Will-_____-wisps Monogram of JFK’s alleged assassin Like 15-Across: Abbr.

SOLUTION TO DECEMBER’S PUZZLE H A D J I D E A S U F JAN S L I C A T N E T S E R Y O K I O N I C U T S MAY O S G U M B O R E O O P U S B A S T A N S SEP T I C A H O L I R W I R O A C

E T T E N M C E S C H E R E N H

S A H O O L D P E K G G G C A E R L O L A H R I T D E C H O I N C

E T I N E M D S P O O M S R R O S O N A A E T M D E L H I JUN A L L C H Y E T S I H O P E V A I L S E L A S Z E N N A R N I A P E N G C R A O N E C Y A N I OCT A V E D FEB

R E Z E

N G B A A R C L I T A S M R E N A A N D T H A T S A N O

MAR

S A L A G O D

V I JUL E I O S E R E O M E A R NOV A

A G R D I A N O R M E L O R S N U P K E D A N S A N A I P A L E S N I L S M S E P P L S T A M I E R N T O O S C U N I T DEC A L A A N N R E

I N A W E E K I A M T O O M A N N E D

M A L APR

O P

D R AUG

H T S G R O T T O

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GTFO: EVENTS WORTH LEAVING YOUR HOUSE FOR

PRESENT

dynamite supreme

Feb. 2-23: Live music at Wally’s

As always, Wally’s House of Booze is keepin’ it real with live, local music all month long. For door times (usually 9:30 p.m.) and cover (usually a suggested $5) visit fb.com/snatcheerecords509.

Alex Haley of LAPH Productions about the comedy series at thecometmagazine.com or in Issue 4.

Feb. 3 : jay larson mar. 16: kermit apio

Feb. 2: Laps, Twin Skinny, Rylei Franks, Dave Savage Feb. 4: The Toasters, Not All There, Deschamp Feb. 3: Lip Sync Live Feb. 10: Prophets of Addiction (Unplugged), Michael Got what it takes to lip sync with the best of them? Carlos, Cowboy Dan, Indigo Rose Prove it. There’s a live contest at the Wenatchee ConFeb. 16: The Nightmares, Laps (Unplugged), Twin Skinny vention Center on Feb. 3, where anyone 18-and-up can compete for prizes including a complete Las Vegas trip, Feb. 23: Millhous, Dead Bars, The Nightmares a Victoria Clipper Cruise, and a Shiloh Inn beach get-

Feb. 2-23: Movies at the library

The library is having movie screenings with popcorn! Plus, they’ve got good taste in movies. Each film starts at 3:30 pm. Here’s the schedule:

Feb. 2: Groundhog Day Feb. 9: Hook Feb. 23: The Lion King

Feb. 3: Cold Winter Nights Comedy Series

The comedy series continues. There are two shows in February and March at the Numerica Performing Arts Center. Tickets are selling out quickly, but you can buy them now at numericapac.org. Read our interview with

away. Costumes, choreography and, of course, musical bravado are to be expected. Sign up early by emailing lipsynclive2018@gmail.com. Get tickets now at numericapac.org or at the door. All proceeds benefit Mission Creek Players. More details and some goofy videos from past events at the Facebook event, search “Lip Sync Live,” hosted by Mission Creek Players.

Feb. 3-24: Music on the Mountain

Live music on Mission Ridge continues this month. Open to people skiing or snowboarding and anyone else who ventures up the mountain. Get details and the full schedule by checking out their page at fb.com/MissionRidgeSkiAndBoardResort.

Feb. 3: Massy Ferguson Feb. 10: Dynamite Supreme

Feb. 17: The Prefunc Feb. 24: The Staxx Brothers

Feb. 8: Knight at the Olympics

Olympic athletes and free tacos. Read on: Olympic freeskier and Wenatchee Valley College alumna Amy Sheehan will speak at this free, public event on the WVC campus. Plus, there will be a free taco bar thanks to sponsors ASWVC and the WVC Foundation. More information on the Facebook event page “Knight at the Olympics with Skier Amy.”

Feb. 10: Eric W. Fotherby book signing

Storytelling is an art form, and it’s one poet and author Eric Wolfgang Fotherby has been perfecting for decades. From the Facebook event for his book signing: “Fotherby shares ... true-life tales of examining a frozen Sasquatch in a shopping mall parking lot, being abducted by a crooked cop in the deserts of Mexico, fending off poisonous snakes and spiders in the wilds of Florida, cleverly exacting revenge on a shady insurance agent, and his most famous story – sustaining a serious shark bite in the waters off Hawaii.” Plus, you know, slightly more run-of-the-mill stuff like sports and travel. The signing is from noon to 4 p.m. More details at fb.com/ yeoldbooks.

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catherine case & Jennifer Ryhne

loving vincent

auction for the animals

Feb. 16: Rails and Ales

Everybody loves a block party. Especially one with a rail jam contest happening in the middle of it. Rails and Ales is back this Feb. 16. From the event: “An epic evening of skiing, snowboarding, music and fun in the heart of downtown Wenatchee. Come watch some of the best skiers and snowboarders in the state throwdown in this ski and snowboard rail jam contest. We’re closing down Orondo Ave and bringing the mountain to you. But don’t let the title fool you - this is an awesome event for the whole family to enjoy.” There will be a beer garden featuring plenty of local flavors, cash prizes for event competitors and live music all night long. Get the details at missionridge.com.

Feb. 16 : Loving Vincent screening

Come see a special screening of the world’s first fully oil painted feature film at Snowy Owl Theater. Loving Vincent tells the story of Vincent van Gogh using his medium of choice. From the venue: “As remarkable as Vincent’s brilliant paintings, is his passionate and illfated life, and mysterious death. No other artist has attracted more legends than Vincent van Gogh. Variously labelled a martyr, a lustful satyr, a madman, a genius and a layabout, the real Vincent is at once revealed in his letters, and obscured by myth and time.”

Feb. 17: Auction for the Animals

You deserve a vacation. Even if it’s only for an evening. The annual Wenatchee Valley Humane Society animal

auction is coming up this month. The theme is “Life’s a Beach.” You gotta give ‘em a sand for that awesomely punny name. Sea what we did there? Sorry, we’ll stop. From the Facebook event: “Our annual auction is a gathering of pet lovers who come together to celebrate pets and help raise funds for the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society. Admission purchase includes dinner and a chance to win many different and amazing silent and live auction items, along with some fun activities.” Dress in your best floral prints and get your tickets at wenatcheehumane.ejoinme.org/2018AuctionTix.

Feb. 17: Nature and Music performance

For those of you hopeful that spring really is right around the corner, this concert at Canyon Wren Recital Hall may be just the thing. Acclaimed musicians Catherine Case (harp) and Jennifer Ryhne (flute) will perform pieces inspired by nature. Tickets and details at icicle.org.

wenatcheevalleymuseum.org.

Feb. 24-25: People of our Past performances

So they haven’t invented time travel, yet. Bummer. The good news is, you can kinda pretend like they have by attending the People of our Past performances at the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center on Feb. 24-25. From the museum: “Actors will portray real characters whose lives contributed to the development of the Wenatchee Valley….This year’s characters are community builder Belle Culp Reeves (Emma Standerford), town sheriff and theater owner Ed Ferguson (Jeff Heminger), pioneer farmers Dora and M.O. Tibbits (Peter Kappler and Megan Kappler) and developer Arthur Gunn (David Harvill).” Directed by Cynthia Brown. Four performances are scheduled, including a ticketed gala event at 6 p.m. Saturday. Details and times at wenatcheevalleymuseum.org. C

Feb. 20: The Million Dollar Duck screening

No, not Scrooge McDuck. Regular, non-anthropomorphic ducks. This film, part of the Environmental Film series at the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center, tells the story of the the Federal Duck Stamp contest, the only juried art competition run by the U.S. government. God, what a weird sentence. Duck stamps and duck stamp art will be on display. The screening is from 7-9 p.m. and free to attend. Details at

Are you putting on a cool event? Is your band playing in town? To have an event listed in The Comet, email info@thecometmagazine.com

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wenatchee first friday Cindy Rietveldt with Wenatchee First Fridays helped put together this list of shows, along with their First Friday hours. Remember, while most places have special events, artists receptions and free admission during First Friday, the art itself is on exhibit all month long in most locations.

Lemolo Cafe & Deli

Robert Graves Gallery

Todd Gaytley is a wholly unique artist. Painting primarily on animal skulls, ranging in size from Sparrows to Bulls, Todd works to create surreal, cartoon-like SKULLptures that are strange, colorful, humorous, and creepy. His paintings on canvas use similar color schemes and themes, combining to create an art show unlike anything you’ve seen before.

Robert Graves Gallery and the Foster/White Gallery out of Seattle, present fiber artists Cameron Anne Mason and Eva Isaksen. Drawing on nature as both medium and message, the eponymous show runs through March 16.

114 N Wenatchee Ave. Open First Friday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Wenatchee Valley College First Friday reception 5-7 p.m.

Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center

127 South Mission Street First Friday (free admission): 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

ing stories, epic travel adventures, passionate bromantic poems, reflections on life. True-life tales of examining a frozen Sasquatch, being abducted by a crooked cop in the deserts of Mexico, sustaining a serious shark bite in the waters off Hawaii, and so much more!

MAC Gallery

Wenatchee Valley College Music and Art Center 1300 Fifth Street First Friday reception: 5-7 p.m.

In the exhibit “Multiple Originals: A Survey of Printmaking by World-Renowned Artists” Mela 17 N. Wenatchee Ave. we explore a broad range of printmaking The Apple Capital Records Exhibit is at an First Friday artist’s reception: 5-8 p.m. techniques and concepts with an incredible end. Help us to celebrate the closure with a First Friday performance by Wenatchee punk array of works courtesy of the Greg Kucera Mela presents “FIELD STUDIES: Paintings group Not All There. The free concert is from Gallery, Seattle. The list of world-renowned and Collages by Adele Little Caemmerer.” artists to be exhibited include Robert Moth7-9 p.m., beverages available for sale. The In scientific field research, a “field” is any Apple Capital Records extension, Rock & Roll erwell, Richard Diebenkorn, Ed Ruscha, Jacob circumscribed area of study. The field reT-Shirts of Wenatchee, is upstairs in the Blue Lawrence, Kiki Smith, Martin Puryear, Jim searcher engages with the field to observe, Dine, William Kentridge, Kara Walker, Lisa Gallery. notice patterns, organize, visualize, and presYuskavage, Kerry James Marshall, Sean Scully, ent data. Local artist, Adele Little Caemmerer, Tara Donovan, Jane Hammond, Roger ShiTumbleweed Shop & Studio shares a collection of work derived from her momura, Darren Waterston, Victoria Haven, 105 Palouse practice of “field research” in her daily habiFirst Friday reception: 5-8 p.m. Ramiro Gomez, Anders Bergstrom, Willie tat, brought into visual form. Colors, weather Cole, and Marcel Dzama. phenomena, skies, landscapes, materials — The Tumbleweed First Friday artist for each make their impression, and together, February is Ashley Rodgers who says,“My inform compositions that speak to her sense passion to create and craft has never stopped of place. since I was a little girl. If I am not expressing RadarStation my artistic side I feel like a part of myself is missing.” Using cowhide Ashley creates totes, 115 S. Wenatchee Ave. First Friday reception: 5-9 p.m. purses and wallets. After many compliments Two Rivers on her bags, Ashley decided to start her own 102 N Columbia “ORPHANS: Second Hand Store Art ReviFirst Friday reception: 5-8 p.m. business making fashionable, simple, leather sions” Is a group show of “updated” works goods. found in second hand stores, attics, and The featured exhibit at Two Rivers in Februdumpsters. It’s a show where Bob Ross meets ary is titled “Non-Objective Abstract Presen- Ye Olde Bookshoppe surrealism, flying saucers over a serene lake tations of Thought in Paint” by local artist 11 Palouse St. scene, Bigfoot peeking through the trees in Russ Hepler. Music for the Frist Friday open- First Friday reception: 5-8 p.m. a woodsy landscape, etc. This will truly be a ing will be by guitarist Marlena La Paz. Wines fun (and in a few cases, troubling) show of art will be by 37 Cellars. Complimentary refresh- Eric Wolfgang Fotherby has been telling stocollaborations between strangers. C ries for decades. Fotherby shares draft dodgments.

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painful decision

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THE COMET

Painter Bryant Goetz on the balance between beauty and chaos

reverie by holly thorpe

or 29-year-old artist Bryant Goetz, his life and work are all about striking a balance. “I want to be messy, I want to be raw, I want to be real,” he said. “It’s a fun tightrope to walk, between beauty and utter horrific chaos...The softness of a feminine face but surrounded by these chaotic, abstract, visceral elements.” His work, which often features faces and portraitures — or at least parts of them — is rife with paradoxical colors and textures. It’s a style he’s developed over the past decade of painting. He said his inspiration stems from classic painters like William de Kooning, Francis Bacon, Diego

Velázquez and others, as well as his interest in human feelings and psychology. “I’m a voracious reader of facts and I love psychological theories,” he said. “I feel my paintings are very Jungian, like the masks we all wear — our schemas.” He said it’s only the past few years that he’s found a style that evokes a lot of emotion from people. He said sometimes people are overwhelmed by his work and other times they connect deeply with it. “I’ve shown work, where I go ‘Damn, that’s some intense shit. I don’t know how that’s going to go over,’ and then the exact people that I didn’t think would feel it or like it, they’re the most en-

thralled by it. And that’s exactly why you make work,” he said. “Art should be fully inclusive. Anybody should be able to look at art and not feel like they have to be an expert of any kind to look at the art. It’s a very visceral and very human experience to look at images.” He said he often approaches a canvas not knowing what the final product will look like. “It’s not until I’m about three quarters of the way through a painting that I have an image [in mind]. There’s a little bit of this sort of yelling down a dark hallway aspect to my work,” he said. “I’m yelling the idea down this endless dark hallway that is the canvas and eventually I start to see this little light come on.” The trick, he said, is knowing when to stop painting. “If you don’t surrender yourself enough, you can be 16 hours deep into a painting and it looks and feels a certain way, and… you can go in, think you’re going to ‘finish’ this painting, and you can destroy it,” he said. “Paint is not at all the most efficient way to create an image... it is this imperfect medium, but that is what’s beautiful about it.” Goetz graduated from WSU with a bachelor of fine arts in 2012. Originally, he had intended to get his degree in advertising, but when, on a whim, he visited the studios on campus, he knew he had to change his major. “As I got into my 20s, I’d say I started to get that ‘I want to follow my heart’ shit going on,” he said. “I kind of dropped what I was doing, and called my mom like ‘Hey, I’m going to start studying art.’ ” It didn’t come as a surprise. Goetz had been creative his entire life. He calls his grandfather one of his greatest influences. He

spent summers as a child wandering his grandparents’ 14-acre property in Moses Lake. “It was kind of like the ‘Lord of the Flies’ almost,” he said. “I had like my BB gun and a knife, and they lived on the lake and I would just go fish and shoot my BB gun and hike around with my grandfather.” His grandfather identified plants with him and taught him to be curious, he said. He also brought him to some drawing classes at the Moses Lake museum. They were intended for adults, but his grandfather convinced the instructor to give Goetz a chance. “I don’t really remember it, but I have work to show it. I sculpted like a human hand and drew some pseudo-photorealistic type images of a kid,” he said. “For someone who was super high-energy and all over the place like I was, I would sit there for five hours straight and create.” In high school, Goetz was a “punk rocker skateboarder crazy kid” who was always brimming with creative energy. He took art classes and studied art independently at Eastmont High School. After one year of college, he toured with a band playing drums for two years before returning to school in 2009. “Music taught me how to feel,” he said. “Playing drums taught me how to feel the world, feel the beat. Life is just the greatest teacher.” But it wasn’t until college that he found painting again, and this time it stuck. “Once you start to feel that soulnourishing type thing, you just can’t let that go. You feel that fire ignite in you,” he said. “Maybe I’ll never be rich but I’ll be doing what I love. And I think that might be one of the most valuable feelings anyone could ever have:

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DREAM AWAKE

knowing your on a path to some kind of spiritual fulfillment.” Goetz said he returned to Wenatchee at the advice of a professor at WSU. She told him to go get a day job and see if he still made time to paint while working. He did just that, and found himself in the studio all the time. Goetz has an interesting relationship with his studio at home. “It’s a pressure-cooker. It’s the inner workings of my brain made material,” he said. He described it as “the ultimate teenage bedroom.” There are song lyrics and interesting quotes written on the walls. Funny and inspiring pictures are printed off and strewn about. And of course, there’s paint. Layers and layers of oil paint, spray paint, house paint. And the studio, for the work Goetz does, is pretty small. “It is not conducive to the size work that I do,” he said.

He paints faces on five- or sixfoot canvases and can only step back a few feet to see them. “Just the mechanics of that is sort of crazy… it’s very personal, overbearing,” he said. “I want to paint ten foot tall canvases, I want to paint bigger and more crazy… but right now I’ve really embraced my limitations and what I can do.” And his time in that studio is sort of sacred. “It’s a very solitary experience for me,” he said. “The most positive way I talk about it is like meditation. I’ll text my mom, ‘Mom, it’s grey outside, I’m depressed, I don’t know what to do’ and she said ‘you need to meditate.’ And my art is my meditation.” Bryant has shown his work in many places around Wenatchee, and even did a group show at the Bemis Art Center in Seattle last year. He recently received his masters in education and is teach-

ing art locally. “I always wanted to be an artist from Wenatchee, from Washington that stayed in Washington and cut my teeth and made my mark,” he said. I never blamed being from a small town for my lack of success, I never blamed this or that for my lack of exposure. I grinded my ass of and made things happen regardless of my situation.” When Goetz talked about what success looks like, he talked about doing meaningful things. Painting a piece (or a few pieces) in his lifetime that he truly loves. Selling art as a means of travelling and experiencing the world. And, perhaps most importantly, connecting with people. For Goetz, connecting with other artists is one of the best things about making art. “Part of it for me is just being a part of this creative conversation, that’s what I crave the most,” he

said. “We’re in this together. I love admiring other artists.” But also connecting with the people who look at and buy his art. He described showing his work as “having a conversation with complete strangers” and he said it’s critical for any artist. “Showing it is this awesome sideeffect of creating the work that everyone deserves. Everyone creative deserves to have their work seen and discussed and entered into the canon of what it means to do something creative,” he said. “To be creative is to be vulnerable. And that is one of the most beautiful aspects of the human condition that we could ever have: allowing ourselves to be vulnerable in that way.” See more of Bryant Goetz’ work on his website, www.bryantgoetz.com, or his Instagram @bryantgoetz.

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museum mysteries: a chat with curator & director kasey koski by ron evans

useums are weird places, man. Where are the dinosaur The entire premise of a muse- bones? um is based around ghosts if you (Laughs) We actually don’t rethink about it. Artifacts forged by ally have any dinosaur bones unpeople that died long before we fortunately. came along. Photographs of the (This is where I almost flipped local landscape that only seem the table over in disappointvaguely and eerily familiar absent ment but she won me back with the golden arches of McDonald’s a mind-blowing revelation.) and traffic lights. Fossils of critWe do, however have some fosters that no longer roam the earth. sils of the giant sloth that used to All ghosts from another time that roam the area in ancient times. somehow stretch across the fourth Um. WHAT? dimension for a brief moment as Yes, we did an exhibit on this you stand before a tangible arti- species (Megalonyx jeffersonii) fact or represome years back. sentation of We also have some “There is no Arc of The wooly mammoth these former things, places Covenant in the warehouse, but bone fragments at or people. I we do have Clyde Pagnborn’s the museum, but have always uneaten sandwich.” we haven’t dug up wondered any T-rex bones how museums actually work. around here. Where does the stuff come from? Yet. (I proclaimed while Who decides what exhibits will be threatening once again to flip on display and when? Is there some the table. ) warehouse of ancient goodies beYes, yet. There’s always hope. neath the museum floors ready to We have, however, dug up be sifted through and pulled into some pretty sensational things the harsh light of public display? in these parts. The Clovis dig, According Wenatchee Valley Mu- for example, which yielded 36 seum And Cultural Center curator ancient hand-carved tools and of exhibits, Kasey Koski...kinda. beveled rods. Many of them “There are a few warehouses, were carved from mammoth one in the museum building and bones. Where did those artiothers around town, yes. There facts end up? is no Arc of The Covenant in the We have some of the Clovis warehouse, but we do have Clyde points here but they are now the Pangborn’s uneaten sandwich.” property of The Smithsonian so Seriously how badly do you technically they are loaning them want to rummage through those to us. items looking for cool stuff from That doesn’t seem fair. the past? I had to ask first and foreWell… most:

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UPCOMING EVENTS AT So where do most of the pieces actually come from? Many of the exhibits do come from what we have to work with in our own collection (the warehouse or donated pieces) but some come from outside sources. For example, I could not have done the Apple Capital Records exhibit without the help of Dustin Hays. This is essentially his collection and the product of his thorough research into the music of this area both past and present. And before she passed, Leslie McEwen was also a huge source of help for this exhibit. People must suggest all sorts of exhibits to you, do you ever take outside ideas and make them happen? Yes we do. If something seems interesting and there is a collection or resource to pull from, we do discuss it. But often times it’s just a suggestion or an idea with no resources or plan behind it and there isn’t a lot we can do with that There’s an element of storytelling to these shows and along with curating and organizing artifacts and displays, you are creating from scratch in many cases. Sometimes you just don’t have the thing, yet you need to represent the thing. Yes, that’s where you have to get creative with the storyline, props and other ways to create a tangible exhibit that resonates with the viewer. Art galleries, libraries and museums all tend to suffer

from the same dilemma in that we all agree these places are great and important, yet most people don’t spend much time in them, if any. Yes. And shows like Apple Capital Records are great for reminding people that this isn’t just stuffy and academic history lessons. But we also embrace certain exhibits knowing that it simply isn’t going to appeal to a lot of people because that’s just the nature of it. Some of the shows will appeal to artists, some to engineers, some to quilters. But that’s where you have potential to discover new things. How do the traveling exhibits work and why don’t we see many of them here? We do them on occasion but we have to pay for them and mostly they are really expensive. So it’s just not always practical. How far out do you have these exhibits planned and who decides what comes next? We are usually looking at a two to five year booking window, but things don’t tend to firm up until months ahead. There is a board that decides these things together and we all look ahead at the calendar to see if there are any key dates or event possibilities. For instance, in 2019 we are having the 100th Apple Blossom Festival so we are likely going to do a big fun Apple Blossom blowout for that. I predict a lot of pink. There will probably be a lot of pink. C

WENATCHEE VALLEY MUSEUM AND CULTURAL CENTER First Friday – Free Concert! NOT ALL THERE February 2 @ 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm Conrad Rose Home Tour February 3 1:00 pm Heart Dissection Lab February 10 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm A Different Kind of Story Time February 17 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Environmental Film & Lecture Series: The Million Dollar Duck February 20 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm People of Our Past February 24 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm For details see our events section on page 8

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COMET TALES: rEADER SUBMITTED WRITINGS Aftermath By Jessica Mitchell Miles down the road, I realize I have lost my tattered shoes As rocks tear into my flesh. Pieces of my broken soul Lay scattered behind me As I drop piece after piece of my identity To the ground. Shattered watch. False rings. I am littered with broken promises. Of pinky swears and whispered secrets That did see the light of day. I am not my mother, Nor the tattoos covering my arms, Hiding track marks and healings scars that feel so fresh inside.

I am not my father, Especially late at night When sins hide in the open, Filling only me with shame. I march along throwing matches To the ground as I light One after another hoping, For a glimpse of light, before the twinge of heat scalds my flesh. I am not my shoes Nor my bloody footprints. The only trace of my existence on this road. I am not my body used And thrown away as if the condom Was for love. Leaving me as merely the single use, disposable plastic, Separating any assumed form of intimacy I can muster...while counting ceiling tiles. I am not my perception, Or the lies I tell in the daylight. The owl calls who in the distance,

But I can’t even remember my name. I can’t save myself from the reflection In the murky puddle. So I stomp down, Splashing brown into my tangled hair. I feel the sting of dirt touch my sores As brown turns to rust before my eyes. Broken pieces stuck together with duct tape: That’s what my life has become.

Untitled #1 by Ian Ford We can’t stand the ends of things. Death looms and tries to sow fear. I cry at the end of good books, friends made familiar and now gone. But endings are like the tips of trees, the limbs reach toward infinity. We accept a river’s change, inspiring us to wonder. Hydrogen and oxygen an unending flow of molecules. We have no despair in its journey. Water reach toward infinity. Death is inevitable yet we continue to fear. Remembering energy’s laws isolated systems quell it. Our muddy atoms become other— then we reach toward infinity.

Are you a writer? Send your short story, poetry, essay or excerpt to comettales@thecometmagazine.com and we may publish it in the next issue.

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ANDO PEART: 8 questions with an indie label diy’er

by ron evans

He’s a regular figure in the local punk and hard rock scene. When Ando Peart isn’t behind the sound booth at a show at Wally’s House of Booze, he’e likely pressing t-shirts and shipping off orders of records and CDs bearing the Snatchee moniker. We asked him 8 Questions. How did Snatchee start? Snatchee started to my knowledge in 2008 by Raymond Malstead and Ryan Beauchamp. They wanted to see more local music in the valley.

There) and some friend told us about Snatchee Records and how they were trying to do the same thing we were with live music and that we should link up and join forces. That we did and never looked back. In 2012 Raymond, Ryan and a couple other key members of the team decided it was time to move on and pursue other interests in life so Jasmine, myself and Matt Smith took over Snatcee Records 100%.

What are the struggles of running an indie label? One of the biggest struggles of running an indie label is gonna When did you get involved be finances and just not enough with it? Jasmine and I got involved around hands on deck. Almost everything we do is out of pocket, and 2011. We were doing our own done 100% by us and by a few shows with Matt Smith (Not All

really awesome volunteers/supporters. What sells more? CDs, vinyl, tapes, or merch like shirts ect? Merch always sells more. Not everybody has a record player or wants a cd, especially with downloads so easily accessible. But everyone wants a cool shirt or hoodie. Hell, nowadays a cd is more like a business card, they are pretty much given away for free.

I’ll usually approach or at least mention the idea to a band, generally after they played a show at Wally’s and I can see 1) how they sound live, 2) how they perform and 3) how they treat the crowd. If Snatchee came into a pile of money how would you use it to advance the label? Finally be able to invest in a recording studio.

One piece of advice for anyone looking to start their own label? One dream band you’d love to have on the label? Make sure you do it for the love and make sure you have a good Zeke!! time doing it. Also make sure you have a good day job, you’re gonna Do you typically approach bands to be on the label or vice need it! versa?

Sample a smattering of ear-crushing Snatchee music at snatcheerecords.bandcamp.com/

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by ron evans

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CONTINUED IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF THE COMET

saturday, november 25, 2017

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the spacepod: the legend of mel’s hole - part IiI

BY ron evans

o you stuck with me all this time and you are ready for the final installment of the saga of Mel’s Hole. You wrote your mother like I asked. She read the letter to me (yes, I’m still doing this bit) and it was sweet. Therefore I will give you what you desire. But be warned, this could not possibly be the last we hear of this tale. Or...maybe it is. You see, we haven’t heard from Mel in many years and this could be a master prankster biding his time for his ultimate payoff — or it could be that the government tossed ol’ Mel down his own hole. Here’s where we left off: Mel had been ousted off his land by the military under the guise that a plane crash had occured on his property and the investigation required his absence. Spotting no such crash or any evidence of a crash, Mel smelled a rat. But this rat had lots of heavy gun fire so BYE, folks. Eventually Mel started threatening to make a stink though. This brings us to… The Final 2 Calls. In 2002, Mel once again phoned in to his old pal Art Bell and caught him up to speed on what had transpired since their last communique. As it turns out the military offered Mel a very large sum of money to hit the bricks and stay quiet about the hole, the takeover, and their harsh tone

while punting him off his property. Mel wisely said… “D’alright!” He used this money to take a trip to Australia where he joined a wombat rescue group, chased a few gals and sipped fruity drinks in that sizzlin’ Equatorized sun. Life was pretty swell. Until he returned to the states, that is. Mel claimed that during a bus trip near Olympia, Washington an altercation broke out. The bus pulled over, cops were called and Mel was detained as a witness to the kerfuffle. He asked to be let go because a relative was waiting for him but instead the cops put him in a van and headed down the highway. The next thing Mel knew he was stumbling around, dazed and confused in a seedy part of San Francisco, beaten and bruised. Teeth were missing, as were many hours of memory and his belt buckle, which he made himself using three coins. One with Churchill, one with Stalin and one with FDR. More on that in a bit. When he found his way back to a bit of normalcy he was met with a lawsuit claiming the way he’d left his property was a violation of his divorce agreement which led to him no longer having a claim on the land. Shitty week, right? Anywho, at some point Mel ended up back in Ellensburg when he came across a fella wearing something that looked just like one of his handmade belt buckles (no bigs, he sold a few after all) and

so he struck up a chat. Upon closer inspecksh, the FDR coin was dated 1943. So what, you say? Well, FDR was still alive in 1943. The mercury dime was still in place until after FDR’s death in 1945 when his image was added to it. DUN DUN DUN! Just as he was getting back to his beloved Pacific Northwest, a group of Native Americans reached out to Mel about yet another bottomless hole. This one was in Nevada. So Mel packed his bags and headed south and sure enough, there was the hole. Unlike the stoney wall of Mel’s hole, this one was lined with metal and had a snappy lid to boot. As with the former hole, many locals knew all about it and some went there to pray or chant. It seemed it actually gave off a sort of powerful energy. They did all the usual tests with some new tricks such as lowering down a bucket of ice. Moments later the ice came back up intact. But warm. Mel described them as though they had turned to glass. They tossed the ice into a fire and burned slowly. Weird shit, right? Oh it gets better. Eventually they lowered a living sheep into the giant tube of mystery and not surprisingly, it freaked the fuck out so they did what any decent human would do. They conked it on the noggin to make it go sleepy time. Mel admitted shame to this whole display forwhat it’s worth. They lowered

the half-conscious critter into the hole where it let out one last scream and then went dead silent. They estimated they lowered it down at least 700 feet and left it for about 30 minutes before hoisting it back up. The crate appeared intact but there was no movement from the sheep. In fact it was stone-cold dead. They laid the sheep onto a table for a little dissecting action and upon opening him up they discovered his insides had been cooked. They didn’t have a meat thermometer but they were pretty certain it was cooked to temp. There was also a massive tumor amidst the beast’s innards. And it was pulsating. They sliced the tumor open and to their horror they found what looked like a seal fetus curled up inside. Sure, this sounds crazy. But lots of real shit is crazy on paper. Like bananas. Or sphincters. Haha. Sphincters. Anywho, they watch this fetus wriggle and make eye contact with them for a bit. Mel claimed the creature had a sense of intelligence and kindness. Eventually the little turdling hopped back into the hole from whence it likely came. As you can imagine, this tale really captured Art Bell’s imadge, and it cemented the saga as one of the great legends on the mysterious world. Oh, and somewhere along the way Mel was diagnosed with terminal cancer but after time near the Nevada hole,

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2017

THE COMET he was inexplicably cured. Mel himself credits the kindly seal tumor baby with curing him. A year or so later Mel once again phoned into the Art Bell program for one last time. Apparently the ice they lowered into the pit was still burning. Efficient! So efficient that people were now lowering ice into the hole to make more and sell it. The kindly cancer-healing turd worm

also seemed to be a regular sighting around the hole. Mel also told a few stories about people following him and approaching him about the hole and how his life was getting a little chaotic. He shared some of the latest about the military doings around the original hole in Washington but little else. Mostly he called in this last time to say “I’m still alive.” and we have not heard from him since.

A madman? A prankster? A pathological liar? Mel could have been any or all of these things of course. But he has many people claiming to know his story is true. The Terra-Server did white out the area that Mel claimed covered his property near Ellensburg and the military was seen all over that land for years before vanshing suddenly. Ultimately, one can’t really know but it’s a great story and Mel

tells it well. You can hear the entire tale for yourself on YouTube if you have about six hours to kill. Oh one more thing. Years after the San Francisco incident, one of the Native Americans that brought Mel down to the Nevada hole gave him a gift after a night of drinking and fellowship. He handed it to Mel and walked away. It was a 1943 FDR dime. DUN DUN DUN. C

Monthly Movies on the Big Screen

“It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World” February 7 at 6:30pm

“Armed with an astounding amount of talent, these phenomenal beauties pull out all the stops and pump out a show of sheer splendor where every inch of skin is cherished…” – Seattle Weekly