The Devil Strip - March 17, 2015 - Issue 1, Vol. 1

Questions with musician Jessica Hernandez

The best of our first-ever "You're So Akron If..." contest

Meet the Most Interesting Person We Know

The Devil Strip MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1 • THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

e r u t l u C & t r A , ic s Akron Mu

This issue

Welcome to

The Devil Strip

inside this issue

ulture

Akron Music, Art & C

Arts, Culture & Entertainment............................ 5 This time last year, I was a ghost. Weekdays at 2:30 a.m., I woke up, showered, made a halfgallon of coffee and drove to Newschannel5 in Cleveland where I worked in digital for the morning show. Despite being surrounded by good, talented people, I was far from where I wanted to be. Not just my bed and my family, but far from the two things I love doing most: telling stories and building community.

Awesomeness was completely funded (and then some) in less than a day.

Since my day job offered little opportunity for either, I quit last October with my sights set on starting this arts and culture paper.

The real miracle, if you ask me, is that there’s no way any of this would have happened without Heather Braun, my wife. She could have, and maybe should have, slapped the shit out of me when I said, “Hey, I’d like to quit my well-paying job, eat through our savings and start a print magazine during the ascent of the digital age.” Instead, she listened, helped me plan and then pushed me to do it.

The process has been much easier than I had any right to expect it could be. I blame you Akronites—with your collaborative spirit and welcoming attitude. Example: There are 16 contributors to this issue and almost twice as many in the stable, gearing up for issues to come.

There are also those who didn’t write or take pictures but contributed metaphorical mortar between the bricks, whether it was introducing me to other good Akronites, providing honest feedback, buying or selling ads, or telling me to keep pushing. Several times, when the going got rough, I borrowed their faith. Thanks to these people, before we put a single issue to bed, we’ve already accomplished some impressive stuff. Unbox Akron is a Knight Cities Challenge Finalist (crossing our fingers) and the Kickstarter Campaign for Newspaper Box

I thought, when I quit my day job, this was something I could do alone if necessary. I was wrong. Maybe I could have written everything, learned layout, shot photos, etc., but it took dozens and dozens of people to make it this distinctly Akron.

So if you like The Devil Strip, if you’re glad it exists, you really have Heather to thank.

Publishing this paper is a privilege I’ll never take lightly. I know I’m lucky to be in this city at this moment in its history beside so many other Akronites who are ready to christen the next era here. So, I’m here to do my part in the hope I can repay, in some small measure, the support I have already received.

Thank you, Chris

Saying "devil strip"............................................ 8 Knowhere.......................................................... 8 Only in Akron.................................................... 9 The Most Interesting Person We Know............. 10 New / Native.................................................... 11 Dina’s Days...................................................... 12 Cover Story: You’re So Akron If….................... 13 The Dish.......................................................... 16 In the Kitchen with…....................................... 17 The Wanderer.................................................. 18 Film & Feast..................................................... 19 A Day in the Life.............................................. 20 Music/Concerts Spotlight................................. 21 8 questions with Jessica Hernandez................. 23 Band Spotlight................................................. 24 Comic strips and Puzzles.................................. 25 Your Turn......................................................... 26

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

/

THE Devil Strip |

3

Contributors

MEET THE TEAM Aaron DeBee is a freelance translator and language consultant from East Palestine, Ohio, who worked from 1993 to 2005 as an intelligence analyst and cryptologic linguist for the Department of Defense. He graduated from the Defense Language Institute Chinese Program, from the University of Akron with a B.A. in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and from Case Western Reserve University with a M.A. in Cognitive Linguistics.

Alesa Upholzer is an award-winning freelance graphic designer who is responsible for The Devil Strip looking as good as it does despite all the ways Chris tried to foil her. She’s a dedicated team player with a reputation as an efficient and organized designer with a knack for creating exceptional designs. You can find—and even hire—Alesa at auDesigns. com, her full-service graphic design company where she has helped both large corporations and small businesses to create powerful marketing pieces, overflow, outsourcing and assisting clients in reaching their deadlines.

Andrew Evans keeps busy in both the artistic and athletic worlds. In addition to illustrating the cover of The Devil Strip’s first issue, he’s training for triathlons and getting ready to compete in his first Ironman. Keeping a healthy balance of life with all aspects and exercising have always been important to the way he maintains composure and a clear mind.

He values designing and being creative because it allows him to produce something that gives back to the world. You can find Andrew online at aevansdesign.com, email him directly andy@aevansdesign.com or follow @ aevansdesign on Instagram to see what new idea he comes up with next.

Bronlynn Thurman is a writer and illustrator from Akron, Ohio. Her time is spent traveling (and eating) while weaving stories from her experiences. Connect with her on Twitter and IG: @_bront_ Eric Morris is a NE Ohio native and a UA graduate.

He has lived in Akron for nearly ten years.

4

Chris Kessinger is the Film Freak, a film reviewer and restaurant frequenter born and raised in the greatest city in the world, Akron, Ohio. It’s his mission to dissect the best and worst that Hollywood offers, while recommending the most delicious food to pair with every screening.

Dina Younis is the communications manager for the GAR Foundation but is perhaps best known for her blog, “Dina’s Days,” which showcases her love for thrift stores, flea markets and “any place that requires digging through boxes and shuffling through chaotic racks.” She has a self-confessed streak of Blanche Devereaux in her and loves making old things new again. After growing up in the Middle East, Dina is now a full-fledged Akronite who helps organize the Akron2Akron group tours.

Elizabeth Tyran is a whirlwind of activity, and co-owner and manager of Urban Eats in downtown’s historic arts district. She’s an art history grad who has embraced Akron with open arms, as you can probably tell from her column, Only In Akron.

Holly Brown currently lives in Akron with her toothless, claw-less, meow-less cat, Hedwig.

She is a poetry candidate at the NEOMFA. She loves many things, notably: food (both cooking and eating it), reading everything, painting with a lot of color, elephants, bees and the color yellow. She also thoroughly enjoys adventures of any kind and hopes to spend her life exploring, and then writing about it.

Jaclyn Geier is currently a Creative Nonfiction Writer in the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts program. She lives in the Akron area with her husband Alex and their two rescue pets: a nervous dog named Mia and a confused cat named Nora. She loves reading, yoga, thinking about Tina Fey, The Lockview’s grilled cheese sandwiches, tea, and exploring the national parks with Alex and Mia.

news for a few years for weeklies, dailies and trades, which she enjoyed immensely. She then went back to school to earn another degree so she could teach. Now she is a writer for The Devil Strip who teaches writing to university students. She loves all of it.

Joanna Wilson is the co-writer of “A Is for Akron,” a co-founder of Akron Empire and an organizer of Dance Dance Party Party-Akron, as well as the writer of several books that combine her academic background in film history and philosophy with insightful commentary on pop culture of all kinds. She is a widely acknowledged expert about Christmas television and film who has been interviewed by the New York Times and has appeared on the History Channel’s “Real Story of Christmas.” Her upcoming book is about Archie the Snowman.

Katelyn Y. Gainer is the arts columnist for The Devil Strip and an art history graduate student at Kent State who works as a gallery assistant for a small arts nonprofit. She loves promoting

Northeast Ohio’s thriving arts community. You can find her on Twitter at @katelyngainer Katie Wheeler was born and raised in Akron, and she’s extremely excited about bringing awareness to the area and retaining the talent that’s already here. She’s passionate about being active and puts that to good use at Movable, the Akron startup where she works.

A triathlete, explorer and adventurer, you can find her playing on the water in the Portage Lakes or running and biking in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. She loves connecting people, which she gets to do through organizations like Torchbearers, Portage Lakes Young Professionals, Ohio-Erie Canal Coalition, Portage Lakes Running Club and Portage Lakes Triathlon Club.

Maxarmando Rivera is a photographer in Akron who loves hummus more than any other food and whose favorite movie is “The Goonies.” He stumbled upon photography accidentally a few years ago thanks to his smartphone camera.

He has a deep love for color, contrast and authenticity, which shows in his work, which will be featured regularly as photo essays in the pages of The Devil Strip.

non-profit notice

Aspire! Boys & Girls Clubs Signature Event Celebrating more than 30 years of providing premiere youth development programs

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Western Reserve 5:30-9 pm at Tordaro’s Party Center 1820 Akron-Peninsula Rd., Akron More info: wrkids.org/aspire Benefitting the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Western Reserve, honorary chairs Mark and Shelly Allio join sponsors, the LeBron James Family Foundation and Infiniti of Akron, in putting on Aspire! which features dinner and

drinks, live and silent auctions, their famous “Dessert Dash,” a Wine Pull, artwork by Boys & Girls Club members and Mission Possible— the high impact after-school programs for over 800 at-risk youth. All proceeds go toward the programs offered at Boys & Girls Clubs. There’s a VIP Pre-Party at 4:30 pm for event sponsors and patron level reservations.

For more information, call 330-773-3375 or visit wrkids.org/aspire.

Jason Segedy is the map-loving Director of Transportation Planning for the Akron Metropolitan Area and a native Akronite whose blog, “Notes from the Underground,” you can find online at thestile1972.tumblr.com Jenny Conn is a writer. When she was a kid she knew she wanted to either climb trees for a living or be a writer. So she got an English degree and became a reporter. She wrote

| THE Devil Strip / MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

Arts, Culture & Entertainment Tuesday, March 17

A E R A S T N EVE

THE BIG BIG MESS READING SERIES featuring Mathias Svalina, Noah Eli Gordon, Patrick Culliton, Joshua Marie Wilkinson 7 pm at Summit Artspace (FREE) 140 E. Market St., Akron bigbigmess.tumblr.com The Boiling Point: Beat Generation Akron's alternative play reading series tackles Beat Generation hero Jack Kerouac.

7 pm at The W.O.M.B. (FREE) 915 E. Market St., Akron

Wednesday, March 18

Ongoing

EXHIBITION: BEAUTY REIGNS Akron Art Museum 1 S. High St., Akron Runs through Sunday, May 3 A showcase of the exoticism, exuberance and optimism found in the work of 13 painters working in studios across the United States.

I wasn’t sure what to expect as I walked up the snow-covered driveway to the home of Jennifer Davis, owner and facilitator of SmART Studio Akron, or as she calls herself, “The owner, the educator, the boss of the applesauce.”

As I passed her mailbox—bowling pins sticking out of it—making my way to the blue building behind her home on Payne Avenue that SmART occupies, I remembered first noticing the studio on social media. The more of their posts I saw, the more I wanted to meet the person behind them. I could tell immediately she was my kind of people.

Katelyn Gainer

Katelyn gets smART with Jennifer Davis

FILM: “LEVIATHAN” The Nightlight 30 N High St, Akron Runs through Thursday, Mar 26, 2015 Lauded Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev won Best Screenplay at Cannes for this painterly, primordial tale about a proud patriarch fighting to protect his family home from a corrupt local official, a story whose near-primordial themes have their roots in Thomas Hobbes and the Book of Job. Visit nightlightcinema.com for showtimes.

Jennifer greeted me at the door and as I walked in I instantly fell in love. My eyes darted around the room, jumping around from one piece of visually-stimulating art to another, and more—to crafts, books, art supplies and the colored paper cut-outs that adorn the ceiling.

There’s something incredibly comforting about this small studio. Despite being where she makes art with her students, it feels like home as soon as you sit down.

She currently instructs 20 students, ranging up to 64. Some are just 4 years old and still learning to color inside the lines, which Jennifer says is a “blast.” Her older students come in for more of what she calls a “therapeutic” experience.

Before opening SmART, Jennifer, a licensed visual arts educator, earned her bachelors in art education from the University of Akron.

From 2008 to 2013, taught visual arts for kindergarten through fifth grade.

Certain frustrations led her from the classroom

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

JAZZFEST 2015: HORNSPIRATION Featuring special guest Howard Johnson 7:30 pm at EJ Thomas Hall, the University of Akron 198 Hill Street, Akron Runs through Friday, March 20 Universally recognized for the jazz tuba (and as adept on baritone sax), Massillon native Howard Johnson is at home whether playing commercially or for the avant-garde. Johnson broke in with Charlie Mingus, played with Taj Mahal and Paul Simon, conducted the Saturday Night Live band in the late 1970s, recorded with The Band and Levon Helm and spoke with John Lennon on the night he died.

to her own studio. “I could always see the faces of students who really want to learn.

They really wanted that enrichment,” she says. “On the flip side, I also saw students that might struggle in more tradition learning.

I saw those students really find success in the arts—not only art but music, dance and theater. I think part of the reason I left teaching at the time, you’re just not able to serve all the students. Your teaching is strained in a sense.”

SmART allows her more freedom in the way she teaches. “In this arena and space, I differentiate instruction for each individual student. I’m able to help the students make those connections.”

Part of that process—helping students make connections—is just a matter of getting them to play with the tools of the trade.

Thursday, March 19 SLIDE JAM: BEAUTY REIGNS 6:30 pm at the Akron Art Museum (FREE) 1 S. High St., Akron Part of the ongoing “Beauty Reigns” exhibit, this event features six fun, moving, unexpected and accessible talks about beauty from artists and designers around Northeast Ohio.

more intimate setting.”

If someone is interested in taking classes with Jennifer, there’s a survey for new students before they can begin.

“What is your favorite part of art? What do you like to do in your spare time? I’ve had students give me answers like I’m really into cats, so I give them instruction that revolves around cats—let’s see how we can make a cat: by painting a cat, sculpting a cat, drawing a cat. It’s all about making that connection to art which I think is an authentic experience.”

For more information, visit smartstudioakron. com or contact Jennifer Davis directly at SmARTStudioAkron@gmail.com

“You can learn so much just about by using the tools, using the material, coloring, painting and getting messy with the clay—that is so much of a learning process instead of thinking about whether the end product is exactly perfect, or in your mind’s eye what you expected. I think you can learn more about the process.”

Many arts organizations offer art workshops but hers are different, she says.

“This is more of a niche, this is the opportunity to provide instruction from a teacher that has taught and is certified.

I’ve had that real world experience but also a more individual and intimate setting.

For most of my students, this is private instruction. I think the environment, too, is different than a regular classroom. It’s a

My personal philosophy on art is it’s all about the process.”

MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

/

THE Devil Strip |

5

AEI_AAAA_RackCard_V2.pdf

1

1/29/15

4:07 PM

AEI_AAAA_RackCard_V2.pdf

1

1/29/15

4:07 PM

AEI_AAAA_RackCard_V2.pdf 1 1/29/15 AEI_AAAA_RackCard_V2.pdf 1 1/29/15

4:07 PM 4:07 PM

AEI_AAAA_RackCard_V2.pdf

1

1/29/15

Arts, Culture & Entertainment “ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL” RUBBER CITY SHAKESPEARE 7:30 pm at Summit Artspace (pay-as-you-like) Preview performance of “All's Well That Ends Well,” a play about the low-born Helena who falls in love with Bertram, the son of the Countess, who does not return the affection.

For details or tickets, visit rubbercityshakes.com or call 234.252.0272.

Runs through Sunday, March 29.

4:07 PM

MAIJA DI GIORGIO The Funny Stop Comedy Club 1757 State Rd, Cuy Falls Appearing through March 21, Maija Di Giorgio is a multi-media talent whose career has carried her stages shared with Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Louis CK and Wanda Sykes. She started in radio as Ed Lover’s co-host on New York City's famed Hot 97.

Her one-woman shows, "The White Person's (Guilt-free) Guide to Black America" and "RATS!"(six modernized Shakespearean plays set in a musical about love) have garnered rave reviews. She’s also the director of “Bitter Jester” with appearances by George Carlin, Whoopi Goldberg and Richard Pryor. Make reservations by calling 330-923-4700.

Finding Financial Success in Your Creative Finding FinancialCareer Success Finding Financial Success inArtist Your Creative The as an EntrepreneurCareer Institute is an awardFinding Financial Success winning business training program for visual, performance, in Your Creative Career Artist as an is an awardliterary, media andEntrepreneur design artists.Institute This inThe Your Creative Career winning business training program for visual, performance,

results-oriented is led byInstitute an The Artist as anprogram Entrepreneur is an awardliterary, media and design artists.

This outstanding faculty of working artists, business training program for visual, Thewinning Artist as an Entrepreneur Institute is anperformance, awardresults-oriented program isartists. led byThis anwho business leaders and entrepreneurs literary, media and design winning business training program for visual, performance, outstanding of working will teach youfaculty theprogram fundamentals ofan how to results-oriented is led artists, by literary, media and design artists. This who business leaders and entrepreneurs start, grow and maintain a financially outstanding faculty of working artists, results-oriented is led by of anhow to will teach you program thecareer. fundamentals healthy creative business leaders and entrepreneurs who outstanding faculty of working artists, start, growyou andthe maintain a financially will teach fundamentals of how to The Artist as an Entrepreneur Institute business leaders and entrepreneurs who is an awardhealthy creative career. start, grow and maintain financially business traininga program for to visual, performance, willwinning teach you the fundamentals of how healthy creative career. literary, media and design artists.

This start, grow and maintain a financially results-oriented program is led by an healthy creative career. outstanding faculty of working artists, business leaders and entrepreneurs who will teach you the fundamentals of how to start, grow and maintain a financially healthy creative career.

Finding Financial Success in Your Creative Career

Friday, March 20 “FINDING THE GOLD WITHIN” CIFF: Knight and Day in Akron 7 pm at Akron-Summit Co. Public Library 60 S High St, Akron A documentary that follows six young men from Akron as they work to create new stories for themselves, moving to college from Alchemy Inc., a program that combines adult mentoring, traditional African drumming and the art of storytelling and myth to create a safe and open forum for young black men.

Details at clevelandfilm.org/akron

Join us for all eight program sessions: Summit Artspace, 140 East Market Street, Akron, OH 44308 Join us for eight April 13 – 16alland Aprilprogram 20 – 23. sessions: 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. | Cost: $100* Summit Artspace, 140 East Market Street, Akron, OH 44308 Join usisfor all eight programtoday: sessions: Space limited – Register April 13 – 16 and April 20 – 23.

6:00 – 9:00 p.m. OH | Cost: $100* Summit Artspace, 140| East Market Street, Akron, 44308 akronareaarts.org/aei 330-376-8480 April 16 eight and April 20 – 23.sessions: 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. | Cost: $100* Space is– all limited – program Register today: Join us13 for Questions?

Contact us at: aei@akronareaarts.org akronareaarts.org/aei | 330-376-8480 SpaceArtspace, is limited – Register today: Summit 140 East Market Street, Akron, OH 44308 Founded by: Presented by:and Sponsored akronareaarts.org/aei | 330-376-8480 April 13 – 16 April 20 –by:23.

6:00 – 9:00 p.m. | Cost: $100* Questions?

Contact us at: aei@akronareaarts.org Questions? us at: Space is limited – Register today: Founded by: Presented by: Contact Sponsored by: aei@akronareaarts.org Join us for all eight program sessions: akronareaarts.org/aei | 330-376-8480 Presented by: Sponsored by: Market Street, Akron, OHFounded Summit Artspace, 140 East 44308 by: Questions?

Contact us 20 at: aei@akronareaarts.org April 13 – 16 and April – 23. 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. | Cost: $100* * Total program cost is offset in part by our generous sponsors.

Space by: is limited – Register today: Presented Sponsored by:

* Total program cost is offset in part by our generous sponsors.

akronareaarts.org/aei | 330-376-8480

Founded by:

SELF & OTHERS: THE PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT Through May 2, 2015 5-8 pm at Summit Artspace 140 East Market Street, Akron A new exhibition featuring local photographers including Peter Larson, Anna Young, Ed Suba and Don Parsisson, will be showcasing their interpretations of the contemporary portrait. Summit Artspace urges the viewer to participate by emailing their selfies to selfies.exhibit@gmail.com to be printed and displayed alongside the curated exhibition.

SILVER AND BLUE GALA FUNDRAISER Friends of Akron School for the Arts 6-9 pm at BLU Jazz+ (tix $55-$100) 47 East Market Street, Akron Find auction pieces, one of a kind art, gift bags, hors d'oeuvres, dessert and a cash bar at this fundraiser for the Akron School for the Arts. Features music by Acid Cats. bluesilvergala.com

* Total program cost is offset in part by our generous sponsors.

Questions?

Contact us at: aei@akronareaarts.org

Presented by:

Sponsored by:

* Total program cost is offset in part by our generous sponsors.

* Total program cost is offset in part by our generous sponsors.

Founded by:

Saturday, March 21 RUBBER CITY BEER FEST 3-7 pm at Lock 3 (tix $30-$35) This first-year celebration of craft breweries

from the Greater Akron and Northeast Ohio area is hosted by the Society of Akron Area Zymurgists, which is a word I can’t say even before sampling the brew. In addition to the breweries’ normal offerings, some will feature cask-conditioned ales. Visit saazakron.com for more information.

RACE AT THE RAFFLE CANAPI 5:30-10 pm at Tangier (tix $100) 532 W. Market St., Akron Benefitting HIV+ and LGBTQ communities, Race at the Raffle features “entertainingly narrated” horse races, a reverse raffle, sideboards, 50/50 raffle and both silent and live auctions. Horse sponsorships including naming are available for $20. For more information, visit canapi.org/events “TRAFICANT: THE CONGRESSMAN OF CRIMETOWN” CIFF’s Knight and Day in Akron 6:20 pm at Akron Art Museum 1 S. High St., Akron This documentary depicts the turbulent career of Youngstown politico Jim Traficant, from his days as a high school quarterback to his fall. Features archival footage and extensive interviews with Youngstown natives Ed O’Neill (“ Modern Family”) and boxing champ Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini. Also showing: Family Shorts at 12 pm, “A Royal Hangover” at 4 pm and “The Creeping Garden” at 8:30 pm. Visit clevelandfilm.org/akron for a schedule of films playing at The Nightlight.

RUBBER CITY ROLLERGIRLS 5 pm at John S. Knight Center ($5-$13) This diverse group of women deliver hard hits and speed at the John S. Knight Center in the heart of downtown in family-friendly bouts suitable for all ages. Next following home bout: April 11. For details and ticket information, visit rubbercityrollergirls.com.

Sunday, March 22 HAPPY HOUR WITH CHRIS HAMAD 3-7pm at The Tangier ($40) 532 W. Market St., Akron A celebration of Rockne’s owner Chris Hamad, who has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, hosted by a group of friends hoping to raise awareness of this awful disease.

Tuesday, March 24 WEEKLY TECH BREAKFAST 7-8:30 am at Akron Family Restaurant Akron.io hosts a casual, weekly get together for members of the local tech community for non-structured chats around tasty breakfast food.

MUSICAL: “JEKYLL & HYDE” 7:30 pm at Akron Civic Theatre (tix $37-$47) 182 S Main St, Akron An enthralling musical based on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic story about a brilliant but obsessive scientist whose alter ego wreaks havoc across Victorian London—set to a thrilling pop rock score. Visit akroncivic.com for details.

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

Arts, Culture & Entertainment Thursday, March 26

Saturday, March 28

FILM: “THE VANQUISHING OF THE WITCH BABA YAGA” 7 pm at Akron Art Museum (FREE) From a crop of films curated by the Nightlight Cinema comes a story about the mythical witch Baba Yaga, a sinister source of fear for generations of Slavic peoples. Visit akronartmuseum.org for details.

3RD ANNUAL ROCK FOR A GOOD CAUSE Fairlawn and Hudson Schools of Music 4-9 pm at Musica ($5 donation) 51 East Market St, Akron Young music students ply their craft to benefit the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank’s Harvest for Hunger with a goal of raising $1,500 which would provide 6,000 meals locally. Bands include Rock N’ Royalty, Farfetched, Ava & The Hitmen, No Name Tuesday, Three Legged Chairs and No Expectations. Instead of paying admission, guests will be asked to donate $5 or 10 non-perishable food items.

LAUNCH LEAGUE’S LAUNCH PARTY 7 pm at OSC Tech Lab 12 E. Exchange St., 2nd Floor, Akron Join startup founders, investors, and startup resources to celebrate the founding of Launch League, Akron's startup community. Lite apps and drinks will be provided.

PLAY: “A DELICATE BALANCE” 7:30 pm at Weathervane Playhouse 1301 Weathervane Ln, Akron Runs through April 12 This dark comedy follows two complacent suburbanites whose lives are thrown into chaos by their family and friends over the course of one eventful weekend. Good news: Due its adult language and themes, “the play is best enjoyed by audiences ages 16 and older.”

Friday, March 27 FILM: “IT FOLLOWS” 9:15 pm at The Nightlight 30 N High St, Akron Runs through Thursday, April 9 A smart, indie horror flick that seems to delight in the idea that what you think is your worst case scenario is nothing compared to what could happen. Like, being pursued by a legion of malevolent, lumbering phantoms who’ll follow you everywhere forever because you had sex with the wrong person.

MUSIC: ACID CATS, SCARLET & THE HARLOTS, JOVAN WILDER AND THE WILD THINGS 8 pm at Jilly’s Music Room (FREE) 111 N Main St, Akron Guess which of the three describes themselves as “Hard blues driven rock n' roll with a sassy red headed belter out front.” Scarlet & the Harlots, which is probably my favorite name for a local band. In fact, this night may be the best for local music in Akron all month. It’s certainly got to be the most eclectic. Consider the rock-infused acid jazz of Acid Cats and the soulful, groove-oriented funk of Jovan Wilder and the Wild Things, and you should feel guilty for seeing this all for free.

TRAIN RIDE: DINNER ALONG THE CUYAHOGA CUYAHOGA VALLEY SCENIC RAILROAD 7 pm at Akron Northside Station (tix $75) 27 Ridge St, Akron Sample five Robert Mondavi wines with specially-prepared food catered by Creekside Restaurant as Mike Hillman of Constellation Brands speaks about each of the wines. Details at cvsr.com

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

MUSIC: NATALIE COLE 8 pm at Hard Rock Live (tix $47-$85) Northfield Rocksino Yup, that Natalie Cole, the neo soul-singing daughter of crooning jazz great Nat King Cole.

Akron Abroad

MUSIC: SHIVERING TIMBERS 8 pm on Thursday, March 19 Music Box Supper Club 1148 Main Ave, Cleveland The final show in this Akron band’s club residency. Your ticket includes a free Shivering Timbers cocktail. Doors open at 6 pm. Details at musicboxcle.com DOCUMENTARY: "STELLA WALSH" Ohio Shorts Program 2 9:20 pm at Tower City Cinemas 230 W Huron Rd., Cleveland Written, directed and produced by Rob Lucas and Steve Felix, two of the people behind Akron Film+Pixel, which gave birth to the Nightlight Cinema, “Stella Walsh” tells the story of one of the most celebrated female athletes on the planet. She won a gold medal in the 1932 Olympics but was killed in a robbery, which led to the discovery she had ambiguous gender. Learn more at stellawalsh.com

Outdoor/Athletic

AKRON BIKE PARTY #12: PARROTS & PIRATES Friday, March 20 7 pm at Lock 3 (FREE) 200 S. Main St., Akron A fun, festive 10-mile ride through downtown Akron to build community through cycling.

CYCLING Saturday, March 21 (FREE) 9 am at Lululemon More info at facebook.com/ lululemonakronshowroom WAKE-UP SPRING: HIKE & BREAKFAST Summit Co. Metro Parks Saturday, March 28 8-10:30 am at Goodyear Heights Pavilion Shake off winter and join us for spring's highly anticipated hike and breakfast. Advance registration is required. Call 330-865-8065 for details.

YOGA FOR ATHLETES (FREE) Saturday, March 28 9 am at Lululemon More info at facebook.com/ lululemonakronshowroom

top two finishers in each of several categories.

Advance registration ends online May 3 at 11:59 pm. For more information, visit summitmetroparks.org or call 330-865-8065.

4TH ANNUAL MOTHER’S DAY 5K Summit Co. Metro Parks Foundation Sunday, May 10 8 am at Monroe Falls Metro Park 521 S. River Rd., Munroe Falls This “stroller-friendly” course travels twice around the scenic lake with awards for the

AKRON MARATHON’S RUBBER CITY RACE SERIES 1m/8k – June 27 10k/13.1m – August 15 13.1m/26.2m – September 26 For more information, or to register, visit rubbercityraceseries.org

out and about

This is why I run in the snow Katie Wheeler

It’s 5:45 a.m., and I’m standing at the end of my street in the pitch dark getting snowed on. I can literally feel the hairs in my nose freezing and I’m pretty sure the only other thing awake in my neighborhood is the stealthy ninja raccoon that just gave me a heart attack.

Luckily, the headlamps that I’m watching bounce back and forth across the road aren’t too far away, and even luckier still is that they belong to my running group.

People ask us all the time why we do a lot of the things we do as runners. When I get asked these questions, my answer is usually the same: I do these things because I like to hang out with kick-ass people.

It was this very reason that led me to Lululemon’s Akron showroom for their Running Club Happy Hour. The purpose of the event was to bring local running clubs together, not only with each other, but with those who are looking for a group to train with. Those who weren’t enticed by giveaways from the Akron Marathon and Second Sole were drawn in by brews from Akron’s own Thirsty Dog Brewery. Runners don’t usually turn down free gear OR beers.

Lululemon is mostly known for its yoga attire and events, but this year they

are making an effort to get back to supporting all types of athletes, and they have runners on their radar. They already offer complimentary community yoga on Saturday mornings, and they have plans to incorporate a run into that program soon. There will be opportunities for area running clubs to partner with the Akron showroom to host a run and then join in for yoga after. They have a lot of cool things coming at you, including a birthday month full of goodies in April.

Representatives from the Akron Marathon were on hand and happy to talk about their new Rubber City Race Series that culminates with the Akron Marathon in September. Second Sole was on-site with advice on running form and footwear.

There were also several running clubs represented including the Green Family YMCA and the Portage Lakes Running Club.

I have been talked into more miles, more insanely early wake-up calls, and more crazy-themed race attire than I care to admit, and it’s all because I really love the group that I run with. There are plenty of great running clubs around Akron, and Lululemon’s partnering with them would be a great place for you to meet your group of “crazy.”

MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

/

THE Devil Strip |

7

community

WHAT DOES SAYING

devil strip SAY ABOUT

Akronites?

A LINGUIST LOOKS AT THE CITY’S MOST UNIQUE PHRASE Aaron DeBee

You can still catch the flinty reflection of Akron’s hardscrabble grit lurking behind the darkened windows of the city’s old brick factory buildings, splayed in the asphaltdotted icy slush beside the curb and sliding along the friction-polished tops of its rusty rails. Though the Rubber City brims with new life now, these industrial artifacts find subtle ways to remind us of Akron’s blue collar beginnings. One inconspicuous way is in the vocabulary of the Akronite.

In particular, the phrase “devil strip.”

Given the proximity to Cleveland, Akronites sport the influence of the Great Lakes shipping lanes in addition to a mixture of Midwestern America and the inland Northeast. This means Akronites have adopted a milder version of the Northern Cities Vowel Shift. The most prominent and easily recognizable examples of this phenomenon are the raising, tensing and lengthening of the short “a” sound (which can make “cat” sound like “kyet”) or the unique short “o” sound (which can make “John” sound like “jyan”).

8

However, not all of the linguistic characteristics of Akron descended from the Cleveland area. That’s one reason “devil strip” stands out. It’s much less evident in the greater Cleveland area and has long been closely associated with Akron’s specific dialect.

In 2012, Akron Beacon Journal columnist Bob Dyer attempted, unsuccessfully, to definitively discern the origins of the phrase.

While its geographic origin remains a point of contention, it appears clear “devil strip” was primarily used in blue collar industrial communities around northern Ohio, as well as a few other outlying areas.

The point here is not so much about the exact origin of the phrase as what its connection to Akron tells us about the people who’ve lived here for decades.

This thin strip of lawn between the sidewalk and street is called, in most places around Ohio, a “tree lawn.” But not in Akron.

Here, perhaps, the blue collar backbone is so dominant it defied the socio-economic diversification that seemingly weakened

| THE Devil Strip / MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

the industrial influence in larger cities like Cleveland. That is, the term “devil strip” itself suggests a raw and wary mindfulness that more privileged communities may have found less appealing than “tree lawn.”

If it’s true that the “devil strip” was menacingly named to keep children from playing near the streets, then you can imagine how industrial-era Akronites may have viewed their homes as a place of comfort and safety away from the dangerous world that existed just past their sidewalks. In this way, the term is as much about the steely toughness that lies at the heart of Akron as it is the focus on family and home.

By comparison, it’s possible “tree-lawn” communities were more concerned with comfort and aesthetics than a “devil strip” community like Akron, which was necessarily more preoccupied with survival.

So for Akronites, perhaps, “devil strip” lingers as a reminder there’s still a thin line that divides Akron comfortingly from the world beyond.

Knowhere This random, blue, metal palm tree isn’t in the tropics by a beach. It’s in Akron...by a highway. But do you know where exactly? Be the first person to show off your deep knowledge of all things local by tweeting the answer to @akrondevilstrip or emailing it to chris@thedevilstrip.com and you’ll get you picture in the next issue.

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

only in akron

You’re so Akron if…

YOU GO TO GLENDALE CEMETERY FOR THINGS OTHER THAN FUNERAL SERVICES. Elizabeth Tyran

Glendale has everything I could want in a cemetery.

Last month, I convinced a friend to make the short walk there from where I live downtown.

Our winter stroll began with my spontaneous urge to make a snow angel in the parking lot so, in true Liz form, I did.

Nikki is the kind of person I refer to as “classic.” The things she does and says, and the circumstances that seem to inherently surround her are unabashedly hilarious, through no intention of her own. She’s probably 95 lbs. soaking wet. She has dreadlocks that look like they weigh as much as her torso and when she has them all piled up on top of her head, you kind of wonder how they don’t throw her off balance. At any rate, my beautiful friend has this dog.

Neisha. They’re kind of tight, like mother and daughter, or besties, or kindred spirits or something, point being she likes to take Neisha everywhere she can.

As lovely as Glendale is covered in snow, I’m looking forward to the special events the cemetery hosts, such as a free outdoor movie night or live performances on the sizeable open lawn. I even have fond memories of an evening gone wrong a couple summers back when my friends Nikki and Julie and I tried to attend a dance performance there.

So Julie and I waited for Nikki, who was not only super late, but had no way for us to get in touch with her since she—at the time— was a no-cell phone/no-social media modern day phenomenon. She’s going on about 20 minutes late when Julie and I decided to just go in. And that, of course, is when we saw a faint and shadowy figure on a bike, with a

That may sound morbid but I have found in my adult years that cemeteries can be as peaceful and pleasant to walk through as any park.

Glendale Cemetery’s landscape, history and charm make it my favorite in Akron.

dog on a leash at her side, emerging in the darkening twilight.

Yay! She’s here. We can all go in together now.

Nope, not so much. The security guard put the ka-bosh on that, crossing his arms as he said, “Sorry ladies, no dogs allowed.” Ugh. Great.

Not that we blamed the cemetery for the rule or the guard for upholding it.

We hustled to put her bike and Neisha in our truck so we could race them back to Nikki’s and then get back to watch the show. After returning to Glendale, we proceeded to walk up the paved cemetery road to where the action was and found some seats, excited to finally settle in. Between performances, as former deputy mayor Dave Lieberth spoke on stage, Nikki busted out some homemade bread for us to share. It was the least she could do (just kidding).

Boom. Rain. It started lightly at first so dancers

actually got on stage and began their routines.

But soon the stage was slick with rain, which gradually started to come down a little heavier before they had to call the whole thing off.

That hint of rain turned to an all-out downpour as we walked back to the car. Truth be told I couldn’t wait to come back to attend this uniquely whimsical event in the cemetery, and I’d even bring Nikki.

Glendale is as lovely covered in snow as it is in spring blossoms, perfect summer grass, or autumn leaves. No visit is complete however without paying my respects. I often stop to read many of the headstones, taking note of something specific about each memorial and wondering more about the person, their family and what their life in Akron was like.

Other than some lingering thoughts and faint footprints, I leave the grounds just as I found them.

(Minus one snow angel in the parking lot, or course.)

Tastes1Better 924 SINCE

Caffeine Free TM

VERY LOW SODIUM NATURAL FLAVORS CANE SUGAR

TM

TM

follow

NORKABEVERAGE

N OR KA B EVE R AG E C O M AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

/

THE Devil Strip |

9

The Most Interesting Person We Know

The Secret Life of Beekeepers How does a guy raised near Cleveland go from college football in Pennsylvania to a Kent State business degree and pro dodgeball tryouts to moonlighting as the front man in an old school soul band and shilling honey that tastes distinctly like Akron, which is to say delicious?

Chris Horne

“It’s going to get sticky,” he said, walking into his house ahead of me. Pausing, he turned around, smiled and added, “I’m just warning you.”

“People are my thing. Always have been,” he says.

“We have to take care of each other. That’s what we’re supposed to do.”

Someone had told me his name is Ian but then Gmail labeled his emails from “Brent” and by the time we’d arranged to meet, I’d heard most folks know him as Wesley. When I asked for clarity, he responded, “Wesley is fine.”

Yeah, okay. It’s fine, but is it your name?

That was going to be my first question when we met. Then I found myself in the cold with tens of thousands of bees between us, and only one question came to mind so that’s what I asked instead: “How in the world did you get into this?”

The “you” is Brent Ian Wesley and he wears as many hats as he has names. Maybe more. In his knit hat and zipped-up, logo-embroidered hoodie, he’s Brent, the founder of Akron Honey Co., which last summer successfully raised more than $15,000 on Kickstarter— almost double his stated goal.

Without a hat, but decked-out in a razorsharp, perfectly tailored suit with a throwback edge, he’s the eponymous wiggling singer and leader of soulful six-piece Wesley Bright & the Hi-Lites. If you’ve seen him live—or watched their energetic performances online—it’s hard to believe that guy is the same one explaining

the brilliance of bees in his hidden-in-plainsight apiary.

It’s as stunning that these are his avocations, side passions instead of jobs. He is by day, a manager for Verizon, where he applies the same philosophy of life that led him to open Akron Honey Company. That is, he’s motivated by other people’s welfare. He wants people— and places—to be better off than when he met them.

This makes sense in context of his day job—he has to be good with people—but the rest?

From the outside, it just looks like music and honey and bees, which is fun stuff but hardly seems like it’s making anything better. More fun, sure, but better?

A few months ago, the apiary was just an empty lot Brent passed on his way to work.

He’d noticed the house that was there, noted its decline and then its demolition. The vacant lot made him wonder. He didn’t daydream about what it could be as much as what he could do with it. He wasn’t trying to start a honey company when he brought those first hives to the property on the outer edge of Highland Square. It just seemed like a neat thing to try.

Hey, bees. Why not?

He refers to this process as “activating spaces” now after accompanying a group of community leaders assembled by the Knight Foundation to explore some of Detroit’s most promising revitalization projects. There he met people who were reclaiming the empty and forgotten, ignored and neglected places around the once-thriving Motor City. This gave him more focus. What he once did practically by accident, he would soon start repeating intentionally.

Thus, the Kickstarter expansion plan.

A former high school football standout, Brent’s team now is the Akron community. He thinks a little like a lone wolf, but he’s passionate about the greater good. As he talks about Akron Honey’s future, he says it boils down to what the people of Akron wants. He’s not trying to build a business that will sustain him so much as he’s trying to find ways to be a better Akronite. “You don’t lose if you do good,” he says. “You can’t.”

This is his off-day, but he’s nowhere near done yet. The Eye Opener is expecting an order and he sells out every time he offers packages

10

| THE Devil Strip / MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

online. Even when he finishes with this batch, there’s more to do.

The deal for the new property has closed and it won’t be long before he’s building that “Hobbit house” and making plans to bring people out to Middlebury, a part of town few would consider a destination despite being older than Akron itself.

But that’s part of the plan, which he sees more clearly by the day. “It’s a very specific vision,” he says, grabbing a frame from the extractor, “and I don’t want anyone to derail me.”

A viscous rivulet of honey clings to his arm as he hoists the honeycomb up to the light, checking to see whether it’s completely spent yet. In this moment, I’m reminded of his music, which is as hard won and sweetly rewarding as the honey. I hear his talk of the “intangible benefits” of this kind of life and I picture him on stage, the crowd dancing and moving to the punchy sway of the horn section. Much like I wanted to dance when I had my first taste from the honeycomb.

It’s easier now to see how the different sides of this man fit together.

A few moments passed in quiet. I had no more questions so I grabbed the camera and snapped away. Brent looked up briefly and smiled, as he often does, then got back to work, sliding the frame back into the extractor for another spin, hoping to wring a little more of this sweet nectar from its home.

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

community

New / native An out-of-town poet brings an NEA fellowship to Akron and a native Akronite resurrects a fabled local soda brand.

Jaclyn Geier & Chris Horne

New

Name: Mary Biddinger Age: 40 Hometown: Born in Fremont, CA.

Raised (mostly) in Chicago, IL Neighborhood: Castle Park Occupation: Poet, editor, English professor Who do you wish was on more Akronites’ radar?

Local artist and graphic designer Amy Peck should be on more Akronites’ radar. Why? Because every household in Akron needs at least one mustache pillow. Find Amy’s work at events like Crafty Mart. She’ll be the one shepherding the boisterous herd of mustache pillows.

What is your favorite local cultural asset?

Definitely the Akron Art Museum. One of the difficult things about migrating from Chicago to Akron was leaving behind many of my favorite museums. The collections and exhibits of the Akron Art Museum have never stopped surprising me. Furthermore, the building itself is a marvel. The vaulted expansiveness of the lobby is a borderline religious experience in itself.

When did you fall for Akron?

I fell for Akron when I first arrived here for my campus interview with UA in the Spring of 2005. I’d expected a landscape much like the flatlands I inhabited as an MFA student at Bowling Green State University, and instead got a spectacular Midwestern paradise with interesting architecture, quirky independent businesses, and ravines. Ravines! Akron has the perfect mix of the down to earth and the otherworldly.

Where in Akron do you like to escape?

I love to escape to Cascade Valley Metro Park.

I’m a city girl at heart, but I need my tree fix, and the Metroparks have much to offer.

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

Why should everyone try your favorite local restaurant?

When you roll up and see a bunch of smokers (the slow cooking kind, not the puffing Camel Lights kind) in action, you know that it’s a serious place. My favorite Akron dining establishment is Edgar’s. It’s a super-chill restaurant with friendly wait staff and an atmosphere that is at once sophisticated and comfortable. I highly recommend the seafood, particularly the scallops.

How do you think Akron will be different in five years?

Akron is getting more and more awesome.

People are starting to find out about it, too.

I think Akron will be just as awesome in five years. I’d love to see fewer empty storefronts on Main Street. I’ll be crushed if it ever loses its trademark strangeness.

When did you fall for Akron?

(And what was it? Where was it?

What did it feel like?)

I think I fell for Akron the 1st day of school at King Elementary. Have so many great memories and friends that all started with King school.

Where in Akron do you like to escape?

This is an easy one, I love to golf so for me it’s definitely 9 holes at Valley View Golf Course. Followed by dinner/drinks at Rockne’s on Merriman.

Why should everyone try your favorite local restaurant?

Rockne’s on Merriman for Max the Knife & Fries. Great people and great food!

How do you think Akron will be different in five years?

In five years, it will be the same great hardworking people with a strong sense of community and Akron pride. What I want to see continue is the development of downtown Akron. So many great venues downtown now that I’m excited to see the trend continue on Main Street and throughout the area.

Native

Name: Michael William Considine Age: 37 Hometown: Akron, Ohio Neighborhood: West Akron

near Highland Square Occupation: Founder & President,

NORKA Food & Beverage LLC Who do you wish was on more Akronites’ radar?

Liz Scott (iMMiX STUDiO, Lovely Somethings) Liz is one of the most talented, brilliant, inspiring and creative people I’ve ever worked with. Feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with her on reviving NORKA. What is your favorite local cultural asset?

The Akron Civic Theatre. To me this is one of our town’s most iconic venues that brings the power of music, art, dance, and performance together for the community to enjoy.

MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

/

THE Devil Strip |

11

dina’s days

Thrift Challenge

Casual Chic

Fashion blogger and thrifting expert Dina Younis is sharing the best tips and advice from her popular blog, DinasDays.com Regular reader Katie challenged Dina to recreate a casual chic outfit she found on Pinterest, featuring distressed boyfriend jeans, a white blazer, and a gray tee.

Here’s what happened: Surprisingly, a fitted white blazer was harder to find than the sequined skirt I wore in the previous challenge. In fact, three challenge participants said the same thing. I found striped blazers for days, but it wasn’t until my third visit to the thrift store that I found a fitted white one. Although the mission behind our Thrift Challenge is to prove that you can shop with an idea in mind, sometimes it takes a little patience to find what you’re looking for.

Same goes for any store though. How many times have you gone to the mall looking for something specific just to turn around and go back home? The only difference is when you finally do find the item you’re looking for at the thrift store, the reward is even greater because you scored it at a ridiculously low price!

I decided to modify the challenge a bit by not distressing my boyfriend jeans. I also tried something new and wore my belts backwards.

Blazer / NY&Co. / Village Discount Outlet....................... $2 Tee / Goodwill Akron.......................... $1 Belts / Target / Goodwill Akron............ $2 Jeans / Gap / Goodwill Canal Fulton........................ $6 Pumps / Aldo / Salvation Army............ $2 Sunglasses / Vintage / Salvation Army............................... $0.75 Bracelets / Village Discount Outlet....... $2

To see more, including reader challenge submissions, check out Dina’s Days at www.dinasdays.com

12

| THE Devil Strip / MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

Watch / gift......................price unknown TOTAL: ....................................... $15.75

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

Community

You’re so

Akron if...

A

nyone willing to scratch beneath the surface here knows Akron is unique. In fact, you don’t even have to be willing to scratch beneath the surface because Akron might just scratch you first. We’re talking about a city that spawned the greatest basketball player of his generation, multiple world-touring musicians, an astronaut, a US Poet Laureate, Alcoholics Anonymous, hamburgers, a Nobel Prize winner, actors and filmmakers, Quaker Oats, a heavyweight champion, the toy industry, the “Edison of Our Age,” Thomas Edison’s wife, two serial killers, professional women’s mud wrestling, the way your church is probably laid out and the most famous dirigible on the planet.

And that’s before you get to the food — sauerkraut balls and jo-jos, oh my!

This issue is dedicated to all our collective quirk (and then some)—announced, celebrated and dissected by you, the people who make this city great. What does it mean to be a real Akronite? It’s certainly more than a matter of mere geography. I think my friend Bridget Ambrisco summed it up best: “You’re so Akron if you recognize how authentically weird this town is ...and you love it.”

Enjoy.

Your bra was on the wall at Frank’s.

— Sue Knapp You grew up with a rubber tire shaped ashtray prominently displayed in your living room.

— Jackie Mc. (also Jenny C.)

LET’S EAT! YOU’RE SO AKRON IF…

You order a salad at Luigi’s just for the cheese.

You carry around your checkbook just in case you have a spontaneous Luigi’s craving.

— Alison Caplan

Every visiting out-of-town guest insists on one meal at Luigi’s, one at Swenson’s and a grocery trip to DeVitis Italian Market.

— Robert S.

— Jeff L.

You and Archie the Snowman are on a firstname basis.

— Ed Haas You cut through the Glendale Cemetery to get to school and back.

— John Zofchak

IT’S AN AKRON THING… YOU WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND

Either you are a Lone Star or you have partied with them.

— Anthony Hall

YOU’RE SO AKRON IF… You’re on time for parties.

You clearly get upset when you get lumped together with Cleveland.

— Theresa Attalla Someone tells you to do the “Wobble” and you say, “Yeah, I played in WABL.”

— Mike D. You know that Stan Hywet isn’t a person.

— Jason Chitwood

— Bridget A.

You lift your feet on a Sunday drive through the creek at Sand Run Park so they don’t get wet.

— Diane S. People elsewhere look at you as if you have three heads when you mention jojos, devil strip or cream sticks.

— Erin F. Grady Every time you try to move away, something keeps pulling you back to the AK. — Colleen I.

Over half your wardrobe comes from Rubber City Clothing.

— Jeremy Lile You fought in school over whether Goodyear or Firestone was better.

— Bill Hall You vacation in Florida wearing only a t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops in 60 degree weather.

— Diane S.

You turned your brother’s old soap box derby cars into dangerously awesome go-carts.

— Jenny C.

It’s “St. V” rather than “St. Vincent-St. Mary.”

— Jason S.

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

/

THE Devil Strip |

13

Cover story You consider your college years in Kent as leaving home.

— Michael McKeon You know about the bricks. — Lilly Alexander

SIX DEGREES OF THE RUBBER CITY YOU’RE SO AKRON IF… You get upset when people say LeBron is from Cleveland.

— Jeff L.

ART FOR AKRON’S SAKE YOU’RE SO AKRON IF…

Your dad was LeBron’s teacher in 4th grade at Portage Path Elementary. — Anna Hauenstein Dan Auerbach’s mom was your French teacher in high school.

— Lauren Brady You go to church with Pat Carney’s dad and Dan Aurebach’s mom was your French teacher in high school.

— Molly Hauenstein You know Zippy is a female.

— Tim M. (also Katie L.) You’re David Giffels.

— Chris Drabick

You wear black-rimmed nerd glasses, right David Giffels?

— Angie Miskell Haprian

You’ve considered getting a job at Swenson’s to help you train for the Akron Marathon.

— Jeff L. You wear a Swenson’s lanyard at work but have never worked at Swenson’s.

— Monte Chris DeCarlo Your parents fought over whether Swenson’s or Skyway is better.

— Karen W. You’ve eaten at both Swenson’s and Skyway in one day.

— Colleen I. You consider sauerkraut balls our official food.

You’ve done the math to figure out what year The Black Keys will be eligible for induction into the Rock Hall.

— Jeff L. You couldn’t wait for Ghoulardi’s Friday night Shock Theater.

— Jenny C. You were an extra in the movie “The Dead Next Door.”

— Darlene Miller Faris You’ve listened to the “Akron/Canton Hometown Song” at the Karl and Bob’s Taj Mahal.

— Noel D.

REAL AKRONITES DON’T STOP TO ASK FOR DIRECTIONS YOU’RE SO AKRON IF… You know Exchange Street and Market Street meet twice.

— John Zofchak “Driving through the Valley” means taking a short cut.

— Brian Harrell

EPONYMOUS QUIRK YOU’RE SO AKRON IF… You know what a devil strip is.

— LeAnn Greer

(also: Amanda S. and Alicia Wagner)

When visiting a museum shop in another state, you instantly recognize work from both Don and Leandra Drumm from across the room (and you know whose is whose without checking).

— Allison C.

You don’t know there IS another word for “devil strip.”

— Jason S.

Someone says “down in the Valley” and you know exactly where they mean. — Jason S. You ever went sledding down Cadillac Hill on a trash can lid.

— Jim Kormanik

— Becca B.

You call El Rancho “Mexican Yoconos.”

— Shane Wynn Anything fried in lard automatically makes you think of Barberton chicken.

— Karen W. You’ve bought chicken and jojos from more than a dozen pizza carry-out places.

— Amanda S.

You describe Akron to people as North Akron, South Akron, East Akron and West Akron, instead of just Akron.

— Wesley Ian Instead of saying you live in Akron, you say you live in Wallhaven, Merriman Hills, Highland Square, the Valley, Summit Lake, Firestone Park, Goodyear Heights, etc.

— Katie L. You know at least four routes from Montrose to Chapel Hill.

— Chris Pelrine

You plan your summer around the appearance of your favorite Strickland’s flavor.

— Linsy Biege

You judge every place you go on the quality and proximity of their parks.

— John Craig

You eat cream sticks and drink pop, not soda.

— Vicki Owens

You know the difference between the Innerbelt and Interbelt.

— Dana W.

You believe hamburgs are the reason we’re the home of the Inventors Hall of Fame.

— Rick Stockburger

You’ve dined via boat on PLX.

14

You recognize all the references in “My City Was Gone” by the Pretenders.

— Angie Miskell Haprian

— Diane S.

You know every mile the blue line. — Brad H.

| THE Devil Strip / MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

Cover Story IT’S A BIRD, IT’S A PLANE… IT’S AN AIRSHIP?

THE GOOD OL’ GOOD OLD DAYS YOU’RE SO AKRON IF…

YOU’RE SO AKRON IF… You remember the smell of the rubber You hear a low roar and run outside to see factories in the 60s.

— Jan Patetta the blimp.

— Rick Stockburger You walked to school and back with Wonder You know the sound of the blimp and only bread plastic packaging inside your boots. casually look up to verify.

— Brad H. (And stopped at Forest Lodge to skate before going home.)

— Janet Sattler You’ve seen multiple Goodyear Blimps flying together over the Rubber City.

You danced on the tables at the Bucket Shop.

— Julie Plaufcan DiVitto — Tim M. Your parents met working at the Goodyear You danced on the walls at the Bucket Shop.

Air Dock.

— John Zofchak — John Zofchak You know that the Goodyear Airdock has its You remember Scott’s Five & Dime’s own atmosphere with rain and clouds.

Sloppy Joes.

— Cyndi McVan Dicintio

— Karen Hornick Sloan You remember the Carousel Dinner Theater.

You’ve tried to shoot down the blimp with a

— Dan Pavlovich BB gun.

— Jen B. You remember Dr. Feel Goods & You don’t need to qualify which blimp you the Sun Lounge.

— Willie J. Paige, Jr. are talking about when you say “the blimp.”

— Jason S. You dressed up to go school clothes shopping at O’Neils and Polsky’s downtown.

— Jan Patetta Your grandma still gives you Halle’s boxes for Christmas.

— Lauren Brady You saw Rock Hudson and Paul Anka at the cool downtown Soap Box Derby parades.

— Jan Patetta You attended high school football games at the Rubber Bowl.

— Becca B.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THESE PEOPLE MEANT YOU’RE SO AKRON IF… Airdock, Rubber Bowl, Quaker Square, Thursdays, West Point Market, Indian Statue?

You don’t “live” somewhere, you “stay” there.

You used to drive past a building with a big bright red sign that says “BJ” and didn’t immediately think dirty thoughts.

You don’t even notice THAT smell in the Valley.

You think every logo would be better with a blimp in it.

— Jeremy D. Lile

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

Just how Akron are you?

Joanna Wilson

You’re so Akron if you don’t need to consult the menu when you pull into Swenson’s or Skyway.

You already know what you want— you have the list of burgers and sides memorized, right? Akronites are divided between their loyalties to the two rival drive-in burger joints in town.

We all have established firm opinions about our taste preferences between the Galley Boy and the SkyHi. I’m not even sure I’ve ever met anyone around here who doesn’t claim to love one burger over the other—or foolishly bold enough to suggest neither drivein is a favorite spot.

You’re so Akron if you know precisely which time of day provides the safest opportunity to drive W. Market Street/ Rt.18 from Fairlawn into Montrose.

We all know how difficult it is to drive the gauntlet of Rt. 18—cars, trucks, and buses are pulling out in front of you, cars merging into and from the center left lane, others quickly turning left in front of you, and every traffic light signal changes to yellow as you approach it. Making matters worse, I swear it’s always snowing or raining when I decide tonight is the night I’m brave enough to turn left into the plaza with my favorite store. Have you even, like myself, taken the 77 north expressway, exited above Montrose and driven back towards Summit Mall just to avoid the horror of all the busy intersections? I know, that doesn’t work either—the traffic is as bad one direction as it is the other. So what about knowing the best time to drive Rt. 18? It’s a trick! Morning, noon and night, it’s always a traffic nightmare.

Every Akronite knows that.

You’re so Akron if you’ve ever stood in line to speak with Archie the Snowman.

Sitting on Santa’s lap may be an annual event, however, it doesn’t replace the experience of chatting with the 20-foot friendly behemoth made of unmeltable “snow.” Akron’s talking Christmas attraction began in the late 1960s and stood tall at Chapel Hill Mall for 36 years. The mall’s new owners took him down in the mid-2000s until enough Akronites

demanded his return. In 2012, Archie was re-constructed in downtown Akron at Lock 3 for the next generation of our city’s children. Then, last Christmas, Archie was moved back to the center court of Chapel Hill Mall. Whether you stood in line when you were a child, brought your little ones, or maybe even accompanied your grandchildren to stand in line and gaze up at the two-story, “frozen” wonder, a real Akronite appreciates that some traditions in this everchanging city are worth bringing back.

Don’t get me started trying to make sense of the fact that Archie once had glowing red eyes--perhaps some of us loved a little terror in our Christmas traditions too!

You’re so Akron if you play“Six Degrees of Akron Celebrities.”

For reasons that aren’t always clear, Akronites love to publicly account for their close connections to national celebrities that used to live here. It doesn’t matter if your connection is through The Black Keys, DEVO, Chrissie Hynde or LeBron James; the object is to identify the lowest number of degrees connecting yourself to a favorite Akron celebrity. A perfectly acceptable competitive game move is “I used to work with a woman whose cousin sat behind Patrick Carney in study hall at Firestone High School.” That, my friends, is three degrees of the Black Keys. Another acceptable move is “My husband attended every St. Vincent-St. Mary’s varsity basketball home game during LeBron’s junior year in high school, and when LeBron came back to Akron in 2014 and spoke at Akron U., the great one looked into the crowd and made eye contact with us when he said the word ‘Akron.’”

This would be a winning move in nearly every version I’ve heard played.

Maybe identifying this nearness is a way we can feel inspired to succeed in our daily lives? Or maybe it’s a game of one-upsmanship in which we try to glom from someone else’s superstardom and in turn, bolster our own self-identity. Or, just maybe it’s a game of shoot-the-shit, best enjoyed while downing Thirsty Dog brews and not looking for any larger meaning behind it.

MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

/

THE Devil Strip |

15

the dish

You’re so Akron if…

What this PlaCe neeDs is healthy fooD for eVeryone.

THIS IS YOUR KIND OF MENU. Some of our favorite dishes from around the Akron area Compiled by Jecca

Appetizers

Entrees

Macaroni and cheese bites, served with Sriracha ketchup. (The Lockview)

Jaffar’s Pitza, pita pitza with vegetarian chili, cheddar cheese, scallions and tahini yogurt dressing (Aladdin’s)

Goat Cheese with spicy marinara and fried pita bread.

(Bricco/Pub Bricco’s) Popcorn with bacon and cheese.

(Jilly’s Music Room) B.O.R.I.S. brisket nachos (Tasting Room at Hoppin’ Frog) Seasoned nuts. (Baxter’s)

Soups & Salads United Way is a champion for healthy food for all in Summit County.

We believe that nutritious food should be available to everyone, regardless of income. So we partner with many nonprofit organizations to promote equal access to healthy, high-quality food.

Join us at the table. Volunteer.

If you have a passion for healthy food education, access and policy, connect with the United Way Volunteer Center to find ways to get involved with amazing programs and people in your community.

Whether you have just one evening to help out a community garden, want to volunteer weekly at a farmers’ market or can spend some time in an office supporting a program, you can become a part of the solution.

Current volunteer opportunities: 1. Help with planting, weeding, watering and harvesting at an urban farm or community garden 2. Lend support to a weekly farmer’s market 3. Organize a healthy food drive 4. Deliver meals to seniors in their homes 5. Mentor kids on nutrition and exercise Many more projects are available! Contact the United Way Volunteer Center at volunteer@uwsummit.org or 330.643.5512 for a complete list of opportunities or search our online volunteer project database at uwsummit.org. Click VOLUNTEER, and then click the quick link for food-related opportunities. Nonprofits – contact the Volunteer Center to add your project.

beCause Great thinGs haPPen When We liVe uniteD. United Way of Summit County uWsuMMit.orG

16

| THE Devil Strip / MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

Mojo Burger, custom blend of beef, pork and Cajun spices with cheddar cheese and jalapeño coleslaw bacon (The Rail) Tandoori Malai Kabob, chicken breast marinated in cream cheese and ginger.

(Saffron Patch) Chicken saltimbocca, Italian panko-crusted, prosciutto, provolone, sage, whipped potatoes, spinach and roasted tomato in a madeira cream sauce (The Office)

Roasted beets salad with pears, ricotta, walnuts, bacon and a champagne honey vinaigrette. (Crave)

Pan-seared diver scallops drizzled with applewood bacon brown butter (Wise Guys)

Pulled pork Cuban salad with black bean and corn salsa, goat cheese, guacamole, garlic and cilantro vinaigrette (Edgar’s)

12 oz. double-cut, bone-in pork chop with mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables (The Merchant)

Mushroom & brie bisque in the bread bowl (Rockne’s)

Desserts

Coconut milk soup with Chicken or Tofu (Cilantro) Soup of the Day, tomato and goat cheese (Nuevo)

S’mores bread pudding (Pub Bricco) Angel food cake, secret family recipe.

(The Merchant)

Drinks The Fashionable – Jim Beam, honey syrup, orange, maraschino cherry, bitters, ginger ale (Jilly’s) Velvet Frog – Grey Goose, Godiva White Chocolate and a dash of Chambord (Beau’s Grille)

where was this served?

Chinese food is never this good.

Actually, it’s Cantonese and all the sauces are made from scratch--duck sauce, sweet and sour, hot mustard--you name it. Can you guess where this plate of spicy garlic shrimp was served?

Be the first to tweet the answer to @akrondevilstrip or email the answer to chris@thedevilstrip.com and you’ll get you picture in the next issue.

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

In the kitchen with...

Pierre’s Brooklyn PIZZA & DELI One man’s mission to eat at every pizza joint in town Eric Morris

's e r Pier

The recipe for success at Pierre’s Brooklyn Pizza and Deli is almost comically simple, but expertly precise: “You make good pizza, everyone comes to you,” the shop’s eponymous owner says.

n

ly k o o Br

As simple as it may seem, it’s proven true for the two-person operation—Pierre and his wife, Mireille—whose regulars popped in and out, while Pierre, looking curiously out the window, predicted each patron’s order with stunning accuracy.

eli D d an a z z i P

On the streets of Akron’s Kenmore neighborhood, the store looks transplanted from its namesake city of Brooklyn. However, Pierre’s shares more than its recipes and charm with New York. The small shop is tied tragically to NYC, its people and scars that have never completely healed.

Before moving into a red brick storefront on Kenmore Ave, before his made-from-scratch sauce and dough brought customers from around northeast Ohio, Pierre Sahlani was working in his family’s grocery when two commercial airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center. While panicked bystanders fled from the rubble and chaos, Pierre and his employees left their shop and rushed to Ground Zero to help.

“They left without thinking,” Mireille says. “It was just a reaction. They had to go.”

Afterward, the city was depressing. The luster was gone. The place was no longer the same for them. They’d lost friends and customers, and counted how many firefighters in their borough left and “never returned.”

To cope, Pierre returned to his native Lebanon.

While he was away, three of his friends went on a hunting trip they’d invited him to join.

When Pierre returned to the states, Mireille, who stayed in New York, had to tell him his friends were killed when their car rolled. “He was supposed to be with them,” she says.

It was time, they decided, to leave the New York; time for a new life. So the two natives of Lebanon left Brooklyn for Akron, where Pierre had family. Here, he found a pizza shop that was going out of business at 964 Kenmore Blvd, a place they would call home for the next six years as they moved into the apartment above the store.

964 Kenmore Blvd.

Akron, Ohio 44314 (330) 745-7900

pizzas to sub sandwiches that rival an actual submarine in size, layered thick with lunch meats and lettuce.

“You ever see a pizza like this?” Pierre asks, pulling out a pie the size of manhole cover. As he bags an Italian for one of his regulars, he gestures with the sub, which looks like it could possibly feed a family for a week, and says, “This is our sandwich.”

Presently, they’re recruiting family to join them in Akron, but their New York roots are obvious.

One wall in the pizza shop is dedicated to their former city, including a black and white photograph of the Twin Towers overlooking the Hudson River and a star-spangled fireman’s helmet once worn by former-NYC Mayor, Rudy Giuliani.

Mireille and Pierre go about their business in a city they’ve come to love. In Ohio, the weather is much the same. Even now, she still loves the snow. And Pierre, being the responsible restaurateur he is, embraces it too because, of course, the snow, he says, kills the germs.

“You ever see a pizza like this?”

Their menu runs the gamut from ten-topping

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

/

THE Devil Strip |

17

Food/Fun

MORE SAUERKRAUT BALLS, PLEASE! A newbie tackles Akron’s tastiest secrets Holly Brown

I’m an Akron transplant. I haven’t been here long, but I’ve learned a few things. Firstly, whenever you tell an Akronite that you just moved to Akron, be prepared to answer the question: “Why?” Also:

“Have you ever had sauerkraut balls?”

feeling adventurous, have sweet potato fries with some of that sriracha ketchup. They even garnish your grilled cheese with a tiny umbrella. When that gooey masterpiece is placed before me, I am seven years old again, home sick from school, lying on the couch with a blanket and a lunch that my mom made for me. Then I remember, I’m eating goat cheese, Swiss cheese, portobello mushrooms and caramelized onions—the very same things that would have caused my seven-year-old self’s nose to crinkle.

Well, I have.

The first time, I was starving. After a day of running errands over what felt like all of Ohio, there was only one thing on my mind when I finally sat down at Rockne’s: food.

“I think it’s time you try sauerkraut balls,” my friend said from across the table.

Initiation time, the moment I’d learn exactly how “Akron” I’d really become. I was ready to give this northeastern Ohio delicacy a whirl, despite not being a huge sauerkraut fan, but life experience has taught me that everything deep fried is good.

I just didn’t expect sauerkraut balls to be that damn good. There’s something about the paradox between the texture and flavor. The crunchy, deep-fried shell filled with mushy sauerkraut—that mushy-ness anything but the flavorless mush you expect—tangy, a bit aggressive, unable to be ignored.

So why do I love Akron? For much the same reason I fell for the sauerkraut balls.

This city is unlike any place I’ve ever been. It is as welcoming as it is hardened. It presents challenges, then talks you through them. It’s the people; there’s just something about them.

And, the food. It doesn’t have to be particular to Akron for Akron to do it particularly well.

Like, grilled cheeses. The Lockview forces you to pick from 13 delicious types of gourmet grilled cheeses. Do I want artichokes on my sandwich tonight? Perhaps mashed potatoes and gravy? Each is served with a side of my all-time favorite childhood (also, post night-out-drinking) snack: Goldfish. If you’re

18

How about chicken and waffles? A modern American staple that Crave serves with cinnamon, sage and maple foam as well as syrup. Or go for some upper East Coast comfort food. Being from New England, I take lobster very seriously so pairing it with pineapple tarragon vinaigrette in a salad? I jumped at the chance. Forever a Boston girl, my heart may be back home but my tastebuds were happy to be here.

The irony is that when you answer the “Why Akron?” with your gushing about all these culinary delights—and the bars, neighborhoods, people, events, etc.— Akronites heartily agree with you. That question doesn’t come from a place of insecurity but perhaps a sense of honest surprise that you discovered their secret. You’ll hear how happy they are that you love it, that they’re glad you’re here and feel at home, that you seem like you’ve been here all of your life—and that, hell yeah, this place is pretty damn good, now that you mention it.

Which leads me to the next thing you should prepare to hear if you’re new: More food recommendations. Fortunately, I’m a girl with a healthy appetite and I could talk about food for days. Days.

So, I’m going to level with you. I think Akron is just like one big sauerkraut ball. Deep-fried homey goodness. Hard around the outside and filled with a punchy, fermented bite—but still soft, warm and inviting. Comfort with an edge.

They aren’t messing with you; they really mean this stuff. Akronites are proud of what makes Akron, well, Akron.

A true spirit of adventurousness still requires tough choices, which is exactly what I face at Urban Eats every time. Their menu changes monthly so just when you pick a favorite, a new set of choices appears. The sandwiches, soups and paninis are as eye-catching as the pop art on the walls, and you’re guaranteed an international flavor every visit.

Mr. Zub’s Deli has a sandwich literally stuffed with mac and cheese and bacon, and named Hightower after Bubba Smith’s character in the movie “Police Academy.” It’s the kind of sandwich I want to spend the rest of my life with—that is, a sandwich that almost transcends being a sandwich, a sandwich that says, “Hey, I can put whatever the hell I want between my slices and you can just deal with it.”

Swenson’s drive-ins deliver what may be the epitome of good ol’ American comfort food: the Galley Boy, a cheeseburger smothered in some delicious mystery sauce and stabbed with a green-olived toothpick. Want fries with that?

I’ll take my down home American potatoes as teezers, filled with cheese and jalapeños. Plus, the whole time I get to sit in my car and watch young guys race each other across the parking lot to feed me. A dream come true.

| THE Devil Strip / MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

dinner & A Movie

AKRON’S

Dinner & a Movie

INDIE

CINEMA

The Way Way Back and Luigi’s

NIGHTLIGHT

CINEMA.COM

Chris Kessinger, the Film Freak

FILM: “The Way Way Back” (2013) In a tweet: Directors Nat Rash, take us back to summers where life sweetest when it was too fast.

Faxon and Jim the legendary tasted the floating by

What it’s really about: A funny and poignant coming of age story about 14-year-old Duncan’s (Liam James) summer vacation with his mother, Pam (Toni Collette), her overbearing boyfriend, Trent (Steve Carell).Having a rough time fitting in, the introverted Duncan finds an unexpected friend in personable grown up Owen (Sam Rockwell), manager of the Water Wizz water park. Through his funny, eye opening friendship with Owen, Duncan slowly opens up to and begins to finally find his place in the world. During a summer vacation he will never forget.

Why it’s good: There’s something that hits close to home when it comes to Faxon and Rash’s script. It feels like an accurate summer account at a point in our lives when we all feel immortal. The movie makes us feel like anything is possible with a little help and guidance. That is a lost art in modern film.

Who you’ll remember: This is a comic coming out party for Rockwell. His sarcastic wit in the script’s dialogue is something that deserves to be seen by everyone.

Carrell gives an unlikely antagonist turn as the metaphorical fork in Duncan’s road to happiness. It’s a rare opportunity to see a different side of the usually comedic Carell.

How it’ll surprise you: There’s a touching message hidden softly underneath the surface. Sometimes we just need a little motivation to show our true colors.

Bonus Points: The script is a perfect mix of drama and comedy that uses both genres effortlessly well in its attempt to showcase the psychological harm that is keeping this boy bottled up.

3/14-3/26 Cannes’ Best Screenplay winner

LEVIATHAN

Feast: Luigi’s While at the video store, order from one of Akron’s most prominent downtown eateries for Italian nirvana, Luigi’s. Complete with a colorful array of tasty wines and delicious Italian foods, this almost 70 year old Akron institution is a favorite among Akronites stories and legends. Daytime specials like the slice and salad, pasta fagiole and soup du jour will have you planning future visits even before you get home.

Film Freak’s Suggestion: Start with a cheese salad. It’s a perfect addition to the complimentary homemade bread that’s warmth will melt butter instantly. The special salad dressing alone will have your mouth watering, and sets the perfect precedent for a main course. The entrée—what else? Pizza.

I personally recommend the large pepperoni and mushroom pie to share with a friend or significant other. Your facial reactions will tell it all in an edible transformation to a time when Akron was discovering it’s personality for great Italian. Close the deal with a red wine. The rich aroma of a Pinot will set you in the perfect mix of edible satisfaction and liquid relaxation. A must experience for every Akronite.

3/20-4/2 Families reckon with occupying Jihadists

TIMBUKTU

3/27-4/9 A 19-year-old is haunted by a persistent pursuer

IT FOLLOWS

4/3-4/16 Misfit Kumiko is on a quest

KUMIKO, THE TREASURE HUNTER

A Day in the Life of…

Commitment

&The Good Life

I believe Jeremiah could live and work in a much bigger city, making a lot more money but he stays in Akron because he believes in Akron. Instead of complaining about what Akron is not, he busts his ass to help Akron become the kind of place he desires to live. This is uncommon, I think. This is rare.

These are some of my personal favorites from my day...

Maxarmando Rivera

Commitment is a beautiful thing.

Commitment over time is much more beautiful.

Something about perseverance strikes a chord in mankind.

Believing in some “thing” so much that you’re willing to risk it all to see that “thing” succeed.

This type of commitment is beautiful.

Photographer’s notes: Every month I want to display a series of photographs that share a similar story and/or theme. This time, I spent the day at my friend Jeremiah Currier’s shop, Good Life - Body Piercing + Fine Jewelry. I didn’t make any promises; I didn’t stage any shots. I just walked around with my camera and observed.

20

| THE Devil Strip / MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

Bars / Nightlife

Music & COncerts Wednesday, March 18

Friday, March 20

JACKIE WARREN 7 pm at BLU Jazz+ (FREE) 47 E Market St, Akron A cornerstone of the Cleveland jazz & salsa scenes, is one of the most in-demand pianists in the area and has rightfully earned the nickname “Cleveland’s First Lady of Jazz.”

More at blujazzakron.com/shows

MOUTHS OF BABES CVNP Canteen Concerts 8-10 pm at Happy Days Lodge (tix $5-$17) 500 W. Streetsboro St., Peninsula While you munch on locally-sourced cuisine from the Conservancy Canteen, Ty Greenstein (Girlyman) and Ingrid Elizabeth (Coyote Grace) will apply their undeniable chemistry in a performance that is equal parts celebration and blues, folk and soul. Visit conservancyforcvnp. org/events for details.

THURSDAY, MARCH 19 KEVIN JUNIOR / ACOUSTIC THURSDAYS 8 pm at Annabell's 784 W Market St, Akron MAGICALLY DELICIOUS 8 pm at BLU Jazz+ 47 E Market St, Akron This dynamic group of professional musicians based in Columbus, Ohio focuses eight on the arrangements and the original compositions of its accomplished members.

DUSTCRUSHERS, WHITE LIGHTNING & THE BLACKOUTS AND BROKEN MUGS 10 pm-1 am at Annabell’s 784 W Market St, Akron Akron post-rock noise band Broken Mugs joins Kent’s DustCrushers and White Lightning & the Blackouts for a show that’ll weird-out the old folks. Not that there’ll be any old folks there.

This is loud, dirty music that makes your PBR feel good.

THE LIVING WITH INDUCING PANIC 8 pm at Chuck’s Steakhouse 456 E South St, Akron The Living coming straight outta Canton… for fans of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Nirvana, Foo Fighters and Alice in Chains.

Nikki Revolver, Devilstrip & Take Off Charlie 11 pm at Empire Concert Club Co-headliners Nikki Revolver and Devilstrip rock The Empire on the strength of their recently released CDs that put their Akron and Canton pride front and center. Akron's own Take Off Charlie joins the mix with Circle of One out of PA.

Saturday, March 21 JESSICA HERNANDEZ & THE DELTAS ($8) 8 pm at Musica This band of Detroiters brings their bodymoving sound—self-defined “Carny Soul”—

back through Akron before heading overseas for their first tour of Europe. See “8 Questions with Jessica Hernandez” for more. Visit akronmusica.com for details about the show.

JUSTO SABORIT 7 pm at Empire Concert Club 1305 E Tallmadge Ave, Akron A native of Havana, Cuba, guitarist Justo Saborit has crafted a distinctive style out of studying and performing classical, blues, jazz, rock & R&B, which he’s blended with influences from his homeland.

AHI-NAMA 8 pm at BLU Jazz+ 47 E Market St, Akron Salsa, timba and Latin Jazz by way of northeast Ohio, founded by native Alex Hoyt XTRA CRISPY WITH MAY DAY RIOTS AND THE SAID SO 8 pm at Chuck’s Steakhouse 456 E South St, Akron

Wednesday, March 25 Musica

THE RECORD PARTY 6-8 pm at Jilly’s Music Room 111 N Main St, Akron Consider it a fun hump day happy hour for folks who have to get to bed for work the next day. Expect obscure retro tunes and lots of danceable music by a trio of vocalists.

JOE HUNTER 7 pm at BLU Jazz+ 47 E Market St, Akron A first-call pianist, Joe Hunter has established himself as one of the cornerstones of the Cleveland and Columbus jazz circuits. Visit blujazzakron.com/shows for details.

Music and Comedy Nights at Jilly's Music Room

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

/

THE Devil Strip |

21

Bars / Nightlife

Weekend at Musica

Better Block meeting at the Akron Civic Theatre (Courtesy of Dale Dong/The Akronist) SUPER BOB 11 pm at Empire Concert Club 1305 E. Tallmadge Ave., Akron This four-man rock band invades the A-K Rowdy from the Washington, D.C. area, one of the 240 shows they play a year in support of their three full-length records.

Friday, March 27

Saturday, March 28

MUSIC: ACID CATS, SCARLET & THE HARLOTS, JOVAN WILDER AND THE WILD THINGS 8 pm at Jilly’s Music Room (FREE) 111 N Main St, Akron Guess which of the three describes themselves as “Hard blues driven rock n' roll with a sassy red headed belter out front.” Scarlet & the Harlots, which is probably my favorite name for a local band. In fact, this night may be the best for local music in Akron all month. It’s certainly got to be the most eclectic. Consider the rock-infused acid jazz of Acid Cats and the soulful, groove-oriented funk of Jovan Wilder and the Wild Things, and you should feel guilty for seeing this all for free.

3RD ANNUAL ROCK FOR A GOOD CAUSE Fairlawn and Hudson Schools of Music 4-9 pm at Musica ($5 donation) 51 East Market St, Akron Young music students ply their craft to benefit the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank’s Harvest for Hunger with a goal of raising $1,500 which would provide 6,000 meals locally. Bands include Rock N’ Royalty, Farfetched, Ava & The Hitmen, No Name Tuesday, Three Legged Chairs and No Expectations.

Instead of paying admission, guests will be asked to donate $5 or 10 non-perishable food items.

THE GIGGITYS AND SUPER AWESOME MACHO WITH PUNK WILLIE 9:10 pm at Annabell’s (FREE) From the ashes of northeast Ohio's legendary punk band The Nimrods come The Giggitys, fronted by Ric Nimrod hisself. Super Awesome Macho plays true rock roots stuff mixed up with punk and surf that itself plays like the love baby of the Dead Kennedys and Dick Dale.

Youngstown’s Punk Willie makes their Akron debut.

CHRIS COLES QUINTET "Tribute to Coltrane & Cannonball" 8 pm at BLU Jazz+ Exciting Cleveland-based saxophonist leads all-star band in a special evening honoring the music of jazz legends John Coltrane & Cannonball Adderley.

TALL HEIGHTS W/ DARLINGSIDE CVNP Canteen Concerts 8-10 pm at Happy Days Lodge (tix $5-$17) 500 West Streetsboro Street, Peninsula Vocal harmonies drive a folk-inspired accompaniment of cello and acoustic guitar in Tall Heights, while Darlingside’s four distinct voices draw from strains of bluegrass, classical, and even barbershop.

Art & Ale (Courtesy of Akron Art Museum)

Monday, March 30 MELODIME & RYAN HUMBERT 7 pm at Empire Concert Club 1305 E Tallmadge Ave, Akron, Ohio 44310 Ryan Humbert, one of Akron’s hardestworking singer-songwriters, takes the Empire stage with Melodime, a DC-area band that layers bittersweet melodies and rich vocals atop a bed of Southern-flavored alt-rock.

Tuesday, March 31 BONZ, FEAT. BONZ OF STUCK MOJO 8 pm at Chuck’s Steakhouse 456 E South St, Akron The band is BONZ—all-caps like that—and it’s fronted by Bonz, who formerly fronted Atlantabased rap-metal rockers Stuck Mojo.

Plan Ahead

JEREMY HAHN’S MEMORIAL SHOW Saturday, April 4 6 pm at Chuck’s Steakhouse (FREE) 456 E South St, Akron To honor Jeremy Hahn’s memory and his passion for local music, his friends are doing his “Punk Meets Metal” thing with an "outlaw" twist, featuring a lineup that includes AJ DeJulius, May Day Riots, Dead Again, The Said So, Ties That Bind, Last Days Pay and Flames Burn Black.

HUBBS GROOVE 8 pm at Akron Civic Theatre Expect a tour of jazz, soul, gospel, classical and R&B music when Hubbs Groove plays this cabaret-style show at Akron’s most beautiful venue. For details, visit akroncivic.com

Anchor the Moon at Empire Concert Club

22

| THE Devil Strip / MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

8 questions

Questions Jessica Hernandez with singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist

When Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas come to Akron, it’ll be their second time through and their second-to-last US date before heading overseas for their inaugural tour of Europe.

Though they’ll be opening for legendary California punk rockers Social D, Jessica grew up in Detroit listening to the Spice Girls and No Doubt. In high school, she fell under the influences of a wide-ranging bunch from Tammy Wynette and Patsy Cline to Tom Waits and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. She’s an eclectically affected old soul whose borderline bubbly personality masks any hint of the “Secret Evil” promised by the title of her debut full-length album. Somewhere in all that, it makes sense that she has applied labels to the band’s sound like “Carny Soul” and “Motown Circus.” The most surprising, not surprising thing out of the whole interview is that whether she quits music or rockets on to stardom, she’s probably going to open a Cuban restaurant with her dad. Enjoy. – Chris Horne

CH: When you’re touring around the states, how different does it feel when you get outside the Rust Belt—out West or down South—or, does it feel different at all?

JH: I think it’s more similar than it seems.

It’s strange because one of the things about touring is realizing how similar we all are.

Maybe it’s because you’re only seeing the small percentage of people that are coming to your shows, or involved in the music scene—and that subculture in the US is pretty small and there’s some sort of like-mindedness, or at least something that connects all these people.

CH: In an NPR interview, you said, “In a smaller city, it’s about community, not trampling on the people around you to get where you want to go.” Do you feel like you have a responsibility to that community?

JH: Yeah, for sure. I think that as much as the band wants to better itself, you’re also really trying to help out the city where you come from and trying to give people a different perspective on it, a positive one instead of the negative publicity, which seems to be most of what’s happening lately, nationally. Yeah, a sense of responsibility, of bringing something positive to it and then also, as we grow, being able to help grow the music scene and introduce other artists and help them any way we can—that’s definitely part of what we want to do.

CH: You taught yourself how to play guitar, keyboards and drums— how does that influence the way you approach songwriting?

JH: Because I get bored easily, I’m always finding something. Whenever I write I always want to change it up and start the songs from a different instrument. One day I’ll start the song from drums and I’ll work on a beat I really like and record that and then build upon that. …If I’m just writing on an acoustic guitar, it might be more of a Patsy Cline kinda vibe, or if I’m writing on an organ, then it might have more of a Tom Waits kind of vibe.

CH: In that same interview you did

CH: If you weren’t touring this much—

one of the most endearing things I’ve ever heard another adult do when you started singing “Mama’s cooking pork chops” about providing an impromptu soundtrack to everything as it happened in your home growing up.

JH: (laughs) Music was such a big part of it.

I mean, I’m just such a goofy person; I was always making up songs to everything. My parents are both super musical. They were always just really big into the music scene, so I was always waking up to my dad playing his records or my mom putting on whatever she was listening to, so it just became a big part of my life. And then I was a choir kid and a theatre kid. I was, you know, the nerdy theatre/ choir girl in high school. It’s funny because all the guys in my band were like that too: the band dorks. We always laugh because we are still that way. Being part of that theatre/choir culture at such a young age—always making stories up, making songs up.

or at all—what do you think you’d be doing with your life?

JH: Music was always #1 on my list, since I was really young, but it doesn’t scare me to not be doing music. That’s probably because I’m so close with my family and they’re such a big part of my life that I always wanted to open a Cuban restaurant with my dad. That’s always been in the back of my mind: Well, if this music thing work out, I’m opening up my restaurant and then I’m going to do my clothing stuff.

CH: So listening to your mom’s and dad’s records, is that how you got into Tammy Wynette and Patsy Cline and Tom Waits and Wanda Jackson and all that?

JH: My great uncle passed away when I was a senior in high school and his wife gave me his entire record collection, and it was a lot of old country, a lot of old soul then Motown, jazz; just anything and everything. It was hundreds of records. I started digging into his record collection and that’s when I discovered a lot of the old country female artists that I really, really like. I think that really influenced a lot of my songwriting—songs like “Cry, Cry, Cry” is one in particular I think was really influenced by a lot of those old female country artists.

CH: The loyalty you have for Detroit, is that common among you and your friends? You seem to wear Detroit on your sleeves.

JH: Yeah, I think a lot of people from there do. I don’t know what it is about the city but it seems everybody that’s from there gets a lot of drive from being from there. I think despite all the bad press that Detroit gets, I think that a lot of people have a lot of respect for the city.

CH: I have a reader question. Jasmine wonders what’s been your favorite and/or the strangest gift you’ve received from a fan?

JH: We get a lot of funny gifts. We get a lot of coffee—I guess people know we all like coffee. We’ve gotten clothes and moonshine gummy bears. Yeah, those were amazing.

Those were among my favorites. We get a lot of cool gifts but my favorites though are letters. Those usually end up being my favorite.

You know, you’re having a crummy day and then someone gives you a letter and you open it and they tell you the music makes their week better. Totally turns your day around.

MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

/

THE Devil Strip |

23

band spotlight

on stage with...

Ava and the Hitman These youngsters with soul are ready to rock for a good cause.

Maria Varonis

They may not have witnessed the birth of rock in the forties and fifties—or experienced its plaid phase in the nineties—but Ava and the Hitmen have soul stemming back from far before they were born.

On a recent Monday evening, I went to check out their rehearsal, expecting the coolest, cutest thing I had ever heard.

In his neon-shoes and khaki-colored corduroys, 11-year-old keyboardist Lawrence Saltis looked cool standing casually behind his Casio. Way cooler than I did at 11—perhaps way cooler than I do now, actually.

“I like being with drummers, guitarists, and jamming around, maybe doing a little blues sometimes,” Saltis said.

The band was the brainchild of nine-yearold drummer Luke Konopka and 11-year-old guitarist Eric Goldstein, both students at the Fairlawn School of Music, where they met and were rehearsing this evening.

Goldstein was tinkering with his pedal board.

His baseball tee read: “RELAX,” in all caps.

Noted, I thought.

Proud parents were all over the place, dropping their kids off, waiting in their cars in the parking lot. The pint-sized, 10-year-old front woman for the band, Ava Preston, was adjusting her mic as I spoke with her mom.

“She’s been singing since she was two or three,” Lisa Allison told me. When I asked if Lisa, herself, was musical, she adamantly claimed she was not the source of her daughter’s musical talent.

Katie Carver Reed, programs director of the school, warmly ushered me around.

“This is an actual garage band,” she said of Ava and the Hitmen, leading me into their rehearsal, “because this is actually a garage.”

The repurposed room was warm and clean, but maintained the minimalism and grit you would expect out of any young musician’s practice space.

Last to join Ava and her tiny musical henchman was 12-year-old bassist Fritz Dannemiller, the newest member of the team.

24

Here is the space to add the description of the image you place below/above bigger.

The Fairlawn and Hudson Schools of Music offer both group and private lessons in a variety of genres. When students show interest in teaming up, the schools and their coaches— successful musicians in their own right—are eager to give the children the technical instruction and real life lessons they need to make it as a band. This is how Ava and the Hitmen became a functioning unit.

Coaches Natalie Grace Martin and Jack McFadden looked in their element as they helped this mob of 9-12 year olds rehearse Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know.”

I was a little taken aback by all this. I knew it would be cute but I wasn’t expecting it to be excellent. Every cymbal hit. Every guitar riff.

Every note Ava attempted and then conquered.

This was a rock band and these were real musicians—just a bit shorter than most. Old pros at a young age.

On my way out, I told Ava, “You’re like a little Grace Slick, you know that?”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

Learn more about Ava and the Hitmen at www.the DevilStrip.com

| THE Devil Strip / MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

Fairlawn School of Music presents their 2nd annual Rock for a Good Cause, which benefits the AkronCanton Foodbank’s Harvest for Hunger campaign.

If they raise just $1000, they can provide 4,000 meals locally. You can chip in by attending to hear student bands like Ava and the Hit Men.

Rock for a Good Cause Saturday, March 28 Show starts at 4 p.m.

Musica 51 East Market Street, Akron Call 330-576-6527 or visit fairlawnschoolofmusic.com

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

Comics & Puzzles

Crossword Puzzle Set by Alberich

ACROSS 1 Horse and trap for a fairy (6) 5 Erect principal feature of a wall (4-4) 9 Opener hit runs, returning after disastrous debut (2 ducks) (8) 10 One following Parisian woman? – one briefly loved by 24 (6) 11 Mobile rang and spoiled start of drama – like Mousetrap (6-6) 13 Setter devours books – what a fairy! (4) 14 Writer's surrounded by old flames – thereby things can get heated (4,4)

AKRON MUSIC, ART & CULTURE

DOWN 17 Outlined short comedy piece to journalist (8) 18 Section of Plato is about Greek character (4) 20 Pure uranium, untreated with aluminium, goes into meltdown (12) 23 The weaver's an ass (6) 24 Greek 22 bewitched by 5 (8) 25 Characters not of the standard height will remain at base (5,3) 26 King gives orders to soldiers retreating north (6)

2 Raised wolf for money once (4) 3 Toils hard, raising support for educational aid (9) 4 In which 2 would be 10 (6) 5 Puck heartlessly stealing food is running around like chicken that's headless (5,10) 6 Greek 22 who was well heeled? Hardly (8) 7 Greetings heard from Scottish town (5) 8 Make Holy See contract indefinitely to be unorthodox (10) 12 Being watchful, observing through the window (7,3)

15 In money matters, a European is doing nothing (9) 16 In short, a man and a woman have love for nightingale (8) 19 Lieutenant with 23 i-in company (but not in the same company as 23) (6) 21 Takin' out member of chivalric order (5) 22 Leander's love is a bird with no 23 (4)

MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

alberichcrosswords.com

/

THE Devil Strip |

25

my turn

Confessions of a Rust Belt Orphan (How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Northeast Ohio) Jason Segedy

As near as I can tell, the term “Rust Belt” originated sometime in the mid-1980s. I originated slightly earlier, in 1972, at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio—Rubber Capital of the World.

My very earliest memory is of a day in the summer of 1975 when my parents, my baby brother and I went on a camping trip to Lake Milton, just west of Youngstown. I was three.

To this day, I can still remember looking at the green overhead freeway signs along the West Expressway and taking in the overpoweringly pungent smell of rubber wafting from the smokestacks of B.F. Goodrich and Firestone.

My mother explained that those were the factories where the tires and the rubber and the chemicals were made. They were made by hard-working, good people—people like my Uncle Jim. When I was a little older, I would hear that this was the smell of good jobs, of hard, dangerous work—the way of life that built this quirky and gritty town. It was the smell that tripled Akron’s population between 1910 and 1920, transforming the canal-town into the 32nd largest city in America. It is a smell now laced with melancholy and nostalgia—for it was the smell of an era coming to its end.

On the way to the campground, we stopped by my grandparents’ home in Firestone Park where my grandmother had a box of Barnum’s Animals crackers waiting for me. She was always kind and generous like that.

My grandparents were Akron. Their story is Akron’s story. My grandfather, George Segedy, was born in 1916, in Barnesboro, a small coal-mining town in Western Pennsylvania, somewhere between Johnstown, DuBois and nowhere. His father, a coal miner, had emigrated there from Hungary nine years earlier. My grandmother, Helen Szabo, was born in Barberton, in 1920.

They were in factories their entire working lives—jobs like that weren’t called “careers” back then. My grandfather worked at the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company. My grandmother worked at Saalfield Publishing, which was once among the world’s largest producers of children’s books, games and puzzles. Today, both plants form part of a gutted, derelict, post-apocalyptic moonscape in South Akron between that same West

26

Expressway I remember from childhood and perdition.

The City of Akron plans to revitalize this former industrial area, and should, but there are ghosts there…

My grandparents’ house exemplified workingclass Akron in the late 1970s and early 1980s: lots of cigarettes and ashtrays, “Hee-Haw,” “The Joker’s Wild,” fresh tomatoes and peppers, Fred and Lamont Sanford, Archie and Edith Bunker, listening to Herb Score and Indians baseball on the front porch, handknitted afghans, UHF/VHF, channels 3, 5, 8 and 43, cold cans of Coca-Cola and Pabst Blue Ribbon, the Ohio Lottery, chicken and galuskas (dumplings), a garage floor you could eat off of, a meticulously maintained 14-year-old Chrysler with 29,000 miles on it, a refrigerator in the dining room because the kitchen was too small, catching fireflies in jars and all being right with the world.

More often than not, when we visited my grandparents, my Uncle Jim and Aunt Helen would be there. Uncle Jim was born in 1936, in West Virginia. His family, too, had come to Akron to find work that was better-paying, steadier and relatively less dangerous than the work in the coal mines. Uncle Jim was a rubber-worker, first at Mohawk Rubber and then B.F. Goodrich. Uncle Jim also cut hair over at the appropriately-named West Virginia Barbershop, on South Arlington Street in East Akron. He was one of the best, most decent, kindest people that I have ever known.

The machine runs until it breaks down, then it is replaced with a new and more efficient one. It was a machine made up of unions and management and capitalized sunk costs and supply chains and commodity prices and globalization. Except it wasn’t really a machine at all. It was really just people. And people aren’t machines. When they are treated as such, and then discarded as obsolete, there are consequences.

grieve—not to wallow but to gain a better understanding of who we are by getting comfortable with the messy and confusing historical cycle of boom-and-bust, of evolution and de-evolution, of creation and destruction and reinvention. That’s the world as we actually experience it, and the one in which we live. Thus, “moving on” is our refusal to be paralyzed by the past so we can live up to our present responsibilities.

You could hear it in the music. From the decadent, desperately-seeking-something pulse of Disco to the nihilistic and fatalistic sound of Punk and Post-Punk. It’s not an accident that a band called Devo came from Akron, Ohio—Deevolution, the idea that instead of evolving, mankind has actually regressed.

Akron has begun doing this—and may be ahead of the rest of the region, if the anecdotal evidence is to be believed.

As an adult, it’s all the more poignant when you realize that the “end-of-an-era” is just a transition to something else. The middle ground between “golden age” and “existential struggle” is large. In fact, this time of transition is its own era. For those of us who were kids when The Great Unraveling began, we watched the Grand Old Days narrative, which we were socialized to believe, go up in a puff of smoke.

We tend to construct our identities, especially as children, on the places we live. The identity I’d built was as a proud Akronite. This is the RUBBER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD! We—Real Americans doing Real Work—make lots and lots of Useful Things for people all over the world, some of whom even come here to make a Better Life for themselves.

Once, I asked my mother why Uncle Jim never washed his hands. She scolded me, explaining he did wash his hands but because he built tires, his hands were stained with carbon-black, which wouldn’t come out no matter how hard you scrubbed. I learned later, that it would take about six months for that stuff to leach out of your pores, once you quit working.

Well, that all got yanked away. I couldn’t believe any of those things anymore. They were no longer true, and I knew it. I could see it with my own two eyes. When the place you believed you lived in turns out not to match reality, it’s jarring and disorienting, even heartbreaking.

Uncle Jim died in 1983. He was killed in an industrial accident on the job at B.F. Goodrich.

He was only 47. The plant would close for good about a year later.

I use the phrase “Rust Belt Orphan” because that is what the experience of coming of age at the time of The Great Unraveling feels like at the gut-level.

It was a tragic event at a singularly traumatic time for Akron.

So where does this leave us?

But I don’t think we can—or should—“get over” the Rust Belt. The very phrase traffics in denial and an estrangement from one’s roots.

The region is littered with countless attempts to “get over” the Rust Belt: short-sighted economic development projects and publicprivate pyramid-schemes. We don’t have to be—and can’t be, of course—something we are not. We do have to be the best place we can be.

Our economic development and public investment should be hyper-nimble, hyperscalable, hyper-neighborhood-focused and ultra-diverse. Sometimes these “little plans” are exactly what we need because they often involve fundamentals and are easier to pull-off while helping inspire hope and build relationships.

Maybe this means we are a smaller, relatively less-prominent place, a step down from the Grand Old Days. It also means being a much better-connected, more cohesive, coherent and equitable place.

We are the only people who can stop us from becoming that place.

Those of us that stuck it out and still live here know where we came from. We’re under no illusions about who we are or where we live.

So, let’s have our final elegy for the Rust Belt.

Then, let’s get to work.

————————————————————

That is what the late 1970s and early 1980s were: the end of one thing and the beginning of something else. In retrospect, it’s obvious.

| THE Devil Strip / MARCH 2015 • VOL 1 • ISSUE #1

The Rust Belt, which has been in a collective period of mourning for the better part of four decades, must make peace with our past. The best way out is always through. We should

This is an abridged version of a longer post you can find under the same title on Jason’s blog at thestile1972.tumblr.com

WWW.THEDEVILSTRIP.COM

A BAROQUE SENSIBILITY

beauty reigns IN RECENT PAINTING Through May 3, 2015

Gallery Hours Wednesday – Sunday: 11 am – 5 pm | Thursday: 11 am – 9 pm Free Admission Every Thursday One South High | Akron, OH 44308 | 330.376.9185 | www.AkronArtMuseum.org