The Pitch: December 2021

December 2021 I FREE I THEPITCHKC.COM

s k o o h t f s r Le e d i r w o L &

BY TYLER SCHNEIDER

Growing Galleries

Wah Gwan’s One Woman Show

Procession’s Confessions

BY EMILY COX

BY LIZ COOK

BY ABBY OLCESE

2

THE PITCH | December 2021 | thepitchkc.com

CONTENTS Attendees at the Día de los Muertos parade at Mattie Rhodes Center. Olivia, 6, stands in a burgundy outfit shrouded in marigolds.

JIM NIMMO

THE PITCH

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Brock Wilbur Content Strategist Lily Wulfemeyer Digital Editor Savannah Hawley Director of Marketing & Promotions Jason Dockery Director of Operations Andrew Miller Music Editor Nick Spacek Film Editor Abby Olcese Contributing Writers Emily Cox, Liz Cook, Barbara Shelly, April Fleming, Deborah Hirsch, Beth Lipoff, Dan Lybarger, Anne Kniggendorf, Aaron Rhodes, Allison Harris, Kristen Thomas, Cameron Capers Little Village Creative Services Jordan Sellergren Contributing Photographers Zach Bauman, Chase Castor, Travis Young, Jim Nimmo, Chris Ortiz Contributing Designers and Illustrators Katelyn Betz, Nidhi Shenoy, Austin Crockett, Jake Edmisten Editorial Intern Tyler Schneider Design Interns Shelby Phelps, Enrique Zabala

26 Skeletons & Constant Sorrow

The Roseline encourage you to hunker down

BY NICK SPACEK

28 FILM

In The Spotlight Procession details the healing process of six adult survivors of sexual assault perpetrated by Kansas City-based Catholic priests

BY ABBY OLCESE

30 EVENTS

December Events For more events, visit thepitchkc.com/ calendar

BY TYLER SCHNEIDER

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4 LETTER

Letter from the Staff ‘Tis the season for mutual aid

BY PITCH STAFF

6 CULTURE

Curating Consistency After pandemic closures, art is returning to fill new galleries

BY EMILY COX

10 The Pitch’s Holiday Gift Guide

Scratch names off your list with our local picks

BY THE PITCH STAFF

13 Dreidel skirts fight Bubbe’s mouse

The Jewish Nutcracker bows on Dec. 12

BY BETH LIPOFF

14 SPORTS

Shadowboxing Epperson & Ferrell are The Butterfly and The Bee

BY TYLER SCHNEIDER

18 DINING

Wah Gwan’s Culinary CrossPollination Will Leave You Speechless Carve out time for Tanyech “Tan” Yardrough’s one woman show

BY LIZ COOK

22 Eat This/Drink This Now

Soft Pretzels at King G & Bronson’s Milk Punch

BY APRIL FLEMING

23 Prime Time

34 KC CARES

HappyBottoms Wipes One Concern Away

BY SAVANNAH HAWLEY

36 SEX & LOVE

Keep Them Coming It’s the most wonderful (and sexiest) time of the year

BY KRISTEN THOMAS

38 Savage Love

Cuckqueans rule the world

BY DAN SAVAGE

Cameron Mitchell opens two Plaza restaurants

BY MICHAEL MACKIE

24 MUSIC

Noah’s Arc Fallout and friend zones on Noah Spencer’s solo debut

BY SAVANNAH HAWLEY

26 Gravitational Pull

Rapper Zarin Micheal advances a million miles with new album

BY AARON RHODES COVER PHOTO BY CHASE CASTOR

thepitchkc.com | December 2021 | THE PITCH

3

LETTER

LETTER FROM THE STAFF

•

•

‘TIS THE SEASON FOR MUTUAL AID

BY PITCH STAFF

Usually, this is the part of the magazine where you would find the Letter From The Editor. This month, the mic belongs to the staff as a whole, because we’ve been having conversations around the office that we feel are important to share with you. Folks, it’s chit-chat time.

In every December issue, we create The Gift Guide. The Gift Guide is not a concept unique to The Pitch. The Gift Guide is a concept that is, for all intents and purposes, trademarked by corporate America. We cannot escape The Gift Guide. It finds us by email, by mail, by text message from that one store that required a phone number to complete your purchase five years ago. The Gift Guide sees us when we’re sleeping and knows when we’re awake.

But we at The Pitch like to think we’re not like other Gift Guides! For one, we have a sex and kink section, and you can’t even begin to imagine the dark Kansas City sex Internet that we stumbled upon while doing research. While we understand that our jobs are thankless in many ways, please understand that because of us you avoided seeing as many latex-gimp-gear-gone-wrong photos as we have. (And a few that were simply top-notch. Good on you, KC.) We also do these things because it is the so-called season of giving. You will give your loved ones the gift of specially-selected presents. If you follow our never-ending plea to purchase local, you will also be giving the gift of income to our local makers, creators, and business owners—one of those win-win situations that are all too rare these days.

Still, there’s something crucial missing from our Gift Guide—missing from nearly

every Gift Guide™ that you’re being inundated with—because it’s not a present or charity or a donation, but it is absolutely crucial for us to remember at this time of year: mutual aid.

While the practice of mutual aid is nearly as old as the homo sapien, it blipped on many people’s radars for the first time with the wave of protests in the summer of 2020.

As defined by lawyer Dean Spade in the book Mutual Aid, the practice can be understood as “collective coordination to meet each other’s needs, usually from an awareness that the systems we have in place are not going to meet them.”

A well-known slogan has arisen about the practice: “Solidarity, not charity.” Meaning: mutual aid is not some Reagan-style philosophy of trickle down economics mixed with a healthy dash of saviorism. It is a practice aimed at strengthening a community as a whole. While this may take the form of redistributing wealth, that is not the limit of mutual aid. It’s a complex topic that has its roots not just only in radical organization, but in love and community.

Kansas City, as it is full of Homo sapiens, has multiple thriving mutual aid networks.

If you have some extra change clinking in your pocket this season, here are some starting places to begin engaging in mutual aid: • The Merry Outlaw [themerryoutlaw. com] is a meals program that works to create “inclusive and joyful food experiences in our community” through microgrants, public meals, and more. They

•

•

•

also run a general-purpose Kansas City Mutual Aid app.

Midwest Homeless Collective [instagram.com/mwhomelesscollective] is working to tackle one of our greatest social issues that our city leaders seem incapable of solving.

Look into what native land you’re inhabiting [nativegov.org/news/voluntary-land-taxes/] and pay rent, or contribute food and other services, locally through the KC Indian Center [kcindiancenter.org/join-us/].

Black Rainbow is a local civil rights group that shares calls for mutual aid and resources distribution on their Instagram account [instagram.com/blackrainbw].

ReDiscover [rediscovermh.org] has provided services for individuals affected by mental illness, substance use disorder, and traumatic life experiences.

KC Mutual Aid is a page that exists on IG [instagram.com/kcmutualaid]. The name says it all.

But, remember, we said mutual aid isn’t just about money. If you’re more able to contribute your time, energy, or expertise, here are a few groups you can reach out to: • KC Tenants [kctenants.org] is one of the most well-organized advocacy groups and resource centers in the metro. They have a spot for you to lend a hand. You can also redistribute funds through KC Tenants’ mutual aid fund [gofundme. com/f/kc-tenants-mutual-aid-fund].

• Liberation Lit [liberationlit.org] works to build a world without cages as they send books and letters to incarcerated populations.

• Friday Night Protest [instagram.com/ fridaynightprotest] organizes action combatting and bringing attention to police violence. The greater the attendance at such protests, the better.

• Kansas City’s chapter of the Sunrise Movement—a group of youth galvanizing action against climate change—is on FB, IG, and Twitter [@sunrisemvmtkc].

It’s a great place for young folks to con-

Top to Bottom: KC Tenants, Liberation Lit, Barrier Babes EMILY STANDLEE, JIM NIMMO, BARRIER BABES

tribute organizing energy.

• Lead to Read [leadtoreadkc.org] matches volunteers with individual students in grade school across the city that need personal attention to catch up to their peers in reading and reading comprehension.

• Barrier Babes [barrierbabes.org] is a nonprofit that provides sexual health to the midwest by handing out everything from free condoms to tampons. You can volunteer and give through their website.

Let’s reframe this season of giving as a season of solidarity as a city.

Pitch in and we’ll make it through,

Above Left: A photo of The Merry Outlaw’s Website. Above Right: The Merry Outlaw

4

THE PITCH | December 2021 | thepitchkc.com

THE MERRY OUTLAW

thepitchkc.com | December 2021 | THE PITCH

5

CULTURE

CURATING CONSISTANCY AFTER PANDEMIC CLOSURES, ART IS RETURNING TO FILL NEW GALLERIES

BY EMILY COX

Don’t call it a comeback, but after a pandemic that has been going on for what feels like 20 years—and a rash of art space closures before that—it’s refreshing to report that four new artist-run galleries have opened in Kansas City this year.

The physical spaces and philosophies behind Troost Gardens, Lodger, Sapien Gallery, and The Ekru Project are diverse. But they are all run by artists who are driven by a desire to see the arts and artists thrive in our city.

This brings us to the heart of the matter, the question that each artist space must continue to ask itself: How can Kansas City have a thriving, independent art scene, when the community’s spaces are so tenuous, and the people running them don’t have the material resources they need to sustain themselves and bring visions to life?

RJ Junger completed their degree at Kansas City Art Institute in the cursed semester of spring 2020. When they were searching for a studio after graduation, a friend tipped them off to the little-known Erie Building, north of the river.

As they toured the studio spaces converted from old offices, they noticed one in the middle that wouldn’t necessarily be a good studio. But, they decided the space was perfect for a gallery project.

“I left and I was at Harry’s Bar & Tables with my friend Scout in the beginning of summer, and was talking about how it would be so cool to be able to do what I’m passionate about—to really have an inquiry and try to answer these questions about showing work and making work and cataloguing Kansas City,” says Junger. “My friend Scout was like, ‘Okay then why don’t you just do it?’”

So Junger did. They had seen many artist studios and DIY spaces dry up during their junior year, and had been grappling with the questions posed by art school.

“What does it mean to make work?

What are people thinking about the role of art right now? And instead of just wondering about [these questions], and getting frustrated, really attacking it in multiple forms and ways,” Junger says.

They are particularly interested in curating group shows, which Junger sees as one answer to what’s missing in the city right now.

Solo shows may reach that artist’s immediate circle. They may be an opportunity

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THE PITCH | December 2021 | thepitchkc.com

to express what they want to say. But Junger is interested in creating conversations between artists.

“When I was really thinking about it,” they continue, “I was like we really need to be connecting national and international artists with really great artists in Kansas City and have them be in the same conversation.”

Before the gallery opened its first show in July, Junger got involved with a curator roundtable run by Kevin Umaña and Emily Reinhardt of The Ekru Project. Brandon Forrest Frederick, an artist and curator who was leaving town for grad school, asked Junger if they wanted all his leftover gear from running his now-closed space, Open House.

“It was amazing to have so much community support in the beginning,” says Junger. Those resources of lights and paint and moral support eased the obstacles of launching a space.

That curator roundtable-turned-support group facilitated by The Ekru Project is integral to their efforts to support the art scene in Kansas City.

“We share contacts, we share resources, we pump each other up. We’re just that group you can count on for whatever you need,” says Reinhardt. “It’s been a really exciting opportunity to meet a lot of people, and to realize that these other artist-run galleries and organizations are facing the same struggles we are.”

One of the motivations behind their

Pivot @ Beco 2. L to R Fredy Gabuarrdy, Francisco Gabuardy.

COURTESY LODGER

Top: The “Mazes, Microcosm, Mitosis” installation in The Ekru Project. Above Left: Emily Reinhardt of The Ekru Project. Above Right: Kevin Umana of The Ekru Project.

ALEX SKORIJA

roundtable is to improve the arts community here.

“How do we make Kansas City a city that artists want to plant roots and stay?

There’s no MFA program here, there’s no secondary step for an art student to continue their career and plant themselves here,” says Reinhardt. “We want to create the space and the type of community with opportunities for people to say, ‘Kansas City is where I want to build my art career.’”

Umaña poses a similar question: “How do we encourage people to come here and stay here and give to the community, rather than take?” Umaña himself is a New York City transplant now committed to Kansas City.

Ekru began as an online curation project when Reinhardt and Umaña were in a long-distance relationship. The couple had been planning on Reinhardt moving to New York City to unite with Umaña there. But as for everyone, COVID-19 changed those plans. When the pandemic began, Umaña figured, “I’ll hide out in Kansas City until this flu dies out. And then...I never left.”

Reinhardt picks up the story, “Simultaneously with your decision to move here, this space became available. We had kind of started The Ekru Project when we were dating long distance as this online curatorial, just sharing artists and their work, and then when this space became available—well, the lights are here, there’s walls, let’s turn it into a real gallery. Everything has been very ‘go with the flow.”’

The Ekru Project shares a brick Crossroads building with Duet, a shop run by Re-

inhardt and her business partner Sasha Santillan, as well as Reinhardt’s ceramics studio housed in the back of the space. Umaña keeps a studio in the building basement.

A huge perk of the combined space is that it is more approachable and accessible than many small, separate galleries. They have open hours most days of the week.

Those that come in to browse the shop can stumble upon the gallery and vice versa, in a symbiotic relationship.

“We have more gallery hours because we’re always here,” says Umaña. “My studio’s in the basement, Emily’s studio is here.

Even when we’re closed, if someone shows an interest in the window, we’re like, ‘Come on in!’”

While Reinhardt has been established in Kansas City for a decade with her ceramics business under the name The Object Enthusiast, Umaña isn’t letting being new to Kansas City slow him down.

Facilitating the curator roundtable, meeting with city officials, attending panels—Umaña wants to do whatever he can to build up the Kansas City arts community.

“We need to support each other because there have been so many artist-run galleries that have closed in recent years,” Umaña says. “I don’t want that because I’m invested in the Kansas City art scene. Coming from New York, I want this art scene to succeed. It deserves some recognition on the map.”

Reinhardt talks about how they want to both elevate local artists and bring artists from elsewhere into the conversation here.

“We want to support the local, under-

CULTURE represented, emerging artists who deserve a space, but we also want to bring in some fresh air, some new work to Kansas City that doesn’t get shown here,” Reinhardt says.

“Your peers and all the people you’ve met in larger cities, just like artists here, don’t have places to show, and they also probably have never shown in the Midwest.”

The Ekru Project’s inaugural exhibition, Equilibrium, which opened in January 2021 featured artists from the Midwest, both coasts, Mexico, and Canada. After the sticker shock of shipping all that art back to the artists, they pivoted and followed Equilibrium up with shows featuring only local artists.

Ekru is facing the same questions of sustainability as every artist-run, nonprofit, or DIY gallery.

“You’re on a hamster wheel all the time,” says Reinhardt, “trying to make enough to pay for the space and to pay for the shipping [for artworks]. That doesn’t include us in there anywhere, that’s just keeping the lights on.”

Umaña and Reinhardt do not make a salary from running the gallery. Instead, they are funding it out of their own pocket.

“It feels like we’re doing amazing work and cultivating this sort of art scene, but in another way, how do we keep going without going broke?” Umaña says. “We’re working really hard in finding those answers.”

“We’re not trying to get rich, we’re just trying to keep art alive in Kansas City,” Reinhardt adds.

Without proper funding, their visions for the space sometimes have to be scaled down.

“We’ve had to hold back on what kind of shows we want to go towards because we can’t afford those kinds of shows,” says Umaña.

Junger at Sapien echoed those limitations. Junger pays the gallery’s $200 per month rent out of their own pocket. Other gallery needs are self-funded or sourced from friends.

“Every time there’s an opening, people talk about, ‘What’s the next thing you want to do?’” Junger would like to put a big vinyl statement on the wall for a show. But that’s expensive.

“I’m not afforded that opportunity to really enhance and put this work on the national stage with other projects,” says Junger.”

Craig Auge, who runs Lodger, likewise operates on a shoestring.

“I am attempting to stage these exhibits at little to zero cost, and what expenses are incurred are out-of-pocket,” says Auge. “But that is also part of the punk rock spirit of the thing. Use what you have and lean into the raw, unconventional nature of it. And constant awareness that all is temporary.”

Ephemerality is part of what Lodger is.

“The whole idea behind the name ‘Lodger’ was that these pop-ups would show up like unexpected, yet welcome guests at

various sites. It might be domestic, it might be very public; it might stay for a few days, it might stay for a month.”

Facing the closures of recent years, along with a desire to support local artists, and a need to have a curatorial outlet, that affinity for art in unexpected places birthed Lodger.

“I always loved what some people call a ‘pop-up,’ going back to when I was a teenager, staging exhibits and performances in vacant retail spaces, offices, and old dance studios,” Auge says.

Lodger’s current exhibit, A Little Undefined, is on display through Dec. 18 at Agnes Arts. Like the Erie Building up north, Agnes Arts is also a building of studios that features a gallery up front—the gallery in Agnes’ case being Plug. But for the time being, a second gallery, Lodger, has appeared in the building.

After checking out what Plug has on display, you can wander down the corridor of artist studios, following signs pointing you towards Lodger, which inhabits two unfinished studios. In the center, a Bluetooth speaker plays jazz underneath a piece by text-based artist Donald Pruitt that says, “jazz is playing.”

Stumbling upon this space evokes a sense of enchantment and sacredness. On the unpainted drywall and cinder block walls there’s an esoteric mix of artworks, some lower and higher on the wall, drawing your eyes up and down, small pieces drawing you in close. You may find yourself with a light of curiosity in your belly; you may find yourself gasping at the whimsy, at the textures. This is the vital gift of artist-run spaces.

And it is the particular magic of Lodger.

“I want Lodger to show up in unexpected places,” says Auge. Ultimately, I want to exhibit art where art (with a capital ‘A’)

might not usually exist. I would like viewers to have the feeling of stumbling upon something by accident, to feel perhaps confused, but enlivened by it.”

Seeing expected art in expected places may do a disservice to both artist and viewer. Lodger challenges us to see art anew, to break out of the bounds of expectation.

Compared to a typical, established whitewalled gallery where everything feels overwrought and overdetermined, Lodger offers some breathing room for imaginative connections to bloom.

“I want to be a resource for underrepresented and emerging artists. I want to show artists who have passion and drive, and help them get to whatever their ‘next level’ is, regardless of experience, age, or connections to the ‘scene,’” Auge says. “I want to mix up the conversation, to show seasoned artists next to artists just starting out, students alongside professors, MFAs with outsiders, neurodivergent artists, locals with internationals, all backgrounds, and stations.”.

He masterfully brings together unexpected artists to create a room full of treasures, all elevated in their relationship to one another. It is refreshing to see not just artists from Kansas City exhibited alongside artists from Luxembourg and Florida, but also to see neurodivergent artists exhibited alongside neuronormative ones.

“To me, creating an exhibit is often like creating one big collage, one poem, or story,” Auge says. “I hope it can help artists see their work in a new, unexpected way, so they can move the work forward.” The stories he is creating are transformational.

For some such as Auge, sustainability of Kansas City’s art scene doesn’t necessarily mean the longevity of any particular project, but an environment where these projects are given rich soil in which to grow.

“Whether Lodger, as a curatorial project, is still around in a few years...who

Above Left: “Sunshine and Shadow.” Above Right: Sally Paul and Billy Fowks of Troost Gardens.

knows. But I hope that it inspires more artists to embrace the do-it-yourself mentality,” says Auge. “There had been a lot of artist-run spaces in KC closing, and there was an opportunity. You sort of say to yourself, ‘Who is going to do something next?’ and then I started to think, ‘It can be me.’”

All of these artists who have opened spaces this year had a similar reckoning: they wanted something to happen for Kansas City artists, and so they took that mantle and made it happen.

“Sometimes you have to make it happen yourself rather than wait for it to happen to you,” says Umaña of The Ekru Project.

Like Sapien north of the river, Troost Gardens is outside of the familiar Crossroads scene. First Friday is showing itself to be less relevant for artist-run galleries and more of a tourist attraction for outsiders.

Even Ekru, which is in the Crossroads, has decided to forego First Friday openings—so the directors are free to attend other openings and connect what’s happening in their neighborhood. Opening shows on other nights creates an environment where the attendees are actually deliberately there to see the show—rather than stumbling in on their way to a bar.

“We are sort of off the beaten path,” says Sally Paul of Troost Gardens. “We are a destination gallery. I think there’s an appetite for looking at art where people want to come out.”

Sally Paul bought the Troost Gardens building with her partner (in both life and gallery), Billy Fowks. Fowks is from Kansas City and convinced Paul they should move here from New York in 2019. Paul worked in education at The Museum of Modern Art in NYC and planned to recreate a similar career in Kansas City.

But once here, she says, “I found I had more time to work on art and more headspace. We wanted to find a way to become

MAX ROHN

thepitchkc.com | December 2021 | THE PITCH

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more involved in the art community here.”

They bought their building and transformed it from a little warren of offices into an open, 1,500 square foot, white-walled gallery space.

“One of the things that I really love about Kansas City is it really feels like things are possible here,” says Paul. “New York, it can be very inspiring, but it can also be very challenging and expensive and dog-eat-dog and competitive. There’s something about Kansas City that just makes opportunities feel attainable.”

Similarly to all the other gallery directors we spoke to, Paul is explicitly interested in curating group exhibitions.

“That’s another sort of motivation we have, to bring in artists we know from other places, and have them in conversation with artists from Kansas City; to bring in new artists into the rich conversation that’s already happening here,” Paul says. “One of my inspirations is the Nerman Museum.

I really love their program. They’ll choose such a great piece from somebody’s studio and then mix that with something that’s happening in Chelsea. I feel like it really elevates what’s happening in the Kansas City art scene in this interesting way. That’s sort of aspirational.”

While there has historically been a trend of talented people leaving Kansas City for bigger cities, there has been an exponential growth of the KC metro area according to the most recent U.S. census. In short, there might now be some flow back into our community. Two of the curators we spoke with, Sally Paul of Troost Gardens and Kevin Umaña of Ekru, are recent transplants from New York who have been invigorated by what they’ve found here.

“I think a lot of artists moved out of New York during the pandemic,” says Paul.

“I think it’s really healthy for the country to have the spread of ideas and culture. And I think once artists get to cities where there’s a lower cost of living, they really appreciate some of the benefits of that.”

Paul continues, “I just think people have more time here. And one of the things that pays off is relationships with neighbors and community.”

That time is critical for art practice, too, says RJ Junger.

“Artists really need time and low rent affords that time. Cheap, accessible spaces afford you the space to think about your ideas.”

Ask any practicing artist in Kansas City what is needed to support a thriving art scene in Kansas City, and most of them will bring up the rising housing prices, and the need to keep space accessible—to both live and work in.

“People don’t want to pay $900 per month rent. People want to live somewhere they can live,” says Junger.

Artists and gallery directors and cu-

rators put so much of their time, energy, and money into creating the Kansas City art scene. Without support from the beneficiaries—Kansas City locals—everyone will suffer.

“We’re putting so much of ourselves and so much of our own money into this,” says Junger. “And the city will benefit. The city will talk about how Kansas City is such an arts city and how that’s such a huge draw.

They’ll just use us, and use our resources, and then increase our rent. And that’s just going to annihilate everything that’s going on. And that’s going to keep people from being able to start their own projects.”

Those artist contributions—not only their artworks, but the work they do in building and creating spaces and community—needs to be honored and materially supported.

And artists are working to get the city’s attention. At the end of November, six artist-run galleries—Beco, Curiouser, Ekru, Plug, Sapien, and Troost Gardens—collaborated on a one-day public art event in Gillham Park.

While in the process of planning the event, Umaña says, “We’ll try to invite directors of institutions and city people to come and see what is possible and to take these galleries seriously. We’re here to stay, we’re not going anywhere, and we’re going to try our best to continue this growth so it doesn’t fade out. I do feel like we’re on the precipice of a renaissance, and it does feel amazing to be a part of it.”

He continues, “We do want to stay here a long time. We want the city to survive.

We’re encouraging people to come here and visit and fall in love with it.”’

In 2019, there was anguish and grief, not only over losing spaces like The Drugstore, KunstraumKC, Front/Space, and Open House, but at the possibility of losing the very vitality that made Kansas City home for so many artists.

The quiet, tumultuous days of the pandemic had people moving across the country, assessing their priorities, and deciding: if not me, then who? If not now, then when?

The Kansas City art community isn’t just something that springs out of nothing.

There are faces and names that are ensuring this vital part of our culture doesn’t wither and die, and instead, are planting seeds, watering and tending them, putting their blood sweat, and tears into that soil to grow things that will nourish the rest of us.

When you meet Auge, Junger, Paul, Reinhardt, and Umaña: thank them. Donate to their projects. Bring your friends. Be grateful for what we have now, and ask yourself what you can do to make Kansas City better for art and those who create it.

When you find yourself thinking, ‘I really wish we had _____ here!’ make it your responsibility to bring it into being. We’re ready for your visions to come true.

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thepitchkc.com | December 2021 | THE PITCH

9

CULTURE

BY THE PITCH STAFF, ILLUSTRATIONS BY ENRIQUE ZABALA

S o m e h ow, against all odds, the holidays are upon us again. We’re not fully out of our hidey-holes, and yet we’re probably expected to return to the normal flow of gift giving.

If you’re trying to figure out how to cross names off your list, we have a guide of The Pitch’s personal recommendations for what to put a bow on. While we always advocate for shopping local in these holiday guides, this is the first year where it might be your only option. Global supply chains are collapsing and your uncle who intended to shop at Target is getting none of the shit he hoped to grab.

But local creators are here to make sure you have everything you need.

There’s never been a better time to support your friends and neighbors, all while giving everyone on your list the most memorable gift of their 2021 holiday season.

LOCAL CREATORS, MAKERS, AND ARTISTS Obviously, you can’t go wrong buying from local creators. These listings are the perfect starting point for that person in your life who is nearly impossible to shop for. Don’t just settle for getting them a candle or yet another succulent when you could get them something they didn’t even know they wanted, but find they can’t live without.

Shop Local KC | shoplocalkc.com | 3630 Main Street

Here’s one of the easiest places to start when it comes to sourcing gifts from local creators.

Shop Local KC is a retail gift and flower shop with a curated online catalog, brought to us by the organizer of The Strawberry Swing.

Flowers? A rotating selection of to-die-for treats? Home goods and décor? Jewelry? KC

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THE PITCH | December 2021 | thepitchkc.com

pride gear? Cute knick-knacks that make for perfect stocking stuffers? They’ve got it all.

Sustainable PAPER+CRAFT | etsy. com/shop/KelseyPike | sustainablepapercraft. com

There are endless present configurations to be gifted from KCAI alum Kelsey Pike’s handmade paper and custom rubber stamp offerings on her Etsy. Freshen up your approach to gifting plants with sprouting seed faces—plant these faces made of paper pulp and they’ll sprout soon enough. Alternatively, purchase a stationary set for a snail mail fan, or use it to write your own holiday cards. You could also get your giftee a two-hour papermaking lesson, for the person who would love getting their hands in the pulp.

Boozy Botanicals | boozybotanicals.com

High Desert Turquoise may have officially launched in 2020, but it had its origins as a thriving eBay store where proprietor Aunt Suzie sold Native American jewelry for years. Now, the store is a fair wages retailer for Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni jewelry-makers, offering a variety of goods including accessories, bracelets, necklaces, and rings. 20% of all sales go back to the indigenous community—the current beneficiary is Navajo and Hopi COVID-19 Relief. Above: Photo

by Lauren Hughes. every good boy does fine by Calvin Arsenia | Buy on bookshop.org

Dedicated to “those who have been held captive / by individuals or institutions / that claim to offer freedom,” every good boy does fine is local singer, songwriter, and harpist Calvin Aresnia’s first book. A hybrid poetry/ essay collection published by local press Andrews McMeel, the book explores Arsenia’s upbringing as a queer person in Christianity and his liberating love of music. It’s perfect for poetry fans, the Arsenia fanperson in your life, or people who just feel really deeply.

Torn Label Fountain Water Mix Pack | 1708 Campbell

We’d all feel over the moon if someone felt like gifting us a Fountain Water Mix Pack.

Torn Label’s seltzers are top of the line, and are never accompanied by that weird medicine-y aftertaste. This is an excellent option for the people in your life who like to party, but also don’t particularly like beer. What’s better than drinking? Drinking with friends where everyone has something for their flavor palette. Inspired by their IPA High Tai, the Fountain Water Seltzers were brewed with cherry, lime, and almond—at an effective 5% ABV. Go ahead and claim all the cherry limeades while you can.

BEVERAGES, BOOZES, AND OTHER ASSORTED LIQUIDS Beverages come and go, but the nights that they lead to among friends are memorable forever (at least most of the time). Here’s a few options for those friends who need to take a little edge off around the holidays.

Maybe they’ll let you split it with them. The more the merrier.

High Desert Turquoise | highdesertturquoise.com

good as it feels going down, and it’s hard to go wrong for most bourbon fans with this one. But also, consider that gin.

KC is blessed to be the home of Boozy Botanicals—a set of syrups that allow you to punch up any drink at home, or go full mad scientist on something much more complicated. These infused syrups will take your home bar to another level. By adding just a touch of Boozy, you can elevate your favorite cocktail with new flavor or put a unique twist on a classic cocktail. You can also add Boozy to yogurt, ice cream, and fresh fruit— an ideal addition to your favorite smoothie.

Use Boozy in marinades, salad dressings, sautées, and baked goods to add unique flavor profiles to your favorite recipes.

Tom’s Town Royal Gold Bourbon | tomstown.com | 1701 Main St

While Tom’s Town has yet to concoct a liquor that we haven’t fallen head over heels in love with, the Royal Gold Burbon is probably the best gift you can offer up to the boozehound in your life. While our personal favorite right now is the barrel-aged gin, that’s certainly not the most approachable one for the general public. The Royal Gold bears Boss Tom Pendergrast’s name on an exceptionally designed bottle. It’s an enchanting blend of vanilla, caramelized sugar, pleasant oak, and stone fruits. It looks as

Soulcentricitea | soulcentricitea.com | 1106 E 30 St., Suite E

Over on Troost, you can find 54 flavors of loose tea, tea lattes, herbal lemonade, and coffee drinks under one roof. This social hub also serves as the home to a take a book/ leave a book community library, and a hub for local progressive organizers. While not the boozy adventure represented by the rest of the list, an afternoon at Soulcentricitea is infinitely more important. As French philosopher Muriel Barbery says: “When tea becomes ritual it takes its place at the heart of our ability to see greatness in small things.” Truly, Soulcentricitea is a tearoom with soul. Above: Photo by Brad Williams.

Black Squirrel from Cinder Block | cinderblockbrewery.com

When Cinder Block got started in the Northland back in 2013, they were working on a Bourbon Barrel Russian Imperial Stout.

An error in their brewing system caused the vats to keep dumping food-grade glycol in the alley behind their building. Which became the obsession of a family of black squirrels living back there. Now, those delightfully gluttonous rodents are the namesake of a big, delicious stout that only gets released once a year in December. It’s available in extremely limited quantities and special packaging, so race to get some of these while you can.

CULTURE

FOR THOSE WHO JUST WANT TO EAT There is inevitably a person in your life who is constantly hunting down the best meal they can find or the next hot thing on the dining scene. Luckily, Kansas City has a lot to offer in that department without you having to resort to gift cards. Candy, pickles, shrubs, cocktail kits, sweets, and locally raised beef are all at your disposal when it comes to Kansas City-centric food gifts.

KC Cattle Company | kccattlecompany. com

Patrick Montgomery started KC Cattle Company to serve people the highest quality meat possible. This veteran-owned company ethically raises American and hybrid wagyu cattle in a stress-free environment.

The beef is antibiotic and hormone-free, and all protein is sourced from farms with ethical practices. KC Cattle Co. also has eight different gift packages with a variety of meats available just in time for the holidays.

Kansas City Canning Co. | kansascitycanningco.com

Pickled vegetables, preserves, and cocktail goods are Kansas City Canning Co.’s speciality. Using locally sourced produce and products, the company creates a wide selection of sustainable canned goods. A wide range of pickles is just the start at KC Canning Co. Their creative bloody mary mix, shrubs, and spreads are the unique offerings you cannot find anywhere else.

order yourself a pack just to be safe.

Chamoy Boi | chamoyboikc.com

You may have seen Chamoy Boi at various pop-ups around the city or tasted the flavors of chamoy in Mexican candy. Traditional chamoy is made of salted pickled sour fruit that’s mixed with chiles. It can come in many forms, mainly as a sauce or powder, and has a tangy flavor that is all at once savory, sweet, salty, spicy, and sour. Chamoy Boi is bringing the flavors of Chamoy (which was brought to Mexico by Chinese immigrants) to KC by covering everything from gushers to dried mango to peach rings in the stuff.

Order these in bulk, because there can never be enough.

FOR THE HOME CHEF There are those who love to cook almost as much as they love to eat—and they love to eat. Cooking a great meal is one thing, but cooking a great meal using local ingredients is on another level. Many places around the metro offer produce and pantry staples for all the burgeoning chefs out there. This list is your way to ensure that they’re cooking and eating local.

life always has access to fresh, local produce.

There are many great CSAs around Kansas City, but our favorite is from KC Farm School. You can purchase a full 30-week All Seasons Share or select which season works best for you. You receive organic vegetables, recipes, and the occasional goodies from other KC farmers. There are also add-on options for local dairy, eggs, bread, meat, and more. Even better? Delivery is an option.

Ibis Flour | ibisbakery.com

Ibis Bakery is taking KC by storm with its artisan breads and pastries. Because of the commodity grain infrastructure in the U.S., most flour is untraceable—even though we live close to wheat fields. Ibis is one of the bakeries leading the effort to change that.

They mill flour on site, and now sell it to customers (if you can get a bag in time). Ask for some sourdough starter too, you just might be lucky enough to snag some.

Local Pig | localpig.com | 20 E 5 St.

Local Pig always has a wide selection of chicken, pork, and beef from local farms.

Beyond the staples, the butcher shop rotates in seasonal favorites and has everything you need for a good charcuterie board. They also offer hands-on classes on Sunday afternoons to learn up close and personal how to prepare a charcuterie board, make sausage, and whole hog butchering.

FOR THE ONES WHO ARE ALWAYS LOOKING TO SPRUCE UP THEIR WARDROBE

dise for every season or mood. You can find everything from Louis Vuitton to Uniqlo to rare vintage pieces, all highly discounted from their original prices.

Whitney Manney | whitneymanney.com | 1017 W 29th St.

If you haven’t already heard of Whitney Manney, it’s never too late to join her fan club. Manney’s label creates ready-to-wear clothing based on street art and “the effects of cultural movements on the current urban landscape.” WM’s collections are colorful and inspired. Any piece from her is sure to become a show-stopping staple in you or your giftee’s wardrobe.

Civic Saint | civicsaint.com

In his late twenties, Godfrey Riddle was diagnosed with several kinds of rare cancer.

During his treatment, he unexpectedly lost both of his parents. When he picked the pieces of his life back up, he knew that he needed to create something that would help our community—long after he or any other one person were gone. This was the birth of Civic Saint, a clothing line that shares all of its profits with community organizing groups and non-profits. Check out their line-up of incredible apparel in their online store. Give a gift that you can tell the recipient has already paid its way forward.

Three KC | threekcclothingco.com

Brendan Curran, a former high school friend of Jason Sudeikis, watched as the Ted Lasso star struggled to answer a reporter’s question about the best place for BBQ in KC—an exceptionally loaded question that The Pitch has made a policy to stop pushing people on.

We all know the person who is constantly up to date on the newest trends. They’re always in need of a new clothing haul and somewhere unique to shop. These local stores and designers will have exactly what they’re wanting and ensure that they stand out in a crowd.

Avec Moi Sweets | avec-moi-sweets. square.site

If you’ve ever tried to make a macaron, you understand how hard it is to create a well-crafted, delicious version of this iconic dessert. Avec Moi Sweets is where you should go when your at-home macaron project inevitably fails (or, honestly, before you even start). This pop-up and online-order shop is constantly coming out with new and unforgettable flavors. The Christmas variety packs have over 15 flavors to choose from. If you’re lucky, whoever you’re gifting these sweets to will share a bite—but maybe

Pryde’s Kitchen & Necessities | prydeskitchen.com | 115 Westport Rd

Pryde’s has been a staple for kitchen goods since 1968. With over 10,000 square feet, you can find almost anything you need for baking and cooking. The store is also home to the Midwest’s largest selection of Fiestaware. From the newest trends in culinary tools to the classics, Pryde’s is sure to have what you’re looking for.

KC Farm School at Gibbs Road CSA | kcfarmschool.org | 4223 Gibbs Rd

Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) are great ways to ensure that the cook in your

Daisy Lee Vintage | daisyleevintage. com | 11795 W. 95th St at Oak Park Mall

Daisy Lee has a constant rotation of clothing at its two locations (the Crossroads and Oak Park Mall) to please any vintage lover. Denim, cropped shirts, sweaters, and other casual staples line the walls alongside unique dresses and jumpsuits. Pick out a piece just for them or get a gift card—with frequent sales, it’s always a good thing to have on hand.

Clothz Minded | clothzminded.com | 4115 Pennsylvania Ave.

Clothz Minded has been a secondhand staple in Westport since 2010. Owner Nicole Ortega is constantly buying new merchanthepitchkc.com | December 2021 | THE PITCH

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CULTURE Sudeikis’ middle-of-theroad answer yielded a graphic tee that reads ‘JoeArthur GateStack’ with a pig directly in the center. Only a Sudeikis/Lasso type of guy would find a way to take the city’s most divisive question and find a twist that celebrates everyone. For anyone who is a fan of the most awarded TV comedy in history—or just a pal who hates committal answers—this is the perfect gift.

KEEP YOUR PANDEMIC HOBBIES ALIVE We all needed something to pass the time during lockdown, bur it would be a huge loss for you to drop the new parts of your personality that you spent the last two years developing. Here’s a few options for keeping those fires stoked.

Board Games at TableTop | tabletopgameandhobby.com | 9156 Metcalf Ave

Many of us bought board games during the pandemic, forgetting how few of those you can play without people with whom you couldn’t share space. Or maybe you Googled for one-to-two player titles that weren’t up to snuff. Or maybe you joined a D&D game online with friends that you can now play in person. Whatever the case, it’s time to take your game up a level. For all of those needs, we suggest hitting up TableTop. Art Classes with Michael Schliefke | schliefkevision.com/art-classes/

We see you, reader who started dabbling with a colored pencil or brush in 2020. The time has come to finally develop those art skills further. There are many great options around town; we’d like to highlight Michael Schliefke. He’s designed sets for the Lyric Opera among his two-decade work in the city. The artist hosts in-person and virtual classes ranging from large groups to one-on-one. A class for yourself, or a friend, will help achieve that full artist potential.

Skate Gear from Legacy Skates | legacyskateskc.com | 601 Madison Ave.

Many of us got out those old skates gathering dust last year—now you can give your fellow skate-enthusiasts some great gear. Get groovy with

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THE PITCH | December 2021 | thepitchkc.com

some flower-shaped brake pedals, neon LED outdoor wheels, or bright red cherry toe stops.

With an array of brand new skates, socks, hardware, and protective gear, their offerings are seemingly endless.

Yarn Social | yarnsocialkc.com | 1707 W 45th St.

Yarn Social is the up-and-coming destination for you local yarn-lovers. Browse their extensive selection of patterns, yarn-themed magazines, and, of course, expertly spun and dyed skeins. For those new to the yarn game, Yarn Social offers “1:1 help” and group classes for folks aged 16 and up.

GOODIES THAT YOUR SPECIAL SOMEONE(S) WILL VIBE WITH It’s no secret that we as a nation have been having way more sex in the last couple of years thanks to the pandemic. So, how about you up your game this holiday season?

Whether you want to try some new kink gear out with your play partner, or get your spouse a lingerie set that will make them feel like a hot commodity, we’ve got something for every spice and comfort level.

MADI Apparel | madiapparel.com

MADI’s tagline of “ethical fashion that makes a difference” says it all. What started out as an intimates and underwear-focused endeavor has now grown into an online shop offering athleisure, sweatsuits, and limited home goods. Yet, they still excel when it comes to their natural underwear made with sustainable fabric by local artisans and sewers. For each item sold, they donate a pair of underwear to a domestic violence or houseless shelter.

Birdies Panties | birdiespanties.com | 116 W 18th St.

This lingerie shop’s approach to outfitting you is just about as sexy as the pieces themselves. With a focus on body diversity, Birdies supplies a variety of designer and independent pieces that will l e a v e your giftee feeling empowered and authentic

in their own skin. Ranging from panties and bras to manties, their monthly subscription packages are an ideal gift for your committed engagements. Testing the new relationship waters? Birdies’ gift card options are equally fantastic. Below left: Photo by Riley Donaldson; model is Akotski Riak.

Open the Doors Coaching Session | openthedoorscoaching.com | kristen@openthedoorscoaching.com

We would trust Kristen Thomas, author of our Keep Them Coming column and certified sex coach, with our (sex) lives, and think you should, too. As part of her business, Open The Doors Coaching, she offers confidential and personalized sessions on dating and sex, couples and relationships, alternative lifestyles, and life coaching. Get your bestie that won’t stop complaining about Tinder a session on navigating dating apps, or schedule a time to talk about that kink that you and your partner have been wanting to explore for years, but have been too scared to try.

Kat Guillermo’s Sexuality-Oriented Art | guillermokaterina.wixsite.com/portfolio | @katerina.guillermo on IG

Turn sex into high art for the holidays. You can commission a sexy piece, or get an NFT from Kat Guillermo. Whether you want your partner to have an illustration of your thong-clad booty, or they think you’d look hot as a leather daddy, Kat can make your naughty art dreams come true. unLESHed+ Resale | 4243 Troost Ave | shopunleshed.com

Take your love to unLESHed Plus Size Resale for a holiday dress they’ll feel sexy as hell wearing, while also being environmentally conscious. Owner Alesha Bowman takes pride in sourcing pieces that ensure everybody can express themselves through fashion.

FOR THE PEOPLE WHO NEED TO TREAT THEMSELVES It’s been a year. No matter the personality of who you’re shopping for, we all need to treat ourselves. Help them get their skin in shape, relax with a candle, or relax with something a bit stronger.

Either way, a self-care gift should be on everyone’s list this year.

Untamed Supply | untamedsupply.com | 131 S Water St.

This trans-owned candle shop in Lib-

erty, MO, sells 100% soy-wax candles and other small gifts. Their scents are long-lasting, creative, and true to the descriptions.

The candles come in all different sizes, so you can find the perfect one for your giftee’s space and desires. Plus if you have a favorite container, Untamed Supply will pour your chosen scent into it for an extra-special gift.

CBD at Midtown Kava | 1415 W 39th St.

Perhaps you’re shopping for someone who just needs the chill the F out. CBD is a pretty great option, especially with so many options in flavors and dosages. Our recommendation is to check out the women-owned Midtown Kava. There’s something for everyone here, reasonable prices, and even options for dogs and cats.

Hand and Land | handandland.com | 3216 Gillham Plaza

Head to Midtown for everything you need for self-care products. Makeup, soaps, homegoods, clothing, skincare, and pantry supplies line the shelves of Hand and Land. The store itself is a calming environment that invites shoppers to find what they might need, even if it’s not what they came in for. If that weren’t enough, they also offer a range of spa services—including a range of sauna packages.

The Facial Bar | facialbarkc.com | 307 E 9 St.; 16559 W 151 St.

Everyone needs the glow a facial provides, especially as we slog through winter. The Facial Bar offers a range of services with trained estheticians. Their services are quick and more affordable than the average cost of a facial. With everything from customizable facials to lash lifts and waxing, The Facial Bar is sure to have the self-care gift you’re looking for.

CULTURE

DREIDEL SKIRTS FIGHT BUBBE’S MOUSE THE JEWISH NUTCRACKER BOWS ON DEC. 12 BY BETH LIPOFF

4144 PENNSYLVANIA AVE

Move over, sugar plums, because latkes, sufganiyot, and gelt are taking their turn on center stage this holiday season. The Land of Sweets is switching to the Land of Nosh as the Jewish Community Center hosts its very own production of The Jewish Nutcracker Dec. 12.

The production will feature students from high school seniors to toddlers who attend dance classes through The J’s studio, Encore! Dance, Acro + Tumbling. Although they’ve had this idea for years, this is the first time the school is presenting the production.

Maggie Osgood Nicholls, director Encore! at The J, wrote the show herself. She’s directing it alongside Caroline Ivison.

“We just adapted the Nutcracker and put a Jewish twist on it with a lot of nods to Jewish traditions. We worked together with our Jewish life and learning program and our Family Engagement [team], and we’re hoping to eventually grow this into a regular tradition here at The J,” Osgood Nicholls says.

A good part of the framework is similar to the classic Nutcracker, but the details are all different. It starts off with the main character Rebecca going to a party at her bubbe’s (grandma’s) house.

Later, she meets characters such as the Shamash, named for the middle candle on a menorah that lights the others, and Mother Latke. The Land of Nosh has everything from jelly donuts to chocolate coins, and Maccabee soldiers step in to fight the mouse army alongside the Nutcracker.

Maren, 16, is playing the Nutcracker and loves the new tweaks to the story.

“I think the best change is that the relationship between Clara and the Nutcracker in the original show is romanticized, and in our show, it’s more of a friendship between Rebecca and the Nutcracker, which is really fun,” Maren says. “It really makes the battle feel like it’s a group piece. Instead of someone fighting for love, it’s fighting for friendship.”

Ballet is part of this show, but it’s not the whole thing. The battle between the Nutcracker and the Mouse King features tap dancing, and there’s a hip-hop battle between applesauce and sour cream to be the supreme latke condiment. Add some jazz-dancing dreidels, and you get the picture.

Of course, innovation isn’t always easy.

The costumes alone were a little hard to come by.

“There aren’t a lot of Jewish Nutcracker costumes out there, so we’ve had to pull

GET OUT The Jewish Nutcracker Sunday, Dec. 12, 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., $10, White Theatre at the Jewish Community Center, 5801 W. 115th Street together a lot of pieces from Amazon and dance company websites, and that has been pretty challenging, but it’s been a fun challenge,” Maren says.

“It’s a creative collaboration with a lot of individuals. I’m currently sewing a Shamash costume in my office right now, and then the head of the theater is sewing and creating 50 dreidel skirts for me as well,” Osgood Nicholls says.

Both Osgood Nicholls and Maren say the effort is worth it to transform this idea into an actual show after years of conversations.

In a holiday season that can feel like it’s only about Christmas, having a way for the dance students to perform in a festive show with Jewish themes is a unique opportunity.

“Hanukkah isn’t the biggest holiday that happens in the Jewish religion, but it is a holiday that happens when there’s so much going on, and it’s fun to have something that belongs to us as well,” Osgood Nicholls says. thepitchkc.com | December 2021 | THE PITCH

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SPORTS

SHADOWBOXING EPPERSON & FERRELL ARE THE BUTTERFLY & THE BEE BY TYLER SCHNEIDER

Brijhana Epperson is just 12 years old, but she is already the only female Kansas City boxer in history to claim gold in a USA National Boxing Championship.

A Junior Olympic champion among a pile of additional accolades, Brijhana’s nickname, “The Boxing Ballerina,” is both self-explanatory and an accurate description of her approach to the sport.

Her training partner, 26-year-old Moragen Ferrell, didn’t start her own boxing career until she was 20 years old. Now she’s tied for fourth in the USA Boxing Elite Women’s Rankings at 152 pounds and a silver medalist at the 2021 Golden Glove National Championships. Ferrell is looking for much greater success following a hospital stint earlier this year—a setback that left her unable to raise her arms above her shoulders for a time.

The story of how the pair met and became friends—and how Brijhana’s father, Courtney Epperson—helped foster a sisterly bond ultimately led Ferrell to leave her hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her pursuit of bigger and better brought her, of all places, to Independence, Missouri. City Life Boxing Club is hidden there, and so is the key to her future.

The potential of the gym is unmistakable, a worthy match for Courtney, who coaches his children and Ferrell in this 2,400 square foot training center under the banner of Against the Grain, LLC. Courtney’s close friends and fellow boxing coaches, Maury Williams and Tito Camacho, transformed City Life, which they jointly own, from a lowrider repair shop into a boxing gym starting in early 2020.

It is here where Brijhana and Ferrell continue to methodically practice their craft, waiting for the day they can do their part to breathe new life into the sport. Win or lose, the chance to promote boxing to women—who are so often discouraged from taking up such a historically male-dominated pastime—is worth the toil on its own.

The first true test of merit for this new alliance between Brijhana and Ferrell will come at the 2021 USA Boxing National Championships in Shreveport, Louisiana, from Dec. 5-11. Both have their eyes set on winning their respective brackets.

Left Hooks and Lowriders City Life Boxing Club owes much of its aesthetic to the classic gritty, sweat-drenched imagery from boxing lore. The unmarked warehouse-style building is nestled away on a dead-end side street just north of West 23rd Street in Independence.

The gym doesn’t look like much upon first walk in. Instead, you’re immediately hit with the classic car smell of old leather, well-maintained machinery, and a mystery cocktail of chemicals.

The combat sport haven is hidden behind the reception area—complete with checkerboard tile and a glass case with boxing gloves and a few lingering car parts—and through the garage itself. A red 1976 Chevy Impala coupe sits parallel to two-thirds of a

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THE PITCH | December 2021 | thepitchkc.com

Moragen “The Heartbreaker” Ferrell.

CHASE CASTOR

blue version of itself. A sherbert orange 1975 Cadillac Eldorado keeps watch closest to the door.

Past the vehicles is a children’s car racing-themed comforter hanging over a doorway. This is the last barrier before it becomes clear that this is no ordinary lowrider shop.

The sheer amount of equipment available inside makes it difficult to believe that the gym was put together in 2020. Dozens of bags of various sizes and weights, exercise equipment, and three treadmills are among the vast array. Then there is the ring itself, which sits just past the entryway in front of a set of lockers, and a red couch at the base of the ropes line

the gym.

When Camacho decided to get out of the fulltime lowrider business, he and Williams got to work revamping the warehouse into a place where they could train their younger sons. “[Camacho] wanted to get out of low riding because he got tired of the long days and long nights.

It’s less wear and tear on your body training boxers instead of working on cars,” Williams says. “It just took us about a year to turn it into a gym—after a lot of cleaning, scrubbing paint, welding, hauling equipment. We built our own bag rack in the back from scratch.”

SPORTS ring itself from TITLE Boxing Club in Belton, Missouri.

Today, the gym serves as refuge for a handful of elementary-aged would-be boxers who have nowhere else to go to begin their training, such as Brijhana’s 7-year-old brother, Jhoshua-David “Champ” Epperson. According to their father, Champ “came out the womb throwing combos.”

Courtney was invited to start training out of City Life Boxing Club by Williams and Camacho in 2020 when he was looking to begin Champ’s training earlier than other gyms would accept. It’s now grown into the ring of choice for Courtney’s athletes.

“The Boxing Ballerina”

Brijhana “The Boxing Ballerina” Epperson.

CHASE CASTOR

THE SEEDS FOR THIS DEVELOPMENT WERE PLANTED WHEN BRIJHANA WAS JUST 4 YEARS OLD, AROUND THE TIME WHEN COURTNEY BEGAN TEACHING HIS DAUGHTER THE BASICS OF SELF-DEFENSE—SOMETHING HE’D DECIDED HE WOULD DO LONG BEFORE BRIJHANA COULD EVEN WALK. Williams, a meat-cutter by day and youth boxing coach by night, brought the majority of the exercise

machines from his own extensively stocked home gym. The final touch was added when he bought the

On any given weekday around 4 p.m., Brijhana will be at City Life Boxing Club starting her footwork drills.

She sets everything up on her own and plays one of her favorite songs, “Dance Monkey” by Tones And I, on repeat as she goes through the routine alongside her younger brother, Champ. He is, of course, wearing a t-shirt that reads “Champ” on the back.

“Technique, elbows in,” Courtney says. The beat of the song loops endlessly but is never stale for Brijhana. Finally, a loud beep indicates a rest period.

“Hands up high, elbows in, strong wrists,” Courtney echoes.

Once the siblings are done with six passes for each exercise, they take a short break. In one of these fleeting moments of inactivity, Champ, a natural southpaw, takes a jab at Brijhana’s outstretched palm.

She pulls it back, shakes it exaggeratedly, and smiles.

They do a few more passes before heading off for conditioning on the treadmills. Brijhana will be running 10 quarter-mile intervals.

The 5’6” amateur boxer tiptoes around topics with quiet humility. Though ballet was her first sport, boxing has won out in recent years.

The seeds for this development were planted when Brijhana was just 4 years old, around the time when Courtney began teaching his daughter the basics of self-defense—something he’d decided he would do long before Brijhana could even walk.

She continued with ballet in addition to these lessons, but her careful footwork and attention to detail transferred spectacularly to the boxing ring.

By 2020, “The Boxing Ballerina” had already become the 2020 USA National Champion, in addition to earning titles at the 2019 Junior Olympics, the 2019 Eastern Qualifier, and the 2018 Regional Silver Glove Championships.

In 2028, Brijhana hopes to add an Olympic medal to that arsenal.

The secret to her success lies partly in her natural, calm demeanor, which lends itself favorably to boxing’s bedrock strategy: hit and don’t get hit.

“She’s so laid back sometimes she almost looks lazy, but she is a quiet assassin,” says Courtney. “It might look to some like she’s not working but she’s really just calculating—trying to stay two steps ahead.”

Brijhana owes much of her success to this methodical approach. She has a keen understanding of the Philly Shell, a defensive style employed by the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr. that trades some of its defense in pursuit of quick counterpunches launched off of evasive footwork.

“I’ll have one arm down, one hand up, and be blocking those shots coming to the head,” Brijhana demonstrates. “So I’m more of the calm, relaxed style, thepitchkc.com | December 2021 | THE PITCH

15

SPORTS but Moragen has been teaching me how to get more aggressive when I need to. It’s probably one of my biggest strengths because I know I can just stay in the pocket and they tire themselves out.”

This deliberateness is carried over to her interests out of the gym. Sometimes on her lunch breaks Brijhana will strum some of James Brown’s “I Feel Good” on her bass guitar. Her skills trend towards the finetuned precision she also displays in a match.

Courtney was intensely passionate about boxing from a young age, and has also been known to play the bass from time to time. Like father, like daughter, as it were.

“Boxing was my first love, always,” Courtney says. He gravitated towards interscholastic sports after his father exited his early life.

It was four or five years ago when he had been making trips to compare local boxing teams.

Brijhana remembers her eyes lighting up when she heard this.

“I said, ‘Oh, hey, so can I go?’” Brijhana recalls. “I had just been sparring with my dad. I went up to him at some point and said, ‘when am I going to be able to box anybody else. When I finally had my first fight, I remember I was so excited. I had these little tiny jitterbugs. The moment I stepped in the ring I knew it was where I belonged.”

“The Heartbreaker” Ferrell spent much of 2020 working in a Tulsa COVID-19 clinic, for which she was named a “Hero of the World’’ by the World Boxing Council and the “2020 Heroine of the Year” by Boxing Meets Beauty. After clocking out each day, she’d go home to help care for her sister, who was undergoing cancer treatment.

Ferrell spent that early winter training in preparation for the 2020 USA National Championships, originally scheduled for the first week of December 2020.

Around the same time the news broke that the event had been officially postponed to March 25, 2021, Ferrell was dealing with some serious pains that she initially thought were an athletic injury.

“I waited out going into the hospital and by that time I did, I couldn’t raise my arms or my head and could barely walk. I went and did blood work with my primary care doctor and the next day he said I needed to go to the emergency room,” Ferrell says.

Upon entering the hospital, Ferrell was in a septic state. Tissue on her pelvis had been riddled by staph infection. With the staph already well entrenched in her bloodstream, the medical team elected for removal via surgery.

“It wasn’t in any of my organs, but they said if it had gone into my heart and they didn’t treat it, then it would have been fatal,” says Ferrell “I was on a PICC line of antibiotics for six weeks and after that, I started

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THE PITCH | December 2021 | thepitchkc.com

physical therapy.”

She was forced to sit out the 2020 championships out as she recovered—first for two weeks in a hospital bed, followed by three months of near-constant bedrest. It was during this point that Ferrell decided that her eventual return should coincide with a

homa City’s Western Avenue Boxing Gym while working towards her degree in business management from the University of Central Oklahoma.

An experienced goalie and striker in soccer, Ferrell chose not to pursue the sport collegiately. She didn’t find boxing until her

“THIS IS WHAT I WAS PRAYING FOR WHEN I WAS SICK. EVEN BEFORE THAT, WHEN I WAS WORKING OVERTIME, SAVING MONEY, KNOWING I NEEDED TO MOVE OUT OF TULSA IF I WANTED TO REALLY TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY. AS A FEMALE AND BEING 25 AT THE TIME, I [WAS] LIKE, ‘IF I’M GOING TO DO THIS, I’VE GOTTA DO IT RIGHT NOW,’” FERRELL SAYS. move she’d been contemplating for a while.

As she recovered, Ferrell felt the urge to uproot her life in favor of doing something new and exciting. In doing so, she made what may have been one of the most important decisions of her life: moving to KC. “We went down [to Tulsa] when she got out of the hospital just to hang out,” Courtney says. “It was then that I just started dropping hints like, ‘If you don’t have anywhere to be, just come on up.’ We’d already established a relationship and had been traveling to spar with her for a while.”

Returning to boxing did not come easy to Ferrell.

“I remember starting the drive, and I couldn’t even run yet. My joints would pop and crack and I still had a very limited range of motion,” Ferrell says, raising her arms above her head. “If I even did this, I would cry.”

Ferrell initially got her start in Okla-

then-boyfriend urged her to come out and try it out at an OKC gym.

He was not very good. Ferrell, on the other hand, found that she thrived with a pair of gloves on. She stayed with boxing, but not the relationship, and thus “The Heartbreaker” moniker was born. Ferrel’s debut came in 2016. Since then, she’s won 14 of the 19 elite-level fights on her résumé.

After graduating, Ferrell made the move back to Tulsa, where she bounced around several gyms and decided to really give the sport the old post-collegiate try.

“I had two fights while I was in college, but then I was like, ‘I need to focus on school and stuff.’ But I still stayed in the gym,” Ferrell says. “When I graduated in 2018, I was like, ‘Let me see where I’m at with this.’ So I went out to a tournament to measure myself up and ended up winning all three of my matches and making it into the championship.”

In a way that echoes Brijhana’s own relationship with ballet, Ferrell’s time spent on the soccer pitch has bled through into her identity as a fighter.

“I always liked playing goalie because anytime the other team ran into the box, I’m charging for the ball and trying to scare the striker into missing,” Ferrell says.

In time, Ferrell has come to quickly find her footing again in the City of Fountains. Now a trainer at Mayweather Boxing + Fitness, as well as a personal trainer on her own accord, she’s usually in a gym whether she’s paid for it or not. She also frequents the roads, embarking on three mile runs when weather and health permit.

“This is what I was praying for when I was sick. Even before that, when I was working overtime, saving money, knowing I needed to move out of Tulsa if I wanted to really take this seriously. As a female and being 25 at the time, I [was] like, ‘If I’m going to do this, I’ve gotta do it right now,’” Ferrell says.

Top: Coach Courtney Epperson. Above: Brijhana Epperson (L) and Moragen Ferrell (R) pose in front of a 1976 Chevy Impala.

CHASE CASTOR

SPORTS The 5’7” pulverizer looks to December’s USA Championship as a chance to emerge from these immense setbacks as a much more disciplined boxer, with a whole new batch of tricks up her sleeve.

Sisterhood of the Travelling Gloves Once Ferrell was cleared to start training at full capacity, her and Brijhana’s budding relationship as teammates, sparring partners, close friends, and confidantes continued to grow. It didn’t take very long for the many benefits of this new sisterhood to show.

“Both of us have kind of opposite fighting styles. We’re rough on each other, not negatively but positively,” Brijhana says. “I can feed off of her energy—she gets excited and will start singing and dancing in the middle of a competition.”

Ferrell calls Brijhana slick.

“Their fighting styles match their personalities. Brijhana is regarded as a more of a laid-back type of person,” Courtney says.

“You know [Ferrell] has some of that, too, but she’s more about making her opponents do what [she] wants them to do, ‘And then I’m going to beat you up.’”

The three then share a laugh that can only be had amongst a group that has seen such things occur one too many times.

Ferrell summarizes the relationship with simplicity and unwavering sincerity: “What one brings to the table, the other one compliments.”

Even before they sparred together, the two impressed each other with their prowess in the ring.

“I had seen her at all these tournaments and she was just so technically sound, beating up all of these little boys flawlessly,” Ferrell says “Her technique is definitely there, and so she sharpens me up with that.”

Brijhana now has a positive role model in the mix. And Ferrell now has a new home and a new gym from which she can launch her post-pandemic career with some fancy footwork added to her arsenal.

Just how far they will go with their ambitions remains to be seen, but each of their prospects are immeasurably better for training with each other. Being able to share in and sympathize with each other through wins, losses, streaks, and setbacks has inevitably made them stronger.

A Championship Mindset “Women’s boxing around here is not very popular. Both men and women’s boxing aren’t as popular in general,” says Brijhana.

We have a few gyms around here but they’re not very competitive. So we’re really one of the few gyms that have a strong competitive team.”

Part of this can be attributed to the rise of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and similar ultimate fighting leagues over the last two decades.

“A lot of female boxers have gone to the

UFC because they’re paying better than professional boxing does,” Ferrell adds.

For coaches like Williams and Courtney, boxing’s status as perhaps the purest form of contact sport—as well as the most civilized—lends credit to the theory of its ultimate resurgence.

“I see boxing making a strong comeback, because the UFC has basically flooded the market. I don’t even watch it anymore.

The quality of fights have gone way down,” Williams says.

This dilution of participants often makes it difficult to arrange quality fights, especially for someone with a strong and often too-intimidating record to draw any worthy opponents.

“It’s a male-dominated sport. You get females here and there and then once they learn Brijhana’s or Moragen’s record, females don’t want to fight them,” Williams says. “But that’s just negativity—not only for them, but for the females that could be fighting them. You don’t know where to gauge or judge yourself if you never go up against girls like that. It doesn’t hurt to ask, ‘Hey, do you mind if I come train with you?’ No one ever thinks to ask.”

The fewer potential challengers or sparring partners in the mix, the more difficult it becomes to compete and subsequently improve.

“I actually had to forge part of my entry forms. I had to add an extra loss just to get into the tournament with the minimum number of fights because I only had three fights at the time,” Ferrell says.

More participants, more fights, more opportunities. These are just a handful of reasons why the pair wants to promote the sport to other girls. Boxing isn’t for everyone, but for some who do take to it as a positive outlet, having had the opportunity to try it out could be a game-changer.

In June, Brijhana and Ferrell spent four days a week working with WIN For KC, a group advocating for athletic opportunities for girls citywide. While also on a full training schedule, the pair traveled to area schools and taught roughly 800 girls the very basics of their sport.

Brijhana was awarded the WIN For KC “Rising Star Award” following work she and Ferrell did over the summer with the organization. In 2017, Ferrell established a similar program back in OKC: Champ Camp, a youth mentorship program centered on boxing.

For the latest updates on Brijhana and Ferrel at the USA National Championship, follow @ AgainstthaGrainllc on Facebook.

City Life Boxing Club is located at 1125 Leroy Street, Independence, MO 64050. The gym’s coaches host beginner sessions for children. The sessions are typically on Monday and Friday from 6-7 p.m. For more information on attending a session, you can reach City Life at @citylifeboxingclub on Facebook. thepitchkc.com | December 2021 | THE PITCH

17

DINING

Left: Escovtich Fish with rice and peas; Beef Suya with jollof rice. Both meals served with onions, sweet peppers, and plantains. Right: Diners at Wah Gwan.

ZACH BAUMAN

WAH GWAN’S CULINARY CROSSPOLLINATION WILL LEAVE YOU SPEECHLESS CARVE OUT TIME FOR TANYECH “TAN” YARBROUGH’S ONE WOMAN SHOW

BY LIZ COOK

There’s this line from Act 2, Scene 3 of A Midsummer Night’s Dream—you’ll probably recognize it even if you’ve never seen the show. “And though she be but little, she is fierce.” 16-month-old Wah Gwan presents a similar sentiment in the form of a Jamaican Patois phrase painted in round letters on the

18

THE PITCH | December 2021 | thepitchkc.com

wall: “We likkle but we tallawah.”

The Jamaican/Nigerian spot embodies the contradiction. Wah Gwan (in Patois, “What’s up?”) is small and casual, with an ambitious menu of large-format entrées that rarely miss the mark. Chef-founder Tanyech “Tan” Yarbrough is an outsized presence, too,

though that may just be the hats. Every time I entered the restaurant, she was wearing a different one: a black top hat with a patterned band. A beige Stetson. A Pharrell-style mountain hat. She looked natural in all of them— tallawah energy.

She wears just as many metaphorical hats.

Wah Gwan has a small staff, but on weekdays, it’s not unusual to see Tan working alone. On one visit, she took my order (escovitch fish) at the corrugated aluminum counter, whisked back into the kitchen to prepare it, ran out the food, and bussed the table all on her own. If she was stressed balancing the steady trickle of diners that afternoon, she didn’t show it—she slipped in and out of each role with a chameleon’s native ease.

The one-woman show means meals can be a bit slower-paced, depending on what (and when) you order. My escovitch fish ($18.95) took about 30 minutes to arrive and was worth the wait. The whole fried red snapper came out sweet and succulent, with an exclamation point where vinegar-sparked bell peppers and onions kissed its skin. Still, I wanted a bolder, heavier-handed sauce, with a few more Scotch bonnets in the pickle mix—the version I tried was very mild.

On a weekday dinner visit, Tan was again working the kitchen alone—and the food, again, was a bit slow out of the kitchen. This is less of a complaint than a warning for the time-strapped. Model your visit after the oxtail ($20.95), which has been slow-braised until it’s so tender, it’ll fall off the bone at a wilting remark. The meat is sticky and rich, balanced by a heap of comforting rice and peas (red kidney beans). Or take a cue from a slangy Nigerian proverb painted on the wall: “cow wey dey in a hurry to go America go come back as corn beef,” meaning, “Just be patient. Let the game come to you.”

Tan and her family have built a dining room you don’t mind dawdling in. The restaurant—part of a small strip of businesses at 63rd and Troost—is small but lively, with mustard-colored walls and bright printed fabrics on the tables and chairs. Tall plants divide the dining room into sections, creating privacy for tables while preserving a communal feel. Most days, a large-screen TV plays buoyant music videos from Afrobeat artists like Burna Boy and KiDi. Wah Gwan’s casual vibe, counter ordering, and hours (11 a.m. to 7 p.m. most days) feel tailor-made for the lunch crowd. But the sprawling menu doesn’t quite match that tone.

Most entrées are larger and pricier, with few options for those looking for a quick, light bite. Even the jerk chicken ($14.95) feels a little formal, plated with a mound of rice and peas, steamed cabbage, and chubby coins of plantain. (The menu warns that the chicken is spicy, however the mahogany spice paste on

WAH GWAN 6228 Troost Ave 816-895-3427 wahgwantan.com Hours: Tuesday–Saturday 11 AM–7 PM Sunday 12 PM–5 PM Prices: Entrées: $9.95–$20.95 Drinks: $1.50–$2.95 Snacks: $2.95 Best bet: For a kingly to-go snack, nab a beef patty and pineapple-ginger soda. For a down-tempo dinner date, order the oxtail with rice and peas and a sorrel drink.

my bird was warming but mild.)

The Jamaican beef patties ($2.95) come closest to bridging the lunch-dinner gap. The flat, turmeric-yellow hand pies are pre-made and kept warm in a case behind the counter for easy access. They’re also delicious, with a flaky shell and saucy, spicy filling. For a quick snack or starter, the patties are a bargain.

The drinks cooler behind the counter contains a small selection of top-tier Jamaican sodas—D&G Pink Ting and Pineapple-Ginger—which beat American sodas in both taste and branding. The D&G logo features a jowly cat wearing sunglasses and swim trunks. Dr. Pepper could never. But your best bet is in the unmarked carafe, which contains sorrel ($2.95)—a housemade, slightly tannic hibiscus drink infused with ginger and cinnamon sticks. Besides tasting like Christmas in July, the drink also neatly bridges the restaurant’s Caribbean and Nigerian dishes (sorrel is popular in Nigeria, too, where it’s better known as zobo).

Perhaps in deference to cross-cultural pollination, you can order any entrée at Wah Gwan, regardless of its provenance, with Nigerian jollof rice or Jamaican rice and peas. The jollof is spice-rouged and tomato-savory, with green beans and carrots soft enough to melt into the rice. It’s also a natural accompaniment for the lightly charred beef suya ($19.95 as an entrée; $2.95 for a single skewer). The thinsliced steak is well-spiced in the topographical sense: each piece is powder-coated in ground chiles and peanuts.

I was excited to order the egusi, a popular Nigerian soup that can be tough to find locally.

The melon seeds were ground to a soft, cur-

DINING Tanyech “Tan” Yarbrough holding the Escovitch Fish ZACH BAUMAN

dled texture and bathed in red palm oil, with a nutty richness and heady proto-funk likely to appeal to natural wine nerds. But when I tried it, the broth was overly salty with tough hunks of bone-in goat that needed a longer stewing.

Don’t write off the goat dishes based on that description. The curry goat ($14.95) was silky and rich, thanks to an unexpected wash of coconut milk. Although Wah Gwan officially offers the curry goat only on Fridays, it

doesn’t hurt to ask—I snagged a portion on a Tuesday.

If the menu feels a little overstuffed, the trade-off is that it’s also more inclusive. In addition to Greatest Hits from Jamaica and

Nigeria, the menu also has a small section of vegetarian dishes, including veggie patties ($2.95) and Rasta pasta ($9.95), peppery penne mossed with fresh thyme and Parmesan cheese.

Your best bet is the honey garlic tofu ($12.95), which was a sleeper hit. Each tofu cube had a chewy crust and fluffy middle, swaddled just so in a balanced sauce that was sweet but not cloying, glossy but not soupy. It would be easy to phone in a dish like this. Instead, it’s one of the menu’s standouts.

I inhaled that tofu like I’d inhaled the oxtail, picking its metaphorical bones clean. My friends did the same with their curry goat and beef suya. The wait had been long—the food arrived a few minutes past the restaurant’s closing—but we made up for lost time.

It was one of those rare meals with friends where you barely talk because the experience of eating is so loud. Done well, gluttony demands an athlete’s focus.

When Tan came out of the kitchen to check on us, she saw only empty plates. “Oh, you guys didn’t need to rush!” she said. “I’m just cleaning back there.”

I looked sheepishly at my friends. It hadn’t occurred to me that we had been rushing.

thepitchkc.com | December 2021 | THE PITCH

19

Craft Cocktail Week

$5 COCKTAILS DECEMBER 13-19!

Afterword Tavern & Shelves

Atomic Cowboy

Beer Kitchen

The Naughty or Spice The Naughty or Spice is Afterword’s spin on a spicy paloma, crafted with jalapeño-infused Mean Mule Silver, grapefruit, ginger, and lime. A revivifying cocktail for your December and a stellar pairing with a good read.

J. Rieger Maple Old Fashioned J. Rieger bourbon, maple syrup, bitters, and a cherry.

4144 Pennsylvania Ave., Kansas City, MO 64111

Apple Pie Toddy Jack Daniel’s Apple, cinnamon whipped cream, and grated nutmeg.

(816) 800-7816

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Blind Box BBQ

Char Bar

DoubleTap KC

Chocolate Cherry Manhattan Bourbon, vermouth, cherry, and chocolate bitters.

13214 W 62nd Terr., Shawnee, KS 66216

Char Away Old Crow Whiskey, apple juice, Gosling’s Ginger Beer, and a charred lemon wheel.

1601 Village West Pkwy, Kansas City, KS 66111

4050 Pennsylvania Ave., Kansas City, MO 64111 // (816) 389-8600

The Revolver Buffalo Trace bourbon, coffee liqueur, orange bitters, and an orange peel garnish. The perfect sipper to warm you up this winter!

1834 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64108 // (816) 551-7488

(913) 268-4227

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THE PITCH | December 2021 | thepitchkc.com

310 Oak St., Kansas City, MO 64106 // (816) 800-4001

Mickey’s Hideaway

Pete’s Steakhouse

Port Fonda

Passionfruit Mojito White rum, brown sugar syrup, muddled mint, and passionfruit.

Happy Accidents Blue raspberry vodka, Monster Energy, strawberry lemonade, and lemon lime soda, with a splash of Coca-Cola.

Ms. L Toe Red wine float with Del Maguey Crema de Mezcal, tequila, strawberry syrup, and lime.

4057 Pennsylvania Ave., Kansas City, MO 64111 // (816) 469-5001

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The Drum Room at the Hilton President

The Saloon at Old Shawnee Pizza

Tiki Taco

The Red Room The Red Room is the place in the White House where the Cranberry Tree is set during Christmas. Old Forester whisky, rosemary simple syrup, and Fee Brothers Cranberry Bitters.

The Campfire Rye whiskey, pure maple syrup, chocolate bitters, smoked and garnished with toasted marshmallows.

Island Time Marg Tequila and Cointreau with fresh squeezed mandarin, lemon, and lime, topped with Grand Marnier.

19617 W 101st St., Lenexa, KS 66220 // (913) 254-1234

1710 W 39th St., Kansas City, MO 64111 // (816) 489-3686

1329 Baltimore Ave., Unit 1909, Kansas City, MO 64105 (816) 303-1686

Waldo Pizza

West Bottoms Whiskey Co.

West Bottoms Holiday Manhattan A chocolate cherry twist on a classic manhattan. Local West Bottoms KC Whiskey, Heering cherry liquer, Crème de Cacao, and orange bitters.

Old Fashioned Made with our rye-heavy Kansas City Whiskey, finished with a dry sherry and a dash of maple syrup. Garnished with a dehydrated mandarin and whiskey-infused marasca cherry, the true coup de grâs is a glass smoked with bitters on a whiskey stave.

7433 Broadway St., Kansas City, MO 64114 // (816) 363-5242

1321 W 13th St. HT, Kansas City, MO 64102 // (816) 239-0520

#OurPitch

#KCCraftCocktailWeek

thepitchkc.com | December 2021 | THE PITCH

21

DINING

Left: The Soft Pretzels at King G. Right: Bronson’s Milk Punch.

EAT THIS NOW

BY APRIL FLEMING

The Soft Pretzels at King G Deli by day and moody bar by night, King G has managed to stand out in the booming East Crossroads entertainment district along 18th Street by offering straightforward, solid dishes and drinks in an unpretentiously cool and modern environment. One of those dishes, and probably its most humble, is a simple soft pretzel. It’s one of the best things I’ve eaten all year.

The bar bites at King G are available Wednesday through Saturday from 4-11 p.m. You can get a veggie and olive board, house-made chips, and burrata. Among all the other options, there’s really something special about that pretzel. One bite in, I realized it might be the best pretzel I’ve ever had. I don’t typically like pretzels that much, but King G’s version completely changed my mind.

It’s also not complicated. It all starts with a Farm to Market soft pretzel, made fresh either that day or the day before and delivered to the shop. Yes, one can buy a bag of FTM pretzels on their own, but it’s what they do with it at King G that makes it delicious. First, it is pressed on a pani-

ni, crisping the exterior just a little, while leaving the inside super soft and chewy. They then brush on melted butter, salt bae on some crunchy pretzel salt, and serve it up with strong ground mustard and pickled red onions.

Next to a beer and dunked in mustard with a little onion on top, this is about as perfect as a bar bite gets.

DRINK THIS NOW Bronson’s Milk Punch Humans are remarkable in their ability to make hooch out of anything: potatoes, juniper, honey, and rice are the basis for some of the world’s most common spirits. But the British (or perhaps medieval Irish, as there is not a clear consensus) alchemists that figured out how to make a shelf stable, completely clear beverage out of milk may well be among the most clever.

There are countless techniques involved in creating milk punch. Most simply, hot milk is added to a liquid—often another type of alcohol, like whiskey or brandy—along

with an acidic component like lemon juice. The acid causes the milk to curdle, and then once that liquid is strained the resulting liqueur is completely clear. Though perhaps strange, it tastes amazing.

Utilizing clarified milk in modern cocktail programs became nationally trendy about five years ago, and almost every higher-end bar in the U.S. has featured a drink with the ingredient. Locally, one of the preferred makers of clarified milk punch has long been Bronson Kistler.

For a handful of years, he’s been a fixture as the beverage manager and bartender at Westport Cafe. But his proprietary milk punch is celebrated for its great flavor and how easy it is to utilize in other drinks. Made with whiskey, apple juice, ginger, spiced tea, lemons, and of course, milk, it’s made its way onto several other menus in town, Everyone seems to have found a COVID project, and Kistler’s was to make his milk punch available for everyone—not just industry folks. For about a year now, Kistler has been working on commercializing Bronson’s Milk Punch, which is now available in dozens of local shops. You can find the nearest place to buy your bottle at bronsonsmilkpunch.com.

Each bottle costs around $25-$30 depending on where you buy it and has enough milk punch for about six drinks if you don’t mix it with anything. It has an ABV of about 15%, but goes down easy. Pour it over ice and add a slice of lemon, or experiment with it to make your own cocktail.

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THE PITCH | December 2021 | thepitchkc.com

APRIL FLEMING

DINING

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CAMERON MITCHELL OPENS TWO PLAZA RESTAURANTS.

BY MICHAEL MACKIE

Famed restaurant mogul Cameron Mitchell has successfully unveiled the first of two of his high-end eateries on the Plaza.

It only took 35 years, give or take.

Mitchell—the founder and CEO of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants—says he interviewed in Kansas City early in his career as a chef and promptly fell in love with the Country Club Plaza. However, he ended up taking a job in Columbus, Ohio where he proceeded to build a nationally recognized restaurant empire from the ground up, as one is wont to do.

Now the accomplished culinary pro has returned to open Prime Social Rooftop—a mammoth 5,500 square foot lounge perched atop the Plaza’s new 46 Penn Centre complex. His expansive Ocean Prime seafood restaurant, meanwhile, is set to open early next year.

During our interview, Mitchell was wildly candid and humble. The former executive chef and Culinary Institute of America grad jokes, “I’ve got ketchup in my blood.”

He’s also an unabashed fan of this city—and it shows. Mitchell says when Kenneth, Michael, and Stephen Bloch came calling about potentially opening a location of his revered Ocean Prime chain at the base of their new building, he was all ears.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 scuttled the initial plans. When the two groups reconvened, the Bloch brothers became investors in Mitchell’s company and the opening of the two restaurants became a win-win joint venture.

From the minute the chain announced they were, indeed, headed to the new Penn Centre complex, buzz started building and mouths started salivating. Mitchell says both of his menus have been honed within an inch of their lives—and each restaurant features its own executive chef, management team, and to-die-for kitchen. Prime Social is sure to impress even the most finicky foodies and cocktail aficionados. The views alone are dazzling: some of the best in the city, Mitchell quips.

Mitchell touts the food curated for the rooftop, and the location itself: “It’s a perfect place for me to go and feel young again.

It can be used for so many occasions—to watch a game, go out with friends, an afterwork cocktail hangout, or a place to visit be-

Top RIght: Cameron Mitchell. Top Left and Above: Some offerings at Prime Social.

fore or after dinner.”

Mitchell adds that his home base of Columbus is also called ‘cowtown’ and its similarities to Kansas City are not lost on him.

“We’re almost identical in size in terms of metro area,” he says.

One look at Prime Social’s menu and guests will spy some KC-centric nuances, like a drool-worthy sushi roll with roasted pork belly and a short rib barbecue pizza with cambozola and caramelized onions.

Mitchell touts the restaurant’s raw bar and array of skewers (which they call Stix) that includes everything from A5 Wagyu to lobster tail.

“Try our Kansas City strip. It’s beautifully cooked. We serve it sliced, so it’s perfect if you’re sitting around and you’re all getting snacks,” says Mitchell When quizzed about Prime Social’s

CAMERON MITCHELL

truly endless cocktail list, Cameron answered at such length, we could have done a separate interview just about their boozy elixirs. Each handmade, from-scratch cocktail has a chef ’s seal of approval to it. Mitchell particularly recommends ordering the Pineapple Smash. If not that, then consider a gargantuan, six-person shareable cocktail like The Mahomes or the Party Potion.

“Years ago we melded our chefs into our cocktail program,” he boasts. “Syrups, shrubs, purées, all those things are done and curated with the chefs.”

For Mitchell, he’s just elated to see everything finally come to fruition.

Mitchell says these dual restaurants are the culmination of a truly collaborative process with his team from start to finish.

“It’s a full-circle moment,” he says. “I’ve wanted to be on the Country Club Plaza for 35 years and here we are.” thepitchkc.com | December 2021 | THE PITCH

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MUSIC

NOAH’S ARC FALLOUT AND FRIEND ZONES ON NOAH SPENCER’S SOLO DEBUT

BY SAVANNAH HAWLEY

When Noah Spencer thinks about releasing his first solo album, Census, he remembers the places and moments that are forever encapsulated in the songs. The album is the culmination of years of work and realizing the depths of his passion for music.

After seeing a friend play in a Rock Band Academy concert in middle school, Spencer decided to pick up guitar. He kept basketball, his longtime sport, a priority throughout high school and focused on music whenever he had the time. He nearly went to school for the sport but instead chose to pursue music and film at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas instead.

“I last-minute decided to go somewhere where I felt I could be around people that would punch me in the mouth,” Spencer says, discussing his need for motivation.

“That was UNT—where I was just churning out as much as I could in my room. My freshman year, I was like, ‘Am I even a guitar player? Am I even a musician?’ By my sophomore year, I was like, ‘This is what I want to do.’”

While he plays many instruments, guitar is Spencer’s favorite. Census is a guitar-forward album that both showcases his skill and his inspiration. He currently plays on an OH-10 made by Seüf, a guitar company in Kansas City. He says it’s the best-feeling guitar he owns and makes him think about his approach to the instrument differently.

“Seüf made this guitar for me and that is the one I play everywhere and was all over the record,” says Spencer. “I pick up another guitar and it’s not the same. There are songs on the record that were inspired just by the way that that guitar felt.”

The throughline of Census centers on songs Spencer crafted trying to work through a fallout with a friend—while also realizing the potential for communication in his music.

Straddling two different time zones and “friend zones,” as Spencer calls them, while going to school and touring as a multi-instrumentalist with The Greeting Committee was anything but easy. Due to the distance, that friendship and their collaborative project fell to pieces. Afterward, there were ideas that Spencer could only express through writing lyrics and gaining perspective on the road.

“A census is, by definition, reporting the various accounts of people,” Spencer says. “[That time was] really tough because there was a relationship that was broken. It

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THE PITCH | December 2021 | thepitchkc.com

Noah Spencer and Micah Ritchie on a writing trip in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado.

is the process of me figuring out what it was.

Most of the record is about that time and being away.”

Writing comes in phases for him and seems to always be tied to a specific place and time. When he started writing the album, Spencer was still in college and touring with The Greeting Committee. Setting informed much of the writing as Spencer went between Denton and the cities on the band’s tour.

“I was living in two worlds with the band and with my people back home,” says Spencer. “A lot of the record focuses on trying to maintain and balance these relationships, even though one’s gone. Because that all ended pretty abruptly. When you’re away from somebody, it’s really difficult to wait, especially when you leave on a certain note.

It’s really difficult for them not to assume the way that you’re feeling.”

An effort towards clarity is reflected in “Fool’s Paradise,” Spencer’s favorite song on Census. It builds and crescendos continuously from start to finish, resulting in 3 minutes and 40 seconds of pure introspection supported by increasingly insistent guitar riffs.

A fool’s paradise is a state of happiness based on the denial of potential trouble. The song uses upbeat music while describing feelings of loss and confusion. While it may be about one subject in Spencer’s life, it has a sort of universality to it. Whatever emotions the listener brings with them as they listen will be reflected in the song.

“Blind,” with its guitar-heavy instrumentals, precedes “Fool’s Paradise” on the

KIAN PRITCHETT

album and features Spencer recording on his own, layering one part after another.

In contrast, “Fool’s Paradise” is more studio-produced and polished.

The decision to keep “Blind” in the album as-is did not come lightly to Spencer, but something about it felt complete to him.

That was a choice he would have to repeatedly make while determining whether or not he wanted Census to be an EP or a fulllength album. “Trying to Say,” the last track of the album, was nearly cut as well. “[The song explains] that I’m trying to say one thing, but it doesn’t ever get across.

During that time, I was always saying the phrase ‘I’m trying to say’ to clarify [myself],” says Spencer. “I almost cut a couple of tracks, but by the end of it, I did all this for a reason.

It is that documentation of what happens and it was important for me to keep.”

When you listen to the album, Spencer imagines you doing so with the volume turned up in your car. His songs came to life in different locations that informed his writing—and the road is where he wrote, rewrote, and finalized his music.

“I would write the ideas and then I’d listen to them on the road in different places,” Spencer says. “There’s a highway between Denton and my grandparents’ house [in] a small town in Oklahoma—I would just get on and drive. It gave me more information as to what I wanted to do when I got back.

Then I’d get in the studio, record it, strip it down, and record it again.”

Though Census was a long time coming in its creation, it’s been a winding road for Spencer to get to where he is today. All of

the rewrites and changes to the music have culminated in an album that functions both as a time capsule for a period of his life and as a way to demonstrate the passion he has for his craft.

“This record is the start of something that I’ve always been on a path to do. This is the first time I’ve put something together on my own that I feel is there for me,” says Spencer. “I just want people to know that this is something I’m passionate about and I have a vision for. There’s another part of me that is just working on solo music.”

LISTEN UP

Census NOAH SPENCER

Now streaming on all platforms

thepitchkc.com | December 2021 | THE PITCH

25

MUSIC

Zarin Michael.

AMIR WILLIAMS

GRAVITATIONAL PULL RAPPER ZARIN MICHEAL ADVANCES A MILLION MILES WITH NEW ALBUM

BY AARON RHODES

TW: This article discusses suicide and death.

If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800273-8255.

The first time I met Zarin Micheal was in March 2016. At the time, he was 17 years old and a student at Lincoln College Preparatory Academy. Teenage Micheal was a kid with a hefty ego, but not for nothing.

Before graduating high school, he was already a highly talented rapper, both in terms of writing and performing. He was a self-described student of the game whose favorite rapper, as you could likely tell from his delivery, was Jay-Z. His first streaming single, “Best Friend,” was compelling and already showed plenty of promise.

In 2021, Micheal laughs and says he “can’t even bear to listen to that song now.”

Michael has moved to Houston, seeking out a change of scenery and warmer climes, as well as wanting to be near local friends and family. The move is the latest in

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THE PITCH | December 2021 | thepitchkc.com

a series of life-altering events for Micheal.

He got engaged. He met his father in person.

Then, his fiancée tragically lost her father, Rob Urbano, Sr., who died by suicide.

Urbano was an important figure in his own family’s life as well as Micheal’s since they first met over four years ago. Now, Micheal has dedicated his new album, A Million Miles Away 2, to Urbano “The relationships I built with that family are very, very deep,” Micheal says. “I got to know him on a very personal level. Recently, I found my father and was able to connect with him, but I would definitely say at that time, [Urbano] was someone I looked up to as far as work ethic, how to take care of your family, things like that. That man was really a hard worker and he’ll always have my respect.”

Not every song on the album relates back to Micheal’s relationship with Urbano—he promises plenty vibes and unrelated introspections. Still, the dedication is a way for Micheal to honor Urbano.

“There’s a lot of things that need to be

taken care of with [him] being gone and this is just me saying I plan on stepping up and taking care of the things that need to be taken care of,” Michael says.

His original A Million Miles Away was an EP released in 2019. Creating a sequel over two years later felt right to Michael, who found the title an apt description of how he and his family were feeling about the loss of Urbano.

“I ended up coming up with the title because it was a period in my life where there was a relationship I was dealing with and I felt like everything was just a disconnect,” Micheal says. “No matter how much I expressed myself or told this person my emotions—or shared my emotions with the world—it was just a disconnect. No matter if I’m right there in your face or I drop 10 songs, it always just feels like I’m distant. I’m a million miles away.”

He adds: “I just wanted to flip that concept just because with [my fiancée’s] dad leaving us, gone but not forgotten, he’s a million miles away, but he’s right there with us.”

On the album’s first single, “No Regrets,” released December 2020, Micheal raps about meeting his father for the first time.

“Through high school we always stayed in communication,” says Micheal, “but I never got to see him physically because he never came down to KC. I couldn’t go up there at that time, but as soon as I turned 18, I got more responsibilities. It [was] up to me to build this relationship.”

It was only a few months after Urbano’s death that Micheal was finally able to meet his own father. Micheal, his half-brother, and his father took DNA tests and confirmed that they were all related.

“That chapter was closed and now we’re able to move forward and focus on the memories we can create,” Micheal says.

“I just never thought—I say that with conviction—I’d meet my dad. I grew up without him. My mom obviously did a terrific job raising me and raising my sister and little brother, but none of us in the household had a father at that time. I just thought that wasn’t God’s plan for me. But everything ended up working out. I talk to him every day and it’s just a great experience, bro.”

Put simply, Micheal has been riding an emotional roller coaster for the last few years. So as part of the rollout for AMMA 2, he reached out to friends and collaborators and asked them to record video testimonials about how they persevere through struggles with mental health. These testimonials (now archived) were shared on Micheal’s Instagram page.

“There’s a lot of things that [artists] deal with on a day-to-day basis,” Micheal says. “We take our pain to create great objects. Let’s just talk about AMMA 2. There’s a lot of great songs on there that people may gravitate to, but there’s a lot of pain and a lot of things I had to go through to even be able to create a great song. At the end of the

day, we’re just looking at the product but not looking at the artist and everything they went through up until that point to share that experience.”

Micheal stays physically active, plays video games with friends, and participates in multiple Bible study groups to maintain his own mental health. He also notes that support systems are crucial, especially when many men are still uncomfortable discussing their feelings with others.

AMMA 2 has come a little over a year after Micheal’s last full-length project, Foreign Boy: The Movie, but in that relatively brief gap, he says he’s become more secure in his abilities and assured of what his music should sound like. “[Foreign Boy] wasn’t really cohesive.

There wasn’t really a plan for me to have it as my first album, it was just kinda some vibes,” Micheal says, regarding the project’s grab-bag nature. “I just wanted to show people I can do different things, but AMMA 2 was something I was working on for close to two years. I really put my all on that and with the message behind it, I wanted to make sure that I didn’t put out anything with [Rob’s] name that was shitty.”

But even on Foreign Boy, there were hints of the Micheal we’d be seeing on AMMA 2. His song “Cry In The Rain” was perhaps the most emotionally vulnerable

“I JUST NEVER THOUGHT—I SAY THAT WITH CONVICTION—I’D MEET MY DAD. I GREW UP WITHOUT HIM.” LISTEN UP

A Million Miles Away 2 ZARIN MICHEAL

Now streaming on all platforms

MUSIC he’s ever been in his bars before. On AMMA 2, “Road Rage” and “Broke Your Trust” hold a similar level of openness.

Micheal has also cautiously begun to insert more melody into his verses. “Nobody Else” is a moody, lusty R&B track that isn’t far off from something The Weekend might hop on. Micheal revealed that it’s more of a return to the style rather than new territory. Before he started rapping, he aspired to make a career strictly as a vocalist and planned on posting cover videos to

The Roseline.

YouTube.

Production-wise, AMMA 2 is simultaneously rich and versatile, featuring professional, modern hip-hop production from Micheal favorites Alexander Preston, Corey Plescia, and others. Andre Reyes, Jr. of KCK jazz band Stranded in the City, provides keys on two tracks, as well.

The album art is equally elegant, consisting of a portrait of Urbano painted by Michael Artis, and a sleek lettering and layout job courtesy of former design intern at

FALLY AFANI

SKELETONS AND CONSTANT SORROW THE ROSELINE ENCOURAGES YOU TO HUNKER DOWN BY NICK SPACEK

The Roseline’s new album, Constancy, is a record reflecting on big life changes. The majority of it was written at the beginning of the pandemic, ahead of the birth of frontman Colin Halliburton’s daughter.

“Most of it was written in early lockdown,” Halliburton recalls one evening as we talk in front of Lawrence’s Eighth Street Tap Room. “I’d been sent home from my job at KU. Everything was unknown. They were like, ‘Everyone go home. You still have a job.

We’re still paying you, but just go home.’”

This was the situation for three or four months and, pandemic aside, it was a creative boon. Halliburton turned that period of not working into pursuing his music like it was “a fake real job.”

“I would dedicate a couple hours a night to just go in my basement and try to write,” the songwriter says. “Most of the time, it was garbage or nothing, but it was just that routine of playing guitar regularly and keeping a simple work ethic.”

The vast majority of The Roseline’s songs over the last decade have started out as skeleton compositions written by Halliburton, alone with his guitar, before the rest of the band fleshed them out. This experi-

ence, though, was different given that the band wasn’t practicing regularly. Halliburton ended up with more time to edit and revise than he might have otherwise had.

“I think it was good because I could have time to reflect on the songs and go back and edit out all the garbage and just bring them what I thought was good,” Halliburton says. “I mean, there were literally songs that said the word ‘quarantine.’ Just total trash. That was good, to have that six months to be like, ‘Whoa, dude, some of these are really bad.’”

As part of his process, Halliburton reached out to The Roseline guitarist, Bradley McKellip, for some guitar parts. McKellip had some song ideas and chord progressions recorded on his iPhone that he sent to the frontman, along with chord charts.

Halliburton wrote to those.

“I wrote four, five songs like that, where I didn’t even write the music,” Halliburton says. One ended up on the record, which is Constancy’s penultimate track, “Jumped the Shark.”

“The song definitely had some chords I’d never played before,” says Halliburton of the more “elegant” chords. “Something that

The Pitch, Jack Raybuck.

Now, several years deep in the rap game and more mature with every move, Micheal knows full well that crafting a great album—which AMMA 2 is—doesn’t guarantee success in the music business. Luck and personal connections have more to do with it, something that he’s begun to accept as of late.

Things don’t often happen overnight and he’s not caught up worrying about “making it” before his peers.

wasn’t like G or D or A-minor. There are some sevenths or diminished ninths. When Brad first sent it to me, I was like, ‘Chill, jazz boy—my hands hurt!’”

Halliburton says it was worth the sore hands. He’s opened himself up to the idea that The Roseline’s music doesn’t have to be the romanticized ideal of three chords and the truth. “It’s not going to hurt you if you’re truly humble,” he says.

Six months into the pandemic, they felt comfortable enough to meet up in drummer Jim Piller’s detached garage north of Lawrence. Masked up and doors open, they got to playing again.

“We all knew each other a lot better at this point,” Halliburton explains. The band hadn’t been together all that long when they recorded last year’s G O O D / G R I E F. By the time they recorded Constancy, they were nearing their two year anniversary. “It was a lot more comfortable with like, ‘I trust you, you trust me. Let’s just go wild.’”

That approach continued into the studio when the band went to Element Recordings with Joel Nanos.

“He was like, ‘Let’s not make the same record again. You guys made six Americana/ folk-rock records.’”

It’s not as though they went from OK Computer to Kid A, Halliburton is quick to point out. They just incrementally changed the sound. In many ways, Constancy presents a similar listening experience as a Jason Isbell record. It’s a country-rock album where the country modifies the rock, as opposed to just being slightly-rocking country.

One new ingredient added to The Roseline’s sound mixing stew is the synthesizer work of Chase Horseman, which helps the whole thing sonically pop. Halliburton explains that Horseman’s work was a last-minute addition.

“Joel and I were talking about how we wanted to evolve the sound a little bit and we almost simultaneously looked at each other and said, ‘Synths!’” Halliburton relates with a laugh. “Then we were like, ‘Who’s going to play?’ and he looked through the control room window to the B-room at Element that Chase works in and was like, ‘Fucking Chase is right there!’”

Thanks to the talents of Nanos, Horseman’s synths were incorporated into the al-

“I feel like there are people that really know my talent and I feel like I don’t have to prove anything no more,” Micheal says.

“When I was younger, I was new coming into the rap shit, I was just defensive. I felt uncomfortable. You’re like, ‘I wanna do this, I wanna show them.’ But now, I’m very content. The gift that God gave me, that’s all I need. And I feel like when I stopped caring, I started making my best music.”

LISTEN UP

Constancy THE ROSELINE

Now streaming on all platforms

ready-recorded, final versions of the songs like “Paper Airplanes,” fleshing out their instrumentals. The refreshed sound only helps the album to delve deep into the complicated juxtaposition of midlife and youth.

While Halliburton says he wasn’t consciously tackling these themes, he’s willing to admit that tracks like “Catalpa” and “Hunker Down” have something to do with being over 30 years old, living in a college town. The latter’s lyrics—“All I wanna do is mostly nothin’ / Hunker down with you, the cats, and the babe / Pull all of the crabgrass in the garden or touch up the paint”—will ring incredibly true to anyone who used to going out on Mondays and will “end up spendin’ a shift’s worth of wages or more.”

“I feel like it’s really magnified because I’m constantly surrounded by kids,” Halliburton says. “I still feel like a kid between the ears a lot of the time.”

He adds: “I’ve enjoyed just hanging at home with my wife and daughter immensely, then there are times where I get the itch to just go out and still paint the town—but the latter urge comes fewer and farther between.” thepitchkc.com | December 2021 | THE PITCH

27

FILM

IN THE SPOTLIGHT PROCESSION DETAILS THE HEALING PROCESS OF SIX ADULT SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT PERPETRATED BY KANSAS CITY-BASED CATHOLIC PRIESTS BY ABBY OLCESE

TW: This article discusses sexual assault, abuse, and trauma.

One of the first things that strikes you about Procession is the title card. It’s superimposed in The Exorcist-style font over a shot of an altar boy standing in a choir loft, backlit by a stained glass window. The image is arresting, but what really stands out is the filmmaking credit. Rather than listing a single director, the card includes 22 names.

Columbia-based documentarian Robert Greene’s name doesn’t appear until the start of the fourth line. At the very top are the names of six men, none of whom are

“It’s a lot of what documentaries are anyway,” Greene says. “You’re listening to the people who are on screen. It’s just a little more focused on a goal, and that goal is to help each other.”

Eldred says the open creative alliance between the participants and Greene created an atmosphere of trust that allowed everyone to be as vulnerable and supportive as they needed to be—not only for the success of the project, but for their own growth.

“It’s hard to trust after being abused like we all were. It’s hard to be vulnerable and put yourself out there,” Eldred says. “When Robert stepped out of being the sole director

(L to R) Ed Gavagan, Michael Sandridge and Dan Laurine in Procession.

filmmakers by trade: Joe Eldred, Mike Foreman, Ed Gavagan, Dan Laurine, Michael Sandridge, and Tom Viviano. These men are all survivors of sexual assault perpetrated by Catholic priests who were active in the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese.

It’s clear the story you’re about to see doesn’t belong to any one person. Instead, it’s an active collaboration to tell the stories of the survivors, and help them heal.

“Their voices had to guide the process,” Greene says. “That wasn’t hard, because they’re brilliant men, and once we got going they were excited to take on that challenge.”

Procession follows Eldred, Foreman, Gavagan, Laurine, Sandridge, and Viviano as they work with Greene and a drama therapist, Monica Phinney. The mens’ goal is to claim and reshape the childhood traumas that have impacted their lives for decades through acting out dramatic scenes that put the power back in their hands and allow them to respond to their experiences.

Greene says the approach may be different from a typical documentary, but the intention is the same.

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THE PITCH | December 2021 | thepitchkc.com

NETFLIX © 2021

and allowed us to tell our own stories and gave us the freedom to say no or yes, it allowed me to own my story and go as far as I felt comfortable going. He never pushed me farther and harder, which allowed me to go farther and harder, and to explore as much as I could.”

“A crisis and an opportunity” Greene says that the journey to making Procession started when his previous documentary, Bisbee ‘17, was making festival rounds. In that film, Greene worked with current-day citizens of Bisbee, Arizona to re-enact a harrowing event from 1917: the forced deportation of 1,300 striking mine workers across state lines.

“I got a question during a Q&A where someone asked if I had therapists on the project. My answer was completely inadequate,” Greene says. “Reflecting on that, my sister-in-law told me to read [Bessel van der Kolk’s book] The Body Keeps the Score, and I learned that one method for helping work through trauma is staging things theatrical-

FILM his voice, and Joe today reconnected with him on a real level.”

Eldred says the outcome was transformational, allowing him to finally start bridging the gap between the child he was and the adult he’s become.

“I feel the healthiest and most centered I’ve been,” he says. “Reading it in the church, Robert left it totally up to me to say, ‘No that’s too hard. But it felt right.”

“The most important experience of my life”

Terrick Trobough in Procession.

NETFLIX © 2021

ly and using drama therapy effectively. She told me, ‘This is what you’ve been doing your whole career.’ I realized this was both a crisis and opportunity at the same time.”

Greene says this sudden realization gave his filmmaking a new sense of purpose, one he was eager to explore further.

“I thought, ‘What’s the point of doing these movies?’ If I’ve really been doing this all along, why not actually make it therapeutic and try to help,” Greene says.

Greene explains that at the same time he was starting to engage with this subject in 2018, news was coming out about the history of abuse in the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese, simultaneous to the release of abuse findings in Pennsylvania following a twoyear grand jury investigation. Looking into these events led Greene to find the August 2018 press conference that opens Procession, in which Viviano, Sandridge, and Foreman address their abuse alongside lawyer Rebecca Randles.

“I was completely moved by these guys,” Greene says. “It was the lightning bolt that happens at the beginning of a project, when everything I’ve been thinking about suddenly hits, and I had a desire to reach out.”

Eldred wasn’t part of the press conference Greene saw, but was invited to join the project by Randles after Greene contacted her.

“What drew me to it was the thought of meeting other guys like me,” Eldred says.

“Ultimately when I began to understand the scope of the film, I saw it could help so many people, not just men who’d been abused, but anyone who had trauma in their background.”

“They get me and I get them” Many of Greene’s previous films have involved elements of performance or reenactment. This time, however, the process was different and more intentional. Greene says

that from the very beginning, it was important that trained professionals and people with connections to the men involved have active influence.

“The role of therapists in the project was essential,” Greene says. “Monica Phinney, Rebecca [Randles], and [therapist] Sasha Black are all trauma trained. Their skepticism and doubt and, ultimately, support were really important in guiding the process.”

Over the course of the film, the six men are asked not only to re-engage with traumatic moments from their past in the hope of overcoming them, but to take some big emotional risks in order to help each other.

One such risk involved Viviano, San-

(L to R) Terrick Trobough and Joe Eldred in Procession.

dridge, and Laurine willingly donning vestments to play the roles of abusive Catholic clergy in scenes staged by the other men.

Seeing Sandridge, Viviano, and Laurine in the costumes of their abusers feels both shocking and moving in the strength and selflessness it displays.

“At one point you hear Michael say, ‘Why did I say yes? Because Ed [Gavagan] asked me to do it,’” Greene says. “Could Ed have ever gone through the process of what he does with anyone other than Michael? I don’t think so. Could Mike [Foreman] have

unleashed his fury onto anyone other than Tom? I don’t think he could’ve. It’s a testament to the guys who took on those roles and said ‘I’m here, give it to me, do it.’”

Eldred says that willingness to share each other’s journeys created a unique and vital bond between him and his fellow survivors.

“I can’t stress how liberating that was to not be alone,” Eldred says. “In your mind, the Titanic has sunk and you’re the only one in that lifeboat out on the open ocean. Now there are other men in that boat who know me, know my face. They get me and I get them.”

Near the end of the film, as Eldred returns to one of the sites of his abuse, Nativity

NETFLIX © 2021

of Mary Parish in Independence, Missouri.

In the parish hall, Eldred reads a letter addressed to his 10-year-old self (his age at the time of his abuse), personified by actor Terrick Trobough, who stands in as the youthful proxy for all of the men. It’s a heartbreaking, direct, and vulnerable moment Eldred says was years in the making.

“I tried to connect with 10-year-old Joe for so long. When that opportunity came up, I took it as a personal challenge,” Eldred says. “Over the course of a few weeks, the letter came out. 10-year-old Joe finally had

Before its theatrical release November 12, Procession premiered at a number of film festivals, beginning with the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado last September. Eldred says the experience of seeing the film with an audience was nerve-wracking but rewarding.

“I didn’t know what to expect, and I definitely didn’t know how big it was to go to Telluride. Before then, I’d watched it with my wife in my living room,” Eldred says. “It’s a surreal experience in that you put yourself out there, but the only people who have seen it are people who care about you.”

The reception, however, has been unanimously positive and affirming.

“Each of the screenings I’ve been to ends with a standing ovation, and it’s humbling to see that people care enough to watch these strangers go through the process we did,” Eldred says.

Greene says the experience of making Procession has made him see the importance of addressing mental health in his own life.

“I’m in therapy for the first time in my life because of this film. It’s not just because making it was hard, though it was,” Greene says. “I see the possibility of therapy. I see the potential of therapy. I can address my own past, empowered by what I see these men doing. That’s the most important experience of my life.”

Eldred says he’s hopeful the film will help further conversations around mental health, sexual abuse, and trauma.

“Especially for men, it’s not currently socially acceptable to talk about being sexually assaulted,” Eldred says. “There are so many people walking around with secret traumas. I hope husbands can talk to their wives about what’s happened to them, or children can talk to their parents. I hope and pray those traumas are discussed.”

Greene agrees, adding he hopes the film helps filmmakers to better tell important, emotionally vulnerable stories in a way that respects the subjects’ experiences and needs.

“Hopefully seeing what these guys have done will help others take some of the same steps I’ve taken,” Greene says. “The agreement is we’re making something together.

That’s not what documentaries used to be, but it’s what they’re becoming more and more. I think filmmakers can learn from what we pulled off here.” thepitchkc.com | December 2021 | THE PITCH

29

EVENTS

DECEMBER EVENTS FOR MORE EVENTS, VISIT THEPITCHKC.COM/CALENDAR

BY TYLER SCHNEIDER

DEC 1-5, 8-12, 15-19, 21-24, 26: KC Rep’s A Christmas Carol, Spencer Theatre (UMKC) Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s 41st annual run of A Christmas Carol at UMKC’s Spencer Theatre has been underway since Nov. 19, but the KC classic will of course be running through December.

This year’s production is directed by Jason Chanos and features the return of Gary Neal Johnson as Scrooge Johnson will be joined by cast members Chioma Anyanwu, Lauren Braton, Walter Coppage, Eileen Dixon, Peggy Friesen, Khalif L. Gillett, Riley Lucas, Caleigh Michnowicz, Meredith Noel, Michael Oaks, John Rensenhouse, Mark Robbins, and Bri Woods.

Tickets start at $39 and are now available for purchase.

DEC. 2-5, 9-12: Amahl and the Night Visitors, Michael and Ginger Frost Production Arts Building DEC 3-27: Holiday Reflections Village, Union Station DEC. 3-19: Music Theatre KC presents: A Christmas Story, Aztec Shawnee Theater DEC. 3-24: Kansas City Ballet presents: The Nutcracker, Kauffman Center for Performing Arts DEC. 3-5, 9-12, 17-19: Elf The Musical, Theatre Lawrence DEC. 3 Patton Oswalt, Uptown Theater Travis Tritt, Ameristar Casino Star Pavilion

KU University Dance Company 2021 Fall Concert, William Inge Memorial Theater Cracked! A Reimagined Kansas City Nutcracker, City Stage Theatre Meriwether’s Psychic Fun and Festivities, Meriwether’s Coffee Leavenworth, KS Chris Hazelton’s B00GAL00, The Ship Merry Market, City Market Nocturne, The Black Box Theater Jazz Storytelling, Gem Theater A Nice Family Christmas, Ruby Theatre Unfit Wives & Old Sound, Aztec Shawnee Theater Bridget Kibbey, Harp, with the Dover Quartet, Midwest Trust Center The Soul of Santa, 18th and Vine HeelsandMotivation, Main Street Theater DEC. 4 Tech N9ne with Rittz, Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland Mini KC Mystic Reader Pop Up, Shop Colie Studio Mesner Puppet Theater, Midwest Trust Center (7 p.m.)

Fiesta Navidad con Mariachi Los Camperos, Midwest Trust Center (8 p.m.)

A Nice Family Christmas, Ruby Theatre The Grisly Hand, The Ship Synchronicity & Killer Queen, Aztec Shawnee Theater Carrot Top, Ameristar Casino Star Pavillion DEC. 5 James Taylor, T-Mobile Center Ana Gasteyer’s “Sugar & Booze Holiday Tour”, Midwest Trust Center Cracked! A Reimagined Kansas City Nutcracker, Union Station Nocturne, The Black Box Theater The Soul of Santa, 18th and Vine beabadoobee, The Truman Merry Axemas (A Horror Themed Craft Fair), The Cable Building J Fowler, Parlor DEC. 6 David Sedaris, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts Atreyu, The Truman Canadian Brass Holiday Concert, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts Jeff Shirley Organ Trio, Green Lady Lounge Nocturne, The Black Box Theater

Stay up to date on the most recent events with our online calendar.

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THE PITCH | December 2021 | thepitchkc.com

EVENTS

DEC. 7 Kansas City Jazz Orchestra Presents: Hallelujah Holidays, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts A holiday-themed celebration of 1960s Soul Jazz will bring infusions of Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Cannonball Adderley, and Horace Silver to Helzberg Hall.

“After Charlie Parker’s brilliant cultivation of bebop, a number of new stylistic directions emerged in the 1960s jazz landscape, and of those nothing grooved harder than Soul Jazz: a combination of swing, bebop, and the Rhythm and Blues and Soul Music that had taken the pop charts by storm,” the event description reads.

Tickets range from $33.50 to $68.50 from the Kauffman Center box office site. The festivities start at 7 p.m.

Jackie Meyers, The Folly Theater Honky Tonk Tuesday: Rex Hobart & The Honky Tonk Standards, The Ship DEC. 8 Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror, Stray Cat Film Center Trivia Blitz, Flying Horse Taproom EMS Night with Bob Bucko Jr. / Kelley Gant / VDO, The Ship DEC. 9 A Renaissance Christmas with KC Chorale & Stile Antico, Folly Theater Comedy Open Mic, The Comedy Club of KC A. Graham: This Tyrant Is Free, The Ship Jeff Shirley Organ Trio, Green Lady Lounge The House Rockers, IronHorse Bar and Grill Karaoke Thursday, Knuckleheads Saloon

Allen and Zeke Montana (from 106.5 The Wolf), with proceeds raised going towards providing children access to mental health education and wellness support programs in the community.

Individual tickets are $200 per person, while a table seating up to 10 guests will cost $2,000.

The event also has a variety of sponsorship opportunities available for organizations looking to contribute en masse.

JD McPherson, Knuckleheads Saloon Anderson East with Savannah Conley, The Madrid Theatre The Recliners, Aztec Shawnee Theater The Driver Era, The Truman Sugarplum Shopping Event, GOEX Apparel Christmas Five Senses Open House, John Wornall House Museum Holiday Inn, Missouri Theatre Soul Jazz with KC Green, The Ship Community Assistance Council Eating Smart and Being Active Program, Online The Soul of Santa, 18th and Vine DEC. 11 Tanya Tucker with Erin Enderlin, Knuckleheads Saloon Taylor Tomlinson, Uptown Theater KC Retro Gaming Swap and Collectables Show, Ivanhoe Masonic Lodge No. 446 Farmers’ Market, Lawrence, KS Ridin’ The Storm Out Rockin Merry Christmas Show, Aztec Shawnee Theater Knuckleheads Saturday Jam, Knuckleheads Saloon The Soul of Santa, 18th and Vine DEC. 12 Great Santa Run 5k, Johnson County Community College Merry Market DEC. 13 KC Craft Cocktail Week, Online through Dec. 19 Chris Isaak, Uptown Theater Navidad-Natal with Vanessa Severo and Victoria Botero, Black Box Theater Jeff Shirley Organ Trio, Green Lady Lounge DEC. 14 Honky Tonk Tuesday: The Naughty Pines, The Ship DEC. 15 Maggie Rose with Them Vibes, Dylan Hartigan, Knuckleheads Saloon Lindsey Buckingham with Sammy Brue, Uptown Theater Trivia Blitz, Flying Horse Taproom

DEC. 10 Tyreek Hill Family Foundation First Annual Gala, Neptune Ballroom at Loews KC Hotel Cheetah looks to bring his speed and efficiency on the field to the fundraising world Dec. 10 as he and his family host their first gala, complete with a VIP cocktail hour, silent and live auctions, fundraising games and events, dinner, drinks, and live entertainment.

The night will be attended by several Kansas City Chiefs players as well as emcees Codie

DEC. 16 Old Crow Medicine Show and Molly Tuttle, Uptown Theater Samantha Fish, The Truman Comedy Open Mic, The Comedy Club of KC Jeff Shirley Organ Trio, Green Lady Lounge The House Rockers, IronHorse Bar and Grill Online Sunflower Writer’s Workshop, Not offline

thepitchkc.com | December 2021 | THE PITCH

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EVENTS DEC. 17 Eileen Ivers: A Joyful Christmas, Folly Theater Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal, The Ship Glamour Profession KC, Aztec Shawnee Theater Let It Show—Opening Reception, Images Art Gallery KC Zoo Blood Drive, Kansas City Zoo Radkey’s Annual Uncanny Xmas Night One, recordBar Radkey, composed of three brothers from St. Joseph, is essentially a contemporary version of the Misfits, with much better studio recording quality and (hopefully) more relatable lyrical content.

2021 was particularly huge for the Black punk-rock trio, as they found themselves hand picked by Dave Grohl to tour with The Foo Fighters last summer. They also played with Local H and sold out several shows they themselves had headlined.

The group will start their two-night victory lap in their beloved KC with all six hot hands on deck at recordBar, Dec. 17, with guests Drop A Grand and The Many Colored Death joining them as part of The Bridge’s 20th Anniversary Concert Series.

The second night, Dec. 18, will see the return of Drop A Grand and add Godzillionaire as a supporting act.

As is tradition with Radkey—power riffing nerds to the very core—this concert will be titled “Uncanny X-Mas” an ode to the classic X-Men series of the same name.

DEC. 18 Radkey’s Annual Uncanny Xmas Night Two, recordBar The Floozies, Uptown Theater Making Movies, The Truman Impractical Jokers Live, T-Mobile Center Nutcracker Ballet presented by: Heart of America Youth Ballet, Raytown High School Katy Guillen & The Drive EP Release Party, The Ship Christmas Family Fun Day, Alexander Majors House Museum The Polar Express: Pajama Party, Ruby Theatre SantaCon KC 2021, Waldo Bars The Ronni Ward Band, Aztec Shawnee Theater Knuckleheads Saturday Jam, Knuckleheads Saloon DEC. 19 Nutcracker Ballet presented by: Heart of America Youth Ballet, Raytown High School A Christmas Carol, KC Rep Spencer Theater LeAnn Rimes, Uptown Theater The Mengel Brothers, Chaz on the Plaza A Drag Queen Christmas, Folly Theater J Fowler, Parlor DEC. 20 Jeff Shirley Organ Trio, Green Lady Lounge Open Studio Night, Images Art Gallery

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THE PITCH | December 2021 | thepitchkc.com

DEC. 21 Honky Tonk Tuesday: Lorna Kay’s One Night Stand, The Ship

A Magical Cirque Christmas, Music Hall Kansas City DEC. 22 Trivia Blitz, Flying Horse Taproom DEC. 23 Comedy Open Mic, The Comedy Club of KC Jeff Shirley Organ Trio, Green Lady Lounge The House Rockers, Knuckleheads Saloon Karaoke Thursday, IronHorse Bar and Grill DEC. 24 Community Assistance Council Eating Smart and Being Active Program, Online DEC. 25 Knuckleheads Saturday Jam, Knuckleheads Saloon DEC. 26 J Fowler, Parlor Free Sunday Open Jam, Knuckleheads Saloon DEC. 27 Jeff Shirley Organ Trio, Green Lady Lounge DEC. 28 Jeff Dunham, T-Mobile Center Steve Cardenas, recordBar Honky Tonk Tuesday: Slim Hanson & The Poor Choices, The Ship

DEC. 29 Trans-Siberian Orchestra, T-Mobile Center They’ve sold over 10 million albums, are one of the most consistently top-selling acts of the new millennium, and have done two Christmasthemed tours since the overdose death of their founder, Paul O’Neill, in 2017.

Sidelined to live-streaming only last year, the bombastic arena-rock test-tube baby concept band will return to their old ways with a stop in Kansas City, Dec. 29, at the T-Mobile Center.

The performance will be particularly special in that it marks the 25th anniversary of the group’s landmark album, Christmas Eve and Other Stories.

The group will play both a 3 p.m. matinee show and an 8 p.m. headliner show. Tickets for the back-to-back appearances are still available starting at $46 and run up to around $100 depending on seating choice.

Trivia Blitz, Flying Horse Taproom DEC. 30 Comedy Open Mic, The Comedy Club of KC Jeff Shirley Organ Trio, Green Lady Lounge The House Rockers, Knuckleheads Saloon Karaoke Thursday, IronHorse Bar and Grill DEC. 31 NYE Live!, Power & Light District

thepitchkc.com | December 2021 | THE PITCH

33

KC CARES

HAPPYBOTTOMS WIPES ONE CONCERN AWAY

BY SAVANNAH HAWLEY

Babies go through an average of 2,500– 3,000 diapers in their first year of life. That amounts to about $500-$900 annually, not including the cost of wipes and other diapering supplies. For many, that is a necessary cost that they cannot afford.

One in three families across the country experiences diaper need—a lack of clean diapers to keep children clean and healthy.

In Missouri, that amounts to 217,232 children under 3 years old without access to clean diapers. The problem has only been exacerbated since the onset of COVID-19.

Demand for diapers increased by over 70% in 2021.

One local organization, HappyBottoms, is seeking to eliminate diaper need in the region. Since diapers are not covered by any government assistance programs, HappyBottoms exists to fill gaps in social service agencies in the metro area.

HappyBottoms started in 2009, when Jill Gaikowski, founder and executive director, learned about a diaper bank in California. She had a 2-year-old at the time, so the issue was especially close to her.

“I had never heard of diaper banks. But that’s not surprising, because at the time there were maybe a handful of diaper banks in the entire country, if even that many,” Gaikowski says. “I learned a little bit more about the diaper bank and about the need and I thought that’s something that’s probably a big need here. I launched a ‘7000 diapers in seven days’ drive. After seven days, I brought in almost 20,000 diapers.”

HappyBottoms works with over 50 social service agencies and four area hospitals to distribute diapers. Through monetary and diaper donations, the nonprofit ensures that partner agencies give either 50 disposable diapers or 30 training pants per month to families in need.

“Diapers are often the number one requested item at social service agencies,” says Gaikowski. “Places like Catholic Charities, Operation Breakthrough—they have their own missions and are doing incredible work. So we are happy to partner with them in order to bring them diapers. We’re helping to get [diapers] into these other social service agencies.”

To qualify for diapers, families must live in Jackson, Clay, Platte, or Cass Counties, have children younger than 4 years old, and demonstrate financial need.

In 2020, HappyBottoms distributed 2,359,829 diapers to 12,014 children—the most the organization has ever served. The nonprofit has done 36,253 total distributions

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THE PITCH | December 2021 | thepitchkc.com

Volunteers help package and distribute diapers COURTESY HAPPYBOTTOMS

this year, as per the latest figures available in September.

There are over 300 diaper banks across the country now, including in St. Louis, Springfield, and mid-Missouri. The banks formed a state coalition to make more effective change.

Currently, the groups are working to remove taxes from diapers and get diapers covered by government assistance programs. They are also hoping to grow their respective organizations to ensure that the entire state has access to diapers, not just the counties each bank services.

Though there is still a tax on diapers, Missouri lowered that tax to not exceed 1%. HappyBottoms encourages everyone to continue to advocate for these changes by contacting their representatives to get diapers covered by governmental assistance programs and eliminate the tax.

“Advocacy is always a part of our work because we want to end diaper need,” Gaikowski says. “Ultimately, I’d love to put myself out of business—that would be great.”

You can support HappyBottoms by volunteering or donating both money and diapers. The nonprofit is able to purchase diapers at a discounted rate using monetary donations—so a $20 donation can supply $40 worth of diapers.

If you or someone you know is in need of diapers, you can register through the organization’s website at happybottoms.org.

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SEX & LOVE

IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL (AND SEXIEST) TIME OF YEAR! BY KRISTEN THOMAS

All the attention on relationship rejuvenation you read in magazines seems to be focused on the summertime. Perhaps it’s the summertime sizzle that makes late fall and early winter the most common time to conceive. (Psst—it’s also when Americans are most likely to be diagnosed with chlamydia or gonorrhea, so please start getting tested regularly and use barrier protections.)

But, in my opinion, December flies under the radar as the sexiest month of all.

Personally, I’m more of a quality vs. quantity gal, and December makes for some quality mattress dancing. There’s also a special something in the air that lends itself to a romantic mood.

Now, don’t get me wrong! I’m not knocking summertime sex or hookup culture. For one thing, it falls in the middle of cuffing season, where singles aren’t so single anymore because they’re gravitating towards relationships to get through the frigid months.

But that hook-up babe who is evolving into your full-time cuddle babe can still be your down-for-whatever babe. It doesn’t have to fizzle out! And you—that couple that went on your first vacation without the kids in over five years and finally got reconnected sexually—you don’t have to settle back into your old routine either.

First off, let’s set the scene: What’s up with the summertime sex drive? Inarguably, people have more sex during the summer.

Depending on what study you read, either August or July is when people bang the most, with May and June just behind them.

Period Tracker app Eve utilized data from 1.2 million users and found they have 12%

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THE PITCH | December 2021 | thepitchkc.com

more sex in the summer months. Spring is when we have the least amount of intercourse.

A few studies have asked if the amount of sex we have influences our happiness levels. One longitudinal study, “Sexual Frequency Predicts Greater Well-Being, But More is Not Always Better” by Amy Muise et al. followed 30,000 Americans for 40 years. The study concluded that once a week is the magic number for sexually active couples. Couples who have sex 54 times a year, to be exact, correllationally report the highest level of overall relationship happiness.

Of course, having more or less sex is subjective to each person or couple. There are asexual folks who maintain happy, fulfilling relationships while never (or rarely) having sex. For those of you interested in sex, you might not get more out of banging multiple times a week—but chances are you’ll be unsatisfied with your relationship if you’re getting less than that.

Let’s embrace December as a shift. We may not be seeing our honey in a bikini or mowing the lawn shirtless right now, but doesn’t their butt look fabulous in those jeans or leggings? Shift and find the sexual energy in different places than you might have over the summer.

As a sex coach, I find it’s important that people don’t let their sex lives become seasonally cyclical. I suppose what comes up must come down, but what I like my partnered clients to focus on when it comes to intercourse is consistency. Try maintaining a baseline throughout the year—once a week, for example.

Now, if we know it’s important to focus

on quality over quantity, it’s good to note that people who take time to focus on pleasure as a journey—who are open to a wide variety of nuance in their sex lives—are also less likely to experience an orgasm gap. An orgasm gap is when one partner regularly cums during sex and the other regularly... doesn’t. According to a study in the National Library of Medicine by David A. Frederick et al, that gap is smallest for gay couples and widest for heterosexual couples, with women in heterosexual relationships cumming less frequently during partnered playtime than men.

Frederick et al.’s research also shows that the gap is reduced by practices like having a longer playtime together; talking about desires and actively explaining what you want during sex; giving new positions a try; and using sexy talk to build up the energy.

I would add that outercourse, or what some only refer to as foreplay, deserves its own place in our sexual practices. The term foreplay makes it seem as if any non-penetrative play is just a pit stop on the way to a destination. Couples should allow for a clit rub or a blow job to be the main event sometimes, too.

Ultimately, couples who treat intimacy as more than intercourse—and take their time with the actual intercourse when they have it—report higher satisfaction with their sex lives.

Look, y’all: December is basically already setting the mood for you. The month is filled with rich comfort foods, fuzzy soft sweaters, candlelight, and fireplaces ablaze— we’re indoors, snuggled up more, and it can make us extra frisky. That all sounds like a recipe for sexy playtime/baby-making energy to me! After all, Christmas Eve is the most popular singular date of conception for Americans. (Again, wrap it up if a pregnancy is not in your one-year plan.)

Enjoy the increase in cuddles now that you’re not bursting into a sweat if your legs touch on the couch. Let those hands wander under that sweater during your Netflix binge night. Try having oral between wrapping all those gifts. Send a sexy selfie with a dirty message before you head out for holiday shopping. Have a quickie before you leave for the holiday party.

I think this is what Andy Williams was actually referring to when he said it’s the most wonderful time of year!

Don’t forget to exercise, meditate, and masturbate. Cheers to you having a sexy-ashell December!

If you’re a SWer in need of support, check out APAG at apagunion.com You can find Kristen @OpenTheDoorsKC on Twitter or openthedoorscoaching.com. Check out her podcast, Keep Them Coming.

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SEX & LOVE

CUCKQUEANS RULE THE WORLD

BY DAN SAVAGE

Dear Dan: I’m a 33-year-old straight female, been with my husband for 10 years, married for six. When we first started dating, I was an extremely jealous person. Fortunately, I got it under control with lots of therapy. But once I did, I started having fantasies about him hooking up with other people. We incorporated these fantasies in the bedroom—as a fantasy—and it was insanely hot.

I’m so horny that when my husband mentioned that an old friend of his who lives in another city was getting flirty, I immediately encouraged him. With my blessing, he shared with her that I might be a cuckquean.

(Sticking with “might” for now, as we’ve never actually done this). She was interested, and the flirting escalated. Now she’s coming to town for work, but I started to feel unsexy jealousy creeping back in.

We decided that he wouldn’t do anything with her, but then she asked to have dinner with both of us. That changed the math and I agreed. I find myself vacillating between titillation and anxiety. Am I there to watch or participate? (I’m bi, so it’s not out of the question.) They’ve already got a rapport and I’m insecure about feeling left out. One minute I’m so excited that I’m sneaking away to get myself off just thinking about it. The next, I’m worrying about what will happen if I see him giving her more attention than he gives me. I’m writing because I don’t know how to process this cognitive dissonance—am I really a cuckquean if I feel this conflicted?

—Completely Confused Cuckquean Dear CCC: When I shared your letter with Venus, the host of The Venus Cuckoldress Podcast, she responded with three words and one exclamation point: “The elusive cuckquean!”

Cuckolding is a loving, consensual, “one-sided open relationship,” as Venus likes to describe it. And what you describe—that feeling of arousal and dread, titillation and anxiety—is so common among wannabe and even practicing cucks that Venus gave it a name (and a whole segment of her podcast): cuck angst.

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THE PITCH | December 2021 | thepitchkc.com

“That emotional angst comes with a beautifully complex cuckolding relationship,” said Venus. “To be able to process and overcome damaging jealousy and turn it into something highly erotic is truly an emotional feat.”

While cuck angst can be confusing, CCC, it’s not disqualifying. If your angst is manageable and the rewards are worth the effort—and if your partner can help you manage it in an affirming way—you can get to a place where you want to realize your fantasies.

“One minute it can feel great and the next minute it can feel terrifying,” said Venus. “But your partner plays a big role in providing reassurance and support. I know of a wife who wrote a thoughtful letter to her cuckold husband in advance of her first encounter with another man in case his cuck angst became overwhelming. It turned out to be exactly what he needed. He was able to work through the anxiety and make room for the excitement and thrill of thinking about his wife with another man.”

The partner of a cuck has to strike a tricky balance. You’re going to need your husband to acknowledge your insecurities and offer reassurances to minimize them, CCC, but you don’t want those insecurities to disappear. For most cucks, eroticized insecurities are at the heart of the cuckolding/ cuckqueaning kink—no insecurities, no thrills. While this can sound like a lot of effort, the experiences you’ll share, the connections you’ll make, and the orgasms you’ll have can be great.

“But be prepared for some ups and downs,” warned Venus, “because cuckolding is truly an emotional rollercoaster.”

And please—please, please, please— don’t rush into your first cuckquean experience just because this particular woman happens to be in town this particular weekend. “Taking things slow is the key to success,” said Venus. “There’s always room to move forward with flirty teasing, but having to take steps backward due to jumping into things too quickly is never easy.”

It’s not easy to bounce back from a bad threesome that accidentally triggered feelings of jealousy, CCC, but it can be done.

Learning where the line is between “good/ bad” feelings (sexy jealousy) and “bad/bad” feelings (unsexy jealousy) takes time and excessive communication.

Follow Venus on Twitter @CuckoldressV and check out her personals site for men and women seeking cuckold relationships at venusconnections.com.

Dear Dan: I’m a 30-year lesbian who listens to your podcast and reads your column religiously. I’m in a long-term monogamous relationship, and I’m very much in love with my girlfriend. I recently told her that I want to explore my kinks and my sexuality and may need an open or at least a monogamish relationship. It looks like she isn’t into that.

Perhaps we are sexually incompatible

and need to part, but what if I act on my fantasies (swinging, orgies, BDSM) and then find out that I’m not really into any of it?

Then I would have given up an otherwise good relationship for nothing. I’ve never tried any of the things I mention, so what if they’re just things I should masturbate about?

Mainly, I get very turned on by the thought of being fucked by a group of women wearing strap-ons. Sometimes I feel like I’m on the verge of a life-changing sexual discovery and other times I feel like I just want to stay home with my dog. Where do I go from here? Should I continue just masturbating to these fantasies or do you think that a glorious kinky future awaits me?

—Suddenly Thinking Repeatedly About Passionate Orgies Now Dear STRAPON: You’re gonna have to make your best guess.

If you think staying with your current girlfriend and not acting on these fantasies and never getting to fully explore these fantasies will cause you to resent your girlfriend, and your resentment will become a cancer that eventually kills your relationship, then you should end things with your girlfriend now. But if you wouldn’t be able to enjoy the experience of being fucked by a roomful of hot women because you’re filled with regret about dumping your girlfriend for something so “trivial” as a few

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easier-to-fantasize-about-than-realize sexual fantasies, then make up your mind never to act on these fantasies. (I put “trivial” in quotes because I don’t think there’s anything trivial about sexual fantasies.)

If you want it all—your girlfriend, your dog, your adventures—there may still be a way. You say it “looks like” your girlfriend isn’t interested in opening the relationship.

Which means she didn’t rule it out. So it’s my turn to venture a guess, STRAPON: I’m thinking your girlfriend might’ve had a different reaction to your request to open your relationship if you had invited her along on these proposed adventures.

Instead of saying, “I’d like to have hot sexual experiences involving other people on my own while you wait at home with the dog,” try saying this: “I’d like us to have some hot sexual adventures together—you and me, the two of us, and some hot women who dig us both!” Inviting your girlfriend to run around with you, STRAPON, instead of asking for her permission to run around on her, could get you from “looks like a no” to the kind of qualified yes that can become—with time, patience, and open and honest communication—an enthusiastic yes.

Question for Dan? Email him at mail@savagelove.net Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage. Check out my new website at Savage.Love!

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