The Entertainer! Magazine - January 2023

Gospel Meets Musical Theatre

CHEVY METAL

DeAndre Hopkins catches Barrett-Jackson fever

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski

Dressed in a casual tan suit and white T-shirt, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins gently leans back on his cherry red 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air.

He flashes his trademark smile and looks forward to auctioning off his classic car at Barrett-Jackson this month at WestWorld of Scottsdale.

“I’m parting with this because I recently got into building cars,” Hopkins says quietly. “I want to hold onto it, but being a builder, I want to have different, newer projects. I have a truck and two

more old schools.”

Barrett-Jackson kicks off its 2023 Scottsdale Auction on Saturday, January 21, and it runs through Sunday, January 29. As event season begins with BarrettJackson each year, the auction company welcomes hundreds of thousands of guests to take part in the worldrenowned automotive lifestyle event. The auction features the docket as well as a variety of activities and experiences beyond the block.

“This past year marked the most successful year of auctions in BarrettJackson’s history, setting new heights and breaking hundreds of world auction records, and we are keeping our foot firmly on the accelerator heading into

2023,” says Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson.

“This year’s Scottsdale Auction will once again provide an unforgettable experience for our guests with an extraordinary docket and a host of activities that demonstrate why we deliver The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auctions.”

Saturday, January 21, is Family Day presented by QT, when children 12 and younger receive free admission with an accompanying paying adult. BarrettJackson will present a series of handson activities, including STEM Fest, which will allow young auctiongoers the chance to learn and participate in several immersive science, technology, engineering and math exhibits.

One of the notable exhibits will be the capsule from the Blue Origin rocket, which will be showcased at STEM Fest before moving to the Exhibitor Marketplace for the remainder of the event.

Saturday will also highlight the Barrett-Jackson Cup presented by Castrol, where all 50 custom car and truck entries will be on display in the auction arena and paraded across the auction block before moving to the South Showcase to remain on display for the entire week.

The winners of the Barrett-Jackson Cup Ultimate Best in Show, including the its $20,000 cash prize, and the People’s Choice award voted on by auction fans around the world via social media, will be announced the following Saturday, January 28. Additionally, the Boy Scouts of America will be participating in a pinewood derby competition and earning their automotive merit badges.

On Sunday, January 22, BarrettJackson will feature the Future Collector Car Show presented by Meguiar’s on the WestWorld Polo Field.

The concours-style event will showcase vehicles that best represent the past, present and future of the collector car hobby. It will also feature a fashion show, live DJ and sponsor exhibits. Prior to the show, judges will hand-pick the cars for each award class from the applications submitted.

Every vehicle entered in the show qualifies for the coveted Best of Show trophy, a People’s Choice award selected by spectators on-site and various Best in Class awards.

Throughout the week, guests may also immerse themselves in a variety of other experiences, including luxury shopping within the Exhibitor Marketplace, learning from industry leaders during the “Behind the Hobby” Collector Car Symposiums and thrill rides, hot laps and off-road experiences with leading automotive manufacturers.

Guests may also enjoy one of several food and beverage options alongside outdoor fire pits, in front of the live

music stage or indoors adjacent to the auction arena. Barrett-Jackson features several delectable food trucks, craft beers, cocktails and a cigar lounge as well.

“Every January our Scottsdale auction ushers in a renewed excitement for the collector car hobby over the coming year,” said Steve Davis, president of Barrett-Jackson. “For more than a halfcentury, Barrett-Jackson has created some of the most incredible collector car moments here at home in Scottsdale. We’ve built the ultimate lifestyle event and invite everyone to help us write the next chapter in automotive history.”

Hopkins was familiar with BarrettJackson before he auctioned a black drop-top Resto-Mod 1960 Chevrolet Impala convertible with it last year. It sold for $132,000.

“It was fun,” he says. “We got what we wanted for the car. It wasn’t about getting the price. It was about experiencing it. The atmosphere was cool. It was everything I expected and more. I didn’t know it was that big.”

It was his first experience selling a car with Barrett-Jackson, but the five-time NFL Pro Bowler watched the events on television as a youngster.

“Barrett-Jackson is, obviously, a renowned auction and Craig Jackson is a renowned car collector,” Hopkins says.

“I think Barrett-Jackson is one of those names you hear and think, ‘I want to be a part of it.’ Growing up, I watched the Barrett-Jackson auctions with my uncle. That’s what my uncle used to watch: car shows and Westerns.”

Tinkering with cars is nothing new to Hopkins either. His first car was a 1982 Cutlass, which he dubs a “project car.”

“We built the speakers, and we almost electrocuted ourselves,” he says with a laugh. “It was great to be able to work on something and fix it myself. It’s nice being hands-on.”

The 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air was built in Tennessee, but Hopkins put his touch on it, notably a supercharger on top of an LS3. Designed for high performance and longevity, the LS3 reflects Hopkins’ time in Texas, he says.

Hopkins is looking forward to constructing cars himself. The hobby requires the patience of a saint.

“Some cars take two to three years,” he says. “You have to be in it for the long haul.”

Barrett-Jackson, The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auction

WHEN: Times vary, Saturday, January 21, to Sunday, January 29

WHERE: WestWorld, 16601 N. Pima Road, Scottsdale

COST: Tickets start at $25; discounts for seniors, military, students, first responders, children

INFO: barrett-jackson.com

CELEBRATING INDIAN FILMMAKING

Chandler festival is a feast for the eyes

By Ken Sain

Chandler filmmaker Mitesh Patel says there has been a noticeable change when he attends film festivals around the world.

“When I go to see some, like AFM American film market, or any other like Berlin or Cannes, whenever I go somewhere for my movie work, I meet with people and they talk about the festival,” says Patel, who is president and the director of the Chandler International Film Festival. “And what’s surprising to me is they all know, mostly I would say they know, about the Chandler Film Festival.”

Patel says they once had to work hard to get the word out about the annual festival. Now, they don’t.

The seventh annual Chandler International Film Festival is Saturday, January 21, to Sunday, January 29, at the LOOK Dine-In Cinema in Downtown Chandler. Patel says they are extending it to nine days this year, so they don’t have as many matinee showings. Films

will start at 6 p.m. most days, with some matinees on the weekends.

“You know a lot of people work, so it’s kind of a struggle, but it was good for the people who are coming from out of town so they can just stay for an entire weekend,” Patel says.

He says he wanted more Chandler residents to be able to attend, and that was the reason for pushing back start times and extending the festival.

Patel says the number of films will be the same, about 125 or so. He says they had more than 500 submitted to be considered. That’s still down considerably from pre-pandemic, when they would get about 1,000.

“I think the pandemic is still going on,” Patel says about the lower number of submissions. He adds that they no longer advertise and push hard to get the word out about the festival, relying on the fact that many in the business are already aware.

The films will be shown at LOOK Dine-In Cinemas for the second time. Patel says they were great hosts a year ago and complimented their food. After-hours parties will be staged around Downtown Chandler.

There will be no online viewing of the films for the first time in two years. In 2021, the festival was all digital because of the pandemic. Last year people had

the option to watch them online if they didn’t want to sit in a crowded theater.

Patel says many directors are concerned about piracy if they put their films online, so they would rather not.

The lineup of films was still being determined at print time in late December with an announcement expected in early January. Patel says he had not decided on which film to open the festival with, but he does have one that he would love to open it with.

The festival is adopting a theme for the first time, and it will be a celebration of Indian filmmaking. The country is celebrating 110 years of filmmaking in 2023 so Patel thought that was an easy choice.

“Last Film Show” was chosen by India to be its submission for the best international film Oscar at the Academy Awards. It has won top honors at some of the film festivals where it has been shown.

It’s the story of a 9-year-old boy in rural India who loves films so much, he bribes the projectionist of a run-down theater with homemade food so that he can watch and learn about films and filmmaking from the best seat in the house. It’s a semi-autobiographical story of director Pan Nalin.

One of the keys to being the opening night film, Patel says, is that the filmmaker needs to be in attendance. He says Nalin says he’s willing if his film is not nominated for the Academy Award. However, if it is he will be far too busy promoting it and won’t be able to attend.

“I noticed that whoever attends the Chandler Film Festival, they get very excited when someone from the movie, they’re coming and attending,” Patel says.

He adds that a couple of films in this

year’s festival will be by directors with Chandler ties. Former resident Rob Smat made a documentary called “Walkout.” It’s about Walmart’s reaction to having 23 people shot and killed in its El Paso store in 2019.

After the tragedy, the company took no action to stop selling firearms at its stores. Its employees decided to do something about that and forced the company to change.

India will not be the only country getting a focus at this year’s festival. Patel says they plan to have special nights throughout the nine days.

“We’re adding a Japanese day, a Spanish day, a Korean day, a Chinese day,” Patel says, pointing out the Chinese New Year will happen during the festival (January 22).

One of the reasons the Chandler International Film Festival has gotten such notice is because of the success it has had in matching filmmakers with distributors. Patel says all of their feature-length films last year got distribution deals.

“It’s been a couple of years now,” Patel says of the 100% distribution. “I’ve been I’ve been doing this for 15 years, I know so many companies. And I created this festival to help the filmmaker to showcase their work and put it out.”

Chandler International Film Festival

WHEN: Various times Saturday, January 21, to Sunday, January 29

WHERE: LOOK Dine-In Cinema, 1 W. Chandler Boulevard, Chandler COST: Visit website for ticket information

INFO: chandlerfilmfestival.com

“Reflect”

SHOWING THEIR RESPECTS

Aretha Franklin’s story told through theatrical concert

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski

When Christina Sajous was a child in the Bronx, she and her mom listened to Aretha Franklin as they cleaned their apartment on Sunday mornings.

Since that time, Franklin’s music has felt like home.

So, as an adult, she didn’t have to think twice when she was asked to direct “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.,” a tribute celebrating the Motown star that comes to the Orpheum in Phoenix Friday, January 13, to Sunday, January 15.

“I love music. I love theater. I love cinema. I’m just a big fan of the arts,” she says.

“When I was approached to do this project, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, this is amazing.’”

The new production is adapted from McGee Entertainment’s Australian touring show “RESPECT: The Aretha Franklin Story” starring Angie Narayan (“Australian Idol”).

“It started in Australia,” Sajous says. “They have a show that’s running all through Australia. It was brought to us by Right Angle Entertainment to do a variation of the show one of our producers saw.”

Sajous was handed the script and asked to make the show uniquely her own and for American audiences. It had to celebrate the star’s life, from singing in her father’s church in Detroit to touring the country with Martin Luther King Jr. and becoming a legend.

“It wasn’t an easy task,” she adds. “The original script was beautiful, but it had to feel like it was in an authentic space. We did a lot of reworking of the script.”

“R.E.S.P.E.C.T.” showcases songs like “Natural Woman,” “Think,” “I Knew You Were Waiting for Me,” “Chain of Fools” and “Respect,” of course.

“It’s told from the point of view of four artists onstage — three backup singers and one lead singer,” she says. “We call them ‘hosts.’ They’re all storytellers and representative of who Aretha is. It

celebrates the legend, and the legend inside of you.

“You realize when you hear the story of Aretha, there’s no difference between her and you. She’s still a human being who had to endure so much.”

Rewriting the script came with a certain responsibility, Sajous says.

“I felt like I had a responsibility not just to uphold the integrity of what she represented in music, but what it means to my female, and a woman of color and an artist. I’m not a mother, but I experienced my mother being a mother. All these things were a part of the ingredients to build a show like this.”

“R.E.S.P.E.C.T.”

WHEN: Various times Friday, January 13, to Sunday, January 15

WHERE: Orpheum Theatre, 203 W. Adams Street, Phoenix

COST: Tickets start at $45.24

INFO: etix.com, respectontour.com

GANGSTER’S PARADISE

Richard Raschillo just

F&B

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski

After opening restaurants in Chicago, Richard Raschillo moved to the Valley to relax. Instead, the industry called him back.

“I got anxiety from not working, and it was either go to Lexapro or open another restaurant,” Raschillo says with a laugh about the antidepressant.

Raschillo signed a lease at 14891 N. Northsight Boulevard, Suite 135, Scottsdale, and that allowed him to relax.

“I slept like a baby that night,” he says. “Before then, I was pacing outside at night. My brain was circling too much.”

The result is Culinary Gangster, a brick-and-mortar version of his popular food truck in Chicago. The name comes from his Italian heritage.

“I own a fine dining, James Beard restaurant in Chicago,” he says. “I’ve had other concepts my whole life. Five years ago, my chefs and I were goofing around. I bought a truck and turned it into a food truck.

“It became an enormous success.”

Raschillo bought the concept here, but to a 1,600-squarefoot brick-and-mortar space between At Home and Kohl’s off the Loop 101. With the hopes to open three more, the eatery serves healthy fare like burgers, sandwiches, quinoa bowls, wraps, salads and breakfast — a blend of items from each of his restaurants in Chicago.

He calls the Southwest wrap ($13) one of his signature dishes, complete with grilled barbecue chicken breast, iceberg

lettuce, black beans, sweet corn, tomatoes, scallions, Monterey Jack cheese, tortilla strips and topped with Gangster ranch dressing.

On the not-so-healthy side, he says, fan favorites are the spicy Gangster burger and street gyros. The Kronos street gyros ($13) come with tomatoes, red onions and tzatziki sauce.

For the same price, guests can get the spicy Gangster burger featuring a prime beef patty, jalapeños, pickles, fried onions, aged white cheddar, sweet chili sauce and habanero sauce all on a brioche bun.

Healthy dishes are important to Raschillo. He is a former trainer who saw his clients getting results from working out, but they didn’t know how to eat right.

“I went to culinary school to learn that,” he says. “I’ve had 25 concepts over the last 25 years. People flip houses; that’s what I used to do with restaurant. I’d develop a concept, build it, staff it and sell it.

“This concept is close to me because it’s a mix of everything. I’ve made all the mistake possible. I’m not shocked anymore. Twenty-five years later, I finally have the right tools.”

Culinary Gangster

14891 N. Northsight Boulevard, Suite 135, Scottsdale 480-572-1857, culinarygangsteraz.com Instagram: @culinarygangsteraz 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Saturday

couldn’t give up

‘THE MOST AMAZING GIFT’

Medium Theresa Caputo helps survivors find closure

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski

Theresa Caputo, who has been a practicing medium for over 20 years, loves nothing more than to help individuals find closure by delivering healing messages.

For Caputo, this isn’t just her job. It’s her life.

“I feel like I’m just doing what I was meant to do here in the physical world,” she says.

“I feel I have the most amazing gift from God. He guides my entire gift.”

When Caputo comes to Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino on Saturday, January 21, she’ll let spirits guide her through the audience. A video display ensures everyone in the venue has an up-close, hands-on experience regardless of seat location.

“The experience isn’t about believing in mediums. It’s about witnessing something life-changing” says Caputo, known as the Long Island Medium.

Caputo is celebrating her 10th anniversary of being on tour and sharing personal stories about her life and explaining how her gift works. She delivers healing messages to audience members and gives people comfort knowing that their loved ones who have died are still with them, just in a different way.

Caputo admits that at first she struggled with her gift, particularly in 2001. She didn’t understand why she was chosen — until 9/11.

“It was later in my 30s,” she says.

“I always sense or felt spirit. I discovered we all that have ability to connect with our loved ones. I had that ability to connect with everyone’s loved ones. I will feel what everyone else feels. That’s where a lot of my anxiety came from. I’ll be standing there in Bed, Bath & Beyond trying to pick out towels and I’ll feel like I can’t breathe, like my lungs are filling up with fluid. That shouldn’t be happening.”

She went on to appear in living rooms thanks to TLC’s “Long Island Medium,” which aired for 14 seasons.

Last year, she went on to star in “Long Island Medium: There in Spirit” on Discovery+.

Now, she hosts a weekly podcast, “Hey Spirit!,” which was recently nominated for an Ambie Award in the Best Personal Growth Spirituality category. “Hey Spirit!” gives Caputo a platform to engage with her millions of followers sharing stories about their past loved ones and meaningful feelgood tips for a healthier and happier time on earth.

For her podcast, fans can call 1-866-TCAPUTO or 1-866-8227886.

Caputo is also the author of four New York Times bestselling books, including her most recent “Good Mourning: Moving Through Everyday Losses With Wisdom From The Other Side.”

Her show at Harrah’s Ak-Chin will be about two hours. She starts by sharing how she connects with spirit. Caputo doesn’t stay on the stage, but she has cameras that follow her around and spirit will start channeling loved ones.

“I always tell people, do not get discouraged by the amount of people in the world,” she says. “Experience, that’s what it is. The experience of witnessing healing right in front of your eyes.”

Caputo calls it a tough job, but she doesn’t want to do anything else.

“It may mean nothing to me, but it’s life changing for the person I’m standing in front of,” she says.

“That’s such a testament that the soul is OK and at peace. The soul is strong. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t be able to maneuver me around the venue. It’s an honor and a privilege to do this work.”

Theresa Caputo Live! The Experience

WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday, January 21

WHERE: Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino, 15406 Maricopa Road, Maricopa COST: Tickets start at $89 INFO: ticketmaster.com

LETTING THEMSELVES FREE

Fitz and the Tantrums return with new album

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski

Fitz and the Tantrums have traveled the world playing hits like “HandClap.” But lead singer Michael “Fitz” Fitzpatrick hasn’t seen anything like Gilbert, where his wife has family.

“What’s up with all the trees exactly 6 feet apart?” he says with a laugh.

“All the houses are the perfect shade of beige. Seriously, I have a lot of family in Phoenix on my wife’s side. It’s great for us to go there. It’s a special time for me personally.”

Fitzpatrick is returning to the Valley when his band plays Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale on Saturday, January 28. The gig is part of a tour that sees them returning to small venues. He says they’ll turn the Salt River Grand Ballroom into a “hot, sweaty dance party.”

“We like to celebrate and see people dancing,” he says. “If we can give people

an hour and a half of joy, we’ve done our job. For us, it’s about how much energy can we put out.

“For the casino, I do pretty well when I’m playing blackjack. If I bet $10 at a time, that isn’t getting my juices going. The $100 bets, that gets my juices going.”

Since 2008, the multiplatinum Los Angeles collective has released records such as 2010’s “Pickin’ up the Pieces,” 2013’s “More Than Just a Dream,” 2016’s the gold-certified “Fitz and The Tantrums” and 2019’s “All the Feels.”

Along the way, they’ve tallied just shy of 4 billion streams and counting powered by enduring hits such as the triple-platinum “HandClap,” platinum “Out of My League” and “The Walker,” and gold “Moneygrabber.”

They’ve soundtracked films on Netflix and campaigns for CVS Wellness, Sunchips, Sofi, Xfinity, Walmart, Norwegian Cruise Line, Lays and Wells Fargo, to name a few.

In 2021, Fitzpatrick released his first

solo album, “Head Up High,” under the moniker Fitz. Meanwhile, co-lead vocalist Noelle Scaggs founded Diversify the Stage to help foster more diverse, inclusive, equitable and accessible concerts, events and touring workforces for marginalized and underrepresented communities.

Besides Fitzpatrick and Scaggs, the band is James King (saxophone, flute), Jeremy Ruzumna (keyboards), Joseph Karnes (bass) and John Wicks (drums, percussion).

The multiplatinum band recently released the 12-song “You’re Yourself Free” on Elektra Entertainment.

“This might be my favorite record we’ve ever made,” he says.

“It’s our fifth studio album and our first album since ‘Pickin’ Up the Pieces’ that had so much of that Motown/ Stax influence on it. As we made every following record, we tried to bring in our other influences. There are six of us, and that’s a lot of musical tastes. For this record, we wanted to create a perfect circle, a line back through all of our records, and show the history of the band.”

For Fitzpatrick, songwriting is king. On an average he writes between 60 and

100 songs and chooses the best from them.

“I feel like one of the biggest mistakes artists make is thinking every song they write is awesome,” he says. “I go through this process of being vicious with myself. The good ones rise to the top. The bad ones stay at the bottom. I’m usually left with 25 to 30 songs I really like then it gets really hard. I have to kill some babies to take it down to 12, 15 songs.”

The message of the record is important, reflecting the “crazy last few years” with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve all been going through so much these last few years — missed weddings, delayed weddings, missed graduations and birthdays. We spent a lot of time disconnected from friends and family. This is the time to let it out, to let yourself out and be free.”

Fitz and the Tantrums

WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday, January 28

WHERE: Talking Stick Resort, 9800 E. Talking Stick Way, Scottsdale

COST: Tickets start at $30

INFO: talkingstickresort.com

JANUARY 15

Carvin Jones

The Rhythm Room, 5 p.m., $15-$50

Davina and the Vagabonds

Musical Instrument Museum, 7:30 p.m., $33.50-$49.50

Dave Henning

The Nash, 6 p.m., $5-$10 or free for instrumentalists and vocalists who sit in

Lauren Hooker Quartet

The Nash, 3 p.m., $12.80-$39

Police State Valley Bar, 7:30 p.m., $13 Scalp

The Underground, 7 p.m., $13 Sean Bonnette and Tim Kasher

The Rebel Lounge, 8 p.m., $16-$18

JANUARY 16

NO SHOWS SCHEDULED

JANUARY 17

Early Eyes

The Rebel Lounge, 8 p.m., $16-$18

Eden

The Van Buren, 8 p.m., $30

Jagwar Twin Valley Bar, 7:30 p.m., $9.33

Jazz is Dead

Celebrity Theatre, 7:30 p.m., $35-$65

Tatiana Eva-Marie

Musical Instrument Museum, 7 p.m., $33.50-$44.50

Trapt Marquee Theatre, 7:30 p.m., $25

JANUARY 18

Tommy Castro and the Painkillers

Musical Instrument Museum, 7 p.m., $44.50-$49.50

JANUARY 19

Ann Hampton Callaway: The Linda Ronstadt Songbook

Musical Instrument Museum, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., $33.50-$49.50

Avenue Army

The Rhythm Room, 7 p.m., tickets available at the door

Delphine Cortez and Joel Robin

The Nash, 4 p.m., free

Why Bonnie and Sun June Valley Bar, 8 p.m., $16

JANUARY 20

The 44’s Reloaded

The Rhythm Room, 8 p.m., $15

Benny the Butcher Aura, 8 p.m., $35-$150

Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts’ Virginia G. Piper Theater, 8 p.m., $75-$85

Crankdat

Darkstar, 9 p.m., $15-$20

Dan Wilson Quartet

The Nash, 7:30 p.m., $14.80-$45

Drezo Sunbar, 9 p.m., $24-$1,500

Homebody Friends

Valley Bar, 8 p.m., $20

Michael Kaeshammer

Musical Instrument Museum, 7:30 p.m., $38.50-$49.50

Shawn Colvin, Marc Cohn and Sarah Jarosz Highlands Church, 7:30 p.m., $34-$76

JANUARY 21

Alex Weitz

The Nash, 7:30 p.m., $12.80-$39

Carin Leon

Desert Diamond Arena, 8 p.m., $39-$660

Destroy Lonely

The Van Buren, 8 p.m., $37-$89 Futuristic Aura, 7 p.m., $25

Joan of Arkansas Yucca Tap Room, 8 p.m., free

Phoenix Amplified Jazz Experience w/Maysa Tempe Center for the Arts, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., $47-$57

Ringer Finger No Pinky Valley Bar, 7 p.m., $12

Smokey Robinson

Mesa Arts Center’s Ikeda Theater, 8 p.m., $60-$175

Southbound Rider (Allman Brothers tribute)

Mesa Jazz and Blues Theater, 7 p.m., $20.50-$29.50

Terence Blanchard

Musical Instrument Museum, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., $38.50-$54.50

The Texas Tenors Chandler Center for the Arts’ Mainstage, 7:30 p.m., $42-$74

Tom & Collins Darkstar, 9 p.m., $13-$18

Yonder Mountain String Band

Marquee Theatre, 8 p.m., $30-$60

JANUARY 22

Asim Nichols

The Rhythm Room, 3 p.m., tickets available at the door

Ioannis Goudelis

The Nash, 6 p.m., $5-$10 or free for instrumentalists and vocalists who sit in

Steven Page

Musical Instrument Museum, 7 p.m., $38.50-$54.50

Unwritten Law Crescent Ballroom, 7 p.m., $25 Walkin’ the Line: A Tribute to Johnny Cash Chandler Center for the Arts’ Mainstage, 3 p.m., $24-$38

JANUARY 23

Dry Cleaning Crescent Ballroom, 8 p.m., $22

JANUARY 24

Candy Valley Bar, 7:30 p.m., $15

JANUARY 25

Paul Anka

Celebrity Theatre, 7:30 p.m., $49-$219

JANUARY 26

Delphine Cortez and Joel Robin

The Nash, 4 p.m., free King Pari

The Rebel Lounge, 8 p.m., $15-$18

Legends of Hawaiian Music featuring Keola Beamer and Henry Kapono

Musical Instrument Museum, 7 p.m., $44.50-$49.50

Robert Cray Band

Celebrity Theatre, 7:30 p.m., $30-$75

Tatiana Crespo and Friends

Tempe Center for the Arts, 7:30 p.m., $10-$15

Will Sheff / Okkervil River Valley Bar, 8 p.m., $25

JANUARY 27

Acoustic Eidolon

ASU Kerr, 7:30 p.m., $25-$48

Alan Lewine

The Nash, 7:30 p.m., $10.80-$35

Ashley Kutcher Valley Bar, 7 p.m., $16 Blanke Sunbar, 9 p.m., $20-$1,500

BLKBOK

Musical Instrument Museum, 7:30 p.m., $35.50-$46.50

Cold Shott and the Hurricane Horns

The Rhythm Room, 8 p.m., tickets available at the door

Live from Laurel Canyon

Highlands Church, 7:30 p.m., $34-$74

ÖWNBOSS

Darkstar, 9 p.m., $12-$16

JANUARY 28

The Altons

Crescent Ballroom, 8 p.m., $20

Ari Lennox

The Van Buren, 8 p.m., sold out Carmela Y Mas

Mesa Jazz and Blues Theater, 7 p.m., $20.50-$29.50

Giovanni Kiyingi Valley Bar, 8 p.m., $13

Lalah Hathaway

Chandler Center for the Arts’ Mainstage, 7:30 p.m., $48-$78

Milt Jackson Centennial Celebration

The Nash, 7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m., $22.80-$65

Yolanda Be Cool Darkstar, 9 p.m., $14.63-$19.50

JANUARY 29

Dennis

Rowland

and Hope Morgan

The Nash, 3 p.m., $12.80-$39

Jessica Vosk

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts’ Virginia G. Piper Theater, 7:30 p.m., $45-$65

Stan Sorenson

The Nash, 6 p.m., $5-$10 or free for instrumentalists and vocalists who sit in

JANUARY 30

Lee Greenwood

Higley Center for the Performing Arts, 7:30 p.m., $45-$59

JANUARY 31

The 502s

Crescent Ballroom, 8 p.m., $20 Corey Harper Valley Bar, 8 p.m., $16

FINDING THAT COMFORT LEVEL

Steven Page is embracing the BNL catalog

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski

Former Barenaked Ladies singer Steven Page knows how to take care of his fans.

Since the start of the pandemic, Page has performed more than 90 “Live from Home” livestream shows with different sets each time.

“I owe it to them to play surprising stuff every time,” Page says via Zoom.

“So, I’ve done every song I’ve ever written — and maybe songs I was embarrassed by — at least once now over the course of this. When you look back on diary entries you made when you were a teenager, you can’t help but be a little bit embarrassed about that. My songs are essentially that.

“In the livestreams, I’ve been playing Barenaked Ladies songs I didn’t write or sing, like ‘Pinch Me.’ It’s been fun. It’s not the kind of thing I would do every day at the in-person shows, but it allowed me to have a new relationship with all of the Barenaked Ladies material as well as my solo stuff. I’m feeling a lot less precious about it.”

BNL singer Ed Robertson lends his vocals to “Pinch Me.”

Page will perform BNL and solo songs during a gig at the Musical Instrument Museum on Sunday, January 22. He’ll be joined by Craig Northey from The Odds on guitar and Kevin Fox on cello.

“We’ve been doing it in this format for, I’d say, almost seven years now,” Page says. “And we play everything from the first Barenaked Ladies album all the way to the most recent record — and we have so much fun doing it. I think the audience gets that as well. We just really enjoy being around each other, traveling with each other and playing with each other.”

Page says he constantly reminds himself how lucky he is to still be playing music as post-pandemic competition is fierce.

“It’s hard out there,” Page says. “Everybody in the world is out on the road right now. So, you’re competing with your peers everywhere you go, which is a strange feeling.”

Sometimes, it just comes down to

compromise.

“Recently, we did a show in a venue directly next door to a venue (in St. Louis) where Guster was playing,” Page says.

“We have fans in common, and that seemed very unfair. So, we decided we would trade encores. So, we ran across the alley, and they played for our audience and we played a song for their audience. Trying to coordinate the timing was a little awkward, but we just texted as we shuffled through the shows.”

Page is touring in support of his latest album, “Excelsior,” his first solo record since 2018. The collection’s 11 tracks were composed and produced entirely by Page, who co-founded Barenaked Ladies before departing on a solo career in 2009.

The lion’s share of “Excelsior” was “workshopped” on the “Live from Home” virtual concert series Page has been conducting via Zoom since 2020 from his home near Syracuse, New York.

“I kept thinking I could make this thing happen by traveling up to Canada and recording it, which I couldn’t do,” he says about the pandemic.

“So, I ended up just doing almost all that myself, apart from some of the drums and the strings that Kevin Fox played. I’ve never really done a record like that where it’s all me. It feels very exposed, and it’s the first album I’ve done where they’re all sole compositions, meaning I haven’t co-written with anybody else. I was proud of it at the very end of it, but I was very nervous about it the whole time making it.”

Page’s songs are personal and thus sometimes difficult to write and perform.

“I’ve been put in a position — partially by me — where I had to be honest about things like my mental health struggles,” he says. “I’ve been doing public speaking about it and writing songs about it for years. But when I was younger, I was writing songs about it, and I think being slightly coy about the whole thing.

“But then I could no longer afford to be coy about it. I realized I was getting such feedback from people about how helpful or liberating or comforting it was for them (fans) to hear somebody else sharing similar experiences and

similar struggles. And after doing that, I got less afraid of being honest about the emotional journey.”

His music and lyrics have impacted fans since the early days. Case in point: the BNL song “Brian Wilson,” which Page calls “one of the earliest songs I ever wrote when I was about 19.”

“I wasn’t diagnosed with anything then,” he says about his mental health state. “It’s a real gift to the middle-aged Steven to kind of see what young Steven was willing to explore. At the end of the day, that was a song about the power of music.”

Songs like “Brian Wilson” are comforting and make listeners feel like they’re not so alone, he says.

“With mental health struggles, you feel like you’re the only person who feels that way,” he says.

“Even if you rationally know you’re not in that moment, there’s a feeling of loneliness and isolation and music can create companionship that doesn’t pander.”

Recently, Page opened for The Who on the East Coast leg of the classic rock band’s jaunt. Most of the set featured familiar Barenaked Ladies songs, but fans will hear more from “Excelsior” at the MIM.

“We had about 40 minutes in front of 20,000 people,” he recalls. “I don’t need to go out there and play them my new stuff. I think I needed to go out there and remind them who I am in case they didn’t recognize it. Now, we can settle

into playing the hits plus digging into the back catalog and learning some of the new stuff and just feeling like it’s a little bit more freeform.”

Like the MIM or the Village Theater at Cherry Hill in Canton, Michigan, Page is focused on playing venues that are serious about music. They tend to work best, he says.

“I mean, we can play anywhere,” he is quick to add.

“I’m happy to play anywhere people want to come to see us. I’m not finicky about that anymore. If it happens to be a black box or a rock ’n’ roll bar, that’s fine. I do want the audience to be comfortable. Honestly, my audience is not as young as we once were.

“The romance of standing in the back all night wears off pretty quickly. I spent 30 years of my life in those rooms. I’m comfortable in them, but I’m not that nostalgic about it. I want everybody to feel like they have a comfortable place to enjoy the show. If the venue is a little bit stuffy, we always say people will remember, from seeing me 30 years ago, that that spirit of blowing up the stuffiness will always be there.”

Steven Page

WHEN: 7 p.m. Sunday, January 22

WHERE: Musical Instrument Museum, 4725 E. Mayo Boulevard, Phoenix

COST: Tickets start at $38.50

INFO: 480-478-6000, mim.org

DARKER STILL

Parkway Drive ready to share new sound on North American soil

By Alex Gallagher

Some musicians utilized the pandemic-driven hiatus from live music to set up new records. Parkway Drive vocalist Winston McCall says the break gave him too much time to tinker with the Australian band’s sound.

Parkway Drive broke through the metalcore scene in the late 2000s with an early catalog packed with heavy riffs, blast beats and McCall’s unrelenting guttural growl. The band’s 2022 collection “Darker Still” is a departure.

McCall admits he hoped to create a slightly lighter-sounding album that straddled the genre lines of power metal and early-1990s thrash metal.

“We really wanted to nail down as a sound, which is what you hear and we’re really stoked,” McCall says. “The music had to serve a purpose, and it really had to drive the overall feel of Parkway’s evolution forward; however, executing that goal is where the issues came in.”

“Darker Still” was created in three parts: pure joy, absolute agony and tension.

“There was just a lot of work that went into it. Over the period of creating this album, we were going through different stages of lockdown, different family matters at home, and all kinds of stuff,” McCall says. “And we had a lot of time to create it, which can drive you crazy.”

Some songs saw as many as 60 revisions, he says.

“The first single ‘Glitch’ was literally the song we wrote and it was the last song finished,” McCall says. “It went through about 60 different versions simply because we had too much time.”

However, McCall says that the more intricate arrangements on the record suffered little changes.

“It was weird because there are songs like ‘The Greatest Fear,’ which has more of an extravagant composition. It stayed very similar for the majority of its creation,” he says. “Then some of the simplest songs took a bunch of goes around the merry-go-round to nail down.”

The tune that proved to be the tallest order became the titular ballad “Darker Still.” Guitarist Jeff Ling approached the band early on with the riff, but the full song was a struggle.

“There were certain songs that eluded us for a very long time, like the title track, ‘Darker Still,’” McCall recalls.

“We’d never written a ballad before having to do that. It took us months

to figure out how to create that thing, and it went through so many different characterizations and so many different theories.”

The name stayed the same, however, as it describes McCall’s life.

“It’s really strange because that idea came along to me very early on — before we even had an album,” McCall says.

“It came about because of basically the journey that I’ve been going on throughout my life of confronting the reality of darkness. It’s basically about my journey to reaching an age where all of a sudden the people I love have started passing away and I was confronted with the reality of what life is, the idea of dealing with loss, and the idea that it doesn’t ever get lighter.”

Despite the nihilistic disposition behind the lyrics, McCall says recording the album was cathartic. He’s anxious to share it during the band’s first North American tour since 2018.

“It’s always cathartic, and I think there’s a part of me that has to create because it brings me catharsis and the fact that the songs are written

as a touchstone for these darker things because I have no other way of articulating them,” McCall says. “Being able to confront and articulate the way that these problems make me feel through song and through lyrics is a very powerful thing.

“I think one of the most powerful things about music is that it gives voice and it gives language to emotions which you can’t bring yourself to express any other way.”

Parkway Drive w/ Memphis May Fire and Currents

WHEN: 6 p.m. Wednesday, February 1

WHERE: The Marquee Theatre, 730 N. Mill Avenue, Tempe COST: $39.50

INFO: parkwaydriverock.com, marqueetheatreaz.com

MIXING IT UP

Jazz is Dead resurrects the Dead — with a twist

By Luke Hertel

Jazz is Dead bassist Alphonso Johnson says his band’s shows, which pay tribute to the Grateful Dead, are filled with improvisational surprises. Fans can see for themselves when Jazz is Dead plays the Celebrity Theatre on Tuesday, January 17, to celebrate its 25th anniversary and the 50-year-old Grateful Dead album “Wake of the Flood.”

Jazz is Dead is an instrumental Grateful Dead cover band that interprets the legendary act’s tracks with jazz influences. Johnson says Jazz is Dead’s shows are very fluid and typically change from night to night.

“We have always prided ourselves on not being just another Grateful Dead cover band,” says the jazz fusion veteran, who played in Weather Report. “We like to change things up and mix ’em up.”

Johnson says Jazz is Dead finds a middle ground between an original act and a cover band.

“We’re playing their songs, obviously, and hopefully you can hear the melodies in the songs,” Johnson says.

“We want to make sure we give it a slightly different twist so the audience can go, ‘Oh, yeah, I know that’s “Stella Blue,” but he’s not playing it on guitar,’ or, ‘He’s not playing it how I normally hear it.’”

Jazz is Dead has the stamp of approval from the Grateful Dead co-founder Bob Weir, who invited the musicians to tour with Bobby and the Midnites for a year.

Johnson doesn’t necessarily think “jazz is dead.” But every form of art lessens in popularity, like jazz has with younger people.

“Art always evolves,” Johnson said. “It never stays the same. We had big band music in the ’30s and ’40s. We had the small jazz groups to evolve out of that. Music and art never stay the same. It’s fortunate that that happens because it allows for younger artists to come up with their own interpretation that expresses what’s happening in their own world. So, I think it’s a good thing.”

Jazz is Dead

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 17

WHERE: Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd Street, Phoenix COST: Tickets start at $35 INFO: 602-267-1600, celebritytheatre.com

FROM PRISON TO ‘RIGHTEOUS LIVING’

Musicians find peace with Deep as Bones

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski

Rodney Scott Pieres has seen it all, from incarceration and addiction to redemption, sobriety and “righteous living.”

The Phoenix resident has parlayed those experiences into Deep as Bones, a Christian hard rock band that opens for Talk to Sheep at Pub Rock Live in Scottsdale on Saturday, January 21.

Recently, Deep as Bones released the music video for its single “Spun,” which touches on freedom from addiction and being on the road to sobriety. Filmed at

Painted Tiger Studios in Glendale, the video was directed, filmed and edited by Gavin Donnelly of Soundphoria Media. It appears on the band’s full-length, selftitled debut.

Pieres had a “pretty rough childhood,” raised by a father who dealt cocaine in the 1980s. He says his dad loved him but couldn’t stop partying. Then things turned for the worse.

“I was taking some of the coke he had lying around. You know, monkey see, monkey do,” Pieres says. “I ended up getting arrested a bunch for drinking.

“In about 2005, I was introduced to heroin. I had knee surgery, and they were giving me oxycontin. Eventually, the oxys run out. You go to the streets looking for them and heroin is, naturally, the next step in that progression.”

He stole everything he could to get money for heroin. After he was

imprisoned, he found sobriety.

“I had a rude awakening,” Pieres says. “I got in trouble in there (prison) for paraphernalia. They put me in the hole.

“I was just tired of living that way and getting what I was getting. I held on to it (sobriety), and I held on to it ever since.”

During his stint in Arizona State Prison Complex, Florence, there was another positive: He met his bandmates, John Fabricius and Walter Willis, in 2016.

“It’s a common story, but it’s not a common story to have guys meet in the pen,” he says. “We wrote the songs on the album there. When we got out, we started recording them.”

The trio recorded with producer Jay Kereny (Linkin Park) at Studio 47 on Central. Jay introduced them to thenRed and Love and Death drummer Dan Johnson, who played on the record. They finished recording at TallCat Studios

in Phoenix in 2020. Ralph Patlan (Megadeth) mixed and mastered the record.

In 2021, Pieres and his wife, Carrie Bradley, started a nonprofit called IdentiFreed, in which 100% of the proceeds benefit those affected by human trafficking through their weekly outreach work with a team of volunteers.

“I’m more interested in helping people than becoming famous for my music,” Pieres says.

Talk to Sheep w/Apex Nemesis, 73 Libra and Deep as Bones

WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday, January 21

WHERE: Pub Rock Live, 8005 E. Roosevelt Street, Scottsdale COST: $10 in advance INFO: pubrocklive.com