Tucson Weekly 10.13.22

REVENGE’

ADMINISTRATION

Steve T. Strickbine, Publisher

Michael Hiatt, Vice President

Tyler Vondrak, Associate Publisher, tyler@tucsonlocalmedia.com

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EDITORIAL

Christina Fuoco-Karasinski, Executive Editor, christina@tucsonlocalmedia.com

Hope Peters, Staff Reporter, hpeter@timespublications.com

Katya Mendoza, Staff Reporter, kmendoza@timespublications.com

Karen Schaffner, Staff Reporter, kschaffner@timespublications.com

Contributors: David Abbott, Brian Box Brown, Rob Brezsny, Max Cannon, Rand Carlson, Clay Jones, Laura Latzko, Hannah Levin, Andy Mosier, Xavier Otero, Dan Perkins, Linda Ray, Will Shortz Jen Sorensen

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DVAM D DV

J o i n u s i n o u r d i f f e r e n t D V A M a c t i v i t i e s S t u f f T h e B u s

C o m m u n i t y C o n v e r s a t i o n s W e a r P u r p l e D a y O c t . 2 2

O c t . 1 2 & O c t . 1 9 O c t . 2 0

TUCSON AUTHOR-SONGWRITER DAN STUART LAUNCHES NOVEL ‘MARLOWE’S REVENGE’

By Xavier Omar Otero

DAN STUART TRAVELED THE

world as a kind of underground minstrel fronting the far-reaching band Green on Red, which began in late-’70s Tucson as the Serfers. Now, this guy we could safely call a “Tucson legend” has a new pulp-noir novel out this week entitled “Marlowe’s Revenge.” It is set in Southern Arizona and is a stand-alone work, but third in his trilogy of books. It is on Tucson-based imprint R&R Press (full discloser: R&R Press was founded by Tucson Weekly columnist Brian Smith and his wife, Maggie).

The novel is populated by misfits, losers and sociopaths struggling with internal demons, drugs, murder and love, on both sides of the border, both sides of the law and comes highly recommended. Best-selling noir writer Tod Goldberg is a “huge fan” of the book, calling it “sunbleached desert noir at its finest. Violent,

funny, weird, and 100 percent original.”

Here, in an exclusive Q&A, Stuart and Tucson historian Lydia Otero (and author of madly respected books “La Calle” and “In The Shadows of the Freeway”), talk “Marlowe’s Revenge,” truth in fiction, greed, and the hidden underbelly of Tucson’s sordid past. There is also a novel excerpt below.

A Tucson book-release party (at Pidgin Palace Oct. 21) is scheduled where Stuart will front a long-dreamed-of one-person surprise experience. The show will feature Stuart reading from his new novel and playing songs from his storied career, interspersed with what will likely be

his patented droll banter.

“Most questions will be answered,” he promised.

DAN STUART AND LYDIA OTERO IN CONVERSATION:

Lydia Otero: Who is Marlowe Billings and why did he end up in Tucson? Dan Stuart: Marlowe goes way back to

SORENSEN

a punk-rock house in Tucson we called Serfer Hollow, around 1979. He’s my nom de guerre I guess, or alter ego. Since then, I’ve lived in maybe a half-dozen cities and three di erent countries, but Marlowe always comes along for the ride. Sometimes I wish he would get his own damn life.

Dan Stuart was in the band Green on Red, which began in the late-’70s Tucson as the Serfers. (DAN STUART/SUBMITTED)

LO: How much of your book is factual because homicides and other felonies are critical to the story?

DS: Well, everything I write is roughly 65% true. Good luck figuring out what is and isn’t. I don’t even know half the time, memory is like that. Tucson has always had a hidden contraband economy, its nickname in Sonora is el almacén, the warehouse or depot. As for the murder at Fred Enke Golf Course, there was one that occurred there, but nothing like I write about. I might add there are other criminal acts that aren’t technically illegal, but should be, like what happened Downtown with the convention center displacing an entire neighborhood, as you described so well in “La Calle.”

LO: What inspired you to write this book?

DS: I come and go to Tucson every other decade or so, and when I returned this time in 2018, I wanted to figure out what happened to me here in the ’90s. It was a miserable time, for a few di erent reasons, but I survived myself. This book is the last of a Marlowe Billings trilogy of both fiction and records. I thought it fitting to bring it all back home.

LO: Did you model Detective Chavez, or any of the other characters after people you know?

DS: Most are composites, or even doppelgangers of people I know, but not their true selves. It’s a work of fiction. A character like Chavez does come alive though, is born through the creative process. I like him a lot, he represents a certain dogged toughness that to me is Tucson.

LO: How does land speculation and

greed figure into the story?

DS: Well it’s always been there, hasn’t it? You go back to the Horizon Corporation, or the savings and loan scandals of the ’80s, and it’s right in your face. In this book, it’s all a bit nebulous, which I think mirrors reality more accurately. An institution like Deutsche Bank, who knows what really goes on there? Money rules the world, even a child knows that.

LO: Are there any morals or lessons you want readers to take away after reading your book?

DS: A reprobate like me giving moral advice would be absurd. I do think people can survive their demons and mistakes, and should be given second and third chances. As a middle-aged white male from a privileged background, my life would be far di erent if I was a person of color from a di erent economic reality. It’s exciting to see Tucson grapple with its past, to finally have a real conversation about how we got here and why. There’s a lot to celebrate, and a lot that still needs to be accounted for.

LO: Do you play golf?

DS: I played an obscene amount of golf in the ’90s. I recently got both hips replaced, and probably could start playing again, but nah. I’m sympathetic to the view that golf courses use too much water, and shouldn’t exist in the desert. I also believe it’s a great game that can provide hours of enjoyment at a reasonable cost, given the right conditions. I swim nowadays and am more worried about the general lack of physical exercise people are getting. Many days I have a public pool almost to myself, in the middle of summer, no less. Of course, working three jobs to pay rising rents is literally killing people.

Sports and recreation, the beauty of nature, helped me turn things around more than once, and should be available to all.

LO: “Marlowe’s Revenge” has been described as desert or neo-noir. Do you agree with these assessments?

DS: Why not? The novel starts with Marlowe finding a body he doesn’t report, a noir trope for sure. There also are no heroes to be found, outside of Chavez who is just doing his job, nothing above routine police work. I dislike easily identifiable heroes and villains in fiction and cinema, people are a mixture of both. As for setting, yes, the Sonoran desert figures prominently. When you grow up here it stays with you, a truly special place di erent from any other on the planet.

MARLOWE’S REVENGE EXCERPT:

First one out as the sun rose, with only an ancient foursome behind, Marlowe felt like an Apache scout blazing a trail. He’d been clean only a few weeks, but with every round his game was getting better. Playing almost every day, his latest and final publishing advance covered the green fees, still less than half of what he’d been spending on heroin back in Spain. The goal was to get under a 5-handicap; scratch was impossible for a popcorn hitter like him. Golf was a good substitute for dope: ritualistic, decent exercise, and left him with a post-round feeling of calm that allowed for a few precious hours of sleep at night.

Making the turn at Fred Enke, a dicult desert course, Marlowe’s drive drifted into the right hardpan after an unlucky bounce o a sprinkler head. Finding his ball beside a jumping cholla, he squinted down to make sure it was indeed a Titleist 3 he always marked with a small M in

red ink. Trying to pick it clean, he caught it thin but got some roll, leaving maybe 130 yards to a back right pin. Wary of coming up short, he clubbed down to an 8, but hit it sweet and flew the green into a back bunker he couldn’t see, but knew was there.

Oh well, that’s golf.

Marlowe walked up to the green and froze to admire a Gila monster warming itself in the sun. Only the third he’d ever seen, its beaded orange-and-black hide shimmered in the morning light. Strange, he thought. They usually appear only during monsoons, which had come and gone. Entranced, Marlowe felt grateful to be out of Madrid, o dope, and in the presence of such desert royalty. The only problem was La Española, who refused to speak to him. He wondered what she was doing at this very moment back in Spain, her admirers and sycophants lined up and ready for la marcha from mid-night to dawn, hitting bar after bar, winding up who knows where.

Looking back to the tee, the geezers still hadn’t made the turn; probably stopped to grab a bite. As the fat lizard waddled o , Marlowe grabbed a wedge and putter and approached the bunker. Looking down, he found a man lying in the sand, mouth open and staring at the sun. Roughly Marlowe’s age, he was dressed in casual Tucson business attire: khaki slacks, blue Levi’s shirt, boat shoes, no socks. Marlowe’s ball had splashed the sand and rolled next to his ear, an unplayable lie.

“Hey

There were no footprints in the trap; someone had carefully raked the entire bunker.

“Hey man, you alright?”

Taking in the frozen eyes, Marlowe watched his chest, but there was no movement. A tarantula hawk wasp hovered close and entered the man’s gaping mouth before flying o in search of proper prey.

Dude was dead.

His head spinning, Marlowe panted like a dog and considered his options. As a convicted felon in the state of Arizona, he wanted no part of this—fuck no. Heart racing, he grabbed a 3-iron, went back to the bunker, and tried to retrieve his ball without stepping in the sand; impossible. He looked around for a rake, but whoever had tidied the trap had stashed it somewhere. Staring back at the tee, the foursome had just hit their drives. Goddamnit! Marlowe shouldered his bag and headed for the next tee, watching himself from above like a movie he’d heard about, but never seen. Rushing his drive on 11, Marlowe remembered what his rehab counselor told him about avoiding stressful situations: The smallest little thing could trigger an addict into using

CLAYTOONZ By Clay Jones

again. This here was no trifle; let someone else deal with it. He played the back nine quicker than usual, not bothering to keep score, the image of the corpse flickering in his head.

Coming o 18, he took a look at 10 and noticed a threesome on the green, but everything looked normal. No one ever takes enough club, he thought. That poor dude could go undiscovered for the rest of the day until a hacker skulls a chip across the green and into the bunker. He quickly made his way to the parking lot, put his clubs in the trunk of his ‘69 Montego, and drove home blasting the AC. It was only at a red light at Kolb and Broadway, when he reached to change the station, that he noticed his hand was shaking. Opening the door to retch, he upchucked a few drops of rancid water and bits of a granola bar he’d eaten for breakfast. A scuzzy biker in the next lane leered, then roared o , leaving Marlowe to choke on his exhaust.

Fuck Tucson, no one gives a shit about nothing.

Tucson Book Launch of “Marlowe’s Revenge”

WHEN: 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21

WHERE: Pidgin Palace Arts, 1110 S. Sixth Avenue, Tucson

COST: Free through eventbrite

INFO: 520-628-9600

CURRENTS

AL FOUL’S WIDOW REFLECTS ON HIS LIFE AND LEGACY

By Hannah Levin

WHEN MY HUSBAND LEFT THIS world in the twilight hours of May 25, 2022, he roared like a lion. His arms were stick-straight, precisely parallel to his body, fists clenched and holding a posture not unlike a daredevil cli diver heading feet first into some sort of otherworldly, aquatic abyss.

It was a frightening, beautiful, and fully fitting exit for a wildly charismatic, lifelong musician who had already been described as a living legend many years before he was diagnosed with the laryngeal cancer that took his life.

He had been battling that horrific disease for 18 painful months and was under in-home hospice care for six weeks. I was alone with him when that roar erupted from the hospital bed in our living room: a cold, clinical apparatus I attempted to warm and soften with yellow roses, flickering candlelight, photos of loved ones, and the faintest sounds of classic country music emanating from our stereo.

As appropriate as that roar was, it was also the final punctuation on an agonizingly long, painful, and traumatic sentence. So long, painful, and traumatic, in fact, that nearly every hospice worker that entered our home remarked that they had never seen a death process so di cult.

During the last six weeks of Al’s life, he had a pain pump delivering a continuous stream of Dilaudid directly to his bloodstream and was receiving strong doses of Thorazine every few hours to control his terminal agitation, a heartbreaking end-of-life condition that leaves a patient drowning in inexorable anxiousness and confusion. I was also giving him multiple syringes of liquid morphine every hour and constantly rotating cold compresses from his head to his chest in e ort to control the relentless fevers which further fueled his terminal agitation.

This avalanche of pain medications caused cascading side e ects simply too horrific for me to restate here and worst of all, they weren’t su ciently alleviating his

su ering. Al’s cancer had spread ruthlessly to his chest cavity and beyond, creating pathological fractures in his ribs and settling most cruelly around his pelvis and tailbone, making virtually any position excruciating.

Toward the end he became a major fall risk because he would wake up in pain, stand up to relieve the pressure on his tailbone, gripping whatever was in front of him for stability until he’d fall asleep again and totter over, crashing to the floor. I took to sleeping at his feet with my arms interlocked around his legs to prevent this.

FOR MONTHS PRIOR TO HIS

death, Al and I had countless candid conversations about the inevitability of his death and what he did and didn’t want. Al wanted to live more than anyone I’ve known, but his life had essentially already been taken from him. His cancer was incurable. There was no light at the end of the tunnel, just a locomotive of anguish heading our way.

Understandably, he did not want to suffer even more after nearly two years of surgery, radiation, chemo, and immunotherapy. Aside from not wanting to endure that su ering, he did not want me to be trau-

matized by assisting and witnessing a protracted, di cult death. If the life he loved was being ripped from his hands despite his dogged, determined fighting, it only seemed fair that he should have some way to control his own death.

As articulated by the nonprofit advocacy organization Compassionate and Choices, medical aid-in-dying (MAID) is a “trusted and time-tested medical practice that allows a terminally ill, mentally capable adult with a prognosis of six months or less to live to request from their doctor a prescription for medication they can decide to self-ingest to die peacefully in their sleep.”

MAID is sometimes incorrectly referred to as assisted “physician suicide,” “physician aid in dying,” or most agregiously, “euthanasia.” MAID is not assisted suicide or euthanasia. These terms are misleading and factually incorrect.

With the help of our death doula, we educated ourselves about any and all assisted end-of-life options in and outside Arizona. At one point we considered working with Final Exit Network, a right-to-die organization that provides guidance and consultation for patients who live in states without MAID laws. We felt immense relief and a sense of hard-won empowerment.

On our way to have dinner with my parents that evening, we began discussing how essential it was to have right-to-die options and that more people needed to

understand why it was so essential. Impassioned and emphatic, Al told me to be sure his obituary stated he had died via medical assistance in order to raise awareness about the importance of this option — that this choice was humane, honorable, and something that should be the right of anyone facing a terminal illness.

But after further research, we concluded that the murky methodologies of Final Exit Network didn’t sit right with either of us. The heartbreaking fact is that Arizona currently has no legally sanctioned MAID options, even in cases like Al’s where a person is experiencing nightmarish and unnecessarily drawn out pain and su ering.

Because of this absence of humane options, Al su ered unspeakable horrors at the end of his life and I’m now as traumatized as he feared.

AL’S DEATH MAY HAVE BEEN A tragedy, but his life was a triumph.

Over the course of his 50 years on this mortal coil, Alan Lewis Curtis overcame a bleakly violent, impoverished childhood in Hyde Park, Boston and went on to live a richly adventurous, extraordinary life, primarily under his stage name, Al Foul.

He toured Europe for decades and gained a particularly devoted following in France. His reputation for charming showmanship and ribald humor made the may-

Al Foul final show at Che’s. (JULIUS SCHLOSBURG/ CONTRIBUTOR)

Al Foul’s death doula, Staci Snyder.

Project

can

hem of his performances unforgettable and eventually iconic.

Initially as Al Foul and The Shakes shortly after he arrived in Tucson, and eventually as a one-man band augmented by a rotating cast of supplemental players, he grew a regional following and a reputation for mind-bendingly raucous live shows. Annual European tours weren’t just a step up in his career but an important enhancement of his character. He credited overseas travel with expanding his cultural horizons, cultivating an appreciation for the visual arts, and perhaps most notably, teaching him to be more polite and express gratitude.

His brash stage persona belied his sincerely sweet, disarmingly sensitive side and it was this unexpected hybrid of traits that drew me to him when we met on the porch of a house party in Tucson and fell in love in the fall of 2015.

He adored animals and antiques and had little tolerance for the conventional trappings of modern masculinity. He believed men should shine their own shoes and su er no fools and also operate with integrity and open minds. His naturally inquisitive nature and memory for colorful details made him an unparalleled, epic storyteller. He had an uncanny knack for commanding the room at social events but always took the time to engage people personally. Introducing himself and saying “please” and “thank you” mattered to him.

When he moved into my casita within the downtown feminist arts compound Casa Libre, he and our lesbian-poet landlady Kristen Nelson became fast friends. In May of 2021, after Al’s cancer had metastasized and we knew his life would be ending far too soon, Kristen married us in the backyard of the little pink house we had bought in Barrio Santa Rosa. It was our way of raising a middle finger to the Grim Reaper loitering on the corners of our life and grabbing a celebratory moment of happiness with our closest friends and family while we still could.

SHORTLY AFTER HIS INITIAL diagnosis in 2020, Al underwent neck dissection surgery, a complex procedure that is just as grotesque as it sounds. This was followed by weeks of radiation directly to his throat, burning the skin over those newly formed surgical scars, and annihi-

lating his taste buds. His weight began dropping and developed chronic anemia that left him perpetually exhausted and cold, even in July. Then came rounds and rounds of chemo, but the cancer just kept blowing past everything.

I was watching a monster eat the love of my life alive right in front of my eyes. One particularly direct nurse looked at his tumor growth markers and said, “Honey, anything that grows that fast is bad news.”

Al appreciated her forthrightness, but we were both starting to feel the walls closing in.

Our hail Mary came in the form of two di erent immunotherapies that kept the monster at bay long enough for us to enjoy one last holiday season. Al’s father had callously canceled Christmas when

Al was just eight years old, whereas I’m an over-the-top Christmas nerd. We were able to make up for his lost holiday years and he loved every cookie-making, “Die Hard”-watching minute of it.

In preparation for the inevitable, we had begun working closely with Staci Snyder, a compassionate and wise death doula from Farewell Consulting. She helped us navigate the bewildering world of inhome hospice care and the multitude of spiritual, legal, and fiscal components that would accompany the logistics of dying at home, which was Al’s wish and one I was fiercely committed to honoring.

Having a death doula on our team was probably the smartest decision we could have made. Staci had been a hospice social worker for years before she became a doula and just knowing we had someone on hand who possessed institutional knowledge of the systems, options, and obstacles heading our way allowed us to enjoy what time we had left in some in-

credibly beautiful ways.

Al took up painting almost immediately after he received his terminal diagnosis and his brush skills blossomed at an astonishing rate. First it was crude renderings of the trailer in our backyard, then still life studies, postcard-sized portraits of roadrunners, and soon he was spending hours painting a meticulous detailed, large-scale painting of the train that ran under the bridge by our house. Even as pain management became the ruling beast in our home, Al found comfort in working on a series of paintings based on photographs he had taken of his beloved “Tequila Taxi”- a 1954 Chevy Bel Air he had owned for decades.

He played two final shows, one in Bisbee and the other in Tucson. To protect his already strip-mined immune system they were held outdoors, and the audiences kept small. His last performance was on the patio at Che’s, shortly before Christmas. He was in so much pain that day but the photos reflect the joy he had in being able to take that final bow with grace and dignity.

If only he had been a orded that same grace when it came to leaving this world five months later.

“AS WITH OTHER TERMINAL clients of mine who experienced tremendous su ering for weeks or months longer than they had hoped for, I was angry that MAID was not an available option for Al

here in Arizona,” recalls Staci when I ask her to reflect on her time working with Al and myself. “This is not euthanasia. The terminally ill person must qualify for the prescription after being assessed by two doctors. They must be of sound mind with the ability to administer the medication to themselves. There are many legal, ethical, and medical safeguards in place to qualify.”

“Choosing a death with dignity should not be seen as a person wanting to end their life. Most individuals seeking out a death with dignity desperately want to live and therefore using the word suicide is not appropriate.”

Al wanted to live a long life and had been looking forward to doing so. He had settled into a quieter rhythm in our home, making increasingly beautiful handmade furniture for a small list of lucky clients, tending to our garden, doting on our geriatric cat George Bailey. He also fed the birds that flocked to our yard every morning, a ritual that seemed to put him in an exceptionally peaceful frame of mind. It was not uncommon for me to be immersed in work at our dinner table and he’d bound in from the yard, boisterously announcing, “I love our home, I love our life!”

Medical aid-in-dying must be viewed as a human rights issue, not a moral or religious debate. Where is the morality in dragging our feet when we have the power

(Left) Al Foul and The Shakes, Fourth Avenue, early ‘90s. (HANNAH LEVIN/CONTRIBUTOR) (Above) Hannah Levin and Al Foul. (JULIUS SCHLOSBURG/CONTRIBUTOR)

to alleviate so much su ering?

One of my most vivid and agonizing memories of Al’s death took place after he’d had what would be--unbeknownst to us at the time--his final meal outside of our home: oysters and cold white wine with friends at San Agustin.

When we returned home, he sat down on a beautiful bench he had made in our living room, put his head in his hands and wept a river of tears unlike anything I had ever seen. “I just don’t want to go,” he said. “I love you, I love my friends, I love our life. And if I have to go, I just don’t want it to be awful on the way out.”

AL HAS BEEN PLAYING CHE’S since they first opened in 2000 and it is indisputably his spiritual musical home, which is why we will be holding his public celebration of life there on Saturday, October 15.

In addition to live performances of his songs by local musicians who loved him, I’ve invited activist organization Arizona End-Of-Life-Options (AZELO) to have an educational table on site to share information about how and why we must pass

MAID legislation in Arizona.

AZELO is working toward passage legislation is modeled after time-tested laws already in e ect in Oregon, Washington, California, Colorado, New Mexico, New Jersey, Vermont, Maine, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia (Montana also has it by court decision), but community involvement is essential to get this on the ballot and voted into law.

My hope is that we can celebrate Alan Lewis Curtis’s extraordinary life with all the revelry, love, and loud music it deserves while also letting the injustice of his su ering elevate the dialog and urgency to pass MAID legislation in Arizona.

It’s what he would have wanted.

Foul Fest: A Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Alan Lewis Curtis w/Kid Congo Powers, Golden Boots, Birds & Arrows, Naim Amor and others

WHEN: 5 p.m. doors; 6 p.m. program starts Saturday, Oct. 15 WHERE: Outdoor stage on Seventh Street next to Che’s Lounge COST: Free; 21 and older

CURRENTS

PARENTS HONOR THOSE WHO GIVE SELFLESSLY

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Tucson Local Media

BEFORE CANCER CLAIMED THE

life of PJ Quinn on July 5, 2020, first responders were frequent visitors to the family’s home.

The 29-year-old’s parents, Michael and Bonnie Quinn of Oro Valley, are forever grateful — and wanted to show it.

The Quinns are bringing back the Rockin’ 4 Heroes fundraiser from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, at James D. Kriegh Park in Oro Valley. The “4” represents the groups of honorees — first responders, active duty, veterans and Gold Star families.

“The last seven months of his life, he was in and out of the hospital on a weekly basis for seizures and other things,” Michael said about his son, who exuded positivity.

“It spread to his brain and his lungs. They took out two lobes in two separate procedures. That was during COVID. He couldn’t have any visitors. He is an amazing young man, and we miss him dearly. The first responders were so kind and generous and loving after he passed. My wife and I wanted to find a way to thank them. I felt a tray of cookies, or a pizza party wouldn’t su ce.”

Then, the Quinns saw the 11-musician Chicago tribute act Leonid and Friends in Glendale and Michael had an epiphany.

“They’re not good,” he said with a slight chuckle. “They’re spectacular. I needed to get them to Tucson somehow. They’re phenomenal musicians. They’re classically trained musicians who started playing rock ‘n’ roll on the side.”

The Moscow-based band, which also performs songs by Earth, Wind and Fire, Steely Dan and Tower of Power, hit the stage for the inaugural event last year in front of about 900 attendees. The performers return for this weekend’s second iteration.

“Everybody in the community came up after that and said, ‘This was wonder-

ful.’ We needed to do it again and thank all of those who serve us selflessly. They have no idea if they’re coming home that night, especially police and fire. The community liked to have a venue that thanked them as well.”

The Quinns insist on o ering the event with free admission — and Leonid and Friends agree. The band solicits donations on its website.

HSL Properties is a presenting sponsor, while Dr. Richard Carmona is the honorary chair. The former U.S. surgeon general, Carmona is a combat-decorated Vietnam veteran with over 50 years of service as a first responder.

Michael is a Navy veteran and, he and Barbara are longtime veterans supporters.

“My wife and I have been supportive of veterans organizations, of Gold Star organizations, which help those who have lost children or spouses in defense of our country,” he said.

Born in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, but raised in Tucson, PJ graduated from Ironwood Ridge High School in 2009. He was diagnosed with osteosarcoma his junior year, at age 16.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from NAU in 2017. Michael paused before describing the lengths PJ took to obtain his degree.

“Banner and NAU got together and gave him credit for tutoring children at Diamond Children’s Medical Center while he was in chemotherapy,” he said choking up.

“He walked up and got his degree at NAU. The dean made a big deal about him.”

Rockin’ 4 Heroes is a project of the Quinns’ Light Up Lives Charity Foundation.

“This year we anticipate another big turnout in the park for an afternoon of great music, food, drink, and comradery. Admission is free to the public, thanks to

the generous support of corporate sponsors like HSL Properties and private donors,” Bonnie said.

“More importantly, it’s a chance to come together as a community to honor our heroes. Based on last year’s strong response we know that many community members really enjoyed the concert and appreciated the opportunity to thank our public servants.”

Net proceeds of this year’s event will go to the Arizona Heroes Memorial being built at Naranja Park in Oro Valley. The memorial will serve to educate citizens about the meaning of service and sacrifice, and to honor what these brave men and women have given to our country.

This festival-style event will feature multiple food trucks, refreshments, beer and wine in the outdoor setting of the Catalina Foothills.

Carmona has served his entire adult life in the public service sector.

“These are individuals who commit their careers to protecting us, and they deserve our gratitude and thanks. I am proud to be part of Rockin’ 4 Heroes,” Carmona said.

Rockin’ 4 Heroes w/ Leonid and Friends

WHEN: 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16

WHERE: James D. Kreigh Park, 23 W. Calle Concordia, Oro Valley

COST: Free admission INFO: lightuplives.us

“This event is a great opportunity to not only recognize the many first responders, active military and veterans who serve us, but also to pay respect to our Gold Star families whose loved ones gave it all in the line of duty.”

HSL Properties is the presenting sponsor of this year’s Rockin’ 4 Heroes.

“We appreciate and align with their mission of bringing the community together to honor our heroes, and we are proud to be a part of this year’s event,” said Humberto Lopez, founder and CEO.

“Rockin’ 4 Heroes exemplifies our core values: It is truly all about community.”

The mission of Light Up Lives Charity Foundation is to raise awareness and support of various organizations and individuals who work to protect, serve, and care for communities and country. As a local non-profit, Light Up Lives Charity Foundation was specifically established to develop and host special events, programs and drives to recognize and benefit those who diligently serve the community, state or country. They are an all-volunteer organization and 100% of donations support their mission through events like Rockin’ 4 Heroes.

PJ Quinn died at age 29 of osteosarcoma.

(LIGHT UP LIVES CHARITY FOUNDATION/SUBMITTED)

‘JEKYLL & HYDE: THE MUSICAL’

Arts Express delivers a musical vision of good versus evil in the spooky spirit of Robert Louis Stevenson’s enduring gothic masterpiece about a man and his monster. Yay, right! Boo, wrong! And it’s easy to tell which is which. A pop-rock score sustains the thrills with music by Tony- and Grammy-award nominee Frank Wildhorn, and double Oscar and Grammy winner Leslie Bricusse.

7 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, and 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 14 to 29, Arts Express Theatre, Park Place Mall, 5870 E Broadway Boulevard, Suite 214, arts-express.org/jekyll-hyde, $30 to $40

SMELLS LIKE NIRVANA: TOO SOON?

This writer doesn’t feel ready for a Nirvana tribute band, but don’t let that stop you. Smells Like Nirvana includes vocalist Paul Wadtke, of the Grammy-nominated metal band Trivium, who also performed in the hit musical “Rock of Ages.” The band performs songs from “Nevermind,” “In Utero,” “Bleach” and more, including B-sides and rarities. They ask fans to make requests via their Facebook page, smellslikenirvanatribute. We’re requesting the “Unplugged” video in its entirety.

8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, 191 Toole, 191toole. com, $36

CELEBRATE MEMBRILLO (QUINCE) AT MISSION GARDEN

The Mission Garden’s quince trees are heavy with fruit, and the annual Membrillo Fest reminds us that with a little work, they can be turned into cajeda de membrillo, a kind of preserves that’s yummy in breakfast empanadas. It’s traditional in many Hispanic cultures. The Fest offers presentations and demonstrations about Hispanic and O’odham crops and cooking culture throughout the morning. Mesquite is feted, too, with a demonstration of traditional mesquite crafts.

8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, Mission Garden, 946 W. Mission Lane, missiongarden.org, $5

‘MORE THAN: EXPANDING ARTIST IDENTITIES FROM THE AMERICAN WEST’

Artists Steffi Faircloth, Sarah Sense, and Ezra Tucker discuss their works included in the exhibit, “More Than…” opening Saturday, Oct. 15, and continuing through Sunday, March 19. The artists highlight ways their work challenges stereotypes and upends myths about “The West.”

2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, Tucson Museum

by Linda Ray

BROADWAY IN TUCSON STAGES ‘SIX’

“Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived.” Folk tales filtered through generations of biased scholarship may not have given us the full picture of Henry VIII’s spouses. Recent research, e.g., has shown they had brainy pursuits. What if they also had sass, microphones and hot outfits? “Six” portrays the women as rock-star feminists in a smackdown over who had it worst. Each brings the dazzle in a different style, recognizable from contemporary pop music charts. Naturally, Catherine Parr shows them her backside. The show won the Tony Award for Best Original Score and 22 other prestigious awards in its first season.

7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 13; 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15; and 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Boulevard, ticketmaster.com, $50 to $158

AIDA CUEVAS: ‘QUEEN OF MARIACHI’

Aida Cuevas commands one of the most powerful voices in the world. Performing mariachi variations exclusively, she’s produced 41 albums in a career spanning 46 years, earning her the sobriquet, “The Queen of Mariachi.” She has set the standard for the genre’s many demanding vocal forms, her voice ranging from the delicacy of a flute to the brassy call of a trumpet. With Mariachi Aztlan, she performs a wide range of mariachi favorites and ranchero classics.

7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress Street, foxtucson. com, $37.50 to $57.50

MARANA FALL FESTIVAL: ‘AN EVENING ON THE FARM’

Is there a more fun-sounding name for a kids’ ride than mutton bustin’? They ride sheep like rodeo cowboys ride bulls. Helmets are provided, of course. Children’s performing groups will shine, too, and they’ll enjoy the alpacas meet and greet, but for the rest of the family there are carnival rides, a dance band, two folklorico performances, a sunflower field, an exhibit of historic tractors, artisan vendors and a beer garden presented by Marana Heritage Conservancy.

2 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct.15, Marana Heritage River Park, 12375 N. Heritage Park Drive, Marana, maranaaz.gov/town-calendar. free admission, $20 mutton busting

of Art, Stonewall Community Room, 140 N Main Avenue, tucsonmuseumofart.org, $5, free for members

THE INTERNATIONAL LOFT FILM FESTIVAL: ‘ANATOMY OF AN ART HOUSE’

How has Tucson’s Loft Cinema evolved into an international hub of film geekdom? “Anatomy of an Arthouse: 50 Years of The Loft Cinema in Tucson” tells all. Produced by respected indie filmmakers Mike Plante and Jason Willis, the documentary debuts as part of the 12th annual Loft Film Fest from Wednesday, Oct. 12, through Thursday, Oct. 20. Spoiler: The secret has been smart, creative and committed leadership, diverse programming 24-7, community engagement focus and being the only U.S. member of the prestigious International Confederation of Art Houses. Find tickets and a complete fest schedule on the website.

7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, The Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Boulevard, loftcinema.org, $12, $10 members

ONE REHEARSAL SHORT, ‘A MUSICAL MONTAGE REVUE: HALLOWEEN HAVOC’

The wonderfully goofy ensemble One Rehearsal Short doesn’t always do Broadway as you would expect, and that’s the point. Accomplished Tucson actors and singers take our Broadway favorites in surprising new directions with costumes and staging to match. This new review celebrates Halloween with selections from “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Hocus Pocus,” “Evil Dead: The Musical” and more.

6:30 p.m. Sundays Oct. 16 and Oct. 23, The Children’s Theatre at Live Theatre Workshop, 3322 E. Fort Lowell Road, orstix. square.site, recommended for age 13 and older.

DBA HOSTS BLUEGRASS JAM AT TRAIL DUST TOWN

Anyone who owns a banjo is liable to be looking for a place to pick it. The Desert Bluegrass Association offers workshops, concerts and monthly jams for musicians and fans of Earl Scruggs, Béla Fleck or anyone who might play with them. All volunteer-run, the DBA also hosts a bluegrass festival in March. Their full schedule is on their website but check out the jam at the gazebo on the third Thursday of every month.

7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 20, Trail Dust Town, 6541 E. Tanque Verde Road, facebook.com, free

LAUGHING STOCK

VIR DAS LAUGHS WITH US, NOT AT US

By Linda Ray

VIR DAS FACES DIFFERENT

stakes when he invokes his freedom of speech.

While some American comedians com plain about being “canceled” for racism, vulgarity and run-of-the-mill misogyny, Das, whose comedy elides all of that, is threatened with arrest and censure for jokes exposing uncomfortable truths about his home culture. Indian politicians rage about him on national television. Right-wing throngs have held demonstra tions accusing him of sedition. Citizens have implored police to arrest him for de faming his country.

As the best-known stand-up comedian in India, and one of its biggest Bollywood stars, Das unintentionally set off the furor with a short set he wrote on the morning of Nov. 8, 2021. It was for a performance that night at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

He called it “Two Indias.” In a series of satiric couplets, he characterized the bipolar nature of many aspects of Indi an life. Comparisons ranged from comic to caustic, from soccer loyalties to sexual violence against women. The mostly In dian, and worldly, D.C. audience laughed and cheered throughout, loudly and knowingly.

But word got home, and the madness ensued. Das jokes about it, and freedom of speech in general, in a new show “Want ed.” He brings that show to The Rialto Theatre at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21. Tickets are via ticketmaster.com

For now, things have calmed down, but he said “‘Wanted’ is very much a discus sion of freedom of speech and sedition and what it means to carry your identity across the world. And so I do that show with the knowledge that I could very much be in the same situation again, sometime.”

Das has a unique gift for getting just about everyone laughing at themselves, without actually offending anyone.

Born in India, he was raised in Nigeria and returned to India to school. He went to college on full scholarship to Knox Col

Vir Das finds the edge of satire where any culture can laugh at itself Oct. 21 at the Rialto Theatre. (VIR DAS/SUBMITTED)

lege in Galesburg, Illinois. After gradua tion, he was accepted into graduate the atre program co-sponsored by Harvard University and a program of the Moscow Arts Theatre.

“We were the Indians in Nigeria,” he said, “and then we were the people from Nigeria in India, and then I was the kid from Mumbai in Galesburg, and then I was the guy from Galesburg in Bolly wood. It’s just always kind of been on the sidelines looking in.”

The result is a worldview ground ing a cacophony of perceptions filtered through an observant and agile mind. A richer background for a comedian is hard to imagine. Just add some metaphorical synapses and a deep love of American standup comedy.

“I was a big fan of Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, George Carlin,” Das said.” So, when I was in my senior year (in the Knox acting program) I just wrote a 90-minute standup show. That was the first time I did it. And once I hit that stage, it was just my favorite thing in the world.

“It was 90 minutes for 800 people. And then the second time I did standup, it was 2 minutes for five people.”

Asked about his trip to the United States in the context of the greatly increased di versity among comics in recent years, Das credits COVID-19. “As opposed to

the live experience,” he said, “as opposed to the theatrical experience, when you sit and watch Netflix, you’re in your pajamas, you’re in your own environment,” he said.

“You definitely need something to get you out of your own environment, some thing that can take you across the world. That’s why a show like ‘Squid Game’ is so huge, because it takes you away.”

In his own country, COVID-19 inspired Das to immerse himself in fundraising its victims in India. “I made a comedy spe cial for charity,” he said. “India had a very rough second wave, so most people with a social media following, or any measure of influence, we spent time just fundraising. So I worked pretty hard in COVID just raising funds.”

Lately, though, Das has returned to globe-hopping. One of his most enter taining anecdotes includes a joke about how many of his destinations were at some point under British rule. With all the languages and cultures he’s absorbed, and his many exquisitely accurate im pressions of the natives’ dialects, we might think his sense of his own culture could be diluted. But his unshakeable In dian accent, his effortless code-switching between English and his native tongue, and, maybe especially, the cup of tea on his stage’s stool, tell a different tale.

“I think as you get older whatever part of your culture flows through you is just there,” he said. “And then you have to re main open. So if it’s not conscious, and it’s sticking strong. I don’t overthink it. I’m an Indian across the world, and that’s my identity as far as I see it.

“I’ve gotten to see the world. That’s a gigantic blessing. I’ve been to every con tinent, but one, and not many people get to say that. So you’re going to deal with different perspectives and different peo ple and different misunderstandings of who you are.

“It’s still a privilege to see the world.”

SNL ALUM ROB SCHNEIDER HAS ISSUES

Co-starring in Netflix’s “Home Team” with Kevin James, Rob Schneider may still be best known for his Emmy-winning writing for “Saturday Night Live,” and for his years performing in that star-making hit show. In the interim though, we’ve en joyed his prodigious output writing, per forming directing and acting on film and television.

In 2020, he released his first Netflix

comedy special, “Asian Momma, Mexican Kids.” It’s chockablock with funny anec dotes and jokes about life in a multicul tural family. But he’s bringing a new set, “I Have Issues,” to the Rialto Theatre at 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16. Tickets are $35 to $60 via ticketmaster.com.

COMEDY DETAILS THIS WEEK

The Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress Street, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 15, foxtucson.com, $37.50 to $75, John Wa ters: End of the World Tour.

Laff’s Comedy Caffe, 2900 E. Broadway Boulevard. 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, and Saturday, Oct. 15, laffstucson. com, $15, $20 preferred seating.

The Rialto Theatre, 318 Congress Street, 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, Rialto Theatre, ticketmaster.com, $35 to $60, Rob Schneider: “I Have Issues” Tour

The Screening Room,127 E. Congress Street, 7 and 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, La dyBitsTucson.eventbrite.com, $10 online, $15 door, Special guest Denver comic Lisa Lane of “How to Build a Sex Room,” with headliner Steena Salido, co-headliners Andrea Carmichael rand Ashley John son, and featuring Allana Erickson-Lo pez, Holly Hilton and Amie Gabusi. Jen Blanco hosts.

The Screening Room,127 E. Con gress Street, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, eventbrite.com, $20 suggested donation, Benefit Comedy Show for 9-year-old can cer victim Xavi Goodman and his fami ly. Monte Benjamin and Andre Ferrell co-headline; Tre Farrington, Stephanie Lyonga Farrington and Tony Kanani Bruhn co-feature. Chris Molina hosts.

Tucson Improv Movement/TIM Come dy Theatre, 414 E. Ninth Street. tucson improv.com. $7 each show, $10 for both shows, same night, free jam. Thursday, Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m. Improv 201 Showcase and “TIM Pilots”; Friday, Oct. 14, 6:30 p.m. Improv Jam; 7:30pm, “The Soapbox” with Dan Gibson, communications director at Tucson Medical Center; 7:30 p.m. Satur day, Oct. 15, “Set Unlisted;” 9 p.m. “Spooky Season Double Feature”. Unscrewed Theater, 4500 E. Speedway Blvd., unscrewedtheatre.org, $8 live or streaming, $5 kids live, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, Family-friendly improv, 9 p.m. Un screwed Fridays after Dark; 6 p.m. Satur day, Oct. 15, Unscrewed Family Hour with Comic Chaos; 7:30 p.m. Family-friendly improv; Monday, Oct. 17, improv drop-ins, free

By Xavier Otero Tucson Local Media

MARK YOUR CALENDARS…

THURSDAY, OCT. 13

In The War on Drugs’ 17 years, it has inhabited a rarefied space that bridges the underground and the mainstream. The Philadelphia sextet’s latest album, “I Don’t Live Here Anymore,” is all but a continuation of principal songwriter Adam Granduciel’s ongoing search for greater meaning, to “find what can’t be found.” On the new album, Granduciel — who typically is portrayed as the loner studio magus — has taken a more collaborative approach to writing and recording. He reflected, “It reminded me of all the things I love about making music: Collaborating with my friends, and letting everybody shine.” On “Harmonia’s Dream” Granduciel sings, “Sometimes forwards is the only way back.” Music functioning as medicine. The War on Drugs — with guests Inner Magic and Adam Miller — are at the Rialto Theatre… Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield formed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame duo, The Righteous Brothers, in Orange County, California, in 1962. Their virtuosity and contrasting vocal ranges — Medley sang the low parts with his bass-baritone voice while Hatfield commanded the higher-registers with his soaring tenor — led them to the top of the charts with “Unchained Melody” and “Rock and Roll Heaven.” Their biggest hit, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” stands as the mostplayed song. Hatfield died in 2003 of heart failure brought on by cocaine. In 2016, Medley joined forces with vocalist Bucky Heard, reviving the Righteous Brothers. After years

of sold-out shows on the Las Vegas Strip, Medley and Heard have hit the road to bring their distinct musical alchemy to concert stages across the country. The Righteous Brothers’ tour makes a one-nightonly stop at Fox Tucson Theatre… Fronted by live wire Arrow de Wilde, L.A. punk rockers Starcrawler offer their bombastic vision of a contemporary Hollywood Babylon on their new album “She Said.”

“Our aesthetic is nasty and a little bit raw or fucked up,” de Wilde said. Starcrawler — with special guests Birds & Arrows — are at 191 Toole… Radically defying the conservative status quo of country music, Lavender Country — the brainchild of Patrick Haggerty, whose experiences as a gay liberation activist during the Stonewall era helped to shape his world view — addressed a wide range of political and social concerns in its lyrics, including institutionalized oppression, working class division, as well as the complications of intimacy and sexual identity. Its 1973 self-titled and self-distributed debut is country music’s first known gay-themed album. After a long hiatus, Lavender Country — with support from Phoenix singer/songwriter Taylor Glasheen — performs at Club Congress… With a sound that mashes the fury of hardcore and the cacophony of artpunk with modern rock, Sparta exploded out of the Lone Star State in 2001. Now, despite numerous lineup changes, the band has hit the road once again in support of its self-titled album. Psyko Steve presents Sparta — with local support from Annie Jump Cannon — in an all-ages show at Groundworks…

FRIDAY, OCT. 14

Since their formation in 1992, the

Old Blind Dogs have stood on the cutting edge of the Scottish roots revival scene. Their dynamic percussion, and soaring fiddle and pipes fuel their delicately phrased melodies and traditional songs. Old Blind Dogs bring their compelling energy and intoxicating rhythms to the Berger Performing Arts Center… Led by dynamic frontman/guitarist Josh Kennedy, Tempe’s The Black Moods deliver a modern take on a timeless sound; one rife with massive guitars, anthemic hooks, and loads of stomp and swagger. They return with their new album, “Into the Night.” Rock ‘n’ roll torchbearers, The Black Moods — with special guests The Jons — are at the Rialto Theatre… Internationally acclaimed conductor Shiyeon Sung leads the mighty Tucson Symphony Orchestra through Fairy Tales & Firebirds — a program brought to life in vibrant colors featuring works by Ravel, Stravinsky, Rautavaara and von Weber — in the first of two performances at The Linda Ronstadt Music Hall… Ekkstacy is a 20-yearold Canadian artist from Vancouver. He describes his sound as “a fuse of indie, post punk and synth wave.” At the age of 14 he knew that he wanted to be an artist but lacked the confidence. Nevertheless, after enduring his parent’s divorce, drug-induced psychosis and alcohol abuse, he turned to music to cope. With the release of his 2021 debut album “Negative” — interweaving darkly introspective lyrics à la Elliot Smith with an early 2000s altrock/emo sound — Ekkstacy set a blueprint. His sophomore release, “Misery,” draws from the cocktail of confusion, self-discovery and frustration that comes with growing up. The Misery Tour brings Vancouver-based bedroom post-punk phenom Ekkstacy — with special guest Charlie Shuffler — to the stage at Club Congress… Basking in the ground-shifting sound of grunge, Smells Like Nirvana performs songs from “Nevermind,” “In Utero” and “Bleach” at 191 Toole… Victoria Garvey Armstrong was a celebrated songwriter, vocalist and pianist.

FILMS

DIRECTOR JOHN WATERS

A rapid-fire, oneman spoken word Vaudevillean act celebrating the film career and joyously appalling taste of the man William Burroughs once called The Pope of Trash.

In this live performance, the Sultan of Sleeze talks about his early artistic influences, his fascination with true crime, exploitation films, fashion lunacy, the extremes of the art world, sexual deviancy, and a love of reading.

TICKETS GOING

GRAHAM NASH 10/18

Her songs were recorded by Judy Collins, John Denver, Jerry Jeff Walker, The Irish Rovers — their hit “Fifi O’Toole soared to No. 1 in Ireland — and many others. Don Armstrong & The Whiskeypalians — with guests Peter McLaughlin, Jane Voss & Hoyle Osborne, Pete Ronstadt & Liz Cerepanya y mas — convene to pay homage to the life and work of Victoria Garvey Armstrong on the plaza at Hotel Congress… Presently, the head of the jazz piano department at the University of Miami, Martin Bejerano has been active as a professional musician since he was 15. In 2005, Bejerano was nominated for a Grammy for his performance on legendary drummer Roy Haynes’ album “Fountain of Youth.” Accompanied by bassist Edward Perez and trapsman Ludwig Afonso, the Martin Bejerano Trio perform two sets at The Century Room…

SATURDAY, OCT. 15

Hailing from Queens, Damien Escobar, along with his brother Tourie, both Julliard-trained violinists, gained recognition performing in the NYC subway. Their duo Nuttin’ But Stringz was catapulted into stardom after placing third on season 3 of “America’s Got Talent.” The duo’s ascent was rapid with their music featured in a montage for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. They basked in the glory of being highly sought-after musicians, albeit short-lived, and their fall from grace came with a hard landing. Egos crushed, in a haste the brothers set aside their violins and the duo disbanded. What came next was a struggle, not only with identity, but with depression and homelessness. Once thought of strictly as a passion project, in 2013 Damien Escobar released “Sensual Melodies,” his first album as a solo artist. A mix of classical, hiphop, jazz and R&B, this compelling crossover sound soon garnered over 200K downloads, landing on iTunes Top 100 chart. Doors that were once closed, opened. Escobar penned his first children’s book, designed his own line of custom violins, estab-

lished partnerships to develop wine and perfume lines, and has gone on to release three more studio albums.

Renaissance man, Damien Escobar is at the Rialto Theatre… Cherished fixtures on the Tucson folk scene — both with over 20 years of experience writing, recording and performing music, respectively — Gabrielle Pietrangelo and Leila Lopez unite for a special seated performance at Club Congress… A graduate of the Berklee School of Music, saxophonist Andrew Halchak was born and raised in The Old Pueblo. Over the years, in addition to jazz, he has immersed himself in a multitude of Southwestern music communities including bluegrass, country/western and swing. Performing selections from his debut album “Stomp, Grind, and Holler,” Halchak is next to carry the cresset into the Late Night at The Century Room… Creating the verisimilitude, this band of veterans are billed as the nation’s premiere tribute to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. The PettyBreakers are “Running Down a Dream” at The Gaslight Music Hall…

SUNDAY, OCT. 16

Dia de la Raza — celebrating the rich heritage and distinct mestizo culture of Latin America — features performances by Adrian Chaparro, Nivel Tr3s, Banda La Experta y mas at AVA Amphitheater… Four decades and 41 albums under her belt, Aida Cuevas is the first female mariachi singer to win Grammy and Latin Grammy awards, no easy feat in a male-dominated genre steeped in tradition where change comes painfully slow. Drawing from a vast repertoire of mariachi and ranchera classics, the veritable “Queen of Mariachi,” returns with a new show celebrating her 45th anniversary and the lasting imprint she has made in the history of Mexican music. The Yo Creo Que Es Tiempo Tour brings Aida Cuevas — with special guests Mariachi Aztlán — to the Fox Tucson Theatre… With members originating from Tucson and Phoenix, Gatecreeper serves crusty, doom-soaked death metal, which caught the ear of Relapse Records who signed the band in 2016. In sup-

port of “An Unexpected Reality,” its 2021 release, Gatecreeper — flanked by Sex Prisoner, Exsul, Wyrmhaven, and Yellowcake — rain down terror at 191 Toole… Boldly traversing the musical universe — from Grateful Dead and classic hippie rock to reggae, Latin, blues and honky tonk to zydeco, ska, New Orleans-style funk, and beyond — The Wayback Machine & Friends are the next act to stoke the coals on the Hotel Congress plaza for the next installment of the Congress Cookout…

MONDAY, OCT. 17

Nada.

TUESDAY, OCT. 18

Graham Nash is a founding member of The Hollies and Crosby, Stills and Nash, and was inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, respectively. For six decades, the litany of songs that he has written and introduced into the collective consciousness — including Nash penned classics “Marrakesh Express,” “Teach Your Children” and “Our House” — for many fans function as genetic markers embedded in their DNA, to be passed on to their descendants. The voice of a generation, Nash shares an Intimate Evening of Songs and Stories at the Fox Tucson Theatre… Depicting the seven stages of grief St. Peter experienced after he denied knowing Jesus Christ on the day of his arrest, the Los Angeles Master Chorale presents Lagrime di San Pietro at Centennial Hall… Jaten Dimsdale, known by his stage name Teddy Swims, is an American singer-songwriter, known for seamlessly blending R&B, soul and country with pop hooks. The Atlanta native has come a long way since posting a series of covers from his bedroom studio. Generating hundreds of millions of views on social media, Dimsdale scored a deal with Warner Records. Moreover, Swims is a lover. The honey-voiced 30-year-old writes nearly all his songs about falling in or out of love. It remains the focus on his latest EP, “Tough Love,” a six-song collection of heartache and declara-

tions of devotion. “To me, that’s just all there is,” Dimsdale said. “You’re either making love or crying about it.” Swims — with special guest Sherwyn — are at the Rialto Theatre… Singer-songwriter Paul DeHaven is a respected fixture of the thriving Denver music scene, serving as a founding member of folk darlings Paper Bird. DeHaven returns with his new album, “Pink Kimono,” to the Hotel Congress plaza… The latest installment of Hot Blues Tuesday features Dusty City Blues Band and the Porch Rockers sharing the stage at The Gaslight Music Hall… From the barrios in South Central San Diego, this trio of vatos tristes, crank out altsurf punk with a hint of Latin thump, reflecting their environs with authenticity. Beach Goons — with special guests Bed and Moon Tide Gallery — kick out the jams at Club Congress…

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 19

A chef who became a rap artist. After a broken leg kept him out of the kitchen, Ariyan Arslani, aka Action Bronson, developed his wordplay, imbued with trademark filth and humor, during the downtime. In 2011, the Queens native launched his musical career by dropping “Bon Appetit ..... Bitch,” his debut mixtape. Now, adding author, actor and television presenter to his resume — per-

haps best known for his ganja- and liquor-fueled escapades on “Fuck, That’s Delicious,” Viceland channel’s food travel show — Action Bronson brings “Cocodrillo Turbo,” his sixth studio album, to the Rialto Theatre. Rapper Meyhem Lauren adds appreciably to the debauchery… On the road promoting their debut LP “Inked in Red,” Vision Video — goth-pop rockers from Athens, Georgia — have been described as a “Brilliant weaving of the sound that has made Joy Division and The Cure so loved.” Lead singer Dusty Gannon is no stranger to the darker inclinations of humanity and death, having served in Afghanistan with the Army and as a firefighter in the civilian world. He said, “I wanted to write music that helped people remember that it’s OK to not be OK.” Black lipstick aficionados, Vision Video, bring dance music for the end times to 191 Toole. Early Black lends support… Awash in the same melancholia that made Morrissey a beloved figure among lovelorn and disaffected Gen Xers, Newcastle, Australia’s Vacations enact their “woozy guitar pop” on the plaza at Hotel Congress. Special guest Chicago indie rocker with a poppy, punkish bent Jackie Hayes opens…

Until next week, XOXO…

More

MAMMA COAL FETES TWO SINGLES AT MAVERICK SHOW

By Laura Latzko

CARRA STASNEY IS A MOTHER

of two by day, but when she takes the stage at night, she becomes her alter ego, Mamma Coal. It takes a lot of juggling, but she wouldn’t change a thing.

At the end of September, she released two new singles, “Ghost Town Get Down” and “Lead Her On.”

On Sunday, Oct. 16, Mamma Coal will celebrate the new songs with a show at the Maverick. During the performance, she and her band will premiere the new music video for “Lead Her On.”

The video was shot at the Maverick and features local dancers from 3-8 Country, an organization that promotes and offers instruction in country dance. They offer an Arizona two-step class on Thursdays at the Maverick.

“We shot live footage of the band, and then we brought together 24 dancers. We just documented the dance community, their style. It was couples dancing,” Stasney said.

During the show, she will be joined by guitarist Alvin Blaine, drummer Arthur Vint, bassist Thøger Lund, keyboardist/ vocalist Steff Koeppen and fiddler Nick

Coventry.

The two new songs were written for Southwestern country dancers.

Her bluesy song “Ghost Town Get Down” carries a spooky Halloween vibe. A line dance song, it was inspired by Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and tells the story of ghosts gathering for a party in an Old West saloon. Soon, Stasney hopes to work with 3-8 Country to develop a line dance and video for it.

Stasney said the song was necessary because of a lack of country Halloween songs.

“I was making a playlist of country songs that would be good for background music because we played a Halloween party last year. There aren’t any fun ones. They are all slow and about things like Hank Williams’ ghost. I was like, ‘We need a party one. I’m going to write one.’ So, that’s how I got the idea,” Stasney said.

“Lead Her On” has an “‘Urban Cowboy’

vibe” and was meant more for partner dancing.

Stasney recorded with members of her band, as well as harmonica player Tom Walbank, at St. Cecilia Studios in August. She worked with engineer Steven Lee Tracy.

Stasney is raising money via Kickstart-

er for her second album called “Dance Hall Crush,” which will feature the two singles. People who donate at least $15 will receive a raffle ticket for prizes like an overnight stay at Hotel McCoy; $50 gift cards to the Maverick and Pinnacle

Peak’s Trail Dust Town; a private dance lesson from 3-8 Country; dinner for four at the Tanque Verde Ranch and a $50 gift certificate to the Steak Out in Sonoita.

The raffle will be held during the Mav erick show, and winners have to be pres ent to receive their prizes.

The album will feature a variety of genres, including waltz, Tex-Mex coun try, West Coast swing and Arizona twostep songs.

The songs explore topics such as her own personal love story, a female truck driver, her favorite libation and a dancer wanting to take a platonic relationship to the next level. She also plans to record her version of Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ Af ter Midnight.”

EVOLVING SOUND

Throughout her career, the artist’s mu sic has gone in different directions, and she is continuing to evolve as a musician.

“I used to play a very specific style, which was honkytonk, with my old band Copper & Coal. Then, I did a concept al bum that was much more introspective and was much more specifically for lis tening. My concept album ‘Raven Haired Vixen’ is a narrative album where all the songs work together to tell a story. This is different from those things,” Stasney said.

Music is Stasney’s full-time job. She performs at private events under South Western Stars, who performs covers

and the occasional original. She enjoys playing covers because of the emotional connection that people have with these songs.

“People sometimes think that song writers don’t want to play covers. I love doing that. I love celebrating music with people that way,” Stasney said.

Another of her projects is Kids Coun try, which performs at Pima County li braries. During these performances, she tries to engage children and their parents through music.

“I play for the kids. I get them up danc ing. I lead them in dancing activities. I bring in shakers. It’s usually toddlers up to 6ish,” Stasney said.

With Mamma Coal, she has developed relationships with fans.

“You play at their home and play at their mother’s memorial. Or you play at their friend’s wedding, and now you are bonded. You get to know them and their stories,” Stasney said.

Although she is open to opportunities, Stasney is focused on building an audi ence locally and regionally. She wants to be there for her two children, one of whom has special needs.

Before relocating to Arizona, she lived for 12 years in Portland.

Stasney is originally from the Detroit area.

Growing up, her parents played folk music at home. Her dad was a guitar player and singer, and her mom also sang. She taught herself to play guitar from books at 16 years old and began performing in front of audiences at around 19. Her first show was in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

“I went to that open mic every week and sat in the back for at least eight months be fore I ever played,” she said.

“I just gradually started playing more open mics and start ed a band when I was

Carra Stasney, aka Mamma Coal, has been playing music since age 16 and performing for audiences since she was 19.

about 23. I joined a honkytonk band, where I learned a lot about music…I could sing, so it got me in. I could play the gui tar in time. I had good rhythm. So, I was able to hang out and learn a lot really fast from musicians who were a lot older and more skilled.”

She spent a lot of time at a record store in Clawson growing up.

“I would go there every day during my lunchtime. I discovered Bob Dylan. I dis covered The Band through Bob Dylan. Led Zeppelin. These are early things. Then, I got turned onto country music when I was in college, and I just went all the way. I was sucked way in,” Stasney said.

“There was Gram Parsons. I call him my ‘gateway drug’ to country. And then, of course, there was Emmylou Harris, Lu cinda Williams. All the older stuff, like Hank Williams Sr., Lefty Frizzell, Loret ta Lynn, Patsy Cline. I discovered all the older stuff in my twenties.”

In Portland, Stasney was part of a tightknit music community. On Wednesdays, bands gathered and played at a local barn.

“The guy who would host us, he actu

ally helped to inspire the song ‘Lead Her On.’ He was such a great dancer, and he taught us all to dance. He taught my hus band and I to dance two-step, which we then did at our wedding,” Stasney said.

Stasney is finding her place in the Tuc son music scene. It all started with sitting in with local bands.

“It’s a great way to get in front of an audience, show people what you can do,” Stasney said.

For three months, she is doing Wednes day “For the Sake of the Song Sessions” at Borderlands, in which she brings in different songwriters each week.

“This is just a way that I wanted to con nect with other people and get inspired by their songwriting,” Stasney said.

Mamma Coal

WHEN: 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16

WHERE: The Maverick, 6622 E. Tanque Verde Road, Tucson

COST: Free admission

INFO: mammacoal.com. The Kickstarter for “Dance Hall Crush” is at https://bit.ly/DanceHallCrush

THE BLACK MOODS STAY BUSY WITH TOUR, LIBATIONS, MUSIC

By Laura Latzko

THE BLACK MOODS NEVER stay still.

The three musicians who make up the Tempe-based act — singer/guitarist Josh Kennedy, drummer Chico Diaz and bassist Jordan Hoffman — are on the go, whether they are touring, playing local gigs or recording music.

The group performs its hard-hitting electric blues inspired by ’70s and ’90s at the Rialto Theatre on Friday, Oct. 14, before traveling to California to re cord new music. The Black Moods have toured with and/or opened for the Gin Blossoms, Roger Clyne and the Peace makers, Robby Krieger from the Doors, Whitesnake, the Dead Daisies, Collective Soul and Jane’s Addiction.

In June, the band released its third studio album, “Into the Night,” which features songs such as “Hollywood,” “Saturday Night,” “Big Time,” “The Cure,” “Leadin’ Me On” and “Fire & Gasoline.”

Kennedy said he feels a strong connec tion to the song “Junkie Excuses.”

“That hits close to home for me. It’s really to anybody who has to deal with

somebody that has a substance-abuse problem, and you can’t help them,” Ken nedy said.

The album was produced by Gram my-nominated producer “Johnny K” Karkazis, and recorded in the Ozarks, where the band set up shop during the pandemic.

Kennedy grew up in Wheaton, Mis souri, and continues to have a special connection to the Ozarks. While writing music for the newest album, he and his bandmates were often inspired by nature.

“You couldn’t go out and do anything. All the restaurants were closed here. We went back to Missouri, where we could go on a boat, hit the creeks and still enjoy nature. We build our studio in this house, and then if we got stumped on some thing, we would just go out on the creek and work on songs,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy said while the new album is in line with the band’s signature sound, some of the tracks have a country sound.

“There’s definitely some country flair to some of the songs. At the same time, there’s really edgy stuff. So, this is a really

broad record for us,” Kennedy said. The group recently released the video for the album’s opening track, “Youth is Wasted on the Young,” at Combs High School in San Tan Valley. The school’s principal and students appear in the vid eo.

“The kids were great. There were some who were really into it at first and then some that weren’t. Once the kids that thought they were too cool to be a part of it saw how much fun the other kids were

The Black Moods are, from left, drummer Chico Diaz, singer/guitarist Josh Kennedy and bassist Jordan Hoffman. (JIM LOUVAU/CONTRIBUTOR)

having, everyone get involved,” Kennedy

The rebellious song speaks to not wanting to conform. Kennedy said The Black Moods’ experiences during the pandemic inspired it.

“Everyone was telling us what to do. You’ve got to stay home. You’ve got to get the vaccine. We felt like we were little kids. So, we wrote it from that perspective,” Kennedy said.

In other recent The Black Moods news, Kennedy has been endorsed by Gibson. As such, Kennedy was able to choose a new Gibson guitar — a white Les Paul Custom guitar. Kennedy also plays a black Gibson Epiphone guitar, which he has had since age 12.

Working with Gibson means opportunities to collaborate with other artists, and the company will provide instruments for studio use. They also help with social media promotion.

“It’s good to be a part of that family,” Kennedy said.

The Black Moods recently wrapped up a three-month tour that took them to Michigan, Florida, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Idaho, Nevada, California, Colorado, Wisconsin and Missouri.

In Wisconsin, the group played Taste of Madison, a large fundraising event held at the capitol in Wisconsin.

On the road, the band will often do impromptu gigs. In Missouri, they played to a packed house during a last-minute performance.

“We like to play all the time. If there’s an opening somewhere, if we are on the road, we might as well be playing music,” Kennedy said.

The group toured with a Nashville

band called the Naked Gypsy Queens.

Along with touring, The Black Moods recently headlined Four Peaks Oktoberfest in Tempe at the beginning of October and were part of Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers’ annual Circus Mexicus event in June.

The band has also been dabbling in libations. They are partnering with Walter Station Brewery for a new beer called Hollywood and Lime. They already have a red wine called Bella Donna and a white wine called Sunshine, both of which were named after singles.

Kennedy has been playing music for most of his life, having grown up in musical household. His dad, a drummer, and his uncle, a bass player, were in the same band.

“They were always playing in the living room at my house growing up. My mom’s water broke with me at one of my dad’s gigs,” Kennedy said.

“I just got into it and was playing ‘Scooby Doo’ guitars, plastic nylon-string guys, when I was a little kid. And then eventually, they got me an actual guitar when I was probably 11, and I started really taking it seriously around 12. That’s all I started doing. I quit playing sports and sat at my house and played guitar until I could start playing out.”

Kennedy and Diaz have been playing together, on and off, since around 2005. The two went from being weekend warriors to taking their music more seriously around 2012, when they put out a self-titled record.

“We have been friends for a long time. We know what gets each other and how to piss each other off,” Kennedy joked.

The group released its major-album debut, “Medicine,” in October 2016, followed by “Sunshine” in May 2020. Their

songs “Sunshine,” “Bella Donna” “Bad News” and “Whatcha Got” reached the top 30 on Billboard rock charts.

Kennedy said playing with The Black Moods is a major commitment because of touring.

“There are not a lot of bands like ours where you just play in one band. If you’re in The Black Moods, you’re in The Black Moods,” Kennedy said.

“We will sit in with other guys once in a while, but The Black Moods is priority No. 1.”

Kennedy and his bandmates have to be away from their families and kids for long stretches of time. They do it because of their love and dedication to the music.

“You’ve got to be all in. We’ve sacrificed, and we took the risk of not making any money and being broke on the road for a while. Now, we are starting to headline tours. The risk has paid off.”

Being on the road so much, having any sense of normalcy can be difficult. Kennedy said that everyday tasks such as doing laundry, showering, sleeping and getting a bite to eat can be complicated while traveling.

“You have to have what it takes to go

out, be out on a bus, not sleep in the same bed for months at a time. And sometimes, you don’t get to shower every day. You sleep when you can and shower when you can,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy said it helps to have friends around the country, who are hospitable and will invite them over for homecooked meals.

He said that although the lifestyle is tough, it fits him and his bandmates.

“We like it because we can’t sit still very long. We would go nuts or get in trouble. So, we prefer to be on the move,” Kennedy said.

Even when he has spare time, he finds himself writing and playing music.

“Music is my profession, my hobby and my passion,” Kennedy said.

The Black Moods

WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14

WHERE: Rialto Theatre,

318 E. Congress Street, Tucson

COST: $18

INFO: theblackmoods.com, rialtotheatre.com

‘POSTER CHILD’ FOR SOCIAL EQUITY MARIJUANA LICENSES LOOKS TO SUCCEED

By David Abbott Arizona Mirror

Alicia Deals is the poster child for Arizona’s social equity program, and she is willing to pass up an immediate payday — risking no payday at all — in order to try to forge her own path in a complex and heavily regulated industry.

Deals is one of 26 winners of marijuana establishment licenses the Arizona Department of Health Services distributed in April through a much-anticipated lottery, and she is intent on becoming a successful cannabis entrepreneur. With her newly acquired license, she hopes to

bring the benefits of the cannabis industry to one of the program’s targeted areas.

“This is a divine opportunity and we have major things to do,” Deals told the Arizona Mirror. “I’m here to make changes in the marijuana industry; community-based changes. It’s just not right that so many people have suffered.”

Given she does not have the economic heft of a large, established multi-state operator (MSO) or the backing of a wealthy benefactor, opening a marijuana establishment will be an uphill climb. It is a

challenge she is more than willing to accept.

Arizona’s social equity ownership program is intended to right the wrongs caused by marijuana prohibition during the decades-long war on drugs.

It was established by the passage of Proposition 207, which legalized adultuse recreational cannabis in 2020. The goal is to bring the economic benefits of legal cannabis to the communities that have been disproportionately harmed by nearly a century of punitive marijuana laws.

Deals found out about the social equity program through a family member and decided it was worth the gamble to get in on the lottery. At the time, the single mother of three was helping to run the family’s power washing company and doing entertainment promotions on the side.

Her sister had a small marijuana infraction that she was able to expunge from her record and her father was in the 11th year of a long cannabis-related prison term, so she was able to prove the harms done to her family through previous marijuana laws.

Alicia Deals is one of 26 winners of marijuana establishment licenses the Arizona Department of Health Services distributed in April through a much-anticipated lottery.

(ARIZONA MIRROR/COURTESY)

On Nov. 11, 2021, Deals formed Life Changers Investments LLC, and with money her family could ill-afford, bought four “tickets” for the license lottery — two for her and two for her sister.

“We have no formal marijuana background, but marijuana has been the biggest trial of our lives,” she said. “My main points in life, simply said, are faith, family and finance. I believe I have a big difference to make and want to help change lives.”

In order to help her through the application process, Deals entered a mentorship program, where she met Jon Udell, the acting co-director for Arizona NORML and a cannabis attorney at Rose Law Group in Scottsdale.

Udell considers Deals and the community she calls home to be the target demographic for the program.

“Through my involvement with social equity, I’ve been learning and reading about different areas and communities, and if you look at Phoenix, up until the 1970s, minority communities were confined to South Phoenix due to redlining,” he said. “It’s really the poster child for disproportionately impacted areas that the social equity program is supposed to benefit, so it’s really serendipitous that we have kind of a poster child of the program and a poster child community.”

Udell represents Deals through his position at Rose Law Group and was not able to talk about specifics of her circumstances.

Due to the limited number of licenses doled out by the state, and given this is likely the last tranche to be released unless legislation to open up the markets to more competition is proposed and passed, the social equity licenses are worth at least $10 million, often with no questions asked.

Last year, Phoenix-based Copperstate Farms purchased a dispensary license in Phoenix from a Minneapolis-based company for $15 million in cash.

In 2021, the Arizona cannabis market exploded to more than $1.4 billion in retail sales. Despite the collapse of the medical marijuana market, Wall Street analysts predict sales will swell to more than $2 billion in just a few years.

Since she obtained her license, Deals said she turned down an immediate seven-figure payday — she said she wasn’t legally able to discuss the details of the offer — because she feels the program will be more valuable to the community if she follows through with her efforts.

“That money is definitely enough to

change my life and to live well, and maybe my children’s children,” she said. “But it’s not enough in this day and age for me to truly make a difference for anyone else. I’m more than desperately determined. It’s bigger than me.”

All applicants have until October 2023 to get their businesses operational, so the clock is ticking for Deals.

Social equity intended to repair damages from the war on drugs.

The ACLU regularly reports on the disparity in drug-related arrests for Black Americans, who are more than four times as likely to be arrested for the drug than their white counterparts, according to “A Tale of Two Countries: Racially Targeted Arrests in the Era of Marijuana Reform.”

During the first half of 2021, following the release of the initial rules that would guide the program, ADHS revised the parameters several times due to heavy criticism from stakeholders like Arizona NORML, as well as lawsuits by entities attempting to get in on the lottery.

The rules were eventually finalized in late 2021, and qualifying candidates had until mid-December to apply. A $4,000 non-refundable fee was attached to each application.

Of the 1,500 applications submitted, more than one-third were associated with MSOs based in the state, including Mohave Cannabis Co., Copperstate Farms and Mint Dispensaries.

Qualifying candidates had to satisfy three of four requirements, including an annual household income of less than 400% of poverty level; having been adversely affected by previous marijuana laws by way of conviction for the individual or a family member; or having lived at least three years from 2016-2020 in one of 87 zip codes identified by ADHS as being disproportionately affected by the enforcement of Arizona’s previous marijuana laws.

SOCIAL EQUITY IS NOT CHEAP

Social equity licenses are for adult-use establishments only — they don’t open up medical marijuana sales. Because the cannabis industry in Arizona launched after voters in 2010 approved medical marijuana, most cannabis dispensaries in the state hold licenses for both adult-use and medical sales.

ADHS defines recreational-only retail outlets as “establishments,” and medical marijuana outlets as “dispensaries.”

The challenge that presents for the social equity licensees is that, in many municipalities, including Tucson and large swaths of Phoenix, zoning codes only accommodate medical or dual licenses, meaning they will have to get zoning easements. That requires both time — which is in short supply — and money to hire zoning attorneys.

And since cannabis remains illegal in federal law, most applicants have limited — if any — access to capital through banks. Instead, they must rely on forming partnerships to finance their ventures and to help navigate the political and regulatory landscape. That is a big ask for people who come to the program with no prior experience in either finance or government processes beyond the criminal justice system.

The cost of getting a business off the ground can be daunting, even for experienced business people.

Costs for setting up a dispensary easily exceed $1 million: The license holder must search for an appropriate location, apply for zoning permits and remodel the space in accordance with strict state regulations. The cost of legal counsel

alone can run as much as $200,000.

And that’s all before considering what it costs to purchase products and hire staff to run the business.

SOCIAL EQUITY ACROSS THE U.S.

Arizona is one of 15 states that have social equity programs, joining California; Colorado; Connecticut; Illinois; Massachusetts; Michigan; Nevada; New Jersey; New Mexico; New York; Rhode Island; Vermont; Virginia; and Washington, which is currently developing its program.

In January, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a $200 million fund to get its program off the ground. In the rest of the states, social equity license holders are at the mercy of open markets.

Sara Gullickson is CEO and founder of

The Cannabis Business Advisors, a Phoenix-based consulting firm that identifies potential cannabis business owners, raises capital and helps them navigate regulations throughout the U.S.

While Gullickson was initially put off by the way New York’s program was set

COME BY HANA’S GREEN VALLEY

up to give experienced business owners an advantage, she eventually came around to believe it could become a model for programs across the country.

“I feel really, really good about their program and how they’re putting it together,” she said. “This, in my opinion, is the first actual social equity program.”

Where Gullickson sees flaws in Arizona and other states with the programs is in the lottery system that lowers the bar for qualifications and allows applicants with little chance of success to win licenses.

She said a successful program could be merit-based, including a detailed application process, with an incubator program specifically designed for the cannabis industry.

Udell says Arizona NORML fought

for a fraction of public funds New York is putting up for social equity, but the efforts were unsuccessful in the end.

As to giving Arizona social equity licensees an opportunity to succeed, he hopes state legislators can at least be convinced to extend the amount of time applicants have to open their businesses.

“It’ll be interesting to see what happens with respect to that deadline in this legislative session, or if there’s going to end up being any wiggle room from [ADHS],” he said. “I think they are going to be amending the adult-use rules sometime in the next year to hopefully consider a change there. Even adding an extra six months could be a really big deal for some people.”

This article originally appeared in the Arizona Mirror, an online nonprofit news agency. Find more reporting at azmirror. com

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TUCSON AREA DISPENSARIES

Bloom Tucson

4695 N. Oracle Road, Ste. 117 293-3315; bloomdispensary.com

Open: Daily 9a.m. - 10p.m.

Botanica

6205 N. Travel Center Drive 395-0230; botanica.us

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Downtown Dispensary 221 E. Sixth Street, Suite 105 838-0492; thedowntowndispensary.com

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D2 Dispensary

7105 E. 22nd Street 214-3232; d2dispensary.com/

Open: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday

Earth’s Healing

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The Green Halo

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Hana Green Valley

1732 W. Duval Commerce Point Place

289-8030

Open: Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Harvest of Tucson

2734 E. Grant Road

314-9420; askme@harvestinc.com; Harvestofaz.com

Open: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., daily

Nature Med

5390 W. Ina Road 620-9123; naturemedaz.com

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The Prime Leaf

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1525 N. Park Avenue 44-PRIME; theprimeleaf.com

Open: Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Southern Arizona Integrated Therapies

112 S. Kolb Road 886-1003; medicalmarijuanaoftucson.com

Open: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., daily

Green Med Wellness Center

6464 E. Tanque Verde Road

886-2484, greenmedwellness.com

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ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19) “Magic Realism Bot” is a Twitter account that generates ideas for new fairy tales. Since you will benefit from imagining your life as a fairy tale in the coming weeks, I’ll offer you a few possibilities. 1. You marry a rainbow. The two of you have children: a daughter who can sing like a river and a son who is as gleeful as the wind. 2. You make friends with a raven that gives you savvy financial advice. 3. You invent a new kind of dancing; it involves crying and laughing while making holy prayer gestures toward your favorite star. 4. An angel and a lake monster join forces to help you dream up fun new adventures. 5. You discover a field of enchanted dan delions. They have the power to gener ate algorithms that reveal secrets about where to find wonders and marvels.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20) On Feb ruary 1, 1976, singer Elvis Presley was partying with buddies at his home in Memphis, Tennessee. As the revelry grew, he got an impetuous longing for an 8,000-calorie sandwich made with French bread, peanut butter, blueber ry preserves, and slabs of bacon. Since this delicacy was only available at a certain restaurant in Denver, Colorado, Elvis and his entourage spontaneously hopped onto his private jet and flew 900 miles to get there. In accordance with astrological omens, Taurus, I encourage you to summon an equally keen determi nation to obtain pleasurable treasures. Hopefully, though, they will be more important than a sandwich. The odds of you procuring necessary luxuries that heal and inspire are much higher than usual.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20) Gemini writ er Nikki Giovanni reminds us, “It cannot be a mistake to have cared. It cannot be an error to have tried. It cannot be incor rect to have loved.” In accordance with astrological omens, I ask you to embody Giovanni’s attitude. Shed any worries that your caring and trying and loving have been blunders. Celebrate them, be proud of them, and promise yourself that you will keep caring and trying and lov ing. The coming weeks will be an excel

lent time to renew your commitment to your highest goodness.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22) I was born near Amarillo, Texas, where the US En ergy Department stores over 20,000 plutonium cores from old nuclear war heads. Perhaps that explains some of my brain’s mutant qualities. I’m not normal. I’m odd and iconoclastic. On the other hand, I don’t think my peculiarity makes me better than anyone. It’s just who I am. I love millions of people who aren’t as quirky as me, and I enjoy communi cating with unweird people as much as I do with weirdos. Everything I just said is a preamble for my main message, Cancerian: The coming weeks will be prime time for you to give extra honor and credit to your personal eccentrici ties, even if they comprise a minor part of your personality.

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22) Author Jennifer Huang testifies, “Poetry is what helps me remember that even in my fragments, I am whole.” What about you, Leo? What reminds you, even in your fragments, that you are whole? Now is an excellent time to identify the people, animals, and influences that help you generate a sense of unity and completeness. Once you’re clear about that, spend quali ty time doing what you can to nurture those healers. Maybe you can even help them feel more cohesion and harmony in themselves.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22) Virgo jour nalist Sydney J. Harris described “the three hardest tasks in the world.” He said they weren’t “physical feats nor in tellectual achievements, but moral acts.” Here they are: 1. to return love for hate; 2. to include the excluded; 3. to say “I was wrong.” I believe you will have a special talent for all three of these brave actions in the coming weeks, Virgo. Amazingly, you’re also more likely than usual to be on the receiving end of those brave ac tions. Congratulations in advance!

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22) When he was young, Libran poet W. S. Merwin had a teacher who advised him, “Don’t lose

your arrogance yet. You can do that when you’re older. Lose it too soon, and you may merely replace it with vanity.” I think that counsel is wise for you to meditate on right now. Here’s how I in terpret it: Give honor and respect to your fine abilities. Salute and nurture your ripe talents. Talk to yourself realistical ly about the success you have accom plished. If you build up your apprecia tion for what is legitimately great about you, you won’t be tempted to resort to false pride or self-absorbed egotism.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21) In his ab surdist play Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett offers us two characters, Vlad imir and Estragon, who patiently wait for a white-bearded man named Godot. They’re convinced he will provide them with profound help, perhaps even salva tion. Alas, although they wait and wait and wait, Godot never arrives. Near the end, when they have abandoned hope, Vladimir says to Estragon, “We are not saints, but we have kept our appoint ment.” My sense is that you Scorpios, like Vladimir and Estragon, may be close to giving up your own vigils. Please don’t! I believe your personal equivalent to Godot will ultimately appear. Summon more patience.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21) Poet Charles Wright has testified, “I admire and revere and am awed by a good many writers. But Emily Dickinson is the only writer I’ve ever read who knows my name, whose work has influenced me at my heart’s core, whose music is the mu sic of songs I’ve listened to and remem bered in my very body.” In my astrolog ical reckoning, now is an excellent time for you Sagittarians to identify artists and creators who provide you with simi

lar exaltation. And if there are no Emily Dickinson-type influences in your life, find at least one! You need to be touched and transformed by sublime inspiration.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19) I’ve read and studied poetry for many years, but only recently discovered Capricorn poet Lizette Woodworth Reese (1856–1935). How is it possible I missed her? Her contemporary, journalist H. L. Menck en, described her work as “one of the imperishable glories of American litera ture.” She received many other accolades while alive. But today, she is virtually un known, and many of her books are out of print. In bringing her to your attention, I am announcing my prediction about you: Anything in your life that resembles Reese’s reputation will change in the next 12 months. If you have until now not gotten the recognition or gratitude you deserve, at least some of it will arrive.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18) Author Sophia Dembling defines a friend as a person who consoles you when you’re feeling desperate and with whom you don’t feel alone. A friend is someone whose life is interesting to you and who is interested in your life. Maybe most importantly, a friend must not be boring. What’s your definition, Aquarius? Now is an excellent time to get clear about the qualities you want in a friend. It’s also a favorable phase to seek out vital new friendships as you de-emphasize medio cre and overly demanding alliances.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20) Do you or do you not wish to capitalize on the boost that’s available? Are you or are you not going to claim and use the challeng ing gift that would complicate your life but also expedite your growth? Act soon, Pisces! If you don’t, the potential dispen sation may disappear. This is an excel lent chance to prove you’re not afraid of achieving more success and wielding more power. I hope you will summon the extra courage necessary to triumph over shyness and timidity. Please claim your rightful upgrade!

Albert Lavenziano

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