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Tinsley Ellis celebrates new album at the MIM

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI

Foothills Focus Executive Editor

Tinsley Ellis has traveled the world playing blues and rock. But after visiting the Musical Instrument Museum’s theater a handful of times, he counts that as his favorite venue.

“The term ‘spared no expense’ is thrown around pretty liberally,” Ellis said. “In the case of the Musical Instrument Museum, it’s spot on.

“People come and they give artists an experience unlike any that we would get. We’re a traveling blues and rock band, which means we play a lot of bars. That’s our bread and butter. Then there’s the Musical Instrument Museum, which is a mecca.”

Ellis said he looks forward to returning, which he will do on Tuesday, March 22.

“The Musical Instrument Museum was one of the last gigs we played before the pandemic hit in 2020,” Ellis said. “It was a sold-out show, and nobody was talking about the pandemic. Then, two days later, we were told to drive home from Northern California all the way to Atlanta.”

Ellis recently released the album

Georgia-born Tinsley Ellis wrote 200 songs during the pandemic and whittled them down to 10 for

“Devil May Care.” (Photo by Flournoy Holmes) �ee TINSLEY ELLIS Page 21

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Phoenix Film Festival inching its way toward normalcy

BY CONNOR DZIAWURA Foothills Focus Staff Writer

“Oh, here we go again,” the Phoenix Film Festival’s Jason Carney remembers thinking leading up to last year’s event. Delayed from its usual spring setting to late summer, he says the annual festival came right as concerns were mounting due to the COVID-19 delta variant.

Thankfully, the event performed well — better, in fact, than the previous year’s event, which had itself been delayed and dissected into a smaller version of itself amid the pandemic’s early waves.

Carney, the festival director, remains hopeful for this year’s 22nd annual Phoenix Film Festival, which returns to its usual spring setting at Harkins Scottsdale 101 from Thursday, March 31, to Sunday, April 10. The International Horror & Sci-Fi and Arizona Student film festivals are once again tied in.

And Carney says he’s still seeing the enthusiasm filmmakers and audiences had toward last year’s festival this time around.

“Audiences were crazy enthusiastic — and so were the filmmakers,” Carney said of 2021. “Many of these filmmakers, they played other festivals, but all of them had been virtual. This was the first time for them to have an audience, and so their excitement level was really high, and many of the audience members hadn’t been back to the movies yet, and so they were really excited. It was just like some kind of crazy movie love fest.”

This year’s diverse lineup is projected to include more than 200 works spanning local, national and international productions, plus appearances from guest filmmakers. And over the festival’s 11 days, audiences will be able to see films from all over the world compete for awards.

Films range from feature length to shorter projects, encompassing mediums and genres like live action, animation, narrative stories, documentaries and college productions — or, “kind of a little bit of everything,” as Carney puts it. The inclusion of the annual International Horror & Sci-Fi Film Festival lends credence to genre pictures.

Highlights, according to Carney, include director Dan Mirvish’s Watergate thriller/dark comedy “18 1/2” and the “wildly entertaining” documentary “The Pez Outlaw,” about a smuggling operation of rare Pez dispensers from Europe into the United States in the ’90s.

“You want to come to a festival and you don’t want to see a bunch of dramas or you don’t want to see a bunch of dark documentaries,” Carney said, emphasizing the variety. “You want to be able to see some light stuff, too. And so it’s important for us to program some romantic comedies, you know what I mean? There’s a place for that, and you want to lighten up; you want to have an enjoyment of your day.

“You’re going to see these powerful, amazing performances of trauma, but like, hey, let’s cleanse our palate and see something that’s going to make us laugh or see a documentary that’s going to raise awareness or just give us a good feeling.” The recent Unified by Film category, on the other hand, has been rebranded and expanded as Community Spotlight — with the hopes of showcasing the diversity of filmmakers from the African American, Latinx, Native American, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and LGBTQ+ communities.

The idea, Carney says, is to work with and promote nonprofits in those communities to create opportunities and raise awareness of the issues they face, while also giving those communities the opportunity to see films with their same world view.

“It’s nice to see yourself represented on screen in some regard or at least getting that vision and having that commonality with the director of films,” Carney said. “There’s plenty of 30-year-old white guys making movies out there. So it’s good for us to do that and not only just do it for the sake of doing it, but really commit to it and be part of these communities and grow this thing.

“We just try to do it a little bit more each year, and I’m just really proud of our organization and our commitment to it. It’s never been just a one-off thing; we want to transform it and continue to grow it. So you can count on that happening again this year.”

The Arizo- na Student Film Festival is set for Saturday, April 9. The annual competition screens short films created by grade school and high school students, with one high school winner to receive a $1,000 scholarship.

“It’s always a fun day at the festival that Saturday morning,” Carney said. “It’s just exciting to not only have the opportunity for these young filmmakers to have their films on the screen, we get to see the family, their parents, their siblings, their grandparents, they’re all there and they’re all supportive. It’s just such a great feeling, and we’re just really proud of that program for sure.” Notable this year, beyond films, is more of an emphasis on the social aspect that had been reduced the past couple festivals. While last year’s audience was not the size it had been just a few years back, Carney says it “set the tone for us just kind of moving forward and setting us up for hopefully an even bigger comeback this year with the return of our Party Pavilion, which we haven’t been able to do since 2019.”

The opening weekend Party Pavilion, he says, is back with some changes aimed to ensure comfortability and openness. Highlights are the Opening Night cocktail party; Friday’s Industry Night, which Carney called “the biggest networking event of the year for the state”; and the Saturday night Film Prom.

“It’s kind of fun to intermingle that with so many great films we play,” Carney said. Free educational filmmaker panels will also be set up in the theater on each weekend. Plus, there’s the free Kids’ Day the first Saturday morning, April 2, another opportunity for connection — and education. Carney says the festival works with area film schools to set up hands-on filmmaking experiences.

“We try to do a whole thing where it’s different parts of the filmmaking so it’s educational and fun, and it’s a wide enough variety so they can kind of go from station to station without waiting forever to do an activity,” he explained. After a great 2019 and then a quick scaling back of the festival’s many activities due to the pandemic, Carney feels the pieces are moving for the Phoenix Film Festival to remain on track toward a successful future.

“2022 gets us another step towards where hopefully we were and get us back on our big growth mountain that we’ve been climbing over the years.”

Phoenix Film Festival

WHEN: Various times Thursday, March 31, to Sunday, April 10 WHERE: Harkins Scottsdale 101, 7000 E. Mayo Boulevard, Phoenix COST: See websites for more information INFO: phoenixfilmfestival.com, orrorscifi.com, azstudentfilmfestival.org

KUMA’S GREAT ADVENTURES Exploring the High Desert Trail

TOLD BY KUMA AND WRITTEN BY LORRAINE BOSSÉ-SMITH

Foothills Focus Contributing Writer

We sure had amazing weather in January and February, and I hope it continues in March. Regardless, I have a new find for you: The High Desert Trail in Black Canyon City. Take I-17 north to exit 242 for Black Canyon City and take a left over the freeway or west. You’ll come to a “T” and need to turn right or head north again. You will pass the parking lot for the Black Canyon City Trail, which I’ve written about before, and you will take a left onto Jacie Lane into the High Desert Park. The address is: 19001 Jacie Lane, Black Canyon City.

�ee KUMA Page 19

Expansive views of the Bradshaw Mountains await. (Photo courtesy of Lorraine Bossé-Smith)

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KUMA From Page 17

You’ll come to a big parking lot. Go past the building with the human restrooms (unless you need to use them) and drive all the way to the back of the lot where you will see a hiking trail sign. Parking is free, and doggos are welcome. They run on donations and have a box if you would like to help them out. The High Desert Park trail is a 1.8-mile easy, well-maintained and marked trail. It starts at the archway/gazebo, where there is a map to show you the loop. Follow the rock-lined trail and any blue posts, and you’ll go completely around and back to where you started. The trail is mostly flat and meanders through the Black Canyon with spectacular views of the Bradshaw Mountains. The locals have labeled some of the vegetation so you can learn about the plants in our desert.

The trail will head west and then south. You will start to feel like you’ve gone a long way from where you started and that you are in the middle of nowhere. Only a few times do you see or hear the freeway. As you come near the Black Canyon City trailhead parking lot, you will see a sign to follow the loop “HDP north,” and that takes you back to where you started.

The second half isn’t as long as the first. Don’t get confused by the yellow pole as it is just a crossover trail. Stay to the right on the blue path. Throughout the entire trail are benches with awesome views. If you enjoy a few of those like we did, the loop will take about an hour.

This path would be hot in the summer, so this is the time to take advantage of this neat trail option for any level of hiker. Stay healthy my friends!

My mom, Lorraine Bossé-Smith, is kind enough to help me share my Great Adventures, big and small. My mom is a

�ee KUMA Page 21

Live where there’s plenty of cheese

CHURCH COMMUNITY CONNECTION Pastor Ed Delph

Foothills Focus Columnist

Let’s start with some questions about individual and national crises. First, I’ll start with the subject of an individual crisis. Have you ever lost your direction, feeling like you are in the wilderness? Amid your crisis, could you have used some guidance? Or have you ever felt miserable, chained to the consequences of destructive personal choices that you made? Are you dealing with an unhealthy habit that is tearing your life apart? Are you currently navigating a crisis that came into your life caused by circumstances beyond your control?

Let’s consider a national crisis. Have you noticed how history repeats itself? For example, take nation after nation in world history. They started strong, then became prideful and lazy. They became blind to their condition. They erased and replaced the values and leaders who made them great for destructive values and leaders that disable them. Then the downward slide continues. They were great for a short season. Then, they finished wrong, not strong.

In either individual or national crises, did God cause the downfall? No. Individual and national hubris and self-reliance caused it. The problem with pride is that it picks up momentum as it goes along. People aren’t punished so much for their mistakes as by their mistakes. So, the cycle continues. At best, people and nations become captive to mediocrity, stuck on a perpetual trapeze that swings back and forth. Never confuse motion with constructive action.

Don’t worry; this isn’t a negative article. On the contrary, there’s a very positive, uplifting message in it. Be a trend breaker. Learn from others’ mistakes; the second mouse gets the cheese. There’s plenty of cheese left if you are the second mouse. All the questions I asked above applied to a nation (Israel) and its people long ago. But in this case, in Psalm 107, we see the downward pattern and spiral reversed. Israel and its people move from captivity to deliver-

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ance, from “Why me?” to “What next?” in three crises.

I call this pattern “Their problem, their prayer, their provision and their praise.” All countries and people will face a crisis. The key is what we do in a crisis. So, let’s be the second mouse. Let’s understand what most will never understand. The first crisis was that Israel lost its direction. Their problem was they were lost in the wilderness. They needed guidance. They needed to get their bearings back. Sound familiar? The Scriptures say, “They wandered in the wilderness in a desert region; they did not find a way to the inhabited city.” (vs. 4-5). They recognized they had a problem. That’s half the battle.

What happened then? They prayed, “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble.” (vs. 6). God’s provision came in answer to their prayer. “He delivered them out of their distresses. He led them by a straight way to the inhabited city.” (vs.7). Finally, notice their praise to God. “Let them give thanks to the Lord for His loving kindness…” (vs. 7-8). There it is: “Their problem, their prayer, their provision and their praise.”

The next problem was they were captives of their sin and rebellion in verses 10-12. They left God out of their heritage. Israel got into all kinds of disabling stuff that had dangerous consequences. Sound familiar? “There were those who dwelt in darkness and the shadow of death, prisoners in misery and chains.” What did they do then? They prayed the same prayer as before. “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble.” (vs. 13). God brought provision in answer to their prayer. (vs. 13-14). “He saved them out of their distresses.” What was their response to this deliverance? It was Praise to God. “Let them give thanks to the Lord for His loving-kindness is everlasting.” (vs. 15). There it is again: “Their problem, their prayer, their provision and their praise.”

Next, we see the crisis of a people or nation delivered from circumstances beyond their control. The people were on a ship, and a storm came up in verse 27. They didn’t create that problem. Sound familiar? Amid the storm, they prayed as before, “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble.” (vs. 28). Then God comes with provision. “He caused the storm to be still so that the waves of the sea were hushed.” (vs. 28-30). What was the people’s response? “Let them give thanks to the Lord for His loving-kindness…” (vs.31). That’s how we get delivered from captivity.

God gave this solution to all nations, too. “If my people, called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” II Chronicles 7:14. This pattern is good for business, church and everyday people, too. The problem comes, which causes people to pray, to which God hears and responds. Then people thank God. Lesson: It’s our responsibility to respond to God’s ability.

Regrettably, history shows us that after the problem, prayer, provision and praise go away, it’s likely we will marginalize God. And then the cycle starts all over again. But there is always a way back to God. The time is always right to do what’s right. One lesson we learn for sure, when it’s hardest to pray is when we pray the hardest.

How about in our current national or personal crisis, we shift from their problem, their prayer, their provision and their praise to our problem, our prayer, our provision and our praise? There’s plenty of cheese if you’re the second mouse. Aha!

Ed Delph is a noted author of 10 books, as well as a pastor, teacher, former business owner and speaker. Ed has traveled extensively, having been to more than 100 countries. He is president of NationStrategy, a nonprofit organization involved in uplifting and transforming communities worldwide. For more information, see nationstrategy.com. Ed may be contacted at nationstrategy@cs.com.

Kuma and his mom, Lorraine Bossé-Smith, enjoy the scenic loop close to home. (Photo courtesy of

Lorraine Bossé-Smith)

KUMA From Page 19

motivational speaker, corporate trainer, executive recruiter, business consultant, coach, fitness expert and author of nine published books. More importantly, she’s the best doggy mom ever.

Enjoy our blog at https://bit.ly/ kuma0901, @kumathedog on Facebook or @kumaitothedog on Instagram.

TINSLEY ELLIS From Page 15

“Devil May Care,” which features 10 original songs coupled with his emotionally charged guitar solos.

“The goal was to make the guitar sing,” said Ellis, who is well known for just that.

With the 22-month pandemic break, Ellis said he worried about losing his chops. He almost immediately began composing on amps and guitars that he hadn’t used for decades. He explored obscure studio and live recordings from some of his greatest musical heroes, such as the Allman Brothers, Freddie King, Michael Bloomfield, B.B. King and beyond, and was inspired by his favorite artists all over again.

“I was facing the longest time off I ever had,” he said. “I designated every morning from 7 to noon, six days a week, songwriting time. I had a couple hundred songs. Some weren’t all that great.”

Ellis whittled the 200-song list down to 10, enlisted his friend and co-producer, keyboard master Kevin McKendree, and headed for Franklin, Tennessee’s Rock House recording studio. The result is “Devil May Care,” a record, Ellis said, “is for the fans as much as for me.”

Now that the record is out, Ellis said he’s following his usual business model—release a collection, head out on a big tour, do interviews and “try to keep the ball rolling.”

“Right now, the album is new so there is a lot of optimism and that’s a good time to be on the road,” he said.

Tinsley Ellis

WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 22 WHERE: Musical Instrument Museum Theater, 4725 E. Mayo Boulevard, Phoenix COST: Tickets start at $30.50 INFO: 480-478-6000, mim.org

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