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Ivan Harshman continues to deliver as solo artist

BY JORDAN HOUSTON

Foothills Focus Staff Writer

Music was always an escape for Scottsdale resident Ivan Harshman.

The full-time musician describes it as a therapeutic outlet throughout his childhood — and still stands by that statement.

Growing up in Toledo, Ohio, Harshman said he was “one of those kids forced to mature quickly.” Harshman recalls the first time he was given a handful of records, including tunes by Paul McCartney and The Animals, from his aunt at around 5 years old.

“Music for me at an early age was important,” explains Harshman, a former member of The Elliots. “No. 1, I liked it and it was really special to me in a certain way.

“I would hide in my room and listen to records and play army men. It was a big deal because there was always a lot going on in the house. It was an escape for me.”

Now, the vocalist, writer and instrumentalist is making a name for himself throughout the North Valley as a mustsee — or hear — talent. Harshman has shared the stage with a multitude of renowned musicians and acts, including Derek Trucks, Keb Mo, Ian Moore, Gin Blossoms, David Crosby, Charlie Musselwhite, Carl Palmer, Cake, Sugar Ray, The Samples, Lisa Loeb, The Verve Pipe, Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers, Mark Mikel, Mudjaw’s Cantankerous Jubilee and The Zombies.

A self-described “blues rock dude,” Harshman can be found performing solo in Queen Creek, Cave Creek and Peoria. With his schedule listed on his website, he can satisfy a variety of requests, including classics like his Beatles medley, David Bowie, “Thirteen” and “Into the Mystic,” as well as perform his own original pieces, like “Avalon” and “The Dailies.”

“It doesn’t really matter what songs you play, as long as you play well,” Harshman said. “If you destroy someone’s favorite song, you’re not doing them or yourself any favors.”

Harshman, whose sound ranges from a blend of bluegrass to “pop-Beatles-esque songs,” said he prefers not to limit himself to any particular category. He considers his songs as “all over the map.”

“I’m an Anglophile. I love The Beatles and that whole scene,” he shares. “But, I’m a blues rock dude and that’s the type of rock ‘n’ roll that is still popular. People call it different things — blues rock That’s, like, heavy metal like Black Sabbath. I’m a soulful, powerful singer.”

Harshman attributes his inspiration to first dabble in the music industry to his

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THE FOOTHILLS FOCUS | THEFOOTHILLSFOCUS.COM | OCTOBER 13, 2021 uncle, a singer and bass player. At 14, he taught himself how to play the HARSHMAN From page 24 RIGOR, RELEVANCE & RELATIONSHIPSSMALL CLASS SIZES! guitar. Harshman then began writing lyrical pieces shortly after, he explains.

“I started writing songs immediately,” Harshman recounts. “I had a lot going on inside of me. There’s two kinds of performers, there’s the ones that are using it as a catharsis and then there’s people that want attention.” Harshman organized his first threepiece band about a year later, he said, in which he played the bass guitar with several of his classmates. The group covered the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jimi Hendrix, among other artists, at gatherings for fraternities and sororities.

At 16, Harshman played for his uncle’s band at local bars while helping with stage management.

“I would run lights and they would pay me to be a light-man,” he said. “And then I would come up and would sing, at first, two or three songs, and then four or five.”

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see HARSHMAN page 26 Schedule a tour! Call 623-551-5083 for K-5 Campus or Toledo, Ohio, native Ivan Harshman is a Valley favorite. (Photo courtesy of Ivan Harshman) 623-466-8187 for 6-12 Campus Schedule a tour! Schedule a tour! RIGOR, RELEVANCE, AND RELATIONSHIPS Call 623-551-5083 for K-5 Campus or 623-466-8187 for 6-12 Campus or schedule online. Visit caurusacademy.org/schedule-a-tour or schedule online. Visit caurusacademy.org/schedule-a-tourCall 623-551-5083 for K-5 Campus or 623-466-8187 for 6-12 Campus or schedule online. Visit caurusacademy.org/schedule-a-tour

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HARSHMAN From page 25

After graduating from high school, Harshman earned his own open stage night at a local bar called Shari’s Place Upstairs.

The stage was furnished with microphones and a drum set, Harshman explains.

“It was a musician’s bar. That’s who hung out there, musicians,” he said. “I would host the night and people would come up and want to play and they could. All of a sudden, drums would kick in behind me. If you started playing a song somebody liked, they’d just walk up and start playing with you.

“It’s really how I learned. All of those guys were older, seasoned and ridiculously good musicians.”

Harshman arrived in Tempe around the late ’90s. The aspiring musician, who was in his early 20s at the time, initially planned to pursue music in Los Angeles, but his hopes were curtailed following the demise of the record label industry in the early 2000s.

He then joined what would become the Arizona-based “supergroup” The Elliots shortly after. The trio contained fellow singer-songwriters Blake Thompson on the vocals and guitar and Kate Russo on vocals, the electric violin and keyboards.

“We were three lead singer-songwriters, we called ourselves the unofficial super group,” Harshman recounts. “Everybody was a lead singer-songwriter from another band. Basically, we started writing and playing and had a great following.” Harshman left the group around 2004 to pursue his next chapter as primarily a solo artist, he said. In 2009, he joined the classic rock outfit The Rig with Valley musicians Ronnie Winter, a vocalist and guitarist, and Gary Bruzzese, a vocalist and drummer. To this day, the group performs once a month at local hangouts like Cave Creek’s The Hideaway Grill.

Performing is one of the few times that Harshman feels in the moment, he said.

“When I’m performing, it’s the only time where I’m really concentrating on one thing and I feel relaxed,” Harshman explains. “I feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be. I don’t feel anxious, I don’t feel nervous. I don’t feel like I’m missing something.”

Harshman adds it is an important time to support live and local musicians. He encourages music- overs to continue to buy records or pay musicians in any capacity that they can.

“Live music is alive and well, as long as people keep showing up,” he shares. “People love live music. After COVID, people would come from different states and would come and cry. Grown men and women would cry, it’s very important to people.”

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27 Robert Bartko keeps George Michael’s vision alive

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI

Foothills Focus Executive Editor

Robert Bartko says his George Michael Reborn act is not a gimmick. The tribute did not choose him. In fact, it was the opposite.

“From the time I was in high school, I looked like George Michael when he began to emerge on the scene,” Bartko said. “I could grow a full beard at 17. I was a football jock and sang in the drama club. Usually, those are very polarized worlds in high school.”

But friends and family saw something special—his uncanny vocal resemblance to Michael. Bartko said he felt he found his musical home.

“In 1988, I went to his big show at the Orange Bowl in Miami. I thought I was going to lose my life that night,” said Bartko about the reaction to his look.

He spent the 1990s producing songs for rock acts like Korn (“A.D.I.D.A.S. Level X Mix,” “Wicked” and “All in the Family,” which featured Fred Durst) and dance artist Stevie B. In 2018, he saw a resurgence of his dance career. When a booking agent called him to perform, however, he said, “Man, you look and sound just like George Michael. If you could put together a George Michael act, we could book it a lot more than we could book you on your own.”

Thus George Michael Reborn was off and running.

Now, he said, fans “lose their minds” at his shows, which includes a Saturday, Oct. 16, gig at Harold’s Cave Creek Corral. Bartko’s act is a retrospective of Wham and Michael’s careers. He said he “nails” the whole “Faith” era and, at age 51, he “does not look a day over 32.”

“I’ve been really fortunate to be able to pull off a 22-year-old George doing ‘Faith,’” he said. “I touch upon all the hits form the ‘Fantastic’ album, ‘Edge of Heaven,’ ‘Faith’ and beyond that. I concentrate most on the ‘Faith’ era.”

“They love George Michael,” he said. “They put their claws in and don’t let go for 90 minutes. Their minds go back to high school.”

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KUMA’S GREAT ADVENTURES

Hike around Bear Canyon Lake

TOLD BY KUMA AND WRITTEN BY LORRAINE BOSSÉ-SMITH

Foothills Focus Contributing Writer

Happy fall dear readers! Our mornings are nice and cool, and we have even received more rain. This is great adventuring weather, and my family decided to head back up toward Payson to explore a new hike.

We took the route through Fountain Hills that hooks up to the 87 north but this time, we hung a left on the Rim Road. We’ve been up here before. It’s like being on top of the world and looking down. It’s called the Rim Road for a reason as we are on a one-sided canyon. All the rain has really greened everything up. The clouds were just lifting as we entered Rim Country.

There are several options once on the dirt Rim Road (easy access for any vehicle) such as Woods Canyon Lake, but we followed the sign to Bear Can-

see KUMA page 31

KUMA From page 30

yon Lake, approximately 12 miles off the Rim Road. Note: Any vehicle can drive on this road, but it is bumpy and slow going. All in all, it took us three hours from North Phoenix to get to the gravel parking lot.

Bear Canyon Lake has two parking lots: the boat ramp and the hiking trail head. We chose the trailhead because we planned to hike the 3.5 miles around the lake. If you are canoeing, kayaking or picnicking, you might want to park at the other lot. Both are free with ample spots. There is a campground nearby as well.

Because this lake is a bit farther down the road, it wasn’t crazy busy like Woods Canyon. In fact, I think we were the only people who hiked around the entire lake. Everyone else was hanging out at the shoreline, fishing or on the water.

We read that the trail is difficult to find, and they weren’t kidding! We started by going to the right, and it was immediately rocky. You are basically Kuma and his daddy on the lake trail. hiking on a steep slope, and the lake is at the bottom of the basin. Be sure you have sturdy shoes, and you may want a hiking pole. We read that you could see Bear signs, but we didn’t.

The temperatures were in the low 70s, and I was bounding. I’d look back and smile at mom often. She says when I am happy, she is happy. So, I had a great time on the soft pine needles hiking in the shade. Woof!

That being said, the trail is not maintained. Although blue diamonds are posted on trees throughout, we lost the trail many times. And what trail that was there wasn’t developed. You can tell it isn’t used much. We just followed the lake around, but it was slow going.

The rain also filled up the lake and made the wildflowers bloom. We walked through some incredible meadows about halfway through, and it is here we decided to have our lunch break. We found some cool rocks to sit on with lake views. We kept our eyes

see KUMA page 32

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KUMA From page 31

on the sky as another storm was supposed to hit Payson later in the day. We opted to keep our lunch break short and continued.

As we started hiking the other side of the lake, we realized it was even more difficult to follow. Our pace was down to a crawl with some bouldering and scrambling through trees. Mom’s ankle and foot were not liking it, and I could tell she was hurting. She’s always a trooper and pressed on.

Just then, we heard a red tail hawk screeching at us. We were just beneath her nest with babies. She was letting us know to keep moving on, which we did. I was still pretty happy because every chance I got, I jumped in the lake. There is nothing like a cool mountain lake!

We finally made our way to the other parking lot and decided to hike up to it and walk the remainder of the way on the dirt road to help save mom’s feet.

see KUMA page 32

Bear Canyon Lake off the Rim Road.

KUMA From page 32 Lorraine Bossé-Smith celebrates ninth book

She was hobbling at this point. I must admit I was starting to get tuckered out myself. We hiked for three hours.

As we got back to the car, we estimated that I’ve probably driven over 250,000 miles in my nearly 13 years of life. I am indeed the King of the Road. I don’t remember much about the drive home other than we went the same way back this time. Either route is about the same: three hours. I really loved Bear Canyon Lake. The hike is moderate to difficult depending upon your ability, but it is worth it for the scenery and quiet.

My mom, Lorraine Bossé-Smith, is kind enough to help me share my great adventures, big and small. My mom is a 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! Read about Kuma at https://bit. ly/kuma0901 or @kumathedog on Facebook.

BY FOOTHILLS FOCUS STAFF

Author and speaker Lorraine Bossé-Smith will celebrate the release of her ninth book, “Defy Your Diagnosis: Overcome Any Obstacle,” with a book signing at Barnes & Noble, Happy Valley.

“This book shares about my life riddled with struggles and how I beat two incurable diseases to live a victorious life,” said Bossé-Smith, a speaker, business consultant, executive coach and recruiter. “Because of my difficulties, I am able to share the FIT Life Formula to offer hope and encouragement to anyone needing a shift in their life.”

Bossé-Smith’s book is authentic, funny, inspirational, practical and timely, offering readers a new mindset to overcome and defy their diagnosis, whatever it may be. The event will be held from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, at 2501 W. Happy Valley Road, Suite 20, Phoenix. This event is free, and Bossé-Smith will autograph purchased books.

Bossé-Smith is also available to speak on this topic and many more to your club, organization or company. Visit lorrainebosse-smith.com or call 623-582-1578 for more information. Lorraine Bossé-Smith is a speaker, business consultant, executive coach and

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