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YES! WEEKLY > APRIL 12-18, 2017 > VOLUME 13, NUMBER 15
5500 Adams Farm Lane Suite 204 Greensboro, NC 27407 Office 336-316-1231 Fax 336-316-1930 Publisher CHARLES A. WOMACK III publisher@yesweekly.com
BEST AMERICAN
EDITORIAL Editor JEFF SYKES jeff@yesweekly.com Contributors KRISTI MAIER JOHN ADAMIAN RICH LEWIS STEVE MITCHELL BILLY INGRAM ALLISON STALBERG IAN MCDOWELL DEONNA KELLI SAYED MIA OSBORN
Shortly after the first Gulf War, PAUL CRENSHAW performed a march. “I was in advanced training,” he told me, “ which is the second half of military training. This was the summer of ’91, when the troops were coming home, and because none of them wanted to march in the 4th of July parade, the folks organizing the parade asked for volunteers from Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
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Theatre LENISE WILLIS lenise@yesweekly.com PRODUCTION Graphic Designers ALEX ELDRIDGE designer@yesweekly.com AUSTIN KINDLEY artdirector@yesweekly.com ADVERTISING
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DISTRIBUTION JANICE GANTT We at YES! Weekly realize that the interest of our readers goes well beyond the boundaries of the Piedmont Triad. Therefore we are dedicated to informing and entertaining with thought-provoking, debate-spurring, in-depth investigative news stories and features of local, national and international scope, and opinion grounded in reason, as well as providing the most comprehensive entertainment and arts coverage in the Triad. YES! Weekly welcomes submissions of all kinds. Efforts will be made to return those with a self-addressed stamped envelope; however YES! Weekly assumes no responsibility for unsolicited submissions. YES! Weekly is published every Wednesday by Womack Newspapers, Inc. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. First copy is free, all additional copies are $1.00. Copyright 2017 Womack Newspapers, Inc.
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APRIL 12-18, 2017
the lead 8
Visual comedian Joseph RUDZINSKI was born a clown but it wasn’t until he read about the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in a National Geographic magazine that he began a professional career. 10 The AFAS Group, better known as ART FOR ART’S SAKE, will be welcoming everyone down to their new AFAS Center for the Arts and adjoining park on May 6th, beginning at 11 am. The event will be held in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the organization’s founding. 11 Both the Winston-Salem SSALEFISH, which was founded by Parks and where Mayer worked, and Acme Comics at Greensboro’s Lawndale shopping center, where Ewing worked for three years, had long broken away from the stereotype.
voices 12
The recent news regarding several of Greensboro’s publicprivate partnerships has been disheartening. These failures and missteps all have one thing in common: a CLOAK OF SECRECY.
arts, entertainment & dining 24
The Brooklyn-based guitar-ukulele-and-vocals duo, CHARMING DISASTER, have a loose narrative conceit that keeps their songs zeroed in on death, crime, myth, suffering, the supernatural and other dark subject matter. 27 Loyal Theatre Alliance fans will be excited to hear that their very own director, Jamie Lawson, will make a semi-rare appearance on the stage later this month when he dual directs and stars in FLAMES by Stephen Dolginoff. 30 There’s a good chance you’ve seen the work of the GREENSBORO PERMACULTURE GUILD, but you may not have known it. The group of sustainable design enthusiasts cultivates small landscapes and gardens tucked around the city. 31 The 19th annual RIVERRUN International Film Festival
wrapped for 2017 Sunday night, following the presentation of jury and audience choice awards. 32 Imagine what it’s like for the owner of the new restaurant, whether it’s their first or second or third! Imagine that it’s not only restaurant but a full-fledged compound. That was the set-up for Morehead Foundry, home of FOUR FLOCKS & LARDER.
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APRIL 12-18, 2017
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BE there
SPRING FEST FRIDAY
EVENTS YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS | BY AUSTIN KINDLEY ENT MT
ART
MU SIC
FOOD
THE ATRE
FEST
RIGHT YOU ARE WEDNESDAY WEDNESDAY
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WS DASH THURSDAY
THURSDAY
THURSDAY
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RIGHT YOU ARE
WS DASH OPENING NIGHT OF THE
HOMESTAND
LIVING DEAD
SPRING FEST
WHAT: Directed by Laura Braza; Transla-
WHAT: Baseball and Fireworks! Its a
WHAT: Modern Robot performs an origi-
(IF YOU THINK YOU ARE) tion by Carl Mueller In this funny, philosophical play, the question of what is true is twisted inside out repeatedly, as a group of friends tries to uncover the relationships of some neighbors whose behavior cant be explained, it turns out, so simply. WHEN: 7:30 p.m. WHERE: Patrons Theatre, Performance Place - UNCSA. 1533 S Main St., WinstonSalem MORE: $15-$18 tickets.
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FRIDAY
special Fireworks Thursday for Opening Day at BB&T Ballpark with the Winston-Salem Dash. First pitch is at 7 p.m., and a spectacular fireworks show follows the game. Your Home Team is back! The Dashs Opening Homestand is jam-packed with fun. WHEN: 7 p.m. WHERE: BB&T Ballpark. 951 Ballpark Way, Winston-Salem. MORE: $8-$16 tickets.
nal film score to the original zombie movie: Night of the Living Dead. Filmed in a Pennsylvania house scheduled for demolition, using costumes from second-hand shops and entrails donated by one of the actors, Night of the Living Dead might define what an independent horror film is. WHEN: 8 p.m. WHERE: The Carolina Theatre in The Crown. 310 South Greene St., Greensboro. MORE: $19 admission.
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36 Years of Experience
NOW OPEN to get you on the right path of life! Everyone is Welcome!
APRIL 12-18, 2017
FRIDAY
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FEAT: FRANKIE BEVERLY WHAT: Mo Alexander is a beast. A hard AND MAZE WHAT: This year’s lineup features the legendary Frankie Beverly & Maze with Ginuwine and Guy featuring Teddy Riley. Come party with some friends and jam to your favorite hits from back in days of real R&B music. This concert will have you dancing all night long! WHEN: 8 p.m. WHERE: Greensboro Coliseum Complex - Arena. 1921 West Gate City Blvd Greensboro MORE: $46 tickets.
drinking, hard partying stand up comic whose not afraid to make fun of everything from himself dying from a blood clot to Pokemon being slightly racist in theory. Mo has done everything from having his own residency in Vegas ‘The Mo Funny show’ to having 5 CD’s on iTunes. WHEN: 8 p.m. WHERE: The Idiot Box Comedy Club. 2134 Lawndale Dr., Greensboro. MORE: $10 tickets.
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OUTDOOR KICKOFF SATURdAy SATURDAY
15
CORKS & CRAFTS SATURdAy
SATURDAY
SATURDAY
15
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LOST AND FOUND BLIND TIGER WhAT: A new take on a past adventure. Follow the journey of two siblings as they venture into an imagined world where all lost things go. Using a musical landscape and everyday objects, Lost & Found explores what children do best: turning ordinary surroundings into extraordinary stories. When: 10:30 a.m. | 2 p.m. WheRe: Kaleideum Downtown. 390 South Liberty Street, Winston-Salem. MoRe: $7 tickets. peppercorntheatre.org. Recommended ages 3-6.
ANGELA BINGHAM TRIO SATURdAy SATURDAY
15
CORKS & CRAFTS THE ANGELA BINGHAM TRIO WhAT: Come enjoy some wine and beer
OUTDOOR SERIES KICKOFF WhAT: Outdoor concert in The Blind
Tiger parking lot. There will be food trucks from 11am-4pm then live music from 5pm -11pm. This is The first of a series of Outdoor concerts brought to you by The Blind Tiger. When: 11 a.m. WheRe: The Blind Tiger. 1819 Spring Garden St., Greensboro. MoRe: $10-$15 admission.
while you browse over 40 unique arts & craft, upcycled, and antique vendors set up in front of the Hauser House. There will be Live music by Jerry Chapman & Taqueria Lucianos food truck! When: 12 p.m. WheRe: Westbend Vineyards. 5394 Williams Road, Lewisville. MoRe: Free entry.
WhAT: Angela Bingham is an American jazz vocalist who has been a singer her entire life. Her singing is characterized by the qualities of honest expression, solid swinging and an emphasis on the blues. With a clear, steady tone and a penchant for improvisation, she communicates a song’s lyric honestly. When: 6:30 p.m. WheRe: O.Henry Hotel. 624 Green Valley Road, Greensboro. MoRe: Free event.
SUNDAY
16 EASTER BRUNCH WhAT: Easter Brunch @ The Burke Manor Inn Sunday, April 16th. A various choice of lovely appetizers, entrees, and desserts will be made available as well as a children’s menu for 12 & under kids. When: 11 a.m. WheRe: Burke Manor Inn Pavilion. 303 Burke Street, Gibsonville. MoRe: $38 admission.
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April 12-18, 2017
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[LOCAL TALENT]
PHOTO BY TONY JONES
VISUAL COMEDIAN-JOSEPH RUDZINSKI BY ALLISON STALBERG
Visual comedian Joseph Rudzinski was born a clown but it wasn’t until he read about the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in a National Geographic magazine that he began a professional career. “I was like ‘Oh I want grow up and do that,’” said Rudzinski. “Like most people who have a dream to be a fireman or police officer, you have a dream but it’s not realistic.” However his dream did come true when his audition was accepted by the circus and he attended the infamous Clown College. “When I got there I found out it was harder than Harvard or MIT to get into the school so I was really humbled.” Rudzinski trained for eight physically intense weeks during his time at the Clown College. “From six in the morning to two at night, it was everything you ever wanted to learn,” said Rudzinski. “Acrobatics, animals, falls, slapstick, stilts, unicycles and pyrotechnics. Clowns are the SWAT team of the circus world. So you got to learn to be prepared for that.” According to Rudzinski, clowning is
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about heart and personality. “I see everyone equal and I see the inequalities. One thing about being a clown is that you never go into a situation and look down on people. You are humble to everyone...you are there to entertain them.” Rudzinski has now been a professional entertainer for about 27 years and has lived in Greensboro since 1990. He currently teaches his gifts to others and holds up the value that knowledge is meant to be shared. “I try to find joy in every moment, when someone can’t spin a plate and they learn to spin a plate, when they can’t do juggling balls and they learn to do juggling balls. In theory I’m great in my own competition, but I don’t believe in competition, I believe in cooperation. “I really value community much more than I ever did. The way we succeed is we support each other. We have to support each other.” To learn more about Joseph Rudzinski or contact him, view his website at www. justjoey.biz. Or follow him at Facebook at www.facebook.com/thejustjoey. !
University Performing Arts Series presents: JAZZ at LINCOLN CENTER w/ WYNTON MARSALIS Wynton Marsalis Speaks Thurs, Apr. 20, 3:00pm Taylor Theatre Open to the public!
Thurs, Apr. 20 8:00pm Scan this QR code with your smartphone to purchase tickets for UPAS performances. You can also go to upas.uncg.edu or call 336-272-0160.
APRIL 12-18, 2017
LAWNDALE BAPTIST CHURCH for more information, visit:
upas.uncg.edu
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[SCUTTLEBUTT] Items from across the Triad and beyond
GPD REVAMPS OFF-DUTY EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM
The Greensboro Police Department has hired a third party contractor to administer its Secondary Employment program, through which private companies and individuals can hire officers to work security. But the changeover, which began last week, means increased fees for those using the program, and more difficulty selecting specific officers to work an assignment. Prior to the changeover, the city charged a flat administrative fee of $2 an hour (on top of the officer’s pay) when someone hired an officer through the program. That has increased to 10 percent of the officer’s pay. So, for example, if an officer worked a job that paid $25 an hour, the city would receive a $2.50 fee for each hour worked. On top of that, the contractor, Trumbull, Connecticut-based Extra Duty Solutions (EDS), charges its own fee of roughly 12 percent. So someone hiring an officer at $25 an hour, would be paying a total of $5.40 in administrative fees for each hour that officer is on duty.
“The program really just outgrew our resources,” Thompson said. “And we started asking officers on recurring assignments to manage the invoicing and scheduling. But our officers aren’t really trained to do that, and we saw some errors. There were assignments not being filled. There were a few double bookings, where two officers showed up for the same assignment. So we really needed to re-evaluate how to manage this.” Thompson said the department considered several options, including hiring more people to manage the program. Ultimately, though, department officials decided to seek a contractor, and the job was put out to bid, which EDS wound up winning. Those wanting to hire off duty officers will now call or email the company directly. Thompson said the department has about 100 regular users of the program, along with several hundred more each year who request officers to work onetime events. Some of those regular users also had regular officers they liked working with. “That was a great perk,” Thompson said. “But the problem was there wasn’t
The program has four pay tiers, $25, $30, $35 and $40 per hour. Simple jobs, like watching over a bank of computer servers at night, might pay $25, police Capt. J.W. Thompson said, whereas something like working a rowdy nightclub would pay more. Even though they’re being paid by a private entity, officers working through the program still have the same authority as when they’re on duty for the city. They also have to follow the same rules and guidelines. “You can’t hire us to do bail bonds work, for example, or hire us to check IDs at the door,” said Thompson, who is commander of the department’s Resource Management Division. The department has traditionally had a full time civilian employee who handled scheduling, billing and other administrative duties associated with the program.
consistency in the way officers were allowed to work. There might be other officers who would have liked to work those assignments. With this new system, everybody gets access to it. It’s not just these 12 officers who get to work a certain assignment. We just want to be more fair to everyone in the organization.” Altogether, Thompson said, the program provides about 100,000 to 125,000 hours of private work to officers each year. Among the top users of the program are Aldi’s grocery, with about 1,400 hours of work billed in February, Cone Health, with about 2,000 hours, and the N.C. Department of Transportation with about 3,600 hours. The latter uses officers to keep roads closed and direct traffic while road construction is going on. Don Causey, Cone Health Corporate Director of Security Services, described the rate hike as a “modest” burden. “Our biggest concern is whether or not we will get the same really outstanding level of service as we have received in the past,” he said. “We’ve been assured that we will and all indications are we will.” Robert Lopez !
GEARS & GUITARS MUSIC FESTIVAL May 26–29 COLLECTIVE SOUL
COREY SMITH
TONIC THE BLUE STONES
May 26, gates open at 6 p.m.
May 27, gates open at 5 p.m.
Photo: Joseph Guay
MUSCADINE BLOODLINE ERIC DODD
FREE MEMORIAL DAY CONCERTS Food Trucks, Family Activities, and Walk & Roll
BARENAKED LADIES
MIPSO
EDWIN MCCAIN SUSTO
THE PLAIDS Photo: Sasha Israel
May 28, gates open at 6 p.m.
CLAY HOWARD AND THE SILVER ALERTS HANK, PATTIE & THE CURRENT
May 29, 1 – 7 p.m.
All Performances are at Bailey Park · Rain or Shine · Food and Beverages Available for Purchase
GearsandGuitars(9.9x5print)YesWeekly.indd WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM
Tickets at gearsandguitarsfest.com or Ticketmaster 1
APRIL 12-18, 2017
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4/11/17 12:08 PM YES! WEEKLY
the lead
POLITICS, UPDATES, TRENDS AND OTHER VITAL INFORMATION
AFAS Center for Arts hosts grand opening celebration May 6 in Winston-Salem
O
BY RICH LEWIS ne of the driving forces behind the Winston-Salem arts renaissance will be celebrating both a grand opening
peppercorn theatre at kaleideum presents...
a musical adventure into the world where lost things go written by john bowhers and harry poster music by colin allured
april 15 - 30 at kaleideum downtown ages 3-6 tickets, showtimes, and more:
peppercorntheatre.org
10 YES! WEEKLY
APRIL 12-18, 2017
and a milestone on Saturday, May 6 in and around their new location at 630 N. Liberty Street. The AFAS Group, better known as Art for Art’s Sake, will be welcoming everyone down to their new AFAS Center for the Arts and adjoining park that day, beginning at 11 am. The event will be held in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the organization’s founding. Sherry Rose, AFAS Co-founder and Youth Arts & Education Program Director, said that while the official ribbon-cutting ceremony (with Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines) is scheduled for 2 pm, there would be a whole host of activities and entertainments available starting earlier in the day. “We’ll be having a huge celebration in the park (beside the building on its Liberty Street side) with everything from food trucks to live music, body painting and interactive artists,” Rose said. “We will also be starting our third annual Concrete Canvas Mural Project.” The Concrete Canvas Mural takes 11 mural spaces around downtown and gives local artists the chance to create public pieces of art that are on display for the entire year. At the end of the year, the murals are primered over and new ones created. At the celebration event, the artists will begin early in the morning so you can see how the process begins. “By doing the new murals, it keeps it fresh and gives an opportunity for emerging artists to get their names out there,” Rose explained. “I have so much respect for these artists because they are just brilliant. Each piece is different and each tells a story that is unique and authentic. And that gives something special to the park itself.” The event will also feature an Art Jam Saturday event in the park, a special opportunity for local youths to have hands on art activities and education. On that day, the AFAS Group Youth Arts Education Program will be working with children to create their own mural. Throughout the rest of the year, the Art Jam Saturdays will be held on the first and third Saturdays of each month from 12:30 to 3 pm, there, free of charge and with art supplies provided. As a fundraiser at the grand opening ceremonies, Rose said, people will be able to buy padlocks to paint and decorate,
PHOTO BY SHERRY ROSE
which will then be hung on the entrance to the park on Sixth Street. Locks like those have been clipped onto bridge fencing in places like Paris and London as markers for love or as memorials. The official ribbon-cutting with AFAS and Mayor Joines will begin at 2 pm and tours of the facility will begin thereafter. And there’s an awful lot of stuff to see inside the building. The first of the three floors, Rose said, will be the new home of the Red Dog Art Gallery, a mainstay of the downtown art scene. The back half of the first floor will also be home to the new gallery of local jeweler and bead artist extraordinaire Julie Knabb. The second floor will host the Unleashed Arts Center’s new home, along with ten private artist’s studios. Rose said the studios would range from 100 to 200 square feet and would be rented out to local artists (with AFAS group members getting the first chances to rent). Rents on the spaces will run from $270 to $500 a month depending on size and amenities. The third floor will have space for the AFAS Group board room with the remaining space being available for business rental. Overall, the building offers approximately 14,500 sq. feet of working and display space. Construction, design and opening of the new facility has taken about a year, Rose said. The park and building were gifted to AFAS by the Thomas J. Regan Jr. Foundation, with an estimated value of $5 million for the building and another $3 million for the park. “Everything we do, every dream we have had, it all comes back to our mission
PHOTO BY HARRY KNABB
to build, educate and celebrate our community through art,” Rose said. “We will always operate that way. Our plans are to continue to grow in our reach to artists, youths and adults. “People we have worked with come back and mentor, they are a huge part of the process for us,” she continued. “Since our founding in 2007 so many brilliant artists have worked with us. A lot of them had not been connected to the resources before that would help them turn their art into a way of making a living. We’ve helped make it a reality for them, though. We teach everything from basic business to marketing to help them and they get to collaborate with other experienced professional artists.” !
WANNA
go?
The AFAS Center for the Arts is located at 630 N. Liberty Street in Winston-Salem. The celebration begins in the park next door at 11 am. The event is free to the public.
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Ssalefish plans to stand out in Greensboro’s crowded comics market BY IAN MCDOWELL I bought The Uncanny X-Men #133, the issue in which the previously annoying supporting character Wolverine took on the Hellfire Club all by himself and suddenly became awesome, new at Sutton’s Drugs on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill in 1980, where I enjoyed it with a Chocolate Egg Cream. Back then, fans like me still regularly purchased new issues off drugstore and 7-11 spinner racks. My local actual comics shop was a dim musty cave down an alley on Rosemary Street, where I squatted to search dusty boxes for the beautifully drawn Neal Adams X-Men stories I’d been too young to understand twelve years earlier, but which heavily influenced the 1980 issues. Early comic shops were aimed mostly at collectors. Even when the Direct Sales market became the asteroid that made 7-11 spinner racks extinct as dinosaurs, that remained the dominant model, with most retail space devoted to boxes of back issues. This prehistoric model persists in many places, but it’s not what Bret Parks, Jay Ewing and Stephen Mayer plan for the new Greensboro branch of Ssalefish Comics at 1622 Stanley Road. Both the Winston-Salem Ssalefish, which was founded by Parks and where Mayer worked, and Acme Comics at Greensboro’s Lawndale shopping center, where Ewing worked for three years, had long broken away from the stereotype. The three partners want to continue that. Their shiny new shop has a bright, open and streamlined layout that they hope will appeal to new and casual readers as well as hardcore fans. Current monthly titles, graphic novels and collections predominate. I picked up the new issues of Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso’s Moonshine, about Depression-era Chicago bootleggers battling Appalachian werewolves, and Black Widow, where Mark Waid writes and Chris Samnee draws Marvel’s ginger superspy as thoughtful, tough and athletic rather than a boobdelivery system. But there are also some old treasures on display. I buy the 1973 Giant DC Treasury Edition of The House of Mystery, with an early story by Bernie Wrightson, the late great horror artist recently eulogized by the New York Times and Stephen King. His semi-clad Egyptian cat-woman heroine sure made my young eyes pop in 1973. And then the equally huge 1975 Marvel WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM
expectations for a comic book store.” Bret Parks seconds this, saying he’s overjoyed to stretch out his arm and light the Ssalefish torch in Greensboro, where he hopes it will be a very big thing rather than invisible (sorry, The Fantastic Four was my first favorite comic, and once I make a riff on it, it’s hard to stop). “Opening the first Ssalefish was my childhood dream. I dabbled in teaching and writing, but I always wanted to own a comic book store. After a five-year teaching stint in South Korea, I decided to go for it.” The Winston-Salem store is Bret’s baby, but for his Greensboro expansion, he brought in friends. “I’ve never had business partners before, so this is new to me, but I picked the right guys. There could be ten other comic book stores and I’d still do it this way. I believe in what I do and within my industry Ssalefish Comics is one of the best comic shops. Business in Winston Salem, where I’ve been for eleven years, is strong. I’ve seen families grow up and the world of comics change in so many ways. I think that I’ve been part of the positive growth of the comic book business. I co-founded Local Comic Shop Day, which is now a worldwide event. Greensboro was my home during college and graduate school, so it is a homecoming in a way.” Ssalefish Comics Greensboro is open for business at 1622 Stanley Road just off Wendover, near Best Buy and the Carmike 18 Cinemas. Their regular store hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays and Thursdays through Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, and 12 to 5 p.m. Sundays. They have an official Grand Opening Celebration scheduled for Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, May 6. For more info, check out www.ssalefish.net. !
Treasury adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s The Marvelous Land of Oz, which includes the gender-bending twist left out of Return to Oz, the 1985 Disney film based on the 1908 source novel. Those giant books, much taller and wider and with over twice the pages of a regular comic, respectively cost $1 and $1.50 when new, and now are a bargain at thirty bucks for both. Jay Ewing, whom I already knew from Acme Comics and Geeksboro, says that it’s fantastic to open Greensboro’s fourth comic shop, and doesn’t fear clobbering time from his distinguished competition. “I worked full-time at Acme for three years after teaching high school theater for ten. After a decade in education I was ready for a change. I loved being at Acme, but when I got the offer from Bret to become a partner in his new Greensboro venture, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to be an owner instead of an employee. Ssalefish Greensboro’s easy-toaccess location, just off of West Wendover near the exit from Interstate 40, makes us perfectly suited to serve not only all of Guilford County, but the EASTER SATURDAY MIDWEEK MARKET entire Piedmont Triad. GRAND REOPENING Saturday, April 15 — 7am - 12pm Combined with our clean Get a hop on your Easter Sunday Wednesday, April 19 — 8am - 1pm and friendly atmosphere Fresh and local from 25 vendors. feast with local lilies and flowers, From hot donuts to just picked eggs, vegetables, meats, and and our loyalty program produce and flowers. specialty baked goods from that rewards all customShop directly from the farmer! market vendors. Hostess gifts, ers without requiring a basket stuffers and cute crafts too! subscription commitment, Ssalefish Greens501 Yanceyville St. • Greensboro, NC boro will redefine people’s WWW.GSOFARMERSMARKET.ORG
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11
voices
WRITE US AT EDITOR@YESWEEKLY.COM
Murky public-private partnerships inspire skepticism
T
he recent news regarding several of Greensboro’s publicprivate partnerships has been disheartening. Greensboro’s Roch Smith Jr. Tanger Center for Performing Arts Contributor has been delayed by years and is currently $18 million over budget even before ground breaking. Private money supposedly spent on the Downtown Greensboro Greenway is explained in murky terms. A regional initiative called Tri-Gig secretly allocates Greensboro’s publicly owned Internet infrastructure to a private company without public input or City Council approval. Say Yes to Education’s executive director resigns as the organization announces that it is not going to be able to fulfill its original promise of college scholarships for Guilford County public school students. These failures and missteps all have one thing in common: a cloak of secrecy.
million value for its transfer to the city, neither Action Greensboro nor Greensboro Downtown Greenway, LLC ever owned that property. I asked Action Greensboro’s executive director Cecelia Thompson what was transferred to the city at a value of $1.2 million. She said it was “property improvements.” When I asked for specifics, she simply described them as including design, construction, public art, landscaping and easements. Public records, however, show the City also paid for design and construction and even though Thompson said the costs of the easements were part of the $1.2 million, the easements were granted from third parties, such as Norfolk Southern Railroad to the City, not to or from Action Greensboro. Thompson did not provide details of what constituted the $1.2 million valuation. Instead, she provided a table purporting to show how much in private money has been spent overall in eleven categories. She wrote: “It would be costly to the organization to format all of our records for this large project for public consumption and we would much rather spend our dollars on completing the project.”
Downtown Greensboro Greenway’s murky finances
Performing Arts Center’s super secret plans
Since its inception, Greensboro’s Downtown Greenway has been promoted as being funded with a combination of public money and private donations. The extent to which private donations have contributed are murky. City records provide a level of detail for the public spending that includes payment amount, recipient and purpose. It is a different story for the private dollars where such details are kept off-limits to public inspection. In 2012, Greensboro Downtown Greenway, LLC, the non-profit raising private dollars for the Greenway, was put under the auspices of Action Greensboro. Action Greensboro’s 2012 tax return claimed a $1,229,638 non-cash donation described as “Transfer of Morehead Park Section of Downtown Greenway to the City of Greensboro.” The Morehead Park section of the Greenway is the approximately 500 yard long section running north from Gate City Boulevard to Spring Garden Street. Although Action Greensboro claims a $1.2
When the idea for a downtown performing arts space was first floated, boosters such as then-Mayor Robbie Perkins said the cost might be around $45 million. By the time City Council approved it, the cost was $60 million and it was to be completed by the spring of 2016. Now, the cost has risen to $78 million and, according to the dogged reporting of the News & Record’s Margaret Moffett, project organizers have “backed off ” of announcements of a first quarter 2019 opening. As Moffett reported, delays have caused concerns among private donors. Although lazy local media frequently report that $38.5 million has been “raised” for the private portion of the Center’s cost, in reality, that amount includes mere pledges, and the public is not privy to details of when they will be collected. The City Council could have made it part of the deal that the private fund raising details be public, but it did not. Instead, it put its trust in promises, even though tax-
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payers will be on the hook should private money come up short. The City does, however, have control over the information about the Performing Arts Center it possesses, but it too is being unnecessarily secretive. In responding to a records request by reporter Moffett about the Center, the City refused to provide documents pertaining to the design and composition of the facility. It cited a section of state law called Sensitive Public Security Information. Passed in the months after the terror attacks of September 11th, 2001, that statute allows cities to withhold plans about preventing terrorist activity. The City has used this law to keep secret any kind of infrastructure plan that it wants to hide. It previously cited this law to deny a citizen access to a map of the Vandalia Road project, even though the city had it posted to its website with a request for public comment. In the case of the Tanger Performing Arts Center documents, accompanying emails indicate that the secret documents include site plans, landscaping designs, and illustrations of lighting fixtures, doors and the lobby. Jonathan Jones is a lawyer, professor at Elon University and Director of the North Carolina Open Government Coalition. He points out the folly of withholding designs and illustrations of what will be plainly visible once the center is built. He doubts the legislature intended the anti-terrorism law to be used this way. He also said, “Just because the city thinks the law allows it to withhold records doesn’t mean it must.” YES! Weekly’s editor Jeff Sykes asked the city’s legal department to explain how the withheld documents relate to plans to prevent terrorism. A month later, he has yet to receive a reply. Why does the City choose to keep the public in the dark about details of its largest public-private project? The official explanation is laughable and the effect of the unnecessary secrecy on public trust is corrosive. The hidden Say Yes to Education conflict of interest Mary Vigue, the now-resigned director of Say Yes to Education Guilford, the scholarship organization that over-promised its ability to offer financial aid to public school students, was an assistant city manager at the City of Greensboro while
she was under consideration for the job at Say Yes. The City Council, living up to its reputation as incurious dupes, approved a $1 per year lease in a City building for Say Yes at the behest of Vigue—while she was under consideration for the Say Yes job. City Council may not have known this, but City Manager Jim Westmoreland did. He was on the Say Yes Executive Director Interview Committee. The City Manager had knowledge of the conflict and lobbied City Council in favor of the deal anyway, helping Vigue procure City facilities at no cost for an organization with which she was trying to get hired. It took the City of Greensboro four months to provide the emails that revealed this situation and another request for information about Say Yes that might shed even more light remains unfilled by the City after eight months. Why it matters When the cost of the performing arts center climbs while design decisions are being made behind closed doors and the records that reflect those decisions are denied to the public, we are no longer citizens participating in a democracy. We are subjects of arrogant and unaccountable overlords. This is a situation ripe for malfeasance and misconduct. Public-private projects have the potential to make Greensboro a better place. Those in charge who insist on putting details behind a veil of secrecy not only do a disservice to the public, they also unnecessarily crimp public support and foster well deserved suspicion. Private entities that lean on public money to pursue their missions should be forthcoming with complete and accurate information that explains where the money is going in detail. And complete transparency should not even be in question on the public side of things. Those who seek to keep the public in the dark on public activities lack an understanding of a fundamental democratic principle, that we, the people have a right to know what is happening on our behalf. We have a right to decide for ourselves whether things are ethical and proper. We have a right to judge competence. Is this what those who stand between the public and information are afraid of? !
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[KING Crossword] ACROSS
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DOWN
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Lethal Shared views Speaking pro Old Italian coin Mill refuse Later Tenor Caruso Files a case against Gives a double cluck of reproach Diagnostic procedure Et — Wooed with a melody Contract inker, e.g. Rudely terse New York tribe Lummox Device used in Twister End-of-list abbr. Units of resistance “Oh yes, Juan!” Russia’s Gromyko Go for it “— go bragh!” With, to Yves Act of liturgy Battle shout To a greater extent Key above D Literary intro Pale shade Sprightly dance Consume “Looky here!” Ex-combat GIs’ gp. Possessed Watch faces “Nay” voters Betray by blabbing And not
60 61 66 68 69 70 71 73 74 75 76 79 80 81 82 86 87 88 89 91 92 93 94 96 97 98 99 100 101 107 109 110 111 112 113 114
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TOM & JACKIE: A song of hope & endurance PRODUCED IN COLLABORATION WITH THE ARTS AND SOCIETY INITIATIVE OF THE T HOMAS S. KENAN INSTITUTE FOR THE ARTS.
A frank, heartwarming and inspiring story about a contemporary Cherokee woman and her father who embark on an incredible 900-mile journey along the “Trail of Tears” to truly understand her own identity and the conflicts of her nation. And So We Walked is a powerful, multi-faceted dramatic memoir that draws on extraordinary interviews, historical research, and the artist’s personal experience to convey the complexities and conflicts with which the Cherokee wrestle. Written and performed by DeLanna Studi, Cherokee artist and winner of the 2016 Butcher Scholar Award from The Autry Museum of the American West.
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Triad-based band Haymarket Riot is putting its commitment to help the homeless into action with a new song, “Tom & Jackie,” a soulful duet based on Tom Garner and Jackie Shambley, a couple that has endured years of homelessness and housing insecurity. Singer/ songwriter Charlotte Whitted penned the song on the heels of Haymarket Riot’s participation in The Healing Blues project, a collaboration of songwriters and homeless storytellers spearheaded by former Greensboro College art professor Ted Efremoff, assisted by Dave Fox, another professor, to benefit the Interactive Resource Center, and the successful release of the Healing Blues CD Vol. 1. Musical partner Jon Epstein, founder of Haymarket Riot and bass player for the band, wanted to explore the issues of homelessness further and look for a way to directly make a difference beyond raising awareness. After laying bedding tracks with drummer Phil Holder and
guitarist Jim O’Gara at Earthtones Studio in Greensboro last year, the song lay dormant while the musicians struggled to coordinate schedules to bring the song to fruition. Finding support for the song’s recording through executive producer Brent Bristow, Owner of Salem Music, and securing the stellar singing talents of Chuck Johnson for the duet, HR went into the studio committed to the songs completion. Sound engineer Geoff Weber helped elicit the 70’s vibe Jon and Charlotte wanted in the final mix with acoustic 12-string and electric Rickenbacker guitars, but let the vocals drive the song. Salem Music and Haymarket Riot are offering “Tom & Jackie” for download through YES Weekly for $1.00 donations, which will go directly to Tom & Jackie to keep their garden growing and a roof over their heads. Download at BANDCAMP. com. For more information about Haymarket Riot, go to Facebook.com/hmriot.
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THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG
Whitted recounts the inspiration for “Tom & Jackie:” I was introduced to Tom and Jackie over breakfast at Jimmy the Greek’s by Jon Epstein, my musical partner. We had written songs for the Healing Blues project to give voice to homeless individuals, but were interested in learning more about what it was like to be a homeless couple. I watched as Tom, a thin but striking man, recounted some childhood sorrows, his service in the military, his struggles with alcohol (which he gave up several years ago), his estrangement from his family, his faith, his varying levels of success and struggles with employment and training opportunities, his health issues and his difficulty securing consistent housing, and his advocacy efforts with Occupy Homeless. He relayed some insight into what a day is like in the life of a homeless person, how shoes wear out faster than anything else. There’s always someone he knows who is worse off and needs the few dollars he comes across. He feels compelled to help because he knows what it feels like, even if he needs similar help too. Jackie, a handsome woman with long straight silver hair and a shy smile,
ordered breakfast for both of them, knowing exactly what Tom would prefer. She described her childhood with drug-addicted, absentee parents, having to shoulder large responsibilities to raise the younger kids on a farm, trying to help her brother after he was sent to prison, trying to flee an abusive marriage with her children and the consequences once her estranged husband found them. She remembers the daily fear for her safety once she lost consistent housing, on some days feeling more unsafe inside shelters than on the streets. Safety is a huge concern to the vulnerable and protection an expensive commodity at times. Their partnership is a delicate one. Tom has an energetic, compelling presence. He has many ideas, some scattered, some intensely detailed. Clearly he’s passionate about the collective voice of the homeless being heard and heeded. Starting Occupy Homeless to connect the homeless through the internet has become part of his identity. He’s the driver. Jackie has a calming presence, quietly steering the energy Tom brings to the
conversation from the ethereal to the practical. She provides reassuring focus to the conversation. She’s the rudder. Balance in any partnership is important, and maintaining it difficult in the best of circumstances, but especially challenging when facing homelessness, food insecurity, constant stress. Tom and Jackie must put conscious and consistent effort into their relationship to make it work. The pressures sometimes cause one or the other to dominate or retaliate, to turn away instead of turn toward each other, to lay blame. Bringing back the balance takes pride-swallowing apology, forgiveness, recommitment. Every day is hard, but they try to find small joys to give them hope. When asked ‘What is the dream of the homeless?,’ they described a situation where they might gather enough money to buy a used RV, to become part of the ‘mobile homeless,’ parking it somewhere warm in the winter. Their ideal is to buy a large tract of land where several homeless people can live together, growing gardens of food and helping each other, in
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a safe area like the “Hundred Acre Wood,” a place of fiction A.A. Milne imagined for Winnie the Pooh and his friends. Since they are both in their 6’s now, they prefer medical staff on-site, in this idyllic place, to address the needs of an aging homeless population. It’s a dream, but even the homeless are entitled to a dream. Since that breakfast encounter, Tom and Jackie have been able to secure a small modest home in a rural area near Mount Airy. It needs many repairs, but does provide the shelter they need. They are raising a garden and a few chickens, trying to take care of each other. After hearing a mix of the song, Tom responded, “We love it very much, but it’s awful hard to hear one’s story told. We’re both tearyeyed. It continues to humble us. It is our hope that others will be drawn to it and its message of hope…endurance. We’ve been slow dancing, holding hands…” It’s my hope that “Tom & Jackie” resonates beyond their situation, to connect with any listener keeping a dream alive in the face of adversity. Maybe it will remind couples with a fragile partnership to nurture it and be kind to each other. Maybe it’ll just be a good listen with a groove people like. I’ll take it. Just give it a listen. !
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APRIL 12-18, 2017
YES! WEEKLY
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BEST AMERICAN BY M.C. ARMSTRONG
Elon professor Paul Crenshaw writes essays about his military experience, among other topics. His work has gained national recognition.
S
hortly after the first Gulf War, Paul Crenshaw performed a march. “I was in advanced training,” he told me, “ which is the second half of military training. This was the summer of ’91, when the troops were coming home, and because none of them wanted to march in the 4th of July parade, the folks organizing the parade asked for volunteers from Fort Jackson, South Carolina. That was us. So we marched in downtown Columbia, South Carolina on July 4th with these heavy flags and, if I remember correctly, it was about 206 degrees and about 400 percent humidity and, afterwards, we were invited to have a few cool beverages and attend the celebration. So people came up to us and asked to shake our hands. They thanked us for our service. And the first few times this happened, we told them we were trainees, that we hadn’t actually served in Desert Storm. But when we’d tell folks the truth, we noticed many of them looked at us like we’d set out to deceive them and some of them actually got angry, so we just started accepting thanks because it was the easiest thing to do. They wanted to say ‘thank you for
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your service’ and go home and eat meatloaf instead of being exposed to any kind of hard-earned truth so we just played the game.” Crenshaw’s storytelling recently garnered him a different kind of praise, this time from Jonathan Franzen. Franzen recently selected “Names,” an essay about the monikers young soldiers give each other in the American military, for the 2016 edition of Best American Essays. Crenshaw’s inclusion represents the third time he has been chosen for the Best American series, the fourth if you count his selection in the Best American Nonrequired Reading series. “The ‘Names’ essay is about having secret codes,” he said, sitting in Center City Park in Greensboro on the day Deep Rai, a Sikh from the suburbs of Seattle was shot by a man who believed his victim to be a Muslim. “I write essays, and obviously, there’s not a lot of money or fame in essays, unless you’re David Sedaris,” Crenshaw said, “but there’s a certain kind of truth in it, a different way of getting at the truth.” Crenshaw’s brand of truth comes to the reader in a sensibility that is both oblique
and confrontational, angry and lyrical. “Anger activates,” he said. What makes Crenshaw angry, right now, is to some degree, the same thing that inspired his prose in “Names,” the “quintessential American” tendency to “other,” to give people the wrong names. “We see these acts of violence every day against Muslims, but Sikhs, too, because folks don’t know the difference between the two.” “Writing can serve as a form of resistance,” Crenshaw said, “because writing is a form of education. It teaches us this difference between a Muslim and a Sikh.” When I ask him what names he received in the military, he smiles. “Crankshaft. Cumshot. Cocksucker. The “Names” essay is about these secret codes we have with one another,” he says, “and even though these were mostly derogatory names, they weren’t derogatory.” The Crenshaw essay lives in this secret ambiguous place, this liminal territory where derogatory names aren’t derogatory, where the othering tendency of the other is sublimated by the writer in the act of writing. The military, with its code of secrecy and brotherhood, may be the
perfect place for Crenshaw to explore that “quintessential American” experience, that territory that is both common and divisive. “I was in basic training when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August of 1990,” he says, wetting his thumb and taking a deep breath. “I had just graduated high school. I joined the military for the college money and the paycheck, you know, mostly. My father was a pragmatist. He joined to stay out of Vietnam. My grandfather was drafted on December 6th, 1941, and woke up the next morning, the day after his wedding, to find out about Pearl Harbor. These stories of the military—I grew up with them. I think a lot of Americans did.” When I ask Crenshaw what he learned from his time at Fort Jackson, he said: “I learned a lot about brotherhood and being on a common cause. I almost said fighting for a common cause, but most of the time we were fighting each other.” This tension between friend and enemy, othering your brother as a kind of training for doing the same to your enemy, is at the heart of Crenshaw’s most recent award-winning essay. “Perhaps we were scared of letting one
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another know how we felt,” Crenshaw writes in “Names,” “so we hid everything behind a screen. Perhaps all our words are only screens for what we might say if we were better people or perhaps we only use words that fit what world we find ourselves in.” To give a name to a brother (or the other) is to help build a wall, a relationship with language that enables the erasure of the individual and the privileging of the platoon, a collective tribal sensibility that serves the soldier well. For awhile. Referring to the war reporter, Sebastian Junger, author of War and The Perfect Storm, Crenshaw encourages others to read Junger’s contribution to the 2016 Best American collection. He says that Junger understands the fix soldiers are in, the way they’re trained in a tribal mindframe to fight tribalism for a society based on the opposite value. “One of the reasons Junger says we suffer so profoundly from PTSD in America,” Crenshaw says, “is because these brothers—these soldiers—suddenly return to such a radically individualized society.” Crenshaw is quick to give credit to his WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM
fellow writers and mentors. After growing up in Booneville, Arkansas, he moved to Greensboro as a Fred Chappell fellow in the UNCG MFA program, and it was here, in Greensboro, that he first began to develop as an essayist. “I hadn’t really written essays until I took Lee Zacharias’ non-fiction class,” he says. “I immediately liked the genre.” Crenshaw writes every day. He now teaches at Elon University. One of the things he says he says he likes most about writing essays is that his students seem to respond to the form and, additionally, essay readers seem to really like him. “My essay, “Storm Country,” was in Best American 2005,” he says, “and not long after it was published a friend of mine was on a plane and sat next to a passenger who was reading my essay. She took a picture and sent it to me. That was a good day.” “Storm Country” has been republished in multiple anthologies and translated into a host of foreign languages. But in spite of Crenshaw’s incredible success as an essayist—he may be one of the greatest essayists working in America today— he continues to explore other genres.
Crenshaw, posing next to O.Henry, had an essay included in the 2016 compilation Best American Essays. He was recently published in Nashville Review. APRIL 12-18, 2017 YES! WEEKLY
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Crenshaw’s essay, ‘Names’, examines the code words and nicknames military groups, and others, use to describe each other.
When I ask him what he’s currently working on, again he smiles, as if he’s not quite sure he wants to share the secret just yet. “I’m working on a dystopian young adult novel. It’s dedicated to my daughters because if anybody’s going to change this world it’s going to be people their age.” Crenshaw wants to see that change happen and wants to part of the process. One of the nicknames he was given by his tribe of fellow writers while studying creative writing at UNCG was “The Guv’nor.” The gubernatorial tag descended half in jest, half in admiration back in 2004 when a number of Crenshaw’s admirers (this writer included) entertained the idea of him running for office. Where, I ask him, would the ship of state be headed if “The Guv’nor” were in charge? “Pretty much in the exact opposite direction of where it’s going right now,” Crenshaw said. “I consider myself to be a patriot,” he adds. “But somehow along the line we’ve come up with this idea that being a patriot means not questioning anything when, in fact, the exact opposite is true. That’s how America was actually founded—by asking ‘Why are we doing APRIL 12-18, 2017
this again?’ Taxation without representation. Protest. Remember? They had no voice with which to ask questions. This is what started the American Revolution. Asking questions and holding government officials accountable is the most patriotic thing there is. But now we’re at the point where just the word America or American has become a code for something else. In this world, America is often a code word for white.” Just as he is keen to decipher the codes of military nomenclature, Crenshaw is quick to point out that code is all around us and that it is the writer’s job to hack through the layers of encryption, particularly when it comes to the new administration and the issues of race, war and education. As a man who has been an educator for over fifteen years now, Crenshaw has deep concerns about Donald Trump, his current Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, and her pledges to expand the voucher system. “The voucher system began because of desegregation,” Crenshaw said. “It began so white students wouldn’t have to attend integrated schools.” Last year Crenshaw was asked by the University of Northern Iowa to give a
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lecture. The topic he chose was “Absurdity, Literature, and the American Military.” After giving his talk, he realized, ultimately, the thread that ties so much of his work together is indeed the theme of education. “I had a student at the end of the lecture ask me if I would recommend enlistment to young students coming up through the system today. And my answer was: “Educate yourself.” Here’s what happens if you join. Here are the benefits. Here’s what happens in Basic Training. Here’s what happens if you go to Iraq or Afghanistan. Here’s what happens if you get married. Military marriages are sort of notorious for divorce, but I can’t tell someone what to do with their life. I can only tell them what I’ve done with mine.” What Crenshaw has done with his life, thus far, is amass a prodigious body of work that covers the gamut of contemporary American life, his fiction and non-fiction ranging, in topic, from science fiction to fantasy, from war to insanity, from tornadoes to television, from martial arts to fatherhood and Maurice Sendak (he loves Where the Wild Things Are). Crenshaw’s work ethic is a marvel to his peers. And the most recent collection of WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM
Best American Essays serves as a testament to his esteem among some of the greatest writers in the country. Like Sebastian Junger, Laura Kipnis, Jordan Kisner and others in the 2016 collection, Crenshaw not only sparkles on the level of the line, but also challenges his reader to leave her comfort zone. Just as social justice educators Brian Arao, Kristi Clemmons and Guilford College’s President, Jane Fernandes, encourage students to move from “safe to brave,” so does Crenshaw seek to activate his reader by compelling them to confront a diversity of voices and opinions different from their own. “That’s the great problem of reading and writing,” he said. “You have to force yourself to be mindful, to think about others.” Perhaps the way we begin to think about others is to give them names. As Crenshaw demonstrates in “Names,” sometimes othering is the path to brothering. “Nguyen we just called Gook. Ten Bears became Ten Bears Fucking. Black we called White and White we called Black and Green we called Baby-shit and Brown was just Shit. Bevilacqua was Aqua Velva,
which was getting off pretty light as far as names went so sometimes we called him Bologna or Ballsack.” The brilliance of “Names,” like so many of Crenshaw’s essays, can be found in the way he invites his readers to revel in the unsettling and often puerile pleasures of objectification before using that childish bait to hook you out of the shallows and into the more adult depths (or the floundering boat) of empathy, compassion and mindfulness. If one wishes to extend such a well-worn fishing metaphor a little further, perhaps Crenshaw is a bit like that old fish that shows up in David Foster Wallace’s famous Kenyon College commencement address, the one who greets two young fish in a lake one morning by saying “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” The young fish then respond with “What’s water?” And with that, the story ends, leaving the reader with that most fundamental of questions: Why don’t the young fish know the name of the thing all around them? The United States has been at war in Afghanistan for the past fifteen years. Our country has been at war in Iraq, on and off for the past twenty-seven. We may be on our way into Syria. When Paul
Crenshaw, aka “Crankshaft,” “Cumshot,” “Cocksucker” and “Guv’nor” was only eighteen, he remembers a time when he ran out of names. Before performing that July 4th march for the veterans who served in Iraq, Crenshaw, like many young men and women in the service today, believed he was on the verge of being sent into combat there himself. As he writes in “Names,” there came a time in 1990 when, right after Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, that Crenshaw and many of the men in his company found themselves at a loss for words: “Later that night after lights out, as we lay on our bunks in the darkness, we had no words to contain how we felt. The silence stood around us like stones. We could hear bombs off in the distant part of the base, as if the war had already come. The windows rattled softly in their panes. There were no jokes, no called names.” For many Americans, that dark time seems to have come again. For those of us who have trouble sleeping through these nights, Crenshaw’s work won’t help you doze off, but his essays do go a long way towards showing readers how to rise above the nameless terror. !
APRIL 12-18, 2017
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Submissions should be sent to artdirector@yesweekly.com by Friday at 5 p.m., prior to the week’s publication. Visit yesweekly.com and click on calendar to list your event online. home grown muSic Scene | compiled by Austin Kindley
ASHEBORO
FOUR SAINTS BREWING
218 South Fayetteville St. | 336.610.3722 foursaintsbrewing.com Apr 14: Olivia Rudeen Apr 15: Heads Up Penny Apr 19: Irish/Celtic Music Session Apr 22: James Vincent Apr 29: Bonnie Allyn Band May 5: Wolfie Calhoun
clEmmOnS
RIVER RIdGE TAPHOUSE 1480 River Ridge Dr | 336.712.1883 riverridgetaphouse.com Apr 14: Exit 180 Apr 21: Southern Eyes Apr 28: Big daddy Mojo May 5: Nine Lives
VILLAGE SQUARE TAP HOUSE
6000 Meadowbrook Mall Ct | 336.448.5330 Apr 15: The Mulligans
gREEnSBORO
ARIzONA PETE’S
2900 Patterson St #A | 336.632.9889 arizonapetes.com Apr 14: 1-2-3 Friday Apr 21: 1-2-3 Friday
ARTISTIkA NIGHT CLUB
523 S Elm St | 336.271.2686 artistikanightclub.com Apr 14: dJ dan the Player Apr 15: dJ Paco and dJ dan the Player
BIG PURPLE
812 Olive St. | 336.302.3728 May 25: dave Cecil Band
THE BLINd TIGER
1819 Spring Garden St | 336.272.9888 theblindtiger.com Apr 12: Consider The Source Apr 14: Time Sawyer Apr 15: Sleeping Booty Apr 20: Create, Warez w/ Two Face, Snyder, Fluxxy, Icex
BUCkHEAd SALOON
1720 Battleground Ave | 336.272.9884 buckheadsaloongreensboro.com Apr 14: The Freddy Adkins Band Apr 15: Stereo doll Apr 21: Jukebox Revolver Apr 22: Tyler Millard Band Apr 28: Chasin Flame Apr 29: Bad Romeo
BURkE STREET PIzzA 2223 Fleming Road | 336.500.8781 burkestreetpizza.com Apr 12: Seth Williams Apr 19: Sam Foster Apr 26: James Vincent Carroll
CHURCHILL’S ON ELM
213 S Elm St | 336.275.6367 churchillscigarlounge.com Apr 15: Jack Long Old School Jam
THE CORNER BAR
COMMON GROUNdS
11602 S Elm Ave | 336.698.3888 Apr 13: Open Mic Night Apr 14: dave Cecil Band Apr 15: Hank Western Apr 19: Rinaldi Flying Circus, Charming disaster, Shiloh Hill
CONE dENIM
117 S Elm St | 336.378.9646 cdecgreensboro.com Apr 21: Blues Traveler Apr 22: Who’s Bad: The Ultimate Michael Jackson Experience Apr 27: Marsha Ambrosius & Eric Benét May 6: Trial By Fire: Tribute To Journey May 12: Chase Rice May 19: NF
FISHER’S GRILLE
1700 Spring Garden St | 336.272.5559 corner-bar.com
608 N Elm St | 336.275.8300 fishersgrille.com Apr 18: The Lady’s Auxilliary
COMEdY zONE
THE GREEN BEAN
1126 S Holden Rd | 336.333.1034 thecomedyzone.com Apr 14: Mark klein Apr 15: Mark klein Apr 21: J. Bliss Apr 22: J. Bliss Apr 28: Bodacious Apr 29: Bodacious May 5: Jody kerns May 6: Jody kerns May 11: Julie Scoggins
341 S. Elm St | 336.691.9990 thegreenbeancoffeehouse.blogspot.com
GREENE STREET CLUB 113 N Greene St | 336.273.4111 Apr 29: QreamFestNC3
HAM’S GATE CITY
3017 Gate City Blvd | 336.851.4800 hamsrestaurants.com Apr 14: Evin Gibson
NEW MENU
DAILY SPECIALS ON FOOD & DRINKS
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4800 W MARKET ST, GREENSBORO, NC 27407 (336) 292-6044 2307 FLEMING ROAD, GREENSBORO, NC 27410 (336) 665-5170
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April 12-18, 2017
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HAM’S NEW GARDEN
1635 New Garden Rd | 336.288.4544 hamsrestaurants.com Apr 14: Six & Bailey Apr 21: Disco Lemonade Apr 28: Freddy Adkins Acoustic
SOMEWHERE ELSE TAVERN
5713 W Friendly Ave | 336.292.5464 facebook.com/thesomewhereelsetavern Apr 22: Blackwater Drowning, Kairos, The Reticent, Butcher of Rostov, Undrask Apr 29: Desired Redemption, Ascentia, Key Of Betrayal, Impersona, Faces Unturned, A Young Man’s Burial May 19: The Culturalist May 20: Mirada, Headfirst For Halos, Reason|Define, Fall River Massacre May 27: Sixth Sense, Education in Reverse, Antenora, Discoveries, Days To Break, Deep Hollow
THE IDIOT BOX COMEDY CLUB
2134 Lawndale Dr | 336.274.2699 www.idiotboxers.com Apr 14: Mo Alexander Jun 23: Sean Patton
WORLD OF BEER
1210 Westover Terrace | 336.897.0031 worldofbeer.com/Locations/Greensboro Apr 29: WOB NC Beer Fest
HIGH POINT
AFTER HOURS TAVERN
1614 N Main St | 336.883.4113 afterhourstavern.net Apr 15: Shmack Ddaniels Apr 29: The Norm, The Terrible Twos, Somewhat Forgotten May 27: Louder, Kwik Fixx, Dog Daze Jun 10: Mightier Than Me
BLUE BOURBON JACK’S
1310 N Main St | 336.882.2583 reverbnation.com/venue/bluebourbonjacks Apr 24: Jukebox Revolver Jun 9: Southern Eyes
CLADDAGH RESTAURANT & PUB
130 E Parris Ave | 336.841.0521 thecladdaghrestaurantandpub.com
HAM’S PALLADIUM 5840 Samet Dr | 336.887.2434 hamsrestaurants.com Apr 14: Huckleberry Shyne Apr 21: Brothers Pearl Apr 28: The Dickens WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM
LIBERTY BREWERY
914 Mall Loop Rd | 336.882.4677 hghosp.com
JAMESTOWN
THE DECK
118 E Main St | 336.207.1999 thedeckatrivertwist.com Apr 21: The Plaids Apr 22: Disco Lemonade Apr 23: Spare Change Apr 28: Stereo Doll Apr 29: Morgan Keane Band
KERNERSVILLE
DANCE HALL DAZE
612 Edgewood St | 336.558.7204 dancehalldaze.com Apr 14: The Delmonicos Apr 15: Cheyenne Apr 21: Crimson Rose Apr 22: Silverhawk Apr 28: Skyryder Apr 29: The Delmonicos
THE EMPOURIUM
734 E. Mountain St. | 336.671.9159
Conductor Nate Beversluis
April 29, 2017
8pm, Westover Church Take an epic journey to a galaxy far, far away as the Greensboro Symphony guides you through space and time with sci-fi favorites like Star Trek, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 2001 Space Odyssey and Star Wars. Plus a special tribute to Carrie Fisher aka Princess Leia!
Don’t forget to dress as your favorite character to complete the journey! Featuring members of the TICKETS ARE SELLING FAST! $ $ 34,Fighting 40, $46; Students 12 501st Legion and the
$
LEWISVILLE
OLD NICK’S PUB
191 Lowes Foods Dr | 336.747.3059 OldNicksPubNC.com Apr 13: Ian Michie & Kevin Raynor Apr 14: Karaoke w DJ Tyler Perkins Apr 21: Exit 180 Apr 28: Karaoke w/ DJ Tyler Perkins May 5: Evan & Dana May 6: Karaoke w DJ Tyler Perkins
Rebel Legion, International ticketmaster.com; greensborosymphony.org; 336.335.5456 Star Wars Costuming Groups, appearing as characters of Star Wars and many others!
15 TH ANNUAL SPRING
OAK RIDGE
JP LOONEY’S
2213 E Oak Ridge Rd | 336.643.1570 facebook.com/JPLooneys Apr 13: Trivia
RANDLEMAN
ROOTS ROCK FUNK • BLUES LATIN • REGGAE AFRICAN CAJUN • ZYDECO FOLK • COUNTRY BLUEGRASS
Featuring members of the Fighting 501st Legion and the Rebel Legion, International Star Wars Costuming Groups, appearing as characters of Star Wars and many others!
MAY 4-7, 2017 FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY! FAMILY! CAMPING • CRAFT FAIR WORKSHOPS YOGA • HEALING ARTS SUSTAINABILITY KIDS AREA
RIDER’S IN THE COUNTRY
5701 Randleman Rd | 336.674.5111 ridersinthecountry.net Apr 14: Cory Luetjen & The Traveling Blues Band Apr 15: The Outlaws Apr 21: Eyecon Apr 22: Darrell Harwood Apr 29: Black Glass
Rainbow Kitten Surprise • Donna the Buffalo • Aurelio • Amy Helm Todd Snider with Great American Taxi • Big Mean Sound Machine • Lost Bayou Ramblers BIG Something • Crucial Fiya • Driftwood • Preston Frank • Jim Lauderdale Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad • Sarah Shook & The Disarmers • Holy Ghost Tent Revival Williamson Brothers Bluegrass Band • The Blind Spots • Dr. Bacon • Travers Brothership Uma Galera • FABI • Telekinetic Walrus • Django Haskins • Ellis Dyson & The Shambles The Beast • Paperhand Puppet Intervention • Laila Nur & the love riot • & Many More...
WWW. SHAKOR I H I LLS G RASS ROOTS.ORG
72 BEAUTIFUL ROLLING ACRES 4 1439 HENDERSON TANYARD RD, PITTSBORO, NC 27312 4 919-542-8142
APRIL 12-18, 2017 YES! WEEKLY
21
WINSTON-SALEM
GREENSBORO COLLEGE PRESENTS
2ND AND GREEN
THE 9TH ANNUAL
SCHLEUNES LECTURE
greensboro.edu
207 N Green St | 336.631.3143 2ngtavern.com Apr 20: 420 Fest: Roots of a Rebellion, Egroove, Treehouse
BULL’S TAVERN
408 West 4th St | 336.331.3431 facebook.com/bulls-tavern Apr 13: Johnny Love Apr 15: Brothers Pearl Apr 20: SoPoz Apr 21: Gypsy Danger Apr 22: The Chit Nasty Band
CB’S TAVERN
3870 Bethania Station Rd | 336.815.1664 Apr 14: Bradley Steele Apr 21: Just US Apr 22: Tanya Ross
FINNIGAN’S WAKE
620 Trade St | 336.723.0322 facebook.com/FinnigansWake Apr 14: Gipsy Danger Apr 22: Jim Mayberry Apr 28: Dana & Evan May 6: DJ Hek Yeh May 13: CC3 May 17: Patrick Rock May 27: Abe Reid and The Spike Drivers
Presented by
Dr. Karen Auerbach “A Window on Warsaw: Integration and Its Obstacles in Poland after the Holocaust” Tuesday, April 18, 7:00 p.m. in the Hannah Brown Finch Chapel on campus Dr. Auerbach is assistant professor in the Department of History and Stuart E. Eizenstat fellow in the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She researches Polish Jewish history in the 19th and 20th centuries.
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
The Schleunes Lecture is presented annually through the generosity of Richard and Jane Levy of Greensboro in honor of the eminent Holocaust scholar Dr. Karl Schleunes of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The series is dedicated to providing opportunities for area residents and students to hear nationally and internationally recognized experts present their research on the Holocaust and on issues related to genocides. A reception and book signing will follow the question and answer period in Lea Center. For more information on the Schleunes Lectures, contact Dr. Mike Sistrom at sistromm@greensboro.edu
22 YES! WEEKLY
APRIL 12-18, 2017
FOOTHILLS BREWING
638 W 4th St | 336.777.3348 foothillsbrewing.com Apr 12: The Eversole Brothers Apr 15: The Pop Guns Apr 19: The Ruckus Apr 26: Hazy Ridge Apr 29: Woodie and the String Pullers Apr 30: Sunday Jazz May 3: Bluegrass Sweethearts
THE GARAGE
110 W 7th St | 336.777.1127 the-garage.ws Apr 13: The Duskwhales, Mama, Speak N’ Eye Apr 13: Miami Dice, Spirit System, Joshua Cotterino Apr 15: Miami Dice, Spirit System, Joshua Cotterino Apr 21: Ancient Cities & See Gulls
HICKORY TAVERN
206 Harvey St | 336.760.0362 thehickorytavern.com Apr 13: OTB Band Apr 14: Phase Band Apr 15: Emma Lee Apr 20: Megan Doss Apr 21: Sarah Tomey Apr 22: Live Music
JOHNNY & JUNE’S SALOON
2105 Peters Creek Pkwy | 336.724.0546 johnnynjunes.com Apr 14: Tim Elliot Apr 15: Joey Nevada Apr 28: Demun Jones
LAUGHING GAS COMEDY CLUB
2105 Peters Creek Pkwy laughingas.net Apr 14: Clint Nohr Apr 15: Clint Nohr Apr 21: Jon Reep Apr 22: Jon Reep May 4: Donnell Rawlings May 5: Donnell Rawlings May 6: Donnell Rawlings May 19: Becky Robinson May 20: Becky Robinson
MILLENNIUM CENTER
101 West 5th Street | 336.723.3700 MCenterevents.com Apr 14: Satisfaction Rolling Stones Tribute Jun 11: Shovels and Ropes
MILNER’S
630 S Stratford Rd | 336.768.2221 milnerfood.com Apr 14: Live Jazz
MUDDY CREEK CAFE
5455 Bethania Rd | 336.923.8623 Apr 14: Not Ready Band Apr 15: Casey Noel Apr 23: Horseshoe Bend Band Apr 28: Russell Lapinski Apr 29: The Usual Suspects
MUDDY CREEK MUSIC HALL
5455 Bethania Rd | 336.923.8623 Apr 13: The End of America Apr 14: Peter Holsapple and Rob Abernathy Apr 15: Zoe & Cloyd Apr 16: 9th Street Stompers Apr 20: Toney Rocks Apr 21: Diana Jones Apr 22: The Guvner’s Band
PIEDMONT MUSIC CENTER 212 N Broad St Apr 14: Jazz w/ Ron Rudkin & Emile Worthy
QUALITY INN
2008 S. Hawthorne Rd | 336-765-6670
THE QUIET PINT
1420 W 1st St | 336.893.6881 thequietpint.com
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[CONCERTS] Compiled by Alex Eldridge
CHARLOTTE
BOJANGLES COLISEUM
2700 E Independence Blvd | 704.372.3600 www.bojanglescoliseum.com May 3: Outcry May 14: Charlie Wilson & Johnny Gill
CMCU AMPHITHEATRE former Uptown Amphitheatre 820 Hamilton St | 704.549.5555 www.livenation.com Apr 28: Lauryn Hill May 5: Travis Scott May 6: Bastille May 12: Weezer
THE FILLMORE
1000 NC Music Factory Blvd | 704.916.8970 www.fillmorecharlottenc.com Apr 12: Gogol Bordello Apr 13: Reik Apr 14: Mike Posner Apr 14: Big Sean Apr 15: Dark Star Orchestra Apr 16: Testament Apr 20: Periphery. Sonic Unrest II. Apr 20: Trey Anastasio Apr 21: Adventure Club Apr 22: A Tribute to Coldplay & Bright Lights - Matchbox 20 Tribute Apr 22: STS9 Apr 23: Steel Panther Apr 26: Balance & Composure Apr 27: George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic Apr 28: Jamestown Revival Apr 29: The Naked and Famous Apr 30: Russian Circles May 3: Dawes
May 4: 21 Savage May 7: Tech N9ne May 14: Sylvan Esso w/ Lucy Dacus May 18: Rüfüs Du Sol May 20: Zoso - Tribute to Led Zeppelin May 21: Sabaton May 23: Franz Ferdinand May 27: Real Friends
PNC MUSIC PAVILION 707 Pavilion Blvd | 704.549.1292 www.livenation.com Apr 29: Poison May 13: Chris Stapleton May 14: Future
OVENS AUDITORIUM
2700 E Independence Blvd | 704.372.3600 www.ovensauditorium.com Apr 15: Rocktopia
TWC ARENA
333 E Trade St | 704.688.9000 www.timewarnercablearena.com Apr 17: Red Hot Chili Peppers Apr 28: Neil Diamond May 17: The Weeknd
DURHAM
CAROLINA THEATRE
309 W Morgan St | 919.560.3030 www.carolinatheatre.org Apr 13: Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers Apr 26: Richard Thompson Apr 28: Rivive Big Band & Christian Scott Apr 29: George Clinton & Terrace Martin
May 1: Christopher Cross May 5: Loretta Lynn May 23: George Thorogood and The Destroyers
DPAC
123 Vivian St | 919.680.2787 www.dpacnc.com Apr 23: Brit Floyd Apr 29: Common May 11: Pixies May 17: The Tenors
GREENSBORO
CAROLINA THEATRE 310 S Greene St | 336.333.2605 www.carolinatheatre.com Apr 18: Home Free Apr 20: Ben Folds Apr 26: Cage The Elephant May 5: Titus Gant Quartet May 25: NC Brass Band
GREENSBORO COLISEUM 1921 W Gate City Blvd | 336.373.7400 www.greensborocoliseum.com Apr 14: Spring Fest May 20: Eric Church
WHITE OAK AMPITHEATRE
1921 W Gate City Blvd | 336.373.7400 www.greensborocoliseum.com Apr 29: Snoop Dogg
HIGH POINT
HIGH POINT THEATRE
220 E Commerce Ave | 336.883.3401 www.highpointtheatre.com Apr 29: 3 Redneck Tenors
RALEIGH
CCU MUSIC PARK AT WALNUT CREEK
3801 Rock Quarry Rd | 919.831.6400 www.livenation.com Apr 28: Poison May 12: Chris Stapleton May 13: Future May 17: Kings of Leon May 20: Brad Paisley
RED HAT AMPHITHEATER
500 S McDowell St | 919.996.8800 www.redhatamphitheater.com Apr 15: Ohio Players, Midnight Star, & Con Funk Shun May 6: Ben Folds May 12: Bastille May 14: The XX
PNC ARENA
1400 Edwards Mill Rd | 919.861.2300 www.thepncarena.com Apr 15: Red Hot Chili Peppers Apr 27: I Love The 90’s Apr 28: Outcry May 24: The Chainsmokers
CHECK IT OUT! ! Click on our website, yesweekly.com, for more concerts.
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Westbend
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tunes
HEAR IT!
The morbid fixations of Charming Disaster: Brooklyn duo brings a taste of death in April
BY JOHN ADAMIAN | @johnradamian
I
s there anything more metal than the myth of Osiris? The story of the Egyptian god of the dead involves dismemberment, a golden phallus, resurrection and domination of the underworld. Charming Disaster aren’t a metal band, but they wrote a song about Osiris that could work well for a death metal outfit. The Brooklyn-based guitarukulele-and-vocals duo have a loose narrative conceit that keeps their songs zeroed in on death, crime, myth, suffering, the supernatural and other dark subject matter. Charming Disaster release a new record, Cautionary Tales, this month, and it further explores their interest in unfortunate events, morbidity and magic. I spoke with the band members, Ellia Bisker and Jeff Morris, by phone from New York City last week. Charming Disaster play Common Grounds in Greensboro on
THE OYSTER BAR
Wednesday, April 19. The “Osiris” song is from Charming Disaster’s 2015 release Love, Crimes & Other Trouble. And the forthcoming record has its share of lyrics inclined to ancient stories, with one song, “Selene and Endymion,” about the sleepy seduction of the mythological couple, and another called “Ragnarok,” about the Norse myth of the doom of the gods. (“Maybe the world will fall apart/Maybe the crows will come and peck away your heart,” goes a line from that one.) The lyrical themes get a possibly counterintuitive musical treatment, with songs of the looming apocalypse set to folk-tinged Vaudeville-style tunes, like Victorian parlor songs kissed with gypsy jazz, cabaret and an arty eschatological vibe. Gentle swaying ukulele, guitar and vocal harmonies don’t automatically conjure themes of ritual sacrifice, spiritual shipwreck and ghosts. Both Bisker and
Bringing the coast t
Joshua West
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LIVE MUSIC ON THE PATIO! April 19 • May 3, 17, & 31 June 14 & 28 • July 12 & 26
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3920 Cotswold Ave. • 3011 Randleman Rd. Mayberry Mall, Mount Airy • 1629 Freeway Dr., Reidsville
Greensboro’s Oldest Independent Restaurant APRIL 12-18, 2017
Morris have other musical projects, typical of the always-playing, always-collaborating ethos of many working musicians and songwriters these days. But Charming Disaster is getting a greater share of their attention as the duo prepare to promote the new record and think ahead to future projects. The two arrived at Charming Disaster as a sort of songwriting exercise. In kicking around shared areas of interest, Bisker and Morris realized they had an overlapping fondness for things like the creepy
death-addled illustrations and writings of Edward Gorey, the similarly morbid fiction of Edgar Allan Poe, and the grim take on urban living, justice and romance portrayed in film noir. In the past Charming Disaster has touched on elements of girl group pop, lurching circus music and old time. The new record was made with the aid of a multi-instrumentalist drummer, who helped give the material hints of a rock-band underpinning in places, like on the slinky spy-theme post-punk of “Days Are Numbered.” If the songwriting smarts,
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theatrical tragicomedy and the vocals unify the songs, Bisker and Morris still hop and skip around a little stylistically, as when they slide into “Infernal Soiree,” a dark velvet waltz that sounds like a set piece for a Lemony Snicket book or a Tim Burton film. Sometimes Charming Disaster sound like the music that Pugsley and Wednesday Addams might have made after listening to the Decemberists, Squeeze and some Chopin. While Bisker and Morris talk about Charming Disaster as a group whose material is about love, death, crime, mythology and the paranormal -- that’s a pretty broad umbrella, if you think about it. And, ultimately, the duo doesn’t get unduly hung up on making sure the material fits into their thematic rubric. They recorded a nice cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song,” for instance, a song that does allude to old myths and pillaging, but which might not strike one as being morbidly fixated. “Anything that we both like, that’s fair game,” says Morris. “It just happens to mostly be in this darker bent.” Still, the guiding principle forces the duo to focus their songwriting efforts. “We think about limitations and parameters a lot,” says Bisker. “We find it really helpful to be able to narrow it down.” And because the songs have a kind of narrative throughline, they’re very far from confessional first-person songwriting that explores the depths of one’s personal emotions. There are possibilities WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM
open to some of the characters within the tunes. “We absolutely discuss and debate a lot of these story lines,” says Bisker. The band’s songs seem like a natural fit for musical theater. And Bisker says their next project is a song cycle inspired by the life and work of pioneering scientist Marie Curie. Cautionary Tales ends with “String Break Song,” a strangely comforting and fitting ode to the natural order of decline, the way of all flesh, the destined expenditure of our vital resources, a kind of lilting pop lullaby about the demise of organic matter and the inescapable extinguishing of our flames. Tension, erosion, and death are all at the heart of life, it seems. “Everything breaks down eventually/It’s all just a matter of entropy/Thermodynamics and gravity/ We’re all gonna fall in the end,” goes one verse. “You can’t make sparks without friction, or music or love or nonfiction.” Bisker says the thematic focus and the collaborative nature of it gives Charming Disaster’s songwriting process a unique quality. “When it works, it feels like being part of a bigger organism,” says Bisker. !
WANNA
go?
Charming Disaster play Common Grounds (602 S. Elam St. in Greensboro) on Wednesday, April 19. Visit commongrounds.coffee for more info. APRIL 12-18, 2017 YES! WEEKLY
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[CHOICE BEATS] Fri Apr 14
www.lincolntheatre.com APRIL
We 12 OAK CITY PRESENTS: SPRING MADNESS Fr 14 THE BREAKFAST CLUB
6:30p
w/The Jason Adamo Band
Sa 15 PIGEONS PLAYING PING PONG w/Psylo Joe 8p
Tu 18 DOUG STANHOPE 7p w/ Brett Erickson
We 19 DEVIOUS w/Eight Bit Disaster /Gifted6 / Mr. Monopoly 9p
Fr 21 JONNY LANG w/Quinn Sullivan 7p Sa 22 Y&T 8p Th 27 CODY JINKS w/Ward Davis / Colter Wall
Fr 28 THE MANTRAS w/Dr. Bacon 8p Sa 29 DANGERMUFFIN Album Release w/ Dark Water Rising MAY
Fr 5 Sa 6 Su 7 Fr 12 Fr 12 Sa 13 Mo 15 We 17 Sa 20 Th 25
MINGO FISHTRAP 7:30p SPRINTER METALFEST 7p LIVE/DEAD ‘69 7p PULSE: Electronic Dance Party 9p GREENSKY BLUEGRASS @RITZ MOTHERS FINEST w/Doby 7p REAL ESTATE w/Frankie Cosmos MAYDAY PARADE BETTER OFF DEAD w/Moon Water FRANZ FERDINAND
Sa 3 Fr 9 Fr 16 Fr 23 7 - 1 7-22
DELTA RAE @ CATS CRADLE MARCO BENEVENTO 8p TURNPIKE TROUBADOURS 7:30 OLD 97’s LUCERO w/Banditos 8p INTERSTELLAR BOYS 8P
JUNE
Fri Apr 21
Jonny Lang Adv. Tickets @Lincolntheatre.com & Schoolkids Records All Shows All Ages
126 E. Cabarrus 919-821-4111
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St.
Upcoming shows you should check out
QUILLA’S ALBUM LAUNCH The Breakfast Club
The Carolina Theatre (310 S. Greene St. Greensboro) Saturday April 15 8-10:30 p.m. “Join us for a stellar evening of live electronic music at The Crown. Vocalist & producer Quilla will be launching her muchanticipated second album “You Got It” (Ritual Fire Records). She will be performing the album tracks accompanied by compelling visuals by Audra Stang, as well as dancer Sydney Vigotov. This event will also feature sets by Greensboro electronic artists Shefali (live performance) and Martin J. Dolan (DJ set). Quilla’s new album lures the listener into a world teeming with magical realism, vivid imagery, hypnotic beats and soothing vocals. Composed and self-produced while Quilla was pregnant, this electronic album explores a range of emotional states, from energetic catharsis to nostalgic contemplation. The album cover features ‘light painting’ photo art by Chris Snow. Quilla will premiere two new music videos at the event: “You Got It” directed by North Carolina artists Sydney Vigotov and Scott Fray (featuring stunning bodypainting by World Champion body painters Scott Fray & Madelyn Greco) in collaboration with director of photography Adam Hulin. Quilla will also premiere the music video for “The Collector” directed by Paula Damasceno, featuring fascinating archival footage from the Piedmont region.
Sat Apr 15
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
Tue Apr 18
Line-up 8pm. Martin J Dolan (DJ set) 8:30pm. Shefali (live performance) 9:15pm. Quilla (live performance)” - via Facebook
Doug Stanhope
ELDER ONES QUARTET
Y&T
Sat Apr 22 Fri Apr 28
The Mantras Saturday Apr 29
Dangermuffin
Delurk Gallery (207 W. 6th St. Winston-Salem) Sunday April 16 7-10 p.m. “Elder Ones is the quartet performing the compositions of vocalist Amirtha Kidambi (Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl/ Elizabeth-Caroline Unit). Situated in concentric musical circles and communities in New York City, her collaborators saxophonist Matt Nelson (Battle Trance/ Tune-Yards), bassist Brandon Lopez (Nate Wooley Quartet) and drummer Max Jaffe (JOBS/Kid Millions) have crossed paths in the DIY underground and permutations of free improvisers in clubs and concert halls across New York City. The instrumentalists chosen for this project draw from a wide variety of vocabularies from hip-hop to the avant-garde, each bringing their highly individual language to the group. The quartet uses composed material and loose structures for improvisation, over a bed of Indian harmonium drones and synthesizer like non-idiomatic playing on the instrument. Oscillating between worlds of Raga and microtonality, to jagged rhythmic precision and punishing brutality, Thyagaraja, Alice Coltrane or Stockhausen could be equally suspect sources of their sound.” - via Facebook ! WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM
drama
STAGE IT!
Theatre Alliance director steps from behind the scenes and onto the stage for Flames
L
oyal Theatre Alliance fans will be excited to hear that their very own director, Jamie Lawson, will make a semi-rare appearance on the stage later this month when he dual directs and stars in Flames by Stephen Dolginoff. The charismatic and warmhearted director is the core of the theatre, and likely to draw overwhelming support in the area, as well as radiate good vibes Lenise Willis from the stage. “Honestly, it’s not that hard to pull Contributing double-duty,” said artistic director Jamie Lawson. “I’ve only done it three times. columnist Flames and Thrill Me (my first dual performance) are three- and two-person shows, respectively, so it’s pretty easy to navigate the stage with that few actors. I am lucky to work with performers who have stage experience and are very intuitive, so they make good choices, so the directing part comes easy.” For Lawson, it’s not the double duty that’s the most challenging part, but rather stepping back in the limelight. “It’s extremely nerve-wracking,” Lawson said. “It’s one of the reasons I got into directing instead. Going onstage makes me nauseous just about every time, without fail. That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, though.” “I think it’s important to immerse myself in the experience I expect of my actors, every now and again, so I can empathize with them,” Lawson added. “One of the signs of an effective leader is getting into the trenches and getting dirty—not just sitting back and calling the shots from the safety and darkness of the audience.” Of course, it’s notions of authenticity like this that has garnered Lawson respect and support in the community. In fact, YES! Weekly highlighted the theater’s remarkable supportive community and Lawson’s dedication in a cover story, The Heart of Theatre Alliance, just last summer. Lawson also said that though appearing on stage makes him anxious, it’s something he takes on for the good of his crew— another distinction of a good leader. “By performing in the show with Heather and Craig—who weren’t in the last show, Hank Williams: Lost Highway, or in the upcoming show, after Flames—it gives our other volunteer performers a little break,” Lawson said. “Many of them go show-to-show for several months on end, and everyone needs a breather now and again.” The last time Lawson was onstage was in 2010’s Eating Raoul, the third show in which he directed and performed. “I had such a positive experience with Stephen Dolginoff’s Thrill Me—he also wrote Flames—that I wanted to have another small show experience,” he added. Of course, the small-show experience, which is perfect for a dual acting and directing role, wasn’t the only reason that Lawson penciled Flames into Theatre Alliance’s 33rd season. Unfortunately, it’s also due to messy politics. “We were producing Pippin, but Stephen Schwartz, the composer, wouldn’t allow any of his work to be produced in North Carolina until HB2 was lifted,” Lawson said. “Now that HB2 has been ‘adjusted,’ I’m not sure what his stance is on the WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM
JENNY L. VIARS/DANCING LEMUR PHOTOGRAPHY
From left, Craig Faircloth, Jamie Lawson and Heather Levinson star in Flames at Theatre Alliance. matter. By the time that happened, though, I had to take other action, especially after a final direct plea with Mr. Schwartz was fruitless. “I feel situations happen for reasons—call it Fate, Karma, what you will…we are disappointed, but there are a plethora of other shows waiting to be done. We will revisit Pippin down the road, when all the bathroom issues have been wiped clean and flushed.” In the meantime, Lawson is excited to tackle the unusual musical thriller. “Flames is a quirky, unique show and it fits into Theatre Alliance’s roots of performing lesser-known works that are edgy and unlikely to be performed by other groups in the area,” he said. “We’ve gone more mainstream for sheer reasons of remaining solvent, but when we can, we try to return to our roots to bring shows to the Triad other groups may not.” The musical is a mysterious story woven around three seemingly innocuous characters. It’s set one year after the passing of a man who died in a horrible fire and took with him the secrets of his past. But on a stormy night at the cemetery where he rests, the secrets about his death and the terrible crime he committed resurface. The original, suspense-filled musical thriller has twists, turns and surprises that will keep the audience guessing up until the final shocking moments. “You’ll almost definitely never see this show anywhere else,” said Flames actor Heather Levinson. “It will surprise and shock you, but it isn’t emotionally heavy, so it’s still a fun night of entertainment.” !
WANNA
go?
Flames runs at Theatre Alliance, 1047 Northwest Blvd., Winston-Salem, April 21-30. Show is rated PG-13. Tickets are $18. For more information or tickets call Brown Paper Tickets at (800) 838-3006 or Theatre Alliance at (336) 723-7777, or visit wstheatrealliance.org.
[PLAYBILL] by Lenise Willis Continuing this week is Triad Stage’s original production by Preston Lane, Actions and Objectives, set in the same town as its original predecessor Common Enemy. When a new small-town theater company plans a production to celebrate the town’s sesquicentennial, the community’s past and present struggles, from Reconstruction to Black Lives Matter, are brought to light. Production contains adult language and themes, and runs through April 23. Next Wednesday Triad Stage will bring And So We Walked to Hanesbrands Theatre, a drama that highlights a different set of societal struggles, this time highlighting the challenges faced by Native Americans. Thursday through Saturday UNC School of the Arts presents, Right You Are (If You Think You Are). The funny, philosophical play asks the question of what is “true,” as a group of friends attempts to uncover the relationships of some neighbors whose behavior can’t be explained. New this week, Thursday through Saturday, and just in time for Easter, Theatre Alliance of Winston Salem presents a stage concert, The Last Supper. But the production isn’t quite about what you may think. Instead of just highlighting Jesus’ last moments with his apostles, the story highlights the famous painter Leonardo da Vinci and his struggle to finish his most famous mural. Actors will perform as Leonardo, Jesus and the 12 apostles, while singers express the meaning and emotion of their actions through song. Also Thursday through Sunday, Mountcastle Theatre will present the energetic comedy Greater Tuna at the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts. The comedy, set in the third smallest town in Texas, features two lively actors playing more than 20 characters. North Carolina A&T University’s next production is coming soon, next Wednesday through Sunday and then April 27-30. Part fable, part family drama, In the Red and Brown Water is a powerful story of a woman driven to a tragic, horrific act (cutting off her own ear) by circumstances out of her control. Also next Wednesday through Sunday and April 27-30 the Drama Center of City Arts presents More Fun than Bowling by Steven Dietz, a philosophical comedy, which uses the game of bowling as a metaphor for life. ! APRIL 12-18, 2017 YES! WEEKLY
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flicks
SCREEN IT!
Star trio illuminates Going In Style
BY MARK BURGER In 1979, George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg starred as three retirees who rob a bank in the sleeper hit Going in Style, a bittersweet comedy that marked the studio debut of director Martin Brest, who went on to make Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Midnight Run (1988) and Scent of a Woman (1992) before stumbling with the well-made but bloated Meet Joe Black (1998) and the disastrous Gigli (2003), his last feature to date. For the remake of Going in Style, the accent is much more on the “sweet” than bittersweet, as Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin fill in the principal roles of Joe, Willie and Al, a trio of lifelong friends who are feeling the aches and pains of old age, as well as a collective sense of outrage that their pension fund, mishandled in a corporate takeover, has now been appropriated by a bank. Once again, the little guy takes it on the chin from big, bad Corporate America – so what else is there to do but rob said bank? Working from a bubbly, buoyant screenplay by Theodore Melfi (who was at one time attached to direct), director Zach Braff, whose 2004 debut Garden State was a surprise hit and whose 2014 followup Wish You Were Here was not, incorporates some “Capra-esque” touches into the proceedings, painted in broad strokes perhaps, but the intent is clear. Braff is also generous to his elders,
allowing the terrific star trio center stage from beginning to end. It’s impossible to under-estimate what a treat it is to see these three titans in the same frame, and to see them playing leading roles. This is the sixth time Caine and Freeman have appeared together in film, but they were very much supporting characters in the Dark Knight trio and the Now You See Me duo. This version of Going in Style may not erase fond memories of the original, but is still enjoyable in its own right. There are more supporting characters this time, including Ann-Marget (looking just great, thank you very much) as Al’s unexpected love interest, Christopher Lloyd in full “lovably loony” mode, Kenan Thompson as a grumpy grocery-store manager, and the ageless Matt Dillon as a cocksure FBI agent whose surface preening is, inevitably, due for some drubbing. Going in Style is simply spending a fun time with actors who make it look easy, and appear as if they’re having fun too. That fun is infectious. !
DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN
TO YOU!
EVEN THE SMALLEST ERIC RAINEY | (336) 209-2007 ericr@arspromise.com CHIPS SPREAD!
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Queen of the Desert: an Englishwoman abroad A lot of talent is involved in Queen of the Desert, beginning with writer/director Werner Herzog (making his first feature after a lengthy hiatus), yet the end result is an occasionally sweeping, sometimes stuffy, and consistently episodic historical saga – lavishly mounted, well-made and perfectly watchable, but perhaps better suited as the mini-series format. Nicole Kidman, at her most resilient and willful, stars as the English archaeologist Gertrude Bell, who found herself in the midst of considerable political turmoil during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the early twentieth century. That, a century later, the Middle East region is still a hotbed of turmoil, is an irony not lost on Herzog, although he doesn’t force the issue. Nor is the film a feminist manifesto, although it could easily have gone, and not unjustifiably, in that direction. Rather, Queen of the Desert is a high-toned soap opera, as concerned with Bell’s ill-fated romances as with her legacy as a historical figure. Her first affair is with Henry Cadogan (James Franco, earnest and handsome), who commits suicide when they are prohibited from marrying by her parents (David Calder and Jenny Agutter), at which point Gertrude becomes fanatical about her work to overcome her grief. There’s a brief flirtation with T.E. Lawrence (Robert Pattinson, impish and fun), he to be later immortalized as Lawrence of Arabia, the classic 1962 film to which this will inevitably be compared (although it does make an interesting, if not altogether, companion piece). Peter Zeitlinger’s expansive cinematography is effective, and Klaus Badelt’s score has distinct similarity to Lawrence’s Oscarwinner, Maurice Jarre. Something about vast desert landscapes seems to bring that out in composers, evidently.
By the time Gertrude falls for (married) diplomat Charles Doughty-White (Damian Lewis, stalwart but uptight), it’s clear that things for them will not end up happily ever after, although he does get to whisper the line “Love is a tyrant, sparing none.” Christopher Fulford makes a few amusing appearances as Winston Churchill, who is decidedly not charmed by Gertrude. Kidman does well by Ford, looking convincingly youthful to play the character even as an ingenue. Naomi Watts was originally tapped for the role, and is likewise blessed with youthful looks. Kidman brings the properly regal, intelligent countenance to her role as the “Queen,” who was trusted more by the Arab factions than her male counterparts – despite accusations and rumors that she was a spy – because she was more interested in exploration than exploitation, both of the land and of the culture. !
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Hirokazu Kore-eda’s After the Storm (Umi yori mo Mada Fukaku) sees the acclaimed filmmaker reuniting with actors Hiroshi Abe, Yoko Maki and Kirin Kiki, as well as delving into his own past for this quietly effective and perceptive semi-autobiographical drama, told with just a dash of Damon Runyon-esque whimsy. Abe, in his fourth collaboration with Kore-eda, occupies the role likely most similar to the filmmaker, an acclaimed novelist now working for a detective agency (ostensibly for research for a book), gambling away what money he does make – much to the irritation of his ex-wife (Maki). Upon the death of his father, Abe’s Ryota begins to take stock of his life, a string of disappointments he has no one to blame for except himself. It’s during a typhoon – the 29th of the season – that Ryota, his exwife and their young son (Taiyo Toshizawa) take shelter in the apartment of Ryota’s mother (Kiki), an apartment located in the very same complex where Kore-eda lived
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for nearly 20 years. At this point in the narrative, rather than emphasize the raging storm outdoors, Kore-eda adopts an almost theatrical approach, a domestic drama within the confined space of the apartment. It is here that Ryota works to repair the damage – which mostly he has wrought – upon his family, goaded by his mother’s perceptive observations. There’s no quick-fix solution, no warmand-fuzzy reconciliation, but an unmistakable believability to the story. Abe is enormously likable despite his character’s failings, and Maki very credible as the ex-wife who has done her best to move on. There’s the sense that, after the night they’ve spent together, they’ve come to a better understanding of each other, because Ryota has finally made an attempt to grow up and face his adult responsibilities. (In Japanese with English subtitles) – After the Storm opens Friday !
Apr 14-20
[RED]
THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS (PG-13) LUXURY SEATING Fri & Sat: 11:30 AM, 12:25, 2:20, 3:15, 5:10, 6:05, 8:00, 8:55, 10:50, 11:45 Sun - Thu: 11:30 AM, 12:25, 2:20, 3:15, 5:10, 6:0 5, 8:00, 8:55 THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS (PG-13) Fri - Thu: 1:20, 4:10, 7:00, 9:50 HIDDEN FIGURES (PG) LUXURY SEATING Fri & Sat: 11:30 AM, 2:15, 5:00, 7:45, 10:15 Sun: 11:30 AM, 5:00, 7:45, 10:15 Mon - Thu: 11:30 AM, 2:15, 5:00, 7:45, 10:15 T2 TRAINSPOTTING (R) Fri - Thu: 12:00, 2:40, 5:15, 7:45, 10:10 QUEEN OF THE DESERT (PG-13) Fri - Thu: 11:30 AM, 4:30 YOUR NAME. (KIMI NO NA WA.) (PG) DUBBED Fri - Thu: 12:05, 2:25, 9:25 YOUR NAME. (KIMI NO NA WA.) (PG) SUBTITLE Fri & Sat: 4:45, 7:05, 11:45 Sun - Thu: 4:45, 7:05 GOING IN STYLE (PG-13) Fri - Thu: 12:35, 3:00, 5:20, 7:40, 10:00
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THE BOSS BABY 3D (PG) Fri - Thu: 11:50 AM, 4:45 THE BOSS BABY (PG) Fri & Sat: 2:10, 7:10, 9:35, 11:55 Sun - Wed: 2:10, 7:10, 9:35 Thu: 2:10 PM GHOST IN THE SHELL (PG-13) Fri & Sat: 2:10, 7:10, 9:30, 11:55 Sun - Thu: 2:10, 7:10, 9:30 THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE (PG-13) Fri - Thu: 11:40 AM, 2:15, 4:50, 7:25, 10:00 POWER RANGERS (PG-13) Fri - Thu: 2:30, 5:25 KONG: SKULL ISLAND (PG-13) Fri - Thu: 11:45 AM, 2:20, 4:55, 7:30, 10:05 PERSONAL SHOPPER (R) Fri & Sat: 12:20, 2:40, 5:05, 7:20, 9:35, 11:50 Sun - Thu: 12:20, 2:40, 5:05, 7:20, 9:35 LOGAN (R) Fri & Sat: 11:35 AM, 8:20, 11:15 Sun - Thu: 11:35 AM, 8:20 GET OUT (R) Fri & Sat: 12:10, 2:35, 4:55, 7:20, 9:40, 11:55 Sun - Thu: 12:10, 2:35, 4:55, 7:20, 9:40 I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO (PG-13) Fri & Sat: 12:40, 2:50, 5:00, 7:15, 9:25, 11:35 Sun - Thu: 12:40, 2:50, 5:00, 7:15, 9:25
[A/PERTURE] Apr 14-20
THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE (PG-13) Fri: 3:30, 6:00, 8:30, Sat & Sun: 10:30 AM, 1:00, 3:30, 6:00, 8:30, Mon: 6:00, 8:30, Tue: 3:30, 6:00, 8:30, Wed & Thu: 6:00, 8:30 FRANTZ (PG-13) Fri: 4:00, 6:30, 9:00, Sat: 11:00 AM, 1:30, 4:00, 6:30, 9:00, Sun: 11:00 AM, 1:30, 4:00, 6:30 Mon: 6:30, 9:00, Tue: 4:00, 6:30, 9:00 Wed & Thu: 6:30, 9:00 AFTER THE STORM (UMI YORI MO MADA FUKAKU) (NR) Fri: 4:15, 6:45, 9:15, Sat: 11:15 AM, 1:45, 4:15, 6:45, 9:15, Sun: 11:15 AM, 1:45, 4:15, 6:45 Mon: 6:45, 9:15, Tue: 4:15, 6:45, 9:15 Wed & Thu: 6:45, 9:15 THE LAST WORD (R) Fri: 3:00, 5:30, 8:00 Sat & Sun: 10:00 AM, 12:30, 3:00, 5:30, 8:00 Mon: 5:30, 8:00, Tue: 3:00, 5:30, 8:00 Wed: 5:30, 8:00, Thu: 5:00 PM
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APR.14 7:00 PM KIDS 1/2 PRICE
311 W 4th Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101 336.722.8148
CAROLINATHEATRE.COM | 336-333-2605
After the Storm dramatizes familial tumult
APRIL 12-18, 2017 YES! WEEKLY
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visions
T
SEE IT!
Greensboro Permaculture Guild grows next generation of farmers
BY MIA OSBORN
here’s a good chance you’ve seen the work of the Greensboro Permaculture Guild, but you may not have known it. The group of sustainable design enthusiasts cultivates small landscapes and gardens tucked around the city. The guild is responsible for the yard behind Elsewhere on South Elm Street, and the public orchard on the Greenway. Their projects make downtown a little more green without drawing too many resources, or too much attention. Each one blends in with the natural elements around it. For permaculture, that’s kind of the point. Permaculture is a school of design that provides what people need from a space – food, shade, et cetera – while staying true to the surrounding nature. This process starts with the dirt itself: rather than break up the soil structure through tilling, permaculture gardeners encourage earthworms, whose tunnels aerate the soil. Free resources, like rainwater and solar energy, are used wherever possible. The result is cost-effective low-maintenance landscaping. For guild members, it’s also fun. Permaculture was named in 1978 by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, and their concepts have been slowly gaining traction ever since. The Greensboro Permaculture Guild was founded by Dr.
Charlie Headington, right, founded the Greensboro Permaculture Guild. Charlie Headington, a local expert on sustainability and simple living. Dr. Headington teaches at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, directs the gardening program at Greensboro Montessori School, and hosts permaculture workshops from his backyard. These days, the guild mostly runs itself through Tuesday lunch meetings at Deep Roots Market. Member David Mudd organized the first guild lunch back in 2013, and it’s become a weekly tradition. Members talk through personal garden-
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ing projects, organize group work days to benefit the community, or share knowledge gained from visits to other permaculture sites or intentional communities. Not surprisingly, those two have plenty in common. “A lot of permaculture work sprung out of intentional communities,” explained member Charlotte Lehecka. “Bill Mollison’s concepts were easily embraceable in an intentional community. They’ve really pushed it forward.” For those who want to learn about permaculture in a more structured way, the guild’s Permaculture Design Course meets one weekend per month every March through August. Students learn fundamentals of permaculture design that can be applied anywhere from patio gardens to full scale farms. Successful completion of the class leads to a certification in permaculture design. Some local graduates have gone on to contract work with commercial and private clients. Other members never take the course, but enjoy lending hands to the guild’s many collaborative projects. The guild has designed, built, and maintained multiple sites around town, such as the Giving Back Garden of the First Presbyterian Church, Gaia’s Garden at the Timberlake Earth Sanctuary, and the Interactive Resource Center. Habitat for Humanity has recently drawn on the guild’s expertise for several houses on Quail Oak Drive.
“We have an informal partnership with Habitat for Humanity. We design the landscape for each new house the Greensboro chapter brings online, and we provide a couple or three people to do the installation,” said David Mudd. Volunteer opportunities abound within the guild, but the group can also lead to lucrative careers. In addition to design course graduates getting contract work, several guild members sell their produce at farmers’ markets around the Triad. Still others make the transition to full time farming. In the age of the factory farm, the guild has attracted interest and new members from among local college students, whose open minds are necessary to foster the grassroots level shift to sustainable agriculture taking place across North Carolina, and the nation at large. “I think that area south of Charlotte is really ripe for the next wave of agriculture,” said Ross Lackey, a guild member and career farmer, who manages North Corner Haven Farm. “All the people farming out there are 60 or 70, and they aren’t making any money. It’s all hobby to them. Landowners are trying to figure out what to do.” More and more of those large scale landowners are turning to agrotourism or other organic farming solutions, and permaculture experts are poised to get in on the ground floor. Lackey recently designed a permaculture farm for a prominent family in Chester, South Carolina, who are looking for people to bring his plans to life. “They are actively looking for a farming couple,” said Lackey. “There’s a career waiting for somebody. They’re willing to pay equity, salary, residence... It’s an incredible opportunity.” The challenge now is to make more people aware of these opportunities. To that end, the guild welcomes anyone interested to join a meeting or take a course to learn how permaculture benefits not only the environment, but the lives of those who practice it. To learn more about the Greensboro Permaculture Guild, visit their website at www.greensboropermacultureguild. wordpress.com. To sign up for a permaculture design certification course, visit www. sow-permaculture.weebly.com. ! MIA OSBORN is a Greensboro-based freelance writer who hails from Birmingham, Alabama.
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RiverRun wraps, and films reap AFTER LOVE
Mark Burger
Contributing columnist The 19th annual RiverRun International Film Festival wrapped for 2017 Sunday night, following the presentation of jury and audience choice awards. Joachim Lafosse’s After Love, a French domestic drama about the end of a 15-year marriage, won the Best Narrative Feature Award and Outstanding Performance for lead actress Berenice Bejo. The Peter Brunette Award for Best Director – Narrative Feature went to Pedro Rodrigues for the Portuguese parable The Ornithologist. “The films showcased in this year’s festival reflected diverse stories from around the world from both emerging filmmakers and established directors,” said Rob Davis, executive director of RiverRun, in an official statement. “We had more than 1,700 submissions for our 2017 festival and we had many difficult choices to make in completing the program. The juries were very impressed with our competition films and agreed it was difficult to make their final decisions.” This marked Davis’ first year as the festival’s executive director, with RiverRun screening 151 films, representing 49 countries, during its 11-day run (March 30-April 9). Exact attendance figures are still being tabulated, but despite some bouts of inclement weather – a RiverRun staple, it seems -- it didn’t seem to dampen (no pun intended) enthusiasm or early ticket sales. The Best Screenplay award went to Raja Amari for Foreign Body, Best Cinematography to Pablo Paniagua for Dark Skull, the Visionary Award to Amman WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM
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Best Daily Drink Specials Abbasi’s Dayveon, and the Human Rights Award to Ann Marie Flemming for the animated feature Window Horses (which this reviewer thought was one of the very best films screened at this year). In the Documentary Features competition, Jonathan Olshefski’s Quest, filmed on the mean streets of North Philadelphia, won Best Documentary Feature, with honorable mentions going to Thomas Lennon’s Sacred, Maya Zinshtein’s Forever Pure, and Mike Day’s The Islands and the Whales. Ifunanya Maduka’s Waiting for Hassana was selected as Best Documentary Short, with Daniel Roher’s Sourtoe: The Story of the Sorry Cannibal receiving an honorable mention. There was a tie for Best Narrative
Short: Oscar Bernacer’s Apolo81 and Willem Bosch’s Weg Met Willem. Brendon McDonall’s The Dam was selected as Best Student Narrative Short. Best Animated Short was presented to Reka Bucsi’s Love, and Best Student Animated Short to Kat Michaelides’ Lethe. The Best of Fest Audience Choice Award was won by Joanne Hock’s Purple Dreams, the Altered States Audience Choice Award by Ari Issler and Ben Snyder’s urban thriller 11:55, the Audience Choice award for Best Documentary was Jennifer Brea’s Unrest, and the Audience Choice award for Best Narrative was Selma Vilhunen’s Little Wing. The official RiverRun International Film Festival website is riverrunfilm.com. !
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EAT IT!
Four Flocks and Larder anchors Morehead Foundry
BY KRISTI MAIER | @triadfoodies
O
h the wonder and excitement of the opening of a much anticipated restaurant. There’s nothing quite like it for us foodies. Imagine what it’s like for the owner of the new restaurant, whether it’s their first or second or third! Imagine that it’s not only restaurant but a fullfledged compound. That was the set-up for Morehead Foundry, home of Four Flocks & Larder. When Four Flocks opened in December, the buzz in the air was palpable. Heck, you could see it with your own two eyes. After an incredible VIP Grand Opening, which acted as a preview of sorts, Morehead Foundry opened its complex two days later. Four Flocks & Larder, Revolution Burger, The Baker & the Bean (a coffee shop and bakery), Hush (a speakeasy), The Public (an event venue) and Carolina Event Rentals. On opening day and the days to come, people lined up, especially at Four Flocks & Larder— to take a look at the awesome space and beautiful mezzanine, see how the enormous shared kitchen is, well, shared, and sink their teeth into some very delicious food, hopefully worthy of all the fresh. local. good. hype. Then reality set in. Folks converged in mass. People had to (gasp) wait for a table. And then they had to wait an extralong time on food (double gasp). If you go out to eat a lot, then this ain’t your first rodeo. You know that for any restaurant, even if it’s an owner’s second or 20th, it takes a while to shake off the jitters and work out those pesky kinks. So we heard the reviews. And they weren’t always nice. And so we waited… Fast forward to not quite two weeks ago and Mr. foodie and I decided we were long overdue for a date night alone and I just knew my dear readers might be anxious to hear our two cents about Four Flocks. Well, aren’t you? I’m just glad my husband doesn’t mind a date night to also be research. First of all, the design and vibe of Four Flocks are on point. It’s a vast and open space, but doesn’t seem overwhelming. It’s actually pretty cozy with cushioned chairs and an ambiance that invites one to linger. There are lots of juleps on the cocktail menu. We ordered drinks straight off. I can’t even remember what we got. I enjoyed my cocktail and how the ice was so very crushed that it made it almost
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slushy-like. The drink could’ve been a touch stronger for me. My husband felt his drink and the strength of it was just right. The Southern menu offers a selection of appetizers that all sounded very appealing. We opted simply for an order of this beautiful bread that kind of looks like milk bread, but was a bit denser and slightly sweeter. Served in two cute individual portions. You can enjoy sandwiches if you prefer. As for entrees, we were quite intrigued by the Meat And Three option in which you order a protein and choose from a number of sides like grits, white bread stuffing, seasonal veggies or mashed potatoes. This is a great plan for some folks because Four Flocks doesn’t allow substitutions with its actual entrees. As we tell the kids, “you get what you get and you don’t fuss a bit.” I had a very difficult time deciding because the quail looked amazing as did the duck entree that comes with sautéed brussels, local grits with a cherry reduction (you can also order duck with three sides). But there was something about the seared NY Strip Steak with Duck Fat Fries and Marrow Toast that called me. It was really the marrow toast that called me…and maybe also the duck fat fries. But ordered it, I did. Mr. Foodie ordered
the Duck Entree. We had a brief opportunity while waiting on our entrees to meet with Executive Chef Daryl Schembeck and he was so nice to bring us a small sample of the feature for the evening. It was a seared ahi tuna with grilled veggies and seared citrus topped with sliced almonds. Anyone who ordered that dish that evening would’ve been thrilled. It was the most perfectly cooked tuna I’ve ever had at a restaurant. And the seared citrus was such a lovely counterpoint to the fish. Very light, completely flavorful and I’ll be looking for something like that next time I visit. My NY Strip was a perfect medium-rare with an excellent crusty rub. The duck fat fries were amazing and that marrow
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Four Flocks and Larder’s executive chef, Daryl Schembeck. toast…I love the marrow from bones when I cook from them. This marrow toast had just a small schmear on a crispy piece of bread with micro greens and herbs. It was superb. Can we just add that as an appetizer please? My husband’s duck was wonderful as well, cooked the perfect rosé, as promised by the manager. My husband told me, “Mine was excellent, but yours wins the table because it’s most satisfying.” And he’s right, there’s just something about meat and potatoes. Especially when the potatoes are fries cooked in duck fat. Chef Schembeck comes to North Carolina from New York, where he was most recently chef for the United Nations. He told us he was happy to be here down south with us and was ready for the change. “I’ve cooked for every head of state in the world, pretty much. The Pope. Dictators, tyrants, presidents, President Bush and President Obama.” Chef told us that early on, Four Flocks was very busy and chaotic and there were many people who didn’t appreciate the wait on food, but he says he thinks the restaurant is now hitting its stride. “We hope people who were here before come back and give us another shot. I think the kitchen has a great flow now. We’ve got a new menu. It’s worth another look.” We must agree. I love little markets so we stopped for a spell and looked around in the larder. Some of the items are kind of expensive but there are plenty of fun, uncommon provisions that would be good for WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM
entertaining or as gifts. Definitely worth checking out. This is our hope for you in regards to Four Flocks and Larder. If you have visited there once or even twice, and walked away less than impressed, you owe it to yourself and to this locally-owned business to give it another go. It’s no small feat or investment to open up a restaurant and we know owner Lee Comer has put some bank and heart into Morehead Foundry. Eating out shouldn’t be just eating out. It’s an experience. Go for that. Make a night of it. Enjoy a meal, followed by dessert at B & B, take in the views of the Downtown Greenway, then hit Hush for jazz and cocktails and experience this multiplex for how it was intended. It’s also cozy enough to take a load off while you wait on a meal via their popular “to go” service. You might also dig their nightly Blue Plate Specials that highlight items like Meatloaf and Chicken and Dumplings. !
WANNA
go?
Four Flocks and Larder is located at Morehead Foundry, 433 Spring Garden Street, Greensboro. Open for lunch and dinner and Sunday brunch. Visit freshlocalfoodgroup.com for more.
Note: In last week’s Craft Beer issue featuring “Triad Beer and Eats”, we labeled Red Oak Hummin’Bird as an IPA, when in fact it is a Hummin’ Bird Helles Golden Munich Lager. Red Oak specializes in Bavarian Style lagers. We apologize for any confusion. Cheers! APRIL 12-18, 2017 YES! WEEKLY
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BARTENDER: Brandon Lee Creason BAR: Finnigan’s Wake AGE: 34 BARTENDING: 13 Years Q: How did you become a bartender? A: I’ve been in the restaurant business since I was 15 and just worked my way up to bartending. Q:What’s your favorite drink to make? A: You’ll find on the new spring menu at Finnigan’s Wake. My coworkers and I would love to
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show you our libations skills. Come on down and check it out for yourselves. Q:What’s your favorite drink to drink? A: I’m a beer guy. No fancy cocktail can every replace a good brew in my opinion. Gun to my head, I’ll take a good dram of whiskey. Q:What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen while bartending? A: One Halloween I witnessed Batman and Superman get into a brawl. A pretty evenly matched fight. Both were arrested. Too funny!
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Super Heroes storm HPU Campus to support Family Service of the Piedmont
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Some came to run while others came to walk, but everyone soared at the fourth annual Super Hero Dash. Co-hosted by High Point University’s Kappa Delta sorority and the Guild of Family Service of High Point, the Super Hero Dash, a 5k run/walk and 1k fun run for children, invited the community to don their best superhero attire for a good cause. Each year, the Super Hero Dash benefits Prevent Child Abuse America and aims to raise awareness of Family Service of the Piedmont, a nonprofit agency that provides quality support services, advocacy and education for children and adults dealing with domestic violence, child abuse, mental health and financial stability. Funds raised at the event will support agency programs that serve child victims of abuse, including domestic violence shelters, children’s advocacy centers, individual and family counseling and in-home therapy. Final fundraising totals are still being tallied, but both partner organizations anticipate matching last year’s total of $25,000. “This was the fourth year holding this event, and we are just so excited to have partnered with HPU’s Kappa Delta,” said Heather Renshaw of Family Service of the Piedmont. “It was a beautiful a day, and we are so appreciative of what Kappa Delta continually does for HPU, the community and Family Service of High Point. We love working with the women in this sorority.” Face painting, ice cream, crafting, a WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM
bounce house and more brought 200 people to HPU’s campus for the race that began in HPU’s Greek Village and wound throughout campus. “Our annual 5k is meant to bring the HPU campus and High Point community together, and that is exactly what it did,” said Benedikte Turner, vice president of philanthropy for Kappa Delta. “I think that the most rewarding part of hosting an event like this is seeing the teamwork that goes into not only raising money for a great cause but also raising awareness. Knowing that we are helping families and children in our community is an amazing feeling.” ! APRIL 12-18, 2017 YES! WEEKLY
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last call
[HOROSCOPES]
[LEO (July 23 to August 22) You have the opportunity to speak out on behalf of the group at this time. You come across as one who has a vision of the future and others will listen to you because your commentary is persuasive. Your mind is both steady and imaginative now. [VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Day to day life is favorable at present. There are no big conflicts between you and anyone of importance. Social life is favored with partner, friends, and neighbors. Short trips to interesting nearby places could prove refreshing and educational. [LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) You have been hesitating to commit yourself for several weeks. This might be over a relationship or an important purchase. Venus, your ruling planet, turns direct this week and gives you a nudge forward. It will soon be time to commit or bring this long-standing issue to a close.
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[SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) This is a fine time for you and a partner to discuss any issues between you. It is a good period for coming to agreement on circumstances that have been issues in the past. You may be especially enjoying music or the arts together. Intimacy brings you closer together now. [SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) At this time a project begun in November is showing signs of growth and development. Now it points toward manifestation, although it needs more work. This is part of the greater need to reinvent yourself which began in 2015.
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[CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Activities related to home, hearth, and family are supportive to your sense of stability now. Anything that suggests remodeling or updating is refreshing to you. It could be property or your personal office. It might involve “updating” your knowledge of the technology necessary to accomplish a goal. [AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Listen closely to your inner self. If you have tolerated a rule well beyond its time, you may rebel and demand to do something different now. Plan a few hours of refreshing change. Try something new. [PISCES (February 19 to March 20) The goddess of love, Venus, is turning direct in your zodiac sign this week. This suggests that you now feel able to move forward in matters of love and romance. She also represents expenditures which are luxurious. Venus also favors the arts. You may feel free to treat yourself after a long, dry period. [ARIES (March 21 to April 19) A project begun in January is showing signs of growth and development. Although it needs more work, at this point it appears to be manifesting. You may be in the midst of persuading others to your point of view. (3rd house) They are listening, so carry it further. Your mind is both steady and imaginative now. [TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) A lightbulb may turn on for you this week. It is possible that the way to solve a creative dilemma drops into your head. It may have to do with color and design. At minimum, the path becomes easier to access. Romantic and creative life are turning in the right direction. [GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Listen carefully this week for intuitive guidance. Your unconscious is “in touch” with your lifepath and it will guide you. Clear out the mind/ego chatter as well as you can, and accept that which does not flatter the ego. There you will find real wisdom that makes sense. [CANCER (June 21 to July 22) You are in a reasonably good place with yourself at this time. Your heart and mind are flowing together. You have no conflict between your feelings and your thoughts about those feelings. This is a time for reflection on important subjects. You can make good decisions now. Are you interested in a personal horoscope? Vivian Carol may be reached at (704) 366-3777 for private psychotherapy or astrology appointments. There is a fee for services. Website: http//www.horoscopesbyvivian.com
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[THE ADVICE GODDESS] love • sex • dating • marriage • questions
A WORLD OF BLURT I’m in love with my married female co-worker. I am married and have no intention of leaving my wife, and I doubt she’d leave Amy Alkon her husband, even if she shared my Advice feelings. I love how Goddess caring and kind my co-worker is — how she understands that you show love through action. I do this by often giving my wife romantic cards and by cleaning the house and doing the dishes every night after I get home from work and school. Feeling my wife wasn’t reciprocating, I started fantasizing about being in a relationship with my co-worker, who also feels unappreciated by her spouse. My feelings for her have become overwhelming, and I feel a pressing need to tell her. I understand that this could make work very awkward. Best-case scenario, she’s flattered. Is it selfish to want to unburden myself? — Boiling Point Confessing your crush to your married co-worker is like arranging a transfer to her — of your 26-pound tumor: “His name is Fred. He enjoys fine wine, banned preservatives, and cigarette smoke. I hope you’re very happy together!” Your desire to tell isn’t noble or wonderful. In fact, it’s pretty much the psychological cousin of an intense need to pee.
To get why that is, it helps to understand, as evolutionary psychologists John Tooby and Leda Cosmides explain, that the emotions driving our behavior today motivate us to behave in ways that would have given our ancestors the best shot at surviving, mating, and passing on their genes. Unfortunately, solutions for recurring challenges in the ancestral environment aren’t always a perfect fit for the modern office environment. Consider our basic biological needs — like for food, water, and sex. When we feel the urge to satisfy these — like when we’re hungry or hungry for a co-worker — our emotions kick into gear, pushing us into a motivated state, a state of tension. That’s an uncomfortable state to be in, so we look for the quickest, easiest way out — like “To hell with my job and my marriage!” — which conflates a powerful evolved urge with a wise modern course of action. Understanding this need to reduce emotional tension should help you realize that what’s driving your obsession is more mechanical than magical. But there’s another problem. Our motivational system comes up a little short in the brakes department. We have a “GO!” system to push us to do things, but we lack a comparable “STOP, YOU IDIOT!” system. This makes inhibiting a feeling (and whatever course of action it’s pushing you toward) terribly hard and uncomfortable work. And as social psychologists Daniel Wegner and James J. Gross have independently pointed out, doing this on a continuing basis can have damaging effects on your physical health. Trying to
quash some recurring thought also tends to backfire, making you think the unwanted thought more than if you hadn’t tried to stop. For example, in Wegner’s research, subjects told “Try not to think of a white bear” failed every time. Wegner suspects the mind sweeps around to see that we aren’t thinking of the thing — which means we’re thinking of the thing in the process. (Aargh, huh?) Considering all of this, when you’re looking to keep yourself from doing something, it helps to take the approach Aikido practitioners use. When a powerful blow is coming at them, instead of meeting it head-on and taking the full force of it, they divert it — push it off in another direction. Following this principle, your goal shouldn’t be stopping yourself from telling your co-worker; it should be redirecting the energy you’ve been putting into your crush into your marriage. Tell your wife you love her, and discuss what might be missing in your marriage — for each of you. However, don’t do this by accusing her of failing to appreciate you (which would lead to defensiveness, not inspiration to change). Instead, lead by example: Explain the ways you show
your love for her (helping her connect the clean living room to the loving motivation behind it), and then tell her what would make you feel loved. In case loving feelings have given way to hard feelings, there’s good news from a relatively new area of psychology called “embodied cognition” — the finding that taking action leads to corresponding feelings. So, it’s possible that acting loving can resuscitate the love you once felt. Getting back to your co-worker, it doesn’t take much to lose yourself in fantasies about how great it would be with somebody new. However, marriage — to any person — is hard. Still, it has its perks, such as that wonderful ease that comes out of being with your spouse for a while — allowing you to finally feel comfortable talking about what you really need in bed: “Are you there yet? Hurry! I gotta wake up early!” ! GOT A problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com (www.advicegoddess.com) © 2017 Amy Alkon Distributed by Creators.Com.
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