CLCLT.COM | OCTOBER. 18 - OCTOBER 24, 2018 VOL. 32, NO. 35
1 | DATE - DATE, 2015 | CLCLT.COM
McGlohon Theatre October 26th
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NCDOT TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING OCTOBER 29 FOR THE PROPOSED WIDENING OF MALLARD CREEK ROAD (S.R. 2467)/DERITA ROAD (S.R. 1445) FROM I-485 TO CONCORD MILLS BOULEVARD (S.R. 2894) IN CABARRUS AND MECKLENBURG COUNTIES
CREATIVE LOAFING IS PUBLISHED BY WOMACK NEWSPAPERS, INC. CHARLOTTE, NC 28206. OFFICE: 704-522-8334 WWW.CLCLT.COM FACEBOOK: /CLCLT TWITTER: @CL_CHARLOTTE INSTAGRAM: @CREATIVELOAFINGCHARLOTTE
STAFF
PUBLISHER • Charles A. Womack III publisher@yesweekly.com EDITOR • Ryan Pitkin
TIP PROJECT NO. U-6032 The N.C. Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting regarding the proposed widening of Mallard Creek Road (S.R. 2467)/Derita Road (S.R. 1445) from I-485 to Concord Mills Boulevard (S.R. 2894) in Cabarrus and Mecklenburg counties. The purpose of the project is to improve traffic flow and capacity along the roadway as development continues and traffic in the area increases.
rpitkin@clclt.com
EDITORIAL
ASSOCIATE EDITOR • Courtney Mihocik cmihocik@clclt.com FILM CRITIC • Matt Brunson mattonmovies@gmail.com THEATER CRITIC • Perry Tannenbaum perrytannenbaum@gmail.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS •
The meeting will be held on Monday, October 29, 2018 at the Hickory Grove Baptist Church located at 13200 Mallard Creek Road in Charlotte from 4-7 p.m. The public may attend at any time during the meeting hours. Please note there will be no formal presentation.
Erin Tracy-Blackwood, Allison Braden, Konata Edwards, Jeff Hahne, Vanessa Infanzon, Ari LeVaux, Kia O. Moore, Grey Revell, Dan Savage, Aerin Spruill, Veronica Cox
At the meeting there will be maps of the proposed plans as well as project team members who will be available to answer your questions and receive feedback. All comments will be taken into consideration as the project progresses. The opportunity to submit written comments will be provided at the meeting or can be done via phone, email, or mail no later than November 12, 2018.
CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS • Justin Driscoll, Brian Twitty, Grant Baldwin
ART/DESIGN
ART DIRECTOR • Dana Vindigni dvindigni@clclt.com
ADVERTISING
To place an ad, please call 704-522-8334. SALES MANAGER Aaron Stamey • astamey@clclt.com
As information becomes available, it may be viewed at the NCDOT Public Meeting Webpage: www.ncdot.gov/news/public-meetings/.
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Justin LaFrancois • jlafrancois@clclt.com Christos Kakouras • ckakouras@clclt.com ADVERTISING COORDINATOR
For additional information please contact NCDOT Project Manager Sean Epperson, P.E., by phone at (704) 983-4400 or by email at smepperson@ncdot.gov or Consultant Project Manager, Alyssa Randall, by phone at (919) 803-6986 or by email at arandall@planningcommunities.com. NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who wish to participate in this meeting. Anyone requiring special services should contact Lauren Putnam via email at lnputnam1@ncdot.gov or by phone at (919) 707- 6072 as early as possible, so that arrangements can be made.
Pat Moran • pmoran@clclt.com
Creative Loafing © is published by CL, LLC 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd., Suite C-2, Charlotte, NC 28206. Periodicals Postage Paid at Charlotte, NC. Creative Loafing welcomes submissions of all kinds. Efforts will be made to return those with a self-addressed stamped envelope; however Creative Loafing assumes no responsibility for unsolicited submissions. Creative Loafing 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. Copyright 2015 Womack Newspapers, Inc. CREATIVE LOAFING IS PRINTED ON A 90% RECYCLED STOCK. IT MAY BE RECYCLED FURTHER; PLEASE DO YOUR PART.
Persons who do not speak English, or have a limited ability to read, speak or understand English, may receive interpretive services upon request prior to the meeting by calling 1-800-481-6494. Las personas que no hablan inglés, o tienen limitaciones para leer, hablar o entender inglés, podrían recibir servicios de interpretación si los solicitan antes de la reunión llamando al 1-800- 481-6494. 4 | OCT. 18 - OCT. 24, 2018 | CLCLT.COM
A MEMBER OF:
8
Corri Smith has an offer for you ... and no it’s not these flowers, it’s an invite to her upcoming Black Wednesday Halloween party. Check out our story on page
PHOTO BY DANA VINDIGNI
We put out weekly 8
NEWS&CULTURE THE DARK GENIUS OF CORRI SMITH Black Wednesday founder knows how to throw a party and build a brand
BY RYAN PITKIN
10
FOOD&DRINK IT’S A GO-GO Charlotte’s first vegan Mexican food truck gets it just right
BY RYAN PITKIN
12 14
TOP 10 THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK
MUSIC STILL D.I.Y. AND DIRTY Dirty South Revolutionaries’ Johnny Moss keeps the music coming
BY PAT MORAN 16 HALLOWEEN GUIDE 2018
22
20 SOUNDBOARD
ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT INK ‘N’ ART New festival lands in Charlotte to include everyone,
tatted or not
BY COURTNEY MIHOCIK
26
ODDS&ENDS 26 NIGHTLIFE BY AERIN SPRUILL 27 CROSSWORD 28 SAVAGE LOVE BY DAN SAVAGE 30 SALOME’S STARS
GO TO CLCLT.COM FOR VIDEOS, PODCASTS AND MORE!
COVER DESIGN BY DANA VINDIGNI CLCLT.COM | MARCH 17 - MARCH 23, 2016 VOL. 30, NO. 04
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CLCLT.COM | OCT. 18 - OCT. 24, 2018 | 5
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NEWS
FEATURE
Corri Smith in her Black Wednesday office.
PHOTO BY DANA VINDIGNI
THE DARK GENIUS OF CORRI SMITH Black Wednesday founder can throw a party and build a brand BY RYAN PITKIN
C
ORRI SMITH IS great at a lot
of things, but being goth is not one of them. She’s got the style down pat, and has even built her business around the goth aesthetic. But as far as personality goes, she’s far from the stereotypical introvert you might expect of a woman who’s built a brand around the darkness. Smith is well aware that her chipper nature doesn’t exactly mesh with people’s preconceived notions about her. “It’s almost become like a joke,” she says of her goth identity. “Because I’m super upbeat. Once you meet me you’re just like, ‘Uhhh.’” Smith’s enthusiasm is contagious, and it’s helped her build her business, multimedia marketing company Black Wednesday, into one of Charlotte’s most recognizable brands. But why all the black? Smith says her affinity for the darkness came from a desire to branch out following a childhood defined by stifling conformity. Growing up in Ashville, New York, a hamlet near the border of Pennsylvania with a population that barely surpasses 3,000, Smith says there was never any thought of creating her own style. “There was nothing where I grew up that would allow you to see anything that was different and/or engage in being different,” she says. “You were just there. There was no outside the box. My family was outside the box because we were Catholic and everyone where I grew up was Methodist. So we were already as far out of the box as we could be in being raised Catholic, and that was it.” After graduating high school with the same 70 classmates she’d known since kindergarten, Smith attended SUNY Geneseo, where she began finding her own style and accumulating the tattoos that now adorn her arms and legs. Once she graduated college, she came to the South to escape the brutal winters of southern tier New York, and after working in public relations at the Music Factory for some time, she decided to strike out on her own by founding Black Wednesday. The name is a nod to one of her favorite fictional characters, Wednesday Addams. Now Smith is preparing to celebrate her favorite time of year with “A Party To Die For,” an exclusive party for Black Wednesday friends and family, and a few lucky Creative 8 | OCT. 18 - OCT. 24, 2018 | CLCLT.COM
PHOTOS BY RYAN PITKIN Evelyn Flores (left) and Alicia Broughton hard at work on a recent Friday morning. Loafing readers, on Oct. 31. We’re giving Smith says she threw down so hard for out two tickets for the party to one CL the company’s three-year anniversary party Twitter follower and another two to one of in April that folks are expecting her to match our Instagram followers. All you have to do the experience. is tag us and Black Wednesday’s account in a “I really screwed myself with that party pic of Smith on this week’s cover and you’ll be because I had a tattoo artist come and he entered to win. tattooed anybody who wanted it,” she says. Halloween has always been Smith’s favorite “So I nailed myself to the wall with that party time of year, she says, and with the holiday though, because everyone’s like, ‘Oh, so what landing on an actual “Black Wednesday” this are you doing for your Halloween party?’” year, she’s cooking up some special plans for Smith knows how to throw a hell of the tarot-themed party — some of which she a party, but for the most part, she’s all wouldn’t even let us know about. business. She estimates an average workweek
to be about 90 hours, and she’s never truly off when it comes to helping build consistent brands for her 25 clients. But it’s the job she signed up for, and she wouldn’t have it any other way, she says. “I have people telling me all day long about work-life balance and you should only work ‘X’ hours a day and all this stuff and, ya know, everyone’s different,” Smith says. “As much as I say, ‘Great, enjoy your PTO and your 401K or whatever,’ you should respect that I don’t want those things and that I work like a crazy person and I love every second of it. So the 15-hour days don’t feel like 15 hours.” Her team of three fulltime workers and three interns covers a lot of ground, including social media, marketing, public relations, event planning, graphic design and more. When we visit Black Wednesday on a Friday morning, the workplace isn’t as hectic as Smith’s busy schedule might imply. The Black Wednesday brand is in full effect, though, with candles lit throughout the office and a Ouija board sitting on the first table anyone sees when they walk in. On the wall, a logo portraying the likeness of Wednesday Addams over the word “BLACK” centers the room. Throughout the office, skulls and black flowers adorn shelving units, and a pew from a church gives off gothic vibes. Smith is dressed in a black dress she pulled out specifically for the cover shoot — she even wore pigtails to best honor the namesake of the company. Though her sense of style is undeniable, Smith contends her appreciation for black came mostly from convenience. “I really don’t care about clothes, and I can just put on something black and I know it looks good and it translates no matter where I am and I look OK. That’s sort of where it became really easy,” Smith says of the reputation she got as a goth. “So people started to package me as goth. So I was just like, ‘Whatever. If you want to tell people I worship the devil, I don’t really care.’ And I just sort of went with it, and I think I really took ownership in just being different.” It was brand-building at its best, and that’s what she takes into her work. Smith isn’t just focused on building brands for her clients, she has to make sure the Black Wednesday brand itself stays relevant. She does that through creating trends like the #BlackWednesday hashtag, which followers use when they post pics of themselves decked out in black on Wednesday. She also publishes her own content through the company, including continuous 13-week series like #ItsReallyMeCLT, which showcases the work of 13 different social media managers behind strong brands in the city. For a past series called 13 Shades of Black, Smith showcased 13 local folks in the fashion industry, featuring a new person each week in a photo shoot all decked out in black, and put them on the local news each week. It’s a way to highlight people doing things in the community, but also to show off what her business can do for clients. “The 13-week series came out of, one, our need to tell the Black Wednesday story, but two, we also need to lead by example,” she says. “So if we’re out telling people they need to create stories and create buzz and help people see what they’re about outside
The boss at her desk.
PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN
of just promoting themselves, then we have to lead by example.” Evelyn Flores, Black Wednesday’s lead social media manager, has worked at the company for two years. Before that, she was an IT recruiter at a business in Uptown Charlotte. She met Smith when she was featured in one of Black Wednesday’s 13-week series. She was recognized for having one of the city’s best Twitter accounts, which set her up nicely as a favorite for the new position when it opened up. Flores says her favorite part of the job is seeing the photos from Charlotteans who tag the company in selfies with their black outfits on Wednesdays. She’s recently been taking on more PR work for the company, as a new social media consultant joined the team within the last month. Similar to Smith, she wouldn’t trade her heavy workload for anything, she says. “I work all the time, but it’s fun work so I don’t really think about it as work, versus before when I was in a super corporate environment,” she says. “It’s just a lot different doing stuff that you actually like to do versus stuff you have to do. I guess the biggest difference is that I’m doing creative things that I wouldn’t have had the chance to do at my recruiting job.” Flores’ new responsibilities include training the newcomer, Alicia Broughton, who applied for the position after becoming too spread thin at her past job, which included doing social media for many different clients
THE NEW ALBUM
A PARTY TO DIE FOR Sorry, we can’t divulge the location of this party on Halloween night. But if you hit us up on Twitter or Instagram with a photo of this week’s cover, and tag @blackwedco, we’ll send out two invites each to two lucky winners.
at a PR firm in Charlotte. She says her first month at Black Wednesday has been a refreshing new start. “Here I have the opportunity to essentially be the brand, whereas I was not giving everybody 100 percent without working 50 hours a week [at my past job],” Broughton says. Smith is currently looking to grow the team even further, as she’ll be hiring a parttime administrative assistant. But it’s not all work and no play at Black Wednesday, as Smith prepares for a party to live up to the expectations of her company’s cult-like following. While she’s still secretive about the one big feature of the party that she hopes will upstage her free tattoos in April, there’s still a shot that you can be there in person to find out. We’ll see you on social media. RPITKIN@CLCLT.COM
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Tom Walsh Performing Cover Tunes Black Finn Ameripub in Ballantyne October 20th CLCLT.COM | OCT. 18 - OCT. 24, 2018 | 9
FOOD
FEATURE
LADY GO-GO’S AT COMIC GIRL Oct. 21, 1:30-4:30 p.m.; Comic Girl Coffee, 1224 Commercial Ave.; facebook.com/Ladygogosclt/
IT’S A GO-GO Charlotte’s first vegan Mexican food truck gets it just right BY RYAN PITKIN
I
T WAS A FRIDAY night at
Camp North End when another unsuspecting customer fell into Lady Go-Go’s trap. Josh Padgett ordered the Macho Nachos from the food truck run by husband-andwife team Eric Garcia and Yvette Gomez. He was reluctant to choose Lady Go-Go’s, which prides itself as Charlotte’s only vegan Mexican cuisine food truck. After all, there was a more traditional BBQ food truck just feet away, and Padgett’s not a huge fan of vegan food — usually. In the end, he ordered the Macho Nachos with asada — or a soy protein substitute — and a jackfruit quesadilla. He did not come away disappointed. When I spoke to him after he finished, he couldn’t believe how big the order of nachos was, but more importantly, he couldn’t believe it was vegan. “I’m not the biggest on trying vegan stuff, I need cheese, but had they not told me I would have totally thought it was meat and cheese,” said Padgett. “It was really, really good. I really, really liked it and I would definitely go to wherever they are to try it again.” Padgett’s reaction speaks to the patient work put in by Gomez and Garcia, who spent nearly two years perfecting the Mexican recipes of Gomez’s late grandmother. The couple went through countless different variations until they found the perfect substitutes for each meat and cheese included in the foods Gomez had been cooking her entire life, until she went vegan in 2013. Now, they serve zesty tacos, packed burritos and filling quesadillas to customers who — though they might approach the truck skeptically — rarely ever leave unhappy. “We’ve had plenty of people who bring their friends or even their husbands to try it without telling them that it’s vegan,” Garcia said. “Having complimented and loved it, and then told that it was vegan, they’re like ‘There’s no way that was vegan.’ It was vegan, I promise you.” Garcia and Gomez, middle school sweethearts who moved to Charlotte from Houston, Texas, in 2012, began cooking up the popular recipes as a way to connect back to home. Gomez had grown up in Los Angeles before moving to Texas and meeting Garcia. Both first-generation MexicanAmericans, the two couldn’t find the strong Mexican food scene they knew in California and Mexico. 10 | MAR. 10 - MAR. 16, 2016 | CLCLT.COM
“THERE’S A LOT OF FLAVORS THAT WE’VE BEEN CREATING THAT JUST SEND ME BACK 20-SOME YEARS, SPENDING SUMMERS IN MEXICO OR GROWING UP IN HOUSTON. IT’S NOSTALGIA.” ERIC GARCIA, CO-OWNER OF LADY GO-GO’S FOOD TRUCK
PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN
A customer checks out the menu at Lady Go-Go’s during a recent Friday night at Camp North End. “We weren’t impressed,” Garcia said, laughing. “We even went to a restaurant and tried to find tamales before we were vegan. They told us, ‘We serve them but we open them and cover them in queso and nacho cheese,’ I’m like, ‘No, that’s not the way you’re supposed to do it.’” And so they tried making their own tamales. Gomez, whose maternal grandmother was a cook and paternal grandfather was a baker, decided to try out some recipes passed down from the former, who had passed nine years ago. She cooked up some tamales, and Garcia was blown away.
The two then started handing the tamales out to neighbors in the Indian Trail community where they both still live. Then Gomez started selling them out of her car. That venture eventually turned into Lady Go-Go’s Eats & Treats, a small catering company that was named after a mix of two nicknames that Garcia has for Gomez. The two didn’t yet have a truck, but would work at events in Union County. Veganism was still new to most folks in Union County at the time, so they started driving up to Charlotte more often for events like VegFest. In February 2016, the two filed for an LLC and later bought the truck. Now, the couple are not only able to get a small taste of home, but to share it with their new community. “We wanted to get the perfect taste and that texture, kind of like I remember growing up, and what [Garcia] remembers growing up,” said Gomez. “And now we’re here, and when you taste everything it tastes just like it would back then.” Garcia picked up where Gomez left off. “For me, what they always say is that taste is associated with memory,” he said. “And there’s a lot of flavors that we’ve been creating that just send me back 20-some years, spending summers in Mexico or growing up in Houston. It’s nostalgia.” It’s clear from the menu that the two are having fun with the rebranding of their traditional Mexican fare. The homemade hot sauce — and we mean hot — is called Y.O.L.O, while the more mild verde version is called Guacaflaka. But before the two can make new memories, they still have to convince other
folks that their food is worth a try. The two, who prep most of their food in a kitchen before bringing it out in the truck, said they spend much of their time on sites trying to convince people that it’s not just plates of tofu that they’re serving. The two recalled one especially reluctant man on a recent evening outside of a brewery in Waxhaw. He finally budged, and when Garcia was walking through the bar later, the man stopped him to tell him how amazed he was by the food. After dealing with such skeptics, the couple said it’s a relief to attend more veganfriendly spots, like their upcoming afternoon outside of Comic Girl Coffee on Oct. 21. While it wasn’t their goal to begin with, the health kick that comes with serving vegan meals doesn’t hurt for the community. Garcia pointed out that, while the food tastes like comfort food, it’s comforting in its implications for customers’ wellbeing too. “In our [American] culture, it’s very heavy in fats and cholesterol and diabetes and heart problems, and etc., so that’s also our goal is to be able to bring our flavors back to our traditional space, offering a healthy alternative,” Garcia said. “Even though we’re not trying to be healthy, we want people to know that ours is a healthier alternative without sacrificing flavor.” And if the tacos they were serving up at Camp North End on that recent Friday were any implication, that shouldn’t be very hard to do. “There’s even people that sometimes stand off, and they say, ‘Ehhh, not so much,’ Gomez said. “But all you gotta do is try it. You’ll be impressed. You gotta convince them to try it, but in the end, it’s awesome.” RPITKIN@CLCLT.COM
CLCLT.COM | MAR. 10 - MAR. 16, 2016 | 11
THURSDAY
18
AZIZ ANSARI What: A year ago, Aziz Ansari was arguably the top comedian in the world. Though his star hasn’t fallen, per se, his career did take a stumble in January when a website called babe.net published one woman’s account of a a date with Ansari that could be described as awkward, creepy or predatory, depending on whom you ask. He re-enters the spotlight on his new tour, Working Out New Material, and we’ll see how crowds react. A recent article described the set as railing against “wokeness,” which was predictable. When: 7 p.m. Where: Ovens Auditorium, 2700 E. Independence Blvd. More: $67. ovensauditorium.com
SATURDAY
20
25TH ANNUAL APPLE HARVEST FESTIVAL
THINGS TO DO
TOP TEN
RuPaul Drag Race WEDNESDAY
PHOTO COURTESY OF RUPAUL DRAG RACE
SATURDAY
20
SUNDAY
THE ART OF R&B: AN INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE
LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM
SATURDAY
20 OCTOBERFEST
What: Have you ever heard of cider doughnuts? We haven’t either, but we hear they will be available at Windy Hill Ochard’s Apple Harvest Festival. It’s a small trip out of Charlotte to a place where you can have apple butter, drink hard cider, eat BBQ, make a scarecrow and go on a hayride. It will almost be like a regular old fall day ... you know, like a real one.
What: Don’t want to make the trip down to South Carolina? Keep it local. Craft beer and fall-themed cocktails will be available at this five-day autumnal event where you can watch true gourd artists at work carving pumpkins. Even though there are a million fall fests in and around Charlotte this season, we decided this one would be more worth your while because it melds adult libations and family fun. Bring the kids and have fun responsibly.
When: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Where: Windy Hill Orchard & Cider Mill, 1860 Black Hwy, York, South Carolina More: $10-12. windyorchard. ticketleap.com
When: 12 - 10 p.m., Oct. 21, 12 - 8 p.m. Where: Dilworth Park, 525 E Park Ave More: Free. tinyurl.com/OctoberfestDilworth
What: Step from the shower to the stage in just one day. After hearing from panelists in the early afternoon, learn from each of them in workshops like Intro to Production with producers Meech and Master Kie; Performance 101 with Krystle Baller from Girls Rock CLT; and Intro to Writing and Recording with local songstress Cyanca. Even learn business and social media tips from Charlotte’s own DJ SPK and local music exec Jessica Macks.
What: After Lindsey Buckingham’s recent departure from Fleetwood Mac, he has officially set out on his own, showing that he can be successful without Stevie Nicks. Earlier this month, Buckingham took his most recent Fleetwood breakup to the next level by suing the band. In 2011, he squeaked his way onto Rolling Stone’s “Top 100 Guitarists of All Time,” and released his solo anthology, Solo Anthology: The Best of Lindsey Buckingham before embarking on his tour.
When: 12:30-3 p.m. Where: Harvey B. Gantt Center, 551 S. Tryon St. More: $5, free for members; tinyurl. com/ArtofRandBCLT
When: 7 p.m. Where: Knight Theater, 430 S Tryon St. More: $30 and up. blumenthalarts. org
BLA/ALT is back, and Kang is, too. We talk to the reunited group, who are getting back together for LeAnna Eden’s second annual Black Alternative Music Festival on Oct. 20. But first, check them out on this week’s episode of Local Vibes at clclt.com. 12 | OCT. 18 - OCT. 24, 2018 | CLCLT.COM
21
Tori Kelly SUNDAY
Shaping CLT
NEWS
WEDNESDAY ARTS FOOD MUSIC ODDS
Aziz Ansari THURSDAY PHOTO COURTESY OF OVENS AUDITORIUM
SUNDAY
21
MONDAY
22
TORI KELLY
THE BORON HEIST
What: Since her breakout selfproduced and self-released EP, Handmade Songs by Tori Kelly, she has been creating soothing and reflective music. The American Idol participant once struggled with rejection, but we’re glad she’s found her way. Kelly has backed up mainstream acts such as Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith, but came into her own with her latest album, Hiding Place. Let yourself be moved by Kelly’s penetrating and emotional lyrics coupled with her immense talent as a guitarist.
What: When the lead guitarist is named Buffalo Bill Cody, you know the band’s about to kick your ass. Joined by singer/screamer Owen Sykes, bassist Mark Ervin and drummer Tyler Adams, The Boron Heist is an unapologetically loud and in-your-face rock ’n’ roll band. Since forming in 2017, they’ve been making the rounds at venues like The Milestone, Tommy’s Pub and Repo Records, and this time they’ll be joined by local krautrock duo Joules and female-fronted alt rockers blindspot.
When: 7 p.m. Where: McGlohon Theater, 345 N College St. More: Sold Out. blumenthalarts.org
When: 7 p.m. Where: Petra’s, 1919 Commonwealth Ave. More: $6; petrasbar.com
PHOTO BY JUSTIN HIGUCHI
PHOTO BY YNM STUDIOS
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
23
CHARLOTTE TALKS MIDTERM ELECTIONS What: The elections are coming! After several rebukes of GOP gerrymandering, voters will have a chance to vote out the Republican supermajority that has done nothing but play dirty while lording over this state. That’s not to mention the several Charlotte-area contests that could help redefine what Congress looks like and determine how the next two years of Trump’s presidency play out. Hosted by WFAE’s Mike Collins. When: 6:45-8:30 p.m. Where: Booth Playhouse, 130 N. Tryon St. More: Free (must register). blumenthalarts.org
24
#SHAPINGCLT What: #ShapingCLT, the monthly variety show described as a doit-yourself social toolkit, takes aim at quality of life in Charlotte through an in-depth convo about equity in health and access to healthy options. Joining host Davita Galloway this month is Brandi Williams of the city’s Solid Waste department, Kate Cavazza from Sustain Charlotte, community organizer Tiffany Fant and Amanda Zullo, founder of Popup Produce.
When: 6:30-8:30 p.m. Where: Levine Museum of the New South, 200 E. 7th St. More: $10; museumofthenewsouth. org
WEDNESDAY
24
RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE WERQ THE WORLD What: Move it, move it, work, work. The season 10 finalists of RuPaul’s Drag Race are storming the Queen City for an entertainingly sassy show of makeup, heels, sick dance moves and sexy, shiny costumes. Drag queens Aquaria, Asia O’Hara, Eureka and Kameron Michaels along with fan favorites, Bob the Drag Queen, Kim Chi and Violet Chachki will dominate the stage with enticing and fabulous performances. Are you ready to “werq” it, baby?
When: 9 p.m. Where: Knight Theater, 345 N College St. More: $59-160. blumenthalarts.org
Also, be sure to go check out queencitypodcastnetwork.com to see what’s up with all our other QCPN teammates. We’ve been adding some podcasts to the lineup, and there’s no better place to find all things audio in the Queen City. CLCLT.COM | OCT. 18 - OCT. 24, 2018 | 13
PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHNNY MOSS
FEATURE
MUSIC
STILL D.I.Y. AND DIRTY Dirty South Revolutionaries’ Johnny Moss keeps the music coming BY PAT MORAN
I
T SHOULDN’T BE this way,
Johnny Moss thought. It was April 2004, and Moss, founder and front man of veteran punk outfit Dirty South Revolutionaries, was dismayed by what he saw going down at the Punk Strikes Back festival at Tremont Music Hall. The event was meant to celebrate D.I.Y. attitude and music in Charlotte, but bands, fans and factions weren’t getting along. “At the time metal core was still fairly new,” Moss remembers. “These [metal] kids were coming in and doing that rock ‘n’ roll thing where they [felt they] had to tear down the foundation in order to eventually become part of it.” So the metal kids started making fun of the punk rock guys, and vice versa, Moss continues. In that pre-iPhone era, confrontations were face-to-face. Jeering commenced. Insults were slung. Fights broke out. “I thought, ‘I can fix this,’” Moss recalls with a chuckle. “Me and my big ego.” Moss decided to throw a truly wide-open D.I.Y. music show, a big tent affair where all genres were welcome. He booked as many upstart metal core outfits as old school punk bands on the bill, while also incorporating rockabilly, rock ‘n’ roll and more. “I said, ‘Let’s do all this together.’ There’s no point in fighting and making fun of each other,” he continues. The upshot of Moss’s fix is the Dirty South Fest, which celebrated its 14th year last summer. A fall version of the event, naturally enough called Fall Dirty South Fest, kicks off its second iteration Oct. 24 at Skylark Social Club. Before that, DSR plays a set at the Milestone Oct. 19. For those who have followed Moss and his bands — in addition to DSR, he also fronts the outlaw country band Johnny Moss and the Bastards Out of Carolina — the eclectic nature of these festivals comes as no surprise. A diverse mix of genres — metal, hardcore, punk and even a bit of country — has been the hallmark of DSR’s sound ever since they released their debut album, Queen City Underground, in 2004. “We just make what we want,” Moss says of DSR’s sound. “Since we’re such a weird mix of people, the music comes out [as a mix].” Stocky, sporting a bushy beard and wearing more rings on his fingers than rapper T.I., Moss looks the hardcore punk dude, but the soundtrack of his youth was 14 | OCT. 18 - OCT. 24, 2018 | CLCLT.COM
Dirty South Revolutionaries [from left] Jesse Glanz, Sam Fleming, Johnny Moss, Adam Lane, Tyler Bryant.
“WE HAD EGOS THE SIZE OF TEXAS. WE COULDN’T WALK THROUGH THE DOOR THEY WERE SO BIG.” JOHNNY MOSS
classic country. He grew up near Deep Gap in the mountains of northwest North Carolina, where the songs of Johnny Cash and Hank Williams Jr. seemed to be playing nonstop. “Some might consider it a third-world country within the United States,” Moss describes his childhood home. He remembers living with his mother in places without running water or indoor plumbing. When he was 6 or 7 years old he met an illustrious neighbor. “I was at Deep Gap General Store and there was a man playing guitar by the potbellied stove in back,” Moss says. “My mom told me that it was Doc Watson, and that he was pretty popular in those parts.” Moss’s country connection runs in the family as well. On his mother’s side, he’s kin with Johnny Cash. But when Moss started making music at age 14, it was punk rock and grunge that stirred his blood. He tried out for a local band on guitar, and while he was at it he grabbed the mic. While Moss’s bandmates told him that he was a terrible player, they loved his rough-hewn vocals. Soon Moss needed to get into a bigger music scene than rural Appalachia, but when he made the jump to Charlotte it wasn’t ambition that prompted his move, it was homelessness. “I was all over the place,” Moss remembers. “Living, bouncing and squatting.” He settled in Concord, where he co-founded DSR in 2004. Things started happening fast. DSR got signed to Tent City Records, a label run by Choking Victim drummer Skwert. The band
was scheduled to record their debut album in New York City when Moss’s mother died. “I remember leaving my mother’s funeral and crashing one night, and then going to new York City to record the first album after that,” Moss says. The young punk band finished their album, started touring constantly and fell for every rock ‘n’ roll pitfall possible, Moss says. “We had egos the size of Texas,” he continues. “We couldn’t walk through the door they were so big.” Drug abuse took its toll on band members, and the group also fell in debt to their thanks to astronomical recording costs. In the years since, Moss has paid off the debt and looks forward to being able to sell DSR’s debut at future shows. The band’s rocky financial start inspired Moss to find a way to help other young bands avoid the music business traps that ensnared his band. In effect, Moss began to put his unique spin on D.I.Y. Moss reasoned that, in addition to doing it for yourself, why not help others do it too? Around the time that he started the Dirty South Fest, Moss launched a record label, Mechanical Pig Records — but he cautions that the word “label” is an inaccurate term. “We loosely followed what [English anarchist punk band] Crass did,” Moss explains. “They didn’t believe in ownership, so I don’t really own the label.” Mechanical Pig is a loose collective, and Moss is just the guy who makes some of the decisions, he continues. He brought the people together and they all started helping each other.
“We just put a bunch of contacts together — T-shirt printers, studios and venues.” Like Moss’s band and the festival he launched, the collective is not constrained by musical genre. Mechanical Pig teamed with self-described “student loan-core” band Dollar Signs to release their 2017 EP Life is Ruff. “That’s a band you’d never think we’d be associated with,” Moss says. “But I refuse to think that it has to be one way or the other.” Meanwhile, DSR goes from strength to strength. Moss credits the band’s longevity to his songwriting partnership with Adam Lane. “Adam’s been by my side for 15 years now, and he’s helped me through it all,” Moss maintains. The band has gone through three lineups by Moss’s count. While former members who brought a rowdy energy have fallen by the wayside — Stephen Stoner has reportedly gone off the grid onto an organic farm and Pete Ager is in jail under suspicion of murder — Moss and Lane have stuck it out. The pair is currently writing the band’s next album. Moss says that the new record will be a back-to-basics rock album, pulling back from the go-for-broke variety of their 2015 release Dead Astronauts. “We’ll reel it in a little bit,” Moss says. “That album was too eclectic even for us. We’re a hardcore band and we had a bluegrass part in there.” Those bluegrass elements have found a place in Moss’s country band, but true to form, Johnny Moss and the Bastards Out of Carolina is just as eclectic in its own way as
BLACK TUSK, EARTHLING & DIRTY SOUTH REVOLUTIONARIES Friday, October 19, 8 p.m. The Milestone Club, 3400 Tuckaseegee Road
FALL DIRTY SOUTH FEST 2 Wednesday, October 24, 7 p.m. Skylark Social Club, 2131 Central Ave.
Moss belts it out.
PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHNNY MOSS
Moss’s other projects. Drawing on Moss’s love of Americana, bluegrass and outlaw country, the band has attracted a broad spectrum of Charlotte musicians, including Nick Martinez from Jaggermouth, the Alternative Champs’ Dave Massi, Scott Roby from Prowess, and farewell Abatross’s Dréa Atkins, whom Moss is dating. “We’ve had so many random people that you’d think would never cross paths in a band. In the same outlaw country band we
had a black man, a feminist and a gay man,” Moss says. “This is what we are, and it’s great.” With decades in the music business, Moss attributes his success and durability to — believe it or not — being humble. “Being egotistical, rowdy and nihilistic is one thing. It makes for great stories but at the end of the day it doesn’t really get you anywhere in music. You need to ground yourself and be yourself,” he says. Given Moss’s successful strategy of coupling a D.I.Y. approach with his talent for pulling people together to work for the collective good, it’s wise counsel. And Moss has one more piece of sage advice: For God’s sake, don’t change your band’s name. “It’s the worst mistake you can make,” he says, adding that your band name is your brand, it’s how people know you. “At the end of the day, I made a brand and I stuck to it, and that made a hell of a lot of difference.”
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Brass Transit October 19
Catapult October 27
J.E. Broyhill Civic Center 1913 Hickory Blvd. SE Lenoir, NC 28645
broyhillcenter.com
828.726.2407 CLCLT.COM | OCT. 18 - OCT. 24, 2018 | 15
ILLUSTRATION BY RICK
GUEDES
Halloween Guide
We brought you our annual Halloween Guide a little early this year, so you’ve got plenty of time and plenty of options to go get spooked, whether that means going on a bender, taking the kiddos to a family-friendly event or participating in an orgy in a hotel ... just try to keep the three separate. ‘SHAUN OF THE DEAD’ OUTDOOR SCREENING Go down to the Winchester, have a pint and wait for the Halloween season to blow over. Except, just do it at Canvas Tattoo for their big screen screening of Shaun of the Dead, which is arguably the best zombie comedy movie of all time. Food, beverages and fun will be available, so bring yourself and your favorite zombie apocalypse team to wonder how long you’ll survive when the horde comes. Unfortunately, no zombies were harmed in the making of this event. When: Oct. 18, 9 p.m. Where: Canvas Tattoo, 3012 N. Davidson St. More: Free; tinyurl.com/CanvasTattooMovieNight
THE GLOW: CHARLOTTE GLOW: Charlotte is the Alice in Wonderland/Halloween mash up you never knew you needed. Get your pumpkin carving fix at Charlotte’s largest jack-o’-lantern collection, where they’re cranking out more than just your crappy DIY poke-and-carve pumpkins. The family-friendly grounds will feature over 5,000 carvings of movie and TV characters to gawk at, along with a psychedelic landscape that’ll have you hypnotized until the very end. Just make sure you don’t lose your kid along the way.
Zombie Portrait
When: Oct. 18-28, times vary Where: Charlotte Motor Speedway, 5555 Concord Pkwy S., Concord More: $10.99 and up; theglowjackolantern.com
SCIENCE ON THE ROCKS: NIGHTMARE ON TRYON STREET It’s adult-only science-based fun at the Discovery Place. With cocktails pouring all night, make sure you don’t fall asleep or the most terrible Mr. Kruger will come for you. It’s Nightmare on Tryon Street, but also with a costume contest. Go from “door” to “door” for adult trick-or-treating, but we all know the real treat is in the drinks they’ll sling out to the masses at this 21-and-up event. Leave the little ones at home and have your own Halloween fun with Discovery Place. When: Oct. 19, 5-9 p.m. Where: Discovery Place, 301 N. Tryon St. More: $10 and up; science.discoveryplace.org
GREAT PUMPKIN FEST Scarowinds gives way to Carowinds as the amusement park puts the “Wee!” in Halloween with family-friendly fun all day. The Great Pumpkin Fest brings back all the nostalgia of the Peanuts crew, featuring our all-time favorite cartoon canine, Snoopy. Hay bale mazes, the foam zone and kid-sized scares are all there amongst the roller coasters to keep everyone entertained with an afternoon of good-ol’ clean Halloween fun. All fun, no fear for the whole family. When: Oct. 20-21, Oct. 27-28, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Where: Carowinds, 14523 Carowinds Blvd. More: $29.99 and up; carowinds.com
HALLOWEEN BAR CRAWL Don’t get shitfaced, get spook-faced. If you’re into college-esque shit shows, then Elite Bar Crawl’s Halloween Bar Crawl starting at the Epicentre is your best bet. Use your originality and dress up as a slutty nurse or three-hole punch
16 | OCT. 18 - OCT. 24, 2018 | CLCLT.COM
Glow: Charlotte
PHOTO COURTESY OF GLOW: CHARLOTTE
Halloween Guide
Jim. You can really go out there and show up as a Southern gothic witch. Whatever you do, responsibly enjoy the copious amounts of alcohol and live entertainment. When: Oct. 20, 2 p.m. Where: Whiskey River, 210 E. Trade St. More: $39.99; tinyurl.com/OfficialEliteHalloween
BOOTANICAL
PHOTO COURTESY OF DANIEL STOWE BOTANICAL GARDEN
Another garden party is happening at Daniel Stowe, so come in your favorite costume and bring the kids (they get in free if they’re in a costume). Let them march around the garden in a kids costume parade. Don’t want to bring the kids or don’t have any? There’s live music and a beer garden to hang out at while basking in the crisp fall air. The not-so-frightening activities in this Bootanical festival lineup include making s’mores, games and “Pumpkin Chunkin’.” We’re not entirely sure what that means, but go check it out and report back to us. When: Oct. 20-21, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Where: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden, 6500 S. New Hope Rd., Belmont More: General admission; dsbg.org
HOWL-O-WEEN DOG COSTUME CONTEST North Mecklenburg Animal Rescue is taking over Birdsong Brewing for an evening of pup-tacular charity. Dress your precious fur-baby up for a chance to win Best Dog Costume. Pair up and don matching garments to win best owner/dog costume of the night. Don’t have a little pup to bring? NMAR will have adoptable dogs there for you to play and hang with. Who knows, you might find yourself a new friend “fur” life. When: Oct. 21; 4-7 p.m. Where: Birdsong Brewing Co., 1016 N. Davidson St. More: Free; tinyurl.com/NMARHowloween
CANVAS TATTOO PRESENTS ‘RHPS’
It’s just a jump to the left and a step to the right on down to Canvas Tattoo for another Halloween season screening. This time warp, it’s Rocky Horror Picture Show. Complete with callbacks and a sexy, fun cast. Damn it, Janet, we love you.
‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’
PHOTO COURTESY 20TH CENTURY FOX
When: Oct. 25, 9 p.m. Where: Canvass Tattoo & Art Gallery, 3012 N. Davidson St. More: Free; tinyurl.com/CanvasTattooRHPS
MASQUERADE PARTY It’s like Phantom of the Opera, without the phantom. Charlotte Cirque and Dance Center’s Halloween masquerade party at Lenny Boy Brewing Company is the perfect opportunity to dig out that mask you bought at the local craft fair 10 years ago. Charlotte’s only non-profit dance and cirque company Caroline Calouche and Company will be there with live performances and drinks to top you off for a bourgeois, boozy good time. When: Oct. 26, 8-11 p.m. Where: Lenny Boy Brewing Co., 3000 South Tryon St. More: $25; tinyurl.com/masqueradeparty
COCO & THE DIRECTOR HORROR MOVIE MARATHON Forget the “31 Nights of Halloween” on your cable TV guide. Coco & The Director has you covered with 21 movies over nine days. From Oct. 26 to Nov. 2, head to the bistro and catch the 5 p.m. screening of a kid-friendly
Michael Myers
ILLUSTRATION BY RICK GUEDES
CLCLT.COM | OCT. 18 - OCT. 24, 2018 | 17
Halloween Guide spooky film or stroll in at 7:30 for the rated-R stuff like Psycho, Halloween and The Shining. On the last day of the movie marathon, they’re busting out a lineup of five Halloween movies for an all-day event. When: Oct. 26 - Nov. 3, times vary Where: Coco & The Director, 100 W. Trade St. More: Free; facebook.com/CocoandtheDirector/
AYRSLEY CINEMA RETRO HORROR SERIES
‘Suspiria’
STILL COURTESY OF SEDA SPETTACOLI PRODUCTION
Ayrsley Cinemas has rolled out the lineup for their annual Retro Horror Series, featuring some killer classic and throwback Halloween movies for your movie-viewing pleasure. The series runs throughout October, with two different Halloween films playing each week. Tickets are only five bucks, so if you’re looking for some spooky ’90s nostalgia on a cheap date or to get the shit scared out of you by a ’70s gore-fest film with friends, you’ve found the right place. Between Oct. 19 and 25, catch Ghostbusters. Young Frankenstein, Halloween and Suspiria. When: Oct. 18 - Nov. 1, 7 & 9 p.m. Where: Ayrsley Grand Cinemas 14, 9110 Kings Parade Blvd. More: $5; ayrsleycinemas.com
NOT-SO-SPOOKY HALLOWEEN If you think you can resist a late-night screening of Disney’s iconic Halloweentown, then you’re definitely lying to yourself. Indulge in the nostalgia of Halloween at Stumptown Park with facepainting, carriage rides and the works. If that doesn’t satisfy your inner child, try your luck in the annual pumpkin carving contest, where winners get two gold season passes to Carowinds and a lifetime of bragging rights. Oh yeah, it’s on. When: Oct. 27, 5-9 p.m. Where: Stumptown Park, 200 S Trade St., Matthews More: Free; tinyurl.com/stumptownhalloween
GET BAKED: HALLOWEEN EDITION Your wallet might say no, but your sweet tooth will definitely say yes to the desserts at Lenny Boy Brewing Company. The Charlotte brewery will host Get Baked, a Halloween hotspot for local bakeries and dessert shops to sell you all — we repeat, all — the Halloween treats, vegan and gluten-free options included. Eat your treats on the spot with a locally crafted brew, or take them home for a hauntingly good late-night snack. When: Oct. 27, 1-5 p.m. Where: Lenny Boy Brewing Co., 3000 South Tryon St. More: Free; tinyurl.com/GetBakedHalloween
2ND ANNUAL PUG-O-WEEN Lucky Dog Bark and Brew has hit the jackpot with their trifecta of dogs, drinks, and delicious food with Lucky Dog’s 2nd Annual Pug-O-Ween contest. It’s the perfect place for you and your pup to mingle, bob for beer (people only, of course), grab your food truck grub and watch the good-est dogs compete for the best Halloween costume. The event will feature some scary good drink deals, and 10 percent of bar sales will be donated to the Mid-Atlantic Pug Rescue. Ahh ... guilt-free Halloween drinking at its finest.
18 | OCT. 18 - OCT. 24, 2018 | CLCLT.COM
Halloween Guide When: Oct. 27, 4-9 p.m. Where: Lucky Dog Bark & Brew, 2220 Thrift Rd. More: Free; luckydogbarkandbrew.com
SWINGERS HALLOWEEN PARTY Scary to some, fun as hell for others. Swing by the good ol’ Comfort Inn for the annual Q.C. swingers Halloween party, featuring an afternoon meet and greet with other couples, a costume contest, and a late night party where things get, you know, dirty. Snacks will be provided of course, but you’ll probably want to bring your own latex. When: Oct. 27, 8 p.m. Where: Comfort Inn, 1718 Windsor Crossing Dr. More: Free; tinyurl.com/halloweenswingers
The Garden of Earthy Delights by Hieronymus Bosch
PHOTO COURTESY OF ABBEVILLE PRESS
MANDYLAND PRESENTS DEVIL’S NIGHT Get your freak flag ready, counterculture entertainment group Mandyland is getting weird at The Rabbit Hole for Halloween, fake blood and all. Emcee Martin the Evil Clown will host for a night of live music, erotic performances, all the fiery kinky mischief you can manage. DJ Harkonnen will also be there helping you get down and dirty with that token dude dressed as Freddy Krueger, if you’re into that sort of thing. When: Oct. 27, 9 p.m. Where: The Rabbit Hole, 1801 Commonwealth Ave. More: $10-15; tinyurl.com/MandylandDevilsNight
PLAZA MIDWOOD HALLOWEEN BAR CRAWL has
Charlotte’s hottest bar crawl is Plaza Midwood Heroes versus Villains, and this bar crawl everything: heroes, villains and hipsters dressed as heroes and villains. But seriously, this crawl is basically the day party of your college dreams. Start your descent into Halloweekend debauchery at The Rabbit Hole, and work your way through the Plaza until you eventually get lost and end up where everyone else is. When: Oct. 27, 8 p.m. Where: The Rabbit Hole, 1801 Commonwealth Ave. More: $10-30, tinyurl.com/PlazaBarCrawl
Martin the Evil Clown
ILLUSTRATION BY DANA VINDIGNI
HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR If Charlie Brown threw a rager, it would probably be something close to Halloween Spooktacular at Petra’s. Grab your friends and encourage bad decisions with The Great Pumpkin Drinking Game, a live interactive reading of the Peanut’s classic (with a twist), or stay for stories, comedy, prizes and some sensual soundtracks all provided by your favorite Charlotte swing musicians, The World Famous Tampones. When: Oct. 28, 8 p.m. Where: Petra’s, 1919 Commonwealth Ave. More: $10; tinyurl.com/PetrasSpooktacular
CLCLT.COM | OCT. 18 - OCT. 24, 2018 | 19
MUSIC
SOUNDBOARD OCTOBER 18
DJ Karz (Tin Roof)
CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH
POP/ROCK
Charles Craig Trio reimagines the music of Westside Story (Stage Door Theater)
COUNTRY/FOLK Kat Jam: Chris Janson, Uncle Kracker, Danielle Bradbery, Eric Paslay, Rachel Wammack (Coyote Joe’s) Rodney Crowell (Don Gibson Theatre, Shelby) Thirsty Horses (Tin Roof)
DJ/ELECTRONIC BYOC Thursdays (Bring Your Own Cassette) w/ JoshRobbins (The Milestone) DJ Matt B (Tin Roof) Le Bang (Snug Harbor) Dende (Salud Cerveceria)
POP/ROCK Act ll (RiRa Irish Pub) Albert Cummings (Neighborhood Theatre) Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, Vug Arakas (Visulite Theatre) The Cadillac Three (The Fillmore) Jamie Hofmeister-Cline (Summit Coffee Co., Davidson) The Jazz Room: Charles Craig Trio Re-Imagines The Music of Westside Story (Stage Door Theater) Karaoke (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Karaoke with DJ ShayNanigans (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Kings of Spade, Flame Tides, Farewell Albatross (The Milestone) Matt Walsh (Comet Grill) Shana Blake and Friends (Smokey Joe’s Cafe) Vance Gilbert (Evening Muse)
OCTOBER 19 CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH Charlotte Symphony: Music for a Royal Celebration (Knight Theater) The Jazz Room; Trick or Treat Edition (Stage Door Theater) Jazzy Fridays (Freshwaters Restaurant)
COUNTRY/FOLK The Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill)
DJ/ELECTRONIC Ben Nicky, Yuki-san (World) 20 | OCT. 18 - OCT. 24, 2018 | CLCLT.COM
Black Tusk w/ Earthling & Dirty South Revolutionaries (The Milestone) Bloodworth Project (Smokey Joe’s Cafe) COIN (The Underground) Edenkiss, Battle Axe & Lunacy Rain (The Rabbit Hole) Ghost Note, Dynamo, Jonathan Scales Fourchestra (Neighborhood Theatre) Halden Vang (Sylvia Theatre, York) Hallow Point, Blackwater Drowning, Vices & Vessels & Descent (Skylark Social Club) Junior Astronomers 10th Anniversary Birthday Show Night 1 (Snug Harbor) The Outliers (Tin Roof) Patrick Davis & Midnight Choir (Visulite Theatre) Russell N’ Woods (Cabarrus Brewing Company, Concord) SOJA, Collie Buddz, Xiuhtezcatl (The Fillmore) The Trouble Notes (Evening Muse,) Wes & the Railroaders and King Cackle (Petra’s)
OCTOBER 20 CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH Charlotte Symphony: Music for a Royal Celebration (Knight Theater) The Jazz Room; Trick or Treat Edition (Stage Door Theater)
COUNTRY/FOLK Cody Johnson (Coyote Joe’s) Tom Dooley in Music & History: Rob McHale (Mauney Memorial Library, King’s Mountain)
DJ/ELECTRONIC DJ Relentless (Tin Roof)
POP/ROCK Bla/Alt Music Festival (Camp North End) BAH, The Commonwealth, Born Again Heathens (Tommy’s Pub) Blues Traveler (The Fillmore) The Breakfast Club (Visulite Theatre) Christine Nicole (Tin Roof, Charlotte) Elliott Smith Tribute Show by Robbie Hargett (Repo Record) The Eyebrows, Mannish Boys, It’s Snakes with DJ Shawn Lynch (Petra’s) Fat Geoff, Billy Moon, and Pullover (Lunchbox Records) Full of Hell, Outer Heaven, Raw Hex, Blood Ritual
TuneIn.com
EMITRADIO Charlotte & the carolinas are listening to emitradio
SOUNDBOARD
4PM
REGGAE/ISLAND 6PM
LO C A L M U S I C I A N S OF THE CAROLINAS 7PM
(Skylark Social Club) John Sullivan & Friends (Cabarrus Brewing Company, Concord) Junior Astronomers 10th Anniversary Birthday Show Night 2 (Snug Harbor) Lane 8: Little By Little Tour (The Underground) Mike Strauss Band (Comet Grill) Moses Jones (Smokey Joe’s Cafe) October w/ Chaos Ensues, Death Of August & Standing Guard (The Milestone) Pitch Dark: Carolina Voices Impromptu (Duke Energy Theater) SeepeopleS, Trismalux (Evening Muse) The Veer Union, Once Around, Scars Remain, The Raz, Key of Betrayal (The Rabbit Hole)
OCTOBER 21 HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Lil Xan (The Underground) Tori Kelly (McGlohon Theater) Bone Snugs-N-Harmony (Snug Harbor)
POP/ROCK Dollar Signs, Teenage Halloween, Mover Shaker, JailSocks & The Remarks (The Milestone) Lindsey Buckingham (Knight Theater) Metal Church (The Milestone) Omari and The Hellhounds (Comet Grill) Sunday Music Bingo (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern)
OCTOBER 22 CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH Jazz Jam (Crown Station Coffeehouse and Pub)
HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B
70’S FAVORITES 8PM
DJ/ELECTRONIC Wizard Fest: The Ultimate Harry Potter Themed Dance Party! (Neighborhood Theatre) DJ Steel Wheel (Snug Harbor) GLBL: DJ AHuf (Snug Harbor)
HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Eclectic Soul Tuesdays - RnB & Poetry (Apostrophe Lounge) Soulful Tuesdays: DJ ChopstickZ, DJ JTate Beats (Crown Station Coffeehouse and Pub)
POP/ROCK Cuzco w/ Youth League, Cicada Radio, Knowne Ghost (Snug Harbor) Hey Thanks!, Come Clean W/ Fozmo, Amity Pointe & Swamp78 (The Milestone) Tyler Hilton (Free Range Brewing Company)
OCTOBER 24 POP/ROCK BoDeans (McGlohon Theater) Fall Dirty South Fest 2: King Cackle, Green Fiend (Skylark Social Club) Ghost Trees & Phil Pucci (Petra’s) Halloween Show at Tommy’s Pub: Invaders From The Deep (Tommy’s Pub) Joywave, Sir Sly (The Underground) October Residency: Astrea Corp w/ LeAnna Eden & The Garden Of, Axnt, Boomchld + Celeste Moonchid (Snug Harbor) Quincey Blues (Smokey Joe’s Cafe) Rufus Du Sol (The Fillmore) Screaming Females w/ Kitten Forever, TKO Faith Healer & Alright (The Milestone)
#MFGD Open Mic (Apostrophe Lounge) Knocturnal (Snug Harbor)
POP/ROCK Aloha Broha w/ Traverse, Goddamnit & Tigerdog (The Milestone) The Boron Heist, Blindspot, Joules (Petra’s) Find Your Muse Open Mic welcomes Shay Martin Lovette (Evening Muse) Metallica (Spectrum Center) Open Mic with Lisa De Novo (Legion Brewing)
OCTOBER 23 COUNTRY/FOLK Wildeyes (Evening Muse) Red Rockin’ Chair (Comet Grill)
10/18 BLACK JOE LEWIS ! 10/19 PATRICK DAVIS 10/20 THE BREAKFAST CLUB 10/26 INTERSTELLAR OVERDRIVE - A SAUCERFUL OF PINK FLOYD 10/27 SONGS FROM THE ROAD 10/31 TROPIDELIC
BAND ft STEVE MCMURRY
+ BUMPIN' UGLIES
11/2 MAMA'S LOVE 11/3 BOY NAMED BANJO 11/4 NICKI BLUHM 11/7 WILL HOGE 11/8 THE WEEKS 11/10 THE NIGHT GAME 11/15THE BLACK LILLIES 11/17 SOUTHSIDE WATT 11/24 SIMPLIFIED 12/12 BAYSIDE
80’S 80’S 80’S 9PM
OLD SCHOOL HIP HOP 10PM
SAT NIGHT PARTY
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CLCLT.COM | OCT. 18 - OCT. 24, 2018 | 21
ARTS
FEATURE
Chris Toler of Seventh Sin Tattoo shows off his inked knuckles.
PHOTO BY COURTNEY MIHOCIK
INK ‘N’ ART New festival lands in Charlotte to include everyone, tatted or not BY COURTNEY MIHOCIK
I
T’S TIME TO go down the rabbit hole of tattoos and art. The inaugural Queen City Tattoo & Arts Festival Oct. 2 6 - 28 is not just for those who took a tattoo gun to their skin to permanently ink themselves forever. United Ink Productions, which organized the festival, moved to the Charlotte area from New York City, where they used to host No Limits Tattoo Expo. The move, according to creative director Christian Moore, was a decision made on a mix of traffic, cost of living and the prolific and supportive tattoo community they found here. “Down here, everyone that’s local supports each other. They sort of do that in New York, but nothing like I’ve seen down here. So that’s why we’re excited to have the arts festival down here,” Moore said. “We reached out to a bunch of shops, we realized everyone supports each other ... I like the camaraderie down here, I think it’s awesome.” The upcoming festival is geared toward families and art fans looking for a new Charlotte experience. Themed along the lines of Alice in Wonderland, the marketing material is filled with Alice characters sporting tattoos, creating a whimsical feeling and inviting memories of childhood. “That’s why we decided to do the Alice in Wonderland, come down the rabbit hole, [idea],” Moore explained. “When you come to the show, you’re going to realize it’s nothing like you’ve seen before. So all the art festivals you’ve been at, [this is] just a different caliber of a festival. And it’s only going to get bigger, too.” Featuring not only world-renowned tattoo artists and local, award-winning studios from Charlotte, the festival will also be dotted with music, a magician dressed as the Mad Hatter and family-fun activities like face-painting and pumpkin carving. Moore said it’s important for United Ink Productions to integrate itself into the community through this festival, as a way of saying, “Hey, we know we’re out-of-towners, but now we’re here and we want to bring the best experience possible.” “I want that whole sense of community like what I’ve been seeing; that even though we’re a company from New York, we moved here, we all live here now. I just want them to see that this is something that’s for everyone, it’s not just a tattoo expo,” Moore reiterated. Charlotte is not only one of the fastest growing cities in the United States, but it also hosts a hyper-local population that supports small businesses. Many tattoo 22 | OCT. 18 - OCT. 24, 2018 | CLCLT.COM
HONESTLY WE WERE VERY WELL-RECEIVED, WE HAD A LOT OF STUDIOS COME AROUND AND OFFER A HELPING HAND. AND IN A CUTTHROAT INDUSTRY LIKE THIS, THAT’S NOT SOMETHING YOU SEE A LOT, YOU DON’T EXPERIENCE THAT A LOT. CHRIS TOLER, SEVENTH SIN TATTOO
artists that grew up in and around the Queen City are happy to see that business is booming as their books fill up with appointments usually only within days of opening. With a large clientele base and social media platforms like Instagram, it’s easy to post pictures of tattoo work, creating a digital and easily accessible portfolio, to help bolster their following. When Chris Toler, co-founder of Seventh Sin Tattoo on Central Avenue in Plaza Midwood, first began tattooing, the help of social media was not prevalent in the tattoo industry. “Fortunately now, unlike when I first started, you got the means of Instagram and Facebook and social media to help you out,” he said. “That wasn’t really the case 13 years ago when I started tattooing.” Toler and Seventh Sin Tattoo have only been in Charlotte for the past 3 or 4 years, however. When planning the move from Blacksburg, Virginia, he and his business partner used social media to prime the city scene for their arrival. On the other hand, Stacy Smith, owner of Tattoo Me Charlotte in South End and a recent contestant on Ink Master, has been in Charlotte for about 10 years. Her Instagram following is considerable, and she’s currently booked out until March. “It’s a great platform, I post online and then I can reach the masses, you know, with a single post on there,” she said. “So I got lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of clientele through Instagram.” The Queen City Tattoo & Arts Festival is
also a branding platform for the local artists. Set up in booths and participating in events, tattoo artists can mingle with potential clients and network with other artists from around the world. It’s exciting for all the tattooers involved and most of those who are featured have already fill their openings for that weekend. Tara Long, a tattoo artist at Tattoo Me Charlotte, is not only booked in the studio until March, but she’s filled all of her available spots at the festival with the branding and promotional help from United Ink Productions. “I booked that in advance,” Long said as she sat in her booth and completed the line work of a realism-style tattoo of Michael Myers from Halloween for a client. “United Ink posted one of my photos and was like, ‘Hey, Tara’s going to be there.’ So I got a lot of people messaging me from that like, ‘Hey, do you have any spots?’” The burgeoning tattoo community in Charlotte has allowed shops such as Tattoo Me and Seventh Sin to flourish without intense competitions among the studios. Jon Ronzka of Sink or Swim Tattoo on Monroe Road near Matthews recalled a time when if a tattoo studio opened up within the same area of another, one might show up to work to find that their locks were super glued shut and the windows were broken. Fortunately, this is not the case in Charlotte, as Moore noted earlier there’s a camaraderie among the artists in town. “It was a cutthroat business, I mean the demographic has changed, though,” Ronzka
said. “It’s like, 40 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 40 have a tattoo now. The demographic can support the volume of tattoers that’s out there.” When Toler and Seventh Sin started out in Charlotte, he explained that the business was welcomed and the tattoo community supported them. “Honestly we were very well-received, we had a lot of studios come around and offer a helping hand,” he recalled. “And in a cutthroat industry like this, that’s not something you experience a lot.” Toler, Ronzka and Smith all have different styles, which caters to different demographics in Charlotte. Toler usually inks creepy and macabre designs or opts for pop culture references like an ode to the Star Wars franchise. To pair with her bubbly personality, Smith creates colorful watercolor designs with bright hues within animals and roses. Ronzka also enjoys color in his ink creations, but like most artists, loves to take artistic direction with his clients and spur a narrative within the larger tattoos that he’s asked to do. A client might tell him that they trust him and to “go nuts,” so he does. With a strong community of people with open space on their skin looking for studios with high-caliber tattooers, some artists are hoping to break the stereotypes that comes with having permanent ink and working in a tattoo studio. Smith and Toler both believe this could be accomplished with community outreach and giving back in various forms.
#ShapingCLT: Access, Equity, Quality Life
Wednesday Oct. 24th 2018 6:30-8:30pm
October’s installment of the #ShapingCLT series will focus on Access, Equity and Quality of Life in Charlotte. Join an interactive session, hear local advocates discuss our community’s collective health, and leave with actionable steps. TICKETS: http://bit.ly/ShapingCLTHealthyCity
Stacy Smith of Tattoo Me Charlotte in her lofted booth.
PHOTO BY COURTNEY MIHOCIK
PHOTO BY COURTNEY MIHOCIK
John Ronzka of Sink or Swim Tatoo. A tattoo done at United Ink Production’s NYC festival in 2017. “As tattoo artists, we’re extremely blessed by Charlotte. My books are slammed, my business is booming, and I would love to come up with some kind of organization where tattoo artists can come together as a community and give back,” Smith said. She continued to rattle off ideas of charity events and donations, either in the form of donating art supplies to schools otherwise lacking or free tattoos to cover up surgery scars for those who may not be able to afford it. It would be a win-win situation for tattoo artists and studios; banding together under an organization to give back to the community that supports their businesses will also help erase the stigma that plagues those with tattoos. Smith iterates that all the tattooers in the community were artists first. Many of them started in high school and were the ones excelling in art class and even going on to arts colleges afterward. It can be easy to fall back on outdated
PHOTO BY JESSE TOWERS/CARA EVE
views on tattoos as grunge-y and only for trouble-makers, but at the end of the day, they’re just artists who happen to draw on people for a living. “And you know we do have a [stigma] on us as tattoo artists,” Smith continued. “We’re in a place and a spot where we’re ‘unreachable’ or we’re ‘rockstars’ — that you just can’t be bothered with your community. But why? Why don’t we sit here and just be human? We’re human like anyone else, you know we do pretty fun stuff and have pretty awesome lives, but at the end of the day I think it would make us a little bit more of a softer industry.” Toler repeated the sentiment voiced by Smith. Sitting in the spacious studio of Seventh Sin, adorned with macabre decorations of animal skulls and occult-esque adornments, he explained how charitable actions could shift the misconceptions that people may have of the tattoo industry. “I think doing something like what Stacy wants to do, that allows people to be like, “Oh wow, maybe they are genuinely good people,”
he said. “We are, we just want to be taken seriously.” Ronzka believed that the Queen City Tattoo & Arts Festival will also aid in shifting negative stereotypes about tattoos. The caliber and high-tier level of artists available at the event can show off their skill and highlight the quality of art that people choose to ink their bodies with. “I think this will be an eye-opener for a lot of local people as to what can be done,” Ronzka said. And that’s the goal that Moore and United Ink Productions are aiming for; a showcase of fine art that just happens to be planted on client’s skin, to be permanently displayed wherever that person goes. “When you see a lot of the artwork that a lot of our artists do, it legitimately looks like a painting, just on skin,” Moore said. “So it’s art that you can appreciate. When you see it, you’re not relating that to tattoos, it just looks like a straight painting on skin.” If you haven’t booked a session with an artist at the festival, not to worry, said
Moore. There will be artists available for walk-up sessions. If it’s your first tattoo, let’s face it, this would be a great place to get one, as the festival is designed to break the nervous barrier that a first-timer can have when approaching an artist. For the tattoo artists that are available for walk-up sessions, they will have signs posted to indicate their availability for a spontaneous tattoo. Not sure what to get? Moore hopes to feature a “rabbit hole” for anyone to travel down. That would consist of a hole for adventurous participants to stick their hand in and end up with a small, subtle Alice-themed tattoo that that they wouldn’t see beforehand. Still can’t decide if you want one? Just go and enjoy the music, visual arts and pumpkin carving while supporting the local tatoo industry and community. Just don’t be late, late, late for this very important date. CMIHOCIK@CLCLT.COM
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DON’T BE A DOUCHE Some simple rules how not to be that person at a concert boyfriend snagged for me). #outofplace IT WAS A BUSY week in this nightlife Nevertheless, based on my many writer’s career. Why, you ask? Live music overload. experiences in Charlotte, whether those be Wednesday night was Goo Goo Dolls, at a festival or other live music experience, Saturday night was Breakaway Festival here’s my advice on how to not be an asshole: and Sunday was Chris Stapleton. Yeah, my Say excuse me. I’m sorry, but not really musical flavor has diversified, to say the sorry; no matter how many bodies there least. But when I sat down to recap the week/ are in the crowd, there’s no reason why you weekend and decide what I wanted to write shouldn’t excuse yourself when you’re trying about, I wanted to take a new approach. to make a space for yourself to walk through Recapping the show, eh been there, done a crowded area. that. So here’s what I came up with: the do’s Wipe the seat. There’s also no reason and don’ts of going to a show. why you shouldn’t practice bathroom We all know that person who gets too drunk, has no idea where they are, who etiquette. No one in those spaces want to sit they’re with and I’d say 75 percent of the on your pee, smell your vomit or smell your time they’re not the person you want to have poop. Flush and wipe the toilet, it’s only fair. a conversation with at the end of the night. After all, you wouldn’t want to walk into #sloppy the same stall. And if it’s a urinal, you I’ve run this person into at some really should be doing your part. point when I’ve gone to almost Sharing is caring. Especially any type of show, at any if you’re the lit individual venue, whether that be The that everyone is judging. I Fillmore, the AvidXchange certainly found some lost Music Factory concert “candies” on the way in to grounds or PNC Music the festival that someone Pavilion. And this is the wasn’t concerned about thing, yes, we know so, share the love. That that demographics way, everyone else can be change according to on your ridiculous level. venue, artist, etc., but the AERIN SPRUILL Stop staring. I don’t care reality is, everyone looks what state you’re in, staring is the same when they’re playing never okay. We teach our kids that the asshole. That’s one of the first these days, thankfully. There’s no reason things I noticed while I was at the Goo Goo why anyone should be “confused” about Dolls show. Especially since I haven’t been someone who doesn’t fit the “demographic” heightened to real live show shenanigans in or drunk moment at a concert. Keep your a how minute. One thing I noticed at Goo Goo Dolls, eyes to yourself. was how rude people were. And that will be Don’t. get. drunk and/or otherwise my first list item for you to imbibe. From engaged. Let’s be real. That’s why the person social etiquette to bathroom etiquette, there who shows their ass does what they do. were too many qualms for me to express. Outside influences will always make you Fast forward to the festival, and my look like a fool. And the reality is, everyone nerves were already on a hundred. The last else is totally right in judging you when festival I went to was Made in America you’ve had too much. Trust me, I’ve been Festival in Philly. I was so overwhelmed by there. how many people were there that I freaked At the end of the day, live shows can out. #onlychildsyndrome #helicopterchild be intoxicating but the reality is you can So I was certainly worried about my man going with me. My God, the amount of drugs still be a douchebag. Don’t be that person. present would’ve effed your whole life. And Commit these things to memory and be the you know what that means: No respect for best patron/human ever while you’re there. persons and/or personal space. Everyone will thank you for it. Jumping ahead to the next night, once What would you say people should be again, I felt like the only black person in aware of when they’re getting yanked at a all of PNC Music Pavilion. Whew. Just show? Share it with me, I’d love to hear what imagine what that feels like at a country you think about general social etiquette! concert (without the cowboy boots that the BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM
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FeeLing Lonely?
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SIX TIMES THREE ACROSS
1 Fruit drink brand 4 Brooklyn NBA team 8 Les Etats- -12 Instrument that drones 19 Gp. of docs 20 “Give it --” (“Go for it”) 21 Somewhat, musically 22 Endless 23 Command for online missives 25 “Singing to the Hits” label 26 Woodlands 27 Army chaplains open curtains? 30 Haughty sort 31 Pilferer 32 MSN competitor 33 Queen in “Frozen” 37 Flower parts with the most light, soft colors? 42 “Come on!” 45 Comes -- surprise 46 “He-e-elp!” 47 Stir-frying pan 48 Provo site 49 Inits. at Indy 52 See 36-Down 55 Heckles 57 Leatherneck pilots stay behind? 63 Split to splice 64 City near Oneida Lake 65 Pulse 66 Hooded vipers 70 Little louse 71 Aside from 73 Hooded coat 75 Weep aloud 77 -- for tat 78 Window part 80 Lots and lots 82 First extra inning 84 -- acid 86 Himalayan guide who’s skilled at crafting sentences? 90 Sufferer for a cause 93 Lamb nurser 94 Sci-fi power 95 Bawl (out) 96 “Kristin” actress Ortiz 97 Hamm of soccer 99 Andy’s chum 103 Bucolic poems 105 Heartless doughnut
shop employee pestering customers? 111 Hold to be 112 Med. plan 113 Queen, in Spain 114 Apia’s locale 118 Change everyone’s table positions during a spring holiday dinner? 123 Alike 126 Aid in solving 127 Racer Mario 128 Dribble 129 -- -Iranian 130 Look to be 131 “I have it!” 132 Scented pouches 133 -- tide 134 Makes a slip 135 Chaney of film
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1 Hinged door fasteners 2 Clarification starter 3 “I’ll handle it!” 4 Convention sticker 5 SFO stats 6 Sad, in Paris 7 Slender, graceful girls 8 Maintenance processes 9 Averse to, with “of” 10 Like some cold coffee 11 Was bought for the price of 12 Happens to, as evil 13 On the crest 14 Richard of Hollywood 15 Determine in advance 16 Electees 17 Singer Boone 18 Ernie of golf 24 Move directly via a wholesaler 28 Comic Rudner 29 Eggs of fish 34 Yard surface 35 Coin opening 36 With 52-Across, proposes a date to 38 Get rid of 39 Before long 40 Starchy staple 41 Morales of the screen 42 Measures of light 43 And others, to Caesar 44 Divining cards 50 Less slack 51 Cherry stone 53 Illinois city
graB Your copy today
54 Golfer’s peg 56 Spanish article 58 Lincoln loc. 59 It cuts wood with the grain 60 “Crocodile Rock” label 61 Sun orbiter 62 Reduces to pulp 67 Secondary leaflike appendage 68 Endocrine gland in the brain 69 Blizzards, e.g. 72 Log-in info 74 Lead-in to plunk 76 Crotchety cry 79 Follower of FDR 81 Copy 83 Part of Mao’s name 85 Ashley Olsen’s twin 87 Mass song 88 Crest 89 Go around 90 Bond girl player Adams 91 Comic Meara 92 Shed tool 98 Sticks fast 100 Entertainer Carmen 101 Like superstore shopping 102 Irritated fit 104 Deprives of weapons 106 Lottery winner’s cry 107 Thurman of “Tape” 108 “-- to it!” (“Simple!”) 109 Anxiety 110 Many a sock mender 115 Rock genre 116 Brand of weedkillers 117 Iraqi, e.g. 119 Sommer of “The Prize” 120 Chip coating 121 German article 122 German river 123 Urban grid: Abbr. 124 One of the Gershwins 125 Karaoke stage item
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SAVAGE LOVE
JACKS When work interferes with pleasure BY DAN SAVAGE I have a secret: For the past three months, I’ve been attending a local Jacks club (a men-only masturbation event). As someone recovering from sexual abuse, I find the party to be safe, therapeutic, and just sexy fun. I feel like I need this! Unfortunately, I spotted one of my employees at last week’s event. Although I’m openly gay at my workplace, being naked, erect and sexual in the same room as my employee felt wrong. I freaked out, packed up and departed without him seeing me (I hope). I’m his manager at work, and I feel that being sexual around him could damage our professional relationship. It could even have dangerous HR consequences. I realize he has every right to attend Jacks, as much right as me, but I wish he weren’t there. I want to continue attending Jacks, but what if he’s there again? Frankly, I’m terrified to discuss the topic with him. Help! JUST A COCK KRAVING SAFETY
you can just keep going in the hopes that your “I hate to say it, but now that JACKS knows employee won’t be back. his employee attends these events, he really “If he continues to attend and it got back has to stop going,” said Alison Green, the to anyone at their workplace, it would be management consultant behind the popular really damaging to his reputation — not the Ask a Manager advice column (askamanager. fact that he was at the event to begin with, but org) and the author of Ask a Manager: How the fact that he continued to attend knowing to Navigate Clueless Colleagues, Lunch-Stealing an employee was also participating,” said Bosses, and the Rest of Your Life at Work. Green. “It would call his professional And why do you have to stop judgment into question, and it’s going to your beloved JO club? highly likely that HR would “In an employment freak out about the potential relationship where he’s legal liability that arises in a position of power,” when you have a manager said Green, “JACKS has a and a subordinate in a responsibility to avoid any sexual context together.” remotely sexual situation It seems crazy unfair with an employee.” to me that you should Green also strongly have to stop going to advises against pulling your parties you not only enjoy, DAN SAVAGE employee aside and working JACKS, but that have aided out some sort of shared custody in your recovery. And Green agreement — you get Jacks to agrees — it isn’t fair — but with yourself every other week — because great power (management) comes great initiating a conversation with a subordinate responsibility (avoiding places where your about when and where he likes to jack off employees are known to jack off). would be a bad idea. She also doesn’t think “It’s never going to feel fair to have to drop out of a private, out-of-work activity just because of your job,” said Green. “I’m hoping it’s possible for JACKS to find a different club in a neighboring town. Or he could start his own club and offer a safe haven for other managers hiding out from potential run-ins with employees — Jacks for Middle Managers or something!” While I had Green’s attention, I asked her about other sorts of gay social events that might toss a manager and an employee into a sexual context — think of the thousands
of men who attended the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco last month. Gay men (and others) walk around in various states of undress or dress up, and a lot of flirting, groping and more goes down. Should gay men in management have to skip events like Folsom lest they run into men they supervise? “Public events are different from private clubs,” said Green. “A private club is more intimate, and a public event is, well, public. And it’s not reasonable or practical to expect managers to entirely curtail their social lives or never attend a public event. But a private club that’s organized specifically and primarily for sexual activity is in a different category.” However, gay managers who run into employees at events like Folsom or circuit parties shouldn’t ogle, hit on or photograph their employees. “If someone who reports to you is in a sexual situation,” said Green, “you should keep moving and give them as much space as you reasonably can.” I’m going to give myself the last word here: You’ve been attending that JO club for months and saw your employee there only once, JACKS, so I think you can risk going back at least one more time. I would hate to see you deprived of release (and see your recovery set back!) if your employee was there only that one time. Follow Alison Green on Twitter @ AskAManager. On the Lovecast, cartoonist Ellen Forney on dating with bipolar disorder: Check out savagelovecast.com.
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