Coachella Valley Independent November 2017

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT | NOVEMBER 2017

The Pride Issue

VOL. 5 | NO. 11

The Coachella Valley's LGBT community celebrates Greater Palm Springs Pride with music, theater, comedy and chosen family.

Starting on Page 14

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NOVEMBER 2017

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 3

NOVEMBER 2017

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Mailing address: 31855 Date Palm Drive, No. 3-263 Cathedral City, CA 92234 (760) 904-4208 www.cvindependent.com

Editor/Publisher Jimmy Boegle Assistant Editor Brian Blueskye coveR design and photo Mark Duebner Design Contributors Gustavo Arellano, Max Cannon, Kevin Carlow, Cory Courtney, Katie Finn, Kevin Fitzgerald, Bill Frost, Bonnie Gilgallon, Bob Grimm, Michael Grimm, Dwight Hendricks, Valerie-Jean (VJ) Hume, Brane Jevric, Patrick Johnson, Keith Knight, Matt Levin, Robin Linn, Erin Peters, Dan Perkins, Sean Planck, Guillermo Prieto, William Bryan Rooney, Anita Rufus, Jen Sorenson, Robert Victor, Baynard Woods The Coachella Valley Independent print edition is published every month.

All content is ©2017 and may not be published or reprinted in any form without the written permission of the publisher. The Independent is available free of charge throughout the Coachella Valley, limited to one copy per reader.

Additional copies may be purchased for $1 by calling (760) 904-4208. The Independent may be distributed only by the Independent’s authorized distributors.

The Independent is a proud member and/or supporter of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia, CalMatters, Get Tested Coachella Valley, the Local Independent Online News Publishers, the Desert Business Association, the LGBT Community Center of the Desert, and the Desert Ad Fed.

This issue of the Coachella Valley Independent features what may very well be the final ¡Ask a Mexican! column penned by my friend and colleague Gustavo Arellano.

Let me explain: I fully expect Gustavo’s column to continue on in some form within the pages of the Independent for many years to come.

However, the column will most likely not be called ¡Ask a Mexican!, because the OC Weekly owns the rights to the name—and Gustavo Arellano is no longer employed by the OC Weekly.

I was shocked on Oct. 13 when I got the news that Arellano—a longtime OC Weekly scribe who had served as the paper’s editor and spokesperson for many years—had stepped down. He quit, he said, because he refused to lay off half of his staff, and the owner would not accept any of Arellano’s counterproposals (one of which included cutting Gustavo’s own salary in half).

Unfortunately, this is how it often goes at newspapers these days. While I have no inside knowledge of the OC Weekly’s financials, I do know that many layoffs at newspapers over the last 15-plus years have happened not because the publications were losing money—but because profits weren’t high enough.

This fact is one of the reasons I decided to leave my job as the editor of the Tucson Weekly in 2012, and then start the Independent here. The then-owners of the Tucson Weekly, Wick Communications, treated both me and the newspaper very well during my decade-long tenure there—but I knew that wouldn’t last forever. Sure enough, a little more than a year after I departed, Wick sold the Tucson Weekly—and the paper has been subjected to serious budget cuts ever since.

As bleak as all of this sounds … there is reason for hope. A number of my colleagues were heading to Chicago during the final weekend of October for the annual Local Independent Online News Publishers (LION) Summit. (Unfortunately, I was unable to attend.)

LION is a vibrant and growing organization of mostly newer, mostly online local-news organizations across the country. Almost all of us “LIONs” are small, scrappy and hardworking. Oh, and one more thing: We’re innovating. We’re finding new ways to tell our communities’ stories. And we’re investing in our publications rather than making cuts to keep shareholders or wealthy owners happy.

Gustavo Arellano is a gifted, hustling hard-worker who will land on his feet, so I am not worried about him. I’m also upbeat about the future of journalism. However, I am saddened by the huge loss that Orange County will suffer as a result of the decline of its independent alternative newspaper, the OC Weekly.

Welcome to the November 2017 print edition of the Coachella Valley Independent— our annual Pride Issue. Thanks for reading, as always, and don’t hesitate to contact me with comments or questions.

—Jimmy Boegle, jboegle@cvindependent.com CVIndependent.com

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NOVEMBER 2017

OPINION OPINION

KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS P

BY ANITA RUFUS

amela Kershaw Cole is one of those rare people who always seem to be in a good mood.

Every encounter I have with her leaves me smiling.

One of the reasons for her infectious mood is her husband, Chet. “He first asked me (to marry him) when I was only 44,” says Cole with a laugh, “but I thought I was too young!”

Now, after six years together—almost five married—they have matching tattoos, his on his arm, and hers on her back, commemorating their wedding date: 12/12/12.

Cole was born in San Francisco in the “Summer of Love,” 1967. After some moves, she began eighth-grade in the Coachella Valley, graduated from Palm Springs High School, and currently lives in Cathedral City. Cole graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno, with a degree in education; received her master’s degree in participated in a staged reading with Script education administration from Azusa Pacific to Stage to Screen, a local company that does University; and earned her doctorate in staged readings of brand-new plays. I was organizational leadership from the University blown away by her natural ease onstage— of La Verne. especially compared to what I felt were my own “I started teaching in 1996 in Cathedral City awkward and unrealistic efforts. with third-grade students,” says Cole. “Now I “Chet, although he does teach sixth-grade, is specialize in non-English-speaking students, really the actor in the family,” Cole laughs. “He focusing on language development. Over the studied acting. He says I’m interesting as an years, I’ve taught almost every grade, from actor, but I don’t know what I’m doing.” kindergarten to eighth-grade.

Trust me, you’d never know it!

“This year, I have sixth- through eighth“I started with S2S2S in 2012,” says Cole, graders. Most of my students are total “and it’s my only acting ever. I’ve never taken newcomers to English. I speak a little Spanish, classes or workshops, but I must admit I love which helps, but recently, I had a student from it. The truth is, I told myself about a month the Philippines who spoke neither English nor before I met Chet that I wanted to meet a man Spanish. I even have one student this year who with a kid and find time to do community has never been in a school classroom before. theater. (Chet has a 9-year-old daughter from “I get a really diverse group each year—kids a previous marriage.) I have to admit that the who are super-smart academically, but who worst part for me is the applause: Although I have little experience in a classroom. They’re may be gregarious, I don’t really like being the eager, and they often show a different kind center of attention. What I most enjoy is the of respect, having come from families that character development—the intuitive ability have worked so hard to get here. Research to develop ways to make a character come to says that it takes five to seven years in a new life, to take a two-dimensional person and country to become fluent in the language. It’s make them real.” exceptionally challenging … and so rewarding.”

Cole has proven her ability to do that: She Cole is the eldest in her family; a brother, recently received a Desert Stars Award from John Kershaw, lives in Yucca Valley. Her mom the Desert Theatre League for Outstanding died at 50 after a difficult fight with cancer.

Supporting Female Performer in a Staged Her dad then lived in Reno—which helped Reading, for her role in The Exit Strategy Club. lead her to do her undergrad work there.

Cole’s connection to theater helped lead her “My mom gave me some really good advice,” to establish a theater for students: “I’m writing says Cole. “Work hard, play hard. I’ve tried to short versions of classic stories and directing, live up to that. My grandfather was a colonel in doing costumes and sets,” she says. And lest the Marine Corps, so I learned about integrity you think Cole has any free time, she also from him, but I learned about character coaches new teachers for Riverside County, and from my mom. She was an amazing woman teaches for Walden University online. who always had a good sense of the need for Cole has traveled some—to Europe a couple balance in life. Caretaking is very hard, but it of times, to Puerto Rico, and around the U.S. was a real time of growth for me.”

“We got to visit Kershaw County in South I met Cole through local theater: We both Carolina. I found some ‘kinfolk,’” she laughs.

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/OPINION

Meet Pam Cole, a local teacher and awardwinning actress whose happy nature is infectious

“But if I have a bucket list, I’d either be in Florence, Italy, or at Lake Tahoe. My dad had a boat, and we spent some really good time together there. As hard as it was when my mom died, I think losing my dad was harder to handle. When your second parent dies, it feels like, ‘There goes my anchor.’”

Cole’s advice to local students: “Whatever you want to do, be fearless. My mom raised me with no money, but she always said to try everything and to put myself out there.

“Don’t have regrets. Try things. Life is short, and we only get to do it one time.”

Pam Cole is making the most of her one time.

Anita Rufus is also known as “The Lovable Liberal,” and her radio show airs Sundays at noon on KNews Radio 94.3 FM. Email her

Pamela Cole

at Anita@LovableLiberal.com. Know Your Neighbors appears every other Wednesday at CVIndependent.com.

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NOVEMBER 2017

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ASK A MEXICAN!

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DEAR JJJ: Both—but none of those feelings have anything to do with how we feel about Colin Kaepernick and the movement he inspired.

Frankly, Mexicans LOVE those kneeldowns, because we’re all about inconvenient protests that make gabachos angry. Whether it’s undocumented students chaining themselves together while shielding their handcuffs with PVC pipe and laying down in busy intersections, or hundreds of thousands of us taking to the streets in 2006 to demand amnesty, or hundreds of our youth waving around the Mexican flag in the face of good liberals who beg them to wave the Stars and Stripes, Mexicans know the power of pissing off the powers that be. Sure, you’re going to be unpopular in the short run, and even turn off potential supporters, but it’s all about the long game. And the juego larg is to bring pride to your side—to let the world know you’re no longer content with being peons or house slaves, and to inspire others to be unafraid of your minority status.

DEAR MEXICAN: I’m very bothered by the fact that football player/coach Tom Flores is not in the Hall of Fame.

I could go on and on as to why Mr. Flores should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but I will provide you and your readers with only three incontrovertible facts. First, Tom Flores coached the Raiders for nine seasons and won two Super Bowls. John Madden coached the Raiders for 10 seasons and won one Super Bowl. (John Madden is in the Hall of Fame.)

Next, Tom Flores is the only person to win a Super Bowl as a quarterback, an assistant coach and a head coach. Lastly, Tom made it from a small town in the San Joaquin Valley.

He is a role model for all people in our country.

My question for you is this: Let’s say that Tom Flores was not your Tío Tomás, but rather your Uncle Tom. Do you think that he would have already been voted into the

NFL Hall of Fame? I have heard through the grapevine that there is occasionally a bias against Latino excellence. (I’m being sarcastic here.) I realize that the Tío Tomás/Uncle Tom line may be a bit controversial even for you.

Feel free to change this as you wish. Here are some ideas. Let’s say that Tom Flores was African American, Asian or Caucasian. Let’s say that Tom Flores was not Mr. Flores, but Mr. Flowers.

Raider/Nader/Vader Fan DEAR POCHO: Man, you were funny with your Tío Tomás/Uncle Tom line, but then you became unfunny when you tried to explain it, and then you became straight CHAVALA when you tried to take it back because you’re afraid of PC pendejos. Fuck them!

Your idiocies aside, it’s not racism that keeps Tom Flores out of the Hall of Fame; it’s his lack of bona fides. Sure, he won two Super Bowls in nine seasons—but George Seifert won two in six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, and he’s not going in. The only other person besides Flores to win a Super Bowl as a player, assistant coach and head coach was Mike Ditka—but he got in as one of the greatest tight ends in history, not for his coaching career.

Don’t get me wrong; it would be awesome to have Flores in the Hall, as he’d be just the third Latino in there after the half-Mexi Tom Fears and full Chicano (with bad rodillas) Anthony Muñoz. But Flores is a lost cause, just like his quarterback, Jim Plunkett, another Mexican who isn’t going into the Hall of Fame despite two Super Bowl victories.

Catch the Mexican every Wednesday at CVIndependent.com. Ask the Mexican at themexican@askamexican.net; be his fan on Facebook; follow him on Twitter @ gustavoarellano; or follow him on Instagram @ gustavo_arellano!

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 7

NOVEMBER 2017

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 9

NOVEMBER 2017

NEWS

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

THE POOREST STATE C

By matt levin, Calmatters

alifornia leads the nation once again in a statistic no state wants to boast about.

When the cost of living is factored in, the Golden State has the highest poverty rate in the country: More than 20 percent of residents struggle to make ends meet, according to recently released Census figures. That’s nearly 8 million people.

Unfortunately for Californians, this year’s poverty numbers are not an aberration. The Census began releasing state-by-state results for its “supplemental poverty measure” in 2011, in an attempt to improve upon the outdated and heavily criticized official poverty statistics.

In the less sophisticated “official” measure, a family of four in San Francisco or Los Angeles or San Diego faces exactly the same poverty has been on California’s poor. The biggest threshold—$24,339 annually—as a family in jumps in housing costs—like those we’ve seen rural Mississippi. That’s despite the fact that in Sacramento and other mid-size California you can rent a three-bedroom, two-bathroom, cities in recent years—typically apply to a 1,200-square-foot house in Horn Lake, Miss., relatively small percentage of renters finding for the same price ($850 per month) as half of new apartments. But ask any California renter a living room in the Bay Area. whether they’d rather be paying 2011 rents or California has been the poorest state in the 2017 rents, and they’ll ask you for the keys to nation under the vastly more sophisticated the DeLorean as soon as possible. “supplemental” poverty measure since the What, exactly, is the role of housing in alternative statistic was created. (Mississippi California’s poverty problem? There are a is poorest under the old measure.) It’s not couple ways to answer that question, none even really that close: Florida has the secondperfectly satisfactory. highest rate, at 18.7 percent.

One method: What would poverty look like The supplemental poverty measure is if everyone in California had cheaper rents? calculated using a three-year moving average, Researchers at the Public Policy Institute so year-over-year changes can’t swing a of California, which has developed its own state’s poverty rate one way or another all California-specific alternative poverty measure, that much. The Census uses data dating tried to simulate an answer to that question. to 2011 to calculate the cost of living, so Researchers there ran a model of the state’s even the improved poverty rate could be poverty rate with every Californian bearing a underestimating how big of a drain housing cost of living similar to that in Fresno County,

Sky-high housing costs mean California has the country’s highest poverty rate

where a family of four making about $25,000 a year would not be considered poor.

The result? The overall poverty rate would drop dramatically (from about 21 percent to 14 percent), with nearly 2.4 million Californians lifted above the poverty line. The effect is most pronounced among children, who are disproportionately likely to live in higher-cost regions of the state. The child-poverty rate drops nearly 8 percentage points—about 717,000 kids—once the cost of living is lowered.

Relocating every poor family in the state to Fresno is, well, not a practical policy consideration. And housing subsidies for lowincome families currently make only a small dent in the poverty rate, at least compared to some other safety-net programs. (Advocates for the poor argue that’s a great reason to dramatically expand housing subsidies.)

A group of researchers at Columbia University re-created the Census supplemental poverty measure for all states with data stretching back to the late 1960s. Under

this measure, California started looking considerably different from the rest of the United States in the early 1980s.

But notably, while California’s supplemental poverty rate has remained significantly above the national average in recent years primarily because of housing costs, in absolute terms, the state is actually in better shape than it was in the early 1990s, when more than one in four Californians lived below the poverty line— and the recession of the early 1990s paled in comparison to the Great Recession of the late 2000s.

That’s partly because of the significant expansion of federal and state poverty programs to California families in the past three decades. In 1991, researchers estimate, such programs reduced California poverty by about four percentage points. In 2014, those same programs (and new ones) cut hardship by twice as much.

CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

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NOVEMBER 2017

NEWS

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

THE IMPORTANCE OF OPENNESS

I

By Brian Blueskye

n Palm Springs, it really is the best of times … and it is the worst of times.

The city is more popular than ever as a tourism destination—yet it is enduring a major scandal having to do with its huge, signature downtown development project. Some areas, such as the Uptown Design District, are enjoying a resurgence—yet the homelessness problem continues to worsen.

All of this is on the minds of the six candidates on the ballot for the two open City Council seats up for election on Nov. 7. (Incumbents Ginny Foat and Chris Mills are not running for re-election.) I recently spoke with all six candidates, asking them about all of these issues and more.

Unfortunately, we have room in print for only a tiny fraction of our interviews with the candidates—so here is what each of them had to say about the subject of transparency.

Head to CVIndependent.com to read the full interviews with each of the candidates.

Judy Deertrack, an attorney and consultant, is one of the Palm Springs City Council’s most-vocal critics. She laughed when I brought up the issue of transparency, and said she believes the city may be headed toward bankruptcy— and that things will not be so easy to fix.

“Do you know who you’re asking here?”

Deertrack said. “… It’s very unfortunate.

We got something (in the downtown redevelopment project) that is five to six times the height and density of what was advertised to pass Measure J,” a 1 percent sales and use tax approved by voters in 2011 that was slated to go toward city services, maintenance and redevelopment. “What happened is that they passed a bond issuance a year after Measure J was passed, where they issued $47 million to (now-indicted developer John) Wessman; $42 million went to the project; $11 million that was for the parking structure; and $32 million went into a private escrow account for Mr. Wessman with no auditing powers. To date, when a public request goes into the city, they indicate that they have no powers to check whether the money is there, how it has been used, and what portion of it is remaining.”

Glenn Flood, a former naval officer who CVIndependent.com

retired from the Pentagon, also laughed when I brought up the issue. He said “transparency” is one of his favorite words, and offered a no-nonsense approach to how to be transparent, as a former government employee.

“Any bureaucracy or government institution—you look at places at where there’s waste, fraud and abuse,” Flood said. “… When it comes to fraud, you have to weed it out. People are using equipment for things they shouldn’t or when they shouldn’t, and you have to cut that out. Waste, abuse and fraud are things I would look at. If you start at the little things, you find out that the little things turn into big things. People at City Hall might be doing something they don’t realize is waste, fraud and abuse— and you have to nip it in the bud before it becomes a big scandal.”

Henry Hampton, a real estate agent and member of the Palm Springs International Airport Commission, said the information on the city of Palm Springs website is not easily accessible, and that City Council meetings run too late into the evening.

“This is a heartbreaking story for most people, because everybody was behind (nowindicted former Mayor) Steve Pougnet from the get-go,” Hampton said. “My parents were really involved in helping him to get elected the first time. Most people would probably agree that he brought Palm Springs up to the levels we’re experiencing today. When I came back in 2014, during that whole corruption-

The six Palm Springs City Council candidates on the ballot talk about transparency

scandal thing, it was like getting kicked in the stomach.

Watching the FBI come into your City Hall is also like getting kicked in the stomach. But transparency is lacking, and I think a lot of people are tuned out and don’t have that opportunity (to find out what the city is doing). Most people don’t want to sit in at a City Council meeting from 6 to 11:30 p.m. People want to be heard but can’t speak on anything on the agenda until 11:30 p.m. What is that? That’s crazy to me.

Transparency is this,” he said as he pointed to his cell phone. “It’s about being able to see it and it being instantaneous. We need to bring it up to a level so everyone can see it.”

Christy Holstege is an attorney who would be the youngest person elected to Palm Springs City Council should she win.

She said she’s looking more to the future, but that she has what it takes as an attorney to handle matters of ethics and transparency.

“I’ve made ethics and transparency part of my platform; it should be part of any elected official’s (platform), and we need good ethical leaders for our city,” Holstege said. “We have work to do as a city to improve our oversight and transparency.

We’re going to have a new council, a new vision for Palm Springs, and we’ll be moving forward into the future. I really want to talk about the future of our city and what we can do to build together in the next four years—that’s really exciting. I don’t want to

spend the next four years of a potential term rehashing things that will be decided by the legal system. People are ready for it to be in the past. We had the transparency election in 2015; we’ve had this conversation, and a lot of us are ready to say mistakes were made. It’s a big issue; it was a big issue for that elected official (Pougnet) which will be decided by a court of law, and we need to improve our transparency processes.”

Lisa Middleton is a retired senior vice president of internal affairs for the State Compensation Insurance Fund of California who currently serves on the city Planning Commission; if elected, she’d be the first openly transgender individual elected to a nonjudicial office in the state.

She said being accessible and communicating with the public is important, and that she plans to regularly visit each of the neighborhoods in Palm Springs, while making herself as accessible as possible.

“One thing I think would help … is being accessible so people can ask questions and understand things,” Middleton said.

“Transparency is extremely important coming from someone such as myself, who managed a public-records office, and I know all of the rules as to what must be released and how it is to be released. Frequently, what I find is somebody says, ‘You’re not being transparent.’ What they really mean is, ‘I didn’t know that was going on.’ It’s that ‘I didn’t know’ that we need to do a better job on … (so that) it becomes easier for them to know what’s going on.”

Robert Stone, a former entertainment editor and film critic for The Bay Area Reporter who has been one of the City Council’s most vocal critics, had a simple answer when asked how the city can improve its transparency— before he delved into something resembling a conspiracy theory.

“The first thing that we can do is elect me,” Stone said with a laugh. “I also want

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 11

NOVEMBER 2017

NEWS to talk about where we’re headed if the Lisa (Middleton) and Christy (Holstege) train pulls into the station: We are going to be doing oldschool Chicago politics with Councilmember Geoff Kors in the role of Mayor Richard Daley.

We’re going have two people seated solely because of the support and the campaign management and campaign contributions that came from a sitting councilmember.

Lisa’s campaign is being run by Geoff Kors’ husband. … They are the chosen two—so Geoff Kors will have the two votes he needs if they are seated, and then all bets are off, because it’ll be government by Geoff Kors, for Geoff Kors and about Geoff Kors. If you think that those two women are going to do anything to oppose what he wants, you’re too naive to be talking to—because that’s what we’re going to get, and that’s very troubling, because that’s not good for democracy.”

Stone also had critical words regarding the citizens of Palm Springs.

“Here’s the problem: We’ve had a checkedout electorate in Palm Springs,” he said. “If people had really been paying attention and getting into the nitty-gritty behind all those tainted contracts and agreements, they would have been showing up and turning this around by the sheer number of their voices. People don’t want to get involved. Here’s my analysis of the Palm Springs demographic, and I came to this conclusion many years ago: The largest group of people (is) over 55, who have been there, done that. They don’t want to be involved in politics, because they’re too old and tired of all the crap, so they don’t pay attention. The other demographic is people who work in the service industry—people who are working really hard at more than one job at a time to keep the roof over their head, food on the table, and their kids in school, so they don’t have time to be involved in politics.

The other demographic (is) the people who have second homes here, and they don’t vote here. They have homes in some other place where they are registered to vote—so no one is paying attention, and no one is minding the store, so that’s how you get 31 counts for corruption.”

Visit CVIndependent.com for full interviews with each of the candidates.

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/NEWS

NIGHTMARE FOR DREAMERS

O

by kevin fitzgerald

n Oct. 8, the Trump White House released a long list of demands that the president had given to Congress—demands that Trump said would need to be met in order for the fate of young undocumented immigrants, often called DREAMers, to be determined.

“These findings outline reforms that must be included as part of any legislation addressing the status of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients,” Trump said. “Without these reforms, illegal immigration and chain migration, which severely and unfairly burden American workers and taxpayers, will continue without end.”

The list of demands disappointed advocates of DREAMers—young men and women who could face deportation if Congress does not act.

Hadley Bajramovic is a Riverside County immigration attorney for both the Consulate of Mexico and the Consulate of Guatemala.

She said the proclamation by Trump did not surprise her.

“I don’t know that it was shocking,” Bajramovic said, “but the recommendations (the Trump White House) made are very harsh from our point of view. A lot of the principles and policies that are talked about in that memo are already in place. So, for me, there are parts of it that are just a big eye-roll.

“I noticed a theme of using criminality as a scare tactic—like we aren’t protected from (immigrants). ‘We need to protect the U.S.A. from these people,’ but the protections are already there.”

Bajramovic highlighted some of the positions outlined in the White House directive that she found to be misleading and/ or inflammatory.

“The administration is suggesting that the border is still porous, and it is not,” she said. “I work with people who come to the border and declare asylum or ask for protection, and also people who crossed the border illegally. In the past two to three years, I have not had anybody come to my office who recently crossed without inspection. It was very common up until about 2007-2008 that people would either cross through the desert or come in (with the help of) a coyote.

Now the people I am seeing were admitted or paroled in by the Border Patrol because they established that they could be eligible for relief.

So the notion that the border is still porous is wrong. Building a wall is unnecessary. It’s an unnecessary expense.”

“But what was interesting and eye-opening is that whoever drafted these policies was aware of the protections coming into place under our local laws to help undocumented people or people with immigration issues who have criminal convictions. Most recently, California passed a law that allows attorneys to submit motions to vacate criminal convictions

if it can be proven that the defendant was not fully aware of the immigration consequences of accepting a plea deal. This law, California 1473.7, went into effect this past January and says that before a person can do a plea deal, they must understand what they are doing. It’s a due-process protection, and it’s fair. This memo attacks that type of dueprocess protection and is calling it a part of the ‘sanctuary status.’ It calls for prohibiting states or cities from giving that kind of a remedy.

That’s really disturbing.

“Another point that is really important: California provides services and benefits to aliens,” Bajramovic said. “In fact, the California Department of Social Services just opened up federal funding (to access by the public) of $45 million to fund immigration relief for undocumented people. Now this memo says they want to restrict grants to states that do that.”

Megan Beaman Jacinto is a La Quinta-based immigration-rights attorney.

“I’ve seen some phases of reaction and response (among current DACA beneficiaries), beginning with the time leading up to Sept.

5, when Trump declared that DACA would be ended by executive order. There was dread mixed with terror leading up to that date—but

Immigration attorneys are concerned about Trump’s latest list of demands after, it was just terror,” she said. “There was a lot of uncertainty immediately about whether that announcement meant that Immigration and Customs Enforcement would just be coming for everyone who then possessed DACA. That was the initial reaction, I think, both in the advocate community as well as the DACA-recipient undocumented community.”

Beaman Jacinto pointed out a less-obvious consequence of the Trump administration’s ongoing anti-immigration stance.

“There’s been an interesting political framing of the DREAMer community as the one, limited group of people who are deserving of immigration protection,” Beaman Jacinto said. “It’s like they were the victims of their parents (actions and decisions). I appreciate, and agree, that the group we call DREAMers should be protected, but it sort of requires that we vilify everyone else. The parents of those kids are not DREAMers, even though they came here to provide a better life for their families. And the kids arriving now are not DREAMers, because they didn’t arrive before the deadline and the passage of the DREAMer legislation. It’s an interesting and arbitrary set of guidelines that have established this one deserving group that’s received protection both from Obama’s DACA executive order and now, most likely, from the (new Trump iteration) of the DREAM Act which we think will become law, hopefully next year. If that passes, it will be really great, and a step in the right direction—but it has required throwing a lot of other people under the bus.”

“If the DREAM Act does pass, or even if it doesn’t, we need to do the right thing for other people who didn’t fall into that so-called DREAMer category—because we’re all dreamers.”

CVIndependent.com

12 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

NOVEMBER 2017

NEWS

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DEMOCRACY IN CRISIS I

Yet more examples of how the far right acts as a ‘bridge phenomenon’ for white supremacists

By baynard woods

n a tax speech in Pennsylvania on Oct. 11, President Trump gave a shout out to “the great Jeffrey Lord.”

He went on to explain that Lord “was on fake news CNN for a long time. He was one of my few sources of truth.”

CNN severed ties with Lord after he tweeted “sieg heil,” a Nazi salutation.

Trump’s flirtation with racism is nothing new; it extends back through the campaign and into many facets of the presidency. He called the white supremacists in Charlottesville “very fine people” and has repeatedly refused to condemn hate groups. But the precise mechanisms by which the administration and allied media outlets like Breitbart act as bridges to normalize hate groups are becoming increasingly clear.

Buzzfeed’s massive Oct. 5 story on the right-wing provocateur showed that Milo Yiannopoulos sent at least one major Breitbart story to a number of white supremacists to vet and line-edit. In a video embedded in the story, Richard Spencer and others gave a Nazi salute as Yiannopoulos sang “America the Beautiful” at karaoke. (Read this story at CVIndependent. com to see the video.) Milo even spiked a story at the suggestion of white nationalist Devin Saucier, a friend of Spencer’s.

Yiannopoulos was forced out of Breitbart after an old tape in which he appears to condone pedophilia came out, but he has remained in contact with the major funders to the site, the billionaire Mercer family, which supported funded Milo Inc. Bannon, who had declared the Mercerfunded Breitbart to be a “platform for the altright,” left the site to run Trump’s campaign and work as a senior adviser to the White House. He returned to the site when he was ousted shortly after the white-nationalist terror attack in Charlottesville.

“Dude—we r in a global existentialist war where our enemy EXISTS in social media and u r jerking yourself off w/ marginalia!!!!,” he wrote to Milo. “U should be OWNING this

conversation because u r everything they hate!!! Drop your toys, pick up your tools and go help save western civilization.”

“Western civilization” is often code for whiteness. It is less offensive, and less likely to scare away potential converts.

In his New York Times Magazine story on the Breitbart, Wil S. Hylton (a friend of mine) talked to Yochai Benkler, a professor who had been studying the site’s rise.

Breitbart, according to Benkler’s study, was three times more influential than its closest rival, Fox News, during the 2016 election. In this way, it has, according to Benkler, served as a sort of filter that helps legitimize racist ideas.

Benkler told Hylton: “Breitbart is not talking about these issues in the same way you would find on the extreme right. … They don’t use the same language you find on sites like VDARE and The Daily Stormer’’—two sites connected to the white-nationalist alt-right movement.

But they are talking about the same issues, and the fact that they don’t use the same language is what makes Breitbart effective as a “bridge” that, in Hylton’s words, “functioned as a legitimizing tether for the most abhorrent currents of the right wing.”

Now that we know that Yiannopoulos actually sent “his” Breitbart stories (which

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Milo Yiannopoulos speaks at a conference in 2014. NEXTCONF FROM BERLIN, DEUTSCHLAND, VIA WIKIPEDIA.ORG

were often not actually written by him) to Andrew “Weev” Auernheimer, who works at the Daily Stormer, the bridge phenomenon comes off a bit differently.

“What we saw in our larger-scale analysis was that Breitbart was offering a bridge, a translation platform from the white nationalists to the rest, but that the language and framing was sufficiently different to not be read directly as white nationalist,” Benkler responded in an email when I asked about the Milo story. “To the extent that the Buzzfeed news story is correct in its details, it describes in great detail the level process by which the ideas were transferred, but then still partly sanitized for consumption by people who would be receptive to the ideas, but not the messenger (e.g. Daily Stormer) or the very specific explicitly white nationalist language.”

Trump himself has often acted as a similar kind of bridge. Although he first endorsed Luther Strange to fill Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ old Senate seat in an Alabama special election, Trump has now come around to fully supporting Roy Moore, the theocratic former Alabama judge twice removed from office for failing to recognize the rulings of a higher court, who beat Strange in the special election Republican primary for the Senate seat.

But Moore is himself acting as a bridge for even more extreme figures.

As Talking Points Memo recently reported, Moore’s top supporter is Michael Peroutka, which the site described as a “hardline Confederate sympathizer with longtime ties

to a secessionist group” who has “expressed beliefs that make even Moore’s arguably theocratic anti-gay and anti-Muslim views look mainstream by comparison.”

Peroutka, a secessionist and debt-collection attorney, ran for president in 2004 for the Constitution Party. A decade later, in 2014, he ran for the county council in Anne Arundel County, Md., and was supported by Moore, whom Peroutka has honored by naming a field on his farm for the Alabamian. In 2012, Peroutka asked attendees of a League of the South conference to “stand for the national anthem” and proceeded to play “Dixie.” (Read this story at CVIndependent.com to see the video.)

So as the president and his administration continue to throw fits about athletes “disrespecting the flag” by taking a knee during the national anthem, they are actively supporting or receiving support from racist extremists who support either the Nazis or the Confederacy. In the same way that Breitbart launders the extremist views of the Daily Stormer, making them more palatable, the administration is acting as a bridge to legitimize those elements on the right that are even more extreme than Trump.

Baynard Woods is a reporter at the Real News Network. Democracy in Crisis is a joint project of alternative newspapers across the country, including the Coachella Valley Independent.

Email: baynard@democracyincrisis.com. Twitter: @baynardwoods.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 13

NOVEMBER 2017

NEWS

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NOVEMBER ASTRONOMY

Join the Astronomical Society of theStars Desert to celebrate a fantastic Planets and Bright in Evening Mid-Twilight For November, 2017 and Jupiter pairing of Venus This sky chart is drawn for latitude 34 degrees north, but may be used in southern U.S. and northern Mexico.

N

By Robert Victor

ovember 2017 features twilight planetary pairs—one in the morning, and one in the evening.

Venus and Jupiter will appear close together low in the east-southeast morning twilight glow for a few mornings around Nov. 13, about 40-45 minutes before sunrise. In last 10 days of the month, Saturn and Mercury will appear within the same binocular field low in the southwest evening twilight glow, 40-45 minutes after sunset.

Of the morning planets, dim, distant Mars rises in a dark sky all month, improving from 2.6 hours before sunup on Nov. 1, to 3.5 hours at month’s end. Mars glows at magnitude +1.8 to +1.7, about as faint as it ever gets. Brilliant Venus, of magnitude -3.9, rises in ever brighter twilight, 1.3 hours before sunup on the 1st, and about 45 minutes hour before sunup on the 30th. Watch for Venus’ rising 16 to 34 degrees to the lower left of Mars brighter Mercury (magnitude -0.4 to -0.1) in as November runs its course. the latter half of month. Mercury appears to On Nov. 2, binoculars readily show the star the lower right of Saturn, by 10 degrees on Spica rising in the twilight glow 3.5 degrees to Nov 17, and 7 degrees on Nov. 20. On Nov. the lower right of Venus. The other morning 23, Mercury reaches greatest elongation—22 planet, Jupiter, at magnitude -1.7, is lost in the degrees from the sun and 4.7 degrees below sun’s glare well below Venus in first few days, Saturn. Thereafter, Mercury appears to the lower but from Nov. 8-18, it may be found in the same left of Saturn, by 4 degrees on Nov. 24, and 3 binocular field as Venus. The two bright planets degrees on Nov. 28. This is quite an unfavorable appear closest on Monday, Nov. 13, with Jupiter appearance for our solar system’s innermost just one-third of a degree to the upper right of planet, as it remains mired low in twilight.

Venus. This month, on Nov. 29, Jupiter will rise The moon is full on Friday, Nov. 3, and rises in a dark sky just more than two hours before north of east a few minutes after sunset. Two sunrise. As Venus rises in twilight that morning, nights later, on Sunday, Nov. 5, the waning Jupiter will appear 17 degrees to the upper right gibbous moon rises in the east-northeast within of Venus and 17 degrees to the lower left of two hours after sunset. Using binoculars, look Mars, midway between them. for the reddish-orange star Aldebaran, eye of Bright stars in morning twilight feature Taurus the Bull, close to the moon’s upper the huge Winter Hexagon of bright stars right. That night, the moon will gradually creep moving into the west. Sirius, the Dog Star, eastward, away from Aldebaran. is its brightest and southernmost member.

Follow the moon daily an hour before sunup.

Orion’s red Betelgeuse lies inside the Hex, and On Nov. 8 and 9, watch it leap over the line Leo’s Regulus, high in the south-southeast to connecting the Twins (Pollux-Castor) to south, trails behind it. Bright Arcturus in the Procyon. On Nov. 11, it stops just short of east-northeast to east, and Spica in the eastRegulus, heart of Leo. That morning, binoculars southeast to southeast, round out the list of 10 will show Regulus just east of the fat crescent stars of first magnitude or brighter visible in all moon. As seen from Palm Springs through a of November’s dawns. An 11th star, Vega, rises telescope that day, the leading bright edge of in the northeast late in month, far to the lower the moon covers the star at 8:55 a.m., and the left of Arcturus. moon’s trailing dark edge, invisible in daylight, Bright stars in evening twilight in all of uncovers it at 10:01 a.m.

November include the Summer Triangle,

By Nov. 11, you’ll want to look low in the with Vega, Altair and Deneb passing west east-southeast 40 to 60 minutes before sunrise of overhead; and Fomalhaut, mouth of the each morning for a week, to follow the progress Southern Fish, low in the southeast to southof the Venus-Jupiter pair. That morning, Jupiter southeast. Quickly slipping out of view early in appears 1.9 degrees to the lower left of Venus. the month are Antares, in the southwest to the On Sunday, Nov. 12, Jupiter appears just 0.9 lower right of Saturn, and Arcturus, in the westdegrees directly below Venus. Their closest northwest. Rising into view are Capella in the pairing occurs on Monday, Nov. 13, with Jupiter northeast, and Aldebaran in the east-northeast. now only one-third of a degree to the right of Evening planets: Saturn (magnitude +0.5) Venus and slightly higher. Jupiter is getting on Nov. 1 sets in a dark sky 2.7 hours after higher each day, Venus lower. sunset, and telescopes reveal its rings tipped as On Tuesday, Nov. 14, Jupiter appears 1.3 much as possible, 27 degrees from edgewise. degrees to Venus’ upper right. By that morning, But Saturn sets ever earlier, sinking close to you can find faint Mars 6-7 degrees below the

November's evening sky chart.

ROBERT D. MILLER

N

Capella

Aldebaran Arcturus

Deneb

Vega

E

W

Altair

Saturn 1 Fomalhaut

Evening occurs moon moon. On Nov. 15,mid-twilight find the crescent O belowleft horizon. when Sun is 9lower within 7 degrees to the of reddish Nov. 1: 40 minutes after sunset.

Mars and within 7 degrees to the 15: 42 " " " upper left of blue-white Spica, triangle 30:forming 43 " a"beautiful " with them. Some 17-19 degrees to the moon’s lower left, find the Venus-Jupiter pair still within 2.3 degrees apart. On Thursday, Nov. 16, in possibly the prettiest scene, Jupiter and Venus are 3.3 degrees apart, within 6 degrees to the lower right and 9 degrees below the moon.

On Friday, Nov. 17, the moon’s final morning, look about 40 minutes before sunrise to spot the very thin old crescent within 5 degrees to the lower left of Venus. Jupiter will be 4.4 degrees to Venus’ upper right.

Start looking for the young moon in the early evening on Sunday, Nov. 19. About 40 minutes after sunset, find the thin crescent very low in the west-southwest, with Mercury about 8 degrees to its left and a little lower. Saturn will be 12 degrees to the moon’s upper left and 8

S

8

Mercury 29 15 22 29 15 22 Antares

8

Stereographic degrees to the upper left of Mercury.Projection The moon’s Map after

by Robert age will be nearly 38 hours new.D. Miller To celebrate the occasion of the VenusJupiter pairing, members of the Astronomical Society of the Desert are offering sky watches every weekday morning the week of Monday, Nov. 13, as the crescent moon passes through the gathering of three planets and a star. The sessions will be held from 5:15 until 5:45 a.m., on the pedestrian bridge crossing over Tahquitz Creek, at Camino Real between North and South Riverside drives, three blocks north of Cahuilla Elementary School. If the sky is clear, we’ll be there, with telescopes and binoculars.

Wishing you clear skies!

Robert C. Victor was a staff astronomer at Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University. He is now retired and enjoys providing sky watching opportunities for school children in and around Palm Springs.

CVIndependent.com

14 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

NOVEMBER 2017

Greater Palm Springs Pride president Ron deHarte: “We are as visible as you can be in downtown Palm Springs, and that says a lot for our community and for the city of Palm Springs.”

Photo: Keith M. Cornell

A Diversity of Pride Participants Palm Springs Pride’s Ron deHarte says everyone is welcome— as long as they support equality for all

By Brian Blueskye

After the 2016 election saw Donald Trump and Mike Pence take the White House, LGBT movements across the country have made some 2017 pride celebrations much more political.

However, this year’s Greater Palm Springs Pride, taking place Nov. 3-5, will be just like it has been in recent years. However, don’t be surprised if some of the participants take on more of a political, Trump-resisting tone.

Greater Palm Springs Pride president Ron deHarte said he’s definitely noticed a heightened political tone at some pride celebrations.

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“There may be a few places where the ‘resist’ movement took a greater voice in the city over traditional pride marches or celebrations,” deHarte said. “Those, compared to the hundreds of pride events that occur across the country, have been few versus a majority.

“What we’re seeing is that there is a need to raise awareness across the country and prevent the LGBT voice from disappearing. In the case of Palm Springs, our parade and festival always (offer) an opportunity for anyone who participates to share their political statement, and share what’s important to them, and raise awareness for the issues of the day for that individual or group. We’re encouraging all participants to make their case, whatever that may be.”

The guidelines to participate in Greater Palm Springs Pride have not changed much over the years, deHarte said.

“We always state in our guidelines—and this has not changed since 2010—that what we encourage the community to do is celebrate the diversity of our community; share their radical or non-radical politics; show their support for equal rights for all individuals in our community and around the globe; share their artistic and sexual expression; and be proud. That’s what we encourage folks to do when they’re participating. That comes out when you watch the parade go by.”

DeHarte said that today in the Trump era, people who wouldn’t previously participate in Pride and other movements are now taking part.

“In California, the state voted in another direction, and I’m not sure we’re going to see any different attitudes come up,” he said. “I think we have a very outspoken community, and the community has become very politically active since the election with a number of rallies and marches that have occurred in downtown Palm Springs. I would anticipate we’ll see that continue, and I think it’s great, because people have gone to these rallies and events, and we’re seeing people who don’t normally participate come out and participate. … We’re going to have increased participation from people who may not have been involved in the political process. That’s a good a thing.”

The theme of this year’s Pride is “Viva la vida!”

“Each year, there’s a worldwide theme selected by the international pride organization called InterPride, and through the years, Palm Springs has adopted the worldwide theme occasionally— maybe just a handful of times over the past 30 years,” deHarte said. “This year, we adopted the worldwide theme in support of the movement around the world—in particular, to show support for our brothers and sisters in Central and South America.”

Palm Springs Pride continues to grow each year—dramatically so since the festival was moved from Sunrise Park to downtown in 2014. Attendance-wise, Palm Springs Pride is now the secondlargest in the state, behind only San Francisco Pride.

“We’re no longer hidden behind the backdrop of a baseball field and the fences surrounding the baseball diamond over in Sunrise Park,” deHarte said. “We are as visible as you can be in downtown Palm Springs, and that says a lot for our community and for the city of Palm Springs, which has embraced the Pride Week activities to allow the festival and the parade, which causes the largest street closure annually in Palm Springs. … We have a larger presence today. That awareness is what we really strive for—increasing awareness for the LGBT movement and issues important to the folks promoting equality for all individuals.”

For more information, visit PSPride.org.

CVIndependent.com

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 15

NOVEMBER 2017

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16 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

NOVEMBER 2017

From Blue Suede Shoes to Heels Dezart Performs kicks off its 10th anniversary season with the tale of an Elvis impersonator-turned-drag star

By Bonnie Gilgallon

What better way to rev up Greater Palm Springs Pride than with a play about a struggling Elvis impersonator who finds great success … as a drag queen?

That was the thinking of Dezart Performs artistic director Michael Shaw when he chose The Legend of Georgia McBride—a play he described as heartwarming and “funny as heck”—as the opening production of the theater’s 10th anniversary season.

The Legend of Georgia McBride debuted in 2015 and has been performed successfully several times, including runs in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Dezart is using the costumes from the San Francisco production—and costuming has been very challenging, Shaw said. There are three drag-queen characters, requiring a total of 19 wigs and 20 dresses. The staging, including multiple lip-synced musical numbers, has also posed a challenge on Dezart’s relatively small stage at the Palm Springs Woman’s Club.

The story revolves around Casey (aka Georgia McBride), a beleaguered young Elvis impersonator who is barely making a living. Bill collectors are calling, and Casey has just learned that his young wife, Jo, is pregnant. Then he loses his Elvis gig at a run-down Florida bar; the owner, Eddie, brings in a mediocre drag queen named Rexy as the new entertainment. When Rexy gets too drunk to perform one night, his companion Tracy tutors Casey on the finer points of female impersonation— and a star is born.

Shaw says he easily cast the roles of Casey (Sean Timothy Brown), Jo (Brianna Maloney) and Eddie (Chet Cole) right here in the desert; the two more-seasoned drag-queen characters, Rexy (Hanz Enyeart) and Tracy (Michael Mullen), were harder to find.

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“I auditioned several excellent drag queens here in the valley—and there are some darned good ones—but there is some serious dramatic acting required in this play, and being a fabulous drag queen wasn’t quite enough.” Shaw said.

So far, the cast has meshed well. “They adore each other!” Shaw said.

When asked what is unique about this play, Shaw paused. “Casey is a lost young man; he throws himself into Elvis and other characters because he really doesn’t know who he is. Casey hides behind the other personas because they are more together than he is. He is a man-child who cannot even balance his checkbook.” However, Tracy takes Casey under his wing and makes him an amazing drag Your donations queen—and a better person, too.of clothing, furniture, small goods, and Just two years out of highhelp school,Desert young Brianna said she thrilled to our be performing home décor AIDSMaloney Project to is provide in her first play with Dezart Performs. She did quite a bit of musical theater at Palm Springs High community with needed medical, dental, counseling, School with David Green, who introduced her to Shaw. Brianna calls her character, Jo, “the boss” and social support services including nutrition housing, She in the marriage with Casey.

Jo loves her husband, but she is frustrated by his irresponsibility. knows the Elvismuch thing is his passion—but it’s not paying the bills, which is an even bigger problem and more. now that a baby is coming. Still, she gets a kick out of Casey’s Elvis performances, and to some degree lives vicariously through him. has received a 5-Star rating from Desert AIDS Project Sean Timothy Brown calls his character, Casey, a simpleton. ”He’s not the sharpest knife in the Charity for 5 years in a rowand —loves a distinction drawer,” Brown said. Navigator But Casey is passionate about performing, being onstage. He takes to the drag stuff quickly, and finds that “Georgia McBride” has traits he wishes he had himself. only 6% of all non-profits receive.

Brown—who had never done drag before this show—worked with Shaw previously in the cast of Dezart’s production Park. Local audiences have also seen him in Bad Jews, by Donate it oftoClybourne Revivals.

Desert Ensemble Theatre Company, and as Daddy Warbucks in Palm Springs High School’s recent Help create a healthier community. production of Annie.

Shaw says that with all of the musical numbers, The Legend of Georgia McBride is unlike anything Dezart has ever done. There is no particular theme to this year’s 10th anniversary season, which will be celebrated with an anniversary party and fundraising event hosted by Eight4Nine Restaurant and Lounge on Sunday, Jan. 14.

Visit our Shaw said he’s looking forward to starting the season on Pride weekend with The Legend of NEW Georgia McBride.

Palm Desert “It’s a play with a heart of gold,” Shaw said. “It’s so much fun!”

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Michael Mullen, Sean Timothy Brown and Hanz Enyeart at a rehearsal for Dezart Performs’ The Legend of Georgia McBride. Photo courtesy of Clark Dugger

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Dezart Performs’ The Legend of Georgia McBride will be performed at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, from Friday, Nov. 3, through Sunday, Nov. 12, at the Pearl McManus Theater at the Palm Springs Woman’s Club, 314 S. Cahuilla Road, in Palm Springs.

Tickets are $40 for opening night with a post-show reception; $32 for evening performances; and $28 for matinees. For tickets or more information, call 760-322-0179, Palm Springs Cathedral City Palm Desert or visit www.dezartperforms.org.

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 17

NOVEMBER 2017

Coco’s Story

Drag icon Coco Peru brings her one-woman show to Palm Springs as part of the Outlandish series

By Dwight Hendricks One of them is a small-town pageant winner, circa 1981, who now peddles gay travel on TV. One of them has an obsession with Celestial Seasonings’ Tension Tamer tea. One of them knows all about Sordid Lives. And one of them has become an Internet sensation thanks to his melding of politics and show tunes.

Her new show is Miss Coco Peru: The Taming of the Tension, and it covers “different themes, including difference between the being present and showing up,” Peru told me. “I take months to write a show so that when people leave my theater, they are rejuvenated and happy. Well, for at least six minutes, before the shit hits the fan again after they leave. That’s just the world we live in now.”

What’s her creative process for creating a show like this? “I usually start with over 100 pages, and then I start to edit them down. I end up with between 20 and 30 pages, including songs which are sung live,” Peru said. “For me, it’s group therapy, and now it’s my turn to talk. Most people will go through a full range of emotions in the hour and 15 minutes of the show.”

Coco Peru has received rave reviews from audiences, and from her good friend Lily Tomlin, whose character Ernestine served as an inspiration. Tomlin even called Peru “one of the last great storytellers”—and indeed, she is.

We talked about the trials involved with growing up gay.

“I had to find my voice—and this was it,” she said. “I talk about how everyone made fun of me, saying I was a girl. I got to a point where I thought, ‘I am going to show you just how big of a girl I can be.’ So, like the nose, I own just how big of a girl I am! When I accepted who I am, it just felt like I became balanced.”

Peru said she aims to be a positive voice. “I can be bitchy and angry, but my show runs the full gamut of emotions, from being very funny to people getting very emotional during my show. The point is leaving the audience feeling great and leaving the show with a real positive feeling.

“I don’t pick on anyone in the audience; I am way too self-absorbed.”

Peru said her show points out how we’re all connected.

“In today’s world, there is such a disconnect of people. I discuss the ideas we’re all thinking, but I vocalize them,” she said. “We are constantly bombarded with news and information. It’s crazy. There are too many things to try to focus on, and then when something happens in our community, it’s easy for (those things) to just slide on by. I also talk about (playwright and female impersonator) Charles Busch and how much he was an inspiration to me. He showed me that you can do theater with a female character and be fabulous.”

What do they all have in common? They’re the four performers in Logo founder Matt Farber’s Outlandish series, coming to the Camelot Theatres on four consecutive Saturdays, starting Oct. 28 with Sordid Lives creator Del Shores. He’ll be followed by drag star Miss Richfield 1981 on Nov. 4; and drag storyteller Miss Coco Peru on Nov. 11. On Nov. 18 … the good news is political satirist and show-tune expert Randy Rainbow will be here; the bad news is the show is sold out—as is a second show added on Sunday, Nov. 19.

I recently had the pleasure of talking to Miss Coco Peru (aka Clinton Leupp) about her upcoming show. One of our discussion topics: Barbra and Liza, and how they are gay-icon stereotypes. Barbra has that nose, and Liza has those big eyes … and that hair! They own those attributes and never apologize for them; Barbra’s album covers even show her profile!

Peru also knows something about a big nose, big hair and big eyes, and she is becoming a gay icon herself. The star of stage, screen, television and the occasional kids’ parties writes all of her own one-woman shows. Her Bronx accent gives away the fact that she started her career on the East The Outlandish series takes place at 8 p.m., Saturday, through Nov. 18, at the Camelot Coast—but she has now lived in California for the last 18 years.

Theatres, 2300 E. Baristo Road, in Palm Springs. Tickets to individual shows are $30 to She is no stranger to performing in the $60 (although both Randy Rainbow shows are sold out); series passes start at $100.

Coachella Valley; the tea-obsessed Peru has For tickets or more information, visit www.outlandishps.com. even performed at … several recovery

facilities?

“Working with people in recovery—

they can go there with Coco,” she said.

“I joke that we’re all so fucked up, and they really get it. They want to poke fun of themselves. When you hit rock bottom, and the only way is up, Coco really connects with that for them.”

Monday, October 30 at 8 pm

On Arenas Road

in front of Bongo Johnny’s & Streetbar

Miss Coco Peru

A remembrance ceremony of those gone before us.

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18 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

NOVEMBER 2017

The Story of Henry and Harry

A homeless 18-year-old needed a family—and life led him to meet the retired man who would give him one

By Brian Blueskye Last year, when I went to Sanctuary Palm Springs—a transitional housing program for LGBT young adults coming out of foster care—co-founder David Rothmiller told me a fantastic story about a young man named Henry Lucena.

Henry was 18, straight and transitioning out of foster care. He’d contacted Sanctuary looking for help—but Sanctuary was not yet open. Rothmiller wasn’t sure what to do.

Let’s skip ahead to today: Henry is now an entrepreneur and college student, living in a happy Palm Springs home with his adoptive father, Harry Courtright, a gay man who is a retired library administrator.

Now let’s go back to the start of the story, when Henry was 8 years old.

“I was taken away from my birth parents,” Henry said. “I lived with my foster parents, and it wasn’t the best living situation. I didn’t feel like I was being treated right. I didn’t feel any love from them, and throughout the whole time I stayed there until I was 18, I never grew comfortable enough. I never knew what they did for jobs—only that they were also pastors in a church, but I never really knew what they did for money. I didn’t feel comfortable talking to them. I had six siblings who were their real children. … When I was in high school, I had 3.8 GPA as a freshman, and then it dropped.”

Henry said he never felt comfortable in his foster home.

“It didn’t feel right to ask a question about anything. Whenever I would go into my foster parents’ room to talk to them, they would make comments that I looked around too much,” he said.

“They would say that and ask, ‘Why are you looking around so much?’ When they would do that, I wouldn’t really feel comfortable looking anywhere.

“When I first came (to live with Harry), I had nothing. I just had pants, shoes, underwear and a little bit of clothes, and I had to get my Social Security card and my birth certificate. My birth certificate is where I learned my father’s real name, and my foster parents never told me that. They were abusive, and I didn’t want to be around them. They put locks on the refrigerator because the grandmother had Alzheimer’s, and they only gave the key to certain family members. I wouldn’t have it.”

Days before his 18th birthday, Henry decided he would rather be homeless than stay with his foster parents.

“I wasn’t a bad kid, but there were a lot of little problems I couldn’t deal with,” he said. “As soon as I turned 18, I didn’t want to live with them anymore, so they took me out here to SafeHouse of the Desert. … When I turned 18, they said I couldn’t stay there anymore because it was only for kids.

My foster dad picked me up asked me what I wanted to do. I still had a year in high school left, and I’d never had a job. … I didn’t want to be in the situation with them. I knew I would finish school; I knew I would get a job—and I didn’t want to do it around them, because I couldn’t be around them.”

Henry ended up at Roy’s Resource Center, and later the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission in Indio.

“When I was at Roy’s, I registered for Palm Springs High School. I was in the shelter and going to school,” he said. “Then I started living at the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission in Indio, and I took three buses in the morning to get to school. … Luckily, I also had a job. I would go back at 11 at night. They knew I had a job and was in school, so they let me come back late. I used the job to get back as late as I could.”

Henry met a friend who let him stay at his place. That friend also gave Henry a news article about Sanctuary Palm Springs. Henry then immediately reached out to founders David Rothmiller and LD Thompson.

“My friend cut the article out and knew it applied to runaway (former) foster kids, so I saw it and called them,” Henry said. “I was under all the requirements that their house had, but I wasn’t LGBT, but they said it was fine and that it wasn’t just for LGBT kids. They had me come over to the house and talked about some options for me. I volunteered at one of their events passing around food, and David and LD had me speak at the event talking about my situation—and Harry heard my story.”

A week later, Courtright said, he reached out and offered Henry a place to live.

“One of the questions I asked him at lunch was, ‘How do you feel about living with a gay man?’ because he’s straight,” Courtright said. “He threw his arms up and said, ‘I don’t care. Doesn’t mean anything to me.’

CVIndependent.com

Henry Lucero and Harry Courtright “He moved in, in March 2016. As of Aug. 8, he’s officially my son. We talked about that adoption a couple of times, and he kept saying, ‘No!’ I told him if he changed his mind to let me know.”

Henry said he was hesitant about the adoption at first.

“I said, ‘I don’t think I could do it,’” Henry said. “After my old situation, I didn’t care much about the idea of family. People love family in general, and I had to really think about it. The only reason my situation was so bad was because it was foster parents. I went back to him and said, ‘With the adoption, I’m open to it.’ When I first moved in, I offered to pay rent, and he said I didn’t have to.

So many people were pushing me to pay rent, and I tried to push it and he said I didn’t have to.”

Courtright explained why he offered to adopt Henry.

“When I was in my 30s and 40s, I thought about being a foster father,” he said. “… I lived in Harrisburg, Pa., and was the head of the library there. I ran for mayor, and everyone knew me. When I went down to the county and talked to them, they said, ‘Harry, we can fill out the paperwork, but it’ll never get approved,’” because Harry is gay.

“I want to make sure (Henry) has a family after I’m gone—so he has more family now than he knows what to do with. There are generations of cousins he now has, and they all know who he is.”

Today, Courtright is a proud yet concerned father. “I worry too much. All I’ve told him is to let me know where he is, and that he’s all right. … At night, I’m usually awake until I hear the lock on the door, but that just comes with being a parent.”

Henry is a fan of a Los Angeles clothing store. He buys limited-edition items there—and then sells them online for profit. He once sold a $160 jacket for more $500 on eBay. Courtright proudly bragged about his son’s success.

“He’s going to be rich someday. He’s an entrepreneur!” Courtright said. “… He does this all the time. I told him he’s going to be a millionaire.”

Henry currently is working two jobs and taking classes at College of the Desert. One class helped Henry discover a love for writing, but he’s keeping his options open.

“Right now, I’m taking business, but I know there are so many options out there,” Henry said. “I like to learn, and I know I could do whatever I wanted if I focused on it. I really like to sell stuff and have always naturally been good at selling stuff. In school, I always got a free lunch, and I would sell it for $2, which was the regular lunch price. … I’d bring my own lunch and eat that instead.”

Courtright said he’s watched Henry make some significant and positive changes in his life.

“I’ve told him, ‘I don’t know how you ended up being such a good kid’ after that 10 years he had with the foster parents, but he’s really blossomed,” Courtright said. “He talks a lot more. He asks questions constantly. He’s interested in everything, particularly the news. He registered to vote and voted for the first time. We love each other as father and son—and we say it to each other often.”

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 19

NOVEMBER 2017

Founder Matt Farber presents

QUICK-RESULT TREATMENT SECRETS FOR THE HOLIDAYS

By Shonda Chase, FNP Co-owner, Artistic Director and Advanced Injector at Revive Wellness Centers in Palm Springs and Torrance

A Palm Springs Performance Series

Fall 2017 Camelot Theatres - Palm Springs, CA

Holiday events and par�es can begin even before Thanksgiving. Here is a list of some secrets to help you quickly look your best for the holidays.

Secret No. 1 Melasma and skin-brightening treatments can begin to have visible results within two weeks. We like a combina�on of prescrip�on-strength topical products and PICO laser treatments to accomplish the best results.

Secret No. 2 Dermal fillers create instant results. With fillers, your results will improve over the next 5-7 days. Dermal fillers are a great choice to look years younger by the holidays.

DEL SHORES SAT, OCT 28 AT 8 PM

MISS RICHFIELD 1981 SAT, NOV 4 AT 8 PM

Secret No. 3 Make sure your hands don’t give away your age. Hold the back of your hands up to your face, and look in the mirror. If your hands match your face, and you’re happy with both, skip to Secret No. 4. If not, you can combine Secrets No. 1 and No. 2 to restore your hands. Filler safely replaces lost volume without tenderness or down�me. We can also treat dark spots during the same appointment to help your hands look even younger.

Secret No. 4 Botox takes 5-10 days for full results to take effect. Pa�ents new to Botox expect their results to be immediate, so give your Botox at least a week to work—two weeks is even better—before your event.

Secret No. 5 Lip and ear-lobe filler results are immediate. If your provider can inject Vollure, you usually won’t have to re-treat your lips for 18 months. Juvederm for ear lobes can also last a year or longer. Bruising can occur with any injec�on, so plan on a week for a bruise to resolve.

COCO PERU SAT, NOV 11 AT 8 PM

RANDY RAINBOW SAT, NOV 18 SOLD OUT SUN, NOV 19 SOLD OUT

www.OutlandishPS.com SPONSORS

If you get your rejuvena�on treatments now, you’ll enjoy looking younger for all of your holiday events. Next month, I’ll share with you what addi�onal treatments to consider in order to look your best for 2018. Un�l then, keep the secrets.

Read the en�re ar�cle at www.revivecenter.com/blog.

Email your individual rejuvena�on ques�ons to Ms. Chase at info@revivecenter.com.

To benefit SAGE USA and and SAGE of the Desert, a program of the LGBT Center

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20 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

Rock Out With Your Boa Out!

With a little help from Daddyhunt, GayC/DC returns to Palm Springs Pride for the third year in a row

By Brian Blueskye

Greater Palm Springs Pride has featured a variety of fun musical acts over the years—but none have been more fun than GayC/DC, which will be playing at Pride for the third year in a row on Sunday, Nov. 5, on the U.S. Bank Stage.

During a recent phone interview, lead vocalist Chris Freeman—also the bassist/vocalist of the legendary queercore band Pansy Division—said Los Angeles-based GayC/DC came about as a result of his participation in an all-male tribute band to the Go-Gos called the Gay-Gays. He told a fascinating tale about how he met one of the band’s guitarists, Steve McKnight.

“We weren’t really working or doing anything, and our singer said, ‘I’m done. I don’t really want to do anything anymore, and I’m kind of tired of it,’” Freeman said. “(The rest of us) thought, ‘What else could we do with the word “gay” in there?’ Our guitar player, Karl (Rumpf), suggested GayC/DC. I stopped and went, ‘Hey, that’s not a bad idea!’ I took the name and ran with it. A logo and all that stuff came really quick. It sort of wrote itself.

“I was the bass-player, and I thought, ‘Well, we’ll get a singer, and we need a guitar-player too.’

So I was looking through Daddyhunt,” Freeman said with a laugh, “and I saw a picture of this guy who was really handsome who played guitar. It wasn’t like I was looking at him like he was hot or anything, but I clicked on his profile, and I sent him a message. He lived in Torrance, and I asked if he was interested in playing guitar. I knew Glen (Pavan) was available and knew he should play bass, because I’ve known Glen for a long time and knew he was a big KISS fan. It worked out.”

Freeman said he didn’t originally plan on handling vocal duties for GayC/DC. “We couldn’t find anybody to sing. I tried all sorts of people, and no one was willing to do it,” he said. “I thought this idea was too good, and I thought I’d give it a shot. I said to the band, ‘I’ll do it, but you have to audition me. Try me out like anyone else, because I want to make sure it’s right.’

After the audition, they said, ‘You’re in! Let’s do it!’

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NOVEMBER 2017

“It’s been difficult to do the lead-singer thing, because I’ve always identified as a bass-player and a songwriter.

I never saw myself as a David Lee Roth. It’s a stretch for me to do this, but it’s working. It does require me to sort of change into this person, because it’s not really me. One of my favorite people is Alice Cooper, who was one of my rock-star crushes—not that I want to have sex with him or anything, but I was into Alice Cooper and Elton John when I was 13.”

Growing up in Seattle, Freeman said he became a fan of AC/DC during his teens.

“I always heard AC/DC stuff on FM radio, and it was stuff my brothers would listen to—some of the early stuff like It’s a Long Way to the Top,” Freeman said. “One night on the radio, they played the entire Let There Be Rock album when it came out. It was just before I was 16. I was blown away, and I was a fan instantly. That album to this day is my favorite AC/DC album. It’s got everything on it.

“But then I started to realize I was different, and I was Photo: Mark Duebner probably gay, but I didn’t know yet—and then I started realizing that guys wearing AC/DC shirts … were the guys who would beat me up. So I didn’t go that direction. Within a year or two after that album came out, I was going to punk shows which were all-ages, and that’s where all the misfits were and the people who got beat up. When I would see there would be an AC/DC show, I’d think, ‘I’m not going to that show! I’m a target if I go to that show!’”

Freeman said the most interesting show GayC/DC has played to date was for a rather small group of people.

“We just recently played for a small theater company,” he said. “They were having some kind of improv party. This guy told us, ‘I want you to come in and play for 20 minutes in a small theater where they never have rock bands! You’re just going to walk in and be amped and kick their ass.’

Well, we did, and it was so much fun. … The PA system was where they were standing and talking on the mic—that’s what I was singing into. It was so loud and distorted. It was such a fun show, though. We played five songs and were done.”

Freeman said he was pleasantly surprised to again get the call for GayC/DC to play at Greater Palm Springs Pride.

“I’m shocked! The crowd in 2015 was the biggest crowd to this date that we’ve ever played for,” he said. “I’m expecting it’s going to be more that size this year than it was last year. Last year was a bit of a drag, because it was split between two stages. I actually played with three bands last year: I played in Pansy Division; I played in GayC/DC; and I played with this guy named Devin Tait, and I’ll be joining him again this year for a tribute to Bananarama called Boynanarama on Saturday.”

GayC/DC will perform at 1:15 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 5, at the U.S. Bank Stage on Arenas Road during Greater Palm Springs Pride. Admission is free. For more information, visit pspride.org.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 21

NOVEMBER 2017

CVI SPOTLIGHT: NOVEMBER 2017 Craft Beer, Airplane Rides, Great Music: Props and Hops Returns to the PS Air Museum

T

hanks to the exploding popularity of craft beer, large-scale beer events these days are becoming ever-more common.

But it’s safe to say that the Palm Springs Air Museum’s annual Props and Hops Craft Beer Fest is the only large-scale beer event around these parts where you can sample fantastic brews and go for a ride in a vintage airplane.

The Sixth Annual Props and Hops Craft Beer Fest will take place from noon to 5 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 18. Air Museum spokesperson Ann Greer pointed out how great of a venue the Air Museum is for events; the Air Museum now hosts everything from Palm Springs Leather Pride to Splash House after-parties.

“The Air Museum in general is a very unique facility, with 86,000 square feet inside, and 40,000 square feet outside,” Greer said.

“It’s near the airport, so there are no sound issues or concerns about the volume of the music, and there’s plenty of parking.”

Unlike Splash House and Leather Pride, Props and Hops is the museum’s own event— and that means it has a definite airplane vibe.

This year, pilots of three different airplanes will be offering attendees rides for an extra fee: a P-51 Mustang; a DC-3; and the B-25 “Executive Sweet.” Rides on the DC-3 can be purchased in advance via the Air Museum for $195 (which includes festival admission); rides on the other two planes must be purchased at the event, or by calling the plane owners directly. (See the Props and Hops website for more information.)

If you have no interest in a plane ride, but you love craft beer, no worries: Props and Hops will be featuring beer from 20-plus breweries, including our valley’s very own La Quinta Brewing Co. and Coachella Valley Brewing Co. Food from In-n-Out Burger, G’s Taco Spot and Knights of Columbus Pizza will be available for sale.

“It’s very laid back,” Greer said. “You can be outside or inside, whatever your preference.

If you want, you can just hang out, listen to music and watch planes take off.”

As for that music: Alex Harrington will be providing the day’s entertainment, along with singer David Macias. Harrington—the former Coachella Valley Independent resident DJ—is one of the valley’s most in-demand DJs, and he said he’s a fan of Props and Hops.

“Opportunities to play venues like this don’t come along too often,” he said. “It’s kind of hard to vibe off of airplanes taking off, but the energy at the event is really good.”

This will be the first Props and Hops to include the Palm Springs Air Museum’s brand-new hangar, which focuses on the Cold War, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Greer mentioned that Props and Hops is a useful event for the Air Museum, because it gives the facility exposure to a younger crowd.

In a similar vein, Harrington said he’s excited about the fact that Props and Hops will introduce his brand of electronic dance music to people who have never heard him perform before.

“I love to bring my sound and the idea of DJing to new crowds,” Harrington said.

The Sixth Annual Props and Hops Craft Beer Fest takes place from noon to 5 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 18, at the Palm Springs Air Museum, 745 N. Gene Autry Trail, in Palm Springs. General admission is $40 in advance, or $45 at the door, and includes a commemorative

tasting mug and eight 4-ounce beertastings. Designated drivers pay $5 at the door. Props and Hops is a 21-andolder event, although well-behaved dogs on leashes are welcome; attendees are encouraged to bring folding chairs.

For tickets or more information, visit pspropshops.com.

—Jimmy Boegle

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22 \\ COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT

NOVEMBER 2017

jimi FITZ and Friends Featuring Faults of Andreas, Lauri Bono, Kal David, Will Donato, Kevin Henry, John Stanley King, Ronnie King, Steve Madaio, Barry Minniefield, Penny Unniversity, Sergio Villegas and more!

Fri, November 17, 8pm

Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella Fri, November 24, 8pm Sat, November 25, 2pm & 8pm Sun, November 26, 2pm & 7:30pm Mon & Tue, November 27 & 28, 7:30pm

Colors of Christmas 25th Anniversary Tour Starring Peabo Bryson, Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr., Ruben Studdard and Jody Watley Sat, November 18, 8pm Presented through the generosity of Milt & Areta McKenzie

Motown The Musical Tue-Fri, January 16-19, 8pm Sat, January 20, 2pm & 8pm Sun, January 21, 2pm & 7pm

Classic Albums Live The Beatles Abbey Road Sat, November 18, 8pm

Mannheim Steamroller Christmas

By Chip Davis Sat, December 2, 3pm & 8pm

Tom Dreesen An Evening of Laughter and Memories of Sinatra Sat, December 9, 8pm

“Weird Al” Yankovic The Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour Special Guest: Emo Philips Wed, May 9, 8pm

Order tickets by phone

760-340-ARTS (2787)

Order online

mccallumtheatre.com

73000 FRED WARING DRIVE, PALM DESERT • BOX OFFICE HOURS: MONDAY-FRIDAY, 9:00am-5:00pm CVIndependent.com

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 23

NOVEMBER 2017

ARTS

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/ARTS-AND-CULTURE

FROM P-TOWN TO PS

Woodman/Shimko Gallery shows works by artists from both coasts—as well as the owner’s special coffee tables By william bryan rooney

W

hen Woody Shimko travels from Provincetown, Mass., to Palm Springs, he packs up more items than just a few extra T-shirts: He packs up works of art.

He owns galleries on both coasts, and he hauls a large collection of art that is melded into one show, linking artists that work 3,000 miles apart.

The Woodman/Shimko Gallery, at 1105 N. Palm Canyon Drive in the Uptown Design District of Palm Springs, features work by both artists local/regional and from his gallery in Provincetown. The broad collection offers an eclectic mix of contemporary, modern and realistic paintings and photographs that are a perfect fit for the modernism of Palm Springs.

Shimko opened the gallery in January 2013. Contemporary artists such as Richard Ransier from Los Angeles, Roger Allen Mosser and Austin Calloway from Palm Springs, and Cassandra Complex, Christopher Sousa, Chet Jones and Larry Collins from Provincetown have shown work there. Beyond the paintings, sculptures and ceramic art works, there are tables designed and built by Shimko, made from industrial materials, with antique Japanese shoji screens. Woody Shimko’s partner, Ray Nocera, help set up the gallery so Shimko would have a place to show his coffee tables that he designs and creates.

“The (slogan) for the gallery is ‘Provincetown to Palm Springs: 3,000 Miles of Art,’ said Shimko. “It was started five years ago, and it showcases the work of artists from both coasts. For years, I was the visual director at companies such as Bergdorf Goodman, Armani and Tiffany. Then after working 15 years for a design company in Tokyo, I came back and realized that after collecting art for so many years, perhaps it was the thing to do to open a gallery and showcase artists that I admire.”

November’s shows include Palm Springs artist Hank Hudson, an award-winning magazine art director, designer and photographer who is the former art director of Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine. He was also art director for Cosmopolitan magazine and Glamour magazine, and was the design director of TIME magazine’s Style and Design special issues.

Also highlighted will be Provincetown artist Cassandra Complex. “My art is a meditation on, as well as an attempt to capture, the moment when a complex inner life meets the unyielding outside world,” she says in an artist’s statement. “It is at this instance when the character of my subjects is truly revealed. The landscape of the face is capable of revealing, to the viewer, all the truths that have ever been known. Each subject reveals themselves, in as much as what they refrain from, as they do in the most overt of expressions. In my work, I wish to expose the internal life: that secret life that lives within us all.”

Artists including Gabe Fernandez, Chris Lopez and Gregg Ross will be featured as well.

The gallery in the past has shown the works of local and non-local photographers Jeff Palmer, Ronald David Erskine and Terry Hastings, all from Palm Springs; and Eileen Counihan and Bobby Miller of Provincetown.

A selection of sculptures at the gallery includes works by ceramic artist Paul Bellardo, metal artist Terry Hastings and local bronze artist James Messana.

The Woodman-Shimko Gallery is located at 1105 N. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs.

For more information, including hours, call 760-322-1230. The gallery’s website is woodmanshimkogallery.com.

“Marilyn” by Hank Hudson.

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NOVEMBER 2017

FOOD & DRINK

CVINDEPENDENT.COM/FOOD-DRINK

ON COCKTAILS

Like your martini with vodka? Shaken rather than stirred? Without vermouth? If so, you’re doing it wrong

By patrick johnson

I

think the martini, sadly, has lost its way.

Sure, three or four ounces of shaken vodka will probably get you nice and drunk, but it lacks the … shall we say, elegance of the drink’s original recipe.

A purist will tell you a martini has two components—gin and dry vermouth—and it should always be stirred. This purest agrees.

Some amateur comedians ordering a martini with vodka come up with clever catch phrases like, “Shake it until your arms get tired,” or, “I want to skate on the top of it,” or, “Just wave an unopened bottle of vermouth over it.” These people, in my opinion, are missing out on what was once a beautiful, sexy, delicious cocktail. My hope is they’ll give the original a try.

For those who enjoy the history of things, Rockefeller. the origin of the martini is muddled. No, The Knickerbocker’s “Original 1912 I don’t mean muddled with cucumber or Martini” blends two parts gin and one part dry blackberries or avocado—it’s just a figure of vermouth with orange bitters; it is then stirred speech. What I mean is many different stories and zested with a lemon peel, and garnished abound about who created the first martini, with an olive. why, and where it came from. Some believe Sure, there are those who say Rockefeller the martini was named after Martini and didn’t drink, and that the real martini predates Rossi vermouth, which was created in the 1912. However, this doesn’t really matter: The mid-1800s. Another theory—my favorite— Original 12 Martini is one of the best drinks asserts the martini originated in New York’s I’ve ever had, and one everyone should try.

Knickerbocker Hotel in 1912 by bartender Another theory, which makes some Martini di Arma di Taggia, made for John D. sense, is that the martini is a derivative of

Experience Award-winning, Modern European Cuisine

Creative Chef Johannes Bacher

Voted “Best Chefs America”

Voted “Best Continental Restaurant”, “Best Martini”, and “Best Romantic Dining” by Palm Springs Life Readers.

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the martinez—a classic gin and vermouth cocktail which was first made in the 1860s and documented in Jerry Thomas’ 1887 edition of his Bar-Tender’s Guide; How to Mix All Kinds of Plain and Fancy Drinks. The martinez came about during a vermouth craze in the latter half of the 1800s and was likely a variation of the Manhattan: Someone, at some point, got the idea to mix gin instead whiskey with sweet vermouth, a couple of dashes of bitters, and a little maraschino liquor. Voila, you have a martinez. It’s obvious how the evolution to the first martini wouldn’t be much of a leap.

One thing is clear, however: A martini should be stirred, not shaken. Though I adore James Bond, we can blame him and author Ian Fleming for the shaken martini.

There are reasons we shake some drinks and stir others—and they’re based on science.

In general, cocktails containing citrus—like margaritas, daiquiris and sours—should be shaken, while cocktails which are all spirits with no citrus—like Manhattans, negronis and martinis—should always be stirred. The reason of this is thermodynamics, but I’m not going to bore anyone by getting too far into that.

Basically, the idea behind both techniques is to cool, mix and dilute the cocktail—and both do so. However, shaking dilutes the cocktail faster than stirring. Shaking also creates tiny air bubbles which brighten a citrusy drink, but ruin the silky texture of a straight spirit. So if you want a bubbly, slushy martini, go ahead, and order it shaken. It’s a free country. But it’s your loss.

Many imbibers also miss out on the beauty of a martini by forsaking gin in lieu of vodka, and/or by skipping the vermouth. The herbs and botanicals of the gin, and the lighter, floral notes of the vermouth balance each other out and create magic in a glass. Vodka, on the other hand, is pretty basic and doesn’t have much flavor or depth—especially when you don’t mix in some flavorful vermouth.

Vodka became so popular, in part, because of advertising in the Mad Men era of the “martini lunch.” A fledgling vodka company marketed its product by saying it would “leave you breathless”—meaning your boss, client or co-workers wouldn’t smell the booze on you.

The campaign worked: Vodka first outsold gin in the U.S. in 1967, then whiskey in 1976.

Personally, when I’m out tippling, I’m not trying to hide anything.

Speaking of going out tippling, I took a spin around the desert trying martinis. What I found was, basically, what I thought I would find. Every bar I went to had some sort of

The Honest Martini at Mr. Lyons, stirred with gin and vermouth. PATRICK JOHNSON

“classic martini” on the menu, and each one I tried was basically the same: shaken vodka in some sort of martini glass with an olive, or maybe an olive stuffed with blue cheese, and/or a twisted lemon peel. Now, that’s not the worst thing to drink; it’s just not what I was looking for. Like I said, I believe there’s a better way.

During a recent stop at Mr. Lyons in Palm Springs, I found the martini on the menu— “The Honest Martini”—was made with either gin or vodka and vermouth, and stirred, unless otherwise specified. I ordered mine with The Botanist gin from Scotland, and it was just what I wanted alongside my steak tartare.

The bartender said the martini was the mostordered cocktail at Mr. Lyons, and it was 50-50 between patrons who ordered vodka, and those who ordered gin.

At my bars—Workshop Kitchen + Bar, and Truss and Twine—we don’t have a standard martini on the menu, but every bartender on staff knows how to make the Original 1912 Martini. So, next time you’re in, I’ll more than happily stir one up for you.

Patrick Johnson is a journalist and head bartender at Truss and Twine. He can be emailed at patrickjohnson323@gmail.com.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 25

NOVEMBER 2017

Sydney Mardi Gras 2018 Join Cruise Planners Palm Springs (Dwight and Doug) and learn about the six incredible nights at Sydney Mardi Gras! Enjoy a Rooftop Champagne Welcome Party, Sydney Sights, the world-famous Mardi Gras parade and much more!

5:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 30 LGBT Community Center of the Desert 1301 N. Palm Canyon Drive Seating for this event is LIMITED. Light refreshments will be provided.

RSVP by e-mailing CPPalmSprings@outlook.com or sign up at Facebook.com/ events/129009304369594

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NOVEMBER 2017

FOOD & DRINK

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VINE SOCIAL JASON DAVID

Local tips and tricks on how to behave at a wine-tasting

HAIR STUDIO

O

By KatieLOVE finn YOUR

HAIR

ne of the best perks of being a sommelier is that I get paid to drink. In fact, it’s expected that I drink—specifically, that I taste everything I can, as often as I can. And I happily oblige.

This beautiful thing called wine is an ever-changing and ever-evolving experience, and the only way to truly understand it is to immerse yourself in it. For those of us in the hospitality Club Cook industry here in the desert, this time of year meansCountry it’s time to put and on the crashStreet helmet and dive in.

Palm De sert Every week for the next month, there will be a ballroom somewhere in the valley filled with people sampling wine being poured by eager suppliers hoping to gain a spot on a wine list or a placement on a bottle-shop shelf. table.760-340-5959 I’m fresh off tasting No. 2. As I made my Now that I have a much broader view, I feel www.jasondavidhairstudio.net way from table to table, I couldn’t help but compelled to suggest a few dos and don’ts for notice how many wine civilians (aka nontrade-tasting novices. industry folks) were there. In the past, I was I’m always the first one to tell people to drink usually the person behind the table, focused on what they like. However, this rule does not salesmanship and presenting my wines in the apply at a tasting—especially when the winebest light possible. The whole point of my being tasting is free! This defeats the whole point. there was to sell wine. Sure, it was easy to tell In fact, the point is to taste what you don’t who was there as a buyer, and who just snuck in know. Tastings offer a wonderful opportunity for the free food and hooch, but it really didn’t to sample wines before we commit to them, matter. As long as people were trying my wine and an even greater opportunity to learn about and being respectful, I didn’t care. This time them. Sometimes the people behind the table around, however, I am on the other side of the are winemakers or principals; more often, they

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are reps or distributors, but whoever is pouring, he or she is tied to the winery in one capacity or another and offers valuable information that you can’t get anywhere else. At every tasting, there is sure to be wine you’ve never had or perhaps never heard of. The standout wine for me at the last tasting was a vermentino from Corsica, and it was glorious!

I was also able to do a side-by-side comparative tasting of a sauvignon blanc—both from the same producer, and the same vineyard, but one was in a bottle, and one was canned.

The education I received from the rep on their canning procedure, laws, regulations and what they’ve learned via trial and error was the highlight of the day for me. This is the reason trade tastings exist. However, while the concept seems logical enough, it never fails: People go right for what they know, zeroing in on their security-blanket brand like a heat-seeking missile. Don’t get me wrong; I’ll taste familiar wines, too. Things change; winemakers move around; vintages vary; vinification techniques improve and evolve. The difference is I yearn to taste the unknown, so I taste everything from everywhere.

So here are a few of my cardinal rules for wine tastings. Consider this your condensed guide for how not to look like “that guy”: 1. This is not a buffet. You do not, under any circumstances, help yourself to the wine on the table. Even if the pourer winked at you and laughed at your “I said my pinot is bigger!” joke, that does not give you permission to fondle the bottles.

2. Yes, you should be spitting. Those buckets on the table are there for a reason and should be used often. I know, I know … it’s a crime to spit out all that delicious wine, but tastings are, for the most part, a professional event and not the place to get commode-hugging drunk. But it never ceases to amaze me how many people I see stumbling around these events—even industry veterans. Which reminds me: Unless you want to wind up looking like you’re wearing

a souvenir T-shirt from a Grateful Dead concert, it’s best to avoid wearing white and/or anything silk. Because, ya know, there’s a drunk guy with a glass of red wine stumbling around.

3. Be an information-gatherer. I get it; you read Wine Spectator. You visit Napa, Sonoma, Paso and Santa Barbara all the time. Your best friend is a winemaker. Still, you do not know more than the person pouring the wine. This is their business, and they want to share it with you. Let them.

4. If you don’t have anything nice to say, zip it. I used to joke around about this all the time, telling people that I’m not the winemaker, so it won’t hurt my feelings if you don’t like the wine. But the truth is … it’s kinda rude. Even if the rep didn’t make the wine, he or she is there representing it. Also, any negative comment you make might affect the person standing next to you who just declared this wine to be their absolute most favorite thing in the whole wide world.

5. Keep an open mind. If there is a pinotage open, try it. If you see wines from Romania there, try them. Had a bad experience with riesling when you were 17? Try it again. No, you’re not going to like everything, but you will surprise yourself. There is no better opportunity to nurture your sense of adventure and take a walk on the wild side, wine-wise.

So whether you’re wine-tasting at a private country club, tasting at a restaurant, or sneaking into a trade tasting, always remember: Wine is about exploration and discovery. Now go get out of your wine rut, and get tasting!

Katie Finn is a certified sommelier and certified specialist of wine with more than 15 years in the wine industry. She is a member of the Society of Wine Educators and is currently studying with the Wine and Spirit Education Trust. When she’s not hitting the books, you can find her hosting private wine tastings and exploring the desert with her husband and two children. She can be reached at katiefinnwine@gmail.com.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 27

NOVEMBER 2017

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NOVEMBER 2017

FOOD & DRINK

the

BEER GODDESS By erin peters

T

here’s been a turn toward the wild and less-predictable side of beers over the past several years—and the sour-beer spectrum is evolving into a maze of conflicting substyles.

Kettle sours vs. barrel-aged sours? Berliner weisse or gose? What about dry-hopped American kettle sours?

Sour beers are refreshing and delicious during hotter months, but I’m going to go against the yeasty grain and delve into sours now that fall has arrived. What some non-beer-drinkers may not know—I’m looking at you, drinkers of considering that we’re coming up on the only wine—is that sour beers can be perfect celebratory time of year with Thanksgiving substitutes for wine. This is good news, feasts and holiday parties.

Solar Q&A

Is there any reason I should wait to explore solar? Are technological advances being made that will make my system obsolete?

The good news is that there are incremental improvements being made to solar-panel efficiency.

However, if your panels cover your electric needs now, with a panel like SunPower, it will cover more than 90 percent of your needs even at the end of its useful life—which can be up to 40 years.

In addition, if you lease a solar system, you will receive a production guarantee, which means if your system ever drops below the guaranteed minimum amount of power generated, not only will an alert be sent to SunPower and Renova so the reason can be understood and solved; you will be reimbursed for the shortfall.

Another reason to explore solar sooner rather than later is to ensure you receive the 30 percent federal tax credit. The current administration is somewhat unpredictable, so it may be a good idea to lock it in now rather

than risk having it removed prior to its scheduled revision in 2019, when it starts to step down for a couple of years before its elimination.

The other consideration is the savings you’re missing out by waiting.

If you start the process now, you can enjoy a couple of full seasons of lower electricity usage prior to the high summer months.

With a lease, you’ll have fixed payments locked in for 20 years that will insulate you from utility cost increases.

OK—I need to take some first steps. Where do I start?

Reach out to a couple of local companies that have experience with installation in the harsh desert weather, and are familiar with the expectations of local HOAs and jurisdictions. Do some homework on panel websites like SunPower.com to understand the value of installing a panel with a comprehensive warranty, and one that retains the ability to continue generating electricity for decades to come.

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The sour-beer spectrum is growing—which is a great thing for fans of lip-smacking, boozy brews The bright, wild, vibrant world of sours offers a wide range of flavors and intensity— meaning they’re perfect for pairing with rich dishes. Many sour beers are fermented using a strain of Brettanomyces yeast, or Brett, for short. Although winemakers consider it a spoiling agent, brewers embrace the funky, flavorful yeast strains that help make sours, well, sour.

Here’s a primer on some of the terms you’ll hear in the world of sours.

Lambic beers: All lambics are spontaneously fermented with naturally occurring wild yeast. They are the only beers fermented via wild, airborne yeast. In other words, no yeast is added by the brewers. This rare style is produced in a very small region of Belgium. Fruit lambics are made by adding whole fruit, fruit pulp or fruit juice to a batch as it ages in oak casks.

Gose: Not to be confused with gueuze, gose is a traditional German-style unfiltered sour wheat beer. Goses are often viewed as perfect summer beers—but let’s face it: Summerish days are still lingering in the Coachella Valley.

Characterized by ingredients such as coriander and salt, the German-style gose dates back to medieval Germany. Modern-day gose is usually light and crisp with a touch of sourness.

Flanders red ale: These come from West Flanders, Belgium. English brewmasters had established schedules of aging and blending for their ales in the 17th and 18th centuries, and it’s believed that Flanders brewmasters took this blending practice and ran with it. Flanders reds

are aged in barrels or foeders for 8 to 18 months and are more red-wine-like because of black cherry, red currant and orange flavors. Flanders brown ales are more of a modern interpretation.

I am a fan of the Duchesse de Bourgogne Brouwerij Verhaeghe. This 6 percent alcoholby-volume mahogany brown sour is faintly tart with balsamic notes, and is punctuated by rich fruit astringency, plentiful oak and modest vanilla. I also recommend the Bruery Terreux Oude Tart. Aged in red-wine barrels for up to 18 months, this 7.5 percent ABV Flemish-style red is also available with fruit additions of cherries, boysenberries and raspberries.

As for other sour-style beers: The following are worth picking up for your next get-together or celebration: • 8 Wired Gypsy Funk • Beachwood Blendery Coolship Chaos • Boulevard Love Child #8 • Casa Agria Heritage Gold • Cigar City Lactobacillus Guava Grove • Crooked Stave St Bretta Citrus Wildbier • Firestone Walker SLOambic • Funkwerks Raspberry Provincial • Lost Abbey Framboise de Amorosa • Mikkeller Hallo Ich Bin Berliner Weisse Raspberry • Oud Beersel Oude Kriek Vieille • Societe The Thief • Track 7 Chasing Rainbows Mistletoes aren’t the only place appropriate for puckering up. Thanks to sours, lipsmacking boozy flavors are perfect just about any time.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 29

NOVEMBER 2017

FOOD & DRINK INDY ENDORSEMENT

the

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This month, we enjoy a vegan sandwich in Palm Springs, and savor sushi in Cathedral City

By Jimmy Boegle

WHAT El Cubano WHERE Chef Tanya’s Kitchen, 706 S. Eugene Road, Palm Springs HOW MUCH $9.50 CONTACT 760-832-9007; cheftanyapetrovna.com WHY It’s a tasty creation all its own.

As I ordered my El Cubano sandwich at gourmet vegan restaurant Chef Tanya’s Kitchen, the woman taking my order asked if it was my first time at the restaurant.

“Yep!” I said.

“Oh, you’re going to love it!” said the woman behind me.

As I waited for my to-go order—all of the limited seating space was taken—we chatted a bit. I told her I was trying Chef Tanya’s Kitchen—the newest endeavor by Tanya Petrovna, the founder of the Native Foods Café—even though I am a confirmed meateater, because so many people had raved to me about the place. The woman explained she’d recently become vegan, and was losing a lot of weight as a result.

We then talked about the menu— salads, sandwiches and specials, like tacos on Tuesdays, and dinner items on Wednesdays—and I asked if she’d ever ordered the pastrami mami sandwich. No, she responded; she’s not a fan of sauerkraut.

“Oh, that sandwich is what made me start to like sauerkraut!” another diner exclaimed.

I thought: Wow, the customers here are really gung-ho about the food at Chef Tanya’s Kitchen!

When I got home and took a bite of my sandwich, I began to understand why. When done right, a Cuban sandwich is one of my favorite foods. Chef Tanya’s version subs out the usual ham and pork for slow-roasted citrus and garlic seitan, and while I can’t say the seitan made me forget about the absence of those meats, it made for a damn tasty sandwich. It melded with the tomatoes, pickles, onions, lettuce, mustard, mayo and freaking amazing bread to create a hot-pressed delight. To my palate, this El Cubano didn’t taste exactly like a Cuban sandwich; instead, it tasted like something different—but equally delicious.

I may still be a confirmed meat-eater—but I’ll certainly be a regular at Chef Tanya’s Kitchen.

Her vegan fare is simply fantastic.

WHAT The Sushi Boat WHERE Hamachi Sushi, 31855 Date Palm Drive, No. 11, Cathedral City HOW MUCH $14.99 CONTACT 760-832-6160; www.hamachisushicc.com WHY It’s a great value—and it’s delicious.

It was a Friday, around lunchtime. I was at Date Palm Drive and Ramon Road in Cathedral City to check the Independent’s mailbox. That morning, I’d sent the latest issue to press, and after a long week of editing and ad-wrangling and pagination, I was tired and hungry.

After getting my mail at the UPS Store, I wandered a few doors down to Hamachi Sushi.

I’d never eaten there before, and fresh fish sounded good.

I perused the menu, which features the items one would expect a Japanese/sushi joint to have. One item in particular stood out, so I chose that as my lunch: The sushi boat, featuring 10 pieces of assorted, chef’schoice sushi, as well as a California roll, for $14.99. Seeing as the pairs of nigiri on offer at Hamachi are a reasonable $3.99 or more by themselves, this was a fantastic deal. (There’s also a sushi boat on the lunch menu; it’s $3 less, but only includes six pieces of sushi.

That’s not as good of a deal, so I went with the “regular” sushi boat.)

I soon enjoyed some tasty miso soup and a small salad (included in the meal). When my lunch arrived a short time later, in a cute boat-shaped ceramic dish, I was impressed: Pairs of tuna, salmon, shrimp, snapper and a marinated fish of some sort were intermingled on the dish with the California roll pieces.

Everything was fresh. Everything was delicious. It was exactly what I was looking for—a filling, tasty lunch that would help me rejuvenate my tired body. It was also a bargain.

Thanks for making my stomach happy— and helping recharge my batteries, Hamachi Sushi. That sushi boat was exactly what I needed.

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Restaurant NEWS BITES

By Jimmy Boegle NEW: SO CAL-BASED CHAIN LUNA GRILL OPENS ITS DOORS IN PALM DESERT Luna Grill claims to be “one of the country’s hottest fast-casual concepts.” While we are not sure exactly what that means, we are sure that the 39th and newest Luna Grill is located in Palm Desert, at 73405 Highway 111, in Palm Desert—and we’re also sure that the Mediterranean-style food being served there is pretty darned delicious.

Independent contributor Kevin Fitzgerald and I were fortunate enough to attend a pre-opening training-day lunch at Luna. I ordered the chicken kabob and gyros plate ($14.95) while Kevin had the chicken wrap ($9.50), and we split the handcrafted spinach pie ($5.25) as a starter. While we had minor quibbles—the chicken in Kevin’s wrap was a little dry, and the rice on my plate needed a bit more flavor—everything was delicious (especially that gyro meat!).

The first Luna Grill opened in 2004, and there are now locations across Southern California, as well as in the Dallas, Texas, area. The company is in a “strategic growth push,” according to a news release, so don’t be surprised to be more locations popping up.

For more information, or to order food online, visit lunagrill.com.

ROC’S FIREHOUSE GRILLE CANCELS NFL SUNDAY TICKET IN PROTEST OF THE PROTESTS On Oct. 4, ROC’s Firehouse Grille, located at 36891 Cook St., in Palm Desert, made an announcement on Facebook: Owner Roland O. Cook was cancelling the restaurant’s subscription to DIRECTV and NFL Sunday Ticket due to the ongoing player protests, during which some players are kneeling during the national anthem.

In the lengthy announcement, Cook—a former firefighter—said that he supported the rights of the players to protest, but that cops and military officers are his friends, and he thinks political divisions are “killing” the country.

“It’s a sure recipe for destroying our children’s future,” he wrote. “Damn, can’t you leave politics out of football and just play the game on Sunday? Emphasis on ‘play’ and ‘game.’”

The announcement was followed by hundreds of comments both in support of and opposition to ROC’s decision. The public comment chain is at times moving, at times horrifying (with some definite ignorance and racism here and there), and completely fascinating.

While I disagree in principle with Cook’s decision, I admire his willingness to take a stand for something in which he believes. Beyond that, I’ll leave the pros-and-cons discussion of these player protests—started by Colin Kaepernick, regarding the disproportionate number of deaths of minorities at the hands of law enforcement in this country—for other sections of this newspaper, and simply refer you to www.facebook.com/ROCsFirehouseGrille, where you can read Cook’s announcement and the many, many comments that follow.

IN BRIEF So long, Appetito. The “Cal-Italian Deli” at 1700 S. Camino Real, in Palm Springs, has closed its doors. A sign went up saying the place would be closed for deep cleaning … and then everything inside disappeared. … Also closed: Palmie French Restaurant, which was located at 44491 Town Center Way in Palm Desert. … And now some good news: Numerous new restaurants continue to open along Highway 111 in Palm Desert. In addition to Luna Grill, the second valley location of Dragon Sushi will soon be opening—if it hasn’t already—at 72261 Highway 111. The original Dragon Sushi, at 82451 Highway 111, in Indio, is wildly popular. Let’s hope this new Dragon Sushi location lasts longer than a short-lived Cathedral City incarnation did three years ago. Search for Dragon Sushi Palm Desert on Facebook for more info. … Just down the street, the second Pokehana is open, at 73405 Highway 111, following in the footsteps of the original location in La Quinta. Learn more at www.pokehana.com. … Michael Holmes’ Purple Room, at 1900 E. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs, has hired Alen Badzak as the new executive chef. Badzak’s resume includes stints at the Europa Restaurant at the Villa Royale Inn, The Nest and The New York Company Restaurant. He replaces Jennifer Town, who moved over to Melvyn’s/Ingleside Inn. Learn more at purpleroompalmsprings.com. … Local wine-seller and social club Mood Wine is holding a red-wine tasting at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 15, at Tipper’s Gourmet Marketplace, at 276 N. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs. Food bites will be paired with the wines on offer; tickets are $57.30. Find more information and a ticket link at www.facebook.com/moodwinellc. … Mark your calendars: The Palm Desert Food and Wine festival will return March 23-25, 2018. Get tickets or sign up for updates at www.palmdesertfoodandwine.com. … If you don’t want to wait until March for local food-fest fun, no worries: The Rancho Mirage Wine and Food Festival is slated for Feb. 17, 2018. Head to www.ranchomiragewineandfoodfestival.com for tickets and details.

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COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 31

NOVEMBER 2017

32 32 36 36

Upper Class Poverty sayS a recording is coming soon … maybe Musicians across the country express displeasure at the Trump era the lucky 13: james johnson of Sleeping Habits likes glass animals the lucky 13: michael keeth also likes glass animals

November 2017

By Brian Blueskye

www.cvindependent.com/music

MISS MARILYN

Marilyn Maye comes to the Purple Room. Read all about it in The Blueskye Report.

The Blueskye REPORT

Paula Poundstone

November is my favorite month of the year. The summer heat is finally fading; more and more snowbirds are clogging Highway 111 (OK, that part is a mixed blessing, at best); and I get to enjoy a turkey dinner or two with friends and family while watching football. Oh, and there are shows galore!

The McCallum Theatre has some great events in November you won’t want to miss.

At 7 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 5, comedienne Paula Poundstone will be performing. If you grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, you remember her numerous appearances in film and television.

Today, she’s best known as a regular on NPR’s Wait Wait ... Don’t Tell Me! Tickets are $22 to $47.

At 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 17, CV 104.3 radio’s Jimi Fitz will be performing as part of Jimi Fitz and Friends, which will feature local acts Faults of Andreas, John Stanley King, Kal David and Lori Bono, and many others. Tickets are $27 to $67.

There are a lot of other fine shows taking place this month, so be sure to peruse the McCallum website! McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert; 760-340-2787; www. mccallumtheatre.com.

Fantasy Springs Resort Casino has a fantastic November schedule. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 11, country superstars Alabama will be performing. I am not the biggest fan, but even I have to admit that the band features great songwriters—and that Alabama’s material in the early-to-mid-’80s was impressive and occasionally flawless. Tickets are $49 to $109.

At 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 17, rapper Ja Rule and R&B singer Ashanti will share the Fantasy Springs stage. It should be a memorable night of music following an especially memorable year for Ja Rule, after his Fyre Festival left many rich millennials—who paid thousands of dollars for tickets—stranded on an island in the Bahamas crying over their “luxury” cheese sandwiches and begging to be rescued over social media.

The best part of the story: There is supposed to be Fyre Festival 2018, so get ready to ride this continued on Page 34

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MUSIC

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MUSIC IN PROTEST

RICH MEN, POOR MEN

Musicians across the country are creating songs that express displeasure at the Trump era

The members of popular local band Upper Class Poverty say a recording is coming soon … maybe

I

By Brian Blueskye

n 2013, a new band with a funny name played its first show.

In 2017, Upper Class Poverty is still playing live shows—including an October gig at the legendary Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood, opening for Michale Graves, the former lead singer of the Misfits. Some recorded material may be coming soon, too.

I spoke to the band at The Hood Bar and Pizza.

“The first show we ever played was here at The Hood Bar and Pizza,” drummer Corwin Hendricks said. “It was back when they first opened this location, because I was working here at the time and booking the bands, so I figured we’d just throw ourselves in there. We had a different bass-player at the time; we had our buddy Chaz Shapiro playing bass with us.”

Videos from that first show can be found on the Internet.

“Some of our only live footage that we have on YouTube is from that show,” said guitarist and lead vocalist Rob Lawrence. “When we watch it, we think, ‘We weren’t too bad for our first show.’

“We’ve always loved The Hood. We were in a band before this one called Sol Jah Rock, and (in that band) was the first time I had ever sang and soon. Don’t get too excited. I’ve put down a played guitar at a venue, when The Hood was at bunch of guitar tracks, and they aren’t sounding the original location down the street from here.” exactly like I want them to sound, so we don’t Corwin Hendricks’ brother, Michael, replaced want to rush it. We said three months ago Chaz Shapiro in Upper Class Poverty. about three months ago, and it’s not where we “It took a while to persuade me to be in the want it to be yet. After this album is done, we’ll band,” Michael Hendricks said. “They moved probably have another new album’s worth of in with me and played their last show with material to play live.”

Chaz—and then Chaz moved. I was just like, ‘I When I asked what’s been hardest for the don’t want to do the band thing anymore.’ And band since it formed, Michael Hendricks said it’s then slowly, they were like, ‘We have a show always been a struggle. coming up. Do you want to play the bass?’ I said “It’s a continuous struggle, and that’s what the OK, given I really liked the music. That’s the name represents, Upper Class Poverty,” he said. cool thing about it—plus I get to play with my “We try to do the best we can with the funds brother and my best friend.” that we have, and we’ve put ourselves in poverty The band members are recording some of the to do so. The toughest period is now—because it songs they have been playing over the past four always is now. What you expect of your life and years at their home studio. the money you make never adds up.”

“It’s in the midst right now. Mikey is actually The members explained how the band’s name doing a lot of the production and engineering,” came to be.

Lawrence said. “I don’t know if we have an ETA “It was supposed to be a song, and it was our for when it’s all done, but I’m hoping sometime original bass-player, Chaz, who came to Corwin and me after we stopped playing in Sol Jah Rock,” Lawrence explained. “He was like, ‘I had a great idea for a song name, and lately, I’ve been thinking it’d be a really cool band name.’ He told Upper Class Poverty us the name, and we were like, ‘Bro, we have to use that as the band name, not a song, because that’s the perfect band name.’ It represents everything that we’ve gone through and that we stand for. I’ve always been pretty broke, trying to make ends meet. But we love it because we get to go to really cool places and play our songs for awesome people, and we party. It’s a win-win situation. We’re pretty blessed, and we’re lucky people.”

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/ upperclasspoverty.

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while back, Independent contributor Baynard Woods put out a call for alternative publications across the country to share information about musicians who are writing and performing protest songs in the era of President Donald J. Trump.

The response was amazing: More than 20 publications—including the Coachella Valley Independent—shared information on protest songs created in their cities.

Unfortunately, we have space in print to share information on just a handful of these protest songs. However, at CVIndependent.com, we have the details on and YouTube links to all of the songs compiled by Woods; I strongly encourage you to head to our website to check them out.

Many of them are fantastic. Here in print, we’ll start off the abbreviated list with the Independent’s contribution. —Jimmy Boegle The After Lashes, “We the Sheeple” (Coachella Valley) The After Lashes is a new all-female punk band that features Ali Saenz, the wife of former Dwarves and Excel drummer Greg Saenz.

Frontwoman Esther Sanchez explained the inspiration behind the band’s song “We the Sheeple.” “‘We the Sheeple’ was an easy song to write, because it came from a place of frustration and growing resentment toward the current powers that be, and, of course, more specifically, Donald Trump,” she said.

“The policies he intends to establish are harmful to pretty much everyone who is not wealthy; unfortunately, so many who voted for him were unknowingly voting against their own best interests. The song is very much about uniting against a tyrant, because that is precisely what we believe Trump to be.” —Brian Blueskye Keith Morris, “What Happened to Your Party?” (Charlottesville, Va.) Known to at least one of his fellow musicians as “our rockin’ protest grouch in chief,” Keith Morris has a slew of protest songs, such as “Psychopaths and Sycophants,” “Prejudiced and Blind” and “Brownsville Market,” from his Dirty Gospel album, plus “Blind Man,” “Peaceful When You Sleep” and “Border Town” from Love Wounds and Mars. His latest release: “What Happened to Your Party?” —Erin O’Hare Thunderfist, “Suck It” (Salt Lake City) Sure, there are more articulate ways to denounce Trump than a song called “Suck It.” Countering blustery, bigoted bullshit with artfully composed, well-reasoned takedowns is how we’ll effect change. That doesn’t mean we can’t occasionally vent our rage by strapping on Les Pauls, cranking up Marshalls, raising middle fingers and offering a blues-based, punk-rock invitation to fellatio. And maybe also, as the final, snarling chord slides into silence, by calling

The After Lashes

him a “fat baby fuckface.” —Randy Harward Dooley, Lor Roger and TLow, “CIT4DT” (Baltimore) This Boosie-tinged Thee Donald diss from Baltimore, which dropped long before inauguration, still thrills: “Boy ain’t even white, you yellow / You said you’d date your own daughter; you a sicko.” Stakes are high here, too—the mastermind behind it, Dooley, is Muslim—and right-wing semi-fascist snowflakes took the song totally seriously, denounced it as a “death threat” (“CIT4DT” stands for “chopper in the trunk for Donald Trump”) and bemoaned its Baltimore origins.

Meanwhile, the trio responsible for it thought the shit was hilarious. —Brandon Soderberg OG Swaggerdick, “Fuck Donald Trump” (Boston) Among diehard hip-hop heads as well as artists, Boston’s underground rap scene is renowned as one of the most lyrically elaborate and intellectual anywhere. But when it comes to straight-up protesting and verbally impaling the potty-mouthed POTUS, there’s something undeniably satisfying, even admirable, about OG Swaggerdick’s simple and straightforward election anthem, “Fuck Donald Trump.” From the fittingly filthy rhymes—“never give props to a punk ass trick / motherfuck Donald Trump, he can suck my dick”—to the strangers on the street who gladly join along in rapping in the video, these are protest lyrics you’ll still be able to remember and perhaps even rap for relief on occasions when the president leaves you otherwise speechless. —Chris Faraone

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The Blueskye REPORT continued from Page 31

awesome train again! Tickets are $29 to $59.

At 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 18, get ready to live the ’90s all over again when Third Eye Blind performs. If you were alive back in the ’90s and didn’t want to punch your radio every time “Semi-Charmed Life” came on, you weren’t really there. Also: Does anyone remember that whole scandal involving author JT LeRoy back in the ’00s, when it came out that JT Leroy was fake? Well, frontman Stephan Jenkins was in the middle of it all, given he moved in with both of the culprits—and even posed for pictures and videos in which he was cuddling with them.

Tickets are $29 to $49. Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, 84245 Indio Springs Parkway, Indio; 760342-5000; www.fantasyspringsresort.com.

Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa has some notable November shows. At 3 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 5, actress Sophia Loren will be bringing her national tour of “An Evening With Sophia Loren” to the Coachella Valley. The actress will be speaking on subjects including her childhood in Italy, her family life and her career. Tickets are $65 to $175. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 11, Latin pop-rock band Reik will be performing.

Reik is kind of a big deal in Mexico—and in the United States, too. The group’s self-titled first album went platinum in both Mexico and the U.S.—while Reik’s fifth and most-recent album, Des/Amor, went platinum in Mexico and gold in the States. Reik won a Latin Grammy award for 2009 album Un Dia Mas. Tickets are $65 to $85. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 25, standup comedian and Comedy Central personality Daniel Tosh will be returning to the Coachella Valley. Tosh is best known for his hilarious show on which he takes Internet videos and provides commentary. Tickets are $80 to $100. The Show at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa, 32250 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage; 888-999-1995; www. hotwatercasino.com.

Spotlight 29 Casino has a couple of events on the calendar that should be a lot of fun.

At 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 3, multi-generational Mariachi band Mariachi Vargas De Tecalitlán will be performing. Five generations going back to 1897 (!) have kept this amazing group going.

This is Mexican roots music—and it’s history.

Tickets are $25 to $45. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 11 comedienne and MADtv cast member Anjelah Johnson will bring the funny. You might remember her from MADtv as Bon Qui Qui, the King Burger employee who hated complicated orders and would say, “Have it your way, but don’t get crazy.” Tickets are $35 to $55. Spotlight 29 Casino, 46200 Harrison Place, Coachella; 760775-5566; www.spotlight29.com.

Morongo Casino Resort Spa continues to sell out shows, including a Friday, Nov. 3, Chaka Khan performance—but as of this writing, tickets remain for the month’s other events. At 9 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 9, Fitz and the Tantrums will take the stage. The Los Angeles-based

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pop/soul band has found a lot of success by licensing music to various films, commercials and video games—including Madden NFL 17, of all things. Tickets are $39. At 5 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 12, musical-theater great David Pomeranz will bring his show to Morongo. He’s written songs for and performed with everyone from Barry Manilow to the Muppets! Tickets are $35 to $75. At 9 p.m., Friday, Nov. 17, crooner Neil Sedaka will again perform in the desert. If you missed his show at the McCallum Theatre last year, you’re in luck! Tickets are $59 to $69. Morongo Casino Resort Spa, 49500 Seminole Drive, Cabazon; 800-252-4499; www. morongocasinoresort.com.

Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace is the place to be in November. At 8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 2, fresh off an appearance at Desert Daze, Allah-Las will be performing. Allah-Las is a psychedelic-rock fan’s dream come true. With a little bit of soul thrown into the mix, AllahLas’ jams sound like some of the best records to come out of the ’60s rock ’n’ roll scene.

Admission is free. At 9 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 9, have you herd that Donna and the Buffalo is coming back? This band plays rock, reggae, country and everything else under the sun—and has a smaller, friendlier Grateful Dead-style following. When I interviewed band founder Tara Nevins back in 2013, she told me she always insists on a show at Pappy and Harriet’s when the booking agent maps out tours. Tickets are $17 to $20. At 9 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 25, the eccentric alternative rock band Meat Puppets will be returning. The Meat Puppets has a fascinating history of starting as a hardcore punk band and then incorporating elements of cowpunk and psychedelic elements into the music. The band members were close friends of Nirvana and appeared at the band’s Unplugged performance in 1993. Tickets are $20. Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Road, Pioneertown; 760-365-5956; www. pappyandharriets.com.

The Purple Room Palm Springs will be hopping in November as the season heats up.

At 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 10, and Saturday, Nov. 11, singer and actress Marilyn Maye will take the stage. After 76 appearances on the The Tonight Show during the Johnny Carson era, as well as a Grammy nomination, she’s still going strong. Tickets are $70 to $90. Michael Holmes’ Purple Room, 1900 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs; 760-322-4422; www. purpleroompalmsprings.com.

Allah-Las

NOVEMBER 2017

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MUSIC

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the

LUCKY 13

Meet two fantastic local musicians—who are both currently listening to Glass Animals

By Brian Blueskye AWOLNATION, Glass Animals, and Post Malone—a weird but interesting collection of incredibly amazing and diverse artists!

Sleeping Habits

NAME James Johnson GROUP Sleeping Habits MORE INFO Remember The BrosQuitos? While the band continues on, the name is no more: Frontman James Johnson recently announced band’s name has changed to Sleeping Habits.

Regardless of what they call themselves, the members of Sleeping Habits are great musicians with a bright future ahead. Stay tuned for more information, as well as new music, at www. facebook.com/sleepinghabitsmusic.

What was the first concert you attended?

A Beatles tribute band, The Fab Four. They were really cool. It’s weird that a tribute band was my first concert, but very memorable!

What was the first album you owned?

The first album I owned was something that was “given” to me (I stole it from my grandma): Paul McCartney’s Tug of War. I’ve always been a Paul fan, and I remember popping it in a CD player when I would work on clubhouses with all my friends.

What bands are you listening to right now?

I’m currently indulging in some Bleachers,

What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get?

Hoomii Mongolian throat-singing. I mean, the singing itself is quite difficult for most people, and throat-singing is probably not something they would even consider. A throat singer can produce two to four notes at the same time; this gives the effect of a deep sound (bass), a medium sound (guitar) and a high-pitched sound resembling a flute or whistle being played. This genre is definitely extreme; some songs can last three minutes, and depending on how good the singer is, could contain only 10 words. (Words are stretched and sometimes transition into “instrumentals.”) I don’t think this is a musical “trend,” but someone needs to check on it. It’s insane!

What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?

The Killers came back to life a bit ago, and I would really enjoy seeing them live. They’re a longtime favorite of mine, along with the ’00 era.

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?

Some people judge this, but I love Harry Styles from One Direction—not the band he was in, but his solo career really represents some old British rock genres, like some sort of pub rock.

What’s your favorite music venue?

There is something absolutely amazing about Pappy and Harriet’s. The minute you walk into that place, you know it’s kinda speaking to you.

It’s a place with built-in emotion, but gently can welcome you into any act/situation.

What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head?

“Pineapples are in my head, got nobody ’cause I’m brain dead,” Glass Animals, “Pork Soda.”

What band or artist changed your life?

Paul McCartney has changed my life, as a man and icon. He has showed a certain light to creating a band, and has an overall wholesome story of how he took his career along, in every step. He’s a constant inspiration.

You have one question to ask one musician.

What’s the question, and who are you asking?

Alex Trimble, Two Door Cinema Club: Why do you always come back from tour with drastic haircuts? It’s overwhelming.

What song would you like played at your funeral?

“Revolution 9” by The Beatles, just to really scare people and (make them) wonder what the heck is going on. Maybe it’ll convince someone I’m resurrecting or something.

Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?

Right now, it’s Glass Animals’ How to Be a Human Being. Give it to me like my last meal, and I’m good.

What song should everyone listen to right now?

Go listen to Sleeping Habits’ “Can’t Decide Your Love.” You might end up discovering your new favorite band.

NAME Michael Keeth GROUP Death in Pretty Wrapping MORE INFO Michael Keeth is one of the busiest musicians in the Coachella Valley. He has multiple solo-performance residencies at places such as The Riviera, the Westin Mission Hills, bluEmber at the Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa, and Cork Tree. When he’s not performing solo, he plays with Arthur Seay and Mike Cancino of House of Broken Promises, and Derek Timmons of Sleazy Cortez, in a band called Death in Pretty Wrapping. For more information, visit www.michaelkeethmusic.com.

What was the first concert you attended?

U2 with Rage Against the Machine in Las Vegas for my 15th birthday.

What was the first album you owned?

Probably Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits.

What bands are you listening to right now?

My wife recently introduced me to Glass

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Michael Keeth

Animals, who are heavy on percussion and synth production. I also really like Amber Run; they have great melodies and a moody atmosphere. I love all kinds of music, though.

What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get?

I like some (music) in all genres, including hip hop. My personal taste doesn’t include mumble rap, but I guess they can’t all be Thr3 Strykes.

Those guys kill it!

What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?

Pink Floyd, with David Gilmour and Roger Waters together.

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?

Atmospheric ’80s pop rock. Love that headspace.

What’s your favorite music venue?

They’re all great in that they give us a place to express ourselves. The Date Shed and The Hood Bar and Pizza are my favorites for the vibe, but all are important to our scene.

What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head?

More of a melody/lyric: Glass Animals “Agnes.”

The chords repeat, with: “You’re gone but you’re on my mind; I’m lost but I don’t know why.”

That gets stuck for days!

What band or artist changed your life?

U2 set the bar high when I was 12ish. The bigger-than-life tours, great lyrics and anthemic songs made me want to play in bands.

You have one question to ask one musician.

What’s the question, and who are you asking?

Martin Barrera of 5th Town: “¿Alguna vez duermes?”

What song would you like played at your funeral?

“Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves.

Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?

U2’s Achtung Baby, hands down.

What song should everyone listen to right now?

“Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass.

Sing it loud, people!

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 37

NOVEMBER 2017

OPINION COMICS & JONESIN’ CROSSWORD

40 Inflated self-images 42 “Come in!”

43 Fallon’s predecessor Across 44 Shaped like a 1 ___-de-sac quadrilateral with one 4 Seedless oranges pair of parallel sides 10 Maroon 5 frontman 47 Crossers of aves.

Levine 48 Nation south of 14 Expend Mount Everest 15 Funnel-shaped 49 Writing assignment wildflower 51 Get from ___ B 16 Fishing line 52 ___ in “Isaac” attachment 55 Milk container?

17 Valentine’s Day candy 59 Candy collectibles, or word what the three long 18 Pop singer Christina answers end up being 19 Breezed through 64 Crowning point 20 Performer who does 66 ___ Scissorhands a lot of swinging and 67 Cleveland basketball catching player, for short 23 Jack who could eat 68 Apple voice assistant no fat 69 River that divides 24 “Yup,” silently Nebraska 25 File folder feature 70 Egyptian headdress 28 Molten rock serpent 32 August: ___ County 71 Peppers may pack it (Meryl Streep movie) 72 Restraining rope 34 DDE beat him twice 73 “That’s it!”

37 Comedian with a selftitled ABC series and a Down TBS talk show 1 Fringe factions “Candy-Coated”—it’s what’s on the inside

2 Take by force 3 Reading Rainbow host Burton 4 Conventiongoer’s badge 5 Parks and Recreation co-star Ansari 6 Poetic place between hills 7 East of Eden director Kazan 8 Soak up knowledge 9 ___ Domingo 10 Cry of dismay 11 Adheres in a pinch, maybe 12 “And the nominees ___ ...”

13 Big Pharma product 21 Cooking spray brand 22 Person with a following 26 Representative 27 Amazon founder Jeff 29 “Good grief!”

30 Having only one channel, like old LPs 31 Former MadTV cast member Lange 33 Note between fa and la

34 MetLife competitor 35 Heron relative 36 It’s a long, long story 38 Night sch. awards 39 Historic periods 41 Place for relaxation 45 Part of QEII, for short 46 Get clean 50 Fabric store amts.

53 Skillful 54 Go laterally 56 Crumble away 57 Rub clean 58 Answers a party invitation 60 Solve an escape room successfully 61 Dispatch a fly 62 Bike course 63 Art Deco master born Romain de Tirtoff 64 Cigarette leftover 65 Pizza order ©2017 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@ jonesincrosswords.com) Find the answers in the “About” section of CVIndependent.com!

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NOVEMBER 2017

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BY SEAN PLANCK

esert Hot Springs has been making headlines for years thanks to the city’s headlong charge into commercial cannabis—so much so that the city has earned the comical moniker of Desert Pot Springs.

But to those developing the industry in DHS, the business of cannabis is no joke.

Some of these people have joined forces to create the Desert Hot Springs Cannabis Alliance Network, a business association meant to provide “a responsible and productive voice for the cannabis industry in Desert Hot Springs through innovative and effective programs in development, operations, regulations and outreach.”

In October, the organization made its first splash with the first DHS CAN Conference. The event was held at Miracle Springs Resort and Spa on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 13 and 14.

But this wasn’t a typical cannabis convention. There were no clouds of smoke in the air, no DJ overtaxing a tiny PA in the corner, and no promo models—this was strictly business. Each day featured four panel discussions with titles including “Investing Options and Strategies,” “How to Have a Successful Cannabis Operation in Desert Hot Springs” and “Cannabis Industry Security.”

Other topics: how to pitch cannabis business ideas, and a speed-pitch session with investors.

Of note was the utilities panel, featuring representatives from Southern California Edison, the Mission Springs Water District, CV Energy and MSA Consulting Inc., a civilengineering firm based in the Coachella Valley. It’s well-known that infrastructure will be a major roadblock to getting Desert Hot Springs’ massive commercial grows online.

Panel members discussed the realities of such a massive effort, but also talked about ways to use less energy and resources by implementing alternative-energy sources and better equipment. While the cannabis industry is quickly becoming one of the biggest drains on

the state’s power grid, it appears the need to keep overhead down and implement solutions faster than utility companies (with their glacial pacing) will be an ongoing impetus for energy innovation—which will have effects inside and outside of the industry. Go weed!

The event ended with a networking “Warp Up” party next door at the Desert Hot Springs Inn. Recognizing the potential for cannabis tourism as DHS takes its place as a leader in the industry, the resort is billing itself as the Coachella Valley’s first cannabis-friendly hotel.

Smoking is allowed anywhere outside, and vaping indoors is permitted. Not only is the hotel extremely dog-friendly, but visitors are free to smoke and soak in the pool’s natural hot mineral waters. OK, if you insist ...

Learn more about the Desert Hot Springs Cannabis Alliance Network at www. deserthotspringscan.org.

The Blazers Cup Is Coming!

In stark contrast to the strictly business tone of the DHSCAN event … San Bernardino will play host to the Tommy Chong Blazers Cup, on Saturday and Sunday, December 2 and 3.

The event—organized by comedian, cannabis legend and activist Tommy Chong— will showcase the very best of medical cannabis in California.

An estimated 25,000 attendees will enjoy

Weed legend Tommy Chong.

AXLE0000 VIA WIKIPEDIA.ORG

live music, free samples and prizes from more than 500 vendors, and eats from more than 40 food vendors—who can satisfy even the most ravenous munchies.

On-site smoking is limited to the Prop 215 Medicated Area. To enter this area, one must be 18 years of age and possess a valid medical cannabis recommendation.

If you’re one of the 20 or 30 people in the state who don’t have theirs yet, don’t panic!

Medical recommendations will be available onsite at discounted rates. Out-of-state recommendations will be honored, as will outof-state IDs for new recommendations.

Competition will feature California’s finest growers, chefs, breeders and extracts competing in categories including Best Flower (Sativa, Indica, Hybrid), Best Edibles, Best Concentrates (Indica or Sativa), Best Co2 Concentrates (Non-Solvent—Indica or Sativa), Best Vape, Best Topicals, Highest CBD Product, Highest THC Product, Best New Product and Best Glass. If you’ve ever wanted a true weed legend to try your products … yes, Tommy Chong is one of the judges.

The cannabis industry is evolving rapidly, with new products and variations appearing almost daily. The Blazers Cup is a chance to see the latest and greatest the Golden State has to offer under one roof.

The 2017 Tommy Chong Blazers Cup, an 18-and-older event, will be held at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino. Tickets start at $35. For tickets or more information, visit blazerscup.com.

COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT // 39

NOVEMBER 2017

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