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CINCINNATIâ€™S NEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY | DECEMBER 19-25, 2018 | FREE

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C I N C Y B E E R F E S T. C O M

LETTERS

Put That in Your Pipe and Smoke It Jim Schroer: Just change the age of adulthood already. Gary Sims: Now that you cannot drink or smoke in a lot of major cities, maybe we should raise the age for military service to 21? Nancy Nerone Phillips: Gary Sims. Yes. That sounds fair. Elton D Conquist: If 18 is a legally responsible age, we must treat them as such. I am as anti-smoking as anyone, but this ignores common sense. Carter Hammond: This isn’t the kind of decision a few council members should be making by themselves. David Owens: The commonwealth of Kentucky offers a sincere thank you for the additional tax revenue. Clowns.... Comments posted at Facebook.com/CincinnatiCityBeat in response to the Dec 12 post, “Cincinnati Ups Smoking Age to 21: Supporters say the change will help keep youth from getting cigarettes, improving health outcomes in the city. But opponents say it violates the rights of those who are old enough to vote, serve in the military or take out loans.”

Streetcar’s Slow Ridership Ethan Urbanczyk: I’ve lived in Cincinnati 2 years. I lived in OTR for 1 year (now in Clifton). I am a big proponent of urban public transit and use it a lot when I travel. I finally rode the streetcar for the first time last Saturday. It is set up for tourists — not for locals. I generally am able to walk faster and safer. It doesn’t include anywhere that people actually live — last Saturday I still needed to take the bus into the downtown area. Mount Adams once had an incline streetcar — let’s bring that back. Clifton, Price Hill, Walnut Hills — these areas could all use better public transit connectivity. The streetcar route is designed only to be a selling point for tourists and real estate investors downtown. Kate Wilhelm: Ethan Urbanczyk, that is what people said BEFORE it was built....but that Mayor and his buddies made a lot of money in real estate where it is. John Webb: I live downtown and use the streetcar all the time. It meets the needs of people who live in OTR and downtown. In addition, it can be used in combination with the Metro bus pass for those who live in neighborhoods outside of the central downtown core. Comments posted at Facebook.com/CincinnatiCityBeat in response to the Dec 14 post, “Ridership for the Cincinnati streetcar continues to lag, especially during weekdays, but the system is running under budget year to date thanks to lower-than-expected expenses and a bump in federal contributions.”

Miraculous Funding Michelle Dillingham: Great news! An important first step. #MiracleOnRaceStreet Crystal Dandridge: @VoteDillingham @BrianGarry @TDennard @PGSittenfeld thank you all @GC_HomelessCoal #MiracleOnRaceStreet Comment posted on Twitter.com/CityBeatCincy in response to the Dec. 12 post, “Over-the-Rhine Senior Center Gets City Funding to Stay Open: The center, which has operated for 30 years near Findlay Market, faced a $100,000 budget deficit this year.”

Bengals Style DARosenthal: I’m an out-of-towner and a longtime Uni Watch fan. The Bengals helmets are amazing, and the ’88 uniforms were pretty great Comment posted on Twitter.com/CityBeatCincy in response to the Dec. 12 post, “Before Paul Lukas of @UniWatch comes to Cincinnati, we asked him to critique our hometown’s uniforms. He even says one of our teams has its own adjective — ‘Bengalian.’ ”

Shops Galore Lynn Davis: I’m so happy @handzygals were on this list. An amazing and cheerful shop that everyone should visit at least once.

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

D E C E M B E R 19 – 2 5 , 2 0 18

Comment posted on Twitter.com/CityBeatCincy in response to the Dec. 16 post, “All of our favorite local shops for your holiday shopping: 47 Cincinnati Shops and Boutiques We Love.”

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NEWS Will Ohio’s Funding for Local Governments Increase? Outlook Cloudy Cincinnati and other local governments have taken big hits from cuts to the state’s local government fund. Incoming governor Mike DeWine may not be eager to restore them.

Mike DeWine COURTESY PHOTO

BY N I C K SWA R T S E L L

local economies — are booming. Ire around the skimpier local government fund has grown as the state stacks cash in its reserve account. That rainy-day fund hit $2.7 billion this year — close to the limit ascribed by state law. Kasich defended the decision to stash the money away instead of flowing more money to local governments. “You know how many times politicians wanted us to spend this, this $2.7 billion?” he said in July as the state deposited the money in the rainy-day fund. “You know, how many times, ‘Come on! Give me more money?’ OK? That’s what I worry about in the future.” But local officials have their own take. The Ohio Mayors Alliance, which represents top elected executives from big cities in Ohio including Cincinnati, fired back at Kasich. “Reasonable people can disagree on the best use of Ohio’s rainy-day fund,” the group said in a July statement. “However, as a bipartisan coalition of mayors, we find it unfortunate that Gov. Kasich doesn’t see the value of Ohio’s cities and small towns. While we’re dismayed by this overlyhostile rhetoric, we’re encouraged that both gubernatorial candidates have been signaling a much more cooperative tone.” DeWine’s remarks, however, raise some question about how eager the incoming governor will be to loosen up the state’s purse strings.

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Last year, the state legislature mulled changes that would have cost Cincinnati even more in state government funds, drawing pushback from city officials. “The assault on local government has got to stop,” Mayor John Cranley said in a statement responding to that proposal. “Cincinnati is a net donor to the state’s coffers. They are taking from us and giving to others.” Hamilton County does seem to produce more tax revenue for the state than average. While the county’s 810,000 residents account for about 7 percent of the state’s 11 million people, the county’s sales taxes accounted for more than 8 percent of Ohio’s overall sales tax receipts in 2015. It contributes even more to the state’s income tax collections — about 10 percent of the state’s take annually. The cuts to the local government fund were enacted to pay for reductions in income tax rates for individuals and businesses put in place during Kasich’s tenure. Kasich’s office has criticized analysis of the cuts to the local government fund that don’t take into account increased income tax receipts. However, local officials say income tax receipts in places like Cincinnati haven’t increased enough to pay for the reductions, and it’s clear that the cuts to the fund have made it more difficult for local municipalities to keep their financial houses in order even as the national economy — and some

government funding back in October, when he was running a tight-polling race against Democrat Rich Cordray. At the time, he told the Cincinnati Business Courier he would like to “do everything we can” to raise local government funding. The fund, which was created in the 1930s to make up for the creation of a statewide sales tax, is a big deal for Cincinnati, Hamilton County and a number of other urban city and county governments. The cuts, plus state lawmakers’ elimination of Ohio’s estate tax and some tax reimbursements, cost Cincinnati and other urban municipalities millions. In 2011, Cincinnati got more than $25 million from the local government fund and another $15 million from an estate tax that the state legislature has since eliminated. By 2018, the city was receiving just $12 million from the local government funds and zero from the estate tax, which ceased in 2015. Hamilton County lost $66 million in similar state funding between 2011 and last year, Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes has said. Local officials say the cuts have played a role in blowing big holes in local budgets. Cincinnati, for example, could see a $19 million deficit next year, and county commissioners are wrangling with their own $29 million deficit. Municipalities have eyed measures like sales tax hikes — which are more regressive funding mechanisms that often fall harder on lower-income residents — and tax levies as a means to fill the gaps. Hamilton County Commissioners, for example, voted to increase the county’s sales tax earlier this year before backing off due to pressure from anti-tax conservatives. County Commissioner Denise Driehaus tied the shortfall to reductions in state and federal funding. “The federal government and the state government, in my view, have shifted the tax burden to local communities,” she said.

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t’s no secret: Cuts made by conservative Ohio lawmakers under Republican Gov. John Kasich to the state’s so-called local government fund have had big consequences for municipalities across the state. The situation has even drawn national attention, including a lengthy story in The New York Times about Lorain, Ohio. So will those cuts be reversed under incoming governor Mike DeWine, also a Republican? Don’t hold your breath. Speaking at the annual meeting of the County Commissioners Association of Ohio on Dec. 12, DeWine pledged new efforts to help local governments — but also pointed out that he never promised to restore the vital funding the state once poured into local government coffers, which dropped about $351 million a year during the tenure of outgoing Gov. Kasich. Looking to shore up a state deficit and pay for state income tax breaks he said would stimulate the economy, Kasich cut the fund from 3.7 percent of the state’s tax revenues to just 1.7 percent shortly after taking office. That’s drawn ire from many urban municipalities, which say they collect more in sales taxes for the state than they get back. With his recent remarks, DeWine may have signaled he wouldn’t drastically change course. While he said that Ohio is “a local government state. I like that. I’m not going to change that,” he also said that help for municipalities would come in very targeted forms — funding for children’s services, for example, or multi-jurisdiction drug task forces. “I was very careful during the campaign not to say that I’m going to restore the local government fund to a certain level,” he said. “What I have said is that we’re going to be a good partner. We want to work with you.” But what that means is slippery. DeWine was a bit more positive about local

CITY DESK

Streetcar Numbers Lag in November, Though System Still in the Black for Now BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L

November ridership numbers for the Cincinnati streetcar show the transit system attracted slightly fewer riders than it did a year ago. The report from the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority shows that 34,674 people rode the streetcar in November — just less than the 34,721 who rode in November 2017. This year’s numbers were buttressed somewhat by a surge on Friday, Nov. 23, when 4,155 people rode the streetcar for free in conjunction with Black Friday. Another 3,257 rode for free that Saturday. Even with the boost, however, ridership numbers were lower than the previous month, when 38,519 riders boarded the streetcar. That was significantly lower than the 46,327 riders budgeted to ride in October, continuing an ongoing trend in which the streetcar has missed its ridership projections and dropped in its year-over-year totals. In October 2017, 63,413 people boarded the streetcar. The streetcar has seen increased ridership year-over-year only once: in March this year. The drop in ridership is significant because a portion of the streetcar’s operating fund comes from fares riders pay. Revenue from fares was $11,000 lower than projected due to decreases in ridership. Advertising revenue for the streetcar is also down by about $74,000 year to date. However, the system is about $86,000 under budget year to date according to a memo from City Manager Patrick Duhaney earlier this month because it spent $110,000 less than budgeted on its Transdev contract and received $64,000 more than expected in federal contributions. Cincinnati’s streetcar opened in September 2016 and has been hobbled

controls day-to-day operations. SORTA has considered stepping away from its management role, though it is still unclear how it would be able to do so under the constraints that come from the system’s initial federal funding. And earlier this year, there were rumblings that Cincinnati Bell, which paid $3.4 million to name the streetcar the “Cincinnati Bell Connector” for a decade, might consider dropping its sponsorship over performance issues. The company said in a statement it did have “concerns” about the streetcar’s performance but hadn’t made any decisions about its sponsorship.

More Than 1,000 Ohioans Already Registered to Buy Medicinal Marijuana

The streetcar PH OTO: NIC K SWARTSELL

by a number of problems since, from cold-weather outages related to compressor flaws last winter to issues with traffic blocking the streetcar tracks. The streetcar this year has so far seen fewer problems with cold weather, though it is still early in the season. The rail transit system still struggles with hitting the 12- to 15-minute wait riders are supposed to experience. A traffic study two years in the making may help with that, though an interim report on that study presented this week raised frustrations in Cincinnati City Council. Safety incidents involving the streetcar have begun to drop, with a 67 percent decrease between October this year and the year prior. Meanwhile, a comparable system in Kansas City, Missouri is seeing big

BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L

growth in year-over-year ridership. More than 143,000 people rode the Kansas City streetcar last month — a 12,000-rider increase from the year prior. November was the sixth straight month the system had seen year-over-year increases in ridership. Kansas City’s streetcar is free to ride and draws from a somewhat bigger population of potential riders. Performance issues with Cincinnati’s 3.6-mile system have triggered a flurry of potential changes. Some Cincinnati City Council members have called for a streetcar executive who could take the reins of the project from its current tangled management structure involving SORTA, the city and contractor Transdev, which

Cincinnati City Council Creates Affordable Housing Fund

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BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L

Cincinnati needs tens of thousands of more units of housing affordable for its lowest-income residents, according to recent research. On Dec. 12, Cincinnati City Council approved a new proposal from Councilman David Mann establishing a fund to help bridge that gap — but where the money would come from could get complicated. Officially known as Fund 439, the money that will eventually go into the affordable housing trust fund would be used to create and preserve affordable housing in the city. Creation of the fund is just the first step, of course. The city would need to find revenue sources for the trust. One possibility that has been discussed lately in council would be a 7 percent excise tax on so-called short-term rentals

— that is, rooms or entire buildings rented on sites like Airbnb. Currently, those who rent out rooms or buildings as short-term rentals don’t pay a lodgings tax like hotels do. Mann has proposed charging that tax for short-term rentals — along with a number of other regulations on the practice — and using the tax to fund affordable housing. But council hasn’t passed the proposal yet, and a group representing many Airbnb and other short-term rental owners in the city says they support the tax, but oppose other regulations in Mann’s proposal, including a cap on the number of units an owner can operate and licensing and inspection requirements. Mann’s fellow Democrat council member Tamaya Dennard, a potential key vote,

says she opposes the tax on short-term rentals because Airbnb operators aren’t the reason the city lacks affordable housing and because they are often small business owners. Cincinnati has about 640 active Airbnb rentals, according to AIRDNA, which tracks rentals on the site by city. Roughly 67 percent of Airbnb rentals in Cincinnati are stand-alone units, meaning the operator isn’t simply a homeowner renting out a spare room in a house. The city has seen a 41 percent annual growth rate in those rentals in recent years. Cincinnati currently needs about 30,000 more units of housing that is affordable to its lowest-income residents, according to estimates from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.

About a week after opening the state of Ohio’s Patient and Caregiver Registry, the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy announced Dec. 12 that more than 1,000 people had already successfully registered for a card that will allow them to purchase medicinal marijuana. Authorized physicians use the registry, which opened Dec. 3, to recommend other caregivers and patients suffering from conditions like cancer, AIDS, posttraumatic stress disorder and a number of others. The state then confirms the patient’s identity, after which the patient or caregiver can sign up for the card. That card will allow holders to purchase marijuana from certified dispensaries when they open. The first dispensaries should be open by early 2019, officials at the Pharmacy Board say, though they caution that early supply could sell out quickly as certified marijuana growers continue to work to get up and running and produce crops. The registration costs $50 a person, or $25 if you’re a veteran or caregiver. The Pharmacy Board says physicians have filed more than 1,948 recommendations via the system. Of those, 1,062 people have filled out an online form to register for the card so far. Registered buyers will be limited to a 90-day supply of any medicinal marijuana product, officials say. That’s measured by THC content and is the equivalent of eight ounces of cannabis at or below 23 percent THC or about five ounces of cannabis with higher concentrations of THC. Topical forms of medical cannabis can total no more than 26 grams of THC. Buyers can purchase up to roughly 10 grams of THC in edible products, or cannabis oil for vaporization as long as it contains no more than 53 grams of THC.

Applications Open for OTR Parking Permits BY N I C K SWA R T S E L L

Starting Dec. 17, residents in Over-the-Rhine can apply for the neighborhood’s coming residential parking permits. Under the permit plan passed by Cincinnati City Council earlier this year, the city will sell an uncapped number of permits to OTR residents. The regular rate will be $60 a year — down significantly from the original proposal of $150 a year. Low-cost permits will be available to qualified residents (for example, those living in subsidized housing) at $25 a year. There are about 1,290 spaces in the neighborhood; about 500 — all south of Liberty Street — will be permit spots. Residents can apply online or at Cincinnati City Hall downtown (801 Plum Street, Room 425) from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The plan will cost the city about $180,000 in initial signage and other expenses, and about $75,000 a year to administer. Those costs would be covered by the fees from the permits. The spots are needed because OTR has become increasingly popular as a destination, city administration says.

Parts of Clifton, Columbia Tusculum and Pendleton already have permit programs, but those cost $30 a year. Boosters say that the permit plan will ease parking worries for those who live in the neighborhood — especially those with low incomes who can’t pay for expensive garage spaces. CityBeat spoke to some residents in 2016 who were hoping for permits because parking had become so difficult near their homes. Residents have been asking for parking permits for almost four years. Mayor John Cranley has vetoed previous versions of a permit plan for the neighborhood twice, saying taxpayers across the city pay for upkeep to the public roads in OTR and should be able to park on them. Earlier versions of the city’s plan included so-called “flex spots,” which would have been usable by drivers with and without the residential permits. That portion of the plan was dropped, however.

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D E C E M B E R 19 – 2 5 , 2 0 18

January 19

CITY DESK

Cincinnati Preservation Projects Get State Tax Credits BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L

Six historic rehab projects in the Queen City will receive a share of more than $36 million in Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credits. The Ohio Development Services Agency announced the winners of the state’s 21st application cycle for the tax credits, which rehabbers can use to raise capital for expensive renovations to historically significant buildings. Cincinnati came up big this application cycle, with half a dozen projects in the city netting well more than $6 million in credits. Six projects in Columbus, five in Cleveland, two in Akron and one each in Dayton and Toledo also got awards, as did a number of projects in smaller municipalities. Here is who got what in Cincinnati: • A $1.1 million project renovating two residential buildings built around 1865 at 222 and 225 Mohawk Street in Over-theRhine will get $227,000 in credits to turn the structures into six apartments. • Over-the-Rhine Community Housing and the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation will receive $250,000 in credits to rehab 1513 Vine Street into eight affordable apartments above commercial space — a $3 million project — and another $250,000 credit to rehab 1517 Vine Street into six affordable units and a restaurant space on the first floor. That project is expected to cost $3.4 million.

OTR Senior Center Gets City Funds to Stay Open

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

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BY N I C K SWA R T S EL L

The Over-the-Rhine Senior Services Center will get a much-needed injection of city funds so it can continue its more than three decades in the neighborhood. Cincinnati City Council Dec. 16 approved a one-time $50,000 funding source to help the center stay open. Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld also promised to pursue legislation that would allow the center to keep revenue from leasing out the upper floor of the center, which is owned by the city. Earlier this month, center operators Cincinnati Area Senior Services indicated it would shutter the building because the program it runs at the center providing breakfast, lunch and programing for senior citizens faced a $100,000 budget deficit. Instead, CASS said it would bus seniors who come to the center to Mount Auburn. CASS CEO Tracey Collins says that the center lost city funding in 2015 and has since suffered cuts to funding it gets via United Way of Greater Cincinnati, which has been experiencing its own fundraising difficulties recently. “It feels fitting in this holiday season

Urban Artifact PHOTO: EMERSON SWOGER

Both buildings date to the 1890s. • Popular Northside music venue and brewery Urban Artifact will get about $160,000 in credits toward a $1.3 million project to renovate the brewery’s home, which is a former church built in 1873. The project will focus on rehabilitating the

to take action that allows our seniors to stay put in a neighborhood where they’ve received care for over 30 years — getting a warm meal in the warm company of friends,” Sittenfeld said in a statement after the vote. “I will also be advocating that City Council adjust the parameters for the City’s Human Services funding so that senior citizens can once again get the support and funding they deserve.” Attendees who come for the roughly 70 meals the center provides each day say that it is a way to find companionship, safety and comfort. “This is a home away from home,” a longtime center visitor named Clifford Beasley said. “If we had had to give this up, we’d be lost. It means a lot that someone cares about the elderly. I’ve been coming here it seems like forever.” CASS already covers maintenance and operations costs for the building, which run about $84,000 a year. News of the pending closure angered social service advocates, who mounted a campaign to save the senior center by rallying, starting a petition and lobbying council. The neighborhood is predominantly black with a median household income less than half the overall city’s median income and has lost a number of social service providers over the past

church’s upstairs sanctuary space, including repair of stained-glass windows and replacement of other windows in the space. The work will also include an elevator to make the space accessible and the addition of restrooms, among other improvements. “I’ve been working on this for almost

OTR Senior Center Director Cheryl Ware (right) and Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld PH OTO: NIC K SWARTSELL

decade, even as high-dollar developments have ramped up there. Funding from the city for the center dropped from a high of more than $130,000 in 2007 to zero just eight years later as

eight months, with the help of Childress & Cunningham Architects on the design and Kunst for historic preservation consulting,” Urban Artifact’s Scott Hand says. “If everything goes smoothly, we’ll start on some of the projects early spring of 2019. The overall goal is to make the upstairs accessible and safe and expand our event space with additional flexibility for weddings, receptions and music and beer events.” • A $1.3 million effort to rehabilitate Mount Auburn’s distinctive flatiron building at 1833 Sycamore Street will get $250,000 in credits. The building, constructed in the 1890s, has been vacant for roughly three decades but remains a prominent part of Mount Auburn’s built environment. The Hamilton County Land Bank recently stabilized the property, and rehab efforts aim to turn it into market rate apartments with first-floor retail space. • The biggest project to win credits this round was a nearly $67 million effort to renovate the First National Bank Building at 105 East Fourth Street downtown. The main part of the three-section structure was designed by noted architect Daniel Burnham and built in 1905. It is one of the city’s tallest buildings. The project by Texas-based NewcrestImage LLC will convert the building into a hotel with the help of $5 million in credits. The building is currently office space but is largely vacant.

the city shifted funding priorities toward workforce development, help for people experiencing homelessness and violence prevention. “Seniors have to be on the agenda for the city of Cincinnati,” Collins says. “That’s the big win here... this is like their second home.” Collins says CASS will need to raise $50,000-$75,000 each year to keep the center running. But the attention around its potential closure may have spurred more donors — in the days after it was revealed the center could close, a private family foundation pitched in $5,000. “If we could have just a few more donations like that for the specific cause of keeping our doors open here in Over-the-Rhine, that would be fantastic,” CASS Board Chair Dan Driehaus said. Fighting back tears, Senior Center director Cheryl Ware said the center is pivotal for those who go there — and for her. “We are family here,” Ware says. “And that’s it. To move us — we were prepared to go as a family, but we are so pleased to stay here in our home.”

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ith the nationally broadcast send-off for President George H.W. Bush only just in the rearview mirror, and with the calendar’s impending turnover to 2019 just a couple weeks ahead, it’s that time of year when the notable deaths of 2018 will be aggregated and slideshow-ed for consumption on your favorite mobile

device. You will read about and remember Anthony Bourdain and Stephen Hillenburg and Aretha Franklin and Stan Lee and William Goldman and Paul Allen and Mac Miller and other luminaries whose deaths were of general and widespread interest. What’s offered here is different. Yes, these people also died in 2018, but their deaths largely didn’t vault from the obit pages of The New York Times or Washington Post, where notable deaths are chronicled in beautiful and regular fashion, or from the obit pages of the daily papers of cities where these folks lived and worked. Their endings may not have merited a CNN chyron or Twitter Moment headline, but that they were lesser known doesn’t mean they aren’t worth remembering.

Emily “Mount Fiji” Dole

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Pioneer of female professional wrestling Sept. 28, 1957–Jan. 2, 2018

Emily “Mount Fiji” Dole

In the late 1980s, to reach the peak of women’s professional wrestling was to be among the cast members on the hit sports show GLOW: The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. Hitting the airwaves in 1986, the all-female wrestling program consisted of women assigned flamboyantly cartoonish alter egos that couldn’t have been further from political correctness, like Matilda the Hun, Babe the Farmer’s Daughter and the tag team Hollywood & Vine. Considering the stress they put on their bodies, the female wrestling pioneers practically worked for free, making between $300 and $700 a week. There were no dental benefits, just the risk of losing teeth in the ring; no medical insurance for the inevitable broken collarbones and concussions. Their only guarantee at the end of the day was pain and exasperation — and, when the bright lights dimmed and the roar subsided, the glory. But among the many talented ladies who initially scratched the surface of women in professional wrestling, none of them are remembered quite like the one they dubbed “Mountain Fiji.” Legend has it Emily “Mount Fiji” Dole never lost a match, which makes sense when you consider that she stood 5 feet, 11 inches

tall and weighed in at 350 pounds. A proud Samoan American woman, an actress by any fair defi nition, an accomplished athlete, Dole was by far the most recognizable character on GLOW, with her tree trunk-like arms and shoulders as wide as a volcano’s outer rim. Prior to her time as a professional wrestler, Dole was remembered for her ability to toss a shotput more than 50 feet as a teenager at Buena Park High School in California — a feat that’s been repeated just twice by other California high school girls since. Later on, Dole qualified for two Olympic track and field trials, where she finished fi fth in 1976 and seventh in 1980. Netfl ix’s current fictionalized tribute to the pioneering wrestling league features a Samoan American wrestler named Carmen “Machu Picchu” Wade, played by Britney Young, a clear tribute to Dole’s legacy. In her fi nal years, Dole dealt with a number of health problems, many of which were born out of her career in wrestling, and had been staying in an assisted living facility. By 2008, her weight had begun to get the best of her as she climbed up to 425 pounds, although she would later cut it back down to 235 pounds. But like all volcanoes, though it had erupted hundreds of times within the wrestling ring, the fi re inside her would inevitably lay dormant. On Jan. 2, 2018, Dole passed away from unknown complications. She was 60 years old. — Xander Peters

Thomas Bopp

Amateur astronomer and discoverer of Comet Hale-Bopp Oct. 15, 1949–Jan. 5, 2018

Thomas Bopp

the naked eye to millions of people in the Northern Hemisphere. It was the biggest, most visible comet since the Great Comet of 1811. The comet brought some misfortune, too. In March ’97, 39 members of California death cult Heaven’s Gate committed mass suicide, believing their bodies would be transported to an alien spacecraft following the comet. In the spring, when the comet was the closest to the Earth, Bopp’s brother and sister-in-law were killed by a car while photographing the comet. “This has been the best week of my life,” he told National Geographic. “And the worst.” In recent years, Bopp worked as a shuttle driver at a Toyota dealership. He died at a hospital in Phoenix at age 68 from liver failure. “I can find another job, but this is something that happens once in 10,000 lifetimes,” he told Newsweek when he quit his job to bask in the glow of Hale-Bopp. The comet is expected to next pass Earth in 4897. — Lee DeVito

Ursula K. Le Guin

Trailblazing speculative novelist Oct. 21, 1929–Jan. 22, 2018

herself in mythology, classic fantasies and the science fiction magazines of the day. In 1951, she graduated from Radcliffe College, then earned a master’s degree in romance literature from Columbia University in 1952. From there, Le Guin was awarded a Fulbright fellowship to study in Paris. While aboard a steamer set for France, she met the historian Charles Le Guin, whom she married a few months later. Later in life, the two would settle down and start a family in Portland, Oregon, where they lived in a Victorian house on a steep street just below the city’s Forest Park. As the Paris Review noted during an interview with Le Guin in 2013, perhaps appropriately for a science fiction author and much like the worlds she’d bend within her fiction’s narratives, their home appeared “larger on the inside than it does from without.” On Jan. 22, 2018, with one last conflict within a story to resolve, Le Guin passed away peacefully at her home in Portland.

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which imagined a world whose human inhabitants have no fixed gender; instead, their sexual roles are determined by context and express themselves only once a month. She would later refer to the story as a “thought experiment.” “I eliminated gender to find out what was left,” Le Guin told The Guardian in 2005. It remains one of speculative fiction’s academic touchstones to this day. The only daughter of two anthropologists, Ursula Kroeber was born the youngest of four children in Berkeley, California, in 1929. Her father studied Native American tribes based in California, while her mother, Theodora Kracaw Kroeber, gained prominence in the same field with her acclaimed book Ishi in Two Worlds, which chronicled the life and death of the state’s “last wild Indian.” Throughout her youth, with dinner-table talk of lost worlds never far out of earshot, Le Guin would use her family’s deep understanding of the world as a jumping-off point as she immersed

More than 20 novels, not counting several of her earliest works that remain unpublished. A dozen books on poetry. More than 100 short stories, collected throughout multiple volumes. Seven essay collections. Thirteen books for children. Five volumes of translation, including The Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu and selected poems by the Chilean Nobel Prize winner Gabriela Mistral. Oh, and a guide for writers. Even stingily speaking, the career of author Ursula K. Le Guin — one of the 20th century’s pioneering science fiction and young adult writers — was prolific. Arguably her most enduring work, The Left Hand of Darkness, inspired legions of genre writers, including contemporary savants such as Neil Gaiman, J.K. Rowling, John Scalzi and the widely acclaimed Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale. Some critics argue that no single work did more to upend the genre’s seemingly predictable conventions than that of the Nebula and Hugo Award-winning novel,

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Thomas Bopp wasn’t looking for a comet when he peered into a telescope on Saturday, July 22, 1995. In fact, he wasn’t looking for anything. By day, the 47-yearold worked for a cement company, where he made a passing mention of his interest in astronomy to Jim Stevens, who ran an auto parts store in Phoenix. It was a hobby started when Bopp was just a boy growing up in Youngstown, Ohio, when his father gave him his first telescope. Stevens, it turned out, was also interested in telescopes. By night, the two became amateur astronomers, going stargazing with Stevens’ homemade telescope in the Arizona desert, with Stevens serving as Bopp’s mentor. That was exactly what they were doing that night, when Stevens trained his lens on a cluster of stars in the Sagittarius constellation shortly after 11 p.m. Stevens was eager for Bopp to take a look. But what he didn’t realize was he had aimed his telescope directly at an unidentified flying object — what Bopp would later describe as “a little fuzzy glow.” In reality, it was a 46-mile-wide hunk of ice 577 million miles away, hurtling through space toward Earth. The stakes were high — comets are a coveted catch for astronomers, since they are conventionally named after those who discover them. But first Bopp and Stevens had to notify Harvard University to officiate the discovery. This was not an easy task in the Arizona desert in the ’90s. After studying the object for several minutes to make sure it was not a star, Bopp got in his car and drove 20 miles to a truck stop to try and call Western Union from a pay phone to send a telegram to the Central Bureau of the International Astronomical Union at Harvard University, because yes, you could still send telegrams in the ’90s. The Western Union representative didn’t have an address, so Bopp hung up and got in his car and drove home. Around 3 a.m., he barged into his bedroom, woke his wife, found the address in an astronomy book, and sent the telegram with the comet’s coordinates. The next morning, Bopp got a call from the International Astronomical Union. Unbeknownst to Bopp, another astronomer — a real astronomer, Alan Hale, with a doctorate in astronomy and everything — had also spotted the comet within minutes of him, and had already emailed the coordinates to Harvard from his home in New Mexico. But once again, the stars aligned for Bopp: By what he later described as “bizarre chance,” an IAU associate director happened to be in the office that Sunday and received the telegram. The comet, formally designated C/1995 O1, would be named Hale-Bopp, after both astronomers. Bopp quit his day job to attend to the media maelstrom that followed. In 1997, the comet reached perihelion, or its closest point to the sun. It lit up the night sky for more than 18 months, its long tail visible to

Her family did not cite a cause other than poor health due to old age. Le Guin was 88 years old. — Xander Peters

Mark E. Smith

Irascible frontman of The Fall March 5, 1957–Jan. 24, 2018

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“If it’s me and your granny on bongos, then it’s a Fall gig.” A young Mark E. Smith started The Fall in the Manchester suburb of Prestwich after the infamous 1976 Sex Pistols show in Manchester that inspired the majority of attendees to start bands the next day. It was the only time in his life that Smith would (unwittingly) succumb to Rock cliché. He spent the next 40 years trying his best to dismantle Rock & Roll and the music industry from the inside. Though he looked like an ill-tempered postal clerk or substitute teacher, Smith was Punk and disorderly to the very core. With The Fall, he built a sound antithetical to the idea of musical proficiency, favoring instead spontaneity and creative tension, laced it with biting, clever, often poetic lyrics, and ended up with something every bit as inspirational as Gang of Four or Wire. The Fall was a band that (to its horror, perhaps) influenced generations of Punk, New Wave and Alternative Rock bands, and Smith became a de facto role model to those for whom the underground was

Mark E. Smith

more than just a temporary lifestyle choice. What other Post Punk band had enough cultural cachet to score a major label record deal (again), during the Grunge revolution of the 1990s? The unforgettable songs and anthems piled up like discarded ex-band members (a cohort over 60 strong, all told) — “Totally Wired,” “Mr. Pharmacist,” “The Classical,” “Hip Priest,” “Glam Racket,” “There’s a Ghost in My House,” “Big New Prinz.” Did you ever hear The Fall’s cover of Disco standard “Lost In Music”? If the albums aren’t enough to slake your thirst, The Fall recorded 20-plus live sessions with equally legendary British DJ John Peel over the BBC’s public radio airwaves between 1978 and 2004. Despite this fearsome productivity, Smith kept The Fall proudly “unprofessional.” If during a concert Smith would drink himself into oblivion, unplug an amp (or five), mess up keyboard settings, change up the setlist or recruit a new drummer 15 minutes before showtime, what of it? As Smith himself barked, it’s just “creative management, cock!” Smith was The Fall’s only constant member during the band’s 40-plus years of intense creative drive (they were contemporaries of Joy Division, just to put things in perspective): one or more albums a year, restless, constantly changing

Gary Burden

music, grueling touring schedules that have the logistical sense of darts thrown at a map of the world and a bandleader who apparently hasn’t eaten solid food in decades (subsisting on a liquid diet, as they say) dedicated to spontaneity, conflict and uncertainty in day-to-day business affairs. Smith anecdotes are almost as legion as Fall anthems, suffused with a sui generis cranky mystique. There’s the apocryphal story of him catching some of his bandmates dancing to “Rock the Casbah” at an afterparty in the ’80s and summarily delivering slaps to every offender or when he almost singlehandedly bottled Mumford & Sons off the stage in the early ’00s; the time he fired a sound engineer for eating a salad and fired a drummer on the unlucky percussionist’s wedding day; or when he agreed to play on British show Later… with Jools Holland with the contractual condition that the titular host not play “Boogie Woogie piano anywhere near The Fall.” His neverending embrace of chaos and tension had an ugly side to it; he could be vile and abusive to those closest to him. And yet, most remained loyal, believing in their flawed leader’s vision, like the long-suffering Hanley brothers and, of course, Smith’s most famous creative foil, guitarist and ex-wife Brix Smith. After Smith, Brix was the most iconic member of The Fall, a glammed-up American Punk who contributed unforgettable serrated riffs to pivotal albums like The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall and The Frenz Experiment. Photos and video from her tenure in The Fall are essential and electrifying viewing, like transmissions from a strange alternate future. Their breakup was equally as seismic, though she rejoined the band for a brief time in the 1990s. Smith died at 60 after a long battle with cancer, but was still doing shows, in a wheelchair, in the year before he passed and never ceased writing and releasing music regularly. There will likely never be a Pop star quite like him again. — Matthew Moyer

Gary Burden

Essential album cover artist of the 1970s May 23, 1933–March 7, 2018

If you dig classic Folk Rock, you probably

remember the cover of Joni Mitchell’s Blue album, a close-up, high-contrast midnightblue portrait of Mitchell gazing downward. It’s melancholic and rich and, most of all, it evokes feeling in the viewer. Gary Burden designed that. The former architect was a sought-after album designer starting in the late ’60s for many a Rock & Roller, from Mitchell, The Doors and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young to current artists like Conor Oberst, best known for his work in the emotive Indie Folk project Bright Eyes. “Gary always wanted the album packaging to reflect the spirit of the music and the wishes of the artists as much as possible,” Oberst said about Burden in a recent article in The New York Times. “He was often at odds with record labels when they sought to cut costs at the expense of what he and the artist had envisioned. Gary usually won those battles.” While studying architecture at UC Berkeley, Burden met Cass Elliot of the Mamas and the Papas, who would ultimately be the one to turn him on to designing album covers for a living. “I met her and she asked me to do a remodel of her home in Laurel Canyon,” Burden said in a 2015 video interview with NPR’s World Café. “So she’s the one who said, ‘You know, Gary, you should make our new cover; you know how to design stuff.” The rest, you could say, is history. After a lifetime of contributing his own art to the music community, Burden died this year on March 7. No cause was given. As time seems to slip faster beneath us and technology speeds the world up, Burden’s death is a reminder to slow down and look at the details; feel the textures and edges and maybe sit with — and breathe with — a piece of album art. It’ll most likely enhance the entire musical experience. — Chris Conde

Arnie Lerma

Ex-Scientologist who became Scientology’s fiercest critic Nov. 18, 1950–March 16, 2018

Ever heard the story of Xenu, the genocidal alien dictator who, when faced with overpopulation troubles 75 million years ago, brought billions of his subjects to Earth to execute them with a lethal combination of volcanoes and hydrogen bombs, leaving their disembodied spirits to cling to humans, only to be removed through the teachings of the Church of Scientology? If so, you can thank Arnie Lerma. Arnaldo Pagliarini Lerma was born in Washington, D.C. in 1950, to a mother who was an executive secretary to the Sudanese ambassador and a father who was a Mexican agriculture official — and who divorced months after his birth, according to Lerma’s autobiography. His mother was a Scientology official in the D.C. church around 1968, about three decades after American science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard published the first texts that would form the basis of his new religion, Scientology. By the time Lerma joined Scientology at 16 at the urging of his mother, the church had been banned

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in several Australian states and stripped of its tax-exempt status by the IRS, which deemed it a commercial operation for Hubbard’s benefit — though a U.S. appeals court later recognized it as a religion in 1969. Lerma signed a “billion-year contract” to serve in Scientology’s elite Sea Org, a paramilitary force that some have described as a totalitarian organization, according to the Washington Post. But his status among fellow Scientologists changed when Lerma and Hubbard’s daughter, Suzette, fell in love (a claim that has been strongly disputed by the church). Lerma’s entanglement with Scientology ended after other Sea Org members allegedly threatened to mutilate him if he didn’t cancel his elopement with Suzette Hubbard. Exiled from the religion that had been his home for years, Lerma became one of Scientology’s fiercest critics. By 1994, he was posting public court documents involving the church online in the alt. religion.scientology newsgroup that “included testimony from former church officials who describe Scientology as a dangerous cult that brainwashes and blackmails its member and harasses defectors and critics,” which earned him intimidating visits from men in dark suits at his Arlington home, according to the Post. In 1995, Lerma was the first to post the “Fishman Affidavit” — documents submitted by ex-Scientologist Steven Fishman that included criticisms of the church as well as the doctrine of Xenu, which Scientology officials argued was copyrighted and a trade secret. The church accused Lerma of copyright infringement and trade secret misappropriation, leading to a raid of his home by federal marshals, Scientology attorneys and data technicians. The church’s Religious Technology Center (RTC) sued Lerma, his internet service provider and Post reporters for quoting the affidavit. A federal judge found the reporters had not violated copyright for quoting a publicly available court document, but Lerma was held liable for a small number of non-willful copyright violations and ordered to pay a $2,500 penalty. The court, though, stated it was convinced “that the primary motivation of RTC in suing Lerma, DGS and the Post is to stifle criticism of Scientology in general and to harass its critics,” according to the 1995 ruling. Lerma continued his crusade against Scientology on his website, Lermanet, which became a resource for other critics, and gave interviews on the subject in print news stories, television and radio. On March 16, Lerma, 67, shot his wife, Ginger Sugerman, in the face with a handgun at their Georgia home before killing himself, according to the local newspaper, the Sylvania Telephone. Sugerman, 58, survived and told Tony Ortega — the former Village Voice editor who runs The Underground Bunker, a site that keeps a sharp eye on the world of Scientology — that her husband was

Judith Leiber

Arnie Lerma

taking oxycodone in his last months to deal with back pain and that his paranoia had increased. Ortega last reported that Sugerman, also a former Scientologist, was raising funds for her continuing surgeries and for efforts to honor Lerma’s work, despite his last atrocity. — Monivette Cordeiro

Judith Leiber

Holocaust survivor and designer of extravagant handbags Jan. 11, 1921–April 28, 2018

If you can’t connect the dots between the words “handbag” and “art,” you’re probably not versed in the distinctive work of Judith Leiber, the late Hungarian designer who took a signature concept — whimsical metal clutches adorned with Swarovski crystals and semi-precious stones — and ran with it in vivid fashion for decades while carving her own niche in the fashion world. Born Judit Peto into a Jewish family in Budapest in 1921, she escaped the worst atrocities of the Holocaust — thanks in part to a Swiss letter of protection her father managed to obtain — and weathered

World War II in a Budapest apartment in the Jewish ghetto reportedly shared by 26 people. Although aimed for a job in the cosmetics industry, she instead broke the mold and became the first woman to work at the Hungarian Handbag Guild, where she perfected design and fabrication skills from the ground up. In 1945, while selling her own handmade purses on the side, she met Gerson “Gus” Leiber, a Brooklyn-born Army sergeant and modernist painter stationed in Budapest. By 1947, they were married and living in New York City. In New York, she worked for handbag manufacturers and hit an early career high in 1953 when First Lady Mamie Eisenhower arrived at the Inaugural Ball carrying a small, bedazzled clutch crafted by Leiber. Although the credit went to her employer (designer Nettie Rosenstein), this turn of events foreshadowed a trend of powerful women — from queens and movie stars to first ladies Lady Bird Johnson, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush — clutching Leiber’s shimmering creations at highprofile events.

In 1963, the couple officially dove into the luxury handbag business together via Judith Leiber Inc., with Gerson on the business end and Judith handling design, fabrication and marketing. In the decades that followed Leiber took her playful, over-the-top aesthetic to the limit while challenging the confines of minaudières — decorated metal clutches only big enough to carry what she summed up as “a handkerchief, lipstick and a $100 bill.” Collaborative efforts involving sculptors, painters, jewelers and artisans in the U.S. and Italy, Leiber’s imaginative bags can take a year to complete and typically cost somewhere between $4,000 and $8,000, with made-to-order couture pieces ringing in closer to $20,000. Beyond meticulous attention to detail and unapproachable price tags, one of the most remarkable aspects of Leiber’s work is the juxtaposition of refined materials and techniques with nostalgic, childlike, even lowbrow themes and concepts. Nevertheless her unapologetically extravagant minaudières — which have taken shape in dazzling cupcakes, ladybugs, cameras, cell phones, bundles of asparagus, Tutankhamun-inspired monkeys, burgers, fries and cocktails — have long been slyly witty staples for A-list celebrities on oftenhumorless red carpets. Although the Leibers sold their business in 1993 for a reported $16 million (Judith stayed on board as designer until 1997), the Judith Leiber brand is still intact and active, offering a reverent continuum of the 5,000-plus designs its co-founder created throughout her colorful career. In 2005, Judith and Gerson opened the Leiber Collection in Springs, New York, to “house their works of art and to chronicle their careers.” While both are represented in major museum collections (he’s in the Museum of Modern Art and the Brooklyn Museum, she’s in the Smithsonian and the Met), the Leibers were thoughtfully showcased side-by-side in a trio of recent exhibitions while they were both in their 90s. After 72 years of marriage, Judith and Gerson died at home within hours of one

Glenn Snoddy

another, both from heart attacks, on April 28, 2018. As for the shimmering body of work she began building long before “bling” was even a blip on Merriam-Webster’s radar, Judith Leiber presented her intricate evening bags as defiant status symbols, conceptual confections and wacky conversation pieces. All you need to enjoy one is a big bank account, a sense of humor sized to match and, as Leiber once suggested, an escort to carry the items that don’t fit in your minaudière. — Bryan Rindfuss

Glenn Snoddy

Recording engineer and inventor of the fuzz tone May 4, 1922-May 21, 2018

Ted Dabney

saw a revival in the late ’80s/early ’90s, the key to the guitar sounds of bands like Mudhoney, Smashing Pumpkins and many other Alternative Rock acts of the time. Snoddy, who’d later open Nashville’s Woodland Sound recording studio (home to many important sessions, including the one for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”), died on May 21. He was 96. — Mike Breen

Ted Dabney

Electronics engineer and co-founder of Atari May 2, 1937–May 26, 2018

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In the beginning was a word. And the word was pizza. Pizza parlors, to be exact — the ones lit by the blinking screens of arcade cabinets and populated by animatronic critters. In the mid-1960s, such establishments only existed in ambitious schemes cooked up by Ted Dabney and Nolan Bushnell, two friends then employed as engineers by California-based electronics company Ampex. Dabney agreed to join Bushnell in his business venture, which combined the former’s technological and electronics expertise (gained in the ’50s at the Navy’s electronics school on Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay) with the latter’s

unbridled creativity and experience working as a carnival barker during college. Unsurprisingly, the duo’s initial efforts failed to bear the intended fruit (or dough, for that matter), but they did mark the genesis of electronic gaming as a cultural institution. What started out as a far-fetched dream would soon become a household name: Atari. At the time, coin-operated arcade cabinets were largely analog machines: pinball, fortune tellers, skee-ball. Dabney and Bushnell were intent on replicating the mechanical complexity of these games first on a computer, and later on a television set. Programming and buying computers was cost-prohibitive, so Dabney — inspired by how a TV set’s vertical and horizontal move the picture back and forth — devised a way to move digital shapes across a screen using a universal platform that was cheaper to build and easier to manage and store. “Ted came up with the breakthrough idea that got rid of the computer so you didn’t have to have a computer to make the game work,” one of Atari’s first employees, Allan Alcorn, told the New York Times in June. “It created the industry.” Bushnell pitched the new motion circuit technology to arcade manufacturer Nutting Associates, who helped the duo

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Glenn Snoddy’s contribution to the world of music wasn’t a song or a style of playing. It was more like he helped discover a new color. A recording engineer in Nashville in the early 1960s, Snoddy helped capture and recreate what is commonly called “fuzz tone,” the distorted, overdriven effect that helped shape the sound of modern Rock & Roll. And it was all, quite literally, by accident. Already a recording veteran (he’d worked on pivotal sessions for Patsy Cline, Hank Williams and Johnny Cash), Snoddy was manning the console for a session with producer Don Law and Country singer Marty Robbins, who was recording his 1961 single “Don’t Worry.” A broken amplifier that the bass was running through created a dirty sound about halfway into the recording that caught the attention of everyone working on the track. “The transformer in the amplifier blew up,” Snoddy told Murfreesboro,

Tennessee’s Daily News Journal in 2016 about the happy accident. The bassist (Country and Rockabilly session guitarist Grady Martin) reportedly wanted to redo his part, but Law and Snoddy insisted it remain. After its release, “Don’t Worry” went to No. 1 on Billboard’s singles chart and musicians in particular loved the buzzy sound. Snoddy says Nancy Sinatra was in Nashville and wanted that exact sound for a recording session, but by that point the original “broken” amp had completely died. So he began figuring out how to recreate the fuzz, designing and building a preamp effects box to capitalize on the curiosity. He sold the design to Gibson, which turned it into the Maestro FuzzTone FZ-1, the first commercially available guitar distortion pedal. While the distorted guitar sound was pioneered by players like Howlin’ Wolf guitarist Willie Lee Johnson and Link Wray (most notably on the revolutionary 1958 instrumental hit “Rumble”) in the decade leading up to his invention, Snoddy was the first to capture that fuzzy lightning in a bottle (or, rather, box). The Gibson pedal (which initially sold for $40) wasn’t an immediate hit and the company ramped down production of them until 1965, when Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards used his FZ-1 on the band’s seminal hit, “Satisfaction.” Gibson sold 40,000 pedals in the wake of that song’s success, after reportedly moving a grand total of three over the course of the previous two years. The fuzz tone sound became the foundation of ’60s and ’70s Rock & Roll, leading the way for other popular pedals, including the Fuzz Face, beloved by Jimi Hendrix and Pete Townshend, and the Big Muff, which

Instead, he suffered a heart attack. The master satirist died July 28. He left his prophetic gifts for the next generation of dissidents and trouble-makers — and stories of comic authoritarianism that, with each passing headline, seem less and less fantastical. — Danny Wicentowski

Mary Carlisle

“Baby Star” who made more than 60 films in a decade Feb. 3, 1914-Aug. 1, 2018

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Vladimir Voinovich

produce the first-ever commercially-available coin-operated cabinet video game, Computer Space, in 1971. The sci-fi themed game netted Dabney and Bushnell enough royalties to found their own company, first called Syzygy and quickly renamed Atari. The company broke into the mainstream in 1972 with the release of Pong, a simplified departure from Computer Space that simulated table tennis with two lines and a dot. By the end of 1974, Atari sold more than 8,000 units of the game at $937 a pop. Unfortunately, Dabney reaped a much smaller reward than his partner. He learned that Bushnell had applied for a patent without his consent, submitting Dabney’s designs under his own name. Bushnell’s charisma pushed Dabney to a lower rung of Atari, leaving him frustrated enough to sell his ownership for $250,000 in 1973. Disillusioned by the perils of success, Dabney largely bowed out of the industry. In the meantime, Bushnell pushed Atari into living rooms with a series of video consoles. In the late ’70s, Bushnell enlisted Dabney to help develop a new venture — a restaurant-slash-arcade called Pizza Time, later renamed Chuck E. Cheese’s. After further disputes split the pair up again, Dabney retreated from the entertainment industry for good. Dabney died of esophageal cancer on May 26. — Jude Noel

Vladimir Voinovich

Soviet dissident and dystopian satirist Sept. 26, 1932–July 27, 2018

By the time of his death, Vladimir Voinovich was never mentioned without some variation of his title: satirist. Sometimes it was “famed satirist” or even “master satirist.” But the Russian writer, who spent his life alternatively fleeing and critiquing his homeland’s leaders, told interviewers that he found the label exasperating. He saw himself as a realist. “What I describe here is only what I saw with my own eyes,” Voinovich writes in the

Mary Carlisle

introduction of his dystopian epic Moscow 2042. Of course the book, described by one reviewer as “the Soviet Catch-22,” is a ridiculous piece of fiction. The novel follows Russian dissident writer Vitaly Kartsev, who essentially functions as Voinovich’s stand-in as he bumbles his way into a time-traveling expedition 60 years into the future. He arrives in a Moscow governed as a city-state by “pure Communism,” a system wherein bathrooms are under the jurisdiction of the “Bureau of Natural Functions” and newspapers are printed directly on toilet paper. Above it all is the Generalissimo — a strongman keeping the population under control on the combined strength of religious dogma, a ludicrous cult of personality and the secret police. The book was a hit in the West when it was published in 1987 (it was banned in Soviet Russia). Decades later, contemporary scholars noted that the novel’s dystopian merger of the KGB, the Communist state and the church foreshadowed the rise of Vladimir Putin, creating a reality with odd parallels to the fictional Moscow of 2042. Voinovich noticed the similarity too. “I think it’s pretty close,” he admitted to The

Daily Beast in 2015. By then, he had already lived many disparate roles: Born to a Jewish mother and journalist father, he served as a loyal Soviet soldier in World War II, a wannabe poet under Stalin, a dissident writer under Khrushchev and then a satirist in exile in West Germany, where he penned Moscow 2042. Welcomed home during the presidency of Mikhail Gorbachev, he finally attained acceptance in his own homeland. And then, like an absurdist plot in one of Voinovich’s own works, Putin took control. Once again, Voinovich became an outspoken dissident, as the author rebuked the regime’s repression of the media and political opponents, as well as the war in Chechnya. Indeed, Voinovich managed to live long enough to become his own sort of time traveler. In his final years, he witnessed a backsliding Russia controlled by bureaucrats who projected breathtaking confidence in their leader, even as the country’s hard-won freedoms unraveled under that leader’s fist. “Next time, I’ll write a utopia,” Voinovich joked to an American crowd a few years ago. “People keep saying that all the bad things I write come true, so I’m going to write something good.”

A radiant 1930s film ingénue known for her fresh face, porcelain skin and blonde hair, Mary Carlisle appeared in more than 60 films in the course of her short career, everything from Bing Crosby crooners to B-movie horror films — the last of which was the low-budget vampire thriller Dead Men Walk, released in 1943. Born Gwendolyn Witter in Boston in 1912 or 1914 — according to the Washington Post, she would frequently say her true age was “none of your business” — she was discovered at 14 while eating lunch at Universal Studios with her mother. Studio executive Carl Laemmle Jr. saw her and demanded she be given a screen test, reportedly saying, “This girl has the most angelic face I ever saw.” But it wasn’t until after she completed her formal education — and bluffed her way into a chorus girl casting call at Metro-GoldwynMayer, thanks to her uncle Robert’s film connections — that she pursued a career on the silver screen. Her first part was an uncredited appearance in the Academy Award-winning 1932 drama Grand Hotel, starring Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo and John Barrymore. That same year she was named a “Baby Star” — a PR designation for budding starlets deemed to be on the cusp of a big film career — by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers, but Carlisle never found the same success as other “stars” like Clara Bow, the aforementioned Crawford or Ginger Rogers. Continuously typecast as a wholesome virgin or upbeat gal in everything from college sports dramas to screwball musicals, including three with Crosby in a span of five years, Carlisle eventually retired from cinema after marrying British actor James Blakeley in 1942. “I’ve played sweet young heroines long enough,” she said. After her acting career, Carlisle managed the Elizabeth Arden salon in Beverly Hills. She died at the age of 104 (or 106, depending on who you ask) at the Motion Picture and Television Fund retirement community for actors in Woodland Hills, California. — Maija Zummo

Chief Wahoo

Cleveland Indians mascot and racial flashpoint 1947-2018

Chief Wahoo, the racist red-faced symbol that has adorned the sleeves and ballcaps of the Cleveland Indians’ uniforms — not to mention the apparel and doodads of Cleveland baseball fans — since 1947, has succumbed at last to his inevitable fate, possibly timed to Cleveland’s imminent

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current Wahoo apologists so passionately claim to be honoring. In 1951, the logo evolved into the Red Sambo still in use today. His death is mourned and protested by thousands of Clevelanders who believe that professional baseball has been infiltrated by snowflake social justice warriors and race hucksters who are promoting racism where none exists for their own political and financial gain. The Chief is unfortunately survived on the professional sporting stage by the Washington Redskins’ name and by dozens, if not hundreds, of similarly offensive logos and nicknames of high schools across the country. — Sam Allard

Hamiet Bluiett

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Chief Wahoo

date in the national spotlight with the 2019 MLB All-Star Game. A much-floated and entirely plausible theory is that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, a vocal opponent of Wahoo’s continued use, told Cleveland the summer showcase would only be bestowed on the city if the offensive symbol was no longer around. MLB’s very public announcement of deliberations between the team and the league on the Wahoo front in advance of the All-Star game announcement lent a certain undeniable credence to the conjecture. In recent years, the team had “scaled back” the use of Wahoo in favor of a primary “Block C” logo, but the image was still beloved among diehard fans, prominent in the team shop and regularly worn by the team. Team owner Paul Dolan announced last year, though, that Wahoo at last would be eliminated, at least as an official logo on the team’s uniforms. Given MLB’s visible crusade, Dolan, who had over the years acknowledged Wahoo’s problematic existence and reception outside of the city, could at least save face with ardent Wahoo supporters — many of whom now wear “Keep the Chief” or “Long Live the Chief” apparel to games — by saying it was Major League Baseball, not the Indians, who was to blame. Last year, the logo was paraded around for the full season, an outlandish farewell tour for a symbol that most everyone outside of Cleveland has long acknowledged represents an enduring harm to Native American communities. It was and is a grotesque caricature that belongs in a museum, if not a garbage can. Chief Wahoo first appeared in 1947, created by cartoonist Walter Goldbach, who was only 17 at the time. (Goldblach died in 2017.) The image was meant to “convey a spirit of pure joy and unbridled enthusiasm,” at a time when Native American racism was still rampant. The team name was “inspired” by former Native American player Louis Sockalexis, in the sense that fans enjoyed taunting and jeering him for the duration of his very brief career, one cut short by alcoholism. That is the legacy that

Progressive Jazz titan Sept. 16, 1940–Oct. 4, 2018

Hamiet Bluiett, a master of the unwieldy baritone sax as well as the more nimble clarinet, served as a living bridge between Blues-based, pre-bebop traditionalism and progressive, improvisational Jazz. Bluiett came into the world in similarly significant liminal territory — he was born in St. Louis, Missouri, but raised directly across the river in Brooklyn, Illinois, the first town in the United States incorporated by African Americans. At age 4 he began piano lessons; at 9, clarinet studies; and in college at Southern Illinois University, he took up the baritone saxophone. He left college without graduating, but with an abiding admiration for the bari sax. “I fell in love with the instrument on first sight, even before I knew what it sounded like,” he said in a 1991 interview. “But I never thought its mission was to mumble in the back row. I thought it should be a lead voice.” By many accounts, Bluiett was a mass of contradictions: Despite forging new paths in the St. Louis and New York loft Jazz scenes, he remained always committed to melody. His idol was not a bebop pioneer like Parker (neither Charlie nor Leo) but Harry Carney, a baritone saxophonist in Duke Ellington’s band. Even while he was a blazing star in the avant-garde loft scene, Bluiett respected popular appeal, saying things like, “We should play more music for women, play stuff that children like, old people, the whole works — what’s wrong with all that? “I was one of the guys, when we went into the loft situation, I told the guys, ‘Man, we need to play some ballads. You all playing outside, you running people away. I don’t want to run people away.’” He founded the forward-thinking World Saxophone Quartet and the Black Artists Group, and played with iconic improvisers including Sam Rivers, Babatunde Olatunji and Charles Mingus. His work in WSQ and BAG was influenced not just by the Soul and R&B he grew up with, but by West African musics and hocket-style call and response. Yet had he chosen a more commercial path, his diamond-hard, satinsmooth clarinet tone would have fit right into a traditional big band à la Ellington. The controlled fury of his baritone attack

Hamiet Bluiett

was matched by a crusty demeanor and raspy voice. (Bassist Kent Kessler recalls a set at the Chicago Jazz Fest in which Bluiett was to improvise with the DKV Trio; there was no rehearsal, no discussion, Bluiett simply showed up onstage, stuck out his hand and said “Bluiett” before they began.) In 2002, Bluiett was diagnosed with prostate cancer. As part of his holistic treatment, he switched to a vegetarian diet, which he claimed changed his music after a lifelong devotion to the Blues. “Blues came out of pork and alcohol,” Bluiett told St. Louis magazine in 2011. “I can’t hang with the meat eaters all the way — I’m not saying it’s good or bad; it was just different.” After a series of strokes and seizures that began in January of this year, Bluiett was taken off respiratory support in October. — Jessica Bryce Young

William Shearer

Immunologist and physician to the so-called “Bubble Boy” Aug. 23, 1937–Oct. 9, 2018

It was 1979 when Dr. William Shearer first met 7-year-old David Vetter, the Texas boy who was born without an immune system and lived in a series of NASA-designed plastic bubbles. Many years later, Shearer recalled that first meeting on his blog. “He immediately put his arms in the gloves extending from his plastic isolator system to shake my hand and began quizzing me to make sure I understood that he was special and was competent enough to care for him,” Shearer wrote. Theirs would be a brief relationship; David died in 1984 at age 12 after an unsuccessful bone marrow transplant in an attempt to cure him of his severe combined

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The official Campbell’s Kitchen Green Bean Casserole recipe: 1 can Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup ½ cup milk 1 teaspoon soy sauce 1 dash black pepper 4 cups cooked cut green beans 1 ⅓ cups French’s French-fried onions Instructions: Stir the soup, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, beans and ⅔ cup onions in a 1 ½-quart casserole. Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the bean mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining onions. Bake for 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.

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William Shearer

immunodeficiency. Despite its brevity, the relationship would have a lasting legacy. “He was like his father at the hospital, another dad,” David’s father told the New York Times. “They had a real strong rapport, and David loved him.” Shearer died this October from complications from polymyositis, an inflammatory disease that causes muscle weakness. Born in Detroit in 1937, he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from University of Detroit and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Wayne State University, and graduated from the Washington University School of Medicine in 1970. He later served pediatrics and immunology residencies in St. Louis before moving to Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital, where he treated David. David’s was a lonely life. His older brother died from SCID, and his parents knew if they had another boy there was a 50-50 chance he could also have the hereditary disease. As soon as he was born, David was placed into his first plastic bubble. Any objects like toys had to be sterilized and placed through a series of air locks, and he could never touch another human. Under Shearer’s care, the case of David — a handsome boy who loved Star Wars and the Texas Oilers — captivated audiences around the world, with Shearer serving as its face. While Shearer often remarked upon David’s resilience, observing David’s despair at living in isolation — he reportedly had recurring nightmares about his condition — caused him to debate the ethics of keeping the boy trapped in his plastic cage. At one point, he suggested removing David from the bubble and trying other treatment methods, but David’s parents pushed for keeping him in until a suitable bone marrow donor could be found. In 1984, Shearer performed the longawaited procedure. It didn’t work, and David soon became sick from a lymph node cancer caused by an undetected virus in the marrow. He lived his final 15 days outside of his bubble in a hospital room, where his mother kissed him for the first time.

Dorcas Reilly

Shearer appeared on television to announce David’s death, which he would later call one of the most difficult times of his life. But his story with David wasn’t over: With samples of David’s blood, Shearer determined that David died from an infection from the Epstein-Barr virus, and later identified a gene that causes immune deficiencies. His discoveries would help create a test for the condition in newborns. Thanks in part to Shearer’s research, children with immune diseases are now able to live without plastic bubbles, and today more than 90 percent can be successfully treated with bone marrow and stem cell transplants within their first 28 days of life. After David’s death, Shearer founded the David Center at Texas Children’s, a wing focused on treatment of immune diseases named in honor of his former patient and

friend. He later focused his research on HIV and AIDS, participating in studies that led to the treatment and prevention of HIV and AIDS in children. “People often ask what’s the measure of someone’s life, but very few people stood as tall as David,” Dr. Shearer told the Houston Chronicle in 2009. “More than any scientist, he taught us by his life.” — Lee DeVito

Dorcas Reilly

Inventor of the green bean casserole July 22, 1926–Oct. 15, 2018

She may not be a household name, but Dorcas Reilly is a household staple: Her iconic Campbell’s Soup green bean casserole is served in more than 20 million American homes each Thanksgiving and, the rest of the year, acts as a quintessential comfort dish that can be popped in and out of the oven in less than 30 minutes.

Reilly, a 1947 graduate of Drexel University’s Home Economics program, was one of the first two full-time employees at Campbell’s Camden, New Jersey, home economics department, working in the test kitchen to develop new recipes. Originally invented in 1955 as a “green bean bake” for an Associated Press story asking for a vegetable side dish made with pantry staples, the casserole calls for just six ingredients: a can of Campbell’s condensed cream of mushroom soup, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, green beans and crispy French-fried onions. It was a wholesome home-cooked meal crafted in an Atomic Age that celebrated canned goods and convenience cooking, but its combination of creamy, crunchy and salty has stood the test of time. Today, more than 60 years later, Campbell’s estimates upward of 40 percent of their condensed mushroom soup sales are used to make Reilly’s casserole — the recipe is even printed on the back of the can. “Dorcas would often share that the first time she made her famous recipe, it did not receive the highest rating in Campbell’s internal testing,” wrote the company in an October memorial for Reilly’s passing. “Yet, it was her persistence and creativity that led to an enduring recipe that will live on for decades to come.” Reilly worked for the company off and on from the 1940s to the 1980s, when she retired as manager of the Campbell’s Kitchen in 1988. In addition to her lasting bean legacy, she also invented hundreds of other soup-infused recipes including a tuna noodle casserole, tomato soup cake and tomato soup sloppy Joes. In 2002, Campbell’s donated Reilly’s original recipe card to the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Alexandria, Virginia, placing her patented legacy alongside the likes of Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers and Steve Wozniak. “I’m very proud of this,” she said of the recipe in a Campbell’s video, “and I was shocked when I realized how popular it had become.” — Maija Zummo

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STUFF TO DO ONGOING ONSTAGE: Rent Aronoff Center, Downtown (through Dec. 23) A Christmas Story Covedale Center for the Performing Arts, Covedale (through Dec. 23) The Nutcracker Music Hall, Over-the-Rhine (through Dec. 24) A Christmas Carol Playhouse in the Park, Mount Adams (through Dec. 29)

WEDNESDAY 19

ONSTAGE: Broadway in Cincinnati brings Rent to the Aronoff Center for its 20th anniversary tour. See review on page 31.

onstage, transforming a production of A Christmas Carol into an irreverent and fast-paced skewering of other holiday favorites ranging from It’s a Wonderful Life to the Grinch and Charlie Brown. Three actors (and a slightly tipsy Santa) spend 90-plus minutes of “high octane jollity and frivolity” making merry this season in an adult-friendly romp through both kitschy and nostalgic Christmas favorites. It’s fun and funny and a favorite local tradition. Through Dec. 30. $43-$53. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, 1195 Elm St., Over-theRhine, cincyshakes.com. — MAIJA ZUMMO

by music and film critics for its charm, humor and unexpected warmth — is being presented locally by the Cincinnati Film Society. Kezin will be in town for Q&A sessions at both screenings. 5 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. $9 in advance (via cincinnatifilm.org); $12 at the door. Northside Yacht Club, 4227 Spring Grove Ave., Northside, northsideyachtclub.com. — MIKE BREEN ATTRACTION: WinterFest at Kings Island WinterFest is back at Kings Island. The nostalgic winter wonderland has returned, complete with festive food and drinks, special holiday shows and ice skating underneath a Christmas tree-bedecked Eiffel Tower. There is an artisan village selling holiday crafts, boozeinfused hot beverages, ice carvers, carriage rides and even blue hot chocolate. More than 19 of the park’s rides are open to enjoy, including Mystic Timbers,

and plenty of sparkly, sing-y live shows — like Cool Yule Christmas and Jingle Jazz — will be onstage throughout the month. Through Dec. 31. Tickets start at $25.99. Kings Island, 6300 Kings Island Drive, Mason, visitkingsisland.com. — MAIJA ZUMMO ATTRACTION: Water Wonderland with Scuba Santa A submerged Santa is visiting the Newport Aquarium for the annual Water Wonderland with Scuba Santa attraction. The man in red is on view underwater, blowing magical air bubble showers and tapping on the glass in the 385,000-gallon Surrounded by Sharks exhibit to say hello and to listen to all the little girls’ and boys’ holiday wishes. When he isn’t surrounded by sharks, Santa will visit Stingray Hideaway, which his elves have decorated in a festive tropical theme. Elves have also decorated the ceiling

of Seahorses: Unbridled Fun with sea-creature shaped lights. And kids can visit Santa’s post office in Penguin Palooza to “wish on a magical bubble and mail it.” Through Dec. 31. Free with admission: $24.99 adult; $17.99 child. Newport Aquarium, Newport on the Levee, newportaquarium. com. — MAIJA ZUMMO ATTRACTION: Festival of Lights The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden does its annual glow-up with the 36thannual Festival of Lights, the No. 1 zoo light show in the country (as voted by USA Today). More than 3 million LED bulbs have transformed the park into a “Wild Wonderland” with festively adorned foliage, glowing animal sculptures, the ever-so-instagrammable rainbow-light tunnel and fun holiday and nature scenes depicted in twinkling bulbs. There are also black-light puppet shows, a Toyland CONTINUES ON PAGE 26

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FILM: Jingle Bell Rocks! In the 2013 documentary Jingle Bell Rocks!, director Mitchell Kezin examines unusual and underappreciated Christmas songs, interviewing experts in that particular field like Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons of Run-DMC

and Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne (who’ve both made their share of such songs), filmmaker John Waters (a connoisseur of holiday music oddities who once curated an amazing compilation of classic offbeat Xmas rarities) and comedy/music DJ legend Dr. Demento, among many others. Presented with live performances and archival footage, Kezin sets out to determine the top 12 nonmainstream holiday tunes he feels should be mainstream. No spoilers, but the film’s soundtrack includes holiday songs by the likes of Clarence Carter, Calexico, James Brown, Low, Red Red Meat, El Vez and The Mighty Sparrow. Jingle Bell Rocks! was initially screened at several film festivals before picking up distribution from the esteemed Oscilloscope Laboratories, which was co-founded by Beastie Boy Adam Yauch and THINKFilm’s David Fenkel. The movie — which has been praised

ONSTAGE: Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some!) Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s annual send-up of Christmas classics is

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FILM: TV Nights: Christmas at The Archive TV Christmas specials are one of the reigning hallmarks of the holiday season. Get nostalgic with The Video Archive, a speakeasy and Tarantinothemed bar that doubles as a VHS rental storefront. They’ve been playing them every Wednesday all season long, but this week marks their last before Christmas is officially here. Cuddle up with hot cocoa and cookies for a double screening of two classics: A Charlie Brown Christmas and the OG cartoon-take on Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. 5-11 p.m. Wednesday. Free admission. The Video Archive, 965 E. McMillian, Walnut Hills, gorillacinemapresents.com/ archive. — MACKENZIE MANLEY

Crystal by Cirque du Soleil

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Express train ride, everyone’s favorite synchronized holiday music-and-light display on Swan Lake and assorted s’mores stands. Through Jan. 1, 2019. Free with zoo admission. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, 3400 Vine St., Avondale, cincinnatizoo.org. — MAIJA ZUMMO

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EVENT: Ice Rink at Fountain Square Whether you’re a professional skater or someone who can barely stand on skates, this slice of winter wonderland on Fountain Square is open to everyone. Skate rental is available and concessions include snacks, hot chocolate and alcohol. Santa skates select weekends in December. Through Feb. 18, 2019. $6 admission; $4 skate rental. Fountain Square, Fifth and Vine streets, Downtown, myfountainsquare.com. — MAIJA ZUMMO ATTRACTIONS: A Crystal Holiday at Krohn Conservatory The Krohn’s annual holiday floral show is A

Crystal Holiday and the conservatory’s cache of tropical and lush green plants will be complemented by a “shimmering frozen landscape,” fragrant holiday floral displays, model trains and mini Cincinnati buildings constructed out of whimsical natural materials. Through Jan. 6, 2019. $7 adults; $4 youth; free ages 4 and under. Krohn Conservatory, 1501 Eden Park Drive, Mount Adams, cincinnatiparks. com/krohn. — MAIJA ZUMMO

FRIDAY 21

ONSTAGE: Amahl and the Night Visitors Christmas opera — with Madcap’s giant puppets — takes the stage at Xavier University. See feature on page 30. EVENT: Winter Solstice Celebration at Rowe Woods Hike Rowe Woods by the light of the moon to reflect on the ancient tradition of observing the winter solstice aka the longest night of the year aka the official first day of winter. Learn about the event’s both modernday and historic symbolism, and the significance of the

solstice as we look to spring. Enjoy traditional music and light snacks. This will be outdoors, so dress accordingly. 6:30-8 p.m. Friday. $15; $8 members. Cincinnati Nature Center, Rowe Woods, 4949 Tealtown Road, Milford, cincynature.org. — MAIJA ZUMMO MUSIC: An Acoustic Christmas with Over the Rhine Local Folk/Americana superheroes Over the Rhine create Christmas magic with their annual performance featuring a wintry mix of holiday classics and songs from their oeuvre. This year, the duo took their holiday tour on the road for a spate of West Coast and Midwestern tour dates, culminating in three hometown shows at Memorial Hall this weekend. Singer/songwriter Leigh Nash, formerly of Sixpence None the Richer, opens all three shows. See Spill It on page 42 for more info. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. $40-$65. Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St., Over-theRhine, memorialhallotr.com.

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THURSDAY 20

MUSIC: Straight No Chaser If you like your music without instruments, you’re going to love 9-person a cappella group Straight No Chaser. The YouTube sensation which originated at Indiana University has developed into a full-fledged phenomenon with seven Atlantic Records releases, including One Shot, just released Nov. 2 and full of hits like “When a Man Loves a Woman” and “Go Your Own Way.” This year is also the 10th anniversary of their debut, Holiday Spirits, an a cappella Christmas album. During this week’s stop, expect a blend of humor, kitsch and the unadulterated human voice, plus a hearty dose of holiday classics. 7:30 p.m. Thursday. $39.50-$79.50. Taft Theatre, 317 E. Fifth St., Downtown, tafttheatre.org. — MAIJA ZUMMO

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THURSDAY 20

FRIDAY 28

MUSIC: Cincinnati Garage Rockers The Mortals reunite at the Woodward Theater for a holiday blowout. See feature on page 39.

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ONSTAGE: Crystal by Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil has conquered water in O and now the acrobats are tackling ice with Crystal, Cirque’s first frozen show, which will be at U.S. Bank Arena starting Thursday. Crystal blends skating, gymnastics and acrobatics — on the ice and in the air — with performances of synchronized and freestyle skating, swinging trapeze, aerial straps and other extreme, adrenaline-pushing activities that audiences have come to expect from Cirque. “Watch world-class

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EVENT: Latkapalooza 2018 The Jewish Federation’s Young Adult Division and Meyerson JCC host this

THURSDAY 27

ice skaters and acrobats explore their new frozen playground with speed and fluidity as they challenge the laws of gravity with neverbefore-seen acrobatics,” says a press release about the show. “Cirque du Soleil’s Crystal fuses circus arts and the world of ice skating in a stunning new production that will take the audience on a journey into a surreal world where figure skating blends with acrobatics and aerial prowess.” 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 12:30, 4 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 1:30 and 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $55. U.S. Bank Arena, 100 Broadway St., Downtown, usbankarena.com. — MAIJA ZUMMO

MONDAY 24

annual dance party featuring drink specials, Kosher snacks and raffle prizes. As they say, skip the Szechuan and sweatpants and spend the evening drinking and dancing instead. Open to ages 21-45. 8 p.m.-1:30 a.m. Monday. Free admission. 3 Points Urban Brewery, 331 E. 13th St., Pendleton, facebook.com/mayerson.jcc. — MAIJA ZUMMO

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EVENT: Feast of the Seven Fishes The Feast of the Seven Fishes aka the Festa dei sette pesci is an ItalianAmerican dinner party of multiple fish dishes that honors the Dec. 24 vigil held to wait for the birth of little baby Jesus. (It is tradition to abstain from eating meat until Christmas Day, so fish must die.) The Presidents Room puts their own spin on this Christmas Eve tradition by offering seven seafood-driven courses accompanied by paired wines. The chef-prepared menu includes dishes like oyster pie, seared tuna and squid ink tortelloni, with dark chocolate semifreddo for dessert. A reception with live music starts at 6:15 p.m. 7 p.m. dinner Friday. $125. The Presidents Room at The Phoenix, 812 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, facebook. com/presidentsroom. — MAIJA ZUMMO

COMEDY: Gabe Kea “I have been living in Cincinnati for about nine years and cannot imagine living anywhere else,” says comedian Gabe Kea, who grew up in St. Louis. “I eat my chili over spaghetti now; I call the grocery store ‘Kroger’s,’ when it is actually just Kroger; and make fun of the other side of the city like it’s a different country.” It was while at friend’s wedding that he realized what originally drew him to this city. “It was the comedy community. There is a vibrant group of funny people that I am so very proud to be a part of. Go Bananas is the epicenter of this community and I am excited to be headlining there this week.” Those shows will also be a showcase of the Cincinnati comedy community, as the comedians will be having a special going away show for fellow comic V.A. Bennett. 8 p.m. Thursday; 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday; 8 p.m Sunday. $8-$14. Go Bananas, 8410 Market Place Lane, Montgomery, gobananascomedy. com. — P.F. WILSON

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THE

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DECEMBER 13-24 MUSIC HALL Chisako Oga | photography : Aaron M Conway | design + illustration : BR AND-Y-DESIGN

ARTS & CULTURE Bruce Iglauer Has the Blues — and That’s a Good Thing Iglauer’s Alligator Records now has its own book BY S T E V EN R O S EN

David Lee Watson, Professor Longhair, Dr. John and Bruce Iglauer at Sea-Saint P H O T O : M I C H A E L P. SMITH

“The fact they were so raw reminded people of pretty edgy Rock & Roll — I’d say prePunk. There were heavily distorted guitars, driving rhythms … even I could dance to it. So I had great luck with the right band at the right moment.” Iglauer’s book is observant about how the Blues now attracts many fans that have come to it from older Rock recordings, especially those of the “guitar heroes” in vogue from the 1960s-80s, like the late Stevie Ray Vaughan. One of Alligator’s finest moments was helping the great Cincinnati-area Blues Rock guitarist Lonnie Mack stage a thrilling comeback with his 1985 album (with Vaughan) Strike Like Lightning. He had faded into obscurity after popularizing the use of a guitar’s vibrato-creating whammy bar on two 1963 instrumental hits recorded for Cincinnati’s Fraternity label, “Memphis” and “Wham.” (Mack died in 2016.) Iglauer had first seen Mack when living in Cincinnati. “I don’t think I ever saw Lonnie give a bad performance, even if playing for 20 people,” Iglauer says. “He didn’t take solos for that long, but when he would leap into the upper register and grab the whammy bar at same time, your heart would explode, it was so exciting.” For more information on Bitten by the Blues: The Alligator Records Story visit press.uchicago.edu.

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Away” for King’s Federal label.) Attending Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, Iglauer got interested enough in Blues to arrange a concert for his school’s homecoming with Howlin’ Wolf, a powerful and influential Chicago bluesman who recorded for that city’s Chess label. And on his own, he subsequently promoted a show by Blues guitarist Luther Allison. Iglauer started coming to Chicago and befriended (and eventually worked for) Bob Koester, who operated the small Jazz and Blues label Delmark Records as well as the Jazz Record Mart. With Koester as a guide, he started attending African-American clubs on the South Side and West Side. “So Bob opened doors to this music that a lot of white people didn’t have any idea existed at all,” he says. “Nothing in my life would have told me there were taverns all over the big cities of the country where people were playing Blues to people who grew up with the Blues.” From there, Iglauer discovered Alligator’s first act, Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers, whom he loved for their energy. They became a surprise hit at colleges and on the FM Rock and Freeform stations of the early 1970s. (Taylor died in 1975.) “I hadn’t planned much beyond trying to make my favorite band into something more than three guys who played for very little money on the South Side of Chicago,” he says of the decision to record Taylor.

the Michigan Municipal League. (He had met Iglauer’s mother, Harriett, in Chicago.) While next working in Grand Rapids as a deputy city manager, John died in 1953 as the result of a medical mistake during routine surgery. Because there were other Iglauer family members in Cincinnati, Harriett eventually brought Bruce and his sister to live in the suburb of Wyoming the summer before seventh grade. “And that began a period of great unhappiness for me,” he says. “I didn’t fit in at Wyoming High School. I was an eccentric kid with very poor social skills.” But living here did afford Iglauer a chance to explore and discover music outside the Pop and Rock mainstream. In 1965, using his high-school newspaper press pass, he saw John Coltrane perform at the Ohio Valley Jazz Festival at the old Crosley Field. “Looking back, I realize his performance had all the raw passion that I later discovered in the Blues,” he writes in Bitten by the Blues. One could say Iglauer has followed in the footsteps of Sydney Nathan, another Cincinnatian who started a successful independent record label: King Records. If so, it wasn’t intentional. “Sadly, I did not have any contact whatsoever with King Records,” he says. “I wasn’t part of that at all. I didn’t know it existed and I feel horrible about that. I could have gone to a Freddie King recording session, but I didn’t.” (The Blues guitarist King recorded his classic “Hide

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s 2018 ends, “Best Recordings” judgments are being brought forth from all quarters — and Alligator Records is once again making its presence felt on Blues lists. For instance, Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio is up for a Best Traditional Blues Album Grammy for Something Smells Funky ’Round Here. The Chicago-based Alligator, which was founded in 1971 by Cincinnati-raised Bruce Iglauer, gets a lot of credit for reenergizing Blues as vital, contemporary “genuine house rockin’ music,” to quote its motto. And now Iglauer, with co-writer Patrick A. Roberts, tells the story of how that happened in his new book Bitten by the Blues: The Alligator Records Story (The University of Chicago Press). “I am not the savior of the Blues,” Iglauer says in a telephone interview. “The Blues itself is the savior of the Blues. I like to see myself as the bridge connecting the artists with their potential audience. But I’m not the only bridge, so that if I’m at some point unable to do this, the music has too much strength to die.” The success of Alligator is an inspiring tale, because Blues, considered one of the great American music forms, once was called dead as a vital contemporary style — replaced by Rock. But Alligator has proved that wrong, and in the process become one of the classic American Blues labels. It has released some 330 titles featuring more than 100 artists to date, its definition of Blues evolving and broadening with time. Besides Bishop’s Grammy-nominated album, its other more heralded 2018 releases include America’s Child by Shemekia Copeland; Journeys to the Heart of the Blues by Joe Louis Walker, Bruce Katz and Giles Robson; The High Cost of Low Living from the Nick Moss Band featuring Dennis Gruenling; and Rough Cut by Curtis Salgado and Alan Hager. Iglauer was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1947. His father, John, was a Cincinnatian who was working there for

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The Quirky Holiday Tradition of ‘Amahl’ BY L E Y L A S H O KO O H E

When the Three Wise Men first appear in Amahl and The Night Visitors — a collaboration between Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and Madcap Puppets returning to the stage this weekend — Tom Merrill, the show’s conductor, says a great gasp comes from kids in attendance. The 50-minute opera recounts the story of a boy shepherd, Amahl, his mother and their encounter with the Three Wise Men of the traditional Christmas story Amahl and The Night Visitors as the trio travels to see the Christ Child. Madcap transP H O T O : C O U R T E S Y O F C I N C I N N AT I C H A M B E R O R C H E S T R A forms the Three Wise Men — Balthazar, Melchior and the singer, but also the movements of Kaspar — into enormous puppets, which the puppeteer. Shelton has first-hand Merrill and artistic director Dylan Shelton experience with that dynamic, originating say are “larger than life.” For reference the puppeteer role of Melchior during the Kaspar is 6-feet-6-inches tall, Melchior is show’s first run in 2012. 7-feet-7-inches tall and Balthazar is over “Now stepping out from the puppet and 8-feet-6-inches tall. A single puppeteer into the director’s chair, I think it’s kind of operates each. a unique perspective,” he says. “As an actor, “I think Christmas for me, and a lot of you have your human instrument; you people, is most beautiful through the eyes have to initiate that emotional response of a child,” Shelton says. “I think that’s from within, but it needs to be expressed in what makes even an adult audience relate a puppet, so your movements are incredto what Amahl is experiencing. Even an ibly different. What you’re experiencing adult can gasp when you see giant puppets inside the puppet is raising a rod from your come into a room.” hip up to the tip of your head, completely First produced in 2012 at the CCO, unnatural gestures for a puppeteer. The Amahl runs every other year. And in 2016, challenge is to make it look authentic.” Shelton wanted to create a more open Being charged with the title role is an experience. exercise in authenticity, too. Amahl is “The show used to have the chamber disabled, innocent and pure of heart; he orchestra on stage right, and puppets and serves as the conduit for the audience to performers on stage left, which I thought experience the enormity, splendor and created pretty bad sight lines,” he says. “I wonder of the Three Wise Men’s mission. put the orchestra center stage and all Playing Amahl is 12-year-old Mischa performers downstage.” Sella, a seventh grader from Walnut Hills Composed by Gian Carlo Menotti in High School. Sella is a member of the 1951, the opera was the first created for Cincinnati Boychoir and has built quite television. It also boasts local connections: the vocal résumé over the last few years. The original understudy for Amahl was He has performed in Cincinnati Opera’s local doctor G. James Sammarco, and the La Boheme, with the May Festival. Most original conductor was Thomas Schippers, recently, he was onstage in the University who would later become conductor of the of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Music’s November production of The Turn The former still remains involved with of the Screw. the Madcap production: Sammarco cre“It’s going to be a fun experience, probated a scholarship to fund the musical ably harder than acting,” Sella says. “I have training for the character of Amahl. to act and also I don’t have a choir singing “(He will) come in and work with the with me. It’s more stressful because if you boys,” Shelton says. “It’s so amazing that make a mistake, it will be easy to catch.” he was there with Menotti.” But Merrill says he isn’t worried about Though the bodies of the Three Wise Sella’s ability to handle the pressure. Men are controlled via puppeteers, opera “I think Mischa’s in a good place,” he says. singers — who stand and sing when the “It’s pretty amazing to be a lead role in an puppets are in action — lend the voices. opera at the age of 12 or 13.” “We want the audience to appreciate the Amahl and The Night Visitors runs Dec. relationship between the puppeteer and 21-23 at the Gallagher Student Center the singer,” Shelton says. Theater at Xavier University. The puppet has to appear to be singing, Tickets: ccocincinnati.org. so conductor Merrill must cue not only

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‘Rent’ Has Power, But Needs Subtlety

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The musical Rent first shook Broadway in 1996. It had the same kind of impact that Hamilton has experienced more recently: a diverse cast, a noisy, contemporary score and a story about young people finding their way in a harsh world. Rent, in many ways, paved the way for Hamilton: Lin-Manuel Miranda saw it at age 17, and it was an inspiration for his career. Rent’s reputation had an inadvertent jolt when its creator, Jonathan Larson, died unexpectedly of an aortic aneurysm just as the show began previews Aaron Alcaraz and DevinRe Adams in Rent for its legendary Broadway run, a production that ultimately PHOTO: CAROL ROSEGG won Tony Awards and the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for drama. Larqueen, fare better in the course of love. son’s death brought even more attention Angel helps Tom after he’s been beaten up, to the emotional show about young artists and their caring affair comes closest to the struggling with poverty, drugs and relastory’s core message about the importance tionships. (It’s worth noting that Rent was of love. Alcaraz captures Angel’s zany but inspired by Puccini’s opera, La Bohème, kind-hearted persona, Following the sad and there are both parallels and musical passing of Angel, Adams’ moving reprise references throughout.) of “I’ll Cover You” is the production’s most Rent’s 20th anniversary tour, presently powerful moment. onstage in Cincinnati, is an opportunity As the self-absorbed performance to see an important piece of theater hisartist Maureen, Lyndie Moe delivers the tory, even if this touring production lacks lunatic “Over the Moon,” an act that’s some of the power of the original. This is a both art and protest about the bohemians’ non-equity tour: its performers are young impending eviction from the warehouse. and inexperienced, which actually lends Moe energetically gets the audience some credence to the vibrant, passionate involved with some silly mooing. Another characters they are playing. They have the amusing moment is the unexpected necessary talent to sing and dance this commiseration between Maureen’s past demanding show. But they tend to resort and present lovers, Mark (Logan Marks, to frenetic action and loud (often unintelthe story’s cinematographer and narrator) ligible) singing performances that lose the and Joanne (Lencia Kebede, Maureen’s subtlety of their characters. Approaching insecure manager), when they sing and its second year on the road, many in the dance their way through “Tango: Maureen.” current cast are recent replacements, probThe cast sings the show’s two iconic ably still finding their way toward their choral numbers, “La Vie Bohème” and roles. While they’re up to the challenges “Seasons of Love,” with a serious depth of this show, volume is not a sufficient of feeling. The former piece is a joyous replacement for the subtle chemistry it pushback against their callous mistreatneeds to replicate Rent’s first incarnation. ment and yearning for acknowledgment, That being said, there are performances while the latter, opening the second act worth seeing: As Mimi Marquez, and echoing across the latter portion of the Deri’Andra Tucker has the right physicality show, underscores the poignant passing of and voice for the role. Her plaintive arrival time and evolution of emotion. (The story at Roger’s doorstep seeking a match to runs from one Christmas to the next, so light her candle — the power in their this is an appropriate moment to have the squatter’s warehouse constantly fails — tour onstage locally.) catches the right emotion. Her presence I wish this production was more than a should spark more than a match or two sum of these successful parts, but it doesn’t in Roger (Logan Farine), a self-pitying quite hang together in ways that Rent should. musician in mourning, but that doesn’t Solo ballads work, especially Farine’s connect onstage. Tucker’s rendition of performance of “One Song Glory,” but the the come-hither number “Out Tonight” is zealous, thumping energy expended on spectacularly delivered as she writhes and many of the larger musical numbers too marches down a staircase, but it takes too often overpowers the undercurrent of feeling long to feel her effort at rekindling some that should fuel this show. emotion in the creatively blocked guitarist. Rent, presented by Broadway in Cincinnati DevinRe Adams as Tom Collins — a at the Aronoff Center, continues through homeless, gay computer whiz — and Aaron Dec. 23. More info: cincinnatiarts.org. Alcaraz as Angel, a compassionate drag

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Compelling ‘Escape’ Fails to Elevate the Narrative BY JAC K ER N

Sometimes a captivating news story with an uncomfortable feeling of pity and just begs for a dramatic retelling. Buddy embarrassment for the real Tilly and Lyle — comedy Tag from earlier this year — based not just because they were both played the on a true story about a group of grown men fool, but because the characterizations of playing the same game of tag once a year them in the show can border on insulting. for decades — was first reported by the It feels, at times, like we’re mocking them. Wall Street Journal. And Bravo is currently There’s no need to paint Tilly as a airing true-crime drama series Dirty harmless victim, nor criminal mastermind. John, pulled from the popular namesake And I take no issue with examining her podcast about a relationship riddled with under a critical lens. In fact, I don’t think denial, deception, drugs and dangerous she’s examined critically and thoughtfully consequences. enough. To make her so one-note does a Escape at Dannemora (10 p.m. Sundays, disservice to the story. I wish creators and Showtime) combines the age-old dramatic trope of the jailbreak tale with the unbelievably bizarre 2015 saga centering on two inmates and a prison employee in upstate New York. But, despite earnest efforts by an A-list cast, including Patricia Arquette, Paul Dano and Benicio del Toro — not to mention director Ben Stiller (yep, that one) — the limited series really doesn’t do much more than that. That’s not to say the straightforward story Benicio del Toro and Patricia Arquette in Escape at Dannemora isn’t compelling enough on its own: Joyce “Tilly” PHOTO: CHRIS SANDERS/SHOW TIME Mitchell (Arquette) and her husband Lyle work in the Clinton Correctional Facility in the writers Brett Johnson and Michael Tolkin sleepy village of Dannemora, New York. would have picked a more interesting Working in the prison tailor shop that perspective for her. Tilly oversees, convicted killers Richard If you see actual video footage of Tilly, Matt (del Toro) and David Sweat (Dano) it’s obvious Arquette truly morphed into cultivate relationships with her in an effort character — physically and otherwise to gain resources to break themselves out. (albeit a little heavy on the Midwest-meetsI followed the real story as it played out Northeast accent). It’s the kind of role that in the news, but if you’re watching blind, generates award buzz — and Arquette Escape opens with a peek at the aftermath has already garnered Golden Globe and of the titular event that kind of spoils some Screen Actors Guild nominations for her of the suspense for the rest of the series. performance. (The series itself is also up for It’s an odd choice, because the rest of the a Globe.) show plays out chronologically. It’s one of a And while the storytelling goes a bit few storytelling missteps that prevent this astray, you can’t help but get pulled in good series from being really great. by the performances. Dano nails it as We don’t get a lot of background on our the reserved, determined Sweat, while characters and what makes them who del Toro predictably plays the cunning they are at this point in their lives. Sweat, smooth-operator Matt to a tee. Filmed in and Matt particularly, seem pretty well real correctional institutes, tight shots adapted to life on the inside, though early convey the claustrophobia of prison life. into the series they plan to make their Paired with the tension of trying to break escape. Meanwhile, Tilly is fed up with her free and the cruel reality of the aftermath, dull life and longs to be desired, if only by it makes for a nail-biting — if not glacially manipulative murderers. paced — ride. Viewers are whacked over the head with You’d just think a show about dangerous this symbolism of Tilly wanting to be some criminals, scandalous affairs and adorable hot young thing again — even though pugs would be a bit more…exciting? But her dopey but loyal husband Lyle appears with mostly solid performances, this to love her as she is. She blasts Pop radio, too-strange-to-be-true story is still worth recounts her transgressions in her diary checking out. and acts with the blind ignorance of a loveContact Jac Kern: @jackern sick teen. There’s a tone issue here. I’m left

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A Social and Culinary Mission The nonprofit Social OTR will offer students onsite experience to train for careers in the service industry BY SA M I S T E WA R T

The in-progress Social OTR space on Elm Street PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

gets shooed away for not having a GED or a clean criminal record. Using education as a springboard for students to get hired solves the employment issue from both sides and breaks the cycle of poverty. In the next year or so, Berin says his team is looking to expand the educational opportunities to front of house skills as well. For now, his crew is busy training Social OTR’s first class of interns, picking out glassware and fine-tuning the menu in preparation for January’s opening. The restaurant’s name denotes its purpose — building community and connecting strangers over really good food. “It’s the idea of commensality,” Kempin says. “Sitting down, breaking bread, getting to know one another.” That’s what the community tables are for: Two long dining tables sit in the center of the room and are a social free for all. “You might see someone you’ve never met before; you might see someone you knew from two years ago,” Kempin says. “We’re trying to bring this idea of sharing and getting to know each other, because food brings everyone together. That’s kind of the goal.” Social OTR is located at 1819 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. More info: socialotr.com.

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chef Jen Kempin at Social OTR, where they’ll become familiar with the culture and etiquette of the kitchen as they hone their culinary skills on the menu. Kempin earned her master’s degree in food studies from New York University and was most recently the executive chef at Mount Lookout’s Muse. She began her culinary career in the 1990s as a lone female in the kitchen. “Traditionally, kitchens are male dominated, quite aggressive,” she says. “I’m just trying to change that entire narrative.” You still see chefs berating line cooks for their mistakes, no matter how small. Her goal isn’t to take away the assertiveness of being a chef, but to take away her students’ fear of mistakes, she says. “You’re not going to learn from your victories,” she says. Coming to Social OTR after a long career of being outnumbered by men was a refreshing change of pace: Berin ended up hiring an all-female staff to man the training program. In addition to Kempin and Cook, Berin hired Cat Amaro as hospitality manager. “We didn’t really even realize it until we were all sitting down,” Kempin says, laughing. “And then we were like, ‘OK, this is going to be good.’” This program isn’t just changing the lives of its students, “(it is) helping their entire family, the generations to come,” Kempin says. In order to tear down those socioeconomic barriers, admission to the program is extremely inclusive. No one

in a rotation, what I call ‘terms,’ similar to freshman, sophomore, junior, senior year,” he says. Berin brought chef Lindsey Cook on board to develop a curriculum as director of culinary training. Cook has a decade’s worth of experience as an instructor at several culinary institutions, including The Art Institute, her alma mater. “Teaching has always been my heart and soul,” Cook says. She’s currently pursuing her doctorate in education. Prior to becoming an instructor for Social OTR, Cook ran her own catering business and noticed that the food-service labor pool had been thinning out in the past few years. Ohio has the fifth highest number of food-service employees in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “The jobs are there,” Berin says. “The people are not. We just need to bridge that gap.” Together, Berin and Cook condensed their individual educations into a curriculum that covers an associate degree’s worth of knowledge into 16 weeks. They boiled down the fundamentals of the culinary field into four weeks of lectures. Students learn basic ratios, knife skills, culinary nutrition and financial management at CityLink Center through the Findlay Culinary Training program. After a month-long whirlwind tour of the basics, students move on to their 12-week live internship under the direction of

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ou may never see the same kitchen staff twice at Elm Street’s newest restaurant. Social OTR will open in January with a fresh set of culinary interns at the helm, learning as they go. A collaboration between Findlay Market and CityLink Center, which provides integrated services to help individuals break free from poverty, Social OTR offers a working internship in a fine dining restaurant for the community’s unemployed and underemployed talent pool. Students get fundamental, hands-on culinary training at no cost to them. And all the money made in the restaurant will be funneled back into the program to provide each student with a set of knives and a uniform; it also keeps the stoves on and the shelves stocked. Anthony Berin, general manager and founder of Social OTR, collaborated with CityLink Center’s Findlay Culinary Training program to launch Cincinnati’s first and only kitchen-classroom hybrid. A group of nine students participated in a pilot study for Social OTR a year ago. It was a shortened version of the current program, which now consists of four weeks of training and a 12-week internship in the restaurant. “We felt that it had a pretty solid success rate,” Berin says of the pilot program. All of the initial students have since graduated and five have scored jobs. The goal of the program is to place each student in a food-service job in Cincinnati. “That’s very important to us,” Berin says. Hands-on training programs like this aren’t new, and when Berin recognized how they were changing lives all over the country, he felt compelled to start something similar in Cincinnati. “What you see around the food industry today is that everyone is desperate for employees,” he says. So he sought to create a first-class training program that doubled as a great restaurant. From the idea’s conception, he knew that training students in a working environment would be crucial to their success outside of the program. “They’re going to work in our restaurant

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As consumers, it can be hard to buy the things we want while being conscious of how our decisions affect the environment. Choosing to eat at establishments making an effort to reduce their carbon footprints can make your belly and the planet a little happier. While these aren’t the only Cincinnati restaurants that have decided to become more environmentally conscious, they are making Rooted Juicery + Kitchen the effort. Base Camp Café at the PHOTO: JESSE FOX Cincinnati Zoo — This café was named the Greenest Restaurant in America About seven months ago, they switched in 2013 — that’s out of every restaurant; not from plastic to paper straws. They have a just zoos. At first glance, it looks like your garden at their original East End location, standard fast-casual eatery with choices and plan on continuing the tradition at ranging from cheeseburgers and hotdogs their new place on a slightly larger scale. to a side of fries. But, what do they do with They also buy tomatoes from a Florence, Ky. all the grease? Answer: They convert their farmstand. “Those are the best tomatoes old cooking oil into biofuels. They also I’ve ever had. The ones you buy in the grogrow herbs and vegetables in an onsite cery store just have no taste,” says manager aquaponics tank, grab 70 percent of their Joby Bowman. Recently, they opened a other produce from within 250 miles of the walk-up window at Mason’s Sonder Brewzoo, use certified grass-fed beef, divert 95 ing with biodegradable containers and percent of all post-consumer café waste cutlery. Even their sauce ramekins are from landfills and utilize Energy Star-rated made from corn, giving the pseudo-plastic equipment and LED lighting. 3400 Vine St., a yellow tint and much less of an impact on Avondale, cincinnatizoo.org. the environment. More info at brewriverThe Whole Bowl — Clifton walk-up creolekitchen.com. window Whole Bowl originated in PortLa Soupe — La Soupe collects unused, land, Oregon, where sustainability is kind past its prime or “ugly” produce from difof their thing. “We do a number of things ferent grocers and farmers in the city and to promote environmental conscioususes it to make meals for food insecure ness,” says local proprietor Micah Ovadia. families and others via their “Rescue A main focus is making sure their to-go Transform Share” program. According items are compostable: The bowls have to their website, they utilized 277,273 no wax or plastic lining, the lids are made pounds of unwanted produce in 2017. They from corn grown in America and they also host the Bucket Brigade challenge, provide utensils made from birch wood, prompting other local restaurants to use harvested from replanted forests and certisome of the “rescued” produce to prepare fied by the Forest Stewardship Council. 364 dishes and then donate the meals back to Ludlow Ave., Clifton, thewholebowl.com. La Soupe. Metropole downtown and E+O Rooted Juicery + Kitchen — Whether Kitchen in Hyde Park are examples of paryou’re looking for cold-pressed juice, nonticipating restaurants. 4150 Round Bottom refined-sugar desserts or locally sourced Road, Newtown, lasoupecincinnati.com. bagel sandwiches, Rooted has you covered. Sleepy Bee Café — Sleepy Bee is If you’re ordering to-go, their plastic cutfounded on bee-friendly, local and sustainlery and food containers are biodegradable. able food practices. They harvest honey And Rooted is a completely plant-based and grow fresh produce for their dishes at eatery — no animal products allowed, Tracy Street Garden, an urban community except for the occasional use of honey. garden. Multiple locations including 3098 “Each person who eats that way saves 1,000 Madison Road, Oakley, sleepybeecafe.com. gallons of water a day and over 30 square Fusian — Established in 2010, this feet of forest,” says owner Megan Tysoe. Ohio sushi chain has prioritized sustainMultiple locations including 3010 Madison ability from day one. All their cups, lids Road, Oakley, rootedjuicery.com. and straws are completely compostable, BrewRiver Gastropub — This New and their paper products are made from Orleans-inspired restaurant is in the post-consumer materials. They even have process of opening a new space, BrewRiver an area where guests can compost uneaten Creole Kitchen in Oakley. They are another portions and food packaging and recycle example of a place always trying to mix the rest. Multiple locations including 600 it up with their sustainability approach. Vine St., Downtown, fusian.com.

CLASSES & EVENTS WEDNESDAY 19

Bubbles and Cheese at Oakley Wines — Taste five sparkling wines from around the world paired with rich and creamy or nutty and dense cheeses. Leave this event learning how to create the perfect cheese plate with wine pairings. 6-7:30 p.m. $50. Oakley Wines, 4011 Allston St., Oakley, eventbrite.com/e/ bubbles-and-cheesetickets-53513791190.

Five Course Lobster Menu at Jean-Robert’s Table — During December, Jean-Robert’s Table is offering a five-course menu focused on lobster with dishes including lobster salad, lobster bisque, beef tenderloin with lobster bernasie and roasted red snapper with pinot noir lobster broth. 5:15 p.m. Monday-Thursday. $75. Jean-Robert’s Table, 713 Vine St., Downtown, facebook.com/jrtable.

Winter Solstice Celebration — Celebrate the solstice at Imago with an optional potluck, personal reflection, storytelling, art making and the history of solstice celebrations from around the globe. 7-8:30 p.m. Free but RSVP online. Imago, 700 Enright Ave., Price Hill, imagoearth.org.

SATURDAY 22

Park + Vine Cookbook Release Party — Over-theRhine’s favorite former green general store and vegan lunch counter is releasing a cookbook with more than 50 favorite recipes from Park + Vine. Head to Northside’s The Kitchen Factory for a release party with light bites and a meet and greet with the creators, including P+V founder Dan Korman, who will be there virtually. Noon-3 p.m. Free admission. The Kitchen Factory, 1609 Chase Ave., Northside, facebook.com/ thekitchenfactoryonline. The Nightmare Before Christmas at The Righteous Room — The bar transforms into Halloween Town for a Nightmare Before Christmas-themed party. Dress in costume and enjoy themed cocktails. 8 p.m.-2 a.m. Free admission. The Righteous

Listermann Brewing Co. Ugly Sweater Party — Listermann’s second annual ugly sweater party features a photobooth, games, an ugly sweater contest, free hot chocolate for kids, cake balls and food from Renegade Grille. 6-10 p.m. Free admission. Listermann Brewing Co., 1621 Dana Ave., Norwood, listermannbrewing.com.

Cookware Kitchen Tools Barware Cooking Classes

Egg Nog Competition at Bay Horse Café — The bar hosts an inaugural egg nog competition, open to the public. Sign up, present your favorite nog recipe and three judges will decide the winner. 7 p.m.-2 a.m. Bay Horse Café, 625 Main St., Downtown, facebook.com/ bayhorsecafe.

SUNDAY 23

Breakfast with Santa at The Phoenix — Santa will be at The Phoenix for multiple breakfast brunch buffets. Enjoy a holidaythemed buffet, themed holiday rooms with activities, storytelling, photos with Santa, a sugar cookie decorating contest and more. 11:30 a.m. $30 adults; $18 kids. The Phoenix, 812 Race St., Downtown, facebook. com/thephoenixcincinnati.

MONDAY 24

Latkapalooza 2018 — The Jewish Federation’s Young Adult Division and Meyerson JCC host this annual dance party featuring drink specials, Kosher snacks and raffle prizes. 8 p.m.-1:30 a.m. Free admission. 3 Points Urban Brewery, 331 E. 13th St., Pendleton, facebook. com/mayerson.jcc. Christmas Eve Dinner Cruise — Grab the family and take a trip down the Ohio River on Christmas Eve. 5:30-7:30 p.m. $55 adults; $38 children; $27 adults sightseeing only; $18 children sightseeing only. BB Riverboats, 101 Riverboat Row, Newport, bbriverboats.com.

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C I T Y B E AT. C O M

Winter Solstice Party at Keystone Bar & Grill — The Winter Solstice is the longest night of the year and the first official day of winter. Celebrate at Keystone Hyde Park with tacky holiday sweaters

Feast of the Seven Fishes at The Presidents Room — The Presidents Room puts their own spin on this Italian Christmas Eve tradition by offering seven seafooddriven courses accompanied by paired wines. The chefprepared menu includes dishes like oyster pie, seared tuna and squid ink tortelloni. A reception with live music starts at 6:15 p.m. 7 p.m. dinner. $125. The Presidents Room at The Phoenix, 812 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, facebook. com/presidentsroom.

Room, 641 Walnut St., Downtown, facebook.com/ therighteousroom.

FRIDAY 21

and cocktail specials. Don your ugly sweater while you sip on spiked hot cocoa, hot cider and more. 8-11:30 p.m. Keystone Bar & Grill, 3384 Erie Ave., Hyde Park, facebook.com/ keystonehydepark.

D E C E M B E R 19 – 2 5 , 2 0 18

White Christmas at La Comedia Dinner Theatre — If you’re looking for a side of campy Christmas musical with your dinner, look no further than La Comedia Dinner Theatre, which is performing the Rosemary Clooney/Bing Crosby/ Danny Kaye classic White Christmas. Have a slice of glazed ham as you sing along with Irving Berlin’s score, including songs like “Sisters,” “Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me” and, of course, “White Christmas.” The buffet dinner menu features everything from sweet potato souffle to deep-fried cod and turkey with cornbread stuffing. Through Dec. 31. $61-$75 depending on the day and time. La Comedia Dinner Theatre, 765 W. Central Ave., Springboro, lacomedia.com.

Most classes and events require registration and classes frequently sell out.

18_0169_CAM_CityBeatFullPage_ExhibSched_FOIHolidayIssue_B01_v01brian.pdf

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D E C E M B E R 19 â€“ 2 5 , 2 0 18

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MUSIC Last Time Around After nearly 25 years, renowned Cincinnati Garage Rockers The Mortals return for a reunion blowout at Woodward Theater BY B I L L F U R B EE

“

The Mortals in the 1990s PHOTO: PROVIDED

musicians would swing by the studio to check in. Between that experience and an accompanying gig at Seattle’s Off Ramp Café, they’d cross paths on that excursion with members of Mudhoney, Tad, “a couple of the Soundgarden folks, and a Mother Love Bone or maybe a Green River dude,” recalls Davidson. Once that debut full-length hit record stores, accumulating fans outside of town came easy for The Mortals. “It was always really strange to go to a new town and be told we were headlining, (but) there were Estrus die-hards, enthusiastic to book bands from the label — the Estrus seal of quality,” Grapes says, with a grin. “So we were really fortunate.” The band would eventually chalk up about 70 performances, most of them Midwestern dates, while also spreading the gospel to fans in Chicago, San Diego, Austin, Texas and the deep South. The Mortals’ unceremonious final gigs came in August 1994, appropriately enough a string of shows with the Mono Men. The band was “getting worn out and everyone was ready for a change,” Grapes says. “Bands are small businesses and that requires organization. Our lack of planning eventually caught up with us.” Members went their separate ways: Grapes joined the Mono Men for a short tour, then resumed his position with a reformed Cybermen, before playing with Becher, Ricky Nye and Chris Novy CONTINUES ON PAGE 4 2

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honcho at the soon-to-be-infamous Bellingham, Washington-based Estrus Records) was like, ‘Send me something,’ ” Grapes says. The band initially put it off but, upon later finding out that Crider had followed up with Blase to see what the band had been up to, they rushed into Ultrasuede Studio (then located in Northside) with Davidson and engineer Dave Davis to cut a handful of demos. “That was so freakin’ long ago,” Crider says, audibly reaching past mental cobwebs for recollections and anecdotes. “It’s a lot of beers under the bridge, man. Well, I’ve always loved the band, and I still do. I can’t think of another band that was really doing exactly what they were doing, that hard Rock edge they had.” The Mortals’ Ritual Dimension of Sound would be the fifth LP released on Crider’s relatively young label, its roster eventually growing to include acts like The Mummies, Man or Astro-man?, The Fall-Outs, Electric Frankenstein, Phantom Surfers, Teengenerate, The Woggles — a real who’s who of the early ’90s Garage Punk landscape. “I was able to talk them into coming out here (to Washington) to record, and that was a pretty big trip for them,” Crider says. “That first trip to Seattle was amazing,” Grapes says. They recorded at Egg Studios with legendary Northwest engineer Conrad Uno and even utilized a sound board from the old Stax studio. As the band laid music to tape, a steady parade of Seattle

Gatch “was a total trip,” recalls former Cincinnatian Peter Aaron, who booked many of the band’s early gigs. “I was influenced by and admired Iggy Pop and (The Cramps’) Lux Interior particularly,” Gatch says, then adds, “there may have been a little Andy Kaufman and Pee Wee Herman factored in as well.” At stage right, Grapes was no slack on lead guitar (“the best guitarist in Cincinnati, hands down” Aaron says, while Davidson emphasizes, matter-offactly, “there were nights when he was the best guitarist in the world”). In ’93, Scott Haggerty took over for Becher, and the band would continue in that form for a couple more years, leaving club stages in shambles during frequent weekend trips to neighboring regions. “If you broke out of Cincinnati, you had to be good, because you kind of started out 10 yards behind the starting line compared to bands in Chicago or New York or L.A.,” Davidson says with a chuckle. In those days, Cincinnati’s club scene was dominated by cover acts, and venues willing to book original bands were few and far between. “But outside of Cincinnati, The Mortals were really well respected,” Davidson adds. The Mortals’ most fateful local gig came as an opening act for Northwest-based Mono Men at Everybody’s Records in Pleasant Ridge. After the show, the bands hung out over drinks at a neighboring bar. “We got along great, and Dave (Crider, Mono Men singer/guitarist and head

D E C E M B E R 19 – 2 5 , 2 0 18

ou know how dogs live in the moment?” asks William Grapes, lead guitarist of late Cincinnati Garage Rock icons The Mortals. “That’s how we were. We didn’t have a grand plan.” The Mortals were birthed in 1989 and burned out by ’95, leaving in their wake three LPs, five 7-inch singles and five compilation appearances. The band’s sound was one of stripped-down, no-frills frenetic urgency, a hybrid of Midwest Punk and a British Mod direction, with titles like “Atomic Cocktail,” “Nitroglycerin” and “Bulletproof” leaving record needles scorched around the world. Their live shows became the stuff of legend. “There were (other) Garage bands but nobody had the power that The Mortals had,” says Darren Blase, his voice crackling with excitement as the memories flood back. “Man, Grapes was raging,” Blase continues. “They were my favorite band.” Appropriately enough, The Mortals would be featured on the first 7-inch issued by Blase on his then newly revived Shake It Records label back in 1993. “They were a wild Rock & Roll band, up to 10,” echoes producer and tour manager Jim Davidson. “The best rave-ups since The Yardbirds. Bill even smashed a few guitars, here and there. We had good fun.” The Mortals were young but experienced scene vets who’d already cut their teeth on local stages in bands like the Cybermen, which had included Grapes and fellow Mortal Mike Grimm on drums. When the Cybermen folded and The Mortals formed, they tapped Denny Brown to join on rhythm guitar, added Matt Becher on bass and handed a microphone to Steve “The Tongue” Gatch. It proved to be quite the lineup. Belting out lyrics like an unhinged beast,

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ne of the best and easiest gifts to get at the last minute for the holidays is a good old hard copy music release. Everybody likes music and it’s nice to unwrap something that’s not a gift card. If you’re shopping to impress, a box set can drop jaws, particularly if you splurge for a “deluxe” edition. Every year sees the release of a variety of repackaged music from across the musical spectrum, containing thick stacks of vinyl (or CDs, if you so desire), unreleased material, posters, hardbound books and/or any number of bonus trinkets. So if you’re running out of time, visit your local independent shop to see what’s in stock or, if you must, get a fast shipment from an online seller. Most of these sets are available in various formats — from lavishly packaged collections to more modest (and affordable) versions. The only person on your list who might not appreciate a box set is a streaming-only anti-hoarder, but some of the splashier and more extravagant deluxe releases below might shake an appreciative smile out of even the most stubborn digital native.

The Beatles ‘White Album’ Anniversary PHOTO: PROVIDED

• The Beatles — ‘White Album’ Anniversary Editions Fifty years ago, The Beatles released their sprawling self-titled epic — colloquially referred to as “The White Album” — and, never ones to miss out on chance to make a little extra money/reward fans new and old, there are various editions of a newly expanded reissue available. The band proves once again that there is endless unreleased Beatles material to be mined — this time around there are numerous

studio outtakes and the coveted acoustic “Esher Demos” the musicians made for songs that appeared on the album, plus a handful that didn’t, including “Child of Nature,” which John Lennon would resurrect as his solo classic “Jealous Guy.” The “White Album” Super Deluxe edition is six CDs and one audio Bluray disc, packaged in a 164-page book containing exhaustively detailed background and context written by Paul McCartney and others, as well as a poster, additional artwork and more. There is also a three-CD/four-LP vinyl box set of the reissue available. • Guns N’ Roses —Appetite for Destruction: Locked N’ Loaded This year’s reissue of Guns N’ Roses’ 1987 landmark debut album missed having a tidy anniversary with which to peg it, but they made up for it with a massive edition that includes four CDs, a Blu-ray disc, seven 12-inch vinyl LPs, seven 7-inch singles, a hardcover book and fun extras like skull rings, posters, a replica of the band’s early stage banner and actual-size replicas of the band members’ tattoos. Packaged in a faux-leather-coated wooden cabinet, the $750 edition of Locked N’ Loaded takes the term “box set” to new levels. But if that price point is too steep, the collection is also available in a $179 version with many of the same goodies and all of the music — the remastered Appetite, the band’s early EPs and numerous unreleased tracks from Appetite-era sessions. • Ornette Coleman —The Atlantic Years If you have a Jazz lover on your list, you don’t have to worry quite as much about things like skull rings and temporary tattoos being included. A 10-LP set on 180gram vinyl will get their ears perked up. And when it features music by one of Jazz’s most exploratory pioneers, Ornette Coleman, you may well find your way onto their own list — of “all-time favorite gift-givers.” The Free Jazz maverick recorded his most seminal work for Atlantic Records in the span of just 22 months, between 1959 and 1961. The saxophonist’s six studio albums from that period lived up to the prophetic title of his 1959 debut for the label, The Shape of Jazz to Come. Rhino Records’ The Atlantic Years also includes over two hours of outtakes and other material never before issued on vinyl, all packaged with replica sleeves and with a booklet filled with rare photos and new liner notes.

MUSIC EDITOR MIKE BREEN KNOWS MUSIC. • R.E.M. — R.E.M. at the BBC Alternative music pioneers R.E.M. made a lot of appearances on British radio and television throughout their storied career. R.E.M. at the BBC includes full concerts that were broadcast between 1984 and 2004, as well as shorter sessions from as recently as 2008, including a 1998 studio appearance on John Peel’s radio show. There are condensed two-CD and two-LP versions of R.E.M. at the BBC, but hardcore fans will appreciate the comprehensive Super Deluxe edition. In

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Ornette Coleman The Atlantic Years PHOTO: PROVIDED

addition to eight CDs featuring every note the band performed for the BBC, the collection includes a DVD of interviews and live performances, including the retrospective Accelerating Backwards film (a compilation of BBC TV appearances) and several songs from R.E.M.’s appearances on Later… with Jools Holland.

irrelevant, but still a nice fun fact to deliver to the music-nerd recipient when you give them the gift.

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• Tom Petty — An American Treasure The Rock world lost one of its most consistent and prolific songwriters when Tom Petty died last year and An American Treasure — the first posthumous release of Petty material — drives that point home over the course of four CDs. Far from a “greatest hits” compilation, the box set features 60 tracks, many previously unreleased. A mix of live recordings, demos and alternate studio takes, the collection spans Petty’s career, kicking off with “Surrender,” from an early 1976 session with the Heartbreakers, and closing with a live performance of “Hungry No More” from 2016. In between, there are songs from Petty’s solo albums, sessions with his pre-Heartbreakers band Mudcrutch (one dating back to 1974), collaborations with Stevie Nicks and Roger McGuinn and live material from nearly every phase of his career. The Super Deluxe edition of An American Treasure comes with a lithograph of Shepard Fairey’s cover artwork, an 84-page book with bonus photos and reproductions of Petty’s handwritten lyrics to four songs.

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• Various Artists — A Kaleidoscope Of Sounds (Psychedelic & Freakbeat Masterpieces) This one might take some work to find, as it’s available only as a U.K. import and only a few thousand copies were pressed. But if you want to blow the mind of that snobby obscure music lover in your life, it should definitely do the trick. Released this summer, A Kaleidoscope Of Sounds is a 14-track compilation of rare British Psych and Mod Pop/Rock singles from the 1960s. Featuring tracks like The Birds’ “Say Those Magic Words,” Caleb’s “Baby Your Phrasing is Bad” and Les Fleur De Lys’ “Mud In Your Eye,” the collection is presented on seven vintage-styled 7-inch vinyl singles. In the promotional materials for the collection it is mentioned that it would cost about $15,000 to purchase the originals individually, which is fairly

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Cincinnati music greats Over the Rhine • Another local music holiday tradition have made their annual Christmastime is headed up by Cincinnati Jazz piano concerts a Cincinnati holiday tradition for veteran Steve Schmidt every year at The many in the area over the past decade-plus. Comet (4579 Hamilton Ave., Northside, The year, main OTRers Linford Detweiler cometbar.com). “Christmas Schmidtacular and Karin Bergquist took their program of “ is three nights’ (Wednesday, Dec. “reality Christmas songs” (plus music from 19-Friday, Dec. 21) worth of holiday Jazz their many other albums) on the road for performed by The Steve Schmidt Organ a trek as a trio (with multi-instrumentalist Trio and a bevy of special guest vocalists. Brad Meinerding) that included dates on Schmidt (on Hammond organ), guitarist the West Coast and in the Midwest. Brad Myers and drummer Marc Wolfley This year’s holiday road-tripping wraps will be joined Wednesday and Thursday by up with three hometown shows at Memorial Hall (1225 Elm St., Over-theRhine, memorialhallotr.com). At the time of this writing, tickets for the weekend concerts Dec. 21-23 ($40-$65) were running low; visit ticketmaster.com if you’re hoping to spend some holiday time with Bergquist and Detweiler, who will celebrate OTR’s 30th anniversary next year. Singer/songwriter Leigh Nash, formerly of Sixpence None the Richer, opens all three shows. The concerts begin at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Over the Rhine began indulging the Christmas muse on record 22 years ago when the band (then featuring founding members Ric Over the Rhine Hordinski and Brian Kelley, plus bassist Chris Dahlgren) recorded P H O T O : R O B E R T F U G AT E and released The Darkest Night Of The Year, a 13-track mix of original singer Adia Dobbins and Cincinnati native songs that channeled a haunted, melanAmy London will be home from New York cholic holiday spirit and arrangements City and singing with the trio at the Friday of standards like “The First Noel” and “O show. A few other surprise guests might Come, O Come Emmanuel.” In 2006, the find their way to the stage over the course group released its first all-original Christof the residency as well. Music begins mas collection, Snow Angels. Over the at 8:30 p.m. each night and there is no Rhine’s most recent holiday album is 2014’s admission charge. Blood Oranges in the Show, which featured • Love Christmas music but hate winter a trio of covers, including Merle Haggard’s weather? Two Cincinnati musicians — “If We Make it Through December.” Scotty McEvoy (The SunBurners) and In a recent interview with CityBeat’s Mark Becknell (Queen City Silver Stars) sister publication Cleveland Scene, — have devised just the event for you Detweiler said it was after recording Blood this Thursday, Dec. 20 at The Redmoor Oranges that Bergquist coined the phrase (3187 Linwood Ave., Mount Lookout, “reality Christmas music” as a description theredmoor.com). “Island Christmas of their somber holiday offerings. Holiday LIVE” will feature The Merry “If there’s an empty seat at the table or Gentlemen, a new band with members if you’ve lost a loved one or lost a job, that of the two musicians’ tropical-themed stuff doesn’t just disappear during the holigroups (think Reggae, Soca, Calypso days,” he explained. “Me being a little bit of and other music that reminds people a melancholy, artistic type, there’s someof far warmer climates) playing holiday thing heartbreaking about this time of year classics and even a couple of original that I’ve always felt. Some of that comes songs. The 7 p.m. show will also include an out in our original tunes. We found some appearance from the Young Professionals of the space to fill in the gaps where there Choral Collective, a “drumming Santa were very few Christmas songs written.” Claus” and other irie island vibes. There may be another Christmas album Tickets can be purchased in advance at again someday, but it’s unlikely to be in islandchristmasholiday.eventbrite.com, 2019. Bergquist and Detweiler will likely which also has more event details. have their hands full promoting their all-new LP Love & Revelation, which is Contact Mike Breen: slated for release on March 15, 2019 on the mbreen@citybeat.com couple’s own Great Speckled Dog label.

CONTINUES FROM PAGE 39

in a Hammond organ quartet called the Viscount 7. Brown joined The Tigerlilies and then, in his words, left “to start a family and I haven’t played in a band since.” Grimm and Grapes have accompanied Cincinnati singer/ songwriter Maurice Mattei; Grimm also played with Los Honchos for a spell and has a new project called the Absolute Beginners. Haggerty would spend time with a handful of different projects, including The Pariahs. And Gatch sang for Rip Rock and Raunch and worked on a couple of locally produced films. It would seem The Mortals and their legacy were all but distant history. Then, just last August, the band members convened at a Clifton coffee shop to discuss the likelihood of a reunion. They decided “everybody has to be in, or it doesn’t happen; that seemed to be a fair way to do it,” Grapes says. “Once everybody realized what they needed to do, they just did it,” the guitarist says of early rehearsals. “I think Steve has the toughest job — he had five years to learn all these lyrics, and now he only has like three months to remember them. Mike also has a tough job — he’s been concentrating more on playing guitar lately. It’s kind of a re-learning process for all of us.” As for Grapes, renowned for delivering those manic guitar leads with reckless, youthful abandon? “It’s definitely a style I don’t play much anymore,” he says. “As odd as it sounds, I’ve got more of a Curtis Mayfield style I’ve been working in.” “After however-many decades, I’m finally learning how to play properly,” he adds, with just a hint of self-deprecation. Beyond the upcoming reunion show, the band hasn’t laid out any expectations for themselves. “Planning anything further would be really out of character for the band,” Grapes says. “Not thinking about the future worked well for The Mortals. I’m fine just hanging out with these guys, having a beer.” Grapes says being a Mortal in 2018 is much different than it was almost a quarter of a century ago. “It sounds strange to say, but our lives are so much richer now,” he says. “We have so much life experience (now), we can talk about stuff on a deeper level. If you think about it, most guys get in a band when they’re 15 or 16, hanging out with other guys. When you’re that age, I don’t think there’s much growth going on. You’re in the pod with people just like you, and there’s not a whole lot of maturity.” “Then again,” Grapes surmises, “maybe that’s me just considering mortality.” Mortality, indeed. The Mortals play Dec. 28 at Woodward Theater with The Tigerlilies. Tickets/ more info: woodwardtheater.com.

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LISTINGS

CityBeat’s music listings are free. Send info to Mike Breen at mbreen@citybeat.com. Listings are subject to change. See CityBeat.com for full music listings and all club locations. H is CityBeat staff’s stamp of approval.

WEDNESDAY 19

BLIND LEMON–Jonathan Luck. 7:30 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

H H

CAFFÈ VIVACE–Blue Wisp Big Band. 8 p.m. Big Band Jazz.

THE COMET–Christmas Schmidtacular featuring The Steve Schmidt Organ Trio and Friends. 8:30 p.m. Holiday Jazz. Free. HILTON NETHERLAND PALM COURT–Jim Connerley Trio. 6 p.m. Jazz. Free.

H H

KNOTTY PINE–Dallas Moore. 10 p.m. Country. Free. THE LISTING LOON– Ricky Nye. 8:30 p.m. Blues/Boogie Woogie.

THE MAD FROG–Way Back Wednesdays with DJ BlazeWright. 9 p.m. ’70s-’90s/DJ. Free. MANSION HILL TAVERN– Losing Lucky. 8 p.m. Roots. Free. MARTY’S HOPS & VINES– Mike Biere and Rick Boyer. 7 p.m. Acoustic. Free. MERITAGE–Sonny Moorman. 7 p.m. Blues. Free.

MOTR PUB–Now Age Emcee, Papa Gora, Patterns of Chaos and Supreme Prisms. 10 p.m. Hip Hop. Free.

NORTHSIDE TAVERN– Shiny Old Soul. 9 p.m. Rock/Roots/Various

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (LOUNGE)–Ohio Valley Salvage with Chalk Eye. 9 p.m. Rock. Free.

URBAN ARTIFACT– Xzela featuring Fycus with IN2ITIV3 and Patterns of Chaos. 9 p.m. Soul/Pop/ Hip Hop/Various. Free.

THURSDAY 20

THE COMET–Christmas Schmidtacular featuring The Steve Schmidt Organ Trio and Friends. 8:30 p.m. Holiday Jazz. Free.

COMMON ROOTS–Common Roots Open Mic. 8 p.m. Open Mic. Free.

THE GREENWICH– Phil DeGreg & Friends. 8:30 p.m. Brazilian Jazz. $5.

HILTON NETHERLAND PALM COURT–Ben Thomas Quartet. 6 p.m. Jazz. Free. KNOTTY PINE–Mitch Greve.

9 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

LUDLOW GARAGE– Reina del Cid. 8:30 p.m. Indie Folk. $12-$35.

THE MAD FROG–EDM Thursdays. 9 p.m. DJ/Electronic/Dance. Cover.

MOTR PUB–Parker Gispert with Human Heart. 10 p.m. Alt/Rock/Various. Free.

mic with Russ Childers. 7 p.m. Various. Free.

10 p.m. Funk/Jazz/Fusion/ Various. Free.

THE REDMOOR– “Island Christmas Holiday LIVE” with The Merry Gentlemen and Friends. 7 p.m. Tropical/Soca/Calypso/ Reggae/Holiday. $10, $15 day of show.

20TH CENTURY THEATER–A Very Motherfolk Christmas IV with Stay Outside. 8 p.m. Indie Rock. $10-$20.

NORTHSIDE TAVERN– Karaoke Fantastic. 9 p.m. Various. Free.

SCHWARTZ’S POINT JAZZ & ACOUSTIC CLUB–Society Jazz Orchestra Plays the Late Ed Moss’s Christmas Book. 8:30 p.m. Jazz. Cover.

PLAIN FOLK CAFE–Open

STANLEY’S PUB–The Qtet.

URBAN ARTIFACT– The Kno Nothings, Leopold the Ghost and Feral Friends. 5 p.m. Alternative/ Rock/Various. Free.

FRIDAY 21

H H

ARNOLD’S BAR AND GRILL–Ben Knight and the Well Diggers. 9 p.m.

Americana. Free. BLIND LEMON–Will & Olivia. 9 p.m. Acoustic. Free. BROMWELL’S HÄRTH LOUNGE–Jess Lamb and The Factory. 9 p.m. Pop/ Soul/Various. Free. CAFFÈ VIVACE–Randy Villars Trio. 8:30 p.m. Jazz. COLLEGE HILL COFFEE CO.–Ricky Nye. 7:30 p.m. Blues/Boogie Woogie. Free.

THE COMET–Christmas Schmidtacular featuring The Steve Schmidt

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

CAFFÈ VIVACE–Ricky Nye and Bekah Williams. 7:30 p.m. Jazz/Blues.

BLIND LEMON–Warren Ulgh. 7:30 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

PHOTO: MICHAEL WILSON

D E C E M B E R 19 – 2 5 , 2 0 18

STANLEY’S PUB–The Inturns. 9 p.m. Rock. Free.

Steve Schmidt and his organ trio play holiday Jazz at The Comet Wednesday through Friday

LISTINGS Organ Trio and Friends. 8:30 p.m. Holiday Jazz. Free.

Funk/Soul/Hip Hop/Trip Hop/ Dub/Various.

RICK’S TAVERN–Wayward Son. 8 p.m. Classic Rock. $5.

THE GREENWICH– Retro Nouveau (album release party). 8 p.m. Jazz. $10.

HILTON NETHERLAND PALM COURT–Phil DeGreg Trio. 9 p.m. Jazz. Free. JAG’S STEAK AND SEAFOOD–Sly Band. 9 p.m. Pop/ Rock/Dance/Various. $5. JIM AND JACK’S ON THE RIVER–Danny Frazier. 9 p.m. Country. Free. KNOTTY PINE–Naked Karate Girls. 10 p.m. Rock/ Pop/Dance. Cover.

MADISON LIVE– Whack’d Out WinterFest 5 with Arbor, The Obnoxious Boot, Court House Prejudice, Derailed and Artificial Subjects. 7:30 p.m. Metal/Hardcore. $8, $10 day of show.

MANSION HILL TAVERN– The Heaters. 9 p.m. Blues. Cover. MARTY’S HOPS & VINES– Chris Lee. 9 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

MEMORIAL HALL–An Acoustic Christmas with Over the Rhine and Leigh Nash. 8 p.m. Acoustic/Folk/ Pop/Holiday/Various. $40-$65.

MOTR PUB–Champs of the Sun with The Last Troubadour. 10 p.m. Americana/Rock/Various. Free.

C I T Y B E AT. C O M

D E C E M B E R 19 – 2 5 , 2 0 18

NORTHSIDE TAVERN–Sky Hank, Xoh and Jennifer Simone. 10 p.m. Rock/Alt/Various. Free.

OCTAVE–Let’s Dance: A Gatsby Night featuring Mickey James & The Queen City Crew. 8 p.m. Swing/Jazz/R&B. Free. PLAIN FOLK CAFE–Highly Likely String Band. 7:30 p.m. Bluegrass. Free. RADISSON CINCINNATI RIVERFRONT–Basic Truth. 8 p.m. R&B/Soul/Funk. Free (in the Fifth Lounge). THE REDMOOR–Soul Pocket. 9 p.m. R&B/Pop/Dance/Various. $10.

REVEL OTR URBAN WINERY–Grimez featuring Doctor Bionic. 10 p.m.

SCHWARTZ’S POINT JAZZ & ACOUSTIC CLUB–Ron Enyard Trio. 8:30 p.m. Jazz. Cover. SILVERTON CAFE–2 AM. 9 p.m. Various. Free. SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (LOUNGE)–Kristen Ford, Eric Bolander and Abe Partridge. 9 p.m. Singer/ Songwriter. Free.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL (SANCTUARY)–A Very Merry Midwesterns Christmas with special guest Bendigo Fletcher. 8 p.m. Rock/Roots/Various. $8, $10 day of show. STANLEY’S PUB–Queen City Silver Stars with Kingless Generation. 10 p.m. Reggae/Various. Cover. URBAN ARTIFACT–Horse Divorce, Vandalia and Sun Delay. 9 p.m. Rock/Various. $5.

WOODWARD THEATER–Automagik (album release show) with Triiibe. 9 p.m. Indie/Pop/ Dance/Rock/Hip Hop/Various. $10, $12 day of show.

SATURDAY 22

THE AVENUE EVENT CENTER–Quando Rondo. 10 p.m. Hip Hop. $35-$50. BLIND LEMON–Zach & Corey. 9 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

BROMWELL’S HÄRTH LOUNGE–Amy London with The Steve Schmidt Trio. 9 p.m. Jazz. Free.

Automagik’s release party for the new album Goldmine is Friday at Woodward Theater PHOTO: PROVIDED

Cover.

THE MAD FROG– Groovemas with Trevor Lamont, Untitled Funk, Ron Motz and more. 9 p.m. EDM/ House. $5.

MANSION HILL TAVERN– Prestige Grease. 9 p.m. Blues. Cover.

MARTY’S HOPS & VINES– Joan Whittaker. 9 p.m. Various. Free.

CAFFÈ VIVACE–VanMatre/ Connerley Quartet. 8:30 p.m. Jazz.

MAURY’S TINY COVE & MAUR’S BAR–Ricky Nye. 7 p.m. Blues/Boogie Woogie. Free.

THE GREENWICH–Radio Black. 9 p.m. R&B/Soul/Hip Hop/Pop/Various. $10.

MCCAULY’S PUB–Debi and the Revelation. 8:30 p.m. Rock/Pop/Country. Free.

HILTON NETHERLAND PALM COURT–Mike Darrah Quartet. 9 p.m. Jazz. Free.

JIM AND JACK’S ON THE RIVER–Deuces Wild. 9 p.m. Country. Free. KNOTTY PINE–Under the Sun. 10 p.m. Alt/Rock/Various.

Free.

MEMORIAL HALL–An Acoustic Christmas with Over the Rhine and Leigh Nash. 8 p.m. Acoustic/Folk/ Pop/Holiday/Various. $40-$65.

MOTR PUB–The New Royals and Reilly Comisar. 10 p.m. Funk/Jazz/Blues/Various.

NORTHSIDE TAVERN– Abiyah, The Perfect Children and Culture Queer. 10 p.m. Indie/Pop/Rock/Various. Free. OCTAVE–Strange Mechanics, Peridoni and Grasspartame. 9 p.m. Progressive/Funk/Rock/Jam/ Various.

PLAIN FOLK CAFE–Sam Burns & The Orchard Circle. 7:30 p.m. Progressive Bluegrass. Free. RICK’S TAVERN–Naked Karate Girls. 10 p.m. Rock/ Pop/Dance. Cover. SCHWARTZ’S POINT JAZZ & ACOUSTIC CLUB–Groovy Jazz Christmas Party with The Michael Cruse Quartet. 8:30 p.m. Jazz. Cover. SILVERTON CAFE–Big Trouble. 9 p.m. Blues. Free.

SOUTHGATE HOUSE REVIVAL

(LOUNGE)–Cougar Ace and The Exit Strategy. 9 p.m. Rock/Various. Free. STANLEY’S PUB–Rustik Waters and Fox Soxx. 1 p.m. Jam/Funk/Various. Cover. THOMPSON HOUSE–A Very Hairy Christmas with That Arena Rock Show. 8 p.m. Rock. $10-$20.

MEMORIAL HALL–An Acoustic Christmas with Over the Rhine and Leigh Nash. 2 p.m. Acoustic/Folk/ Pop/Holiday/Various. $40-$65.

MOTR PUB–Philip Paul Trio. 8 p.m. Jazz. Free.

NORTHSIDE TAVERN–Sincerely, Iris with Greg Mahan. 8 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

MONDAY 24

URBAN ARTIFACT–Moselle and Subterranean. 9 p.m. Jam/Various. Free.

TUESDAY 25

TOP CATS–Tiger Sex, Carian and The Nothing. 9 p.m. Rock/Punk. $10.

SUNDAY 23

BLIND LEMON–Jeff Henry. 8:30 p.m. Acoustic. Free.

HILTON NETHERLAND PALM COURT–Mike Darrah. 10:30 a.m. Jazz. Free. LATITUDES BAR & BISTRO–Blue Birds Band. 8 p.m. R&B/Rock. Free.

HILTON NETHERLAND PALM COURT–Dan Karlsberg. 4 p.m. Jazz. Free.

THE AVENUE EVENT CENTER–No Cap and 147 CalBoy with Blood Brothaz, Gaida and Highway Rich. 10 p.m. Hip Hop. $25-$50. HILTON NETHERLAND PALM COURT–Christmas Brunch Jazz. 10:30 a.m. Jazz. Free.

STANLEY’S PUB–Ben Gourley’s Vest Friends. 10 p.m. Jamgrass. Free.

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