San Antonio Current — December 30, 2020

DEC. 30, 2020 - JAN. 12, 2021

• BIGGEST STORIES OF 2020 • THE SAN ANTONIO WRITER OF PIXAR'S 'SOUL' • ARTS YEAR IN REVIEW

Putting a hot mess of a year behind us. Let's hope.

Relax responsibly . Corona Extra ®

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sacurrent.com | December 30, 2020 – January 12, 2021 | CURRENT 3

in this issue

Issue 20-27 /// December 30, 2020 - January 12, 2021

San Antonio Current Publisher: Michael Wagner Editor-in-Chief: Sanford Nowlin

Editorial

Digital Content Editor: Kelly Merka Nelson Contributing Arts Editor: Bryan Rindfuss Food and Nightlife Writer: Nina Rangel Contributors: Ron Bechtol, Chris Conde, Daniel Conrad, Jade Esteban Estrada, Dan R. Goddard, Lance Higdon, Steven G. Kellman, Hannah Lorence, Kiko Martinez, M. Solis, Gary Sweeney, Leah Thompson, Abe Asher Editorial Interns: Emily DiTomasso, Brianna Espinoza Trevor Flynn, Katie Hennessey, Dana Nichols, Deanna Wilson

Advertising

Advertising Director: Michael Wagner

Marketing and Events

Marketing and Events Director: Cassandra Yardeni Events Manager: Chelsea Bourque Sales & Event Coordinator: Sky Hawkes Marketing Interns: Julia Bentley

Creative Services

Graphic Designer: Samantha Serna Production Interns: Pedro Macias

Circulation

Circulation Manager: Justin Giles

Euclid Media Group

Chief Executive Officer: Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Officers: Chris Keating, Michael Wagner VP of Digital Services: Stacy Volhein Digital Operations Coordinator: Jaime Monzon Senior Marketing and Events Director: Cassandra Yardeni www.euclidmediagroup.com

Gary Sweeney

16 Feature

National Advertising: Voice Media Group (888) 278-9866, vmgadvertising.com

Silver Linings

San Antonio’s arts community weighs in on the positive side effects of quarantine

San Antonio Current 915 Dallas San Antonio, Texas 78215 sacurrent.com

09 News

The Opener News in Brief

Unpacking 2020

The pandemic wasn’t the only major news story roiling San Antonio and Texas this year

CityScrapes

San Antonio’s best hope for a happier 2021 is to ditch its longtime delusions

Glitter Political

Council Candidate Norberto “Geremy” Landin sees District 5’s hope and resiliency

15 Calendar Calendar Picks

20 Screens

‘Soul’ Searching

Editorial: (210) 227-0044 / Fax - (210) 227-7755 Display Advertising: (210) 227-0044 Fax: (210) 227-7733 Classified: (210) 227-CLAS / Fax - (210) 227-7733

San Antonio native Mike Jones imagines a world beyond time and space in new movie he co-scripted for Pixar

The San Antonio Current is published by Euclid Media Group Verified Audit Member San Antonio Distribution – The Current is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader.

23 Food

DEC. 30, 2020 - JAN. 12, 2021

Restaurant Rundown The pandemic played a part in virtually every 2020 food service trend in San Antonio

• BIGGEST STORIES OF 2020 • THE SAN ANTONIO WRITER OF PIXAR'S 'SOUL' • ARTS YEAR IN REVIEW

24 Music

Recommended Listening

2020 was a lousy year for live music, but there was no shortage of engaging albums

Live Music Lifeline

San Antonio club owners helped secure $15 billion to save music venues in the COVID relief package

Putting a hot mess of a year behind us. Let's hope.

On the Cover: How often can a single image so perfectly sum up an entire year? Cover design: Samantha Serna.

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CURRENT | December 30, 2020 – January 12, 2021 | sacurrent.com

NEW ADDITIONS TO THE SAN ANTONIO PUBLIC ART LANDSCAPE

The Department of Arts & Culture’s Public Art Program allows access to world-class art in large and mostly outdoor spaces — and all free of charge! We have some exciting new additions to the San Antonio Public Art landscape to share with you. These projects include Wildlife Viewing at the new Hardberger Park Land Bridge, the pan-Indian themed “Najo Jām” at Comanche Lookout Park and the “Door of Equality” in downtown. Go to www.SanAntonio.gov/Arts to learn more.

sacurrent.com | December 30, 2020 – January 12, 2021 | CURRENT

7

8 CURRENT | December 30, 2020 – January 12, 2021 | sacurrent.com

H

Despite the state’s COVID-19 and budget crises, the Texas Republican Party announced that its top priority for the legislative session starting in January is ending access to abortion.

In a statement, it accused Planned Parenthood of “openly work[ing] with Satanists” to “slaughter” babies. “The Texas Republican Party has gone off the dead end,” Texas Democratic Party chairman Manny Garcia said.

H

San Antonio-based grocer H-E-B is now allowing customers at 230 locations to use SNAP benefits to pay for curbside and home delivery orders. After introducing SNAP-enabled online ordering in Corpus Christi, Beeville and Kingsville in the spring, the company expanded the program in a bid to keep shoppers safe as the pandemic rages across Texas.

H

More than half the items collected in a toy drive for children living at the Alazan-Apache Courts public housing complex were stolen a day before the gifts were to be distributed. There’s an upside, however: after news of the theft broke, San Antonio residents stepped up with new donations, increasing the size of the drive several times over.

Embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, now under indictment for securities fraud and the target of a reported FBI investigation, has a new headache: a political action committee formed by Beto O’Rourke’s former statewide field director. The PAC will raise money to back a Democratic challenge for Paxton’s seat in 2022. Zach Malitz, treasurer of the Boot Texas Republicans PAC, also launched a separate committee aimed at defeating Gov. Greg Abbott during that same cycle. — Abe Asher

YOU SAID IT!

“I would argue that Beto O’Rourke is the only recent candidate that has built something out of a campaign that he ran. I don’t know if he won over Republican hearts and minds, but he at least had a conversation with them.”

— H. Drew Galloway

outgoing executive director of voter mobilization group MOVE Texas.

news

That Rocks/That Sucks

Twitter / @KenPaxtonTX

ASSCLOWN OF THE YEAR

Ken Paxton Assclown alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark.

There was no shortage of Texas leaders willing sully their office and betray the trust of their constituents in 2020, but was there ever any question Attorney General Ken Paxton would seize the assclown mantle for 2020?

First, there was the years-old, slow-motion securities fraud case against him. Then, this fall, seven of his own top aides called for law enforcement to look into whether the AG committed bribery and abuse of office. Paxton subsequently found ways to jettison all of those aides, some of whom are now suing under whistleblower statutes. Meanwhile, the FBI is investigation the allegations they raised, the Associated Press reports.

Rather than resign his position and stop bringing red-assed embarrassment to his state and to the Republican Party, Paxton has ripped a page from the Trump playbook and engaged in all manner of diversionary tactics which only serve to point out what a shitty lawyer he actually is.

Those diversions include all manner of shrill allegations of voter fraud in addition to asking the Trump White House to withhold pandemic-aid money from Harris County because it dared to encourage mail-in voting.

However, Paxton’s piece de resistance was a request that the U.S. Supreme Court reject the choice of voters in the November election and pitch out ballots filed in states that went for Joe Biden. The suit was roundly ridiculed by legal experts and rejected by the high court, increasing speculation that it was more motivated by seeking a pardon from President Donald Trump than any courtroom precedent.

Funny how world-class assclowns seem to flock together. — Sanford Nowlin

Despite spending more than $15 billion on roadwork last year, a new study by MoneyGeek found that Texas has among the nation’s worst roads. According to the study, more than one in five Texas roads is in poor condition, while less than half are in good shape. The Lone Star State’s road condition ranked 13th worst in the nation.

A new report from the Environmental Integrity Project ranked San Antonio-based Valero Energy Corp. as one of the oil-and-gas industry’s most prolific emitters of greenhouse gasses. Valero, which has several large production facilities in Texas, released 23.5 million tons of carbon emissions in 2019 — ranking behind only four other companies, including Texas-based ExxonMobil and Phillips 66.

Planned Parenthood is asking the state of Texas to delay kicking it out of Medicaid so that it can help the more than 8,000 predominantly low-income patients who rely on the group for women’s health services. Texas has been trying to remove Planned Parenthood from Medicaid for years, and finally got a favorable ruling from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in November. Planned Parenthood has called its impending removal a “blatantly political attack.” — Sanford Nowlin

Wikimedia Commons / Library of Congress

Find more news coverage every day at sacurrent.com

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FEAR SHOULD NEVER BE A PART OF LOVE.

HELP IS HERE. CALL 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) Line Open 24/7 If it’s an emergency call 911.

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CURRENT | December 30, 2020 – January 12, 2021 | sacurrent.com

news

Unpacking 2020

The pandemic wasn’t the only major news story roiling San Antonio and Texas this year

BY SANFORD NOWLIN

T

he global pandemic was the top news story of 2020, representing the biggest disruption to daily routines, the economy and public safety most of us have experienced in our

lifetimes.

But that doesn’t mean it was the only big story this year. There were also massive street protests over police accountability and racial justice, a contentious election that unseated a divisive, unpopular president and plenty of political infighting and scandal.

What follows are some of the highlights and lowlights.

1. Economic uncertainty

More than 4 million Texans have filed for unemployment relief since the pandemic began, and the state’s unemployment rate is now double what it was at the start of the year. As the legislative session starts in January, lawmakers must grapple with a budget shortfall caused by deep cuts in sales tax revenues.

San Antonio’s economy has been hit particularly hard by a near standstill in tourism and conventions, and even local leaders prone to positive spin acknowledge our rebound isn’t likely to be quick.

2. Reality bubbles

Both locally and nationally, it became abundantly clear in 2020, that siloed news consumption is leading some of us to divorce ourselves from reality: some seized on the notion that the November election was fraudulent, others claimed COVID-19 is no worse than the flu. Cue the widely watched video of former Bexar County Republican Cynthia Brehm’s shambolic May press conference, in which she claimed the pandemic was a hoax ginned up by Dems to embarrass President Donald Trump.

3. Local control

The pandemic deepened an existing schism between Democrat-dominated municipalities, including San Antonio, and the GOP-controlled state government.

As case numbers worsened, local officials tussled with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott over their ability to mandate masks and limit gatherings. Meanwhile, Abbott has pledged to back legislation that punishes cities such as Austin that cut police budgets under pressure from activists.

4. Police accountability

Black Lives Matter members — along with masses of people who don’t necessarily consider themselves activists — took to the streets of San Antonio and cities nationwide to protest the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. This comes as

Samantha Serna

the city embarks on new collective bargaining with its police union and as members of council hint that they’re ready to change the way discipline is handled under the contract. By some tallies, state lawmakers have filed a record number of police accountability bills ahead of the new legislative session.

2020 might be the year a blue wave finally washed over the state. Not so. Once again, Democrats failed to win a single statewide seat, maintaining a not-so-enviable record that’s been in place since 1994. Wins in the Texas Legislature were also scant, with a flipped Senate seat being the party’s sole significant victory.

5. The mayor’s new groove

8. Recognizing inequality

Mayor Ron Nirenberg narrowly won a second term, battling it out in a runoff with former city councilman Greg Brockhouse. That came after voters in 2018 approved two of three charter amendments aimed at punishing city hall for failing to reach a labor deal with its fire union. Fast forward to this November, when 77% of San Antonians approved the SA: Ready to Work ballot measure, which aims to retrain 40,000 residents as part of the city’s pandemic recovery effort. The victory and recent polls suggest Nirenberg may not be as vulnerable when he seeks office again in 2021.

6. A rift on the right

The pandemic also highlighted a growing gulf between the far right of Texas’ Republican Party — represented by firebrand chairman Allen West — and Abbott’s mainstream wing. West and his allies held a rally outside the governor’s mansion this fall, blasting Abbott’s efforts to contain the spread the coronavirus. For his part, the governor has largely avoided addressing the fall’s COVID-19 surge in a bid to stave off criticism and a challenge from the right wing of his own party when he’s up for reelection in 2022.

7. Dems couldn’t close the deal

Democrat Beto O’Rourke’s near-miss challenge to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, President Trump’s unpopularity and Texas’ changing Demographics made it look like

The pandemic has thrust San Antonio’s long history of inequality into the spotlight and prompted frank discussions among some political leaders about economic and racial divides. COVID-19 has hit communities of color especially hard, and the virus’ economic calamity has taken a heavy toll on low-income workers. A 2018 American Community survey found that San Antonio has the highest poverty rate of the 25 most populous U.S. metros with Detroit ranking second. Time to see how serious local leaders are about turning their talk into action.

Honorable Mentions Attorney general under fire: Former top staffers’

allegations of bribery and abuse of office against Texas AG Ken Paxton have blown up into a Texas-sized scandal around the already controversial elected official.

Arts and nonprofit funding: As the pandemic roiled the San Antonio economy, it created major budget problems for local arts organizations and nonprofits.

Heroic healthcare workers: Here and across the country, frontline workers dealing with the COVID-19 crisis have endured long hours, high risks and emotional trials. sacurrent.com | December 30, 2020 – January 12, 2021 | CURRENT

11

news CITYSCRAPES

San Antonio’s best hope for a happier 2021 is to ditch its longtime delusions

BY HEYWOOD SANDERS Editor’s Note: The following is CityScrapes, a column of opinion and analysis.

I

t’s been a grim year for San Antonians, much less the world.

The pandemic has cost an enormous number of lives, wreaked economic havoc, isolated families and loved ones, and dramatically shifted how we work and live. While the arrival of vaccines offers us hope for change in the coming months, the devastation from the public health and social dislocations of the coronavirus are likely to linger far beyond, perhaps for years.

Yet, even as our political and civic leaders appear to have only recently discovered that there are real problems of poverty and underemployment in San Antonio — problems that a pandemic made obvious in miles-long lines for the Food Bank’s offerings — there are some eternal verities about the city. There are a whole set of public issues, some real and some delusional, that seems to shape public discourse and government efforts year after year and decade after decade.

So, as we look ahead to a brighter new year, let’s take an opportunity to reflect on our continuing grand hopes and civic delusions: Washington’s bringing us the goodies: We’ve heard it before: a new military mission, a new Air Force command, the planned Air Force Academy, Camp Stanley and the CIA’s “Midwest Depot,” “they can’t close Kelly,” a new NSA facility — and now, the Space Command headquarters. With the refrain that we’re “Military City, USA” and the Chamber’s annual SA-toDC trip, local boosters have spent decades claiming that Washington and the Pentagon would be our economic salvation. Indeed, when Mayor Maury Maverick organized a trip by local business leaders in early 1941 to see the wonders of aircraft manufacturing in Wichita, Kansas, the response of the Chamber of Commerce was that it was better to stick with the Army. The continuing belief that there really is a Santa Claus, in the form of the Defense appropriations bill, makes for conservative city leadership that assumes — or perhaps, hopes — someone else will pay for what we truly need.

Cheap sells: For decades, the abundance of Edwards Aquifer water literally right at our feet meant that

12

CURRENT | December 30, 2020 – January 12, 2021 | sacurrent.com

Bryan Rindfuss

San Antonio could grow without having to invest in alternative, and far more expensive, water sources.

That made it easy to sell growth, growth and more growth as the way to build a great city. And while we’ll be paying more because of the Vista Ridge pipeline — whether we need it or not — our water is still far cheaper than other places. Same thing goes for our power. Microsoft didn’t choose to build its server farms here because of the scenic wonders of far-west Bexar county. It sought cheap power, with tax breaks to boot, and city and county officials quite willingly doled them out. But somebody has to pay for all that western coal that’s brought to SA by train. That would be the rest of us.

It’s only the aquifer: For years, Fay Sinkin tried to warn us about the potential for pollution of our primary water supply, all as rampant growth and new roads spread across the North Side and the aquifer recharge zone. And when Mayor Lila Cockrell and a growth-at-any-cost city council changed the zoning to permit a mega shopping mall at the intersection of U.S. Highway 281 and Loop 1604, Sinkin and the Aquifer Protection Association, together with the COPS organization, took the issue to the voters. San Antonians turned down the mall zoning, only to have the courts rule against them. Mayor Howard Peak saw the imperative to protect our water supply when he proposed a sales tax to purchase land over the recharge zone. And again, San Antonians voted for the aquifer and clean water. Then they voted to extend the tax for aquifer protection and creekways again and again. The preference of the public was just as evident in the fight over PGA Village, now the JW Marriott and TPC golf resort. Yet, despite that long history and lots of city sales tax dollars committed to protecting the aquifer, Mayor Ron Nirenberg waffled,

then rolled over for the VIA board, promising that the city would find the aquifer money somewhere else. If only we had known that there was a bunch of spare cash sitting around City Hall this year.

One more San Antonio International Airport improvement: If only we had a newer terminal. If only we had more nonstops. If only we had a consolidated rental car center. If only we had a spiffier Terminal A. If only we had more nonstops. If only we had nonstop service to Canada. If only we had more flights to Seattle and San Jose. If only we had more nonstops. If only we had a longer runway. Then we could have direct flights to Europe, which of course makes a whole lot of sense right now.

We just need to fix up Alamo Plaza: In the ’80s, we were told a pedestrian connection to the Riverwalk would make the monument a bigger draw. And there would need to be a new hotel — the first Hyatt — to bring lots of big spending visitors, and even a contraflow lane for VIA busses. And then a big new shopping mall right by Alamo Plaza would make everything hop. And if only we could get that darned DRT out of the Alamo (and the library next door) things would truly be wonderful. And then a whole new sensitive plan that recognized our multicultural history. And got rid of the ugly entertainment on the west side of the plaza. And a whole bunch of lovely glass walls to boot. Just scoot over the Cenotaph a wee bit. And knock down the old Woolworth’s. That would work for just everybody, surely.

If we can cast aside some long-held delusions, there’s a chance for positive change next year.

Heywood Sanders is a professor of public policy at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

GLITTER POLITICAL

Council Candidate Norberto “Geremy” Landin sees District 5’s hope and resiliency

BY JADE ESTEBAN ESTRADA

W

hen Norberto “Geremy” Landin appears on my computer screen, I compliment his guayabera with its two vertical rows of sewn pleats running along the front.

“Oh, thank you,” he replies from his West Side home. “I’m infamous for wearing a ton of guayaberas.”

Landin, who turns 25 on New Year’s Eve, is running for the District 5 seat on San Antonio City Council, which has been held by business owner Shirley Gonzales for nearly eight years. Election Day is May 1, six candidates have already tossed their name in the hat.

Landin’s splashy December 5 announcement at West Side bar Jaime’s Place — masked Mariachi singers and all — set a high bar. Leaving nothing to chance, he even hired veteran Democratic political strategist Laura Barbarena to aid his campaign.

As our conversation unfolds, I learn that Landin’s affinity for classic San Antonio hardly ends with his choice of shirts.

“I sing boleros and rancheras,” he adds with an easy nod. A framed picture of Mexican singer Azul Barrientos hangs on the wall behind him.

Before announcing his first-time candidacy, Landin reached out to former District 4 Councilman Rey Saldaña for advice, wondering whether his age would present a problem.

Saldaña explained that people won’t be think about his age, unless he chooses to make it an issue.

“They’re thinking about ‘Can you bring our community hope? Can you give us something to look forward to? Can you talk to us and not be condescending towards us?”’ Landin says, replaying the conversation. “I think that may have been some of the most solid advice I have received.”

To Saldana’s point, two-term D5 Councilmember David Medina, unseated by Gonzales in 2013, was 23 when he was first elected, making him the youngest council member in city history.

Every time someone asks Landin why he’s running for council, he responds differently, although he says the core message remains the same: “It’s because we are a community of consistent hope and resiliency.”

I ask him to elaborate.

“Well, during the pandemic, I continued seeing that people were losing jobs, they were unable to have access to certain health care needs, to resources and testing, but they stayed strong. They stayed active,” he said. “They continued looking for work or they continued working. It was our neighbors in

Norberto Geremy Landin

this district and others where there’s a high capacity of essential workers who were making it possible for people to get up and go to H-E-B if they needed to go grab groceries.”

When it comes to the district’s challenges, Landin can speak from his own experience. He was homeless from his sophomore to senior years of high school.

Even so, that didn’t prevent him from graduating from Fox Tech and, later, St. Mary’s University. To make ends meet while in school, he worked at Olive Garden, took event photographs for the Current, served as an election judge for the Bexar County Elections Department and sold newspapers for the Express-News — all at the same time.

“That’s what a lot of our community does,” he says with a shrug. “We are a community of hope and dreams — and dreamers. No pun intended.”

After college, Landin briefly worked for Pre-K 4 SA, then became the director of marketing at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. At present, he’s vice president of operations and business development at STAAMP Allergy, a clinic specializing in allergy, asthma and immunology. Soon, his office is expected to begin dispersing COVID-19 vaccines.

When it comes to the pandemic, Landin says residents of his district are often unaware of testing and resources because of language barriers or lack of Internet access. He wants to see a major testing site in District 5, which has the city’s highest rate of uninsured people.

“My plan is to focus more heavily on getting those resources acknowledged to our community,” he says.

When I ask him to explain his plan for workforce

recovery, he expresses his reservations with the city’s existing program. “[For] many people, it’s not that they didn’t go to college because they didn’t have access to it, it’s that they didn’t want to. Not everyone’s meant to be in college, and this workforce development plan, it’s not meant for everyone,” he says. “I think what we need to focus on is getting more direct assistance out to the communities and educating the community to know that these resources, like rental assistance, are even available. If they don’t know and they don’t use them, [officials say], ‘Oh, we still have two million in the bucket that hasn’t been used.’ Well, yeah, because the community where you’re sending these English pamphlets to [can’t read] English and they throw it away.”

I ask him what the older generation may not understand about helping the city forge ahead.

“One is this broader understanding of technology and why we need it so badly and understanding why technology is changing us,” he says. “The digital divide in this community is extremely high.”

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? I ask.

“My Tia Geno said you always have to keep two things with you at all times: Tabasco and duct tape.

That actually saves your life in many cases.” He pauses. “Now together, I can see why you’d make that face, but as separate entities they’re pretty helpful to have around.”

I ask what he’s learned from the pandemic.

“That we are in a changing time,” he says. “It’s also taught me that there’s no better time than now.” sacurrent.com | December 30, 2020 – January 12, 2021 | CURRENT

13

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CURRENT | December 30, 2020 – January 12, 2021 | sacurrent.com

calendar

SAT | 01.02 SPECIAL EVEN T

WISH: WATER LANTERNS IN THE GARDEN Community members are invited to make wishes of hope, healing and happiness for the new year in a lighting ceremony at the San Antonio Botanical Garden. Inspired by traditional Japanese floating and hanging lanterns, Wish: Water Lanterns in the Garden offers a memorable evening in which participants can purchase a lantern (or bring one from home), write a message, and watch the night light up as their released lanterns float across the water. The event will include live music, food and drink available for purchase, luminaria-lit pathways, and access to the Botanical Garden and OrigamiintheGarden² exhibition. $10-$25, 6 p.m.

Saturday, San Antonio Botanical Garden, 555 Funston Place, (210) 536-1400, sabot.org. — Dana Nichols

Unsplash / Lewis Zhao

THU | 12.31

FRI | 01.08

SPECIAL EVENT

CELEBRATE SA

Unsplash / Jocelyn Morales

WORDS

The countdown to 2021 has begun. As per usual, the San their annual New Year’s Eve fireworks show to San Antonio.

VIRTUAL BOOK CLUB: THE BOOK OF TEA

Due to the global health crisis, things will be a little different

“Spilling the tea” to start off the new year, the San Antonio

this year, in that it’s a virtual affair. Broadcast live on NBC

Museum of Art is hosting the second installment of its virtu-

affiliate News 4, the celebration will include eye-popping

al book club, this time featuring The Book of Tea. The book,

displays, culinary and cocktail segments, interviews with

written in 1906 by the Japanese scholar Okakura Kakuzō,

community and city leaders, a performance by Mélange, a

argues the importance and role of “teaism” in Japanese cul-

look back at Bexar County Parks’ Centennial Celebration

ture, aesthetics and history. Attendees will also learn about

Year, and of course, the grand finale fireworks display.

Asian art in a talk by SAMA curator Emily Sano and will view

Hosted by WOAI anchors Randy Beamer and Don Harris,

a tea demonstration by local teahouse Snug Tea. Attend-

the bang-up show promises to be the perfect way to say

ees that really want to get into the spirit of the event can

goodbye — and good riddance — to 2020. Free, 10 p.m.-12:30

purchase bundles that include the book, matcha, a matcha

Antonio Parks Foundation and Bexar County are bringing

a.m. Thursday, News 4 WOAI, saparksfoundation.org/event/celebrate-sa. — Brianna Espinoza

whisk and tea pouches from the museum’s online gift shop.

Courtesy / San Antonio Botanical Garden

$5-$10, 6 p.m. Friday, samuseum.org. — Dana Nichols

Reminder:

Although live events have returned, the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Check with venues to make sure scheduled events are still happening, and please follow all health and safety guidelines.

Artist and educator Angela Fox said her students helped keep her grounded during the pandemic.

a

Slab Cinema did a 180 turn from where we were in 2019 (big screenings of popular titles) to something that closely resembled us when we started in 2004 — intimate screenings of arthouse films. … We also started offering actual drive-in experiences with sound transmitted over the radio. We’d always wanted to do this, but there was never a real demand to force us to learn how to make it happen.

ED SAAVEDRA, ARTIST AND “SENIOR CREATIVE CO-CONSPIRATOR” AT FL!GHT GALLERY

More people than ever realize the importance of having healthcare for all, and the stupidity of attaching “coverage” to employment … More of us artists realize we aren’t nearly as important or special as we would have collecting institutions believe. More people and institutions have been exposed to the ugly realities of modern policing, its colonial origins (Irish Constabulary), its formative time in slave economies (Charleston City Guard) and alternative solutions that don’t reproduce inequality along race and class lines. “One of my paintings created with these thoughts in mind (way back in 2012) joined the extraordinary permanent collection of the McNay Art Museum a few weeks ago!

ELYSE A. GONZALES, DIRECTOR OF RUBY CITY

Angela Fox

Silver Linings

San Antonio’s arts community weighs in on the positive side effects of quarantine

BY BRYAN RINDFUSS

I

n mid-December, we traditionally reach out to the movers and shakers of San Antonio’s arts community to collect perspectives on the “best” or most memorable happenings of the year.

With 2020 essentially nullifying that concept, we instead asked them to share any silver linings they found in the pandemic’s dark cloud.

Condensed highlights from their full responses follow. Visit SACurrent.com for the full version.

This is the query we sent: Evidenced by the dreaded term “pandemic fatigue,” it’s clear that most of us have become hyper-aware of the grim realities of 2020. Beyond the unfathomable loss of human life, COVID-19 has devastated every aspect of the arts — from communities and institutions to individuals and the creative opportunities that keep them afloat. As we transition into a hopefully brighter 2021, what do you count among the positive takeaways of 2020? How did you adapt? What surprised you? Who impressed you?

How did you channel your anxiety? What did you learn?

16 CURRENT | December 30, 2020 – January 12, 2021 | sacurrent.com

ANGELA FOX, ARTIST AND EDUCATOR

As devastating as this year has been, I’m truly excited to have seen the larger, nationwide (even European) art community demand equity and representation for BIPOC artists and workers in our field. It’s been incredible to see the level of effort put forth by many institutions, large and small, working for a better cultural arts community. Addressing these hard conversations and questions will only add to our sector’s value among society at large because it means we’re reflecting widespread cultural conversations and remaining relevant. I’m also deeply appreciative and awed by the whole of San Antonio’s cultural arts sector. I cold-called many curators and directors at different times asking to meet via Zoom or seeking input and EVERY single one of them responded with

My positive takeaway from 2020 was to prioritize compassion and gratitude in my professional and personal life. I was really lucky to be able to teach both face-to-face and remotely — my students kept me grounded and work was a welcome escape. I don’t think I’ll take human connections for granted moving forward and I’m in a space where I’m counting my blessings. I tried to keep busy in the studio as well, but I’m learning to channel my anxiety by focusing on things that don’t feel directly related to my studio practice … I took a four-week course combining Carl Jung, collage and self-excavation exercises, and it felt really therapeutic to work in an unfamiliar medium and alongside people all over the world.

ANGELA MARTINEZ, CO-FOUNDER OF SLAB CINEMA

To me, the 2020 Word of the Year is “pivot,” and what’s impressed me is how many of us were able to pivot as we adapted to changing circumstances …

Elyse A. Gonzales

GARY SWEENEY, ARTIST

Being the obnoxiously social person that I am, the biggest surprise to me was how utterly content I was during the initial shutdown. … There was a liberating aspect to it, and I thought, “Well, now I can learn Spanish, or fine-tune my cooking skills, or learn to draw like Vincent Valdez.” First, though, I committed to revisiting about 10 unfinished pieces of artwork … I forced myself to try some new things. … Although my empathy level is very high, I can’t really say I’ve been anxious.

I think being retired allows a person to establish an identity outside of a career, so it was good training for the lockdown. But I just can’t believe we’ve just spent almost a year of our lives on hold.

in. Amazingly we didn’t have one on-campus COVID case this semester! Being in the classroom teaching and seeing students work in the studios really helped to remind me that art and creativity can help to peel away some of the stress and anxiety this year has layered on. … I think my overall takeaway from this year will be one of gratitude and thankfulness. This year has been especially good at highlighting what is important, something I needed for sure.

JUSTIN KORVER, ARTIST AND EDUCATOR

Let’s be honest, 2020 was a traumatic dumpster fire … I can’t wait for the day when we can all safely gather together again. I know that even while socially distant I don’t want to be isolated in the studio, in the classroom, or from our amazing communities … If you’re lucky enough to be isolated in comfort, please get creative and find ways you can support the arts. It’s essential that we remember the nourishment and joy that the arts continue to bring us. We’re all working together to try to preserve human lives but let’s also remember to make each other’s lives worth living. I believe so much in what we can do together and the support I’ve felt in the past year makes me hopeful for the changes coming in 2021.

MARISELA BARRERA, WRITER AND PERFORMER

Gary Sweeney

GINGER DIAZ, CO-OWNER OF FELIZ MODERN

The jarring experiences of 2020 shined a spotlight on what is actually important in life (connection) and the unimportant stuff became glaringly unimportant … Which was freeing … As far as the business goes, we got to experience making it work on bare bones like we did in the beginning, and it bonded us and our kids, who had to pitch in and help … When our employees were able to come back, their heart for creative problem-solving inspired us. We not only felt the need to keep it going for ourselves, but the employees, artists and makers who also are paid by the selling of their items in the shop. It reminded us of why we started all this in the first place, to bring art and joy into people’s homes and celebrations. And what we found is that people are still celebrating art and life with each other in new and more intimate ways.

2020 gave us un chingo de chingazos pero like here’s a positive for artists: Individual Artists are back on the City of San Antonio funding slate: “Up to 16 grants at $5,000 each” is not everything we wanted, but it’s a start. … Positives for me: dental work! I avoided it like the plague for decades until the plague actually arrived. Instead of getting a boob lift, I got a gum lift, a root canal and a crown … I am learning to center humor to help me cope with such a devastating year.

Loss of family, friends, work, connection. …

My performative memoir Tejana Rasquacha

was refitted for streaming in July. … I also acted in a physically distanced outdoor play at the Tobin in October. … I would’ve never dreamt I’d be cast as a middle-aged white man at the Tobin! LMAO … The brightest light in all this, S.T. Shimi (qepd). I’ll think of her often as a trailblazing badass.

MARK MENJIVAR, ARTIST AND EDUCATOR

This has definitely been a year of unknowns and shifts. For me the pandemic cancelled nine exhibitions, talks or residencies. … As my family and I began to find new normals, I realized that I had an opportunity to be intentional about what I was going to commit myself to. … I’m lucky because my practice is often participatory and that has allowed me to create meaningful interactions in the virtual environment. I have been surprised by the level of connection I’ve been able to have over a screen.

MARY HEATHCOTT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF BLUE STAR CONTEMPORARY

I was not surprised that arts organizations proved themselves to be nimble in new ways to meet the unimaginable challenges of this year. After all, creativity is at the heart of all problem-solving, and it’s what we do best.

For BSC, this meant finding new ways to connect with our education audience, provide support for artists in our community and raise money to support Blue Star Contemporary’s operation. Long-running programs and traditions took new life online: our MOSAIC Student Artist Program went digital … our Creative Classrooms program offered instruction for students via pre-recorded videos by Artist-in-Community Sarah Fox … [and our] 30th Annual Red Dot offered an inaugural augmented reality experience …

In the spring, more than 40 arts and culture organizations formed CAUSA (Culture and Art Unity for San Antonio). Together, we have been working on awareness and advocacy campaigns to help ensure support for our collective arts and culture organizations during a time it’s needed most. … We are certainly not through it yet, but I think the impact of our collectivity will resonate in powerful ways for years to come.

RILEY ROBINSON, DIRECTOR OF ARTPACE

JUSTIN BOYD, ARTIST AND EDUCATOR

As an educator at Southwest School of Art, there were many positives to take away this year … Due to the size of our enrollment, the spaciousness of the facilities, and safety precautions put in place, we were able to maintain a safe environment to conduct classes

arts

generosity and graciousness.

Marisela Barrera / Lupito’s Photography

Artpace had plans for an amazing year to celebrate our 25th [anniversary] … Then COVID-19 hit and the shutdown. Our mission-driven staff made a pivot on that day and continued to look for and provide new opportunities to artists, and to San Antonio, and beyond. [We offered] three-dimensional virtual walk-throughs for the exhibitions, a special version of Chalk It Up spread out around the city, free wireless to anyone near our facility, and we published Artpace At 25, a 272-page book chronicling over 100 artists with essays from leading curators. The 195

Find more arts coverage every day at sacurrent.com

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CURRENT | December 30, 2020 – January 12, 2021 | sacurrent.com

517 staff and board work together — more closely than ever — to keep providing a global art experience.

ROBERTA “NINA” HASSELE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CONTEMPORARY ART MONTH Though the COVID-19 crisis has severely impacted the artistic community, the spirit of human connection and upliftment through the arts remains. I see our San Antonio art community finding creative ways to keep people connected during a pandemic that keeps us apart, swapping real-time space for virtual ones, sharing through social media, by-appointment-only [visits], murals and public art. … If you are able, donate to the arts — no amount is too small. … What we need is a bottom-up, all-hands-on-deck effort to save our artistic and creative community, and we need it now.

SARAH FISCH, WRITER AND COMIC

I just went back to standup in a dedicated way about two years ago. … Most comics I know are in withdrawal [and] Zoom comedy is hugely frustrating. … There are comics and performers who’ve done great work via Zoom and Instagram, though. Tori Pool and Larry Garza are unstoppable. … And Marisela Barrera used Zoom live from her porch along with pre-recorded videos brilliantly in Tejana Rasquacha. … A few months into quarantine, in order to ward off anxiety and depression, I started learning Russian. … It turned out to have been a good choice, because Russian is just incredibly difficult. So difficult, in fact, that … it’s impossible to think about anything else while you’re working at it.

SARAH FOX, ARTIST

I think the main positive I had artistically was feeling a lot of support from my community. … I had so many people reach out and ask to buy a collage, commission some prints, take a workshop, offer me a gig, buy a patch.

It helped me keep my head above water. 2020 has been an awful year for the arts, but the art community in SA is still here, doing the best we all can to help each other out whenever we have the means to. … Personally, the pandemic has made me slow way down. I’ve been doing a lot of embroidery. It’s calms me down, keeps my hands busy [and] is easy enough to work on in a small space with a toddler. … I’ve learned how better to be alone with myself and enjoy my own company. But I will enthusiastically welcome the creative, joyful chaos of being around other

Sarah Fox / She’s Alright

creatives in the New Year.

VICTORIA SUESCUM, ARTIST AND EDUCATOR

2020 gave me the gift of time. …

Positive changes took place abruptly: remote work eliminated a gruesome commute. Many activities moved online and made opportunities available that in person would have been impossible. I have been interviewed in Panama twice … I was invited to lead Latina high school students in a project called Brilla based in Connecticut. I talked about the show of my work at the McNay Art Museum to the Rochester Wellesley Club. … The ease of engaging with people online led to wonderful meetups with vibrant people new to me. … It was a huge struggle to teach three studio courses online but … I was surprised by the strength of the bonds that emerged among my students and myself.

YADHIRA LOZANO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF LUMINARIA

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During difficult times, it’s the artists that keep us sane. … We live in one of the most creative and artistic cities and our creative community has responded to the pandemic by continuing to create. Necessity is the mother of invention and we had to figure out how to stay connected, how to continue to be inspired and feel that sense of community. In turn, going virtual opened up the rest of the world to us. … All of a sudden, events happening across the country were available and accessible from the comfort of home. I hope we can continue this level of dialog and collaboration in 2021. … I believe we will come out of this with a whole new perspective on life. We will appreciate each other more, and the art scene will explode with everything the artists have been working on during this time.

I can’t wait to see it all! sacurrent.com | December 30, 2020 – January 12, 2021 | CURRENT

19

Soul / Pixar Animation Studios

‘Soul’ Searching

San Antonio native Mike Jones imagines a world beyond time and space in new movie he co-scripted for Pixar

BY KIKO MARTINEZ

R

emember 25 years ago when Pixar Animation Studios was making movies about talking toys and busy bugs?

Since then, far more complex ideas have found their way into the scripts. For example, harvesting energy by accessing interdimensional portals (Monster’s Inc.) and neurophysiological moods and the functioning of the brain (Inside Out).

Sure, those descriptions might be a bit misleading since the more recent films still featured fun characters like an eight-legged chameleon with bad intentions and a superficial green sassypants who loathes broccoli. Even so, Pixar was beginning to realize that its groundbreaking animation went hand in hand with smart — and sometimes profound — screenwriting.

San Antonio native Mike Jones is now part of that team of conceptual thinkers at Pixar.

Alongside two-time Oscar winner Pete Docter (Inside Out) and Kemp Powers (One Night in Miami), Jones co-wrote the script for Pixar’s newest film, Soul. The story follows middle school music teacher and jazz pianist Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx) who’s separated from his soul after a serious accident.

Stuck in an otherworldly location known as the You Seminar, where souls are developed before being

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CURRENT | December 30, 2020 – January 12, 2021 | sacurrent.com

assigned to newborn babies, Joe’s soul is focused on finding a way to get back to his body with the help of a rambunctious fellow soul (voiced by Tina Fey) who has no desire to join the human world.

Born in San Antonio, Jones attended Alamo Heights High School. After graduating in 1990, he said he had no idea what he wanted to pursue as a career.

“I was this skinny, awkward teenager who liked books,” Jones told the Current during an early December interview. “Becoming a filmmaker was really not on the menu for me.”

Jones went to UTSA for a semester and then transferred to the University of North Texas in Denton.

There, he ended up running with a group of friends who were always talking about foreign and independent movies. Jones had been to the Bijou Theatre — then Crossroads — as a teenager. He recalls seeing Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing there.

He also remembers that his early film education came from his father who was the first to show him classics such as The Godfather. Still, his college friends were big movie geeks, so he had to find a way to keep up.

“They had seen all this incredible stuff already,” Jones said. “So, I started to watch everything they were watching. Then, I decided we should all apply to

Pixar’s Soul weaves the tale of a jazz pianist whose soul becomes stuck in an otherworldly location.

M

film school. I didn’t know that was a real possibility.”

The group submitted their applications — some to the University of Southern California and some to New York University — but only Jones was accepted.

He refers to his NYU acceptance letter as his “Golden Ticket,” a la Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

“It was this wonderful passport out of Texas,” Jones said. “I love Texas. I have family in all parts of the state. But I wanted to see other parts of the country and the world. I felt this calling.”

That calling drove him to graduate from NYU, where he originally planned to become a cinematographer. With encouragement from one of his professors, though, Jones slowly transitioned to writing.

He’s worked as a member of Pixar’s senior creative team for the films Coco, Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4.

Soul is his first screenplay for the studio.

His second film for Pixar, Luca, which he co-wrote with Jesse Andrews (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), is scheduled to hit theaters next June. Set on the Italian Riviera, the coming-of-age comedy tells the story of a friendship between two young boys — one of them disguised as a sea monster.

During our interview, Jones talked about the deep inspiration behind a story like Soul and how spending time with his father during his final days helped him build on that narrative.

He also explained why he considers Soul a movie that will stand the test of time. Soul is currently streaming on Disney+.

Soul is such a beautiful piece of work. To call it an ambitious film, I think, is an understatement. I can only imagine you, Pete and Kemp brainstorming ideas for this film when someone says, “Hey, how about if we write a movie that explains the meaning of life?”

We really started to dig into that idea.

How did you use your own life experiences to build on that narrative?

(Laughs.) Yeah, it really does start with just an idea. Pete had this idea that there was this place beyond space and time where souls are given their personality. When my son was born, he seemed to have come out with a personality already. I kept thinking, “Where is that place?” At Pixar, we might be able to find a great setting, but that doesn’t make a movie. The thing that makes a movie are characters. Our mandate is to always have the characters drive the story. So, we came up with this idea about a soul who doesn’t want to die meeting a soul that doesn’t want to live. In their interaction, they are able to convince each other of what it means to live a fulfilled life.

Well, all this was happening during a time when my father was passing away. Whenever I had time off, I would fly to San Antonio and go be with my dad at the nursing home.

During his last weeks, I was still writing some of the heavier scenes. As I was sitting with my dad and holding his hand, I was thinking, “What is the most important thing to him right now?” I wondered, “Is he thinking about his successes and his failures, or is he thinking about how he’s sitting here with his son?” I know that’s what I’m going to remember. What’s going to be most important to me is that I was there for him. All these things were swirling around in my brain as we were making Soul. In the film, [Joe] has an epiphany about his life, which was based on my dad and me being there with him when he passed away.

So, what does it mean? What answer did you come up with?

What scene were you most impressed with when you saw the film?

It was interesting because Pete said, “You know, I’m a relatively successful filmmaker.

I’ve won Oscars. But I’m going to tell you right now, that doesn’t fulfill my life.” He said when he looks back on his life, he’s not going to remember the financial success of his movies or the awards that he’s won. He said what he was going to remember the most are the wonderful and beautiful moments of life.

I’m assuming that the descriptions you write of these places in the movie are rendered by Pixar artists in a way that probably blows your mind as you see it go from a written concept to an actual image. It’s where Joe lands in the You Seminar. The words we wrote for that were, “Joe lands in an ethereal place beyond space and time.” That’s all we had. So, we gave that to the artists and said,

screens

Soul / Pixar Animation Studios

Mike Jones / Pixar Animation Studios

San Antonio native Mike Jones says his own father’s death influenced his work on the script.

M

“Go do that.” For the counselor characters — guides inside the You Seminar — all we wrote were that they were a “simplified version of the universe.” It’s like, “How do you draw that?” The team of artists said, “What if it’s just this one beautiful moving line that’s constantly changing?” It had all this potential for animation and movement and comedy.

It really is a true gift for a writer to be able to write something and then hand it off to someone who can create magic.

Do you ever worry that animated movies like Inside Out or Soul might be too difficult for some children to follow?

It’s funny because we always screen the movie at some point to an audience of children.

We want to see what they’re getting and what they’re not. We are always surprised at how much they absorb and how much they do end up understanding. The response from them was spot on [when they watched Soul]. They were thinking about it in a bit of a different way, but they still got it. What I love about it is that a kid can watch Soul at a certain age and get something from it, but then they can watch it five or 10 years later and get other layers as they get older. If any movie is going to have that kind of longevity, it’s going to be Soul.

Find more film stories at sacurrent.com

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food

Restaurant Rundown

The pandemic played a part in virtually every 2020 food service trend in San Antonio

BY NINA RANGEL

A

s per usual, restaurants came and went, chefs left (and returned) and concepts gained steam and fizzled out in San Antonio this year.

No one in the food service industry, however, was quite prepared for the global pandemic, which factored into nearly every food trend we bore witness to in 2020.

Here’s a rundown of the big changes that hit the Alamo City restaurant scene this year.

1. Socially conscious and sustainable dining

As COVID-19 disrupted supply chains, especially meat supplies, some local farmers and ranchers experienced sales upticks as more consumers turned to them to fill their needs. “At the onset of the pandemic, our farmers were selling more meat than ever before, because restaurants were shutting down and meat shortages started happening,” chef and butcher Joe Saenz said.

After the closure of his Swine House Bodega in the thick of the pandemic, Saenz launched the Swine House Butcher Series, an online butcher shop that allows customers to purchase locally raised specialty meats. “If any good can come out of this year, I hope for the survival of the farmers that are making the huge sacrifices for the sustainable raising of these animals.”

2. Food service workers pivoting on their talents

While bars and restaurants were shuttered by state and local mandates, food service workers turned to their other talents to make ends meet.

In August, for example, bar industry veteran Ana Cabrera launched Suck It Up S.A., a business selling everything-but-the-booze cocktail kits that let folks sip craft cocktails from the comfort of home. Since the launch, Cabrera has expanded into custom juice blends and baked sweets.

3. Leveraging technology

Online ordering — particularly mobile ordering — was already growing pre-pandemic, but it soared to new heights this year as customers looked for safer ways to dine during the COVID crisis. Back in March, Mike Nguyen — the technologically-inclined chef and owner of Northwest San Antonio’s Noodle Tree — offered to help other local restaurants set up menus through QR code technology, which was widely underutilized in the food scene. Other eateries integrated more online ordering capabilities into their websites.

Instagram / Best Quality Daughter

4. Bars doing curbside, takeout and delivery

Restaurants were already acclimated with the appeal of takeout and delivery before the pandemic gained steam, but local bar owners were finally allowed to embrace those options once Gov. Greg Abbott approved alcohol to-go earlier in the pandemic. Jessica Marinez and Amber Hernandez — co-owners of Picks Bar on the city’s North side and St. Mary’s Strip venue The Amp Room — took the order in stride, unveiling two cocktail-delivery buses to meet the need. The refurbished vehicles feature a bar, solar panels and an aggressive sound and lighting system with karaoke capabilities. “We’re super-grateful that we’ve been able to adapt like this and do something new,” Hernandez said.

5. Non-alcoholic beverages

Increasingly focused on mental health and physical wellness, many consumers joined the spirit-free movement this year and took a pass on booze. While the term “dry bar” isn’t new, the Alamo City welcomed the first of its kind this year, thanks to brothers Rogelio and Michael Sanchez. The new venture, HASH — short for Heal and Spread Healing — focuses on sober and healthy options such as CBD-infused mocktails, faux brews, tea, coffee and vegan eats. Other SA drinkeries also expanded their alcohol-free offerings.

6. Instagrammable aesthetics

This year brought a slew of aesthetically delightful restaurants to the Alamo City. Among the most notable are new Asian American eatery Best Quality Daughter — which displays dainty SA-centric wallpaper — and Tony’s Siesta, a revival of a longtime downtown-area bar now given an extra dose of hip by hot-pink neon signs. Frida, an upscale Mexican eatery that opened in June, even features a purple-hued bar that throws off sexy vibes and a custom-made cobalt-blue grand piano located in its dining area.

7. Ghost kitchens

San Antonio’s ghost kitchen game beefed up this year as more people opted to dine at home.

As a result, the demand for food-delivery apps grew exponentially — along with the need for

certified and inspected commercial kitchen space where chefs can operate sans storefront.

“I had been talking with my brothers about opening a food stand before the pandemic that would be set up in front of bars,” said Ben Cardenas, owner of Tidy Ben’s, a vegan sloppy Joe outfit. “A ghost kitchen allows us to get our product out there without the overhead of a brick and mortar or being tied to a particular area.”

8. Self-serve and prepared foods

As dining room space became limited and customers looked for ways to enjoy chef-prepared foods at home, local businesses amped up their ready-to-eat options. For smaller operations, restauranteurs had to combat capacity-limiting mandates that forced dining rooms to sit empty. The Magpie and The Farmer’s Butcher, both located the East Side’s Hackberry Market, for example, both began offering boxed lunches and prepared foods to-go.

9. Culinary mashups

While we’ve been warned against commingling with friends and family for the past nine months, culinary directions have certainly been blending in new restaurants across the Alamo City. The revamped Esquire Tavern’s mix of Chilean, Argentinian and Texan culinary touches, for example, shows local chefs’ eagerness to offer thoughtful mashups that introduce food lovers to new, yet somehow familiar, flavors. The Esquire’s spin on a pulled pork sandwich braises the expected pork butt with ancho chilies, tops it with sumac slaw and tamarind barbecue sauce, and serves it in a locally baked bun.

10. The resilience of food service workers

Servers expose themselves daily to potential COVID-19 infection for around $5 an hour, dealing with irritable guests, changing regulations and dwindling tips. If ever there was a group conditioned for working in a pressure cooker of stress, it’s restaurant and bar staff. Even as the pandemic wreaks havoc on their industry, they’ll dust themselves off, knock back a shot of whiskey and take each day in stride. SA’s foodservice community is many things. Yielding isn’t one of them.

Find more food & drink news at sacurrent.com

that his baby died”).

4. Honey Barbara — Reveries

Courtesy Image / The Krayolas

Recommended Listening

2020 was a lousy year for live music, but there was no shortage of engaging albums

BY MIKE MCMAHAN AND SANFORD NOWLIN

I

t was a shit year for music fans.

Many endured a complete moratorium on live shows. Even those brave enough to take in performances had their options largely limited to local shows in outdoor or sparsely attended venues.

Good thing the pandemic didn’t seem to put the brakes on recorded music. Indeed, 2020 proved to be a surprisingly fruitful year for releases across genres. Here’s a rundown, in no particular order, of our favorites, more or less split between acts from inside and outside San Antonio.

1. Harvey McLaughlin — Rascality

San Antonio-based piano pounder McLaughlin has already released two engaging disks of blues-inspired rock that’s heavy on darkly humorous storytelling. However, Rascality marks a real maturation of his sound. There’s a cinematic quality to the material, and the grit of his vocal delivery brings authenticity to the oddballs that populate his songs, from “Mole Boy” to “Poor Gary from the Gallows.” If you enjoyed Bob Dylan’s recent trips into a haunting and sometimes eerie form of Americana, McLaughlin’s latest may hold similar appeal.

2. Arcing Wires — Prime

Perhaps the most accurate band name and album title combo in recent history, Arcing Wires’ Prime delivers a scientific precision that defies easy description outside of a dry erase board covered with headache-inducing calculus and theoretical physics formulas. The Australian instrumental outfit relies on riffs using the stuttering “djent” approach and overlapping time signatures pioneered by Meshuggah.

But this isn’t standard metal, as the melodic element is a decidedly un-metal saxophone, the phrasing of which gives an improvisational feel to the otherwise math-rock proceedings.

3. Phoebe Bridgers — Punisher

Fully delivering on the hype, indie singer-songwriter Bridgers’ Punisher is a powerful album bookended by instrumental work. The humorously titled opener “DVD Menu” is a brief wordless introduction. The closer, “I Know the End,” also relies on instrumental work at its climax, in this case an expansive and harmonically surprising cacophony recalling The Beatles’ “A Day in The Life.” In-between is a collection of emotional song-as-short story compositions that run the gamut from uplifting (the anthemic “Kyoto”) to sardonic (the title track, which notes “We hate ‘Tears in Heaven’ / But it’s sad

24 CURRENT | December 30, 2020 – January 12, 2021 | sacurrent.com

It’s unfortunate that San Antonio psychedelic pop outfit Honey Barbara has flown so far under the radar during an existence that’s spanned roughly three decades. The group — centered around vocalist-keyboardist Ross Marlow and guitarist James Sidlo — does a masterful job at crafting psychedelic pop tunes that are at once accessible and experimental. Instruments dance around the echo-drenched vocals, mysteriously fading in and out of the mix.

Surprising snippets of ethnic music and jazzy exotica periodically bubble to the surface. Retro-hip touches such as nods to Brazilian Tropicalia and swinging ’60s movie soundtracks occasionally evoke Stereolab, and the mix of experimentation and melodicism isn’t too far off from Before and After Science-area Brian Eno. But on Reveries, Honey Barbara is charting its own brave course.

5. Protest the Hero — Palimpsest

Mixing blistering prog chops with the intensity of hardcore shouldn’t work.

And while the “post-” label is slapped on, well, everything, it’s doesn’t quite fit for Canada’s Protest the Hero, a band invested in forward momentum right now. From anthemic opener “Migrant Mother” onward, the band keep Palimpsest focused on the injustices and tragedies of history, all the way up to loser and wannabe despot Donald Trump.

Vocalist and lyricist Rody Walker sums it up in “Rivet”: “What separates us now is less than six degrees / It’s not necessarily character, it’s opportunity.”

6. Touché Amoré — Lament

With this album, LA-based post-hardcore band Touché Amoré birthed one of the year’s most impassioned performances. Vocalist Jeremy Bolm delivers Jawbreaker-esque melodies at maximum intensity on Lament, staying in the red even as the rest of the band dial it down occasionally for soft and pretty sections. It’s a useful metaphor for 2020, the year that never seemed to let up. We all screamed during the quiet bits, the excessive and endless downtime of quarantine and lockdown, somehow both stressful and endlessly tedious.

7. The Krayolas — Savage Young Krayolas

San Antonio’s Krayolas, Chicano garage rockers with late ’70s origins, enjoyed a late-career resurgence thanks to a string of critically lauded post-reunion releases. Sadly, that run ended last year with the death of bassist Barry Smith.

Fortunately, the surviving members compiled this strong, 11-song release of tracks mostly dating back to the late ’70s and very early ’80s. While music clearly percolated up during the punk era’s power-pop scene, it’s gloriously steeped in ’60s garage rock sensibilities, from Beatle-esque vocal harmonies and thunderous Who-style riffing to the Doug Sahm-evocative box organ.

Tracks like “Cry Cry Laugh Laugh” and “You’re Not My Girl” are timeless testaments to the power of stripped-down rock ’n’ roll.

8. Wake — Devouring Ruin

Genre-mixing continues to dominate metal, producing compelling results. Canada’s Wake wave the flag on Devouring Ruin, with vocalist Kyle Ball delivering a sinister growl on the brief “Dissolve and Release” that wouldn’t be out of place on a ’90s-loving old school death metal tribute. Next, the band hurls listeners face first into a black metal wall of noise that highlights its subtle but present post-rock elements — a fact made more impressive since nothing about this record suggests the word “subtle.” Mix in the intensity borne of Wake’s grindcore past and you have a band to watch.

9. Oranssi Pazuzu – Mestarin Kynsi

On its fifth album, this outfit birthed from Finland’s black metal scene has made the full transition into a genre all its own. The music is still dense and challenging, and the vocals sound like they’re broadcast from the coldest layer of the abyss. However, the lysergic washes of synth and beautifully textured washes of sine-wave noise set the controls for the heart of the cosmic void. On Mestarin Kynsi, Oranssi Pazuzu embraces the most mind-melting realms of space rock and the anything-goes experimentalism of Krautrockers such as Can and Amon Duul II, all while exploring uncharted territory of its own. It’s hard to think of another album this year more likely to lead to an out-of-body experience.

10. Von Economo — Von Economo

“What if we were wrong about everything?” Von Economo sings in the opening line of the album’s first single, “I, Organism.” And that may well be the question of 2020. This quirky yet accessible album marks the recorded debut of a San Antonio visual artist who prefers to keep her identity on the downlow. While the vocals and strummed 12-string at the center of her brief, hook-laden tunes occasionally evoke Bowie, they possess a fleeting, ethereal quality all their own.

music

Live Music Lifeline San Antonio club owners helped secure $15 billion to save music venues in the COVID relief package

BY SANFORD NOWLIN

N

o, that $600 federal check Congress recently approved isn’t going to go far, but music fans have reason to celebrate the passage of the long-delayed second stimulus deal.

The $900 billion package approved by both houses incorporates the Save Our Stages Act, which provides for $15 billion in Small Business Administration grants to help independent music venues survive the pandemic.

Save Our Stages was introduced in July by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, in the Senate and U.S. Reps. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, and Roger Williams, R-Texas, in the House. It followed months of lobbying by venue owners warning that COVID-19 shutdowns will shutter clubs, bars and theaters across the country.

Blayne Tucker, a San Antonio club operator involved in the lobbying effort, said the relief comes as venue owners and employees face months of additional downtime before live music makes a significant return. The additional funding will be a last-minute reprieve for theaters, clubs and bars that have been shuttered since March — or at least operating at diminished capacity.

“To be honest, even with this money coming in, it’s still going to be tough,” said Tucker, who’s involved in Floore’s Country Store, 502 Bar, The Mix and Limelight. “I don’t expect most of the music industry to fully come back until [the fourth quarter] of 2021.”

To that point, there are already signs that Texas’ independent music network has suffered irreparable damage during the health crisis.

Last week, Margin Walker Presents, which booked touring acts for San Antonio’s Paper Tiger and other clubs, announced its closure.

In recent weeks, storied venues including Austin’s Threadgill’s and Barracuda have permanently shut their doors.

Lobbying push The fight for a relief package kicked off this spring with the formation of the National Independent Venue Association, which peppered federal lawmakers with more than a million emails. In a survey, 90% of NIVA’s members warned that they’d be forced to

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close if the shutdown lasted more than six months.

“We’re thrilled that Congress has heard the call of shuttered independent venues across the country and provided us a crucial lifeline by including the Save Our Stages Act in the COVID-19 Relief Bill,” said Dayna Frank, CEO of Minneapolis’ First Avenue Productions and NIVA’s board president.

Under the Save Our Stages Act, venues whose business has declined by 90% or more during the pandemic will be eligible to apply for the SBA grants during the first two weeks of an application period, according to Tucker.

Those that have lost 70% or more can apply during a second two-week period. Another portion will also be set aside for venues that have suffered less-significant revenue losses.

Save Our Stages’ passage comes on the heels of reports showing that corporate chains, megachurches and other large entities took advantage of the Payroll Protection Program, or PPP, passed in the spring to aid small businesses.

However, Tucker said provisions in the venue-preservation act prohibit multi-state operators and clubs that only occasionally present live music from dipping into the funds.

Revisions to the legislation do allow small museums to access SBA dollars, though.

An advisory board of NIVA members will advise the SBA on which venues should be eligible, Tucker added.

“There’s going to be some splitting of hairs, no doubt about it, but there was major effort to make it clear what kind of venues should qualify,” he said.

Reminder:

Although live events have returned, the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Check with venues to make sure scheduled events are still happening, and please follow all health and safety guidelines.

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CURRENT | December 30, 2020 – January 12, 2021 | sacurrent.com