Why Michigan’s war on teen e-cigarette use is clouding the issue of an entirely different — and deadly — form of vaping: black-market cannabis
2 September 25-October 1, 2019 | metrotimes.com
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Vol. 39 | Issue 51 | Sept. 25-Oct. 1, 2019
News & Views Feedback/Comics ............... 10 Reports from the GM strike ............................. 12 Informed Dissent ................ 14
Feature
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Music Avril Lavigne ....................... 34 Pink Sky ............................... 36 Small’s Bar ........................... 38
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feb. 27
refused
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mar. 12 gaelic storm st. andrew’s
10/9 – half.alive w/ sure sure 10/10 – mt. joy w/ brother elsey
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NEWS & VIEWS Feedback Readers react to stories from the Sept. 18 issue We received a number of comments in response to Jeffrey Billman’s Informed Dissent column. Darryl Spencer: REAL Americans, regardless of party affiliation, that [witness] any type of activity that circumvents the Constitution of the United States and therefore erodes the government should be disturbed and not allow it to stand. Country over party — or are you just American in name only?
10 September 25-October 1, 2019 | metrotimes.com
Harry Palmer: Everything Trumpy and the Gaslight Our People party advocates [for] polls in the negative. They’re anti-fighting climate change, anti-universal background checks, anti -choice, against raising the minimum wage, anti-worker’s rights. Almost everything they’re against, the majority of voters favor. The antiquated [electoral college], cheating, voter suppression, gerrymandering, and now apparently accepting foreign interference is all they have to “win” elections. The only recourse we have to save democracy is if EVERYONE gets out like they did in 2018, and send every Republican packing (and in the criminal Trumpy’s case, prison) next year... Feedback: letters@metrotimes.com.
metrotimes.com | September 25-October 1, 2019
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NEWS & VIEWS Striking out
UAW workers demand to regain concessions as part of largest GM strike in more than a decade By Jane Slaughter
Walking out of work was “scary and uplifting at the same time,” says Shawn Edwards, as she pickets General Motors’ Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant as part of the United Auto Workers that started on Monday last week. “It’s scary because we have lives to maintain and we don’t know how long we’ll be out,” she says. “It’s uplifting because we’re making a stand. We’re not accepting concessions from a company posting billions of dollars of profits. And because we’re all together. There’s safety in numbers.” By halting production at 55 factories and parts centers, 49,000 strikers are hoping to make up ground lost since the UAW agreed to half-pay for new hires, in 2007. That concession was followed by the Great Recession and the auto bailout, when GM got $50 billion from the taxpayers and even more concessions from workers. It’s the largest private-sector strike since 2007 and has garnered visits to the Detroit-Hamtramck picket line by presidential aspirants Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders, who is expected to visit Wednesday. GM has since rebounded from its ills, making billion in profits in the past three years. GM paid no federal income taxes last year and gifted CEO Mary Barra $22 million. Yet union workers, whose contracts were once the lodestar of the private sector, continue to fall behind as GM fills its factories with low-paid temps, contractors, and a subsidiary called GM Subsystems — all doing work once performed by regular GM employees. In 2007, the GM workforce was half as big, at 74,000, as it is today. Not satisfied, G is demanding more concessions from its overworked employees, a sign that the company sees the UAW as an easy foe, especially given the corruption scandal rocking its top leadership. t’s a testament to the rank and file that, despite everything, they walked out as one. Even as their leaders kept mum about bargaining goals, auto
workers decided what they were prepared to fight for.
Divide and conquer
Today, contracted-out janitors in the plants make as little as $15 an hour. In the past, they would have been direct Workers on strike outside of GM’s Detroit headquarters. LEE DEVITO employees of GM and covered houses of President Gary Jones and simply “UAW on Strike.” under the auto contract, which pays former President Dennis Williams were Given G ’s massive profits, the UA Tier One workers about $31. Janitosearched by the FBI Aug. 28. was well positioned to turn this strike rial jobs were often reserved for highJones’s top lieutenant before he into a national referendum on corposeniority workers whose bodies were became president, Vance Pearson, was rate greed and to get the public behind worn ragged from years on the line. workers’ demands, just as the successful charged with using union funds for perToday most such jobs that GM considsonal luxuries, and it’s widely believed national teachers strike wave has deers ancillary are done by contractors. that Jones and Williams will be next; manded “the schools students deserve.” At the GM Tech Center where Jessie they are cited as “UA Official A” and What if the UAW had started camKelly works, in Warren, she says there “UA Official ” in court documents. paigning a year ago for a Green New are 1,300 workers employed by GM and Jessie Kelly says the corruption was Deal — to convert auto plants to wind 550 by Aramark. not the priority right now “ f someturbines, electric buses, light rail — all Michael Mucci, a skilled tradesman body in the union abused their power, the alternatives to the internal comat Detroit-Hamtramck, says he has their future is already set out for them,” bustion engine that we will need to literally taken his father’s job — but his Kelly says. “Ours is not, ours is up in mitigate climate change? Auto workers father’s employer was GM and his is the air. All we can do is be there for could have swelled the numbers of last Aramark. each other because if we lose sight ... Friday’s climate justice march, where GM further relies on “permatemps” GM will win because we were focusing as 7 percent of its blue-collar workforce they would have been welcomed as on the wrong fight.” heroes. — GM employees who perform the Mitch Fox, of Romulus Engine, But as they have for decades, UAW same jobs as regular workers, but for $15 thinks his officers’ disrepute could even officials ignored the rest of the world an hour and worse benefits. be a motive for the strike. “With evand played their cards close to the vest. “As a temp you have absolutely no erything that’s going on, maybe they’ll rights,” Kelly says. Temps are allowed to Before the strike, members knew only try harder to gain our respect back,” he what they read in the media, explains miss only three days of work per year, says. “Hopefully that’s the plan.” materials handler Sean Crawford of unpaid, with advance approval, and But if past contracts are an indicaFlint Assembly. can be forced to work seven-day weeks. tion, the pact Jones negotiates will be They get no profit-sharing. ut many stick it out for years, in hopes of landConcessions demanded weak. If the strike is meant to wear members down rather than GM, leading a Tier Two job. GM wants members to pay more ers may accept a deal with a big signing for health insurance and is o ering a bonus and plenty of tiers. less-than-in ation raise 2 percent the No prep In that case, GM strikers can do what first and third years and 2 percent lump Unlike common practice in many Chrysler workers did in 201 organi e sums the second and fourth years. unions, UAW International leaders to turn down a contract that enshrines orse, it o ers no movement on the organized no contract campaign before the multi-tier system. odious tiered system. the strike to energize members and “I’m voting no on any contract To signal that it’s playing hardball pressure management. proposal that doesn’t give a pathway this year, GM stopped paying for strikNot a button was distributed in the to equality for every GM/UAW memers’ health insurance; the union will plants. There was no survey of the ber,” says Crawford. “This is a sacred membership, no rank-and-file “contract pick up the tab for partial coverage. In principle. It is the very meaning of the earlier decades, the auto companies action teams,” no bargaining bulleword ‘union.’” continued to pay for insurance right tins to keep members in the loop. No through strikes. “practice picketing,” no turn-down of A version of this story originally apComplicating the strike is the everovertime, no outreach to the public, peared on labornotes.org. expanding corruption scandal. The no open bargaining. Picket signs read
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metrotimes.com | September 25-October 1, 2019
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NEWS & VIEWS Informed Dissent
History is watching By Jeffrey . Billman
I don’t think Joe Biden is
the most electable candidate in the Democratic primary, and I doubt he’ll be the nominee. But his double-digit polling leads over Donald Trump have remained remarkably durable, despite the ga es and poor debates and concerns about his age and inability to generate excitement among the base. And Trump, it seems, is apparently scared shitless of the man, and the lengths to which he’ll go to stop him could lead to a constitutional crisis that makes Watergate look like child’s play. Here’s what we know: Last week, The as in ton ost reported that a member of the intelligence community had filed a whistleblower complaint against the president, and the IC’s inspector general had deemed the complaint credible and urgent — meaning it rose above the level of hearsay or a mere policy dispute. ith that finding, the inspector general had a legal obligation to turn over the complaint to Congress. But Trump’s acting director of national intelligence has refused to give members of Congress access to the complaint. Both the White House and the Department of Justice — run by Attorney General William Barr, who also ran interference for Trump in the aftermath of the Mueller report — instructed the N ’s office that the president is not governed by laws covering intelligence whistleblowers. n e ect, the administration’s position is that Trump is above the law. (Last week, under the same theory of supreme presidential authority, Trump also sued the state of New York to block a subpoena for tax returns, arguing that he can’t be criminally investigated while in office, even in state court.) The ost’s first report only said that the complaint centered on a “promise” Trump had made to a foreign leader. It took less than 48 hours for the blanks to get filled in The foreign leader was the newly elected president of Ukraine, a former comedian who ran on an anti-corruption platform. The promise was the release of hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid that Congress had appropriated — Ukraine
Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
is fighting Russian-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country — but the administration was withholding it, ostensibly because of concerns about corruption. What Trump wanted in return, and reportedly expressed eight times, was for Ukraine to reopen a closed investigation into a company that Joe Biden’s son Hunter had advised and to allege that Biden had blackmailed the government into firing the chief prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, in 2016. Not that it will matter in the fever swamp, but this conspiracy theory has been thoroughly debunked; Ukraine’s leading anti-corruption activist has called it “absolute nonsense.” The Obama administration, in conjunction with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, did push Ukraine to oust Shokin — but because American officials thought he was protecting corrupt officials, including the oligarch who employed Hunter Biden. (The case against the oligarch’s company, which concerned potential crimes that took place before Hunter Biden became an adviser, was shelved by early 2015, more than a year before the U.S. and its allies pushed for Shokin’s firing.) At this point, it’s worth stressing that Trump had previously dispatched Rudy
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MATT SMITH PHOTOGRAPHER/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Giuliani, his personal lawyer — not anyone from the DOJ or the FBI — to Ukraine in an e ort to dig up dirt on Biden, which is about as clear a tell as you get that this is a campaign matter, not a corruption matter. So to recap: The president tried to force another country’s leader into interfering in our election on his behalf while dangling $250 million over his head. Then his administration did everything in its power to make sure that the whistleblower’s complaint never saw the light of day. All of this — extortion, corruption, obstruction — not only meets the criteria for impeachment, it demands it. And that’s just what we know as I’m typing these words, less than a week after the story broke, before we’ve seen the actual complaint. Imagine the other ways in which the rule of law is about to be tested, in which our Constitution is about to be strained by an administration that sees it not as sacred but as inconvenient, in which the president’s partisans are going to have to choose where their loyalties lie. History is watching. History is watching the Democrats, too — and they’re failing, just as they did after the Mueller report dropped, when Nancy Pelosi decided that the political risks of impeachment out-
weighed their constitutional obligations. The House Judiciary Committee fumbled, and the White House exploited that weakness with defiance. Emboldened, Trump didn’t just invite foreign interference into our elections; he demanded it. And here again, Democratic congressional leaders are passive, giving Trump and Giuliani and their allies room to push the narrative that maybe there’s something to this Biden thing — aided by the same credulous both-siders in the mainstream press who gave oxygen to the nonsensical Uranium One story in 2016, and who crowed day and night about Hillary Clinton’s emails. Let’s keep our eyes on the ball. What the president did — and what the president wants to distract us from — is a crime, and the only solution is impeachment. It doesn’t matter if Senate Republicans try to shrug it o . Put Trump’s venality on display and let the American people see it for what it is, and see his enablers for who they are. It’s time for this country to have a longoverdue gut check. If congressional Democrats aren’t completely useless, they won’t wait, they won’t make excuses, and they won’t shirk their responsibility again. If they do, then they’re complicit in Trump’s corruption.
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FEATURE
CLEARING THE AIR
B
y the end of August, terrifying details of a mysterious respiratory illness began to emerge: Hundreds of otherwise healthy young people were admitted to hospitals across the country with life-threatening conditions. Some were dying. All reported vaping. As the public began to panic, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a public health emergency on Sept. 4, and soon ichigan was the first state to ban avored nicotine vaping products. “My number one priority is keeping our kids safe and protecting the health of the people of Michigan,” Whitmer said at the time. The story became national news, with Whitmer granting The Washington Post an exclusive interview the day before officially announcing the ban. Soon after, the Trump administration also announced it was also considering banning avored e-cigarettes. “We can’t allow people to get sick,” President Donald Trump said. “And we can’t have our kids be so a ected.” But the governor’s bold move does nothing to address this recent spate of deadly vaping-related illnesses. While vaping is most commonly associated with nicotine e-cigarettes like the popular Juul brand, the vast majority of the more than 530 cases of vaping illness being investigated nationwide have been linked to tainted, black market cannabis oils that are vaped. And by attacking nicotine e-cigarettes and ignoring the cannabis vaping crisis, Whitmer and Michigan health officials have confused the public and directed attention away from the growing popularity of illicit cannabis cartridges. Consider a new Morning Consult poll released on Sept. 19, which found that 58% of Americans believe vaping nicotine has caused deaths from lung illnesses, while only 34% think cannabis cartridges are to blame. “The message to just stop vaping altogether is so vague that people are largely going to ignore it, especially young people,” Michael Siegel, a professor of community health services at Boston University, tells Metro Times.
Why Michigan’s war on teen e-cigarette use is clouding the issue of an entirely different — and deadly — form of vaping: black-market cannabis By Steve Neavling and Lee DeVito “This is going to lead to more cases and more deaths that could have been avoided.” A spokesman for Whitmer did not respond to numerous requests for comment. As of Friday, Sept. 20, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services had identified 1 cases of severe lung disease associated with vaping, with 10 classified as confirmed and three classified as probable the department is investigating an additional 13 possible cases. Most of the patients have fallen ill after vaping cannabis oil, says Bob Wheaton, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, though no deaths have been reported yet in Michigan. Despite this, HHS has done little to nothing to address the cannabis vape cartridges, while other states are ramping up public awareness campaigns and requiring more rigid testing. On its website, HHS dedicated an entire section to vaping, but the only mention of marijuana cartridges is on one page of a 71-page slide show, which fails to address the link to cannabis oil. As health officials scramble to get a handle on the outbreak, investigators are increasingly focusing on vitamin E acetate, an agent used to dilute and thicken THC oil in black-market cannabis vape cartridges. THC is the psychoactive component of marijuana — the stu that gets you high. When vitamin E reaches a high temperature, it transforms from an oil to a vapor. But when the substance is inhaled, it reverts back to oil in the lungs, which can cause pneumonia. Investigators at the Food and Drug Administration found vitamin E acetate in samples collected from patients
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across the country. The same compound was found in nearly all cannabis samples from New York patients who have fallen ill in recent weeks, according to that state’s health department. In a vast majority of the cases nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said patients reported using illicit vape cartridges. Most of the samples tested by the CDC found vitamin E acetate. “Although investigations and data collection are ongoing, it appears that most, if not all, of the reported cannabis-related cases so far stem from products sourced from the unregulated criminal black market,” the national Cannabis Trade Federation said in a statement. “Consumers and communities will benefit when all cannabis products are subject to rigorous production, safety, and testing standards at the federal level.”’ ut with cannabis still classified as a schedule 1 drug in the eyes of the Feds, it has evaded the typical regulatory channels — and black markets, where the tainted marijuana vaping cartridges originated, have ourished.
The appeal of vaping Vaping was introduced to the U.S. mass market in 2007. The “e-liquid,” which can come in fruit or candy avors, is heated up with a batterypowered device, creating thick, white vape clouds when exhaled. The liquid typically contains nicotine, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine, and other natural avorings, and costs less than cigarettes. The new technology was promoted as a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes, which kills more than 450,000 people a year nationwide, because it
doesn’t burn anything. It doesn’t contain tar or tobacco, and has far fewer toxins and chemicals. It also doesn’t stink up a room, or the smoker’s breath and clothes. Vapers often report feeling better than when they smoked cigarettes, saying they breathe easier and have an improved sense of taste and smell. More than 420,000 Michigan residents regularly used e-cigarettes in 2016, according to an FDA-funded study. ut the allure of e-cigarette avors like cotton candy, bubble gum, and kids cereals has also attracted young people who had never smoked before, the Whitmer administration argues. Recent studies show as many as one-quarter of 12th-graders vape. According to the CDC, teenagers are now more likely to vape than smoke cigarettes. While health experts generally agree that vaping is less harmful than smoking, e-liquid still contains potentially harmful substances like heavy metals and chemicals. And since vaping is relatively new, the long-term health hazards aren’t yet known. A few years after e-cigarettes were introduced to the market, cannabis vaping products followed. Inexpensive, discreet, and widely available at marijuana provisioning centers and on the black market, cannabis cartridges are the fastest-growing segment of the marijuana industry. In the legal cannabis market, vape cartridges represented 27% of sales nationwide, up from 10% in 2014, according to BDS Analytics, which tracks the marijuana industry. For years, the cartridges have contained cannabis oil and other natural ingredients. The golden, gooey substance inside the cartridges is vaporized using a battery-powered heating device similar to nicotine e-cigarettes. But there has been a recent emergence of companies, including one in Michigan, selling vitamin E acetate to the black market. The thickening agent is relatively inexpensive and can dilute cannabis oil without thinning the consistency. By cutting cannabis oil with the toxic thickening agent, black-market dealers can sell the cartridges at a much lower price than dispensaries can a ord to sell their tested, regulated products.
Vape cartridges that were used by New Yorkers who got sick. All were found to have been cut with vitamin E acetate. NEW YORK DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
With empty cartridges and counterfeit boxes widely available online, illicit sellers have gotten more sophisticated in marketing and packaging their products, making them appear legitimate. In Michigan, hundreds of unlicensed black-market delivery services are peddling bootleg cartridges. In early September, New York investigators subpoenaed three of the biggest thickener manufacturers, including Ypsilanti-based Floraplex Terpenes, which sold a diluent containing vitamin E called Uber Thick. The diluents are primarily used for vape cartridges. The New York State Department of Health tested samples from Floraplex and the two other companies, Massachusetts-based Mass Terpenes and California-based Honey Cut, and found “they are nearly pure vitamin E acetate oil.” The companies have since removed the products from their websites. On Floraplex’s website, it had described its product as a “high-viscosity terpene diluent” that cost $3,499 per gallon. It only takes about 1 liter of vitamin E acetate to fill 1,000 one-millimeter cartridges. Floraplex did not respond to Metro Times for comment. “These thickeners are being marketed and readily available on the internet as a cheaper, safer alternative that does not negatively impact avoring or odor of existing products and can be used to cut vape products to any level of THC,” the New York State Department of Health wrote in a statement.
Public health officials have begun to identify lines of illicit vape cartridges sold in authentic-looking packaging. n New York, authorities first reported that people were getting severely ill from bootleg cartridges branded as “Dank Vapes” and “Chronic Carts.” In Wisconsin and Illinois, 24 of 41 cases examined by the New England Journal of Medicine were linked to “Dank Vapes.” Earlier this month, law enforcement authorities busted a major counterfeit operation in Bristol, Wis., where authorities seized more than 1,000 cannabis-filled vape cartridges in “Dank Vapes” packaging. Authorities also found 57 mason jars full of cannabis oil and nearly 100,000 empty cartridges, although they have not yet said whether the cartridges contained vitamin E acetate or other harmful additives. Two men in their early 20s were arrested. One of them told detectives he bought the cannabis oil in California and paid employees 20 an hour to fill the cartridges. It’s unclear what types of cartridges have been found in Michigan because state health officials have declined to divulge the information. “It is clear from the data that the principal source of these illnesses has been vaping THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, that has been mixed with vitamin E oils,” Kenneth Warner, professor emeritus and dean emeritus at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, tells Metro Times. “Basically, this is the result of vaping adulterated THC during kids’ attempts
to get high. There is no evidence that vaping nicotine has been responsible for any of these illnesses.”
Is vaping legal marijuana safe? ealth officials have linked only one case of lung illness to cannabis cartridges purchased in legal marijuana dispensaries and provisioning centers. A middle-aged man in Oregon died on Sept. 4 after vaping cartridges from two state-licensed centers. But health officials said it’s impossible to confirm those cartridges were the cause of his illness. Michigan’s state-licensed medical marijuana provisioning centers say their cartridges are safe because they undergo rigid testing and are made by state-certified manufacturers that use natural ingredients. “The brands behind the cartridges we have are transparent about them,” Rush Hassan, head of operations and business development at The Reef in Detroit, tells Metro Times. “We do our due diligence and often ask how the cartridges are made.” In Michigan, all marijuana products sold at licensed provisioning centers must be tested for pesticides, toxic metals, bacteria, and residual solvents from extraction methods. But like other states with a regulated marijuana industry, the state’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency does not require testing for vitamin E acetate, nor does it require vape cartridge manufacturers to divulge the ingredients.
Michigan Pure Med, which operates Flint’s Common Citizen provisioning center, is calling on the state to ban the use of non-natural additives and cutting agents in vape cartridges. “Manufacturers are cutting corners by using non-natural ingredients as additives in vape cartridges,” Michigan Pure Med’s CEO Michael Elias says in a statement. “We urge swift action by elected leaders to ban this potentially hazardous practice.” Elias said the provisioning center’s employees are also distributing information to customers “with facts about vaping and how customers can protect themselves from dangerous products that may pose a risk to human health.” “Safety is our number one priority, and it’s high-time for elected leaders to crack down on black-market operators who are selling untested, dangerous products and passing it o as medicine,” Elias says. “We need stronger enforcement for bad actors who are causing people to get sick from tainted vape cartridges, and we call upon state leaders and licensed manufacturers to adopt Good Manufacturing Practices to make Michigan a leader in consumer safety.” It’s not just vitamin E acetate that’s a health risk in cannabis cartridges. In April, the Michigan Regulatory Agency began warning dispensaries and consumers that lead from some cartridges was leaching into the cannabis oil. “Patients who medicate by vaping should be aware of this potential contamination which may occur after [initially] passing tests,” the agency warned in a bulletin. Previously in Michigan, cannabis oil was tested before it was placed in metal cartridges. Now the state is requiring testing while it’s inside the cartridges. In February, state regulators recalled cartridges from Utopia Gardens in Detroit for chemical residue. On Aug. 0, state regulators found chromium in cartridges made by Platinum Vapes. The product had failed testing on June 6 and was being sold at eight provisioning centers. The discovery was made as part of an ongoing investigation into inaccurate or unreliable testing results from Iron Laboratories, one of a handful of safety-compliance facilities in Michigan. The state suspended the lab’s license on Aug. 16. “It is imperative that our licensees follow the rules and laws, especially regarding the testing of medical marijuana products,” MRA Executive Director Andrew Brisbo said in a news release. “We are intensely focused on making sure that the marijuana product in the regulated industry meets established safety standards.”
metrotimes.com | September 25-October 1, 2019
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FEATURE What can be done In the midst of the lung illness outbreak, some states are beginning to take steps to protect consumers from the potential health hazards of cannabis vaping. So far, Michigan is not one of them. Since marijuana is still considered a schedule 1 drug on the federal level, there are no unified standards governing the cannabis industry in the U.S. In Oregon and New York, dispensaries are now required to post warnings about the potential hazards of vape cartridges. In Massachusetts, cartridge manufacturers will soon have to list the ingredients used in their products. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission also encouraged dispensaries to stop selling any potentially problematic cartridges from their shelves and o er returns on previously sold vaping products. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state’s health commissioners are urging consumers to stop vaping until health officials have identified the cause of the lung illness for certain. Some testing labs in Pennsylvania, Oregon, California, and North Dakota have begun voluntarily testing for vitamin E acetate. Michigan has three marijuana testing labs in operation — Spott Laboratory,
Flavored Juul e-cigarette liquid for sale.
Linda Palmatier, who works at Kalamazoo’s Spott Laboratory, says that her lab samples ower, concentrates, edibles, and other marijuana-infused products, but it does not test for vitamin E acetate. “We have not researched yet to see what it would take to test” for vitamin E acetate, she tells Metro Times. “With only three running operational labs in
EYESONMILAN/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
alarmed by the dramatic increase in teen vaping. “[R]ight now, companies selling vaping products are using candy avors to hook children on nicotine and misleading claims to promote the belief that these products are safe,” Whitmer said when announcing the ban. Andria Eisman, a research assistant professor for health education at the
By attacking nicotine e-cigarettes and ignoring the cannabis vaping crisis, Whitmer and Michigan health officials have confused the public and directed attention away from the growing popularity of illicit cannabis cartridges. PSI Labs, and Steadfast Analytical Laboratory — which handle products for dozens of marijuana provisioning centers. Their work is cut out for them, with recreational adult-use cannabis set to hit the market early next year, which Michiganders approved on the ballot last November. The labs are required to test for pesticides, toxic metals, bacteria, and residual solvents from extraction methods. Cannabis products that have been tested include a label with the name and license number of the manufacturer, the name of the marijuana strain, potency, a unique identification number for the package, and the date of harvest.
the state, we’re all pretty busy.” Public officials said the safest place to buy cartridges are at state-certified provisioning centers. “Once licensed entities get the proper cartridge, get the proper procedures ... they’re considered very safe,” Palmatier says. “With the black market, who knows where they’re getting them? They’re probably not getting tested. I wouldn’t recommend anybody to use black-market cartridges.”
Youth vaping on the rise In Michigan, the governor and public health officials say they’re focused on avored nicotine because they’re
18 September 25-October 1, 2019 | metrotimes.com
University of Michigan’s School of Public Health, agrees that the rise of youth vaping constitutes a health crisis. The rates of e-cigarette use has doubled among middle- and high-school students in the past two years, according to the most recent results of the university’s Monitoring the Future survey, which has tracked drug and alcohol use in adolescents since 1975. More than 25% of 12th graders reported vaping nicotine in the past month, while the numbers were 20% for 10th graders and 9% for eighth graders. “It’s [one of the only] substances where rates actually have increased among young people, as opposed to decrease,” Eisman says. “ t’s definitely
of concern, I think, for all who are interested with adolescent health.” Eisman says young people are attracted to the novelty of vaping, helping create what one analyst estimated was a $6.6 billion U.S. e-cigarette market in 2018. “The electronic piece of it, the technology piece that’s related to it, the avor piece that’s related to it, the advertising that’s been [associated] with it, you know, certainly does draw young people in,” she says. There’s also the perception that vaping is a healthier alternative to smoking. “I think in many ways we’re still working to understand the health risks associated with vaping, but it’s not a harmless vapor,” she says. “In fact, it’s inhaling an aerosol. Even among avors, these potentially can do damage to the lungs because there are chemicals or toxins within the avors. think that’s one of the misperceptions, is that it’s safe or safer.” ut by banning avored nicotine ecigarettes, more young people are going to take up old-fashioned smoking, and smokers-turned-vapers will return to cigarettes, says Dr. K. Michael Cummings, a tobacco expert and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences for the College of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina. “What Michigan did was stupid,” Cummings tells Metro Times. “Cigarettes are enormously deadly. I think tobacco companies are laughing all the way to the bank because vape shops were a threat.”
metrotimes.com | September 25-October 1, 2019
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metrotimes.com | September 25-October 1, 2019
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Grandma Bob’s
FOOD
2135 Michigan Ave, Detroit 313-315-3177 grandmabobs.com $9 for 9-inch gluten free to $17 for a 12-inch pizza 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wed, Thu., Sun; 4 p.m. to midnight Fri, Sat. Handicap accessible
Sausage and pistachio pie.
TOM PERKINS
Upper crust By Tom Perkins
For many, the crust is the dry, bummer conclusion to joyful bites of melted cheese, red sauce, and toppings that makes up pizza. Sad pieces of nibbled crust with a few dried sauce stains are so often left discarded on the plate — ”pizza bones,” as my sister calls them. For years, pizzerias have sought to improve slices’ final bites, and that’s meant crusts slathered with butter, stu ed with cheese, coated in cajun spices or other things that really don’t enhance them. However, there’s an even better approach out there — making dough and crusts that everyone wants to eat, even if they’re not butterlogged. That’s what Grandma Bob’s manages to do. Its crusts are soft and slightly chewy with leopard-print char marks from its run in the brick oven — a perfect texture. The kitchen uses a threeday cold fermentation process, two types of high-quality our, and a low amount of fresh yeast to produce what tastes like a sourdough crust. Though chef Dan DeWall says he’s going for a hand-tossed pizza in the vein of Little
Caesars — except good — Grandma Bob’s makes about 15 Detroit-style deep-dish doughs daily. The crust alone is enough for Grandma Bob’s to stand apart in a crowded pizza market. Loui’s has some of the nation’s best pizza, while Supino and Pie-Sci are masters, and others like Buddy’s, Shield’s, PizzaPlex, Brass Rail, Motor City Brew Works, Avalon, and so on have staked out spots within a few miles of Grandma Bob’s Corktown location across from Slow’s Bar-B-Q. Perhaps the only stumbling block at Grandma Bob’s is the price — $17 for a 12-inch pizza is steep, and literally everyone I’ve talked with about the restaurant has brought up the price point. One gets a feeling that they’re paying for the real estate on what’s one of the hottest restaurant blocks in town. And if there’s one thing for which I really don’t want to pay any extra money, it’s to sit on that block. On the other hand, there’s not much worse than the cheap Midwesterner who won’t pay more for quality food. But that’s not what’s going on here. The issue is that there are also really good
22 September 25-October 1, 2019 | metrotimes.com
options elsewhere — by comparison, the 18-inch pizza I buy at Supino is $17, and it’s a super well-made pie built with impeccably sourced ingredients. A large Loui’s costs roughly the same as a 12-inch hand-tossed pie here, and it’s several pounds heavier. Is Grandma Bob’s worth the cost in a city full of high-level pies? That’s worth exploring. t should first be noted that you won’t be building a pizza. There’s no topping list, but a roster of nine pizzas and rotating specials from which diners choose. That may seem annoying at first, but it’s easy to get over, as there’s something for everyone and no duds in the bunch. ’m of the camp that finds awaiian pizzas to be a gimmick that for some reason stuck, but Grandma Bob’s might make the only respectable Hawaiian pizza under the sun. That’s partly because it didn’t follow the template. Its awaiian pie isn’t a imsy triangle of awkward avors, but a gritty and bright pizza with roasted pineapple, roasted onion, cilantro, and ’ndjua, a peppery, spreadable Calabrian pork salami with a strong presence of citrus and garlic. That’s a smart substitute for the usual bacon or boring ham, and the cilantro ties the package together. All the pork on Grandma Bob’s pies is made in small batches by its sister restaurant, Gratiot Avenue Provisions, and it’s all awe-
some. That’s partly why Grandma Bob’s also manages to do a simple pepperoni better than most as its substantial slices of pork pop with a blend of red sauce and honey. The sausage and pistachio is probably the most interesting pie on the menu. It’s a gritty option with avorful crumbles of housemade sausage, crushed pistachios, slightly sweet mascarpone cheese, shaved red onion, red sauce, thyme, and rosemary. It’s the first time ’ve encountered pistachio pizza, and hopefully it won’t be the last. Grandma Bob’s menu is heavy on vegan options — four of the nine can be made with Violife vegan or regular cheeses. Among those is the Big Mac pizza with two all-beef patties that are crumbled meatless Impossible Burgers. It otherwise includes the typical special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions on a sesame seed crust. The pickles are incredible and also made by Gratiot Avenue Provisions. The Street Beet Dorito Crunch tastes like a 1980s gringo mom pizza and is made with “fake ground beef,” crushed sweet chili Doritos, shredded iceberg lettuce, spicy ranch drizzle, and taco avored crust. t should be included in the conversation about Detroit’s best pies. Meanwhile, the spinach and artichoke with black garlic, lemon zest mozzarella, and parmesan came in too high on the lemon and too low on the black garlic, which I didn’t detect. Aside from the pizzas, the menu holds two kinds of salads. The Caesar is served with a tangy cashew-based vegan dressing made with lemon, dijon, and more, and it’s excellent. About one-third of the small space is taken up by the bar with a thorough beer list, wine list, and craft cocktails like The itch, a fine sweet and savory drink with Citadelle Gin, Strega (an Italian herb liqueur) jalapeño syrup, and lemon. Cold Truth, a soft-serve ice cream company with vegan options, is parked inside and o ers dessert. This brings us back around to the question of whether Grandma Bob’s is worth 1 for a 12-incher. hen first ordered at Grandma Bob’s, I was fairly certain I wouldn’t return if Metro Times wasn’t picking up the check. There’s just too much good pizza in town. But after trying nearly its entire menu, I’m sure I’ll be back.
metrotimes.com | September 25-October 1, 2019
23
THIS WEEK
that make up hometown dude ruce Campbell. The ichigan native best known for his portrayal of the ever-sobabely Ash illiams from the campy, gory Evil Dead franchise will dive into stories from his life and career during a special appearance. The event will feature a live Q&A, as well as a screening of Evil Dead 2. The tour finds Campbell, who publicly retired his performance as Ash last year following the final season of the Starz original series Ash vs. Evil Dead, on the heels of his second memoir, 2017’s Hail To the Chin: Further Confessions of a B Movie Actor. Doors open at 7 p.m.; 318 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak; 248-399-2980; royaloakmusictheatre.com. Tickets are $35+.
THU., 9/26-SAT., 11/2 Evil Dead: The Musical @ City Theatre Treacle, Trans Stellar Film Fest, Sept. 27-28.
RYAN DANIELL/MINI PRODUCTIONS
What’s Going On
A week’s worth of things to do and places to do them. WEDNESDAY, 9/25 Andrew Bird @ Masonic Temple
MUSIC If there were a class titled Andrew Bird 101, it might be best to study backward, starting with his 2019 release, My Finest Work Yet — which might just very well be his finest work of the past decade. For his latest, the 46-year-old journeyman known for lush chamber pop, distinct pronunciation, use of Theremins, and excessive whistling appears to have returned to what has kept the Chicago area-bred crooner a oat across 1 studio records — cynicism disguised as hope. Did we mention whistling? Anyway, shortly after the record’s release, it was announced that ird would be spreading his wings and taking a foray into acting, specifically filling a role written for the singer on the fourth season of FX’s Fargo. Doors open at 7 p.m.; 500 Temple St., Detroit; 313-638-2724; themasonic.com. $39.50+.
THURSDAY, 9/26 Bruce Campbell @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
Celebrating Charles Alexander, Affirmations, Sept. 29.
COURTESY OF PRIDE SOURCE
24 September 25-October 1, 2019 | metrotimes.com
STORIES + FILM Horror and humor are but two sides of the multi-faced die
MUSICAL If the word “Boomstick” means anything to you, then it’s likely you know that Evil Dead season is upon us. After nearly four decades, the campy cult horror classic Evil Dead is revered as a hallmark of the horror genre — and so is its musical adaptation. etroit’s annual fall-time engagement, Evil Dead: The Musical, will once again get hella gory — this time with familiar faces and some new blood. nspired by the o Broadway musical, what originated as an experiment and has since exploded into a seasonal Detroit destination event for Evil Dead lovers and entry-level horror fans alike. (Beware of the ticketed seats labeled the “splatter one,” also known as the front row, where willing audience members will be soaked to the bone with stage blood.) Performances begin at 8 p.m.; 2301 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-471-3456; 313presents.com. Tickets are $38.50.
FRIDAY, 9/27 KOKOKO! @ Deluxx Fluxx
MUSIC One man’s junk is another man’s Roland C- 0 . At least that’s the case for yellow boiler suit-clad Congolese five-piece O O O , who have gained an international audience for their inventive, resourceful, and frenetic dance music created with upcycled instruments made from debris found in the streets of their hometown of inshasa. After a stunning showcase at this year’s S S , O O O released its debut record, Fongola, which spotlights the band’s self-described “tekno kintueni” sound. n keeping with
the DIY ethos of the band, which formed in 2016, Fongola was recorded in a makeshift studio made of ping-pong tables and old mattresses because, as KOKOKO! have said: “Survival fuels creativity.” Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; 1274 Library St., Detroit delu u .com. ickets are .
FRI., 9/27 & SAT., 9/28
Thursday 9/26
Trans Stellar Film Festival
ThE BlAsTeRs
@ Cinema Detroit
FILM During this year’s Detroit Art Week, a billboard created by Jonah Welch appeared at E. Seven Mile Road and Kempa Street as part of a collaborative public exhibition, reading “Trans People Are Sacred.” The message may be simple but rarely is it expressed in such powerful terms. Returning to Cinema Detroit is the third annual Trans Stellar Film Festival, which shines a spotlight on queer filmmakers. This year, the two-day festival will include screenings of shorts and full-length features spanning adult fairytales, HIV, talking salmon, a 7-foot penis, dancing butt plugs, trans love, bisexual roadtrips, professional wrestling, and hypnotherapy. creenin s be in at p.m. bot ni ts ird t. Detroit transstellar lmfesti al.com. ickets are a su ested donation of per e ent or for sin le day passes.
SATURDAY, 9/28 Donnie Darko
friday-sunday 9/27-9/29
ZaCh NuGeNt’S FiRe DiScO GoSpEl WeEkEnD
Wednesday 10/2
EzRa BeLl
Friday 10/4
Andrew Bird, Masonic Theatre, Sept. 25.
anxious, neurotic, doom-dwelling adults and for that, we are forever committed to Sparkle Motion.
ir in ouse allery.or .
creenin be ins at p.m. . tate t. nn rbor mic t eater.or state. ickets are
A Life Well Lived: A Celebration of Charles Alexander
.
.
SATURDAY, 9/28 Detroit Future History @ Irwin House Gallery
ART Is Detroit a comeback city? Or does it take more than another Starbucks and a streetcar to bring a city back from the brink of destruction? While the global conversation toggles between these polarizing narratives, one thing remains true: all eyes are on Detroit. But what does that mean for its future and the future of its people? Detroit Future History will display works from more than 15 artists, all of whom have additional perspectives of the city’s past, present, and, in some cases, projections of the future. Brian Nickson, Jon DeBoer, Kathleen Rashid, Melissa Vize, Damon Chamblis, Darin Darby, and Jeni Wheeler are among the featured artists, along with artist-in-residence John Sims, who will display an interactive oral-history inspired by his childhood neighborhood. Work will be on display through January 5. penin reception be ins at : . rand Bl d. Detroit
ent is free.
SUNDAY, 9/29
@ Affirmations Community Center Gallery
@ State Theatre
FILM An eccentric teenage outcast, Donnie Darko, befriends Frank, a man in a bunny costume, while pining for the new girl at his private school amid oppressive parents, teachers, and the popular kids. How will Donnie navigate the pressures of young adulthood when con icted with doing what’s right versus doing what he’s told? Well, he doesn’t. He dies. He fucking dies. Though the 2001 psychological and supernatural mindfuck that is Donnie Darko fulfills some baseline teen movie tropes, it couldn’t be further removed from the genre. Time travel, Patrick Swayze (R.I.P.) as a pedophile, Graham Greene, existential dread, universe-fulfilling prophecies, an eerie post-9/11 plane crash, and the Gary Jules version of Tears For Fears’ “Mad World” — Donnie Darko is a movie about everything/nothing and makes no real sense but prepared a generation of teens to blossom into
AMANDA DEMME
p.m.
ART For the better part of Charles Alexander’s 83 years, the metro Detroit native has dedicated himself to making the world not only a more beautiful place, but a better one. Artist, writer, and LGBTQ+ advocate Alexander, who came out as a gay man sometime during Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidency, has seen it all: gay club raids, the HIV epidemic, and most recently, Alexander himself su ered a stroke earlier this year, from which he is still recovering. “A Life Well Lived” celebrates his bold and prolific body of work (not including his more than 700 contributed columns for LGBTQ+ publication, Bet een t e ines), including six paintings made after the stroke. Alexander is expected to be in attendance for the exhibit’s opening reception, and all proceeds from the sale of his work will benefit the Charles Alexander Care Trust. penin reception be ins at p.m. . ine ile d. Ferndale . ent is free it . Donations and sales ill bene t t e arles le ander are rust.
BrEaK AnChOr SATurday 10/5
‘PiCk It Up! SkA In ThE 90S’ ScReEnInG Wednesday 10/9
On ThE SuN
WsG BrOtHeR HaLlOw & ReMnOsE
Saturday 10/12
ThE KiDs UnDeR ThE CaRpEt WsG MeGa WeEdGe
Friday 10/18
ThE LoWs SiNgLe ReLeAsE PaRtY WsG ThE BeGgArS & CeNtUrY BaBeS
THUrsday 10/24
BuMpIn UgLiEs
WsG LeAvInG LiFtEd FoR TiCkEtS & DiNnEr ReSeRvAtIoNs
ViSiT OtUsSuPpLy.CoM 345 E 9 MILE RD
FeRnDaLe
metrotimes.com | September 25-October 1, 2019
25
THIS WEEK MUSIC Wednesday, Sept. 25 Andrew Bird 8 p.m.; Detroit Masonic Temple’s Cathedral Theatre, 500 Temple St, Detroit; $39+. Chico Freeman Quartet 7 & 9:30 p.m.; The Blue LLama Jazz Club, 314 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $20+.. Electric Ladyland: Jimi Hendrix tribute 9 p.m.; Marble Bar, 1501 Holden St., Detroit; $10. Felix Pastorius & Hipster Assassins 8 p.m. Cli ells, 20 0 Park Avenue, Detroit; $10. John Coltrane Celebration Concert 7 p.m.; Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, 315 E. Warren Ave., Detroit; $20. King Buffalo p.m. P ’s ager ouse, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit; $10. Rainbow Kitten Surprise 6:30 p.m.; The Fillmore, 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $31+. Slaughter To Prevail, Bodysnatcher, Orthodox 0 p.m. Pike Room, 1 S. Saginaw, Pontiac 1 .STUNTIE 10 p.m.; Deluxx Fluxx, 1274 Library St., Detroit; Free.
Thursday, Sept. 26 Brant Bjork & Ecstatic Vision 8 p.m.; Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave.,
Ferndale; $20. Brent Cobb and Them with special guest: The National Reserve 0 p.m. The Ark, 1 S. ain St., Ann Arbor; $20. Desmond Jones 8 p.m. lind Pig, 208 S. First St., Ann Arbor; $8. Etienne Charles 7 p.m.; The Blue LLama Jazz Club, 314 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $15+. Motionless In White 7 p.m.; The Shelter, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; Sold-out. Pallbearer 7 p.m.; Sanctuary Detroit, 2 2 Cani St., amtramck 1 . Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Meatbodies 8 p.m.; The Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $18. KASKADE 0 p.m. agic Stick, 120 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $30. Sigrid 7 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; Sold-out. The Blasters 9 p.m.; Otus Supply, 345 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $20-$25. The Waterboys 7 p.m.; Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $34.
Friday, Sept. 27 ACROBAT - A U2 Tribute 8 p.m.; Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $12. Aguanko 7 p.m.; The Blue LLama Jazz
Evil Dead: The Musical, City Theatre, Sept. 26-Nov. 2.
26 September 25-October 1, 2019 | metrotimes.com
Club, 314 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; No cover. ALL CITY CYPHER WSG LEAF ERIKSON Last Friday of every month, 9 p.m.-2 am; Trixie’s, 2656 Carpenter St., amtramck No cover. Blanck Mass/ HELM 9 p.m.; UFO Factory, 2110 Trumbull Ave., Detroit; $12-$14. Bloodletting North America Tour XIII 5 p.m.; The Sanctuary, 1501 E. Outer Dr., Detroit; $18. Com Truise 9 p.m.; The Shelter, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $23. Cut Snake 9 p.m.; The Grasshopper Underground, 22757 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $10. Elder Brother / Speak Low If You Speak Love 6:30 p.m.; The Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $13. The Fruits, Wally Dogger, Eerie Point 9-11:30 p.m.; New Way Bar, 23130 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; No cover. Jeff Cuny Trio 0 p.m. Cli ells, 20 0 Park Avenue, etroit No cover. KOKOKO! 6:30 p.m.; Deluxx Fluxx, 1274 Library St., Detroit; $20. Mac Demarco 7 p.m.; Masonic Temple, 500 Temple St., Detroit; $35+. Punkgasm! 8 p.m. P ’s ager ouse, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit; $8.
COURTESY PHOTO
The
Old
Miami
OUR PATIO NIGHTLY BONFIRES ON
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27TH THE TELLWAYS, THE SOLID EIGHTS, THE ABRUPTORS (BUFFALO NY)
9PM DOORS / $5 COVER
(SKA, REGGAE, ROCK-STEADY, TWO-TONE) KOKOKO!, Deluxx Fluxx, Sept. 27.
Pushloop 9:30 p.m.; Elektricity Nightclub, 15 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac; $12.50+. Sabbatical Bob 8 p.m.; Blind Pig, 208 S. First St., Ann Arbor; $8+. Small’s 20 Year Anniversary w/ The Grande Nationals 8 p.m.; Small’s, 10339 Conant St., Hamtramck; $12. Stone Temple Pilots and Rival Sons 7 p.m.; Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill, 14900 Metropolitan Pkwy., Sterling Heights; $29.50+. Streetlight Manifesto 6:30 p.m.; Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak; $29. The Ohio Players & Cameo 5:30 p.m.; Flagstar Strand Theatre for the Performing Arts, 12 N. Saginaw St., Pontiac; $25-$50.
COURTESY PHOTO
Eric Benet & Raheem Devaughn 5:30 p.m.; Flagstar Strand Theatre for the Performing Arts, 12 N. Saginaw St., Pontiac; $25-$50. Evan Mercer Trio p.m. Cli ells, 20 0 Park Avenue, etroit No cover. Fenty Formation: Rihanna X Beyoncé Dance Party 10:30 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $5-$40. Greg Laswell 8 p.m.; The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $20. HAYDEN JAMES 9 p.m.; Magic Stick, 120 oodward Ave., etroit 1 - 20. Ian Noe 7 p.m.; Blind Pig, 208 S. First St., Ann Arbor; $10-$12. Jason Aldean 7 p.m.; DTE Energy Music Theatre, 33 Bob Seger Dr.., Clarkston; $52+.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH THOSE HOUNDS, THE END ELECTRIC, JENNICA WAHL
(INDIE W/ ALTERNATIVE BEAT-POET-ROCK)
9PM DOORS / $5 COVER ~HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ERIC Z! ~
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30TH FREE POOL
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1ST ~HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TIA! ~
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4TH FATHOM FAREWELL, BLACK HEIRON, NEURO
The Yao Smith Hughes Sextet midnight Cli ells, 20 0 Park Avenue, etroit No cover.
Judah & the Lion 7 p.m.; The illmore, 211 oodward Ave., etroit $25-$45.
Zach Nugent’s Fire Disco Gospel Weekend 8 p.m.; Otus Supply, 345 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $18-$40.
Just Friends, Save Face, the Sonder Bombs, Candy Pop 7 p.m.; The oving Touch, 22 oodward Ave., erndale 1 .
SAINT AUBIN, YOUNG PIONEER
Avril Lavigne 8 p.m.; Fox Theatre, 2211 oodward Ave., etroit 2 . 0- 12 . 0.
Qlank 9:30 p.m.; Elektricity Nightclub, 15 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac; $12.50+.
DEWR & SPECIAL GUESTS
Big 80s Flashback Bash! 8 p.m.; P ’s ager ouse, 12 ichigan Ave., Detroit; $6.
Scary Women, Girl Fight, Counter Elites / Macho 8 p.m.; Ghost ight, 2 1 Cani St., amtramck 10.
Saturday, Sept. 28
Billy Cobham Crosswinds Project with Randy Brecker 8 p.m.; The usic all, 0 adison Ave., etroit $30.
Shonen Knife 8 p.m.; Magic Bag, 22 20 oodward Ave., erndale .
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11TH SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12TH NOTHING ELEGANT (LADY DJ DANCE)
Steve Lacy 7 p.m.; Majestic Theatre, 1 0 oodward Ave., etroit 0 .
Chosen By Fate 9-11:59 p.m.; Cobb’s Corner, 201 Cass Ave, etroit No cover.
Witt Lowry 6 p.m.; The Shelter, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $20.
CINTHIE 9 p.m.; The Grasshopper Underground, 22 oodward Ave., Ferndale; $5-$10.
Sunday, Sept. 29
Diego Rivera 7 & 9:30 p.m.; The Blue LLama Jazz Club, 314 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $15+.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5TH
A Night With Janis Joplin (Touring) 7:30 p.m.; Fox Theatre, 2211 Woodward Ave., etroit 1 . 0 . Aris Chalin Trio 11:30 am; The Blue
OPEN EVERY DAY INCLUDING HOLIDAYS INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK: THEOLDMIAMI CALL US FOR BOOKING! 313-831-3830
The Old Miami
3930 Cass • Cass Corridor • 313-831-3830
metrotimes.com | September 25-October 1, 2019
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THIS WEEK LLama Jazz Club, 314 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; No cover. Bus Stop Poets wsg: The Lafayettes 8 p.m.; Otus Supply, 345 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $10-$12. Dropkick Murphys w/ Clutch 6 p.m.; Detroit Masonic Temple Library, 500 Temple St, Detroit; $39.50. FINK 7 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $12-$15. Graveyard 7 p.m.; The Crofoot Ballroom, 1 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac; $25.
Donnie Darko, State Theater, Sept. 28.
Grayscale 6 p.m.; The Shelter, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $17.
Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $22-$25.
Kyle Green Trio p.m. Cli 2030 Park Avenue, Detroit; $10.
John Raymond & Real Feels 8 p.m. Cli ells, 20 0 Park Avenue, Detroit; $10.
ells,
Post Malone 8 p.m.; Little Caesars Arena, 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $94.50+. The Satin Doll Revue ft. music by Nina Simone Neal as Dinah Washington , DeAnna Weeden as Sarah Vaughan , Sky Covington as Billie Holiday & Faye Bradford as Nina Simone 7-11 p.m.; Tangent Gallery & Hastings Street Ballroom, 715 E. Milwaukee Ave., Detroit; $20. Sunday Brunch with Jarrod Champion 11 0 am Cli ells, 20 0 Park Avenue, Detroit; No cover. Surf Curse 7 p.m.; Deluxx Fluxx, 1274 Library St., Detroit; $10. The Story Changes 8 p.m.; PJ’s Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit; $10. Zach Nugent’s Fire Disco Gospel Sunday 11 am; Otus Supply, 345 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $18+.
Monday, Sept. 30 Badflower 6 p.m.; The Shelter, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $18. Paul Keller Quintet 7 p.m.; The Blue LLama Jazz Club, 314 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; No cover. Phony PPL 7 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $15-$18. Tinariwen 7 p.m.; The Crofoot Ballroom, 1 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac;
Tuesday, Oct. 1 Bastille 7 p.m.; Detroit Masonic Temple, 500 Temple St, Detroit; $45. Dennis Coffey first Tuesday of every month, 8 p.m.; Northern Lights Lounge, 660 W. Baltimore St., Detroit; Free.
Thursday, Sept. 26, 8 p.m.; Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, 4454 Woodward Avenue, Detroit; $7.
COMEDY
Phil Collins 8 p.m.; Little Caesars Arena, 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $77+.
313 Comedy Night Sunday, Sept. 29, 8 p.m.; Detroit Shipping Company, 474 Peterboro St., Detroit; Free.
The Tannahill Weavers and Old Blind Dogs 8 p.m.; The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $25.
All-Star Showdown Fridays, Saturdays, 8 & 10 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $20.
The Noise & Ones To Watch Present The Faim & Stand Atlantic 6 p.m.; The Shelter, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $16.
THEATER A Doll’s House, Part 2 Through Oct. 20. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8-9:30 p.m. and Saturdays, 3-4:30 p.m.; Tipping Point Theatre, 361 E. Cady St., Northville; $32+. A2CT Presents: The Odd Couple Male Version Friday, Sept. 27-Sunday, Sept. 29, 8 p.m.; A2CT Studio Theater, 322 W. Ann St., Ann Arbor; $15. Cleopatra Boy Through Sept. 28. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; 3000 Fenkell Ave, 3000 Fenkell Avenue, Detroit; $5. Come From Away (Touring) Oct. 1-13.; Fisher Theatre, 3011 W. Grand Blvd, Detroit; $39+. Evil Dead: The Musical Sept. 26Nov. 2, 8 p.m.; City Theatre, 2301 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $38.50. Les Miserables: The Concert Friday, Sept. 27, 7:30 p.m.; Lorenzo Cultural Center, Garfield Rd., Clinton Township; $43.50+ Menopause The Musical Wednesday, Sept. 25, 8 p.m. and Thursday, Sept. 26, 8 p.m.; Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave., Dearborn; $45+.
Emel Mathlouthi 7 p.m.; Deluxx Fluxx, 1274 Library St., Detroit; $10-$12.
NT Live: Fleabag Thursday, Sept. 26, 7:30 p.m.; Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor; $16+
Gus Dapperton 7:30 p.m.; Majestic
Martin Creed: Getting Changed
28 September 25-October 1, 2019 | metrotimes.com
COURTESY PHOTO
Bruce Campbell Thursday, Sep. 26, 7 p.m.; Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak; $35+. Call Your Girlfriend Podcast Saturday Sep. 28, 8:30 p.m.; Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $30-$45. Cocktail Comedy Hour Fridays, Saturdays, 8-9 p.m.; The Independent Comedy Club at Planet Ant, 2 20 Cani Ave., Hamtramck; $10. DL Hughley Comedy Night Out Thursday, Sept. 26, 8 p.m.; Sound Board, 2901 Grand River Ave., Detroit; $37+. Eric André Friday, Sept. 27, 8 p.m.; The Fillmore, 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $35+. Fresh Sauce Sundays, 9 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; Free. Haddon’s Comedy Club presents: Robert Kelly Friday, Sept. 27, 7 p.m.; $27. Friday Sep. 27, 9 p.m.; Haddon’s Comedy Club, 1444 Ottawa St., Windsor; $27. Jason Nash Friday, Sept. 27, 7 p.m.; Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $35+. Carol Burnett Sunday, Sept. 29, 7:30 p.m.; Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway, Detroit; $79+ Mike Brody Thursday, Sept. 26, 7:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 27, 7:15 & 9:45 p.m., and Saturday, Sept. 28 at 7 & 9:30 p.m.; Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle, 310 S. Troy St., Royal Oak; $10.
metrotimes.com | September 25-October 1, 2019
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THIS WEEK Livewire
Local music picks By Jerilyn Jordan
Olivia Jean, Third Man Records, Oct. 2.
SATURDAY, 9/28 Founders Outer Limits Party with Jessica Hernandez & the Deltas, Handgrenades @ Founders Taproom
Giving back is way cooler than throwing one back, so for Hunger Action Month the first-ever ounders etroit Outer imits Party will raise funds for Gleaners Community ood ank. The all-day party will o er a specially curated tap list, as well as music from some local trailbla ers. eadlining the hoppy soiree is etroit-born, .A.-based shimmering disco-rock mama essica ernande and her eltas. Also on the bill are the andgrenades — the metro etroit five-piece rock band that colors outside the lines of traditional rock ’n’ roll revelry. etroit beatmaker Erno will also be on hand with a disco-meets-classic-house fueled set.
BIG HASSLE
whom are on our radar and are joining forces for a tripleheader filled with trippy, poppy, punky, and totally psychedelic tunes. Ann Arbor sextet ook overs have been performing with violins and pocket pianos with and local musical mainstay Autumn etli (formerly of Rebel ind) leading the way. Also performing is selfdescribed Ypsilanti supergroup Virga, which specializes in new age surf rock, as well as the high-energy etroit four-piece Phased Out, helmed by ina ankole. Oh, yeah. as Chrit will also dish out some freaky sonic. Doors open at 8 p.m.; 26 N. Washington St., Ypsilanti; 734-657-2337; dreamlandtheater.com. Cover is a $5 donation.
SATURDAY, 9/28 Bowlero Grand Opening with Friends of Dennis Wilson @ Bowlero Lanes & Lounge
Event begins at noon; 456 Charlotte St., Detroit; 313-335-3440; foundersbrewing. com. Tickets are $20.
SATURDAY, 9/28 Book Lovers, Virga, and Phased Out @ Dreamland Theater
Not to, like, be a total weirdo, but we have our eyes on these three bands, all of
each oys co-founder (and the band’s only actual surfer) ennis ilson made a lot of friends during his life, cut short by an accident in which he drowned at the age of . One of those, uh, friends, was cult creep Charles anson (and it was ilson’s former residence that served as the gruesome scene of the Sharon Tate murders.) Anyway, the only thing etroit five-piece riends of ennis ilson is guilty of is producing perfectly throw-
30 September 25-October 1, 2019 | metrotimes.com
back psych-rock. The droning, rolling, sadistic acid trip that is the band’s 2018 release Space Maintainer will serve as the score for the recently rehabbed, totally ’ 0s-drenched owlero anes ounge, which is celebrating its grand opening. o share the bill with Toronto-duo CAT , which speciali es in delightfully lofi dance rock. ’s ash, Soul- o, ooG, and Top at are also slated to perform. Doors open at 11 a.m.; 4209 Coolidge Hwy., Royal Oak; 248-549-7500; bowlerodetroit.com. Event is free.
SATURDAY, 9/28 Scary Women, Girl Fight, Counter Elite, and Macho @ Ghost Light
omen can be fucking scary. Not, like, in a horror-movie way, or, say, in a President of the U.S. who thinks grabbing women by the pussy is cool and a totally fine thing to do sort of way. ore like, intimidating and unstoppable kind of scary. hich is exactly what ansing-based sinister rockers Scary omen achieved on their self-titled 2018 record, filled with searing ikini ill-sounding jams. Equally sinister sludge masters Ellen Cope and acob loom, who perform as Girl ight, join the evening’s surplus of primal prowess. Another duo, Counter Elite, helmed by onathan A. er and Shaun isniewski ( onny Germicide and S Son of Sam alton, respectively), will deliver high-
octane, quick-hitting anarchy with ohso-subtle hints of new wave. ant more? esus Christ, fine, you greedy bastards. Also performing is etroit-based trio acho, which speciali es in witchy and disorientng basement punk. Doors open at p.m. aniff t. Hamtramck; 313-365-4948; planetant. com. Tickets are $7.50.
WEDNESDAY, 10/2 Olivia Jean @ Third Man Records
t should come as no surprise that retrogoddess Olivia ean got wrapped up in ack hite’s web. ( ell, they even look alike.) The etroit-bred, Nashville-based singer first hit the scene when hite curated a gothy all-girl rock band in 200 under the name the lack elles, which ean was elected to as guitarist. Though the aesthetic-specific outfit dissolved in 2012, ean pursued a solo career and now she’s touring in support of her recently released sophomore album, Night Owl. Released by Third an Records, Night Owl finds ean tapping into her brand of bubblegum garage rock with heavy doses of the Shangri as, londie, and the onnas. etroit’s emolition oll Rods are also on the bill. Doors open at : p.m. . an eld St., Detroit; 313-209-5205; thirdmanrecords. com. Tickets are $12-$15.
metrotimes.com | September 25-October 1, 2019
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Dashboard Confessional Saint Andrew’s Hall, March 3-4, $35 FUELED BY RAMAN
Fast-Forward Nick Kroll Royal Oak Music Theatre, Oct. 11, 6 & 9 p.m., $29+
Eddie Griffin Sound Board at Motor City Casino Hotel, Nov. 8, 8 p.m, $42+
Deep Purple Fox Theatre, Oct 15, 7:30 p.m. $29.50+
Joe Bonamassa Fox Theatre, Nov. 8, 8 p.m, $59+
Big Thief Majestic Theatre, Oct. 17, 7 p.m., $21+
Tool Little Caesars Arena, Nov. 9, 7 p.m., $175+
Tegan & Sara Royal Oak Music Theatre, Oct. 17, 7:30 p.m., $87.50+
Fantasia Fox Theatre, Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m, $48.50+
Natasha Bedingfield Majestic Theatre, Oct. 19, 7 p.m., $35+
John Leguizamo Fox Theatre, Nov. 13, 8 p.m, $35+
Jay & Silent Bob The Fillmore, Oct. 22, 8 p.m., $29
Gucci Mane Fox Theatre, Nov. 16, 8 p.m, $64+
Joe Rogan Fox Theatre, Oct. 25, 7:30 p.m & 10:30 p.m. $55+
Moon Duo MOCAD, Nov. 19, 8 p.m., $15
Young Thug and Machine Gun Kelly Fox Theatre, Oct. 26, 8 p.m $29.50+
Elvis Costello & the Imposters Michigan Theater, Nov. 20, 7:30 p.m.; $69.50+
The O’ Jays and the Isley Brothers Fox Theatre, Oct. 27, 7:30 p.m., 40+
Nick Offerman The Fillmore, Nov. 21, 7:30 p.m., $49.50+
A Fun Conversation with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda Fox Theatre, Oct. 30, 7 p.m., $49+
Brockhampton Masonic Temple, Nov. 30, 7 p.m., $45
Carrie Underwood Little Caesars Arena, Oct. 31, 7 p.m., $49.50+ Sleater-Kinney Majestic Theatre, Nov. 4, 7 p.m., $37.50 Gregory Alan Isakov Masonic Temple, Nov. 4, 7 p.m., $35+ Big Freedia Saint Andrew’s Hall, Nov. 5, 7 p.m., $25 Celine Dion Little Caesars Arena, Nov. 5, 7 p.m.; $116+ Jonathan Van Ness The Fillmore, Nov. 7, 7 & 9 p.m., $45
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Devendra Banhart MOCAD, Nov. 31, 8 p.m., $31 Eric B and Rakim Sound Board, Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m, $42+ King Princess Royal Oak Music Theatre, Feb. 7, 7 p.m., $29+ The Lumineers Little Caesars Arena, Feb. 7, 7 p.m., $34+ Chance the Rapper Little Caesars Arena, Feb. 9, 7 p.m.; $59.95 Green Day, Weezer, Fall Out Boy Comerica Park, Aug. 19. 7 p.m., $49.50+
metrotimes.com | September 25-October 1, 2019
33
MUSIC Live through this
Why pop-punk princess Avril Lavigne is still the real deal — and grateful to be alive By Jerilyn Jordan
Despite internet-bred conspiracy theories, Avril Lavi-
gne is not dead. She’s not a fan-turned-Avril-replacement clone, either. Sure, a side-by-side comparison of Lavigne circa 2002 on the heels of her star-making debut release, Let Go, and Lavigne in 2019, who has returned to music after a five-year absence, might reveal that she hasn’t aged much, if at all. (No, really. It’s actually kind of weird.) But the truth is, the “motherfucking princess” has lived lifetimes (and survived them, too). “It’s so weird,” Lavigne says. “I don’t even know why people talk about it. That thing where they think I’m dead or whatever — it went on before I even got sick. They think I’m not me. Like, how weird is that? That someone would even start that and that people still talk about it. I actually, like, never talk about it. On the other hand, everyone’s like, ‘She looks the same, she doesn’t age’ and then compares pictures of me when I was younger. I’m like, you guys are so weird.” When it comes to Lavigne’s 17-year career, one has to fight the urge to compare the skateboarding, mall-crashing, tie-wearing 17-year-old that made it possible for someone like Billie Eilish to exist (in Eilish’s exact words, “Thank you [Avril] for making me what I am”) against the poised, thankful-to-bealive, 34-year-old woman who put her life on hold to battle Lyme Disease, has navigated marriage and divorce, and whose musical focus has shifted from disrupting the status quo to lush balladry aimed to inspire confidence and self-worth. In other words, Lavigne’s world is still very much complicated. This year, Lavigne returned with Head Above Water, the Canadian singer’s first record in six years, following 2013’s self-titled release written alongside producer and then-husband, Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger (on which she somehow makes Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me” into a sultry, non-cringy banger). Her latest, which she describes as being a “mini-movie of her life,” takes an emotional detour
and finds avigne consciously tapping into her raw vocal power, something we’ve only caught glimpses of through the years (2002’s anthemic “I’m With You” comes to mind as a standout vocal moment). She says that Head Above Water is a return to her preteen, prefame “roots” — singing in the church choir and performing country music at local fairs. “I wanted to really make this album about vocal performance so you really feel the emotion,”she says. “I got to spend three years making this album, and I went through a lot in my life. So, like, I know it sounds cliche, but it was totally healing and therapeutic to be able to write about it and get it out and express myself, blah, blah blah. But also just to have my music career, it kept me strong. It gave me something to work towards. I would get lost in it. I really realized through this process how much I love music and how alive it is in me. There was one point I didn’t even know if I could work ever again. And then I just started writing.” When Lavigne says she didn’t know if she would be able to ever work again, the “Sk8er Boi” singer is not exaggerating. In 2014, shortly after her 30th birthday, Lavigne was diagnosed with Lyme Disease, a tick-borne bacterial illness that kept her bedridden and scared for two years. At one point, she accepted death. Four years before she was diagnosed with Lyme, Lavigne launched the Avril Lavigne Foundation, a nonprofit that supports children and youth with disabilities and serious illnesses through education and grant-funded treatment. The foundation is now aligned with two organizations, the LymeLight Foundation and Global Lyme Alliance, which Lavigne contributes to as a board member. She has also partnered with Make-a-Wish Foundation, Race to Erase MS, and the Special Olympics. From bed to the tour bus, Lavigne says the past year has been about balance and trusting herself. “You have to sleep well, eat well, and work out,” she says. “I’m gluten-free, all-organic juice every day. I try to
34 September 25-October 1, 2019 | metrotimes.com
Avril Lavigne.
exercise a little every day. I just go with my body. I don’t push it too hard. But there’s a fine line where you don’t want to rest too much, either. I swear to god, my music — it’s, like, literally healing, I don’t know how I got through the stu got through. ike, can’t believe I’m on tour,” she says. “For the ‘I Fell in Love With the Devil’ music video, I shot that for like 14 hours. Like, how did I do that?” Of the things that appear to have changed in Lavigne’s life, she remains loyal to the power of creative duality, especially on Head Above Water. Lavigne, who teamed up with Nicki Minaj for the record’s energetic centerpiece, “ umb londe,” which finds her declaring, “I’m a babe, I’m a boss, and I’m makin’ this money,” is the same artist pleading to god and the universe for survival and wellness against lush and swelling piano on the record’s title track, which just so happened to peak at no. 2 on the Billboard Hot Christian Song charts. The record’s second single and accompanying video, “I Fell in Love With the Devil,” however, has caused the most commotion, oddly enough, pissing o avigne’s Christian fanbase for its use of religious imagery. The video shows a solemn Lavigne driving a hearse, transporting a rose-filled casket, cutting to a cloaked, crucifixclutching Lavigne in a cemetery. The intention wasn’t to court controversy, though. For her, it was a journey of
DAVID NEEDLEMAN
personal catharsis as she describes ridding herself of a toxic relationship and trusting her instincts. So, really, in the most uncomplicated terms, Lavigne still doesn’t give a fuck what we think. Not in the tabloid sense, at least. Her music, though evolved, aims to inspire the same message as when she first emerged in hightop Converse and studded bracelets: “You fall and you crawl and you break/and you take what you get and you turn it into honesty.” “When I was younger, it was annoying because people would give me a hard time for being edgy, for having colored hair or wearing black eyeliner and dressing like a tomboy. I think that used to bother me a bit, but I was like whatever. I feel like, at this point, enough people know me for the music. I’m in a position where I’ve been making music now for years, and I get to do it for myself and it’s like, I don’t really have to try to fit in,” she says. “ can be authentic to who I am. I feel like all of my albums and songs are about standing up for yourself, believing in yourself, and following your heart. And that’s been my motto and my consistent message.” Avril Lavigne performs at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28 at the Fox Theatre; 2211 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-4716611; 313presents.com. Tickets are $29.50.
metrotimes.com | September 25-October 1, 2019
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MUSIC
Pink Sky.
HWA-JEEN NA
It’s the end of the world as we know it Why Grand Rapids’ electronic duo Pink Sky is meditating on global chaos By Jerilyn Jordan
When the story of how married duo Angelica and Ryan Hay came to be the computerless electronic act Pink Sky, it’s almost impossible not to mention the time Ryan almost died. In 2012, while on his way home from his first day at a new teaching job, Ryan found himself stopped on I-69 when a semi-truck plowed into his car going 0 mph. The crash, which included five cars, a wide range of injuries, and one death, left Ryan fighting for his life. At the time, Angelica was in San Francisco desperately trying to get an earlier ight home. “We weren’t able to talk before I went into surgery, and nobody was confident that I was going to make it,” Ryan says. “ was on my first business trip and
I had spent the next 12 hours not sure that would ever get to talk to Ryan again,” Angelica recalls, “That was really a difficult moment and really eyeopening, too.” The pair credit the accident and Ryan’s extensive recovery as a means to reevaluate their path. Ryan, a musician (formerly of Frontier Ruckus) and English teacher, and Angelica, a microbiologist and visual artist, formed Pink Sky in 2016, releasing a debut record, Forms, last year. But the transition was all but smooth. For years, Ryan says he felt lost — at least until his wife invited him into her world. “I wasn’t able to return to teaching,” he says. “ didn’t really have a connection with my musical past anymore,
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and I wasn’t able to create or write; I was in too much of a traumatic state. That’s when Angelica introduced me to painting. I think the physical action of painting and then having a tangible product, it was so unbelievably therapeutic and healing that after a year or two of painting, I started being able to write music again. And that’s right around the same time that Angelica got her first drum machine.” For Angelica, the transition to music was surprisingly organic. She says that Pink Sky’s electronic compositions have required her to use “systematic thinking,” which she credits to her visual art and microbiologist backgrounds, for creating a loose blueprint of sound. “Playing drum machines and
sequencers and samplers felt pretty natural,” she says. “ think having been a scientist for a while and also being a systematic artist, too, that it just felt pretty natural to me.” Ryan agrees, praising his wife for being a fast learner and for exceeding his expectations in such a short period of time. He also says that making art together has opened up a “new language” that they can engage in, one that has strengthened their relationship. The collaboration materialized on Forms, which Ryan says was the result of having almost died, survived, and evolved. “A lot of the material that we recorded on Forms was kind of this optimistic, joyful, playful celebration of our love, and the fact that we’re alive,” he says. “ t was all of these positive factors in our lives. And by the time we got into the studio to record the next album, a couple of significant things had changed. One, our eyes had been essentially opened as to some of the grim realities of the climate crisis.” As a follow-up to Forms, Pink Sky is tapping into the nation’s shared anxiety and trauma while also finding space to re ect on their own experiences by o ering a sonic antidote. The band’s latest, Meditations on the End of the World Through Emotionally Charged Electronic Music, is built on the collective sociopolitical unrest, uncertainty, and current global crisis, but through an empathetic lens that does not aim to overwhelm the listener, likely already inundated with media and information. But Meditations isn’t necessarily meditative in the traditional sense, either. Though the duo describe the practice of performing improvisationally live as feeling euphoric — especially for Angelica, who describes herself as a bit of an introvert and performing as an exciting risk that feels like “you’re there but you’re not there” — Meditations is deceptively jarring. The release of one track in particular, “Restlessness and Worry,” has Ryan feeling both restless and worried. He thinks it could be too much. “ t’s the peak of the narrative arc on the album, which resembles the experience of trauma in that anxiety and tension grow exponentially until there is an event, the traumatic event, followed by a release into a state of euphoria and calm and acceptance in the immediate moments after a trauma once you realize either you’re safe, or safe but going to die,” he says. “But a good friend of ours recently told me that I shouldn’t worry, because rage is part of the healing process.” Pink Sky will perform at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26 at UFO Factory; 2110 Trumbull St., Detroit. Cover is $10.
metrotimes.com | September 25-October 1, 2019
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MUSIC
Savage Master performing at Small’s in 2018.
COURTESY OF SMALL’S BAR
The little venue that could Small’s goes big for 20th anniversary By Jerilyn Jordan
Mike Mouyianis is celebrat-
ing a profound moment in his personal history: his beloved Hamtramck bar and music venue, Small’s, is celebrating 20 years of business. Mouyianis and his wife, Natalie, have owned Small’s bar for 15 of the venue’s 20 years, and operate alongside managing partners Melody Malosh, a Detroit News journalist, and husband Dave of the rock band Electric Six. And a lot has changed since the Mouyianises took over the club, a former bank, which opened as Small’s in 1999. “I mean for a place like this to last this long, it’s kind of crazy,” he says. “The only places that have been going longer are [places] like Saint Andrew’s, which has been sold to a major corporation. Now anybody that has 10 feet of space and a microphone is a venue. There’s all these new places popping up all the time, every day. But you know, we were here before and we will be here after them.” Running a rock club comes pretty naturally for Mouyianis, who has been invested in Detroit’s music scene for more than half of his life. Before
Small’s, he helmed the Cass Corridor favorite Alvin’s, which closed in 2013 and is now home to Tony V’s Tavern. The 52-year-old’s résumé also includes managing Saint Andrew’s Hall, which he did after first becoming a loader and lighting and production specialist at the long-running downtown venue. Most notably, though, he spent the better part of his rock ’n’ roll life on the road. “I’ve worked for most Detroit bands at some point,” he says, recalling his onthe-road stints with acts like Seduce, the Romantics, and the Suicide Machines. “I used to tour-manage bands before cell phones. Like, you’d have to go and get a map from AAA before you go on tour. I was always the last one to go to sleep, but the first one up in the morning, and I’d be trying to call promoters to get directions and set up load-in times. A lot has changed. Like, my nephew turned 12 yesterday and he got an iPhone and I was just like, are you fucking kidding me?” Thankfully for Small’s, Mouyianis’ music connections run deep. When Detroit hosted Super Bowl XL in 2006,
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Mouyianis says Queens of the Stone Age were playing a party in town and used Small’s as their personal hangout. And days into Mouyianis’ leadership, the Foo Fighters did the same, making themselves comfortable at the o -thebeaten-path Hamtramck club. Mouyianis says he’s known both Chris Shi ett and Dave Grohl for years, back when Grohl was post-Nirvana drummer and pre-Foo Fighters frontman. “Dave used to be married to a girl from Grosse Pointe,” he says. “I was running Saint Andrew’s at the time, and he would call and want to come to shows. I’m like, yeah, come in the back door though, don’t just walk in the front door.” For Small’s anniversary, Mouyianis has used his powers to enlist Detroit garage rockers the Grande Nationals, who are reuniting to headline night one of Small’s anniversary festivities, while Saturday night will see the 20th anniversary iteration of the venue’s weekly and rotating alternative dance parties, Thirst Wave and Industrial Is Not Dead. Mouyianis says the anniversary lineup champions the versatility
of Small’s, which he and his team have worked toward maintaining. He says they book more national acts than local ones these days, and though he says it’s not incorrect to call Small’s a rock club, he can’t help but relive the past three weeks, during which they booked 18 events in a 21-day span. “Honestly, yeah, we’re a rock club. But we’re [also] a goth club,” he says. “We’re kind of whatever you want. Two weeks ago, in the same week we had a comedian and a pizza-based art show, six metal bands one night, three punk bands one night, and then an alternative dance night.” When asked why people should continue to patronize Small’s, Mouyianis says it’s simple. “Well, you know what you’re gonna get: you’re gonna get a cold beer, a strong drink, mostly friendly sta ,” he says. “We laugh at our sign that says ‘Welcome to the friendliest bar in town.’ Our big thing for a while was, ‘Welcome to Small’s. Fuck you.’” Grande Nationals will perform as part of Small’s 20th anniversary at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 27 and Thirst Wave + Industrial Is Not Dead will take place at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28 at Small’s; 10339 Conant St., Hamtramck; 313-873-1117; smallsbardetroit. com. Cover is $15 on Friday and $5 on Saturday.
metrotimes.com | September 25-October 1, 2019
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CULTURE Chaos is the color of your energy
We interviewed comedian Eric Andre on 9/11. What could go wrong? By Jerilyn Jordan
Eric Andre believes in the power of positive thinking. Meanwhile, he has never participated in a blood ritual nor taken a shit on his own kitchen table. Don’t let this fool you, though. Andre is also an agent of chaos. As a regular exercise prescribed by his therapist, the Florida-born JewishHaitian comedian takes to the mirror to deliver daily positive affirmations centered on self-esteem. A shocking revelation for anyone who has subjected themselves to Andre’s anti-talk show talk show on Adult Swim, which has been terrorizing unsuspecting people both on and o screen since 2012. “I believe negative thinking manifests,” he says. “And I think positive thinking manifests.” It’s only appropriate that a conversation with Andre occurs on the 18th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, for no reason other than the show’s recurring joke that combines 11 conspiracy theorists with the band 11, naturally. “ nvestigate 11 ” a balding and rotund man says, bounding through the already haphazard and half-destroyed set of an episode of The Eric Andre Show. This, of course, occurred during an interview with Tyler, the Creator —
escaping reality. “It might be [an escape], but I don’t consciously look at it like that all the time,” he says. “Are people surprised to know that ’m a normal dude? think sometimes. But that persona from my show is a part of me.” For the uninitiated, Andre’s show is, at its core, an artistic and absurdist deconstruction of the run-of-themill talk show format, complete with monologues, street sketches, celebrity interviews, and musical guests. Instead of wholesome late-night bits like James Corden’s “Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts” segment, or Jimmy Fallon’s lipsync battle, Andre takes on the persona of an unhinged, unpredictable, totally disgusting and radical host who does everything right to get everything wrong. Oh, there’s no audience, either, just canned laughter and heckling. There is, however, a silent Asian man who sits in the corner and sometimes fires a gun. Andre shares the show with deadpan comedian Hannibal Buress, who plays both the straightlaced sidekick and an equally unpredictable accessory to Andre’s fearless madman, and a revolving door of eccentric characters. (Take the ever-annoying Kraft Punk, for example, a hybrid of the band Daft Punk and Kraft macaroni and cheese.
‘I just know when I’m doing it, it’s comedic and it’s entertaining and it’s captivating — so that’s why I’m putting myself at risk.’ just moments after Andre asked the West Coast rapper if he believed in god and staged a tearful reunion between Tyler and his, obviously, not biological father. A season later, Andre would waterboard the real 11 during a performance of the band’s hit “Down” as rapper TPain busts through a curtain, laughing maniacally and declaring “What about T-11? ” into a microphone. If none of this makes any sense to you, you’re not alone. For Andre, it’s not about making sense. It’s about having fun, and, maybe, sometimes,
For the record, Andre, the host, hates Kraft Punk and usually kicks him in the crotch whenever he busts onto set.) Andre’s show is hell-bent on making us uncomfortable. And we like it. Andre, the nihilistic talk show host, has done the following: plastered Seth Rogen’s actual cell phone number on the screen; instructed a P.A. to grab “civil rights leader” Flavor Flav’s dick; insisted that Jersey Shore star Pauly D’s mother was racist TV chef Paula Deen and, when the camera zoomed in on Andre’s note cards, it was revealed that there were no words, but instead
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swastikas in permanent marker; did whippits with Jack Black; and posed one of the most demented questions ever asked to none other than a George Clooney impersonator: “Gun to your head, who would you rather have sex with your mom or your dad?” One of many questions viewers are confronted with is how the fuck does Andre convince celebrity guests that his show is a legitimate platform to plug a project as part of what they believe to be a totally innocuous press junket? “ e’re doing the fifth season right now and [it’s] harder,” he says. “But it got to a point where it didn’t matter if they knew me or knew the show; we just came up with clever ways of fucking with people. But, also, I’m pranking people but not in a mean-spirited way. I’m pranking them in an absurdist way. I’m not out to get anybody. I’m creating an atmosphere of confusion around me. So it [doesn’t] matter if they [know] the show or not; I just [create] nonsense all around them.” Perhaps the most talked-about moment in Andre’s twisted collection of Rorschach-test-style interviews is that between Andre and The Hills star Lauren Conrad, who endured the usual anti-amenities of the show, namely his strategically un-air conditioned studio, before storming o set. er breaking point? Andre puked on his desk and slurped it back up. It wasn’t real vomit, of course. It was oatmeal. The reaction, however, was real. As is the case with each interview or unsuspecting gonzo encounter. “I’m not trying to be unlikable,” Andre says of his exaggerated host persona. “I try and remain likable while terrorizing somebody. It’s like I’m like … tap-dancing on a razor’s edge.” If anyone is going to tap dance on a razor’s edge, they might as well do it on Adult Swim, the alternative Cartoon Network afterhours platform. Adult Swim originated as a late-night time slot in 1 , with cult cartoon Space Ghost Coast To Coast serving as the network’s evolution into content with adult themes; it also took a stab at rehabbing the talk-show format. Since its conception, the network has launched dozens of original cartoons and sketch shows, most notably Tim & Eric Awe-
some Show, Great Job, which premiered in 201 and paved the way for Andre’s brand of low-budget cringe humor. “They’re so lax and nurturing and hands-o as a network,” Andre says. “They’re Adult Swim, you know what I mean? ike no other network has carte blanche like they have.” But even alternative, boundary-pushing networks have veto power, limiting jokes or bits about realistic suicide or drug use. In one case, the network pulled a sketch that had already been filmed. Andre calls it a “pro-al- aida country song” and proceeds to sing it “ Oh, sweet al- aida can’t believe I never tried ya/ you’re more American than me/ the CIA trained ya/ but no one can contain ya/ I know you can’t drink beers/ so I’ll drink two for you and for me’ ... It was something like that. It was about to air and they panicked. I think it made its way up the chain beyond Adult Swim, like all the way to Turner Corporate.” Andre says he’s not sure why it was pulled, seeing that he and his writing partner Dan Curry have poked fun at some pretty taboo topics (among them, abortion, Scientology, slavery, and claiming to have seen the movie Precious in 3-D), but he suggests this particular sketch may have followed the 201 San ernardino shooting or another show had been criticized for a similar joke. “That’s usually when those calls are made, or just the wrong person up the corporate ladder watched the episode,” Andre says. “They used to be harder on religious stu . e had a lot of, like, sacrilegious stu . n Season One, we made fun of Jesus and that got cut during the writing stage. I think it was, like, Jesus masturbating with the holes in his hands or something.” An episode of The Eric Andre Show clocks in at just 11 minutes and, within that time frame, a lot can happen. As with every episode, Andre destroys his set at the front of the show. Screaming, leaping, and slamming through his drywall desk, tackling members of the house band, often stripping until he’s naked, sometimes setting himself on fire or spreading his butt cheeks, only to have the entire set rebuilt and replaced around him as he sits in his
Eric Andre.
chair gasping for air. Burress emerges shortly after, and during Andre’s monologue, Andre and his co-host exchange insults. Sometimes, it gets physical. Between each episode’s two or three celebrity appearances, Andre likes to take his dysfunction to the streets. The heart of these segments, which are filmed in New York City, is that of the reactions from people who find themselves tangled in his tornadic Tasmanian Devil antics, the camera zooming in on someone’s bewildered expression as Andre pukes on himself, or sticks his hand in a blender during a smoothie demonstration, or enters a subway car dressed as a sad centaur carrying precariously balanced birthday cakes.
JEREMEY FREEMAN
Not everyone can withstand his invasive behavior, but Andre claims to have only felt as though he was in real danger twice once when he infiltrated the Republican National Convention and instructed right-wing nutjob Alex Jones to have sex with his wife, and another incident (which he does not disclose in detail) that occurred during the filming of Bad Trip, Andre’s hidden-prank narrative feature film due out next year. “Yeah, fear death and fear for my safety,” he says. “ just know when ’m doing it, it’s comedic and it’s entertaining and it’s captivating — so that’s why ’m putting myself at risk. ut don’t want to be stabbed or shot don’t have a death wish.”
He’s been arrested, too. But only once, during Season One, after he hijacked a town hall meeting in Rancho Cucamonga dressed as a frat-bro. “Vote for me for class president, and ’ll put beer in the water fountains and cameras in the girls locker rooms! Go, Bobcats!” As he was escorted out by security, he slammed a beer and begged, “Don’t taze me, bro!” And, unsurprisingly, he’s hurt himself. The entire format of the show revolves around Andre’s brand of grossout, slapstick physical humor. Over the years, he has su ered bulging discs in his back after attempting to pick up a seated Burress, withstood permanent damage to his knees after repeatedly
crouching and jumping out of a trash can to scare people, burned a hole in his butt cheek, and has had many a bloody confrontation with glass. Despite this running list of self-in icted injuries, Andre admits his pain tolerance has gone down as he’s gotten older. “ ’m not like Steve-O or ohnny Knoxville — those guys have high pain thresholds. mean, those guys have really fucked themselves up, like broken bones and gouging their eyes. Those guys are the masters at that. ’m just a shmuck. ’m just a fucking loser,” Andre says, cackling. “ hen hurt myself for real and end up in the hospital, ’m like, fuck. didn’t mean to do that. That means something went wrong.” A lot had to go wrong for Andre to helm one of the most fucked-up shows on television. Andre, who graduated from erklee College of usic with a degree in fine arts, was receiving unemployment and had just $200 in his bank account when Adult Swim entered the picture. Earlier this month, Andre posted a photo of the Beacon Theatre in New York City, with his name on the marquee above the words “Sold Out” in bright yellow digital letters. “ ook mom made it ” Andre’s nstagram caption reads. “ was so broke last time played up in the upper west side. had to pass out yers in the snow for an open mic 14 years ago.” Andre is, without question, reaching his zenith, forging a ranch-dipped legacy for himself. He admits that the format of The Eric Andre Show is not necessarily sustainable, which is why he views next year’s Bad Trip as an evolution of his brand of comedy and the next step in his career. But when asked if he’s concerned about forever being known as the over-accessorised frat-bro jester who dresses in ill-fitting neon club attire, hoverboarding on a skateboard with no wheels, calling men on their lunch break “mulatto” and asking them if they want to take a swig from his suspect, lukewarm bottle of ranch dressing, he’s not at all worried. e’s attered that people are paying attention — even if it means they have to look away every now and then. “That’s like the highest compliment,” he says of people who shout his own jokes at him. “ know they’re true fans … and they were watching the show when was so broke and miserable for so long. had been doing comedy for a decade before made a single penny,” he says. “So when hear someone yell ‘ranch!’ it’s like a great wave of relief.” Eric Andre will perform at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 27 at the Fillmore; 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-961-5451; t e llmoredetroit.com. ickets are $35.
metrotimes.com | September 25-October 1, 2019
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CULTURE
Detroit artist Tiff Massey is one of the panelists slated to speak at this year’s re:publica conference in Detroit.
JAN ZAPPNER
Making connections
Europe’s largest annual internet conference is heading to Detroit By Lee DeVito
Andreas Gebhard founded the Berlin-based re:publica, billed
as Europe’s largest annual “digital society conference,” in 2007 — the year the iPhone came out and the way people experienced the internet had drastically shifted. “It was a [pivotal] year,” he says. “It was a good time for a discussion about all the changes we have in the digital age.” The event was an immediate success. “We thought that would be maybe a small gathering, but more than 700 people showed up and it was really huge,” he says. “After a few minutes of starting the event, everybody said we should do it again.” The conference will make its first appearance in Detroit on Friday and Saturday at the Tangent Gallery and
Hastings Street Ballroom. Dubbed the Sequencer Tour, the conference will focus on three main themes: the internet and how it relates to connection t0 arts and culture, mobility and urban space, and work and the new economy. There are plenty of reasons the Motor City is a fitting tour stop for the event. Aside from Berlin and Detroit’s oftrepeated comparisons as two changing post-industrial cities, as well as a mutual affinity for techno music, a number of major issues pertaining to technology have emerged here in recent years. One is that Detroit is lagging behind in the digital era, su ering from what some call “digital redlining.” Due to infrastructure and cost problems, a 2015 study found approximately 40 percent of Detroit households had no internet connection, including mobile devices,
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while 57 percent of households had no hardline connection and 70 percent of the city’s school-age children had no internet access at home. “In many ways you could say the cost of internet is a new poll tax,” Bill Callahan, director of the Cleveland-based nonprofit Connect Your Community, previously told Metro Times. “This has now become a civil rights issue.” Another issue is the fight against facial recognition surveillance technology, which was approved by the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners last week despite a growing chorus of concern from citizens and civil rights groups. Detroit City Council and the Michigan House and Senate are considering a moratorium on the technology, which has been criticized as unconstitutional.
To that end, one of the panels hosted by re:publica is “Surveillance Doesn’t Make Us Safer,” which features speakers like Janice Gates of the Detroit Community Technology Project, attorney Eric Williams from the Detroit Justice Center, journalist Marie Bröckling, and author and organizer Tawana Petty. The event will be moderated by Katie Hearn. In all, more than 70 speakers are slated to present, perform, head work workshops, or appear as part of panels. They include Saskia Sassen, a professor of sociology at Columbia University; Rochelle Riley, Detroit’s recently appointed director of arts and culture and a former Free Press journalist; Diana Nucera, the director of the Detroit Community Technology Project, who also performs as electronic music artist Mother Cyborg; water activist Monica Lewis-Patrick; Wayne State University professor Peter Hammer, also Director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights artist Ti assey former MT electronic music columnist Walter Wasacz; and Dimitri Hegemann, the Berlin-based techno club owner with designs on transforming Detroit’s longabandoned Fisher Body 21 building into a nightclub. Entertainment includes a Friday performance of Salt City, a “techno choreopoem” by jessica Care moore and Aku Kadogo, and a closing party with DJs Tammy Lakkis, BEIGE, John Collins, Deepchord, and Tom Linder. Gebhard says speakers came from a public call for entries, as well as re:publica’s curatorial team. Funding comes, in part, from Wunderbar Together, “the German government’s yearlong celebration of German-American friendship.” The way Gebhard sees it, places like Berlin fall somewhere between the two main models for the internet in the world today: Silicon Valley’s free market-based approach in the U.S., and the state-controlled internet of China. “Our perspective is not [just] to say this is just a new technology,” he says. “This is a dramatic societal change.” Questions as to how societies should navigate this seismic shift “are not answered by either model,” he says. “There has to be a discussion about how a digital society can be structured that is inclusive and positive,” he says. “We don’t have answers on that. There has to be something between these two models. aybe we can find together what the answer is.” Re:publica’s Sequencer Tour runs on Friday, Sept. 27 and Saturday, Sept. 28 at the Tangent Gallery and Hastings Street Ballroom, 715 E. Milwaukee Ave., Detroit; re-publica.com/en. All events are free and open to the public.
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metrotimes.com | September 25-October 1, 2019
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CULTURE Higher Ground
Pot shots from the week of weed By Larry Gabriel
Last week the Ann Arbor City
Council drafted ordinances to allow cannabis micro-businesses, places where one can purchase and consume cannabis, and temporary permits to allow cannabis sales at one-time events. All these are in line with the new state regulations for adult-use recreational marijuana, a market that’s expected to take o in 2020. And it seems right in line that Ann Arbor is a place that seems to be welcoming the changes with open arms. There was some dissension voiced during discussions for the 8-2 vote that created the proposed ordinances. Council member e ayner voiced the opinion that “Ann Arbor is going to be marijuana central if we pass all this stu .” n case you’re wondering, he meant that as a bad thing. emo to ayner Ann Arbor is already marijuana central in the state of Michigan. That has pretty much been the case since the ash ash started in 1972, continuing with the annual arrival of thousands of marijuana enthusiasts in town. No other place around here that has the cachet for marijuana of that city. t started with the Michigan Daily calling for legalization in 1967, continued through the John Sinclair Freedom Rally, the fine decriminali ation, the Monroe Street Fair, and the creation of one of the most welcoming towns for medical marijuana provisioning centers in the state. City council members speak regularly at the ash ash rally. Dude, marijuana is one of your brands. Sure, it’s not as big a brand as the University of Michigan and its sports teams, but Ann Arbor is known across the nation as a cannabis destination in the Midwest. Furthermore, there are a lot of municipalities across the state that will be allowing the same thing. The only thing that will make Ann Arbor stand out in that regard is how they go about doing this. The draft rules go to public discussion before a vote, possibly in October. t will be interesting to hear what Ann Arbor residents have to say about this.
Gage-ing the market
Speaking of brands This Gage Can-
A scene from Hash Bash 2009. Ann Arbor has been at this for a long time.
nabis Co. that recently opened a provisioning center in Ferndale is raising eyebrows across the cannabis corporate world. Gage — with its 1 class C growing (28,500 plants), three processing centers, and 13 provisioning center licenses — was already a big fish in the Michigan marijuana scene, but it looks like folks there may have ambitions beyond the Great akes state. ruce inton, former CEO of Canopy Growth Corporation, will soon join the Gage team after some corporate shifting that includes the acquisition of nnovations, a cannabis investment company. inton is something of a cannabis business rock star, having helped build Canopy Growth into one of the biggest cannabis companies in the world. The Gage press release announcing inton’s arrival said that he grew the company into a $20 billion enterprise with some 4,000 employees and operations in more than a dozen countries, particularly in Canada. inton was fired by Canopy back in une. ( inton told Yahoo! Finance that he believed he was ousted because he wanted to take his time to grow the company.) e resurfaced as an adviser to the Floridabased etter Choice Co., a business that produces C health products for animals. When all this is taken together, it bespeaks a company with huge ambitions, not something that will just run a handful of high-end provisioning centers in Michigan. That bright orange logo is about to become ubiquitous in the cannabis game.
Banking on buds
One of the things slowing down development of the cannabis industry is the lack of access to traditional banking needs such as loans and credit card services. That’s because marijuana is illegal at the federal level, and most banks are
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subject to federal oversight. The management at these institutions does not want to be charged with federal crimes such as money laundering or being involved in criminal enterprises, so they just leave the sector alone. Anyone who has made a purchase at a provisioning center knows that they can only use cash in those places. n addition, all that cash on hand creates a security issue for the provisioning centers, making them possible targets of crime. Even hemp businesses legal under the 2018 arm ill are having problems getting financial services. hile that’s not going to change quickly, there’s hope in sight. The U.S. ouse of Representatives may actually vote on a SA E anking Act on ednesday, Sept. 2 that would allow financial institutions to engage the industry, says ouse ajority eader Steny oyer, . The bill needs a two-thirds majority because it is being filed under special circumstances. owever, it came out of committee on a 45-15 vote, so there is actually hope that it will pass. After that, it goes to the Senate, where the notion does not enjoy as much support. As it stands now in Michigan, anyone who wants to start a cannabis business cannot get a bank loan to do that. They need cash up front, which limits business owners to those who already have cash in hand.
Beto factor
Most of the many Democratic candidates for president have a fairly positive line on legalizing marijuana nationally. owever, former Texas U.S. Rep. eto O’Rourke took it a step further last week with an announcement that not only do we need to end the war on drugs, “we need to actually start to repair the damage it has wrought on communities of color.”
PLAUBEL MAKINA, FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS
O’Rourke’s plan calls for Clemency for those who are currently serving sentences for marijuana possession. A model for marijuana regulation that is similar to how we regulate alcohol. A licensing program that grants the majority of licenses to produce, distribute, or sell marijuana to minorityowned businesses and those disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs. “ rug ar ustice Grants” to those formerly incarcerated for nonviolent marijuana o enses after their release. None of these are revolutionary ideas. owever, they bring the more progressive notions from marijuanalegal states to the federal platform. O’Rourke is very low in polls these days, but maybe some of this can rub o on the other candidates.
More expungement
A new package of “clean slate” bills introduced in the state legislature will make it even easier for people to get their records cleared. The new provisions would automatically clear the records of people convicted of nonviolent crimes after 10 years. Currently, folks who want to do this have to make the request and spend a fair amount of money on it. Few people pursue this process. A study by the University of ichigan aw School this year found that people whose records were expunged have higher earnings and lower rates of committing new crimes. The expungement is limited to two felonies and four misdemeanors — an expansion of the one felony and two misdemeanor bar that was set earlier this year. Crimes with penalties of more than 10 years are not eligible.
metrotimes.com | September 25-October 1, 2019
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Savage Love
CULTURE Q:
I’m a 35-year-old bisexual man in a LTR with a man. My question, however, has to do with my parents. As an adolescent/teen, I was a snoop (as I think most of us are, looking for dad’s porn stash, etc.). I was probably 12 or so when I found evidence of my dad being a cross-dresser. There were pictures of him in makeup and women’s clothing, and correspondence (under an alias and to a separate P.O. box) with other men interested in cross-dressing. As far as I could tell, he did this alone in hotel rooms while on work trips. Two years ago while on vacation, it came up while my mom and I were at dinner. She had recently found evidence, and she needed to take a short break to visit a friend out of state to process. She suggested I bring it up with him (I guess) because I’m queer and she knows I used to help host pansexual play parties. My dad is a devout Republican and comes off as ery masculine. I see t em only a couple times a year. Should I try to bring this up with my dad and let him know that I’ve known about his cross-dressing for more than 20 years and offer my kno led e about kink and alternative sexuality? Or just let him do his thing and we all retain the illusion of ignorance? My parents are still happily married — and whether it is more companionate than lusty, they love each other and have been married for more than 40 years. Your take would be appreciated. —Son Of A Cross-Dresser
By Dan Savage
your letter, SOACD, it sounds like your dad has successfully integrated crossdressing into his life without harming himself or neglecting and endangering your mom. You could say your parents had a long and loving marriage despite the cross-dressing … or you could say it’s possible your parents’ marriage is an ongoing success — not despite the cross-dressing, but because of it. If dressing up in women’s clothes and occasionally escaping the confines of masculine performance helped your dad feel centered and emotionally whole, having this escape and having some people he could be open with about it — some straight male crossdressing peers — could have made him a better husband and father. (It’s too bad it didn’t make him a better person politically, but you can’t have
everything.) And while it might have been better for everyone if your dad had been open about his cross-dressing with his wife and kid(s), that ship sailed a long time ago. I don’t see what this convo — coming 20 years after you discovered his cross-dressing and two years after your mother discovered it — will achieve other than embarrassing and humiliating your father. Even a married person has a right to some small degree of privacy, and each of us has a right to a small zone of erotic autonomy. Your parents’ long, loving, successful marriage coexisted with your father’s crossdressing for four decades, and I don’t see why it can’t continue to coexist with it now. And if your mother is sad that your dad never shared this with her and wants to reassure him that he didn’t need to hide this part of himself from her and that she loves him just the same, she doesn’t need to deputize her bisexual son to initiate that conversation. If she thinks it would be a relief and not a torment for her husband to know she knows and that knowing hasn’t changed how she feels about him, she should tell him.
Q:
I’m 25 years old and polyamorous. I’m in a relationship with a 28-year-old man since August 2018. It was just him and me when e rst started datin and t en is old ame came into t e picture. This whole time he had said he was not interested in having kids and a home and a primary partner. Since he got surgery in June and is now unemployed, he’s had a lot of time to think, he says, and now he’s decided he wants kids and a home and a primary partner. He knows I do not want any of these things, so he says his old ame is t e person e’s oin to do this with. He has made jokes about being an “alcoholic” since I rst met im and I t ou t it as just a joke. But now he’s spending money he simply does not have on alcohol. It worries me. Do I hang in there? Do I throw in the towel? I love this man very much, but I’m so confused. —Previously The Primary
A : Why does your mother want
you to talk to your dad about his cross-dressing? Does she want you to talk him out of it? Does she want you to convince him to include her on his cross-dressing trips? Does she think he would benefit from attending a pansexual play party with his adult bisexual son? Unless your father is in some sort of emotional distress or your mother is in some sort of danger, I really don’t see the point of this conversation, SOACD. It doesn’t sound like your dad is struggling with shame. If your dad had to abuse alcohol or smoke a crate of meth in order to give himself permission to crossdress alone in a hotel room, you surely would have mentioned that fact. And if your father was having unprotected sex with the other straight male cross-dressers he corresponded with, you surely would have mentioned that, too. From the details you included in
A : I’m so sorry, PTP, but it
LISA F. YOUNG/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
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would appear you’ve lost the unemployed guy with the drinking problem to another. But take heart: You’re young enough to meet someone else, someone
who wants what you want and doesn’t want what you don’t. I’m certain that after meeting this person — or even long before you meet them — you’ll be able to recognize that your ex did you a favor. Sometimes we dodge the bullet, PTP, but on rare occasions the bullet dodges us.
Q:
My 19-year-old younger brother is doin nancial domination online. He maintains a Twitter account that’s mostly p otos of im i in t e n er and looking smug. He also posts pics of his feet, videos of him urinating (no penis visible, just the stream), and lots and lots of “bitch shots,” i.e., crotchheight photos looking up at him from below. He uses a lot of homophobic slurs in the tweets that accompany these images. I would have exactly zero fucks to give about this if my brother wasn’t still a teenager and wasn’t posting photos of his face. I warned him that the internet is forever, and facialrecognition software is a thing, and people who don’t understand the roleplay aspect of his use of hate speech will think he’s a bigot. This could come back to haunt him socially or professionally. Complicating matters somewhat, my little brother is a straight boy and I’m gay. He’s not making a ton of money doing this, but he’s making enough that my parents are wondering how he’s buying all those super-expensive shoes. What do I tell him? What do I tell them? —Falling Into Nefarious Doings Of Male Sibling P.S. I know about this because he told me — I didn’t stumble over his Twitter account.
A : You’ve already told your brother
the internet is forever and that the low-key, low-stakes pseudo sex work he’s doing could come back to haunt him, FINDOMS. Beyond that … well, there’s really not much more you can do. Your brother is an adult, as are the men paying “tribute” to him, as they say in FinDom/FinSub Twitter, and he’s free to make his own choices. As for your parents, why is explaining where your brother is getting all those new shoes your problem? If your brother is old enough to set up his own Twitter and Venmo accounts, he’s old enough to come up with a plausible lie about those shoes. On the Lovecast: Mob Queens! Listen at savagelovecast.com. Questions? mail@savagelove.net. Follow Dan on Twitter @fakedansavage. Impeach the mofo already: ITMFA.org.
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CULTURE ARIES: March 21 – April 20 You have to figure out what your motives are. t’s one of those times when your higher self is waiting to find out if you’re here for love or here for the beer. t would be so easy for you to get sucked in by the lust for money, fame, and worldly things. n the short term, it might seem like a good idea. Aside from that, it’s so easy to rationali e motives that, deep down inside, we know are totally superficial. t’s the long run that matters at the end of the day. hat all of us have to live with are consequences of our actions. All that glitters is definitely not gold. Pay heed to that fact. TAURUS: April 21 – May 20 You may be deeply disappointed by people whose true colors have started to come out. t’s always interesting to see what people are really made of. As you try to figure out why it was so easy for you to give them more credit than they deserve, don’t critici e yourself. e often see what we want to see in others and are attracted to that, for as long as it takes to find out who they are. GEMINI: May 21 – June 20 t looks like you have it all. As much as recent events would suggest that the odds aren’t working in your favor, at the moment, whatever your differences involve, being the odd man out is about to turn a difficult situation into a dream come true. ust step back and watch things fall into place. henever things bring us this close to success, our detractors start crawling out of the woodwork. on’t be surprised if bad actors, and or negativity in di erent forms show up to rain on your parade. eep the faith and pay them no mind. Nothing can stop you now. CANCER: June 21 – July 20 You’re in a holding pattern. There’s nothing wrong with this. Sometimes we need to keep going around in circles to make sure we’ve got it right. Some of you will keep repeating the same pattern for as long as it takes to see the light. Others are definitely ready to get into a more creative groove. n the latter case, part of you is afraid to “just do it.” eep in mind that it doesn’t have to make sense. The leap of faith that allows us to follow our hearts is birthing itself as we speak. That leap will bridge the gap between the same old thing and the latest clue to the new direction. LEO: July 21 – August 20 You have so much going on, it’s hard to ero in on what’s important. f you
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Horoscopes By Cal Garrison
could clear some of it away, you would see that your problems all stem from trying to “do the right thing.” f this sounds strange, let me clarify it by saying that what’s right in any situation is always relative. rom the looks of it, you’re tied to people and circumstances that could be anything from out of balance to totally nuts. or many of you, it comes down to waiting it out for others, it’s about being strong enough to just say “no” or walk away from the forces that keep you here. VIRGO: August 21 – Sept. 20 You just made it through the gauntlet and came out in one piece. Congratulations ollowing your conscience — even when it’s costly, inconvenient, and life-threatening — is the key to keeping the karmic slate clean. Now that you’re in the clear, what happens next will stand on the rock of integrity that the last month or two has left in its wake. on’t be too concerned about how to proceed from here. hen things are in perfect order and there’s nothing to hide and nothing to apologi e for, something in us starts to shine brightly enough to attract nothing but the best. LIBRA: Sept. 21 – Oct. 20 You’ve got one more round to go through before this situation gets resolved. reathe deep and get ready for it. Part of you wonders if this part of the program will make things better or worse. rom where sit, it’s hard to say, but this is where “faith” comes in. Aside from that, there’s no way around it. One thing’s for sure or the next few months, it would be good if you found ways to empower yourself physically and spiritually. t’s about strengthening your inner being and doing whatever it takes to grab your higher self by the horns and heal these difficulties. SCORPIO: Oct. 21 – Nov. 20 You guys have an innate need to be perceived as “significant” i.e., you feel better about yourself when you’re doing something “important.” hen that’s not going on, you start having doubts about who you are. At those times, it’s easy to fall prey to the thought that your life isn’t worth much. n truth, it’s in those moments that your core essence starts to breathe and you begin to get in touch with what your life is really all about. This is one of those moments. The closer you get to the real you, the more your reality will re ect deeper, more authentic expressions of your significance. SAGITTARIUS: Nov. 21 – Dec. 20 There is an opening, or an op-
portunity, that’s just waiting for you to make the most of it. Could you consider the virtues of ying leaps and radical trust? Part of you wants to feather your nest and stay put in a situation that’s safe and co y. There’s nothing “wrong” with wanting to play it safe. ut that approach will keep things as they are. Safety has its merits, but don’t let it sti e you. True safety is knowing that you have the ability to create security, no matter where you find yourself. f you dare to get out of the box, you’ll find yourself safely wrapped in a whole new miracle. CAPRICORN: Dec. 21 – Jan. 20 hen things stop making sense, it’s usually life is teaching you a huge lesson. At times like this, we tend to scratch our heads and try to fit what’s happening into our fixed ideas about how things are supposed to go. You’re in the middle of that type of confusion right now. Things will work out better if you take a few steps back and rearrange your perceptions. f you can stretch your boundaries and change the way you see things, your current a airs will fall into place. Once you do, you’ll begin to see that sometimes it’s just a matter of getting big enough to hold space for anything. AQUARIUS: Jan. 21 – Feb. 20 ack in the saddle again is the name of the game. This time, whether it’s in your relationship or relative to your work, you have more autonomy, or more space to be the one calling the shots. t’s good to be on top of things, but lest you forget Once you reach that pinnacle, the possibilities that lie beyond it generate opportunities to go anywhere. ook closely at whether what you’ve created will serve you in the long run. rom where sit, it looks like it’s time to either solidify your position or get on the ball and position yourself in a situation that will allow you to grow. PISCES: Feb.21 – March 20 elieve it or not, things are looking up The endless back and forth that has sucked up so much of your energy in the last year is finally at the point where you have room to direct your focus elsewhere. see things that relate to children that are about to blossom into something positive, something that will support their growth and allow you to move on to the next thing. There are other issues that will continue to remain in a holding pattern. You’ve been juggling those balls long enough to have them under control. eep it up and take heart You’re just about out of the woods.
metrotimes.com | September 25-October 1, 2019
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