Scene August 14, 2-19

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| clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

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Dedicated to Free Times founder Richard H. Siegel (1935-1993) and Scene founder Richard Kabat Publisher Andrew Zelman Editor Vince Grzegorek

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Editorial Music Editor Jeff Niesel Senior Writer Sam Allard Staff Writer Brett Zelman Web Editor Laura Morrison Dining Editor Douglas Trattner Visual Arts Writer Dott von Schneider Copy Editor Elaine Cicora Interns Alexandra Sobczak , Evey Weisblat

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CONTENTS 9

It’s already the middle of August

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So get your asses out and do everything you said you would before fall

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Cleveland Scene Magazine is published every week by Euclid Media Group.

Copyright The entire contents of Cleveland Scene Magazine are copyright 2019 by Euclid Media Group. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Publisher does not assume any liability for unsolicited manuscripts, materials, or other content. Any submission must include a stamped, self-addressed envelope. All editorial, advertising, and business correspondence should be mailed to the address listed above.

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UPFRONT FURNITURE RETURNED TO MARKET AVENUE AFTER SAFETY CONCERNS ASSUAGED Photo courtesy Kerry McCormack

IT CAME AS A BIT OF A SHOCK earlier this month when the chairs and tables on Market Ave., which had been placed there after the street was closed to traffic for a three-month pop-up park that had operated smoothly and to almost universal approval, were pulled off the street.

The city, belatedly it appeared, had safety concerns. Ohio City Inc.’s permit application, the city said, did not include the tables and chairs, which officials worried would impede pedestrians and crews in the case of an emergency. (As an astute person noted on Twitter, it appears the application did in fact include the furniture.)

Scene had also heard that police were concerned that while the industrial-grade bollards installed on the West 25th side of Market Ave. were more than sufficient to prevent any vehicle from entering the street, the security measures on the West 26th side — a bike rack and a road closed sign — were worrisome,

should someone attempt to barrel through and run over everyone enjoying the street.

That concern, which is undoubtedly a Worst-CaseScenario-What-If that is both of tiny probability and one that police are nevertheless paid to point out, was also used as justification by the Jackson administration for the installation of the ungodly, unsightly jersey barriers on redesigned Public Square, which of course sit there to this day.

The bizarre piece of it all was that this was raised a full month into the experiment, and the frustration stemmed from not only the delayed response but by the appearance, rightly or wrongly, that the city was once again a stodgy, backward overlord objecting to progressive urban planning.

Well, a meeting involving OCI and the city on Wednesday has apparently assuaged everyone’s concerns, as councilman Kerry

McCormack tweeted a pic of Market Ave. late last week with all the furniture back where it was.

“All the groups are on the same page now,” McCormack told Scene, noting that additional measures now include the furniture being secured at night and the addition of waterfilled jersey barriers on the West 26th side. “I’m happy the furniture is back and the street has been activated again. People love it.”

Now if they could just muster the energy to get rid of the Public Square jersey barriers next.

-VINCE GRZEGOREK

Fund for Our Economic Future Announces First ‘Paradox Prize’ Winners Two months ago, the Fund for Our Economic Future announced a new effort to resolve the spatial mismatch issue in this region. With

few restrictions on the growth of sprawl in the Northeast Ohio area, job centers have moved further from the city, making it more difficult for people without cars to access those jobs. The first three winners of the Fund’s “Paradox Prize” have been announced, and each one involves a car-based solution.

Grant money will be awarded to SHARE, a microtransit agency based in Columbus; Akron Metro, the regional transit agency in neighboring Summit County; and Manufacturing Works, a local nonprofit that serves as a membership association for the manufacturing sector.

Each of the groups will engage in some form of increased automobilebased accessibility. Both SHARE and Manufacturing Works will focus on the East Side Cleveland neighborhoods by offering rides to jobs in ex-urban communities such as Solon and Mentor. Akron Metro will work with partners to offer door| clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

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UPFRONT to-door car/shuttle service to outerring Summit county communities.

None of these options are multimodal or bike-based. The $191,000 that will be divided between these recipients will not be invested in existing public infrastructure. If successful, these programs will replace individual car ownership, for a limited amount of time.

Matt Rolf, a local attorney and advocate for transit and pedestrianrelated issues, told Scene that he’s been following this project for some time. Rolf told Scene that, in his view, the Fund’s mobility leadership seems to be more interested in ride share and “Ubernomics� rather than other multi-modal solutions. Rolf added that, “From an environmental, economic and equity standpoint, it’s clear that we need to expand protections for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transit infrastructure.

Enabling people to get around without a car is one of the biggest challenges that we have and it’s disappointing that these projects focus on getting more people around... in cars.�

It currently takes around 35 minutes to drive from Glenville to Solon. If one were to bike or take public transit, it would be over 100 minutes. A combination of biking and transit that includes increased frequency and more direct travel would likely bring that number way down.

But there’s more to consider here. The regional spatial mismatch issue isn’t just about cars — and it’s not even about rides. It’s about a system that reinforces these trends.

Unrestricted growth and low-cost land purchases, staggering wages and rising costs that do not allow one to save, human services tied to employment — these issues remain even when a ride share service or church van might offer to drive residents of local communities.

Moreover, if the services do succeed and enable some of the region’s poorest families to earn a living wage, the issue of car reliance remains. Cars are expensive to purchase, maintain and fuel. A single car issue could knock an income-constrained family off the path towards savings and security.

Multi-modal solutions cut costs for users and create a more sustainable transit ecosystem.

The Paradox Prize will announce

two more rounds of funding for additional projects. Perhaps these will include an effort that minimizes the reliance on additional automobiles as the key mechanism for social change. -HANNAH LEBOVITS

Ohio Considers Eliminating Concealed-Carry Permits Ohio continues to chip away at ďŹ rearm restrictions, and one bill being considered by lawmakers would allow people 21 and older to carry concealed weapons without needing a permit.

House Bill 178 is sponsored by Republicans Ron Hood and Tom Brinkman, along with more than 20 other legislators.

Toby Hoover, founder of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, is convinced that the bill would put communities at even greater risk. “And that is a pro-gun piece of legislation,� she points out. “It’s been introduced to allow people to carry concealed weapons without a background check, without a permit, without any kind of training.

It would allow anybody that’s not prohibited by law in some other way to go ahead and carry a gun.�

The Ohio House will likely vote on

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the bill before year’s end.

According to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Ohio has the 22nd-highest gun death rate among the states, and on the center’s annual scorecard of state gun safety laws, the organization gives the state a D grade.

More than 1,400 Ohio residents lose their lives to gun violence each year.

Compared to other states, Ohio has relatively few gun control laws. There are no waiting periods to purchase guns, dealers aren’t required to obtain state licenses and there is no limit on the number of guns that can be purchased at one time.

There’s also no ban on assault weapons or large capacity magazines.

Hoover says state lawmakers have worked to erode any gun law that might be considered restrictive. “Over these years, we’ve just watched the gun lobby completely inuence the Ohio Statehouse,â€? she states. “And so, we had seen our gun laws that we had, which were very few, weaken and weaken.â€?

Gov. Mike DeWine, who has previously been endorsed by the NRA, is now proposing to tighten access to guns by requiring

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background checks on firearm purchases, among other reforms he recently announced after a gunman killed nine people and injured more than 20 others in Dayton last weekend.

-NADIA RAMLAGAN, OHIO NEWS SERVICE

Cleveland Cop Who Shot and Killed Man Outside Corner Alley Appears to Have Violated Order to Carry Secondary Weapons Reporting based on the investigative files and video collected by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department into the police-involved shooting death of 21-year-old Thomas Yatsko outside of the Corner Alley in University Circle in January

DIGIT WIDGET 1:37:07 Record-breaking half-marathon time of 71-year-old Jeannie Rice, of Mentor, who unofficially topped the previous best time in her age group at the Goodyear Half-Marathon & 10K in Akron this weekend.

$4 BILLION Tax breaks bestowed upon the manufacturers and shippers of opioids since 2006 by the state of Ohio, which is now suing those same companies.

$226.33 Total compensation of Frank Shewalter, who spent a grand total of five hours as the chief of the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center before he resigned earlier this month .

$93 Average annual increase in tax paid by middle-income Ohioans making between $ 42,000 and $ 63,000 after changes to gas tax, online tax and income tax laws in the state, according to a new study. The top 1% will see an

2018, Cleveland.com has the fullest picture yet published on the events of the evening.

Witness accounts and evidence show how Yatsko, who was kicked out of the bowling alley after getting into a fight with a friend over a “bad joke,” was the aggressor — repeatedly — in the confrontation.

After being escorted outside and being told to leave, the report says, he stuck around and eventually began punching Cleveland police Sgt. Dean Graziolli in the face — again, repeatedly — after the officer told him to leave.

Graziolli, who was working secondary employment that night, was not indicted following the shooting death after the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office, which took over the case from Cuyahoga County as per Mike O’Malley’s policy on officer-involved shootings, presented evidence to a grand jury, which declined to bring charges.

But Graziolli still faces an internal investigation by the Cleveland police department. These proceedings, as Cleveland.com notes, usually only begin after the adjudication of any criminal matters.

And one part of the report may put Graziolli into some disciplinary jeopardy, and might become key to the family’s ongoing federal lawsuit against the department.

Two weeks prior to the incident, Chief Calvin Williams, in addition issuing an order for all cops to be trained in de-escalation procedures, issued an all-staff order mandating that all Cleveland cops working moonlighting jobs carry a stun gun and an additional secondary weapon, which would include pepper spray or a baton, according to the report’s findings. These were set in motion and adopted as part of the city’s consent decree with the DOJ. It’s unknown if Graziolli had completed the de-escalation training, but according to Cleveland.com’s summary of the report, “Graziolli went to the bowling alley about 7 p.m. with his gun and handcuffs.

He did not have a stun gun, pepper spray or a baton.”

The sad What Ifs follow from there — maybe lethal force would have still been necessary, if not at least ruled justifiable by a grand jury, but maybe things would have gone different — but it appears clear that Graziolli, who remains on restricted duty, violated a department order that might have changed how the night went. — GRZEGOREK

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Arts in August in Tremont’s Lincoln Park Presented in Partnership:

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Arts in August is a special time of year in Tremont. The community gathers in Lincoln Park for artistic performances using professional lighting and sound to bring magic to Tremont.

All Arts in August events are FREE and are held in Tremont’s Lincoln Park. Please visit tremontwest.org for up to date information, rain locations/dates and program details, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @artsinaugust Bring a picnic, order take-out from one of our Tuesdays in Tremont participants listed below.

You definitely want to bring a chair or a blanket to sit and remember you are in a park at dusk, so you might want to bring bug spray too!

Friday, August 16th - 7pm

Papo Ruiz y Delzura de la Salsa Saturday, August 17th - 7pm

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Sunday, August 18th - 4pm

Erie Heights Brass Ensemble Friday, August 23rd - 7pm

Summer Music Mix

(Sugata Chatterjee with Amit Chatterjee Global Connections The Village Bicycle) Saturday, August 24th - 7pm Cleveland Jazz Orchestra presented in partnership with Arts Renaissance Tremont Sunday, August 25th - 4pm

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FREE Creative Movement Class with 7+( 029(0(17 352-(&7 Ages 4-10 Sunday, August 25 at 2:30pm Join The Movement Project as we hop, roll, jump, wiggle and so much more! Creative movement enhances and develops gross and fine motor coordination skills, creative expression and thinking, social interaction, problem solving, cooperative play, rhythm, and rhyming skills. Get ready to tap into your imagination and discovery as we explore unique, interesting, and challenging ways to move. Giving your child the opportunity to experience dance and learn more about The Movement Project’s weekly dance classes in Creative Movement, Modern, Jazz, and Ballet.

Thank you, Civilization, Ty Fun, Fat Cats, Treehouse, The Flying Monkey Pub, The Clark Bar, La Bodega, Crust, The Rowley Inn, The South Side, Tremont Tap House, Parallax, Bourbon Street Barrel Room, Dante, Grumpy’s Cafe, %HYLDPR DQG 3URVSHULW\ 6RFLDO &OXE IRU KRVWLQJ EHQH¿WV LQ $SULO 0D\ -XQH DQG -XO\

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| clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

O

N SEPT. 30, AFTER TWO years of construction, the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse will open its renovated doors to the public; that is, to members of the public with tickets to the Black Keys. With massive new frontage on Huron Road, an endoskeletal curtain of LED panels, 42,000 square feet of wide-open atrium space and a very weird name, the downtown arena will be, in many visible respects, transformed.

Until recently, the facility where the Cleveland Cavaliers play was known as Quicken Loans Arena, named after owner Dan Gilbert’s Detroit-based mortgage lending company. The costly upgrades of the past two years were financed both with Gilbert’s own cash and a slew of public bonds, the principal and interest on which the city of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County and Destination Cleveland, the region’s tourism bureau, will be paying down every six months until 2034.

Acquiescing to this financial arrangement — what leaders in Northeast Ohio have referred to since late 2016, without a trace of irony, as a “public-private partnership” — was surely one of the most shameful, spineless, heedless acts by local elected officials in recent years.

Not only did the city and county happily mortgage portions of their futures to line Gilbert’s pockets, they desecrated basic tenets of democracy in the process.

No accounting of the tenures of Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson,

Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish and Cleveland City Council President Kevin Kelley will be complete without underscoring this odious episode: the one where they sold out their constituents, residents of the second-poorest city in the country, for a billionaire.

There was, however, an inspiring countervailing force.

Through the first half of 2017, during what were characterized

fought back against the propaganda of the Q Deal. Organizers refused to take for granted the conventional wisdom about the deal’s merits and demanded more money from Dan Gilbert, better stewardship from elected leaders, and a modicum of honesty from the news media.

Hundreds of progressive activists and allies joined the cause. It was the most powerful and well-coordinated organizing campaign Cleveland had Photo by Sam Allard

— again, without irony — as “negotiations,” elected leaders’ cowardice and stupidity were challenged, exposed and ridiculed by a powerful grassroots opposition movement.

Led by the Greater Cleveland Congregations (GCC), a regional organization of faith groups, the #NotAllIn campaign effectively

seen in decades. The issue, which became shorthand for the city’s “Downtown vs. Neighborhoods” debate, resonated with Clevelanders for obvious reasons. For starters, the vast majority of them weren’t regular, or even irregular, attendees of events at the arena. By the Cavs’ own estimates, Cleveland residents made up only 10 percent of ticket

holders at Cavs games, and only 5 percent at concerts and other events.

Moreover, this was months after a citywide income tax increase, premised (per Frank Jackson) on the desperate need for additional resources to pay for essential city services. Infrastructure was crumbling; infants were dying; children were being poisoned by lead in their homes; teenagers were attempting or committing suicide at higher rates than any other city in the country, in many cases to escape the gun violence ravaging their neighborhoods; bus fares were continuing to rise; wages weren’t.

Why on earth, given these realities, would the city devote longterm precious resources to the Q? Cuyahoga County — what was in 2017 still regarded as a legitimate government entity — had “maxed out” its credit card, and the public was already paying through the nose for capital expenditures at all three downtown sports arenas via the sin tax on cigarettes and alcohol. That tax had been renewed by county voters in 2014 after an expensive propaganda campaign financed largely by the teams. ‘Keep Cleveland Strong,’ the yard signs threatened.

City Council was not interested in any of this. Their top priority in early 2017 was securing a supermajority so that they could pass the Q Deal legislation as an emergency measure. Frank Jackson and Kevin Kelley ultimately managed to persuade anti-deal | clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

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FEATURE Councilman Brian Cummins to join the pro-side, promising support in what was shaping up to be a contentious election in his Ward 14.

(Jackson and Kelley’s support didn’t amount to much; Jasmin Santana defeated Cummins later that year.)

But Council got its two-thirds majority. The city was to be responsible for the largest chunk of public funding, and the ordinance greenlit a projected $97 million in revenue from future admissions taxes at the Q. This is revenue that was then (and still is) paying off cost overruns on the original Gund Arena construction. It was scheduled to be unencumbered in 2023, meaning that the city could at last begin using it to pay for essential city services. But it will now go toward paying down the renovation bonds.

The sole purpose of passing the legislation as an emergency ordinance was to preemptively block, or at least complicate, a citizen referendum drive.

But the referendum drive came anyway. The Service Employees

International Union (SEIU) 1199 and the Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus, an outgrowth of the Northeast Ohio Bernie Sanders campaign, joined forces with GCC to gather more than 20,000 signatures to take the Q Deal ordinance to a vote, a display of civic force by which even many activist leaders were surprised.

Kevin Kelley and city council’s lawyers conspired to block the signatures with a bogus constitutional argument. They were now not only subverting the will of the people via legislative underhandedness, but actively working against them, spending nights and weekends in dedicated service to the idea that their constituents should not have a say in how the city’s dollars are spent.

Naturally, the #NotAllIn campaign amassed further energy and righteousness in response.

And despite letters from the titans of Cleveland’s business community in support of the deal, the Supreme Court of Ohio sided with the referendum seekers. (Frank Jackson, who’d previously called the deal “one of the best the City of Cleveland has ever made,� tried to spin the Supreme Court case as a neutral adjudication of two equally valid

interpretations of the law.) The Supreme Court was clear: Kevin Kelley and Council Clerk Pat Britt had overstepped their authority. The Q Deal legislation would go to a vote.

This was an outcome that Dan Gilbert and local elected leaders could not abide. It was to be a vote in the City of Cleveland only, so the referendum would not have the beneďŹ t of support (as the Sin Tax did) from whiter and wealthier voters in the suburbs.

The battle, almost unbelievably, seemed won. It was said to be the ďŹ rst time in the United States that a grassroots campaign had stood up to sports franchise owner and defeated him. It was historic.

That is, until the Greater Cleveland Congregations caved, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Despite the opposition’s broad coalition of organizations and volunteers, GCC had lead the charge all along and held the trump cards. The ďŹ ve signatories on the referendum petitions were all GCC members. And so in late August, 2017, they were able to withdraw the petitions unilaterally, eliminating the possibility of a vote and clearing the pathway for the gussying up of Gilbert’s palace — “Cleveland’s living

room,� in the promotional language.

GCC went into spin mode immediately. Its leaders said they had secured a good-faith commitment from Armond Budish, through mediators, to explore the idea of building mental health crisis centers, one of three central asks when they initially pitched a “Community Equity Fund� to complement the deal.

But everyone sensed there had been pressure behind the scenes.

Four of the 43 dues-paying member congregations — including Armond Budish’s own Park Synagogue — had already abandoned GCC because of growing controversy and intra-church tension, and others were thought to be on the precipice.

Congresswoman Marcia Fudge was exercising her inuence as well, reportedly making calls to church leaders and asking “what it would takeâ€? to kill the deal.

At the time, top GCC members told Scene that the withdrawal had been a strategic decision. Scene had reported in considerable depth on the deal and the #NotAllIn campaign, and we were assured that the details of this larger strategy would be revealed to us in due course.

That never happened.

Two years later, GCC is nowhere

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| clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

to be found on the activist scene.

Whatever happened to them? What grand strategy was afoot? And what have new local activist coalitions learned from GCC’s mistakes?

***

To answer these questions, we ďŹ rst went directly to the source: the GCC “Strategy Teamâ€? — more or less its board of directors. The two most visible pastors back in 2017 had been Jawanza Colvin, of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church, and Richard Gibson, of Elizabeth Baptist Church. Both are Strategy Team members.

Colvin’s secretary took a message but said he was unlikely to have time for an interview. Gibson advised via email that he wasn’t the person to talk to, but said he’d meet with the strategy team to think about a response. Rev. John Lentz, of Forest Hill Presbyterian Church, said he wasn’t the person to talk to either.

Same with Rev. Linda Robinson, (who was also one of the ďŹ ve signatories on the Q Deal petitions).

Rabbi Rob Nosanchuk, of Fairmount Temple, was traveling, but said he’d meet with GCC organizers and the strategy team to provide a response.

Ultimately, GCC organizer Thomas Nobbe sent the following message, attributed to Rabbi Nosanchuk: “GCC remains focused on its work around criminal justice, gun violence reduction, education and health equity issues. We have been particularly focused on building a coalition to push for a pre-booking mental health and addiction crisis center in Cuyahoga County that would keep individuals in crisis from being needlessly incarcerated and thus reducing the jail population.

We are making great progress and will have more to report in the next number of months.�

Our reporting found that GCC has indeed been meeting regularly with Prosecutor Michael O’Malley and Judge John Russo about the mental health crisis centers. But in May, Donna Weinberger, the Strategy Team member who’s been leading the criminal justice efforts, said that while they were “continuing to push for� the crisis centers, they weren’t ready to go public beyond that point. Unsubstantiated rumors have been swirling that a location has been found and money has been located for at least one such crisis center. Meanwhile, County Executive Armond Budish has repeatedly insisted that the crisis centers were never promised. Until a U.S. Marshals report documenting

inhumane conditions at the jail, and eight deaths in the second half of 2018, he never showed any interest in them.

GCC’s real strategy over the past two years, say current members, has been recruitment. GCC calls it their “strengthening powerâ€? campaign. The goal has been to take a step back and ďŹ nd ways to reenergize — in some ways to re-start — the organization after the Q Deal debacle. It’s what one member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, called “retrenchment mode.â€? “GCC’s not been doing nothing,â€? the member said. “They’ve been doing close to nothing. The main goal has been to recruit new institutions. They’re a little cagey with the numbers, but they’ve had some success.â€?

Another source with knowledge of GCC’s operations in 2017 said that what should have happened after the petitions were withdrawn was a public apology to the community. “Everybody within GCC was crushed,� they said, “But instead, they turned inward. The strategy was to protect the organization.�

Two other members agreed, saying that the rationale for withdrawing the Q Deal petitions was nothing less than the survival of the organization. There was an understanding that enormous pressure had been exerted, but members were not apprised of the speciďŹ c pressure points at the time. “Among the rank and ďŹ le membership, nobody knew anything about it,â€? one source said. “It was like, what the fuck happened? It showed some of us how ensconced and calciďŹ ed the power structure in the county is.â€?

Even pastors who were ostensibly part of the leadership team weren’t entirely in the loop, one Pastor told Scene. There were accounts of Marcia Fudge phone calls, of “big moneyâ€? on the line for at least one Synagogue. Toby Cosgrove, the Cleveland Clinic’s departing top man, was said to have made calls on local leadership’s behalf. Carole Hoover, the daughter of former Olivet pastor and civil rights activist Odie Hoover — and a Frank Jackson conďŹ dante — was rumored to be in on the action as well. In the same way that Dan Gilbert had personally lobbied City Council to win support for Q Deal legislation, the biggest wigs in town were hopping on phones to try to fracture GCC. But this was all secondhand. It was all “a big secret.â€?

GCC leadership, in a 2017 email to members, did say that individual meetings could be scheduled to

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Photo by Sam Allard

FEATURE answer questions.

“It was a classic back-room deal,” one GCC member said. “But the thinking was that moving forward with the referendum would pose an existential threat [to GCC.] Steve Holecko, the political director of the Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus, agreed with the assessment, saying he “felt sorry for” GCC organizer James Pearlstein during that time.

“He was in a position that he knew would make the organization look bad, but he felt he had to go through with it.” Holecko said.

“There was always a disconnect between GCC and the rest of us. Are you in this to make a deal or are you in this to stop the renovations through the referendum process?

For the people who signed and circulated petitions, it was never presented to them that this was to leverage a deal, and it would have been difficult to get support if it had been presented that way. GCC knew that.”

Yvonka Hall, one of the CCPC’s leaders and spokespeople at the time, said GCC’s last-minute maneuver

“caught everyone off guard.” There had been an assumption that if a deal were being considered, CCPC and SEIU would be consulted. But that didn’t happen.

“GCC was the only agency with its names on the petitions,” she said.

“We learned the hard way that we could never do anything like that again.”

Holecko said that progressive activists had been “fired up” to go through the referendum process.

“The atmosphere was ecstatic,” he said. And he still feels that while GCC had the legal right to withdraw the petitions, they had a moral right to communicate their intentions to the broader activist community.

Immediately after the withdrawal, GCC leadership retreated. They were seldom available for public comment.

Organizer James Pearlstein had been providing Scene with updates through the ordeal. But after the withdrawal he went almost completely dark. He suggested that more information would be available at a later date. Pearlstein is no longer with GCC; he moved to Washington D.C. in 2018. He declined to be interviewed for this story.

Yvonka Hall still speaks with rage about the Q Deal, and what it says about the region’s priorities.

And while she was frustrated with

GCC, she said that they are still welcome to participate in local progressive activist causes.

“They’ve been specifically invited to the table when we’ve formed other [issue-based campaigns],” she said.

“We’re a small community and we have to coalesce. But honestly, right now they’re off the radar.”

***

When Cleveland Lead Advocates for Safe Housing (CLASH), the coalition that forced City Hall to act

on lead poisoning, announced in early 2019 a comprehensive piece of legislation that they planned to take to the ballot, representatives from seven member organizations stood together for the press conference: Cleveland Lead Safe Network (CLSN), the Single Payer Access Network (SPAN), the Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus, Black Lives Matter Cuyahoga County, Cleveland End Poverty Now Coalition, Organize Ohio, and the Cleveland Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

GCC had been asked to participate

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— many thought the lead issue would be a natural fit for them — but they ultimately declined, opting to focus on their Strengthening Power campaign.

One CLASH member who worked with GCC in 2017 said that it’s difficult for an organization to focus on recruitment when “the lifeblood of any organization is action.”

“The Q Deal [opposition] was the most meaningful challenge to the local power structure in decades, and now they want to just go out and talk to other congregations? People can smell bullshit. But people also don’t want GCC to lose credibility because it’s such a huge power base.”

Among the lessons that activists learned from the Q Deal campaign, several mentioned that there hadn’t been a deep understanding of, and appreciation for, the various power dynamics at work in the county.

Back-room deals can happen when powerful people operate in the shadows.

That’s why a group has now formed to “Power Map” the county, the goal of which is to educate activists and to build power for themselves, to move from singleissue campaigns to lasting political power.

A current member of GCC, who was also involved in the CLASH efforts, told Scene that the immediate and most obvious takeaway was the need for broader representation on petitions and among decision makers.

“There was a deliberate effort,

by CLASH, to ensure that it would take a broad consensus to deviate from any plan,” they said. “That was the problem with the Q Deal. One institution controlled everything.

And even within GCC, the way it’s structured, a major decision could be made by a small number of people.”

But it’s important to remember, the GCC member said, that GCC is made up of people who aren’t, strictly speaking, activists.

“It skews, older, whiter, more well-connected,” they said. “They tend to be involved because they love their church or synagogue and have a vague sense of injustice. It’s so different from the activists in CLASH, who are begging for an invitation to the next protest.”

While these are totally different worlds, both are required to make lasting change.

“GCC will always have power because they can get 1,000 people in a room. And look, you need the retired white ladies from Cleveland Heights, and you also need the Yvonka Halls of the world,” the GCC member said. “When they’re

both rowing in the same direction, that’s when you can run a winning campaign.”

Randy Cunningham was standing behind the lectern at the CLASH press conference, representing both the Progressive Caucus and the Democratic Socialists of America, describing himself as a “graybeard emeritus member.”

Cunningham is also something like the dean of local community organizing, and certainly its resident historian. He told Scene that the lessons from the Q Deal are similar to lessons that community organizers learned a generation ago.

Current progressive activists must ask two questions, he said.

“The first is, how do you fund sustainable organizing without becoming hostage to your funders?

Who needs the FBI,” he asked, “when you have the foundations? The foundations talk a big game about social change, but their real goal is to define the paradigm of issues and maintain control of the grassroots.”

The second question, Cunningham said, is how to make organizing the basis for political campaigns and elected office.

“Those two questions have to be answered before there’s a substantial leap forward,” he said. “But progress is being made. GCC was the only game in town in 2015. But look at the organizations now!”

(He referenced, with enthusiasm, the work of Black Lives Matter, including recent protests at the county jail; Clevelanders for Public Transit; and CLASH).

“These young organizers are getting so much experience from running these campaigns. These are good organizers! I’m so damn glad to see these younger people taking the reins. And I’m so damn glad to see that they’re learning. CLASH could’ve been another Q Deal, but it wasn’t. CLASH was a victory.

Now the key is stringing victories together.”

As for GCC, Cunningham agreed with the activists who said that before long, they’d be back, and that reconciliation would not be difficult, given the right issue. The enemy of my enemy, as the saying goes, is my friend. But Cunningham also cautioned that GCC, through no fault of its membership, will never really be interested in rocking the boat.

“If they really wanted to make change, instead of just playing at making change,” he said, “the answer is to quit preaching and

sallard@clevescene.com t@scenesallard

| clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

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MORNING

JOURNAL

See You: This Friday Aug. 16 Boneyard & Briarwood Next Friday Aug. 23 Time Warp & Razzles

Photo by Emanuel Wallace

GET OUT everything you should do this week

The annual Little Italy fest is the place to be this weekend (Photo by Emanuel Wallace)

WED

08/14

THEATER

Disney’s The Lion King Some 90 million people around the world have seen Disney’s longrunning musical The Lion King. The play has won six Tony Awards, and it brings to life the story of a lion and the cub who’ll inherit his father’s kingdom. The musical features the work of Tony Award-winning choreographer Garth Fagan and some terrific songs by Elton John and Tim Rice. Tonight’s performance takes place at 7:30 at the State Theatre. The play runs through Sept.

1, and tickets cost $49 to $199. (Jeff Niesel) 1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

SPORTS

Indians vs. Boston Red Sox In the midst of a significant stretch against some of the American League’s best teams, the Cleveland Indians take on the defending champion Boston Red Sox today at 1:10 at Progressive Field. It’s the end of a three-game series that should be a tough one for the Tribe given that

the Red Sox have started playing better in the season’s second half.

Tickets start at $15. (Niesel) 2401 Ontario St., 216-420-4487, clevelandindians.com.

MUSIC

Mike Krol You can now head to the Rock Hall plaza on Wednesday nights to see the “bands you need to hear right now.” Part of the Rock Hall’s Summer in the City series, the free concerts begin at 7 p.m. on the PNC main stage. There will be an onsite All-Access Cafe, a bar and food trucks, and the weather turns, portions (or the entirety) of the event may be moved inside, delayed, and/ or cancelled at the discretion of the Rock Hall. Today, indie rocker Mike Krol will perform. (Niesel) Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, 1100 Rock and Roll Blvd., 216-515-8444, rockhall.com.

FOOD

North Union Farmers Market North Union Farmers Market returns to U.S. Bank Plaza today with an urban-desert oasis of fresh and sustainable local farm foods.

Come and stock up on the season’s best fruits and vegetables from 4

to 7 p.m. This NUFM location will be up and running each and every Wednesday through Sept. 4. Find out more on the website below. (Niesel), northunionfarmersmarket.org.

East 14th St. and Euclid Ave., 216-771-4444, playhousesquare..org.

MUSIC

Uptown Out to Lunch Series At today’s Out to Lunch concert, on Toby’s Plaza in the Uptown District, you can grab lunch from your favorite Uptown eatery and have a seat at the great picnic table while listening to local bands. Today, the local folk-rock act Thor Platter Band performs from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The free concert series continues through Sept. 11. The schedule is on the website. (Niesel) 11440 Uptown Ave., universitycircle.org.

FOOD

Walnut Wednesday Walnut Wednesday is one of summer’s great traditions. Today from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Perk Plaza at Chester Commons — at East 12th and Walnut streets — food trucks once again gather to serve up lunch to area residents and employees. Follow the Downtown

Cleveland Alliance on Facebook for weekly updates on vendors, entertainment offerings and more.

The series continues through Sept. 4.

Admission is free, but the food will cost you. (Niesel) downtowncleveland.com.

THU

08/15

FAMILY FUN

Asian Lantern Festival Taking over parks and zoos across the country, the traveling Asian Lantern Festival shows off thousands of colorful handmade paper lanterns in open, green spaces. This year’s Cleveland edition, which runs through Sunday at the Metroparks Zoo, brings 40 brand new light-up displays. The event also includes authentic bites from local spots Li Wah, King Wah and Thai Thai, an interactive zone, openair market and live performances.

Running after zoo hours, the lantern exhibit is open Thursday through Sunday only, from 6:30 to 10 p.m.

Same-day tickets are $20.50, or you can score four for $60. (Kids age 2 and younger are free.) Those purchasing tickets early get a | clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

15

GET OUT discount. (Laura Morrison) 3900 Wildlife Way, 216-661-6500, clemetzoo.com.

MUSIC

to vehicles during the fest, and relatively far-away parking spots are available for a fee, the best way to attend the festival is via the RTA red line’s stop in Little Italy. The Feast’s hours are noon to 11 p.m. today, 6 to 11 p.m. tomorrow, 6 p.m. to midnight on Friday and noon to midnight on Saturday. (Niesel) holy-rosary.org.

Bike Night with Colin Dussault’s Blues Project A local icon who just celebrated his 30th anniversary of performing in Northeast Ohio, bluesman Colin Dussault is one of Cleveland’s true musical treasures. He headlines Bike Night, a free event that takes place at 5 p.m. at the Rock Hall’s outdoor Plaza and PNC Stage. The concert is free, but a separate ticket must be purchased to tour the Rock Hall exhibits. The event will not take place during bad weather. (Niesel) 1100 Rock and Roll Blvd., 216-515-8444, rockhall.com.

Mallorca, Nina Lau’Rens Cakepops and Rascal House and shop Erie Sands, Gourmet Body Pastries Skin Care and Peripeti Candles. The Alvin Franzier Band will perform in the Coastal Boardwalk Gallery, Tickets are $35 per person, and that includes two glasses of wine and appetizers.

Guests also receive one general admission voucher for a future

FRI 2019 INDUCTEES

THE ZOMBIES SATURDAY, AUGUST 17 • 3PM

MUSIC

Duck Island Music Festival 2019 Today, Forest City Brewery hosts the first ever Duck Island Music Festival, and the four-day event will feature several local acts. It kicks off tonight with Sunshine Daydream. Slugfest and several guests will perform at 7 tomorrow night, and multiple bands will take the stage beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The festival will end on Sunday with Lake Erie Roots, who’ll perform from 3 to 6 p.m.

Admission is free, but organizers will accept donations for the bands.

(Niesel) 2135 Columbus Rd., 216-228-9116, forestcitybrewery.com.

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08/16

ART

78th Street Studios Third Friday Art Walk Time again for the Third Friday Art Walk at the cavernous 78th Street Studios. More than 50 studios and galleries will participate in this popular indoor art walk; be sure to check out spots like the Derek Hess Gallery, Tregoning & Company and Hilary Gent Studio for a chance to shop and interact with artists. Look for food trucks out front and live music on the first floor. Hours are 5 to 9 p.m. and admission is free.

(Niesel) 1300 West 78th St., 78thstreetstudios.com.

SPOKEN WORD

FAMILY FUN

Feast of the Assumption The 121st annual Feast of the Assumption that takes place today through Saturday in Little Italy.

Once again, Holy Rosary Church’s parish hosts this free, family-friendly festival. Starting and ending with religious processions celebrating the Virgin Mary being taken into Heaven, the Feast includes classic festival staples as well as fireworks, a raffle, and observances and services for those who celebrate the Catholic Holy Day. Restaurants in the area as well as specialty vendors are set to have stands lining the streets, offering traditional Italian foods, desserts and beverages for purchase. Carnival rides and games, live music (including opera, Italian choirs and local bands) and a casino in the church’s lower level are all available for entertainment during the fest. Since Mayfield Road from E. 125th St. to E. 119th St. is closed

often tell him how ugly he is and every girl he brings home hears all about how he ate dog poop when he was a kid. His self-deprecation ranges from the nine long months it took his mustache to grow to the limited expression his eyes have. His stories of awkwardness and compromising situations will have you cracking up. He performs tonight at 7 at Hilarities and has shows scheduled through Saturday.

Check the website for ticket prices.

(Liz Trenholme) 2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com.

LIVE IN CONCERT on the Rock Hall Live! stage powered by PNC Bank

TICKETS ON SALE NOW rockhall.com/onstage NIGHTLIFE

Girls Night Out Girls Night Out, a wine-andshopping event at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium, offers afterhours Aquarium access as guests shop for jewelry, clothing, purses and other “must-have” items from a variety of pop-up shops. In addition to exclusive, after-hours adultsonly aquarium access, guests can sample food from Chefs for Hire,

| clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

aquarium visit. (Niesel) 2000 Sycamore Street, 216-862-8803, greaterclevelandaquarium.com.

Designing Victory — Robert P. Madison & Carlo Wolff Book Signing A decorated member of the historic Buffalo Soldiers, Second Lieutenant Robert P. Madison was initially denied entry into the architecture program at Western Reserve University. After he showed up with his Purple Heart from an injury sustained in Italy, he was admitted, but told by the administrators that he would never work as an architect. He proved the bastards wrong and would open the first African-American architect firm in Ohio in 1954. Locally based author Carlo Wolff helped Madison pen his memoir, Designing Victory. Tonight at 7:30, Wolff and Madison appear at Visible Voice Books in Tremont to talk about the book. Admission is free. (Niesel) 2258 Professor Ave., 216-961-0084, visiblevoicebooks.com.

COMEDY

Bobby Lee Bobby Lee is the black sheep of his very Korean family. He was supposed to take over the family clothing store, but instead he played in some bands and decided to become a comedian. His parents

FILM

Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang A documentary about visual artist Cai Guo-Qiang, Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang documents the man’s quest to “realize his most ambitious project yet.” Directed by

Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald, the film screens tonight at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s North Courtyard Lobby in connection with Cai GuoQiang: Cuyahoga River Lightning, an exhibit on view in the Julia and Larry Pollock Focus Gallery at the Cleveland Museum of Art through Sept. 22. This exhibition features three gunpowder works by Cai Guo-Qiang, who is known for his gunpowder paintings, installations and explosive displays. It screens tonight at 7. It’s free. (Niesel) 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org.

MUSIC

Summers@Severance Under the direction of conductor Osmo Vänskä, the Cleveland Orchestra plays Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 (“Italian”) and Barber’s Symphony in One Movement tonight at 7 at Severance Hall. Arrive early for specially-priced happy hour food and drinks and then stick around after the concert for some “leisurely conversation” on Severance Hall’s scenic outdoor terrace. Consult the orchestra website for ticket prices. (Niesel) 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.

SPOKEN WORD

U Up? Podcast Live With their U Up? podcast, Betches Media co-founder Jordana Abraham and comedian Jared Freid offer advice about dating and help interpret confusing text messages.

Tonight, they’ll perform live at the Agora where they’ll play their signature Red Flag or Dealbreaker game with a little help from the audience. Tickets start at $35.

(Niesel) 5000 Euclid Ave., 216-881-2221, agoracleveland.com.

COMEDY

Damon Williams “Get your glamor on but don’t go to far,” comedian Damon Williams likes to joke in one bit about women and their fake hair and fake nails.

He likes to exploit controversial topics such as racial and gender differences. He performs tonight at 7:30 and 10 at the Improv, where he has shows scheduled through Sunday. Tickets cost $20. (Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-696-IMPROV, clevelandimprov.com.

SAT

08/17

FAMILY FUN

Adopt-a-Beach Shoreline Cleanup

Since 2012, Greater Cleveland Aquarium’s nonprofit Splash Fund has hosted an Adopt-a-Beach shoreline cleanup program. Today’s cleanup takes place at 10 a.m. at Edgewater Park. Someone from the Splash Fund team will be on hand to “advise, assist and provide necessary supplies.” Anyone who donates his or her time to help the lake stay great will be rewarded with one free general admission ticket to the Greater Cleveland Aquarium.

Splash Fund leadership provides gloves, containers and guidance and, at the end of each session, the team records and analyzes the junk they have amassed. Over the course of four mornings, last year’s volunteers helped the Splash Fund bag 386 pounds of trash that included bits of foam, glass and 7,686 pieces of plastic. For registration, schedules and other details, see the website.

(Niesel) greaterclevelandaquarium.com.

COMEDY

Wayne Brady A regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Wayne Brady has found steady work as an actor, TV personality, singer, game show host and comedian. This past year alone, he toured, starred on the new Sci-Fi series Aftermath, portrayed Lola in the Tony Award winning production of Kinky Boots and lent his vocal talents to Disney’s animated series Sophia the First and Nickelodeon’s Loud House. He also has another national tour planned. Not bad for someone who reportedly stuttered as a child and suffered from anxiety.

Brady performs tonight at 8 at MGM Northfield Park — Center Stage.

Check the website for ticket prices.

(Niesel) 10705 Northfield Rd., Northfield, 330-908-7793, mgmnorthfieldpark. mgmresorts.com/en.html.

ART

Flats Festival of the Arts Flats Festival of the Arts debuted three years ago with 200 artists from around the country. From ceramics to woodwork, photography and painting, this event features various types of notable local and national artists that will exhibit and sell their work on Flats East Bank. Flats Festival of the Arts will also include many of the region’s most talented musicians and dancers. A wide selection of food and beverages will be available.

Admission is free. Any donations or food and beverage proceeds will benefit Working Animals Giving

N OPE DAY W I O N Y FR OR F R EVE NOON H C T A LUN

SUMMER HOURS:

MON - THURS: 5:00PM - CLOSE | FRI - SUN: 11:00AM - CLOSE

WHISKEY ISLAND MUSIC SERIES Every Wednesday Evening

Wednesday, Aug 14 6-10pm

JESTER’S REVENGE WEEKEND ENTERTAINMENT FRIDAY, AUGUST 9 8P-12A

CRUISIN’ BAND SATURDAY, AUGUST 17

EASTWIND BAND

CARLOS JONES

8PM-12AM 1-5PM SUNDAY, AUGUST 18 • 2-6PM

ROCK THE HOUSE

www.facebook.com/whiskeyislandstillandeatery www.whiskeyislandstillandeatery.net | clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

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GET OUT Service for Kids (W.A.G.S. 4 Kids), a nonproďŹ t organization devoted to providing mobility and autism service dogs for children in the northeast and central Ohio regions utilizing an award-winning Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction accredited Cell Dog Training Program and the Land, whose mission is to create places and connect people through public art, sustainable building and design, collaborative planning, and dynamic programming. The event takes place today and tomorrow.

Consult the website for more info.

(Niesel) atseastbank.com.

FAMILY FUN

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| clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

La Placita Cleveland boasts a rich diversity of ethnic groups. The Hispanicthemed La Placita, a pop-up open air market held the second Saturday of the month, celebrates some of the city’s rich heritage. Installed in the parking lots at West 25th Street and Clark Avenue, La Placita features live entertainment, traditional food, artisan vendors and more. It takes place from 1 to 10 p.m. today.

Admission is free. Find more details on Facebook. (Niesel) facebook.com/LaPlacitaCleveland.

FILM

Pee Wee’s Big Adventure Back in the ’80s, actor Paul Reubens created a child-like ďŹ ctional character named Pee Wee Herman. After a successful HBO special, he began performing as Pee Wee regularly, and eventually ďŹ lmed the 1985 movie Pee Wee’s Big Adventure with director Tim Burton at the helm. Herman would go on to host a successful kids’ show that ran on CBS for ďŹ ve years before it was discovered that he was a bit of a pervert. The ďŹ lm, however, holds up as a cult classic and screens tonight at midnight at the Capitol Theatre as part of Cleveland Cinemas’ Late Shift series. Tickets cost $6. (Niesel) 1390 West 65th St., 216-651-7295, clevelandcinemas.com.

CATEGORY

Sparx City Hop The 17th Annual SPARX City Hop will be held today from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free to Cleveland residents and starts at the U.S. Bank Plaza on 1302 Euclid Ave. The event is celebrating 17 years of connecting people to art in Cleveland

neighborhoods! SPARX City Hop guests explore Downtown Cleveland and the surrounding neighborhoods by taking free trolley tours and hopping from artist galleries to studios to live, local music performances. (Niesel) 1501 Euclid Ave., downtowncleveland. com/events/sparx-city-hop.

MUSIC

Symphonic Dances Written near the shores of New York’s Long Island Sound, Rachmaninoff’s ďŹ nal score, Symphonic Dances, originally included movements with names like “Twilightâ€? and “Midnight,â€? making it the perfect piece for the Cleveland Orchestra to perform tonight at Blossom. The concert will also feature pieces by Bernstein and Ives. It begins at 8 p.m. Check the orchestra website for ticket prices. (Niesel) 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.

SUN

08/18

FILM

Lola At 1:30 p.m. today, the Cleveland Museum of Art will screen Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Lola, an update of The Blue Angel that stars Barbara Sukowa and Armin Mueller-Stahl. The ďŹ lm centers on a small-time cabaret performer who pursues respectability via romances with an upright city commissioner and a corrupt developer. Tickets cost $12, or $9 for CMA members. (Niesel) 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org.

NIGHTLIFE

Sloppy Sundays in the Sun On select Sundays throughout the summer, Now That’s Class will host Sloppy Sundays in the Sun, an event that appeals to day drinkers.

Bartender Juliet will serve up her special Aperol Spritz and Pimms cocktails, and both patios will be open. The club will even set up an outdoor basketball hoop. The bar opens at 3 p.m., and happy hour takes place from 5 to 8 p.m. It’s free.

(Niesel) 11213 Detroit Ave., 216-221-8576, nowthatsclass.net.

MON FAMILY FUN

Lunchtime Trivia

08/19

Today from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on U.S. Bank Plaza, Last Call Trivia hosts a live show that allows teams to compete for prizes by answering trivia questions. Last Call games also incorporate a distinctive point wagering system, giving teams the ability to choose their own strategy which ensures every team has an equal chance to compete. Teams can range from 1 to 8 players and prizes are awarded to the top teams at the event’s conclusion. (Niesel) East 14th St. and Euclid Ave., 216-771-4444, playhousesquare.org.

brew while you’re at it. (Sam Allard) 5801 Detroit Ave., 216-651-9474, happydogcleveland.com.

08/20

FILM

MUSIC

Movie Mondays Every Monday, Cleveland Cinemas hosts $5 Movie Mondays, where film fans can catch up on the latest Hollywood flicks for significantly reduced prices. Participating theaters include Apollo Theatre, Capitol Theatre, Cedar Lee Theatre, Chagrin Cinemas and Tower City Cinemas.

(Alaina Nutile) clevelandcinemas.com.

Classical Revolution Cleveland Today, and the third Tuesday of every month, Classical Revolution Cleveland brings chamber music to the Happy Dog. Performers like the Trepanning Trio, Anime Duo, students of Cleveland Institute of Music and even Cleveland Orchestra members grace the stage in these exciting concerts. Tonight’s free, all-ages performance starts at 8.

(Patrick Stoops) 5801 Detroit Ave., 216-651-9474, happydogcleveland.com.

NIGHTLIFE

Monday Night Trivia Do you have tons of obscure music knowledge? Are you a student of fast food menus and their nuanced histories? What say you about the geographic evolution of Scotch whisky? Tonight’s your chance to wow your friends, make yourself instantly more desirable to someone you’re newly dating, and hang with Cleveland’s headiest hipsters and hot dog lovers. It’s the Happy Dog Monday Night Trivia. Starting at 8 p.m., expect themed rounds and general knowledge questions that seem considerably trickier than some of the other live trivia locales in town.

Obviously, have a hot dog and a craft

TUE

NIGHTLIFE

Shit Show Karaoke Local rapper/promoter Dirty Jones and Scene’s own Manny Wallace host Shit Show Karaoke, a weekly event at the B-Side Liquor Lounge wherein patrons choose from “an unlimited selection of jams from hip-hop to hard rock,” and are encouraged to “be as bad as you want.” Fueled by drink and shot specials, it all goes down tonight at 10 when Jones and Wallace begin to pass around the sign-up sheet. (Niesel) 2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-932-1966, bsideliquorlounge.com.

DANCE

Dancing Under the Stars Time again for Dancing Under the Stars at U.S. Bank Plaza. Beginning at 6, staffers from Viva Dance will dish the salsa lessons; then it’s on to the dance party, with live music provided by Orquestra Sonora.

The dancing begins at 6:30 and continues until 9 p.m. Admission is free. The weekly party continues through August 27. (Niesel) East 14th St. and Euclid Ave., 216-771-4444, playhousesquare..org.

NIGHTLIFE

Tiki Tuesday To celebrate the warm weather, Music Box Supper Club launched a special Tiki Tuesday event earlier this summer. All tiki drinks are just $6 and some of the food specials are $6 too. There’s even a playlist of classic Caribbean music from the ‘40s and ‘50s. The party takes place from 4 to 8 p.m. (Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com.

FOOD

Truck Stop Tuesday Crocker Park in Westlake has launched its seasonal Truck Stop Tuesday, a weekly food truck gathering that takes place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Main Street.

Needless to say, admission is free, but the food will cost you. Truck Stop Tuesdays continue through Sept. 24. You can find a lineup of upcoming food trucks on the website. (Niesel) 189 Crocker Park Blvd., Westlake, crockerpark.com.

scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene

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STAGE ALL HAIL The Lion King continues to connect with crowds in its return to Playhouse Square

By Roman Macharoni WITH MORE THAN TWENTY years on tour and on Broadway, multiple Tony awards and the aptly suffixed moniker of “The World’s #1 Musical,” one would be hard pressed to find someone who is oblivious to the beloved Disney classic The Lion King’s life on the stage. Playhouse Square once again hosts a production that boasts an incomparable lifespan, and after witnessing it, you’ll see why it’s held in such high regard.

Trying to summarize a film that has been engrained in the minds of every human being by the age of seven would be a moot point, so let’s differentiate the 1994 film from the musical. If you need a refresher, it’s Shakespeare’s MacBeth substituted with animals from the African savanna.

Roger Allers’ and Irene Mecchi’s stage adaptation deviates just enough from the original film to give the play some separation from its counterpart. Songs are added— many by the legendary Elton John and Tim Rice— as well as certain scenes to ensure the main narrative anchors are more well-rounded, all for solidifying the message of the “Circle of Life,” which itself is The Lion King’s signature musical number. Conductor James Dodgson and his orchestra supply the songs with an exhilarating enthusiasm and brightness thanks to the inclusion of African drums, chimes and percussion.

Director and costume designer Julie Taymor, in many ways, has made decisions that give the play its own identity, such as swapping the gender of Rafiki (Buyi Zama) to supply the story with a female lead, and crafting the prototype masks still used in the production.

It affirms there are few who’ve committed themselves more fully to a production feeling special, inside and out.

The roster has changed dramatically since its initial run, but the touring cast feels to have made these characters their own. Zama in many instances steals the show with her unabashed chants and infectious cheerfulness. Her voice rings through the theatre in numbers such as “He Lives In You” and with Nia

Photo by Deen van Meer

Holloway as Nala in “Shadowland.”

As Scar, Spencer Plachy feels tailor-made for the role, with a cunning sneer and a bittersweet cadence in his voice. His wit is often at his sharpest when paired with Mufasa (Gerald Ramsey) — who is equally poised and comical with a lovely timbre— and Zazu (Greg Jackson), whose comic timing is only matched by his puppetry. The hyenas (Martina Sykes, Keith Bennett &

lucky warthog.

The child performers — Richard A. Phillips Jr. as young Simba and Brilyn Johnston as young Nala — show a lot of heart, even if their voices don’t always carry as well as those of the adult performers.

Phillips’ bravado, however, matches his counterpart Jared Dixon (adult Simba). The same goes for his agility and winning smile. Meanwhile, Dixon’s voice is pitch-perfect in

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THE LION KING THROUGH SEPT. 1 AT THE KEYBANK STATE THEATRE, PLAYHOUSE SQUARE, 1519 EUCLID AVE. 216-231-6000, playhousesquare.org

Robbie Swift) also get a rise out of Jackson’s Zazu with many of the improvised moments injected into the script.

Aside from Jackson, Timon (Nick Cordileone) is often slotted as the comic relief, for which he excels in spades, with a nasally whine that caricatures Joe Pesci. He’s paired with Pumbaa (William John Austin), who as a standby in the lineup feels completely natural as the happy-go-

numbers such as “Endless Night.”

For those who have seen this play before, it may come into question whether it still warrants your attention. After all, with the live action remake still lingering in theaters and a resurgence in its relevance in pop culture, The Lion King is everywhere. We can confidently answer that the production still manages to amaze.

It’s a production that feels

timeless in its beautifully weaved, cyclical storytelling mixed with tightly choreographed dance numbers, shadow puppetry, ostentatious costumes and sets that are extravagant in every sense of the word, thanks to scenic designer Richard Hudson. However, the show still finds ways to stay fresh with the energy of those who tour with the show, proving it’s the little things that give a production such as this that extra wow factor.

Once the curtain rises, the painstaking detail is immediately apparent in every prop and costume

by Taymor, mask and puppet codesigner Michael Curry and hair and makeup designer Michael Ward. Theatregoers will likely find their eyes shifting across the stage, noticing something new in every scene. In particular, the cheetah suit (piloted by Sasha Caicedo) and giraffe costume on stilts (Courtney Thomas) never cease to astound in their craftsmanship. Sit in the right area and you’ll see characters walking down the aisles, where you can really grasp the artistry of these pieces.

Combined with what can scarcely be articulated as anything other than ‘Disney magic,’ the show meshes the intimacy of going to the theatre with child-like wonder and mesmerizing visuals that stick with you for a long time after getting up out of your seat.

One minor gripe may be the use of dual dance/fight choreography in its more climatic scenes, which is rarely performed by any company without feeling clunky.

The production addresses this by only showcasing it in brief snippets. Additionally, while nothing structurally feels out of place, the first act feels a bit bloated with much more content and story than the second.

Slight complaints aside, even the most critical minds are taken aback and left speechless with The Lion King. If you’ve never experienced something like this before, missing out would be very disappointing.

scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene

| clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

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| clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

MOVIES A ROCK ’N’ ROLL FANTASY Blinded by the Light makes inventive use of Springsteen’s music to tell an inspirational story

By Jeff Niesel Photo by Nick Wall

Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction. If it weren’t for the fact that the real-life story of how a Pakistani teenager found inspiration in the songs of Bruce Springsteen while growing up in Luton, England in the late ’80s inspired Blinded by the Light, the film would come off as some kind of far-fetched fantasy.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But knowing there’s some truth to this story — the film is based on journalist Sarfraz Manzoor’s memoir Greetings from Bury Park: Race, Religion and Rock N’ Roll — makes the movie especially inspiring. The book takes its title, Bury Park, from the name of the Luton neighborhood where Manzoor was born and references the Springsteen album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. It opens area-wide on Friday.

As you can imagine, Luton, England in 1987 isn’t particularly welcoming to Pakistanis. Hooligans often chase Javed (Viveik Kalra) on his way home and scrawl racist graffiti on the doors of the Pakistani immigrants who live in his neighborhood. It’s a pretty hostile

environment.

To cope with the situation, Javed writes poems about his experiences and keeps them in a diary. The writing helps him deal, but he still feels lonely and isolated. All that changes; however, when a classmate introduces him to the music of the Boss and plays him “The River.”

“Bruce Springsteen is the direct line to all that is true and meaningful in the world,” says his classmate. His words prove to be prophetic.

Javed falls into a trance upon hearing the song’s hypnotic spokenword intro and immediately sees the parallels between Springsteen’s depiction of working class life in the U.S.A. and his life as an outsider in England. Javed becomes obsessed, memorizing song lyrics and breaking into “Born to Run” when a few bullies come at him at a diner.

The film’s plot takes rather predictable path in its second half as Javed falls in love with a girl and has a huge fight with his parents, who don’t understand his interest in poetry and journalism. The preponderance of Springsteen songs whose lyrics often scroll down the

screen sometimes makes the movie come off as an episode of Glee.

But given that we live at a time when immigrants have once again been demonized, this movie seems particularly timely and successfully shows how a little compassion can go a long way.

Be sure to stick around for the

film’s credits that include photos of the present-day Manzoor, who has seen Springsteen perform more than 100 times, and backstage shots of him hanging with the Boss himself.

and appreciate the scenic images. But it’s worth noting that a compelling thriller does lurk beneath these lovely natural landscapes. If only the script had been interested in pursuing it!

In an opening scene, Gwen happens upon the bodies of a neighboring family. They have all died of cholera, supposedly. They occupied one of the few remaining farms in the area, and their property is soon taken over by Mr. Wynne.

Gwen intuits, correctly, that her family will be targeted in the same way. A better film would have given Gwen the opportunity to investigate her suspicions. It would have given her an ally – perhaps the local doctor? Perhaps the son of a quarry thug, to whom she takes a shine? Perhaps her little sister? It might even have empowered her to fight back in some way. Expose the

scandal? Kill the kingpin?

Instead, Gwen just gets to deal with her sickly mother, who does weird stuff like slice her forearms to “let the sin out.”

This is not a horror film, but you wouldn’t know it from the atmosphere. Even the promotional materials call it a “dark folktale.”

A what? This is a moody, muddy historical drama with some truly bush-league animal husbandry.

Despite the fog and the nightmares, the real horror of Gwen is the powerlessness of women to take on a local moneyed enterprise. It should have been more Erin Brockovich and less The Witch. -Sam Allard

jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel

SPOTLIGHT: GWEN OPENING AT SOLON CINEMAS this Friday is a little Welsh thriller with misplaced horror elements that’ll be lucky to attract a handful of audience members during the full length of its run. It’s called Gwen.

Gwen is directed by Brit William McGregor, known mostly for his work on TV – he’ll be directing an episode of the upcoming His Dark Materials series on HBO – and who has a real fascination with landscapes. Gwen might as well have been funded by the Welsh tourism board, so thoroughly does McGregor capture the hilly countryside.

Gwen takes place during the early stages of the industrial revolution.

Gwen (Eleanor WorthingtonCox, who played Young Aurora in Maleficent) and her mother (Maxine Peak) and sister are trying to manage the family farm while a local

quarry owner, Mr. Wynne (Mark Lewis Jones), attempts to buy, and then seize, the property by threat and force.

Most of the film, though, toys with the idea that Gwen’s mother might be a witch or something. She wanders the grounds in a white nightgown, eyes vacant. She crushes the skulls of burned livestock and scatters the pieces near the front gate. Who can say what’s going on here? The dialogue is as sparse as the character development, which are both as sparse as the muddy farmhouse, where Gwen and her sister do little but sing each other lullabies and listen to the weather. It’s a bleak life.

We need not trash Gwen. It’s a small-scale production early in a director’s career that not many folks will see. The local Welsh community might even enjoy a night out in Solon

sallard@clevescene.com t@scenesallard | clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

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EAT STILL GREAT AFTER ALL THESE YEARS Luxe remains a dazzling gem a decade after helping spur Gordon Square’s transformation

By Douglas Trattner Photo by Emanuel Wallace

ON A GLORIOUS SUMMER EVENING it can seem like everybody is bound for the patio at Luxe. Carved out of an unforgiving parking lot, the cloistered hideaway has blossomed into a lush garden oasis utterly cut off from the world at large. An alfresco bar spins out effervescent cocktails like the Logi ($8), a tequila-based potion buttressed by alternating hits of blackberry, lime and mint. Man’s best friends are equally refreshed thanks to shiny stainless water bowls. Oversize umbrellas fend off the glaring rays, attractive outdoor furniture provides a comfy perch, and a small ensemble fills the evening air with the soothing sounds of live jazz.

Before there was Toast, Brewnuts, Spice, Astoria, XYZ Tavern and sweet, Sweet Moses there was Luxe Kitchen, an early speculator in the then up-and-coming neighborhood of Detroit Shoreway. When it opened a little over a decade ago, the oh-sohaute bistro joined area mainstays like Rincon Criollo, Happy Dog, Latitude 41 and Gypsy Beans, which perhaps was the first piece on the chessboard of this so-called urban renaissance. Since opening day there have been ups and downs, chefs shifts and menu re-dos – even ownership tweaks – but throughout it all, the restaurant has managed to remain an anchor in this dynamic arts-fueled district.

There was much fanfare when Marlin Kaplan, one of Cleveland’s first celebrity chefs, opened Luxe with his then-wife Melissa Cole.

Kaplan’s no longer around, but that hasn’t hampered the business one iota thanks, in no small part, to Cole and a crack staff that seems more immutable than any in town.

Familiar faces have become unicorns among restaurant employees these days, but that’s not the case here where some harken back to opening day. Servers rattle off specials without the need for a cheat sheet, possess actual wine knowledge and are quick with a recommendation, and are expert at being present when needed and invisible when not.

The broad Italian-Mediterranean menu somehow manages to “have something for everybody” while avoiding the monotonous clichés that

ostensibly populate most presentday menus. In place of tragically hip dishes that confound more than satisfy, the fare here is, as Cole herself describes it, “just simple, good, solid food and technique.”

A plethora of options span the spectrum in terms of portion size, personal preference and price. Small, medium, large, shareable, vegan,

cheese-filled, delicately battered and fried squash blossoms ($16).

Baked gnocchi ($10) registered as one of the rare clunkers among the starters, marred by gummy pasta.

Luxe’s kale Caesar salad ($10) has all the right components in proper proportion, while the wild greens ($13) arrived bright, fresh, ripe and gilded with a dollop of

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vegetarian, meaty, seafood-based, carb-heavy, gluten-free… and damn near everything is priced below $20.

Thrilling starters include a charred octopus ($15) in a roasted tomato sauce, presented in a hot skillet that also contains creamy textured gigante beans. Different takes on crispy croquettes feature a vegetarian version ($8) with a slightly sweet, somewhat spicy carrot filling and a flavorful crabsalmon blend ($13.50) garnished with pickled carrots. We hopped on a seasonal special on offer one night,

milky burrata. Pizzas have been an appealing staple at Luxe since the start and they remain so today, with various arrangements built atop airy, buttery crusts.

Pasta dishes range from an earthy linguini ($17) with sautéed wild mushrooms, toasted pine nuts and whipped ricotta in a garlicscented olive oil to an imposing gnocchi ($21) dish that bathes nicely caramelized pasta blobs in a mushroom-studded cream sauce. It is capped off with three large flanks of tender braised beef short ribs. I could

barely make a dent in an over-the-top platter of crispy fried chicken thighs ($19), all laid to rest atop a mountain of smoked gouda mac and cheese.

The dish continued to feed me for days thereafter.

Brunch at Luxe is in equally high demand, when the kitchen rolls out egg Bennies, short rib hashes, spicy shakshukas, cheesy omelets, fluffy pancakes, eggy french toasts and airy beignets – all washed down with bloodies, bellinis and mimosas.

At a time when “restaurant saturation” seems to be the hot topic of the day, as evidenced by the above-mentioned restaurants plus Boiler 65, Blue Habanero, Il Rhione, Flight and Ninja City, the sum of which make up the dozen or so establishments that have opened up in the wake of Luxe, it’s refreshing to see a level of customer support that is as rare today as are longtime employees. What keeps people coming back, in addition to the consistent food, service and value, is an energy and atmosphere that feels natural, effortless and genuine.

dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner | clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

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Daniel Ang says that he drafted a five-year plan that would propel his emerging food business from concept to food truck to brick and mortar restaurant. Unbeknownst to him at the time, that five-year plan would soon condense to a five-month plan.

“When something like this lands in your lap, you better take it,” Ang says.

Ang is referring to a storefront space in Lakewood that will become the new home for Dang Good Foods, the food truck that he rolled out just four months ago. The space (13735 Madison Ave.), which for the past three and a half years has been home to Thai Thai, will become available this December when that popular eatery relocates to larger quarters just a couple blocks down the street.

At just 15 or so seats, the shop is small, but not too small for Ang. “Many of my friends in the business told me to go big or go home,” he explains. “I say, if you go big, you definitely will go home!

My mindset was, if I am going to do a restaurant, I want to start out small like this, an intimate, nonpretentious place that is all about the food.”

The menu at Dang Good Foods will build upon the dishes that Ang has been selling from the truck of the same name, what he labels “the taste of Singapore and more.” He borrows from all across Southeast Asia, with inspiration from Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, among others. Many of the dishes, like the popular braised pork belly steam buns, are an amalgam of family recipes.

Menu items might include spring rolls, Spam musubi, satay noodle bowls, meat- or vegetable-based rice bowls, laksa (Malaysian coconut curry noodle soup) and japchae, a dish of stir-fried glass noodles.

Ang says that he’ll take a seasonal approach to his menu, adding and subtracting dishes based on the weather.

“I want to make people comfortable enough to venture outside of their comfort zone with their taste buds,” adds Ang. “I’ve noticed over the past five to seven

years people getting more and more adventurous with their foods here in Northeast Ohio.”

The future of the truck currently is up in the air, he reports.

Look for a December opening.

Moonglow Lounge to Bring a Splash of Old Vegas to Northfield Center Husband and wife partners Kevin Moore and Hadley Conner grew tired of having to travel long distances to enjoy a well-made drink in an attractive setting, so they set about building a cocktail lounge in their home village of Northfield Center. When it opens next week, the Moonglow Lounge (85 West Aurora Rd.) will add a splash of effervescence to the local drinks scene.

“This is definitely one of the first of its kind in the area,” notes Moore.

“There’s not anything like it around here.”

You might have seen Moore hanging around Porco Lounge, where he occasionally carves ornate tikis that end up adorning that bar and others. For this project, he’s enlisted the help of some “wild mixologists,” who have crafted a cocktail menu loaded with some “real ringers.”

The 49-seat speakeasy in the heart of town, formerly the Little Tavern, features a 1960s Vegas cocktail lounge theme – “It’s a neat looking little joint,” adds Moore, “with a really nice atmosphere. It’s going to be a place you can take a date and be able to enjoy yourself and have a great cocktail while you’re at it.”

In addition to classic cocktails, mocktails and skinnys, many featuring the fruits of local distillers, there will be eight taps devoted to Ohio breweries. Some light snacks will be on hand as well.

Moore says the name was borrowed from a cool, old bar a few towns over that no longer exists.

dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner

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THE ZOMBIES | NOON | Saturday, Aug. 17 | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, 1100 Rock and Roll Blvd, 216-781-7625. Tickets: $26, rockhall.com 30

| clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

Rock Hall photo by shutterstock.com

A

BRITISH ROCK ACT THAT FORMED in the early ’60s, the Zombies had been nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame a couple of times prior to this year, when they were finally enshrined.

Singer-guitarist Colin Blunstone admits he had started to doubt the band would ever make it in.

“We had been nominated four times in the last five years,” he says during a transatlantic phone call. “Of course, there was much screaming and shouting for joy in the Blunstone household when it was announced that we had made it. I was happy to just be nominated, but when you’re nominated four times, you start to think you might never get inducted. For me, the really exciting thing is that the induction takes place with your peers. We were also very well-backed by our fans as well and voted in by our fellow professionals. It’s an incredible feeling that your musical adventures have been noticed and appreciated. It’s such a wonderful thing. The induction ceremony is something I will never forget.”

The group comes to the Rock Hall on Saturday for a performance and interview.

Tickets for the outdoor concert cost $26, and the price of the ticket includes museum admission. Members and donors can attend the performance for free but must make a reservation. The event will take place rain or shine. Rock Hall members and Donor Circle supporters also have exclusive access to purchase a VIP package that includes access to a Hall of Fame Series interview with the Zombies in the Foster Theater at noon, the Hall of Fame Gallery signature dedication and a “premium” concert experience.

The band’s induction caps off a tremendous career that, to hear Blunstone tell it, started on a whim. He first met founding members Rod Argent, Paul Atkinson and Hugh Grundy because of a chance encounter with a schoolmate.

“We all went to school in St. Albans, which is about 25 miles north of London,” he says. “We went to one of two different schools. They went to a different school. We had to sit in alphabetical order at my school.

They were quite strict. The guy I sat next to was named Paul Arnold. He lived near Rod Argent, and they were putting a band together. He turned to me one day and said, ‘You’ve got a guitar, haven’t you?’ I said,

‘Yes, I do.’ That was like my audition for the band.”

Blunstone arrived early for the initial meeting with the guys, so he was there with “these three strangers” before Arnold showed up and the rehearsal began.

Argent was going to be the lead singer, and Blunstone was going to be the rhythm guitarist. The first thing they played was an instrumental. They then took a break.

Argent went over to an upright piano in the corner of the rehearsal space and played and sang while they were on their break.

Bluestone was so impressed, he suggested he become the band’s keyboardist. “[Argent] didn’t want to play keyboards because he wanted it to be a rock band,” says Blunstone. “He said, ‘We want three guitars.’ He left it at that. At the end of that first rehearsal, I sang a bit of a Ricky Nelson song. I never can remember what it was. Rod said, ‘If you will be the lead singer, I’ll be the keyboardist.’ That was the Zombies from then on.”

Arnold wanted to be a doctor and was very involved with his studies, so he couldn’t commit to rehearsals. He left, and bassist Chris White joined the band very early on.

The group played what Blunstone refers to as “teenage social clubs” before getting a gig as the house band for the local rugby club.

“That was the first time we played in front of an adult audience,” Blunstone says.

“And this was an audience that was known for drinking lots of beer. It was a rowdy crowd, but we came through it. It was really good. That’s when we built up a local following. We went back to play again, and they had to add space on the back of the club because they couldn’t get everyone in. Then, we won a huge rock ’n’ roll competition in 1964 that led to a recording contract with Decca, and we were off and running.”

As the band prepped for recording session, the producer mentioned that the guys could cut some of their own tunes if they so desired.

“He just mentioned it in passing,” says Blunstone. “I didn’t really notice, but Argent did. He wrote ‘She’s Not There,’ and I heard it two days later. I don’t know how long it took him to write it. It couldn’t have taken very long. I knew it was a special song the minute he played it. That was one of the tracks we recorded at our first session.”

Though “Tell Her No” and “Time of the

Season” would become hits in the States, the group struggled to produce another hit in the UK. “Decca used to demand a single every six weeks, and at the same time, we were touring,” says Blunstone. “We had to go out and play. People weren’t interested in albums in those days. It was all singles. All the time, there was this pressure to write new material while we were touring. It was new to us. We were 18 and 19 years old. It was very hard to keep on top of everything while were traveling all over the world.

With the benefit of hindsight, I’d like to say to those people at Decca, ‘What do you expect?’ It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy that bands are going to fail if you demand a new single from them every six weeks. They won’t have hits. It’s really obvious. That’s what happened to us.”

While struggling to deliver the coveted hit singles, the band had started to write the material for 1968’s Odeyssey and Oracle, an extremely influential psychedelic pop album it recorded at Abbey Road Studios on a very limited budget.

That album would leave a lasting legacy even though the band would break-up after its release.

“We were in Abbey Road, which was probably the most expensive studio in the country,” says Blunstone. “We had to record very fast to afford Abbey Road.

We rehearsed extensively. We knew the material really well. We knew the arraignments and keys and were just looking for a performance. Half the band felt it would be our farewell statement.

Half felt they’ve been moving on. I’ve only realized that in the past few years doing interviews. I didn’t think that. I just thought it was an album, and we’d go on. At the end of it, there were quite a few dramas.

We had a manager who left a lot to be desired. He was merciless in his financial arrangements with the band.”

The group reconvened in 2004 and has regularly toured since that time.

Blunstone says fans can expect to hear “all the hits” when the group plays at the Rock Hall. White and Grundy will even join the group for the interview session and to play one song together.

jniesel@clevescene.com | t@jniesel

| clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

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| clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

@masoniccle @hobcleveland

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J U S T A N N O U N C E D - O N S A L E F R I DAY

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OCTOBER 17

Sept. 29 Witt Lowry w/ Xuitcasecity Cambridge Room Oct. 1 Black Label Society w/ Black Dahlia Murder, Alien Weaponry Oct. 4 Dark Star Orchestra – Tribute to Grateful Dead Oct. 11 Less Than Jake & Bowling For Soup w/ Authority Zero Oct. 15 Dermot Kennedy SOLD OUT Oct. 16 PnB Rock w/ NoCap, Rylo Rodriguez Oct. 19 Scotty Sire w/ Toddy Smith, Bruce Wiegner, Chris Bloom Oct. 21 & 22 – Taking Back Sunday w/ Red City Radio Oct. 23 Jidenna Oct. 26 Alejandro Aranda is Scarypoolparty Oct. 27 Matt Maeson - Grog Shop

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MASONIC CLEVELAND: 3615 Euclid Ave, Cleveland OH 44115 HOUSE OF BLUES: 308 Euclid Ave, Cleveland OH 44114 masoniccleveland.com / houseofblues.com | clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

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| clevescene.com m | August 14 - 20, 2019

MUSIC WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM HIS FRIENDS Singer-songwriter David Crosby brings his Sky Trails band back to the Kent Stage

By Matt Wardlaw Photo by Anna Webber

THERE’S BEEN NO SHORTAGE OF new music from singer-songwriter David Crosby. The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee has put out four albums in the past five years, an incredible burst of creative productivity that even knowing his ongoing investment in the process of writing songs, is surprising, considering the current climate of the music business.

The lack of what can be measured as a reasonable return has quelled the desire of many of Crosby’s contemporaries to create new music and albums. When looking at the time spent in the studio vs. the time spent on the road lined up against the limited time they have left over to spend with family and loved ones, it’s often the new music that takes a back seat.

His current creative spurt is driven by a number of factors. One, he’s unlocked, quite unexpectedly, a wealth of ongoing collaborations, working with two different solo bands.

“It opens up a ton of possibilities, and it’s really good for me because it makes me work much harder to try and keep up with these guys.

It’s absolutely good for me,” he says.

“One [band is] acoustic, and one’s electric, but the truth of it is that both of them are situations where I’m writing with unbelievably talented people and that’s really where the rubber meets the road. That’s how it’s actually working and man, it’s fun. Holy shit, is it fun.”

He’ll bring the electric Sky Trails band, named after the 2017 album of the same name, back to the Kent Stage at 8 p.m. on Tuesday for another evening of songs and stories. The group, which features longtime collaborators James Raymond on keyboards and guitarist Jeff Pevar, is rounded out by drummer Steve DiStanislao, bassist Mai Leisz and Michelle Willis on additional keyboards and vocals.

Crosby reports that they’re currently halfway finished with their next album, although he can’t predict when it will be out. “It will come out when we’re done with it,” he says with a laugh. But at the same time, it’s clear that he’s very enthused with what they’re putting down in the

studio.

“It’s got probably the happiest song I’ve written in the last 20 years on it,” he says. “It’s called ‘I Think I.’ And if we were still doing singles, this would be a hit single.”

The group has added the song to recent setlists, and Crosby says it’s likely that fans might hear some additional new material from the forthcoming album during the next round of concerts. They’ll regroup

something useful and where I can make things better for somebody else, and that’s by making music.’

That’s the one place that I can help.

So that’s what I’m doing. I think I’m doing the right thing.”

A new documentary, David Crosby: Remember My Name, takes stock of the many incredible things that Crosby has done in his career that now spans more than five decades of work. But it also takes a very honest,

DAVID CROSBY AND FRIENDS SKY TRAILS TOUR 8 P.M. TUESDAY, AUG. 20 THE KENT STAGE, 175 E. MAIN ST. | 330-677-5005 TICKETS: $80-$125 | thekentstage.com

after the tour to finish up work on the record.

Crosby celebrates his 78th birthday this month, and one could view his current pace of recording activity as a race against time, but the legendary singer-songwriter offers up a different viewpoint.

“The question is not how much time you have, it’s what are you going to do with it? That’s basically how that one comes down,” he says.

“I’m like, ‘Okay, however much time I have, there’s one way I can spend it where I can help and where I can do

unflinching look at the collateral damage that he’s done, both to his own health and the friendships of nearly all of his most famous collaborators.

“I think that we were surprised at how deep we went in this one. I don’t think we were expecting [that].

It’s just such a stunning result,” he says. “You know, we started out thinking that we would be truthful, but Cameron [Crowe] is the best interviewer. He’s really good at it.

Even though he is my friend, really when he starts making a film, he’s a

filmmaker. He and A.J. [Eaton] really intended that I have nowhere to hide and I intended that I have nowhere to hide and I had nowhere to hide and it worked pretty well.”

The film has a local connection too, as Crosby returns to Kent State, revisiting the memories of the events that led Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young to record “Ohio” following the tragic Kent State shootings on May 4, 1970.

Decades later, watching the moment in the new film, it’s clear that his feelings are still raw, reflecting on the experience.

“It was an awful thing. Those kids were students, not outside agitators.

They were students there. They were doing something legal and they have a constitutional right to assemble and protest. They were unarmed,” he says now. “There wasn’t a single gun anywhere. And those guardsmen should not have had live rounds, because there wasn’t any threat to them. There wasn’t any reason for them to have it. And they killed four people and wounded nine, I mean, that’s just...when a country starts shooting its own children, man, you know stuff is screwed up.”

In another moment in the film, Crosby walks by a wall in his office that features photos of his bandmates, both past and present, with many of the friendships now fractured, seemingly beyond repair.

He’s said that he didn’t make this film with the idea of making amends and it’s not an attempt to put Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young back together.

In conversation with Crosby, it’s clear that he’s very happy with where things are, in terms of the people he’s making music with today. Still, would he like a chance to rebuild those lost friendships?

“You know, distantly, yeah, I suppose. I’m not holding my breath,” he says. “I don’t hate those guys. I don’t have any bad feelings about them at all, really. But I don’t have time to wait around. I’ve got to do this and do it now because now is what I’ve got.”

scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene | clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

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| clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

‘90s NIGHT (10pm)

THE GROG SHOP PRESENTS AT

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THU 9/5 WITH WILLIAM

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SAT 9/14

THE SKULL WEED DEMON

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MON 11/4 WITH LOW THU 11/7

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LIVEWIRE

all the live music you should see this week Photo by Connor and Rachel Dwyer

WED

ForestFox /Vinyl Wings: 8 p.m., $7.

CODA. Judah & the Lion/Flora Cash: Last year, producers Drew Long and Daniel James holed up with Judah & the Lion at Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville and cut the tracks that became Pep Talks, which came out earlier this year.

Despite the somber nature of the lyrics, which address mental health issues and divorce, the album might be the band’s most uptempo effort to date. It begins with the exuberant chants of “Pep Talk,” which, with its horn section, sounds a bit like Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk.” Other highlights include the twangy “Why Did You Run?,” which is one of the first songs that front man Judah Akers wrote for the disc. (Niesel), 8 p.m., $27.50$45. Jacobs Pavilion.

Lemur Fest: 8:30 p.m., $10 ADV, $15 DOS. Grog Shop.

Steely Dan Tribute by the FM Project (in the Supper Club): 8 p.m., $12 ADV, $15 DOS. Music Box Supper Club.

Jackie Warren: 10:30 p.m., free.

Nighttown.

Pharez Whitted: 8 p.m., $20. Bop Stop.

08/14

The 21st Century Jazz Orchestra: 7 p.m., $15. Bop Stop.

Cheer-Accident/Shake the Baby Til the Love Comes Out/Big Scary Indian/Iron Oxide/The Grand Trine: 8 p.m., $8. Now That’s Class.

Alan Greene (in the Supper Club): 6 p.m., free. Music Box Supper Club.

The Iguanas: 8 p.m., $15 ADV, $17 DOS. Beachland Tavern.

Train + Goo Goo Dolls/Allen Stone: 7 p.m., $19.50-$115. Blossom.

Ryley Walker: 8:30 p.m., $10.

Mahall’s 20 Lanes.

Work In Progress Featuring Gaten Matarazzo: 7 p.m., $15 ADV, $17 DOS. Grog Shop.

THU

08/15

Beach Regime/Scutoid/Dead Ends Light/Charlie Dams: 8 p.m., $8.

Grog Shop.

Jeremy Clyde: 7 p.m., $30.

Nighttown.

Deceased/Savage Master/ Kurnugia/Assault: 7:30 p.m., $12.

Now That’s Class.

Samantha Fish/Jontavious Willis: 8 p.m., $20-$40. Beachland Ballroom.

Honey and Blue: 7 p.m., $15. Bop Stop.

India.Arie: 8 p.m., $40-$75 ADV/$43-$78 DOS. Cain Park.

Shooter Jennings: 8 p.m., $20. The Winchester.

Alan Madej/Noon/Aaron Civil War: 8:30 p.m., $5. Happy Dog. The Del McCoury Band: 7:30 p.m.

Music Box Supper Club.

The Raconteurs: 7 p.m. Agora Theatre.

Therapy Thursday Featuring Case Barge & Skylar Keffer: 8 p.m., free. CODA.

FRI

08/16

Cap Gun Cowboys/Zombo’s Record Party: 8:30 p.m., $10. Beachland Tavern.

Sammy DeLeon Latin Jazz Sextet: 8:30 p.m., $15. Nighttown.

An Evening with Chris Botti: 8 p.m., $25-$75 ADV/$28-$78 DOS. Cain Park.

Grungefest Featuring Smells Like Nirvana/Grunge DNA: 8 p.m., $12 ADV, $15 DOS. House of Blues.

Indie rockers Judah & the Lion come to Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica. See: Saturday.

Horns And Things: 8 p.m., $20. Bop Stop.

Jazz Jam Session: 11 p.m., free. Bop Stop.

Keith Kenny/Kelly Zullo: 8 p.m., $12. CODA. KORN + Alice In Chains/ Underoath/HO99O9: Two veteran hard rock acts, Korn and Alice in Chains, come to town tonight on their co-headlining tour. Back in the ’90s, the bands had much different audiences. Korn was part of the nu-metal movement that found bands like it and Limp Bizkit pairing hard rock with hiphop. Alice in Chains, who predate Korn, was one of grunge’s biggest acts before singer Layne Staley passed away. Expect both bands to play plenty of tunes from their ’90s heydays. (Jeff Niesel), 7 p.m., $29.50-$99.50. Blossom.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists/ Control Top: Ted Leo has always been an emotive songwriting, flashing his heart on his sleeve and confronting the ills and celebrations of a country (and personal identity) in constant crisis. And in doing so, he’s always had his band, the Pharmacists,

in tow. Though he dropped his first solo outing two years ago, he’s back on the road with the Pharmacists for a summer tour that brings him to the Grog Shop tonight. (Eric Sandy), 9 p.m., $17 ADV, $20 DOS. Grog Shop.

Mega ‘80s: 9 p.m. Music Box Supper Club.

Pillars/God Root/Silver Lights: 9 p.m., $7. Happy Dog. Voice of Addiction/Pizza Creeps: 8 p.m., $10. The Winchester.

Jackie Warren: 10:30 p.m., free.

Nighttown.

Woodstock! by Nitebridge & Friends (in the Supper Club): 8 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Music Box Supper Club.

SAT

08/17

Eddie Baccus Sr. Quintet + Special Guests: 8:30 p.m., $20.

Nighttown.

The Bacon Brothers — The Shaky Ground Tour: 8 p.m., $40-$125.

The Kent Stage.

Drab Majesty/Xeno & Oakland/ Body of Light: 8 p.m., $13 ADV, $15 DOS. Now That’s Class.

SUN

08/18

The Alarm/Modern English/ Gene Loves Jezebel Featuring Jay Aston: Mike Peters and the members of the Alarm — featuring a three-piece version of the current lineup with guitarist James Stevenson (moonlighting on bass for the current tour in place of regular bassist Craig Adams) and drummer Steve “Smiley” Barnard — return to town tonight to play House of Blues. A couple of years ago, they played on the Vans Warped Tour and showed just well they could hang with a younger crowd. Even with only 25 minutes of stage time, Peters and the band barreled through nearly a dozen songs, some condensed, to deliver a rapid-fire overview of both the past and the present. Expect them to bring a similar energy to tonight’s set. (Matt Wardlaw), 7 p.m., $27 ADV, $30 DOS. House of Blues.

Automb/Gomorrahizer/Umbral: 8 p.m., $10. The Winchester.

Boyz II Men: 8 p.m., $69-$79. MGM Northfield Park – Center Stage.

Gina Chavez: 7 p.m., $20. | clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

37

LIVEWIRE Nighttown.

Hillbilly Casino & Whiskey Daredevils: 7 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Beachland Tavern.

No/Mas/Scavengers/Daggrs/Voided Reality: 9 p.m., $5. Now That’s Class.

Papa Roach/Asking Alexandria, Bad Wolves: 7 p.m., $29.50$49.50. Jacobs Pavilion.

Reggae Sundays: Outlaws I & I (in the Supper Club): This

special Reggae Sunday Happy Hour Concert series began earlier this month and continues every Sunday through Sept. 1. The indoor/outdoor concert series will take place rain or shine with live music from 4 to 7 p.m. Music Box will also offer food and drink specials exclusive to the series.

Today, the local act Outlaws I & I will perform. (Niesel), 4 p.m., free.

Music Box Supper Club.

MON

SEPTEMBER 21 & 22 2019

08/19

Reignwolf/JJ Wilde: $20 ADV, $25 DOS. House of Blues Cambridge Room.

Smashing Pumpkins + Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds/AFI: After a successful anniversary/reunion run put them back into arenas last year, Smashing Pumpkins have announced dates for a summer tour that’ll bring them to Blossom tonight. Last year’s Shiny and Oh So Bright Tour sold more than 300,000 tickets across North America. It was the band’s first tour in nearly two

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| clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

decades to feature singer-guitarist Billy Corgan, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin and guitarist James Iha. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and AFI will join them as special guests for tonight’s show.

(Niesel), 7 p.m., $29.50-$129.50.

Blossom.

TUE

08/20

Ritwik Banerji: 7 p.m., $5. Bop Stop.

Black Taffy/Metavari: 8 p.m., $8 ADV, $10 DOS. Beachland Tavern.

David Crosby and Friends Sky Trails Tour: 8 p.m., $80-$125. The Kent Stage.

The Cynics/Tufted Puffins/Cotton Ponys: When the Cynics take the stage at the Happy Dog tonight, it’ll be the legendary Pittsburgh garage rock kings’ first show in Cleveland since 2015. The Cynics have had a string of scorching live gigs in Cleveland that go back to double bills with the New Salem Witch Hunters at the Phantasy Nite Club in the ’80s.

The Happy Dog show is part of a tour in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Cynics’ classic Rock-n-Roll LP. Formed in 1983 out of the ashes of a handful of different Pittsburgh punk bands, the Cynics’ constant duo of Gregg Kostelich (guitar) and Michael Kastelic (vocals) solidified in 1985 on “No Place to Hide,” the band’s second single on Dionysus Records. Listening to the first single with Kastelic, there is no mistaking that it’s the Cynics.

Kostelich’s trademark fuzz guitar and Kastelic’s snarling vocal howl are completely locked-in on their first recorded track. The Cynics released “Blue Train Station” in 1986 and “Twelve Flights Up” in 1988 as part of a garage rock revival that included such bands as the aforementioned Witch Hunters, the Chesterfield Kings and the Fuzztones. Not content to be pure ’60s revivalists, the Cynics hardened the fuzz and howl on 1989’s Rock-n-Roll and created a certifiable garage rock classic.

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BAND OF THE WEEK CAPGUN COWBOYS

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MEET THE BAND: Phil Verhoef (vocals,

guitar, trombone), Greg Yanito (vocals, guitar), Todd Nelson (drums), Mark Loncarevic (bass), Kevin Hegedus (guitar), and Mike Chipchak (drums) BEYOND BORDERS: The seeds of what would become the band were planted at a Jayhawks/Freddy Jones Band concert at the Odeon Concert Club in Cleveland in October of 1997. Verhoef had recently moved to the Cleveland area and enrolled in grad school at Case Western Reserve, and Yanito had recently taken an architecture job. “Phil had long hippy hair, and he was playing air guitar and was singing along to all the songs,” says Yanito. “I figured I should talk to the guy. I had long hair at the time too. We quickly figured out we had many musical interests in common.

We were into what was alternative in the 1980s. We liked R.E.M. and Bob Mould and Uncle Tupelo.” The two had played in a few bands in the past, in high school and college and both wanted to start playing again. They began as a duo, and in the spring of 1999, the first complete lineup came together. It would play a gig at Borders Books, and its first club show came in 2001 when the group

| clevescene.com | August 14 - 20, 2019

opened for Devil in a Woodpile at the Beachland.

THE DEBUT ALBUM: In 2003, it recorded

its debut, Girls, Cars, and SmokeFilled Bars, at producer Ken Brown’s local home studio. “It was great,” says Yanito when asked about the experience. “We were jangly, and the album was rough-around-the-edges.

We were fine with that because it captured the spirit of the band. I enjoyed the rough-around-the-edges aspect because it felt more authentic.”

THE SECOND ALBUM: The group cut its

second album, Atomic Horsepower, in 2005. It broke up that same year. “We released the record and had the last show on the same day,” says Yanito.

“It was just due to people moving out of state.” The band regrouped and played a number of shows in 2007, including Cleveland and San Francisco. It also played reunion shows in 2012.

who has kids now, which is half the band. Everyone wanted to do an anniversary show and started practicing almost a year ago. I gave them marching orders, and they’ve been rehearsing in Cleveland without Phil and me.” Mike Devine, who gave the band its first show at Borders and currently owns a gallery in Pittsburgh, will be on hand to DJ. WHY YOU SHOULD HEAR THEM: The group

has a number of tracks that hold up well to anything by more renowned alt-country acts. “Bible Belt,” a track on Atomic Horsepower, features hiccupping vocals and bit of horns as Yanito cheekily sings, “I can’t undo your bible belt.” The mid-tempo “Long Gone in Tow” includes a beautiful fiddle solo, and the snotty “Walkin’ Home Alone” embraces cowpunk.

WHERE YOU CAN HEAR THEM:

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CELEBRATING AN ANNIVERSARY: To

celebrate its 20th anniversary, the band plays this week at the Beachland Tavern. “I still talk to everybody, and we’re all still good friends,” says Yanito. “I can tell you who’s living where and

Cowboys perform with Zombo’s Record Party at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug 16, at the Beachland Tavern.

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SAVAGE LOVE SHRINKAGE

By Dan Savage I’m an otherwise healthy male of 54. When I was a teen, my cock measured about six-and-a-half inches.

Not small, not huge, pretty average. I never kept track of the situation down south, but suddenly I find my junk reports in just over four inches. WTF? Is this normal? Do men lose size/girth as they age? I’m only 54! How much more do I have to lose before 60? And beyond? I’m single now and suddenly I’m afraid to be intimate with women I formerly would have embraced without a second thought out of embarrassment. My confidence is at an all-time low. I’m actually afraid to ask anyone out for fear of “exposing” the evidence. I assume there are no pills for this, but please tell me there are options.

Shrinking In Seattle “We have to make a distinction between observed penile length and actual penile length,” said Dr. Ashley Winter, a board-certified urologist in Portland, Oregon.

“Penis length changes in real time based on a number of factors, factors that include level of arousal, stress, and ambient temperature.

For this reason, researchers like to limit variability by measuring the ‘stretched flaccid length’ in a warm room.”

Needless to say, most men aren’t observing—much less measuring— their dicks when they’re soft.

“We know that almost ZERO home dick measurements are done in the flaccid state,” said Dr. Winter.

“But unless SIS jotted down the room temp or precise level of arousal when he measured his teenage penis, it’s unlikely he’s comparing apples to apples. Another issue—and a far less appreciated one—is that the penis is anchored to the undersurface of your pelvic bones, so nearly onehalf of the average penis length is ‘hidden’ along the undersurface of the pelvis.”

There’s a very special tendon—the suspensory ligament—that runs from the base of your penis to your pelvis. In addition to providing you with some degree of control when you’re erect, SIS, the suspensory ligament also holds some of your dick up and inside the body. Men who want their cocks to look larger when they’re soft and who don’t

mind if their hard cocks are harder to control or flop around during intercourse will sometimes have this suspensory ligament cut, which causes the penis to “drop.” Their cocks aren’t as useful for sex, it’s true, but there’s more “observable” cock for other men to admire in locker rooms and at urinals.

“The most dramatic cause of lost ‘observed’ penile length with aging is weight gain,” said Dr. Winter.

“As the average guy gains weight, more of his fixed penile length gets hidden, as the crucial sit-bone-toskin distance gets longer.”

So your dick may not be any smaller than it was in your teens, SIS; it’s just that more of it may be hidden inside your now-middle-aged body thanks to weight gain and that damn ligament.

But hey, let’s say you’re no thicker today than you were in your teens and that your arousal levels are constant and that you’ve kept your apartment at a constant temperature over the decades. Could something be causing your cock to actually shrink?

“The main causes of actual penis shrinkage are having your prostate removed, Peyronie’s disease (plaque development that narrows or bends the penis), or the scarring of erectile tissue, something called corporal fibrosis. SIS would know if he’d had prostate surgery, and he would have a noticeable ‘lump’ or change in erection shape if he had Peyronie’s.

So the main concern here is corporal fibrosis. It can be insidious and is usually associated with conditions that make blood vessels unhealthy— like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. SIS says he’s healthy, but the penis is often the first body part to manifest signs of the above conditions because it is so dynamic. Which means the penis, wonderfully and tragically, is often the ‘canary in the coal mine’ for cardiovascular health.”

Let’s say your canary is shrinking, SIS. What can you do about it?

“First and foremost, he should realize that far less women would care about his penis length than he does,” said SIS. “Studies including 52,000 individuals showed that 85 percent of women were satisfied with

their partners’ penile length, while only 55 percent of men were satisfied with their own length.”

And unlike you, SIS, the women you sleep with today aren’t going to be comparing the dick you’ve got now with the dick you had (or thought you had) then.

“But if SIS wants to maximize his ‘observed’ penile length, he should shed extra weight—if he’s overweight—and should also check in with his doc for a test of his cholesterol, blood pressure, and a diabetes screen,” said Dr. Winter.

“Regular erections do help keep the penis healthy, so if he has some ED, a Viagra (or similar med) can preserve length.”

***

I am 66 years old and a gay man.

After a very promiscuous youth, I have settled down a lot as far as sex and mostly just masturbate, with a trip to the baths every few months. I have a question about orgasms. I have noted, since I’ve gotten older, that my orgasm from masturbation is very intense and seems to last about five minutes after I ejaculate, during which I feel orgasmic feelings in my penis, legs, and sometimes my whole body. I’ve never had this before. Is this normal?

Mr. Sixty Fucking Six “The question of normalcy in sexual function is hammered into us from the start—but it’s pejorative and irrelevant,” said Dr. Winter. “As a physician, the relevant question here is: ‘Does MSFS find this distressing or harmful?’ It doesn’t sound like five-minute total-body masturbationinduced orgasms are painful for MSFS, nor are they interfering with his day-to-day quality of life. So by definition they are ‘nothing to worry about.’ Furthermore, they are not the harbinger of any dangerous medical condition. As you like to say, Dan, this is more of a ‘YAHTZEE!’ than a problem.”

Anecdotal evidence—my own, a huge pile of it, gathered over the years—indicates that you’re something of an outlier, MSFS; most of the older men I hear from with questions about their orgasms are concerned about their slow and steady deterioration, MSFS, not their

sudden improvement. (Erections are harder to get, their orgasms are less intense, and their jizz is less abundant.)

But even if this isn’t a problem— even if this is a yahtzee—what might be going on?

“That’s the far more interesting question: Why is this happening?” said Dr. Winter. “I don’t have a lot of quotable studies on that one, but I have a few thoughts. First off, this may have nothing to do with age and everything to do with his position. Contraction of the muscles in the pelvis, thighs (even calves!), and the muscles at the base of the penis (or clitoris) can contribute to strength of erection and intensity of orgasm, and certain positions may allow more effective muscle ‘recruitment.’ So differences in position or stance during partnered versus masturbatory activities may hold clues for MSFS.” Another possible explanation— and another definite “Yahtzee!”—is that you’re ever so suddenly multiorgasmic.

“While it is more common for women to be multi-orgasmic, there are men who can do this too,” said Dr. Winter. “Longer duration of arousal—common with porn watching—and certain medications that prevent prolactin surge in the brain and strong Kegels (those muscles again!) may lead to the ‘condensed multi-orgasm,’ a phenomenon that may fit the description MSFS is providing.”

But finally and again, MSFS, so long as those powerful, longlasting, all-body orgasms aren’t diminishing your quality of life, they’re nothing to worry about.

Enjoy!

Follow Dr. Ashley Winter on Twitter @AshleyGWinter. Dr. Winter cohosts The Full Release (thefullreleasepod.com), a terrific, funny, and informative sex-andrelationship advice podcast, with comedian Mo Mandel.

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