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Upfront
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Tony George vs. Cleveland city council, plus Put-in-Bay says no thanks to Christmas in July
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KT Tunstall talks about her second album in her mind, body and soul trilogy; another reunion for the Cursive, and all the shows to catch this week
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UPFRONT APPEALS COURT: KEVIN KEITH’S CHALLENGE TO 1994 MURDER CONVICTION CAN PROCEED WITH NEW EVIDENCE Photo by Eric Sandy
THE 6TH U.S. CIRCUIT COURT OF Appeals ruled last week that Kevin Keith, who has spent the past 24 years behind bars for a triple murder in Bucyrus that he says he didn’t commit, can present new evidence to a judge in contesting his conviction. It is now up to U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver to weigh the evidence and potential Brady violations and decide whether or not Keith, who was originally sentenced to death but granted clemency just two weeks before his date with the executioner in 2010, should be granted a new trial. Keith’s habeas petitions have been previously denied by appeals courts, but the most recent one led the panel to rule in favor of Keith. It included new evidence that the state intentionally didn’t respond to a subpoena that would have provided exculpatory evidence directly refuting one of the prosecution’s main claims at trial; also that the state withheld material concerning the disgraced professional career of Michele Yezzo, a former forensic scientist with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation whose work was crucial to the state’s case. The whole troublesome, long saga that led to Keith’s conviction was covered in a Scene feature story late last year, but the short version is this: Three people were murdered and three more injured in a 1994 shooting in Bucyrus. Keith, who was familiar and known to the victims, was identified as a suspect by questionable eyewitnesses and shoddy forensic work — police posited that Keith had committed the crime as retribution for one of the victims’ family members helping the police in a low-level drug case that ensnared Keith and his relatives. (The snitch, for lack of a better word, was supposed to be home at the time of the shooting but wasn’t.) An alternate suspect, Rodney Melton, a drug dealer who in the weeks before the murder confided to his girlfriend that he was paid $15,000 to “cripple” the same snitch who was the target of the shooting, and who was tied to the crime both
by other witnesses and evidence (more on that in a second), was floated at Keith’s original trial and in subsequent appeals, of which there were many, but never seriously investigated by the police. Where those previous appeals failed, this one succeeded. Citing the new evidence, the panel ruled that two of the state’s “core” aspects of the case are now very much in question. The first deals with the man, Richard Warren, who was one of the victims and who allegedly identified Keith as the shooter. As the state’s version of events go, when Warren awoke in the hospital he told a nurse it was Kevin Keith who put him there and that nurse called police to let them know. The defense long contended that Keith was never mentioned as a suspect by any witnesses before cops mentioned the name to them. If Warren never independently identified Keith before having any conversation or interview
with the police, that would bolster their contention. A subpoena was issued for phone records from the police department; the defense team never received a response, and Warren’s hospitalroom ID and the existence of the phone call entered into evidence. But years later, thanks to a separate lawsuit, both those call logs and the original subpoena were recovered. Not only was there no such call from the hospital anywhere near the time stated, but “IGNORE FOR NOW” was written at the top of the subpoena. Additionally, the nurse, misidentified in previous appeals and thus proving unreachable, has now been correctly identified by Keith’s team and provided an affidavit saying she never made the call, or any call, because Richard Warren never said anything about Kevin Keith or any other suspect. The appeals court this week
ruled that there’s sufficient reason to believe the state, in that regard, intentionally withheld evidence from Keith’s team that could have impacted a jury’s decision. The second questionable aspect deals with Yezzo, whose “expert” conclusions about a partial license plate imprint and tire tracks at the scene formed a significant portion of the state’s case. In 2016, her 33-year career at BCI came under fire. A Huron County judge that year tossed the conviction of a man named James Parsons after his lawyers successfully argued that Yezzo’s 800-page personnel file, rife with stinging and concerning comments from her superiors like, “Her finding and conclusions regarding evidence may be suspect. She will stretch the truth to satisfy a department,” was withheld before trial. The same files contained allegations that she used racist language and threatened to | clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
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UPFRONT kill a coworker. She was placed on administrative leave at least once and was actively under investigation at the time she worked on the Keith case. The 6th District this week came to a similar conclusion — that Keith’s team, unaware of her troubling track record at the time of the original trial because BCI and the state never shared that information, was unable to properly question or impeach her work. (As it turns out, later lawyers for Keith found the partial plate and tire tracks Yezzo tied to Keith could also be tied to Melton, who passed away a few years ago.) It’s the ďŹ rst bit of good news for Keith, his lawyers, and his brother Charles, who has been ďŹ ghting to clear Kevin’s name for more than two decades, in quite some time. We’ll continue to keep you updated as things happen. — Vince Grzegorek
Organization with Tony George Backing May Pull Petitions to Dramatically Reduce City Council Size, Salaries In a developing story, sources told Scene Monday that a group calling
itself “Clevelanders Firstâ€? intended to pull petitions to gather signatures for a proposed city charter amendment that would signiďŹ cantly reduce the number of city council seats and city council salaries. Local restaurateur and political ďŹ nancier Tony George, who is supporting the effort, told Scene by phone that he thought there would be no trouble gathering the required signatures. City charter requires 10 percent of the total number who voted in the previous mayoral election (i.e., not much more than 6,000). Clevelanders First, per George, includes Bill Ritter and John Kandah. Ritter is a former city council and state rep candidate who Scene covered, most recently, after he accepted questionable “consultingâ€? payments from candidate Marty Sweeney before this year’s primaries. When Scene reached Ritter by phone Monday, he would not speak about Clevelanders First, the proposed initiative or whether or not he intended to pull petitions that day. He said he was feeling under the weather, but would be happy to speak about this at a later date. (A very strange call!) George described Ritter and Kandah both as “frugal, hardworking guys who care about Cleveland.â€? He said his own role was merely to support the effort
in whatever way he could. As a suburban resident, he is unable to be an ofďŹ cial signatory, but said he backs the effort in principle because “as Cleveland goes, so goes the suburbs.â€? George was behind a similar effort to reduce the size of city council several years ago, but said that the effort was ultimately unnecessary because then councilpresident Marty Sweeney vowed to reduce it himself and made good on his promise. In two contentious re-districting efforts, council was reduced from 21 seats to 19, and then from 19 seats to 17, where it stands today. The new alleged amendment would cut the existing seats by nearly half, and cut council pay from about $87,000 to $58,000. George said he did not consider these reductions “dramatic.â€? “You’ve got to compare to other cities,â€? he said. “Look at Columbus. They’re a much larger city and they’ve got seven members and they all make in the mid-40s.â€? (Columbus city council members are all at-large members, meaning they don’t represent individual wards, and they make $42,414.) George said he doesn’t know if the petition calls for city council members to become at-large members. But he repeated familiar complaints about the inefďŹ ciency
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of city services and the issues that arise when council members care only for their wards and not the city as a whole. He didn’t have to say Ken Johnson’s name out loud. In general, George said the city was in need of fresh leadership and fresh voices who would actually keep a mayor in check. He said a petition for reducing council was an effective way to achieve that end. Both whether the petitions will be pulled, and whether “Clevelanders First� is a legitimate organization, independent of Tony George, that intends to follow through on the initiative, remain to be seen. — Sam Allard
Newburgh Heights’ Bold Idea for Attracting Young Professionals: Pay For Their Student Loans Newburgh Heights mayor Trevor Elkins said he planned to introduce legislation Monday night that will help new homebuyers pay off their students loans. Elkins said he believed the legislation was the ďŹ rst of its kind in the state and had the support of the village council. He expected it to be adopted this week. The ordinance is proposed as a solution to two problems. On one hand, the small, blue-collar
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inner-ring suburb needs to grow its tax base and does not currently competitively attract recent college grads. If the city wants to successfully transition from a postindustrial to a knowledge-based economy, the ordinance says, it will have to find ways to attract young people. And on the other hand: Recent college grads are swimming in student debt. The average student loan debt for college graduates in 2016 was $37,172, per the ordinance, up 6 percent from the previous year. If the ordinance passes, Newburgh Heights would start
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a fund specifically to help new homebuyers pay off these debts. Each homebuyer would be eligible for up to 50 percent of their outstanding debt or $50,000, whichever is smaller. Per the ordinance, the incentive would be vested at 80 percent after 10 years of residency and fully vested after 15 years of residency to encourage longterm residency and housing-stock stability. This is one of those sensible ideas that nevertheless may be perceived as a radical strategy because it proposes to give to individuals what is ordinarily reserved for businesses: a generous financial incentive. — Allard We strive to meet all of your premium tobacco needs with unparalleled knowledge, service and facilities. We offer a wide selection of pipe tobacco, lighters, cigar cutters, humidors and briar pipes.
Put-in-Bay Hopes to End Christmas in July, Blaming Busloads of Visitors From Detroit and Unruly Crowds
2022 Year that the NBA AllStar Game will be hosted by Cleveland, league commissioner Adam Silver, team owner Dan Gilbert and local electeds announced last week.
$100 MILLION Projected total spending in the region during All-Star weekend, including hotel bookings.
$5,000 Political contribution from the Cavaliers organization to Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, on 7/29/17, during the final stages of the Cleveland Q Deal controversy. Fudge was a vociferous supporter of the deal and appeared at the AllStar announcement last week.
$125,504 Annual salary of Police Chief Calvin Williams, who “retired” Wednesday and was immediately rehired so that he could double-dip: earn his pension while still earning his fat salary.
Put-in-Bay’s annual Christmas in July festivities are not an official celebration, in so much as they’re not recognized and promoted by the local tourism bureau and haven’t been since 2013, but people still arrive en masse anyway. Citing an already busy summer schedule, as well as “busloads of visitors from Detroit,” and general discontentment with young people drunkenly enjoying themselves at past events, the Chamber of Commerce is now asking individual businesses to cease promoting any such Christmas in July events. Here’s how this past year’s festivities were described in the Put-in-Bay Gazette: “The streets were jammed by gawking golf carters long before the lunch hour. By noon, the streets of the village were jammed with carters looking for parking and places to party. Many had their own coolers filled with soft drinks and water. Some had those funny smelling cigarettes, plus some of the women weren’t exactly modest when it came to their wardrobes. If you didn’t know any better you’d have thought Put-in-Bay was ground zero for the Miss World Fat Booty Twerking Pageant.” We’re not entirely sure what Putin-Bay thinks its appeal is in terms of tourism beyond what is pretty adequately summed up above, but we have a hunch folks festooned in Santa hats and little else will still flock there in droves. — Grzegorek
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FEATURE GENETIC JUNGLE PIONEERS The true story of two women who are using DNA and genealogy to solve America’s most puzzling, mysterious cold cases By James Renner
Colleen Fitzpatrick
THEY CALLED THE DEAD MAN Joseph Newton Chandler, but that wasn’t his name. He lived alone in an efficiency apartment in a nondescript complex in Eastlake. He rarely ventured far from home and the closest thing he had to a friend was a former coworker at a chemical factory he once listed as an emergency contact on his employment forms. One day in July 2002, Chandler purchased a handgun — a .38-caliber Charter Arms revolver. The old man returned home. He locked his door and windows, turned off the air conditioner. Then he stepped into to his bathroom, faced the mirror, and put the barrel of the gun in his mouth. The last thing to enter his
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mind, other than that bullet, may have been the dark secret he was leaving behind. By the time anyone noticed he was missing, Chandler’s body had decomposed in the summer heat and become a gorging ground for maggots. It was impossible to lift fingerprints. Police reviewed paperwork from the rental office, searching for next of kin. He’d listed a sister, Mary Wilson, who lived at 1823 Center St., in Columbus. But the address led to an empty lot. It was important they find some relative: He’d left $82,000 in the bank. The court appointed his coworker as the executor of his estate and enlisted a private investigator named Mike Lewis to track down
| clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
Margaret Press
Chandler’s family. Lewis used Chandler’s birth certificate to identify his parents and then crosschecked birth records in Buffalo, where Chandler was born, and in that way located a sister. She was rather surprised to hear the news because her brother, Joseph Newton Chandler, had died in a tragic car accident at age 8 along with their parents, four days before Christmas in 1945. The dead guy in Eastlake was not the real Joseph Newton Chandler. Whoever he was, he’d carefully assumed the dead boy’s identity over several years — first, by obtaining a copy of Chandler’s birth certificate in Buffalo and then by using that document in 1978 to get a Social Security number in Rapid City, Iowa,
before moving to Ohio. He got a job as a draftsman for the Lubrizol chemical company and earned a reputation there as a quiet eccentric — he liked to listen to the sound of static while he worked. The Eastlake police ran down every lead they had but the case went cold. U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott heard about the mystery in 2014 while looking for some men who had escaped Alcatraz. Perhaps Chandler was actually one of these fugitives, he thought. Certainly, the man was running from something — why else would he take his true name to the grave? Elliott located hospital records for the old man. One detailed a trip to the E.R. in 1989, when the man had been treated for lacerations
on his penis, which he claimed were caused by having sex with a vacuum cleaner. Not long before he committed suicide, the erstwhile Joseph Newton Chandler was diagnosed with cancer and the hospital collected a tissue sample. They still had it. Elliott sent it to the lab. Unfortunately, the DNA was too degraded to be of much use to law enforcement. It seemed like the old man’s true identity would never be found. Then, on June 21, 2018, Pete Elliott called a press conference in the jury assembly room at federal courthouse in Cleveland. In the news footage, there’s an amused smile on Pete Elliott’s lips as he steps to the podium to address reporters. He has a whopper of a story for them : The true identity of the man known as Joseph Newton Chandler has been discovered. But not by any cop. “Now it is my honor to introduce the ladies from California,” he said. “Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick and Dr. Margaret Press not only put us in the ballpark with Joseph Newton Chandler, they told us the exact seat he was sitting in and then told us who paid for the ticket and the person who paid for that ticket was Mr. Robert Nichols. It’s my honor to introduce the two doctors.” Elliott stepped away and Dr. Fitzpatrick came forward. She can hardly be seen behind the podium. “I want to thank the Marshals for trusting us to work on this case,” she said, her face all smile, her glasses perched on top her short, wavy hair. She didn’t open with an anecdote or charming story. Instead, she dove headlong into a particlelevel explanation of Y-chromosomes and the proprietary software used to make sense of it all. Fitzpatrick and her partner had come up with a new way to catch bad guys.
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Colleen Fitzpatrick has a vest with 42 pockets, and before she explains how she changed forensic science forever, she wants to explain what each pocket is used for. We’re at her favorite Persian restaurant — Darya, in Costa Mesa, California. She’s just come off a plane from Cleveland, a day after Elliott’s press conference, and the vest made traveling easier. “It’s a SCOTTeVEST,” she says. “It was on Shark Tank, the TV show? It will change your life. Look, you can fit an iPad in this pocket and here’s a pocket you can store your credit cards because it blocks RFID signals so nobody can
scan for your information, people do that now, and this pocket is for your glasses and here, the piece de resistance …” She opens a pocket to reveal a card-sized piece of cloth with diagrams sketched on it. It’s a map to all her pockets so she knows where everything goes and where everything is. Colleen grew up in Lakeview, an upper-middle-class section of New Orleans that drowned in Katrina. She was the oldest of four and her memories of the Big Easy from the ’50s and ’60s conjure a world that doesn’t exist anymore. A safe, cozy place in a time before Mardi Gras became a bacchanal. Her family had the only pool in the neighborhood and her mother let the Red Cross train kids to swim there. Her father sold silk flowers, wholesale and retail, in a large shop and designed
to see who could procure the most without being indecent. One year Colleen returned with great piles of beads. “She came up with such a great idea,” says Bebe. “She made this giant clown face, with a big open mouth for a target. She stood on the sidewalk and as the parade came by, she challenged everyone to throw their beads in its mouth.” Though nobody gave a name to it, it was clear Colleen was different. She thought differently, saw the world differently. She assessed the world in a series of win/ loss challenges, looking for any advantage. “People expected her to do something fabulous when she left,” says Bebe. When it came time for college, though, funds were tight. Much of
Joseph Newton Chandler
and hung Christmas decorations for businesses in the winter. From an early age, Colleen exhibited savant-like behavior. She was proficient in French by the time she was 4. She skipped eighth grade. And she was always working on some fantastical project. “Colleen would hold little fairs at our house,” recalls her sister, Bebe. “Like county fairs, you know? With booths and games for kids. One year, she made a spook-house in the garage. You sat in a wagon and she pulled you through.” The entire family enjoyed thought-provoking games. There were long matches of Clue with the extended family, and her grandmother was the reigning champion for many years. Her father taught them to play Hearts. The Fitzpatrick kids liked to collect Mardi Gras beads in the French Quarter and along Bourbon Street, and it was always a challenge
her father’s income was going to care for her dying grandmother. Colleen had her mind set on the physics program at Rice University, but she knew she’d probably end up at Loyola. As the enrollment deadline approached, Colleen focused on her science fair project: She was conducting experiments with a Benham disk. An illusion first discovered by an English toymaker, a Benham disk is a circle with a specific black-and-white pattern of curved lines that, when spun, appears to create bands of color. Different people see different colors, and to this day nobody really understands how it works. Young Colleen set out to discover what was going on. She ran a number of tests and constructed variations of the Benham disk to see if it had any impact on the colors produced. The day her enrollment paperwork for Loyola was due, a telegram arrived at Colleen’s house.
Her science fair project was one of 10 in the country selected for an award by Tomorrow’s Scientists and Engineers, a program sponsored by Humble Oil. The prize was $6,000 toward the college of her choice. “My life is a series of events like this,” says Colleen. “I’m a scientist, but science can’t describe everything. We cannot describe ourselves scientifically. How do I describe why we are here? I believe in intuition, in being directed down a certain path because of events like this. Is there a master puppeteer directing our path through life? Or do we engineer it all ourselves? I don’t know.” Colleen studied physics at Rice and earned her Ph.D. from Duke University. Along the way, she became fascinated with an illusion of a different sort : holograms. She taught herself holography, the method of creating a threedimensional image on a twodimension surface of glass. It was art; it was science. And it required great patience and focus: The glass had to remain completely still during the process. If it wavered even a billionth of a meter the image would not develop. She built a holography lab in her garage and it took her five years to get it right. Colleen lectured at Sam Houston State University for a couple of years but found she didn’t care for teaching. She left for a job with Rockwell International, a defense contractor out of Seal Beach. There, Colleen worked on the laser radar system used in Ronald Reagan’s Star Wars initiative. Later, at Spectron Laser Systems, she was the principle investigator on the LITE Laser for the space shuttle, an experiment that used lasers to identify chemicals and pollution in the atmosphere. In 1989, she founded her own company, Rice Systems, Inc. She continued her work on the use of lasers for highresolution measurements and bid on contracts with NASA, the National Science Foundation and DARPA. She was working on the next spacecraft to Jupiter when funding was redirected to a return voyage to the moon by the Bush administration in 2005. As a kind of release, Colleen then began writing a book about her other passion: genealogy. Colleen knew there was a way to apply science to genealogy in a fashion that had not really been done before. Hers was the very first book on the subject, according to Forensic Magazine. Part of genealogy involves the examination of old photographs in order to identify subjects and time periods. At the time, most | clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
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FEATURE investigators were focused on the details of the clothing worn by the subjects in the pictures, trying to identify the manufacturer and time period when a blouse or pair of pants had been produced. But that method was very imprecise : People could keep the same pair of pants for years. So instead, Colleen studied the thickness of the cardboard the photographs were printed on. She researched the history of cardboard and learned how the thickness increased over time. She also researched the aspect ratios of the photos, which reveals the size of the negatives the photographer used, which in turn identifies the particular brand of camera that took the photo. She built a website — ForensicGenealogy.info — and blogged about her findings. In 2006, Colleen was contracted by Hebron Investments, an international business that located people whose homes had fallen into escrow due to unpaid taxes. She worked 75 cases, locating people in 30 countries, sometimes using Google Translate to communicate. She found them all save two. After that, Colleen spent some years identifying Holocaust survivors who had been taken from their families during the war. She helped expose fraudulent authors who claimed to be survivors of the Holocaust. And she got really good at identifying people using archival records and DNA. The techniques she was using and honing were about to be deployed on a new question: the identity of a serial killer.
***
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| clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
On the morning of Nov. 9, 1992, a young woman’s nude, headless body was discovered near a bike path along the Arizona Canal in Phoenix. Police were quick to connect this body to the report of a missing woman that had come in the night before : Angela Brosso, 22, had gone for a bike ride along the canal path and never returned home. It was Angela’s birthday. Her bike was never located. Her head was found 11 days later in a canal grate. Ten months later, 17-year-old Melanie Bernas went for a bike ride along the Arizona Canal and never returned. Her body was found in the water the day after she disappeared. She’d been stabbed to death. Her bike was also gone. A serial killer had
come to Phoenix. And for 22 years, the man remained unidentified. In 2014, the 25th International Symposium on Human Identification was held in Phoenix and several local detectives attended the event to learn about new techniques that could be used in forensic identification. Colleen Fitzpatrick was there, speaking about her attempts to identify the extended family of Abraham Lincoln’s mother. Colleen offered to meet with the police to explain a new way they might use DNA to find Angela and Melanie’s killer. An officer picked her up and brought her to the station. If there was any chance this woman had a new trick up her sleeve, the detectives were interested. “These murders brought the city to its knees,” says Detective Dominic Roestenberg. “We hadn’t seen anything that violent. By the time we heard about Colleen, we had exhausted all investigative leads. And what she did … it was miraculous.” What Colleen did was find a needle in a factory of haystacks. The state lab had tested the suspect’s DNA and isolated his Y-DNA profile. Y-DNA is very important to genealogists. Every person has 23 pairs of chromosomes, a mix of genetic information from their mother and father. The 23rd pair, however, is either two X-shaped chromosomes for a girl or an X and a Y-shaped chromosome for a boy. The Y-shaped chromosome is passed from father to son — like a surname. If a person’s Y-DNA profile can be sequenced and compared to other profiles in a large enough database, it’s possible to figure out what that person’s last name likely is. There are a number of websites with large, public databases of Y-DNA profiles, which are used by genealogists to trace lineage. There are huge websites like YSearch.org, but also smaller, individual sites that focus on specific surnames, like the Smith Project, the Jones Project and the Fitzpatrick Project. In fact, Colleen knew there were over 200,000 publicly available Y-DNA profiles and she had the software to mine them. When she compared the canal murderer’s Y-DNA to these publicly available profiles, she got eight matches, all with the same last name. “She gave us a last name, Miller,” says Roestenberg. “We did a followup and found his name in our files. We found a suspect with that name who we had contacted years earlier.”
Detectives had talked to Bryan Patrick Miller 20 years earlier, when he was 19. At the time, he denied involvement and was dismissed. Now he became their No. 1 suspect. Of course, they needed to confirm that they had the right man. So the detectives surreptitiously collected Miller’s DNA (since the criminal case is still pending, they won’t say how exactly they did this) and sent the sample to the lab so the genetic material could be compared to the DNA left at the crime scene. Days later, as the detectives gathered for a weekly meeting, an analyst from the lab called. Could they come over? Like right now? “They literally walked over,” says Roestenberg. “That never happens. The lab employees never just walk over to the police department to personally deliver information. And they came in and said, ‘We got him.’” Roestenberg was so shocked, all he could say was, “Are you sure?” To which the lab technician replied, the chances they were wrong was one in several quintillion. “Yeah, it’s definitely him. I do believe I shed a tear.” It was 8 p.m. and Fitzpatrick was at dinner with a friend when the detective called. “He said, ‘You were right, you were right! His name’s Miller!’” The next day a SWAT team arrested Miller, now 43-years-old, for the murders of Angela Brosso and Melanie Bernas. He goes to trial soon and police say he is a suspect in several additional cold case murders. “Without Colleen getting involved, I feel strongly that this case would never have been solved,” says Roestenberg. “I don’t know if you ever get closure, but, yes, it was good for the family.” Thanks to Colleen, police had been given a new tool to crack cold cases, and with her track record growing, law enforcement had a new secret weapon. Without meaning to, Colleen Fitzpatrick had become a post-modern Sherlock Holmes. And every Holmes needs a Watson.
***
Before she found genealogy, Margaret Press fell in love with linguistics. This was at Berkeley, in the late 1960s — where the culture was evolving day by day. Margaret’s mother was an activist in Pasadena and she’d taken Margaret to political protests as a girl, where she had witnessed the power of words in the signs and chants used to fight racism and McCarthyism. By the time she got to Berkeley,
Fitzpatrick and Press at a press conference
revolution was the word of the day. Not just in the streets but within the study of linguistics as well. A young rockstar of a linguist, Noam Chomsky, was challenging longheld beliefs about the origins of language. Chomsky proposed that the capacity for language was innate in humans , that we are born with an understanding of the structure of language that is not learned — as unlikely a thing as a child who never played chess knowing where each piece goes at the beginning of his first game. “Suddenly the planets were going around the sun, not the earth,” says Margaret, recalling the excitement she felt reading Chomsky’s theories
lets you figure out which languages are related to each other today. For her dissertation, Margaret compiled a descriptive grammar of Chemehuevi, a nearly-extinct Native American language. After grad school, she found work writing in the language of computers and worked in software development until she retired two years ago. The software work was always meant to supplement her other passion — writing murder mysteries. Margaret is the author of several fiction and nonfiction books based in Salem, Massachusetts. In 1996, she published Counterpoint, which detailed her research into the reallife murder of Martha Brailsford.
“They thought I was a crank, like the psychics who call and say they know who the murderer is. A genealogist calls and says I can solve your case? Okay, right.” for the first time. “This universal structure of language has to be hard-wired inside us. And it is. Like our DNA. If you work backward from any language, you will see where it diverges from a common, shared language hundreds of years ago.” Margaret explains how in most IndoEuropean languages, the word for “father” begins with either a “p” or an “f.” Like a mutation on the Y-chromosome, which letter they use
It was another mystery writer, though, who inspired Margaret to test the boundaries of forensic science. In 2000, the novelist Sue Grafton learned about a cold case from Santa Barbara as she was casting about for a mystery she could use for the next book in her Alphabet series. In 1969, a young woman’s body was found by hunters in a quarry, her murder never solved, her identity
never recovered. There were scant clues . She’d had buck teeth and new fillings. She wore bell-bottoms and horseshoe earrings. Grafton became enamored of the case and used it for the basic plot of Q is for Quarry. In 2001, Grafton paid to have the woman’s body exhumed. DNA was collected. A facial-reconstruction was done. But none of the leads panned out. Margaret read about the case and wondered if she might be able to help. She knew that adoptees in the United States were having luck tracking down their parents by having their DNA sequenced by companies such as Ancestry and 23andMe. Why couldn’t that same technology be used to identify the Santa Barbara Jane Doe? So she contacted the sheriff’s office. “They wouldn’t return my calls,” she says. “They thought I was a crank, like the psychics who call and say they know who the murderer is. A genealogist calls and says I can solve your case? Okay, right.” What she needed was credibility. Colleen had street cred. She was already working with law enforcement on similar cases. So Margaret reached out to Colleen on Facebook and laid out her plan : She wanted to get the dead woman’s genetic profile from the detectives in Santa Barbara and upload it into the 23andMe database. It would surely kick up a relative match, a second cousin in Boise or something.
| clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
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But Colleen and others said such a thing would be impossible. Ancestry and 23andMe do not allow users to upload their own genetic profiles. They test the samples sent in by subscribers themselves and then use proprietary software to find specific markers known as single nucleotide polymorphisms, which you’ll see written as “SNPs”, commonly called “snips.” These markers are then compared to other profiles in their database. They brainstormed ideas : Perhaps they could attend a symposium where executives from the genetic companies would be present and convince them that they should allow personal uploads. And then a hobbyist figured out a workaround. It was a member of their Facebook genealogy group: He’d submitted a DNA sample of his dead father (gathered from a tissue sample collected during a hospital stay) and had its entire genome sequenced. That sequencing included not just the Y-DNA that many genealogists relied upon to trace lineage, but also the DNA from the other 22 chromosome pairs inherited from both parents — what’s called autosomal DNA. And while the private ancestry companies don’t allow uploads, they do allow users to download a text file that contains coded information about specific markers that were identified in their DNA. That text file can then be uploaded to a public repository of autosomal DNA on the web, called GEDmatch. The GEDmatch software then looks for matches between all their users’ data sets. Using a program to isolate these same snips from the whole genome data, a file could be created and uploaded. It worked. The man succeeded in creating a 23andMe file for his father on his own. GEDmatch located the man’s relatives, and Colleen and Margaret found their solution. The same strategy could be used to identify any John or Jane Doe. “It was the right moment, the perfect storm,” says Margaret. “The public databases were getting bigger, and the genetic testing was getting cheaper. Suddenly, entiregenome testing was affordable.” Margaret still holds out hope that one day the private companies will see the benefit of working with them too. “We’d have access to another 15 million profiles if Ancestry and 23andMe allowed clients to upload
data. We could solve these cases lickety-split.” Grafton died last December. The Santa Barbara Jane Doe has yet to be identified. But Margaret hopes for an answer soon. “I would have loved to tell her we’re going to do this case.” From that moment on, Colleen and Margaret have spoken nearly every day. Colleen contacts law enforcement and Margaret manages a volunteer army of genealogists who gather to discuss leads in their private Facebook group. “She’s the nuts and bolts,” says Colleen. “I’m more of the marketing end. I’m more the one with the contacts, who knows the agencies, knows how to speak to them. Our personalities are very compatible.” Together, Colleen and Margaret founded the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit organization that uses autosomal DNA to identify John and Jane Does. The project also helps raise funds for agencies that want to use their services but who can’t afford it. Over the years they proved, through numerous and varied cases, that the DNA Doe Project worked. “This was unprecedented,” says Colleen. But there was a growing concern that others in the genealogical community would view what they were doing as an invasion of privacy. Each time they solved a new case, it brought more attention. Eventually, GEDMatch would have to decide what was permissible. And what would happen to their efforts to identify their John and Jane Does if the database they relied on suddenly changed its terms of service? What if it simply shut down? “If GEDmatch rolled up the sidewalk, we were toast.” Margaret sighs. “And then the Golden State Killer happened.”
***
It seems callous to reduce the evil of this man to a paragraph, but there’s simply too much to give every last horror its due. His crimes began with burglaries (about a hundred), which advanced to rapes (at least 50), and then to murder (at least 13). His killing fields were the suburbs of Sacramento, Modesto, Visalia. The serial killer’s reign lasted from 1974 to 1986, and then he went silent. Some suspected he had died. The police have given him many names over the years — The East Area Rapist, the Original Night Stalker, the Golden State Killer. DNA linked all of these crimes together but the
| clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
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FEATURE perpetrator remained unknown: Police found no match in CODIS. Paul Holes, a retired investigator for the Contra Costa District Attorney’s office, consulted with his own forensic genealogist, a woman named Barbara Rae-Venter, a retired intellectual-property attorney. They compared the Golden State Killer’s DNA with the profiles on GEDmatch, and identified possible relatives. From there they narrowed down the list to a couple possible candidates, which pointed them to Joseph DeAngelo, a former police officer from Citrus Heights. Eighty-year-old Curtis Rogers was in bed the morning of April 25, reading the news on his computer, as is his routine. That’s when he saw the breaking news — the Golden State Killer was caught — and the police had used his website to do it. “I could feel my hair turn gray,” says Rogers. In another life, he worked in international business, servicing clients like Quaker Oats and Mennen. He’s retired now, but not less busy. GEDmatch was his idea. But he’d never envisioned where it would lead him. “I think I sat there and just tried to absorb the meaning of what was happening. I looked outside. There were antennas. There were reporters at my door.” Rogers was faced with a dilemma. What was to be done about GEDmatch? What responsibility did he have? “I was very concerned,” he says. “Were we violating the privacy of our users, allowing these forensic genealogists to compare a suspect’s DNA to their profile? At the same time, here was this killer that made Jack the Ripper look like a choirboy. I did a lot of thinking. The ethics are very bothersome.” Rogers is not a crime fighter by choice. He was a member of the Rogers surname project, and claims to be the third cousin, three times removed, of Winston Churchill. Rogers had become frustrated by having to make so many calls to members of other surname projects in order to trace back his family tree. So, out of necessity, he came up with a simple idea : What if he were to build a website that could serve as a central clearinghouse for autosomal DNA data? It began in 2010 and he named it after GEDCOM (Genealogical Data Communication), a data format used for comparing DNA profiles that was developed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
14
Robert Ivan Nichols
Saints. Genealogy is a big part of the Mormon faith because of their belief in baptism-by-proxy. If they can specifically identify a person who died, no matter how long ago it happened, they can be saved if a member of the church is baptized in their place. Their mission is to save us all.
open, he says, and can be used to track serial killers and rapists. It’s a new era for DNA. “The police were used to things that were easy,” says Rogers. “Black and white. Fingerprints are either a match or not. DNA matched a suspect or it didn’t. Now, DNA is no longer black and white, no longer
“I think I sat there and just tried to absorb the meaning of what was happening. I looked outside. There were antennas. There were reporters at my door.” GEDmatch was built so genealogists could analyze their DNA, not to catch criminals. But in the end, the ends justified the means. “The dam was broken with the Golden State Killer,” says Rogers. “There’s no going back. What we need to do is educate our users.” GEDmatch will remain up and
| clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
yes or no. It’s more complicated now. The police have to use people like Colleen, experts at finding people. Law enforcement can’t do it alone right now because they simply don’t know how, but maybe in the future they’ll train their own experts.” Currently, there is nothing regulating this new field of investigation, and for now, anyway,
the new frontier of forensic genealogy is wide open. Colleen has begun accepting criminal cases through her private company, Identifinders International, and the DNA Doe Project remains dedicated to giving names to John and Jane Does.
*** U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott had heard about Colleen’s work over the years and asked if she could help him on one of his mysteries. The lab had already isolated the man we knew as Joseph Newton Chandler’s Y-DNA profile. In that profile were segments of DNA where the nucleotides (the A-G-T-C bases you learned about in grade school) repeated. Everyone’s DNA has these small, repeating bits of genetic code, in different places — what’s called a “short tandem repeat,” or STR. Colleen compared the STR profile generated on the case to hundreds of
thousands of Y-DNA profiles stored online at places like YSearch.org. Out of all those available profiles, only one matched all 17 markers. That person’s last name was Nicholas. This line of Nicholases descended from a colonial immigrant, George Nicholas. George’s son was the first treasurer of the Colony of Virginia. It was a prominent family with old ties going back centuries. There were literally thousands of descendants. So Elliott, at Colleen and Margaret’s request, resubmitted the DNA to the lab for full genome sequencing. When the data came back, Colleen uploaded the file to GEDmatch, where the new information was compared to the other autosomal DNA files in its database. This identified hundreds of distant relatives. “We were working with fumes here,” says Colleen. So they requested that the lab test the DNA extract one more time — a risky gamble, since this would destroy the remaining DNA the lab had for this man. Once it was gone, there could be no more tests. The lab came back with a slightly different data set this time. That’s when Margaret suggested they combined two files. “I explain it like having two photographs where the resolution is
not great and then overlaying them to fill in the face in the picture,” says Margaret. This time GEDmatch identified several relatives they’d never seen before. And one new match led them to a woman named Schreiber who had four sons with a man whose last name was Nichols. Three of the boys had passed away. The fourth, Robert Ivan Nichols , was still alive . The DNA Doe volunteers scoured social media for more information about the family. They searched public records and phone numbers. And one very smart sleuth noticed an odd coincidence. She’d found that the Nichols family home was at 1823 Center St. in New Albany, Indiana. When Chandler had filled out his rental agreement, he’d listed 1823 Center St., Columbus, as an address. “It wasn’t a coincidence,” says Elliott. “Liars always lie close to home.” Soon, Elliott stood on the doorstep of man named Phil Nichols, who he now believed was the mystery man’s son. “I drove down with another Marshal and knocked on his door. When he opened the door, it was like Joseph Newton Chandler was standing there. They looked so much alike. I knew we had our guy.” Of course, that was only half the mystery. Elliott knows the man’s real
name, now, but he still doesn’t know what Nichols was running from. What he’s been able to gather from family stories and scarce public records is that Nichols served on the USS Aaron Ward, which was bombed by the Japanese during World War II. He suffered wounds in battle and burned his uniform when he returned home. He left his wife and kids shortly after, telling his wife, “In due time, you’ll know why.” Phil says the last contact he had with his father was in 1965, when he received an envelope postmarked from Napa, California, with nothing inside but a single penny. Marshals found the elder Nichols had resided in Dearborn, Michigan, in 1964 before making his way out to the San Francisco area in 1965, the same year his parents reported him missing. “Typically, when people are hiding, when people are scared, it’s typically fugitives on the run,” Elliot said at the press conference earlier this year. “There’s a reason he went missing and assumed the name of a deceased 8-year-old boy in 1978 and hid for so many years. There’s a reason he never again contacted his family. Robert Ivan Nichols never wanted to be found throughout his lifetime and into his death, and someone out there may hold the key
as to why.” Fitzpatrick thinks the answer will be more mundane and personal. “I think it’s more likely we’re dealing with a man who suffered from PTSD from the war, which caused paranoia,” she says. Her role in the case is done, but there’s plenty more lined up. Now that police know what a forensic genealogist can do, her phone rings incessantly. “I’m getting calls and emails every day. I’m working on a dozen cases.” Her house is not large, a couple of rooms and bedrooms upstairs. She sublets one of her rooms to a friend. For her dream job to survive, the DNA Doe Project will need funding. No matter what happens, Colleen and Margaret have each other’s back. “When you work these cases, you feel that insidious gloom and it can affect you,” says Margaret. “We rely on each other and our team and we focus on the excitement of being the ones to solve a case. And we are. We’re solving them Doe by Doe by Doe. It’s a jungle of bad out there, but we’re chopping through it.”
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GET OUT everything you should do this week Photo Emanuel Wallace
WED
11/07
SPORTS
Cavaliers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Picked as one of the teams in the Western Conference that could potentially give the defending champion Golden State Warriors a run for their money, the Oklahoma City Thunder got off to a rough start this season. Part of the problem was that star guard Russell Westbrook was injured and didn’t play in the first few games. Since he returned to the starting lineup, the Thunder have recovered some and will be a tough opponent for the Cavs tonight. The two teams play at 7 at the Q. Consult the Cavs website for ticket prices. (Jeff Niesel) 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, theqarena.com. MUSIC
Chamber Music in the Galleries This monthly concert series at the Cleveland Museum of Art places young musicians from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western Reserve University in the CMA galleries. Now in its seventh season, the series features “mixed programs of chamber music” for “a unique and intimate experience.” The performances often feature instruments from the museum’s keyboard collection. Tonight’s concert begins at 6 and lasts for about an hour. Admission is free. (Niesel) 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org. SPOKEN WORD
Cleveland Stories Dinner Party Cleveland Stories Dinner Party is a weekly series that pairs fine food with storytelling. Through it, the folks at Music Box Supper Club hope to raise awareness of the mission of the Western Reserve Historical Society’s new Cleveland History Center. The goal of the Cleveland Stories Dinner Party is to “bring to life some of the fun, interesting stories about Cleveland’s past — from sports, to rock ’n’ roll, to Millionaires’ Row,” as it’s put in a press release. Admission is free, with no cover charge, although a prix fixe dinner, designed to complement the night’s theme, is $20. Doors open at 5 p.m., dinner is served at 6, and the storytelling starts at 7. Tonight, William L. Tabac, a practicing
Whiskey Business returns to Red Space. See: Friday.
lawyer and emeritus professor of law at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University, talks about the unsolved case of the “mad murderess of Shaker Heights.” (Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com. SPOKEN WORD
Keep Talking Keep Talking is an exciting storytellers program where locals can share their real-life experiences on a theme. The monthly series offers attendees the chance to grab a drink and a dog while listening to some of their Cleveland neighbors tell tall tales. The theme for tonight’s storytelling is “My Hometown.” The hosts are Adam Richard and Zachariah Durr. The program starts at 8 p.m. sharp at the Happy Dog. Admission is $5. Want to be a storyteller at a future session? See details on the website. (Niesel) 5801 Detroit Ave., 216-651-9474, happydogcleveland.com. THEATER
Les Miserables Cameron Mackintosh presents this new production of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s Tony Award-winning musical Les Miserables, which has hit the road after a return to Broadway. The play
features songs such as “I Dreamed a Dream” and “One Day More.” The production offers new staging and “dazzlingly reimagined” scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo. Tonight’s performance takes place at 7:30 at Connor Palace. Tickets cost $10 to $125. (Read the full review by Scene critic Christine Howey, on page 22.) (Niesel) 1615 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
to the Himalayas during tonight’s National Geographic Live program, On the Trail of Big Cats. Coauthor of the National Geographic book Tigers Forever, Winter aims to “share the beauty of big cats while working to save them.” Tonight’s event takes place at 7:30 at the Ohio Theatre. Tickets are $25 to $45. (Niesel) 1501 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org. MUSIC
THEATER
Mamma Mia! This smash-hit musical features ABBA’s greatest hits, including classics like “Dancing Queen,” “S.O.S,” “Super Trooper,” “Take a Chance on Me” and “The Winner Takes It All,” along with “an enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship.” The musical even spawned a commercially successful film. Tonight’s performance takes place at 7:30 at the Hanna Theatre, where the show goes on through Nov. 11. Tickets are $15 to $89. (Niesel) 2067 East 14th St., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org. SPOKEN WORD
On the Trail of Big Cats A determined explorer, awardwinning photographer Steve Winter will lead you from Asian jungles
Rock Hall Nights On select Wednesday nights, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame hosts Rock Hall Nights, an evening of special programming. Tonight from 6 to 9, the theme is “play,” and you can test your skills on the drums or compete to be a Rock Band Champion. Admission is $20, or free for Cleveland residents. (Niesel) 1100 Rock and Roll Blvd., 216-515-8444, rockhall.com.
THU
11/08
COMEDY
Jeff Blanchard Comedian Jeff Blanchard has attitude to spare, and nothing is out of bounds for him. His routine involves impressions, ragging on the Browns and the lovely town of Elyria. Some | clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
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GET OUT of the things he says may offend, but it’s all in good fun, as this Cleveland native brings in that trademark sense of ironic humor. (You have to be tough, after all.) He takes the stage tonight at 7:30 at the Improv, and tickets are $15. (Liz Trenholme) 1148 Main Ave., 216-696-IMPROV, clevelandimprov.com.
anthems ranging from Americanroots and folk to gospel. The story centers on a girl who was struck by a wayward axe blade when her father was chopping wood, leaving her with a visible scar across her face. With enough money finally saved up, she’s traveling across the Deep South in 1964 towards a miracle: the healing touch of a TV evangelist
FRI
11/09
$7 for Cinematheque members and students. (Niesel) 11610 Euclid Ave., 216-421-7450, cia.edu.
FILM
The Children Act Emma Thompson and Stanley Tucci star in The Children Act, a new adaptation of Ian McEwan’s 2014 novel by the same name. Thompson plays a London judge who must
FILM
Hymn: Sarah Brightman in Concert To build anticipation for soprano Sarah Brightman’s upcoming new album Hymn, the Cedar Lee Theatre will screen Hymn: Sarah Brightman in Concert tonight at 7:30. The film features a concert that took place at the Festspielhaus in the Bavarian Alps. Staged in two acts, the 90-minute performance is a hybrid of a musical film, a classical-crossover program and a large-scale concert production. Brightman’s band, the Munich orchestra, a 50-voice choir and the Ludwig Ensemble of dancers accompany the singer. Filmed using state-of-the-art video and audio technologies, the film also includes an exclusive “making of” segment. Tickets are $12.50. (Niesel) 2163 Lee Rd., Cleveland Heights, 440-528-0355, clevelandcinemas.com.
FILM
Memoir of War A young French female Resistance fighter befriends a Nazi collaborator in Memoir of War, a film based on Marguerite Duras’ semiautobiographical novel. The film makes its Cleveland debut today at 1:30 p.m. at the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it shows again at 1:45 p.m. on Tuesday. Tickets are $10, or $7 for CMA members. (Niesel) 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org. SPORTS
Monsters vs. Laval Rocket As part of a special promotion that runs all season, Cleveland Monsters fans can score a $1 Pepsi, $2 Sugardale hotdog and $3 select 12-ounce beer on Friday nights. Tonight, the team takes on the Laval Rocket. The game begins at 7, and the two teams face off again tomorrow at the same time. Tomorrow’s game represents a special Salute to Service program, and the Monsters will acknowledge the many brave men and women who have fought for our country. Tickets start at $10. (Niesel) 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, theqarena.com.
COMEDY
ART
Tom Papa The funny stuff continues tonight with Tom Papa, the fun-loving guy who used to host the NBC comedy show Marriage Ref. Papa routinely likes to joke about how he misses the day when he didn’t have kids or the responsibility that accompanies them. He likes to reminisce about his young life, and notes how being a dad has him drinking more now. “Daddy is a lot more fun when he gets his magic juice inside of him,” he likes to say, as he ponders the fact that all his daughter’s drawings are of him with a martini glass. But the guy will also switch gears and talk about antidepressants and societal pressures. His talent lies in the fact that he comes off as an average Joe. He performs tonight at 8 at Hilarities, where you can catch his act through Saturday. Tickets start at $25. (Niesel) 2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com.
Rock/Roll Perspective Last year, close to 1,000 people attended a rock ’n’ roll photo show featuring the work of local photographers Joe Kleon and Anastasia Pantsios at the Loftworks Gallery. The duo will return to the gallery this weekend, with a new exhibit that opens with a reception tonight from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and closes on Sunday. This second installment of Rock/Roll Perspective features more concert photos and additional behindthe-scenes and backstage shots. Pantsios started shooting concerts in Cleveland in the 1970s; most of her photos were taken from 1975 to 1989. Kleon, a Scene contributor, has been shooting for the past 15 years, during which he has captured more than 1,000 concerts, shooting an average of 100 concerts a year. He is also the official photographer for local acts such as Michael Stanley and Wish You Were Here. More than 200 photos will be on display at the gallery, with additional prints available for purchase in the biggest offering yet from these two photographers.
THEATER
Violet A multi-award-winning musical, Violet features show-stopping
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Rock ‘n’ Soul holiday hits by GRAMMY winner Mike Farris Dinner by Cleveland Celebrity Chef Rocco Whalen Tickets available now at www.rockhall.com/holiday
who will make her beautiful. The performance takes place at 7:30 tonight at the Helen Rosenfeld Lewis Bialosky Lab, where shows continue through Sunday. Tickets are $15. (Niesel) 1407 Euclid Ave, 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
| clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
rule in the case of a teenage boy who has religious objections to getting a blood transfusion that might save his life. The movie makes its Cleveland premiere tonight at 9:20 at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque, where it screens again at 6:55 tomorrow night. Tickets are $10, or
Local reggae singer-songwriter Carlos Jones will perform from 5 to 7 p.m. tomorrow, and classic rockers Eroc & Jim, members of Wish You Were Here, will perform from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Gallery hours are 2 to 8 p.m. tomorrow and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. (Niesel) 1667 East 40th St. #1A, 440-991-7097, loftworksgallery.com. SHOPPING
Walkabout Tremont During this month’s Walkabout Tremont, you can stop by any of the Tremont art galleries to see their current and/or new exhibits. Of course, there are plenty of bars, restaurants and specialty shops in the neighborhood, too, that participate in the arty stroll, so don’t overlook them either. The walk takes place from 5 to 10 tonight. Check out the website for a schedule, maps and a listing of entertainment and food and drink specials. (Niesel) walkabouttremont.com. DRINK
Whiskey Business Regardless of how you spell it (both whisky and whiskey are technically correct, by the way) or how you’ve enjoyed it in the past (neat, dirty, on the rocks, straight or mixed), the best way to appreciate whiskey is to savor it in the same way that you might a good wine. At tonight’s Whiskey Business, a Scene event, you can sample single malt, blended scotches, bourbon, Irish, Tennessee, Ohio and Canadian whiskies. There will be entertainment courtesy of DJ Flaco Flash and Shawn Brewster and the Lovelies. Light appetizers also will be available throughout the night. It’s happening at Red Space on Superior Avenue. Tickets are $50 in advance, or
$75 at the door. Details are on the website. (Niesel) scenewhiskeybusiness.com.
SAT
11/10
DANCE
Ballet Hispanico In a show presented by DanceCleveland, Ballet Hispanico, a troupe that dates back to 1970, promises to bring “sizzling music” and a repertoire by “some of the most highly acclaimed Latin choreographers” to the Ohio Theatre stage tonight at 7:30. Tomorrow’s 3 p.m. matinee will feature family fun activities before the show for young audience members. Tickets start at $25. (Niesel) 1501 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org. MUSIC
Carolyn Hester The first female star of the early-’60s folk revival, Carolyn Hester predated Joan Baez and Judy Collins and became the face of the movement, appearing on the Saturday Evening Post’s cover. She started out in her native Texas recording for Coral Records, as a label-mate of Buddy Holly, with whom she sometimes sang before she moved to New York and signed with Columbia Records. During the recording of her first Columbia album, she let a young harmonica player accompany her on a few songs, thus introducing Bob Dylan to Columbia A&R man John Hammond, who soon signed the guy to the label. Hester will make an extremely rare appearance in this area, singing songs and telling stories tonight at 7:30 at Barnegie Hall in Avon Lake. She will be accompanied by her musician daughters, Karla and Amy Blume. All three will
stay for a meet-and-greet after the performance. This concert, as with all shows at Barnegie Hall, is a fundraiser for the nonprofit Music on a Mission, which provides musical programming to enrich the lives of people with special needs, including children, seniors, veterans and other groups. Though Barnegie Hall doesn’t sell or serve food or beverages, you are welcome to bring your own. A $15 donation is requested; you can make it online. (Niesel) 31950 Krebs Rd., Avon Lake, musicmissioninc.com. COMEDY
Piff the Magic Dragon With his wacky dragon suit and Chihuahua sidekick Mr. Piffles, standup comedian Piff the Magic Dragon left a lasting impression when he was on Season 10 of America’s Got Talent. As a result, he’s become a national (and even international) sensation. He’s performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York, at Shakespeare’s Globe in London and at the Sydney Opera House in Australia. He’s also had five record-breaking runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, two sellout seasons at SoHo Theatre in London’s West End, and a national tour of the U.K. and Australia. Previously, he was the opening act for Mumford & Sons on their U.K. tour, and he has just completed a six-month residency at the swanky Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas. He performs tonight at 8 at E.J. Thomas Hall in Akron. Tickets are $25 to $35. (Niesel) 198 Hill St., Akron, uaevents.com.
SUN
11/11
SPORTS
Browns vs. Atlanta Falcons As expected, the Cleveland Browns
will limp through the rest of the season with an interim coach, after Hue Jackson got sacked last month. The team showed some promise early in the season but then returned to its losing ways with a shellacking in Pittsburgh that suggested the team needs better leadership. Today at 1 p.m. at FirstEnergy Stadium, they’ll take on an Atlanta Falcons team that has struggled to live up to expectations and might even miss the playoffs. Consult the Browns website for ticket prices. (Niesel) 100 Alfred Lerner Way, 440-891-5000, clevelandbrowns.com. MUSIC
Cuyahoga Valley National Park Concert Series Presented by the National Park Service and the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Concert Series aims to celebrate the valley’s cultural legacy with a variety of folk and roots rock concerts in the park. Tonight’s 7 p.m. concert features master fiddler Ed Caner and singer-songwriter Todd Burge performing at the picturesque Hines Hill Conference Center. Doors open at 6:30. Consult the website for ticket prices. (Niesel) 403 West Hines Hill Rd., Peninsula, 216-479-8611, conservancyforcvnp.org. FAMILY FUN
Double Dare Live A popular Nickelodeon TV show, Double Dare Live often involves messy things such as slime soaking, pie plastering and booger picking. Host Marc Summers will be on hand for the festivities, and patrons can participate in a trivia contest and even run an obstacle course. It all starts at 7 p.m. at
The Story You Know and Love!
A CHRISTMAS STORY NOVEMBER 23 – DECEMBER 23 | ALLEN THEATRE written by PHILIP GRECIAN | directed by JOHN McCLUGGAGE based on the motion picture written by JEAN SHEPHERD, LEIGH BROWN & BOB CLARK
AND DON’T FORGET... Come early or stay after to enjoy the FREE Festival of Trees, with dozens of beautiful holiday trees decorating the Allen Theatre lobbies! Presenting Sponsor
TICKETS ON SALE NOW!
216.241.6000 | clevelandplayhouse.com | clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
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ARE YOU READY FOR SOME BROADWAY?
some money for the bar and the restaurant. (Niesel) 1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com.
GET OUT the State Theatre on Playhouse Square. Tickets range from $29 to $59. (Niesel) 1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
PHOTO BY JEREMY DANIEL
MUSIC
STARRING NFL LEGEND
EDDIE GEORGE NOV. 27 – DEC. 2
216-241-6000 Group Sales 216-640-8600 playhousesquare.org
Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble Today at 2 p.m., as part of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Performing Arts series, the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble presents a series of programs under the direction of Tim Weiss, the recipient of the Adventurous Programming Award from the American Symphony Orchestra League. Gregory Ristow conducts the group tonight as it plays works by composers-in-residence at Oberlin. Tickets are $10, or free for CMA members and students. (Niesel) 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org.
MON
11/12
SPOKEN WORD
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Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Billed as “a global movement that celebrates, empowers and supports women in business to alleviate poverty,” Women’s Entrepreneurship Day comes to Cleveland today for the first time. Taking place from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Linsalata Alumni Center of Case Western Reserve University, the program will feature founder, social entrepreneur and Cleveland native Wendy Diamond, who launched the WED organization in 2014 to “bring more support and awareness to the global impact of women in business.” Panelists include Banyan Tree boutique owner Christie Murdoch, and Melissa Khoury, co-owner of Saucisson artisanal butcher shop. Tickets are available on the WED website. (Niesel) womenseday.org.
TUE
11/13
FILM
The Wild Boys A movie that’s drawn comparisons to Lord of the Flies, The Wild Boys centers on five teenage boys who commit a sex crime and get shipped off to a tropical island for re-education. The Guardian declares the fi lm, which makes its Cleveland debut tonight at 6:30 at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque, to be “erotically uninhibited and deeply bizarre.” Tickets are $10, or $7 for Cinematheque members and students. (Niesel) 11610 Euclid Ave., 16-421-7450, cia.edu.
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BUSINESS
Science Cafe Tonight, and the second Monday of every month, Music Box Supper Club hosts Science Cafe, an informal lecture series that brings scientists from throughout the region to the club to talk about science topics. Tonight at 7, Scott Simpson, a professor in the department of anatomy at the CWRU School of Medicine, delivers the lecture, “Why Do KnuckleWalking African Apes KnuckleWalk?” The talk is free, but bring
SPORTS
Cavaliers vs. Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets probably aren’t a good enough team to make the playoffs, but they do have one of the Eastern Conference’s best players in Kemba Walker. He dropped 41 points on Milwaukee to begin the 2018-2019 campaign and hasn’t relented. The Cavs will have a tough time containing him tonight when they play the Hornets at 7 at the Q. Ticket prices are on the website. (Niesel) 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, theqarena.com. SPOKEN WORD
Tears of Compassion in Classical Athens An associate professor in Case’s department of classics, Rachel Sternberg gives a “faculty work-inprogress” lecture today about the origins of “tears of compassion” in classical Athens. Part of the BakerNord Center for the Humanities lecture series, the talk takes place at 4:30 p.m. in CWRU’s Clark Hall. A 4:15 reception precedes the lecture. Admission is free, but registration on the website is requested. (Niesel) 11130 Bellflower Rd., 216-368-1508, bakernord.case.edu.
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene
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STAGE VALJEAN VS. JAVERT, YEAR 156 Les Miserables, the musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel about perverted justice, is back again at Playhouse Square By Christine Howey Photo by Matthew Murphy
IF YOU THOUGHT “CRIMES OF necessity,” such as stealing bread to feed your starving family, were only punished centuries ago, you clearly need to think again. These days, the new America we live in relishes the opportunity to punish families from other countries that are escaping torture and death by tearing those desperate folks apart from their children. Since this review is being written a couple days before the midterm elections on Nov. 6, it’s not clear whether voters have decided to raise their voices against the immoral immigration policies (and other vile initiatives) of the Trump administration. In any case, the argument against punishing crimes of necessity is still the strongest theme in the touring production of Les Miserables, now at Playhouse Square. As originally written by Victor Hugo in the novel set in 19th century France, Jean Valjean stole that loaf of bread, spent 18 years in prison, and is on parole with the dreaded “yellow passport” that makes it virtually impossible for him to find work. (Kind of similar to the states here that don’t allow ex-prisoners to vote.) But he is befriended by a bishop who rescues him from the police. Once on his own, Valjean tears up his yellow badge of infamy and, years later, is free to become a respected member of society as a factory owner and mayor of his town. But he’s still being hunted by Inspector Javert, who doesn’t let little distractions such as the French Revolution get in his way of persecuting and prosecuting his primary target. This is a magnificent production, featuring dark and foreboding artistic backdrops inspired by Hugo’s paintings, awesome 3-D projections and some notable performances. But there are also a couple egregiously over-played bits that dampen the overall effect. In the key role of Valjean, Nick Cartell does a bang-up job of portraying his character in the early stages. Long-haired and disheveled,
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his Valjean in the pre-respectable days is urgent and startling. After the passage of time, Cartell sings beautifully. His “Bring Him Home” is lovely, but doesn’t attain the emotional heights reached by Stephen Mitchell Brown in the Great Lakes production of Les Miz. And as good as Cartell is, he doesn’t quite have the immense nobility and heft that one has seen from Valjeans in the past. Is it fair to compare the performance of a character such as Valjean to others who have sung the iconic role at Playhouse Square and on other stages in the past? Well, sure it is. Indeed, the repeated visits of this touring show to Cleveland invite comparisons.
his allegiance to the state, been performed so exquisitely. Plus, Davis finds nuance in his spotlight songs “Stars” and the “Soliloquy” that culminates in his suicide. Equally fine are the women who swirl around and through Javert’s life. Mary Kate Moore as the doomed single mom Fantine delivers a lovely “I Dreamed a Dream,” and makes her early death a sad and tender moment. And Jillian Butler, who plays her daughter Cosette later as an adult, creates a charming duo with the love-struck student rebel Marius (a most amusing and endearing Joshua Grosso). A particular standout in this company is Paige Smallwood, who is
LES MISERABLES THROUGH NOV. 18 AT CONNOR PALACE, 1615 EUCLID AVE., 216-241-6000. PLAYHOUSESQUARE.COM
And here’s an entirely positive one: Josh Davis crafts a Javert that will live in your nightmares. As lighted by Paule Constable, Davis’ features appear to be chiseled roughly out of granite, while his focus on his duty is as inflexible and indomitable as ever. Never has this man’s torment, the pull between what he owes his God and
| clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
Eponine, the daughter of the skeezy innkeepers and free-floating felons, the Thenardiers. Eponine is also enamored of Marius, and her song “On My Own” as sung by Smallwood is a quiet gem. All that good work is somewhat tarnished by the two actors who play the Thenardiers. The scenes featuring these two lowlifes are
usually the brightest moments of relief from the tragedies that abound. But J. Anthony Crane and Allison Guinn have taken what once were actual characters and turned them into slapstick buffoons, pulling out any cheap schtick that will get a giggle from the audience. Indeed, their entire first scene when they bellow the words to “Master of the House” is completely (and not amusingly) over the top, with every actor on stage trying to out-gross everyone else. It’s as if directors Laurence Connor and James Powell went out for coffee when this mess was staged. But probably, it’s a symptom of a scene sliding off the rails in a show that’s tromping through its second year of touring, with the tour director (if there is one) or stage manager not willing to try to rein in the troops. Fortunately, the rest of this latest Les Miz doesn’t suffer from that insidious touring syndrome, leaving the spine-tingling moments — the flag march in “One Day More” at the end of Act 1 and the poignancy of the tragic aftermath in “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables”— fully intact.
scene@clevescene.com t@christinehowey
| clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
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YOU AND A GUEST ARE INVITED TO AN ADVANCE SCREENING
THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GET INCREDIBLE…AGAIN! BRING HOME
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14 7:00PM PLEASE VISIT WBTICKETS.COM AND ENTER THE CODE
SCENEFB2XT © 2018 Disney Home Entertainment
TO DOWNLOAD YOUR COMPLIMENTARY PASSES! RATED PG-13 FOR SOME SEQUENCES OF FANTASY ACTION.
Please note: Passes are limited and will be distributed on a first come, first served basis while supplies last. No phone calls, please. Limit one pass per person. Each pass admits two. Seating is not guaranteed. Arrive early. Theater is not responsible for overbooking. This screening will be monitored for unauthorized recording. By attending, you agree not to bring any audio or video recording device into the theater (audio recording devices for credentialed press excepted) and consent to a physical search of your belongings and person. Any attempted use of recording devices will result in immediate removal from the theater, forfeiture, and may subject you to criminal and civil liability. Please allow additional time for heightened security. You can assist us by leaving all nonessential bags at home or in your vehicle.
Visit tinyurl.com/INCREDIBLES2Scene and submit your information for the chance to win a Digital HD copy!
IN THEATERS NOVEMBER 16
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| clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
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MOVIES ONLY A MEMORY What They Had provides an honest, humorous and heartbreaking look at Alzheimer’s By BJ Colangelo Photos by style “Art Credit”
IT’S DIFFICULT TO ENCAPSULATE the sincere heartbreak of What They Had, but undeniably, this is an absolutely stunning debut from writer-director Elizabeth Chomko. The film opens on Friday at the Cedar Lee Theatre. Blythe Danner plays Ruth, a mother entering the beginning phase of Stage 6 of Alzheimer’s. After Ruth walks across Chicago in her nightgown during a blizzard on Christmas Eve, her daughter Bridget (Hilary Swank) flies home from California to meet her brother Nicky (Michael Shannon). Together, they try to convince their father Burt (Robert Forrester) to finally get Ruth the professional attention she desperately needs. What They Had references the 60-year love affair between Ruth and Burt, a beautiful existence that’s slowly deteriorating from Ruth’s memory loss. Burt doesn’t want to let go of his wife and struggles to accept that the relationship they have is slowly turning into nothing more than a memory — and a memory that only he can remember. Bridget’s return to the family homestead serves as the catalyst that forces her to reckon with her own problems. Seeing the pure love between
her parents leads her to question her own marriage, one she seems to have entered into out of an obligatory need to keep up the appearance of what’s “expected.” Noticing the dedication she has to her own parents also causes her to reconsider how she interacts with her own daughter, Emma, a soon-tobe college dropout, played effortlessly by Taissa Farmiga. Merry Christmas,
indeed. Most of the conflict takes place behind closed doors, in the confinement of the family home, but What We Had does offer some laugh-inducing instances of levity, like a Christmas Mass that ends with Ruth drinking the holy water. Unfortunately, for every moment that brings a cathartic sense of relief, the pain between the family
members consistently serves as a tearful reality. What They Had is an honest portrayal of the struggle of watching someone you love disappear before your eyes and a beautiful portrait of family unity during tragedy.
feels like he’s given up on her family. She begins having an affair with a local businessman (Bill Camp), a guy she met at the YMCA, where she gives swimming lessons. Predictably enough, Jerry returns in the fall after a summer in the mountains and thinks his family life will return to normal. When he realizes Jeanette has been “stepping out” on him, he loses it and tries to glean what information he can from Joe, who’s admittedly rather naïve when it comes to romance, though he does confess that Jeanette was unfaithful. ‘’This is a wild life, isn’t it?” Jerry tells Joe, making the metaphor of fighting fires and surviving life’s ordeals a little too obvious.
While the film stumbles out of the gates with a slow-paced first half, it redeems itself with a dramatic climax that lets the talented cast show off its acting chops. The performances here are really fantastic. Mulligan plays Jeanette as a woman who establishes her independence by making some questionable choices; Oxenbould shines as a teenager forced to grow up on the fly; and Gyllenhaal turns Jerry into a tragic hero who becomes a sympathetic character despite his clear flaws.
bcolangelo@clevescene.com t@bjcolangelo
SPOTLIGHT: WILDLIFE RICHARD FORD’S NOVELS AND short stories have received wide acclaim, and critics have likened the author to Hemingway and Faulkner on account of his ability to create compelling narratives and complex characters. His 1990 novel Wildlife, however, isn’t generally regarded as one of his best works and certainly hasn’t been as anthologized as either 1987’s Rock Springs or 1995’s Independence Day. And yet, it’s the source material that actor Paul Dano chose for his directorial debut, which he also co-wrote. A well-crafted but rather ponderous account of the breakup of a marriage, Wildlife opens on Friday, Nov. 16, at the Cedar Lee Theatre. Like the book, the movie is set
in Great Falls, Montana, in 1960. And like the book, the movie is told from the point of view of Joe Brinson (Ed Oxenbould), a 16-yearold boy who doesn’t quite sense the significance of the tension that exists between his mother Jeanette (Carey Mulligan) and his father Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal). But when Jerry gets canned from his job as a golf-course caretaker, things go south pretty quickly and the seemingly idyllic family life turns dysfunctional (and becomes more interesting too). Jerry starts drinking heavily, and Jeanette begins a desperate search for a job. When Jerry takes a gig fighting forest fires and disappears for the summer, Jeanette
jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel
| clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
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EAT GRAB BAG Lobster and Pho’s diverse offerings fill some voids in Independence’s dining scene By Douglas Trattner Photo by Emanuel Wallace
MOST CONTEMPORARY MENUS have ditched hyper-specialization in favor of a broader, more democratic approach to serving food. These days, it’s nearly impossible not to stumble into a place that attempts to appease even the most incongruent of groups, be they infiltrated by adventurous epicures, fussy foodies, or every mouth in between. But even the most unfocused menus lack the diversity of foodstuffs on display — literally and figuratively — at Lobster and Pho, which opened its doors this past summer at Rockside Corners Shopping Center in Independence. Why go to a restaurant that specializes only in Vietnamese pho, or Maine lobster rolls, or Cajun seafood boils, or Japanese tonkatsu when you can order all four (and more!) in a single sitting? Well, the answer, of course, is because diversification is a doubleedged sword; the KISS principle applies as well to restaurant menus as it does to modern architecture. That said, while I firmly believe that you will get better versions of both pho and seafood in a bag elsewhere, this quirky Asian eatery is not without its appeal and utility, especially given the address. “There isn’t much pho or seafood boil options in Independence,” says owner Priscilla Chau. “Most are closer to downtown.” Chau operates the restaurant with her father Kenny Chau, who also owns the popular Hunan by the Falls in Chagrin Falls and Hibachi to Go in Shaker Heights. The sheer volume of eaters in the area combined with the scarcity of independent ethnic eateries led the team to expand their portfolio southward. And while the curious mashup of cuisines might seem random, there is solid logic behind it, Priscilla promises. “Because we know that Independence is such a busy area, a lot of people won’t come to eat seafood because they want something fast,” she reports. “The pho is more popular during lunchtime because it’s fast. On nights and weekends, the seafood boils are more popular. The tonkatsu was added as another option for people who are here with friends but not necessarily wanting
to eat seafood or pho.” Seafood, namely lobster, is the main draw. The first thing guests notice after crossing the divide is a double-decker tank filled with living, breathing sea life. Those soon-tobe-crimson crustaceans meet their fate in a number of delicious ways. Whole tails are panko-breaded and fried as an appetizer; whole lobsters star in their own boiling seafood bags (or join friends in combo bags) and, for people who eschew exoskeleton vivisection, there are sweet, meat-filled lobster rolls. Take it from a lobster lover, the rolls ($17) served here are proper, right down
meaningless when a staffer reaches for a leviathan and blows the nest egg. Here, a chalkboard lists prices for “small” and “large,” described to us as around a pound and a quarter and a pound and three quarters. Our server even offered to present the guys (or gals) to the table before heading to the kitchen. We declined. The electric Cajun-Vietnamese spice blend in the boil ($27 for small, $35 for large) elevates the lobster to heights unattainable by a simple steam and butter dunk. All the dirty work is done for you in the kitchen, with the tail split and flayed, claws and knuckles cracked. As is typical,
LOBSTER AND PHO 6901 ROCKSIDE RD., INDEPENDENCE, 216-264-4007. LOBSTERNPHO.COM
to the toasted split-top bun. Beneath a layer of whole claws is a base of chopped meat augmented by little more than a slick of melted butter and whisper of mayo. One of the risks associated with ordering whole live lobster out is sticker shock. MP (market price) is
boils include sliced andouille sausage, steamed new potatoes and corn on the cob. Not once has the corn in a seafood boil not been sodden and mushy, and this bag didn’t mar that streak. Live lobster turned out to be a safer bet than head-on shrimp ($15 per
pound), a boil marred by more than a few unappealingly soft specimens. Other boils star crawfish, snow crab, King crab, clams and combinations thereof. Compared to meals at similarly styled outfits, I found the spice levels dialed way back, with “medium” barely breaking a sweat. Pho fans will find more compelling bowls elsewhere, but the rare beef ($10) version with all the trimmings still brings comfort on a chilly day. For a bet-hedger, the tonkatsu ($10) is a solid entry, with expertly pankobreaded and fried cutlets of pork, chicken and fish, each paired with steamed rice, a sweet, mild curry sauce, and dressed greens. A wall of windows is all that separates diners from a busy parking lot, where an infinite stream of people head to one of a dozen or so restaurants. On this side of the glass, diners enjoy swift service but a generic strip-mall tableau comprised of faux rock walls, faux tin ceilings, and far too many televisions for the size of the room. On the other hand, there’s a full bar and a happy hour that runs till close.
dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner
| clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
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| clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
EAT
bites ADVERTISE WITH SCENE.
FIRST LOOK Lindey’s Lake House in Beachwood By Douglas Trattner RICK DOODY IS IN NO HURRY to open Lindey’s Lake House (2101 Richmond Rd., 216-342-5030). Despite birthing literally hundreds of restaurants, he approaches each one as if it’s the most important thing he’s ever endeavored. Rather than sprint toward the finish line, he and his team prefer to invest the time it takes to properly staff, train, test and at least attempt to perfect the operation before anybody pays a nickel. “We’re still tweaking it, trying to figure it out,” Doody says as a staffer presents him with small plates of food to sample. “We hope to open in a couple weeks, but we still have a lot to do.” When it opens in mid-November, Lindey’s Lake House will join sister establishment Cedar Creek Grille at La Place Center by Beachwood Place. Some might question the logic of opening a new restaurant directly next door to one you already own, but Doody thinks the concepts are unique enough to attract their own clientele. “I’ll either look really smart or really dumb really soon,” he quips. “Whereas Cedar Creek Grille is sort of dark and clubby — the classic American grill — this is going to be light, white and have a lake-house feel. The goal was to go younger, more casual with lower price points. It’s going to be different for Cleveland, that’s for sure.” To create the 3,200-square-foot, 110-seat restaurant, Doody stole some space from Cedar Creek Grille, which he replaced with new construction. As the name suggests, the open, wellappointed, light-filled space would not seem out of place in the Hamptons, or the Upper Peninsula in Michigan, where the Doody clan has vacationed for generations. Long before it was trendy, Doody adds, his family would buy produce from the local farmers market, seafood from the local fishery, and everything else from the general store. He intends to duplicate as much of those practices as possible at Lindey’s. Guests are welcomed by a woodburning fireplace. Hand-lettered chalkboard signs herald fresh-baked pies. There are two bars, one separated from the main room and another that faces the open kitchen, warmed by a wood-burning pizza oven.
From that oven will exit “crackerthin” pizzas topped with items like pepperoni from Raddell’s in Collinwood, locally foraged mushrooms, and house-made ricotta. Meals might start with locally made burrata with grilled country bread, jumbo lump crab cakes with autumn hash, or a seasonal salad with kale, cabbage, pecans, bacon and pear vinaigrette. Larger plates will include fried Amish chicken with hot honey and corn pudding, shrimp scampi linguine, blue cheese-crusted lamb chops with Brussles sprouts, and a grilled prime ribeye steak for two with chimichurri. Sandwiches like diner-style double “smash” burgers and Maine lobster rolls will join taco platters built around grilled mahi, shaved steak and Korean BBQ. All of the above will be overseen by longtime chef Phil Yandolino. The name is an homage to Lindey’s, the iconic restaurant that Doody’s pioneering mother Sue opened in the German Village neighborhood of Columbus way back in 1981. After nearly 40 years, the restaurant still is a citywide landmark. “My mom died in April and the name is one way we can keep the inspiration of her going,” Doody says. “Lindey’s was always her baby.” Growing up in the restaurant business clearly made an impression on the Doody boys. In 1992, Rick and brother Chris opened the first Bravo restaurant. In 1999, they opened the first Brio, a more upscale version. A few decades and scores of locations later they sold the brand to a private equity firm for $100 million. “Ironically, we opened a Lindey’s in Cleveland in 1984 and it didn’t work,” Doody confesses. “Hopefully, we’ve learned a little about the restaurant business in the last 35 years.” Doody also owns Coastal Taco on the East Bank of the Flats while his brother went the fast-casual route with Piada Italian Street Food. When it opens on (or near) Nov. 14, the restaurant will serve dinner and later-night fare. Lunch will be added down the road.
dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner
SIT DOWN WITH YOUR GUESTS.
Call 216-241-7550 for more information.
| clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
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MUSIC
BY JEFF NIESEL
SINGER-SONGWRITER KT TUNSTALL TALKS ABOUT THE SECOND ALBUM IN HER SOUL, BODY & MIND TRILOGY
O
VER THE SUMMER, Scottish singer-guitarist KT Tunstall came through town with Barenaked Ladies and Better Than Ezra and delivered a particularly well-received set at Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica. During that performance, she spoke about how rewarding it was to hit the road with the two bands. Reflecting on the experience in a recent phone interview, she still speaks highly of the guys. “Honestly, it’s absolute family,” she says from a Seattle tour stop. Tunstall returns to town to play with Maddie Ross at 8 p.m. on Friday at the Beachland Ballroom. “Those guys are so cool. I think they’re quite deliberate with the touring party they put together. They provided such a fantastic touring family atmosphere. They’re really supportive of the bands opening for them, and it was great to jump in and perform with them during their set. They’re amazing musicians. They cultivated a full show where we all got to interact with the audience. All three bands had some great banter.” Tunstall, who started playing piano when she was only 4, launched her career with 2004’s Eye to the Telescope, an album that became a hit after she re-released it with “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree,” a tune that wasn’t actually on the initial pressing. “We finished the record, and I was trying to recreate the beat of the songs on the album,” says Tunstall when asked about the genesis of “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree.”
“I needed more beats for what I was doing. My friend had a loop pedal in his bag, and it changed everything. The Later ... with Jools Holland performance of ‘Black Horse and the Cherry Tree’ changed everything. Since we hadn’t recorded the album at that point yet, I think the first 10,000 copies of the album had the audio from Jools Holland on it. We rush recorded it.” Then, she had an even bigger hit with “Suddenly I See,” a track that was used in The Devil Wears Prada. Hillary Clinton even used the track in 2008 as part of her presidential campaign. Relentless touring and recording followed until Tunstall hit the wall a few years ago. “At that point, there had been a few moments where I questioned whether this is what I want to do,” she admits. “The most serious moment came in 2012 when my dad died, I got divorced, and I sold everything and moved to Venice Beach and basically started again. I had to ask myself if I wanted to do it. I did, but because I wanted to and not because I needed to. It started phase two.” She went to the Sundance Film Institute Film Music Program and learned to write music for soundtracks. Invigorated, she returned to the studio three years ago to cut KIN, an album of “big pop songs.” “After that record was out, I had this strong vision that I should do a trilogy,” says Tunstall. “I was tired of taking so long to do a record. Trying to keep the momentum
Photo Courtesy of Right Angle PR
| clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
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going was difficult. I love trilogies. I love that zoomed out, bigger view of something, and I’m much better under pressure, so I started the process of coming up with more stuff. It was this idea of soul, body and mind in that order.” The second part of that trilogy, the just-released WAX, stems from “The Healer,” a song that appears on a previous EP. Though a deep track, the song became what Tunstall refers to as a “barnstormer” at her live shows. “People didn’t really know the song because it was on an EP, but something was freed in writing that song and certainly in playing it live,” she says. “It’s a head banger. It was so affirming and enjoyable. I thought it deserved to be on a record.” Tunstall connected with Franz Ferdinand’s Nick McCarthy because she knew she didn’t want to cut the album at some “fancy” studio. “I had done a one-off track with him for a TV show at his studio that was just this garage,” she says. “There’s this big Jamaican flag there hanging from the ceiling. It’s full
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| clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
ended up with for this record. I knew there’d be a time for it, but I hadn’t cracked the lyrics and chorus. The time came, and I knew that song would be great with badass electric guitars on it and we turned into a beast rather than a ballad.” Moody, dark songs such as “Dark Side of Me” and “Poison in Your Cup” suggest Tunstall had to dig deep for the themes that emerge on the album. “I think with this album, it’s about the reality of physicality and moving on from the spirit and transcendent soul of KIN and having to drive through life in a meat car with the desires,” she says. “There’s nothing you can do about it. There are going to be fuckups along the way. It was kind of a revealing of the veil. I’m very observational, and this record feels much more present and in the moment. I also like how there’s a natural progression that takes place with the track listing.” She also pays homage to the late David Bowie with the semi-acoustic ballad “The Night That Bowie Died.” “I didn’t really get into Bowie until my early 20s, amazingly,” she says. “I always knew who he was. I knew he was obviously brilliant and a genius amongst us. Someone gave me [the album] Hunky Dory when I was 22. I
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of analog synthesizers and vintage guitars, and it’s the size of your garage. I wanted to make the record there and with him. I just called him, and he was available. We had a week to do some preproduction. We sat for five days and wrote some songs together, and it was such a joy. [Songwriter] Martin Terefe is the one other person I can sit down and write a song with. Nick is the second guy that I can write a song with and not feel like I’m diluting myself.” One album highlight, “The River,” starts as a pretty pop number with percolating synths and falsetto vocals. It eventually builds as Tunstall adopts a bluesy wail, and the guitars and drums kick in. “It’s actually an old song,” Tunstall says when asked about the track. “Martin [Terefe] and I wrote it for my second record. There were two songs we wrote at that time that I knew were really strong. We still haven’t used the other one. I knew it was good, but it didn’t fit anything. It was this big porch anthem and very emotional. At that point, it didn’t have the bite we
put it on my boombox at home. I laid on the floor with my chin on my hand, and I played it again and again, and I think I listened to it five times back-toback and was in complete wonder at the record. Every single box — and boxes I didn’t know existed — got checked. When he died, it was just one of those moments when the grief is beyond your relationship with his music. It reminds you of everyone and everything you lost. It’s that disbelief.” Tunstall’s next album will complete the trilogy, and the singer-guitarist says she’s already given it some serious thought. “It’s interesting because I started writing for it,” she says. “I have one song I wrote with Martin [Terefe] again. It’s very angular. It’s about the mind, so I expect patterns [of behavior] to be part of the makeup of it in various ways. I don’t know how it’s going to sound yet, but that’s exciting.”
jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel
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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 | November 7 - 13, 2018
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MUSIC PICKING UP THE PIECES The return of Cursive’s original drummer set a reunion in motion By Bethany Kaufman IT’S NOT UNCOMMON FOR THERE to be gaps between Cursive albums. The band has even broken up on several occasions, including after the release of the critically acclaimed fan favorite The Ugly Organ in 2003. But the Omaha, Nebraska-based posthardcore band always seems to find its way back together. Singer-guitarist Tim Kasher says the band usually reunites with something to say. The decision to make a new album is never selfindulgent; the band wouldn’t want to blemish its catalog with a forced effort. This time, however, their reunion was largely coincidental. “We had been considering doing another album, but we were pretty lax about it; we didn’t really have any time frame in mind,” says Kasher in a phone interview. Cursive performs with Meat Wave and Campdogzz at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Grog Shop. “And then, fairly out of the blue and fairly coincidentally, [original drummer] Clint [Schnase] reached out to us. I think he kinda just missed, you know, working on the music. He missed the ‘hang,’ the camaraderie, so he said he’d like to do another record if we’d be up for it. We were like, ‘That’s great.’ We’d been considering it too, but we didn’t know that working with him would be an option, so that sort of cemented the idea for us and put everything in motion.” Kasher and the band’s original bassist, Matt Maginn, had been in the process of starting their own label, 15 Passenger Records, with the intent of reissuing old Cursive albums when it occurred to them that the label could also be an opportunity to release new material. Little did they know, they would soon have plenty to talk about. Donald Trump was elected in 2016, right around the time Kasher began writing for the album that would be called Vitriola, a play on the word vitriol. “The fact that the record is so mired in these current events does make me feel like it’s bullshit to say that it was just coincidence, but it really was,” Kasher explains. “We decided to do a record, and we didn’t even talk about what it would be about, or what kind of record it
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Photo by Tony Bonacci
would be, a discussion I actually generally like to have. I absolutely forgot to have that discussion, I think, mostly because I was more excited about the fact that it had been six years, and Clint was back with us; that all seemed like enough.” When Kasher started writing, he wasn’t entirely sure what he was writing about, but lyrics flowed. Guitarist Ted Stevens contributed a few tracks, and keyboardist Patrick Newbery, who played more of a
plenty of them while I was working on the record, and then somehow it clicked that that was what ‘Pick Up the Pieces’ could be about.” Though it was not the band’s intent to be overtly political, Kasher couldn’t help but write about the horrors that now have a regular place in our daily news, from Trump’s escapades to acts of racism and violence. Decoding the underlying feelings and messages in Vitriola is an ongoing process for
CURSIVE, MEAT WAVE, CAMPDOGZZ 8:30 P.M., TUES., NOV 13, GROG SHOP, 2785 EUCLID HEIGHTS BLVD., CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, 216-321-5588. TICKETS: $15, GROG SHOP.GS
musician-for-hire role on previous albums, wrote material that would become “Remorse,” the album’s unique piano ballad. The rest of the album is a haunting breed of rock complete with chomping keyboard and bass lines and a hint of cello. “I don’t remember making many conscious decisions about I want to write this or I want to write that, but ‘Pick Up the Pieces’ was just an expression that I kept mumbling while we were working on that song,” says Kasher. “And there was yet another mass shooting, we had
| clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
Kasher, one that’s still happening nearly a month after the release. He almost feels like the album was ghostwritten by his subconscious, a subject he explores in the track “Ghost Writer.” “If anything, ‘Ghost Writer’ kinda comes off as we were grappling a lot with being too overtly political on this record; we didn’t really want to write a ‘political record.’ We recognized that whole thing, absolutely it’s reflective of what’s going on today, but we wanted to have it be based more on our own
reaction to it, our own personal experiences in hopes that something might be somewhat universal and relevant to people.” Kasher has always been a harsh self-critic; that’s the reasoning behind several of Cursive’s disbandments. Now secure in his career, Kasher still looks back on his work and hopes he continues to resonate with people. He eventually found peace in the belief that if it is resonating with him, then it’s likely resonating with fans too. And hopefully, this album doesn’t just resonate with fans now but in years to come. “When it’s content that you want to be talking about, that you want to write about, as far as timeliness, I am hoping that in 20 years, sure it will have a certain dated feel to people remembering, like, ‘Oh yeah, people were going through a lot in 2018.’ But hopefully, it will be more like a positive timestamp of an era, kind of in the same way that we don’t listen to music from the late ’60s and go, ‘Well they sure were … that doesn’t really make sense anymore.’ Instead you hear it like there was a revolution going on, and it still feels pertinent, and you can still apply it in ways to what’s going on today.”
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene
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| clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
LIVEWIRE
all the live music you should see this week Photo by Andrew Lipovsky/NBC
WED
11/07
Bad Boys of Blues Jam: 9 p.m., free. Smedley’s. Big Gigantic/Flamingosis/Bypass Circuit: 8:30 p.m., $28 ADV, $30 DOS. House of Blues. Dynamo: 8 p.m., $15. Bop Stop. Madeline Kenney/Natasha Morrow: 8:30 p.m., $10. Beachland Tavern. Joni Mitchell 75th Birthday Tribute with Gretchen Pleuss & Friends: 7:30 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. Mom Jeans/Just Friends/ Awakebutstillinbed/Retirement Party: 7 p.m., $13 ADV, $15 DOS. Mahall’s 20 Lanes. Whitey Morgan/Alex Williams/ Ward Davis: 8:30 p.m., $25. Beachland Ballroom. Saves the Day/Kevin Devine/An Horse: 7:30 p.m., $23 ADV, $27 DOS. Grog Shop.
THU
11/08
At the Gates/Wolves in the Throne Room/Cholera: 7 p.m. Agora Theatre. Cleopatrick: 8 p.m., $12 ADV, $15 DOS. House of Blues Cambridge Room. Driftwood/Decker: 8 p.m., $12 ADV, $14 DOS. Beachland Tavern. FreeByrds Musician’s Night: 10 p.m., free. Smedley’s. Grün Wasser/Shagg/MX Silkman/ Fana: 9 p.m. Now That’s Class. Chris Hatton’s Musical Circus (in the Wine Bar): 8 p.m., free. Brothers Lounge. Jam Night with the Bad Boys of Blues: 9 p.m., free. Brothers Lounge. Jeff Lorber Fusion: 7 p.m., $40. Nighttown. Northeast Ohio Drum & Music Jam: 9 p.m., free. Beachland Ballroom. Scorched/Inoculation/Self Loathing (in Club Atlantis): 7 p.m., $5. Now That’s Class. Single Mothers/Ram Ones: 9 p.m., $12 ADV, $15 DOS. Grog Shop. Therapy Thursday Hosted by Braxton Taylor: 8 p.m., free. CODA. TobyMac and his DiverseCity: 7 p.m., $20-$99.50. Akron Civic Theatre.
FRI
11/09
Blue October: Led by volatile singerguitarist Justin Furstenfeld, the alt-rock act Blue October has
My Morning Jacket’s Jim James plays a solo show at the Agora. See: Saturday.
experienced extreme ups and downs since forming just over 20 years ago. Furstenfeld chronicles that rollercoaster ride in Crazy Making — The Words and Lyrics of Justin Furstenfeld, a collection of annotated lyrics for the songs in the band’s discography. Blue October comes to town tonight in support of its eighth studio album, Home. (Jeff Niesel) 7 p.m., $29$49.50. Agora Theatre. Carl Bromel of My Morning Jacket with Steelism: 9 p.m., $18 ADV, $20 DOS. Grog Shop. Toronzo Cannon (in the Supper Club): On the hard-driving “Strength to Survive,” one of many highlights on singer-guitarist Toronzo Cannon’s latest album, The Chicago Way, Cannon sings about how “real life” is getting in the way of his dreams. He describes himself as a “broken man” who can’t look at himself in the mirror. It’s heavy, emotional stuff, and the riveting guitar solos possess a real weight. (Niesel) 8 p.m., $15 ADV, $18 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. The Dead South: 8 p.m., $20 ADV, $25 DOS. The Kent Stage. DRMCTHR/Val Astaire & the Communion/Lone Thunder/Static on the Radio/Jazz Handerson (in the Locker Room): 7 p.m., $10. Mahall’s 20 Lanes. Falling Stars/Valley Lodge/Happy Chichester: Falling Stars, the indie rock act led by longtime locals Chris Allen and Tim Parnin, put out their debut, Stranded in the Future, last year and have quickly become one of the best
groups on the local circuit. The bill also includes Valley Lodge, a terrific indie pop group out of New York that features Cleveland native Dave Hill. Happy Chichester, a singer-songwriter, multiinstrumentalist and producer from Columbus and founding member of Royal Crescent Mob, Howlin’ Maggie and Twilight Singers round out the lineup. (Niesel) 8:30 p.m., $10. Beachland Tavern. The FunkyardX: 8 p.m. Akron Civic Theatre. Iron Chic/Timeshares/Blacklisted/ Restless Habs: 7 p.m., $10 ADV, $13 DOS. Now That’s Class. Jazz Heritage Orchestra Honors Kyle Braun: 7 p.m., $50. Bop Stop. Phil Jones Quartet: 8:30 p.m., $10. Nighttown. Biz Markie ’80s vs. ’90s/Pop Fiction/’80s Proof: 8 p.m., $15 ADV, $18 DOS. House of Blues. MC Lars/I Fight Dragons/ Glendale/Mister Fabulous & the Bad Boiz: 7 p.m., $12 ADV, $14 DOS. Mahall’s 20 Lanes. Brett Newski / The Midnight Slander: 8 p.m., $12. CODA. Joe Policastro Trio: 8 p.m., $15. BLU Jazz+. Michael Sonata & the Dave Banks Big Band: 8 p.m., $25 ADV, $30 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. KT Tunstall/Maddie Ross: 8 p.m., $25. Beachland Ballroom. Jackie Warren: 10:30 p.m., free. Nighttown.
SAT
11/10
The Alarm Featuring Mike Peters:
Mike Peters and the members of the Alarm — featuring a threepiece version of the current lineup with guitarist James Stevenson (moonlighting on bass for the current tour in place of Craig Adams) and drummer Steve “Smiley” Barnard — are knocking down more than 40 dates spread across two months. Last summer, they played shows on the Vans Warped Tour and showed just how 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 to deliver a rapid-fire overview of both the group’s past and present. (Matt Wardlaw) $25 ADV, $30 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. All Get Out/Homesafe/Household/ Sunsleeper/Elbow Room: 7 p.m., $12 ADV, $15 DOS. Mahall’s 20 Lanes. Copper Thieves, INT’L/Birdog Cats/The Amprays: 8 p.m., $7. CODA. Jim James/Alynda Segarra: My Morning Jacket’s Jim James recently announced a solo acoustic tour, visiting historic theaters and performing arts centers across the States. Tonight’s show is part of that. Longtime touring drummer David Givan will accompany James, who’ll perform a “careerencompassing repertoire” that includes songs from his new solo album, Uniform Distortion. Hurray for the Riff Raff’s Alynda Zegarra will open. One dollar per ticket goes to the Waterfall Project, whose beneficiaries include the National Bail Fund Network. (Niesel) 7 p.m. Agora Theatre. Phil Jones: 8 p.m., $20. Bop Stop. Gladys Knight: 8 p.m., $53.50$89.50. Hard Rock Rocksino. John Medeski’s Mad Skillet: 8 p.m., $27 ADV, $32 DOS. The Kent Stage. Mom/Shots Fired Shots Fired/ Frente Norte: 9 p.m., $8. Now That’s Class. Old No. 55 & FireSide (in the Supper Club): 7 p.m., $10 ADV, $12 DOS. Music Box Supper Club. Sponge/The Battle/Pale Hollow/ echostep: 6 p.m., $15 ADV, $20 DOS. Odeon. Tedeschi Trucks: 8 p.m., $39.50$75. Akron Civic Theatre. TR3 Featuring Tim Reynolds: 9 p.m., $20 ADV, $23 DOS. Grog Shop. The Wailers/Umojah Nation: 8 | clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
39
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MON Hot Rize 40th Anniversary Tour
The Accidentals
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Fri Nov. 16
Crash Test Dummies
David Crosby & Friends
Tue Nov. 27
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Rayland Baxter Fri Nov. 30
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11/11
11/12
Robyn Adele/Von Smith/Ayanna Martine: 6 p.m., $15 ADV, $20 DOS. Odeon. Drew McDowall/Hiro Kone/Andrew Kirschner/Fana: 9 p.m., $12 ADV, $15 DOS. Now That’s Class. Morticia’s Chair/The Drexels: 8 p.m., $5. CODA. Queen Naija: 8 p.m., $22 ADV, $27 DOS. House of Blues. Skatch Anderssen Orchestra: 8 p.m., $7. Brothers Lounge.
TUE
11/13
Cursive/Meat Wave/Campdogzz: 8:30 p.m., $15. Grog Shop. The Dodos/Palehound/Poro: 8:30 p.m., $15. Beachland Tavern. Aubrey Logan: 7 p.m., $20. Nighttown. Juanito Pascual New Flamenco Trio: 8 p.m., $15. Bop Stop
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Photo courtesy of the Amprays
rock thing. I had cello and bass. I knew [bassist] Carla Cherry [who lived in Cleveland at the time with her husband, singer-guitarist Rob Cherry], and she played bass with me back then. We did a few shows, and then I moved out of town.” When Strange returned to Cincinnati a couple of years ago, he reconnected with Cherry and relaunched the Amprays. UP ALL NIGHT: Strange wrote many of
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band came together in the early 2000s in Cleveland at a Sad Bastards Night at the Beachland Tavern. “It was right after [the local alt-country band] Rosavelt had disintegrated,” says Strange. “I started the Amprays, and I didn’t want to do a
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things to sound the least digital as possible even though we used digital equipment. That worked out. As we were recording this, I think I used [Breeders’ guitarist] Kelley [Deal’s] amp on some of the songs.” Cleveland-based Adam Boose did the mastering at his Cauliflower Audio.
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MEET THE BAND: A.K. Strange (guitars, vocals, Hammond B3, piano, other keyboards, percussion), Carla Cherry (bass, vocals), Jon Toerner (drums, vocals)
| clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
the songs on the band’s new album, Sleepchaser, after he had kids and would be up at strange hours. “I wrote many of these songs at 5 in the morning, or I woke up with them in my head,” says Strange. “Initially, we were going for what we had done in the early 2000s when we channeled our early influences like David Bowie, the Velvet Underground and the Replacements.” Produced by Mike Montgomery and the Amprays, the album was recorded and mixed by Montgomery at his Candyland studio in Dayton, Kentucky, the same studio where the Breeders recorded the bulk of their latest album. “He really worked well with us,” says Strange. “We want
harmonies, and “Spinningshores” has a jangly, Reckoning-era R.E.M. feel to it. “‘Living Inside’ was a song I just woke up with,” says Strange. “I would sing part of it into a recorder and pieced it together that way. You can’t tell by listening to the song, but there are a lot of nonsensical chord changes. That’s because I was trying to figure out the song based on what I sang. Mike [Montgomery] helped out with it because I wanted the vocals to sound a certain way, and he plugged the mic into an amp and distorted it, so the vocals exploded when they came through the speakers.” The band has written some tunes for yet another record and hopes to tour more regularly in the coming year. WHERE YOU CAN HEAR THEM: amprays.
com. WHERE YOU CAN SEE THEM: The
Amprays perform with Copper Thieves INT’L and Birdog Cats at 9 pm. on Saturday, Nov. 10, at CODA.
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SAVAGE LOVE WHAT AIN’T BROKE By Dan Savage I’ve been spending a lot of time lately thinking about myself and my sexuality and my romantic self. I can log on and easily find someone to fuck. I’m a bear-built top guy. There are ladies in my life who choose to share their beds with me. I can find subs to tie up and torture. (I’m kinky and bi.) What I can’t find is a long-term partner. The problem is that after I fuck/sleep with/torture someone, my brain stops seeing them as sexual and moves them into the friend category. I have friends that I used to fuck regularly, that now it’s a chore to get it up for. Sure, the sex still feels good, but it’s not passionate. And when it’s all said and done, they’re still in the “friend” category in my brain. There’s nothing wrong with them, but they’re friends, not potential partners. I’m 32, and my siblings are married and having kids, and the people I grew up with are married and having kids. And here I am not able to find a longterm significant other. Am I broken? Should I just accept that, at least for me, sexual partners and domestic/ romantic partners will always be separate categories? — Always Alone What if you’re not like most everyone else? What if this is just how your sexuality works? What if you’re wired — emotionally, romantically, sexually — for intense but brief sexual connections that blossom into wonderful friendships? And what if you’ve been tricked into thinking you’re broken because the kind of successful long-term relationships your siblings and friends have are celebrated and the kind of successful shortterm relationships you have are stigmatized? If your siblings and friends want to have the kinds of relationships they’re having — and its possible some do not — they will feel no inner conflict about their choices while simultaneously being showered with praise for their choices. But what are they really doing? They’re doing what makes them happy, they’re doing what works for them romantically, emotionally, and sexually. And what are you doing? Maybe you’re doing what you want, AA, maybe you’re doing what could
make you happy. So why doesn’t it make you happy? Maybe because you’ve been made to feel broken by a culture that holds up one relationship model — the partnered and preferably monogamous pair — and insists that this model is the only healthy and whole option, and that anyone who goes a different way, fucks a different way, or relates a different way is broken. Now, it’s possible you are broken, of course, but anyone could be broken. You could be broken, I could be broken, your married siblings and friends could be broken. (Regarding your siblings and friends: Not everyone who marries and has kids wanted marriage and kids. Some no doubt wanted it, AA, but others succumbed to what was expected of them.) But here’s a suggestion for something that might make you feel better because it could very well be true: Try to accept that, for you, sexual partners and domestic/ romantic partners might always be separate, and that doesn’t mean you’re broken. If that self-acceptance makes you feel whole, AA, then you have your answer. I might make a different suggestion if your brief-but-intense sexual encounters left a lot of hurt feelings in their wake. But that’s not the case. You hook up with someone a few times, you share an intense sexual experience, and you feel a brief romantic connection to them. And when those sexual and romantic feelings subside, you’re not left with a string of bitter exes and enemies, but with a large and growing circle of good friends. Which leads me to believe that even if you aren’t doing what everyone else is doing, AA, you’re clearly doing something right. P.S. Another option if you do want to get married someday: a companionate marriage to one of your most intimate friends — someone like you, AA, who also sees potential life partners and potential sex partners as two distinct categories with no overlap — and all the Grindr hookups and BDSM sessions you like with one-offs who become good friends.
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FREE MONEY!!! DOWN PAYMENT PROGRAM*
BUY YOUR DREAM HOME!!! Plus Get Up To $100k + More* (for new kitchen, new roof, new carpet, appliances, paint, basement waterproofing, windows, heating & cooling)*
NEVER EVER EVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO BUY A HOME!!! Great Low Fixed Interest Rates* When YOUR dreams come true... OUR dreams come true!!!
440.342.7355 (SELL) To Buy...or Sell
Call Grizzell *Some restrictions will apply *for those who qualify... we consider... Se Habla Espanol
'//$ #2%$)4 s "!$ #2%$)4 s "!.+2504#9 | clevescene.com | November 7 - 13, 2018
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