Creative Loafing Tampa — January 18, 2024

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PUBLISHER James Howard EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ray Roa Editorial DIGITAL EDITOR Colin Wolf MANAGING EDITOR Kyla Fields THEATER CRITIC Jon Palmer Claridge FILM & TV CRITIC John W. Allman IN-HOUSE WITCH Caroline DeBruhl CONTRIBUTORS Jennifer Ring, Eric Snider PHOTOGRAPHERS Dave Decker, Tyler Downey, Steve Splane SPRING INTERN Inquire by emailing rroa@cltampa.com MOLLY MATALON

I’m really interested in writing love songs that are gritty and unromantic.

Creative Services CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jack Spatafora GRAPHIC DESIGNER Joe Frontel ILLUSTRATORS Dan Perkins, Cory Robinson, Bob Whitmore

Waxahatchee is playing a summer concert in St. Pete, p. 51.

Advertising SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Anthony Carbone, Scott Zepeda Events and Marketing MARKETING, PROMOTIONS AND EVENTS DIRECTOR Leigh Wilson MARKETING, PROMOTIONS AND EVENTS COORDINATOR Kristin Bowman SOCIAL MEDIA AND MARKETING MANAGER Corrie Miserendino Circulation CIRCULATION MANAGER Ted Modesta Chava Communications Group FOUNDER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Michael Wagner CO-FOUNDER, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER Cassandra Yardeni Wagner OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Hollie Mahadeo DIRECTOR OF AGENCY SERVICES Mindi Overman SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Meradith Garcia DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL CONTENT STRATEGY Colin Wolf ART DIRECTOR David Loyola DIGITAL OPERATIONS COORDINATOR Jaime Monzon

NEWS+VIEWS ����������������������� 13 FOOD & DRINK ��������������������� 27 A&E �������������������������������������� 37 MUSIC ����������������������������������43

EDITORIAL POLICY — Creative Loafing Tampa Bay is a publication covering public issues, the arts and entertainment. In our pages appear views from across the political and social spectrum. They do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher.

MUSIC WEEK ������������������������ 47

Some Zydeco staff members got tattoos in solidarity.

C/O PAUL RUTHERFORD

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Brewery closure in Ybor City, p. 27.

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Creative Loafing Tampa is published by Tampa Events & Media, LLC, 633 N Franklin St., Suite 735. Tampa, Florida, 33602.

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The physical edition is available free of charge at locations throughout Tampa Bay and online at cltampabay.com. Copyright 2023, Tampa Events and Media, LLC. The newspaper is produced and printed on Indigenous land belonging to Tampa Bay’s Tocobaga and Seminole tribes.

ON THE COVER: Photo by Steve Splane. Design by Joe Frontel.

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ands from St. Petersburg, plus more from Tuskegee University, Savannah State and Albany State filled the air with music last Monday afternoon, while thousands of parade goers lined the streets for the Sunshine City’s annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who would have been 95 years old this week. See all the photos from the parade via cltampa.com/ slideshows.—Ray Roa

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do this

Tampa Bay's best things to do from January 18 - 25

12th annual Tweed Ride & Party: Saturday, Jan. 20. 2 p.m.-8 p.m. $20-$60.

St. Pete Shuffleboard Club, 559 Mirror Lake Dr. N, St. Petersburg. stpeteshuffle.com— Kyla Fields

HIBRIDOABRAXAS/VIMEO

Crossbay cinema

That bridge, man. No one wants to cross it to do anything it seems, so organizers of the Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (TIGLIFF) have done it for you, St. Pete.

To close out the month, TIGLIFF takes over Green Light Cinema for four days of movies as part of the St. Pete edition of the storied film festival. Festivities kick off with a run of shorts on opening night including “Light Leak” (pictured) from Híbrido Abraxas and Carla Voces about a friendship between a filmmaker and his lead actor. Ten shorts, in all, are part of opening night, with nine more movies, and an additional night of shorts on Saturday, scheduled throughout the weekend.

34th annual Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival: Next ThursdaySunday, Jan. 25-28. $15 & up.

Green Light Cinema 221 2nd Ave. N, St. Petersburg. tiglff.com—

Ray Roa

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STAGE PHOTOGRAPHY OF TAMPA

STPETESHUFFLE/FACEBOOK

Push it Each January, folks dust off petticoats and other old-timey clothes then hop on their bicycles for St. Pete Shuffleboard Club’s annual Tweed Ride—and 2024’s rendition celebrates a particularly special occasion. The historic shuffleboard club— which boasts itself as the “oldest” and “largest” in the world—celebrates a whopping 100 years in The ‘Burg, and 2024’s Tweed Ride will help raise funds so the institution can keep doing what it’s been doing for the past century. The leisurely paced, fourmile ride explores downtown St. Pete, and will conclude at the shuffleboard club with live music from Junco Royal, swing dancing, craft beer courtesy of sponsor Cycle Brewing and eats from local soul food spot Heavy’s. Remember to rock your best tweed outfit if you plan to participate in this vintage-themed fundraiser. Full price, non-member tickets run for $60 and kids 16 and under can join the ride for $20.

Play on Shakespeare’s most musical of comedies kicks off the year for Tampa’s Jobsite Theater, which will be soundtracked by company wunderkind Jeremy Douglass. The story—featuring a majority of plain English, not Shakespeak—happens in the wake of a shipwreck which a young Viola believes drowned her brother. Jobsite staged “Twelfth Night” a decade ago, but promises an all-new production for this production that wraps on Feb. 11.

“Twelfth Night”: Select nights, Jan. 17-Feb. 11. Single tickets start at $40.

Jaeb Theater at David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts, 1010 N Macinnes Pl., Tampa. jobsitetheater.org—Ray Roa

See more (and submit your event) @ cltampa.com

a’s uin ite s

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Go to pass Hosted each year by the Madeira Beach Recreation Department, John Pass’ annual seafood festival turns the already-packed tourist area into a hotspot for live music, local vendors, and of course, freshlycaught gulf seafood. In addition to a wide variety of vendors dishing out fish, shrimp, mussels, crabs and more, this three-day festival will also feature a stacked lineup of live music, familyfriendly activities and local vendors slinging arts and crafts and other artisan goods. Both cover and original bands playing at the festival throughout the weekend include The Spazmatics, classic rockers The Fulcos, Firefly, Twisted Revolvers, Social Fabric and Alex Whalen. Since parking may prove to be difficult, event organizers are providing free shuttle service to and from the seafood festival; head to its Facebook page for more information.

42nd Annual John’s Pass Seafood Festival: Friday-Sunday, Jan. 19-21. 12 p.m.-6 p.m. No cover.

John’s Pass, 12902 Village Blvd., Madeira Beach. @JohnsPassSeafoodFest on Facebook—Kyla Fields

Of Greed and Glory: An Evening with Dr. Deborah G. Plant: Friday, Jan. 19. 7 p.m. No cover, RSVP requested. Allendale United Methodist Church, 3803 Haines Rd. N, St. Petersburg. tombolobooks.com—

Ray Roa

Another one We get it, the maker’s market scene in St. Pete can seem a little oversaturated at times, but a new event is set to deliver a wide range of vendors and food trucks each Sunday in the Historic Kenwood neighborhood. A rotating selection of over 75 different vendors set up shop each Sunday, offering patrons a wide selection of arts and crafts, farm-fresh produce, multi-cultural foods, plants, sustainable, eco-friendly products and wellness services alongside live music and other entertainment. This new market launched earlier this month and may boast many of the same small businesses as downtown’s Saturday Morning Market or St. Pete Beach’s Corey Ave market. Its organizers also stress that “The School Board of Pinellas County, Florida, is neither sponsoring, nor affiliated with this event.”

Farm and plant vendors that folks can expect at the next Sunday market include Greens ‘n’ Things Urban Farm, 15th Street Farm, Eden’s Nectar and Crum Brothers Family Farm while expected food trucks include Scone’d, La Petite France, Impasto and Churned Ice Cream, among many others.

Sunday Market St. Pete: Sunday, Jan. 21. 10 a.m.-2

TAMPABAYMARKETS/FACEBOOK

You might never learn this in DeSantis’ Florida, but we live in a country that’s kind of obsessed with human bondage. “Of Greed and Glory,” a new book from scholar, writer, and literary critic Dr. Deborah G. Plant (“Barracoon,” “ Zora Neale Hurston: A Biography of the Spirit”) is a personal exploration of liberty, the atrocities of the international slave trade and penal system, plus the steps we might take in achieving basic freedoms and sovereignty for all. Plant and Gwendolyn Reese, President of the African American Heritage Association will discuss the work as part of a field trip Tombolo Books is taking to the ‘Burg’s wokest church.

GLORIA PLANT-GILBERT

Let it ring

p.m. No cover. St. Petersburg High School, S, 2501 5th Ave. N , St. Petersburg. @sundaymarketstpete on Instagram—

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“It was a stain on American history.”

POLITICS

ISSUES

OPINION

Not true

There’s a bipartisan effort to remove language about slaves’ ‘personal benefit’ from Florida standards.

By Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix age-appropriate manner, how the individual freedoms of persons have been infringed by slavery, racial oppression, racial segregation and racial discrimination, as well as to topics relating to the enactment and enforcement of laws resulting in racial oppression, racial segregation, and racial discrimination and how recognition of these freedoms has overturned these unjust laws.”

The Senate measure was filed by South Florida Democrat Shevrin Jones.

He says the inclusion of the controversial language in the state’s African American history standards was damaging because “it puts us in a very unfortunate position to where we’re making it seem as if slavery was a good thing during that time in American history when it wasn’t.”

“Slavery was demeaning,” he says. “It was a stain on American history. It was a rough time in Black history where individuals were hung.

Families were separated. Women were raped.

Men were castrated during slavery. That’s not

FLORIDA NEWS

a time to where anyone believes it was a benefit. It was torture. Young people need to know that was not true.”

Two days after the standards were published last summer, Vice President Kamala Harris told a crowd in Jacksonville that the revisions were part of a national right-wing agenda.

“Adults know what slavery really involved.

It involved rape; it involved torture; it involved taking a baby from their mother; it involved some of the worst examples of depriving people of humanity in our world; it involved subjecting people to think of themselves and be thought of as less than humans,” Harris said. “So, in the context of that, how is it that anyone could suggest that, in the midst of these atrocities, that there was any benefit to being subjected to this level of dehumanization?”

DeSantis, a presidential candidate, has relished telling campaign audiences in Iowa and New Hampshire that Florida has become the place where “woke” policies go to die. The governor has also championed eliminating

Critical Race Theory from public schools as well as removing any references to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in higher education.

Jones calls Beltran a friend and says he is happy that he is co-sponsoring the measure in the House. He hopes it’s a harbinger of more Republicans pushing back on some of the DeSantis’ administration’s policies in the 2024 session.

“There comes a time where I hope that they [Republicans] understand that the laws that we are passing have long lasting effects and we can become an independent body to reject these hurtful policies that the governor has continued to push over the last 3-4 years, considering that he’s about to come back home after Iowa,” Jones says.

Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.

Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Diane Rado for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.

CITYOFSTPETE/FLICKR

T

here was national outrage last summer when the Florida Board of Education issued a new set of standards for African American history. It included a section on “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”

Criticism rained down on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration the day the standards were released at a meeting of the DOE meeting last July in Orlando.

Six months later, two state House members — a Democrat and a conservative Republican — introduced legislation (HB 1521) in the Florida House this month that would prohibit specified instruction and state academic standards from indicating or implying that enslaved persons benefited from slavery or enslavement experience in any way.

A Democratic senator introduced the same legislation, (SB 344).

“Someone must have picked up some useful skills at some point but of all the things that we could be instructing on, I don’t think that needs to be in the [academic standards of Florida],” says House Republican Mike Beltran, who represents portions of Hillsborough and Manatee counties.

“I’m not someone who plays identity politics or likes to be preoccupied by something that happened over 200 years ago, but still I think that’s offensive,” Beltran adds. “I can see how it would be even more offensive to other folks.”

Beltran is co-sponsoring the measure with Miami-Dade Democrat Christopher Benjamin in the House of Representatives.

The curriculum for African American history standards for middle school students include “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit,” according to the document posted by the Florida Department of Education (DOE) last summer. The DOE did not return a request for comment.

The bill provides specific information about what instructions should be provided to students in Florida’s public schools when it comes to the history of African Americans: “Instructional personnel may facilitate discussions and use curricula to address, in an

NOW MORE THAN EVER: A mural outside St. Petersburg’s Woodson African American Museum of Florida.

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On the clock

Florida Republicans seek to roll back child labor law, but critics argue the state is failing to protect children on the job as it is.

By McKenna Schueler

A

During the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the agency received 257 child labor complaints, a spokesperson confirmed. Only five of those resulting in enforcement action (which, under state law, is a fine of up to $2,500 per offense).

During the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the agency received 220 complaints, of which 30 resulted in enforcement action. A spokesperson for the agency explained that employers found to have broken the law in some fashion can sometimes be brought into compliance through “immediate corrective action.”

“DBPR strives to bring all licensees into compliance when possible. Although there are offenses where enforcement actions must be imposed by the DBPR Child Labor Program,

construction and are some of the most common and riskiest jobs in which these unaccompanied minors are found illegally employed, the Times reported.

David Weil, a former head of the federal U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, told Orlando Weekly that in Florida, like the rest of the U.S. South, the federal government is essentially “the only act in town” to protect children in the workforce.

This is a problem, he said, because the federal government’s enforcement arm is already stretched thin. The federal Wage and Hour Division, an agency within the Department

WORK IT: State Rep. Linda Chaney of St. Pete Beach is sponsoring a bill that would scrap restrictions on the number of hours older teens can work. education of both employers and minors on compliance is a top priority,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Orlando Weekly. “When violations are found, training specialists are available to discuss immediate corrective actions and educate employers on child labor laws through management trainings.”

Still, investigative reporting by the New York Times has found that many children, particularly migrant children, are falling through the cracks in both state and federal enforcement, regardless of the laws that are in place to protect them. Under-the-table jobs in roofing and

“They’re trying to find the least-cost way of expanding their labor supply.”

“It’s kind of this illusion that if we have the laws on the books, people are going to follow them,” said Weil. But without officials to meaningfully enforce the law, there’s no real deterrent for employers. “People just don’t worry about having an investigator showing up because there are so few of them to go around.”

It’s worse in states in the South, he said, which have very few, if any, state investigators to help lighten the federal government’s load.

A spokesperson from the federal WHD told Orlando Weekly that child labor enforcement “is among our highest priorities” and that every wage and hour case they conduct in Florida— from alleged minimum wage violations to unpaid overtime—includes an investigation of potential child labor violations.

In 2023, the federal government fined Florida businesses over $100,000 for breaking child labor law, with about half of that levied onto an Orlando-area roofing contractor that illegally employed a 15-year-old to do roofing work. A federal probe into the contractor began after the teen fell approximately 20 feet from a two-story home in February 2022 while on the job, suffering severe head and spinal injuries.

The injured boy was left hospitalized for days, according to federal investigators.

A Tampa-area Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a trampoline park in Jacksonville and several skating rinks in the Tampa Bay region were also assessed thousands of dollars in civil penalties last year.

But there are limits on the kinds of penalties businesses can face for breaking the law. Unlike cases of minimum wage and overtime violations, damages are not awarded to victims of child labor violations under federal law. Compared to Florida’s maximum penalty of $2,500 per offense, employers found in violation of federal law can be fined up to $15,138 per child—a penalty that some federal lawmakers are trying to increase and strengthen to more effectively deter noncompliance.

There is also no right to private action for violations under state or federal law, meaning child victims or their parents can’t sue employers for child labor violations on their own; the only way to enforce child labor law is through the government.

FLORIDA NEWS

STATE OF FLORIDA

s Florida Republicans look to relax child labor regulations at the behest of the construction and tourism industries, critics argue that the state’s capacity to enforce the law is lacking as it is, and that the state should consider ways to strengthen protections for minors in the workplace, not undermine them.

One bill proposed for the 2024 legislative session (HB 49) would gut restrictions on the number of hours 16- and 17-year-olds can work, allowing employers to schedule them for full-time hours during the school year. This would give employers, who currently can’t schedule minors more than 30 hours per week, the green light to work older teens later hours, and even put them on overnight shifts when they have school the next day.

Another proposal (SB 460) would allow 16and 17-year-olds to work jobs currently deemed too hazardous for minors in roofing and construction—an industry that accounts for the highest number of workplace fatalities in the state and the largest share of unlicensed activity complaints. The bill outlines certain safety precautions—such as requiring minors to work under the supervision of an adult and to first obtain OSHA certification—but federal data shows there’s already a dearth of supervisors available on these worksites anyway.

The new proposals, while not unique to Florida, come at an awkward time to say the least, and demonstrate that Republicans’ favored mantra of “protect the children” only really goes so far.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of U.S. minors employed in violation of child labor law has spiked 88% since 2019, in part attributed to factors such as a tight labor market and an influx of unaccompanied minors coming into the U.S. seeking work to help support their families.

Enforcement and policy experts told Orlando Weekly that the capacity for enforcing child labor protections in Florida—through workplace inspections, investigations and employer training—is already failing to keep kids safe, and that loosening the law will put more vulnerable children at risk.

According to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the agency tasked with enforcing Florida’s child labor law, there are just seven agency employees in the state who are dedicated to child labor enforcement. Just seven to protect the tens of thousands of teenagers in Florida’s workforce from exploitation.

of Labor that enforces child labor regulations, has been flat-funded by Congress for years and is carrying on with “historically low staffing levels,” according to a recent agency blog post.

When Weil led the division, during the Obama administration, there were about 1,100 wage and hour investigators in 52 offices around the country, he said. Today, there are about 800 federal investigators in the Wage and Hour Division, with 47 of them based in Florida.

But child labor isn’t their sole focus. The federal investigators are also tasked with enforcing other worker protections under federal law, such as minimum wage and overtime requirements, workers’ rights under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, and H-2 visa programs.

‘The current regulations are overly restrictive’ The bills in Florida that aim to loosen child labor law are both sponsored by Republicans, although there is bipartisan support for strengthening child labor protections on a federal level. continued on page 19

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continued from page 17

needing more labor,” said Rep. Angie Nixon, a community organizer and mom to a 16-yearold. “We’re sitting here talking about making children adults but they can’t even read Toni Morrison in school.”

Sen. Simon’s bill, SB 460, has similarly garnered enthusiastic support from trade groups like the Associated Builders and Contractors, which literally wrote Simon’s bill, according to

The FGA, funded by ultra-conservatives and billionaires, has also lobbied for policies that would undermine the social safety net for low-income families. By, for instance, making it harder for them to access food stamps or qualify for health insurance through Medicaid. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who proudly signed into law a bill to “protect” children from drag last year, has a friendly relationship with the FGA

STATE OF FLORIDA

Florida Sen. Corey Simon of Tallahassee, a first-term politician and former football player, is sponsoring SB 460, the bill that would allow employers to put older teens to work on roofs above six feet (although some illegally do it already). State Rep. Linda Chaney of St. Pete Beach is sponsoring the bill (HB 49) that would scrap restrictions on the number of hours older teens can work.

Under current law, children age 14 and older are legally permitted to work in a wide range of industries. There are restrictions on the number of hours children can work, mandated 30-minute breaks for minors every four hours, and a prohibition on jobs determined to threaten the health and safety of children.

The law, however, does contain exceptions.

For instance, the law doesn’t apply to minors in the entertainment industry, minors employed by their parents, minors who are married, minors who have graduated high school, minors employed in domestic jobs like babysitting, or student learner programs.

Minors in Florida can also seek waivers excusing them from child labor protections through the DBPR or the Florida Department of Education. According to the DBPR, over 5,000 waivers were issued to minors during the last fiscal year alone.

But lobbyists for politically well-connected industry groups like the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association say current restrictions on child labor are too burdensome for the businesses they represent and deter employers from hiring minors.

“The current regulations are overly restrictive and can be challenging to manage,” said FRLA lobbyist Samantha Padgett, speaking on behalf of more than 10,000 hotel and restaurant owners at a committee hearing for HB 49 in December. “Additional staffing is desperately needed.”

The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, a state affiliate of the National Restaurant Association, lobbies for the interests of companies like Disney, Universal, the Ritz-Carlton, Outback Steakhouse and Olive Garden—employers in low-wage, largely nonunion industries that employ a large share of teens.

These are also industries where labor law violations, ranging from child labor to minimum wage and overtime violations, are already prevalent. And apparently, the child labor rollback proposal from Chaney is popular.

“When we asked our members for their feedback, normally I get a trickle of comments,” Padgett told the House Regulatory and Economic Development subcommittee. “This [received] a flood of positive support from our hoteliers and our restaurateurs.”

Florida Democrats, who wield little power in the state’s Republican-controlled legislature, have tried to push back. “Children and families should not be exploited by restaurants

ON THE CLOCK: ‘Children and families should not be exploited by restaurants needing more labor,’ said Rep. Angie Nixon. public records, in collaboration with the Florida Home Builders Association.

“If you look at who is supporting these efforts to try to weaken child labor laws across the country, it’s the same companies who are often leaders in wage theft problems,” said Weil, the former Wage and Hour Division administrator. “So what are they doing? They’re trying to find the least-cost way of expanding their labor supply.”

The Foundation for Government Accountability, a conservative think tank based in Naples, similarly fed Chaney her bill through a lobbyist. The group has been a driving force behind child labor rollbacks in states like Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa and now Florida, the Washington Post reported last year.

and has even appointed its CEO to his special Government Efficiency Task Force.

Florida is at least the 16th state so far to try and roll back child labor protections in the last two years. Of bills introduced in state legislatures, nine have been signed into law, according to the Economic Policy Institute, which has been tracking the influx of child labor-related bills.

In Arkansas last year, for instance, Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed into law the Youth Hiring Act: The bill effectively repealed a law requiring employers to verify a minor’s age with the state, acquire a work permit for minors, and get parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds before putting them to work. A law in Iowa, signed by Republican Gov.

FLORIDA NEWS

Kim Reynolds last year, extends allowed work hours for teens and lifted hazardous occupation restrictions for minors as young as 14—allowing them to work in industrial laundry services, freezers and meat coolers.

Rep. Chaney, sponsor of Florida’s HB 49, disputed the characterization of her legislation as a child labor bill. “This bill is not about children,” she said, speaking to fellow lawmakers last month. “These are youth workers that are driving automobiles. These are not children.”

Child welfare and labor advocates, however, say the dangers are clear. Young workers are more likely to suffer injuries on the job, and they’re less likely to speak up if their boss is stealing their tips or failing to pay them all that they’re owed. Florida doesn’t have a strong mechanism for recovering unpaid wages and tips for workers as it is, for adults or for working teenagers.

Working teenagers more than 20 hours a week can also affect their education and increase their risk for other behavioral problems.

Students might have less time to study, may be sleeping less if they’re put on a late shift, and could become more likely to skip school or drop out entirely if they’re working too many hours.

“If students are unable to do their work, and are falling further and further behind, then obviously teachers are going to be very concerned for that child,” Andrew Spar, a former music teacher and president of the Florida Education Association, told Orlando Weekly.

Setting baseline restrictions on the kinds of labor children can perform, and how many hours they can work “sends a message that school is the priority,” Spar added.

And there are opportunities for students to safely gain practical experience in the trades already. Florida’s public school system has career and technical education programs, which allow students to gain knowledge, hands-on experience, and even certification ahead of graduation in a wide range of industries, including construction.

According to the Florida Department of Education, there are 1.2 million students involved in some kind of CTE program across the state, representing a 9.5% increase over the last four years.

Eight hundred thousand of those students are in secondary education, while the rest are in post-secondary education, a pre-apprenticeship or an apprenticeship program.

In Central Florida, the Orange County public school system alone has 22 career specialists (one for each high school)—more than double the number of employees the entire state has dedicated to enforcing child labor law.

Safety in these programs, including those that offer supervised instruction in construction and architecture, is a top priority.

“We’re part of the public education system here, continued on page 21

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SHINE ON: Florida is at least the 16th state so far to try and roll back child labor protections in the last two years. continued from page 19 so we’re highly regulated in terms of safety, all those types of metrics,” Parker Antoine, director of Orange County Public Schools’ CTE program, told Orlando Weekly. “All our teachers and administrators and everybody takes this stuff very seriously, because we are part of the seventh largest school district in the country as well as an accredited institution,” said Antoine, who coordinates programming through Orange Technical College, a public institution. “We’re extremely buttoned up.”

Middle school and high school students in those programs, he confirmed, develop their skills in labs or classrooms, not on potentially dangerous job sites.

Strengthening child labor enforcement With or without changes to Florida’s child labor law, the fact remains that violations are a growing problem. From 2019 to 2022, child labor violations nearly tripled, according to federal data analyzed by the Florida Policy Institute, from 95 violations in 2019 to 281 in 2022.

And these are just the cases that are investigated. More cases of child labor violations may

go unreported, or may not be fully investigated and therefore included in official counts.

David Weil, the former Wage and Hour administrator, says there’s a number of strategies the local, state, and federal governments could take to strengthen enforcement (and no, it doesn’t involve allowing teens to work longer hours or on high-rise construction projects).

Lawmakers, for instance, could increase penalties for breaking the law, so that fines, particularly for larger companies, consist of more than a slap on the wrist. Even the federal Wage and Hour division admits the maximum civil penalty for law-breaking employers under federal law—$15,138 per child—is “not high enough to be a deterrent for major profitable companies.”

But additional funding is also needed for enforcement staffing and other resources to support agency efforts. Otherwise, a steeper penalty is all teeth with no bite. “This is not simple work. This is very resource- and laborintensive,” said Terri Gerstein, director of the

NYU Wagner Labor Initiative, in a recent webinar hosted by the Economic Policy Institute.

Gerstein spent 17 years enforcing labor laws through positions in the New York Attorney General’s Office and New York State Department of Labor. Prior to that, she worked as a nonprofit lawyer in Miami, aiding immigrant workers.

Effectively enforcing the law, she said, “requires pre-planning, search warrants, sometimes talking to school officials, going on site at all odd hours of the day, talking to minors who may be afraid of talking to the investigators.” It may also require (and best be served by) collaboration with community organizations, schools, and building and health inspectors, she added.

Allowing children or their parents to take private action against a law-breaking employer could also help reduce the burden on government agencies, said Gerstein, and governments could additionally deter violations by publicly posting the names of violators.

New Jersey, for instance, recently passed a law creating an online wall of shame, where

FLORIDA NEWS

GAGE/ADOBE

they list employers that have failed to satisfy outstanding liabilities for wage, benefit, and tax violations. The state also prohibits these businesses from entering into public contracts and thus receiving taxpayers’ money.

A number of other states—including Arkansas, following public pressure—have similarly passed laws to strengthen child labor protections. California, a state that’s comparatively labor-friendly, last year passed a landmark law mandating workers’ rights education in public schools. Colorado passed a law that allows injured victims of child labor violations to sue employers for damages.

Florida’s HB 49 has already advanced through one of three committee stops it must make before being heard by the full Florida House. The teen roofer bill, SB 460, has not been heard yet by any committee or subcommittee in the state Senate.

Florida’s 2024 legislative session officially kicks off Jan. 9, 2024. Session will last 60 days, concluding March 8.

This post first appeared at our sibling publication, Orlando Weekly.

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fter five years of redefining the corner of is looking forward to the next chapter. “See Currently, Cleveland Street Market boasts variety of beer on tap from its resident brew7th Avenue and 19th Street in Ybor City, a you soon,” Zydeco added. five different concepts, but will eventually be pub and an event space for private parties. It recent staple of the historic district is sayEarly last week, some Zydeco staff members home to over 20, according to its social media. will eventually host live music as well. ing “a bientôt.” Zydeco Brew Werks’ last day of got tattoos in solidarity with what they built Its first wave of tenants include: Deja Brew Cafe, According to its website, the new food operation at 1902 E 7th Ave. is Jan. 21, accord- in Ybor City (see them via cltampa.com/food). Tap Haus on Cleveland, Top Nosh Street Food, hall currently collaborates with Destination ing to a statement.

“I’m gonna miss Ybor City,” Rutherford Jersey Dogs and the second location of fusion Cleveland, a tourism website for the Midwestern Not getting to be with regulars and staff said, while expressing optimism about finding spot The Smokin’ Cuban, which took home first city. “With its modern architectural design, the on a daily basis is one of the hardest parts of Zydeco’s future home. place at Ybor City’s annual Cuban Sandwich Cleveland Street Market stands as a testament the closure, Zydeco brewer and to the community’s spirit, beckco-founder Paul Rutherford told oning residents and visitors alike Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. to come together and immerse Zydeco’s second location at themselves in the unique culture Tampa’s Museum of Science of Cleveland, OH,” the food hall’s and Industry will stay open, website reads.

Rutherford added, but he’s still For the latest news on not sure where he’s going to make Clearwater’s newest food hall beer while he and co-founder and its grand opening next J.Paul Pepin search for a new month, head to its Facebook or home for the brewhouse they Instagram, both via the handle built inside of a location that’s @clevelandstreetmarket. rich with relics of Ybor City past.

“We’re definitely going to Chill Bros. opens newest scoop celebrate,” Rutherford said shop at Armature Works in about the brewery’s final weeks Tampa Heights in Ybor City. The 45-year-old Less than five years after who moved to Tampa from the debuting its first ice cream shop in northeast to open the brewery, Ybor City, Chill Bros. Scoop Shop brought Zydeco three medals at has opened its fifth Tampa locathe World Beer Championship, tion. Chill Bros.’ newest ice cream including a gold for his American shop soft opened inside Armature brett saison. He said that he Works earlier this month and even found a cask barrel of his hosted an official grand opening infamous Butchy scotch ale, and ribbon cutting ceremony with named for Colorado outdoorsMayor Jane Castor last weekend. man and salsa maker Butchy The locally-owned company Craft. While Zydeco Brew Werks specializes in custard-based ice has always been a brewery first, cream made from “an all-natural with Rutherford making some of MARDI ON: Ybor City’s Zydeco Brew Werks will close this weekend, but its MOSI location remains open.

5 ingredient base,” often sourced Tampa Bay’s best beers right out from the greater Tampa Bay of the gate, the corner was also known for its “My whole social life was here. I was so lucky, Festival last year. Between the handful of ten- area. Chill Bros. joins a large list of tenants at New Orleans-inspired menu (and was home to I didn’t have to go anywhere. People came here ants currently open at Cleveland Street Market, the popular Tampa Heights food hall located at perhaps the best muffaletta in Tampa). to see me.”—Ray Roa patrons can indulge in everything from loaded 1910 N Ola Ave., operating alongside Muchachas, Its two-story parcel just a block away from mac and cheese and New Jersey-style hot dogs Kipos, Buddy Brew Coffee, Dalmoros and fellow trolley stop no. 1 became a favorite for large New food hall Cleveland Street Market soft to unique Cuban-BBQ fusion dishes like smoked sweet spot Bake N’ Babes. Armature Works’ groups that took over the brewery’s second opens in Clearwater flan and build-your-own bowls with espresso- former ice cream spot Astro Craft—which has level, and it was heartwarming to see Zydeco On the last day of 2023, a new food hall and rubbed brisket and mojo pork. been located at the food hall since its debut in rewrite history at the address, which once market celebrated a soft opening in the heart of In addition to its large dining room where 2018—closed last Tuesday. Astro Craft’s social hosted a set from Nirvana, before the band downtown Clearwater. Cleveland Street Market patrons of every food stall can chow down, media says that its Wesley Chapel and mobile blew up. In its statement, Zydeco thanks its at 949 Cleveland St. has its official grand open- Clearwater’s new food hall also offers a pet- ice cream truck are still in operation. staff and loyal customers and said the company ing is slated for sometime in February. friendly patio, two TopGolf swing suites, a continued on page 33

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continued from page 27 Like Chill Bros.’ other locations in Ybor City, South Tampa, at the Epicurean Hotel and Water Street Tampa, its newest shop inside Armature Works will offer a solid rotation of both classic and unique ice creams, cookies, shakes, floats, vegan options and to-go pints.

Staple ice cream flavors include: milk and cookies, Tampa banana, guava pastelito, cafe con leche chunk, mad vanilla bean, chronic popcorn, and the bee’s knees. In addition to its classic flavors, Chill Bros. also offers seasonal options like candy cane forest and birthday cake.

Chill Bros. founder Max Chillura recently told the Tampa Bay Business Journal that he plans to open more scoop shops across the bridge in St. Pete. For the latest information on Chill Bros. and its newest Tampa location, head to its Instagram at @chillbrosicecream. Its Armature Works location is now open from 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-midnight on Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. on Sunday.

unable to afford that as well.” “And pretty much everyone in town can barely afford the cost of living here, so they’re not spending money at local businesses,” she continues.

Beltgens launched Valhalla Bakery in Orlando in 2015 and debuted a second location inside St. Pete’s Baum Ave Market in 2018, eventually opening a standalone storefront a year later. Following the success of her plant-based bakes from Valhalla, she opened Valkyrie Doughnuts and vegan lunch spot Freya’s Diner in 2021.

The doors of Freya’s Diner closed in late 2023, and the Central Avenue building that housed the now-closed restaurant and Valhalla Bakery is currently for sale for $1.5 million dollars on loopnet.com. Until Valhalla’s closure next month, the bakery will be operating with reduced hours of 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

Thursday-Sunday.

Valhalla Bakery to close St. Pete storefront and merge with sister concept Valkyrie Doughnuts A staple in St. Pete’s bakery scene is closing its doors next month. Luckily, it’s not leaving The ‘Burg completely. Earlier this month, owner Celine Beltgens announced the closure of Valhalla Bakery (2462 Central Ave.) and the eventual merger with its smaller, neighboring concept Valkyrie Doughnuts at 2444 Central Ave. Valhalla Bakery will remain open four days a week until its closure on Feb. 14. After the bakery and doughnut shop merge next month, Beltgens says that it will sell popular items from both menus. Doughnuts, of course, will have a large presence on the new menu alongside Valhalla favorites like its pistachio rose bar, cake slices and cookies.

“Taking this step has been a hard pill for all of us to swallow but it’s no secret that small business is struggling like we’ve never seen before,” Beltgens wrote on Instagram. “Post Covid supply issues, ingredients and packaging costs doubling, plus the economy wrecking everybody’s pocketbooks all play into this.” Beltgens tells Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that small business owners throughout Tampa Bay and beyond are cutting corners and turning to predatory loans just to stay afloat.

“All of our costs have massively increased across the board—packaging is up 200-300%, apps like Uber Eats are taking a huge portion of sales, and our ingredients are either in a constant shortage or are ridiculously marked up,” Beltgen explains. “Even payroll processing programs have gotten more expensive since the pandemic. I used to offer health insurance to my employees and match their 401ks, but I’ve been

ICYMI • On Tuesday, Jan. 23, The Tampa Edition’s Michelin-starred restaurant Lilac hosts an exclusive, $290 “Celebration of Truffles” dinner. It will showcase “white truffles from Alba and black truffles from Périgord,” in addition to hors d’oeuvres from the fine dining concept’s champagne cart and other inventive courses from Executive Chef Chef John Fraser and Chef de Cuisine Josh Werksman.

• Tampa Bay native and Noble Rice Sous Chef Jada Vidal will be featured on the popular Food Network show “Chopped” on Tuesday,

Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. ET. It wasn’t the young chef’s first TV appearance, since Vidal appeared on the cooking competition series “Beachside Brawl” in 2022 and even took home the first place prize on “Guy’s Grocery Games” in 2021.

• South Tampa’s Epicurean Hotel ( 1207 S Howard Ave.) has finished its $21 million dollar renovations and is currently welcoming guests into its newest addition. The Bern’s Steak Houseaffiliated hotel has built a four-story structure across the street from its main building, which boasts 51 new guest rooms and suites, a private lobby, meeting space, and a rooftop terrace.

• Popular St. Pete Italian restaurant BellaBrava opened a third location at 16722 Focus Loop in Land O’ Lakes. The upscale Italian concept is known for its various pastas, wood-fired pizzas, salads and small plates like arancini, calamari, bruschetta and meatballs. BellaBrava’s flagship restaurant resides on St. Pete’s illustrious Beach Drive while its second location calls Midtown Tampa at 1015 Gramercy Lane home.

VALHALLABAKERYSTPETE/FACEBOOK

OPENINGS & CLOSINGS

Beltgens also says that she’s looking to close Orlando’s location of Valkyrie Doughnuts later this year, but its Valhalla storefront is slated to stay open. For the latest news on Valhalla Bakery, Valkyrie Doughnuts and the merging of the two concepts, head to their Instagrams at @valhallabakery_stpete and @ valkyriedoughnuts_stpete.

DONUT WORRY: After Valhalla Bakery closes, it will merge with Valkyrie Doughnuts.

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A&E NEWS

‘Offset: Robert Rauschenberg At USF Graphicstudio Exhibition’ opening celebration Friday, Jan. 19, 6 p.m.-9 p.m. No cover School of Music Barness Hall at University of South Florida.

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Spring exhibition at USF Tampa campus highlights printmaking pioneers, plus more A&E shorts.

By Jennifer Ring

G

Kress Contemporary is now the beating heart of Ybor City’s art scene, and there’s a show to celebrate Much has changed since Tracy Midulla’s Tempus Projects moved into the historic Kress building on Ybor City’s Seventh Avenue in October 2022. Within a year, more than a dozen art studios, galleries, a theater, a microcinema, and a museum followed suit, filling every rentable space within the 17,000-squarefoot complex.

night and a literary open mic Friday night, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.; Screen Door Microcinema screens Animator Jodie Mack’s “Early Morning, Tarpon Springs” Thursday night; and Fringe Theatre closes things out with “Sadaoke,” a night of bittersweet karaoke ballads Saturday, Jan. 27, 4 p.m.-6 p.m.

There’s now a calendar featuring Tampa murals Last month, Visit Tampa Bay and the Tampa Arts Alliance celebrated the release of their Tampa Bay Murals Wall Calendar with a Tampa Bay Arts Pop-Up in downtown Tampa.

This wasn’t the first time that the organizations collaborated on an art project. The two organizations collaborated on last year’s awardwinning “Art in Tampa” docuseries, and more joint projects are coming down the pipeline.

Tampa Arts Alliance Executive Director Michele Smith was discussing Vibrant Walls—a new Tampa Arts Alliance project cataloging the city’s murals—with Visit Tampa Bay when they had an idea.

“The Visit Tampa Bay team was really excited about the idea of cataloging and sharing the big picture of murals,” Smith told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “And they came up with the idea of doing a calendar to help promote the concept.”

Tampa Arts Alliance’s Vibrant Walls team has cataloged more than 150 murals in Tampa thus far, and people just keep painting. As Vibrant Walls prepares for liftoff, Smith says, “I’m looking forward to getting more visibility to artists and to the creativity of our county…just to be able to start sharing that narrative about how incredibly vibrant Tampa is.”

The event featured a holiday gift market and Tampa City Ballet performing excerpts from The Nutcracker.

There was also a Tampa Walls! downtown Mural Jam featuring 12 artists including Sebastian Coolidge, Jared Wright, Jujmo, Daniel “R5” Baros, Wayward Walls, Jess Jones, Carlos Pons, Dreamweaver, Whitney Holbourn, Hinson, Illsol, and Kevin Hughsam. Each artist has three hours to paint a 6-foot-by-9-foot mural which will later be available for purchase through Mergeculture Gallery.

The mural jam was not the week-long festival we were hoping for when we wrote about Tampa Walls last August—that’s been postponed until Tampa Walls! meets its fundraising goals. But in continued on page 38 PETER FOE

raphicstudio, the printmaking workshop at the University of South Florida (USF), has an international reputation among artists.

As one of only three professional university-based print ateliers, it’s become a popular stopover in many influential artists’ creative journeys.

As Todd Smith, the former Executive Director of the Tampa Museum of Art, once put it, through Graphicstudio, USF introduced Tampa to “a veritable who’s who of contemporary art.”

This month, USF Contemporary Art Museum (USF CAM) introduces Tampa to one of Graphicstudio’s most innovative printmakers in “OFFSET: Robert Rauschenberg at USF Graphicstudio,” which is up through March 2.

Rauschenberg was one of the first artists Graphicstudio founder Donald J. Saff invited to Graphicstudio in the early-1970s. And the rest is art history. “Rauschenberg pushed the boundaries of traditional printmaking in collaboration with Don Saff and the master printers,” Graphicstudio Director Margaret Miller told Creative Loafing Tampa.

He printed on unconventional surfaces—paper bags, cardboard, and gauze—and combined methods in ways that inspired a generation of artists. Rauschenberg left a “tremendous legacy” at USF and beyond, Miller told CL. Offset demonstrates that legacy by “presenting the work of artists influenced by Rauschenberg that have worked at Graphicstudio or presented work at the USF Contemporary Art Museum,” Miller added. “Works by Christian Marclay, Narsiso Martinez, Rochelle Feinstein, Trisha Brown, and Bosco Sodi are presented so that viewers can see the connection to and influence of Rauschenberg.”

“OFFSET: Robert Rauschenberg at USF Graphicstudio” opens Friday, Jan. 19, 6 p.m.-9 p.m. with “Donald Saff in Conversation with John Blakinger” at USF School of Music Barness Hall (MUS 107) followed by an opening reception at USFCAM.

performing arts organizations, and three literary organizations. They’re making art, supporting fellow artists, and engaging the community through public events.

At the end of last year, Midulla reached out to her fellow Kress Contemporary arts organizations, theaters, and galleries to find out how many individual artists they featured since moving into the Kress building.

“We have featured over 500 individual artists through dozens of visual, performing, and literary arts events in just the last 15 months in that building,” says Midulla.

In short, Kress Contemporary is now the beating heart of Ybor City’s art scene, and it's staged a special event to celebrate.

The First Annual Open House Exhibition’s centerpiece is a group exhibition on the second floor of the Kress Collective, opening next Thursday, Jan. 25, from 6 p.m.-10 p.m.

PUSH IT: A veritable who’s who of contemporary art came through Graphicstudio.

The Kress Contemporary was born, and suddenly, Kress—located at 1624 E 7th Ave. in Ybor City—was the place to be on third Thursdays.

What exactly is Kress Contemporary? It’s the name for a group of diverse arts organizations and individual artists working in the historic Ybor City Kress building. Currently, Kress Contemporary encompasses 13 visual arts organizations, 28 individual artists, two

The First Annual Open House Exhibition— where Kress artists open their studio, gallery, and theater doors to the public ThursdaySaturday, Jan. 25-27.—features art made by more than a dozen resident Kress artists, including Jenny Carey, Ashley Cantero, Carlos Pons, and Elizabeth Fontaine-Barr. But that’s far from all there is to see and do at Kress that weekend.

Heard Em Say Youth Arts Collective hosts a poetry performance with Slam Anderson Thursday

cltampabay.com | JANUARY 18-24, 2024 | 37

STAY AWHILE: Bask and Tes One’s ‘Stay Curious’ mural on Tampa’sPoe Parking Garage. continued from page 37 the meantime, Tampa Walls! invites you to come see how innovative and efficient Tampa’s muralists are.

“We’re going to be doing this paint jam, which will actually be a little bit impressive, because ten pieces will appear to be finished only from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., which isn’t a lot of time,” said Tampa Walls! organizer Tony Krol.

“It puts a light on the efficiency and talent of the muralists in this new contemporary world where they can bust out large paintings in a small amount of time, because there’s a lot of innovation within this community.”

Effy, indie wrestling’s ‘weapon of sass destruction,’ brings Big Gay Brunch to Tampa this month A hot daddy of the independent wrestling circuit is bringing his sweet cheeks to Tampa Bay to do some eatin’. Taylor Gibson—aka Effy—is two-and-a-half years into his Big Gay Brunch series, and he brings the eighth

iteration of “wrestling’s gayest event” to Tampa this month.

Tickets to Effy’s Big Gay Brunch 8 happening next Saturday, Jan. 27 at Tampa’s Egypt Shriners center are on sale now and start at $32.32 and naturally top out at $69.

The 33-year-old Tallahassee-born wrestler with a degree in public relations has over 90,000 followers between Twitch, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, and was ranked no. 95 in Pro Wrestling Insider’s ranking of the top 500 wrestlers of 2021.

As Business Insider points out, the “weapon of sass destruction” has forgone deals with World Wrestling Entertainment and All Elite Wrestling and lands in Tampa care of New Jersey-based indie wrestling company Game Changer Wrestling.

And while there’ll be food on the agenda, the main attraction at the brunch is wrastlin’, which focuses on LGBTQ athletes in the indie wrestling world.—Ray Roa

38 | JANUARY 18-24, 2024 | cltampabay.com

New kids area Castaway Falls coming to Tampa’s Adventure island in 2024 On Dec. 14, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay announced the addition of yet another new kids area coming to its Adventure Island waterpark.

Castaway Falls is expected to debut in the spring of 2024, and will take over the area formerly occupied by the kid-favorite, but also noticeably worn down and slightly rusty, Splash Attack.

According to Busch Gardens, Castaway Falls will be double the size of Splash Attack, and similar to its predecessor, the new multilevel, interactive water-play attraction will also include two giant buckets, spilling over 1,300 gallons of water over guests.

The area will also feature over 100 interactive play elements, including “four exciting water slides, soakers, flow pipes, hose jets, spray jets, water shooters, water curtains, tipping troughs, spinning and sliding buckets, and much more,” says a press release.

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Not a lot of other details were provided, though a rendering shows the space covered in a shallow pool area, which is certainly an upgrade from the slippery wet (and sometimes scorching hot concrete) found at Splash Attack.

“We are thrilled about Adventure Island’s 2024 season!” said Stewart Clark, president of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Adventure Island in a statement. “With the unveiling of Castaway Falls, the largest expansion in the water park’s history continues, adding attractions, dining options and events to enhance the guest experience.”

The new kids area is just the latest in an ongoing effort to modernize the park. Last year, Adventure Island also announced the addition of another kids area, Shaka-Laka Shores, which just recently opened. In 2022, Adventure Island also welcomed the addition of more adult-friendly rides like Rapids Racer and Wahoo Remix.—Colin Wolf

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Celebrating 30 years in Downtown Dunedin. ~ Asi es la Vida! ~

Claudia Peña Salinas (Mexican American, b. 1975) is a research-based artist whose work blends references to architectural minimalism as well as to ancient Mesoamerican history and craft. Through funds generously provided by the EXPO CHICAGO 2023 Northern Trust Purchase Prize, the Museum of Fine Arts acquired Ahua Can (2023), a multimedia sculpture by the artist. The work’s brass framework references El Castillo, also known as the Temple of Kukulkan, in the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza, on the Yucatan peninsula. Ahua Can engages with movements across global art histories and is a fitting acquisition for an encyclopedic institution: it relates to works in the collection, like the Maya jade mask depicting Chac, god of water, and also allows for critical exploration of the very act of collecting.

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Claudia Peña Salinas, Ahua Can, 2023, Brass, dyed ceramic, wood and shell found objects and thread, postcard, 72 x 50 x 25 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Embajada.

40 | JANUARY 18-24, 2024 | cltampabay.com

$4, $5 & $6 Liquor, Beer & Wine $8 Hand-Crafted Cocktails

“This has been a really fun team to watch.”

Still cookin’

The Bucs’ future looks bright.

By Carter Brantley

T

he Tampa Bay Buccaneers turned in an utter display of dominance last Monday night at Raymond James Stadium. Here are some fun facts from the game: • Bucs cornerback Zyon McCollum had two special teams penalties leveled against him on successful field goal attempts by the Eagles, one a point after touchdown and the other of the regular, 3-point variety. Both led to Philly going for more points. Both led to Philly failing to convert • Tight end Cade Otton set a Buccaneers franchise records for receptions by a tight end in a playoff game • The Bucs came away with their first postseason safety in franchise history • Baker Mayfield’s touchdown to Chris Godwin in the fourth quarter was one of the silliest throws I’ve ever seen OK, so that last one wasn’t really a fact, but it was worth mentioning. The Bucs came out and absolutely put on a show for the ages,

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

NICE FACE: Baker Mayfield looked like a franchise QB last Monday. contributed to Tampa Bay winning this game in such laughable fashion.

Now… it’s time to get a bit real. This season has been an absolute success. It’s hard not to be just blown away by this team shattering expectations in every possible way, and Todd Bowles has done dominating Philly 32-9 on Monday Night everything necessary to secure his job for next year.

Football.

But the Bucs have to go to Detroit to face the The story of this game from the Bucs’ per- Lions on Sunday, another team this squad lost to spective is absolutely how great the offense early in the regular season. “Any given Sunday,” looked, but my goodness did the Eagles seem all that mumbo jumbo, but the Bucs are facing absolutely lifeless in every aspect of the game. a very uphill battle against a team coming off Offense? Washed. Defense? this first playoff victory in Sloppy. Philadelphia quarthe Baker Mayfield era. terback Jalen Hurts was The Lions feature a clearly hobbled and uncomdynamic offense that is NFL Divisional Round fortable without top receiver Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions much different than the skelAJ Brown, and the Eagles eton crew Philadelphia ran Sunday, Jan. 21. 3 p.m. NBC missed about 4,000 tackles out there; Detroit receiver on the game, with a couple of them leading Amon-Ra St. Brown is one of the best slot guys to big-play touchdowns from guys not named in the NFL, rookie tight end Sam LaPorta is Mike Evans or Chris Godwin. looking like an absolute steal out of the secI mean, Bucs receiver Trey Palmer is a ond round, and the dynamic duo of David dynamic, speedy receiver, but he’s a rookie Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs at the runsixth-round pick. David Moore, the other Bucs ning back position is going to cause the Bucs touchdown recipient, was signed off a prac- some huge problems. tice squad earlier this year. And yet they both Add in an elite game manager in Lions made huge, game-changing plays that heavily quarterback Jared Goff, and one of the best

SPORTS

o-lines in football, and the Bucs could be in for a shootout.

Detroit’s defense does need some work, with a secondary that can be lit up at any time (sixth most passing yards given up in the league), but the rush defense is one of the best in football.

Tampa Bay will have to rely on Baker and the receivers to be their best selves Sunday, otherwise things could get ugly quick.

I think these Bucs will rise to the occasion to make it a game, but unfortunately I’ve got the Bucs falling in a close battle, losing 24-21 on the road.

Don’t let that dampen their season if it comes to fruition; this has been a really fun team to watch, with a surprising amount of young talent, some decent cap space, all of their draft picks, and a possible franchise QB in Baker Mayfield, who became the only Bucs quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards and three tuddys in a playoff game last night (take that, Tom).

The Buccaneers’ future is a lot brighter than it looked at the beginning of the year. With the Cowboys continuing their amazing tradition of blowing it in the playoffs, last weekend couldn’t have gone any better. Fire those cannons.

Follow @ctbrantley12 on Twitter and listen to him on the RBLR Bucs podcast.

cltampabay.com | JANUARY 18-24, 2024 | 41

42 | JANUARY 18-24, 2024 | cltampabay.com

INTERVIEW John Lamb’s 90th Birthday Celebration

w/Bryan J. Hughs/Nate Najar/James Suggs/ Jean Bolduc/John O’Leary/Trace Zacur/more.

Saturday, Jan. 20. 8 p.m. $25 & up. Hough Hall at Palladium Theater. 253 5th Ave. N, St. Petersburg. mypalladium.org

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Walk this way

Bay area music legend John Lamb will be honored with a tribute concert.

By Eric Snider

I

sound contrasted with Lamb’s swing-based style.

“They told him I was Duke’s new bassist. Mingus paused and said, ‘You play your bass, man.’” After a laugh, Lamb added, “It was complimentary.”

Another—about sitting in with the legendary trumpeter Miles Davis: “[Pianist] Red Garland, who I had done some gigs with, says to Miles, ‘I want to introduce you to a bass…” And here

STEVE SPLANE

f you go to shake John Lamb’s hand, be ready.

I did just that on a Thursday afternoon in early January, having concluded an hour-long interview in his waterfront home in far south St. Petersburg. I extended my right hand. He took it. I squeezed a little harder than usual, a test. Lamb gave me a mischievous smile—and clamped. His handshake did not bring me to my knees, but it was clear who had the far stronger grip. And Lamb could’ve been holding back.

This was not the hand of your average nonagenarian. John Lamb turned 90 on Nov. 29.

Spending some 70 of those years playing the bulky acoustic bass, working those thick metal strings, will give you strength. Lamb stopped gigging when the pandemic hit and he no longer takes jobs. But I expect he’ll play some during John Lamb’s 90th Birthday Celebration, where a roster of top local musicians will pay tribute to him in The Palladium’s Hough Hall.

Lamb let me in the front gate of his ranchstyle home, clad in baggy jeans and a gray, long-sleeve shirt, his head topped by a gray baseball cap. His teeth were preternaturally white. As an icebreaker, I asked Lamb how he was feeling, being 90 and all. He responded, cryptically, “I just turned. I’m getting used to being 90.”

I had hoped to sit back in an easy chair while Lamb regaled me with stories about his celebrated musical career, about the musicians he’d share stages with—most notably three years in the mid-1960s as part of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, which was chock full of fabled players. Instead, Lamb ushered me from room to room, sitting briefly, pausing to point out framed photos (including two with Duke) and other mementos.

He stopped at a chocolate-brown bass perched on a stand in his living room and played a short, swinging line. “People don’t walk the bass like that anymore,” he said. Lamb moved to a nearby upright piano. “I’m not a piano player, but I learned this,” he said, and tickled out a riff he picked up from stride piano titan Willie “The Lion” Smith.

The bassist’s reminiscences came in compact, staccato packages, capped with hearty laughter. “Met [Charles] Mingus once,” he said of the iconoclastic bassist/composer whose modern jazz

leading small units, cutting loose and reshaping jazz. I posed this idea to Lamb and asked if he ever felt he was missing out?

“Missing out on what?” he asked.

“All the new stuff that was happening, the freedom,” I replied.

“Oh, no, man. Music is just music,” Lamb said. “I never would have had the other experiences with other people if it had not been for Duke.”

Nevertheless, I found it difficult to get much from Lamb about Ellington, arguably one of the half-dozen most important musicians of the 20th Century, regardless of genre. Lamb did not wax

FEELIN' SUITE: Lamb does not drink, smoke or do drugs, which means he can get up in the morning to teach.

Lamb leaned in close, lowered his voice. “Miles says, ‘you got a smoke on you?’” More laughter.

It’s interesting to note that these and a few other recollections involved jazz legends of the post-Swing era. From 1964-1967, Lamb was part of a 16-piece ensemble playing tightly structured arrangements, while legends such as Miles, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman and others were

rhapsodic about being on the bandstand night after night with a pack of other world-class musicians playing the Ellington songbook, which was etched in the American psyche.

I asked Lamb what Duke was like as a boss.

“He’d get frustrated [on stage] sometimes, you know. He’d bang on the piano keys,” Lamb recalled. “[Trombonist] Lawrence Brown told

me, ‘Whenever he does that, just turn your head to him and smile.’ So I did that. I never argued with Duke. I really didn’t dig into his feelings because he was the old man; he paid the checks.”

(When Lamb joined at age 30, Ellington was 65.)

Lamb recalled hanging out with the boss once. “It was Louie and him and myself,” he said, referring to the drummer Louie Bellson, “And [Duke] invited me up to the front of the plane.

He says, ‘come on up and have a bite with us.’”

Lamb played five or six nights a week with the big band. He and Bellson backed Duke when he did guest appearances with symphony orchestras. Lamb handled bass duties on nearly 20 Ellington albums, studio and live, a few of them significant. You can hear Lamb confidently laying down a slippery line beneath Paul Gonzalves’s languid tenor saxophone on “Tourist Point of View,” or playfully sparring with Ellington’s piano on “Ad Lib on Nippon,” both from Far East Suite. Throughout that classic 1967 album, Lamb’s time and tone are sturdy, and he navigates the complex arrangements with swagger.

During the Duke years, the money was good—for the times. After he got the surprise call from Ellington, passed the audition and signed on, Ellington’s son Mercer, who ran the business side, told Lamb he’d be paid union scale.

“That was around $65 a night,” Lamb recalls.

“I was working at Acme Market in Philadelphia making about $45 a week. Of course I had to go on the road with Duke.”

Lamb did not drink, smoke or do drugs, one of the reasons he sidestepped the cliques that tended to develop among large groups of musicians on the road. His closest friend was clarinetist Jimmy Hamilton, another nondrinker. Lamb said he sent most of his money home to Philadelphia, where his wife, Paula, lived with their son and daughter.

I asked Lamb how he came to leave Ellington’s employ. “There was another part of my life other than being a musician,” he said.

“I decided that my family was most important.”

Florida born, world-class Lamb started out a Floridian, growing up in Vero Beach and Fort Pierce. His first exposure to music was in church, where “my cousin Mary, she used to sing and every time she sang she fainted,” he said. “I remember they used to carry her out of the church. So all that was in me.”

Lamb’s father died when he was four or five, and his mother remarried. The young Lamb continued on page 44

cltampabay.com | JANUARY 18-24, 2024 | 43

“I knew nothing about St. Pete.”

LAMB JAM: Lamb (on bass) playing guitarist Nate Najar’s 14th annual Jazz Holiday concert with (L-R) Jean Bolduc, Adrian Cunningham and James Suggs. continued from page 43 took piano lessons, then gravitated to the tuba, which he played in the high school band. I asked him if the family was consigned to the Black section of town. “You know what, when I was a kid it didn’t make a bit of difference to me what section of town I lived in because the man that raised me had four houses that he owned and I used to clean them up before I went to school,” Lamb said, his voice rising.

I replied, “But we hear those stories about Black kids not being able to swim in the town pool. Did you experience any of that kind of stuff?”

“I couldn’t swim anyway, so what was I worried about swimming in somebody’s pool for?”

Lamb replied. “I had friends that I played with at school everyday. What they did on their side of town, that’s their business. There were restrictions in the white community, restrictions in the Black community. I had restrictions at home. I didn’t have that hangup, man.”

Unscarred by racism, Lamb signed up for the Air Force at age 17, immediately after graduating high school. He joined the military band. While stationed in Great Falls, Montana, the bandmaster offered him the chance to sub for the string bass player. Lamb winged it well enough to take

over the job permanently. And he did what it took to get good. “One time, I practiced all day and then half the night,” he said, laughing.

In the barracks, the airmen listened to a lot of Stan Kenton and Woody Herman, two white bandleaders known for their brash, brassy sounds. Then, “One night, I was listening to the jukebox and I heard this guy, he had this big [bass] sound.” Lamb recalls. “I asked one of the guys, ‘Who is that?’ It was Ray Brown with Oscar Peterson.”

Hearing some lean piano-trio music, with bass work by a legend, proved revelatory. After his three-year Air Force stretch, Lamb started gigging in Philly and Boston, working with pianists like Jaki Byard and Garland, as well as short stints with such singers as Ella Fitzgerald and Carmen McRae. One night, when Lamb was jamming at an after-hours club, Billie Holiday came in carrying a dog in her purse, Lamb recalled: “A guy introduced me, I said hello. I reached down to touch the dog and it snapped at me.” Lamb said, chuckling. “She said, ‘No, not like that honey, put your hand like this.’ I think Billie sat in for a tune.”

Then came the call from Duke, and Lamb heeded it.

44 | JANUARY 18-24, 2024 | cltampabay.com

Post-Duke, ‘Burg-bound In ‘67, when it was time to head back out on the road, Lamb informed Ellington that he planned to go to school, effectively resigning. The bassist earned a degree in music education from the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. Then, “I taught a few years in Philadelphia and came down to St. Pete,” he said. “I knew nothing about St. Pete. I was looking around in Sarasota. I came here because my wife had some people here.”

I wondered if, after seeing the world, playing for ecstatic audiences, and living in bustling Northeastern cities, Lamb found St. Pete to be a sleepy town. “I didn’t think about it that way,” he explained. “I’d been everywhere with Duke. I thought about the people I met here and how cordial they were. And we had musicians here too, you know.”

One of them was trombonist Buster Cooper, a former Ellington bandmate, who’d moved back to his native St. Petersburg. “We used to play in Buster’s sister’s backyard, little parties and stuff,” Lamb said. “We got tight again.” Cooper died in 2016 at the age of 87.

Lamb laid down roots—for good. He taught bass and music at Seminole High School. He

STEVE SPLANE

sold life insurance for a spell. Chris Styles, the first Black chair of the music department at St. Petersburg Junior College (now St. Petersburg College), hired him to give bass instruction.

Lamb became a stalwart on the local jazz scene, and rarely if ever ventured beyond it. He gigged steadily at hotels on the beach, in restaurants, as the house bassist for the jazz club at the Tierra Verde Island Resort in the early1980s, supporting the likes of trumpeter Clark Terry and vibraphonist Milt Jackson. “Because I didn’t drink, I could play at night and get up in the morning to go teach,” he said.

Lamb was in demand for his clean, muscular sound and impeccably articulated notes.

“People are consuming the sounds, the vibrations of air,” he asserted. “They’re part of the thing. I didn’t want them to necessarily look at me. I wanted them to feel what’s there. I was just a vehicle.”

I checked my watch. I’d been in Lamb’s home for a little over an hour. It seemed an appropriate time to leave. That’s when I extended my hand and got clamped. I shook it out a little as I headed for the door.

INTERVIEW

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Rockabilly Battle Royale Round 9: Deke Dickerson w/The Centuries/Reverend Billy C. Wirtz/Shaun Young/Abby Girl & The Real Deal/more Last week, Deke Dickerson was in Hollywood filming segments for an upcoming documentary on the life of country music pioneer Lefty Frizzell, who inspired Willie Nelson and once toured with Hank Williams Sr. While the 55-year-old seemed to have an epic time out west, he especially loved how you can dress any way you want to in The City Of Angels. “If there’s one thing that’s great about this town, if you want to wear blue hair or spandex shorts or 1950s-era Western suits, it’s all just part of the freak show that is Hollywood,” he wrote in an Instagram post. Dickerson heads back to the east coast for the 9th annual Rockabilly Battle Royale, in which a group of out-of-state acts (and local radio favorite Reverend Billy C. Wirtz) come together to put on a handful of impromptu rockabilly jam sessions. (Music Hall at New World Brewery, Tampa)

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C The Dirty Janes w/Osceola Brothers/ Bruvvy Following a pretty successful first full year as a band, The Dirty Janes said a December gig with Have Gun, Will Travel would be their last for a while. A month must be a long time for the band formerly known as Sick Hot, but considering how Nik Wilson and friends finished tracking their first few EPs right before Christmas (the songs have been in the works since Sick Hot was still a thing), a break’s a break. Wilson’s Robert Plant-meets-Black Crowes pipes appear on the band’s latest party anthem “Shake It On Down,” which might as well serve as the opening track at its first show of the year happening at this fast-rising St. Petersburg venue with an impeccable sound system. (Bayboro Brewing, St. Petersburg) C Moon Hooch w/Honeycomb A decade after decimating the NPR Tiny Desk and in the midst of an ongoing flirtation with social media virality, Brooklyn-based saxophonedriven duo Moon Hooch is back in Tampa to bring a set that is a tip of the cap to the band’s days attracting massive crowds while busking in New York City subways and a testament to the devotion the group has built after years of working the jam-scene circuit. Please leave your own traffic cones

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C Judy Collins In recent years, Collins has been writing nearly one song every week, and she thinks Leonard Cohen, who once told her that he did not understand why she wasn’t writing her own songs, would’ve loved her latest record of all-original songs, Spellbound. “I would send him songs when I wrote them, and he would send me notes and tell me how wonderful they were. So I was always grateful,” Collins told CL. She kicks off a 20-date winter tour in Orlando, and brings it to Tampa Bay this week. Read our full feature on Judy Collins at cltampa. com/music. (Bilheimer Capitol Theatre, Clearwater) Sal Valentinetti Like any New Yorker would, the “America’s Got Talent” alum embraces the hell out of his Empire State upbringing enough that he manages to come off as both Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett in both his charisma and vocals. His 2021 album Little Valentine—loaded with renditions of love songs that your grandparents probably danced to once upon a time— includes a big band version of The Beatles’ “When I’m Sixty-Four,” which is so perfectly executed that you start to wonder if Paul McCartney had Sinatra in mind when he wrote it as a teenager. (Hough Hall at Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg)

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C Rise Up Concert Series: Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness McMahon’s 2023 had him looking back like never before.

The 41-year-old bookended last year by reuniting with his original band, Something Corporate at October’s When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas, and by releasing his latest nostalgic, synth-heavy album Tilt At The Wind No More last January. Whether you were there when he was fighting leukemia in his early-20s or you just discovered him, McMahon’s setlist at the final installment of St. Pete Pier’s Rise Up series tackles pretty much the entirety of his career, including Something Corporate cuts, and even a whiff of Jack’s Mannequin (a band also set to reunite this year). (Spa Beach Park at St. Pete Pier, St. Petersburg)

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‘Batman’ 1989 in concert No, you’re not going to see a Prince impersonator get down to “Batdance,” but similarly to how to The Florida Orchestra (which is not involved in this show) has been playing the live score to the “Harry Potter” films over the last few

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C Benefit for Born Free Pub: Cold Steel w/Gajin/Illuminate Me/Jar/Spit Truth/ Plague Spitter Three months after abruptly closing in Sulphur Springs, beloved biker bar and music venue Born Free is still looking for a new home. Co-owner Afzaal Deen recently told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that his search for a new venue is going well, and added that he’s looking for a space with a full bar, kitchen and performance space (or space to build one out). He’s also hoping to find a full liquor license attached to a spot where at least half of the revenue comes from food or other retail sales. “We are also offering 50% or more equity in the Born Free business entity and assets to secure another partner along with my wife and myself,” he added.

“The plan is clear but it will take some time to secure all the necessary features we are looking for.” In the meantime, Tampa venue Orpheum opens its doors for a benefit show to help the Deens raise capital for Born Free’s new home. Homegrown hardcore bands (Plague Spitter, Cold Steel, Illuminate Me) are on the bill, and so are other Sunshine State heavy hitters like Port Charlotte’s Gajin, and Spit Truth which brings the spirit of 2006 hardcore back by channeling influences like Mindset, Down To Nothing, and Kids Like Us. (Orpheum, Tampa) C John Lamb’s 90th Birthday Celebration: Bryan J. Hughes w/Nate Najar/James Suggs/Jean Bolduc/John O’Leary/Trace Zacur/more Lamb played five or six nights a week with Duke Ellington’s big band. He and drummer Louie Bellson backed Duke when he did guest appearances with symphony orchestras. Lamb handled bass duties on nearly 20 Ellington albums, studio and live, a few of them significant.

Read more on p. 43 before a tribute concert that features all-stars of the Bay area jazz scene. (Hough Hall at Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg)—Eric Snider Kansas It ain’t easy calling Florida home sometimes, but there’s still a considerable amount of rock royalty that’s owned a Tampa Bay address (Robin Zander, John Prine). One of them was Robby Steinhardt, the man who played that iconic violin solo on Kansas’ “Dust In The Wind” in 1977. He died of pancreatitis in 2021, but two of his old comrades in the band (drummer Phil Ehart and guitarist Rich Williams) still carry on, and will both take part in a 50th anniversary gig that promises greatest hits, deep cuts, and mega rarities. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater) Love Songs for Junkies w/Sincerely Yours/The Sons of James The New Port Richey-based punk outfit (which can even get you angry while shredding an acoustic guitar) doesn’t have anything new to promote just yet, but performs its first show of the year at a Dunedin spot with decor that truly helps to embrace the town’s Scottish roots.

(Caledonia Brewing, Dunedin)

SUN 21

C Adam Deitch w/Bigyuki/Brad Adam Mille/Eric ‘Benny’ Bloom Fresh off the November release of his soul-jazz quartet’s Roll The Tape LP, drummer Adam Deitch is on the road with an ensemble that includes his Lettuce bandmate trumpeter Eric Bloom, plus bassist Brad Adam Miller (who plays with Brandon “Taz” Niederauer) and Masayuki Hirano, a Nord-wielding monster keyboardist better known as Bigyuki. Hirano spent the summer of 2019 opening Kamasi Washington’s Asia tour and also worked on hip-hop albums like A Tribe Called Quest‘s We Got it From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service and J. Cole‘s 4 Your Eyez Only, so expect nothing but class from this set inside one of Pinellas’ finest strongholds of good music. (Moon Tower at Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin) C Kristopher James Extravaganza James has a soulful vocal that’ll turn heads and a personality so sweet that you’ll wish he was your daddy. The Bay area songwriter has been able to keep his band intact for some time now, and while the group is well-oiled and firing hot, James spends an afternoon this weekend launching a no-cover, monthly concert series where plans to bring along members of that band but also various special guests and musicians traveling through Tampa Bay. (Independent Bar & Cafe, Tampa)

41-year-old “King of Bayou Soul” plans to play the record in its entirety alongside favorites from his 22-year-old discography which includes four installments of Broussard’s “S.O.S. Save Our Soul” series. (Bilheimer Capitol Theatre, Clearwater) Exit Strategy w/Resistor/Godseyes/No Plea/ Send All Tim Ogden keeps a still in the back of Ybor Heights brewery, and last week he unveiled a new “Carpe Noctem” rye whiskey he’s been working on with Bay area distiller Dark Door Spirits. Beg for a taste, then seize a night of heavy-hitting hardcore from New York band Resistor which flirts with almost industrial sounds on a 2021 split EP. More Empire State metalcore is on the bill thanks to Godseyes, and both bands get a big dose of neck-breaking support from a trio of Bay area locals. (Deviant Libation, Tampa)

WED 24

Playboi Carti w/Ken Carson/Destroy Lonely/Homixide Gang Carti, playing this rescheduled show, is riding high off a feature on Travis Scott’s latest album Utopia.

The rapper who brought his hit 2017 single “Magnolia” to The Ritz Ybor hasn’t released an album since 2020’s Red, which hit no.

1 on the Billboard 200. At Miami’s recent Rolling Loud also promised fans a new album “ASAP.” (Amalie Arena, Tampa)

Mr. Big w/Robin Taylor Zander With the 2018 death of drummer Pat Torpey, Mr. Big initially decided to prepare to call it quits with one last tour and one last album. It took five years, but the “Big Finish” tour began overseas last year with Nick D’Virgilio (who has worked with Genesis and Tears For Fears) banging the cans in Torpey’s place. The new album is currently in development, but this tour sees surviving members play their sophomore album Lean Into It in its entirety, so if that’s how they’re planning to go out, you shouldn’t complain. (Bilheimer Capitol Theatre, Clearwater) Story Of The Year w/We The Kings/ Youth Fountain It’s pretty bizarre that we can count on one hand how many times Story Of The Year played Vans Warped Tour. The St. Louis-based pop-punk band already brought its latest album Tear Me to Pieces (described by fans as its best work in years) to Tampa, through an opening set for Yellowcard last summer, but this time around, the boys are doing something a little different. In honor of the 20th (well, at this point, the 21st) anniversary of Story Of The Year’s debut album Page Avenue, a staple in any nostalgic pop-punk-slash-emo kid’s tale, Story Of The Year will perform the entire record on shuffle down on 7th Avenue. Fellow Warped Tour alum We The Kings and Air Combat’s Tyler Zanon (under the pseudonym Youth Fountain) open this gig. (The Ritz, Ybor City)

TUE 23

Marc Broussard Carencro is a small Louisiana town of about 10,000 people, and it’s also the moniker of the breakthrough album from songwriter Marc Broussard. To celebrate his work’s 20th anniversary the

48 | JANUARY 18-24, 2024 | cltampabay.com

Wyatt Flores

MATT PASKERT

years, a 50-piece touring ensemble will perform Danny Elfman’s epic score to the 1989 flick starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson. Fans are encouraged to arrive at Morsani Hall dressed as their favorite DC hero or villain and will probably reminisce about a time when DC films weren’t underwhelming year after friggin’ year.

(Morsani Hall at David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa)

THU 25

Ace Monroe w/Cinema Stereo/Domino Pink/Meteoreyes/The Roulettes On Monroe’s new eponymous album—half of which was tested while on the road—inspiration lies in breakup letters, billboards, and a weekend in the North Carolina mountains.

Hell, there’s even a Cheap Trick cover only four songs in. The hard-rock quintet, flooded with influence from the groups of the ‘70s and ‘80s, kicks off its year in Florida, with additional gigs at Tampa’s New World Brewery, as well as in Orlando, Jacksonville, and Pompano Beach, respectively. (Oscura, Bradenton) C Wyatt Flores w/Jonathan Peyton Ahead of dates opening for Mitski and a slot on his home state’s Born & Raised festival, Oklahoma songwriter Wyatt Flores plays an intimate show for anyone who likes to say they saw an artist when. With a piercing vocal a la Tyler Childers and an impeccable ear for harmony, the 24-year-old MexicanAmerican is an Island/Universal Records signee who represents hope for mainstream country and is in town as part of a short spring run with just three Florida dates and another at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House.

(Crowbar, Ybor City) See an extended version of this listing— and submit your event to the calendar—via cltampa.com/music.

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50 | JANUARY 18-24, 2024 | cltampabay.com

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It took forever, but the world is starting to realize how much country music influences indie-rock. Those worlds don’t sound much better together than they do in the hands of Katie Crutchfield, who’s just announced a new album and spring tour for her band, Waxahatchee, which is coming to Tampa Bay this summer.

7 Nights a Week!

Waxahatchee’s new album, Tigers Blood, is due March 22, and is the follow up to the band’s acclaimed 2020 album, Saint Cloud, which was released at the height of the pandemic and became something of a warm blanket for a country forced to stay away from their community. Tigers Blood finds the 35-year-old songwriter on a new label, Anti-, and working out of Texas’ famed Sonic Ranch studio alongside a host of new collaborators—including MJ Lenderman, Spencer Tweedy, plus Phil and Brad Cook— who all appear on the album’s lead single, “Right Back To It,” a song Crutchfield said she wrote backstage waiting for her slot opening for Jason Isbell and Sheryl Crow. Most of the songs on the record, she said in a press release, came as her writing hand heated up at the end of her 2022 tour.

SlopFunkDust & Friends Thursday, Jan. 25. 6 p.m. No cover. Hooch and Hive, Tampa Old Bones w/No. 9/Rosecold Saturday, Feb. 3. 7 p.m. $10. Music Hall at New World Brewery, Tampa Tracy Shedd Sunday, Feb. 4. 5 p.m. No cover. Microgroove, Tampa Pink It Up: Saganaki Bomb Squad w/ Victims of Circumstance/Bargain Bin Heroes/Chilled Monkey Brains/more Saturday, Feb. 17. 7 p.m. $7. Crowbar, Ybor City Night Child w/Offerings/Fjshwife Saturday, Feb. 24. 7 p.m. $10. Music Hall at New World Brewery, Tampa ‘68 w/The Callous Daoboys/The Homeless Gospel Choir Friday, March 8. 7 p.m. $18. Orpheum, Tampa Dave Shawty w/Yungster Jack/Caspr/ Bear1Boss/Bbygoyard/Scumbag Wrld/ Kent Loon/Smokingskul/more Saturday, March 9. 5 p.m. $36. 1920, Ybor City

MOLLY MATALON

Tickets to see Waxahatchee play Jannus Live in St. Petersburg on Friday, May 3 are on sale now and start at $27. Good Morning, an Australian indie-rock band supporting a handful of 2023 singles, opens the St. Pete show, along with Waxahatchee’s only other Florida date (May 4 in Orlando). The Bay area has not seen Crutchfield play a show since the 2017 Et Cultura festival when she played the since-revamped and renamed State Theatre as part of one of the best festival lineups in the region’s history.

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“I’m really interested in writing love songs that are gritty and unromantic. I wanted to make a song about the ebb and flow of a longtime love story,” Crutchfield added about the single. “I thought it might feel untraditional but a little more in alignment with my experience to write about feeling insecure or foiled in some way internally, but always finding your way back to a newness or an intimacy with the same person.”

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The video is a visually stunning trip on Caddo Lake, which is about 800 miles east of Sonic Ranch. Watch it via cltampa. com/music and see Josh Bradley’s weekly roundup of new Bay area show announcements below.—Ray Roa

The Marshall Tucker Band w/The Georgia Thunderbolts Friday, March 15. 7 p.m. $20 & up. Chasco Fiesta at Sims Park, New Port Richey The Army, The Navy (opening for Matt Maltese) Friday, March 15. 8 p.m. Sold out.

Crowbar, Ybor City Maddie & Tae w/Wiley Fox Saturday, March 16. 7 p.m. $20 & up. Chasco Fiesta at Sims Park, New Port Richey Billy Strings Friday-Saturday, April 12-13.

7:30 p.m. $39.50 & up. Yuengling Center, Tampa Billy Prine w/Scarlett Egan Thursday, April 18. 8 p.m. $35 & up. Murray Theatre at Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater Upon A Burning Body w/VCTMS/The Browning/Hollo Front Thursday, April 25.

7 p.m. $20. Orpheum, Tampa Flipturn w/The Hails Friday, April 26. 8 p.m. $25. Jannus Live, St. Petersburg

sexeeguitarstrings.com cltampabay.com | JANUARY 18-24, 2024 | 51

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Loading zone

By Dan Savage

My boyfriend recently broke up with me.

He confessed that he has been battling an addiction to orgies and couldn’t show up for our relationship in the ways I needed him to.

Basically, he uses drugs and logs onto Grindr or Sniffies to find sex parties. He is into the kink of anonymous breeding. He bottoms and likes to take and “tally” as many loads as he can. Sometimes these “breeding sessions” last an entire day. I understand his issue is drug usage, but I am curious about the fetish of anonymous breeding as a whole. I have found your podcast and writings to be helpful when it comes to understanding certain kinks, and I’m wondering if you have some specific insights on this anonymous breeding kink. My questions specifically relate to the experience of the bottom, e.g., the person being bred and taking. I numbered my questions for you: 1. Why is being anonymously bred exciting?

2. Any ideas on the psychology behind wanting to be anonymously bred? Specifically, the “no loads refused” mentality?

3. Why is the idea of tallying/counting loads exciting to the bottom? What is the significance of having a running tally written on the body of the bottom with a marker?

4. Why are blindfolds common to this kink?

5. What are the dangers and what safety precautions would you urge a bottom to take?

I am, of course, concerned about my ex and his drug use and I have offered him what help and emotional support I can. But learning about his kink threw me and I want to understand it better. —Seeking Enlightening Educational Download

and suffering an early, protracted, and punishing death remains a powerful boner killer.

I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW: we have a daily pill now that protects HIV-negative men from infection and HIV treatments so effective the virus literally can’t be detected in the bloodstreams of HIV-positive men and undetectable equals untransmittable and there’s even a “morning-after pill” that helps prevent the spread of syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia.

Taking anon loads may not be the death wish it was in the late-1980s and early-1990s, but for men who remember when it was… yeah, the vibes aren’t good.

And it’s not just older gay men who aren’t excited by taking anonymous loads. Lots of gay men who came of age with PrEP and U=U are content to take a single, solitary load from someone whose first, last, and middle names are known to them.

And some gay men aren’t into penetrative sex at all; these men, AKA “sides,” wanna blow loads on and near hot guys, not in them. But with that said… I’m willing to say… I get it.

I’m a gay man, gay men love dick, some gay men binge dick. And the things people point to when condemning and/or pathologizing anonymous group sex—the objectification, the dehumanization, the mitigatablebut-ineliminable risks—are precisely what turns some people on about anonymous group sex. (We are objects, being human is exhausting, danger is exciting.) And it’s not just gay men who find orgies exciting. Gay men may have an easier time arranging orgies for all sorts of reasons (hookup apps, men are sluts, less cause to fear sexual violence), it’s not like we invented orgies or hold the patent. A lot of women love dick and some of those women fantasize about being the center square at a gangbang. (And some of those women—with the help of trusted partners—get to live out their cumdump fantasies.)

Okay, SEEDS, I shared your numbered questions with a man who enjoys the same kind of sex your ex-boyfriend enjoys—the cumdump kind— only he doesn’t need drugs to do it and being a cumdump doesn’t interfere with his ability to form relationships. While he’s active online, he didn’t want me to link his social media to avoid getting dogpiled and shamed. So, we’re going to call him Football Jock Bottom…

SAVAGE LOVE

Before I answer your questions—or before I pass them to a cumdump who can—I wanna enter this into the record: sexual interests and kinks are personal and subjective and one person’s ultimate fantasy is another person’s worst nightmare.

So, while there are definitely gay men out there who are excited to take anon loads—some gay men are all about getting fucked in the ass by strangers who aren’t wearing condoms—I have to quibble with the way you phrased your first question. You may not have meant to imply that taking anon loads excites all gay men, SEEDS, but some readers (straight ones, young ones, dumb ones) are gonna read your question and think there are two kinds of gay men: the gays who find the idea exciting and are out there doing it and the gays who find the idea exciting but aren’t brave enough and/or high enough to do it. And that’s not the case.

For some gay men—for gay men of my generation—the association between getting bred

1. “Deep down we are animals,” Football Jock Bottom said, “Men are animals that

need to come, and we need to come a lot. And I find it hot to be able to provide that service to other men. They love it: no bullshit, come in, get your nut, and go about your day. I’ve taken loads from all types of men: single and married, young and old, big and small, fem and masc, cis and trans, out and on the DL. That moment when a man is thrown over the edge and can’t hold back anymore is the hottest thing in the world to me and I get to experience that moment multiple times when I am taking loads.”

2. FJB didn’t address this question in his emailed response. But if someone is turned on by taking as many loads as possible in a single session or over the course of a lifetime, having a “no loads refused” policy makes obvious sense, doesn’t it?

3. “I don’t write ‘cumdump’ on myself or use tally marks—that’s not my thing,” said FJB. “But tops in this scene are constantly asking how many loads you have in you already. If you don’t have enough, some will wait until you’re sloppier to stop by. For some guys, it just feels great to have a warm gushy hole wrapped around your cock.” And, really, nothing says “gushy hole” like 10 or 15 tally marks.

4. “I don’t ever wear a blindfold—and most of my friends don’t either—but I do like to wear my football helmet which creates the ‘anon’ for me,” said FJB. “Taking vision out of the equation allows me to focus on the feelings and sensations of getting fucked. Also, being an equal opportunity cumdump sometimes means taking the load of someone you don’t

find conventionally attractive; thus, a blindfold can help make it enjoyable for the bottom from that sense.”

5. “Dangers and precautions are things we don’t talk about enough,” said FJB. “Aside from the biological risk of taking many raw loads, there is a physical safety risk. You are exposing yourself to potential harm from bad actors. I’m a big dude; if I feel threatened, I stand up and show my size. But it’s important to let a friend know where you are and what you’re doing and have them check in with you. I recommend using discretion when chatting online—and if someone gets aggressive over text, they will probably get aggressive in person. I also avoid men who are under the influence of meth.

“Besides that, it’s imperative to have a kink friendly doctor who will arm you with all of the vaccinations and medications you’re going to need. PrEP, doxyPEP, routine testing, all vaccinations including flu and COVID. I haven’t had an STI since April 2022 and I haven’t suffered any long-term health consequences so far.

But like anything, it’s important to practice moderation. Doing this right and doing it as safely as possible requires a lot of work and careful planning—but it will always carry risk.

“Finally, like this reader’s exboyfriend, I used to feel like I couldn’t do this and be in a relationship. I felt like I wasn’t worthy of love because I was a cumdump.

A couple years of therapy and honestly getting into fisting showed me how to have truly intimate moments with men again. No one should tell himself he’s not worthy of love just because he likes having dudes nut in his ass.”

I wanna thank Football Jock Bottom for sharing and quickly address the elephant in the room and/or the pipe in the mouth and/or the powder around the nostrils: your ex-boyfriend’s drug problem.

Someone who needs to obliterate their inhibitions with drugs or alcohol in order to enjoy something, SEED, is almost always doing that thing wrong and/or doing it for the wrong reasons. I believe our bodies are our own.

They belong to us—or they should—which means they’re ours to use, ours to share, and ours to use up. If this is how your ex-boyfriend wants to use his body (or have his body used), that’s his choice. But if he can’t be used like this without both abusing and blaming drugs, SEED, he’s not living his best life and enjoying crazy kinks. He’s destroying his life and engaging in acts of self-harm disguised as kinks.

Got problems? Everyone does! Send your question to mailbox@savage.love! Podcasts, columns and more at Savage.Love

cltampabay.com | JANUARY 18-24, 2024 | 53

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84 “All the 78 Mexican entree 122 Act like a Hood 12 Epicurean trait 26 Pop hit of 1953, 123 “My mind ___ world’s ___” 83 Some grad 13 “The Mouth That “C’est ___” sieve” 86 Larger/life insert students Roared” 27 Familiar with 89 Film about some 14 Type of pine 85 Dock arrival 28 Bruce who played German guy?

86 Film about living 15 2000 film that Dr. Watson 94 From that place next to a dump? appealed 29 Addams Family 96 Gucci and Ray 87 Romans’ name to regular cousin 97 Jai ___ for Spain moviegoers?

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119 More urgent Dying 44 ___ glance C AME RON F A RM M I T R A L 121 Reason for that 49 Film about a A S I N I N E A S E A A T E A S E hint of sweetness 45 Noted groundhog MA N A P E S T H EMONO L I T H career in 46 Little help A E R O A T M D I R T S UR F in your sandwich? janitoring?

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T H EMOON T A P B E L A I R 50 Grafton’s A 57 VIP in the Reagan 125 Sans ___ A S T A A NN KOR E A A L DO 51 Little Richard (carefree) T H E S P A C E S H I P D I S C OV E R Y White House H A N I C K UR I T I E P E A song, “___ Up” 126 Cosmetics name 58 Actress Hagen OP E N T H E POD B A Y DOOR S H A L 52 Vermouth brand, M E T E 127 Grounded bird D OWD Y OA R I SMS 60 Ice cream E D S E L S E E L J U P I T E R Martini & ___ 128 Get Smart enemy amounts D EMON A RR I R A 53 Butler leaves her A V A D OS OH M org.

61 Whodunit dog U T O L GA A L A NON 129 Cereal ingredient 54 Draws on a pipe W I L L S O M E O N E T E L L M E W H A T 64 Film about E S T E B A N E R A Y ROS E 59 Mexican entree 130 Facetious America’s T H E H E L L T H I S I S A BOU T A E R A T E A R L O NOS E N S E 62 Actress Berger obsession with “Gotcha” S A S S E D P U L L S L UGGE R 63 Toll rd. cosmetic surgery? 131 Fool

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