Fort Worth Weekly // January 18-24, 2023

BY EDWARD BROWN

BY LAURIE JAMES

BY PATRICK HIGGINS

BY PATRICK HIGGINS

Don’t Fear The Mullet

By Edward Brown

By Laurie James

Clawing to the Top

Releasing live albums and booking regular shows have kept this comedy troupe busy.

By Steve Steward

Music in the Moment

STAFF

Anthony Mariani, Editor

Lee Newquist, Publisher

Bob Niehoff, General Manager

Ryan Burger, Art Director

Jim Erickson, Circulation Director

Edward Brown, Staff Writer

Emmy Smith, Proofreader

Michael Newquist, Regional Sales Director

Jennifer Bovee, Marketing Director

Stacey Hammons, Senior Account Executive

Julie Strehl, Account Executive

Tony Diaz, Account Executive

Wyatt Newquist, Digital Coordinator

Clintastic, Brand Ambassador

Rage Out Arkestra will release their second album documenting one of their signature improvised concerts.

By Patrick Higgins

24 26

CONTRIBUTORS

Christina Berger, E.R. Bills, Jason Brimmer, Buck D. Elliott, Juan R. Govea, Patrick Higgins, Laurie James, Kristian Lin, Vishal Malhotra, Cody Neathery, Wyatt Newquist, Linda Blackwell Simmons, Madison Simmons, Teri Webster, Ken Wheatcroft-Pardue, Cole Williams

EDITORIAL BOARD

Anthony Mariani, Edward Brown, Emmy Smith

Fort Worth Weekly mailing address: 300 Bailey, Ste 205, Fort Worth TX 76107 Street address: 300 Bailey, Ste 205, Fort Worth TX 76107

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INSIDE West 7th

Business in Front …

BY EDWARD BROWN

On a recent chilly morning, employees of a local natural gas company sawed away at a street curb in the West 7th corridor. Behind them, a long chain-link fence blocked off several shuttered bars and restaurants.

Developers are prepping the once-bustling block of the entertainment district — just west of Norwood and south of Morton streets — for demolition as part of a massive new development set to open in a couple years. The former locations of Landmark Bar & Kitchen, Magnolia Motor Lounge, Playground Bar, and The Yard will soon be home to an as-of-yet unnamed 10-story complex that will be viewable from I-30 a mile to the south and will include a fourstar hotel, 161 apartment units, and 150,000 square feet of office space.

METROPOLIS

“We want to create a plaza-type feel,” said Brandon Schubert, head of acquisitions at Goldenrod Companies, the national developer behind the project. “We want people to look across the [Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth] and not just see a building. We designed it where we have a central plaza that people can walk to directly from the Modern.”

The commercial real estate investment firm chose Fort Worth after number crunching which U.S. cities had the most potential for growth, Schubert said. The West 7th area, he added, was particularly appealing due to its proximity to the Cultural District, Dickies Arena, and downtown and walkability.

Goldenrod Companies is also heading the Van Zandt. Located at the northwest corner of Foch and West 7th streets, the 2.3acre project will offer 110,000 square feet of office space, 226 residential units, and 11,600 square feet of retail when it opens in the fall of 2025.

Both projects, Schubert said, will add tenants and office workers who will frequent retail stores and restaurants throughout the West 7th corridor, including nearby Crockett Row. Shortly after Goldenrod purchased the properties in 2020, Schubert asked area stakeholders what they needed. They said they wanted a more well-rounded mix of housing, office, and entertainment.

While the two Goldenrod developments will focus on the hotel, apartments, and office space, the former grounds of The Yard and Magnolia Motor Lounge will boast a

handful of restaurants and coffee shops, not nightclubs.

Locals have long complained about the density of bars in the entertainment district that leads to drunken brawls on the weekends and worse while area business owners have privately told me that foot traffic is lacking during the daytime. The projects will address both those concerns, Schubert said.

With more guests and tenants in the area, it will be only natural that they will patronize the retailers and existing bars and restaurants within walking distance rather than travel by car or bike to other parts of town.

Fort Worth still has a shortage of hotels, especially ones that cater to middle- to upper-middle-class clients. Goldenrod isn’t aiming to add the kind of $500-a-night rooms that Hotel Drover offers but rather provide rooms that are comfortably priced for folks who want a nicer experience than what a typical hotel offers.

Increased hotel vacancies could help Fort Worth attract major conventions and other events that currently end up in Dallas or Houston. Schubert said that based on his research many visitors who drive to Fort Worth from the north, west, and south are looking to spend the weekend here and that they prefer staying within walking distance of entertainment destinations.

“People will drive to Dallas to go to a concert” and leave that same evening, he said. “People tend to come here for the weekend. I think Fort Worth is only a couple of years away from competing with Dallas” for major conventions and events.

Flooding and crime were Schubert’s top concerns coming into Fort Worth. After learning that major storms flood Norwood and the neighborhood to the east, Schubert’s team removed the underground parking garage from the final plan of both projects.

The recent news of a shooting just outside Varsity Tavern, which recently closed without saying why, prompted Schubert to reach out to local officials.

“I wrote a letter to a lot of” city officials, he said. “I said, ‘We are building 50 feet from where a shooting took place. We can’t put $250 million into a project and have people stay at our hotel when there is a shooting across the street.’ ”

The city took the matter seriously, he said.

A Fort Worth police spokesperson told me in October that the West Division that oversees the area allotted several officers to new shifts on weekends (“Public Safety Concerns,” Oct. 2022). The consensus from local bar owners is that public safety has improved, partly due to increased police presence and the city council’s recent decision to ban open containers that allowed minors to consume alcohol and loiter outside West 7th bars.

Schubert said his team is still working on an official name for the mixed-use development that will open in late 2025 or early 2026. When he describes the layout of office space near University Drive and restaurants in the back, the business up front and party in the back design led locals to come up with an unofficial name.

“For now, they’re calling it ‘The Mullet,’ ” he said with a laugh. l

A major developer aims to diversify West 7th’s offerings with a Mullet-tastic mixed-use project.

Informally known as The Mullet, the 10-story development slated to open in late 2025 will add ample residential and office space to the bustling entertainment district.

Courtesy Goldenrod Companies

A once-bustling neighborhood in the West 7th corridor is temporarily fenced off as Goldenrod Companies prepare to demolish several bars/restaurants as part of a massive new construction project.

Edward Brown

Monkey Off Their Dak

Just one week after closing the regular season with one of his worst games ever, the Cowboys QB finished the Wild Card round with his career best.

BY PATRICK HIGGINS

The sense of relief a fan feels when a playoff game is over and their team is victorious simply can’t be overstated. I’d put it right up there with making it to payday without overdrawing your account. Or a negative pregnancy test. The crushing weight of reality is suddenly lifted, and you can bask in the inveigling comfort of distraction and a make-believe lack of responsibility for just a little longer. It counts doubly so when the faith you had in your team heading into the game was on par with the faith you typically have in making it to payday without, y’know, overdrawing your account.

Yet here we are, Cowboy fans. Our little silver and blue heroes went into Tampa Bay and handily beat a Buccaneers team and a suddenly mortal Tom Brady by a score of 31-14 and will therefore travel to San Francisco for the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs. We’re still in it, bay-beeee. We’ve

got a few duckets under the mattress yet, and drinks are on me!

The thrumming of Brady’s Bucs removes a number of proverbial playoff primates from the backs of the Cowboys. Though it is still just Dallas’ fifth playoff win since their last Super Bowl appearance all the way back in 1995, it means there’s no one-and-done this year and that the string holding that albatross around their neck has broken another thread. It also marks the team’s first road playoff victory since Jimmy Johnson delivered his now famous “How ’bout them Cowboys!” yell after beating the 49ers in the NFC championship game exactly 30 years ago. In addition, the ’Boys also beat TB12, a task they had failed to ever complete up to Sunday’s game — as was mentioned on every football-related broadcast ad nauseam over the last week.

Though it was certainly within the realm of possibility (I even said as much in my last column), I’m not sure I would not have risked even a $1 bet on how exactly the Cowboys secured the W in Tampa — namely, the inarguably Patrick Mahomesian performance by one Dakota Rayne Prescott. If Week 18’s game in Washington was one of his worst ever (and it was), what he threw down on Sunday — 25/33 for 305 and five total TDs — might just be his best. The 76% completion percentage and franchise playoff record 143.3 QB rating are certainly worth mentioning, but I think the most important stat of his day just might be the goose egg in the INT column. It was the type of performance that should shut the mouths of even the most vocal Dak detractors (“Daktractors”?) and should establish what will be needed of him to continue in the playoffs.

As great as Prescott was, plenty of others deserve credit for the victory. Essentially, all the problem areas the Cowboys endured over the last month and a half of the regular season seemed to correct themselves.

The offensive line, despite continued shuffling due to an injury to 41-year-old tackle Jason Peterson, was a force in pass pro and created better holes for a resurgent run game. Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore called likely the best game of his young career, and it will certainly be his Exhibit A to show why he should be hired as a head coach as he interviews for such positions over the next few weeks. A troublesome secondary kept a lock downfield, forcing Brady to dink and dunk his way to his 351 yards on a stag-

gering 66 pass attempts, and the pass rush was finally getting home again. The defense made Tommy Boy age in real time like Matt Damon at the end of Saving Private Ryan.

For the first time ever, Tom Brady looked like a 45-year-old playing quarterback in the NFL.

Really, the only flaw in the game was the bewildering meltdown of kicker Brett Maher, who, despite currently being the most accurate kicker beyond 60 yards in NFL history, missed four straight extra point attempts. It made it five PAT misses in a row for Maher, who missed another against Washington. Hopefully, he can unscramble his brain before next Sunday. I have a feeling that, unlike against the Bucs, leaving four points on the field would cost the Cowboys dearly against the Niners.

Speaking of the Niners, Dak and Co. have a tough challenge ahead of them as they

continue their storied playoff rivalry against San Francisco next week. I fear the Crimson and Gold more than any other team in the NFC, mostly due to the fact that they have strengths where the Cowboys have weaknesses. One is San Fran’s run game. The addition of Christian McCafferey has taken an already stellar ground attack to a practically unstoppable level.

Another is that they are starting a lateround rookie quarterback in Brock Purdy (the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft). As has been highlighted multiple times this season, for whatever reason, no-name first-year signal callers seem to be Cowboy kryptonite. Dak might need to play another flawless game to keep Dallas in it.

But that’s a concern for later on this week. For now, let me just enjoy the glorious win and a bank account currently in the black. l

QB1 had a career game leading Dallas to a 31-14 win over Tompa Bay.

DallasCowboys.com

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Two Women at a Window, c. 1655–60, oil on canvas. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Widener Collection, 1942.9.46

This exhibition is organized by the Kimbell Art Museum.

The Kimbell Art Museum is supported in part by Arts Fort Worth, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

a Resolution You Can Stick To: Get Your Texas License To Carry

It’s New Year’s Day again, so time to make more “Resolutions” for 2023, and we all know how those usually turn out. Lose weight, get in shape, remodel the house, quit sniffing glue —all things that are tough to stay on track with. If you’re looking for something a little easier to do, resolve to get your Texas License To Carry in 2023. I promise it’s easier than anything above!

“But why do I need an LTC anymore? Isn’t it legal to carry a firearm in Texas without it?” Yes, Texas does have a form of Constitutional Carry (technically

Permitless Carry), which allows anyone who is eligible to own a firearm to carry it concealed or open. There are requirements that go with that right, but for the most part, you can carry a handgun without the LTC. But there are still a lot of good reasons to have the LTC anyway.

Top Reasons to Have an LTC

1.) There are still many places where you can’t carry without the LCT. Despite the Constitutional Carry law,

there are still many places where you can’t carry without the LTC. College campuses, open Government meeting places, amusement parks, and nursing homes are just some of the locations where permitless carry does not apply.

2.) Purchasing firearms is easier with an LTC.

Purchasing firearms is easier with an LTC. ATF rules allow for a valid handgun license to bypass the required background check. So instead of waiting up

to 30 minutes for a decision on your background check from the FBI NICS system (or 3 business days if you get a Delayed response), you can complete the paperwork and leave with your new firearm in minutes! It’s almost as easy as Uncle Joe says it is! (Almost…)

3.) Your LTC will serve as a second form of ID.

It’s not often anymore, but if you encounter a situation where two forms of ID are required, the LTC is just as good as your Driver’s License.

4.) Your LTC could essentially be a “Get Out Of A Felony Free” card at the airport.

The most significant reason to get your LTC applies to anyone who actually does carry a firearm with any regularity. The next time you’re at Dallas Love Field for a flight out, take notice of the signs at the entrance to the TSA line. There’s one with a picture of a handgun that says, “Did you UNPACK before you PACKED?” A gentle reminder that yesterday you might have been carrying a firearm in that same backpack that’s now your carry-on.

Courtesy Canva

There are signs at some airports that show pictures of the actual firearms they’ve confiscated from peoples’ luggage. If you accidentally forget to take it out and TSA finds it (and they will), you can be in a heap of trouble. If you don’t have an LTC in that situation, it’s either a Class A Misdemeanor or a 3rd Degree Felony that can ensure you never legally own another firearm. If you DO have an LTC, TSA has the discretion to simply ask you to put in in your car or otherwise away from the airport. Your LTC could essentially be a “Get Out Of A Felony Free” card in that case. That’s a huge difference; well worth the time required to get that card!

Getting your LTC is easy in Texas. The classroom portion is down to only 4 hours and can be taken online at your own pace for around $50 at Defiant-Arms.com. Once that is complete, take the certificate to any gun range, and they will help you with the shooting qualification. Ranges charge from $25 to $40 for that part, and it’s the same no

matter where you do it. Complete the online application with the State and submit your required documents along with the $40 fee, and you should have your LTC within 60 days.

No matter how you choose to exercise your 2nd Amendment right (LTC or Permitless Carry), US Law Shield is a musthave. You don’t drive your car without insurance (hopefully), so why would you carry a firearm without insurance? For around $100 per year, you have access to an attorney 24/7/365. If you have to defend yourself with deadly force in any situation with anything — gun, knife, tire tool, baseball bat, fists, vehicle, you name it — you are covered for any legal ramifications of it. Criminal and Civil cases, unlimited benefits, and coverage in all 50 States. Get 30 days for free to start at USLawShield.com.

As for shopping, Defiant Arms (5200 Denton Hwy, Haltom City, 817-3937738) keeps hard-to-find ammo in stock and popular items like the Kimber products made popular on the Yellowstone television show. “I always laugh when I see the Kimber product placement in Yellowstone; an obvious choice with

their huge presence in Kalispell, Montana,” says Dwayne. “My wife has always called the Bel Air ‘Beth's gun,’ even though she's never had a firearm on the show before the recent season fi-

nale.” They sold out of Bel Airs during the last gun show but will be stocking more soon. Then, then you can channel your inner Beth with your everyday carry. For details, visit Defiant-Arms.com.

Defiant Arms stocks the Kimber products made popular on Yellowstone.

Courtesy Instagram

BY EDWARD BROWN

Colt Power always had a love for and an appreciation of medicine. While making rounds as a pre-med student at Notre Dame, he realized he did not like the sight of blood, so he set aside his desire to be a physician to pursue a career in commercial real estate.

When state leaders legalized hemp farming in Texas and the retail sale of cannabidiol (CBD) products in 2019, Power tried some and found they reduced inflammation in his knees, something that limited his workouts. There was also an unexpected but welcome benefit to the CBD.

“My baseline anxiety level came down,” he said. “It changed a lot in my life.”

Power co-founded Power Biopharms in 2020 with wife Reagan Power, who works as an ICU nurse. The facility on the border of East Fort Worth and Euless produces medical-grade cannabis products to exacting standards.

Power said he created the company with the future in mind. Currently, the Lone Star State has a highly regulated med-

ical marijuana program through the 2015 Compassionate Use Act that allows Texans with certain conditions and diseases to access medications that contain very low levels of THC (the psychoactive agent in marijuana). If state leaders overcome unfounded paranoia that marijuana is a gateway drug to self-destruction and expand that program requiring patients to seek THC prescriptions, Power Biopharms will be able to use the same all-in-house model to grow both marijuana and hemp. For now, the Depart-

ment of Public Safety, which oversees that program, has not awarded new licenses for marijuana production.

On a recent morning, Power, marketing director Stephanie Hastings, and director of cultivation Nick Williams gave a tour of their indoor farm. All the hemp plants used to make gummies, tincture oils, CBD-infused pet treats, and other CBD products come from one plant that is continually cloned to make seedlings that are grown and cultivated throughout several rooms.

Williams said the Power Biopharms team started with 100 seeds that were grown and processed for properties like strength, size, and cannabinoid potency before a final winner was chosen. Every couple of weeks, staffers cut and process 112 flowering hemp plants before cutting away the leaves and hanging the flowers to dry. In the back of the lab, Williams demonstrated placing the dried hemp flowers in an extractor that uses heat and pressure to squeeze out a dark, continued on page 13

Texans and retailers are moving forward with medical and recreational cannabinoids even as state leaders cling to outdated paranoia over marijuana.

Several Power Biopharms shelves house hemp plants at various levels of maturity.

Once the plants are harvested, Power Biopharms employees carefully cut away the leaves before hanging the stems and flowers to dry.

Trey Phillips, seen with wife Dr. Lisa Gardner-Phillips, says his clients support expanding access to medical and recreational uses of hemp and marijuana.

Madeleina

thick resin that is then used to make Power Biopharms’ products.

Holding a bowl with the final CBD compound, Williams said the resin has a market value of around $8 to $10 a gram, meaning he was holding around $1,700 worth of CBD oil. The same amount would be worth at least several times more than what CBD sells for on the open market.

“Even if we never go into the medical space, we are investing in local,” Power said, referring to the production process that occurs entirely at the farm and a nearby gummy manufacturer. “Instead of saying, ‘Here is a concentrate,’ we can say, ‘Here is the farm where it came from. We know how the plants were raised.’ People like working with a local source. There aren’t many farms doing what we do in DFW at the moment.”

Even with the DA’s confusing stance on the criminality of possessing hemp, the smell of cigarettes and blunts made from that plant is common outside local bars and other public areas. Tarrant County residents have undoubtedly adopted recreational use of cannabinoids even as Texas remains one of only 13 states that outlaw marijuana use.

Texas Tribune found that the local farming industry’s excitement over hemp has subsided in the wake of a drought and a market flooded with national competition.

“Since hemp’s legalization, farmers have lost interest in hemp, especially the kind grown for fiber and grain to make clothes, textiles, and paper,” the Tribune says. “Those who invested have yet to see returns and say hemp, like other crops, is

struggling across the state during one of the driest years on record. Farmers across Texas are having to cut their losses by abandoning failing crops to save valuable resources. And with so much at stake, some farmers aren’t willing to risk investing in hemp.”

Power said many people jumped into the hemp farming business in 2020 without understanding the difficulties of growing the plant, processing it, and finding a buyer. If those challenges weren’t hard enough for novice growers, the COVID pandemic magnified those economic challenges.

“There has definitely been a shakeout of people who thought this was going to be easy,” he continued. “It is still a very fragmented supply chain here in Texas. In 2020, I got a producer, processor, and handler li-

cense. Just by having a processor license, I was contacted by people who had grown hemp. We didn’t have the infrastructure in place yet to help them. It showed that a lot of people got excited, grew hemp, and didn’t know what to do with it. People jumped in at the growth level not understanding how hard it was to grow it. Even if they were successful, they didn’t have access to buyers and processing.”

Still, Power sees promise for Texas. Consumer demand, he said, remains steady.

“CBD seems to benefit people who take it a couple of times a day,” he said. “People who understand that it is part of their health and wellness routine will continue to use it regularly.”

Texas remains a latecomer to the hemp farming industry. It was largely federal, not state, action that allowed local farmers to begin growing the once-banned plant following the passage of a 2018 law. The Farm Bill removed hemp with very low concentrations of THC from the Controlled Substances Schedules of the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration).

Sid Miller, Texas’ commissioner of agriculture, then backed legislation that codified the rights of growers in the Lone Star State to raise hemp as long as THC levels remained below .3%. Even then, Tarrant County’s former district attorney, Sharen Wilson, warned Tarrant County residents that they could and would be prosecuted for possession of safe and completely non-psychoactive CBD products.

“Our office was asked recently to clarify whether CBD oil is legal in the state of Texas,” Wilson said in a public 2019 statement. “Currently, it is legal only for epilepsy patients through a doctor’s prescription.”

Once the dried flowers are pressed, the CBD — a dark, sticky resin — is ready to be processed into one of several products.

Power and Williams worry that young and new users may wrongly associate CBD with products produced solely to create a high. While technically legal, cannabinoid derivatives like Delta-8, which provides a mild psychoactive high similar to marijuana, naturally occurs in only trace amounts in hemp. In early 2021, the advocacy group the U.S. Cannabis Council tested 16 Delta-8 products and found several contained copper, nickel, and other toxic metals.

Some of the products sold for use in vape pens under the CBD umbrella are untested and potentially dangerous, Williams said.

Power added, “We are for plant medicine, not synthetic medicine. I want to see products that have proven safety and efficacy make it to the customers. People throw out all these new chemicals. Because all of these things are sold under the CBD space, it muddies the water.”

them at their two locations (the Foundry District and Weatherford).

Trey said his store uses Power Biopharms CBD for his retail line of gummies and drops intended for medical use.

Over the past few years, Texas has seen a sharp rise in the number of Delta-8 and Delta-9 goodies. While the open sale of cannabis products that can generate euphoric highs might seem at odds with a state where marijuana remains verboten, Trey said a loophole in the original farm bill allows manufacturers to extract trace amounts of THC from hemp. In other words, it isn’t Delta-8 and Delta-9 that are illegal but rather the plants that contain THC in high concentrations.

With the beginning of the 88th Legislature’s regular session, the Thrive Apothecary co-owner worries that state leaders may pass laws banning popular Delta-8 and Delta-9 products that have grown the overall CBD market considerably because the psychoactives are sold under the umbrella of CBD products.

Non-CBD cannabinoids now account for upwards of 90% of his store’s sales, Trey said.

When Trey Phillips and Dr. Lisa Gardner-Phillips opened Thrive Apothecary in 2018, the married couple found few local hemp producers who could make a reliable quality product. Of the ones the Phillipses believed worked for them, independent testing of the products often revealed pesticides and other dangerous chemicals during those early years.

Quality control over CBD and hemp-derived THC has improved since then, Trey said, but Thrive Apothecary still independently tests products before selling

Trey said the average age of customers at either store is 55. Many parents or grandparents were interested in cannabis but never had access to it, he said. Repeat customers use hemp-derived gummies and drops to treat chronic pain, anxiety, and discomfort from cancer treatments. Trey Phillips, a retired Fort Worth police officer, said he uses many of his store’s products to treat PTSD. The co-owners recently expanded their Hero Program in which they offer free medical marijuana assessments to qualifying men and women from the fields of teaching, first responder, medical, law enforcement, or military. Patients can make appointments at ThriveMedicalCannabis.com, and Lisa will

place qualifying applicants on the state’s medical marijuana registry.

While the Lone Star State maintains a medical marijuana program, many aspects of it remain onerous. Qualified medical marijuana vendors cannot distribute to retailers, for example, which requires the hand-delivery of products that must be signed for. Those hurdles are increasingly untenable in a region where nearby Oklahoma maintains a much easier-to-use medical marijuana program and New Mexico allows the recreational use of Mary Jane.

Next month, the Phillipses will open Thrive Apothecary’s third location, this one on the Near Southside. The new locale will also be the headquarters of the retail store’s medical marijuana program.

The retired police officer said Texas needs a strong and robust medical marijuana program.

“We believe at some point Texans will get access to recreational marijuana,” he said. “Most states had a strong medical program first that built the framework for the recreational side.”

legalize marijuana until we have federal reforms. Our state will likely walk our medical program forward and maybe increase the cap on THC from 1% to 5%. The public sentiment is too strong to not walk it forward, but they will do as little as possible. Once the feds say it is OK, Texans will follow. I bet we have federal reforms within five years.”

The Power Biopharms owner says they will be ready to produce CBD and medical-grade marijuana in separate facilities. Power said federal laws ban tax deductions for “controlled substances.” IRS laws like 280E require Power to file federal taxes stating he is effectively growing something illegal, and since businesses cannot write off “illegal” expanses, Power effectively pays 25% more federal taxes than someone in a state where marijuana is legalized.

Phillips said he and his wife are vocal supporters of cannabis reforms and state leaders should follow the will of the people and stop clinging to outdated notions of reefer madness.

“We believe at the end of the day that all citizens should have full access to this plant,” he said. “We support that, whether through decriminalization or changes in the health and safety code.”

Beyond expanding the size of Texas’ nascent medical marijuana program and better regulating untested CBD derivatives, Power Biopharms’ Power and Williams said state leaders should decriminalize or legalize the recreational use of marijuana.

A slim majority of Texans support the legalization of marijuana for recreational use in the Lone Star State, based on a recent poll by the Dallas Morning News. Nearly 70% support access to marijuana for anyone who claims a medical need.

“Texas likes to piggyback off federal decisions,” Power said. “I think we will not

Patients benefit best from products that pull from CBD and THC compounds, Power said.

“The plant is its own compounding pharmacy,” he continued. “The best medicine is a combination of all of these things.”

Even under tough state and market circumstances, Power and his small team say they are proud of the products they produce. Now, they need to focus on growing the market. Part of that effort requires convincing Texas CBD users to buy locally.

“We want to take our products to the world,” Power said. l

Colt Power (left) and Nick Williams are investing in medical-grade hemp in the hopes that state leaders will one day allow Power Biopharms to grow medical marijuana.

Products sold under Thrive Apothecary’s Welcel line contain CBD grown and processed at Power Biopharms on the East Side.

New Year, New Ownership at Knockouts West 7th

Promotional Feature

A neighborhood icon of 14 years continues to thrive under the guidance of new owners. Karin Friday is no stranger to the Knockout brand, as she and her husband Tom are the co-founders of the Knockouts Haircuts for Men founded in 2003. The foundation of the company concentrated on creating a place and atmosphere where any customer would feel comfortable being well groomed and pampered.

With the new year came a new acquisition for the couple: purchasing the Knockouts West 7th street location built in 2009. Karin and Tom are residents of Fort Worth and are very excited to now own this great location in such a vibrant neighborhood. “We look forward to being part of the West 7th Street community and will continue to bring great men’s grooming services to the residents and visitors of the area.”

The full-service, boxing-themed salon provides competitively-priced haircuts and is known for its specially-chosen staff of stylists and barbers who are dedicated to providing upscale men’s grooming including four main haircut packages.

The Heavyweight® is the undisputed champion of services. Order one up and we’ll get you everything you need to get your head in the game. We’ll look at your options, slide a haircut between

two vigorous shampooing sessions and a scalp massage, and finish you off with a killer style.

The Middleweight includes a precision haircut, shampoo with conditioning scalp massage and hot towel, while The Lightweight is a basic precision haircut with no frills.

When you need to finish strong in only a few rounds, get The Uppercut™ (Buzz Cut). This cut covers the bare essentials with a clean cut, clean hair, and full scalp massage to ease your mind.

The salon also specializes in color/lightening, hot towel treatments, massage therapy, scalp massages, shaves, beard trims and waxing. Knockouts offers a pampering experience for men that is not available at discount walk-in salons.

Amenities like large leather chairs, individual flat screen TVs with remote controls at each station, and complimentary beverages all add to the experience. The environment is upscale, yet casual and fun.

The current team of 6 expert stylists and barbers are all very experienced in providing full service hair and grooming services. If you’re in need of the services that Knockouts (3008 W 7th St) has to offer, call today for an appointment 817-332-4141 or book online at Knockouts.com.

As they say, “You deserve this!”

Looking Forward, Back

As restos close here and across the country, quite a few new concepts will open soon in yon Fort.

BY LAURIE JAMES

Wandering the streets of Manhattan a few days ago, I pondered an old end-of-year column we used to run remembering places we had lost. I was on the hunt for noodle kugel like my Ukrainian great-grandmother would have made, the Broadway cheap tickets booth, and the one subway route that would take me

closest to the Brooklyn Bridge. These days, there is a perilous number of closed signs on restaurants in the Big Apple, arguably one of the only major cities in the world where you can eat out three meals a day because it’s easier than trying to find a grocery store (although Whole Foods now has eight locations keeping greater Manhattan from being a food desert). If you’re in the area, 2nd Ave Deli (162 E 33rd St, Midtown, 212-689-9000) has been getting it done kosher-style for almost 70 years: The sour and dill whole pickles as an amuse bouche and the kugel did not disappoint. As far as 2022 goes here in the Fort, nobody’s really mourning the loss of Varsity Tavern, which shuttered earlier this month near Crockett Row, but some of us are going to miss Poke-Poke on Magnolia, which survived for four years before closing. I will miss Arlington’s Fork in the Road and their “crackaroni.” Ditto Four Sisters, which closed after four years, although according to the website, the chef is still making sauce and condiments, right in time for the Asian Lunar New Year festivities.

The mom-and-pop shops have to contend with continued supply chain issues and the one-two punch of drought in the Midwest plus a wicked avian influenza epidemic, along with corporate greed forcing up the price of staples like turkey, chicken, and now eggs. And skyrocketing rents. It’s a shandeh that Fred’s Texas Café, which predated all the hoopla in the West 7th corridor, had to leave the original Currie Street location, but the brand survives into 2023 with two locations in disparate parts of Fort Worth (2730 Western Center Blvd and 7101 Camp Bowie

West). But many things went well for local restaurants in 2022.

The good news: It was a winning year for home-grown chefs and those who love them. Beast & Company (1010 W Magnolia Av, 817-945-1461), La Onda (2905 Race St, 817-607-8605), Tre Mogli (401 S Main St, 817-615-9844), Don Artemio (3268 W 7th St, 817-470-1439), Fitzgerald (6115 Camp Bowie Blvd, 817-349-9245), and Pizza Verde (5716 Locke Av, 817-349-9852) are a few of

the locally owned success stories of 2022. As the year slowly ticked down, Tannahill’s Tavern and Music Hall (122 E Exchange Av, 817-900-9300) began offering tasty food, live music, and sticker-shocking beverages.

Jon Bonnell’s hunnert restaurant (OK, his fifth), the casual ranch-to-table Jon’s Grille (2905 W Berry St, 817-349-8722) is an omnivore’s paradise of burgers and excellent desserts. Ober Here (1229 W 8th continued on page 19

Av, 682-760-3904) successfully transitioned from a food truck into a brick-and-mortar restaurant and warranted a mention in Texas Monthly, although you read about them here first. Big Kat Burgers (903-363-5723) didn’t make it to a building but a permanent space at 200 Bryan Av.

I’m looking forward to La Coqueta, a wine and tapas bar from Juan Rodriguez (Magdalena’s) opening on the North Side as soon as permits and construction allow. Carpenter’s Cafe will finally be done with the expansion of their Pennsylvania Avenue restaurant, and there’s a lot coming for Amy McNutt, the originator of Fort Worth’s original vegan Spiral Diner, including a Spiral in Arlington on Front Street, a Fort Worth fine-dining vegan restaurant called Maiden, and the new Magnolia Avenue restaurant Dreamboat Donuts and Scoops, bringing vegan ice cream and donuts to Fort Worth.

Restaurateur Adam Smith and Chef Blaine Staniford are responsible for two of the Fort’s best restaurants, Grace and Little Red Wasp, and their new Italian eatery, 61 Osteria, opens downtown in 2023. Departing from his family’s history, Felipe Armenta (Press Cafe, Pacific Table, Maria’s, The Tavern) will partner with Chef Graham Elliott on a French country dining place called Café Margot in the spring. The Armenta/Elliott duo is also eyeballing Mule Alley for a new steak restaurant. And in Grapevine, the gargantuan Chicken N Pickle (4600 Merlot Av, 817-766-6320) just opened. The eatery/pickleball court spotlights local breweries, at least in the taps on the giant bottom floor. Look for Rahr’s new Court’s in Session, a tangy grapefruit blonde ale developed specifically for the sports bar.

The company that owns Blue Sushi Sake will open an oyster bar and seafood grill in Clearfork — Plank Seafood will go into one of the few corporately owned areas in town where there’s been very little restaurant turnover. Finally, country artist and Pittsburg, Texas, native Koe Wetzel is opening a bar, his eponymously named Riot Room (location unknown at press time).

The shuttered restaurants from Manhattan to Fort Worth are evidence that local eateries all over the country are still running on a razor’s edge, even three years into a global pandemic. There’s flooding in California and who knows what disaster (human-made or otherwise) is next. Life is short. Support the Fort’s restaurants whenever you can. l

In Grapevine, Chicken n Pickle teamed up with Rahr for a bespoke blonde ale.

Laurie James

Kicking it at the Stock Show

Along with the stock show part, there are also games and shopping in the midway, concerts, rodeo competitions, and more all over town for this year’s annual Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo (3400 Burnett Tandy Dr, 817-877-2400). Wondering about those midway rides? Local entertainment family Talley Amusements has operated in Texas for four generations and has handled this particular midway since 1995. “We have built a safe, clean environment for our patrons to enjoy, and we will continue to do so.” You can make the most of it seven days a week thru Sat, Feb 4. Here are some ideas for this week.

Chef Grady Spears has had my attention lately, with a multi-course dinner every Wednesday at Fort Brewery (2727 Tillar St, 817-923-8000). But now he’s changed course (pun intended) and is hosting a Rodeo Dinner 5:30pm-7pm Wed-Fri, Jan 25-27 and Feb 1-3. Tickets are $45 per person on Eventbrite.com. Spears’ award-winning chicken-fried steak is legendary, so I was excited to see that on the menu, and I’m very interested in the buñuelos with caramelized bananas and vanilla bean ice cream. For all the delicious details, visit Faebook.com/FortBrewery.

College students can take advantage of buy-one-getone-free tickets by presenting their college ID any day, but rodeo tickets are also half-price and

grounds admission free for people dressed in the appropriate college wear on some designated university days. Today is Texas A&M Day, Sunday honors UTA, and then on Tue, Jan 31, it’s Texas Tech Day. Aggies, please don’t leave your jerseys in the hotel room. Again. The fairgrounds are open 8am-10:30pm daily thru Sat, Feb 4. It’s also Aggie Night at the Texas Champions Challenge at Dickies Arena (1911 Montgomery St, 817-402-9000). Tickets are $45 for just the rodeo event or $112 to include a VIP reception. For more info, visit Facebook.com/ FWAggies.

Being a stock show and all, there are a shit-ton of animal exhibition events in town. While I find calf roping and bull-riding a little too uncomfortable for my animal-loving soul to watch, I do understand the need for these skills in a ranch setting. One magical event does have my attention, though. At 6pm, the Mustang Heritage Foundation — a nonprofit that seeks to find homes for the nearly 50,000 displaced wild horses and burros — hosts its annual Mustang Magic Celebrity Freestyle event at Will Rogers Memorial Center (3401 W Lancaster Av, 817-3927469). Watch as nine elite mustang trainers showcase their personal horses in an “allout one-of-a-kind freestyle competition.” Tickets start at $15 at FWSSR.com, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the organization.

7pm-2am Thu-Sun, Rodeo Exchange (221 W Exchange Av, 817-626-0181) hosts its Stock Show & Rodeo After Party, featuring North Texas country band Big in Vegas. Other acts include Niles City Fri-Sat and Thu, Feb 2, and Fast Moving Train Fri-Sat, Feb 3-4. No cover charge.

Before founding Shepherd Valley Cowboy Church (8901 US Hwy 67, Alvarado, 817-790-8898) in 1997, Russ and Anna Weaver served as home missionaries for the Assemblies of God Church in the rodeo and horse racing industries. Pastor Russ, as he’s called, loves building saddles in his leather shop, playing music, doing team roping, and co-hosting Cowboy Church on RFD-TV. During the FWSSR, he hosts Cowboy Church at Will Rogers Memorial Center (3401 W Lancaster Av, 817-392-7469). Join the celebration at 10am today and Sun, Jan 29. These services are free to attend with your grounds tickets.

The folks at Cowtown Brewing Company (1301 E Belknap St, 817-4895800) are excited that it’s FWSSR time and would like to welcome all rodeo fans to the brewery. If you stop in before the rodeo and show them that day’s event ticket, you will receive 15% off your tab. This offer is for the Fort Worth location only.

24

Tuesday

Today is Stock Show Goes Pink Day, and half of all rodeo ticket and general grounds admission sales will benefit the CAREity Foundation (@CAREityFoundation, 817-882-4100). Horsewomen/entrepreneurs Beverly Branch and Lyn Walsh know all too well that the diagnosis is just the beginning of a very long journey for many cancer patients,

as they lost both of their mothers to cancer — they founded the nonprofit in 2003 in their honor. CAREity’s goal is to save lives and stay involved, helping and supporting patients through their journey, giving families hope, and keeping them focused on healing. For more information, visit CAREity.org.

By Jennifer Bovee

The horses will be running wild … -ish at the Mustang Magic Celebrity Freestyle event at Will Rogers on Friday.

Courtesy Mustang Heritage Foundation

events go, the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is #TheGOAT. (See what we did there?)

Years of the Cat

Like much of her material, her recent 5-minute single “Miss Diagnosed” is uncomfortably, unflinchingly about herself.

“I’m one of those annoying people during COVID that got my life together,” she says. “Because when everything disappeared, I had an amazing time realizing that the problem in my life was me.”

What Monna is talking about is her being diagnosed in 2020 with Borderline Personality Disorder. “The only people who know what that is are people who have it or people who love someone who has it.”

In the recording, an audience member shouts out “loved,” and Monna draws attention to the guy’s use of the past tense. “Loved. Loved! I mean, with BPD, you’re either holding the knife or running from it. Those are your options.”

The crowd cracks up. As her bit continues, she dives into how she decided to discuss her own mental health issues on her 2021 comedy album, Unstable, and then, in January 2022, much to her surprise, she received a wholly new mental health diagnosis: Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD). “Maybe this entire time my whole problem has just been being a woman!”

She gets some laughs and cheers at that and even more when she makes a remark about how “quickly” the bipolar people “turned” on her. “I guess it shouldn’t have been that surprising.”

BY STEVE STEWARD

This might sound odd to say about a person who makes people laugh for a living, but Monna is no nonsense. The Fort Worthby-Fort Wayne, Indiana comedian deals in hard truths, and she does not fuck around. I know this because I’ve seen her perform, and I’ve listened to her albums, and I know how she runs her open-mic night.

“We have, like, airplane rules for being onstage,” she said, referring to her focus on physical safety and zero tolerance for any hateful or discriminatory material.

Her open-mics are now way more than that. They’ve also launched a slew of live albums, including three new ones: Somebody’s Husband, Somebody’s Dad by Alvin Newsome, No Contest by Kim Wadsworth, and Monna’s third, Unfiltered, recorded at The Dive in Denton this past December.

This all happens under the banner Claws Out Comedy, Monna’s business that started by putting on events featuring established local professionals. The open-mics happen on Wednesdays at Twilite Lounge on the Near Southside and Mondays at Arlington’s 1851 Club, and on Thu, Jan 19, Claws Out will host a show at 1851 with standup from Monna, Hugo Gonzalez, Maggi Mayfield, and Josh Johnson and drag performances by Lady Monroe, Dulce Strutts, and Kiana Lee.

Showcasing local comedic talent might have been Claws Out’s original purpose, but “then the pandemic hit,” Monna said. “Quickly after I started it, it became clear that [Claws Out] needed to exist to normalize mental health. I recorded my debut album, Unstable, that year, and since then, Claws Out has been … claws to the wall, I guess.”

I note two things about this bit. The first is that this story is a pretty good representation of Monna’s comedy. The personal truths — the crazy experience of enduring PMDD, the inconvenience of being a cutter and wanting to wear a tank top when it’s hot out (“I’d rather have scars on my arms than pit stains”) — seesaw between wince-inducing and hilarious, but above all, they’re completely unapologetic, plunked in front of you in her Indiana-bred tired-of-this-bullshit twang. Hers is a voice weighted with a bass note of perpetual irritation, blunt as a mallet, the tone you use when someone cuts you off right before two freeway lanes merge or when you have the frustrating realization that every prick who asked if you were on the rag because you were acting insane was actually kind of right.

For Monna, when it comes to mental health, it’s the symptoms rather than the label that matter, and this is the other thing I note about “Miss Diagnosis.” She lets her audience know that having a mental illness is out of their control but not doing something about it — which includes putting it out in the open. By using comedy to deal with her illness, Monna has indeed put her issues out in the open. But she’s also managed to turn her comedy into a thriving business.

Claws Out is definitely a full-time gig. “Entrepreneurs are the only people who will work 80 hours a week to avoid working 40 hours a week for someone else,” Monna said. “I eat, breathe, and drink comedy. I would work 24-hour days on this if I was allowed.”

Her obsessive work ethic has paid off, though Claws Out enjoyed success initially. “It was entirely funded on the first show we did and the first workshops I put on. It’s been enough to keep rolling and keep doing bigger things.”

Most importantly, it has allowed her to compensate comics fairly. “I try to pay ev-

eryone a decent rate. For the first year Claws Out was in business, I paid everyone double what the clubs did.”

She said that paying comedians to talk honestly about their mental health struggles onstage often surprises people. “Something I’ve noticed lately that is incredibly frustrating that I don’t think people realize they’re doing … [is] we exist to normalize conversations about mental health. Even at the Twilite mic when people talk about being depressed, they get a ‘woo’ from the crowd. You get people creating an environment in solidarity, letting you know you’re not alone. … I’ve noticed that people get taken aback when they hear that I pay people and that we’re a for-profit business. Creating safe spaces isn’t charity work. It’s a business that plenty of other people have capitalized on. I’m just trying to carve out a space where performers are actually compensated for their time.”

Especially in the digital space. Though she and her stable of comics hand out download cards promoting their albums and shows, Claws Out’s business model is largely online. “It’s so important to me to get all my artists set up with their artist profiles and make sure that they’re making passive revenue on something, because something I was told a few years ago that I believe to be true is that if you can’t find a passive stream of income, you’re going to work paycheck to paycheck for the rest of your life. When it

comes to the albums we’ve done this year, I just want to help my friends get to the next level ’cause it does show a piece of evidence that says, ‘This is the amount of time you have that is good,’ and it shows your commitment, that you’re serious, and it also gives people the opportunity to find you and become a fan. It’s not a lot of money, but it’s still money.”

Of course, in addition to running Claws Out, Monna does shows, and last year, she embarked on her first tour.

“I like traveling,” she said, “but I don’t feel the need to be on the road for months. I can make money and do cool things in DFW. I wouldn’t mind flying somewhere and doing gigs, but I like being home with my cats. I also need a regular schedule, because otherwise I’d stay up until 4am editing things. I put in a lot of work putting out these albums because I believe they are by people who deserve to be seen and heard.”

Finding a purpose — normalizing discussions about mental illness — has also helped evolve her comedy. “When I first started in 2015, I was a one-liner comic, and this next special I’m releasing [Unfiltered] is probably the heaviest, darkest thing I’ve ever done, stuff I’d never thought I’d talk about onstage. It’s interesting that between [all three albums] … I used to be terrified to talk about my mental health onstage, and now that’s where I feel safe.” l

For Monna and her Claws Out crew, there’s no safer space for discussing mental health than onstage, and they have the albums to prove it.

Monna (center): “I’ve noticed that people get taken aback when they hear that I pay people and that we’re a for-profit business. Creating safe spaces isn’t charity work.”

Courtesy Eventbrite.com

MUSIC

Just Listen and Play

Improvisational jazz collective Rage Out Arkestra releases a second album made the only way they know how: live and in the moment.

BY PATRICK HIGGINS

Improvisation has been at the core of jazz since it sprang out of the heart of the Mississippi Delta nearly 100 years ago. From the Tin Pan Alley arrangements made famous by Louis Armstrong to the modal freestyle

of John Coltrane and Miles Davis (pushed even further by the avant-garde free jazz of Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor), extemporaneous playing has been the ever-pumping heart of the genre. Though decades removed from free jazz’s experimental peak, there are still players who continue the tradition of performing “non-written” music.

Fort Worth is home to one such group. On Friday, the improvisational fusion collective Rage Out Arkestra will release Rage Out Arkestra II, their second album, this one documenting their celebrated set last April at the now-defunct Near Southside venue MASS. Despite taking the listener on a two-hour journey of myriad melodic themes and twisting, frolicking dynamics, this set — like every other one — was wholly improvised, not a single note or drum strike predetermined.

The group “has never even had a single rehearsal,” beamed Eddie Dunlap, Rage Out’s drummer and bandleader with more than a hint of pride in his voice. “Not one.”

The word “Arkestra” is an obvious nod to the Sun Ra Arkestra, the collective led by the legendary Sun Ra and a vital source of inspiration for Rage Out. Fort Worth’s Arkestra consists of a revolving cast of some of North Texas’ top instrumentalists. Along with Dunlap, at any given time, the band includes fellow percussionists Parker Anderson and Die Samudio, keyboardist Joe Rogers, guitarist Darren Kobetich, bassist Canyon Kafer, and a selection of wind instrumentalists like Jerry Smith, Dave Williams, and Chris White. All of them have

Like its predecessor, Rage Out Arkestra II was recorded live and is all improv.

Artwork by Ben Hance

continued on page 27

been featured players in many different local music scenes for decades and collectively add to the compelling musical melting pot that is the Arkestra.

“We don’t play that often,” Dunlap said, “but when we do, it tends to take on a different form and shape each time, even with the same players. We don’t really expound on what we’ve played before. As it evolves, things change all the time. The players are constantly playing outside of this endeavor, and when they come back to this format, they bring whatever it is they do [outside] back with them.”

Since Dunlap organized the group nearly nine years ago, the players have convened just a handful of times a year to perform thrilling, psyched-out sets of their signature unpredictable fusion. Their shows are among the most anticipated and talked about in town.

“It just comes from friends and [a lot of] experience,” Dunlap said. “The goal is to have a really comfortable setting where we’re able to listen to each other and make things happen spontaneously. The biggest challenge is just to be able to reel it all in, for everybody to realize that listening is the key to really develop something — a real idea — that can happen [in the moment]. To be so

bold, it’s a bit like that simple Miles Davis adage of ‘Just listen and play.’ ”

To capture the raging, producer/engineer and popular folk singer-songwriter Clint Niosi — along with help from MASS’s former resident live sound engineer, Mark Randall — brought in some high-quality microphones and then pulled the audio directly from the house board. Niosi then mixed and mastered the spontaneous arrangements (named simply “Phases I-VII” on the album’s track listings) at his local studio, Orange Otter Audio.

Dunlap, in pure player fashion, confesses that he had little to do with the technical aspects of capturing the Arkestra’s performance.

“Nah, I don’t really know anything about all that,” he said. “I’m just trying to play the drums, man.”

To mark the release of Rage Out Arkestra II, the group will be making one of their infrequent appearances Friday at Lola’s Fort Worth. The evening will also include a celebration of a new album by local art-rock singer-songwriter Daniel Katsük. l

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“Just listen and play” is how bandleader Eddie Dunlap sums up Rage Out Arkestra’s simple philosophy.

Chris Emory

Rage Out Arkestra and Daniel Katsük Double Album Release Show

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