Joshua Tree Voice - January 2024

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ABOUT THE COVER

The photo of Mickey Thomas and his bandmate, Cian Coey, was taken by the amazing Joe Schaeffer. Mickey Thomas has anthemed songs that have remained relevant for decades and are time stamps for our lives.

Most of you will have heard his hits, “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” with Elvin Bishop and “We Built This City” with Starship. There are so many others. But Thomas is more than a voice. In all my years of writing and interviewing, I have never known a more down-to-earth, gracious legend. I’ve reached out to him several times since I first interviewed him in 2015, asking if he’d participate in charity events. He has always said yes if he wasn’t already booked. Thomas and his family are also desert residents and business owners, invested in health, community, and local animal charities. It’s a great honor to have him as our cover story. If only the cover came with sound! He and his stellar band will be at Fantasy Springs Casino Resort in Indio on Saturday, January 20th with fellow classic rock legends, Foghat. As fantastic as Thomas’ voice is recorded, it is one of those voices you must hear LIVE AND IN PERSON to truly grasp how special it is. See you at the rock show, “Knee Deep in the Hoopla”!

FEATURE WRITERS Lisa Lynn Morgan Philip Bonafede Jennifer Lewis ADITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS Eric Simpson (Big Scenic Nowhere) Ridge Ben Ben (Surf’s Up PS) Dakota Mullins (Surf’s Up PS) Aaron Checkwoood (Surf’s Up PS) Paolo Baraldi (King of the Hammers) Kathy Burrett (King of the Hammers) Ernesto Araiza (King of the Hammers) Jay Carroll (Sunny Atema) Carly Foulkes (Sunny Atema) Paul Moeller (Backgrounds) Matthew Hall (Backgrounds) Alexandra Hicks (Rattlesnake Season & Hibernation) Joe Schaeffer (Cover Photo)

A Note from the Publisher

Happy New Year Joshua Tree Voice family! In my attempt to consider new goals and resolutions, I came across this quote from CS Lewis: “Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”

My first thought was, “Yep, reading my list of past resolutions would indeed be like reading a fairy tale.”

But a tiny bell went off in my heart as I remembered childhood days of reading Hans Christian Anderson and others… there was a lot of childlike fun and joy in that (sometimes a little bit of horror – “The Red Shoes” for example). I’d really like to set a new year’s resolution to recapture some of that childlike joy again, minus the horror, of course. So, to all of us (please hold an imaginary glass in the air with me), may our inner child find nourishment and a safe place to play, even while we are busy trying to be better adults.

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MICKEY THOMAS The Timeless Voice Behind Unforgettable Songs

By Lisa Lynn Morgan all the tracks at the studio for the album (Struttin’ My Stuff) and were packing up to leave,” Thomas recalled.

“But the producer had the feeling that the record wasn’t quite finished – it needed something more.

Bishop’s song, ‘Fooled around and Fell in Love’ was suggested. Bishop tried laying down the vocal track, but his voice wasn’t really working for it. When they suggested that I sing lead on the song, I jumped at the opportunity. I had a really good feeling about that song.” His distinctive voice quickly gained attention, and the Elvin Bishop band achieved commercial success with the hit single.

In the vast realm of American rock and roll, certain voices stand out like few others, and they have that one song that implants itself so deeply in your psyche, that you immediately erupt into a full voiced, fist in the air, sing along whenever you hear it. One of those voices, for me and millions of others, is Mickey Thomas and Starship. The song – “We Built This City.”

I remember exactly where I was when those powerful anthem vocals poured through my car radio in August of 1985. I was driving from Claremont, California, a suburb in Los Angeles County, on my way to what would be my last prenatal doctor appointment before my daughter was born. Driving in my high-top, LA Gear sneakers and scrunchie socks, 19-year-old “knee deep in the hoopla” me felt a fire light up in me when those Grace Slick-Mickey Thomas harmonies rang out: “We built this city… we built this city on rock and roll.” I didn’t even know who “Marconi on the trombone” was, but I suddenly wanted to learn. I felt empowered and in awe of the music that could move me like that.

I wasn’t alone.

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Mickey Thomas’s journey to Starship (formerly known as Jefferson Starship) and the multi-platinum record, Knee Deep in the Hoopla, was the result of a sequence of key events. The phone call he received likely would never have happened if it hadn’t been for Rock and Roll and Blues Hall of Famer, Elvin Bishop and his song, “Fooled Around and Fell in Love.”

Thomas joined Bishop’s band in the 1970s as a lead and backing vocalist. “We had just finished laying down

Thomas’s career reached new heights when he got the call to join Jefferson Starship, a transition that would prove to be a defining moment in his musical trajectory. Thomas officially joined the band in 1979.

The 1980s brought a transformation for Jefferson Starship, leading to a change in the band’s name to simply “Starship.” Under this new moniker and change in musical direction, Mickey Thomas and the band achieved massive commercial success with chart-

topping hits, the most iconic among them, “We Built This City.” The song became a cultural phenomenon and remains a staple of ‘80s rock nostalgia. “My favorite part of every show is seeing the crowd’s reaction to ‘We Built This City,’” Thomas shared. The next single released a few months later was “Sara,” a ballad that captured Thomas’s ability to connect emotionally through his singing. The next release, “Jane,” proved to be a song that showcased Thomas as a very capable front man.

Mickey Thomas’s contribution to the world of rock music goes beyond his impressive vocal abilities that seem strangely unaffected by time or age. His stage presence and charisma have made him a beloved figure among fans. His collaborations with other musicians and his flexible adaptability have allowed him to remain a relevant force throughout the decades, despite the many changes that came with them.

The music and Thomas’s signature voice have proven to be phenomenal additions to movie soundtracks over the years. “My favorite placement of ‘Fooled Around and Fell in Love,’ was the bar scene in the movie ‘Family Stone,’ (a film featuring Diane Keaton, Sara Jesicca Parker, Dermot Mulroney, and Luke Wilson).” Thomas shared. “It was just a great scene and the perfect place for the song.” Thomas’s son might feel differently.

While at the movie theater with friends, watching the 2014 block buster hit, “Guardians of the Galaxy,” the song “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” played during a scene where Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) introduces music for the first time to his crush, Gamora (Zoey Saldana), Thomas’ son said to his friends, “Hey, that’s my dad!”

His son’s friends were sufficiently impressed. Neither Mickey nor his son were aware of the placement since that is usually handled by the writers, but it was a great surprise. “I love that the music is connecting to younger generations,” the elder Thomas shared.

While Thomas’s contributions to timeless, iconic hits have secured his place in the pantheon of great rock vocalists, he still loves performing and continues to tour regularly. When he’s not touring, Thomas calls the desert home, and is deeply invested in his community.

He and his wife own “Bowl of Heaven,” at The Village University Park on 36891 Cook Street, next to Roc’s Firehouse Grille. “My wife and I were at the beach and had the best smoothie we’ve ever had, so we were inspired.” Thomas’ wife has tastefully added some of his Gold/Platinum records and rock memorabilia to the walls, adding to the reasons to drop in for a healthy treat.

My first direct contact with Mickey Thomas was in 2015 when I interviewed him on behalf of Coachella Valley Weekly. He was hoping to record a Christmas album. This past December, he was finally able to make progress on that goal. Thomas released two songs that are the start to an album he hopes to complete by next Christmas (2024) – “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” are now available on most streaming services. “I really wanted to capture the feel of Bing Crosby and Judy Garland in these recordings,” Thomas explained. His love for the traditional songs and those early songwriters and performances is evident in his delivery.

It was also clear during our earliest conversations that Thomas is deeply interested in finding ways to connect and contribute to his community. Since then, Thomas has appeared on behalf of YMCA of the Desert’s Charity Golf Tournament twice, appeared as a judge for a charity song writing contest, and is a proud supporter of Animal Samaritans alongside his wife, Rachel. There are few artists of Thomas’s stature who leave such an openly gracious, kind, and giving footprint.

Thomas’s next tour launches from Fantasy Springs Casino Resort January 20, 2024, where Starship will share the stage with Platinum Record recording artists, Fog Hat – pretty much a classic rock enthusiast’s dream lineup.

The tour will take him on to Puerto Rico, Massachusetts, and Florida before ending in April. This is the ONLY CALIFORNIA SHOW scheduled, so be sure not to miss it. Tickets start at $49 and are available at https://www. fantasyspringsresort.com/starship-foghat/.

As we continue to enjoy the timeless melodies and unforgettable performances, it’s clear that Mickey Thomas’s voice will forever be part of the American Song Book, echoing through the corridors of rock music history and woven into the stories of our lives. This show promises to be a Starship through time, and an opportunity to remember and honor the contributions of an artist who is one of our desert’s own.

Starship Featuring Mickey Thomas will be backed by elite band members, most of whom have been with Thomas longer than any other ensemble he’s been in: Jeff Adams - bass; John Roth, -guitar; Phil Bennett -keyboards; Darrell Verdusco - drums; and power vocalist, Cian Coey, will join him. “I love that we’re launching this tour from my own back yard,” Thomas shared warmly.

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Band photo: Leslie Campbell Photography

The Third Mind Announce First U.S. Tour Pappy + Harriet’s, February 1, 2024 – Door: 8 PM (Indoors) All-Star Line-Up Includes Dave Alvin, Jesse Sykes, Victor Krummenacher, Michael Jerome, and Guest Guitarist Mark Karan The Third Mind, the improvisational music collective dedicated to experimenting with new, unorthodox, and unrehearsed sounds while paying tribute to groundbreaking artists like Michael Bloomfield and Fred Neil, announce their first U.S. tour in support of their recently released critically acclaimed sophomore album, The Third Mind 2.

The “Californian Psychedelic Rockers” (Doom Charts) will kick off the 10-date West Coast run January 11 in Portland, OR, at Mississippi Studios with the first leg of their first U.S. tour culminating at the Ventura Music Hall in Ventura, CA on February 3. Rain Parade, one of the foundational bands in LA’s Paisley Underground scene, will open the West Coast run. A complete list of dates is below.

Featured in festival previews as a must-see from the San Francisco Chronicle to CBS News, The Third Mind made their live debut performance at the 2023 Hardly

Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco’s legendary Golden Gate Park. Combining folk-rock, blues, jazz, post-punk, and freeform psychedelia with dark, moody yet hopeful and beautiful sonic landscapes, the “neo-psychedelic” (Press Democrat) band used their decades of experience as bandleaders and sidepersons, playing both traditional and non-traditional music to mesmerize a crowd estimated at 4,000.

Created, produced, and directed by Victor Krummenacher, today, the band shared the official video for “Sally Go Round The Roses,” which incorporates footage from the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass live performance debut. Of the video, Dave Alvin notes, “I love how Jesse’s vocal captures the plaintive, heart wrenching warnings of the lyrics while the band’s performance captures the collage of wild emotions hidden in those simple yet powerful lyrics.” Added Mark Karan (Rat Dog), “When we hit the stage live at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, I felt like I’d come home. I’m excited to be playing in The Third Mind’s live/touring line-up.”

The brainchild of GRAMMY award-winning guitarist Dave Alvin and veteran alternative music bassist Victor Krummenacher (Camper Van Beethoven, Monks of Doom, Eyelids), The Third Mind’s recordings also feature guitarist David Immerglück (Counting Crows, Monks of Doom, Camper Van Beethoven), drummer Michael Jerome (Richard Thompson, Better Than Ezra, John Cale) and vocalist Jesse Sykes from her critically acclaimed group, Jesse Sykes and The Sweeter Hereafter. The Third Mind will present their live psychedelic improv debut performances with the addition of guest guitarist Mark Karan (Bob Weir’s Ratdog, Phil Lesh, Delaney Bramlett).

Praise for The Third Mind 2 – “Dim the lights, fire up the incense, relax your mind, and let fly.” –American Songwriter (41/2 out of 5 stars)

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Cowboys and Close Encounters Snake Jagger has been drawing and painting since he was six years of age. A self-taught artist, Jagger has developed his own unique style of portraying the desert landscape. His early influences include such masters as Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Hart Benton, and modern influences such as Peter Max, Noble “

While his works depict manicured, pristine lines, and landscapes, there is always something added to the juxtaposition of the beautiful but potentially predictable or “normal” scene. This touch adds an even deeper sense of fantasy, stimulating the mind into developing its own narrative. His works beckon you to step into them and become part of its signature pallet of imaginative color.

His work has been widely exhibited throughout the U.S. and Europe, including shows in England, he has displayed his art in the Sausalito Art Festival, La Quinta Arts Festival, Indian Wells Art Festival, Catalina Festival of Art, the Glass Outhouse in Twentynine Palms, Images Gallery in Palm Springs, and various other art festivals around California, as well as the Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours in the Morongo Basin. In 2022, Jagger was nominated by his peers and voted by the public as 2022’s Outstanding Two-Dimensional Artist at The Joshuas Honors Gala.

Your adventure awaits with Jaggers work on display at Spaghetti Western in Morongo Valley through February 2024.

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with Award Winning

“I refer to my style of painting as ‘whimsical surrealism,” Jagger will tell you. “I work with acrylic paint on canvases, but some of my images are produced using mixed mediums. My goal is to elicit smiles and good feelings from the viewer. “My message is we are the stewards of our planet, and we should take care of it. Thus, my manicured desert landscapes depict a clean, and well taken care of environment. Something we should all be thinking about.”

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Photo credit: Josh Kizziar joshkizziarphotography.com

My Grandmother’s Hands Mix Spread Wrap Steam Follow the smell of her memories Follow the smell of her Aztec genes Cracking the walnuts one by one— easier said than done The lines on her hands— highways to her heart Lost in translation— pathways torn apart Pineapple juice drying on her skin As the recipe stains her spirit— stains her next of kin Wrinkled are her dreams— coiled in her hand Soft are her memories— callous is the land The raisins once shriveled— pumped back with new life Now imprison their juices— like the tears of this housewife The star anise guides her tongue Her ageless palate— forever young Bound by love— what her heart understands A sweet Christmas tamale— from my Grandmother’s hands

y tr e o P rner Co

Angelus is a poet living on the outskirts of Joshua Tree National Park. She felt called to move to the desert upon her first visit in 2018. Her poetry explores the ethereal nature of the soul and its exquisite capacity to love.

She is currently working on her debut collection of poetry, Notes2TheSelf.

You can find her on Instagram @Notes2theself.

To have your poetry published in our Poetry Corner, submit your piece (300 words max). If you like (please know, it’s not mandatory), include a short three-line bio introducing yourself, a photo of your inspiration, and/or a photo of yourself along with your composition to PoetryCorner@ JoshuaTreeVoice.com Please understand that submitting does not guarantee publication.

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Escape to the Extraordinary: Your Ultimate Desert Oasis Awaits . . . Book Now!

In the summer of 1964, Evelyn Conklin responded to a newspaper ad requesting recreation ideas for the Yucca Valley Parks and Recreation Department. Having previously established the Trailside Nature Museum in Los Angeles with her father, Percy “Slim” Conklin, Evelyn responded with an idea for a local nature museum.

Hence, the Hi-Desert Nature Museum was born. The Hi-Desert Nature Museum opened the doors to its 800 square foot building at Jacobs Park in October 1964, with its official grand opening occurring on January 21, 1965. As a naturalist and extensive traveler, Evelyn started the museum with many of her own collections.

After nine years, the museum expanded and moved into its current location at the Yucca Valley Community Center complex. The museum collection has grown over the years with many donations coming from local community members.

From its inception, visitors would come to the Hi-Desert Nature Museum to identify and research local flora and fauna, including wildflowers, insects, and reptiles. Ms. Conklin also established many aspects of the museum

which are still in place today, including the live animal mini-zoo, fluorescent geology display room, and a rotating local artist showcase. Evelyn was curator of the museum for twenty-eight years. The museum has been shaped over the years by the museum supervisors, with Mrs. Celeste Hilderbrand stepping into the current supervisor role in August of 2023.

The Hi-Desert Nature Museum continues to be an educational staple for residents and visitors to the Morongo Basin. The museums maintains a rotating exhibit space that highlights themes of nature, art, or culture as well as a permanent local natural history room with displays of geology, fossils, insects, and animal taxidermy. For those interested in local culture, there is a collaborative exhibit done with the Malki Museum as well as information on homesteading and mining in the high desert. Children of all ages are also welcome to explore the “Kids Corner,” which replicates an old pioneer schoolhouse filled educational reading materials and activities encouraging imaginative play.

(Article Courtesy of the Hi-Desert Nature Museum)

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EASY KEEPER

Photo: Kelly Segre

New Album from the Award-Winning Instrumental Duo,

Sister John Angela

By Lisa Lynn Morgan Easy Keeper, the latest album release from 2023 Joshuas Honorees, Sister John Angela, plays like a cinematic back drop for anyone who has ever stepped onto their stoop and stared at the otherworldly beauty of our desert vistas. The duo: Janie Cowan, on upright bass - bow in hand, pedals underfoot - and “Smitty from St. Lou” on steel guitar – have forged an idiosyncratic musical relationship that is producing symphonic Delta Blues sound beds laced with Dixieland Jazz that magically capture the spirit of desert folk rock.

Their individual backgrounds are as different as their approach to the music yet, as is said of many great collaborations, the whole of Sister John Angela is greater than the sum of their parts.

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Smitty grew up in the 60s and 70s. “Music was very stimulating then,” Smitty explains. “I hung around with some musicians, and I fumbled with an acoustic guitar, but there were no aspirations. In my mid-20s, I got to listening to blues on New York radio stations and ultimately took blues lessons from various well knowns. I got hooked on Mississippi Fred McDowell, Muddy Waters, and Lightning Hopkins. Although I learned to imitate to a degree, I knew that’s not what I wanted to become. I had an opportunity to compose for HBO and Cinemax for a good run of years later which enabled me to compose some very interesting music. I believe if it weren’t for that opportunity, I would not be composing the music I write today. After

getting a handle on blues music, I listened to Tom since his first record. A lot of compositions written for cable and to this day were influenced by Tom.” With an incredible resume under his belt, Smitty says that the highlight of his music career is “what Janie and I are doing right now.” Smitty is constantly creating and challenging himself, producing daily.

Janie Cowan has been playing music from the tender age of five when her parents had her take Suzuki piano lessons. “The Suzuki method is a lovely approach that develops your ear first,” Cowen explains. “You listen to a tape every night (maybe the kids do this on Spotify

now…) of the songs you are learning, and it helps you understand how to play what you hear.” Things changed for Cowen in 6th grade. “Once I started playing bass in the school orchestra, the piano was dead to me, and I was pursuing any and all educational opportunities I could find.”

Cowan eventually won a scholarship to study at Oberlin Music Conservatory.

“I let music and bands dictate my life choices from there on,” she admits. “I’ve always loved how bass fits in the widest diversity of musical settings and has an epic, not yet fully discovered, range of sound possibility.”

Cowan has been able to tour from Mexico to Bulgaria, and much of what’s between, playing with music legends.

“For the past 6 or 7 years, I’ve been particularly obsessed with Balkan music.

To me, music has been the golden ticket to a cultural understanding and compassion that I don’t think I could have been exposed to otherwise. With global tensions so high, I like to meditate on the miracle of connectedness that music brings. I couldn’t begin to describe it- I’d much rather try to improvise about it!”

The improvisation and experimentation that Cowen brings to the structure that Smitty lays down on guitar is what makes Sister John Angela not only unique, but makes their music a living, breathing thing. Even in the studio, there will never be more than two takes. For Cowan, a song tends to lose something with too many attempts to capture it. She thrives on the spontaneity eloquently explaining, “The best things that have happened to me, I never saw coming.”

Photo: Maura Sullivan

Since living in the desert, Cowan has adopted two rescue donkeys. “They are my main source of joy these days,” Cowan shared. “They also supply the main ingredient in my greenhouse!”

Photo: Pola Esther

You can find the duo every Friday from 8-10 pm at Giant Rock Meeting Room in Landers. “Our residency has been going on there every Friday for over two years,” Cowan shares. “Having that residency has been the most supportive key factor in our musical development, and we are incredibly grateful to Linus (owner) for not only creating such a wonderful venue and supporting us, but also genuinely believing in us and loving what we do. I think as much as Linus loves pizza and entrepreneurship, he loves music even more.

Both of us have been inspired by the long-lasting residencies of some of our heroes and friends; Smitty and I first bonded over our love of Smokey Hormel who has been doing a Wednesday residency, “Smokey’s Round Up”, at Sunny’s Bar in Red Hook Brooklyn for over 15 years. Our mutual friends started the Sunday Band at Pappy and Harriet’s. We hope our residency will reach that kind of legendary status.”

The duo hopes to do a vinyl release of Easy Keeper at Giant Rock Meeting Room in March.

The name, “Sister John Angela,” came about as Cowan and Smitty sat outside of Pappy and Harriets with friends. For some reason, we were talking about Catholicism, and I mentioned I have an aunt who is a nun. Growing up, she would always come to family gatherings wearing the stiff habit, and she would always bring her best friend, Sister John Angela. I recall watching them both “rolling bones” (dice), gambling with the men in the basement. I mentioned that name and the rest is history.”

Sister John Angela was nominated by their peers and then voted by the public as the Outstanding Instrumental Artist/Group celebrated at the 2023 Joshuas Honors Gala. There are many towns and cities that claim fame as a music scene, and rightly so. But few are as supportive of the experimental and diverse creativity that colors outside the lines and has the potential to generate something new. Even fewer are the venues that provide the necessary supportive platforms. Joshua Tree and her gateway communities have long celebrated the unique creative energy that vibrates from its vortex. With our continued support of these artists and the venues that provide stages for them, more gems like Sister John Angela, will find their way into the world’s hearts and music streams and the “golden ticket to cultural understanding and compassion,” that Cowen has found through music.

Sister John Angela will be celebrating the release of Easy Keeper at Pappy and Harriet’s January 28, 2024 at 7:30 pm on the indoor stage. Tickets are available at https://pappyandharriets.com/live-music/ (or scan the bar code).

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Sunny Atema Interweaving Art, Music, and Healing into the High Desert

By Jennifer Lewis Photo: Jay Carroll

Video still: from “Fox” Directed by Atema

Sunny Atema’s creative work touches almost every corner of the high desert. From her musical project, Wildlife Freeway, her abstract paintings, her yoga classes at Cedar and Sage in Yucca Valley, to giving Animal Medicine Card readings at Time Echo Vintage on Saturdays at The Farmer’s Market, her contributions enrich the lives of tourists and locals alike. An interaction with Sunny leaves a lasting impression beyond the exhibition or performance.

Often accompanied by her 3 ⁄ 4-sized upright piano, Wildlife Freeway has been performed at intimate gatherings like Palo Xanto’s Homestead Sessions and for larger audiences like The Joshua Tree Music Festival. Her music is strange and beautiful. It pushes the boundaries of traditional song structure with unpredictable turns and unusual melodies. Her earnest lyrics lilt over dynamic piano and two-chord guitar songs, delivering an emotional resonance that leaves listeners teary-eyed. In February 2020, she debuted her first album, “Sunny,” produced by Alex Elbert, and she directed several of her own cinematic music videos which can be found on YouTube.

Sunny’s intricate paintings have been exhibited everywhere from local stores like Milk Thistle in Yucca Valley to The Glass Outhouse Gallery in Wonder Valley. In June 2022, I met Sunny at the opening of DESTINATION, her 90-painting exhibition at Super X Gallery in Pioneertown. I was mesmerized by her extensive body of work, the sheer magnitude of quality output across multiple mediums, and her ability to pull the audience into the present moment with her.

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JTV: “How do you use your art and music to encourage people to break free from distractions and connect with what’s in front of them?”

JTV: “You moved from New York to Joshua Tree eight years ago. What inspires you about living in the desert?”

creation, with a particular fervor. Living alongside them in the wide desert is so comforting to me. We see each other a few times a year because we are manic maker recluses, popping out for sharing and shows. Peeping the magic around me is like fuel and comfort. Because it’s not easy! Lord knows, truly making a living by your art and craft is hard to swing. I live by a ton of little mottos that are like footholds for my consciousness, and the one my yoga students hear from me a lot is, ‘Discipline is freedom.’ It sounds harsh and maybe it is, but the artists and seekers I love embody that notion. I love being able to count on myself to show up. To sit at the piano bench day-after-ever-loving-day, to set up the studio, mix the paint, roll out the mat, and type it out.”

Atema: “One of the reasons I love the desert and our people here—there are many like me—who burn with

“Another thing I really love about the Joshua Tree scene is that it’s not about what kind of music you

Atema: “What I want to share in each painting piece and musical performance is an invitation to wake up from some outdated performance placed on us in childhood or anytime, that we never stopped inhabiting out of fear, ignorance, or laziness. To wake up and realize the ‘destination’ is in the ever-passing presence of the moment.”

Photo: Carly Foulkes

play. It’s the only place that I know that is not a genre specific music scene. You can go out and experience three different types of music on the same bill. There’s nothing like that!”

JTV: “You are quite accomplished on the piano. You have your own unique style. Are you self-taught?

Atema: “Yes! I say that I played piano before I walked.

I’m so grateful that my mom and dad each had pianos and that I could play almost anytime. I took Suzuki cello for years and played only by ear, when they wanted me to read notes, I pretended to, but I kept playing by ear.”

JTV: “I’ve noticed that even when a venue has a piano, you’d rather bring in your own. Can you talk about the connection you have with your piano and the trust that you have in the community to help you lovingly transport it in and out of the venue.”

Atema: “I get that question all the time; ‘How do you move it?’ I always say, ‘With help!’ I truly wish I had a little video or picture of everyone who has ever helped me move Piano. What a beautiful movie it would be.

So many generous souls lending me a hand. If you have

ever helped me move Piano, thank you again, you are definitely going to heaven.”

JTV: “I also remember a time at Giant Rock Meeting Room when you improvised a song on the spot. That’s when I realized how gifted you were with making up melodies. When you are creating music, what comes first? The melody? The composition? The lyrics? Do you write on the piano?”

Atema: “I’m not sure, how, really. I am made of songs.

I can write and compose a song right now at this moment. I sometimes think of all the songs that don’t get born because I’m just not singing. Or of the piano composition conversations that are hovering in the air waiting for me to sit at the bench and give them life.”

“I am made of music (in the form of sounds and color).

I believe Yoda when he says, ‘There is no try, only do.’

Likewise, I say there is no practice, only presence.

Presence day after day looks like practice. I am a strange musician, and there was a chapter on my early path when I was coming out of the musical closet in San Francisco. At the time, I believed only in singing songs created at that moment because no other time exists.”

“Why sing songs about the past, written in the past, when the present moment is the only place we reside, a place so splendiferous and magical that to not sing about the actual present seemed to ignore what was all around us? Why trade it for a projection of the past?”

“So, as a formerly shy painter and secret musician, I would step out to face my fears. I would literally get up on stage at crowded open mics and freestyle whatever came to me with a borrowed guitar. Eventually, I made peace with recreating moments into songs, and now I love getting into the minutia of composing. All the patterns we create don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time. We can use each note or chord like the tool it is, and get skilled with the tools. But without jazz, without that spontaneity and unpredictability injected into parts of the song, its bland potatoes - sounds but not music. Music is a bridge that brings you somewhere.”

Discover more about the artist’s past and upcoming art projects on Instagram @wildlifefreeway.

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business? Food and water. After their strength has been renewed the males begin searching for a mate. During April and May, you can encounter the larger male rattlesnakes out looking for love and you may even see two males locked in battle, upright like cobras, intertwined and shoving one another until one gives up. Some people mistake this as mating.

SUMMER BEHAVIOR Once our temperatures exceed 100 by day, Rattlesnakes become nocturnal. During the day they remain in a cool rocky area, a rodent hole, or your concrete patio next to a water bowl or faucet until just before dark when they stake out an ambush location for a rodent. If you have rodent droppings around your home, you are inviting rattlesnakes to come dine there.

Philip Bonafede has handled rattlesnakes since 1966. Relocated them locally since 1998 & teaches the local K9 Rattlesnake Aversion class. text 760-401-4488 or bdesert@earthlink.net

Philip Bonafede’s pet Mojave Rattlesnake, “Hollywood” Photo by Alexandra Hicks

RATTLESNAKE SEASON & HIBERNATION

By Philip Bonafede Rattlesnakes usually begin their hibernation period in mid-November, depending on the temperatures and other weather conditions. Rattlesnakes are cold blooded (exothermic) and require external heat sources for optimal mobility. Geography plays a big role as to when they sleep and when they are awake.

WHY DO THEY HIBERNATE? Rattlesnakes need to conserve energy and body fat to survive colder weather by slowing their metabolism. Since their bodies are no longer as efficient in colder weather, this slumber is a logical part of their evolution, over the past 12 million years.

RATTLESNAKE DENS Most rattlesnakes prefer to use the same den year after year once they have established a home range. The winter den provides safety from the elements and predators. Pack rat nests provide adequate shelter and can exceed 1000 years in age. Rattlesnakes eat rats yet refrain from them in a pack rat nest and form a symbiotic relationship.

ARE THEY REALLY ASLEEP? Rattlesnakes are completely aware of their

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surroundings yet prefer not to waste energy.

Some snakes may react, yet the majority do not.

They may move about to relieve themselves, get a drink if water is available or move to a rodent trail for a winter meal. Hibernation is not absolute.

WINTER ENCOUNTERS If you find a sleeping rattlesnake, please do the intelligent thing and contact one of us to properly remove it. Relocating a rattlesnake in the cold winter months requires a special knowledge of the needs of the snake!

SMART TOOLS FOR YOUR HOME I highly recommend everyone invest in handling tools like 40-inch snake hooks and tongs to reach where you cannot see. (tongs.com) The Dot Reacher available on eBay, is a perfect all purpose, 40 inch, pick up tool, useful for picking up snakes, scorpions, black widows, sun spiders and pretty much any creepy crawly that ventures into your home! (I have one in every room!)

SPRING RATTLESNAKE SEASON This date fluctuates from year to year by a few days yet sometime in late March the rattlesnakes wake up from their winter nap. First order of

LATE SUMMER FALL MATING Baby rattlesnakes are born live August-October.

After this a fall mating season begins. They have two mating seasons. I have seen them mating well into the early part of November when the temperatures are still near 80.

BENEFITS OF RATTLESNAKES Rattlesnakes consume rodents. Rodents contribute to tens of thousands of dollars in destroyed vehicle wires, home electric wires possibly leading to a fire, garden damage and destruction, diseases including Lyme disease, plague & rabies.

Rattlesnakes also help spread native plant seeds by occasionally eating birds or rodents which consumed indigenous desert plant seeds.

IF YOU SEE A RATTLESNAKE? Leave it alone! Maintain eye contact from a safe distance and call one of our rattlesnake handlers if you desire it relocated. If you’re hiking, then quietly walk around the snake!

INVEST IN EDUCATION Have your dogs trained in rattlesnake aversion.

Teach your children the difference between venomous and non-venomous reptiles. Education replaces fear with understanding and makes you, your family, pets, and your community safer.

It will also save you a lot of money in vet bills or a painful hospital visit for a bite. Rattlesnake vaccines for dogs are not recommended by the AAHA and the NSS. REMEMBER! ‘Always look where you are placing your hands and feet.’ Even in the winter!

Put this evening event on your calendar!

Join Big Morongo Canyon Preserve at Spaghetti Western restaurant (across the highway from the Preserve) in Morongo Valley on Sunday, January 7. Spaghettie Western owners, Lorenzo and Jasmine, have provided a beautiful space for this fundraising event which includes a signature cocktail, raffles, activities, and volunteer information. Bring a friend for a fun evening in support of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve! If you can’t make it to the event, you can support us with a donation through our website: www.bigmorongo.org or scan the QR Code below.

T H E S A I N T B O N I FAC E BOUTIQUE HOTEL

44925 OASIS STREET INDIO, CA 92201 T H E S A I N T B O N I FAC E .C O M 800.544.0300

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in PALM SPRINGS

Main photo: Dakota Mullins

Circular photo: Ridge Benben

The Palm Springs Surf Club (PSSC) prepares to officially open its doors to the public on January 1, 2024, ushering in a new class of entertainment and hospitality. The groundbreaking development is set to introduce world-class surfing to Southern California’s most frequented and unexpected destination - the desert.

PSSC guests will experience the perfect engineered wave ranging from two to seven feet in a state-of-theart wave pool. In addition to surfing, guests will enjoy world-class dining venues, waterslides, lounge pools, a lazy river, indoor/outdoor event venues, and a social club with bottle service and a complete viewing deck.

In 2018, Cheyne Magnusson, the original wave curator in Waco, Texas, and Kalani Robb, a surf icon, got together and partnered with James Dunlop to build a next-generation wave prototype in the original Wet ‘N’ Wild waterpark in Palm Springs, California. In 2019, the test pool was successfully brought to life, prompting an invitation to investor and tech executive Vinny Smith to experience the wave.

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community. Much appreciation goes out to the hundreds of people who worked on the site over the past couple of years. This team took a dilapidated park that was built in the late 1970s and created what you see today.

To make things even more challenging, Cheyne, Tim and Colin drove this effort during the COVID years, an extremely difficult time to complete such a huge project,” said Vinny Smith.

Smith brought in hotel developers Tim and Colin O’Byrne to help create the incredible destination it is today. Cheyne’s previous experience of operating the surf experience at the pool in Waco was also pivotal in creating the park.

“Opening The Palm Springs Surf Club marks the realization of a dream that was once unimaginable - catching waves in the desert. We have assembled a passionate team to create an extraordinary space that will provide world-class entertainment and bring together people from within and beyond the surf

Tim O’Byrne, developer of The Palm Springs Surf Club, expressed his enthusiasm: “We’re thrilled to bring this unique desert surf experience to life. Whether you’re an avid surfer, a beginner, or someone who simply loves to watch this spectacular sport, The Palm Springs Surf Club has something for everyone.

Surfing is a mesmerizing sport to watch, and at PSSC, the experience of observing surfers ride world-class waves against the stunning backdrop of the Palm Springs Mountains is unparalleled. We’ve invested over $80 million to turn this park into a top-tier entertainment destination.”

Situated just a short drive from Los Angeles and minutes away from downtown Palm Springs, PSSC spans 21 acres and combines the finest features of resort and leisure attractions, creating a vibrant communitybased destination centered around surfing and the beach lifestyle. While the motto emphasizes that surfing can be for everyone, non-surfers are also catered to with a range of additional attractions and offerings. Enhancing the visitor experience, large LED displays are strategically placed throughout the club, capturing, and projecting the dynamic surf action, allowing guests to immerse themselves in the excitement.

Top photo: Aaron Checkwood

PSSC is redefining the surf pool landscape with its advanced pneumatic wave technology, pioneered by industry veteran Tom Lochtefeld, the founder of Surfloch Wave Systems. This innovative technology offers on-demand, customizable waves designed by expert surfers to cater to varying skill levels, ensuring a memorable surfing experience for all. Accommodating up to 25 surfers simultaneously, the park’s waves are not only pre-programmed for individual preferences but are also a testament to sustainable practices.

PSSC stands out for using just 1% of the water volume required by a typical golf course while generating over 70% of its energy resources in-house.

Though crowds will come out to surf and watch the waves, guests visiting the facility (ADA-accessible) will also have access to a lazy river, waterslide attractions (opening later in 2024), cabana rentals, and more.

Amala restaurant will provide sustainable eating options that will fuel a day of surfing and play. The open indoor/outdoor design is the perfect place to relax and take in the club’s desert surroundings. Three full bars with custom cocktails and beers on draft will round out the beverage offerings on-site. Guests are welcome to visit Amala for the restaurant experience and forgo the park entrance fee. Those hitting the waves or lounging poolside can also grab a quick bite at Drifter’s, the club’s second restaurant on-site. The retail store will have a curated selection of wetsuits, clothing, and accessories.

A wide selection of rental boards will be available for surf session reservations with a variety of boards available for purchase as well. Riding the wave starts at $100 for beginners (group of 12), $150 for intermediates (group of 12), and $200 for the advanced (group of 9). Winter club entry starts at just $20, and reservations can be booked NOW at https://palmspringssurfclub.com/ The Palm Springs Surf Club is located at 1500 S Gene Autry Trail, Palm Springs, CA 92264

Photo: Dakota Mullins

Photo: Dakota Mullins

About The Palm Springs Surf Club Nestled in the heart of the desert, The Palm Springs Surf Club is the first global surf destination in Southern California. Housing a state-of-the-art wave pool, the club also gives guests access to a lazy river, future waterside attractions, cabana rentals, and more. The club will feature two restaurants, Amala and Drifter’s, for all food and beverage offerings. Additional information and updates can be found at palmspringssurfclub.com.

Follow us at @thepalmspringsurfclub

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THE WAYDOWN

Supergroup, Big Scenic Nowhere, Ready to Release The Waydown, February 2024

By Lisa Lynn Morgan The musicians at the heart of Big Scenic Nowhere have been trailblazers of their individual rock scenes for decades, earning legendary stature around the globe.

They’ve each produced multiple records and have spent their lives touring a good portion of the world in their own respective ensembles, and yet the marrowdeep desire to expand creatively is hard wired. It was pre-Covid 2019 when old friends, Gary Arce (Yawning Man) and Bob Balch (Fu Manchu) met over tacos and began to push the boundaries of their collectives, creating soundscapes that are now signed to the Heavy Psych Sounds Records label.

constantly evolving sound. The lineup has included heavy hitters Alain Johannes (Chris Cornell, Them Crooked Vultures, Eleven), Tony Reed (Mos Generator, Treepeople), Bill Stinson (Yawning Man), Mario Lalli (Yawning Man, Fatso Jetson), Per Wiberg (Spiritual Beggars, Opeth), Nick Oliveri (Mondo Generator, Queens of the Stone Age, ex-Kyuss), Lisa Alley and Ian Graham (both of The Well), and Thomas V. Jäger (Monolord) - to name a few. Though it wasn’t part of their business model to be coined a “supergroup” by critics, since the multiple collaborations happened fairly organically, the title is clearly well earned.

The impressive roster of contributors who have lent their talents to the project since, is one of the defining features of Big Scenic Nowhere and not only adds layers of complexity to the music, but also ensures a

Big Scenic Nowhere’s journey has been documented by their critically acclaimed releases which include 2020’s Vision Beyond Horizon, and 2022’s EP, The Long Morrow. Their newest album release, The Waydown,

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is set to launch in early February 2024 and has the makings of well-oiled heavy machinery ready to tour.

Big Scenic Nowhere brings together a wealth of experience and wizardry, weaving a mesmerizing tapestry of sound that transcends traditional musical confines (which has always been right in their individual wheelhouses). It is something of a progressive, psychedelic, transportive, stoner-rock-space-journey.

Arce’s soaring verb-enriched guitar signatures fly like a phoenix rocketing with expansive, atmospheric instrumentals storming against the heavily anchored rhythms of drummer, Bill Stinsen, and bass man, Tony Reed. Enter Balch’s thunder laced heavy riffs, and you’ve got a tsunami of heavy sonic treasure.

Photos Courtesy of Big Scenic Nowhere - Photo Credit: Eric Simpson

I’m super proud of it,” shared Balch. “I’ve invested a lot of time, but it’s not work to me at all. Playing with this project has been rewarding because there is no shortage of inspiration.

Like icing on a metal cake, the richly layered, passion-fired titanium vocals of Tony Reed add tension, emotion, and dynamic prowess that coax the listener off a sonic high dive into a hot bubbling bath of heavy vibration. Reed also contributed delicious guitar and synth to the album.

The individual players of Big Scenic Nowhere have undoubtedly already left an indelible footprint on the psychedelic and stoner rock genre, and it would appear they’re not done yet. This project’s ability to transcend traditional boundaries and explore further uncharted musical territories is nothing short of inspirational.

The collaborative spirit of the project serves as a testament to the power of artistic synergy and the limitless possibilities that arise when the desert, more specifically, the greater Joshua Tree area, summons such talents together. The collaborative ethos and diverse influences make it a relevant and compelling force in the contemporary heavy music scene.

Follow Big Scenic Nowhere at www.heavypsychsounds.com/bands/big-scenicnowhere or scan the bar code. Check out the title song, “The Waydown,” on all streaming media.

This genre-bending sound bath has tentacles that reach back to early 70’s Black Sabbath, 1979’s Black Flag, and early 90’s Days of the New, while holding on to all the riches hard won in a decades long desert rock crusade.

The Waydown features Arce and Balch on guitar, Reed on vocals, bass, drums, and synth, and Stinson on drums. Other collaborators include Reeves Gabrels (The Cure) on guitar, and Per Wiberg (Opeth) on synth. You’ll even be treated to surprising, stellar pedal steel contributions from Gar Robertson, owner and producer of Red Barn Recorders in Morongo Valley where part of this record was recorded. Other portions were recorded at Gatos Trail Recording Studio, The Racket Room, HeavyHead Recording Company, and Balch’s home.

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For all listings go to our calendar at.

JoshuaTreeVoice.com SEDONA Coast To Coast 2024 Thu Jan 11 LA LOM Fri Jan 12 ZELLA DAY & JESSE WOODS AS CHAPARELLE Pearl Charles Sat Jan 13

M days 1-5 P n u S is ic in M eg s at Open o. Sign up b

MAC SABBATH The Darts Wed Jan 17

oor pati e Cris and on the outd Aldrich of th ys) s ri C y b d e esda noon. Host ed from Tu v o (M . d n a the Gang b

LYDIA LOVELESS Jason Hawk Harris Thu Jan 18

LIVE ENTERTAINMEN

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Open Mic Night Every Su

BLACK FLAG My War Tour 2024 Fri Jan 19

nday.

For event listings, visit:

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DESSA With Special Guest: King Pari Sat Jan 20

THE COPPER ROOM

AY 6PM - 9PM LIVE JAZZ EVERY SUND NESDAY - 6PM LIVE BLUES EVERY WED The Co pp erR oo m1957.c om

GIANT ROCK MEETING ROOM

THE DELTA BOMBERS // THE GODDAMN GALLOWS VOLK Sun Jan 21

For event listings, visit:

DANIEL DONATO’S COSMIC COUNTRY Marathon Set Mon Jan 22

giantrockmeetingroom.com

VICTOR WOOTEN & THE WOOTEN BROTHERS SWEAT TOUR Wed Jan 24 ROSE’S PAWN SHOP The Far West Fri Jan 26 MOONTRICKS Sat Jan 27

ertown.com

reddogpione

SISTER JOHN ANGELA Record Release Party Sun Jan 28 JOHNNY RUIZ AND THE ESCAPERS The Hard Way Sun Jan 28

For events list, visit: pappyandharriets.com

83131 Amboy Rd, Wonder Valley 760-361-2810 palmsliveevents@gmail.com

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Photo by Evan Soroka for Anderson Ranch Arts Center

Kelly Witmer: Sculptural Art in Metal, Glass + Ceramic

By Katie Nartonis

Experimentation and chance are driving forces in my work.

– Kelly Witmer

Kelly Witmer’s work is organic, sculptural, and strangely evocative.

Her chosen materials include ceramics, glass and metal with the same organic shapes reappearing again, and again. An oval rounded shape, for example, is seen manifested in a tile’s glazed decoration, in a metal and blown-glass hanging chandelier, and in a found-object sculpture in her garden. The art pieces in her charming Yucca Mesa studio - all seem to speak the same language – and are all cousins in a strange, mysterious way.

Witmer’s work first came to my attention when it was included in the Open Studio Art Tour’s Collective show held at JTAG gallery in 2022. The piece Kelly included in that show was an organic piercedmetal shaped wall sculpture with elements of blown-out purple glass. It really stood out against the other 2-D works in the show, and commanded a big presence in the gallery. The sculpture looked a bit like a small alien ship had landed on the wall here in Joshua Tree.

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As a child, Witmer’s family moved around a lot. Most time of her childhood - Kelly lived in Middletown, Pennsylvania. In 1979, when she was in the 3rd grade, the Three Mile Island nuclear meltdown occurred in her small town. It was years before her family could afford to move again, even with the threat of radiation fall-out, and when they did - they relocated to historic Gettysburg, another small town with a rather dark and morbid Civil War history.

Attending art school in Philadelphia at the University of the Arts, Kelly earning a BFA in photography. “My work at that time centered around personal narratives with extensive darkroom experimentation, such as layering black + white with color negatives and various noxious chemical mixing while developing the prints.” Ultimately, she decided to move somewhere warm and she landed in Los Angeles over 30 years ago. Southern California became her adopted home – and she moved to the High Desert 11 years ago.

“Often, I begin sketches from studying cellular structures, geological formations, or even ritualistic objects. I love taking disparate pieces and welding them together to form a new creation. The resulting abstract shapes often feel like metaphors for life experiences, the joy and tragedy of human (as well as animal) relationships.”

Witmer is busy and she is preparing for a number of upcoming big shows. She has a show this coming February of glass sculpture (made from vintage car parts) which will be held at the San Diego airport - at a gallery in terminal 2 pre-security. That same month, she has a solo show opening titled “Solid Motion” to be held at the Museum of the Southwest in Midland, Texas. This summer she looks forward to heading to the Rocky Mountains where she will hold a workshop at the revered Anderson Ranch in Colorado.

“I discovered a crazy mess of a house in Yucca in 2012 for the price of a Prius.”– Kelly Witmer Tracing the evolution of her art practice during her time in Southern California - she continued her photographic work with a darkroom (set up in her closet) for years, gradually turning to painting moreand-more. “I had taken ceramic classes over the years, but didn’t get serious about it until I moved out to the desert, when an ex gave me a kiln to pay off a loan. Then I had the space and time to really experiment with clay, and then glass, and eventually metal.” The first step towards her current works – a potent mixture of disparate medium.

In 2012, Witmer found a real deal on a place here in Yucca Valley. At the time, Airbnb was gaining popularity, and she was able to rent out her house in Los Angeles for added income. She recalls, she was able to enjoy a little “city life” while cleaning between her Airbnb guests in LA. Later, once she landed in Yucca Valley, she bought three old travel trailers and ran an artist’s residency for a few years called ‘Rancho Paradiso.’ That came to an end, sadly, when two of her trailers were stolen on Christmas Day – all while she was out of town for vacation.

In describing her art practice - Witmer notes that a lot of things are done “just to see what will happen.” Often, that can take her down a new road creatively. She employs “a mishmash of influences from archeology to science fiction and unexplained phenomena.”

Alternating regularly between painting and sculpture, she finds that both disciplines feed well off of each other. Kelly’s work is a perfect fit in a strange place where mystery and magic meet here in the beautiful Mojave desert of California.

Kelly Witmer is one of the reasons that we all love living here in the High Desert – a dedicated and accomplished artist who is deft in working in multiple materials with ease. I suggest a visit to the charming space that she shares with her equally talented partner, artist Matt Enlow – during the annual Highway 62 Open Studios Art Tour. Enlow has been restoring vintage cars for many years as SweetEnlow Customs.

Kelly and Matt met at the beginning of the pandemic online, and discovered they had been living down the road from each other for years. Witmer notes, “Matt taught me how to work with metal, and we’ve collaborated on some of the big car sculptures I’ve been making.” These large sculptural pieces will be featured in her upcoming shows For more information: kellywitmer.com.

Katie Nartonis is a writer, curator, film maker and specialist in art and design. Her most recent documentary film, “Jack Rogers Hopkins: Calfornia Design Maverick,” about the late San Diego based mid-century designercraftsman, premiered during Palm Springs Modernism Week in 2023. She is currently writing “Glimpses of The Joshua Tree Dream,” a book on the way we live in the high desert.

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LIVE FROM JOSHUA TREE 2024

Liz Lapp

Nadia Clark

Omar Columbus

Glen Harris

Snake Jagger

Valerie Eagle Heart Meyer

Rosa Pullman

Nigel Roman’s photo by Sandra Goodin . All others courtesy of Mil-Tree.

Nigel Roman

Mike Usher

Gillian Keller by Liz

By Lisa Lynn Morgan Live From Joshua Tree, a live and virtual spoken word event, is an annual fundraiser for the non-profit military support organization, Mil-Tree. Curated and hosted by Mil-tree founder, Cheryl Montelle, the evening is a brilliantly entertaining celebration or desert stories, songs, and poetry, that never fails to leave attendees in awe of the depth and diversity of this desert community.

This year’s event will feature Liz Lapp (owner of The Magazine Store in 29 Palms), Nadia Clark (First Responder and Military Veteran), Omar Columbus (Military Veteran, photographer, and writer), Glen Harris (community leader, activist, philanthropist).

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Snake Jagger (artist), Valerie Eagle Hart Meyer (owner of Rainbow Stew in Joshua Tree), Rosa Pullman (singer/songwriter/musician), Nigel Roman (singer/ songwriter/musician), Mike Usher, (Military Veteran and owner of Ground Squirrel in 29 Palms), and Gillian Keller (artist).

Ticket prices range from $30-$100 and can be purchased through www.livefromjoshuatree.com

Snacks and a no host bar will be provided along with L’s Salsa Catering onsite at 5:30 for food purchases.

Mil-Tree’s mission is to create community between veterans, service-members and civilians through shared experiences, projects, and creative expression. This is their main fundraiser for the year and your best chance to support this valuable asset to our community.

When: Saturday, January 27th at 7 pm. Doors open at 6:30 Where: The Sanctuary at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center: 59700 29 Palms Highway, Joshua Tree, CA 92252

A limited number of free tickets are set aside for military veterans. Email info@joshuatreelive.org and ask for information on how to obtain them.

29 Palms Art Gallery Art Reception Saturday, January 6, 2024 The 29 Palms Art Gallery will host an art reception on Saturday, Jan 6, to celebrate the January exhibition. The gallery will be open all day, and reception hospitality will be served on the gallery patio from 4-6 p.m. The public is invited to attend and meet the artists. Admission is free.

Featured in the West Wing in January is “Animal | Vegetable | Mineral”

by Doug Blanc and Jillian Sandell, of Joshua Tree. They investigate what the desert can teach us when we pay attention to its natural artifacts – the animal bones and plant skeletons, the wildlife tracks and seemingly solid rocks. Blanc invites desert dwellers to consider the reverberating impacts of development. by focusing on the spaces within the cavities of a cholla cactus skeleton or between individual creosote branches, Sandell considers what happens when we pause and examine the spaces in-between and around us.

The East Gallery features paintings and collages by Wonder Valley artist Chris Carraher in “With Gesture and Color,” She believes gesture is a gift of the body, and whether bold and sweeping, cramped or tangled, there is a message in all of it. Comparatively, color is a gift of the gods - from the strength and clarity of black and white to the dazzle and infinite dimension of pure color, its power and blessing should not be stinted. Her works range stylistically from non-objective to calligraphic to abstracted symbolism and figuration.

Artists’ Guild members will display a variety of new works in the Members Room. The exhibition will be on display at the gallery January 4 to 29, open Friday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The historic 29 Palms Art Gallery is located at 74055 Cottonwood Drive at the corner of National Park Drive, in Twentynine Palms, CA. For more information, visit www.29palmsartgallery.com.

GUIDED ASTRONOMY TOURS TELESCOPE VIEWING OF PLANETS, GALAXIES, NEBULAE & MORE!

Now hosting private & public stargazing tours in 29 Palms, Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley and Palm Springs!

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Adults & Kids

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Breakfast Sandwiches

served until noon Try our Signature Coffees The Desert Dog & The Snake Bite 49574 29Palms Hwy., Morongo Valley, CA l 760-363-2133 Open Monday - Saturday, 6am - 9pm Sundays 8am - 9pm

LOVE YOUR PARK

FOOD & DRINK TOUR 2024

Joshua Tree National Park Association (JTNPA) is thrilled to announce their second Annual Love Your Park Food & Drink Tour.

JTNPA also partnered with Z107.7 FM. When Destination Restaurants purchased ad space for the tour, Z107.7 FM donated a portion of the proceeds.

Dine at your favorite culinary destinations and support Joshua Tree National Park!

The Love Your Park Food & Drink Tour is an annual fundraiser hosted by Joshua Tree National Park Association, Joshua Tree National Park’s primary nonprofit partner. This year’s Love Your Park Food & Drink tour is officially sponsored by Joshua Tree Voice and Z107.7 FM. During the week of Valentine’s Day (February 10th through the 18th), participating Destination Restaurants will donate a portion of sales from a menu item to support initiatives at Joshua Tree National Park.

In 2023, JTNPA held the first Food & Drink Tour. They were able to raise $10,000 with the help of 12 Hi-Desert restaurants, some of which are still serving their “Love Your Park” menu items almost a year later!

In 2024, JTNPA is thrilled to extend this opportunity to restaurants in the Low Desert as well! Both Joshua Tree Voice and Z107.7 FM have committed to donating a portion of ad space proceeds this year–we’re so grateful for their support! For more information or to purchase ad space, please contact Lisa Morgan, Owner and Publisher of Joshua Tree Voice at lisa@joshuatreevoice.com and Cindy Daigneault, General Manager at Z107.7 FM at cindy@ z1077fm.com.

The 2024 fundraising goal is $20,000. Funds raised go directly toward the most critical programs and projects as identified by Joshua Tree National Park. To learn more about JTNPA and the 2024 Love Your Park Food & Drink Tour, visit joshuatree.org/ services/events.

See you on tour!

Love

YOUR PARK 2024 food

& drink tour

February 10th - 18th

PLAN YOUR TRIP!

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Dine at your favorite culinary destinations Support Joshua Tree National Park

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ENROLLMENT HAS BEGUN It may be winter, but at Copper Mountain College, spring is in the air – Spring Semester, that is. Open enrollment for Spring Semester began November 17 at the hi-desert’s own college, and it continues through to the beginning of the semester on January 26, 2024.

Whether you’re looking for a cost-effective, supportive way to start work on a four-year university degree, or you’re looking for the opportunity to quickly and efficiently build a career for yourself, Copper Mountain College has an extensive selection of options for you to choose from.

Want to get an Associates Degree, and maybe transfer to a university for your Bachelors Degree or beyond?

No worries. CMC has you covered. From Accounting, Anthropology, Art, Biology, and Business, to Chemistry, Computer Science, Environmental Science, Mathematics, Psychology, Sociology, and more, there are degree and transfer programs that can get you on your degree path.

Feel like you’d like to have a meaningful career in your community – one that you could take with you wherever you go? CMC has you covered too. From Automotive Technology, Construction Trades, Criminal Justice, and Culinary Arts to EMT, Fire Technology, the CMC Wildland Fire Academy, Hospitality, and Nursing, there’s a broad selection of career paths that can help you get working toward your career goals in little time.

In addition to all of these degree-oriented and vocational options, CMC is focused on ensuring everyone in our communities has access to an education with Adult Education Program locations in Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms, as well as the Military Academic Skills Program on base in Twentynine Palms.

Many current CMC students note that small class sizes, personal attention from faculty, and a welcoming community on campus, have been helpful in making the decision to attend college less stressful and more positive. Other students find the flexibility of CMC’s online classes important to help them fit continuing their education into their busy schedules.

“Copper Mountain College’s Adult Education Program is here to support community members who want to complete their High School diploma or complete their GED,” emphasized Ramon Abrego III, Dean of Instruction, Distance Education, and Learning Resources. “We also offer English as a Second Language for learners who want to improve their English skills for personal, academic, and/or career opportunities.”

CMC provides the financial aid and student support programs, from telehealth and mental health counseling services to free meals and snacks on campus, bus passes, free digital text books, grocery cards, and more, to help support the college’s goal of student success.

“Copper Mountain College has dedicated employees who have passion for student success,” said Melynie Schiel, Vice President of Academic Services. “We offer high-quality instruction and excellent support services with close to zero cost for most of our students!”

The Copper Mountain College Foundation pitches in with funding student needs and a range of over two dozen CMC scholarship offerings, including the prestigious Greenleaf Scholarship that covers virtually all costs of a college education for one student each year. The CMC Foundation’s recent annual Festival of Wreaths raised nearly $21,000 in donations to support CMC students.

“That is the largest amount ever raised at a Festival of Wreaths auction,” noted CMC Foundation Executive Director Sandy Smith. The event featured a live auction of wreaths created and donated by supporters throughout the hi-desert community, a silent auction, a dessert auction, ornaments, and holiday cards featuring art from six CMC student artists – a new CMC annual tradition.

With options ranging from degrees that are guaranteed to transfer to a CSU university, to excellent career training options, GED and ESL courses, and more, Copper Mountain College is dedicated to student success for all hi-desert students, no matter their level, or their goals. The college’s new website features tools to help choose your path forward this spring, and a staff that can assist with planning the first steps to take along that path to a better future.

Visit www.cmccd.edu today for more information, and remember to register early for Spring Semester for the best course selection.

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CHOLLA NEEDLES:

This month’s feature comes from Jazmine Gonzalez-Conteras “Her poem illustrates the feeling of the desert for students at Cesar Chavez Elementary School in the Coachella Valley,” shared Mojave Desert Land Trust’s Education Programs Manager, Mary CookRhyne. “She writes about how dry the desert is, but it does have a unique ability to thrive in the face of the arid landscape. Her poem perfectly captures Jazmine’s feelings about the desert. This wonderful fifth grader also provides beautiful artwork capturing the desert as she sees and feels it.”

ABOUT THIS PROJECT: During the 2022-2023 school year, Mojave Desert Land Trust worked with passionate students from Yucca Valley Elementary, Cesar Chavez Elementary, San Jose Charter Academy, and La Contenta Middle School through their Desert Discovery Field Studies (DDFS) program. Their poetry and expressive illustrations provide insight to their experience growing up in the Colorado and Mojave Deserts.

Many thanks to Rich Soos, our partner Cholla Needles Arts & Literary Library for bringing one of our Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) lessons to life in the Autumn 2023 edition of Cholla Needles: Young Writers and Artists magazine!

Copies of the magazine are available for purchase online. This project was funded in part through grants from the Inland Empire Community Foundation and the Society for Science. Funding for the August 2023 issue of Cholla Needles was also lovingly provided by Bonnie Bostrom, George Kirk, Peter Nash, and Janet Tucker.

The Desert Discovery Field Studies program provides students from underserved desert communities with an innovative way to learn about desert ecology and conservation. This immersive program helps students become inspired advocates for the desert they call home.

This month, Joshua Tree Voice is featuring art and poetry from Isabela Coronel.

To purchase a copy of Cholla Needles scan this QR code:

To support Mojave Desert Land Trust educational programs, scan this QR code:

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Larry white: A High-Desert Artist/Maker with an Important Design-History Pedigree

By Katie Nartonis “I like to think of art as a place of convergence, where the intuitive thoughtfulness, and creative energy of the maker merges with the personal history and psyche of the observer. I believe this interaction is catalytic in the evolution of culture, mind and spirit.” - Larry White Artist and maker, Larry White, lives with his artist wife, Dee Small, outside Pioneertown in Rimrock, here in the high desert. He maintains a small studio in Pioneertown where he creates - non-stop. White is a respected Southern Californian woodworker, sculptor, painter, and ceramicist whose career has spanned over 50 years. His work has been exhibited nationally, and his pieces are found in both important private and public institutions.

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An influential professor, White has taught at two California Universities (Fullerton + Santa Cruz) as well as the famed Anderson Ranch in Snowmass, Colorado.

He currently serves as visiting artist at the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Crafts in Alta Loma where he regularly teaches wood-working workshops and gives private tours of the historical Maloof hand-built home.

White is a part of the important story of 20th century design history, due in large part to his long collaboration with the master American woodworker, Sam Maloof.

Sam Maloof (1916-2009) is still considered the most famous 20th Century West Coast furniture maker.

Presidents Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter both owned Maloof’s iconic hand-made sculpted rocking

chair. Maloof’s work is found in museums and private collections all over the world. White first started working with Maloof in 1962, at the age of 19 and spent almost 30 years working by his side.

Maloof surrounded himself with a handful of skilled craftsmen like White who he called “the boys.” The boys would assist him in the inspired yet laborious job of constructing (and sanding) Maloof’s bespoke handmade furniture – from raw board to finished oiled piece.

Together with the Sam Maloof Woodworker team, White and Maloof created organic modernist chairs, tables, beds, cribs and other iconic Sam Maloof designs.

They made modern design history and Maloof’s historic pieces regularly sell in the many tens of thousands at auction. The iconic sculptural Maloof rocking chair has sold for over $100,000 at its market peak.

Katie Nartonis is a writer, curator, film maker and specialist in art and design.

Her most recent documentary film, “Jack Rogers Hopkins: Calfornia Design Maverick,” about the late San Diego based mid-century designercraftsman, premiered during Palm Springs Modernism Week in 2023. She is currently writing “Glimpses of The Joshua Tree Dream,” a book on the way we live in the high desert.

White has always maintained a vibrant art practice outside of his work with Sam Maloof and is known and celebrated on his own terms. His current desert home and studio finds him working on jewelry, woodworking, ceramics, and sculpture. He finds the quiet and calm of the desert to be a boon to his art-making practice, and an inspiration at the same time.

In 2019, White told VoyageLA “I like the idea that art is a process, not a thing. I love the intuitive mental meander during creative activity. Most of my work is multimedia regardless of the discipline I’ve chosen.

I tap into a stream of conscience that informs the direction a piece takes…. Success for me is to complete a creative endeavor that exceeds my expectations.

I feel successful when my work is appreciated by my peers and is generally perceived in a positive manner.

Anything else is just an accounting by the whims of taste. I think for ultimate satisfaction an artist should be steadfast in their work and totally committed to personal vision.”

White’s recent retrospective show, “EQUILIBRIUM” which explored over 50 years of his creative endeavors was held at the Maloof Foundation this past year. The show included works from all the chapters of his artistic life. His organic modernist style takes cues from the sinuous shapes of nature. The show underscored that this artist is a master of many mediums. The exhibit told a clear story of White’s artistic exploration when he stepped outside of the Maloof Studio and entered his own. Many of White’s sculptures are currently on view in the gardens.

You can find more information on White’s studio work at larrywhiteartmix.com, and you can connect with him on Instagram @larrywhiteartist.

The Sam Maloof foundation for Arts + Crafts campus is one of the treasures of San Bernardino County and is only an hour and a half drive from the Morongo Valley.

The Maloof visiting hours are Friday and Saturday, 12:00pm-2pm. Visitors are encouraged to explore the foundations’ museum shop, take a tour of the historic Maloof home, or explore the beautiful droughttolerant gardens on the 16-acre lush campus. More information, including private Larry White tours of the historic hand-built home, and other upcoming events can be found by going to www.malooffoundation.org.

All exhibits are free and open to the public.

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The Songs of Our People

Singing the Birds is an annual event focused on the rhythmic storytelling of the Cahuilla migration. Photo: Kate Anderson.

Bird singers and dancers celebrate and share Native American heritage.

This article reprinted by permission from Me Yah Whae magazine Fall/Winter 2023-2024 edition

“He began a group of singers and dancers of all ages to share the bird songs and our culture.”

History and song are forever tied together for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.

Bird songs tell stories about the Cahuilla migration long ago and the lessons learned along the journey — the knowledge, culture, and traditions — to be shared with future generations. Accompanied by the metered beat of gourd rattles, the songs describe the landscapes, the weather, the animals, and all worldly things in a timeless refrain of instruction, inspiration, guidance, and knowledge.

They brought back the songs, gourd rattles and all.

“We sang bird songs at the Andreas Ranch; we sang at fundraisers at the University California, Riverside; we sang and performed in various parades; and we went to fiestas at different reservations to share the songs,” he continues. “Then, those children who were in those groups shared those songs with their children who are continuing the tradition of bird singing by sharing it with their children and continuing the culture.”

Women and girls danced, but only men and boys could sing.

About 50 years ago, the music of the Tribe slowly dwindled, nearly coming to an end. No one from the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation was singing bird songs publicly or teaching them to younger generations.

Anthony Andreas Jr. learned the bird songs. That’s how bird singing came back to Agua Caliente. “My father started sharing with family and friends the songs,” says Anthony J. Andreas III, a bird singer and tribal elder.

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It is our generation’s responsibility to pass down the traditions, what we’ve learned, to the next generation to keep the culture living.

Reid D. Milanovich, Tribal Chairman

Now, every year, the Agua Caliente Tribe hosts an annual festival where singers and dancers from tribes across Southern California and the Southwest gather to celebrate and share with the public the region’s abundant Native American heritage. More than 2,500 singers, dancers, and guests converge on Palm Springs High School for the free-to-the public Singing the Birds festival.

While powwows across the region may feature bird singing and dancing as part of their events, Singing the Birds focuses solely on rhythmic storytelling.

“It is our generation’s responsibility to pass down the traditions, what we’ve learned, to the next generation to keep the culture living,” says Reid D. Milanovich, chairman of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.

“Keeping that spirit alive is very, very important.”

For bird singer John R. Preckwinkle III, Singing the Birds was the first bird singing event he attended and sang publicly. “It’s one of my favorite events,” he says. “It’s such a big event where everyone comes around. We put our best foot forward for that one. The event is showing everyone that our culture is thriving, and that our desire is that the songs be passed down in a traditional way from elder singers to beginner singers.”

Traditionally, the Cahuilla bird songs include more than 300 songs, sung in order from dusk to dawn over multiple days. Singers perform in a line with the leader at the center. It’s common during the songs for singers to break formation and dance. Boys and men sing and dance, while the girls and women dance rhythmically to the beat of the gourd rattles.

Photo: Justin Polizzi.

“We have Singing the Birds to show everyone that our culture is still being practiced, and we are very willing to share that knowledge with community members.”

Gerald Clarke, Cahuilla Band of Indians, Anza This year’s event was led by Gerald Clarke of the Cahuilla Band of Indians based in Anza. Groups that performed included the Painiktem Bird Singers, Kawiya Bird Singers, Torres Martinez Bird Singers, Mountain Cahuilla, and Inter-Tribal Bird Singers, and they were joined by the Kumeyaay Bird Singing Group, Ashaa Takook, and Avi Kwa Ame Bird Singers.

Clarke, who learned the songs from Bill Madrigal Sr. (Cahuilla) and Alvino Siva (Los Coyotes), has been attending the Singing the Birds event for about 15 years.

“I’ve always had an interest in our Native culture, and that becomes more important when you are a parent,” Clarke says. “Both of my daughters were raised here on the [Cahuilla] Reservation. They grew up here. A lot of summer nights, they would fall asleep with us singing the songs. Now, they are going to events and bird dancing.”

Passing on the songs is a duty, Clarke says. “It’s a responsibility that we are born into. When you know our traditional culture, it’s a communal thing, and I feel that responsibility to give back to the community and move our culture forward.”

Photo: Kate Anderson.

Photo: Joey Jarecki

Young tribal members learn the bird songs from their elders, ensuring their traditions carry into the next generation Above: Bird singers throughout Southern California and beyond often wear ribbon shirts during performances.

Left page: Members of many Southern California tribes participate in Singing the Birds.

In addition to singing and dancing, the Singing the Birds event also features a marketplace offering Native clothing, beadwork, basketry, and books as well as food vendors, including the popular Jenny’s Indian Tacos.

Many agree that, thankfully, bird singing is a tradition that’s being carried on.

“We have Singing the Birds to show everyone that we are still here, and we still exist,” Clarke says. “It showcases that our culture is still being practiced, and we are very willing to share that knowledge with community members.”

It also helps ensure the tradition will never be lost.

“Singing the Birds is an important event to remind all of us that our cultural resurgence might not be happening if 50 years ago someone didn’t take a chance to teach someone else a song,” Andreas III says.

For information about the next Singing the Birds event, visit aguacaliente.org.

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KING OF THE HAMMERS 2024

King of the Hammers takes place the beginning of the year on public lands in Johnson Valley, California.

The race has evolved from 12 teams racing for bragging rights and a case of beer, to more than 530 teams competing before more than 80,000 fans in person and 2 million viewers online. Due to the incredible success of King of the Hammers, Hammerking Productions created the Ultra4Racing Series, which has grown Internationally.

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Each National Ultra4 series race is a qualifier for the King of The Hammers race for the upcoming year. Hammerking was the establishing series of the Unlimited class, as we know them, the Ultra4 or 4400 race car. The defining characteristics of this class are the sturdy 4-wheel drive and unlimited builds. These cars come in all shapes and sizes, are capable of speeds over 100+ mph and contain gear ratios as low as 100 to 1 for technical rock crawling. Additional classes in Ultra 4 include the: Every Man’s Challenge which encompasses 4600 Stock, 4500 Modified and 4800 Legend’s cars. The fastest growing class is the 4900 UTV class and newest is the Electric Vehicle (EV) class. Motos and a Rock Bouncer’s Shootout are also held at KOH.

For more information about Hammerking Productions, Ultra4, or King of the Hammers, please visit our social media channels or Contact Us: https://kingofthehammers.com/

Ultra4 is a series drivers can showcase their unique capabilities, whether the driver has dreams of building a racecar in their garage during free time, or with factory-backed support. The series challenges drivers to compete in a wide variety of terrain from endurance desert racing, competition-style rock crawls, short course racing and more.

Currently Ultra4 has races in the US, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. These races take place on both public lands and on private property around the world.

Hammerking Productions has produced eight, fulllength feature films chronicling King of the Hammers races, as well as the KOH live show yearly with all production in-house. These award-winning movies have helped shine a spotlight on racing discipline around the world.

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get your tickets here!

18years

of hammers thank you yucca valley!!

january 18

th

thru

february 3

rd