Joshua Tree Voice - October 2023

Thank you to our advisory board whose talents, insights, and passions contribute to the quality of this publication

Jacqueline Guevara

Executive Director, Joshua Tree National Park Association

Barnett English

Festival Founder and Director, Joshua Tree Music Festival

Dave Catching

Owner, Rancho De La Luna Recording Studio, Musician, Producer

Mario Lalli

Musician, Fatso Jetson, Yawning Man

Bobby Furst

Owner/Creator of FurstWurld, Artist

Our Team

Design Wizard: Jeff Day

Web Guru: Chelsea Van Es

Staff Photographer: Sandra Goodin

Art Writer: Katie Nartonis

Owner/Publisher: Lisa Lynn Morgan

Owner/Principal: Ray Rodriguez

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Billy Folsom

Paul Moeller

Matthew Hall

Tom Dellinger (Joshua Tree Music Festival )

Chase Johnson (Joshua Tree Music Festival)

Mariya Stangl (Joshua Tree Music Festival)

Jacob Avanzato (Joshua Tree Music Festival)

Amandala Photography (Joshua Tree Music Festival)

Angeles (Poetry Corner Pg 8)

Kathleen Cle (Steve Lester Pg 27)

WRITERS

Angeles

Barnett English

Jacqueline Guevara

Kathleen J. Radnich

Katie Nartonis

Phillip Bonafede

Ray Rodriguez

Lisa Lynn Morgan

We would not be here without our amazing team and the following business that have partnered with us. Please, whenever you can, show them some love!

29 Palms Inn, Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza, Borrego Days Desert Festival, Casuelas Café, Copper Mountain College, Cork Tree Restaurant, Coyote Cone, Desert Dog Coffee, Gubler Orchids, Healthy Generations, Jenifer Halbert Realtor, Joshua Tree Saloon, Joshua Tree Excursions, Larry & Milt’s Western Café, Let’s Feast Premium Catering, Nature’s Health Food & Café, Palm Desert Bike N’ Brews, Pointed Pearl, Rock & Rapture Popup Jewelry & Art Gallery, Snake Bite Roadhouse, Tortoise Rock Casino, Yucca Valley Film Festival, and Yucca Valley Chamber of Commerce. If you would like partner with Joshua Tree Voice through digital and print marketing, please contact us at (760) 237-0124.

Cover Photo: This month’s cover is a photo of the Joshua Tree Music Festival grounds by the photo wizard, Foster Snell.

A Note from the Publisher

WE’RE BACK BABY! After a long summer of building a better, stronger publication, it is so good to be back in print and in our third year of creating an entity that has taken on its own kind of magic. The support we’ve received is breathtaking; every month there is only more to fall in love with about this deeply diverse, colorful, sparkly, and sparky band of rock huggers, tree angels, dream weavers, cactus cultivators, earth healers, soul lifters, snake and spider savers, and loving creature keepers. We hope to see all of you at the family reunion also known as The Second Annual Joshuas Honors Galla, Sunday, October 29, 2023, at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center. There is so much to CELEBRATE!

JOSHUA TREE MUSIC FESTIVAL FALL 2023

The vision of a handful of men pushing up a giant beam in the middle of a hot dusty desert far off the main highway, surrounded by little else, would have seemed ridiculous to anyone else, but Barnett English isn’t like anyone else. It made perfect sense to turn this empty acreage into a place where music sojourners would gather and enjoy the transcendent musical sanctuary now known as the Joshua Tree Music Festival grounds. Seth Zaharias, owner of Cliffhanger Guides, and longtime Joshua Tree resident was there pounding out nails from old boards to recycle them because Barnett said that was how they were going to build a music festival. “There couldn’t have been more than a couple hundred people there,” Zaharias said of the inaugural event. “We were all bummed because our friend was losing his ass, but not Barnett. He just kept the party going, and it was a great night! These days, second to the Marine base, this guy employs more people than any other local business I know.”

Barnett’s mantra, “The desert is freedom, music is power, and community is crucial,” is built into the core of every detail of these festival experiences. Even the wristbands initiate themes such as “Be the light.” Because of this, Joshua Tree Music Festival has become a desert jewel, shining brightly against the darker things in the world. It’s a place where attendees and the music makers become a united congregation; where children experience music, freedom, safety, and inspiration with their parents: where inclusivity

Desert is Freedom, Music Is Power & Community Is Crucial”

has been planted deeply into its soil and generously watered and fed with every gathering. It has survived the entire world shutting down with its founder ever tilling the soil to provide a vortex for magic, and it has been the place where people have found healing from the dark effects of isolation.

Barnett is 38 festivals in. Maybe this crazy idea of his will stick! Truth be told, every festival has run at a deficit. Yet festival after festival, with a burning desire to make it better, he continues to invest more into infrastructure, the crew, and the artists. There is nothing remotely easy about any part of what Barnett is doing. He has a successful coffee business (JavaGogo Coffee Company - “We’re Not Happy Unless You’re A Little Nervous”). He’s not bored – the music enthusiast travels from festival to festival selling his coffee with his beautiful wife by his side. So why does he do it? The answer to that question is best told by the man himself.

“The

From Lisa Lynn Morgan

PC: Joshua Tree Music Festival

Why We Do It

From Barnett English

The Desert is Freedom

Joshua Tree was a love at first sight kind of thing. It was October of 2002. We drove in at night to sell espresso bevvies at the Joshua Tree Didgeridoo Festival at the Joshua Tree Lake Campground. We woke up to sweeping views of the otherworldly National Park, bordering BLM land, nestled up against the Copper Mountains. Wow. We started setting up our booth, and this cat rolled up in his VW bus with a large mural of planet Earth painted on the side. He said he had fixins for egg burritos, but no coffee. It was a dream date as we had no food (thanks D-Lo!). That was the first of many serendipitous moments that transpired over the long weekend.

The desert is freedom. Away from more crowded environs, you’re free to cultivate your eccentricities. Free to dream big. “California Dreaming.” Free to “shout, shout, let it all out.” Stars abound ad infinitum - more stars than cars. Radiant moonbeams flaring, electrifying sunsets. “I’ve seen sunny days I thought would never end.” The massive (uncluttered) views calm the frenetic chatter of the mind. The desert is vast; “you’re invisible now, you’ve got no secrets to conceal.” It’s a place without expectations, so “come as you are.” What I’m saying is, I love it here.

Introduction by Lisa Lynn Morgan

PC: Chase Johnson

At this point, I’d been selling coffee at hundreds of music festivals for nearly a decade with JavaGogo. Over the weekend at the Didgfest, I met our gracious hosts (Sally & Ken Jayes, JT Lake Campground owners), and enthusiastically suggested, “This would be a great place for a music festival!”. And Sally said, “If it’s such a great idea, why don’t you do it?.” Dare taken. Within six months, I’d moved to Joshua Tree, and produced the inaugural Joshua Tree Music Festival, April 11-13, 2003. BIG THANKS to Sally & Ken Jayes, as we’ve now had 38 JTMFs (two virtual) at their beautiful campground.

Music is Power

Ever since I was little, I’ve leaned on music to get me through; “to get on up.” I’ve got solid gold memories of driving around as a kid, with my mom in our Dodge Dart, the AM radio fueling us. Aretha would be telling

me to “Think,” and to “Rock Steady.” I had no clue what Rock Steady meant, but I sure wanted to find out. Paul implored me to “Let It Be,” while John taught me that “We All Shine On.” Props to Diana, as she ingrained in my brain that “Aint No Mountain High Enough.” Carlos encouraged me to change my “Evil Ways,” while Curtis urged me to “Move on Up.” And on and on….

My mom would get into the music while driving. Feeling it, she’d do this dance where she’d pump the brakes and tap the steering wheel with the palms of her hands at the same time. The car would be jerking, and we’d be singing and bumpin’ down the road. Good times, to be sure. Looking back, I’m amazed we never got pulled over.

By my teens, I was a vinyl junkie. Clearly AM radio

was a gateway drug. For three plus decades, I spent an unwise percentage of every penny I made on records and CDs, always looking for my new favorite song, or a band, or a sound that I’d never heard. Over the years, I made over 600 mixed tapes and CDs. You could say I was mixed up. Worth every penny, ‘cause music made a bad day good, a good day great, and a great day phenomenal.

Then, accidentally on purpose, back in 2003, the Joshua Tree Music Festival was born - live mixed tapes if you will. I’m still seeking that new favorite song, sound, or band. And I’m still leaning on music as medicine.

Community is Crucial

Yes, the music is powerful, and the desert setting sublime, but it’s really all about the people.

PC: Mariya Stangl

PC: Jacob Avanzato

The capacity for collective joy is encoded into us almost as deeply as the capacity for the love of one human for another. The Desert is Freedom, Music is Power, and Community IS crucial.

For 20+ years, folks have been bringing more friends and family with them to the next Joshua Tree Music Festival. Organic growth. The beautiful result of that slow growth is that the super tight, family-friendly, community-centric feel is palpable. It’s real, it’s refreshing and it’s rejuvenating. When friends & family camp together under the stars for a few days and nights, bonds are renewed and strengthened. Spontaneous eruptions of gratitude abound. Magical connections are inevitable. Serendipitous moments are maximized. We humans need these rich, life-affirming experiences. The festival is a playground, and you can understand

more about someone in an hour of play, than in a year of conversation. I laugh and cry more in the four days at the festival than I do in months.

And when we all get together, there’s that joyful euphoria felt during a shared communal experiencecollective effervescence…that incommunicable thrill of a group deliberately united in exaltation - intense feelings of well-being and happiness from being a part of something that is bigger than us. And we hold on to those feelings of connectedness long after the actual event. That’s the real juicy stuff.

Hundreds of talented, loving, and caring people help create the music festivals - charismatic improvisers, wild hearts, positive deviants, hippy gypsies, seekers of exhilarating beauty, the lustfully compassionate,

and the rebelliously kind. It’s an oasis of smiling faces conspiring to commit intelligent fun. It’s a family affair. It’s a love affair.

The festival is a place where “you’re a shining star, no matter who you are.” And “we all shine on, like the moon and the stars and the sun.” “So shine on you crazy diamonds.”

Here’s to hoping we see you at the 18th annual fall Joshua Tree Music Festival, October 5-8, 2023.

To find out more about the festival, yoga, camping, kid’s corner and incredible lineup, go to joshuatreemusicfestival.com

And now, more than ever, we need one another.

PC: Amandala Photography

PC: Tom Dellinger

An Ode to Our Beautiful Surrounding

By Angeles

There are no man-made structures that can hold the vastness of being outside. Skyscrapers can make us feel tiny, but the stars can make us feel alive. Crossing the threshold of a door can open a divide, but crossing a river has taken our lives. The walls of a house can bounce our screams off the paint, but the wind can carry a whisper no matter how faint. The roof of a building can shield us from rain, but what if we miss the chance to wash away our pain? We can gaze through a window and feel most content, but if there’s no movement, there’s no ascent. Our houses protect us from what’s carried in the breeze, but what if we can heal with just one exhale from a canopy of trees? There is no box that can hold a soul so wide, because our souls are as wondrous as the ever living outside.

PoetryCorner

Angeles is a wife and mother who has lived in the Morongo Basin her whole life. She finds her inspiration in her garden as shown in her photos.

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.

Pioneertown, Perambulating down Mane Street

By Ray Rodriguez

A September stroll along this preciously dusty street was enjoyed by “Mane Street Historical Overlay” advocate Ben Loescher, while accompanied by San Bernardino County Executives, Mark Wardlaw, and Heide Duron. Much has been said and published about San Bernardino County’s proposed generic zoning and how it affects this notably unique historical town where Roy Rogers was known to race his famously smart steed, Trigger, through its dirt roads.

If step one in any civic effort is getting attention, and step two is developing understanding, kudos to all involved in that remarkable ramble.

Ben Loescher, the man spearheading efforts for a zoning plan that pays respect to the unique concerns of Pioneertown, is a Pioneertown resident and Architect. He and his wife are also the landlords for the Red Dog Saloon on Mane Street. Loescher is armed with a degree in Architectural History and twenty years’ experience in Land Use. While spending almost a decade doing professional and community work within San Bernardino County, he initiated and was the project manager responsible for The Friends of Pioneertown’s effort to get Mane Street on the National Register of Historic Places. Local leaders like Loescher and fellow advocate, Carrie Aley, and just about anyone else with long roots in the area, have for years steadily solicited San Bernardino County to protect the unique character and charm of their homes, community, and the internationally popular Western tourist experience.

In that spirit, the overlay preservation effort, initiated in 2019, has remained resolute, patient, and realistic, with Loescher and Aley readily acknowledging County challenges, including:

1) Human Resource turnover brought along by Covid or simple retirements, leading to a temporary loss in chronicled understanding of the effort.

2) Pioneer Town’s minutia amidst the sprawling complexity of S.B. County.

3) The concern of other communities demanding similar protections.

4) The simple dollars and cents reality of civic resource allocation.

With a petition of support, now featuring 2,571 signatures and growing, there has been a developing sense of optimism over several discussions this summer between Loescher, Aley and Joshua Tree Voice. A perception that County leaders are developing an understanding that Pioneer Town is worth the extra effort.

And then, there is the enthusiasm recently expressed by Loescher who characterized this latest communion with Wardlaw and Duron, as “super productive” and while quick to state that nothing was promised, “there was a conversational sense that some version can happen.”

This sounds like a great time for a community to again encourage their elected officials and civic servants as to the rare qualities of Pioneertown.

Further promise is found in the “light of day advocacy”, right out on Mane Street, for any to see.

All considered, a neighborly walk may indeed be several steps forward.

For detailed information on the Mane Street Historical Overlay and how to get involved: Pioneertown1946.org

Ray Rodriguez, Principal for Joshua Tree Voice, has been a successful businessman and restaurateur in the desert for over 30 years as well as a lifetime community and civic leader.

The Snake bite You Want SNAKE BITE ROADHOUSE

There are some people in this beautiful desert who have been bitten by a Mojave Green rattlesnake, but they are a minority. Even fewer of them managed to recover without antivenom. But there is only one Joshua Tree dweller who has been bitten by a Mojave Green, recovered from it without antivenom, and then turned around and named a restaurant after it. Meet Dion Antic, a long-time entrepreneur, restaurateur, and concept developer who has turned the former Hwy 62 Diner into a playground for grown-ups. With a mile long resume in the industry that spans from Chicago to the West Coast and a creative drive that is constantly churning, Antic is just what this charming but historically challenged Highway 62 property needed. Walking into Snake Bite Roadhouse, the design elements immediately take you into another realm. To your right you’ll see a pool table that used to live in Los Angeles at the Rockefeller Mansion. Moving left toward the dining room you’ll pass a small stage that, with Antic’s historied life experience and network, could feature anyone from a popular celebrity impersonator to the actual celebrity. Entering the iconic dining room, you’ll be greeted by another incredible work of art by local muralist/dreamcatcher, Emily Tayman. The dining room is no longer quaint, but it is very comfortable with artful details that give the venue some warmth and serious mojo. And the food? You might call it comfort food with a rockstar complex.

Walking toward the back of the venue you’ll find another bar in a room that lends itself to a great night out with friends listening to live music or just socializing. Moving further back you’ll enter the most unique room yet, a second more casual place for drinks and gathering - the only roller rink in the hi-desert. 14-year-old you will be giddy. (Did I just hear someone say, “All skate?”) The roller rink room will be available for private events and parties. You may even find a live band back there (or me busting my moves on my old school 8s hoping that’s all I bust). When asked, “Why a skating rink”, Anti replied, “Why not?”

From Lisa Lynn Morgan

Anti explains, “I don’t do anything that’s vanilla or in the box. I like taking things that have been neglected or abandoned and turning them into something fun and unique, giving people the opportunity to use it as an extension of their living room. Ideally people can come and grab a great burger and a cold beer any day of the week, then pop into the lounge, play pool, watch some movies, or just hang out. The menu is a collection of my greatest hits from 40 years in the business. I’ve put some of my bestsellers out there and given them some updates. I’ve been making the lemon butter bowtie pasta dish since 1992. My wings are the same wings I’ve been making for just as long.” Anti has even created a dish called, “The Joshua Tree Taco,” that he feels encapsulates the Joshua Tree experience. It’s made with nopales cactus, two different style mushrooms, pickled onion, and served on a fresh corn tortilla. “Whatever we have on the menu will never be ‘normal,’” Anti explains. “You can get a steak or a burger, but it’s always going to have a fun ingredient twist. It’s different, but not bougie. You’ll always leave happy, fed, and satisfied without breaking the bank.”

If you haven’t been by the newly transformed Snake Bite Roadhouse, there will be no better time to do it than Saturday night, Halloween weekend, for The Cancelled and the Dead Halloween Extravaganza. The roller rink will be put to scary use with a Zombie Clown Roller Derby, DJs who will keep the party bumpin, and live performances that will include the highly sought after Amy Winehouse tribute artist, Dear Amy. There will be no cover charge, a costume is your ticket to this event. Dressing up as your favorite cancelled or dead celebrity gets you into a party that will be packed with a plenty of surprises.

Quite honestly, if Guy Fieri walked through the front door of this biker and everybody else friendly Roadhouse, he might not want to leave…ever. Neither will you.

The Fifth Annual Yucca Valley Film Festival

The Yucca Valley Film Festival, sponsored by the Town of Yucca Valley, will celebrate 5 years on November 10th. The three day program will offer dozens of screenings, three nights of red carpet, a Masterclass, a roundtable with scriptwriters, and a kid’s section with animated films.

The festival offers multiple categories in competition such as Short Film, Documentary, Student Film, Music Video, and more. It will also include a threeday art exhibit with local and international artists, including paintings, photography, and comic strips.

Submission for local artists (SB County and LowDesert) is entirely free. Just contact the festival by email for details: yuccavalleyfilmfestival@gmail. com before mid-October. As has become tradition, the films and artists presented will be a mix of local artists, California filmmakers, out-of-state submissions, and international picks.

To celebrate the 5-year milestone, the YVFF is putting together a Festival Video Podcast that will broadcast during most of the three days of the event. Filmmakers will be interviewed by journalist Chloe Malaise (co-host of the Paris Art & Movie Awards film festival). Sponsors and community leaders will be invited to speak on camera, and some key moments of the festival will be live streamed. The YVFF podcast is presented by Marianne Fenley, State Farm Yucca Valley. Follow the YVFF Video Podcast on the festival’s Facebook and YouTube pages.

For the first time, the Town of Yucca Valley is also pairing the festival with their new Arts in Public Places program, accepting submissions from local artists to propose a themed decoration of the Community Center courtyard. The Town offers a $1,500 budget plus a $500 stipend for the selected project. Applications due by October 2nd, to publicart@yucca-valley.org.

Q & As and discussions with filmmakers will be conducted again by L.A. Broadcast journalist, Kelly Kozakevich, who brought her hostess talent and smile to last year’s festival.

The Yucca Valley Film Festival will showcase several community organizations, following up on last year’s local cheerleaders, basketball team, and the Miss Yucca Valley Scholarship.

The festival is a no-charge event. Every screening is free to attend. The red carpet is open to everyone. There will be a professional photographer on hand Friday 10 am and Sunday at noon, and 6 to 7pm.

MORONGO BASIN ORCHID FESTIVAL!

Mark your calendar to experience displays of beautiful live orchids and much, much more at the 27th Annual Morongo Basin Orchid Festival at Gubler Orchids, 2200 Belfield Blvd. in Landers. Dates are Saturday October 7th from 10 AM – 5 PM and Sunday October 8th from 10 AM – 3 PM. Admission and parking are FREE.

The festival showcases select community non-profits who will provide information about their organizations and volunteer opportunities. ALL the proceeds from orchid sales as well as the orchid themed beer sales will be disbursed among these non-profit groups and to Yucca Valley Sunset Rotary for community projects. Visitors will be given a “Rotary Buck” with orchid purchases and can choose which of their favorite charities will benefit from their donation.

Bring a camera! Self-guided tours of the orchid-filled greenhouses are informative and fun. Enjoy the thousands of orchids blooming in the desert! Learn how these flowers are produced, grown, and shipped throughout the world. See over 30,000 Venus Fly Traps and other carnivorous plants waiting for their next meal.

Is the orchid you have at home a champion? You can bring it to be judged by the Riverside/San Bernardino Orchid Society. They will be sponsoring an American Orchid Society Judged Show with the registration of orchid entries held on Friday October 6th from 2 – 4 PM, and again on Saturday morning from 9 – 10 AM. Judging will begin at 10:05 AM Saturday with ribbons awarded at noon. For more information about the judging rules go to www.sunsetrotary.org.

Relax by taking a fun class and return home with your own orchid or an arrangement to enjoy. Classes are taught by the Orchid Society of Arizona and Riverside/ San Bernardino Orchid Society at the Festival’s Pacific Western Bank Learning Center. Classes are offered for a fee, and you can choose from three different classes: Cultivation and Care of Phalaenopsis Orchids, How to Care for Oncidium Intergeneric Orchids, and How To Make An Orchid Arrangement. ALL the proceeds from the orchid classes go to the Orchid Society of Arizona and the Riverside/San Bernardino Orchid Society to support orchid education and the preservation of native orchid species. Sign-ups can be made at www. SunsetRotary.org or email Festival@Gublers.com for more information. CLASSES FILL UP QUICKLY! RESERVE YOUR CLASS TODAY!

Indulge your taste buds with Yucca Valley Sunset Rotary’s line up of delicious wine tastings plus their signature margaritas will be offered. Tastings, glasses of wine and margaritas are offered for a fee.

Returning to the festival are the two Orchid beers: Phalee Golden Pixie IPA brewed with fragrant phalaenopsis flowers and the ever-popular Shari Baby Orchid Beer. Joshua Tree Brewery will debut their newest orchid beer this year Maxallaria Cocos dream. This new beer will have unbelievable flavor. Orchid beers are only available at the Orchid Festival and all proceeds are donated to the festival participants. Naturally there will be a selection of additional craft beers.

Food and beverage vendors will be plentiful at this year’s festival. Live musical entertainment will appear on the Festival Stage throughout both days: Saturday will feature Bob Garcia and the Glyphs. Sunday’s music will be provided by the Jann Browne Band.

Don’t miss a minute of the 27th Annual Morongo Basin Orchid Festival October 7th and 8th at Gubler Orchids

in Landers. And don’t miss out on taking one or more Orchid Classes!

Come out, have fun, and support the many non-profit organizations represented. You can have a good time while helping the community raise funds for these charities in the Morongo Basin.

REVOCABLE LIVING TRUSTS*

The Orchid festival is supported by these generous sponsors: Pacific Western Bank, Gubler Orchids Inc., Yucca Valley Sunset Rotary, Joshua Tree Brewing, Joshua Tree Voice Magazine, Z107.7 FM, the

HAY FESTIVAL! (Pronounced EYE FEHS-TEE-BAHL!)

By Ray Rodriguez

“You, or your parents move to this special place, and you love the open spaces, the creative energy. But you also realize important things you left behind. When it comes to Chicanos (people of Mexican descent, born or raised in the U.S.), especially the younger kids, there can be a disconnect between their rich cultural heritage and no way to understand it, how it can fit in their lives and help develop their own possibilities. Your examples can’t just be negative portrayals when there is so much in your cultural roots that can ignite a passion.” These are the words of Rolo Castillo, legendary graphic artist, creative, innovator and impresario, who has curated an all-star cast to address his thoughtful concerns. The

electrifying result is 2nd annual, month-long cultural tribute to Chicano/Latino/Aztlan art, music, dance, theatre, film, comedy, and comida (vittles), right here in good old Joshua Tree.

In cooperation with The Joshua Tree Retreat Center, HAY FESTIVAL! exceeded all expectations last year, earning immediate and enthusiastic support from locals of all backgrounds. Please save the dates and join us throughout November as we come together and celebrate Mexican culture.

HAY-FESTIVAL.COM

Southern California’s Largest Studio Tour Celebrates 21 Years

“The hi-desert art tour is magical. The allure of Joshua Tree, the diversity and abundance of art work, and the chance to engage directly with the artists at their homes and studios. It’s by far my favorite event of the year.”

John Henson

“Art Tour people are the best! I look forward to having them visit my studio every year, it never gets old.”

Marcia Geiger

All photos courtesy of Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours

The HWY 62 Open Studio Art Tours announces its 22nd annual one-of-a-kind experience for art lovers, art collectors and desert enthusiasts. Every October for the past 20 years, the Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council, Inc. (MBCAC) has produced the largest open studio event of its kind in Southern California.

The Tours take place over three weekends: October 7-8, 14-15 and 21-22, with studios open from 10:00 am - 5:00 pm. Take a self-guided tour this Fall to see 177 artists at 125 studios throughout the high desert gateway communities of the Joshua Tree National Park. The event is free and open to everyone. For a list of studio locations, places to pick up the tour catalog or to download a digital version of the catalog - go to www. hwy62arttours.org

The HWY 62 Open Studio Art Tours allows visitors to enjoy the beauty of the high desert, immerse themselves in its creative community and the opportunity to acquire art directly from local artists and makers. With the influx of many new artists to the high desert, this year promises a wide diversity of mediums, styles and prices.

Morongo Valley painter Snake Jagger has found that the HWY 62 Open Studio Art Tours has become his most successful annual art event. Jagger notes, “It’s a pleasure to have people coming to my home gallery and studio, and enjoying the nature trails on my property, that are meant to represent my desert landscape painting.” Long-time Yucca Valley participant and sculptor Delos Van Earl reflects that “There is nothing like having the studio filled with people eager to see your artwork and interested in meeting you .” Landers artist Cybele Rowe loves sharing her studio space and notes “Much of my large scale sculptures have been built upon the desert floor. Being able to share the works in their place of inspiration makes HWY 62 Open Studio Art Tours a unique immersive experience.”

The MBCAC is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to supporting the art and artists of the Morongo Basin, which includes the high desert communities of Morongo Valley, Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, Landers, Pioneertown, Twentynine Palms and Wonder Valley. The MBCAC’s mission is to “inspire and enliven the community through the arts, and to enhance the cultural and economic health of the region.” Membership includes the opportunity to show at the Joshua Tree Art Gallery (JTAG) and participate in the annual HWY 62 Open Studio Art Tours every October.

29 Palms Art Gallery (74055 Cottonwood Dr, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277) will host the annual Collective Show, featuring the work of artists participating in the HWY 62 Open Studio Art Tours and it is an excellent way for visitors to preview the art that can be found on the tours. The Collective Show is on view from October 7-October 28, with gallery hours Friday 11am3pm, Saturday and Sundays from 10am-5pm. the reception for the Collective Show exhibition is open to the public during Art Cruise 29, Oct 7, 2023 from 5-7pm.

“People roaming around my large scale sculptures makes the work come “alive” . The art tour allows me to engage and enjoy the visitors who return each year and the new ones who come to explore my artistic vision of the desert scape.”

Cybele Rowe

“I love the Art Tours because of the people. The local artists with their endless talent and kindness. The visitors from all walks of life and every corner of the world who have taken their precious time to make our show a destination. To all of them, I am very grateful.”

Dan Bartlett

“Art Tours is my favorite event of the year. It’s exciting to see what local artists are working on, and to see their creative space! This is my 5th year participating, and I love being able to share my artwork with the public. Visitors from all around come to support and I look forward to connecting with the community!”

Gubby Beck

Sky’s The Limit Observatory

Becomes a Satellite Campus for Copper Mountain College Astronomy Classes

Sky’s The Limit Observatory and Nature Center was established in 2004 with the mission of “facilitating hands-on experience for learning about the desert, earth, and sky.” Since its inception, STL has provided Discovery Day field trips for school groups, and has occasionally hosted visiting college and university classes from outside the area. Now, local hi-desert college students will have an opportunity to benefit from the facility, which offers a selection of telescopes, including a solar telescope; an orrery – a walkable model of the solar system at a 20-billionto-1 scale that is a useful tool for teaching; and, much more.

The affiliation with Copper Mountain College realizes Sky’s The Limit’s fundamental goal of introducing Morongo Basin students to their own beautiful and rich locale to promote understanding and appreciation for – and to assist in the preservation and stewardship of – a naturally dark night sky. The agreement also complements Copper Mountain College’s ongoing desire to provide local students with unique learning opportunities that build connections with the college’s desert district through offerings like its Desert Studies program and internships with Joshua Tree National Park.

Learn how to apply to the college and enroll into Astronomy classes by visiting the Copper Mountain College website at www.cmccd.edu. CMC is offering an online asynchronous Descriptive Astronomy lecture class that starts on October 16, 2023. While registration for Fall Semester’s class has closed, the college will be offering the lab portion of the class during the Spring 2024 semester on Tuesday nights from 6:30-9:35 p.m. at Sky’s The Limit Observatory.

Just in time for Fall Semester Astronomy classes, an Affiliation Agreement between Copper Mountain College (CMC), and Sky’s The Limit Observatory and Nature Center (STL), has established the observatory as a satellite campus for the college’s Astronomy courses. Astronomy students from CMC will have as their “laboratory,” the dark desert skies of Twentynine Palms, on the border of Joshua Tree National Park.

CMC’s Ramón Abrego III, Dean of Instruction, Distance Education, and Learning Resources, and STL’s President Ann Congdon, along with Professor of Physics and Astronomy John Watkins, began discussions back in April, envisioning the Sky’s The Limit campus as an ideal educational environment for students to gain hands-on – and eyes on – experience in astronomy. “This is an exciting opportunity to combine resources in support of a meaningful educational experience, linking Sky’s The Limit’s mission – to facilitate hands-on learning – with CMC’s excellent classroom instruction,” says Sky’s The

Limit President Ann Congdon. “By welcoming Morongo Basin students to the rich celestial resource in their own backyard, STL hopes to promote appreciation and stewardship of a naturally dark night sky.” CMC’s Abrego and Watkins couldn’t agree more.

“Learning about astronomy and stargazing is one of the many reasons people appreciate coming to the Joshua Tree area,” notes Abrego. “This is why I am excited that Copper Mountain College has entered into a formal agreement with Sky’s The Limit Observatory and Nature Center to have our Astronomy Lab class take place on its beautiful property.”

“I’m very excited about the new cooperative agreement between Copper Mountain College and Sky’s The Limit Observatory and Nature Center,” Watkins adds. “Imagine attending your astronomy class and then stepping outside to some of the best night sky viewing in the country. It’s really an ideal partnership for our astronomy students.”

Spring 2024 classes start on Friday, January 26, 2024. “We look forward to expanding your knowledge of astronomy and exploring the desert night sky with you,” notes Abrego. “This is a perfect match as students will be able to truly enjoy all that the night sky has to offer while receiving high-quality instruction from Copper Mountain College faculty.”

For more information on Sky’s The Limit: contact@ skysthelimit29.org.

For more information on Copper Mountain College or additional photos: Steve Brown at 760-3663791 ext. 5310, or stevebrown@cmccd.edu.

Courtesy of Copper Mountain College

Top photo: Sky’s The Limit Observatory and Nature Center President Ann Congdon, with Mike Schmitt, Board Treasurer, and campus technology manager, join Copper Mountain College Professor of Physics and Astronomy John Watkins, and Ramón Abrego III, Dean of Instruction, Distance Education, and Learning Resources. Photo courtesy of Copper Mountain College.

For all listings go to our calendar at.

JoshuaTreeVoice.com

THE COPPER ROOM

LIVE JAZZ EVERY SUNDAY 6PM - 9PM

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY

SATURDAY OCTOBER 14

TheCopperRoom1957.com

FRIDAY, Oct. 6: Grey Hill’s Open Mic. Sign- ups at 6:30, show at 7.

SAT, Oct. 7 Karaoke

FRIDAY and SAT., Oct 13 & 14: “High Desert Soundings” Experimental Music Festival

FRIDAY, Oct 20: Lady Chilane and friends

SAT, Oct 21: CLOSED for private event

FRI, Oct 27: Grey Hill’s Open Mic. Sign-ups at 6:30, show at 7. SAT, Oct 28: “BONEFEST ‘23,a HALLOWEEN PARTY with live music, scary films, performances, DJ AlKimmey and a costume contest with prizes!

Sat, Oct 28: Bonefest ‘23 - The party of parties is rising from the grave.

The Palms Restaurant l 83131 Amboy Rd, Wonder Valley 760-361-2810 l palmsliveevents@gmail.com

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT

October

Friday October 6th - Bocce Invitational Event with music by “Sympathy for the Disco”.

Saturday October 7th - Jasmine & Lorenzo with the SW House Band (Elias Texel on drums & Emiliano Villarreal on bass).

Sunday October 8th - Open Mic Night

Friday October 13th - Jasmine & Lorenzo with the SW House Band (Elias Texel on drums & Emiliano Villarreal on bass).

Saturday October 14th - Saturday Groove with DJ Paul Silva

Sunday October 15th - Open Mic Night

Friday October 20th - Jasmine & Lorenzo with the SW House Band (Elias Texel on drums & Emiliano Villarreal on bass).

Saturday October 21st - Pat Kearns Duo

Sunday October 22nd - Open Mic Night

Friday October 27th - Shadow Mountain Trio

Saturday October 28th - Burlesque with Carolina Cerisola & The Spaghetti Funk Band

Sunday - Halloween Party: Costume Contest & Open Mic

reddogpioneertown.com

GIANT MEETINGROCKROOM

YUCCA VALLEY MATERIAL LAB PRESENTS: DWARVES OF EAST AGOUZA TUESDAY 10/24

8:00PM - 10:00PM

www.giantrockmeetingroom.com

Kumo99, Glixen

Sun Oct 01

THE REVEREND PEYTON’S BIG DAMN BAND

The Wandering Hearts

Mon Oct 02

PRETENDERS

Wed Oct 04

JESSE DANIEL

Victoria Bailey

Thu Oct 05

KURT VILE & THE VIOLATORS

Rose City Band

Fri Oct 06

MIKE AND THE MOONPIES

Fri Oct 06

L7

I Speak Machine

Sat Oct 07

THE DANDY WARHOLS, THE BLACK ANGELS

DAIISTAR

Sun Oct 08

ZELLA DAY & JESSE WOODS AS: CHAPARELLE

Doc Backer

Mon Oct 09

THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE

Thu Oct 12

RAMBLIN’ JACK ELLIOTT

Lady Apple Tree

Fri Oct 13

AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS

Die Spitz

Sat Oct 14

JOE PUG

Leslie Stevens

Sat Oct 14

EVERCLEAR WITH THE ATARIS

The Ataris, The Pink Spiders

15

JOHN R. MILLER

Taylor Kingman

Mon Oct 16

THE POLISH AMBASSADOR

Scott Nice

Wed Oct 18

The Shadow

Thu Oct 19

ALAN PALOMO

Alan Palomo Tours A World Of Hassle

Fri Oct 20

WILLI CARLISLE

Rachel Baiman

Fri Oct 20

THE BRIGHT LIGHT SOCIAL HOUR

Choses Sauvages

Sat Oct 21

ARIEL POSEN

Terra Lightfoot

Sun Oct 22

INTERPOL

Mon Oct 23

TOMMY PRINE

Jordan Smart

Mon Oct 23

HANNAH DASHER

Thu Oct 26

ROBERT DELONG

Fri Oct 27

GIACOMO TURRA

Sat Oct 28

THE BAND OF HEATHENS

The Watson Twins

Sun Oct 29

DEMOB HAPPY

Mon Oct 30

pappyandharriets.com

Joshua Tree’s Steve Lester Releases Church of Easy

No one can tell the story behind a collection of work like the artist themselves, especially if the artist is Steve Lester. Lester is a Joshua Tree long timer, whose music career is laden with stories that would keep a campfire gathering adding logs for a week just to hear more. However, those stories only slip out to a trusted few and in short bursts, so it a great honor to share his own words about his latest project. Enjoy the story and then the music:

Church of Easy is a collection of songs spanning around 30 years. The majority of the songs are unreleased, as they are not ‘commercial’ material. Instead, they are songs about my inner life as a musician, husband, father, and truth-seeker. They are my most personal work.

I have chosen to release these songs as an album. True, the album format is out of fashion, but these songs are more or less a biography of my life since arriving in Joshua Tree, my adopted home. They can be approached singly, or as chapters of a story.

Although I was dragged out of it kicking and screaming, I was lucky to escape the rock ‘n’ roll business and was able to become a functional adult and raise a family. If things had been different, I could’ve easily missed the seminal experience of my life. I never quit playing music, I just quit trying to make it ‘big’ in the music business. I played on weekends with friends or solo, put together several bands to play regionally, and continue to write and produce music. That’s what I still do pretty much. I play songs for people, if you enjoy them, I enjoy playing them for you, and that’s a bigger reward for me than fame and fortune.

As a recovered rock ‘n’ roll singer, and lately an old-time-roots-music musician, I have not released many songs I’ve written over the last 30 years or more because they did not fit into a genre that I had an audience for. Also, the various record labels that released my music over the years, bless their hearts, always complained that my songwriting style was not consistent enough for the “modern” music market (i.e.: whatever style was currently selling); so be it. I always looked at my original music as a photograph of sorts of what I was experiencing inwardly and outwardly at a given time. My next several projects will be to hopefully make up somewhat for the mistakes I made trying to be popular and commercial. I would also advise younger songwriters to ignore what other artists are doing and especially ignore what the labels and suits would like you to do. Be yourself, tell your own story, and express your true feelings in your music. Never lie. In the end, you are the only one you have to please.

I hope this collection of songs will help you reflect on your own journey. I also hope you will share them with any of your friends and family that may enjoy them. Onward and upward.

Steve Lester, aka: JT Easy

www.jteasymusic.com

www.facebook.com/jteasymusic

‎Church of Easy by JT Easy on Apple Music

CHURCH OF EASY | JT EASY (AKA: STEVE LESTER) | New Moon Records

Church of Easy by JT Easy on Amazon Music - Amazon.com www.new-moon-records.com

Photo credit: Kathleen Cle

Desert Institute’s Slice of Science is a new program featuring lectures, presentations, demonstrations, and workshops by scientists and researchers who focus their efforts in desert environments.

This fall we’ll be hearing from recipients of research grants awarded by Joshua Tree National Park Association who are conducting fascinating research in Joshua Tree National Park. This is an opportunity to learn about challenges and situations that currently exist in the national park, and some of the ways the science community is responding. All Slice of Science programs are free and open to the public! No registration required, although it is appreciated.

Our first presenter is Hannah Chu on October 6th. She’s been researching blow flies--yes, those pesky ones that like to join your picnics. After a brief introduction to fly behavior and the important role they play in ecosystems, participants will take part in an experimental painting workshop, using maggots (baby blow flies) as a medium for creating unique images through their movements across the canvas. The workshop begins at 6p and is kid-friendly, families welcome!

Slice of Science programs take place on select Friday evenings at Joshua Tree National Park Association, 55922 Twentynine Palms Highway, Yucca Valley, CA 92284. Questions? Drop us a message at desertinstitute@joshuatree.org or give us a call at 760-819-4714.

unique desert.

HONORING THE SUPERWOMEN OF GREATER JOSHUA TREE

By Jacqueline Guevara, Executive Director, Joshua Tree National Park Association

HERSTORY

Joshua Tree has always been influenced by women. The desert area now known officially as Joshua Tree National Park has sustained native women caring for their families for millennia. Women of the Serrano, Cahuilla, Chemehuevi, and Mohave communities, among others, settled around water sources like the Oasis of Ma’ara and existed within a relationship with the land that provided them with food, shelter, and medicine – and beauty.

This beauty, and the bounty of the desert, attracted people from other areas of the world, who came, saw, and settled here, displacing the original inhabitants. These settlers eventually decided to call this place home, and that meant bringing their womenfolk along. From a young girl named Maria, who took ill as her family was passing through and was buried at the Oasis; to Frances Mae Lawton, a stenographer from Los Angeles who married rancher Bill Keys in 1918 and subsequently was tasked with creating a life for their family in the midst of a desert wilderness at Keys Ranch; to amateur archaeologist Elizabeth Campbell, who in 1925 found herself living in a tent at the Oasis of Ma’ara with her husband Bill – women have learned the harsh rules of the desert and adapted their own ways to ensure their survival and that of their loved ones. They also learned to love the desert and took their own steps to preserve its past and ensure its future.

Another one of these women was our very own “Apostle of the Cacti”, Minerva Hamilton Hoyt. Minerva was a wealthy socialite from Pasadena, who one day noticed

that many of her neighbors’ yards began to feature desert plants poached from lands just outside Palm Springs. A plant lover and gardening enthusiast, she took it upon herself to take steps to protect the desert flora by exerting her considerable influence (along with a ton of good old fashioned elbow grease) upon politicians of the day. This resulted in the designation of what was then known as Joshua Tree National Monument by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936. And, while Gertrude Cooper became the first woman superintendent in the National Park Service a few short years later, it would be 25 years more before fashion designers were asked to develop a “standardized uniform for female employees,” one that was patterned from an airline hostess’ uniform, skirt and all. Pretty? Perhaps. Practical? Hardly. When another of our female icons, Susan Luckie Reilly, became one of Joshua Tree National Monument’s first woman rangers in 1965, that was the uniform she wore. Nevertheless, she inspired a generation of young women to become stewards of public lands and lived to be 101 years old to boot! At her 100th birthday celebration, she was presented with a female ranger doll (wearing the standardized unisex uniform that NPS had since adopted) and cried with delight, “Oh look, it’s me!”

Yes indeed, Susan, it IS you. It is still you. And it is still all those women mentioned above, stretching back across time. And I would like to think that those women would stand with the rest of us today to applaud our very first female Superintendent of Joshua Tree National Park, Jane Rodgers.

Jane Rogers’ journey to her current position began some years ago, when she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry and Resource Management from the University of California, Berkeley, followed by a two-year practicum working as a U.S. Peace Corps forestry volunteer in the Republic of Niger, and an additional year working as a research assistant with UC Berkeley’s Forestry Department. When she returned from Niger, she was “firmly committed” to learning more about a new field – restoration ecology. The National Park Service is an agency that embraced the policy and implementation of habitat restoration early on. Scanning job announcements, Jane saw an opportunity to work with the native plant nursery at Joshua Tree National Park. “The stars aligned, and I was lucky enough to get a term position.”

Immediately prior to Jane’s appointment as Superintendent, she led the park’s outstanding team of

JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK’S FIRST SUPER(WOMAN)INTENDENT

science professionals as Chief of the Division of Science and Resource Stewardship (SRS). According to Jane, “the goal of resource stewardship is to manage park resources in a context of continuous change that we do not fully understand, in order to preserve and restore ecological, historical, and cultural integrity; contribute as an ecological and cultural core of national and international networks of protected lands, waters, and resources; and provide visitors and program participants with opportunities for transformative experiences that educate and inspire. To accomplish this, the Division of Science and Resource Stewardship retains subject matter experts, field staff, and specialized facilities and equipment to understand, assess, and steward the unique cultural, natural, and wilderness values we manage and provide the scientific information necessary to make park management decisions. We use federal law, park policy, local policies, and the JOTR Resource Stewardship Strategy to guide the work we do.”

Some time ago I asked Jane to describe her favorite project and future focus as Chief of SRS. She responded, “I cannot really say I have any one favorite project. I’d say what stands out to me are those moments when you have incredible synergy with your team, partners, and volunteers. So much of our work depends on the help of academia, practitioners, government scientists, and local experts. I’ve been fortunate to work with dairy farmers to conserve dozens of rare plant species at Point Reyes; with Katherine Siva Saubel to provide native plants to the Malki Museum Temalpakh garden; planted endangered Sentry milkvetch on the rim of the Grand Canyon; and rafted the Colorado river on science expeditions. I’ve done enough to feel guilty for these incredible opportunities! Highlights of recent years include the work our Cultural Resources team accomplished with Native Youth Corps members from New Mexico stabilizing historic structures and protecting cultural sites. We also made great strides collaborating with UC Riverside to understand the impacts of environmental change on Joshua trees, reptiles, small mammals, and birds. It is especially rewarding to apply the knowledge we gain to improved management of the park. This past year marks the first time the park has proactively reduced hazardous fuels around Joshua trees to safeguard the future of our iconic species.”

“Pivoting from managing JTNP as a ‘small’ park towards a ‘big’ park is my greatest investment at the moment. Over the next five years, my team and I are fully focused on protecting wilderness, historic and prehistoric heritage, and natural processes and systems in the new paradigm of three million visitors per year and uncertain environmental conditions. On the ground, this means balancing immediate triage of impacts to the park with long term planning that involves all of our stakeholders as part of the solution. Challenges include providing a world class rock recreation experience while protecting and respecting the cultural and ethnographic resources co-located in popular climbing areas. Invasive plants that change

fire frequency, size, and intensity. Increased use of wilderness areas where we have very little information about archeology, raptor nesting, bighorn sheep reproduction, water sources, and native and plant health. We are a small team, but I’m proud of our adaptability, professionalism, and ability to prioritize and focus on the greatest needs.”

Fast forward to 2023, and it is evident that Jane’s passion and dedication to protecting the resource that is Joshua Tree National Park has continued. Not only has her hard work been recognized by dint of her promotion, but she was also recently awarded the National Park Service Excellence in Wilderness Stewardship Award. This nationwide award recognizes outstanding contributions to wilderness stewardship by an individual, team, and non-government partner. The NPS manages over 70 million acres of land as wilderness and the recipients of these awards

one of the fortunate people who works with Jane on a regular basis and have found that her fair and logical approach to projects, issues, and the challenges she has encountered never wavers; she marries passion with dignity and treats everyone as though they were the most important person in the world when engaged in conversation. I am not alone in my praise.

“It is an incredible honor to get to work for the first female Superintendent of Joshua Tree National Park. Jane also happens to be someone who is a fierce advocate for protecting Joshua trees and our beautiful desert ecosystem. To paraphrase Dr. Seuss, she truly ‘speaks for the trees’!” - Jennie Kish Albrinck, Chief of Interpretation and Education, Joshua Tree National Park

“I have worked with Jane for many years while she was the chief of science and resource stewardship. During this time, she was challenged with a Park that was hosting record numbers of visitors which required new and innovative ways to protect the natural and cultural resources in the Park. Jane rose to the challenge of protecting these resources while ensuring the best possible experience for visitors to the Park from across the country and the world. Jane Joshua Tree National Park is well postured to take on the future visitation and management challenges with such an experienced and passionate leader in Jane Rodgers.” - Michael Vamstad, Wildlife Ecologist / AML Program Manager / NEPA coordinator (interim), Joshua Tree National Park

I agree with Jennie and Michael, and am very proud to call Jane Rodgers a partner, leader, and yes, friend. She is a friend to us all, a friend to our communities, and a friend to Joshua Tree itself. What a wonderful representation of all Joshua Tree women, past, present, and future. Jane Rodgers, we salute you!

exemplify a commitment to preserving the wilderness character of those lands and an unwavering devotion to help connect people to their wilderness heritage and the benefits of these special places. Jane was nominated for this well-deserved award by former JTNP Superintendent and current Golden Gate National Parks Superintendent, David Smith, who says “I think more than anyone, Jane recognized the importance of Joshua Tree’s wilderness, and it is reflected in her work. She would do everything in her power to ensure that wilderness was protected, whether it was for tail development, wildlife monitoring, or firefighting. I cannot think of anyone better qualified for this award or to be an advocate for wilderness in the National Park Service.”

But the kudos don’t stop there. Jane is well respected and held in very high regard by those she works with, staff, partners, and community members alike. I am

“Being the Superintendent of an incredibly popular and iconic national park is both exciting and daunting. While visitors and locals may see the park through the lens of beauty and adventure, my outlook focuses on the long-term sustainability of this incredible landscape and our responsibility to the local tribes affiliated with these ancestral homelands. After nearly 90 years, I am proud to be the first woman Superintendent and look forward to continuing to build a team that represents the diverse communities of the high desert region. Standing in the shadow of our desert mountains, I am humbled to take up the leadership mantle. My commitments are to our team, caring for and protecting all that makes up this amazing space, and honorably serving our communities and visitors. Thanks for all the encouragement and support, I am thankful!” Jane Rodgers, Superintendent, Joshua Tree National Park

To learn more about all the women of Joshua Tree National Park, please visit the Park’s website at https://www.nps.gov/jotr/learn/historyculture/ npswomen100yrs.htm

Sir Don has left the building.

Joshua Tree area musicians and music lovers have lost a soul mate. From his ubiquitous presence at local open mics, folks knew the white-bearded old geezer with the “hobbit” hat, bandana, and walking stick, as “Sir Don,” or “The Wizard”. Over the past five years, I grew to know Donald Crissey as one of our music community’s greatest supporters. He was a grinning curmudgeon with a heart of gold, a passionate lover of music, a twinkle-eyed raconteur with unparalleled storytelling skills, a purveyor of LOUD Hendrix-inspired electric guitar sounds, and a dear friend. On August 17th, after years of battling myriad health issues, Sir Don moved onward from his wild, colorful life to join his idols Jimi and Jeff Beck in the realm of legends, rocking on for all eternity.

Before settling in Joshua Tree, Don spent the golden era of 60’s and 70’s rock and roll living the Sunset Strip lifestyle where, among other things, he was employed as a courier, ran a guitar store, and sold model trains. He also worked backstage at clubs such as The Troubadour where he catered to and hung out with performers before and after shows. This provided him with an endless supply of stories chronicling outrageous adventures with commentary like, “Stevie Nicks still owes me $200!” (His Ray Charles green room story is epic!)

I got to know Sir Don years ago while playing keys with the Cris and the Gang band Sunday afternoons at Gadi’s in Yucca Valley. It was a fun, lively locals’ scene with lots of dancing. Don would never miss a Sunday. When his leg was amputated just below the knee, but refused to let that stop him from going to wherever the live music was. Sitting in his wheelchair at the edge of the stage, he would badger us to play some REAL

rock. This inevitably would prompt his friend, guitarist Bryan Zee, to switch from playing softer pop songs to something loud and outrageous, like an AC/DC tune. Don would usually respond by telling us that someday he was gonna show up with his own electric guitar and show us “how it’s done”.

Soon, Don was fitted with a prosthetic leg, and was up on crutches dancing with all the ladies. He’d continue with the good-natured heckling. The band would heckle right back, challenging him to bring in has guitar so he could school us.

Eventually, Don began hauling his electric guitar to weekly local open mics at The Palms and Joshua Tree Saloon, enticing assembled musicians to back him up so he could plug in, crank up, and crank out a feedbackladen version of a Jimi Hendrix, Cream, or Peter Green classic. It was always a loud, sloppy, chaotic blast of noise-infused performance art when Don took his turn centerstage. It was also raw, unadulterated exuberance. He was on Cloud 9 for those ten minutes on stage, and that energy created some truly magical moments.

This past year, as Don’s health deteriorated and he dealt with a weakening heart and excruciatingly painful leg infection, Don still steadfastly continued to attend open mics. Every Tuesday, he’d grit his teeth, wheel himself to his driveway, throw his guitar and wheelchair in the car, drive to Joshua Tree Saloon, unload, roll in, and sign up. When his turn came, he’d hobble up to the stage, plop onto a stool, plug in, and let loose in glorious fashion.

In July, Don was hospitalized for advanced congestive heart failure. During our regular texts and phone

conversations, he would never dwell on his condition, or let on how bad his health had gotten. Instead, he spoke of how eager he was to get back to the open mic scene.

The last time I spoke with Don was two days before he passed. The previous week, he had two stents installed to address his severe heart blockage. The procedure had not been effective. He was now facing potentially risky open-heart surgery and was clearly wrestling with the reality of a gloomy prognosis. I could tell from his voice that his psyche had moved to a different plain. He slowly yet calmly said, “I’ll be at The Saloon next week for open mic!”. He paused for a moment, then confided that when he was on that open mic stage, backed by “Cris and the guys,” we were HIS band. For the first time in his life, he was the front man. He was the star. He was a guitar god. Then he told me, “Being with ‘The Gang’ that stage is heaven - the most amazing feeling in the world. It’s even better than sex”. As I said goodnight, his last words to me were, “I love you, man”.

Don understood the power of music as well as anyone I’ve ever known. He called it, “Protection from evil.” We were brothers in the belief that open mic is “church,” a place where we gather in community to socialize, testify, bear our souls, lift up each other, and spread love.

In the words of Don’s daughter, Amber O’Grady, “He left this earth after fulfilling all he had hoped to and receiving the peace of knowing his loved ones would be okay. May we carry with us all the spirit of a dreamer who believed we can reach all our hopes and dreams.”

Rock on Sir Don! I love ya, man.

Sir Don’s Celebration of Life was held at Taylor Junction in Joshua Tree on September 20th. It was, of course, an open mic turned all-out rock and roll jam where a saddened but celebratory crowd gathered. Sir Don must have been smiling. In the words of Kevin Bone, a friend, fellow musician, and Chief Operations Wizard at The Palms in Wonder Valley:

“Some people brought laughs. Others brought tears. Some people brought cookies. Others brought beers. But everybody ‘brought it’ last night, to honor a man who left his mark.

Keep on rocking in your free world, Sir Don.”

Photos by Paul Moeller

From the heart of his friend, Paul Moeler

in the Desert

New California Laws Addressing Future Drought Concerns to Be Enforced January 2024

By Kathleen J. Radnich, Consultant for Conservation at the Mojave Water Agency

According to Daniel Berc, NOAA Federal Weather Meteorologist, at this moment in time, Southern California’s drought threat has been put to bed. Add to that there are high expectations we will be entering into an El Niño winter, making it easy for one to sit back and put the worries of water to rest.

Not so fast…

Did you know that California has recently passed new laws to address future drought concerns? It’s true, and it will impact all of us starting January 2024. These new bills labeled, “Water Efficiency Legislation,” will make California more resilient to impacts of future droughts and intend to “make water conservation a California way of life.”

These Bills—SB 606 (Hertzberg) and AB 1668 (Friedman)— reflect the dedicated work of many water suppliers, environmental organizations, and members of the Legislature. SB 606 and AB 1668 emphasize efficiency and stretching existing water supplies in our cities and on farms. They claim that efficient water use is the most cost-effective way to achieve long term conservation goals, as well as provide the water supply reliability needed to adapt to the longer and more intense droughts climate change is causing in California.

Some have misinterpreted the immediate impact of this law. It does not impose individual mandates for homeowners or businesses. The mandates will fall on urban wat er suppliers – not customers. However, one must consider that many desert areas are comprised of Water Districts, which in essence, are community owned, and therefore directly absorb the brunt of any punitive actions for non-compliance.

What are the specific requirements for urban and agricultural water suppliers? Specifically, the bills call for creation of new urban efficiency standards for indoor use, outdoor use, and water lost to leaks, as well as any appropriate variances for unique local conditions. Using the adopted standards, each urban retail water agency will annually, beginning January 1, 2024, calculate its own objective, based on the water needed in its service area for efficient indoor residential water use, outdoor residential water use, commercial, industrial and institutional irrigation with dedicated meters, and reasonable amounts of system water loss, along with consideration of other unique local uses (i.e., variances) and a “bonus incentive,” or credit, for potable water reuse.

Urban water agencies must meet their water use objective. Those that don’t may be subject to enforcement by the Board. Starting in 2024, the State Water Board may issue corrective guidance to help urban water suppliers achieve mandated goals. Starting in 2026, if still out of compliance, water providers may be given “conservation orders” that may result in punitive fines until the State’s mandated water conservation targets are met. The indoor water use standard will be 55 gallons per person per day (gallons per capita daily, or GPCD) until January 2025; the standard will become stronger over time, decreasing to 42 GPCD in January 2030. In calculating the objective, urban water agencies will aggregate indoor water use across their service area.

The outdoor water use standards will be based on land cover, climate, and other factors determined by the Department of Water Resources and the State Water Resources Control Board. New agricultural use of water compliance standards were also addressed in these bills.

While Southern Californians, and desert dwellers specifically, can breathe easier knowing that the

recent drought is behind us, the fact of the matter is, ramped-up water conservation practices are now a state mandate for all to follow, with targeted goals looming. So, keep saving, California! Check-in with your local water provider for tips and hints on countless ways to save every drop!

ABOUT THE MOJAVE WATER AGENCY:

The Mojave Water Agency is the guardian of the High Desert’s water supply, ensuring that there is enough water today and for generations to come. Formed in 1960, the Agency is responsible for managing groundwater resources in the Mojave River Basin and Morongo Basin and providing additional water sources to the region as needed. It is one of 29 State Water Project contractors permitted to deliver water from the California Aqueduct. The MWA is also the entity charged with implementing the adjudication, a court sanctioned groundwater management system designed to gradually bring water used in balance with the available supply.

You don’t know its true worth… until it’s gone.

To learn more, contact your local water providers: Joshua Basin Water District, Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency, Hi-Desert Water District, Mojave Water Agency, Twentynine Palms Water District.

29 Palms Art Gallery

Show: Hwy 62 Art Tours “Collective Show”

Date: October 5th – 29th

Location: 74055 Cottonwood Drive, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277

Join the 29 Palms Art Gallery in celebrating the basin-wide group of artists opening their studios in October as part in the Hwy 62 Art Tours.

La Matadora Gallery:

Show: “Limbo:” Colleena Hake, solo show

Date: Art Party, October 14, 6:00-9:00 PM

Location: 61857 Highway 62 Joshua Tree

Showing through 29 October 2023

Info: lamatadoragallery@gmail.com

October 14th is the release date of Colleena Hake’s new bedside table book ‘Bedside Beneditos’. The much-anticipated publication includes 77 separate “beneditos” along with handwritten corresponding poems. The book was designed by the talented local bad-ass designer Beth Allen.

Hake first stumbled upon the magical art of beneditos at a bruja shop in Nogales, Mexico. She affixed her ‘74 Grand Prix with Mexican version beneditos. Later, Colleena was inspired to create her own versions of these talismans, using thrifted trivets. Embedded within each benedito (or cabin blessing) is an original poemprayer by Colleena: a lucky horseshoe, protective amulets & charms - encased in earthquake-proof resin. Hake has made and sold over 400 examples.

“La Matadora Gallery, the building, is up for sale. The show “Limbo” reflects the current state of the art space.”

– Colleena Hake

Colleena’s solo show, “Limbo,” will appear at her gallery La Matadora. “Limbo” refers to a state of uncertainty with the future of the La Matadora Gallery as well as Colleena’s pervading sense of feeling in-between hearing and deaf worlds. The plot of land in Joshua Tree that the gallery sits on is currently in flux, up for sale, and in some ways threatening the very fabric of our idiosyncratic home-made arts community.

Hake notes that her art show and book are dedicated to her dear hearing-ear dog Lucy who is now in “the Sky with Diamonds” after 13.5 years of togetherness. La Matadora Gallery also doubles as Colleena’s benedito factory, where she’ll be taking part in weekends two and three of the Highway 62 Art Tours this year. Hake is a local treasure. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn more about her with her new book and her magical works.

Hey There!

Show: “The Art Collectors Library”

Nashville artist, Jonathan Edelhuber

Date: Opening - October 14, 6:00-9:00 PM

Location: 61857 Highway 62 Joshua Tree

Showing through 29 October 2023

Info: lamatadoragallery@gmail.com

The show is described as “heavy on contemporary art and even art history.” There is a rich selection of framed works on paper, paintings, and sculptures.

ART EVE GALLERY

Compound YV

Exhibition: Emergence: Mojave Artists of Color Collective

DATES: Saturday, September 9 - Sunday, November 5, 2023

Location: 55379 29 Palms Highway, Yucca Valley, CA

HOURS: Open to the public Friday through Sunday, 12-5pm

Film screening: Thursday October 5, 6:30pm TBA

Closing day event Sunday, October 29, 4:30pm TBA

Learn more about Compound YV at: compoundyv.com

Learn more about MACC at bigmacc.org.

Emergence: Mojave Artists of Color Collective (MACC), on view through November 5, will be the first-ever public exhibition of works by MACC artists as a collective The exhibition at Compound YV, an artist-run space in Yucca Valley, CA, will both stabilize and uplift the group as they take this important step forward as an organization and present their work to the wider community

The title, Emergence, also reflects that MACC is a relatively new community and resource for self-identified artists of color who live and work in the Morongo Basin. Curated by Elena Yu of MACC and Caroline Partamian on behalf of Compound YV, the artists featured also include Sakura Sky Kelly, Mansi Shah, Yvonne Buchanan, Lisa G French, Alex Maceda, Douglas Bank, Josie Kim Parker, Tania “T” Hammidi, Miri Hunter and Stacey Villalobos.

Goat Mountain Space Trucking Gallery

Show title: “Skullavera”

Date: Opening reception October 21, 5-9pm

Location: 55940 29 Palms Hwy #2, Yucca Valley, CA 92284

Follow: @spacetruckingallery on Instagram for info on gallery shows

Follow: #yuccavalleyartwalk for more information on YV Art Walk

Space Truckin’ Gallery presents “Skullavera”aka the Skull Show. Skullavera is an open call art show with a simple rule, Skull art! It can be human, animal, cartoon, tattoo, scary, fun or whatever. Gallerist and artist Juan Thorp explains, “Skulls present themselves in a wide variety of places in our culture. Think Day of the Dead, Halloween, tattoos, fine art, garden art, and more. From the dark and scary to the fun and colorful, what’s your favorite type of skull,” he asks?

The opening reception will be on October 21st from 5-9pm during the Yucca Valley 3rd Saturday Art Walk. Other local galleries participating include Goat Mountain Co., The Joshua Tree National Park Association, Rainbow Stew, Desert Curios, and Milk Thistle.

BRAG: Black Rock Art Gallery

Exhibition: Margeaux Walter, solo show

Location: 9800 Black Rock Canyon Rd,

Dates: October 6, 2023, until January 5, 2024, There will be an opening reception on Friday October 6, 2023, from 5pm to 7pm. The building is open 7 days a week, 8am - 4pm.

Twentynine Palms, California - Joshua Tree National Park management is pleased to announce a new art exhibition by Joshua Tree-based artist Margeaux Walter, a resident artist in the park.

Sedimental is an exhibition of photographs in which the artist has photographed sections of the landscape, printed them onto fabric, and then sewn them into outfits and drapery. The artist inserts their body, covered in the prints, into the landscape to form simple, targeted, visual interventions. Using camouflage tactics to garner a second glance, they encourage the practice of looking more than once at one’s surrounding environment.

Margeaux Walter is based in Joshua Tree and utilizes mediums including photography, installation, video, and performance to portray issues related to conservation, climate change, consumption, and waste. She has been awarded artist-in-residence programs at organizations such as Montalvo Arts Center, MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, VCCA, JTHAR, BigCi in Bilpin, Australia (Environmental award) and at Joshua Tree National Park. Her work has been exhibited nationwide at institutions including MOCA in LA, Hunterdon Art Museum, The Center for Photography in Woodstock, Tacoma Art Museum, and the Griffin Museum of Photography. Her work is featured in publications including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Seattle Times, and Boston Globe.

Background

IN THE MORONGO BASIN

By Katie Nartonis

documentary film “Jack

The Black Rock Art Gallery furthers the mission of the National Park Service through supporting artistic expression that provides fresh insights and inspiration regarding the relevance of Park resources today and in the future. The Gallery also furthers the creation of community by widening access to these enriched stories of the park for all types of visitors, real- time and virtual.

The gallery was started in 2019 by Jennifer Albrink (Chief of Interpretation, Resource Education and Volunteers) and Alison Shoup (Education Specialist). The space was redesigned by Rebecca Lowry and is now managed by Bernard Leibov working with Jennifer and Alison. Each year there is a cycle of one exhibition by a former JTNP Artist in Residence, one by an artist from the local community and a period of exhibitions of student artworks mounted by Groundworks.

Katie Nartonis is a writer, curator and film maker. Her most recent

Rogers Hopkins: California Design Maverick,” about the San Diego based Midcentury designer-craftsman, premiered during Palm Springs Modernism Week at the Palm Springs Museum Annenberg Threatre in 2023. She is currently writing a life-style photo book on the way we live in the high desert, “Glimpses of the Joshua Tree Dream” which will be published in early 2024.

Nicki Marx: Remembering an Influential Counter-Culture Artist

By Katie Nartonis

Nicki Marx (October 3,1943 – June 20, 2023) was an important mid-20th Century counter-culture artist and maker. Marx’s feather works are included in the permanent collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) as well as other important public and private collections. Nicki passed away early this Summer, after a short bout with cancer, surrounded by loved ones in her adopted home of Taos, New Mexico.

Marx was raised in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, where her family had date farms in the desert. She grew up with her brother Gary and a large extended Jewish family. The Marx family were art collectors, including the luminous landscape

Marx Feather Collar 1973

Nicki Marx 1975

Marx Models: Joseph + Heike 1975

paintings of the now famous 20th Century low-desert (Cathedral City) painter, Agnes Pelton. The Marx/ Pelton paintings were eventually donated to the Palm Springs Art Museum and were included in the knockout traveling exhibit in 2020: “Agnes Pelton: Desert Transcendentalist.”

Nicki Marx first arrived in Taos in the 1970s. Soon after, she stumbled on a display of fishing lures in a local sporting goods store, all tied with colorful feathers. At that moment, it was an epiphany - a complete vision of feathers as adornment and even feather wall art and sculpture. “I literally had a vision,” she recalled in American Craft Magazine in 2015. “I could see whole walls with feathers, and people wearing feathers. I bought two dollars’ worth and stuck them on this thing I was making. I wore it down to the (Taos) plaza, and it sold immediately for $15. I thought, ‘Wow – far out!’” (1) This revelatory experience started a life-long artistic journey working with feathers as medium and muse.

By 1976, Nicki was splitting her time between studios in Santa Cruz, California and Taos, New Mexico. In that year she was included in the nationally important “California Design” exhibit. A publication from that exhibit, The Craftsman Lifestyle: The Gentle Revolution, documented Marx’s artistic life where she shared,

“I know there is an incredible magic in life. In the process of making art and in the tapping of the collective unconscious. It’s like a meditation when I’m really working on it…. My work is a celebration of life and a confrontation with death.” (2)

She was absorbed fully in the work of creating her beautiful feather “wearables” and vibrant feather “wall works,” and was part of the counterculture generation and arts community whose influence still reverberates in parts of Northern California and Northern New Mexico.

The artist’s early historical wearable works reside in the rare intersection of art and fashion and has an evocative vibe. The work was born out of the tumult of the 1960s and it is essentially about protest, and justice. Marx’s work “is a plea against forces, such as war and the destruction of the environment, that have damaged the ties that bind us humans to each other and to the Earth. It’s a celebration of our connection to nature, and a reminder of our need to memorialize that in a ritualistic, beautiful way.” (3) She was a fierce environmentalist and often called herself with a smile, “the only hippie that didn’t do drugs.”

Marx’s Taos studio walls and shelves were covered with collections of rocks, skulls, feathers, and seeds. The stunning feather wall works, both vintage and newly made, hung on the walls. The space spoke of an inspired shamanistic and reverential connection to nature. Her finished works have a ceremonial feel,

exploring how ritual and bodywear can strengthen spiritual connections to the earth. Marx assured me that all of her feathers came from creatures that were farm-raised, and they were all humanely gathered. I bought a dramatic vintage feather collar of white chicken and pheasant feathers dated from 1973 (see vintage photo). When I started to wear it out in LA to art openings or parties, I couldn’t cross a room without being stopped and asked, “What are you wearing?” The buzz had started to build.

In the twilight of her life, thinking that her work had permanently fallen out of the public eye, Marx was delighted with the new attention and acknowledgment. In the last few years, she connected with museum curators, writers, and new rabid collectors of her work. Since her passing, a documentary film, and an exhibit in its nascent stages. Marx was a deeply loving and committed artist. She was a true original, and she will be remembered as an authentic voice of the American 20th Century art and modern design movements.

Notes:

(1)(3)(4) Quotes from January 20, 2015, article “Aloft Again” for American Craft Magazine, by Joyce Lovelace.

(2) “Craftsman Lifestyle: The Gentle Revolution” 1977, page 96.

Small portions of this text were originally published in Intelligent Collector Magazine and reprinted with permission.

All photos courtesy of Nicki Marx + The Nartonis Project

In 2014, design and art specialist Gerard O’Brien of Reform Gallery (The Landing Gallery) and I co-curated Marx Rising, a one-woman show of Marx’s vintage and newly made pieces held in Los Angeles. We had beautiful models, nude from the waist up, modeling Marx’s wearable “collars” The show produced a flurry of press that spurred a late-career blossoming of interest in Marx’s work. By 2015, a dozen magazines had featured articles on her story. Famed fashion photographer Philip Dixon hired a model from Paris and captured Marx’s work through his lens (see photo) for the Nartonis Project. Collectors from Dallas, New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles acquired Marx feather wearables at auctions and from a handful of high-end galleries. You can still spot someone wearing “a

Katie Nartonis is a writer, curator and film maker. Her most recent documentary film “Jack Rogers Hopkins: California Design Maverick,” about the San Diego based Midcentury designer-craftsman, premiered during Palm Springs Modernism Week at the Palm Springs Museum Annenberg Threatre in 2023. She is currently writing a life-style photo book on the way we live in the high desert, “Glimpses of the Joshua Tree Dream” which will be published in early 2024.

Marx” from across a very big room.

Photo by Phillip Dixon for The Nartonis Project. Model: Fanny

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Background photo by Josh Kizziar - joshkizziarphotography.com

A Place for Gram

From Lisa Lynn Morgan

Gram Parsons’ tour manager, Phil Kauffman, made the rounds through Joshua Tree among hundreds of adoring Gram Parsons’ fans late September. First stop was Gram Fest, held at the Joshua Tree Inn where Gram drew his last breath. Many gathered on Sunday, September 17th, to honor his life and listen to a supremely wonderful line up of folk/americana music. Kauffman signed albums, tshirts, other merchandise, all to benefit Joshua Tree National Park Association and be with people who, like him, loved Gram and understood that a promise is a promise. “Gram and I went out there (Joshua Tree National Park),” Kauffman shared from the stage, “and he said to me, ‘Promise me, if I die, you’ll take me out to Joshua Tree and set my spirit out into the desert.’ It’s fifteen years later, and we succeeded,” You see, it was Kauffman and Parsons’ assistant, Michael Martin, who posed as mortuary workers and brought Parsons’, casket, and all, back to his favorite place in the park, Cap Rock, and set it ablaze.

Two days later, Kauffman made an appearance at the Joshua Tree Visitors Center for more meet and greets seated next to local treasure, songstress/songsmith, Victoria Williams. “Phil was my tour manager on my first solo American tour until he got gout and was replaced by Nicolas Hill,” Williams shared later. “He is heard singing on the Live from Town Hall album.”

For years people would go to Cap Rock and contribute to a shrine where his body was recovered by law enforcement. A crude cross was all that marked the spot among guitar picks, liquor bottles and a few more outrageous mementos, all of which the Park would have to clear away for the sake of the environment. Now, there is more than a crude cross to mark the spot. As of September 19th, a beautiful memorial has been installed; a triangular installation, two with a headshot of Parsons, and the other a photo of him with his band, Flying Burrito Brothers. The headshot text asks, “Who Was Gram Parsons?” It answers in three paragraphs that he was a musician, a creator, and a friend and collaborator. A footnote shows a quote from Keith Richards (taken from a Rolling Stone article in 2010): “I think he was just getting into his stride when he died. His actual output – the number of records he made and sold – was minimal. But his effect on country music is enormous. This is why we’re talking about him now. But we can’t know what its full impact could have been.”

Gram Parsons died of a drug overdose in room 8 of the Joshua Tree Inn at 27 years old, September 19, 1973.

PC: Walter R Ruff

Philip Bonafede has been growing desert gardens for over 45 years and has been doubling as one of the greater Joshua Tree area’s snake wranglers and snake-aversion dog trainers since 1998. You can contact him at 760-401-4488 or email at pbdesert@earthlink.net

A RATTLESNAKE BIT MY DOG!

By Philip Bonafede

Canine Rattlesnake bites have escalated all over the USA due to several factors: Encroachment into rattlesnake habitat (where they have lived for over 12 million years) a growing population in the Hi Desert, previous quarantines which removed humans from their habitat and a general lack of education among dogs and dog owners. Since a vast majority of our K9 pals have never seen a rattlesnake they have no idea how to react safely to avoid a fatal bite!

SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR

If you notice your dog exhibiting unusual behavior, after being outside, like heavy breathing, wining and acting uncomfortable then look for blood around the face area. This is a common location for a bite. The face may soon start to swell soon around the bite location. You must get your dog to the vet ASAP to avoid further complications, tissue loss or even death. Remove the collar because the swelling could strangle your dog if the neck area was bitten.

BITE SEVERITY

Just like in humans there are many variables which magnify or minimize the effects of a rattlesnake bite: Location of the bite, size and species of rattlesnake, allergies to venom or anti-venom, how much venom was injected, incompatible medications, age and size of dog.

Keep in mind that 25% of all bites are dry, meaning there is no venom, and 80% of dogs survive with treatment.Please do not kill the snake. Snakes only

defend themselves when they think something is going to kill and eat them. Rattlesnakes are never ‘aggressive.’ Never ever approach, disturb, throw sticks, rocks, or try to kill a rattlesnake! This is where humans are bitten the most! Red Diamond rattlesnakes are protected under federal law.

CANINE RATTLESNAKE VACCINES

According to vets who documented cases where they treated dogs which received the vaccine and dogs which had not received the vaccine, their conclusion was they could see no difference. “There remains little fact-based data to support the efficacy of the vaccine to date,” according to Valerie Wiebe, Pharm.D with the University of California, Davis. Basically, what she’s saying, it isn’t clear if the vaccine actually works.

There is not enough research supporting the vaccine has any affect to lessen the severity of a rattlesnake bite. It has been suggested that the vaccine is only available to provide the dog owner with some assurance and peace of mind. Some believe that Benadryl helps affected canines, however, there is no science supporting that. Veterinarian friends of mine have told me that it may calm your dog a bit but that is all.

RATTLESNAKE FENCING

This is a highly effective solution to rattlesnakes on your property if installed by a professional installer. I recommend Rattlesnake Solutions out of Cave Creek Az. Bryan Hughes owner.

CANINE SNAKE AVERSION TRAINING

Rattlesnake aversion training for your dog is an intelligent choice. While a vet bill for a rattlesnake bite can exceed $3000.00, a 60-minute rattlesnake aversion class costs $150 with a free follow up! Since a rattlesnake bite causes no immediate pain, your dog will never learn from a rattlesnake bite. Aversion training provides instant, split second stimulation from a properly fitted E collar causing a microsecond muscle spasm that startles the dog. This does not hurt the dog but provides a powerful message that a rattlesnake is bad news and that close proximity is the cause of this discomfort. Most dogs carry this lesson for life.

For snake relocation or Phil’s K9 Rattlesnake Aversion Classes you can reach him via text at 760-401-4488 or email him at pbdesert@earthlink.net. Scan the QR code for his Facebook page.

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

The Watson Twins

Courtesy of All Eyes Media

Long before their entwined voices took them around the world — first as harmony singers for Jenny Lewis, then as leaders of their own critically-acclaimed band — The Watson Twins grew up in the American South. They sang in the church choir. They listened to gospel classics and country standards. Those sounds became part of their musical foundation, connecting the siblings to their Kentucky hometown even after they relocated to Los Angeles and, years later, settled in Nashville.

Chandra and Leigh Watson’s southern roots break through the surface once again with HOLLER. Recorded with their Tennessee-based touring band and produced by Grammy nominee Butch Walker, it’s an album that highlights the identical twin sisters’ songwriting chops and vocal chemistry. Songs like “Two Timin’” and “The Palace” make room for Telecaster twang and honky-tonk harmonies, while ballads like “Never Be Another You” are countrified classics for the modern world. Together, these 10 songs nod to the siblings’ old-school influences while boldly pushing forward into new territory. Captured during a series of live-in-the-studio recording sessions, HOLLER isn’t just The Watson Twins’ most collaborative album to date — it’s their strongest, too.

Everything began with “Two Timin’,” a longtime staple of The Watson Twins’ live show. “When we were opening for Jenny Lewis in 2018, people kept coming up to us and asking which album ‘Two Timin” was on,”

Chandra remembers. “That song is a honky-tonk jam, but it never fit on any of our records. So we set out to create a home where it could comfortably live.”

The Watson Twins’ will be at Pappy & Harriet’s on October 29th. The duo is on the road with The Band of Heathens in support of their recent album HOLLER

(Bloodshot Records). You can listen to their new album at https://bloodshot.lnk. to/TWTholler

HOLLER has received praise from Wall Street Journal, No Depression, Billboard, Holler, Glide Magazine, mxdwn, and others. Accolades include:

“Throughout the 10-track set, countrymusic-style emotional truth-telling melds with catchy, rhythmic pop sounds, demanding close attention to get the full picture.” – The Wall Street Journal

“Produced by Butch Walker, it’s a rollicking affair that weds the sisters’ stunning harmonies with the sounds of classic ’70s country.” – No Depression

“Throughout the project, they deliver each track with a steely confidence, an abundance of handclaps and folk-pop sensibility.” – Billboard

On HOLLER, the sisters team up with Grammy-nominated producer Butch Walker to deliver a collection of countryinfused, telecaster–twanged tunes that highlight the twin’s songwriting prowess and vocal synergy. The 10 songs on HOLLER nod to the siblings’ old-school influences of the American South while boldly pushing forward into new territory. Captured during a series of live-in-the-studio recording sessions, HOLLER isn’t just The Watson Twins’ most collaborative album to date — it’s their strongest, too.

Listen to The Watson Twins - HOLLER

Scan for The Watson Twins show at Pappy & Harriets.