INSIDE: HOW PITTSBURGHERS CAN VOTE BY MAIL DURING THE PANDEMIC PITTSBURGH S PITTSBURGH’S ALTE AL TERNATIVE FO TE OR + NEWS NE WS, ARTS ENTE EN T RTAINMEN NT S NC SI CE 1991
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APR RIL 1- 8, 2020
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APRIL 1-8, 2020 VOLUME 29 + ISSUE 14 Editor-In-Chief LISA CUNNINGHAM Director of Advertising JASMINE HUGHES Director of Operations KEVIN SHEPHERD Managing Editor ALEX GORDON Senior Writers RYAN DETO, AMANDA WALTZ Staff Writers HANNAH LYNN, JORDAN SNOWDEN Photographer/Videographer JARED WICKERHAM Digital Media Manager JOSH OSWALD Editorial Designer ABBIE ADAMS Graphic Designers JOSIE NORTON, JEFF SCHRECKENGOST Events and Sponsorship Manager BLAKE LEWIS Senior Account Executive KAITLIN OLIVER Sales Representative ZACK DURKIN Operations Coordinator MAGGIE WEAVER Events and Marketing Coordinator BRYER BLUMENSCHEIN Business Manager JUSTIN MATASE Circulation Manager JEFF ENGBARTH Featured Contributors REGE BEHE, LYNN CULLEN, TERENEH IDIA, CHARLES ROSENBLUM, JESSIE SAGE Intern OLLIE GRATZINGER National Advertising Representative VMG ADVERTISING 1.888.278.9866 OR 1.212.475.2529 Publisher EAGLE MEDIA CORP.
FIRSTSHOT BY JARED WICKERHAM
GENERAL POLICIES: Contents copyrighted 2020 by Eagle Media Corp. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. The opinions expressed in Pittsburgh City Paper are those of the author and not necessarily of Eagle Media Corp. LETTER POLICY: Letters, or e-mails must be signed and include town and daytime phone number for confirmation. We may edit for length and clarity. DISTRIBUTION: Pittsburgh City Paper is published weekly by Eagle Media Corp. and is available free of charge at select distribution locations. One copy per reader; copies of past issues may be purchased for $3.00 each, payable in advance to Pittsburgh City Paper. FIRST CLASS MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS: Available for $175 per year, $95 per half year. No refunds.
ON THE COVER: CITY BOOKS OWNER ARLAN HESS PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM READ THE STORY ON PAGE 14
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THE BIG STORY
VOTING REMOTE Coronavirus means Pittsburghers are self-quarantining for who knows how long, so let’s all vote by mail BY RYAN DETO // RYANDETO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
O
N MARCH 27, Gov. Tom Wolf (D-York)
signed legislation to move the Pennsylvania primary election to June 2 as a response to the coronavirus pandemic. This gives voters, candidates, and county election officials an extra six weeks to prepare for the primary, which will likely occur under unprecedented circumstances. Coronavirus has led many parts of Pennsylvania to shut down and most of its residents to self-quarantine. The social distancing guidelines mean people are avoiding
any sort of gatherings, and people are asked to only visit places that might have people close together, like grocery stores, as infrequently as possible. After initially wanting businesses to start opening up again by Easter, President Donald Trump relented and said on March 29 that social distancing guidelines will continue until at least the end of April. Some health experts expect closures to continue beyond then. There are no certainties that everything will be back to normal by June 2, and whether standing in
line on Election Day with other voters will be permitted. In fact, Pennsylvania’s new voting law (Act 77 of 2019) allows county officials to close polling places if necessary. There is a chance in-person voting will be extremely limited or not exist at all. But fear not: Last year, Pennsylvania altered its voting rules and now all registered voters can vote by mail with no excuse necessary. Given the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic, Pittsburgh City Paper is urging everyone who can to take advantage of the new no-excuse mail-in ballot law. And CP isn’t CONTINUES ON PG. 6
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VOTING REMOTE, CONTINUED FROM PG. 4
DON’T FORGET TO RESPOND TO THE U.S. CENSUS BY RYAN DETO RYANDETO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
The U.S. Census only comes around every 10 years. It’s the only time the country attempts to count every single resident, meaning it is incredibly important for everyone to be counted, especially those who are historically undercounted like immigrants, people of color, and those with disabilities. The proper count affects which communities receive funding, and what kind of funding. Ways to respond: People can respond online at my2020census.gov or fill out and return the paper questionnaire that was sent to your home. People can also respond to the census questionnaire via the phone. Online and phone responses are available in 13 languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, Tagalog, Polish, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, and Japanese. Who fills out questionnaire: Only one person per household should respond to the questionnaire. The person should include information about where they live and sleep most of the time, and that person should make sure to include information about everyone who lives and sleeps at the home most of the time. If a household doesn’t respond, a census taker should follow up between May and July.
the only one. Both state and Allegheny County officials have launched advertising campaigns encouraging voters to vote by mail. Here is how you can vote by mail and why it’s important not just this upcoming primary, but all future Pennsylvania elections.
Immigrants: There is no question about citizenship status on the 2020 Census. The Trump administration attempted to include a citizenship question, but that effort was stopped by the U.S. Supreme Court.
How to vote by mail
LGBTQ people: The 2020 census asks about people’s sex and only provides the answers of “male” and “female.” It doesn’t provide a box for non-binary or trans individuals. The National LGBTQ Task Force reminds people they can “self-identify here in the way that feels most comfortable” and the Census Bureau doesn’t cross-reference individuals’ answers on the census with any other documentation. Answers to this question don’t need to match what you have on official documents. Homeless: In the coming months, census workers should be visiting shelters, food kitchens, and homeless encampments to ensure the homeless population is counted. •
Pennsylvania ballots are almost all finalized, but there are a few things you must do before you can receive a ballot in the mail. First, make sure you are registered to vote. This can be accomplished easiest by registering online at votespa.com/ Register-to-Vote. Or fill out a Pennsylvania Voter Registration Application and mail it to your county voting office. (In Allegheny County, that’s 542 Forbes Ave., Suite 609, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15219-2913.) To register, Pennsylvania residents must have a PennDOT driver’s license or identification card, or supply the last four digits of their social security number.
Only U.S. citizens are allowed to vote. Applications are available in English and Spanish. The registration deadline is now May 18. Remember, Pennsylvania is a closed primary state, so if you want to vote for candidates in the primary, you must register for their political party. All voters, even those without party affiliation, can vote for ballot questions during the primary. Once registered, voters can apply for a mail-in ballot application. The easiest way to do this is online at VotesPA.com/ ApplyMailBallot. To apply, voters must supply their PennDOT driver’s license or ID, or their last four digits of their social security number. If voters don’t have those for the application, they must provide a copy of another form of current identification that shows a name, a photo, and an expiration date. This alternative ID can be a U.S. Passport; a U.S. Military ID; employee photo ID issued by a federal, Pennsylvania state, Pennsylvania county, or Pennsylvania municipal government; photo ID issued
by an accredited Pennsylvania public or private institution of higher learning; or a photo ID issued by a Pennsylvania care facility, including long-term care facilities, assisted-living residences and personal-care homes. Pennsylvania is also allowing absentee ballot applications for those accustomed to voting that way. The deadline to apply for a no-excuse mailin ballot and absentee ballot application is May 26. If you like, you can signify that you would like permanent mail-in ballots, and your county election office will mail you a ballot for each election, including potential special elections, for that calendar year. A permanent mailin ballot request must be submitted every year. Once all ballots are finalized, county officials will mail voters a ballot if their applications are accepted. Then, mark the ballot following the instructions and make sure to sign the ballot or it may not count. Place the ballot in the secrecy envelope provided, put a stamp
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on the envelope, and mail it to your county election office. (Allegheny County’s is 542 Forbes Ave., Suite 609, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15219-2913.) The deadline to return your mail-in or absentee ballot is 8 p.m. on June 2. The ballot must be received by that deadline. Postmarks do not count. So, mail in your ballot a couple days early, just to be safe. An important reminder is that if you apply for and receive a mail-in ballot, it is best to vote via the mail-in ballot, since you will not be allowed to vote on the machines at your polling place on Election Day. This is to ensure people do not vote twice. If you do request and receive a mail-in ballot, but don’t return it, you may be able to vote at your polling place, but you must request a provisional ballot.
Why this is important Given the coronavirus closures and social distancing requirements, it’s possible voting by mail will be your only chance to vote in Allegheny County and the surrounding area for this upcoming primary election. Stay-at-home orders have already been instituted for Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Washington,
and Westmoreland counties. It’s unclear when those will be lifted, and it’s possible more area counties will be added. But the law could have lasting benefits beyond the rarity of voting during a pandemic. It could also boost Pennsylvania’s low voter turnout. According to Washington Monthly magazine, Pennsylvania’s voter turnout was poor compared to other states that have had vote-by-mail for years. In the 2014 election, Pennsylvania’s turnout among registered voters was around 48%, even with a hotly contested U.S. Senate race. While in 2014 in Oregon, which has vote-by-mail, had no U.S. Senate or governor’s race and still produced about 71% turnout among registered voters. Turnout has been increasing in Pennsylvania since 2014, but no-excuse voteby-mail may give the state a boost. Whether or not that’s good for certain factions of each political party (increased turnout recently has been tied to more moderate candidates winning election), there is little doubt it’s beneficial for democratic values. The more people vote, the more representative Pennsylvania will be of its citizens.
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Allegheny County Jail
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Allegheny County Jail has been releasing inmates because of COVID-19. Why it matters. BY RYAN DETO // RYANDETO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
To make an appointment: (412) 247-2310
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“Whole People, All People.” metrocommunityhealthcenter.org
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S OF NOON ON Mon., March 30,
there have been 595 inmates released from the Allegheny County Jail, according to county officials. That’s a decrease of about 25% of Monday’s total population, which was down to 1,818, according to the jail’s website. The release is part of a collaborative effort between Allegheny County judges, the public defender’s office, the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office, and the jail. The effort is meant to release inmates with non-violent charges and those who are vulnerable to COVID-19. When the jail is crowded, it is more difficult or impossible for inmates and employees to practice the six-feet social distancing recommended to stem the spread of coronavirus. Bret Grote of the criminal-justice group Abolitionist Law Center is supportive of the measures and believes even more
inmates should be released. “Almost all the people in the jail are going to be released from the jail this year anyway,” said Grote on March 19. “People are constantly cycling in and out. Jails are a public health crisis in non-pandemic times, but in this given moment, I think we can focus on public health.” Several jails across the country have been releasing inmates in response to coronavirus. The Cuyahoga County Jail in Cleveland has also released more than 900 inmates. Los Angeles County has released at least 1,700 inmates who had sentences with less than 30 days left, according to Reuters. As jails have seen more positive cases of coronavirus over the past few weeks, officials have been scrambling to release more inmates to keep staff and inmates safe, and to slow the spread of the virus. On March 27, an Allegheny County
Jail employee who didn’t have direct contact with inmates tested positive for COVID-19. Allegheny County Councilors Liv Bennett (D-North Side) and Bethany Hallam (D-Ross) introduced emergency legislation to mandate releases of all inmates who are not constitutionally obligated to be detained. (Inmates who are constitutionally obligated to be held applies to most people charged with violent offenses.) However, the bill failed to pass council. The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania started an emergency petition on Monday calling for all 67 county jails in the state to release “broad categories” of inmates that include people booked on probation violations, people detained solely because they can’t post bail, and those facing greater health risks due to COVID-19.
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• ALL INSURANCES ACCEPTED • WALK INS WELCOME • tRANSPORATION PROGRAM • NO INSURANCE? WE CAN HELP The ACLU commended Allegheny County on its efforts, but thinks more can be done. Since March 19, the jail has released an average of about 37 inmates per day. Criminal justice advocates believe about 75% of the jail’s population can be released. At the current pace, the Allegheny County jail would reach that 75% population reduction by May 2. The White House recommended in mid-March that gatherings of 10 or more people be avoided. This week, the White House also extended those social distancing guidelines to extend until at least April 30. The ACLU believes that jails can drastically reduce their populations not only in response to coronavirus, but in
general. Sara Rose of the ACLU of PA said on March 19 that sometimes, close to 1,000 people are held in the jail simply because they can’t afford their cash bail. Allegheny County Judge Mik Pappas of Highland Park is an open advocate of many reforms to reduce inmate populations, like eliminating cash bail. On March 28, he tweeted about how, before coronavirus, the Allegheny County Jail was only able to reduce the inmate population by 7% in the first year of a two-year, $2 million project. “Then a 20% [decrease] within 1 week of deciding to only incarcerate the most high risk individuals,” Pappas wrote on Twitter. “Which we should have been doing all along.”
North Shore - 127 Anderson Street - Suite 101 Timber Court Building, PIttsburgh, PA 15212 Phone: (412) 322-4151 washington, pa - 95 Leonard Avenue Suite 203, Washington PA 15301 Phone: (724) 249-2517 beaver county - 2360 hospital drive Suite 1, aliquippa, pa 15001 Phone: (724)707-1155
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THIS WEEK ONLINE AT PGHCITYPAPER.COM
Pittsburgh grocery stores offering dedicated hours for seniors and other shoppers vulnerable to coronavirus Keep that car parked — street sweeping is on hold until further notice How Planned Parenthood is handling the coronavirus Pittsburgh has reported a loss of population for the seventh year in a row Pennsylvania leads the nation in a record week of new unemployment claims Humane Animal Rescue is asking for donations to help feed pets in families impacted by coronavirus
PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER APRIL 1-8, 2020
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.FOOD.
WHAT ARE PITTSBURGHERS EATING DURING QUARANTINE? BY MAGGIE WEAVER MWEAVER@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
CP ILLUSTRATION: ABBIE ADAMS
“Pickles that I think have been in my fridge way too long” — Alex Eats Too Much Instagram.com/ alexeatstoomuch Earlier this week, I sent an SOS text to my mom: “Help! I need dinner ideas.” With the Stay-at-Home order in place, I (along with many other people) have had to confront the fact that my cooking skills are miserable. But thanks to many Instagram stories, I also know that being stuck at home has turned many people into gourmet at-home chefs. So, I’ve posed the question: What are you cooking during quarantine? I’ll be collecting recipes, snacks, and bad pantry finds that everyday people (aka non-chefs) are eating while they’re stuck at home. Email mweaver@pghcitypaper.com to submit yours. •
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CP PHOTOS: MAGGIE WEAVER
Chicken tikka masala and palak paneer from People’s Indian
.RESTAURANT REVIEW.
TAKES ON TAKEOUT BY MAGGIE WEAVER // MWEAVER@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
W
HEN I WALKED INTO People’s Indian to pick-up my online order, the dining room was quiet and the kitchen was buzzing. The tables — the few not covered by flipped chairs — were packed full with bags waiting to be delivered, picked up, and eaten. As social distancing guidelines extend and stay-at-home orders increase, I, like many Pittsburghers, have turned to local restaurants in search of comfort food. Here are my thoughts on a few take-out options I’ve tried during the pandemic.
People’s Indian 5147 PENN AVE., GARFIELD. PEOPLESINDIAN.COM On a Friday night, I ordered two of my favorite dishes from the Garfield restaurant: palak paneer and chicken tikka masala with a side of naan. They’re polar opposites; palak paneer is mild and rich, while tikka masala packs a light zing. It’s not often that I call spinach lush, but People’s palak paneer deserves the title. The base — spinach and spices
made into a paste-like sauce — is thick and creamy, almost as if it was whipped like cream. The restaurant’s fresh cheese (paneer) is springy and lightweight, a perfect counter for the dense puree. The tikka masala took a different approach; the creamy, tomato-based sauce almost refreshing compared to the paneer dish. It was best bolstered with a base of rice (or naan, though I find it’s harder to soak up the sauce with the flatbread), to ensure that every last bit of the flavor-packed curry is consumed.
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Pre-bottled negroni from tina’s
Bae Bae’s Kitchen 951 LIBERTY AVE., DOWNTOWN. BAEBAES.KITCHEN Ordering from Bae Bae’s Kitchen buildit-yourself menu is broken down into three steps. First, pick a base: rice, glass noodles, or salad. Then, choose a protein: Korean fried chicken, beef bulgogi, tofu, or fire chicken. And finally, a side: kimchi or vegetable tempura. Thanks to the Korean restaurant’s recent addition of delivery through Uber Eats, I was able to order a rice, bulgogi, and kimchi bowl straight to my door. There’s a reason that the Downtown Korean restaurant is consistently packed during lunch hours. Their flavors are incredible. The bulgogi — a traditional Korean marinade — is earthy and savory, and matched well with the lightness of added greens and zing of kimchi. The slices of meat are thin, but not tough. And the rice is no exception to the restaurant’s affinity for rich flavors. The jasmine rice is packed with seaweed and sesame for a salty, briny taste. The bowl left me feeling as all comfort food should: full and sleepy.
tina’s 4144 MAIN ST., BLOOMFIELD APP.UPSERVE.COM/S/TINASPITTSBURGH There’s at least one good thing that has come from the outbreak: bars are
bottling and selling cocktails. I ordered a pre-bottled negroni from tina’s newly-added online menu. It was a simple concept: stir and serve. The mix, like all tina’s cocktails, was expertly balanced and let the three pillars of the classic cocktail — gin, vermouth, and Campari – shine. Ten minutes after I left the bar, I was happily drinking a wellcrafted negroni on my deck.
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Iron Born Pizza 413 GRANT AVE., MILLVALE; 1806 SMALLMAN ST., STRIP DISTRICT. IRONBORNPIZZA.COM I go to Iron Born for the crust. Owner Pete Tolman’s two-day fermented dough is packed with flavor, rising and bubbling beautifully to the top of deep dish pans. Because cheese comes before sauce on Detroit-style pies, there’s an added richness; the deep pan allows the cheese to seep down the dough, making for a crusty, almost caramelized, edge. I went with my normal order from the pizzeria, the spicy pie. This is made in the Michigan city’s classic style with red sauce dolloped on top of cheese, finished off with spicy soppressata, pepperoni, banana peppers, and hot honey. The spiciness of the soppressata and hot honey counterbalances the richness of the cheesy crust, making for a seamless flavor that finishes with a spicy kick.
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THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING LOCAL JOURNALISM Thank you to the following readers who have signed up for Pittsburgh City Paper’s new membership campaign Aaron Aupperlee Aaron Jentzen Abby Cook Abigail Gardner Adam Knoerzer Adam Schweigert Adam Shuck Al Hoff Alec Magnani Alex McCann Alex Walsh Amy Bilkey Amy Montgomery Andrea Lynn Andrew Brown Andrew Conte Andrew Mulkerin Andrew Seymour Angelos Tzelepis Anna Reilly Anni Sweetser April Gilmore April McCann Arielle Eyers Arla White Ashley Kenawell Barbara Valaw Barbara Weaver Ben Panko Ben Soltesz Benjamin Weaver Bennett Aikin Beth Newman Beth Wickerham Bethany Hallam Brandy Hadden Brentin Mock Brett Yasko Brian Kelly Caitlin O’Connor
Campbell Robertson Carol Pickerine Carolyn Regan Carrie Roy Cathy Elliott Chad Efaw Charles Anthony Chris Belasco Chris Gillotti Chris Mueller Chris Potter Chris Watts Christina Barry Christopher Briem Cindy Hudson Cole Gleason Coleman Lamb Cortney Bouse Dana Bell Dana Estep Daniel Jacobowitz Daniel Tasse Danielle Walker Dara Pruszenski David Newman David Oakley David Vatz Debbie Breckenridge Deno De Ciantis Divyansh Kaushik Don Pellegrino Eileen French Elizabeth Butler Elizabeth Silver Ellen Philips Emilie Yonan Emma Neely Erica Warnitsky Erin Kelly Evelyn Meinert
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Magda Gangwar Margaret Krauss Mark Goodman Mark Solomon Mark Westbrook Mark Winer Mary Briles Mary Guzzetta Matt Adams Matt Moret Matthew Buchholz Matthew Cartier Matthew Hynes Megan Brady Melissa Kohr Micaela Corn Michael Colaresi Michael Damico Michael Shuker Michael Wasson Mike Beattie Molly Toth Morgan Jenkins Myles Gordon Nate Jay Neil Bhaerman Neil Owen Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh Nick Honkaal Nick Malawskey Nikki Walton Noah Theriault Nora Smith Norma Bronder Office of Public Art Ollie Gratzinger Patricia Oliver Patty Delaney Paul McGowan
Peter McKay Rachel Ward Raymond Leech Raymond Martin Rebecca Boyer Rebecca Seibel Rich Lord Richelle Meer Rick D’Loss Rob Rossi Robert Baird Robert Lang Robert Raczka Ron Vodenichar Samuel Gordon Sarah Hamm Sarah Wiggin Sean Collier Shannon Kelly Shawn Cooke Sherri Suppa Stacey Campbell Stephanie Sedor Stephen Wagner Steve Holz Stuart Strickland Sue Kerr Susan Jackson Tara Spence Tobin Seastedt Todd Derr Toni Haraldsen Vicki Cunningham Virginia Alvino Young Will Simmons William J Schoy IV William O’Driscoll
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STOP THE SPREAD OF GERMS Wash your hands Stay at home when you are sick Cover your cough or sneeze b|_ - ঞvv ; PHOTO: PRINCESS JAFAR
Princess Jafar
.PEOPLE.
CHECKING IN WITH PRINCESS JAFAR BY ALEX GORDON // ALEXGORDON@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
E
VERYBODY IS DEALING with the COVID-19 quar-
antines and restrictions in different ways. While there’s no single right way to cope — social distancing and staying TF home aside — staying connected with friends, family, and neighbors is a good place to start. You can contact your loved ones on your own, but you might also be curious how your favorite strangers in Pittsburgh are coping, so Pittsburgh City Paper is reaching out once a day to beloved city icons to see how they’re doing. Here’s our check-in with Pittsburgh drag sensation Princess Jafar. HOW ARE YOU DOING WITH THE RESTRICTIONS DUE TO CORONAVIRUS? I was fortunate to quarantine with a studio mate and their partner. Between the three of us, we pulled our resources to be able to spend $500 over three trips, the first week we started self-isolation, to Whole Foods and Aldi. I have compromised lung health. I have severe asthma and use two inhalers when I’m “healthy.” As a performance artist, I am broken that my game show night was canceled. As an event producer, I am broke. I lost nearly $10,000 estimated from canceled gigs, event documentation, and DJing.
LAST TIME WE TALKED, IN NOVEMBER 2019, YOU SAID YOU WERE ENJOYING WATCHING ALF AND DICK CAVETT AND TALK SHOWS. WHAT’S BRINGING YOU COMFORT NOW, TV-WISE OR ANY OTHER MEDIA? I’ve been revisiting the Dean Martin celebrity roasts, Unsolved Mysteries (as long as the mysteries are over 30 years old so I don’t have to worry as much), and Celebrity Ghost Stories. Those are all available on a free streaming app and site called Tubi TV. They also
have all of the Tiffany “I love New York” Pollard spin-off reality TV shows and Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie’s The Simple Life. I recommend giving the free streaming sites like Tubi TV, Pluto TV, Crackle, YouTube, and Dailymotion a chance this quarantine. WHAT HAS YOUR ROUTINE BEEN LIKE FOR THE PAST WEEK? I have become a cat. I make sure to wash dishes and clean the kitchen every morning but besides that, a routine has been hard to find. It’s kind of hard to make sense of the days. I have been writing and practicing and trying to make sense of a switch from a live stage show to an online experience. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEAL AT THIS TIME? I love making dough balls and sticking them in the freezer and then hand stretching pizzas. It makes me feel healthier because I’m making it from scratch, but I’m just eating pizza. WHAT IS PRINCESS JAFAR WORKING ON NOW? WHAT WOULD AN IDEAL QUARANTINE SHOW LOOK LIKE? I am working on how to produce an online show that highlights and compensates the work of everyone involved. An ideal quarantine show would have a lot of functioning green screen and an online audience that is paying for the show.
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READ MORE OF CP ’S QUARANTINE PROFILES AT PGHCITYPAPER.COM. FIND PRINCESS JAFAR ON INSTAGRAM @PRINCESSJAFAR.
Clean and disinfect frequently For updates on COVID-19 in Allegheny County, follow the Allegheny Health Department on -1;0ooh ş $ b ;u Sign up for Allegheny Alerts at alleghenycounty.us/alerts
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Follow managing editor Alex Gordon on Twitter @shmalexgordon PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER APRIL 1-8, 2020
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.FILM.
CINEMA STREAM BY AMANDA WALTZ AWALTZ@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
PHOTO: MUSIC BOX FILMS
And Then We Danced
As businesses remain closed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, people have still found ways to support their favorite restaurants and shops, even if they can’t patronize them in person. But what about movie theaters, particularly independent ones? In Pittsburgh, independent theaters are making sure scheduled films reach isolated audiences by offering online streaming options. CP PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM
Parkway Theater
Arlan Hess, owner of City Books, quarantined at home
communityreelartscenter.org
The Parkway Theater in McKees Rocks is streaming its new release films, including documentaries Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band and the Chinese thriller The Wild Goose Lake. A large portion of ticket sales will go directly to supporting Parkway Theater.
Row House Cinema rowhousecinema.com
On March 21, Row House Cinema launched its online portal with the promise that, each Friday, two new films will be released on its website, including Pittsburgh premiere films or classics in “true Row House form.” Now through Thu., April 2, you can catch Bacurau, And Then We Danced, or The Whistlers. Ticket prices range from $8-12 with half of the proceeds going to help Row House through its temporary closure.
Tull Family Theater thetullfamilytheater.org
The Tull Family Theater in Sewickley is offering virtual “screening rooms” and working with various partners to give film fans more options. Users can pay to stream Tull’s featured movies, or find links to a free one-month trial for Music Box Direct (use promo code TFT) and a free three-month trial for MUBI.
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.LITERATURE.
READING THE ROOM BY REGE BEHE // CPCONTRIBUTORS@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
T
WO ADIRONDACK chairs sit in front of Classic Lines Books in Squirrel Hill. When the bookshop is open, you’ll find a customer or owner Dan Iddings or even a tired pedestrian relaxing in one of the chairs. But since the closing of non-essential businesses in Pittsburgh, the seats — and the bookshop — have been empty. “You’ve been out there, you know what it’s like,” Iddings says. “It’s like a ghost town.” Independent book stores in the city have seen a dramatic drop in business since mid-March. Classic Lines, White Whale Bookstore in Bloomfield, City of Asylum Bookstore and City Books in the North Side, Caliban Books in Oakland, and Amazing Books & Records, with locations Downtown and in Squirrel Hill, are trying to cope as best as they can. They take orders online. They reach out to loyal customers via social media platforms. They offer free shipping, curbside pickup, and some even deliver
PHOTO: DAN IDDINGS
Classic Lines Books
books to customers’ homes. Arlan Hess, owner of City Books, says she offered online sales with curbside pickup at first, but stopped when Gov. Tom Wolf ordered social distancing. “Because my husband has asthma, and we moved his 85-year-old mother into our house for the duration of the quarantine, I didn’t want to put our household in jeopardy,” Hess says.
Instead, she’s brainstorming other options, including launching a new customer loyalty program. “I’m not going to panic,” says Hess. “We’ll figure out how to get through this.” But Hess’ guarded optimism is counterbalanced by the reality all indie bookstores face: mounting bills versus depleted sales. And every owner feels heartache about their employees, many of whom are part-time and have other jobs that are also considered non-essential. While the financial toll of closed bookstores can’t be overstated, the emotional loss of community, of just having a place for book lovers to congregate, is also damaging. At White Whale Bookstore, Jill Yeomans, co-owner with her husband Adlai, has had to cancel all in-store events, including 28 in April. While they are exploring the possibility of hosting online readings, the most tangible loss is the bookstore itself. “It’s such a supportive thing to come into the bookstore every day and see
CP PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM
White Whale Bookstore in Bloomfield
regulars that you love who want to talk about books,” she says, her voice cracking. “For us personally, we feel the effect of the lack of that. … I’m standing here in the bookstore taking orders and filling online orders, but I’m interacting with very few people. I feel that, and it’s devastating.” That love of community is also felt by customers. Jane Bernstein, a creative writing professor at Carnegie Mellon University, says the importance of bookstores, and especially booksellers, is often overlooked. “The people who own and work at independent bookstores don’t see books as products that need to be moved off the shelves,” Bernstein says. “They read books and are eager to share what they love.” And they’ll share anything. At City of Asylum Bookstore, manager Lesley Rains keeps answering phones and taking orders for titles including The Plague by Albert Camus, The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, and Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. “I’m like, ‘Why?’” Rains says with a laugh about the eerily relevant titles. “But I’m glad to sell anybody anything. … It’s whatever makes people comfortable, that seems to be the theme, however individualized.” At the Amazing Books & Records location in Squirrel Hill, customers still stop by the store and ask for books, which owner Eric Ackland will find, then take to the door. He’s built a thriving community, especially at the Squirrel Hill location, hosting theme nights around holidays and welcoming book lovers with nowhere else to go. Now that community is in limbo, as
THE FOLLOWING BOOKSTORES ARE OFFERING ONLINE SHOPPING, DEALS, OR GIFT CERTIFICATES:
“Pittsburgh is often noted for its abundance of riches, for a city its size, when it comes to our arts scene. Pittsburgh City Paper, an alternative, free weekly paper that lifts up these organizations both large and small goes hand-in-hand with enabling them to thrive. We are lucky to have City Paper, and lucky for the individuals who work hard to ensure it has variety, inclusion, and integrity on its pages.” — Arcade Comedy Theater
AMAZING BOOKS & RECORDS DOWNTOWN AND SQUIRREL HILL AMAZINGBOOKSANDRECORDS.COM
CALIBAN BOOKS OAKLAND //CALIBANBOOKS.COM
NO NEWS IS BAD NEWS SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM by signing up for a Pittsburgh City Paper membership at pghcitypaper.com
CITY BOOKS NORTH SIDE CITYBOOKSPGH.COM/GIFTCERT
CITY OF ASYLUM BOOKS NORTH SIDE // CITYOFASYLUMBOOKS.ORG
CLASSIC LINES BOOKSTORE SQUIRREL HILL “CLASSIC LINES” ON FACEBOOK
MYSTERY LOVERS BOOKSHOP OAKMONT // MYSTERYLOVERS.COM
PENGUIN BOOKSHOP SEWICKLEY // PENGUINBOOKSHOP.COM
RIVERSTONE BOOKS NORTH HILLS RIVERSTONEBOOKSTORE.COM
SPARK BOOKS ASPINWALL // SPARKBOOKSPGH.COM
WHITE WHALE BOOKSTORE BLOOMFIELD WHITEWHALEBOOKSTORE.COM
is the fate of the store. “It’s difficult,” Ackland says “But somehow I am trusting we will all come through. We will or we won’t, and that will be OK too.”
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Follow featured contributor Rege Behe on Twitter @RegeBehe_exPTR PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER APRIL 1-8, 2020
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THE LOCAL 913: MORGAN ERINA BY JOEY SPEHAR // JOEY@WYEP.ORG
Morgan Erina has the kind of voice that gently claws its way into your soul and never leaves. She’s also a hell of a guitar player. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thrown on one of her expertly fingerpicked songs just to feel the warm embrace of her music. I’ve never lived inside of a cocoon made of fuzzy blankets, but I imagine it must feel similar. I was delighted to hear Morgan’s latest single a few months ago — “Are You Happy” It was her first official release in about JOEY SPEHAR IS five years, THE HOST OF THE though, if you MORNING MIX ON follow her on Instagram, you 91.3 WYEP FM know she’s prone to prop up her phone and play for the socially distant masses. Though her music very often puts her listeners at ease, Erina herself hasn’t felt so good about the scene in recent years. “For the last three or four years,” she said, “I’ve had a lot of anger and resentment. There were some things that happened in this scene that really hurt me. I just wanted to let go of all that.” It took a friend’s divorce to set her off on that path of rebirth. “I thought that I was just going to write the song for them. But as I was writing the song,” she said, “I realized that it was for both of us and for all of us, maybe.” Whatever you’re going through, Morgan Erina can help to expel that pain. “This song is about feeling freer,” she says. “It’s about anything you need to let go of.” Desperate times call for uplifting music and Morgan Erina is holding us all up. •
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Screencap from Lauren DeMichiei’s “American Cars” music video
.MUSIC.
SEVEN DAYS OF QUARANTUNES BYJORDAN SNOWDEN // JSNOWDEN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
S
CONCERTS are on hold indefinitely at the moment, CP compiled seven exciting new releases from Pittsburgh musicians and bands — one for every day of the week. INCE
THURSDAY Merdsommar: Singles Under 45 Vol.1
Bengt Alexsander ACTIONBENGT.BANDCAMP.COM During the quarantine, Bengt Alexsander of doom-rock band Action Camp has decided to release a series of covers to keep his mixing and performing skills sharp. Each song is themed around quarantines, viruses, and paranoia. For
Vol. 1, Alexsander covered ABBA’s 1975 track “S.O.S.” and “Abra Cadaver” from The Hives’ 2004 album Tyrannosaurus Hives.
FRIDAY Service
Chalk Dinosaur CHALKDINOSAUR.BANDCAMP.COM Friday is usually a day for happy hours and getting dinner with friends. Mimic the experience at home by ordering takeout and listening to Chalk Dinosaur’s new psychedelic, electronic-tinged release Service, featuring quarantine-centric song titles “Electric Friends,” “Time Off,” and “Spring Indoors.” Chalk Dinosaur is donating all sales from the release to
service industry workers who have lost income due to COVID-19 closures.
SATURDAY “Blue Dreams”
Konscious Kel SOUNDCLOUD.COM/KONSCIOUS-KEL It’s Saturday: Take a deep breath and relax, enjoy the weekend, and limit your exposure to social media. Turn on “Blue Dreams” from Konscious Kel and find some time for yourself. Read a book, do yoga, create art, or simply just let yourself be. Kel samples a woman singing a cover of “I Wish You Love,” sung by a multitude of artists over the years including Sam Cooke and Nancy Wilson.
SUNDAY
TUESDAY
“American Cars” music video
“Principles”
Lauren DeMichiei
Leila Rhodes
“LAUREN DEMICHIEI” ON YOUTUBE
SOUNDCLOUD.COM/ LEILARHODES
From Lauren “Shay” DeMichiei’s 2019 album Cite Your Sources comes a music video for pop-rock tune “American Cars.” Utilizing a green scene, DeMichiei’s video, which she directed, is full of bright colors and flashing images of things Americans consume, juxtaposed with scenes from nature. Her plan was to share the video around Earth Day but is pushing releases forward due to the quarantine.
Singer and producer Lelia Rhodes plans on dropping her debut album, Attunement, in the near future. She gave us a sneak peek of what’s to come with the single “Principles.” Rife with smoldering guitar licks, gentle synths, and easy R&B elements, there’s a good chance Attunement will be an electrifying album of blended styles.
MONDAY
WEDNESDAY
Don’t Let the Scene Go Down on Me! Vol. 1
“Don’t They Know (it’s the end of the world)”
Multiple Artists
Mystic Seers
DLTSGDOM.BANDCAMP.COM
MYSTICSEERS.BANDCAMP.COM
Since local booking collective Don’t Let the Scene Go Down on Me! can’t host shows at the moment, it’s releasing a series of digital four-band splits to help artists make revenue during the pandemic. Proceeds from the splits are evenly distributed between each contributing musician. Songs from Hit Like a Girl, short fictions, The Weak Days, and Baseball Dad make up the first volume.
Featuring a sample of Skeeter Davis’ 1962 track “The End of The World,” this Mystic Seers tune has a melodic beat that at first sounds full of sorrow. But don’t let it fool you, the lyrics are full of optimism. “I feel at peace,” it begins. “Soften the noise and let light comfort me / I don’t want any of that bad energy / Let me be here with the breeze.”
CAJÓNS, AND PERCUSSION ERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS SPECIALTY ST STORE
Custom-made in PittsburGH, PA!
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5413A WALNUT STREET | PGH PA | 15232
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Follow staff writer Jordan Snowden on Twitter @snowden_jordan
The Telephone Line’s Addi and Joe
We’re stuck at home. Musicians are stuck at home. We’re looking for entertainment. Musicians are looking to entertain. So City Paper is working with Pittsburgh artists and bands to bring you Quarantunes, a series of at-home performances to bring a little enjoyment to your day. PERFORMANCES ARE ONLINE NOW AT PGHCITYPAPER.COM PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER APRIL 1-8, 2020
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.DIY.
MASK ON BY HANNAH LYNN HLYNN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
B
Y NOW, IT’S NO secret that the
country is undersupplied for the current pandemic, perhaps best evidenced by the lack of medical-grade masks available for the people who need them the most. Every day, new photos circulate on social media of doctors wearing handkerchiefs to cover their faces and trash bags to cover their bodies because they have nothing else. To help provide some layer of protection, many people are jumping in to create DIY masks in whatever way they can. A few months ago, Joe Dornetta, a construction worker by trade, bought a 3D printer for fun, just to tinker around with. But when COVID-19 began spreading across Pennsylvania, he discovered a new use for it. A doctor friend sent Dornetta an open-source file from Copper 3D, a Chilean company that designs 3D printed medical devices. The doctor asked him to print some masks, ahead of the impending shortage. “I made a handful of them and as I’m dialing in our printers and figuring it out I’m thinking, ‘If I’ve got one doctor asking me for these, there has to be who knows how many,’” says Dornetta. “It blew my mind that someone that high up in the medical industry in a place like Pittsburgh was concerned about a mask shortage, so I knew immediately there was a problem.” Over the past couple weeks, Dornetta, along with his wife Kaitlin, who works as an oral surgical assistant, have set up a quasi-lab in their home and have
PHOTO: JOE DORNETTA
Kaitlin Dornetta printing masks and face shields
INFINITE LABS facebook.com/InfiniteLabsPGH
been printing as many masks and face shields as they can. They’ve printed and delivered free masks to doctors, nurses, firefighters, and other people working on the frontlines of the pandemic who don’t have sufficient protection. The Dornettas are currently running their operation under the name Infinite Labs, though they’re considering a
name change so as not to mislabel themselves as an actual lab. But with Kaitlin’s background in sanitizing medical equipment, they’ve tried to mimic a lab environment as much as possible. Materials go through three stages of cleaning before entering their production room and three more before they go out. Joe, like many DIY mask makers that have cropped up in the past few weeks, knows the masks he’s printing are not in any way equal to N95 masks or other medical-grade masks. But as
the saying goes, anything is better than nothing. “When we see these frontline workers, they literally look like they’ve been in the trenches for days,” says Joe. “I mean, they look so beat up and tired and they still have the determination to keep going. Anything I can do so that they don’t have to think about ‘I gotta go home and sew up a mask.’” The masks arrive flat, and are designed to be heated with a hairdryer and formed to the wearer’s face (a video tutorial is posted on the Infinite Labs Facebook page). The face shield is meant to be worn overtop, covering the entire face for an added layer of protection. While the Dornettas make and distribute the masks for free, they have set up donations on their Facebook page to help with the costs of printers and materials. They’ve already received a couple thousand dollars in donations, including a 3D printer donated by the Community College of Allegheny County mathematics department. Joe plans to keep making masks as long as the pandemic is spreading through Pittsburgh but he doesn’t plan to stop when the spread weakens locally. He wants to keep the operation going to provide protective gear globally as the pandemic spreads elsewhere. Using 3D printing to make masks and face shields hasn’t necessarily caught on in the same way as sewing masks with fabric, partly because 3D printers are less accessible. But Joe believes there’s a lot of untapped potential for using them to make emergency masks. “I truly believe in a city like Pittsburgh, with how technologically and medically advanced we are, this is the perfect place to make this happen.”
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Follow staff writer Hannah Lynn on Twitter @hanfranny
SEW HELPFUL BY HANNAH LYNN // HLYNN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
On March 17, the CDC released guidelines for healthcare providers to optimize the use of facemasks, and suggested using a scarf or bandana as a last resort. For many sewers and stitchers across the country, this was a call to put their skills to quick use, and make washable, reusable masks to provide for frontline and essential workers in need of protection. Artist Jenn Gooch is one of many in Pittsburgh who’s brought her sewing community together to help make masks. She posted a
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operationfacemask.com
PHOTO: JENN GOOCH
tutorial on YouTube on how to sew a mask at home, and a week and a half later, the project has a name — Operation Face Mask Pittsburgh — and a website where volunteers can sign up for washing, stitching, and driving, as well as donate money
and materials. The masks use cotton fabric, a non-woven polypropylene for a filter, ties, and a nose wire for a tight fit. “I think having this kind of community project has been really helpful to a lot of our volunteers who just want to have something they feel like they can do,” says Gooch. “Everyone feels helpless and is full of wanting to help.” She notes that many other Pittsburghers are rallying to make masks, including Nisha Blackwell of Knotzland, who has used her stock of upcycled fabric for mask-making, Firecracker Fabrics, who sold mask-making kits, and Protohaven, who are laser-cutting face shields. “It’s unfortunate that it takes misfortune to realize how strong your community is,” says Gooch. •
.FOR THE WEEK OF APRIL 2
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY BY ROB BREZSNY // INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
“If all the world’s a stage, where the hell is the teleprompter?” asks aphorist Sami Feiring. In my astrological opinion, you Aries are the least likely of all the signs to identify with that perspective. While everyone else might wish they could be better prepared for the nonstop improvisational tests of everyday life, most of you tend to prefer what I call the “naked spontaneity” approach. If you were indeed given the chance to use a teleprompter, you’d probably ignore it. Everything I just said is especially and intensely true for you right now.
How hard are you willing to work on your most important relationships? How might your life change for the better if you gave them your most potent resourcefulness and panache? The next eight weeks will be a favorable time for you to attend to these matters, Libra. During this fertile time, you will have unprecedented power to reinvigorate togetherness with imaginative innovations. I propose you undertake the following task: Treat your intimate alliances as creative art projects that warrant your supreme ingenuity.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
When Nobel Prize-winning Norwegian author Knut Hamsun was 25 years old, a doctor told him that the tuberculosis he had contracted would kill him within three months. But in fact, Hamsun lived 67 more years, until the age of 92. I suspect there’s an equally erroneous prophecy or unwarranted expectation impacting your life right now. A certain process or phenomenon that seems to be nearing an end may in fact reinvent or resurrect itself, going on to last for quite some time. I suggest you clear away any misapprehensions you or others might have about it.
“I make mistakes,” confessed author Jean Kerr. “I’ll be the second to admit it.” She was making a joke, contrasting her tepid sense of responsibility with the humbler and more common version of the idiom, which is “I make mistakes; I’ll be the first to admit it.” In the coming weeks, I’ll be fine if you merely match her mild level of apology — just as long as you do indeed acknowledge some culpability in what has gone amiss or awry or off-kilter. One way or another, you need to be involved in atonement and correction — for your own sake.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
If you have been thinking of adopting a child or getting pregnant with a new child, the coming weeks will be a favorable time to enter a new phase of rumination about that possibility. If you’ve been dreaming off and on about a big project that could activate your dormant creative powers and captivate your imagination for a long time to come, now would be a perfect moment to get more practical about it. If you have fantasized about finding a new role that would allow you to express even more of your beauty and intelligence, you have arrived at a fertile phase to move to the next stage of that fantasy.
I invite you to remember what you were thinking and feeling around your birthday in 2019. Were there specific goals you hoped to accomplish between then and your birthday in 2020? Were there bad old habits you aimed to dissolve and good new habits you proposed to instigate? Was there a lingering wound you aspired to heal or a debilitating memory you longed to conquer? The coming weeks will be an excellent time to take inventory of your progress in projects like those. And if you find that you have achieved less than you had hoped, I trust you will dedicate yourself to playing catch-up in the weeks between now and your birthday. You may be amazed at how much ground you can cover.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): I can’t swim. Why? There was a good reason when I was a kid: I’m allergic to chlorine, and my mom wouldn’t let me take swimming lessons at the local chlorine-treated pool. Since then, the failure to learn is inexcusable, and I’m embarrassed about it. Is there an equivalent phenomenon in your life, my fellow Cancerian? The coming weeks might be an excellent time to meditate on how to correct the problem. Now excuse me while I head out to my solo self-administered swim lesson at Bass Lake, buoyed by the instructions I got from a Youtube video.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Is William Shakespeare the greatest author who ever lived? French philosopher Voltaire didn’t think so, calling him “an amiable barbarian.” Russian superstar author Leo Tolstoy claimed The Bard had “a complete absence of aesthetic feeling.” England’s first Poet Laureate John Dryden called Shakespeare’s language “scarcely intelligible.” T. E. Lawrence, a.k.a Lawrence of Arabia, declared The Bard had a second-rate mind. Lord Byron said, “Shakespeare’s name stands too absurdly high and will go down.” His contemporary, the poet and playwright Ben Johnson, asserted that he “never had six lines together without a fault.” I offer these cheeky views to encourage you Leos to enjoy your own idol-toppling and authority-questioning activities in the coming weeks. You have license to be an irrepressible iconoclast.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo-born Jack Ma is China’s richest person and one of the world’s most powerful businessmen. He co-founded Alibaba, the Chinese version of Amazon.com. He likes his employees to work hard, but he also thinks they should cultivate a healthy balance between work and life. In his opinion, they should have sex six times a week, or 312 times a year. Some observers have suggested that’s too much — especially if you labor 12 hours a day, six days a week, as Jack Ma prefers — but it may not be excessive for you Virgos. The coming months could be a very erotic time. But please practice safe sex in every way imaginable.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Socially-distancing herself but still broadcasting LIVE every Monday thru Thursday at 10 a.m. at lynncullen.pghcitypaper.com
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I suggest you make room in your life for a time of sacred rejuvenation. Here are activities you might try: Recall your favorite events of the past. Reconnect with your roots. Research your genetic heritage. Send prayers to your ancestors, and ask them to converse with you in your dreams. Have fun feeling what it must have been like when you were in your mother’s womb. Get a phone consultation with a past life regression therapist who can help you recover scenes from your previous incarnations. Feel reverence and gratitude for traditions that are still meaningful to you. Reaffirm your core values — the principles that serve as your lodestar. And here’s the number one task I recommend: Find a place of refuge in your imagination and memories; use your power of visualization to create an inner sanctuary.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Are we just being poetic and fanciful when we say that wonder is a survival skill? Not according to the editors who assembled the collection of essays gathered in a book called Wonder and Other Survival Skills. They propose that a capacity to feel awe and reverence can help us to be vital and vigorous; that an appreciation for marvelous things makes us smart and resilient; that it’s in our selfish interests to develop a humble longing for sublime beauty and an attraction to sacred experiences. The coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to dive deep into these healing pleasures, dear Aquarius.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): For decades, the city of Sacramento, California suffered from severe floods when the Sacramento and American Rivers overflowed their banks. Residents authorized a series of measures to prevent these disasters, culminating in the construction of a 59,000-acre floodplain that solved the problem. According to my analysis, the coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to plan an equally systematic transformation. It could address a big ongoing problem like Sacramento’s floods, or it could be a strategy for reorganizing and recreating your life so as to gloriously serve your long-term dreams.
Go to realastrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s expanded weekly audio horoscopes and daily text-message horoscopes. The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700
PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER APRIL 1-8, 2020
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PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER SPROWLS
DJ ADMC
.DANCE.
DANCE THE PAIN AWAY BY AMANDA WALTZ // AWALTZ@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
I
N PITTSBURGH, as with many cities
dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, bars and clubs are now closed, leaving DJs with no place to play. As a result, some local DJs are going online with virtual dance parties. In the few weeks since state leaders called for nonessential businesses to shut down, regular events by Hot Mass, Darkness Is Spreading, and In Bed By Ten, as well as some usually hosted at Belvedere’s Ultra-Dive, have gone this route. “I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to do this since we had to cancel live events,” says Matthew Buchholz, who usually DJs In Bed By Ten. “People have been requesting it, so I finally decided to give it a try and have some fun.” DJ ADMC, real name Adam Cucitrone, recently took the monthly Sadderday emo dance party live for the first time. The party is in partnership with his residency at Belvedere’s Ultra-Dive, which closed to the public on March 13. “The patrons are like family to us, so to continue to provide their normal safe
space to party, we had to improvise,” says Cucitrone, who livestreamed Sadderday from his home studio on Instagram. Sarah huny young and her Darkness Is Spreading crew have so far livestreamed three online dance events, which are specially tailored to attract women and people who are Black, of color, and/or queer. “I really ache for my friends and the community of people who attend Darkness is Spreading events,” says huny, adding that she hopes to go live at least every Friday. “Even if we can’t be around each other right now, I still want them all to know there’s a place of joy and support for them. We can still rave.” For full- and part-time DJs, closed clubs mean lost income. Some have used the online dance parties as a way to generate some income, with viewers donating through platforms like Cashapp or Venmo. James Scoglietti, aka Selecta, has been a DJ in Pittsburgh for over 30 years and says he has never experienced something as devastating as the pan-
demic. This leaves him and many others navigating unfamiliar online territory, as well as limited, sometimes unreliable technology. For example, last Friday, Buchholz experienced connection issues while streaming In Bed By Ten on Facebook Live. Scoglietti has done numerous DJ sessions on Facebook Live, which began with him blasting music from his speakers until he found iRig, an inexpensive adapter that allows him to play music directly from his mixing console into a recording device. Cucitrone says he uses the exact same setup as his live gigs, including turntables, a mixer, and a laptop, with the added elements of a phone to record and a piece of audio equipment to enhance the sound quality. Livestreaming also allows DJs to continue the missions they have for their respective events. Buchholz continued the In Bed By Ten’s dual purpose as a fundraiser by encouraging people to donate to the SisTers PGH LGBTQIA Emergency Relief Fund. For Darkness Is Spreading, it’s about creating a plat-
Follow senior writer Amanda Waltz on Twitter @AWaltzCP
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form to support Black and/or queer women in the Pittsburgh music scene. Scoglietti has taken it as an opportunity to introduce people to types of music he doesn’t usually get to play in a traditional DJ setting, including “weird, quirky covers,” samples, and selections from non-dance genres like jazz. Overall, Cucitrone and huny both believe livestreaming dance parties gives people a therapeutic escape during these troubled times. Huny goes a step further, adding that they provide a service to people, especially vulnerable populations, by giving them “muchneeded mental health breaks from dire, heart-wrenching circumstances.” “I said at the very beginning of our quarantine measures that, along with concern about losing people to this virus, I was also worried about losing people to depression,” she says. “So these livestreams give us an opportunity to commune with each other over music — a universal language — and remind us that although we’re shuttered in, we’re not alone.”
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PEEPSHOW A sex and social justice column BY JESSIE SAGE // PEEPSHOWCAST@GMAIL.COM
A
UDIO SMUT PRODUCER and
phone sex operator April Would has a regular client who enjoys office-based fantasies. Last week when he called, something interesting happened: He changed the setting of their typical scene. “You are now in my home office,” he said to her. “But you’re still my secretary and the dress code applies, you will be dressed in a pencil skirt.” This was one of the first instances where Would noticed how her clients’ fantasies were shifting in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The quarantines impact not only how one works, but also how one fantasizes about and survives one’s job. “He usually calls me at 3 a.m., so he is not actually in the office when he calls,” she says. “But in order for the fantasy to work, it still needed to feel possible.” Lindsey Hawthorne, who also works full-time as a phone sex operator, is not just getting calls that reflect shifts in lifestyle, but also ones from clients who are actively trying to work through their anxiety and fears about the pandemic. She recounts that one of her clients wanted to act out a fantasy where they were both in hazmat suits and unable to touch each other. “He wanted to do a whole roleplay about being dominated, so I had him clean in a hazmat suit,” she says. “It was a ‘sissy’ call so I gave them a pink hazmat suit
“HE WANTED TO DO A WHOLE ROLEPLAY ABOUT BEING DOMINATED, SO I HAD HIM CLEAN IN A HAZMAT SUIT.” and a pink toothbrush to clean with.” In fact, Hawthorne says that she has been getting a lot of calls from clients who want to roleplay coronavirusrelated themes of quarantine and isolation. While taking quarantine head-on, Hawthorne also believes domination
can be a form of escapism from isolation. “I think it is definitely a comfort thing. They think, ‘She will tell me what to do the entire time so I don’t have to think about what is going on.’” In other cases, clients are seeking something more akin to counseling.
Hawthorne has had two or three clients reach out to talk about the virus itself. “They want to talk about contracting it, getting it, having to be quarantined; they talk about the symptoms,” she says. “Our fantasies are shaped by our day-to-day realities,” Would says. When our day-to-day realities shift so dramatically, it makes sense that our erotic imaginations would follow suit. It should be no surprise that both Hawthorne and Would are witnessing a shift in the sort of fantasies their clients bring to them. Their clients are giving us a glimpse into what this may look like, but to what degree this will happen still remains to be seen. “Will there be grocery store fantasies? Business men eroticizing domesticity?” asks Would. “How about social distancing fantasies? Fantasies where we remain six feet apart and talk dirty to one another while masturbating?” Phone sex operators are on the front lines of people’s erotic psyches, and can illuminate the emotional and psychological impact of coronavirus. We are all trying to process our fears around this pandemic; what these clients are showing us is that fantasy and eroticization are powerful tools for exerting some degree of control over something that we otherwise feel powerless in the face of.
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