November 17, 2021 - Pittsburgh City Paper

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NOV. 17-24, 2021 VOLUME 30 + ISSUE 46 Editor-In-Chief LISA CUNNINGHAM Director of Advertising JASMINE HUGHES Director of Operations KEVIN SHEPHERD Managing Editor RYAN DETO A&E Editor AMANDA WALTZ Staff Writer DANI JANAE Photographer/Videographer JARED WICKERHAM Editorial Designer LUCY CHEN Graphic Designer JEFF SCHRECKENGOST Digital Marketing Coordinator DARYA KHARABI Sales Representatives ZACK DURKIN, OWEN GABBEY, HANNAH MORAN-FUNWELA Circulation Manager JEFF ENGBARTH Featured Contributors REGE BEHE, MIKE CANTON, LYNN CULLEN, TERENEH IDIA Interns TIA BAILEY, ISABELLA DIAZ, YASH MITTAL, JASON PHOX National Advertising Representative VMG ADVERTISING 1.888.278.9866 OR 1.212.475.2529 Publisher EAGLE MEDIA CORP.

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COVER DESIGN: LUCY CHEN READ THE STORY ON PAGE 4

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THE BIG STORY

BY RYAN DETO // RYANDETO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

DISSOLVING PRIDE

CP PHOTO: JARED MURPHY

Liberty Avenue during Delta’s Pittsburgh pride Equality March in 2019

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PHOTO: QBURGH ARCHIVES

PFLAG Pittsburgh leads the Pride parade in 1998, a photograph from QBurgh’s “Q Archives,” a queer history preservation project

L

AST AUGUST, the Delta Foundation

of Pittsburgh voted to dissolve, citing financial difficulties and problems staying afloat after the cancellation of its Pittsburgh Pride parade and festival due to the pandemic. It was the end of a fairly long and controversial tenure for the LGBTQ nonprofit organization, which was mostly known for organizing the city’s largest annual Pride events.

Or, at least, that is what everyone thought.

About a year later, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office released an official notice of publication, alerting many in Pittsburgh to the fact that Delta had originally filed a request on Sept. 2, 2020 — a month after they announced they were dissolving — asking to trademark the terms “Pittsburgh Pride” and “Pittsburgh PrideFest.”

The news confused many in Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ community and led some to ask: Why would a dissolved organization seek to make this move?

Now, two former Delta board members are crying foul, believing Delta’s current president and board chair — who replaced a former, and controversial, leader — is orchestrating a transfer of power to another LGBTQ organization. They are alleging financial impropriety against the Delta Foundation, including the organization’s strange ties to a jet ski rental company, and a financial audit that the accounting firm listed says it never completed.

These two former board members, who now run a local LGBTQ-focused publication, have decided to challenge Delta’s trademark request, and are encouraging others in the community to do the same. The trademark filing even led to a protest against the Persad Center, a local LGBTQ service organization currently run

by Marty Healey, who is also the head of the board at Delta.

Jim Sheppard is a former board member of Delta and served as interim president shortly before the board voted to dissolve. He believes that Healey is trying to merge Delta and Persad as a way to take over Pride and other large LGBTQ events.

Sheppard, along with former Delta treasurer Jeff Freedman, have charged that illicit financial dealings are behind this.

“Why would [Healey] want to do it?

Because [Healey] wants to be king of the hill of the Pittsburgh LGBTQ community,” says Sheppard. “His idea is to merge all these groups into a conglomerate.”

But prosecutors who were tasked with looking into Delta’s financials in 2020 say that nothing illegal occured. And Healey says Delta is still dissolving, despite the trademark request, and that the process just takes time. He denies any claims that he or Persad is trying to take over where Delta left off, or that Persad has any interest in running a big Pride march and festival.

This latest chapter in Delta’s tumultuous recent history signifies the staying

power of some long-festering disagreements between members of Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ community. It also begs the question: What is the future of Pride celebrations in Pittsburgh?

Pride celebrations in Pittsburgh started off relatively small. In the 1970s, Pittsburgh Pride marches highlighted LGBTQ job discriminations, police harassment, and city legislations, according to the Pitt News.

In the 1990s, they mostly consisted of a small march through Shadyside, typically moving down Ellsworth Avenue and the LGBTQ-friendly businesses that were concentrated near the corner of Maryland Avenue. The intersection now boasts a LGBTQ-focused public art project marking its historical significance.

According to its Facebook page, the Delta Foundation was originally incorporated in 1996 as a spin-off of the Lambda Foundation, a fundraising group that distributed funds to LGBTQ groups and causes throughout the region. Delta’s first mission as an organization was to focus on “uniting and fostering good fellowship and social interaction among LGBT residents in the metropolitan Pittsburgh area.” And, initially, Delta wasn’t laser focused on Pride celebrations.

Then in 2006, a new group of LGBTQ business owners and residents “came together with the idea of energizing Pittsburgh’s social scene and helping

This latest chapter in Delta’s tumultuous recent history signifies the staying power of some long-festering disagreements between members of Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ community. It also begs the question: What is the future of Pride celebrations in Pittsburgh?

CONTINUES ON PG. 6

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER NOVEMBER 17-24, 2021

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DISSOLVING PRIDE, CONTINUED FROM PG. 5

CP PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM

CP PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM

Jim Sheppard speaks to a group of protesters gathered outside Delta’s offices in July 2020.

The Pittsburgh Pride Equality March 2019

the community financially,” according to Delta’s Facebook page. Delta ceded leadership to this group, and the organization shifted to organizing large events, fundraisers, picnics, and other projects.

Pride events grew exponentially in size in Pittsburgh since Delta’s push in the midaughts. Concerts featured big-name acts, corporate sponsorships came pouring in, and the festival eventually took over an entire weekend.

But this growth didn’t come without controversy. In 2015, Delta faced criticism for booking rapper Iggy Azalea, who had a history of racist and homophobic statements. Azalea canceled and was replaced, but the controversy led to new organizations hosting different Pride events, held on the same day, to offer an alternative to Delta’s events. That divergence continued for a few years after 2015, with outspoken criticism of Delta’s Pride events being overly “corporate” and rainbow-washing by including sponsors that had given to anti-LGBTQ politicians, as well as not being inclusive enough to queer and trans people of color.

This has led to a handful of groups throwing their own Pride events, including Roots Pride, Trans YOUniting’s Pittsburgh Pride Revolution March, and others. All the events celebrate Pride month, meant to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Riots protesting police violence against LGBTQ people, but with their own specific terms and with their own specific messaging.

In 2019, The Daily Show even featured a segment showing the polarizing differences between People’s Pride, led by Pittsburgh Black trans group SisTers PGH, and Delta’s corporation-heavy Pittsburgh

Pride Equality March. With quarrels between LGBTQ groups and Delta — as well as between other non-Delta LGBTQ groups — it’s unclear how united Pride events in Pittsburgh will be going forward.

Adding to Delta’s troubles is that longtime former leader Gary Van Horn became embroiled in his own personal scandal. In December 2019, Van Horn was charged with impersonating a police officer. He resigned a month later. Eventually, he was approved for an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program in relation to the charges. ARD is a program for first-time offenders that offers expungement.

Still, despite their opposition, some in the community believe Sheppard and Freedman have benefited from their association with Delta. Both Sheppard and Freedman deny rumors that their former connection to the organization aided them financially in creating Qburgh, as they both hold full-time jobs outside of working for the publication.

Sheppard says rumors they used Delta’s computer equipment or mailing lists are untrue, and Freedman says he has contributed the vast majority of the start-up funds for QBurgh out of his own personal finances.

The pair’s allegations against Delta include the organization’s ties to a jet ski rental company called “Thrill Water Sports

DENA STANLEY SAYS DELTA’S NAME “WAS TARNISHING TO THE COMMUNITIES ...”

Sheppard served as interim president after Van Horn resigned, and he, along with former Delta treasurer Freedman, now run the local online LGBTQ publication QBurgh. Sheppard says that both he and Freedman started looking into Delta’s books in December 2019, and engaged with a local law firm on an internal investigation.

QBurgh has been critical of Delta’s attempt to trademark the Pittsburgh Pride terms, and in September, received an extension to challenge Delta’s trademark after Freedman said he paid a lawyer $650 to file a request.

LLC.” The company had several jet skis, two boats, and a trailer, and a copy of a bank loan application provided to Pittsburgh City Paper by Sheppard and Freedman shows that Van Horn listed himself and Delta Foundation as co-borrowers.

Sheppard and Freedman also say an “Independent Auditors’ Report” that was submitted to the same bank as a loan application for Thrill Water Sports is fraudulent. City Paper received a copy of the “Independent Auditors’ Report” and, when reached, the local accounting firm listed told CP that they never completed that audit.

Sheppard and Freedman believe Thrill Water Sports was used for personal enrichment for Delta staff and others, and that, along with Van Horn’s arrest and resignation, these occurrences are the motivation behind the potential merger, since Delta’s brand has been so badly damaged.

Dena Stanley, head of local trans nonprofit Trans YOUnititing, says Delta’s name “was tarnishing to the communities,” and that is why she believes the organizations wanted to merge and have Persad run Pride, since Persad has “a better name in the communities.”

However, a financial report was sent

by Delta to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office in August 2020. District Attorney spokesperson Mike Manko told CP their investigation into Delta’s financials determined that everything was above board.

“With respect to the financial information that was given to us by the board members, our office did a thorough review of that information and we determined that all transactions were legitimate and there was nothing in that material that rose to the level of criminal activity,” says Manko.

Healey, who is the current president of Persad and also serves as the volunteer board president for Delta, denies all allegations about potential mergers. He says that Delta is still dissolving, and that with nonprofits, that process can take well over a year.

“It will be dissolved, it is moving forward with this process,” says Healey.

“I am moving forward with that.”

The Pennsylvania Attorney General is tasked with overseeing dissolving CONTINUES ON PG. 8

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER NOVEMBER 17-24, 2021

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DISSOLVING PRIDE, CONTINUED FROM PG. 7

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CP PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM

A protest put on by LGBTQ+ Coalition and Trans YOUniting against the Delta Foundation outside Persad’s offices on Oct. 25.

nonprofits, and when asked about the progress of Delta’s dissolving and questions about investigations into potential financial misdealings, the office said they “can neither confirm nor deny the existence of any investigation.”

Persad is an organization focused on providing health services to LGBTQ in the greater Pittsburgh area. Jay Yoder served as the Director of Development at Persad up throughout 2019, and says the therapists at Persad are doing really good work.

But Yoder adds that both Van Horn and former Delta staffer Christine Bryan, Delta’s only paid employee, were brought into meetings at Persad in 2019, and that Healey “was very keen on collaborating with Delta.” Yoder says they were also encouraged to build their relationship with Bryan and Van Horn. Bryan is now on staff at Persad.

Healey acknowledges there were some talks prior to 2020 about how Persad might be able to help in Pride efforts, but says those discussions didn’t lead to anything and have ended.

“To repeat again, Persad’s mission is mental health,” says Healey. “Persad has no interest in owning or managing any Pride festival or march. It is not the mission of Persad.”

Healey says that Delta’s lawyers encouraged the nonprofit to protect any potential intellectual property before the dissolution is complete, which is why the organization filed the trademark requests.

He says that Delta does not plan on using the trademark if it is procured, and that it “can be used by anyone” if Delta ends up owning it.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s hearing for Delta’s patent filing has been rescheduled for Dec. 22. Trans YOUniting has created an online petition to “Stop the trademarking of Pittsburgh Pride.” As of publication, 1,822 have signed.

Delta has also been accused of not refunding vendors and entertainment for their canceled 2020 Pride event. Healey says Delta is still addressing that as the process of dissolving continues.

“Those vendors are very important as we move through this process,” says Healey.

“My hope is we can move through this process in the next several months. The process has taken longer than we thought, the goal is to get to a place to work with those vendors.”

As for the allegations about financial misdealings, Healey points to the DA’s absolvement and says that “every

document, both computers that were used, every finding, every audit, and everything was sent to the District Attorney’s office.” He says the office performed an extensive investigation that went back many years, and Delta was always cooperative.

Healey said he has been leading boards for the last 20 years and that 99% of people who are engaged in LGBTQ organizing are, like him, involved as mostly volunteers. He understands that there are differences in opinion on how things should be run, but believes trying to work out those issues is healthy.

However, the differences still appear to be strong enough to drive wedges. Former Persad workers held a protest against the organization on Oct. 25, with groups like Trans YOUniting, who have been very vocal critics of Delta, in attendance. Attendees like Dryce Mazikeen said Persad management was anti-union, and voiced other accusations about the group being overly entangled with Delta.

When asked about the DA’s statement saying that the investigation of Delta showed no illegal activity, Sheppard says he is still wary of Delta’s next moves.

“If it is not to the level of criminality,” he says, “it is certainly unethical.”

Follow managing editor Ryan Deto on Twitter @RyanDeto A&E Editor Amanda Waltz contributed to this story.

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER NOVEMBER 17-24, 2021

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CP PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM

Delaine Swearman

.MENTAL HEALTH.

MISTAKEN IDENTITY

BY CLAIRE LINDSEY // INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

W

HEN PEOPLE ASK “What do

you do?,” it’s been difficult for Delaine Swearman to answer.

That’s because the question’s subtext is usually about employment.

These days, she might say, “I do archery, I’m a dragon boat paddler, I’m a cat mom, I’m an aunt.”

She’s certainly busy working. She’s an admired public speaker and a writer in Pittsburgh. And she’s part of a team traveling worldwide to evaluate and improve

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psychiatric rehabilitation centers called Clubhouse International.

But it’s not paying work — what many consider the primary marker of adult success. And because of that, she’s been ashamed in the past because she says she, like many, has “attached my identity to work.”

Swearman, originally from Somerset County, has dual diagnoses of mental illness and autism. In addition to surveying international Clubhouse facilities,

she spends many days among her peers at Jewish Residential Services’ Sally and Howard Levin Clubhouse in Squirrel Hill.

It looks like a rec center. Swearman writes on the computers there, and takes part in activities like yoga.

It’s a supportive environment where she can be successful and help others. She doesn’t have to explain that full-time work didn’t pan out, even though she earned a masters degree to become a physician’s assistant.

SHE SAYS THAT WHEN SHE WAS ASHAMED OF HAVING A MENTAL ILLNESS, SHE WOULD STAY QUIET ABOUT THE MISTREATMENT AND INEQUALITY THAT SHE AND OTHERS EXPERIENCED. “My work, itself, I was able to do,” she says. “I couldn’t handle the full-time environment, and it really wore on my mental health.”

Many people with a mental illness have difficulties with employment. In 2014, the National Alliance on Mental Illness reported that about 80% of people receiving public mental health services in the U.S. were unemployed. For a while after Swearman left her profession, she avoided situations where she may be asked what she did for work.

“What does a person with a mental illness say when they’re not employed?

I’m a nobody? I’m a burden to society?”

Swearman says. “If you do say, ‘I’m on disability,’ you have an invisible disability, so people are going to be like, ‘Why? What’s wrong with you? You have two legs, why aren’t you working?”

She says that when she was ashamed of having a mental illness, she would stay quiet about the mistreatment and inequality that she and others experienced. She says she didn’t want to speak up because that would be outing herself.

“It took me a really long time to be OK with letting go of that past,” Swearman says. “In order to thrive, and make a new identity for myself, and to advocate for myself, and to be successful where I am now, I had to let go of that.”

Letting go of the past also included coming to terms with a diagnosis of autism at 30. By then, the years of confusion about her own behavior, seeing herself as different without knowing why or getting treatment, had taken a toll.

Swearman writes about this for Pittverse Magazine, a publication written by people who have autism spectrum disorder. In an essay in the winter 2019 edition, she listed experiences connected with being autistic that impact mental health. The list includes “social isolation, loneliness, feeling disconnected, being ostracized and bullied, misunderstanding

one’s motives ... feeling overwhelmed by the expectations of being ‘normal.’”

Swearman says that, as a child, she tried to mimic peers’ behaviors and feign interest in others’ musical tastes.

It isn’t uncommon. In 2018, The Atlantic magazine published an article titled “The Struggles of Women Who Mask Their Autism: By ‘camouflaging’ their condition, many women on the spectrum learn to fit in — and risk psychological harm.”

Swearman was one of those interviewed in the piece, based on studies about females with autism masking symptoms.

“Camouflaging is often about a desperate and sometimes subconscious survival battle,” says Kajsa Igelström, an assistant professor of neuroscience at Linköping University in Sweden in the piece. “Gains in relationships and careers often come at a heavy cost, including physical exhaustion and extreme anxiety.”

Once Swearman, now 42, began speaking out about stigma and unfair treatment of people in her community, she made some personal strides. She wants the same for others.

When you open up about your diagnosis privately and publicly, she says, you “not only make connections with other people, but you’re also advocating for your community.”

“I have seen Delaine excel in the Clubhouse by making sure individuals are involved in decision making, prompting new people to learn skills, and she’s always the first person to sit down and make someone feel welcome,” says Joseph Herbick, director of the Clubhouse.

According to Swearman, she’s even become “the covergirl for the Clubhouse brochure,” she says, laughing. It shows how much more she accepts herself compared to the early days of her diagnosis.

“People with mental illness must be seen and treated and feel like equal human beings because we are equal human beings,” she says.

•

This story was copublished with Unabridged Press and supported with funding from the Pittsburgh Media Partnership and All-Abilities Media — both based at the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University.

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER NOVEMBER 17-24, 2021

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CP PHOTO: AMANDA WALTZ

Wicked Skatewear in Bloomfield

.RETAIL.

OPEN SKATE

BY AMANDA WALTZ // AWALTZ@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

S

INCE OPENING at the end of October,

Wicked Skatewear has been settling in as part of the Bloomfield neighborhood, offering Pittsburgh roller skating enthusiasts a new place to find quad skates and accessories. Still, owner Suzy Dancisin says there has been some confusion over the exact scene to which they cater.

“Radio Skateshop is right up the street,” she says, referring to a skateboard shop on Main Street. “So we’re constantly getting each other’s customers.”

Wicked Skatewear celebrated its grand opening on Nov. 7, two weeks after taking

over a former tattoo shop on Liberty Avenue.

The space sells a variety of roller skates and accessories, even offering custom fullbuilds, where they convert sneakers, boots, and other shoes into roller skates.

Based out of California, Wicked Skatewear looks to not only outfit local roller skaters, but make roller skating more accessible and safe for everyone in the community.

Dancisin, a Pittsburgh-area native who grew up in West Deer, has spent the last 20 years in Los Angeles, making a name for herself as a member of roller derby teams

the Los Angeles Derby Dolls and Orange County Roller Girls.

As time went on, Dancisin, an avid roller skater since childhood, says she realized the toll roller derby, a sport known for its full-contact roughness, was taking on her body.

“After so many ER visits, I’m, like, maybe I’m getting a little too old for this,” she laughs.

Dancisin, who skated under the name Suzy Strychnine, then turned to retail, starting Wicked Skatewear out of her home in 2006. From there, she and her

business partners opened two brick-andmortar stores in Huntington Beach and Los Angeles.

“I did it because of derby because, back in the day, there were no full-service, everything shops,” says Dancisin. “You’d go to the skateboard shop and get your safety gear, you’d go to the roller rink to get your skates, you’d go to the screenprinter to get your uniform. So I got it all into one location.”

Dancisin says that, originally, she planned on opening a warehouse in Pittsburgh, but after moving back to the CONTINUES ON PG. 14

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER NOVEMBER 17-24, 2021

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PHOTO: COURTESY OF SUZY DANCISIN

Suzy Dancisin, left, in front of Wicked Skatewear in Bloomfield

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area (she now lives in the borough of Saxonburg in Butler County), she was impressed by the vibrancy of the roller skating scene.

“As soon as I moved here, I saw how big the skate community was,” she says. “It was bigger than I had imagined it, I mean, between the rink skaters and the skatepark skaters and all the derby teams. And everyone was like, dude, we need a shop.”

Judging from TikTok and Instagram videos, rollerskating got a boost over the height of the pandemic, as people looked for ways to have fun while social distancing. Whether someone has skated for years, or picked up the pastime during lockdown, finding the best wheels can be challenging. Dancisin says that, mostly, customers dictate Wicked’s stock. She adds that she is a big fan of Moxi roller skates, and that Wicked is one of 50 retailers authorized to sell that particular brand.

Dancisin’s work has extended beyond retail into nonprofits that promote skating too, especially for young people. She previously served as a board member of the Girls on Track Foundation, a volunteer-run organization that empowers girls through roller derby. Wicked has also sold merchandise to raise money for causes like Black Visions Collective, a Minnesota-based group focused on eliminating systemic violence against Black communities.

The shop also pushes a message of inclusion, selling stickers that read “You Can Skate With Us” and gear for the Queer Skate Alliance, an orgaization described as

“empowering queer folk of all backgrounds who currently establish and evolve the experience of being a queer-identified skater.”

Dancisin plans on continuing that community work in Pittsburgh. She says she is collaborating with the youth organization Roller SK8 Connection of Pittsburgh, and through them, will lead a program teaching kids how to build and fix their own skates.

She says she also plans on meeting with city councilors to encourage the building of more skateparks and other public spaces for people to skate in. She believes this is needed as skating has been essentially criminalized in the past, as skateboarders, and quad and in-line skaters struggled to find spaces to skate, only to be chased out by property owners or police.

WICKED SKATEWEAR 4618 Liberty Ave., Bloomfield. instagram.com/wickedskatewear_pgh

She believes that making skating more accessible, either through gear or better infrastructure, would be beneficial, pointing out how being on wheels has done wonders for her own well-being.

“Roller skates play a direct part in my mental health,” she says. “When you have them on, you can’t worry about all the dumb stuff you’ve been worrying about all day. You have to be in the moment or you’ll hurt yourself. … It just feels so good, whether it’s a bike or skates or whatever.”

Follow a&e editor Amanda Waltz on Twitter @AWaltzCP

•

DENTAL

.MUSIC.

SOULSHOWMIKE’S ALBUM PICKS

Insurance

Contenders for the best of 2021

BY MIKE CANTON // CP CONTRIBUTORS@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

Get the dental care you deserve.

A

PPROACHING 2021’S END, I’m in the

throes of Top 10 album selections for The Soul Show on WYEP. The winners will be featured on Jan. 1, and you’ll see the full list in my Pittsburgh City

Paper column next month.

In this month’s Album Picks, I list some (not all) of my albums in contention for the Top 10, as well as others worth honorable mention.

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Theon Cross — Intra-I Here’s a solo effort from a member of the acclaimed Sons of Kemet.

Diana Purim and Khrisha Booker — Eyedentity World jazz/fusion from the daughter of Brazilian music royalty Flora Purim and Airto.

Angelique Kidjo — Mother Nature The current-day queen of Continent music collaborates with the next generation.

Dexter Wansel — The Story of the Flight Crew to Mars A ’70s master of space-themed albums, D.W. comes back 45+ years later with the sequel.

Afro Yaqui Music Collective — Nonantzin This is social jazz/hip hop out of Pittsburgh.

Terence Blanchard — Absence

Call to get your FREE Information Kit

He reprises the E-Collective fusion project.

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Jon Batiste — We Are Shame on me for not mentioning this album before.

dental50plus.com/citypaper

Bakithi Kumalo — What You Hear Is What You See Our own Poogie Bell is on this fine release.

Lonnie Smith — Breathe The unlikely pairing of the Hammond B3 star with punk godfather Iggy Pop is a highlight.

Gil Scott-Heron — The First Minute of a New Day Finally, the inimitable Gil Scott-Heron is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.

Here’s one of my Top 10 for Eternity: The First Minute of a New Day.

•

Mike Canton is the longtime host and producer of The Soul Show on WYEP 91.3FM. He recently launched a syndicated edition of the program, now airing in four markets.

Both are produced in his Electric Basement Studios. Canton is also a Pittsburgh-area voice artist.

1

“Medicare & You,” Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2020 Includes the Participating (in GA: Designated) Providers and Preventive Benefits Rider.

Product not available in all states. Acceptance guaranteed for one insurance policy/ certificate of this type. Contact us for complete details about this insurance solicitation. This specific offer is not available in CO, LA, NY; call 1-800-969-4781 or respond for similar offer. Certificate C250A (ID: C250E; PA: C250Q); Insurance Policy P150 (GA: P150GA; NY: P150NY; OK: P150OK; TN: P150TN); Rider kinds B438/B439 (GA: B439B).

6255

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER NOVEMBER 17-24, 2021

15

Nyjah Cephas

(SHE/HER)

Title

Naturalist Educator with Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy

Job/ work

Outdoor Education at Frick Environmentalist Center

Website instagram.com/nyjacado

CP PHOTOS: TERENEH IDIA

Nyjah Cephas

.FASHION.

CLOTHES MAKE ... NYJAH CEPHAS

BY TERENEH IDIA // CPCONTRIBUTORS@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

How would you define your style?

I guess I’d describe it as a farm mom core with lots of patterns. I totally say that as a joke, but I also think it’s kind of the perfect description.

Lots of overalls, high-waisted jeans, and long dresses, but I love to incorporate stripes and floral patterns. And I love a good funky pair of socks. But doesn’t everybody?

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Who are your style inspirations?

The first person that comes to mind is actually Ms. Frizzle [from childrens’ TV show The Magic School Bus]. I love how she always coordinates the lesson theme with her dresses! I remember there being lots of nature inspired patterns with spiders and planets and plants on them.

Do you have a favorite designer? Who are they and what do you like about them?

I’m not super schooled in the designer world, lol. I do a lot of thrifting and just try to find pieces I really like. Sometimes if the tag looks old, I’ll do some research and end up in a rabbit hole about some

designer from the ’90s, but that’s about it. I think the coolest thrifting/designer thing that’s ever happened to me is that one day, while I was watching Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, I noticed that the younger sister, Ashley, was wearing the exact same pair of overalls I had on. Made me feel pretty cool, lol.

“I LOVE A GOOD FUNKY PAIR OF SOCKS. BUT DOESN’T EVERYBODY?” You are often out in nature and getting in the dirt. How do you balance utility with style? Or is utility part of your style?

It’s actually super awesome that I work in a place that lets me wear whatever makes me comfortable enough to do my job. We work in the parks in all the elements so business casual is usually not our go to. On a day working in the field, overalls are perfect for holding my tools and getting dirty, but on a day where I’m doing more emailing than being outdoors, I love wearing a long dress or a knit sweater with some jeans.

What do you love about the parks and what you do?

The full list of things I love about my job would be way too long, but I love that I learn and grow every day. Like, I seriously don’t remember the last time I worked at Frick and didn’t learn something new.

And it might seem like the learning I’m referring to would just be cool nature facts, but I’m also learning about how people connect to the outdoors and, in turn, I get to learn so much more about myself. Nature is so special and always has good intentions, so working outside creates this really grounding atmosphere and encourages curiosity at the same time.

Tell me about the clothes you’re wearing today.

This is probably something I’d throw on if I’m going to work or getting groceries.

Overalls are like my get stuff done uniform.

Plus, I like that these ones have buttons that I can adjust to be more form fitting if I wanna feel cute or a little looser if I’m working in the park.

Do you have any gifts from someone that you wear often or every day?

I’m usually wearing a bunch of different necklaces that are special to me. I’ve gotten some charms from my little sister and from special times shopping with friends, but I took them off recently because they were getting super tangled together.

Do you have a gift to yourself that you wear often?

I guess my gift to myself would be my earrings. I love finding funky earrings — I actually got these from the Point Breeze yard sale this summer. During quarantine, I had a whole phase where I’d buy these tiny toys called Mini Brands — they’re like tiny replicas of real food — and I’d turn them into tiny earrings. So if you ever see me wearing two tiny ketchup bottle earrings, it was a result of quarantine crafting. Definitely gives me some Ms. Frizzle energy.

•

Follow featured contributor Tereneh Idia on Twitter @Tereneh152XX PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER NOVEMBER 17-24, 2021

17

CP PHOTOS: JARED WICKERHAM

.MUSIC.

Cole McCloskey as Chrome Cable

FINDING UTOPIA

BY DANI JANAE // DANIJANAE@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

F

OR COLE MCCLOSKEY, who performs

under the name Chrome Cable, music has always been a huge part of his life. Learning to play guitar from his father at a young age set him on a path toward where he is today, having just released his debut album UTOPIA. And it’s truly been a family affair.

UTOPIA as a project is also an endeavor of McCloskey’s production team and creative agency, Hounds, that he started with his brother, Clay, in 2018. Hounds does everything from design and branding to consultations and photo and video work.

McCloskey says that he wanted his debut

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album to be, in part, a showcase of what Hounds can do.

CHROME CABLE linktr.ee/ChromeCable

“I just wanted it to feel kind of out of this world, I wanted it to be larger than life.

I wanted it to be an overall experience,” he says about his album. “I wanted to feel like I was from another world. I use the 412th dimension a lot, too with Pittsburgh.

That’s supposed to be the other world of Pittsburgh in my mind.”

UTOPIA is a 14-track album that comes in at under 40 minutes, and it definitely succeeds in achieving that “out of this world” feeling. The tracks blend seamlessly together and whether McCloskey is rapping or singing, his vocals are smooth and balanced.

McCloskey produced, engineered, and wrote all the songs on the album. He was essentially a one-man production team, with the exception of one collaborator: popular local hip-hop artist Mars Jackson, who is featured on the song “Energy.” The track is definitely a stand-out, with an old school hip-hop and R&B feel.

“It’s stressful, very stressful, but it’s fun though because you get to choose, you get to do everything the way that you want to at your own time,” says McCloskey. “You don’t have to worry about, let’s say, bothering someone or having to pay someone for something you know? I love collaboration, but I wanted to see if I could do this myself.”

McCloskey says he has been making music seriously for the past four or five years, but got his true start in the industry about seven years ago. Chrome Cable has steadily released singles since 2019, including his 2020 single “Mother Earth” which a Pittsburgh City Paper article described as

“THERE’S A LOT OF GOOD THINGS WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR UTOPIA. WHEN YOU HAVE THAT BALANCE, THAT’S WHEN YOU CAN FIND THE TRUTH.” “singing sweet nothings to the planet like one would to a loved one.”

Taking four years to put out his first full-length album might seem like a long time for some, but McCloskey says he wanted this project to be something he was fully proud of.

“It was something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. I’ve been kind of low key about making music and just getting out there because I wanted to get to the point where I was comfortable with everything I was doing. I wanted to make sure that I found my sound and I didn’t want to, for lack of better words, half-ass anything,” he says. “I wanted to be sure when I put something out there, especially as a full album, I knew I wanted to impress people.

Especially since I do all my production to engineering and then obviously all the writing and recording as well. I wanted to make sure that it was good enough.”

Many of the songs on the album can be described as love songs, and the overall album, as a multigenre project, is definitely a love note to those specific genres. Using sampling and editing that speaks to the influence of music greats like J Dilla, Kanye, and Prince, McCloskey creates an album

that feels good to listen to, and is easy to get lost in.

UTOPIA isn’t an album that you’ll hear played at one of the many dance nights in Pittsburgh. It’s not necessarily a club listen, it’s more of a project that you’ll put on when hanging out with friends, going for a drive, or chilling by yourself when you want to listen to something with some balance.

The album has already seen a lot of support from fans, but whether he’s getting praise or criticism, McCloskey says he is grateful that he isn’t surrounded by “yes men” who tell him everything is perfect and great.

“Utopia is this place where it’s your highest high, but you don’t want to get lost in that utopia. You want to have that balance of reality and that utopia. So you want to be able to balance it out, so you’re not doing the wrong things, making the wrong moves,” he says. “You may not be paying attention to what’s really going on in real life, but it’s not all bad things, too, you know. There’s a lot of good things when it comes to your utopia. When you have that balance, that’s when you can find the truth.”

•

Follow staff writer Dani Janae on Twitter @figwidow PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER NOVEMBER 17-24, 2021

19

W Y NE LIDA S! T HO VEN E

SEVEN DAYS IN PITTSBURGH

Have your kids ever wondered why the leaves change colors in the fall? Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy has the answers. The nonprofit will present a reading of Why do Leaves Change Color? by Betsey Maestro during its Virtual Nature Story event. Make sure you have some colorful leaves, crayons, paper, glue, and other supplies handy because after the story, there will be some leaf-themed crafting.

The event will take place through Zoom and will be led by an educator from Pittsburgh Parks. 5-6:15 p.m. Free. Sign-up required. pittsburghparks.org/events

COMEDY • IRL In the not too distant future, fans of the cult sci-fi comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000 will get to see their favorite characters at the Byham Theater for the Mystery Science Theater 3000 LIVE: Time Bubble Tour. Movie riffing bots Tom Servo and Crow will be joined by host Emily as they take on Making Contact, a 1985 German film noted for blatantly ripping off Steven Spielberg (fun fact: it was directed and co-written by Roland Emmerich). 8 p.m. 101 Sixth St., Downtown. $36.50-205.25. trustarts.org

ART • IRL

HOLIDAY • IRL

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HYBRID MIX OF IN REAL LIFE AND ONLINE EVENT

SUN., NOV. 21

FRI., NOV. 19

Lit Fridays at August Wilson African American Cultural Center returns with Matt Broaddus and Jessica Lanay. Lanay is an award-winning poet, and art and

VIRTUAL STREAMING OR ONLINE-ONLY EVENT

Make sure to bundle up for holiday fun in Downtown Pittsburgh with Highmark Light Up Night and Peoples Gas Holiday Market. Now in its 60th year, Light Up Night welcomes crowds to enjoy a full day of activities, including a tree-lighting ceremony in the U.S. Steel Tower Plaza, live music at three different stages, fireworks, and more. Take a selfie in front of the 35-foot tall pickle ornament and enjoy food and drinks by local vendors, food trucks, and pop-up beer and cocktail gardens. Also be sure to start your shopping at the Peoples Gas Holiday Market in Market Square, where you will find locally made jewelry, art, handpoured candles, and more, as well as traditional crafts from all over the world.

Starts at 12 p.m. Multiple locations, Downtown. Free. Holiday Market continues through Thu., Dec. 23. downtownpittsburghholidays.com

KIDS • VIRTUAL

LIT • VIRTUAL

IN REAL LIFE EVENT

EVENT • IRL

THU., NOV. 18

An annual tradition returns to the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden with the opening of the Holiday Magic! Winter Flower Show and Light Garden. The theme of this year’s show is Sparkle and Shine, and Phipps is promising “glowing gardens, stunning sights, and twinkling lights.” See favorite displays like the outdoor Winter Light Garden, as well as new features, such as a topiary reindeer, a holiday tree made up of 50 anthurium plants, and more beautiful sights.

Continues through January 2022.

1 Schenley Park, Oakland. $11.95-19.95. phipps.conservatory.org

IRL

PHOTO: COURTESY OF PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST

BoxHeart Gallery has two exhibitions this fall, Daria Sandburg’s The Workbook and Tiffany Simmons’ Mourning, Morning.

Sandburg’s exhibition is described as being titled after a COVID-time sketchbook, “Night Box CODA: The Workbook,” and those familiar with music terminology will know that a “coda” is a passage that brings a movement to an end. Simmons’ paintings are described as “spell binding,” featuring ethereal figures and white hues that depict themes of melancholy and mourning. Continues through Fri., Dec. 3.

4523 Liberty Ave., Bloomfield. Free. boxheartgallery.com

^ Jade in A WOMAN’S TOUCH

short fiction writer who won the Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Prize for her collection am•phib•ian in 2020. Broaddus is a Cave Canem fellow and the author of two chapbooks, Space Station and Two Bolts. The two authors will be in conversation via Facebook Live and Zoom.

5 p.m. Free with registration. aacc-awc.org

SAT., NOV. 20 KIDS • IRL Make sure your kids aren’t spaced out at home and instead Spaced Out! at the

Carnegie Science Center. Astronomy Weekend will include many different astronomical activities, like designing, building, and testing your own spacecraft, learning about stars and how they form from gas and dust in space, and more.

Other exhibitions will be incorporated as well, such as the Pompeii exhibit for a new show called Space Volcanoes. The Science Center promises “out-of-thisworld” space activities on every floor.

10 a.m.-4 p.m. Continues through Sun., Nov. 21. 1 Allegheny Ave., North Side.

Included with general admission. carnegiesciencecenter.org/events/space-out

MON., NOV 22 MUSIC • IRL Make your dad jealous by seeing jazz-rock icons Steely Dan at the Benedum Center.

The band makes a stop in Pittsburgh for its Absolutely Normal tour, playing their greatest, album-spanning hits from a career going back to the 1970s. Expect to hear songs from Can’t Buy A Thrill, Pretzel Logic, Aja, and more. This is a one-night only performance, so maybe do your dad a favor and buy him a ticket, too. 8 p.m.

Seventh St. and Penn Ave., Downtown. $60.60-150.50. trustarts.org

Working from Home?

Stay up-to-date with the latest news, updated daily at pghcitypaper.com PHOTO: COURTESY OF PITTSBURGH DOWNTOWN PARTNERSHIP

^ Highmark Light Up Night

STILL AVAILABLE online at pghcitypaperstore.com

COOKBOOK

GREAT HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS

PHOTO: COURTESY OF PITTSBURGH DOWNTOWN PARTNERSHIP

^ Peoples Gas Holiday Market

TUE., NOV. 23

WED., NOV. 24

MUSIC • HYBRID

MAGIC • IRL

Dr. Alton Merrell, a world-class pianist, organist, and composer, will perform at City of Asylum’s Alphabet City venue with his jazz/gospel group IMPACT. Presented by Kente Arts Alliance, the event will showcase the renowned jazz pianist who has performed with legendary artists like Pittsburgh great Roger Humphries, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Curtis Fuller, Benny Golson, and others. See it live or view it streaming online at City of Asylum’s Crowdcast account. 7-8:30 p.m.

40 W. North Ave., North Side. Free. Virtual option also available. alphabetcity.org

See a distinctive figure in modern magic when the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presents Jade in A WOMAN’S TOUCH at Liberty Magic. Considered a pioneer in her field, Jade’s craft is described as stemming from her Chinese heritage and her childhood on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Jade has won multiple awards, including International Magicians Society’s Best Female Magician of the Year and France’s prestigious Golden Mandrake Award. Continues through Sun., Nov. 28. 811 Liberty Ave., Downtown. $40-65. trustarts.org

COLORING BOOK

PLUS:

AND MUCH MORE!!

Travel and Coffee mugs T-Shirts still , available

ALSO: SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM by signing up for a Pittsburgh City Paper membership at pghcitypaper.com

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER NOVEMBER 17-24, 2021

21

GOING TOO FAR

BY BRENDAN EMMETT QUIGLEY // BRENDANEMMETTQUIGLEY.COM

Forty-one of the answers in this crossword are too long and won’t fit in the spaces provided.

Each of these answers will either begin or end in the gray square immediately before or after it. When the puzzle is done, all the gray squares will have been used exactly once, and the letters in them (reading left to right, line by line) will spell out a quote by Friedrich Nietzsche.

ACROSS 1. Memory musical 5. Old Testament prophet 10. Just starting out 14. Cookie that comes in “the Most Stuf” variety 15. Get Shorty novelist Leonard 16. Coca ___ 17. Alternatives to some air conditioners 19. Trinity novelist Leon 20. Trattoria order served in slices 21. Subtle shade 22. Bipedal: Hyph.

26. La ___ opera house 30. Mooches (off of) 34. Carrotmunching critters 35. Strictly off-limits 36. Election day: Abbr.

37. “Please,” to Shakespeare 39. Shake and quake 42. 2021 hurricane 43. Scruffs of the neck 47. Around the Horn host Tony 48. John Wick, e.g.

51. Cognitive development psychologist Jean 52. Sky-high cost?

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54. Slender 57. Shiatsu session 62. Goes down a runway 63. ___ voter 66. Height meas.

67. Most achy 68. Paragraphs before the actual story 69. German city where Big Bertha was manufactured 70. Livestock identifier 71. “So much ___!”

DOWN 1. Brother’s hood 2. Classic font choice 3. Change for a $50, say 4. Soft drink selection 5. Like some patches 6. Plant used in hay 7. ___ Ramblin’ Man (Waylon Jennings hit) 8. Four-star: Hyph.

9. Part of a triathlete’s stats: Abbr.

10. Quito’s country 11. Frayed 12. ___ in Borderland 13. Zap with a gun 18. Nonsensical poppycock 21. Clan of the Cave Bear novelist Jean 23. Stay or go, e.g.

24. 59-Down prefix 25. Conductor Solti 26. Receptacle at the bottom of a fireplace 27. Rap’s ___ B 28. Dogie collar?

29. Rent out 31. Chapeau container 32. 2001 actor Keir 33. “Look!

Over there!”

38. Make, as money 40. Supremely uncomfortably scary 41. It might have sides 44. Work with feet?

45. Narcissist’s focus

46. Ocean spray 49. “No harm, no foul” 50. Get something down 53. Reggae fan 54. Cosmetician Lauder 55. Smooshed circles 56. Old couples 58. Put in the mail 59. Blue planet 60. Spice Girl Halliwell 61. Mulligans 63. Caviar 64. Marked time 65. Former Disney CEO Bob LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS

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TABLEAU DEVELOPER

Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh seeks a Tableau Developer to work at our offices in Pittsburgh, PA, and be responsible for Tableau development as well as user support and administration, while providing oversight and guidance of data analytics and visualization. Will ensure that support and direction of all data analytics that utilize the Tableau tool aligns with business and technical roadmaps as well as provide strategic and tactical guidance on any data visualization capabilities across the bank. Send cover letter and resume with salary requirements and references to: Human Resources Department, FHLBank Pittsburgh, 601 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219-4455.

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ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Bellefield Entrance Lobby, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15213, on November 30, 2021, until 2:00 P.M., local prevailing time for:

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