Queen City Nerve Issue 1_2018

DEC. 5TH-DEC. 18TH, 2018 QCNERVE.COM

PRINT’S NOT DEAD

Making history on Charlotte’s 250th birthday

Enjoy a New Year’s Eve experience.....Vegas style!

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TWO SESSIONS: 12-3pm | 5-8pm The Fillmore Charlotte

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Queen City Nerve is published

by Nerve Media Productions LLC, based in Advent Coworking at 933 Louise Ave., Charlotte, NC, 28204. www.qcnerve.com. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/queencitynerve; on Twitter at @qc_nerve; on Instagram at @queencitynerve

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STAFF

PUBLISHER • Justin LaFrancois jlafrancois@qcnerve.com EDITOR-IN-Chief • Ryan Pitkin rpitkin@qcnerve.com

EDITORIAL

ASSOCIATE EDITOR • Courtney Mihocik cmihocik@qcnerve.com STAFF WRITER • Pat Moran pmoran@qcnerve.com

ART/DESIGN

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ART DIRECTOR • Dana Vindigni dvindigni@clclt.com ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Aaron Stamey • astamey@qcnerve.com To place an ad, please call 704-525-9791 Queen City Nerve welcomes submissions of all kinds. Please send submissions or story pitches to rpitkin@qcnerve.com. Creative Loafing is published every other Wednesday by Nerve Media Productions LLC. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

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NEWS & CULTURE

The Alt History of Charlotte

Six stories from Charlotte’s first 250 years that you won’t hear in history class

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6 Editor’s Note 12 Spotlight 13 The Scanner 14

ARTS

An Exhibit of Equity

K. Liles bridges the gaps with SouthEnd ARTS

16

LIFELINE

How not to kill your social life

18

MUSIC

Hard and Humble

The Commonwealth trio plays workingman’s punk

20 Soundwave 22

FOOD & DRINK

Seven Years Sustainable

In its seventh year, Birdsong adds solar to its prudential practices

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24 The Buzz 26 27 28 30

NIGHTLIFE

Aerin It Out Horoscope Savage Love Crossword

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EDITOR’S NOTE

TOUCHING A NERVE

Don’t call it a comeback

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w

BY RYAN PITKIN

hat a difference a month makes.

Just 35 days ago, I woke up thinking it was just another print day at the paper I had worked at for three and a half years. A little over a month later, I’m writing the first Editor’s Note for a brand new paper of which I am co-owner and editor-in-chief.

I’m not a big believer in the idea that everything happens for a reason. I watch the news these days and can’t imagine a justifiable reason for any of it — no matter how mysterious. But I am a believer in blessings in disguise, and that’s what I think I’m dealing with now.

When my former boss walked into our office on Halloween and told me and my staff that we were all suddenly out of jobs, nobody involved could have imagined where we’d be sitting today. After a couple days of commiseration and not a little drinking, our team dusted ourselves and each other off and looked at what we had in front of us: an opportunity.

One reason for that was you, the community.

As we worked week after week to put out the best paper we could for our readers, it wasn’t often that we came up for air to read the room. Sure, we listened to criticism, some of which was well founded and deserved attention and some came from trolls. We also felt the love. Whether out covering news, checking out a show or hanging out at an art exhibit, we were constantly hearing from Charlotte creatives and patrons of the local arts how our publication had turned a corner recently and was more relevant than ever. That was always great to hear, but for the most part we kept our heads down and our ears

to the street for the people, stories and ideas that needed our attention.

But nothing could have prepared us for the reaction from folks come Halloween when news broke that Creative Loafing Charlotte was shutting down its print publication, laying off the entire staff and relaunching as a digital media outlet in 2019.

The outpouring of support from people on social media who had grown up reading the paper over the last 31 years, or had used it as a social lifeboat upon arriving in the Queen City more recently, was nothing short of overwhelming.

The reality began to sink in just 24 hours after the news broke, when local band The Business People made a Facebook post stating their support for the former CL staff, and their frustration with the closing of one of Charlotte’s most important publications for covering local culture.

In the post, The Business People expressed a desire to host some sort of concert or event to raise funds for me and my newly unemployed crew. They weren’t sure if the idea was even viable, but hundreds of people from all around Charlotte’s creative and business communities began replying to the post pledging their support.

And that’s how RIP Fest was born. On Nov. 17, more than 20 local performers volunteered their time to support the former CL staff and our new venture, Queen City Nerve. The entire show, held at five different venues throughout NoDa, went off without a hitch. The turnout cemented something that we had already begun to realize: the city was behind us, and it wanted to void left by CL’s closure filled.

And that’s what we intend to do with Q.C. Nerve. While we will be releasing bi-weekly print editions featuring longform stories like you would find in our old paper — and of course we wouldn’t imagine leaving out the crossword and horoscope — what we’re really excited about is our new website, Queen City Nerve.

By spreading out publication dates, we will be able to focus on more widespread coverage of Charlotte’s music, arts, food, news and culture online. We will include shorter pieces about upcoming events, video content, photo galleries, hell, even health and fitness tips to get you through the new year. We also want to amplify a diverse range of voices around the community, so if you have any story ideas for us — journalist or not — please feel free to reach out to me at rpitkin@clclt.com.

We also want to stay present in the community not only through our publication but by hosting regular events that highlight local culture. From concerts like RIP Fest to art exhibits to culinary contests.

So whether you were an avid CL reader in the past, hated us with a passion or are unaware of us altogether, we hope you’ll give us a chance to show you what we’re about. Everyone involved in this paper feels a strong passion for highlighting local news and the creative culture, which is growing every day. It takes a diehard crew just to keep up, but we’re up for the challenge.

RPITKIN@CLCLT.COM

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The Hilton sisters circa 1927.

PHOTO BY PROGRESS NY STUDIOS

THE ALT HISTORY OF CHARLOTTE

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The untold stories are the best ones

I

BY RYAN PITKIN

t came in with a bang. It passed by with a whimper.

It will go out with a Shout.

On July 3, the city kicked off its year-long celebration of Charlotte’s 250th birthday with a Star Spangled Spectacular fireworks show at Memorial Stadium. The show went well enough, although it ended awkwardly when a malfunction meant the bombs kept bursting in air, meaning folks parked on a nearby parking deck had to wait out the sporadic shells before returning to their cars.

It was a fitting way to start CLT250, the city’s hashtaggable

name for the upcoming year full of events. In a city that has striven for so long for “world-class status” that the expression itself has lost its meaning, we’re all too often stopped short from reaching that glorious end goal by other names and expressions that need no further explanation within our city limits — HB2, Keith Lamont Scott, economic mobility report — shorthands for experiences that remind us that the New South still has plenty of old ghosts.

As the year has progressed toward its end, the city has continued to celebrate CLT250, although it hasn’t built the buzz that

some city leaders hoped for back in July. Many of the signature CLT250 events consist of piggybacking the logo on things we already do here — National Night Out, the Thanksgiving Day Parade, Charlotte Pride. Other CLT250-related events more deserving of your attention — Through This Lens, Charlotte’s Got History — have quietly passed without fanfare.

On Dec. 3, the true Queen City birthday, a few hundred people showed up to Center City to help ring in the quarter-millenia for a couple hours and watch city council members make predictably bad attempts at dancing before heading back to their

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offices and resuming work on Monday’s catch-ups.

We may sound cynical, but we’re not here to shit on CLT250. In fact, we’re all the way here for the awkward endings and bad dances. Sure, we’d like to have seen the city shut down for the birthday party it deserved on such a milestone. But we’ll take what we can get.

There’s still hope ahead for CLT250. In February, the city gets a chance to show out on the national stage with the arrival of the NBA All Star Game, followed in May by the “crescendo” of the CLT250 celebration: Charlotte Shout. The month-long celebration of Charlotte music, arts and food sounds like it’s right up our alley. Hell, maybe we should have waited until May to drop this new paper.

But alas, we’re here and we’re ready to get weird. Charlotte’s arrival at the ripe old age of 250 years old got us thinking about some of the lesser spoken of aspects of the Queen City’s history. We all know about “the hornet’s nest of rebellion” and the streetcar suburbs, but what about the Hilton sisters?

If you’re asking yourself what in the hell Nikki and Paris Hilton have to do with Charlotte, well, nothing. But we do have a few stories for you about Charlotte’s more forgotten historical stories and characters — some of which are strange, some of which are funny, some of which are just fucking cool.

James Brown performs in 1969. touring and starring in movies. As their star began to fade, THE DOWNFALL OF DAISY AND VIOLET HILTON they found themselves in Charlotte working under the guidAlthough their grave in Forest Lawn West Cemetary on ance of Phillip Morris of Morris Costume, according to WashWoodlawn Drive on Freedom Drive reads, “Beloved Siamese burn. They’re performances stop attracting any fans, and they Twins,” the Hilton sisters were technically pygopagus twins, later went to work at a Parn-N-Shop on Wilkinson Boulevard, meaning they were literally joined at the hip, from the back. where the counter was designed to allow them to work inconDaisy and Violet Hilton were born in Brighton, England, in 1908 to Kate Skinner, who ashamedly sold them off to midwife spicuously side-by-side.

Sometime around the holiday season of 1968, the two would Mary Hilton. They were used as entertainment through most of their childhood, kept in the window of a Brighton pub until die of Hong Kong flu in the cittage they lived in near the they became two big and were moved to the backroom, where market where they worked. As Washburn reported, a woman Hilton charged bargoers to see them, according to a 2014 piece named Shelagh Childs from England would eventually discover that she was the long-lost niece of the Hilton sisters , and

by Mark Washburn of the Charlotte Observer. would visit Charlotte to visit their grave, letting them know Accoridng to a 2014 documentary titled Bound by Flesh: that though they lived a tragic life, they truly were beloved to The Story of Daisy and Violet Hilton, the two arrived in San Francisco in 1915 and had to fight to gain entry after officials someone. deemed them “medically unfit” to get into the United States.

BRAND NEW BAG After Hilton’s passing, the two were passed on like property to Most folks familiar with the local music scene know that the Hilton’s daughter Edith and her partner Myer Myers. The two up-and-coming R.E.M. recorded some of their best work at flirted with fame in the States, but not success. As vaudeville Mitch Easter’s and Don Dixon’s now-defunct Reflection Studios, acts, the twins shared stages with the likes of Charlie Chaplin but Charlotte’s recording history goes deeper than that. and Bob Hope and brushed shoulders with Harry Houdini. They While Reflection also recorded legendary artists ranging from remained broke, however, as their various owners and managWhitney Houston to Robert Plant, it wasn’t the only Queen City ers continued to take advantage. studio where history was made.

After fighting for and securing emancipation in 1931, the two Back in 1965, James Brown was looking for a new sound, and struck out on their own, taking part in various public relationhe found it with Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith. A co-host of ships with different beaus and even giving birth, while also WBT’s Carolina Barndance, Smith was the first person to own a

PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC TELEVISION

commercial recording studio in Charlotte. Come 1965, Brown was moving away from his gospel sound and experimenting with funkier rhythms. One fateful day, he cut a song in Smith’s studio called, “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” and history was made.

According to an NPR story from 2000, Brown’s original recording of the song ran a full seven minutes. He took it to his team at King Records in Cincinatti, and they made some changes to it while also cutting it to just over two minutes.

The song changed the direction of soul music, said journalist and author Nelson George.

“It wasn’t totally a smooth-flowing melody like you might find at Motown Records,” he said. “It wasn’t Southern, per se, the way that the stacks records sounded. It had its own kind of universe that it existed in.”

And if we ever catch Cincinatti folks trying to claim credit for that song like they did with our city’s nickname, we will have words.

THE CAPTURE OF BHAGWHAN SHREE RAJNEESH

In March of this year, the country was introduced to Bhagwhan Shree Rajneesh through the documentary series Wild Wild Country on Netflix. For those non-bingers, Rajneesh was the leader of the — you guessed it — Rajneesh movement. Throughout the ’60s and ’70s, he traveled through India spreading his anti-socialist messages before setting his sights on the United States in the 1980s. And that’s when shit really

CREATIVE COMMONS

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Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh with followers in Poona, India in 1977.

got crazy.

By the mid-’80s, Rajneesh’s followers at his commune in Oregon had become more extreme, allegedly poisoning an entire town’s water supply with salmonella bacteria and planning to assassinate U.S. attorney Charles Taylor.

That type of behavior is known to bring about the wrong sort of attention, so it was that on Oct. 28, 1985, Rajneesh got on a rented Learjet that was later said to be headed to Bermuda.

Rajneesh’s followers who took him on the trip later insisted that he was unaware of the authorities’ intentions to arrest him or that he would be leaving the country for good.

Nevertheless, he never made it out. While the jet was parked at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, it was surrounded by police cars and special agents, which looked extra cool because those were the days when they used to put the Naked Gun light on top of the car in times like those. Aboard the plane, agents found $58,000 in cash and enough watches and bracelets to fetch about $1 million — not surprising for the guy known to have owned 90 Rolls Royces.

Rajneesh and six other passengers were taken into the custody of Mecklenburg County Sheriff C.W. Kidd. They were kept

for about nine days before being expedited back to Oregon.

According to the Charlotte Observer, Rajneesh brought on the recognizable Charlotte attorney Bill Diehl for emergency legal services, but didn’t stick with him moving forward.

The sudden arrival of a national fugitive in the still-sleepy town of Charlotte created a stir, and some folks took advantage, selling “We Bagged the Bhagwan” t-shirts when Rajneesh attended court in Charlotte. As Wild Wild Country filmmakers Maclain and Chaplain Way admitted to the Observer, though it wasn’t related closely to the case, some of the reaction shots from Charlotte residents following Rajneesh’s arrest made for the best television in the whole series.

That’s called recognizing your moment and grabbing it before it goes. You just never know when you might end up on a ridiculously popular series 30 years later.

According to a Gaston Gazette passage from 1950, the park had “a big steam train, Dive Bomber, kid land, Octopus, Tilt & Whirl, Ridee-o, Merry-Go-Round, a Ferris wheel and fireworks.”

Most inviting about Airport Park, though? The zoo. And in 1955, the zoo got a new tenant, Vicki the baby elephant. After debuting at the park, Vicki would join Lena the llama and Dollie the chimp in a three-ring circus that visited Tryon High School.

While ads from the Gazette and other papers boosted up Vicki as the new main attraction at Airport Park all summer, eventually she would truly get the attention she deserved.

On September 11, Vicki’s owners were trying to transfer her to the Spindle-Center Fairgrounds in Gastonia when she made her move. She quickly disappeared into the wooded marshlands near the park. Vicki was not seen again for four days, when she wandered onto the Pilot Trucking Company freight yard.

Despite the efforts of her trainer John “Smoky” Strickland and a VICKI MAKES A BREAK FOR IT group of truckers to box her in, Vicki busted past them, slinging Speaking of taking advantage of opportunity, there might not Strickland aside without a problem. be anyone in Charlotte’s long history who grasped that concept Zookeepers tried everything to get Vicki back, grounding quite like Vicki the Elephant. Back in the 1950s, the Airport nearby National Guard flights and bringing in other elephants Amusement Park was the place to be on Wilkinson Boulevard. to attract her — everyone gets a little lonely after a week

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on the lam — to no avail. They left trails of grain, hay and molasses leading from her known stomping grounds back to the park. Bulldozers were called in to dig deep pits to trap the 2,300-pound pachyderm. Nothing worked.

Meanwhile, Vicki was becoming a media sensation. Advertisers jumped on the topic of the day, as seen in a Rocky Mount Telegram ad for a movie theatre stating, “We don’t know where to find Vicki the Charlotte Elephant but... We do know that week after week the finest entertainment is found at The Center.”

After nine days of hide and seek, officials called in Louis Reed, a former Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus elephant trainer, to help coax her out of the woods using “Indian jungle calls” and “talking like a baby,” according to a 2013 Creative Loafing article.

In a must-read essay, then Charlotte News reporter Charles Kuralt recalled the capture, stating that a group of 20 high schoolers and volunteer firemen tussled Vicki to the ground in an open field while Strickland and Reed looked on from their vehicles.

“Vicki in shackles was a different animal than the saplingsnapper she was in the woods,” Kuralt wrote. “She marched the last mile back in Airport Park with her head down, her trunk swinging sadly. She walked through the park gates, entered her old stall willingly and submitted to photographers’ flashbulbs going off in her face.”

As intriguing a chapter as she inspired, Vicki’s story would come to a sad, premature end not long after her escape — one of many escapes, although the others stayed hushed up, according to park owner Jack Partlow’s daughter-in-law. Two years after she made national headlines, Vicki was sold to Carowinds developer Pat Hall, who moved her to Hickory. She would die there a year later at just 9 years old.

The Partlow family believed that Vicki’s escape may have led to her downfall, as her underdeveloped feet were not yet ready for the wild terrain, leading to infections — an irony, as it was her quickness on those feet that made her famous in the first place.

Randolph Scott (far left) with friend Cary Grant and in a solo publicity photo.

But let’s put aside how much flying this guy has done and how much of an absolute badass someone has to be to have been a test pilot in the 1960s and just focus on the one item that nobody could put on their bucket list today if they wanted to: Duke was the 10th man to ever walk on the moon. As lunar module pilot for Apollo 16, Duke and fellow astronaut John Young landed at something called the Descartes Highlands and disembarked from the ship three spearate times.

Before that, Duke’s Charlotte accent (yes, that used to be a thing) became familiar to folks around the world when he served as capsule communicator for Apollo 11, which was the first trip to the moon. Duke could be heard communicating with the APollo 11 team as the world watched in awe at what transpired on their television screens.

QUEEN CITY LEGENDS Now 83, Duke lives in Texas with his family and participates in In the modern era, you know of the Anthony Hamiltons and prison ministry.

Brooklyn Deckers, and we are big fans of both at the Nerve.

But a deeper dig into Charlotte history uncovers a couple guys While not much can match up to the accomplishments of Charwhose names aren’t so well known but were household names lie Duke, if you take into the account all the things Randolph Scott did onscreen, it would certainly come close. during their time.

Although born in Orange County, Virginia, in 1898, Scott was Charles Moss Duke Jr. was born in Charlotte on Oct. 3, 1935.

Today, the former astronuat, Air Force officer and test pilot can raised in Charlotte. He lived on Dilworth Road and his father a city alderman, chairman of Charlotte’s Finance Committee and claim more time in the clouds than Snoop Dogg with 4,147 logged flight hours — more than 172 days up in the air. Those CEO of an accounting firm. The elder Scott supervised the city’s hours include 265 in space, which we all know counts double. first published financial statement in the early 1900s, and was

CREATIVE COMMONS

recognized by the state for drafting North Carolina’s first certified public accountant law, according to the Charlotte Museum of HIstory.

Scott served in World War I, where he learned horsemanship and how to use guns, skills that would come in handy for his impressive film career later down the road. Between 1928 and 1962, Scott starred in more than 100 films, including about 60 Westerns. He starred along leading ladies like Shirley Temple, Mae West and Marlene Dietrich during what’s known as the Golden Age of Film.

Much has been made about Scott’s sexuality, as he lived with fellow leading man Cary Grant for 12 years, but we can’t speak to it. If he was able to carry out such a long and successful career with that weighing him all the while, it would be a shame, but more power to him.

One thing we know for certain is that in 1964, new owner of the Oakland Raiders Al Davis used Scott’s likeness (with an eye patch for added toughness) as a model for the team’s new logo.

These are the types of stories we enjoy telling, and we want to see who’s next to come from Charlotte’s striving streets to make history in whatever way they see fit, world class or not. So go ahead, make Charlotte proud. We’ll be here to jot it down.

RPITKIN@CLCLT.COM

YOU’RE INVITED TO THE 8TH ANNUAL

SPOTLIGHT HANCHETT DISHES HISTORY

Community historian reflects on CLT250

BY COURTNEY MIHOCIK

FEBRUARY 2, 2019 FEATURING

Exclusively Charlotte Pg. 12 Dec. 5 - Dec. 18, 2018 - QCNERVE.COM

area breweries and complimentary foods

TWO SESSIONS: 12-3pm | 5-8pm The Fillmore Charlotte

qcbrewfest.com

Tom Hanchett is something of a local celebrity around Charlotte, in terms of community historians.

When I sat down with him in Arepas Grill, a traditional Venezuelan spot on Old Pineville Road, we were in the midst of our conversation when someone approached Hanchett to introduce themselves. The man was excited to meet Hanchett and exclaimed that he was a big fan of the work he has been involved in since first coming to Charlotte in 1981.

Hanchett himself was excited that we were in a traditional Venezuelan restaurant in a city that historical had little Latinx immigration.

He said Charlotte is a city of reinvention, and we’re in the middle of a reinvention right now that’s bringing more culture to a burgeoning city.

In the lead-up to Charlotte’s 250th birthday, Queen City Nerve sat down with Hanchett to talk about Charlotte constantly reinventing itself, the impact of newcomers to the city and the celebration of our beloved Queen City.

Q.C. Nerve: How does Charlotte fit into the vision of the New South?

Tom Hanchett: What we said in the Levine Museum

of the New South is that if you boil the whole “New South” thing down to one word it’s “reinventing.” The New South as a term started to happen right after the Civil War. Slavery was gone, the South’s economy was in a mess, basically the region had to reinvent itself, and everybody was watching. So it had to be sincere about it.

And that keeps happening.

We’ve gone from slavery to segregation, which was a major reinvention. From slavery to segregation to civil rights to where we are now.

We’ve gone from fields to factories to finance.

example of someone like me, who was a newcomer who was able to find something useful to do in partnership with the community, and the community embraced him.

So, in the spirit of the Queen City’s 250th birthday, what about our history should we embrace as we move forward?

It’s kind of typical of Charlotte that there has been a good effort on celebration, but it hasn’t really swept the city’s culture like it might in more history-oriented communities.

This is part of the New South is embracing the future, running toward the future Has Charlotte always with open arms. I’ve been been known as a city of kind of quietly proud of “transplants?”

Charlotte and CLT250 effort.

Charlotte has always been Let’s make something of this. a place that welcomes It’s an opportunity for us to do newcomers, that pulled what is really hard if you’re a newcomers in. Another great person on the make, if you’re example of that is this guy an ambitious person, if you’re named Hugh McColl who a person really engaged in the grew up on a cotton farm day-to-day making of a new down in Bennettsville, South world which so many folks are Carolina, came up here was a here for. Whether you’re in a young trainee at a bank. They corporate world or the parent had just merged two banks track or building a nonprofit, to make something called whatever. The tasks right NCMB and he kind of worked in front of you seem more his way up through NCMB important than sitting down until he led the place and for an afternoon and having reinvented American banking. some birthday cake.

CMIHOCIK@QCNERVE.COM He created Bank of America here in the ’90s, he’s another

SCANNER

BY COURTNEY MIHOCIK

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BIG STICK This is the very first blotter entry of QC Nerve, and buckle up because this one’s a doozy. Charlotte Mecklenburg police investigated a complaint regarding the illegal sale of alcohol at a “corner store” in east Charlotte, near the NoDa neighborhood. During the investigation, police discovered that the corner store dubbed “Dar’s Super Mini Mart” was selling malt beverages without an ABC permit, a stolen 9 mm handgun and drug paraphernalia. Among the items seized are alleged ecstasy pills, approximately $1,300 in cash and an item called U Pass Fetish Urine. We had to look that last one up, but it’s for getting kinky without getting stinky … and also for passing urine drug tests.

GUN IT Police officers were presumably surprised to discover a handgun under a traffic cone at the Panther Stadium Uptown early last week. Early in the afternoon, the Armi Tanfoglio Giuseppe was uncovered, with no known suspect to pin it on. The police report is very short as presumably no one knows where the gun came from, but it looks like everyone dodged a bullet, though. Seriously, where is the gun control?

expensive property loss. Hopefully they have one-day free shipping with Amazon Prime to get it back.

SMOOTH CRIMINAL One employee in east Charlotte got robbed behind their back when they discovered that money had been stolen from Advance Auto Parts. The kicker is he didn’t know until two days after the fact. According to the report filed with police, the employee was reviewing in-store FRAUDULENT FORD One 46-year-old man was put camera footage when he saw the suspect go behind the through the wringer in August when he entered what he counter, steal $300 and then leave with none the wiser. In the thought would be a simple transaction for a 2004 Ford F-150. span of a minute, the suspect was able to get in, and get out.

After paying approximately $4,000 for the truck, the owner and Maybe the security camera system needs an upgrade or the suspect delivered the truck to the victim’s home, but it was the store needs more attentive employees.

EXCUSE ME One man in east Charlotte was waiting in line wrong car. After returning the car back to the suspect, he was Files are pulled from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department at CSL Plasma on Central Avenue when he experienced some- given a refund check that didn’t clear the bank. Even when a new check was written a couple weeks later, the $4,150 check records. Suspects are innocent until proven guilty. thing that we all experience from time to time: running into a rude person. The 57-year-old male filed a report with police still did not clear the bank. This is presumably a very compliearly last week to inform them that afternoon he was standing cated scam that was almost pulled off, but it might have been better for the victim to keep the vehicle as in line for customer service when the unknown suspect was “very rude and nasty.” The man specified to police that he did car-llateral. not do anything to the suspect and has no idea why he would have acted that way toward him. All we can say is that haters SCHOOL’S LIT Sometimes, we really are going to hate. enjoy the short and sweet reports that leave room for the imagination. Early last WHEELS UP One suspect tried to use his disability to his month, a fire was reported at Collinswood advantage when he attempted to shoplift. At the SouthPark Language Academy near the Sedgefield mall AT&T store, the man tried to conceal a bluetooth portable neighborhood. The report itself leaves speaker in his jacket and leave the store without paying. Acmuch to be desired in terms of details, as cording to the report filed with CMPD, when he was stopped the reporting officer wrote “a small fire igby security, the suspect struck the security personnel not once, nited in a classroom,” and that’s it. But we but twice with his wheelchair during the interaction, causing believe that the details are between the minor apparent injuries. “Wheel,” that’s one way to try to get lines and you’ll have to fill them in yourself. away, but the wheels weren’t turning too fast in his head, apparently.

FREE SHIPPING If your holiday packages are a little late this year, it might CIG BREAK We honestly can’t stress this enough: stop be due to a slight mix up in northwest leaving your shit unsecured and then it won’t be stolen so Charlotte. Last week, a trucking and logiseasily. One 34-year-old man in the University area presumably tics company reported a missing shipping didn’t know this advice while staying at a hotel on University container worth $20,000. According to the Executive Drive when he filed a report stating his room had report, the business believes that the shipbeen broken into and his $40 LG prepaid phone was stolen. Per ping container was picked up by another the report, the man stated that he left his door unlocked to go company accidentally, but it could still be outside and smoke a cigarette, but when he returned he real- the alternative explanation of nefarious ized his cell phone was missing. Can you hear us now? Good. intentions. Either way, that’s a hell of an

PHOTO COURTESY OF SOUTHENDARTS

Artwork by @SoTalentedM.

AN EXHIBIT OF EQUITY

SOUTHEND ARTS JURIED ART EXHIBITION Free; 6-9 p.m.; Charlotte Powerhouse Studios, 1507 Camden Road; facebook.com/southendarts

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K. Liles bridges the gaps with SouthEnd ARTS

I

BY RYAN PITKIN

f she could, K. Liles would wrap her arms around the entire Charlotte creative community.

It’s a theme that kept popping up in our conversation when I recently met Liles at the Hygge Coworking space in Camp North End in the lead-up to a juried art exhibition that her organization SouthEnd ARTS is holding on Dec. 7.

When Liles described how she was welcomed into Charlotte when she moved here from Indiana 10 years ago: “When I

walked through the door, people opened their arms like they do in the South.” When she spoke about Elijah Kell, a 12-yearold ceramic glass artist who will be showing his work at the exhibit: “He wraps himself around people, and then they wrap around him.” And when she explained the mission of SouthEnd ARTS, a 501c3 organization that emphasizes equity in arts: “We as artists are reaching out to the community, but then asking the community to come in and wrap their arms around

the artists, and it will be mutually beneficial.”

SouthEnd ARTS, born of a group of local artists who were left without a place to work when the Charlotte Art League closed its doors in January, has spent the last year hosting juried art exhibitions featuring the work of up-and-coming Charlotte artists, many of whom have never showed their work in an exhibit before. Now, the organization has a home to wrap its arms around.

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The Dec. 7 exhibit will be the first SouthEnd ARTS exhibit at Charlotte Powerhouse Studios, a space awarded to the group

by Charlotte Center City Partners as a location to host exhibits for at least the next year. The space is a perfect fit for SouthEnd ARTS, as it’s an organization that has taken quite a ride around the neighborhood since its formation.

First came the closing of Charlotte Art League’s sprawling warehouse, which was home to nearly 100 artists. Liles and others local artists like Sloane Siobhan and Chad Cartwright found themselves working out of garages in a Morningstar facility in South End. It was there that the seeds for SouthEnd ARTS were sown, and with the help of Morningstar’s thenmanager Cindy Henry, Liles and friends hosted their first exhibit in the facility’s lobby in February, featuring just five artists. About 20 people showed up. Since then, the team has formed into a 501c3, formed a board of directors and continued to build on that first show. An exhibit in September featured 20 artists and attracted about 400 patrons.

Now, with a space to call its own, Liles is excited about the future for SouthEnd ARTS. “We don’t get the whole space and we don’t get it all the time, but it was really becoming difficult to go from brewery to brewery setting up the logistics of space for every event,” Liles said. She hopes the new relationship with CCCP will bloom into something bigger. “We know it’s not permanent, but we know that if we show that we’re doing well and follow our dreams, I think they’ll be pleased with what we do.”

Those dreams — to educate, empower and showcase a diverse range of up-and-coming Charlotte artists in a way that emphasizes equity — first came to Liles after she took a six-week study of Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow, a class hosted by local community organizer Patrice Funderburg through her organization Educate to Engage.

Liles said the class changed her life.

“Six weeks is important to really delve into all of the misconceptions that we have about the reality of mass incarceration, but also institutionalized racism,” she said. “We had an amazing group of prosecutors, social workers, people who grew up in the New York projects, attorneys, healthcare people, people who had gotten pushed into it. Patrice became my mentor.”

That experience started Liles on the road to social justice, and then she read Bryan Stevenson’s memoir, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. Stevenson’s words convinced Liles that art was the path to enlightenment when it came to social justice.

“I decided after reading Just Mercy that I would commit my art to social justice,” Liles said. “I did a whole series thinking Charlotte’s not going to buy this, and they didn’t, and they didn’t, and then all of a sudden it’s gone.”

Following the CAL closure, Liles found herself driven to form

that makes it powerful, it’s mostly gentle power, and it has to do with that power. Our mentors, we have lunch together, and I know that they have been where I am right now. I leave with five suggestions that I put into play and then I go back for another lunch,” Liles said. “I’ll tell you, I think I’ve found my tribe.”

One member of that tribe, however, will soon be leaving town.

Siobhan, who has been a part of SouthEnd ARTS since its creation, will be moving to Las Vegas at the end of December.

The news was tough to take for Liles, who considers Siobhan “a daughter from other parents,” she said. Liles met Siobhan outside of the Charlotte Art League on the anniversary of Siobhan’s mother’s death. The two immediately became close. Liles hired Siobhan to teach her to do portraiture. Siobhan spent Christmas Eve with Liles and her husband last year.

When I asked Liles about what it means to her that Siobhan will be moving across the country soon, her eyes welled up and she took a moment to gather her thoughts before expressing her silver-lining sentiment.

“I can’t be selfish with Sloane, it’s her time to fly,” Liles said.

“You give them the base and let them go see what life’s about.

And so that has made it easier, because she’s an adult and she doesn’t need anybody at this point. She’s been looking for PHOTO COURTESY OF SOUTHENDARTS that completion in her life and she has that right now. So I am hopeful for her that she will find out what she needs to learn.”

“WE AS ARTISTS ARE REACHING OUT TO As for SouthEnd ARTS, Liles is looking forward to a year full of THE COMMUNITY, BUT THEN ASKING THE firsts for the organization. Later in 2019, she hopes to fulfill one of Siobhan’s goals, which was to hold an exhibit showcasing COMMUNITY TO COME IN AND WRAP THEIR the art of students at Northwest School of the Arts, since most ARMS AROUND THE ARTISTS.” K. Liles, co-founder, SouthEnd ARTS graduate without having participated in a juried art exhibition to place on college applications. something new around arts and social justice. She joined The Dec. 7 exhibition will be a soft opening for the new space up with Siobhan and two other local artists, Bryan Wilson at Powerhouse Studios, with a grand opening scheduled for and Jerry McQuay, to launch SouthEnd ARTS. With the help Jan. 31. That event will have a “Love Wins” theme and feature of CCCP’s Meghan Gude, the team was able to begin hosting an art exhibit and speakers from Charlotte’s faith community, grassroots exhibits showcasing the work of Charlotte’s lesser including Muslim organizer Rose Hamid and — Liles hopes — known visual artists. The idea is to work together with artists to Rabbi Judy Schindler with the Stan Greenspon Center for Peace promote their work and the organization. and Social Justice.

“When artists use their social media accounts, SEA marketing, And so for now, it appears that despite being pushed out and and personal mailing lists to get guests to our shows, they moved around multiple times, Liles has found a home in South are getting exposure for their own work while also connectEnd to continue pursuing connecting Charlotteans and pursuing their audience with the larger arts community,” reads ing greater equity. She couldn’t think of a better place to do so. the buyer’s guide for the upcoming Dec. 7 exhibit. “This ‘ARTS “We chose South End because it’s that No Man’s Land between interACTION’ is the mission of SouthEnd ARTS.” two Charlottes, and that really brings people in,” she said.

Liles has never been scared to ask for help. In fact, she has a “When they come into the community somewhat curious, group of folks she has reached out to over the last year to mine obviously motivated or they wouldn’t have got themselves to for advice on her new venture. Her list of mentors, as she calls the space, that’s where collaboration begins. And so, it is so them, includes Gude; Wendy Hickey, founder of ArtPop Street exciting to see it happening.”

Gallery; and Sam Guzzie, co-founder of local arts organization Now the question that remains to be seen is this: Can CharBrand the Moth. lotte’s residents wrap their arms around that?

RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM “I know that every successful group has something around it

WEDS. DEC 5TH

NOW CLT FEMINISM OPEN MIC NIGHT

What: The Charlotte chapter of the National Organization for Women is opening the stage at Letty’s for a night of spoken word and poetry, so flex those writers’ muscles and speak up about feminism. As it goes, the world can’t succeed without half of us held back.

More: Free; 6 p.m.; Letty’s, 2121 Shamrock Dr.; nowclt.weebly.com

THURS. DEC 6TH

VISART POP UP AND FILM SCREENING

What: Both the Vis and the Art will be the focus of an event on Dec. 6 when local artist Phoebe Alicia Teeters sells movie-related skateboard deck art and screens two films: the corny-but-campy Big Trouble in Little China and the psychadelic psychological thriller Mandy.

More: Free; 6-9 p.m.; VisArt Video, 3104 Eastway Dr.; phoebealiciateeters.com

FRI. DEC 7TH

LIFELINE

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DECEMBER 5TH- 11TH

INTERSECTION

What: The artists that call C3 Lab home work with diverging styles, medthods and mediums, but their one intersecting thread is the love that they put into their art. An annual showcase of what C3 has to offer the Charlotte scene, this exhibit features 34 artists whose work comes together as a collaborative collage.

More: Free; 7-10 p.m.; C3 Lab, 2525 Distribution St.; c3-lab.com

SAT. DEC 8TH

MUSIQ SOULCHILD HOLIDAY SOUL

What: When Hurricane Florence came through North Carolina, one of the most unfortunate effects on Charlotte was the cancellation of the Soul Junction festival planned for that weekend. As a Christmas gift, one of the biggest names scheduled for Soul Junction is returning to CLT, with no hurricanes on the horizon.

More: $20 and up; 9 p.m.; Stats Restaurant & Bar, 3425 David Cox Road; tinyurl.com/MusiqHolidaySoul

SUN. DEC 9TH

ROBERT GLASPER

What: At the intersection of jazz and R&B lives three-time Grammy winner, Robert Glasper, who seems to be the modern king of this particular musical styling.

For this show, you’ll want to sit back, relax with a stiff drink and let the smooth, calming notes take you somewhere else.

More: $47.50 and up; 7:30 p.m.; The Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St.; fillmorenc.com

MON. DEC 10TH

WINTER RESIDENCY WITH FOUR FINGER RECORDS

What: Four Finger Records will be hosting its live radio podcast with three bands that span our favorite genres of Charlotte music. With Americana, indie-pop and some instrumental indie rock, it’s the place to be on a Monday night.

More: $5; 7-11 p.m.; Petra’s, 1919 Commonwealth Ave.; petrasbar.com

TUES. DEC 11TH CELESTE BARBER

What: Hailed as “The Funniest Woman on Instagram,” Celeste Barber gained fame and notoriety with her real-life parodies of celebrity photographs. Now, she’s telling her story of rise to fame and meeting the same celebrities she parodied. Armed with a mix of humor and real-life low-budget aspirations, you can’t topple this hilarious queen.

More: $25-50; 8-11 p.m.; McGlohon Theater, 345 N. College St.; blumenthalarts.org

WEDS DEC 12TH

UNDEROATH

What: Underoath is easily on every modern rock playlist from the mid-2000s, and they haven’t stopped since their 1997 inception. You’ll feel your heartbeat racing and taste the fear in her sweat at The Fillmore for this iconic hard rock band.

More: $30; 6:45 p.m.; The Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St.; fillmorenc.com

THURS. DEC 13TH MICHAEL NAU

What: Signed to Charlotte label and store Cream Puff Records, indie folk artist Michael Nau weaves ethereal harmonies with wife Whitney in indie folk band Cotton Jones. His intimate set at eco-friendly apparel store Recover Brands is the perfect blend of cool performer, label and venue.

More: $20; 7 p.m.; Recover Brands, 1518 Bryant St.; recoverbrands.com

FRI. DEC 14TH

LIFELINE

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DECEMBER 5TH- 11TH

RUNNING OF THE BALLS

What: Plaza Midwood has glowing holiday balls! No, it’s not a medical condition. We’re talking about those decorations fashioned from wire and X-Mas lights that you see hanging about the ‘hood. Starting at Resident Culture, this 5K charts a course under the lights.

More: Donation suggested; 7 p.m.; Resident Culture, 2101 Central Ave.; plazamidwood.org

SAT. DEC 15TH TRIBUTE TO THE ’80S

What: This is now the 12th tribute organized by Justin Fedor to benefit Levine’s Children’s Hospital. Local favorites like the Business People, Modern Primitives, the Wormholes and more put their spin on hits from the big hair and gated drums decade.

More: $10-25; 7 p.m.; Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th St.; neighborhoodtheatre.com

SUN. DEC 16TH

CHARLOTTE COMICON WINTER SHOW

What: Winter is coming — at least according to Game of Thrones enthusiasts and Brad Panovich. Beat the freeze at this massive con featuring comics, cosplay, memorabilia and more. Local artists are showcased and panels include a tribute to Stan Lee. More: $5; 10 a.m.; Embassy Suites Convention Center, 5400 John Q. Hammons Drive, Concord; charlottecomicon.info

MON. DEC 17TH

THE UNDERGROUND MOBILE GALLERY FUNDRAISER

What: It’s no secret that Charlotte is being gentrified out the wazoo, so this monthly event tries to save urban arts by bringing local artist and musicians to lower-income neighborhoods. Give local youth talent a chance to prosper by builing communities of artists, not more condos and luxury apartments.

More: $5; 8 p.m.; Petra’s, 1919 Commonwealth Ave.; petrasbar.com

TUES. DEC 18TH WIZARD OF OZ

What: We’re not in Kansas anymore. This faithful stage adaption has all the songs you know and love. Go somewhere over the rainbow to Ovens and catch this Wizard of Oz performance for some Judy Garland nostalgia. Spoiler alert: the wizard is a fraud.

More: $34 and up; 7 p.m., performances run through Dec. 20; Ovens Auditorium, 2700 E. Independence Blvd.; ovensauditorium.com

PUNK ROCK SMACKDOWN: HOLIDAY SPECIAL Free; December 15, 5 p.m.; Tommy’s Pub, 3124 Eastway Drive, Suite 724; facebook.com/ tommyspub

The Commonwealth (from left): Simon Strivelli, Richie Grecki and Dan O’Leary.

PHOTO BY PAT MORAN

FANFARE FOR THE COMMONWEALTH

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Rock trio play workingman’s punk

W

BY PAT MORAN

hen Commonwealth vocalist and bassist Dan O’Leary said the Misfits suck, he didn’t mean to start a social media shitstorm.

But O’Leary’s description of the veteran horror-rockers as a punk rock Kiss that is more marketing scheme than music stirred up a cauldron of Facebook responses from Misfits fans and detractors alike. Days later, sitting on the back patio of Pint Central with vocalist and guitarist Simon Strivelli and drummer Richie Grecki, his bandmates in the muscular rock trio the Commonwealth, O’Leary provides some context for

his controversial post. Wickedly hungover while driving into work, O’Leary had just plugged in the aux cord between his phone and car when the Misfits song “Halloween” came on, he remembers. His immediate response was, “The Misfits aren’t that good.”

Strivelli agrees — sort of. “They’re not, but they’re fun,” he says, laughing.

O’Leary is more open minded about the Misfits on this rainy November night, hours before the Commonwealth hit the stage for the Punk Rock and Tacos Party at the Plaza Midwood pub and eatery. The band will also perform at the

Punk Rock Smackdown, a holiday special at Tommy’s Pub on December 15.

“In their day, they were probably really awesome,” O’Leary says, but he rejects the argument, posted on his thread, that punk rock is not supposed to be good.

“It’s a gray area,” Grecki counters. “You can have bad punk and you can have really good punk.”

“It’s all art, so it’s subjective,” O’Leary concludes.

It’s apparent that the three friends have held many discussions on the quality and power of music since forming the Commonwealth four years ago. It’s also obvious that the trio

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is committed to making the kind of punk that falls in the “really good” category. Debuting digitally on August 3 and slated for a physical CD release early next year, the Commonwealth’s Worst Things First EP balances power with precision and aggressive playing with supple technique. Ranging from the raucous vocals and melodic guitar fills of “Time Goes By” to the chunky bass and clattering drums of the anthemic “Back in the Fight,” the five-track collection, recorded and engineered by Joey Park at Warzone Studio in Charlotte, delivers jackhammer rock that also swings.

The EP’s title is a kind of homage to a terrible unnamed band that O’Leary and Grecki both had the misfortune to play in. The expression is an acknowledgment that you often have to get the shit out of the way before you hit pay dirt, Grecki explains.

O’Leary cites a credo that he credits to author Stephen King.

“Always write shitty first drafts because if you don’t get the drivel out of your head you’re never going to get it right,” O’Leary says. “If you keep it bottled up you’ll have a bad idea stuck too long and a good idea will pass your subconscious by.”

In contrast, the Commonwealth seems to run no risk of passing up any good ideas, Strivelli maintains.

“We try to extract from so many different avenues of music,” Strivelli says, explaining the band’s sound. “I write standard G-C-D chords, open strumming, but Dan writes in a totally different style.”

At 46, Strivelli is the oldest band member, and he notes that close to a decade separates all three musicians — Grecki is 36 and O’Leary has just turned 27. Such a range of ages provides a broad spectrum of influences and experiences for the players to pull from. In addition to playing in and writing lyrics for the Commonwealth, Strivelli plays with Celtic folk band Bottle of Smoke, and O’Leary has recently helped out absurdist rockers Cheesus Crust by donning a cardboard robot costume and battling a guy in a Godzilla suit. Despite the members’ differing backgrounds, Strivelli says the music they make is cohesive, in part because they share a handful of key influences.

“It’s like a Venn diagram,” Grecki explains. Each musician has his own preferences outside of the band, but in the middle, where they all meet as the Commonwealth, the bandmates know exactly what they like and what they want to do. One point of convergence is oi, the British-born subgenre that united punks, skinheads and other working-class youth in the late 1970s.

It turns out that Strivelli has firsthand experience with the American version of oi; 28 years ago, when he was 18 years old, Strivelli hung out with the Chapel Hill based band Patriot, one of the mainstays of the1990s oi and street punk scene.

“I lived with [Patriot] drummer Chip Harris,” Strivelli remembers. “I used to take him to band practice because he didn’t own a car.”

In 2014, when Strivelli was working security at Tommy’s Pub

PHOTO BY DREA ATKINS

Dan O’Leary, bassist/vocalist of The Commonwealth.

Richie Grecki, drummer.

Simon Strivelli, guitarist.

PHOTO BY DREA ATKINS

PHOTO BY DREA ATKINS

at its original location on Central Avenue, he took one look at Grecki and decided the future Commonwealth drummer was trouble.

“I thought Richie was going to be a piece of shit, but he turned out to be the friendliest guy,” Strivelli remembers. It was then that Strivelli recognized Grecki had been in one of his favorite Charlotte punk bands, All Rise. O’Leary and Grecki had played together in the hardcore street punk trio starting in 2010.

“I’d always appreciated what All Rise did for the scene,” Strivelli says. In fact he asked All Rise to open a Celtic rock show featuring his former band, Ghosts of Bannockburn, and Virginiabased band The Fighting Jamesons.

During O’Leary and Grecki’s tenure with All Rise, the band had toured nationally with Dirty South Revolutionaries. All Rise split up in 2014, but the timing turned out to be fortuitous, Grecki says. A week prior to the break up, Strivelli had asked Grecki if he wanted to play drums in a new project. Grecki declined because he didn’t want to play in more than one band at a time, but with the demise of All Rise, Grecki was free to consider Strivelli’s offer. In the meantime, Strivelli approached O’Leary about playing bass in his new group. Grecki remembers Strivelli’s unique pitch.

“The words he said were: ‘I don’t necessarily need the best players. I need the right players.’” Having played together for 10 years, Grecki and O’Leary have a near telepathic connection on their instruments. There was no question that they fit the bill for the Commonwealth. Considering that both Grecki and O’Leary were at the Common Market in Plaza Midwood when they accepted Strivelli’s offer, it may seem natural that the band takes its name from the market’s location on Commonwealth Avenue. Not so, says Strivelli.

A commonwealth is defined as a group of like-minded people, separate from the government, who strive for a common goal, Strivelli explains. It’s a happy accident that this band of goaloriented musicians shares a name with the location where it was born. In another coincidence, O’Leary happens to work as a cook at Common Market on Commonwealth.

“We all work manual labor jobs,” Grecki says. “We all serve.” He points out that he works construction while Strivelli drives a beer delivery truck. The dignity of labor is as important to the band’s mindset as making music, Grecki continues. While work ethic is crucial to the Commonwealth’s sound and attitude, he continues, a positive mental attitude is just as important. Despite the band’s hard-hitting musical attack, the lyrics penned

by Strivelli and O’Leary are often positive, Grecki points out.

Strivelli wants people to leave a Commonwealth show feeling better about life, he insists.

“I want people to walk out feeling uplifted,” he says. “I want to help people.”

“The world is a bleak enough place if you read the news,” O’Leary adds. “You have to take the bitter with life, but you can’t let it consume you. If you do, you’re screwed.”

SOUNDWAVE DECEMBER 6 POP

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Live Music (Chima Brazilian Steakhouse) Musicians’ Open Mic (Crown Station Coffee House and Pub)

DECEMBER 7

Bill Noonan Band, Brandy Lindsey & The Punch, David Jason Scavone, Barnwell, Matt Childers (Petra’s) Carlson (Petra’s) Mickey Stephens & Poor Blue Pleasures w/ Paint Fumes, (Evening Muse) Chew (Snug Harbor) ROCK/PUNK/METAL

DECEMBER 10 POP

Muse)

settes (Milestone) Le Bang (Snug Harbor)

Find Your Muse Open Mic with Justin Kennedy (Evening JAZZ/INSTRUMENTAL DECEMBER 14 Zo! + Carmen Rodgers (Neigh- POP Muse) borhood Theatre) Alexa Jensen, Emerson ROCK/PUNK/METAL BLUES/ROOTS Carter, George Banda (EveROCK/PUNK/METAL Winter Residency with Four COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERIWayne “The Train” Hancock ning Muse) CANA Underoath, Dance Gavin COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERIFinger Records (Petra’s) (Neighborhood Theatre) CANA Jill Andrews (Evening Muse) Dance (Fillmore) Brangle (Smokey Joe’s) ROCK/PUNK/METAL The Talbott Brothers, Ross Yarn (Visulite) POP Canvas Kid, Couch Surfer, Adams (Evening Muse) Front Country (Neighborhood 64th Annual Carolina Voices’ RAP/HIP HOP/SOUL/ DECEMBER 13 Leith K Ali, Fozmo & Dorm Theatre) POP Singing Christmas Tree (Knight FUNK/R&B Rooms (Skylark Social Club) ROCK/PUNK/METAL Knocturnal (Snug Harbor) Live Music (Chima Brazilian Theater) Live for Music MasquerThe Shana Blake Band Steakhouse) DECEMBER 8 ade AFSP Benefit: Venus (Smokey Joe’s Café) DECEMBER 11 ROCK/PUNK/METAL KISSmas 2018 with Why Don’t DECEMBER 9 Invictus, Reason Define, POP Magnitude, Day By Day, Jeff Austin Band with Akita ROCK/PUNK/METAL We, Sabrina Carpenter and Inviolate, EdensKiss (Rabbit Celtic Thunder (Ovens AudiIllusion, Dominant Force (Rabbit Hole) Robert Glasper (Fillmore) Bryce Vine (Rooftop 210) Hole) torium) (Skylark Social Club) Family Friend (singer/songJim Brickman (McGlohon Marvel Madness: Death Of TKO Faith Healer, Ghost writer/guitarist Neil Mauney COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERITheater) August, Written in Gray, OcROCK/PUNK/METAL CANA Trees, Gasp, Yank (Milestone) of Late Bloomer & Pullman tober, Boron Heist (Tommy’s Open Jam with the Smokin’ Js ROCK/PUNK/METAL Strike), Kyle Perkins Band and Michael Martin Band with Pub) (Smokey Joe’s) RAP/HIP HOP/SOUL/ David Taylor (Petra’s) Gasp, Space Cadet Orchestra, Smelly Felly (Milestone) FUNK/R&B Funeral Chic Record Release: The Holy Knives w/ Fortune Zodiac Lovers (Petra’s) Eric Gales, Marvelous Funks- SkinKage, Kairos, Haymaker BLUES/ROOTS Invoke, WVRM & Whispering Teller (Snug Harbor) Joshua Cotterino, Vehicles & The Silencing Machine hun (Neighborhood Theatre) Coco Montoya (Neighborhood Man (Milestone) with TIME, flo•res (Milestone) (Milestone) RAP/HIP HOP/SOUL/ State Property (UnderTheatre) God Bless Relative (Evening The Shana Blake Band FUNK/R&B Alternative Pop Showcase ground) Muse) (Smokey Joe’s Café) Soul Station (Crown Station featuring: MVTCHI, Galaxzi, RAP/HIP HOP/SOUL/ Cave Mode Shake (Evening FUNK/R&B Musicians’ Open Mic (Crown Coffee House and Pub) Messenger Down, and Amy DJ/ELECTRONIC Muse) Bone Snugs-N-Harmony Station Coffee House and Pub) Peters (Evening Muse) BYOC Bring Your Own Cas(Snug Harbor) Navidad Rockera: Bakalao settes (Milestone) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERIDECEMBER 12 COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA POP Stars (Snug Harbor) Le Bang (Snug Harbor) CANA POP Blue Dogs, Cravin’ Melon Open Mic Night (Summit CofAbbey Road Live (Visulite) Andrew Marlin (Evening 64th Annual Carolina Voices’ JAZZ/INSTRUMENTAL (Neighborhood Theatre) fee, Davidson) Tosco Music Holiday Party Muse) Singing Christmas Tree (Knight Dave Barnes (McGlohon Jazz Room Holiday Edition: (McGlohon Theater) Theater) CLASSICAL Preservation Hall All-Stars Theater) DJ/ELECTRONIC Magic of Christmas (Knight COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERI(McGlohon Theater) Tosco Music Open Mic(Evening BYOC Bring Your Own CasCANA

SOUNDWAVE

DECEMBER 15

borhood Theatre) CULTURE SHIFT III w/ Akita, Menastree, Cosmic Shift (Snug Harbor) The Beach Boys (Ovens Auditorium) Larry Carlton (McGlohon Theater) Misnomer (Evening Muse) Jason Bieler (Evening Muse)

The Charlotte Chorale Inc.: A Christmas Journey (Booth Playhouse)

Electrohex with DJ Price (Milestone)

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

CLASSICAL

Punk Rock Smackdown Holiday Special: The Commonwealth, The Hooliganz, No Anger Control, Poison Anthem, Madd Hatters, The Bodybags, Cloud City Caskets, Covenator, Queen City Rejects, Van Huskins (Tommy’s Pub) LeAnna Eden & the Garden Of, Iliad, XOXOK (Petra’s) Tribute to the 80s to Benefit Levine Children’s Hospital: Ashley Armstrong, Time Sawyer, The Sammies, Evergone, The Business People, Modern Primitives, The Wormholes, Kodiak Brotherhood and the Superjam featuring members of The New Familiars, Ancient Cities, The Houston Brothers, Chosovi, Mirror Man (Neigh-

Magic of Christmas (Knight Theater)

Theater) RAP/HIP HOP/SOUL/ FUNK/R&B

Player Made: An Ode To Southern Rap of All Eras (Snug Harbor) Carl Thomas (Underground)

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POP

Find Your Muse Open Mic (Evening Muse) RAP/HIP HOP/SOUL/FUNK/ R&B

Knocturnal (Snug Harbor)

DJ/ELECTRONIC

DECEMBER 16 POP

A Rockapella Christmas (McGlohon Theater) Erika Jayne (Fillmore) Reina Del Cid, American Opera (Evening Muse) CLASSICAL

Magic of Christmas (Knight Theater) RAP/HIP HOP/SOUL/ FUNK/R&B

Bone Snugs-N-Harmony (Snug Harbor)

DECEMBER 17 POP

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The solar panels atop Birdsong Brewing’s Belmont facility.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BIRDSONG BREWING COMPANY

SEVEN YEARS SUSTAINABLE

BIRDSONG 7 YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY Free; December 8; Birdsong Brewing Co., 1016 North Davidson St.; birdsongbrewing.com

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In its seventh year, Birdsong adds solar to its prudential practices

B

BY COURTNEY MIHOCIK

irdsong Brewing Company was never meant to be the booming business it is today, but as it turned out, seven years ago was the prime time to start a small brewery in Charlotte, and the ever-expanding North Davidson Street corridor was the perfect place to do it.

The brewery began as a “side hustle,” said Chris Goulet, principal owner at Birdsong. At the beginning, it was just Goulet, his wife and a head brewer. The original plan was to open a small neighborhood taproom in which people could hang out or grab a growler to go. Now housed in a 17,000-square-foot facility they moved into a little further down North Davidson Street

in the Belmont neighborhood in 2015, the staff is preparing for Birdsong’s seventh birthday party on Dec. 8, featuring four food trucks, three bands, a DJ and some new brews. In that seven years, the brewery has become a model not only for how to succeed in Charlotte’s craft beer scene, but how to do it in a conscious, environmentally friendly way.

But first, let’s look at how they got there Once Birdsong hired its first full-time sales representative, the brewery began to take off. Then came a distribution manager that created run routes for distributing kegs and cans across the city. As demand continued to increase, Birdsong expanded to Raleigh, Asheville, Wilmington and over state lines into South

Carolina by partnering with wholesalers and other distributors.

More hiring, the move into a larger taproom and 30-barrel brewhouse and an increase in distribution have led to a 45-percent yearly average growth for the Belmont brewery, and that’s more than enough reason to celebrate.

During Saturday’s anniversary party, Birdsong will release anniversary canned beers along with a commemorative pint glass. The team couldn’t decide on just one beer to can for the party, so they went with three: a rum barrel-aged oatmeal stout called Rich Girl that clocks in at 11.5 percent alcohol by volume, a fruited sour titled Good Feeling and a continuation

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of its IPA series with azacca and centennial hops, Vital Signs — a session IPA. The party also marks almost a full year into Birdsong’s use of solar panels, another endeavor that just continues the company’s already sustainable practices.

According to Goulet, a surprisingly busy second quarter in 2017, thanks in large part to the release of Paradise City IPA, lent them the opportunity to invest in a solar panel installation on the warehouse’s expansive roof, giving them the electric generation they need to decrease their carbon footprint and other negative impacts on the environment that many operations across industries can have.

“From the very beginning we tried to figure out ways to have as small as negative environmental impact that we could, because we realized that even though we were a tiny example, we are a factory,” Goulet said. “But the core of the business is to brew a really good beer, package it, distribute it, have people drink it and then do it again. So it’s a repeating process, so you want to be as efficient as you can and there’s a lot of ways that you can reduce how much you landfill or how much you pollute.”

In 2014, Birdsong Brewing participated in a benchmark study with the Brewers Association, a national organization that recognized Birdsong as the most efficient brewery of its size in water usage. Since then, Goulet said that the brewery is on course to use 3.8 to 3.9 gallons of water for every gallon of beer it brews, while the national average is about 8 gallons.

After receiving that recognition from the Brewers Association, they’ve continued to challenge themselves to further streamline their water usage to make it as efficient as possible.

It’s all about sticking to the processes of sustainable water usage. Instead of hosing down the production facility floor to clean it, Goulet said that a simple spray and squeegee will do the trick with a little elbow grease.

When the facility moved from a 10-barrel production to 30 barrel, they switched to an oversized cooling tank that will never overfill, allowing the team to recapture water and reuse it.

“A lot of it is just mindset. If you’re going to run a cleaning cycle on a tank, you run it for the set amount of time. If it’s 30 minutes, you don’t run it for 45 minutes,” Goulet said of the team’s water sustainability processes in their production practices. “You don’t use the extra chemicals and extra water just because you didn’t set a timer, you just follow the process.”

Taking the sustainable mission a step further, Birdsong also takes the spent grain at the end of each batch and donates it to a livestock farmer, who then uses it to feed their livestock.

Furthermore, the spent yeast and hops at the end of each batch are packaged and sent to a composting facility, a move which ultimately costs them a bit more, but means that the

PHOTO COURTESY OF BIRDSONG BREWING COMPANY

The Birdsong staff is prudent about how they clean up.

WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF SHOW THAT WE’RE SUSTAINABLE AND NOT JUST TALK ABOUT IT. Chris Goulet, Birdsong Brewing

PHOTO COURTESY OF BIRDSONG BREWING COMPANY

Birdsong has 1,200 barrels of fermentation capacity.

company doesn’t use thousands of gallons of water flushing out the tanks when they’re done.

Then came the solar panels. After a lengthy “bureaucratic process” with Duke Energy and an inspection from the county, Birdsong was able to make use of the solar panels in January.

Since then, the panels have produced about 40 to 50 percent of the brewery’s total electricity usage, according to Goulet.

Coupled with a switch to LED lights in the production facility, the stability in the monthly electric bill brings more benefits.

“Probably 90 percent of our power usage is temperature control, and most of that is keeping things from getting too warm,” Goulet explained. “So in the winter we actually use a lot less electricity, but the days are shorter so the panels produce less.

But then in the summer we use a lot more electricity, but we have these really long days so we get tons of power from the panels, so my electric bill is essentially flat.”

So what could be next for a brewery that is already so firmly rooted in sustainability practices?

“One thing we talk about that I think is a cool long-term goal would be an electric delivery fleet,” Goulet said.

For in-city use, electric delivery vehicles would be perfect for short route runs and would further decrease the brewery’s carbon footprint. It’s the logical next step for Birdsong’s sustainability practices, and would bring about the same energy and appreciation for the environment that the recent solar panel installation did, Goulet said.

For now, Goulet hopes to expand community partnership and outreach programs to supplement the twice-a-year Little Sugar Creek cleanup events that the brewery holds. The creek clean-up usually brings about 60 to 70 people out and the group returns to the brewery with garbage bags full of trash and “weird stuff” to receive comped beer and food.

It’s just another way that the brewery practices what it preaches in sustainability and protecting the environment.

“That’s just fun because we have an opportunity to kind of show that we’re sustainable and not just talk about it,” Goulet said. “But people come and actually experience it, so I want to do more of that.” Birdsong Brewing Company’s growth in sustainability and its early days is easily attributed to the decision to set up shop early in a time when Charlotte breweries were few and far between. Now, it can be a daunting task to open a new brewery, and Goulet advises against it.

“Well my famous, historic advice is: don’t do it,” he said.

His advice is not meant to discourage young entrepreneurs from following their dream of owning a brewery, but as a warning for those to understand the work needed and to have a business model fully fleshed out.

“We [had] the luxury of finding our way a little bit early and I don’t think you have that anymore,” Goulet said. “I think you have to hit the ground running, you have to have great beer and know exactly what your business model is, and execute on it. And the days of an undercapitalized brewery called Birdsong that just started up in the back of a warehouse and making it work are probably gone.”

But as for Birdsong’s own business model heading into the next seven years, everything looks sustainable.

CMIHOCIK@QCNERVE.COM

DILWORTH BAKERSFIELD

Monday: $3 Jack Daniels Tuesday: $3 Tres Generaciones $10 Don Julio 1942 Wednesday: $3 Bulleit Bourbon Thursday: $3 Espolon Friday: $3 George Dickel No. 8 Saturday: $3 Lunazul Sunday: $3 Larceny Bourbon

300EAST

Monday: 1/2 off wines by the glass Tuesday: 1/2 off beer cans glasses of Italian reds Thursday: $3.50 local drafts & $8.50 Matilda Wong cocktails Sunday: 1/2 off wine bottles, $5 mimosas & bloody marys, $6 Bellinis

BAD DADDY’S BURGER BAR

Monday: 20 oz draft for 16 oz price Tuesday: $5 specialty cocktails Wednesday: $3.50 local drafts Saturday & Sunday: $5 bloody marys & mimosas

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DILWORTH NEIGHBORHOOD GRILLE

Monday: $4 Crown & Down Tuesday: $4 drafts, $12 pitchers, $5 flights of North Carolina drafts Wednesday: 1/2 price wine bottles and martinis Thursday: $12 domestic buckets, $18 import buckets Friday: $3 craft drafts, $5 flavored vodka Saturday: $5 mason jar cocktails Sunday: $4 bloody marys

SUMMIT ROOM

Tuesday: $4 drafts Wednesday: 1/2 off glasses of wine Thursday: $7 Summit cocktails

SOUTH END DILWORTH TASTING ROOM

Tuesday: free charcuterie board with purchase of wine flight Wednesday: 1/2 off Toki highball Thursday: 1/2 off Pinot Noir bottles Sunday: $8 Blue Panther cocktail when Panthers are winning

BIG BEN PUB

Monday: $5.50 20 oz NoDa craft beer, $2.00 off Vodka Wednesday: $5.25 20 oz Spaten, 1/2 price bottle wine Fri: $5.50 20 oz Crispin & Guinness, $5 Dale’s Fireball shot Sat: $5.50 20 oz seasonal beers, $5 mimosas and bloody marys Sun: $5.25 20 oz Boddington, $5 mimosas and bloody marys

MAC’S SPEEDSHOP

Monday: $3 pints, $5 Titos Tuesday: 1/2 price wine, $3 mystery draft Wednesday: $4 tall boys, $5 Lunazul Blanco Thursday: $3 mystery cans & bottles, $4 Jim Beam Friday: $1 off brewery of the month (Ballast Point), $5 Fireball Saturday: $1 off North Carolina pints, $6.50 vodka Red Bull Sunday: $4 bloody marys and mimosas

GIN MILL

Monday: $5 Titos & New Amsterdam, $4 craft beer Tuesday: 1/2 price wine Wednesday: $4 draft beer Thursday: $2.50 PBR, $5 Jack Daniels & Titos

TYBER CREEK TAVERN

All Month special every day: $5 Irish Whiskey, $4 draft beer

NODA

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JACKBEAGLES

Monday: $5 Cuervo margaritas Tuesday: $3 drafts, $5 vodka Redbull Wednesday: $1 off whiskey Thursday: $6 Deep Eddy’s vodka Redbull Friday: $5 Fun-Dip Shots, $5 Crown Royal Black Saturday: $5 Gummy Bear Shots, $5 Big Mimosa, $6.50 Double bloody mary Sunday: $5 Big mimosa, $6.50 Double bloody mary

SANCTUARY PUB

Monday: $7 Bulleit & Bulleit Rye/ $3 Yuengling & PBR APA Tuesday: $6 Tuaca/ $6 Tuallamore Dew Wednesday: $3 Birdsong/ $5 Sauza/ $6 Espolon Thursday: $2 Bartender Bottles/ $6 Crown Royal Sunday: $3 Birdsong/ $3 Tall or Call

NODA 101

Monday: $4 Ketel One Lemon Drop/ $4 Wells/ $5 Camerena Tuesday: $6 Seasonal Cocktails/ $6 Jameson/ $4 Grape Gatorade Wednesday: $1 off Whiskey/ $5 Green Tea Shot/ $6 Blue Balls Thursday: $5 Jagermeister/ $6 Vodka Redbull/ $6 Oxley Gin Cocktail Friday: $5 Fireball/ $6 Vodka Redbull/ $6 Jameson Saturday: $6 Tito’s Vodka/ $5 Fireball/ $6 Vodka Redbull Sunday: $5 Deep Eddy Flavors/ $1 off Tequila/ $5 White Gummy Bear Shots $4 Draft special everyday!

PLAZA MIDWOOD WHISKEY WAREHOUSE

Monday: $3.50 George Dickel Lemonade Tuesday: $3 Michelob Ultra, $6 classic cocktails Wednesday: $4 drafts, $3 sparkling rosé Thursday: Half price wine, $3 Truly cans Friday: $5 remix classics, $4 Corona & Corona Light Saturday: $2.50 Miller Lite bottles, $3 Dos Equis drafts Sunday: $2.50 Bud Light, $5 Tito’s vodka Saturday-Sunday: $2 mimosas, bloody mary bar

HATTIE’S TAP & TAVERN

WANT TO BE INCLUDED IN THE BUZZ? SEND YOUR DAILY DRINK SPECIALS TO RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM

Monday: $6 Pabst & Paddy’s Tuesday: $5 Fireball Wednesday: $3 mystery craft beers Thursday: $6 margaritas Friday-Saturday: $5 well drinks Sunday: $10 domestic buckets

NO NEW FRIENDS

Well, maybe one or two

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BY AERIN SPRUILL

I’m not sure what the dating world has been like for you. But I compare it to traversing a desert — one with plenty of hidden landmines.

That’s just my thought process looking back at how (until now) I’ve had a tendency to ignore all the signs with regards to the person I was interested in. But when you add friends into the mix, dating can be like a battlefield, and the landmines increase exponentially.

Let me explain.

In college, I hung out with a group of more than 10 friends on a regular basis. We were inseparable. We held each other through our bullshit heartbreaks, laughed in the face of danger (read: bullshit relationships) and watched each other grow beyond the madness.

Believe it or not, we’re still friends to this day. From birthdays to weddings, we’ve managed to keep our shit together after a decade of friendship. How crazy is that?

These days, however, it’s hard to find true friendships like that. Especially when you’re talking about a group of friends that size.

I’ve seen it time and time again. While dating in and of itself can be challenging in the Queen City — and yes, I’m drawing a distinction between dating In the sticks (rural) versus Charlotte (the city), what distinction that is I’ll let you decide — throwing in additional people can complicate the process even further.

Why, you ask? Well, for one, you don’t necessarily choose all of your friends these days. Maybe your boyfriend or girlfriend already had a group of friends to hang out with. Maybe your coworker had preexisting associates. Whatever the case may be, you’ll look psycho if you try to dictate who those new friends hang out with, so you often just deal with people you’re not that fond of.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a “plastic mean girl.” But I do tend to tread the fine lines between, “You can’t sit with us,”

“Thank you, next,” and “No new friends.” So when the friends of be a math whiz, but when you’re talking proportions, the friends come around, I’m not the best person for introductions. percentage of dramatic people definitely increases along with My fake, customer service voice will come out in a heartbeat! the number of people in your group. From gossip to smartass I chuckle thinking about how a friend of mine invited me remarks to cheating to full-on fist fights, anything is possible out for a “girls’ night” this past weekend. Cringe. She knew when you consider how little you know a random group of when she asked me it wasn’t going to happen but like a good friends. friend, she did it anyway.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve managed to stumble upon my fair What’s wrong with a girls’ night? Oh nothing, I just don’t share of friend groups that have worked out. They weren’t easy discriminate anymore when it comes to the demographic of a or drama-free, but they’ve managed to last. I’m just saying, as larger friend group. I know from experience that a large group an only child who leans toward not meeting new people, I’m of people trying to go out together for the sake of an outing not opposed to the idea of kidnapping my boo and escaping usually ends up being counterproductive. And when you’re not to a remote island in the middle of nowhere just so I can make super close with everyone involved, it can be anything from sure no one gets in the way. boring to a nightmare.

I know I sound pessimistic and immature, I’m cool with Secondly, it’s every man or woman for him or herself. When that. But tell me, which do you prefer? A small, inner circle or a you don’t know your friends that well, it’s a dog eat dog world. large group of friends?

Yes, your “friend” — aka acquaintance — may laugh Multi-cultural Staff of Over 20 Girls! at your jokes from time to time, but that doesn’t mean *Sauna they care about whether or *Massage Chair not it works out between you *Steam Shower and your Tinder date.

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ing your frugal side, embracing your patience and indepenof justice are heavy this week, but do not fret, Libra, as your dence may lead to a pay off in the future. loyalty and gentleness will prevail in the end. Some may come Gemini (May 21 to June 20) Focus, Gemini. It’s easy to you with their grievances, so remind them of the beauty, harmony and peace that you see in the world. Your words could for you to become tired of switching back and forth between relaxed and energized, but if you set your sights on your goals, change someone’s week. you can accomplish so much. This applies to both your personal Scorpio (October 23 to November 21) You have a life and your work life. Just remember that you can adapt to tendency to be possessive, Scorpio. However, you are passion- whatever is thrown your way. ate and intuitive, so allow your positive traits to shine through during the holiday season. Let your heart of gold sparkle and Cancer (June 21 to July 22) Surprisingly, this month DECEMBER 5–11 is the best month to rekindle a relationship or make a new you will have the natural limelight that you enjoy.

Aries (March 21 to April 19)Your strong sense of Sagittarius (November 22 to December 21) Your connection. Don’t wait until the end of the month to start something new, so start it this week. Do this by embracing initiative can lead you to make snap decisions this week, but open mind and heart could leave you vulnerable this week, your spontaneity and creativity, Cancer, you’ll never know who let yourself wait and consider all options before heading into especially with the holidays coming up. But Sagittarius is you will find. a decision. As the year begins to wind down, take the time to the most curious and optimistic of the signs and thus, enjoy Leo (July 23 to August 22) The time to act is now, Leo. reflect on the past 12 months and your relations with other travelling the most. Take a small trip out of town by yourself Your courage will lend itself to you this week as big financial people in your life. or with a close, trusted friend to ward off negative feelings. and/or romantic decisions head your way. Just remember Taurus (April 20 to May 20) Generosity is one of the Capricorn (December 22 to January 19) Caprito stay loyal and honest to yourself and to your loved ones. key traits of a Taurus, but don’t let your generosity leave you corns are notoriously driven and dedicated to their work, so overwhelmed financially or emotionally this holiday season. it’s important that you take time off to enjoy time with family Virgo (August 23 to September 22) The stress of Use your dependability to be there for the ones who are there and friends. Step away from your work and get your weekend the holidays may begin to get to you, but ye humble Virgo will for you and be patient with family members or friends who remain patient. Your zen personality shines through during the started a little early, as you most likely have plenty of PTO get frazzled as the year comes to a close. holidays. Just be sure to not let your judgment pass harshly on saved up from this past year. friends and family, lest you start a holiday spat.

Gemini (May 21 to June 20) As the ruler of Gemini, Aquarius (January 20 to February 18) You can Mercury, wanes in retrograde, use the time to express your Libra (September 23 to October 22) Time to spread be unpredictable and independent, but don’t let that ruin strongest traits. At work, use your adaptable and sociable your wings, social butterfly. You will find yourself packing your your social plans. Your social groups need your honesty and personality to bring new ideas to the table. In your social life, imagination this weekend, so don’t be afraid to play the leader social calendar with mingles and meetups, Libra. This is truly enjoy hosting and attending this season’s parties with loved of the group for once — take the reins going into Friday and your time to shine socially, but your loyalty and kindness may ones. lead you astray. Stay true to yourself this week.

Saturday night.

Cancer (June 21 to July 22) This will be an emotional Pisces (February 19 to March 20) Pisces are empathic Scorpio (October 23 to November 21) Last week week, Cancer, so allow yourself the time to be alone and keep and can easily be in tune with others’ feelings. This is a good may have left you feeling sluggish and like there’s a dark cloud your heart close to your vest. You’re known for being sponover your head. But this week will change that, as long as you thing when it comes to figuring out what is bothering your taneous, so it’s important to stop and think before you act. stay focused and strong-willed. Your passion will lead you into friends and significant other, but can quickly turn your mood Don’t share too much on social media or with those you don’t sour when a Debbie downer heads your way this week. Take the new year as the month winds down. truly trust. time to yourself and feel your own emotions before you feel Sagittarius (November 22 to December 21) If Leo (July 23 to August 22) The Sun rules your sign, someone else’s. you let your 2018 resolutions fall by the wayside this year, now Leo, and winter can be a tough time when you don’t feel is the time to start ruminating again. Get ready to head into connected to your astral ruler. But you are action-oriented, so 2019 with enthusiasm and optimism, but it’s important to get battle the winter blues with a deep clean of your living space a jump start on whatever your decision is. and give yourself time to be honest with yourself. What are Capricorn (December 22 to January 19) You Aries (March 21 to April 19) You’re almost to the end you hoping for in the new year, Leo? Figure it out. year, Aries. You’ve probably already set plans in motion took a step back last week, and you may feel the need to step Virgo (August 23 to September 22) Your analytical offorthe forward into your goals. Make a small step back into your 2019, and you’re ready for the new year. Be careful to not side may mean you’re eager to point out someone’s flaws, but put too much on your plate, as this year has worn you out. Your ambitious goals and take it one day at a time as you fill your be quick to hold your tongue. Virgos are observant and may personal life with cleaning, organizing, helping plan parties impulse could lead you to saying yes to projects you may not want to share their findings, but that could easily be interand holiday shopping. be able to complete. preted as judgmental. Practice your patience and humility Taurus (April 20 to May 20) Frugality is the name of Aquarius (January 20 to February 18) While the this week as Mercury slips out of retrograde. other signs have filled their planners with events and social your game, which may clash with your generous personality Libra (September 23 to October 22) The scales during holiday gift shopping. Karma is real, Taurus, and ignor- meetups, take this time to plan small get-togethers with

DECEMBER 12–18

Cringe and purge

BY DAN SAVAGE

I’m a 59-year-old man in good health. For basically my whole adult life, I’ve had this problem during intercourse with a woman of (1) being very quick to come and (2) having a too intense “cringey” sensation when I come. This has led to often going soft at the prospect of intercourse. This too-intense feeling makes me stop moving when I come, which is not satisfying at all. It doesn’t happen with hand jobs or oral sex — they feel fine and good. Is this a known phenomenon? And, most importantly, what can I do to get to a point where I can enjoy intercourse? This seriously messes up my enjoyment of sex and my confidence with women. One time, and only one time (out of many with a particular girlfriend), I had intercourse and it felt fine when I came, still thrusting, so I know it’s possible. I have been practicing with a Fleshlight, but it’s still painfully “cringey” when I come. It is not fun and rather depressing.

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HE ALWAYS REALLY DREADS PENETRATION AND REGRETS THIS

I shared your letter with Dr. Ashley Winter, a urologist in private practice in Portland, Oregon, and the cohost of The Full Release, a sex, health, and relationship podcast. Dr. Winter wanted to note that her comments are a general discussion of a medical topic and NOT individual medical advice. She wanted me to emphasize this point — which she also emphasizes at the top of her terrific podcast — because Dr. Winter is a responsible doctor and not a card-carrying member of the Amalgamated Advice Columnists of America. (Membership in the AACA entitles advice columnists to say pretty much whatever they want.)

“There are three issues at play here,” said Dr. Winter. “First, the pain or ‘cringey’ sensation only associated with vaginal and Fleshlight penetration. Second, being too quick to come. And third, erectile dysfunction. HARDPART insightfully suggests his ED may be related to his performance anxiety as well as anticipated pain, and I would agree with this. I would add that his quick ejaculation is most likely also caused by a mix of ED and pain — the body adapts to pain and erection loss by letting

the swimmers off the hook early.”

But why do you experience this pain only during penetrative sex? What is it about PIV (penis in vagina) or PIF (penis in Fleshlight) that causes those painfully cringey feelings?

“If he thrusts more during these activities than he does during oral or hand stimulation, I would expect that either pelvic floor muscle dysfunction or a nerve issue related to the lower spine could be causing the flairs,” said Dr. Winter. “If he were my patient, I would want to know if he has less pain when his partner is on top, which would mean his pelvis is moving less.

Also, does he have chronic low back pain? Bowel or bladder issues?”

Follow Dr. Ashley Winter on Twitter @AshleyGWinter, and check out The Full Release podcast, which she cohosts with comedian Mo Mandel, at thefullreleasepod.com.

I’m a mostly straight guy in my 40s and I’m married to a woman. I don’t know if it’s a midlife crisis or what, but I’ve decided that I want to get fucked in the ass once in my life. I will be visiting Hamburg soon, and it’s my understanding that sex work is legal in Germany. I want your help sorting out the legal, ethical and practical issues.

1. Legal issue. Paying for sex in Germany is legal, right? But even if sex work is legal, that doesn’t mean every sex worker is doing it voluntarily. I prefer people closer to my own age, and I imagine a 40-year-old sex worker is less likely to be exploited, right? What else can I do to ensure that I’m not with a trafficked individual?

2. Ethical issue. After many years and many neardivorce situations, my wife and I have adopted a more tolerant (or more apathetic) posture toward each other.

She has on several occasions told me that she doesn’t care who I fuck. While I haven’t acted on it, she has said it often enough that I believe her. We’ve talked about an open relationship, but she wasn’t enthusiastic. My best guess is that she doesn’t want to know if I do anything “gay,” while also not wanting me to form any emotional attachments. Do I ask her again if she really doesn’t care who I fuck? Or do her previous statements suffice?

3. Practical issues. Is a condom enough protection? How do I avoid

things like herpes and crabs? Other than emptying ye olde bowels, what other steps should I take before asking a male German escort to fuck me in the ass? And how do I ask? Google Translate suggests “Fick mich in den Arsch,” which is an unappealing thing to say. Maybe there’s something sexier?

LEGAL, ETHICAL, AND PRACTICAL

1. Sex work is, indeed, legal in Germany. You can minimize your chances of hiring someone who may not be doing sex work of their own free will by avoiding agencies and finding yourself an independent escort. But seeing as how you’re looking to hire a male in his 40s, LEAP, your odds of hiring someone doing sex work under duress are very, very low.

2. The wife who lovingly and apathetically tolerates your soon-to-be-fucked ass has already told you — and told you more than once — that she doesn’t care who you fuck. She also doesn’t want to know if you fuck someone else. Asking if she meant it immediately before flying off to Hamburg — double-checking to make sure she really doesn’t care who you fuck — would basically mean telling her you know you’re going to fuck someone else in Hamburg (and fuck them all “gay” and shit), and she’s already told you she doesn’t want to know.

Taking her at her word, i.e., allowing her previous statements to suffice, is the right thing to do.

3. A condom offers highly effective protection from HIV, gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia. For added protection, LEAP, ask your doctor about getting on PrEP, aka Truvada, before your trip. It’s a daily pill that, once built up to full strength (roughly a week), provides highly effective protection against HIV infection. While condoms do provide some protection against herpes, neither condoms nor PrEP will save you from crabs. To make sure your one-and-only ass fucking goes well, empty ye olde bowels and then douche ye olde rectum. Since most German escorts, like most German everybodies, speak English, LEAP, there is no need for an English-to-German dictionary.

Just say, “Fuck my ass, please.”

LILLY SPA 704-392-8099 MON-SUN 9AM-11PM EXIT 37 OFF I-85

WE ACCEPT ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS

SOUTH ON BEATTIES FORD THEN FIRST RIGHT ON MONTANA DRIVE (LOCATED 1/2 MILE ON THE LEFT 714-G MONTANA DRIVE

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TALKING SMACK

BY TIMOTHY E. PARKER

12 Mechanical win1 Magicians’ props dow 6 Hast permission 13 Untended, as a 11 “In what way?” lawn 14 Sleeping problem 18 “... Story ___ Told” 15 Maternally related 22 Dug in 16 Fury 23 Long, steep slope 17 “Billie Jean” for 24 Cornbread concocMichael Jackson tions 19 Three-up, e.g.

25 Inducing emotions 20 Opera stars 26 Sand ridges 21 Babbled 28 Classroom fixtures 23 Heavenly bodies 30 Blender setting 26 One way to be pale 32 Densely packed ski 27 Word or phrase run pioneer 33 “He’s ___ nowhere 28 “Crocodile ___” man” DOWN (Hogan film) 35 Burnout prescrip1 Tail movement 29 Poker stakes tion 2 Credit card fig.

30 Stays unsettled 36 Star’s enablers 3 Tijuana-to-Santa Fe 38 Admires verbally 31 Hotel amenity 34 No longer working dir.

39 Form of rummy 4 Numbed (Abbr.)

41 Coffee container 5 Takeoffs of a kind 35 Clever cons 42 Indian dress 6 Flat-topped forma- 43 Wild fight 36 It’ll grow on you tions 37 Auto tire letters 44 Bologna’s country 7 Adam and carpenter 45 Less doubtful 38 Uses a coffee ma8 Exclamation of deri- 47 Cathedral part chine sion 39 ___ celebre 50 Like a new recruit 9 Periodic payments 40 Sips slowly, as a 51 “That’ll show ‘em!”

10 Groups of four drink 52 Drink cooler 42 Safe, private places 11 Get boozed up 53 Strong rating

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ACROSS

43 Head south for the winter 45 Schooling fish that burrows 46 Kind of humor or food 47 Hearing-related 48 “7 Faces of Dr. ___” (film) 49 Deadly mob event 54 Shade provider 55 Eliminate 56 Small amount 57 Contact site 58 “Les Miz” setting 59 Ghostlike in appearance

CON’T close friends and family. Don’t let your unpredictable side cancel coffee dates with friends for elaborate dates with new flings. Show your friends and family the affection for which you are well-known.

Pisces (February 19 to March 20) The Pisces career path is clear and you know which way to go. This week, your intuitiveness will lend itself to an uncharacteristic ambition. Your selflessness and generosity may lead you to helping others before helping yourself, so ensure that your goals are met before you aid your close friends and coworkers.

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