Queen City Nerve - May 6, 2020

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 12; MAY 6 - MAY 20, 2020; WWW.QCNERVE.COM

LOCAL BREWERS WORK TO CURB ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF COVID-19

BY MATT MCKENZIE

NEWS: ANIMAL RESCUE IN CRISIS pg. 4 MUSIC: CHARLOTTE LABEL COMES TOGETHER REMOTELY pg. 14

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4 IN NEED OF RESCUE BY PAT MORAN Filling the gaps in Charlotte’s animal welfare safety system 7 DEBT REVERSAL BY NIKOLAI MATHER ‘College Refund 2020’ class-action suit names UNC Charlotte 8 OPINION: RECLOSE AMERICA BY JASON PARMAS

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14 FOUR FINGER MAKES A FIST BY RYAN PITKIN Qauarantine compilations show local label’s ability to adapt

16 AVOID THE DRAIN BY MATT MCKENZIE Local brewers work to curb economic effects of COVID-19

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18 LIFEWAVE: A DOSE OF VIRTUAL REALITY 19 AERIN IT OUT BY AERIN SPRUILL 19 HOROSCOPE 20 PUZZLES 22 SAVAGE LOVE THANKS TO THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS:

LOCAL BREWERS WORK TO CURB ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF COVID-19

PAT MORAN, MATT MCKENZIE, GRANT BALDWIN,

BY MATT MCKENZIE

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JONATHAN TAYLOR, CORRIE LIOTTA, AERIN SPRUILL, NEWS: ANIMAL RESCUE IN CRISIS pg. 4 MUSIC: CHARLOTTE LABEL COMES TOGETHER REMOTELY pg. 14

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NEWS & OPINION FEATURE IN NEED OF RESCUE Filling the gaps in Charlotte’s animal welfare safety system

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BY PAT MORAN

“We had to quickly come up with a plan for all to rescuing the city’s cats and dogs and finding them our foster homes,” Forbes offers. “Who can take in forever homes. extra cats? How quickly can we move these cats?”

Each organization has pivoted to address the Fortunately, adoptions were already pending for unique challenges posed by the pandemic. Their seven of Mac Tabby’s 12 cats, so the efforts include adopting procedures paperwork was completed to maintain social distancing, “IT and appointments were relaxing some guidelines to WAS scheduled for each streamline operations, person to pick up finding ways to HARD TO SEE their new feline function despite EVERYTHING DISSOLVE friend. The five funding shortfalls SO FAST ... IT WAS WEIRD remaining cats and more.

TO SEE ALL THE CATS were moved into “Pretty much foster homes. by definition any LEAVE AT THE SAME TIME “They were there shelter in the AND ALL THE DOORS for about a week South is going SHUT.” and we were able to be a high-kill to do adoptions [for shelter, particularly -Lori Konawalik, owner, them],” Forbes says. in rural areas,” says Fara Mac Tabby Cat Café “It was bittersweet Robinson, vice president for me because it was so nice of the Greater Charlotte SPCA. to see the cats go home, but it was She stresses that the rural shelters also hard to see everything dissolve so fast,” do their best, but are frequently hamstrung by Konawalik remembers. “It was weird to see all the limited resources and staff. cats leave at the same time and all the doors shut.”

If the region’s rescue efforts can be seen as a Konawalik and Forbes are not alone in finding cooperative and overlapping ecosystem, then the solutions to save animals in a landscape defined building blocks of the system are those municipal

by COVID-19 and public health measures to stem shelters. First, unwanted animals enter the shelters, the spread of the disease. Several organizations, either through owner surrender or stray intake. ranging from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Most facilities, like AC&C’s shelter on Byrum Drive, Department Animal Care & Control (AC&C) to the all- provide animals with a medical screening that volunteer, all-foster Greater Charlotte Society for the includes vaccinations, deworming, sterilization, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) are devoted microchipping and more. While some cats and

For Lori Konawalik, it was a day for success and sadness. Konawalik is the owner of Mac Tabby Cat Café, a bar and coffee shop in NoDa where patrons relax and interact with felines available for adoption.

She remembers the café had just celebrated its first full year in NoDa. “We had momentum and knew that 2020 was going to be a defining year after two years of putting roots down in Charlotte,” Konawalik says. “Then it all came to a screeching halt.”

Even under normal circumstances, regional animal care and rescue is a delicate balancing act.

But under the stresses imposed by the stay-at-home order and social distancing, gaps have appeared in Charlotte’s animal welfare safety system.

Like many other Charlotte businesses, Mac Tabby closed its doors in March to comply with the county’s stay-at-home order, a protocol designed to slow the spread of COVID-19. On top of shutting down, Konawalik faced an additional challenge: In three days she had to find homes for the 12 felines living in her cat lounge.

Konawalik turned to her rescue partner Catering to Cats and Dogs (C2CND), a nonprofit that supplies animals to Mac Tabby and cultivates a network of foster homes and adoption rooms at stores like Pet Supply Plus and PetSmart. Mac Tabby is legally a kennel, and the animals in its cat lounge technically belong to C2CND, says the organization’s feline director Roseann THE MAC TABBY CAT LOUNGE. Forbes.

dogs get adopted by patrons coming to the shelters searching for pets, still others come under the care of animal rescue groups who relieve the shelters by taking animals under their wing.

One of these options is the Humane Society of Charlotte’s facility on Toomey Avenue in the Southside Park neighborhood in southwest Charlotte. The Humane Society is better equipped and funded to care for animals’ medical needs and to find them homes than smaller municipal shelters.

Otherwise, the rescue groups find foster homes or place animals at Mac Tabby and Charlotte’s other cat café, Daily Mews, cozy hangouts where cats can meet their new owners and lifelong companions.

Many tears in the safety net caused by the COVID-19 crisis affect Charlotte’s cat population.

AC&C’s kitten nursery, where young orphaned kittens’ lives are saved through bottle-feeding and constant attention, has not been opened this year.

The result may be higher kitten mortality, and the kittens that do survive in the wild can only add to the area’s population of homeless animals.

The unwanted adult cat population may also increase because The Humane Society of Charlotte has temporarily suspended its Community Cat program, under which stray cats are captured then sterilized before being set free in their communities.

These trap-neuter-release (TNR) initiatives have proven effective in reducing feral feline populations.

Other changes impact both cats and dogs. Many clinics have temporarily suspended spay and neuter procedures. With many organizations requiring sterilization before they can adopt out animals, cats and dogs may find themselves trapped in a homeless limbo while they wait for spay and neuter to resume.

Perhaps most damaging, spring is when the animal rescue nonprofits launch the initiatives that enable them to meet their annual budgets. The shutdown necessitated

by COVID-19 has severely limited these organizations’ fundraising efforts.

The shortfall is a widespread concern.

Even bigger operations such as AC&C, which PHOTO BY MORE THAN IMAGING is funded by the city,

NEWS & OPINION FEATURE

“Right now, for the first time ever, we have more “In 2019 we had a total intake of 857 dogs and worried that the city’s stray-cat population may people wanting to foster than we have animals to cats between March 16 and April 23, 2019,” Fisher climb as a consequence. place with them,” Robinson says. “It’s a nice problem says. “In 2020, for those same dates we have taken “The reason behind [the policy] is that we do not has had to curtail donation-funded enrichment to have.” in 470 dogs and cats.” The lion’s share of animals have a leash law for cats in Mecklenburg County so services. Popular programs like Staycation and there’s that challenge of saying whether a cat is Daycation, which allow people to take pets actually stray or not,” Fisher explains. out for one to five days, have been temporarily The chance of an animal finding its way suspended. While the HSC collects service fees home is substantially higher if the animal is for adoptions and vaccinations, the majority of left in its community rather than coming into its budget is also funded by donations.

AC&C’s shelter, he continues.

The good news is that adoptions are up, AC&C has also not opened its volunteersays AC&C director Josh Fisher, despite the fact staffed kitten nursery, prompting concerns that the shelter on Byrum Drive has reduced its about rising cat mortality in the region. In hours (11 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week) 2017, the nursery helped increase the kitten and is limiting the number of visitors at the adoption rate by 38.7%, while reducing kitten shelter to two at a time. Between March 16 euthanasia by 42.3%. and April 23 this year, AC&C has seen a 26.7% Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, AC&C increase in adoptions for dogs and a 19.5% didn’t have enough newborn kittens coming in increase in adoptions for cats compared to the to merit opening the nursery, Fisher explains. same dates last year.

AC&C decided not to bring volunteers into HSC has also seen a spike in adoptions so the Byrum Drive shelter, as they’re trying to far this spring, says spokesperson Emily Cook. In limit the number of people interacting onsite.

March, the shelter on Toomey Avenue hosted 276 “Though several [kittens] have come in since adoptions, up from 212 last year. Normally open March 16, we were able to get all of those out to walk-ins, the shelter is now essentially closed into foster homes,” Fischer says. to the public, meaning if someone wants to adopt Forbes says that several bottle-baby kittens LOCAL RESCUE VOLUNTEERS STRESS THAT IT’S IMPORTANT FOLKS ARE COMMITTED BEFORE ADOPTING... through HSC, they must go online to check out have gone to animal rescue organizations instead, PHOTO BY ROB GRAF/MEZE CUSTOM IMAGES animal profiles and fill out an application. They including C2CND. are then contacted by HSC’s adoption counselors In contrast, Forbes is cautious about pet coming into the facility have been stray dogs with a Right now, though, Forbes’ main concern is the and matched with an animal that fits their lifestyle. adoption’s upswing in popularity. The organization smaller percentage being owner surrenders. lack of affordable veterinarian care for pets. LowAdopters then come to the facility on Toomey to pick up is taking extra precautions in screening adoptions, The HSC cites similar statistics: 80 to 90% of their cost clinics like Stand For Animals and SnipWell shut their new pet by appointment. ensuring that people are committing to an animal animals are municipal shelter transfers, Cook reports. down their spay and neuter services prior to the “Normally when people walk through the door, for life, not just for the duration of the pandemic.

AC&C still responds to public health and safety stay-at-home order, Forbes offers. only 30% of them adopt an animal,” Cook offers.

“We want families who are interested in calls, but they are prioritizing their responses.

She believes that action is going to have huge “But now we’re seeing that 70% of people are welcoming a family member long term,” Forbes Citizens are encouraged to try to get animals home ramifications on animal rescues like C2CND as well adopting. They are coming in with a purpose, a goal offers, “and not just looking for immediate safely on their own without requiring an officer to go as community cats. in mind to bring home an animal that day.” companionship.” out on call, Fisher offers, ensuring that fewer people Cook explains that HSC followed the People who have been mulling over getting Adoption numbers also need to be seen in interact and potentially cross social-distancing recommendations of the American Veterinary a dog or cat are now sitting at home and finding context. While AC&C’s adoption rate has climbed, boundaries.

Medical Association (AVMA), suspending their spay the time to adopt and get to know an animal, says their animal intake numbers for 2020 are While AC&C still takes in stray dogs, they and neuter services to keep people safe and to Robinson. The number of people wanting to foster significantly lower than the intake numbers from stopped taking in healthy stray cats on April 1. The minimize the spread of COVID-19. has also risen, Robinson offers.

2019. policy has made animal rescue workers like Forbes “While there is no threat in terms of the actual

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NEWS & OPINION FEATURE spay and neuter surgery, it is nearly impossible to maintain safe social distancing from another person while doing the procedure,” she maintains.

Fisher says AC&C suspended spay and neuter services on April 1. The recommendation came from the U.S. Surgeon General’s Office, based on a need to assess the availability of respirators and personal protective equipment.

On May 4, the AC&C staff confirmed that they would resume spay and neuter services on May 11.

“Currently we have 45 cats in rescue pending spay and neuter,” Forbes says.

Since C2CND won’t adopt out any animal that hasn’t been sterilized, her main concern is whether those services will be up and running soon enough.

“How long will it take to get an appointment to get our animals spayed and neutered?”

Charlotte’s spay and neuter delay is less of a concern for Greater Charlotte SPCA. Of their veterinary partners including Stand For Animals, Harris Boulevard Veterinary Clinic, DownDog Veterinary Clinic and Pressly Animal Hospital, all but DownDog have put a temporary hold on any nonessential procedures, including sterilizations, for a

couple of weeks, Robinson says.

“It’s been less of a concern for us because many of the animals we have pulled from area shelters have been spayed or neutered at the shelter,” she offers.

Compounding difficulties caused by the temporary spay neuter stoppage, animal rescues are also reeling from funding shortfalls precipitated by the pandemic.

C2CND has seen a 40% reduction in donations since stay-in-place was implemented, Forbes says.

Food and material donations gathered through partners like PetSmart and Pet People have also dropped.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” says Robinson.

Skyrocketing adoptions are countered by plummeting funds, she continues. Robinson also doesn’t expect the current surplus of foster homes to hold once stay-at-home orders are lifted.

“The shelters are going to be filling up again, and we will be going just as quick as we can,” she continues. “We’re accomplishing a lot, but without the fundraising that we normally do this time of year, I’m very concerned about what it will look like at the end of the year.” ...BUT IF YOU’RE COMMITTED, WHO WOULDN’T WANT THIS LIL’ ONE AT HOME? PHOTO BY ROB GRAF/MEZE CUSTOM IMAGES

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NEWS & OPINION FEATURE DEBT REVERSAL

for, we’re entitled to reimbursement,” Allen said in a phone call with Queen City Nerve this week.

Online classes at UNC Charlotte are typically ‘College Refund 2020’ cheaper than in-person class-action suit names instruction. The in-state UNC Charlotte tuition fee for an oncampus undergraduate

BY NIKOLAI MATHER taking 12 or more credit hours during the Fall A student is suing UNC Charlotte and other 2019 semester was schools in the UNC System for failing to adequately $1,906, whereas the reimburse students after transitioning to online- distance education fee only classes in light of COVID-19, part of a country- for the same amount wide campaign dubbed College Refund 2020. of credits that semester Brady Wayne Allen, a senior finance major from was $1,548. Online Winston-Salem, is party to a class-action lawsuit undergraduate students leveled by high-profile litigator Roy T. Willey. In the also only paid $272 lawsuit, Allen alleges that UNC Charlotte’s decision in non-tuition fees, to make all classes remote entitles him and other whereas on-campus, inimpacted students prorated tuition discounts — state undergrads paid i.e., a tuition reimbursement for the weeks where $1,642. in-person instruction was prohibited.

“We have now lost UNCC RESIDENT HALLS HAVE REMAINED EMPTY SINCE MARCH 20 UNC Charlotte students were asked to vacate all those things that residential halls by March 20, and online classes provide value to the education that we paid the University of California and California State started shortly after that.

University systems, as well as lawsuits filed — for,” Allen said.

“Common sense would This suit is a part of a “legal many by Anastopoulo Law Firm — all over the “I dictate that the level and campaign” spearheaded country. She believes it may take some time to see FEEL LIKE quality of instruction an

by Willey called College these suits to the end. educator can provide “Class-action lawsuits are tough — they BECAUSE WHAT Refund 2020. Willey, through an online who practices at require class certification, compliance with specific WE RECEIVE IS OF format is lower the Anastopoulo rules relating to these types of actions and expertise LESSER VALUE THAN than the level Law Firm, has also in handling complex cases,” she stated. “My law firm WHAT WE THOUGHT and quality of filed suits against in San Francisco did some work in this area in the instruction that WE WERE PAYING FOR, Drexel University, antitrust space and that action went on for years can be provided WE’RE ENTITLED TO the University of and years. They can be very expensive to litigate and in person,” the Miami, Columbia require a lot of time and resources.”

REIMBURSEMENT.” lawsuit states.

Allen, who is currently the only student suing University, and Pace -UNCC student Brady In addition to the University, among UNC Charlotte, appears to be in it for the long tuition reimbursement, haul. Despite his frustration, he is still proud of his Wayne Allen others.

Allen is also looking for a The UNC Charlotte university. refund on some student service “This isn’t about me; this is about everyone Office of Legal Affairs did not fees. These fees cover a variety of aff ected who is similar to me,” he said. “I’m actually immediately respond to request for non-academic related expenses, including campus comment, although Kathleen Nicolaides, director proud of UNC Charlotte … I’m not against the transportation, recreational facilities, student of the UNC Charlotte Legal Studies Minor, stated in university in any way. I’m supporting students like organizations, campus entertainment, and more. an email that the number of college-related class- myself and I’m supporting financial fairness.”

Allen alleges in the suit that he “no longer has the action complaints were “like dominoes falling.” benefit of the services” and therefore is entitled to a INFO@QCNERVE.COM “This week has been huge for higher education prorated refund. class-action complaints,” she stated.

“I feel like because what we receive is of lesser Nicolaides discussed the recent lawsuits against value than what we thought we were paying

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NEWS & OPINION OP-ED RECLOSE AMERICA

Don’t follow fascists to your grave in the service of Wall Street

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BY JASON PARMAS

What are we to make of the “Reopen America” protests? Over the last couple of weeks, small rallies have been held in many states demanding that governors rescind the stay-at-home orders they’ve previously issued on the advice of public health officials and let everyone get back to work.

The protestors represent an array of organizations running the gamut from right to hard-right politically, with the leadership and funding coming from the harder end of that rather narrow spectrum, according to the Guardian. A Reopen Meck protest held in Uptown on May 1 was essentially just a rally for Donald Trump and gubernatorial candidate Dan Forest.

The question that many on the political left — including myself — are now asking is: What are we to make of this predictable phenomenon?

Government officials at various levels say we’re in the middle of the most deadly pandemic humanity has faced in 100 years … and until scientists come up with effective treatments and ultimately a vaccine, the best we can do is to shut down business as usual and ask as much of the population as possible to stay home.

The vast majority of people agree this is what we have to do and have just tried to make the best of the situation.

But inevitably, some people are unhappy with the shutdowns and want everything to go back to the way it was before. When they are told that’s not possible, they assume any one of a number of conspiracies — some old and some new — are in play. Don Quixote-like, they then tilt at windmills by purposely violating social-distancing rules and congregating in public in numbers large enough to allow the swift spread of the virus that some of them inevitably harbor.

Yet among them are working people who are being economically savaged by the stay-at-home orders and have good reason to be concerned about how they’re going to get through this roughest of

patches in long memory with no money coming in as bills mount.

State governments and the federal government are doing little to help the working and middle classes. And however much such protestors might personally agree that staying home is the only way to stop the coronavirus crisis from overwhelming our busted healthcare system, that knowledge isn’t paying their bills.

Only getting the country back to work can do that. At least that’s the received wisdom from the capitalist punditocracy that passes for thought leadership in the extremely limited political economic dialogue that’s allowed in the corporatecontrolled American mass media (in both its private and “public” variants). But is that really true?

For a broadly socialist perspective on this quandary, I drafted three friends and colleagues: sociologist Nicole Aschoff, historian and researcher Suren Moodliar, and my mentor, noted documentary filmmaker Fred Johnson, to help me think this situation through.

We all agreed that tens of millions of ordinary people are being abandoned by government during the pandemic. So it’s difficult to be angry at the workers and small-business people involved in the protests, however deluded we might think their actions are. But we also feel that hardright organizations — including some outright fascist, Nazi and white supremacist groups — are making hay while the sun shines in organizing such demonstrations. And that is unacceptable, if unsurprising.

What’s shocking to all of us is the amount of coverage that marches and rallies ranging from a few dozen to a few hundred people are getting.

It’s no mystery that flag-waving manifestations are red meat to typical TV news show producers at both regional stations and national networks. The rule in broadcast journalism, and also in the worst of mainstream print news outlets, is “if it bleeds it leads.”

Protests of whatever size offering a counternarrative to the “official line” on the pandemic — despite directly attacking immigrants and African-Americans by calling for vastly increasing their already higher chances of dying from COVID-19 due to being more likely to work low-wage front-line service jobs and lacking decent health-care options are, therefore, a perfect way for TV news to please the right wing while throwing their hands up when criticized and saying, “It’s news, we have to cover it.”

The fact that they are helping to build what would typically be considered insignificant political theater (as is virtually always the case when the anti-corporate left wing stages similar and typically larger actions) into an actual political force seems to matter not at all, even as they continue the normalization of people carrying semi-automatic weapons like AR-15s (easily and commonly modified into nearly-fully automatic weapons by deploying “bump stocks” of the type used in the Las Vegas massacre, according to the Washington Examiner) while demonstrating outside seats of government in the states that quixotically let them do so.

Neither Nicole, Suren, Fred, nor I have any problems with standard Second Amendment claims that people should be allowed to own pistols and rifles with very limited-capacity magazines — as long as they are not stockpiling arsenals and only use them in a limited range of acceptable settings like practicing at gun ranges, hunting on public land, or self-defense at home. But we do have a big problem with protestors being allowed to intimidate their political opposition with displays of firepower that would seriously tax the ability of law enforcement to bring them to heel should the enraged gun nuts decide to use it.

Because as Fred put it, there are certain restrictions that are the price of admission for living in a democratic society, and banning the possession and public display of assault weapons that allow individuals to personally kill a large number of state legislators, cops and bystanders is one of them.

Regarding the merit of the protests, from a public health perspective we think they are an extremely dangerous development and should be treated as such in the news media.

But from an economic perspective, we think that they are a symptom of federal and state governments that are generally doing a terrible job of ameliorating a terrible pandemic, and that the threat to the livelihoods of most working and middle-class people in the nation must be taken seriously.

To wit, we believe the press corps — particularly the broadcast media — needs to spend a great deal more time covering proposals like Sen. Bernie Sanders’ “Paycheck Security Act” bill that would provide government salaries to out-of-work Americans (and immigrants that are the backbone of several key sectors of our economy) up to $90,000 a year per worker, and take the focus off questionable demonstrations that are openly bankrolled by Kochfunded groups like the Convention of States —

according to the Washington Post — and an array of other craven supporters of corporate power over the public good in the United States.

Because “dying for Wall Street,” as the new meme goes, is not the cure for either the pandemic that ails us biologically or the runaway capitalism that is destroying our democracy.

All that will result from prematurely “Reopening America” is a dramatic spike in the already scandalously high numbers of people infected and dead from the coronavirus — and a fattening of the bottom lines of those oligarchs (like Jeff Bezos, already $25 billion richer since the beginning of this year, according to Business Insider) that least need it.

We’ll be better off as a nation if we let scientists run our public health policy and pass a suite of new laws that allow working people to survive the pandemic and thrive in the aftermath. A wall-towall living wage from the federal government for all that need it and a real national “Medicare for All” health system will both go a long way toward that goal.

Such reforms will result in people currently facing bankruptcy (and worse) quickly falling away from the nascent reactionary protest movement as that threat recedes, improving their attitudes toward government in the process.

This will leave only the fringe right — and an increasingly unpopular federal regime with disturbingly similar views in its top echelon — calling for “reforms” that would ultimately kill large numbers of innocent people — many of them black and Latino — who just happen to be in groups they revile with the irrational hatred of the psychopaths they are.

This would make them a much more tractable problem: mere lunatics that can be managed by a revived and properly funded public mental health system — or the justice system for those that continue to menace legislators with over-powered assault weapons.

Such remedies could also apply to President Trump and his ruling clique, my colleagues and I hasten to add, since the anemic Democratic presidential campaign of Joe Biden looks unlikely to take out that most dangerous of threats to public health at the ballot box (should a November election be allowed to proceed, which is an open question at this point).

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Tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you: (cont’d) This is only a brief summary of important information about DOVATO and • are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you take DOVATO. does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition and ° You should not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby. treatment. ° One of the medicines in DOVATO (lamivudine) passes into your breastmilk.

What is the Most Important Information I Should Know about DOVATO? ° Talk with your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby.

If you have both human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) and hepatitis B virus Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including (HBV) infection, DOVATO can cause serious side effects, including: • Resistant HBV infection. Your healthcare provider will test you for HBV infection before prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. you start treatment with DOVATO. If you have HIV-1 and hepatitis B, the hepatitis B virus can Some medicines interact with DOVATO. Keep a list of your medicines and show it to your change (mutate) during your treatment with DOVATO and become harder to treat (resistant). healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine.

It is not known if DOVATO is safe and effective in people who have HIV-1 and HBV infection. • You can ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for a list of medicines that interact with DOVATO. • Worsening of HBV infection. If you have HIV-1 and HBV infection, your HBV may • Do not start taking a new medicine without telling your healthcare provider. get worse (flare-up) if you stop taking DOVATO. A “flare-up” is when your HBV infection Your healthcare provider can tell you if it is safe to take DOVATO with other medicines. suddenly returns in a worse way than before. Worsening liver disease can be serious and What are Possible Side Effects of DOVATO? may lead to death.

DOVATO can cause serious side effects, including: ° Do not run out of DOVATO. Refill your prescription or talk to your healthcare provider • Those in the “What is the Most Important Information I Should Know about before your DOVATO is all gone.

DOVATO?” section. ° Do not stop DOVATO without first talking to your healthcare provider. If you • Allergic reactions. Call your healthcare provider right away if you develop a stop taking DOVATO, your healthcare provider will need to check your health often and do rash with DOVATO. Stop taking DOVATO and get medical help right away if blood tests regularly for several months to check your liver. you develop a rash with any of the following signs or symptoms: fever; generally What is DOVATO? ill feeling; tiredness; muscle or joint aches; blisters or sores in mouth; blisters or peeling DOVATO is a prescription medicine that is used without other antiretroviral medicines to treat of the skin; redness or swelling of the eyes; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue; HIV-1 infection in adults who have not received antiretroviral medicines in the past, and problems breathing. without known resistance to the medicines dolutegravir or lamivudine. HIV-1 is the virus that • Liver problems. People with a history of hepatitis B or C virus may have an increased causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). It is not known if DOVATO is safe and risk of developing new or worsening changes in certain liver tests during treatment with effective in children.

DOVATO. Liver problems, including liver failure, have also happened in people without a Who should not take DOVATO? history of liver disease or other risk factors. Your healthcare provider may do blood tests Do Not Take DOVATO if You: to check your liver.

• have ever had an allergic reaction to a medicine that contains dolutegravir or lamivudine.

Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following signs • take dofetilide. or symptoms of liver problems: your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow What should I tell my healthcare provider before using DOVATO? (jaundice); dark or “tea-colored” urine; light-colored stools (bowel movements); nausea Tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including or vomiting; loss of appetite; and/or pain, aching, or tenderness on the right side of your if you: stomach area.

• have or have had liver problems, including hepatitis B or C infection.

• Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis). Lactic acidosis is a serious • have kidney problems. medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away • are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. One of the medicines in DOVATO (dolutegravir) if you get any of the following symptoms that could be signs of lactic acidosis: may harm your unborn baby. feel very weak or tired; unusual (not normal) muscle pain; trouble breathing; stomach pain with nausea and vomiting; feel cold, especially in your arms and legs; feel dizzy or ° Your healthcare provider may prescribe a different medicine than DOVATO if you are planning to become pregnant or if pregnancy is confirmed in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. lightheaded; and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat. ° If you can become pregnant, your healthcare provider will perform a pregnancy test before • Lactic acidosis can also lead to severe liver problems, which can lead to you start treatment with DOVATO. death. Your liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and you may develop fat in your liver (steatosis). Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the signs or ° If you can become pregnant, you should consistently use effective birth control (contraception) during treatment with DOVATO. symptoms of liver problems which are listed above under “Liver problems.”

You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you ° Tell your healthcare provider right away if you are planning to become pregnant, you become pregnant, or think you may be pregnant during treatment with DOVATO. are female or very overweight (obese).

©2020 ViiV Healthcare or licensor.

DLLADVT190035 January 2020 Produced in USA.

Learn more about Leo and DOVATO at DOVATO.com

SO MUCH GOES INTO WHO I AM HIV MEDICINE IS ONE PART OF IT. Reasons to ask your doctor about DOVATO: DOVATO can help you reach and then stay undetectable* with just 2 medicines in 1 pill.

That means fewer medicines† in your body while taking DOVATO

You can take it any time of day with or without food (around the same time each day)—giving you flexibility

DOVATO is a once-a-day complete treatment for adults who are new to HIV-1 medicine.

Results may vary. *Undetectable means reducing the HIV in your blood to very low levels (less than 50 copies per mL). † As compared with 3-drug regimens.

LEO‡ Living with HIV

What are Possible Side Effects of DOVATO (cont’d)?

• Changes in your immune system (Immune Reconstitution Syndrome) can happen when you start taking HIV-1 medicines. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that have been hidden in your body for a long time. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you start having new symptoms after you start taking DOVATO. • The most common side effects of DOVATO include: headache; diarrhea; nausea; trouble sleeping; and tiredness.

These are not all the possible side effects of DOVATO. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Where Can I Find More Information?

• Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist.

• Go to DOVATO.com or call 1-877-844-8872, where you can also get FDA-approved labeling.

October 2019 DVT:2PI-2PIL Trademark is owned by or licensed to the ViiV Healthcare group of companies.

Compensated by ViiV Healthcare

‡

Could DOVATO be right for you? Ask your doctor today.

Pg. 12 MAY 6 - MAY 20, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

ARTS FEATURE SEASON OF THE WITCH

p.m. every night. The country’s austerity extended to entertainment. There was only one channel available on the family’s black-and-white television.

By the time she finished schoolwork and chores, with lights out at 7, Moore missed even that meager offering. Instead, she lit a candle in her bedroom wrote long into the night, filling journals with Filmmaker draws on family and romantic poetry. history for summer horror Moore soon branched out into writing stories, shoot drawing on tales her grandmother told at the family dinner table — legends linked to Moldova’s

BY PAT MORAN past as the medieval Principality of Moldavia and superstitions like a warning never to return to the Horror was not Victoria Bell Moore’s first choice. house to retrieve something you forgot. (If you Beyond that, she certainly didn’t plan on crafting a absolutely had to go back, the only way to ward tale of terror while the world turned into a horror off bad luck was to look in a mirror before leaving movie cliché — a scenario where a virulent again.) pandemic threatens the human race.

“I loved it,” Moore says of her grandmother’s After honing her filmmaking chops with several stories. “I would escape to another world.” short subjects for Charlotte’s 48 Hour Film Project, Moldovan superstitions were woven into the Moldovan-born director/screenwriter/actress her childhood, Moore offers. She remembers St. was ready to pull the trigger on her debut feature Andrews Day, a holiday for which people wreathed film, Five. Adapting their doors and her unpublished windows with novel of the same garlic and did not name for the screen, venture out after Moore devoted several sundown because months to premalevolent witches production for a $5 ruled the night. million project with “We are names attached. [an Orthodox] Then in 2019, Five Christian family was put on hold believing that,” and Moore’s dreams Moore marvels, crumbled. “literally putting She didn’t mourn garlic around the for long. Instead, for windows and Heir of the Witch, a doors.” feature film planned Moore once for a summer shoot crossed the Pruth in Charlotte, Moore River into bordering turned her talent Romania and visited and energy to a a castle associated genre she’d normally with 15th-century never consider — Wallachian ruler supernatural horror Vlad Tepes, also drawing on a dark known as Vlad family secret and the the Impaler. He haunting folklore of has passed into VICTORIA BELL MOORE her native land.

Western folklore as PHOTO BY THIEN LA PHOTOGRAPHY Growing up on the historical model her grandmother’s for Bram Stoker’s vampire king Dracula. “There’s a farm in the Communist-ruled Republic of Moldova, room there where they used to torture people,” Moore Moore recalls how the power was shut off at 7 offers. “The energy in the air was very heavy.”

Moore’s love of writing fueled a facility for and whisked onto a helicopter to film the day’s first languages. In addition to her native Romanian, scene, a vertiginous fly-by past the 48-floor Duke she learned Russian because the Communist Energy Center. She was hooked. government required it. She also learned French, but Today Moore, now 34 years old, admits that she her true love was English, a language she mastered can’t remember the name of her first Charlotte film, herself because it was never taught in school. “I’m and that it was merely “okay — for 48 hours.” She fascinated with words and stories,” Moore maintains. contributed to the 48 Hour Film Project for the next “I write about everything.” two years before gathering her own team to shoot A college trip brought Moore to the United The Getaway, a short film she co-wrote, co-directed States in 2006. She didn’t know a soul, and performed in. She also wrote, directed spoke only 20 words of English and and acted in Your Lips Kiss Well but didn’t have a job lined up, but They Lie Better.

“I’M she was smitten.

Multiple projects both GOING TO “I loved the beauty in front of and behind the of the country and its camera followed. By MAKE A MOVIE, people, the culture, then, Moore was ready AND IT’S GOING TO the freedom and the to tackle a feature.

BE HORROR THAT IS diversity,” Moore She adapted Five into maintains. a taut psychological TRUTHFUL.” Returning home, thriller, partnered with -Victoria Bell Moore she told her family that a producer, and was she was determined to prepping for the shoot live in America. She finished when the project went college, and the next year she south. moved, first to Maryland and then to In the midst of her despair about Washington D.C. It was there that a modeling the failure of Five, Moore rebounded. She still gig set her on the path to becoming a filmmaker. had her feature-length script but the high-concept Dissatisfied with her day job as a mortgage banker, premise would not work with a restricted budget.

Moore questioned her life’s direction.

She started researching the best options for a first“I asked [myself], ‘What would make me happy? time feature filmmaker and discovered that the What would make my heart sing?’” Moore took horror genre offered the best return on investment. acting classes and began performing in plays and It was purely a business decision, Moore says, but short films. She started asking the filmmakers how when she turned to her Moldovan childhood for a they put their projects together. It was also during story, she discovered that horror cut deeper than she this time that she was inspired to commence writing imagined. her novel Five. “[At first,] I didn’t want to go there,” Moore Moore moved to Michigan, where she continued offers. “I didn’t want to open a wound.” Just as Moore acting, writing and learning about filmmaking. had a nurturing grandmother who regaled her with Every production was different, she remembers. folklore and legend, she also had a shadow forebear, Some were one-man shows while others involved a grandmother who muttered curses under her more than 15 people on one focused project. breath and practiced black magic. “My grandmother “[A film] can grow out of nothing; it comes on my dad’s side was an actual witch,” Moore together,” Moore offers. “You [begin to] see maintains. “She was very much against my mother something beautiful and inspiring.” and my whole family.”

Six years ago, Moore moved to Charlotte. Two Moore remembers this grandmother taking days later, she had barely unpacked when she credit for any misfortune that befell Moore’s discovered the 48 Hour Film Project, a rambunctious immediate family. weekend in which thrown-together teams write, “My sister said she found dead frogs tied up shoot and edit a movie. She approached a team, with red ribbon under the carpet,” Moore offers. She told them she was an actress and said she wanted believes that action was intended to bring illness to to work with them. She was hired and the next the household. Though the two sides of the family morning she strode on set to discover that the are long estranged, the witch’s malign influence headlining actress had failed to show up. Moore was is not easily forgotten. “She lived to be very old, promptly upgraded from supporting player to lead, because she wasn’t able to die.”

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ARTS FEATURE

in with her new friends in America, the past exerts a malevolent force, pulling Anna closer to an ancient curse. She discovers her grandmother was an evil Until the witch passed her curse — her dark witch whose spirit still haunts Anna. powers — on to somebody else, she could not die, The movie has been budgeted at under Moore maintains. Finally, the grandmother passed $100,000, and Moore has started prepping the film away. with the help of her husband Patrick. The couple will “We’re still wondering to this day who might celebrate their first-year wedding anniversary in have gotten the curse,” Moore says. “Maybe that May by driving around Charlotte scouting locations. whole side of the family is carrying it.”

The cast and the crew had already been picked, 90% comprised of local actors and technicians, when Moore’s film career encountered another setback. The production had just launched a crowd-funding effort to raise development money when shelterin-place orders were issued in North Carolina to decrease the spread of COVID-19.

“I didn’t feel right asking people for money for the project,” Moore says. “So, we stopped our efforts for the spring.”

For now, the Moores will bankroll the low-budget feature themselves and revisit fundraising after principal production is completed. The film is still slated for a summer shoot in the Charlotte area, but the schedule is flexible. A potential investor has expressed interest, but financing is ‘HEIR OF THE WITCH’ WILL SHOOT IN THE CHARLOTTE AREA THIS SUMMER. on hold now due to the POSTER PHOTO BY JUSTIN BONAPARTE pandemic.

That pause in the A dark witch in the family is a source of shame to schedule has given Moore time to polish the script Moore and her loved ones, so she had to think hard and dig in to pre-production, but it’s also given her about using her family history for horror. In the end, time to reflect. How does she feel about nurturing a Moore’s desire to tell a story with impact won out. horror story when the news resembles dark folklore “I’m going to make a movie, and it’s going to be about the Black Death that ravaged Europe in the horror that is truthful,” she says.

14th century, or a medical horror plot ripped from A good story, even one based in folklore and the pages of Michael Crichton’s The Andromeda magic, should convey real emotions, Moore believes. Strain?

Heir of the Witch tells the story of Anna, a “I was talking to my husband about these young Moldovan girl with a troubled past and a strange times. It’s almost apocalyptic,” Moore says. tainted bloodline. As the young woman tries to fit

“You look outside and you’re wondering what’s going to happen.” At the same time, she believes the community will come out of the pandemic stronger than ever before. “Everyone has a choice and that’s also the message in my movie. You have a choice no matter what.”

For now, Moore is choosing to focus on the task at hand, going over production details and making sure than when filming resumes it will be a safe set.

She’s proud of her cast and crew, which contains many women. As a woman director she is a rarity in the industry, and a woman horror director is even more rare.

“I want to empower every woman I can,” Moore maintains. “Women have so many stories to tell.” Her convictions extend to the roles she writes. “I want all the [female] roles to be strong and powerful. I don’t want the woman in my movies to have just a supporting role, like somebody’s secretary. They are the ones who run the story.”

Moore also feels that as a filmmaker, she has a part to play in revitalizing Charlotte’s film industry.

Though she once considered basing her operations in Los Angeles, and she has heard people touting the tax incentives to film in Georgia, Moore is committed to Charlotte. When film production

returns, she doesn’t think the lack of incentives should be a hurdle.

Once Heir of the Witch is in the can, she looks forward to other films. Five may be on the back burner but the flame has not gone out on that project.

“We still have ourselves and our talent,” Moore offers. “If we join forces, we can make magic happen.”

Right now, that magic is taking a sinister yet entertaining turn, as Moore plans to search for a mystic patch of forest that suggests a blending of the North Carolina new world and the old country of Moldova. “I would like to have some big trees and hit them with a fog machine and make it fun and cool,” she enthuses. Her love of both countries has prompted her to change her name. She plans to incorporate her maiden name of Ungureanu, going from Victoria Bell Moore to Victoria Ungureanu Moore. The reason for the mix of American and Moldovan is simple, she says.

“Moldova is the home where I was born but this is my country now.”

PMORAN@QCNERVE.COM

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MUSIC FEATURE FOUR FINGER MAKES A FIST

take the next step in their respective evolutions.

“It’s an organic cross-promotional tool,” Solis said of Quarantine Sessions Vol. 2. “When you start covering other people’s music you start learning about your own sound even more, so it’s going to

Quarantine compilations show local label’s ability to adapt

BY RYAN PITKIN

You could say Leonardo Solis has been preparing to make music under quarantine his whole life. He’s spent more than 20 years mastering the art of inhome recording, and now that government-issued stay-at-home orders have everyone inside anyway, he’s putting that preparation to use.

“I’m lucky enough to own my own studio space now,” said Solis, co-founder of electro-pop duo SOLIS and local indie label Four Finger Records. “I’ve invested so much into being able to record at home and being able to continue to work at home, it really kind of kicks you in gear when shit like this happens and you finally realize you don’t know where your next paycheck is going to come from.”

Solis and Four Finger co-founder Jeremy Smith have now released two compilations recorded remotely in homes around Charlotte, sent to Solis for mixing, then put out as complete packages, sounding like perfect in-studio performances.

LEONARDO AND KELLIE SOLIS.

push these bands into a completely different sonic landscape, and I think that’s such an incredible tool to have … We’re super DIY even in our thinking, we’re like, ‘How do we get a little bit further?’ and it may not pay our bills at the moment but you just never know what could happen. If we all stick

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JEREMY SMITH (SECOND FROM RIGHT) AND THE RAINEERS.

On May 1, they released Quarantine Sessions Vol. 2, a compilation of cover songs in which six Four Finger bands covered singles originally done by one of their labelmates. The decisions for who covered whom was picked at random, with a spinning wheel and live-streamed on the internet, resulting in a genre-bending blend of sounds that Smith and Solis hope will not only get a few bills paid for the outof-work musicians on the team, but help each band

PHOTO BY BLUE AMBER PHOTOGRAPHY

together then maybe we could all win.”

Growing up playing the instruments that his hobbyist musician father stored in his bedroom as a young boy, Solis cultivated a love for sound.

At around 10 years old, he began building up his bedroom studio, recording music on tape until he got a MacBook Pro and began learning Pro Tools production software.

In high school, he was in charge of recording

all marching band and orchestra performances.

“We’ve both been touring 15 years,” said Smith.

After graduating from the Musicians Institute in “We’ve done every little aspect of the independent Hollywood, California, he hit the road as a sound music industry, so we were like, ‘We could actually man, touring coast-to-coast with Charlotte-based help out some bands, let’s really do this.’” alt rockers Paper Tongues.

The two brought on The Wilt and Fortune Teller, two indie acts that they had been familiar with and impressed by, and let the band members know that there would be no blood-sucking contracts or expectations — just Charlotte bands helping Charlotte bands. If they needed help, Four Finger would give it to them. If they didn’t need any help, Four Finger would step back and act only as a street team.

“At the end of the day the thought behind it was, maybe if somebody checks out SOLIS, they’ll check out The Wilt,” Smith said. “There are so many great Charlotte labels, and I think the best thing about city labels, everybody’s documenting the music scene here, so we just wanted to contribute our little corner of the music scene, because I think we really have a special music scene here and if we can contribute to that in any way then that’s pretty awesome to us.”

Each year, Four Finger releases a compilation tape of the most impressive singles from the PHOTO BY PAUL C RIVERA label’s acts, which currently total seven: SOLIS, After multiple tours with that group that began The Wilt, Fortune Teller, Thousand Dollar Movie, and ended in Charlotte, Solis and his wife Kellie VESS, The Raineers, and Jude Moses. The crew chose this as the city to settle in. throws an anniversary cassette-release party at “It’s been a crazy ride, but I fell in love with Petra’s in Plaza Midwood, and for this year’s event North Carolina,” he said during a recent phone on Jan. 17, they built a spinning wheel to decide on conversation with Queen City Nerve. what band would play in what spot. The wheel, like He continued to tour, going international with the compilation tape, is a cross-promotional way of metalcore band Of Mice & Men, and in between pushing back against the tendency for folks to only those treks, he and Kellie formed SOLIS as a passion show up for and listen to the acts they already like. project. In the end, however, the sound work paid the bills, as he continued to build up his in-home studio and do side projects mixing records for a number of local acts.

“My dream was to find a group of dudes and become best friends and live in a van together and travel and make no money,” Leonardo said, “but when I realized how much money I could make from doing sound and recording I was like, ‘That [starving artist life] sounds miserable.’”

Fast forward to 2018, when Leonardo formed Four Finger Records with friend and fellow Charlotte musician Jeremy “Radio” Smith, who plays bass with SOLIS on occasion but spends much of his musical energy on his own band, Thousand Dollar Movie.

Smith is also a man of the road, describing himself as “a hired gun” who has done everything from merch work to PR for touring bands.

The two wanted to use their wealth of knowledge to help less experienced Charlotte acts FORTUNE TELLER prosper, offering whatever help they needed.

PHOTO BY CHRISTINA HUSSEY PHOTOGRAPHY

MUSIC FEATURE

Pg. 15 MAY 6 - MAY 20, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

JUDE MOSES PHOTO BY JONATHAN TAYLOR

“We said, ‘Why don’t we create this live shuffle playlist, where we create a spinning wheel with the name of the bands, and that band plays next?’” recalled Solis. “It was such a huge success.”

Two months later, the wheel stopped spinning, as COVID-19 brought Charlotte’s live music scene to a grinding halt.

Solis said that as unforeseeable as a global pandemic was, he and Smith have a certain strength as “guns for hire” in adapting to whatever comes their way.

“I always like to compare the music industry to the Wild West because you never know when things are going to happen,” Solis said. “Most freelancers understand the waves — when to ride a wave and when to wait it out. So I definitely lost a lot of money; we were supposed to be on a long tour in April, and it’s definitely in the thousands, but you adapt and there’s this internal clock where you’re like, ‘OK, This is not happening, how am I going to make it?’ A survival mode kicks in.”

Survival mode is what led to Quarantine Sessions Vol. 1, in which the members of five Four Finger bands recorded new music from their homes and let Solis work his magic through file sharing. Solis mixed the tracks, Daniel Hodges mastered them, and Smith made sure they reached the ears of the people.

“We were like, ‘What can we do to play to our strengths as a label and as a crew?’” Smith recalled.

“At least someone in every one of our bands is kind The Raineers’ jukeof a gear head and has the ability to record pretty joint piano, wailing well. We love doing compilations, too … Let’s just locomotive harmonica, challenge all the guys. Give them a week. Finish a and rolling gospel song you’ve been working on, write a new one, choruses transform VESS’s however you want to do it, to give them something doomy and sepulchral “My to do but also try to raise some money for everyone.” Shadows” into a perversely The result was a five-track EP released on good-time, hand-waving March 26 that sounded so good it surprised the shuffle, and Jude Moses guys who put it together. They immediately got to finds the haunting gem brainstorming on cool new ideas for Volume 2, and hidden in Fortune Teller’s that’s when they decided to break the wheel out. harsh and mechanical The guys live-streamed a selection party of sorts, New Wave-indebted in which a band name was pulled from a hat, then original “Birthday Girl” the wheel would decide which other Four Fingers with silvery spiraling act that band would cover. Each band was given the guitar and chamber pop lyrics to their assigned song and two weeks to turn harmonies. in their version.

“I definitely think “It was very exciting and very unpredictable, we made it our own and we kind of left it up to chance,” said Solis. “I think and our own sound, it really brought something out of everybody, where which I’m very proud of,” it was like, ‘This is the challenge, I want to do right said Stephen Williams, by these bands. I don’t want to create something frontman with Jude that’s stupid or cheesy, I really want to put the effort Moses. “For me, a cover, either you gotta do it way in to representing this cover as best as I can.’” better than the original or make it completely your Quarantine Sessions own and not like the Vol. 2 dropped on May 1. original. If you do it It features six tracks that the same way, it’s like, all take the respective ‘Well, what was the acts out of their comfort point of that? It’s just a zones, with spectacular sadder version of it.’” results.

A recent trip to SOLIS flips the script Seattle to record a new on Jude Moses, covering Jude Moses project “Inside” with spectral didn’t sit well with synths and Kellie’s Williams. He wasn’t aching, vulnerable and able to recreate the feathered alto. magic the band found Pitched midway while living in a cabin in between Fleet Foxes the woods of the Pacific and Elton John’s stark Northwest together piano-driven ’70s when they recorded ballads, VESS’s take on their first group album, The Wilt’s “Break Even,” We Won’t Die. written about the “Obviously we’ll still VESS COVID crisis for Volume collaborate with what PHOTO COURTESY OF FOUR FINGER RECORDS 1, is a soaring and I’ve written, but it just oddly uplifting lament. kind of has to be me On Fortune Teller’s run-through of The Raineers’ in a dark room with some form of alcohol and some “Menthol Lights,” deep forlorn vocals thread through poetry and just kind of go on my own,” Williams said. gated drums and wobbling synths to evoke a neon, “I lock myself in a place and work and present those strobe-lit dance floor after everyone has gone home. ideas to the band so they can make them way better.”

The Wilt break out of the alt-country box, as He’s locked in place now, and with drummer Jesse plangent resonating piano, pointillist guitar and Spector still living in Seattle, the file-sharing process Sage Greer’s yearning free-falling vocals embrace behind Quarantine Sessions will serve as a basis for how the heartbreak at the core of SOLIS’s “Stay Young.” he approaches the next Jude Moses project.

THE WILT PHOTO BY PAUL C RIVERA

“With the last record we were all together and it was special,” Williams said of We Won’t Die. “But now big studios are kind of dying off. Not that there’s anything wrong with them, it’s just the days we live in now. People can’t afford Abbey Road or Shangri-La with Rick Rubin; you’re out in your bedroom or back in your shed. That’s just the way things have been going now, so this whole project with the Quarantine Sessions was kind of like a test trial of how it would go, and I’m pretty satisfied with what turned out.”

Both Quarantine Sessions can be found on Bandcamp, where the Four Fingers team lined up the Volume 2 release with the platform’s decision to waive fees for artists on the first Friday of each month through the summer.

Smith said the crew is already “scheming up the next thing, trying to find that sweet spot of not being too ridiculous,” and with how quickly they’ve been turning around newly recorded music in the last two months, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a third one drop on June 5, Bandcamp’s next Free Friday.

In the meantime, they’ve got two great new projects already in the queue, as Solis and Smith will continue spreading love, not germs.

“If we can help other bands, maybe they can help someone else, and then this kind of infectious generosity around the music community can be a positive instead of a cutthroat kind of [scene],” Solis said. “We’re very open to whatever happens and wherever the wind takes us.”

RPTIKIN@QCNERVE.COM

Pat Moran contributed reporting.

FOOD & DRINK FEATURE AVOID THE DRAIN

questioning that the local craft scene has created numerous jobs and helped the city draw in visitors.

Triple C Brewing Company is one of the first core breweries (along with NoDa, Olde Mecklenburg and Birdsong) that helped usher in the Charlotte craft beer renaissance. You can find many of the South

Local brewers work to curb economic effects of COVID-19

Pg. 16 MAY 6 - MAY 20, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

BY MATT MCKENZIE

It’s a made-for-March cloudless early afternoon Friday at Salud Beer Shop, one that’s easily justifiable to start the weekend early on the side patio with a refreshing IPA or crisp pilsner. A month from now, the craft beer mainstay will be named Best Beer Bar in the country by USA Today for the second year in a row.

Normally, Salud would be packed with patrons at the bar or buying beer to go along with a pizza from the shop’s kitchen next door, or perhaps drinking upstairs at Salud Cerveceria, the brewery that opened three years ago.

Except these are not normal times, as we all know. In fact, phrases such as “the new normal,” “unprecedented event” and “times of uncertainty” have been unconsciously hammered into America’s lexicon. The coronavirus has tremendously upended industries across the board, with breweries no exception. Gone are packed taprooms, replaced by curbside beer sales and home delivery. Employees have been furloughed, revenues are sharply down and while some Charlotte breweries were able to secure government assistance, others have been shut out, creating an uncertain future for many.

As Salud owner Jason Glunt sits by himself on that patio waiting for a car to pull up with an online order, he describes a state of “constant exhaustion,” with sales down nearly 40%.

“It’s been petrifying at times,” he adds. “We worked so hard to build three great establishments, and literally overnight I had to rewrite our whole business plan.”

The local craft brewery scene has exploded over the last several years, with more than 30 sites in Charlotte proper and an additional 25-plus in the surrounding area. The Queen City has become a destination for craft drinkers, as Charlotte beers have won prominent awards in the U.S. and overseas.

Predictably, it’s become popular to rail against craft beer lately — you’ll commonly see/hear some form of, “Do we really need another brewery?” among social media comments — but there’s no

JASON GLUNT IN SALUD BEER SHOP.

End brewery’s beers (including the award-winning 3C IPA) in bars and grocery stores, and the adjacent Barrel Room is an event space for weddings and other gatherings.

On the surface, things would seemingly look good for the beer business but owner Chris Harker says what many don’t realize is everything else that goes on behind the scenes to make it all run. Add in a pandemic and everything is suddenly up in the air.

“People think we’re cash rich but they forget about things like all of the inventory we have to keep on hand, taxes we continually have to pay, things like that,” he adds. “I always have thought about what would happen if we went into a recession, but could never have planned for this.”

Like other local breweries, Triple C can only now offer drive-thru service. While they are still brewing, several beers planned for the summer were scrapped, with no place to put them.

“As our tanks have gotten full, we just aren’t emptying them as fast because of the lower demand,” Harker says. “We’re fortunate to be in grocery stores where sales are way up but with less production and fewer deliveries, we still had to furlough some people.

“We’re surviving for now and just trying to make decisions with the team’s best interest at heart,” he

continues. “It’s hard to say what the future holds; there doesn’t seem to be any one right answer, just a ton of wrong answers.”

Amidst the larger breweries, in recent years Charlotte has also seen a wave of neighborhoodcentric breweries that operate on a smaller scale,

“It’s been really nice to have that communication to talk through things,” Salzarulo says. “We’re not competing against one another; we’re in it together.”

Protagonist is also one of several local breweries that had expansion plans affected by the pandemic. They were set to take over the space in LoSo previously occupied by Great Wagon Road Distillery and The Broken Spoke with a targeted summer opening date ... until the coronavirus came along. Now that date has been pushed back for at least several months, with a ton of unknown variables in tow.

“We still have to pay rent on that space so while we have to delay the opening, we have hopes for 2020 but it will depend on how everything looks,” Salzarulo says. “The fact is, some things we want to do in that space we won’t be able to because we won’t have the expected amount of revenue. We’ve dipped into money earmarked for that location to pay our people here now.”

Resident Culture quickly became a favorite among many local craft beer drinkers after opening in fall 2017. The Plaza Midwood brewery is steadily packed, and can releases have been punctuated by people lining up early on Saturday PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN mornings.

In early March, shortly before the world as such as Protagonist Clubhouse in NoDa. You won’t we know it changed, Resident co-owner Phillip find their beers in stores and they are sparse among McLamb was in the closing stages on securing a new restaurant taps. The clubhouse was designed as a taproom space. Opening another location (McLamb local hyper-focused spot that also has guest taps declined to specify the space, for now) seemed to be from other area breweries. the only logical next step following his success on “Our revenue wasn’t the most robust, which I Central Avenue, but as McLamb watched the news guess you could look at as a good thing,” says co- coming out of China, he quickly got on the phone owner Mike Salzarulo. “We didn’t need to make up a with his attorneys. lot of restaurant sales so where I was first expecting “I asked them, ‘Is this something we need to a 50-60% drop, it’s actually been just 25%. And be doing right now with everything going on in we haven’t had to lay anyone off. Really, it’s been the news?’ and even wondered about adding a amazing to see the outpouring of support not just pandemic clause in the agreement,” McLamb says. to us but Charlotte beer in general.”

“They kind of chuckled and said, ‘Well, we’ve never Shortly after Gov. Roy Cooper designated all been asked that.’ Then everything with COVID-19 restaurants and bars (which included breweries) started happening quickly, not by the day but by the to shut down in mid-March, a large group of local hour, and everything came to a screeching halt. So brewery owners scheduled a Zoom call, which we’re holding off on that for now, and I really don’t was followed by an email chain that they still use know if that’s in our future plans anymore.” regularly to help everyone stay in touch, sharing tips With profits tanking and rent and bills on trying to secure a loan and sending out requests continuing to come due, breweries have also had for anything that may become in scarce supply. to get creative and innovative. Ever since they first For instance, as Protagonist was running short started making the beer, there’s been strong pleas on crowler cans, Town Brewing was able to provide from fans of Birdsong to can Higher Ground IPA. some, and when Protagonist’s order finally came in, Those cans are now available for a limited time. they helped Lower Left Brewing supplement their Legion’s Juicy Jay IPA has become one of the most waning supply. popular craft beers in Charlotte, but it hadn’t found

FOOD & DRINK FEATURE

“The reception has been great; it’s been it easy for customers and overall, I’ve been really However, there is agreement across the board awesome to see us being able to get our beer proud of our team to be able to adapt and change so that it won’t be the same as before. It’s highly into the hands of those who may not be able to quickly with everything going on.” unlikely people will immediately flock to restaurants or breweries, especially with no coronavirus vaccine in sight for the near future.

“It will be interesting for sure,” McLamb says.

“Are we going to be re-opening at 25% occupancy and if so, what does that mean for all of us who have outdoor space? And will our employees be asked to do new jobs like counting people at the door and looking around to make sure everyone is practicing social distancing? Our drive-thru service is working well right now; do we keep that going or shut it down because we need the parking? There are so many questions to be answered and understood, it’s hard to wrap my head around.”

Adds Glunt, “We’re all in a groove now but then we’ll have to figure things out yet again. It’s cliché, but all we can do is take it day by day. Try to provide a sense of normalcy, and if that’s something we can do to make someone’s day, that’s great.”

its way into cans until three weeks ago, when Legion finally began to offer packaged beer. Other breweries are offering mixed fourpacks for the first time, offering percentage discounts on orders and even selling sixtels and full kegs to the public.

Resident Culture has taken things a step further with its “pop-up” events. McLamb says when the brewery began offering home delivery on Tuesdays and Thursdays, they set the boundaries to a handful of nearby zip codes.

However, they kept getting requests from townships outside of Charlotte, so it made sense to set up an all-afternoon event in RESIDENT CULTURE’S PARKING LOT HAS BEEN TURNED INTO A DRIVE-THRU. PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN a specific location for those areas rather than have employees continuously drive make it to the brewery now for whatever reason,” Adaptation will continue to be the theme as around neighborhoods. Resident Culture has had McLamb says. “Amanda (Phillip’s wife and brewery breweries navigate these uncharted waters. Plenty two successful pop-ups so far in Union County and co-founder) did such an incredible job and worked of questions remain on what everything will look Davidson, with more on the way. so hard getting our online store set up and making like when the ban lifts.

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A DOSE OF VIRTUAL REALITY

People have always relied on our Lifeline and Soundwave to give them ideas on what to do. We like to say there’s no excuse to stay at home, but now that’s not the case. However, there are still plenty of things to do from the comfort of your couch, and we’ve compiled a few ideas to help you pass the time.

ANTARCTIC DINOSAURS EXHIBITION JAH WILL BAND: ‘DRIPPIN’ FLOW’

What: Discovery Place’s Stay at Home Science invites you on a virtual tour of their newest exhibit Antarctic Dinosaurs. The walk-through will introduce you to bi-pedal theropods like T.Rex, extinct herbivores and monasaurs — marine reptiles that are not dinosaurs but are thought to be related to snakes and monitor lizards. There are also meteorite shards and fossils that were formed before there even was an Antarctica, at a time when there was only one single, massive continent known as Pangea.

More: discoveryplace.org/stay-at-home-science/ take-a-tour-of-antarctic-dinosaurs

What: When Queen City Nerve featured Jah Will Pinson and his band in our Music Issue last July, we wrote that Pinson was going to drop his new single ‘Drippin’ Flow” soon. Instead, Pinson’s day job plus a gig as a touring musician intervened, and when he was able to return to the tune, he did a major remix. Fluid, mind-expanding and sublimely chill, “Drippin’ Flow’” will be available everywhere music is streamed and bought on May 7. It’s well worth the wait, sitting squarely at the crossroads of trap, hiphop, roots reggae and soulful R&B. A second single, “Sweet” is slated for mid-May release and will be followed by a mixtape and EP. More: distrokid.com/hyperfollow/jahwillband/ XOXO’S LAWNCARE What: COVID-19 can’t keep Charlotte’s mystic and drippin-flow-2 experimental theater troupe XOXO housebound. For the high-or-low price of pay what you will, The Exxos CHARLOTTE FILM SOCIETY’S VIRTUAL will show up in your yard to deliver some essential SCREENING ROOM item or service of your choice. While they are there What: Sometimes you have to thin the herd. We’re they will also dance to medieval religious songs, not talking about the strategy of the Open Meck perform a wacked-out puppet show and Jell-O protestors — though we do know a lot of people wrestle with their demons, all while maintaining in Georgia who will happily trade places with them. careful social distancing. LawnCare is created and No, it’s simply time for the Charlotte Film Society to performed by Kadey Ballard, Matt Cosper, Cody say, “Out with the old and in with the new.” They’re Frye, Katherine Lim, Jon Prichard and Will Rudolph. culling and rejuvenating their collection of foreign Reservations required. and indie art films that you can’t see anywhere More: xoxoperformance.org else. Crime drama Traitor, psycho thriller The Perfect

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EARL SCRUGGS MUSIC FESTIVAL: A MONTH OF MONDAYS

What: Scheduled for September 4-5 in Mill Spring, North Carolina, the Earl Scruggs Music Festival is still moving forward in these uncertain times (too cliché already?). In the meantime, ‘A Month of Mondays’ runs throughout May, featuring a series of lively live-streamed interviews between the festival’s artistic director Steve Johnson and selected fest performers, including Unspoken Tradition, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, and Jerry Douglas of the Earls of Leicester.

More: facebook.com/earlscruggsfest

Nanny and supernatural comedy Extra Ordinary leave the fold on May 7. The newest additions to CFS’s super cool slate are offbeat documentary The Booksellers and Deerskin, the wonderfully weird tale of a man obsessed with a vintage fringe jacket.

More: $10-12 for 72 hours; charlottefilmsociety. com

THEATRE CHARLOTTE AT HOME

What: Theatre Charlotte presents a weekly slate of online programming. On Sundays, join TC@Home for an in-depth look at Quarantine the Musical, featuring performances and interviews. Tuesdays bring the series TC Teachables, in which local artists share their knowledge and answer your questions live. Classic old time radio rules the roost with the Isolation Radio Hour. Vintage radio shows are performed live by local actors complete with sound effects, music and classic commercials. “Be sure to drink your Ovaltine!”

More: Sundays 7 p.m., Tuesdays 4 p.m., Wednesdays 7:30 p.m.; facebook.com/theatrecharlotte/; tinyurl.com/TCRadioHour

MILESTONE WORKERS RELIEF FUNDRAISER

What: Even if the statewide stay-at-home order ends on May 8, clubs like The Milestone (as well as restaurants and bars) can’t open until at least two or three weeks later when Phase Two of the statewide reopening kicks in. Even then, bars will only be allowed to reopen with limited capacity, probably 20-50% of the posted legal occupancy, which severely reduces their profit margin. In the meantime, bills are coming due, and The Milestone’s sound engineers, bartenders & doorbums who rely on tips and wages from live events are left high and dry. Catch a lineup of stay-at-home performances by artists including Kevin Seconds, Math The Band, Lee Bains III, Pears, Gnawing, Dollar Signs, The Zeta, Faye, Sangre Cabrona and Problem Addict to lend the venerable club and its employees a helping hand.

More: May 10, 5 p.m., tinyurl.com/MilestoneRelief; gofundme.com/f/the-milestone-workers-relieffund

HISTORY SOUTH: PLAZA MIDWOOD WALKING TOUR

What: Get out of the house and go back in time.

Curated by historian Tom Hanchett, this stroll takes you through one of Charlotte’s most eclectic neighborhoods that filled out gradually from 1903 through the 1930s. Following Hanchett’s directions, you’ll see highlights like a bookstore with an airplane suspended from the ceiling; one of the South’s best-preserved Victorian houses; the gracious, tree-shaded VanLandingham Estate; and scads of bungalows, colonials, and Tudor revival homes. Hanchett also curates a tour of the city’s even older historic neighborhood Elizabeth.

More: historysouth.org/plaza-midwood-walkingtour/

CHARLOTTE AFTER DARK

What: This new weekly series of virtual programming runs Thursday evenings via Vimeo Live Stream and Facebook Live. Local musician Noel Friedline hosts local and regional talent, celebrities and residents. Highlights include quarantine BINGO, celebrity late-night snack, bartender corner, living room dance break, bad joke of the day and comedy

by Charlotte is Creative’s Matt Olin and Tim Miner.

More: Thursdays 10 p.m., cltafterdark.com/

BOO HAG: ‘BURIAL GROUND’

What: Hailing from Columbia, S.C., swampy garagepunk duo Boo Hag are technically out-of-towners, but how can the Queen City refuse a band that sounds like a seedy sideshow carnival barker possessed by a Siberian shaman? With clattering drums, grimy growling guitars and more Southern-gothic kudzufestooned atmosphere than you can slice with a machete, this psychedelic and sinister two-piece has played Snug Harbor, Skylark Social Club and Tommy’s Pub. They were going to wait a while to release their newest album Burial Ground, but with the pandemic raging they said, “Fuck it,” and made it free.

More: boohagmusic.com/home#free-downloadburial-ground

HOROSCOPE

LIFESTYLE COLUMN

AERIN IT OUT CLUB QUARANTINE Bringing Queen City nightlife into the home

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BY AERIN SPRUILL

Two Saturdays ago, I woke up at 7 a.m. to the beautiful sound of my new 7-week-old puppy screaming bloody murder. “Happy Birthday to me,” I thought to myself as my boyfriend and I struggled to climb out of bed to walk Guinness (yes, like the beer) outside for “potty time.”

We walked back inside and cleaned up the house to prepare for a social-distance visit from my parents, who couldn’t bear to stay away for the momentous occasion.

My boyfriend picked up a cake (a delicious three-tiered red velvet cake lovingly inscribed “Mama Spruill” from Suárez Bakery) for the four of us to share after I opened my presents. After finishing our takeout from CO, we bid the parentals adieu and settled on the couch.

By 9:30 p.m. I was only two cocktails in and ready for bed. For a moment before closing my eyes I thought to myself, “What has this lover of all things Q.C. nightlife, inebriation, and ill-advised choices become?!” The answer: a puppy mother with a shameful tolerance whose newfound desires are to puzzle, watch Netflix, and go to bed before 10 p.m. Sighs. This is 30 in quarantine.

It is with deep sadness I remind you following Gov. Roy Cooper’s latest announcement that while there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel, life as we knew it before quarantine is still a hop, skip and a long jump away. There are still many more nights of celebrating milestones in our homes, not knowing what day it is, limited social interaction and early bedtimes ahead of us.

I don’t know about you, but for myself, the question has quickly become, how the eff can we recreate Queen City nightlife in the confines of our home? The good news is, local bars and restaurants are finding unique ways to help us bring the comforts we’ve taken for granted to our dining and living rooms.

If you haven’t figured out how to get the smells, tastes, and sounds of Charlotte nightlife to your door after all this time, here are few keys to mental (and intestinal?) escape!

Order to-go from your favorite restaurant. Now this is my idea of a pregame when I think back to “Sicily, 1960” (shameless Golden Girls plug) when we were all allowed outside — a good ass meal! One thing I’ve loved about the resilient creativity of restaurants making the most out of this moment is that a lot of our favorite spots are still

offering take-out! Many still offering their full menu while others are coming up with brand new creations to tickle our palates. This for me has been one of the easiest ways to keep in touch with my “taste for nightlife.”

(Quarantining alone? Local restaurants like Haberdish will join you for community dinner! Infamous for its Southern fare, Haberdish is offering Takeout Tuesdays featuring restaurant owners, Jeff and Jamie. Grab your take-out (doesn’t have to be from Haberdish) and listen in on the conversation!)

Pretend you’re a chef for the night. ...or at least a sous chef? Picture the simplicity of Hello Fresh, but local!

If you’re more the type to cook at home in quarantine, throw on your apron because you have some options.

Take a virtual cooking class from a local chef or even more convenient, purchase a cook-at-home meal kit complete with everything you’ll need from participating restaurants. Bardo, for example, recently shared their meal-for-two taco kits complete with all the fixings! Only risk? You may realize you don’t need to go back to the restaurant right away when this is all over!

Become a mixologist. Okay, maybe that’s a lofty goal, but after you make your own cocktails at home, you’ll probably think you’re one. Many of your favorite drink spots and bartenders like Bob Peters, Colleen Hughes, Dot Dot Dot, Bardo, Haberdish and Fin and Fino are spilling their secrets on popular cocktails by way of cocktail kits, virtual happy hours and recipes.

But keep in mind, alcohol is not included. Prepare for the shitshow that is the ABC Store and the shame of feeling like an alcoholic when ordering a gallon of anything, plus a handle of whatever as you stand in a tiny, numbered chalk square that reminds you how much longer you have to wait while being yelled at by an underpaid ABC Store clerk.

When you’re done, send a Charlotte bartender a tip to pay it forward for when bars open back up! https:// serviceindustry.tips/en/nc/charlotte/ Enjoy live entertainment. No, not that kind, Uptown Cab is closed, but you can still get your twerk on if you tune into Instagram or Facebook Live. Many local DJs are bringing the sounds you miss at Sip, Prohibition, Local, and Tilt to your living room, not to mention Queen City Nerve’s regular Quarantine Live sessions on Facebook.

Follow your favorite sound curators and be on the lookout for when they go live. This may be your only opportunity to sneak in a request before they hit the streets again.

Though your favorite restaurants and watering holes seem far away, getting a taste of nightlife is easier than you think! Share other tips for getting old biddies like myself and your fellow Charlotteans back in the groove at home by finding me on IG or Twitter.

MAY 6 - MAY 12

MAY 13 - MAY 20

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) The Lamb is usually excited

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) A seemingly stalled romantic situation could benefit from your reassurance that you want this relationship to work. And if you do, use a tad more of that irresistible Aries charm.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Accepting new commitments when you haven’t yet finished the batch on hand could be a bit rash. Better to ease up on the new ones until you get further along with your current lot.

TAURUS

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Try to be more openminded in working toward a resolution of that standoff between yourself and a colleague or family member. A little flexibility now could work to your advantage later.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) That career-change opportunity that didn’t work out when you first considered it could come up again. But this time, remember that you have more to offer and should act accordingly.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Some people might be anxious about your plans. So you need to take time to explain what you expect to do and how you expect do it.

And don’t forget to ask for suggestions.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) There could be some tensions in relationships -- domestic or workaday. But a calm approach that doesn’t raise the anger levels and a frank discussion soon will resolve the problem.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Dealing with an unfamiliar

LEO (July 23 to August 22) It’s a good idea to begin

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Tackle a frustrating

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Bless that Virgo

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Your balanced

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) A legal matter you

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Once again, you’re likely to be asked to keep a secret for someone. But do you really want to do so? Be honest with yourself and with your needs before you make any such commitment.

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Taking a more direct approach from the more diplomatic one you’ve used before could make a difference in finally resolving a too-long-held disagreement. Try it.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Romance dominates this week when Cupid spears the Archer, for a change. Positive things also are happening in the workplace. Expect important news to arrive by the week’s end.

about taking on a new challenge. But if that’s a touch of doubt you’re feeling, maybe it’s you telling yourself to go slow on this until you learn more about it.

problem can be difficult. The wisest course you can take is to ask for advice from those who have been where you are and have come through it. Good luck.

job problem by considering possibilities you might have ignored before. This reassures colleagues you’re serious about finding a solution, even if it’s not totally yours.

approach to life proves to be helpful this week when someone you care for needs your spiritual comfort, while someone else benefits from your tough-love practicality.

CAPRICORN

(December 22 to January 19) Being asked for advice is flattering to the Sea Goat, who has a habit of saying the right thing. This time, expect someone to be especially impressed and to act on that sentiment.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) With a number of pressures easing, your project could be making a lot more progress than you expected by this time. That’s great news. But don’t let yourself be distracted; stay with it.

PISCES

(February 19 to March 20) An interesting challenge looms that could be exactly what you’ve been looking for. Discuss this with colleagues who could have much to contribute and who might want to join with you.

BORN THIS WEEK: Your heart is always open to offer loving concern for others. And they, in turn, reach out to complete the circle.

INFO@QCNERVE.COM ©2020 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.

(April 20 to May 20) You’re attracted to a situation that appeals to your Bovine intellect. And that’s good. But don’t neglect your passionate side when romance comes calling later in the week.

preparing for that career change you’ve been thinking about for a while. Start to sharpen your skills and expand your background to be ready when it calls. skepticism that has kept you from falling into traps others seem to rush into. But you might want to give a new possibility the benefit of the doubt, at least on a trial basis.

hoped could finally be settled could be a pesky problem for a while, until all the parties agree to stop disagreeing with each other. Be patient.

(October 23 to November 21) Someone might use deception to try to push you into making a decision you’re not fully comfortable with. But those keen Scorpio senses should keep you alert to any such attempt.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Anyone

trying to bully the Sea Goat — whether it involves a personal or a professional matter — will learn a painful lesson. Others also will benefit from the Goat’s strong example.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Congratulations. With things going the way they are, you should be able to spare some time and take a break from your hectic schedule for some well-earned fun and games.

PISCES (February 19 to March 21) Your sharp Piscean

intuition should be able to uncover the true agendas of those who might be trying to catch the Fish in one of their schemes.

BORN THIS WEEK: Your flair for innovative art and design keeps you at least a step ahead of most everyone else.

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LIFESTYLE PUZZLES

LIFESTYLE PUZZLES SUDOKU

BY LINDA THISTLE

PLACE A NUMBER IN THE EMPTY BOXES IN SUCH A WAY THAT EACH ROW ACROSS, EACH COLUMN DOWN AND EACH SMALL 9-BOX SQUARE CONTAINS ALL OF THE NUMBERS ONE TO NINE. ©2020 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.

TRIVIA TEST

BY FIFI RODRIGUEZ

1. GEOGRAPHY: Which is the only country to have three capital cities?

2. MOVIES: What year did the first Academy Awards ceremony take place?

3. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: In police radio code, what does 10-31 mean?

4. U.S. STATES: What state would a Hoosier come from?

5. LANGUAGE: What does the Latin phrase “carpe noctem” mean?

6. GAMES: What color property is Kentucky Avenue in the Monopoly board game?

7. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What do you call an animal that eats plants and meat?

8. SCIENCE: What is the study of mycology?

9. MEDICAL: What is a more common name for varicella?

10. AWARDS: Which group has received the most Nobel Peace prizes?

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Old Glory, for one 5 Up in smoke 11 Refluxes of tides 15 Ankle-knee connector 19 I, to Greeks 20 “Speak up!”

21 Ark captain 22 Chipotle item 23 “Great job, play more!”?

25 Be sweet on 26 Wilson of film 27 One half of a 45 28 Eat 29 Stingy type 30 Get a B, e.g.

31 Mauna 33 Sharp rise in new findings?

36 Napoleon’s birthplace 40 Gem, e.g.

41 Writer - Jackson Braun 42 - out (supplement) 43 Ice melter 45 - word (coinage for one occasion) 48 Throbs 49 Perpetual pampering?

53 Country singer Evans 55 Born, to Gigi 56 Gridiron gp.

57 Repulsive 59 Fiennes or Macchio 62 Fishermen, often 65 “Hear No Evil” star Matlin 67 Really move on the dance floor 71 Round of applause all for oneself?

73 Company symbol on a container of breathing gas?

75 Capital of Croatia 76 Scrape the bottom of 78 Flushes 79 Antipasto bit 81 Loved by 83 “- Beso” (1962 hit) 84 56-Across stats 87 Old phone part 89 Distinctive feature of blasting material?

93 Is on hold, say 96 Spanish for “silver” 98 Draft-eligible 99 Item in a pod 100 Congenital 102 Bands of three 105 Most morose 107 Quaint theater where everyone hung out?

111 Post-it note abbr.

112 Soccer immortal 113 Change formally 114 Slugger Willie 116 Evade artfully 120 “Woe is me” 121 - de foie gras 122 Alternate title for this puzzle 124 Madison Avenue prize 125 Hens and cows 126 Bright-shining 127 Appellation 128 Composer Jerome 129 Acoustic pair 130 Pint-size 131 Otherwise

DOWN 1 Small lies 2 Actress Singer 3 Just slightly 4 Judges’ mallets 5 Bar drink 6 Cherished 7 Intelligible 8 Hunky guy 9 Most scant 10 Before, to Kipling 11 Spices up 12 Idaho city 13 Cake creator 14 Singer Crow 15 Cork up, as a bottle 16 Maui native 17 Emulate Tara Lipinski 18 “Baloney!”

24 Certain woodwind player 29 Early hi-fi format 32 Berry rich in antioxidants 34 See eye to eye (with) 35 Sis, say 36 Frame of a cartoon 37 Japanese island 38 Calling the shots 39 Nearly 44 WJM anchor Baxter 46 Pop singer Mariah 47 Chunk of history 50 Animal at “una corrida” 51 East - (Asian nation) 52 Spotted, as money 54 Playwright Edward 58 Ad catchphrase 60 Little lake

Pg. 21 MAY 6 - MAY 20, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

PG.20 PUZZLE ANSWERS

TWO-CHANNEL CONNECTION ©2020 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.

61 Texas - (poker game) 62 Singer Scaggs 63 Stunt legend Knievel 64 Very zealous 66 Put out 68 Freaks out 69 Tunes out 70 Canon - Rebel 72 Best possible 74 Bad-pun responses 77 Keep waiting 80 Mr. Big 82 However, briefly 84 Pair of identical products sold as a unit 85 Writer Steel 86 “Babbitt” author Lewis 88 White Rabbit’s woe 90 Tree flutterer 91 New royal of 1981 92 Kit 94 Confronts 95 Canonized Fr. woman 97 Walked (on) 101 Slip away 103 Electrical resistance measure 104 Subject to legal action 106 Singer Warwick 108 Large city in Nebraska 109 Ward off 110 Ordinance 115 Withered 117 “You’re on!”

118 Mouth parts 119 Lightish sword 122 Salary ceiling 123 Actor Bruce

LIFESTYLE COLUMN

PG.21 PUZZLE ANSWERS

SAVAGE LOVE

Pg. 22 MAY 6 - MAY 20, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

AMAZED AND CONFUSED

socialized to do, i.e. if you’re downplaying the severity of your displeasure in a misguided effort to spare your husband’s feelings — then you need to get emphatic.

Sometimes it’s not enough to tell, LOADS, sometimes you have to yell.

You’re obviously GGG — you’re good, giving, and

BY DAN SAVAGE game — but your husband has taken you for granted I’ve been with the same amazing man a dozen and been almost unbelievably inconsiderate. Because years. We’ve had our ups and our downs, same as even if he needs to think about sucking dick to get off, any other couple, but these days life is better than LOADS, he doesn’t need to verbalize that fantasy each it ever has been for us. Except in the bedroom. A and every time you fuck. few years ago he started having fantasies about Even if you were into it, which you’re not, it would sucking dick. get tedious. And it wasn’t just selfish of him to ignore Specifically, he wanted to suck a small one how you felt, LOADS, it was shortsighted. Because wombecause his is very big and he wanted to “service” en who are willing let their husbands talk about wanting a guy who’s less hung than he is. Which is fine ex- to suck a dick — much less sucking a dick — aren’t cept it’s now the only thing that gets him off. We exactly easy to come by. seldom have sex since now because his obsession I guess what I’m trying to say, LOADS, is that with sucking off a guy with a small dick makes me your husband really blew it. If he hadn’t allowed this feel unattractive and to be honest I don’t share obsession to completely dominate your sex life — if the fantasy. I even let him suck a dude off in front he’d made some small effort to control himself — you of me once and I didn’t enjoy it at all. might’ve been willing to let him act on his fantasy more He tells me he still finds me attractive but than once. when we’re having sex the talk always goes to But as things stand now, it’s hard to see how you how he wants to take “warm and salty loads” come back from this, LOADS, because even if he can down his throat. manage to STFU about warm and salty loads long I’ve told him I’m not into it but he enjoys enough to fuck you, you’re going to know he’s thinking talking about it so much he can’t help himself. I about warm and salty loads. So the most plausible soluthought by allowing him to live out his fantasy tion here — assuming that you want to stay married to would help him “get over it,” so to speak, but that this guy — would be for him to go suck little dicks (once didn’t happen. So now we just don’t have sex circumstances allow) while you get some decent sex except once every few months. I’m not sure how elsewhere (ditto). to make him see that it’s just not my thing and to Finally, a lot of vanilla people think — erroneousget the focus back on just the two of us. ly — that acting on kink will somehow get it out a kinky LOVE OBSESSES ABOUT DICK SUCKING person’s system. That’s not the way kinks work. Kinks are hard-wired and kinky people wanna act on their kinks If you can look at your husband and think, “Things again and again for the exact same reason vanilla people are better than ever!”, despite the dismal state of your wanna do vanilla things again and again: because it sex life, LOADS, I hate to think what life with him used turns them on. to be like.

There’s not an easy fix here. If you’ve already told I have what most people would consider an your husband the “warm and salty load” talk is a turn-off amazing life. I have two healthy kids, financial and made it clear it’s the reason your sex life has pretty security, a stable career, and a husband who is the much collapsed and nevertheless he persists with the exact partner I could ever want. I really couldn’t “warm and salty load” talk, well, then your husband is ask for more. I just have one issue: my husband telling you would he would rather not have sex than wants to be intimate more often than I do. have sex without talking about warm and salty loads.

We are both nearing 40, and his libido has Now I’m assuming that you actually told him how not slowed down. I, on the other hand, due to a you feel, LOADS, in clear and unambiguous terms and combination of being busy with work and us both that you said what you needed to say emphatically. And taking care of the kids (especially during the lockby “emphatically,” LOADS, I mean, “repeatedly and at the down), find myself with a decreased sexual drive. top of your lungs.”

Because of all my (and our) obligations, I find If not — if you’re doing that thing women are

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myself alternating between a state of tiredness, anxiousness or distraction, none of which get me “in the mood.”

We’ve talked about the situation, and he is absolutely respectful when we do so, but he has made it clear he’s very frustrated. I think once a week is more than enough and he could go multiple times a day. It’s to the point where he feels he’s begging just to fit some “us” time into our lives, which he says makes him feel undesirable and humiliated.

There isn’t anything wrong with him that leaves me not wanting to engage in physical intimacy, we just seem to have different physical intimacy schedules, and it’s putting a serious strain on our relationship. How can we work to find a comfortable middle ground, or at the absolute least, help me explain to him why I’m not as randy as he is?

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You don’t need to craft an elaborate explanation, CLIT, as what’s going on here is pretty simple: Your husband has a high libido and you have a low one.

What you need is a reasonable accommodation.

Opening up your marriage obviously isn’t an option right now, CLIT, and it might not be an option you would’ve considered even if it were possible for your husband to find an outlet (or inlet) elsewhere. But there is something you can do.

Your husband is doubtless jacking off a lot to relieve the pressure. If there’s something he enjoys that you don’t find physically taxing and if he promises not to pressure you to upgrade to intercourse in the moment, then you could enhance his masturbatory routine. Does he like it when you sit on his face? Then sit on his face

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— you can even keep your clothes on — while he rubs one out. Does he love your tits? Let him look at them while he beats off. Is he a little kinky? It doesn’t take that long to piss on someone in the tub and it wouldn’t mean adding something to your already packed schedule, CLIT, as you have to find time to piss anyway.

It would be unreasonable of your husband to expect sex three times a day — that would be an irrational expectation even if you were childless and independently wealthy — but your husband isn’t asking you to fuck him three times a day. He wants a little more sexual activity, some erotic affirmation, and more couple time.

Giving him an assist while he masturbates ticks all those boxes. That said, this will only work if your husband solemnly vows never to initiate intercourse during an assisted masturbation session. If you catch a groove and start feeling horny and wanna upgrade to intercourse, you should. But he needs to let you lead because if he starts pressuring you for sex when you’re just there to assist then you’re going to be reluctant to help him out.

If he can follow that one rule, CLIT, you’ll feel more connected and you’ll probably wind up having more PIV/ PIB/PIM sex — maybe twice a week instead of once a week — but it will be sex you both want.

On this week’s Savage Lovecast, yes it is possible to be both horny and depressed. Also, hear the tale of intrepid mountain climbers, and what they can do in their harnesses: www.savagelovecast.com; mail@savagelove. net; Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage.

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