Queen City Nerve - July 15, 2020

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 17; JULY 15 - JULY 28, 2020; WWW.QCNERVE.COM

NeWs: ForMer AmeLie’s emplOyEes speAk Out pg. 6 mUsiC: ProjECts oF tHe paNdEmic pg. 12

THE OUTBREAK OF CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) MAY BE STRESSFUL FOR PEOPLE. FEAR AND ANXIETY ABOUT A DISEASE CAN BE OVERWHELMING AND CAUSE STRONG EMOTIONS IN ADULTS AND CHILDREN. COPING WITH STRESS WILL MAKE YOU, THE PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT, AND YOUR COMMUNITY STRONGER. EVERYONE REACTS DIFFERENTLY TO STRESSFUL SITUATIONS. HOW YOU RESPOND TO THE OUTBREAK CAN DEPEND ON YOUR BACKGROUND, THE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU DIFFERENT FROM OTHER PEOPLE, AND THE COMMUNITY YOU LIVE IN.

 -Fear and worry about your own health and the health of your loved ones -Changes in sleep or eating patterns -Difficulty sleeping or concentrating -Worsening of chronic health problems -Increased use of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs

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Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting.

-Take care of your body. Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, and avoid alcohol and drugs.

-Make time to unwind. Try to do some other activities you enjoy.

-Connect with others. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling. Â? Â?

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ONLINE THERAPY OPTIONS

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OPEN PATH COLLECTIVE

A nonprofit that connects people with private practice therapists that choose to participate.

Digital therapy is available for a $59 membership tinyurl.com/opcollective

Pg. 2 JUL 15 - JUL 28, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

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PSYCHOLOGY TODAY

An interactive website where users can enter their zip code to find a counseling professional near them online with phone and video options available. tinyurl.com/psychtodayonline €€

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WipeOutWaste.com

Don’t Just Recycle,

PUBLISHER JUSTIN LAFRANCOIS jl afra n co i s @ q cn er ve.com

RECYCLE RIGHT! Please just recycle the basic materials listed here. Nothing else.

Just because you wish it to be recycled, does not make it recyclable.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RYAN PITKIN rpi tk i n @ q cn e r ve. c om

ART DIRECTOR JAYME JOHNSON jjo h n s o n @ q cn e r ve.com

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STAFF WRITER PAT MORAN pm o ra n @ q cn er ve . com

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No Recycling at your Apartment Complex?

Please use one of Mecklenburg County’s Recycling Centers.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

NEWS& OPINION 7

5 EDITOR’S NOTE BY RYAN PITKIN 6 HALF BAKED BY EMIENE WRIGHT

Former employees call out Amelie’s for mistreatment, bad practices THE SUFFRAGIST BY RHIANNON FIONN

9 THE GUIDE TO WHITE ALLYSHIP BY MULTIPLE CONTRIBUTORS

Connect with free arts, science and history experiences for all ages, virtually.

CULTURE

BLOCKS

Find virtual experiences at ArtsAndScience.org/Virtual

ARTS

10 ADJUST THE DIAL BY PAT MORAN New Uptown art installation plugs our visual past into the future

MUSIC

12 PROJECTS OF THE PANDEMIC BY PAT MORAN Charlotte music you may have missed during quarantine 15 LIFEWAVE A dose of reality

16 A MANGO TWIST BY RYAN PITKIN Roy’s Kitchen & Patio owners learn from the mistakes of a past venture

DOWNLOAD THE “WCCB, CHARLOTTE’S CW” APP TO STAY UP TO DATE ON COVID-19 NEWS

LIFESTYLE

FOOD& DRINK

18 PUZZLES 20 THE SEEKER BY KATIE GRANT 20 STRANGE FACTS 21 HOROSCOPE 22 SAVAGE LOVE

THANKS TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS: PAT MORAN,

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EMIENE WRIGHT, RHIANNON FIONN, BEN JERRELL, MARC JACKSINA, WHIT THOMAS, SUBRINA COLLIER, SHELTON SPARKS, ALYSIA DAVIS, WILL JENKINS, NeWs: ForMer AmeLie’s emplOyEes speAk Out pg. 6 mUsiC: ProjECts oF tHe paNdEmic pg. 12

COVER DESIGN BY: JAYME JOHNSON

JESSICA DAILEY, WISDOM AND CHERIE JZAR, BEN PREMEAUX, ALVIN JACOBS JR., GRANT BALDWIN, SARAH SITKIN, CALEB OCAMPO, KATIE GRANT AND DAN SAVAGE.

EDITOR’S NOTE IN DEFENSE OF ACTIVIST JOURNALISM

Media’s dirty word is nothing to be ashamed of

BY RYAN PITKIN

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The recent protests in Charlotte have got me thinking a lot about our role as community journalists, and the definition of the word journalist as a whole.

During an ongoing court case, the ACLU of North Carolina and others, including our publisher Justin LaFrancois, have aimed to restrict CMPD’s use of chemical munitions and other riot control agents (RCAs) following weeks of protests in which the department deployed hundreds of tear gas canisters and flashbang grenades.

On June 19, Mecklenburg County Superior Court Judge Karen Eady-Williams handed down a restraining order that prohibits the use of RCAs by CMPD to control crowds of peaceful protesters.

It has been during these hearings that the CMPD’s lawyers have repeatedly referred to LaFrancois — who live-streamed throughout each protest from May 29 on — not as a journalist but as a protester livestreaming under the pseudonym Queen City Nerve.

CMPD knows better, of course, and the repeated attempts to paint our publisher as just another protester in the crowd are a petty way of devaluing him as a human to those in the law-and-order community who see the protesters as thugs and criminals bent on anarchy and lawlessness. That in itself is troubling enough, but it’s not surprising.

What it does not change, as much as they wish it did, is the content of the hours and hours of footage LaFrancois recorded during May and June.

The truth can’t be hidden or edited when the camera is rolling at all times, and that’s what makes LaFrancois’ raw footage so important. Justin isn’t a journalist by trade. He has written up a few quick pieces for us since we launched back in 2018, but for the most part, he remains on the business end of things while I stick to the editorial content.

Not having been a “trained journalist” makes Justin’s footage that much more raw, as he often lets his emotions fly free and states his opinions on things as they happen, something traditional journalists are taught not to do.

Even as someone who comes from the alternative media world, which has far more freedom in terms of anti-establishment editorializing, it can make me cringe sometimes to watch Justin’s live-streams. The sheer unpredictability of what is going to come out of his mouth next is what is both intriguing about his livestreams and worrisome for me, his business partner.

All in all, however, I couldn’t be more proud of his work. For weeks on end, sometimes with me by his side, sometimes alone as I was busy working on putting this paper together or reporting on other happenings, he walked countless miles and documented what was happening at the street level — no spin, no bullshit.

Of course, he rubbed plenty of folks the wrong way with his language and his tendency to tell racists in the comment section to fuck off and find another live stream.

He also rubbed lots of police the wrong way. Because he was walking with the protesters each night and telling their stories, he was seen as one of them, and in the eyes of many officers, this is an Us against Them situation.

But what is journalism for if not to make the people in power uncomfortable? There’s a reason Donald Trump’s most consistent beef is with the media: He doesn’t like when people tell the truth about him, so he proactively works to denigrate the media as a whole so his cultish fanbase can just yell “Fake news” every time a new story exposes Trump’s loathsome actions.

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And such is the case with the CMPD and the live-streamer operating under the “pseudonym” Queen City Nerve. It’s part of a long tradition of condescending those in the media industry who are seen as “activist journalists,” so as to make their work in some way less real.

In the end, however, the true value of journalism lies in its activism. If you were to name some of the best to ever do this job — Ida Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, Ida B. Wells and Edward Murrow, for example — you’d be hard pressed not to consider them activist journalists.

In no way am I comparing Justin to Edward Murrow or Ida B. Wells, but he saw something occurring that he thought was important for everyone to see without the filter put on it by many mainstream news sources and the CMPD itself, and he took it upon himself to document it raw.

His live-streams have helped lead to court orders like the one mentioned above, city council votes restricting the purchase of tear gas by CMPD, and a bill introduced by our local congresswoman Alma Adams that would change the way police around the country are legally allowed to deploy RCAs. I think that’s pretty powerful for a protester with a pseudonym. It’s a pseudonym I’m proud to claim, too.

RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM

NEWS & OPINION FEATURE

HALF BAKED

Former employees call out Amelie’s for mistreatment, wage theft

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BY EMIENE WRIGHT

Former employees and activists likely left a sour taste in the mouth of Amelie’s French Bakery ownership on Saturday, July 11. That morning, dozens of attendees showed up with protest signs in the parking lot of the North Davidson Street complex to call on the establishment to change policies and address worker mistreatment, racial discrimination and false claims of community partnerships.

Nada Merghani and Tatiana Marquez of Feed the Movement CLT and Jasmine Sherman, founder of Greater Charlotte RISE, were principal organizers of the press conference-turned-protest, which saw representation from community-based nonprofits, former Amelie’s employees, local business owners and people who attested that the bakery had and continues to harm marginalized community members. Speakers shared personal stories of experiences with the local chain bakery’s leadership and read a list of demands they said were necessary to bring the business back into compliance with community values.

Saminah Chapman, a former barista, said she was initially excited to work at the hip, alternative store. But after a while things began to change.

“I watched people I trained get promoted to management while I was constantly given excuses why I wasn’t. All of the leadership positions were given to white people,” she said.

Chapman also recalled a patron verbally assaulting and physically threatening her. He was never banned from the shop. She reported it to higher ups but the man returned freely, ordering drinks and watching her prepare them.

“Nothing was done to ensure I was protected. I left Amelie’s feeling undervalued, stereotyped and heartbroken. It was sad that the place I’d once loved so much had treated me so poorly and created an environment so toxic,” Chapman said.

Another former employee named Emma, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, agreed.

“My story as a white person who worked at Amelie’s is far less important than the stories of people of color who worked here and experienced racism from this company,” Emma said, adding they were

sharing in the labor of holding Amelie’s accountable.

“I worked night shift for no time at all before being promoted to a management position. I was chosen instead of people of color who had been working there much longer than me, and throughout my time at this company I noticed that there was very little upward mobility for people of color, while white people were encouraged to pursue and hold positions of power,” Emma said. “At any given shift the white people on staff are making more money per hour, whether that’s due to being chosen for promotions over people of color or being prioritized for performance reviews that lead to a raise.”

Justin Miller, a former kitchen manager, quit the bakery in 2014 and filed a wage theft complaint with the Department of Labor against ownership. The investigation turned up 46 violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Amelie’s paid thousands in back wages.

Rumors of worker mistreatment continued to persist.

Then last month, Amelie’s stirred the hornets’ nest.

The establishment started with an innocuous tweet condemning racial injustice: “We cannot be silent, we are in this together,” it read.

A week later, on June 6, Amelie’s social media accounts posted that the bakery was showing “support to the Black community with donations to Black owned charities and organizations,”and“looking forward to working with” Feed the Movement CLT, Greater Charlotte RISE and five others. The problem: Feed the Movement and Greater Charlotte RISE hadn’t heard from Amelie’s and were never planning to work with the bakery. The backlash was swift.

“Amelie’s is not an ally to the Black, brown or queer community, and is using their donations ... to cover up the truth about their disturbing and toxic work culture,” Sherman tweeted.

Mary Jayne Wilson, Amelie’s director of operations, inboxed Sherman with a private apology acknowledging that “not fostering a relationship with you before posting our intentions ... came across as dishonest and misleading.” The bakery deleted the original post and published an apology on social media on June 26.

“We listed these organizations because we wanted to be specific about who we would like to work with and not be ambiguous,” the statement read. “We now understand that it seemed as if a partnership was already established or that we had already donated to these organizations.”

Sherman and Merghani began reaching out to the other organizations and found that almost none of them had had any substantive outreach from the company. With Sherman’s and Merghani’s public responses on social media, they began hearing

from current and former Amelie’s staffers. The two collected over 40 complaints of abuse.

“They referred to Black baristas as the help, did not take action against assault claims, refused to pay overtime despite working some employees over 50 hours a week and requested Latinx staff not to speak Spanish because it made people uncomfortable,” Merghani said.

Merghani joined Sherman, Marquez and others in compiling a list of demands for the company as a form of restitution to their workers.

“Amelie’s has created a culture where a lot of the asks we requested need to be implemented,” Merghani said.

Among other things, the coalition Saturday demanded that Amelie’s pay all staff a minimum of $15.00 per hour (currently they start workers at $7.25 an hour); hire a representative to whom employees can anonymously report grievances; end unethical practices such as the mismanagement of overtime, benefits and ignoring reports of assault; conduct a third-party investigation of allegations of wage theft or unsafe work conditions and will share results publicly, including the consequences for those found culpable; and divide 10% of gross profits between the seven organizations they misrepresented as partners for the next seven years.

“I hope Amelie’s hears our stories and makes real changes within their environment. It’s not enough to hire diversely if the people you hire don’t feel comfortable and aren’t heard,” Chapman said.

Other participants in the Saturday morning protest took issue with Amelie’s use of police force against the homeless youth and adults in the neighborhood. Ona, who requested that her last name not be used, was a homeless teen when she began frequenting the neighborhood around Amelie’s. She utilized the services of Time Out Youth, which was then located across the street from the bakery, and was told that Amelie’s had free Wi-Fi she could use to apply for housing and jobs. She said she was made to feel unwelcome, in no uncertain terms.

Often the police were called, she said, no matter if she and her friends were sitting quietly in the public space, and they were denied service on occasions when they could pay.

“They want to donate all this food to organizations but not help the houseless people that are right here,” said Ona, adding that she was often refused the access to the free water that sits out for other customers.

Emma concurred. They’d called the bakery about the yellow Safe Place sign Amelie’s had prominently displayed and recently promoted on an Instagram post. The signs are supposed to denote locations

where youth in crisis can get assistance.

“No one at the restaurant had any idea what I was talking about,” Emma said. “It is so irresponsible and dangerous and shameful to be promoting a safe place for youth while also calling the cops on these youth and criminalizing them. Amelie’s has an opportunity now to set an example for other restaurants and to cut dependence on policing and create new relationships with community resources. The empty apologies they’ve offered are meaningless; we want to see radical change and real commitment to social justice.”

Jason Michael, co-owner of Tip Top Daily Market, was also in the crowd of protesters. He said he came to stand in solidarity with the employees of Amelie’s, especially the Black and indigenous people of color and LGBTQ workers who spoke up about racist policies, wage theft and disparities along racial lines.

“Small businesses have a unique opportunity to shape and be shaped by the communities we serve. We are actually in our communities, not some boardroom in another state, and it is of utmost importance that we take the role seriously, acting with integrity and respect,” Michael said.

In a statement sent to Queen City Nerve on July 14, Amelie’s CEO Frank Reed emphasized that many of the allegations against the bakery took place in 2014 when it was under different ownership and management, though he acknowledged that Amelie’s still has “a lot of work to do.”

“We’ve let too many things go unchecked and unaddressed, and we will no longer be complicit and complacent,” Reed wrote. “We’ve recently hired outside equity consultants to help us take a deep dive into our operations, HR practices, and our company culture as it relates to diversity and inclusion. We know that our system is broken and it needs to be fixed immediately.”

Marquez ended Saturday’s press conference by inviting any current Amelie’s employee to share their stories anonymously.

“If we look back at history, we were in this same position six years ago, when former employer Justin Miller sent in his resignation and did it in an open letter form. This is repetitive action, the same story with different faces, and enough is enough. We want to let Amelie’s know we’re watching and we will hold them accountable. And that goes for every business out here doing the same things and silencing employees,” Marquez said.

As an act of solidarity with the employees, protesters entered the bakery but instead of purchasing any goods, filled up the tip jars.

“We want the workers to know we’re with them,” Merghani said.

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

NEWS & OPINION COLUMN

THE SUFFRAGIST VOTERS ASSEMBLE

A guide to getting your shit together as November nears

BY RHIANNON FIONN

Pg. 7 JUL 15 - JUL 28, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

It’s true that this year’s pivotal presidential election isn’t until Nov. 3, but if you’re planning to vote — you are planning to vote, right? — the time to prepare is right now.

In addition to registering to vote or making sure your current voter registration information is correct, now is the time to request an absentee ballot if you would like to vote via mail.

By taking care of these matters now, you will help ensure that the Mecklenburg County and North Carolina State Boards of Elections will run as smoothly as possible on Election Day and that we have a full vote tally ASAP, though many election experts warn that we may have to wait longer than usual for news about who won and lost. And, yes, there are safeguards in place to make sure that registered voters are only able to vote once, so don’t buy into the fear-mongering.

Register to Vote/ Update your Registration If you need to register to vote or update your registration and are a licensed driver in North Carolina, simply go to the Department of Transportation’s website and follow the directions: tinyurl.com/RegisterInNC. If you’d like to register via snail mail, here’s your link for Mecklenburg County: tinyurl.com/ SnailRegister.

Once you’re registered or updated your registration, you are indeed ready to vote in the election either in person on Election Day or during early voting, which begins Oct. 15 and ends on Oct. 31 at 3 p.m. Or you can vote via mail using an absentee ballot.

Request an Absentee Ballot In North Carolina, we’ve been able to vote via absentee ballot for a couple decades, but you must request an absentee ballot in writing and then make sure it gets to the Board of Elections office in your

county by the end of business on the Tuesday before Election Day. You may request an absentee ballot in several ways, but they all begin with obtaining a request form.

You can download a copy of a Mecklenburg County absentee ballot via this link: tinyurl.com/ RequestAbsentee.

And you can always stop by the Mecklenburg County BOE office during regular business hours.

They are located at 741 Kenilworth Ave. in Charlotte.

Once completed, you can snail-mail your request to the BOE or drop it off in person. You can email it to absentee@mecklenburgcountync.gov. Or you can even fax it to 704-319-9722.

The only caveats to in-person pickups and dropoffs, says Mecklenburg Count BOE Director Michael Dickerson, is that you must wear a face covering and only “near relatives” – i.e. spouse, mother, father, children, grandparent – can drop off completed absentee ballot requests for someone besides themselves.

This is outlined in the N.C. General Assembly’s recent bill regarding special pandemic provisions for the 2020 elections, and so are the details about how all of this will be funded through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the State General Fund.

“The reason why you want to request your absentee ballot now,” says Dickerson, “is that you have no idea what will be happening in November.”

It also helps his office plan and prepare.

Dickerson says that 2016 was already a big year for absentee voting with approximately 25,000 ballots submitted by mail. This year, he says, “We’re expecting four times that, so we do have to increase staff.”

The county BOEs also must increase the number of forms, envelopes, postage and labels required.

Plus, each ballot is reviewed by a human when it arrives to make sure it’s valid and is then noted in the BOE’s computer system so the same voter can’t then vote a second time in person.

The last day to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 27. “It has to be in my office by the 27th,” says Dickerson.

Other Pro Tips No printer? No problem. As outlined above, you can visit the BOE and request an absentee ballot in person. You can also obtain a copy at any Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library location using their mobile printing options, explained on their website: cmlibrary.org/mobile-print. Currently, because librarians are avoiding financial transactions during the pandemic, you can print up to 10 pages at no charge (it’s usually 25 cents per page). The absentee ballot request form is three pages. Simply use the library’s mobile print method of your choice, check the hours of operation and go to the section of the library where they usually hold requested books and other materials. A librarian will print your ballot request form once you arrive.

If you wish to fax or email your completed request form but don’t own a scanner use one of several free apps — like Adobe Scan — that you can use to both scan and email documents.

If you are mailing in your voter registration or absentee ballot request, or both, you must make sure you properly address the envelope and use adequate postage — a Forever Stamp on a regular envelope will do it. Also include your return address.

So, what happens if your application to register to vote or your absentee ballot is incomplete, or you sent your request to the wrong county? According to

Dickerson, “We will notify you via letter or email or phone — whichever you indicate — and let you know that it’s incomplete. But that’s rare.”

When we spoke on July 8, Dickerson said his office had already received about 10,000 absentee ballot requests and, of those, only 100, or 0.01%, had issues.

What if you request an absentee ballot but want to vote in person instead? Per Dickerson, “You may vote that ballot. You may not vote that ballot. You may decide to throw it away and vote in person — it puts you in control. But don’t do both or I’ll send an investigator out to you because that’s a violation of law.”

Across the state, county BOEs will begin mailing absentee ballots in September. Each ballot will have a unique barcode on it so it can only be used by the voter who requests it. Once you submit it, you cannot change your vote. If you attempt to also vote in person you will be turned away.

Your vote matters too much to leave anything to chance, and that includes waiting until the last minute to submit these simple forms. So, get on it.

And please share this information with your friends and family and encourage them to also prepare to vote now.

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

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Local Black leaders share how best to support their community CURATED BY BEN JARRELL AND MARC JACKSINA

If one thing has become devastatingly clear over the last two months, it’s that white people need to do better. Inspired by a recent conversation with our friend and local chef Whit Thomas about the striking lack of education on all things Black that most white people go through life with, we thought it would be a good time to reach out to local leaders in the Black community and compile a list of ways that white people who want to do more for Black neighbors can do so without putting the burden of emotional labor on said neighbors. The following lists were put together thanks to contributions from Whit Thomas, Subrina Collier, Emiene Wright, Shelton Sparks, Alysia Davis, and Wisdom and Cherie Jzar.

what to READ and/or LISTEN to

Frederick Douglass, “What to the Slave is Fourth of July” speech tinyurl.com/DouglassJuly4th Ida B. Wells’ journalistic work Her papers: tinyurl.com/IdaBWellsPapers Anti-lynching work: tinyurl.com/ IdaBWellsLynchingArticle

what to FOLLOW what to STREAM

Raoul Peck’s I Am Not Your Negro (Amazon Prime) Ava DuVernay’s 13th (Netflix) Sabaah Folayan’s Whose Streets? (Hulu, Amazon Prime)

James Baldwin debates William F. Buckley Jr. on the Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin’s LA 92 (Netflix, Hulu, question: Is the American Dream at the expense of Amazon Prime) the American Negro? tinyurl.com/JamesBaldwinDebate Kenny Leon’s American Son (Netflix) Angela Davis, “Slavery and the Prison Industrial Complex” speech tinyurl.com/AngelaDavisSlaveryAndPIC Ta-Nehisi Coates, “The Case for Reparations” tinyurl.com/TNCCaseforReparations

Pg. 8 JUL 15 - JUL 28, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

Karen Dumas, “What Role Should Whites Play in Black Lives Matter?” tinyurl.com/KarenDumasBLM

Charlotte Uprising Twitter: @cltuprising Facebook: facebook.com/charlotteuprising Instagram: @charlotteuprising Seeking Justice CLT Twitter: @SJC_clt Facebook: facebook.com/SeekingjusticeClt NAACP Charlotte-Mecklenburg Twitter: @CharlotteNAACP1 Facebook: facebook.com/naacpcharmeck Instagram: @naacp.charmeck

Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us (Netflix)

Educate 2 Engage Twitter: @edu2engage Facebook: facebook.com/Edu2Engage Instagram: @edu2engage

Julia Willoughby-Nason and Jenner Furst’s Time: The Kalief Browder Story (Netflix)

Kristie Puckett-Williams Twitter: @Kristie_1979 Instagram: @Kristie_1979

Bree Newsome’s They Tried to Bury Us (Coming soon)

Kass Ottley Twitter: @Kottley1 Instagram: @Kottley1 Quientina Stewart Twitter: @ExecChefQue Instagram: @ExecChefQue Reia Chapman Twitter: @ReiaChapmanLCSW Instagram: @ReiaChapmanLCSW Ash Williams Twitter: @Ash_Bash23 Instagram: @AshWilliamsCLT

JAIL SUPPORT IN ACTION.

PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN

Justin Perry Instagram: @justinperrycounseling

KRISTIE PUCKETT-WILLIAMS

PHOTO BY ALVIN JACOBS JR.

what to FUND

Charlotte Uprising Jail Support Bail Fund charlotteuprising.com/get-involved/donate/ Cash App: $WereStillHere Venmo: @CommunityJustice Seeking Justice CLT Cash App: $SeekingJusticeCLT Feed the Movement CLT Cash App: $nadaproblem Venmo: @feedthemovementCLT paypal.me/feedthemovementclt The Bail Project bailproject.org

Caribbean Hut Multiple locations caribbean-hut.com; 704-593-0030 (North Tryon Street location)

what to EAT (Black-owned restaurants)

Mr. 3’s Crab Pot Mutliple locations mr3scrabpot.com; 980-237-1626 (West Charlotte location)

Leah & Louise 301 Camp Road, 28206 leahandlouise.com; 980-309-0690 Uptown Yolk 224 E. 7th St., 28202 theyolkcafe.com; 901-318-9082 Hot Box Kitchen 165 Brumley Ave. NE, Concord, 28025 hotboxnc.com; 704-218-9823 What the Fries Food Truck Find location through Instagram: @whatthefriesclt

whatthefriesclt.com; 704-774-7517 Mr. Charles Chicken & Fish 3100 Statesville Ave., 28206; 8006 Cambridge Commons Drive, 28215 mrcharleschickenandfish.com; 704-333-0455 (Statesville Ave.), 704-595-7410 Bardo 1508 S. Mint St., 28203 bardorestaurant.com; 980-585-2433 Sub One Hoagie House 516 N. Graham St., 28202 facebook.com/subonehoagie; 704-376-9211 Two Scoops Creamery 913 Central Ave., 28204 twoscoopscreamery.com; 704-900-5792

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Lulu’s Maryland Style Seafood & Chicken 2400 Tuckaseegee Road, 28208 luluscharlotte.business.site; 980-498-0838 The Cooking Pot 5622 E Independence Blvd., #129, 28212 tinyurl.com/CookingPotCLT; 704-909-4000 Anntony’s Caribbean Cafe 6434-F W. Sugar Creek Road, 28269 anntonys.com; 704-598-6863

WHAT THE FRIES FOOD TRUCK

PHOTO COURTESY OF WHAT THE FRIES

It’s Poppin’ Kettle Corn 7th Street Public Market, 224 E. 7th St., 28202 itspoppingourmetkettlekorn.com

Popbar Charlotte 3123 N. Davidson St., #102B, 28205 pop-bar.com/pages/charlotte-nc; 980-237-9750

BW Sweets Bakery 3126 Milton Road E., 28215 bwsweetsbakery.com; 704-464-0767

Sage Restaurant & Lounge 505 E 6th St, 28202 facebook.com/sagerestaurantcharlotte; 980-226-5222

Cuzzo’s Cuisine 3418 Tuckaseegee Road, 28208 cuzzoscuisine.com; 980-298-6811 Seafood Connection 630 University Center Blvd., 28269 seafoodconnectiontogo.com; 980-859-1194 Scratch Kitchen CLT Food Truck Follow on Instagram: @ScratchKitchenClt facebook.com/ScratchkitchenCLT; 704-819-5096 Floyd’s Soul Food 4122 N. Graham St., 28206 floydssoulfood.net; 704-597-5519 Sun Burger Vege Cuisine Food Truck Follow on Instagram: @sunburgervegancuisine sunburgervegecuisine.com; 980-349-6217 NoDa Market & Deli 1721 N. Davidson St., 28206 facebook.com/NoDaDeli; 980-938-8200 Mert’s Heart & Soul 214 N. College St., 28202 mertscharlotte.com; 704-342-4222 Queen Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant 4808 Central Ave., Suite C, 28205 facebook.com/QueenShebaCLT; 704-566-6222

Cheesecake Carousel Food Truck Follow on Instagram: @cheesecake_carousel cheesecakecarousel.com; 803-327-5700 Koffee Kup New Edition 430 Old Little Rock Road, 28214 facebook.com/KoffeeKupNewEdition; 704-900-7661 Wrap ‘n Roll Food Truck Follow on Instagram: @wrapnrollclt wrapnrollclt.com; 704-324-9047 The Nappy Chef 5933 Albemarle Road, 28212 facebook.com/thenappychef; 980-219-7478

Mama Gee’s 509 Beatties Ford Road, 28216 mamageescharlotte.com; 704-817-8732 Ace of Spuds Food Truck Follow on Instagram: @aceofspudstruck aceofspudstruck.com; 980-218-9065 Nana Morrison’s Soul Food 2908 Oaklake Blvd., Suite 106, 28208 nanamorrisonssoulfood.com; 704-357-3700 Bobbee O’s BBQ 9401 Statesville Road, 28269 bobbeeosbbq.com; 704-509-6902 Freshwaters 516 N. Graham St., 28202 facebook.com/freshwatersrestaurant; 704-503-9629 Enat Ethiopian Restaurant 4450 The Plaza, Suite D, 28215 enatethiopianrestaurant.com; 980-237-0716 OooWee BBQ Food Truck Follow at facebook.com/eatOooWeeBbq eatoooweebbq.com; 980-345-6883

Original Chicken & Ribs 1100 Beatties Ford Road, 28216 chicknribz.com; 704-332-2902 The Pauline Tea-Bar Apothecary 2326 Arty Ave., 28208 facebook.com/PaulineTeabar; 704-999-2537 Mama’s Caribbean 1504 Central Ave, Charlotte, NC 28205 mamacaribbeangrill.webs.com; 704-375-8414 Veltree 7945 N. Tryon St., Unit 110, 28262 veltree.com; 980-355-0075

RANA AND ROD BROWN OF MR. 3’S CRAB POT. PHOTO BY JERRY BROWN

ARTS FEATURE

ADJUST THE DIAL

New Uptown art installation invites viewers to discover our video past and future

across screens, in a digital collage designed to get people talking about television again. The display also takes the viewer through a series of historical events, like the launch of Apollo 11’s mission to the moon.

The irregular jumble of TVs, indicative of the dysfunctional state of our society, is housed in a 4,000-pound outdoor diorama that replicates a TV room in a 1960’s home, complete with vintage wallpaper, pictures and linoleum.

The room is a self-contained, temperature-

Museums are a key piece of Lazes’ curious TV puzzle.

If North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s third phase of his gradual statewide reopening plan rolls out in a timely manner, “Tune In” will sit squarely on the sidewalk in front of the Mint Museum’s Uptown location in late July.

Charlotte will be the first stop on the exhibit’s 10-city tour, which includes layovers in Washington D.C., Boston, New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles.

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BY PAT MORAN

“Turn on, tune in, drop out.”

When he uttered these words in 1966, Dr. Timothy Leary inspired that decade’s counterculture movement, but he could just as well have been speaking today about a new multimedia art installation scheduled to debut in front of the Mint Museum in Uptown developed by local artist Rick Lazes.

Centered around television, the exhibit raises a series of questions that Leary might have sanctioned: Why do we turn on to media in the first place? Have we tuned in too much to the new digital reality at the expense of our relationships? Is it time to drop out from the information onslaught to get our bearings?

In fact, now may be the perfect time to reconfigure Leary’s epigram. Today, amid a resurgence of civil rights and anti-racist protests, we turn on and tune in to the onrushing information fire hose that is social media.

Perhaps dropping out could provide a muchneeded sabbatical, a chance to step out of the overloaded data stream to find context and meaning in events and in our lives.

Lazes seems to think so, and with “Tune In,” the artist and entrepreneur has come up with the perfect tool to help us recontextualize media while encouraging us all to take an introspective break.

The installation features a precarious tower of 1960s TV sets screening snippets of television programming from that decade. “’Tune In’ is constructed from six different TV sets from the 1960s that have been cut, sliced and reassembled in a way that says something symptomatic of society today,” Lazes offers.

The TV screens flash 30-second video clips culled from over 100 hours of footage.

In addition to iconic television programs from the ’60s, snippets of entertainers like James Brown, Little Richard, The Supremes and The Beatles flicker

THE “TUNE IN”INSTALLATION. PHOTO BY BEN PREMEAUX

controlled and waterproofed art installation. It was devised by Lazes and built with the help of fellow creatives at the Art Factory. Though Lazes lives in Cornelius, he works out of a studio in the north Charlotte arts incubator. “[Tune In] can be placed [outside] even with restrictions due to COVID,” Lazes says. “People can stay a safe distance and wear a mask and still enjoy the experience, even if museums remain closed.”

If, as recent record infection rates suggest is possible, Mecklenburg County locks down further, Lazes’ plan B has him trekking with the exhibition to Martha’s Vineyard Museum in Massachusetts before swinging back down to Charlotte to resume the tour.

Either way, people can safely enjoy the exhibit because “Tune In” is installed outside the museum, not inside, Lazes affirms.

Prepping for the big broadcast Multimedia projects are nothing new to Lazes.

The three-dimensional artist works in wood, plaster, steel, glass, plexiglass and marble. His first studio was heated by a coal potbelly stove in rural West Virginia.

The world of TV is nothing new to him, either.

Lazes has also produced TV shows for HBO and Cinemax, and found time to direct documentary features. His most recent film project, Tough Love, is the story of heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis.

“It’s about who we adopt as our heroes,” Lazes says. “It questions why we’re attracted to the train wreck.” Lazes explains that his unconventional boxing film contrasts the controversial Mike Tyson, whom Lewis defeated, with his subject, a diligent, disciplined, hard-working family man who went on to become an Olympic gold medal winner and undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

Tough Love debuted at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Lazes moved to New Orleans in 1980, where he promoted concerts in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama in collaboration with Live Nation. He traveled up to Charlotte often to produce an annual outdoor music festival on South College Street called Center City Fest. With his son Noah, Lazes built the 30-acre North Carolina Music Factory (now AvidXchange Music Factory), including the Fillmore and Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheater.

Then, after Lazes had lived in the Crescent City for 25 years, Hurricane Katrina hit.

“After that, I decided to move my family to higher ground in Charlotte,” Lazes says. He opened two art studios for himself, one in Mooresville and the other in The Music Factory. When AvidXchange needed more room in the latter facility, Lazes moved out of The Music Factory to the studio on Bancroft Street, next to Camp North End. “Several artists who were looking for studios asked if they could join me in this artists consortium – sculptors, painters, photographers, videographers and other two-and three-dimensional artists,” Lazes offers.

From that agreement the Art Factory was born, a collaborative comprised of Lazes and fellow artists Paul Veto, Seth Koch, Dana Gingras, Gifford Cordova, Nick Plesz and Stewart Milsaps.

“We work cooperatively and individually,” Lazes says. “We work on our individual projects and we also collaborate as we did on ‘Tune In.’”

ARTS FEATURE

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“Tune In” had first seen the flickering cathode light of day as an installation and video collage five years ago. Recently, Lazes decided it was time to update the installation for a new reality.

“With the advance of … the COVID crisis and social unrest across the county, it seemed appropriate that we program the scenes in a manner that was relevant and responsive to the state of life in America today,” Lazes offers.

“There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can change the focus to a soft blur, or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear.”

For his part, Lazes says he’s not trying to draw any political parallels between the tumultuous decade 60 years ago and the one we’re living through now.

“I’m not trying as an artist to make any kind of social statement,” he insists. Instead, he hopes his work inspires viewers to start a conversation about where we were, where we’re going, and whether or not we’re better off.

“When we watch the TV shows of the ’60s, we notice how misogynistic and chauvinistic they were, but they were acceptable back then,” Lazes offers. While video programming has become more politically correct, Lazes feels it’s unclear whether American culture and society has become any fairer or more equitable as a result.

“Television in the ’60s brought families together,” he says. “Often, they were in a TV room, living room or basement where they watched their favorite TV shows together. Then in the later part of the 20th century, electronic media separated us with social media, the smart phone and the internet.”

Lazes believes we became isolated when we no longer came together with friends and families to take in a shared media experience. We “tuned out” to personal interaction as a result of our preoccupation with an alternative — and often private — digital reality.

One of the silver linings of the pandemic is that it brought families together again in front of the TV, Lazes believes, whether to catch their favorite shows or to watch newscasters and politicians brief us on the latest COVID-19 news. That is why the ramshackle TV tower of “Tune In” is housed in a stereotypical 60s TV room.

“It’s kind of come full circle, and we think it’s a good time for people to take a minute and reflect on where we’ve gone,” Lazes asserts. “With all of the discord and alienation in society, we are all in need of some introspection.”

‘There is nothing wrong with your TV set’ All of which begs the question: “Why did Lazes choose to reflect our era with TV clips from the 1960s?”

“Our goal is to start a conversation with the viewer to start looking back at where we were as a society 50 or 60 years ago and where we are today and to maybe understand … where we are going,” Lazes offers.

Like our own time, the ’60s was an era of political and social upheaval, a time when minority voices began to be heard and old power structures lashed back at a changing world with reactionary zeal. (A member of the right-wing John Birch Society 50 years ago would recognize himself reflected in a Trump supporter today.)

In the ’60s, America was torn apart by a corrosive war that the establishment seemed incapable of handling. Today we have forever wars perpetually simmering on the back burner, and while they may be out of sight for much of America, the fabric of today’s society is being ripped apart instead by the onslaught of a deadly pandemic. And once again, we have leaders incapable of, or uninterested in, handling the problem.

The ’60s was also a time when television as a medium became self-aware. TV shows in the ’50s had been about cops, cowboys and private eyes. All those genres carried over into the next decade, but the ’60s also introduced TV shows about TV. Dick Van Dyke played a TV variety show writer on his titular sitcom. Candid Camera televised practical jokes with hidden surveillance television cameras.

Variety shows like Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In and The Dean Martin Show featured skits lampooning other TV shows.

A Cultural Crisis Long before Cambridge Analytica and Facebook Lazes also hopes his 10-city “Tune In” tour will manipulated media to shape viewers’ reality, the draw attention to the financial plight of art museums 1960s sci-fi anthology The Outer Limits posited in the wake of the COVID-19 onslaught. outside forces controlling the world we saw. Every With museums, galleries, and performance spaces week the show opened with a static-filled TV screen closed since March, arts organizations and the artists accompanied by a dispassionate narrator:

who relied on them are financially stressed, Lazes says. Essential cultural institutions are scrambling to adapt to the new normal by exhibiting online and reaching out digitally to their communities.

But Lazes believes it’s not enough. Museums, galleries and art institutions, the keepers of the nation’s cultural heritage, have lost over $2 billion since the pandemic began. He questions why the government is bailing out airlines, cruise ship companies and banks while neglecting the country’s most valuable — and vulnerable — cultural assets.

“Museums are in dire need of support,” Lazes insists.

Lazes has also launched a film project to travel with “Tune In.” During each stop on the exhibit’s tour, Lazes and his co-director Aaron Atkinson plan to interview and film local artists and creatives to document how they are leveraging their talent to bring hope and inspiration to their cites.

“Aaron is a local videographer that has worked with other artists on documentaries,” Lazes offers. “He and I got together to start this project.” Lazes reveals that Atkinson has filmed 10 Charlotte artists already.

“We’re [making] a document of museums and artists in each city,” Lazes says. “We’ll go to their studios and see what they’re working on during the

pandemic.”

The documentary, Artists in Quarantine: American Creativity During the 2020 Pandemic will examine sequestered creatives spinning bleakness into beauty, Lazes promises. Despite the pandemic, American artists are continuing to hone their craft alone in their homes and studios, he insists.

“Some do so in anticipation of better times when cultural institutions re-open and the arts market reemerges,” a press release for Artists in Quarantine reads. Many turn to creativity to quell their anxieties, while others marshal their talents to document this historic moment that we’re all living through.

Lazes hopes that all the artistic activity they document will encourage people, not just to support the arts, but also to be a little more introspective and to embrace living in the moment.

“People are waiting for the return to normalcy, but in my view, it will never go back to the way it was,” Lazes maintains. “But the good news is it may be better for many of us. We will get a chance to reflect and create a society that is more inclusive and accepting of people from all different walks of life.”

PMORAN@QCNERVE.COM

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MUSIC FEATURE

PROJECTS OF THE PANDEMIC Charlotte music you may have missed during quarantine

BY PAT MORAN

This is not a Top 10 music list, because Top10 lists suck. How could they not?

The very idea that any music writer could have heard the 10 best releases in the city and is also qualified to write about them is absurd, particularly in Charlotte. There is just so much amazing work being produced now by musicians, writers and technicians in studios, basements, backyards and living rooms across the region that attempting to pin it down, lacquer it, and mount it for display in a top 10 music museum of the mind would be impossible — and completely undesirable.

So instead, here’s a list of albums and EPs — in this case consisting of 10 — by Queen City artists that have caught our ear and brought us joy. Whether it’s the breathtaking breakneck flow of DaBaby, the thundering triceratops riffs of Old Moons, or the gruff Gregorian chant folk of Andy the Doorbum, this is cool shit that has helped us transcend our daily routine of pandemic, economic uncertainty and political cage fighting — at least for the three- to four-minute duration of each song.

So, we thought we’d share some thoughts with you about the music, and highlight some of our favorites. In the end, it’s not so much a matter of us telling you to check it out. It’s more like us asking you, “What did we miss?”

See you on the flip side.

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Rel Mariano From Charlotte With Love 6131 Records What’s in a name? Plenty, if you’re Rel Mariano.

The Charlotte rapper released his first mixtape in 2010, performing as Schyler Chaise. Then last year he hit the reset button by dumping his music biz moniker and adopting a shortened version of his given name, Jerrel Mariano Dunlap.

With From Charlotte With Love, Dunlap embraces fatherhood and maturity — but “maturity” here

doesn’t mean settled and boring. The four-track EP takes off with “Day Ones,” which could have been subtitled “Portrait of the Rapper as a Young Man.” Over slinky assured beats and trumpet-like synths, Dunlap recapitulates a thorny upbringing during which he witnessed murder at age 5, bounced from school to school and had run-ins with the police.

With a funky, syncopated swagger Dunlap dives down greed’s addictive rabbit hole with “Count It.” Riding bright cascading keyboards, the track observes how the stuff we acquire can end up owning us.

Initially dreamlike and disconnected, “Flying High” dramatizes a turning point. Here Dunlap remembers the moment, when weary of losing friends and family to prison and death, he decided to go for what he wanted from life, difficulties be damned: “Black butterfly/Won’t you fly high?/ Remember when they said/You can’t see the light?

“Can’t Stop” is a propulsive powerhouse, a driving, soulful mission statement where Dunlap commits to fulfilling his purpose. With a message like that, the track could have turned preachy, but instead it jolts and swings like a hip hop James Bond theme.

Matter of fact, forgiving and brutally honest, From Charlotte With Love charts a personal journey toward acceptance and self-awareness. With insight and an eye for the telling detail, Dunlap invites us on his quest, sharing hard-won wisdom along with the warmth of his proffered hand.

Late Night Special Halfway to Somewhere Full Time Pilot Records Late Night Special’s 2015 debut album Light of the Moon was a mix of expertly played good time rock ‘n’ roll, Southern soul and the raw ramshackle Americana of The Band. But where the debut was good, the band’s latest collection, Halfway to Somewhere, is phenomenal, catapulting past Moon into a higher orbit.

With twanging blue bent notes on dueling guitars, shuffling percussion and joyful vocals, “Disco” is a rolling soulful celebration of moving to the music on the dance floor and beyond. It captures the freeing spirit of disco while sounding nothing like the genre disco.

Bubbling bass and odd fluting keyboards propel the lively yet cautionary “Don’t Forget Your Past.”

“Have you ever took a big chance/To swing on a broken branch?” queries the moody lyrics to “Rail Road Tracks.” The propulsive tune rides chugging

joke, some of the face-slapping phrases that drop into the flow might leave the listener thinking, “Did he really just say that?”

And so, the bouncy and buoyant “Lightskin Shit” skips gaily over potential speed bumps like “Put my dick down her throat ’til she throw up.” On “Rockstar” a reminiscence about his daughter also takes an unexpected left turn when she prophesies that she will kill a man before she reaches age 2.

If half the album reveals DaBaby staying in his comfort zone, the other half features risks and experiments that show the artist catapulting past his previous work. Over the rattling blown-out bass of “Rockstar,” DaBaby bolsters his tumbling coruscating raps with honest-to-god melodic singing!

Megan Thee Stallion stands out in a project overstuffed with cameos, including Roddy Ricch, Future and Quava. On “Nasty,” Meg and DaBaby trade sleazy single-entendres that boast the DaBaby gynecological specificity of hardcore porn. It’s more Blame It on Baby silly than sexy but that’s probably the point.

South Coast Music Group/Interscope But the stand-out cut on this collection is the Kanye could claim he’s the second coming of title track. With characteristic humor, DaBaby calls Jesus, and he still wouldn’t put a dent in DaBaby’s up-to-the minute relevance. Just check out the cover of Charlotte rapper Jonathan Kirk’s third album in 13 months. Decked out in a protective COVID-19 face mask like it’s no big deal, DaBaby’s not about to crumple from fragile masculinity like the male Karens ranting in Costco. He’s got better things to do.

With Blame It on Baby, the main focus seems to be, “Where do we go from here?” On several tracks off his latest collection, the prolific artist seems to be to falling back on formula, to which BLAME IT ON BABY we say, “Why not?” After all, when DaBaby repeats himself, he attention to his versatility as his raps flow freely replaying a template of his own devising.

Propulsive opener “Can’t Stop” trots out several through four whiplash-inducing beat changes. of DaBaby’s recently minted clichés, including a There’s a genuine sense of giddy fun as he deftly rapid-fire flow so fast it creates its own gravitational negotiates each hairpin turn: “Why you switched pull. As DaBaby reels out his slippery and surprising the beat​?/Because my flow neat.”

It’s here, where DaBaby pulls a high-wire balancing rhymes, the breakneck track threatens to slip into a act without a net, that Blame It on Baby comes alive. vortex and disappear.

Another facet of DaBaby’s formula is that his He’s like a magician telling us how he does the trick as velocity is matched with unapologetic frankness. he performs it, and we’re still left baffled and breathless.

Though DaBaby’s no-fucks-left-to-give admissions Exhilarating experiments like this make Blame It on are often delivered with a grin that lets us in on the Baby worth the price of admission. locomotive percussion before surging to thundering rhythms and grinding power chords. Meanwhile, the lyrics ponder all of life’s paths not taken.

Yearning vocals and swarming harmonies thread through the bittersweet “Hold On.” The piano-driven gospel-infused soul of “The Sunshine Never Comes” plays like a modern-day rejoinder to Bill Withers’“Ain’t No Sunshine.”

Like much of Halfway to Somewhere, “Sunshine” evokes a nearly forgotten genre, the shuffling laid back pop of ’70s bands like Little Feat and the Bob Welch iteration of Fleetwood Mac. Similar to those bands, Late Night Special play jaunty ebullient music that is nonetheless a little unsettling. Beyond the playful hand claps, echoing and spectral voices can be heard in the distance. It’s like catching a glimpse a ghost in the glare of the noonday sun.

MUSIC FEATURE Andy the Doorbum Even When the Cat Comes Alien/Native Movement As singer/songwriter and performance artist Andy the Doorbum, Andy Fenstermaker is a unique phenomenon. Singing in a gruff baritone pitched

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ANDY THE DOORBUM

midway between hardscrabble folk and Gregorian chant, Fenstermaker spins modern-day myths into tunes that sound as ancient and mysterious as Merlin’s incantations. So, what are we to make of this one-of-a-kind artist when he does the unthinkable and covers other people’s tunes?

Even though he decamped for California in 2015 after many years on the local arts and music scene, Fenstermaker retains close ties to the Queen City. That’s evidenced by Even When the Cat Comes, in which he interprets 13 songs by artists he knows personally, many of them Charlotte musicians like The Emotron, Benji Hughes, Bo White and David and Robert Childers.

With a gargled razor blade delivery, Fenstermaker brings Hughes’ mordant condemnation of hypocrisy “What a Pretty Color” into swampy Southern gothic territory, replete with rubbery pedal steel and a cavernous mix. Multi-tracked vocals, churchyard organ and thundering zombie-stomp percussion lend an eerie majesty to Bo White’s “Taxidermy.”

Plangent shuffling guitar gives David Childers’ “In the Early Morning” the austere simplicity of primordial country music. The Emotron’s “Kill the Pain” rides massed vocals and wheezing keyboards to a crescendo of sound and emotion that is almost unbearable.

The album’s title is drawn from the expression

“birds of a feather flock together until the cat Yes Chef! comes,” Fenstermaker writes.

Drive Safe “I feel honored to exist within artistic Self-Released communities that, rather than scatter to the wind when trouble is on the horizon, we birds of a feather The new EP Drive Safe pitches headlong into a flock together ‘Even When the Cat Comes.’ When tangle of jangling guitar, whirligig flute and blaring times are dark. When tragedy strikes.” trumpet.

Is it emo free jazz or just the band warming up?

Alright Before you can make up your mind the song ends in I’m Doing This to Myself less than 20 seconds with the players shouting out Self Aware Records the band’s name: Yes Chef!

Built upon the Yes Chef! is the brainchild of songwriter and core of married guitarist Leith K. Ali of Ol’ Sport and It Looks Sad. couple and Self Here he’s joined by a solid rock line-up of bass and Aware Records drums augmented with brass and woodwinds. founders Josh The band released its debut single, “Chelsea,” last Robbins and Sarah May, and it leads off the EP to dramatic effect.

Blumenthal, Alright Over grinding loping guitar and coiling bass, heroic delivers the kind of trumpet blares as the track dovetails in Ali’s and raw, powerful and bassist KC Marie Roberge’s entwined vocals. Over catchy-as-hell pop a tapestry of trilling flutes and ringing guitars, the punk that should cautionary lyrics are sung with an appealing nerdy be all over Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora and PHOTO BY SARAH SITKIN the rest of those greedy bastards’ platforms, but inexplicably isn’t.

Like the best melodic indie rock, Alright’s first full-length release I’m Doing This to Myself, spins a whirlwind of noisy corroding guitars and splintering percussion around melodies and vocals that are pure bubblegum pop. There’s some Buzzcocks DNA in here as well as Superchunk, but if you could squint your ears, you would also hear The Monkees.

“Scraps” kicks things off with Robbins’ ratcheting guitars and Blumenthal’s swaggering yet heartfelt vocals, and then surges to a gallop that never lets up for the duration of the LP. Blumenthal’s swooning croon cuts through knotted fuzzed-out guitars and jackhammer CHARLES WALKER drums on “Parallels,” and soars over a blistering squall of noise on “Back Bench.” She reaches out earnestness. for a connection over sheets of distortion on “Wild “The world is burning on the news/I will die in Dunes,” and seems to catch a sleepless glimpse of this waiting room,” Ali and Roberge sing as skirling what she needs on the ping-ponging “Dewdrops.” horns and woodwinds lend color and texture to the Every song connects, and each seems to end too pensive and propulsive “Bank Book,” while “Doin’ soon with questions left unanswered. At times I’m Okay” slows the tempo to a swaggering strut that Doing This to Myself feels like a phantom radio signal provides a sharp contrast to the tune’s rainy-day caught on a star-studded night in the middle of the lyrics. “Empty” boasts chugging and chunky guitars desert. It’s a transmission from a parallel universe which anchor the tune’s triumphant trumpet and where everything released by Merge in the ’90s went fluttering flute. on to be mega-sellers, and people do karaoke nightly The collection closes with the medley “Wax to Redd Kross. It’s a better world than ours.

Wings/So Close,” a stuttering, syncopated reminder

that simply enduring life’s indignities can be heroic.

Leave to Yes Chef! to craft the perfect emo oxymoron — a wistful introverted anthem, a fanfare for the everyman.

Charles Walker Charles Walker Self-Released “You weren’t even 18/When you were struck by lightning,” Charles Walker sings in “Heatwaves in Raleigh” on his self-titled debut album. As plangent spiraling acoustic guitar enfolds Walker’s fine-grained, slightly frayed-at-the-edges voice, it seems like we’re in for a poignant snapshot of a freak tragedy disrupting everytown America. But when we get to the chorus, Walker blows that notion all to hell. The tune turns into a soaring chunky folk rocker, an admonishment that sudden death should be a wake-up call for the survivors to start living.

This collection of original tunes by the Charlotte native was recorded throughout North Carolina and tracked in studios, basements and living

PHOTO BY CALEB OCAMPO

rooms throughout Boone and Asheville. So, it’ not surprising that the compositions are imbued with wanderlust, anxiety and the exhilaration of steeping off into the unknown.

Anchored in folk and lilting alt-country, Walker’s songs also draw on cantering indie rock and the uncluttered and layered pop of the 1970s Laurel Canyon scene. There’s as much Buffalo Springfield here as there is Jason Isbell and Wilco.

On “Freedom to Crawl,” ringing electric guitars wheel overhead, still tethered to the dark currents coursing through the lyrics: “I had a pit in my chest

MUSIC FEATURE

and ticking percussion, the EP wraps up with “Questions,” in which Millner’s assured vocals play with elastic phrasing that snaps ahead or drops back today/Like everyday.” behind the beat. As her airy alto flutters in freefall, The pensive pulsing “Tightrope” foreshadows she questions an unsteady relationship that seems the rippling “Floating Above,” where whiplash to shift like sand as the tide rushes in. tendrils of pedal steel snake through Walker’s weirdly calm out-of-body reverie. It’s the capstone to an assured and uncompromising debut album. Walker’s unflinching look at anxiety and restlessness celebrates the piquant poetry that makes living worth the effort. He takes the painfully personal and slingshots it into the universal.

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Autumn Rainwater Cloudy Self-Released Autumn Millner, who performs and records as AUTUMN RAINWATER Autumn Rainwater, has remained remarkably consistent in a recording career that includes her 2017 debut album Leaf, and a pair of experimental and eclectic EPs released earlier this year. The consistency of Millner’s music and muse is driven home on her EP Cloudy, which dropped in March.

The collection, produced by Simon Smthing, consists of three tracks originally recorded during sessions for Millner’s debut. While it contains elements of electronic dance music and jazz vocalizations that threaded through Leaf, Cloudy is not a throwback. In many ways it plays like an alternative Leaf, or a glimpse of Millner’s 2017 sessions performed in a parallel universe.

With a lyrical synth line that mimics a muted trumpet, the EP opens with “Nthng Into Smthng.”

Millner, slipping into the lower end of her range, unfurls a stream-of-consciousness vocal that unpacks her doubts about an unsatisfactory partner.

As the melody surges to a chorus, she shifts to full blooded R&B with scattered phrasing that flirts with rap.

“Blue Light” follows with subtly surging keyboards and skittering rhythms that sound like ’90s drum ‘n’ bass. The soundscape takes a backseat to Milner’s smooth crooning that stretches from airy soul to yearning almost world-weary R&B. Rolling through a fogbank of rolling synths

Listeners familiar with the smoothly sung bangers and sassy raps of Milner’s previous EP Raincheck may be in for a surprise with the relatively chill sound here, but by embracing all the twists and turns of honest emotion, Cloudy provides a crystal clear picture of the human heart.

Old Moons Nothing Grows Here Self-Released When hard rock trio Old Moons dropped its first full-length release, Nothing Grows Here, in March, it was accompanied by an albumlong music video. While it was cool to see archival protest footage, 1960s classroom science films and trippy retro animation cut together to reflect the Panzer division crunch and restless rhythms of the band’s songs, ultimately Nothing Grows Here is powerful enough to get its point across without the visuals.

OLD MOONS

The songs here are short and to the point — no choruses, no verses, just a thicket of hard-charging riffs. Dovetailing seamlessly from thundering Black Sabbath-style riffs to breakneck rhythmic switchbacks and lyrical psychedelia, the collection merges the heavy and the mystic, with gruffly growled vocals buried in the mix like they’re part of the rhythm section.

The collection kicks off with the rapid-fire staccato of “Feel Warm,” before tumbling into the hardhitting one-two punch of “Sleeping” and “Fever Dream.”

The trio, comprised of vocalist/guitarist Rob Grauer, bassist Trey Quinn and drummer Evan Boggs, is by turns PHOTO BY WILL JENKINS crunchy and elastic, bludgeoning with gale-force power before swaggering like ’70s cock rock on “Deathbed Fantasy.” Then they turn tight on a dime to swing like Peter Brotzmann’s machinegun jazz on “Supposed To.” As the album progresses it grows more playful and trippier. Jittery bass slaloms through “Hangman.,” while swaying blues rock riffs tumble on “Like Kin.” With the magisterial “Pavement,” the album concludes with a synthesizer pulsing like a warning beacon through a thicket of dreamy psychedelic guitar textures.

Late Bloomer Tonight’s No Good For Me 6131 Records It was a long and winding road for late Bloomer’s last album. True to its name, Waiting took a damn long time to finally appear in 2018. Along the way, the alt-rock power trio scrapped an album’s worth of recorded material and started anew with producer Justin Pizzoferrato (Pixies, Speedy Ortiz). Upon its release, Waiting garnered acclaim for its dissonant, syncopated and shape-shifting tunes, while the band’s jettisoned session languished in the vaults — until now.

Tonight’s No Good For Me dusts off two tracks from those sessions, placing Pizzoferrato once again behind the mixing board. The result is anything but nostalgia or archival crate digging.

With Josh Robbins’ stuttering bass, Scott Wishart’s skittering drums and Neil Mauney’s twisting corroded Morse code guitar, “All the Gold” roars and rumbles out of the gate before downshifting into plaintive alt pop punctuated by plangent guitar strums.

The syncopated shuffle surges to a Hüsker Düinfused gallop laced with Mauney’s rubbery guitar and an increasingly frenetic rant of a chorus “I refuse to pretend that/All the gold was worth the wasted years.”

“Soapy Water” rides a moody Joy Division bassline and anguished vocals through a thicket of chiming guitars that shimmers like a bangled beaded curtain. Then the angular marching rhythm section drops out, isolating Mauney’s vocals as he struggles with trust and doubt.

Slowly, layers of grinding guitars, swarming vocals and shifting, sidewinding drums drag the knotty and labyrinthine track to a haunted crescendo.

With just two tracks, Late Bloomer manage to hit more emotional highs and lows than a battalion of emo bands. They do it by deftly mixing postpunk, hardcore and alt rock into satisfying songs that seem like they could carom out of control at any minute.

It makes you wonder what else they have hiding in the vaults.

PMORAN@QCNERVE.COM

PHOTO BY JESSICA DAILEY

We’re kind of opening, kind of not, so not all of these are virtual events as we were highlighting at the beginning of the lockdown, but plenty are. COVID is still going strong, so party at your own risk.

THE TERENCE YOUNG JAZZ EXPERIENCE

What: Electrifying guitarist Young has performed with and was music director for the Legendary Ashford and Simpson, Lenny Williams, Aaron Hall and Angie Stone. He’s been called on to perform the National Anthem at various sporting events, and his lightning licks and blistering fretwork can be heard on the Earth, Wind & Fire tribute CD with R&B queen Angie Stone. Catch Young live at a limited-seating socially distanced club show at Middle C or you can opt to catch the gig via live streaming.

More: $28 or donation; July 18, 7:15 p.m.; Middle C Jazz, 300 S. Brevard St.; middlecjazz.com

UNPLUGGED + LIVE: VIRTUAL CONCERT SERIES

What: In 2013, Arsena Schroeder launched a touring concert series in support of independent singersongwriters. By 2015, the series had drawn local, regional, and national acts expanding from private living rooms into local venues across the region.

Now, pivoting in the pandemic, Schroeder hosts this virtual concert series featuring solo and duo acoustic singer songwriters every third Thursday. Check out live performances and Q&A sessions from The Cube in conjunction with streaming by Jazz n’ Soul Music event company. July 16 kicks off with Jason Jett and Emaejai. Watch the duo from your phone or laptop, or cast it to your TVs and use the chat box to connect with the performers and fellow attendees during the show.

More: Free; July 16, 7 p.m.; tinyurl.com/UnpluggedLive

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NO CONTACT CONCERT SERIES

What: In response to COVID-19, Midwood Entertainment has teamed with Codex Sound to offer live-streamed full band performances. Shot at Codex Sounds’ 14,000-square-foot warehouse in Hickory, the No Contact Concert Series trades iPhones and living rooms for a professional stage and lighting rig, concert hall quality audio inputs and 12 video cameras. Drawing on Midwood Entertainment President Micah Davidson’s impressive roster, NCCS has assembled a line-up that will include Grammynominated folk activists Che Apalache and regional

favorites Fireside Collective and Cicada Rhythm.

July 18’s gig features psychedelic folk rockers Tall Tall Trees. July 24 features soul-driven dance rock juggernaut The Fritz.

More: $10 and up; July 18, 8 p.m. July 24, 8 p.m.; crowd-less.com/#anchor; @crowdless; paypal.me/ crowdless

MINT MUSEUM’S SUMMER CREATIVITY KITS

What: With the cancellation of many summer camps and arts programs, The Mint Museum has created at-home Creativity Kits to spark the artist in each of us. Kits start at $30, and each has a vacationthemed topic, including Camping Under the Stars, Crabby Beach and Surf’s Up, and includes all the art materials needed for the project. Participants are given a link to a video tutorial to watch at their convenience, plus printed instructions, related art prints featuring works from The Mint Museum collection, and a grab bag of assorted craft materials.

More: $30 and up; mintmuseum.org/summercamps/

ARTS + VISUAL ARTS CAMPS

What: It’s the summer conundrum unique to 2020: How do you entertain, engage and inspire children during a global pandemic without over-relying on screens? Arts+ answers the query with Summer Studio Bytes Virtual Visual Arts Camps, a series of week-long, themed camps that are designed to keep kids (ages 5-18) engaged and excited about learning new visual art techniques while sharing their work in an interactive, collective online studio.

More: $55 and up; Dates and Times vary; artsplus.org/programs/camps

DARRELL SCOTT PERFORMS HANK WILLIAMS

What: Singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Darrell Scott made his mark in Nashville starting in the late ’90s, penning hits for artists like Garth Brooks, Dixie Chicks, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. His style cultivates the everyday with warmth, humor and a quiet gravitas. Presented by Neighborhood Theatre, Scott gives his unique interpretation of the songs of country legend Hank Williams, another

artist known for ace songwriting and heartfelt and heartbreaking humanity.

More: $27.50; July 17, 8 p.m.; tinyurl.com/DarrellDoesHank

debut album Show Some Teeth is a high-octane collection of bludgeoning bangers that draw on King’s love of heavy metal. Just when you have King pegged as a hardcore screaming Mimi, he drops “Ricochet,” a slow melodic duet with vocalist Cayte CHARLOTTE FILM SOCIETY’S VIRTUAL Lee that features vulnerable and heartfelt lyrics.

More: $35 and up; July 16, 6 p.m.; Hounds Drive-In, SCREENING ROOM 114 Raven Circle, Kings Mountain; What: Once again the Charlotte Film Society says, tinyurl.com/NGHTMRESullivan “Out with the old, and in with the new,” culling and rejuvenating their collection of foreign and indie art films that you can’t see anywhere else. The newest HUNTERSVILLE SUMMER DRIVE-IN addition to CFS’s super cool slate is the star-studded What: The Sega video game mascot from the ’90s period drama Waiting for the Barbarians. As the turned up as the smart-ass hero of the 2020 live magistrate (Mark Rylance) of an isolated frontier action-meets-CGI-creature family flick Sonic the settlement on the edge an unnamed empire looks Hedgehog. It’s not bad as modern kiddie flicks go, forward to an easy retirement, the grimly efficient but remember that the bar is exceedingly low in this Colonel Joll (Johnny Depp) arrives. Joll conducts genre. Jim Carrey shows up as the bad guy, giving a series of brutal interrogations on the local the movie a much-needed adrenaline boost. Sure, barbarians, which leads the magistrate to question Carrey is doing the same over-the-top schtick he’s his own loyalty to the empire. The Killing Floor tells done for decades, but he pulls it off with aplomb. At the little-known true story of the struggle to build least the price at Rural Hill is right. Concessions as an interracial labor union in the Chicago stockyards. well as beer and wine will be available for purchase.

It all boils over into the Chicago race riots of 1919. More: $5 a car; July 17, 7 p.m.; Historic Rural Hill, 4431 Neck Road, Huntersville: More: $10-12 for 72 hours; tinyurl.com/SonicRuralHill charlottefilmsociety.com

#SHAPINGCLT: COVID-19 IN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR

What: The disproportionate effect of the Covid-19 outbreak on communities of color is not unique, and history confirms it. It has happened before, so what does history tell us? Guest panelists Dr. Heidi Kim, Cat Bao Le, and Chavi Koneru join Charlotte City Council member Braxton Winston in a deep dive into the history of inequalities and otherness towards Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, its manifestation during the pandemic and how local groups are organizing support in these trying times.

More: Free, RSVP Required; July16, 7 p.m.; tinyurl. com/ShapingCLTCOVID

NGHTMRE & SULLIVAN KING

What: Signed to Diplo’s Mad Decent label, NGHTMRE is a bass superstar known for spinning stadium-shaking tracks laced with wild, snarling synths. The bigger-than-life showman frequently spits fire and pumps confetti onstage. Sullivan King’s

CHARLOTTE PRIDE WEEK

What: COVID-19 can’t keep Charlotte Pride down, so the celebration is virtual this year. The Pride Citywide Scavenger Hunt kicks off July 24.

It’s a socially safe contest and virtual vendor fair that supports local LGBTQ-owned-and-affirming businesses and organizations. The Pride Interfaith Service on July 26 features multiple faith leaders in the city speaking in a virtual platform. Inspired by the #sayhername and #sayhisname movements, “Trans-Forming History” on July 28 honors the trans individuals in history whose names have not been acknowledged by the larger LGBTQ+ movement.

“Lesbian Leaders: Women-Loving-Women Who Have Been Erased From History” on July 29 provides a chance to learn more about women like Storme Delaverne, Alexis Danzig, and others who played integral parts of the fight for LGBTQ+ liberation.

And there’s much more to come in August with the virtual parade and festival.

More: Various dates and times; charlottepride.org/ virtualpride/

FOOD & DRINK FEATURE

closed. He moved on to become an assistant general manager at Suite in the Epicentre, eventually taking the same role for other events in the complex such as Alive After 5.

After moving to Jacksonville for a bit to help open a Suite location there, he returned to Charlotte and got involved with the food scene, helping Vida Roy’s Kitchen & Patio Cantina open their Vida Vida concept at Epicentre. ownership learns from the In 2013, Nesmith left Bar Management Group mistakes of a past venture — which owns Suite, Vida Cantina and other bars and restaurants he had worked with — to go into

BY RYAN PITKIN business for himself as a consultant.

He worked with Draught and Prohibition for It was without much fanfare that Roy’s Kitchen a number of years, then launched a group called & Patio quietly opened its doors during the first Charlotte’s Industry, which serves as a networking week of July, again changing the face of a rapidly evolving stretch of North Davidson Street that’s seen the opening of The Goodyear House and Oh My Soul this year.

The new Caribbean spot is taking over the building that until recently housed Mango’s, and has in fact retained some of that ownership, with former Mango’s owner Roy Grant staying on as a coowner at his new namesake restaurant.

As co-owner and operator Courtney Nesmith told Queen City Nerve while he worked to prepare the restaurant to begin serving socially distanced diners, a pandemic is no time to showcase a spot where the vibe will be built on coming together rather than standing 6 feet apart.

“We wanted to do a friends and family night last night and a huge grand opening night party this weekend, but between just my partners — not even the management and staff — if we were COURTNEY NESMITH to throw a party, there would be way too many people in the building,” Nesmith portal for local service industry employees. said. “We want people to be comfortable and safe Through the group, Nesmith and Diageo and not even give people the chance to make our brand rep Heather Chaney have worked to connect restaurant look like we’re not trying to adhere to the members who lost their jobs to COVID-19 with suggestions from the CDC and health department.” resources.

That being said, once things become safe to Then this summer Nesmith was presented with do so, Nesmith and Grant are ready to bring a laid- an opportunity to buy into a large percentage of back party patio vibe to NoDa, while correcting Roy’s with Grant and two silent partners. the missteps made at Mango’s and offering up “I just couldn’t pass it up,” he recalled. “I made affordable (and consistent) Caribbean fare. other companies a lot of money, a lot of successes, As a former consultant, Nesmith came into the and I got this opportunity to put my name behind project at Roy’s with ideas on how to make things it and build something up for myself, so I couldn’t work this time around. The Charlotte native began in pass it up.” the service industry as a bartender at bars like Grand But first, in order to build that name up he had Central, Link & Barrel and Fills, all of which are now

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A MANGO TWIST

to put his consulting hat back on.

According to Nesmith, where things went wrong at Mango’s was with Grant’s tendency to work from memory.

“When Mango’s was open, an area of concern was the consistency of the food,” Nesmith said.

“Roy has the recipes in his head. He’s an amazing cook, but if he steps out of the kitchen or if certain people were in the kitchen, you’re getting a different product.”

To fix the issue, Nesmith brought on Richelle Espinosa to take the lead in the kitchen as the executive chef at Roy’s, and Erynn Greer to work as beverage director. They then sat down and worked out recipes that will be followed by whomever is

plantain chips for $6 to housemade shrimp ceviche for $12. In between, there are Espinosa’s empanadas, five Bacalao salt fish fritters, or vegetarian chimichurri tostones for $8. The jerk wings will run you $12.

Sides and salads include Calypso salad, Caribbean pasta salad, collards, rice and pigeon peas, and other items ranging from $3-6.

As for the entrees, dishes include staples like curry goat ($16) and oxtail ($18), along with meals such as the Jamaican Escovitch whole-fish snapper, rubbed down with a secret spicy seasoning, fried and topped with housemade pickles and onions, which costs $25 for one or $35 for two.

In a month or so, Espinosa, who worked as the head chef at Broken Spoke and more recently at Kiki in Plaza Midwood, plans to roll out her crab roll, a buttered Hawaiian roll with crab meat inside.

“We’re taking the good recipes that were great with Roy, we’re implementing Richelle’s new recipes, and she’s helping us operate as a business should and know your cost, and still put something out there that’s affordable for people to enjoy, but make sure that we can keep the lights on and stay open as well,” Nesmith said. “We want people to feel like they’re back at that bar that they went to on vacation that one time, where the customer service was unbelievable but also the food was unbelievable.”

To help with the vacation vibes, Nesmith and the crew at Roy’s plan to begin rolling out regular programming in about a month, or as soon as COVID-19 allows them to do so.

PHOTO BY JAYME JOHNSON When they do begin, they’ll be hosting a crab leg and shrimp boil cooking, grilling or mixing, all the way down to the every Monday night with a DJ playing reggae rock most seemingly rudimentary cocktails. music. Thursdays will feature a more laid-back beach “We even have our house recipes for basic drinks vibe, with Nesmith using Calypso, Jack Johnson and like a margarita, just because you can go somewhere Jimmy Buffet as examples of what you’ll here during and ask all the bartenders to make you a margarita the weekend pregame, and eventually Sundays will and they will taste different unless you direct them feature brunch parties with DJs and live music, as to make it a specific way,” Nesmith said. “We want to well. make sure we’re consistent, because if you’re going On all other days and nights, DJs will play to be consistent, you’re going to win.” reggaeton, dancehall, Afrobeats with the aboveGrant brought his Jamaican background to the mentioned music mixed in here and there. Over table and Espinosa her Puerto Reican heritage as time, they’ll introduce ping-pong, cornhole and together they built out a menu of island fare and other fun additions to the back patio, which was rotisserie chicken that comes in island or jerk style. newly built after Mango’s closed. Nesmith said that, The menu features appetizers ranging from especially with the sudden closure of Solstice Tavern

FOOD & DRINK FEATURE

venturing to other neighborhoods. So we see this Still Nesmith and Grant aren’t lackadaisical “We’re playing it by ear, but we’re going to be being a win for us because people are going to come about the safety of customers and staff. quickly responsive to everything,” Nesmith said, in, they’re going to enjoy the experience and want They’ll be keeping a close eye on updates adding that they plan to hold a grand opening party, in November 2018, NoDa has been in need of a good to come back and honestly just bounce up and down from health departments locally, statewide and but not until later on when it’s completely safe to back patio to hang out on during summer days.

North Davidson Street.” nationally. do so.

“We want to make sure we’re not Until then, they’ll take visitors copycatting what Goodyear House is doing as they come, making sure to keep and what Oh My Soul is doing, because everyone distanced, even if it goes they’re both doing beautiful things over against the vacation party vibe that there, so we want to add something else; we will one day ruminate throughout want to add some interactive-ness back here the restaurant. on this back patio,” he said.

“One of our sayings is, we’re the As much as it adds to the stress of only concept of our likeness over opening a restaurant to be doing it during here. We’re basically a small island a pandemic, at a time when nobody is sure with a lot of flavor,” Nesmith said. of how safe it is to be out and businesses Now with everything in place close every week as employees test positive and all the moves taken to correct for COVID-19, the patio seems to be a much the mistakes of Mango’s, it will just safer play. take patience and practical policies “Right now what’s happening is to ensure that everyone gets off the everybody’s coming from [South End, island safely.

SouthPark and Uptown] to NoDa, to the patio areas,” Nesmith said, his mind still clearly in RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM consultant mode. “Neighborhood bars are winning right now, and also with people PHOTO BY JAYME JOHNSON THE PATIO AT ROY’S not going to their corporate jobs downtown, they’re staying in their neighborhoods and

NOW OPEN FOR TAKE-OUT & DELIVERY! DELIVERY AVAILABLE THRU DOORDASH & GRUBHUB

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HOURS OF OPERATION Tuesday-Thursday, Saturday: 3pm - 8pm Friday: 12 pm - 8 pm

( 7 0 4 ) 9 6 9 - 2 5 5 0 | L A B E L L E H E L E N E R E S TA U R A N T. C O M

300 S TRYON ST, CHARLOTTE, NC

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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. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: Which U.S. highway is known by the nickname “the Mother Road”?

2. FOOD & DRINK: What kind of cocktail contains ginger beer, lime juice and vodka?

3. SCIENCE: What kind of cloud produces thunderstorms?

4. MUSIC: How many musicians play in a quartet?

5. GEOGRAPHY: Which of the seven continents is the driest?

6. MOVIES: What word is on Austin Powers’ license plate in “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery”?

7. HISTORY: What was the ancient Sumerian form of writing called?

8. TELEVISION: What is the name of Bert’s roommate on the children’s show “Sesame Street”?

9. ANATOMY: How many lobes is the human brain divided into?

10. MEASUREMENTS: How much liquid does a standard jigger hold?

CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1 Boater, e.g.

4 Poker chip, for one 8 Uncorks again 15 Liven (up) 19 Mexican resort port 21 To-do trays 22 Actor Bates 23 GOP race runner 25 At midnight, say 26 Justice Kagan 27 Planet near Earth 28 “Attack, dog!”

29 First-class 30 “Dirty” drink 32 Data entry device 36 Ewoks and Na’vi, in brief 38 Actor DeLuise 39 Strengthens in volume 40 Large insectivores with long snouts 47 Recycling container 48 Support financially 49 Unmannerly 50 Suffix with pay 52 Nissan, formerly 58 Mop brand 60 Common bit of onstage audio equipment 63 Writer Isak 65 Pago Pago’s home 66 Pied -a- -67 Tokyo, prior to 1868 68 Play dumb 73 Bloom-to-be 74 Clichy’s river 77 Radio booth notification 78 Mattel guy

81 Company not reliant on a parent, e.g.

86 Actress Kazan of “My Favorite Year” 87 MRI’s kin 88 -- -de-France 89 Branchlet 91 Krone spenders 92 Breakfast brew 94 Ones who love making others happy 96 Egg-making organs 101 Many a pro bono TV ad 103 Grass sold in rolls 104 Clinton-Kaine, in 2016 108 Optimistic 114 Somber song 115 Party card game cry 116 “Tomb Raider” Croft 118 Raptor’s nest 119 Foot bottom 120 They include Advent and Eastertide 124 Be fitting for 125 Ideal spots 126 Appeases 127 Warlike god 128 Floral wrist accessory 129 Rolling car part, to Brits 130 “Ethyl” suffix DOWN 1 Female seal group, e.g.

2 Amtrak bullet train 3 Get thinner at one end 4 Persian Gulf emirate 5 Ailing 6 Sword type 7 Funny Imogene

8 Classic detergent brand 9 Complete 10 California’s San Luis -11 Speaking platform 12 Spot-on 13 Kin of .com 14 Flagstaff-to-Tucson dir.

15 Ashen-faced 16 Actress Stritch 17 Wickerwork cane 18 Genuflects 20 Gridiron kick 24 Oval portion 29 Aussie avian 31 Once known as 33 “ER” extras 34 Wallach of “The Deep” 35 Sonata part 37 Poker variety 40 Like the giant sphere at Epcot 41 Occurrence 42 Lymphoid throat masses 43 Lymph -44 Christmas verse starter 45 Ice cream maker Joseph 46 Kylo of “Star Wars” 47 Breakfast meat 50 Sharif of movies 51 Peru’s capital 53 Spot-on 54 With 55-Down, Paris edifice housing several universities 55 See 54-Down 56 More out of control 57 Not necessary 59 Ring arbiter 61 Of -- (in some way) 62 Spice holder

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PG.18 PUZZLE ANSWERS

TRIPLE OVERLAP ©2020 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.

64 Very bright 69 Agra’s home 70 Manxman, e.g.

71 Square root of 81 72 Slithery fish 75 Japanese tech corp.

76 MPG-rating org.

79 Nil 80 “Buenos --” (“Good day”) 82 Get admitted 83 Suffix with Denver 84 16 eighths 85 Pups’ plaints 90 The world over 93 That, in Peru 94 Karachi’s nation: Abbr.

95 Kin of .com 96 Ukraine port 97 Fabric with a soft nap 98 2002 Cesar winner for Best Film 99 Popular thesaurus, familiarly 100 Really cold 101 Models on walls, maybe 102 Smelting slag 105 One-on-one teacher 106 Beethoven’s “Fuer --” 107 Tic -109 With 121-Down, judge in the O.J. Simpson trial 110 Helen of Troy’s mother 111 Seeing red 112 Air raid alert 113 German state 117 Engrossed 120 Jazz’s Jean- -- Ponty 121 See 109-Down 122 Funny bit 123 Big elephant part

LIFESTYLE COLUMN

THE SEEKER CULTIVATING SATTVA

Show love it’s the Bhagavad way

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BY KATIE GRANT

The Mahābhārata is the longest known epic poem, quite accurately described as “the longest poem ever written.” At about 1.8 million total words, the Mahābhārata is roughly 10 times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined. As the sixth book of the Mahābhārata, the Bhagavad Gita makes up just a fraction of this, and I spent seven days toiling over its lessons during a recent yoga teacher training module (virtually, of course).

Here’s a quick history of the illustrious script from a 30,000-foot level: Bhagavad Gita translates to Song of God. The storyline is a conversation between protagonist Arjuna and the god Krishna on a battlefield. Krishna represents The Divine, or God, and Arjuna, as a warrior, represents mankind.

Despite the generational gap between its date of composition (approximately 500-200 BCE) and now, the Bhagavad Gita is intertwined deeply with modern yoga. Perhaps it’s maintained its significance because the subject matter is still relevant today. A human experiencing a deep, existential crisis? Something I experience daily, to my chagrin.

Throughout the 18 chapters, the discussion canvases spiritual topics about our dharmic path (our purpose), how to live our best life, the nature and secrets of the universe — not exactly content for the easiest afternoon read but enlightening nonetheless.

Within the pages of the Bhagavad Gita is mention of the three gunas, or “modes of existence.” These are the three basic energetic qualities that exist in all things, including us. If you feel lost or confused reading this, welcome to my life. During this course I also learned that a human mind needs to hear, read or write information an average of eight times before fully comprehending the subject matter. Learning this fact made me feel better about an emotional meltdown in a previous Ayurvedic teacher training module (sorry, Amani, and thank you for your patience with me).

Sattva is one of the three gunas and represents the quality of balance — the middle ground between being overcharged and empty. If this sounds like the overarching goal of yoga, you are correct. The original intention of yoga, according to the Yoga Sutras (a collection of “rules” often viewed as the authentic yogic guide) was to enhance the quality of sattva — a calm yet alert state of mind.

Sattva should not be confused with enlightenment but unveils what is true while dispelling illusions. It manifests as beauty in the world, a healthy mind and body, and feelings of peace that reverberate through the soul.

How lovely!

That was it. A moment of unfettered clarity, like the sun reclaiming its brilliance after days of drizzle and doom.

A sense of peace, in so many forms, is what we’re searching for. If sattva can be cultivated by making life choices that elevate awareness, encourage love, and foster a sense of contentment, why has this not been my teaching focus? Why has it taken me so long to understand the message behind the concept? Lastly, I wonder, have I discovered my teaching dharma?

Upon completion of the course, I took my learnings to the yoga mat and crafted a meditation around the theory that sattva is a principal goal of yoga that we often forget or get distracted from. How easily our minds slip into planning mode, or perhaps even worse; rumination. The repetitious strand of thoughts that play like a song I can’t shake. (I’m rolling my eyes as I write this because the 4

a.m. thought cycle is a drama I know by heart).

With reverence to the times, tending to our own seeds of sattva (that perhaps lie dormant within each of us), couldn’t be more timely. While we navigate an unfamiliar world stained by the harsh realities of a pandemic paired with white supremacy, I like to remind myself that kindness is contagious and that sattva is associated with benevolence.

You know that feeling you get when you do something nice for someone? It actually has a name: moral elevation. And studies show that after someone experiences this feeling, they in turn become more altruistic and helpful. Hence the phrase “kindness is contagious.”

But how can we take our sattvic practice off the mat and into the world?

Be intentional with your words and actions, and really put them into practice, (remember, like everything in yoga, it’s called practice for a reason), such as non-violence, being truthful and steadfast, being of service without reaping reward. All of these practices manifest the element of sattva — the wholesome quality of purity and peace.

Just consider for a moment the possibility of having so much love and compassion inside of you, so much that it simply cannot be contained, so much that it radiates from every cell and affects all those around you that they too manifest sattva in reciprocity. There belies the true power of a yoga practice. And it costs less than a pair of Lululemons.

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By Lucie Winborne • As Shakespeare said, what’s in a name? A duck is called a duck because it ducks its head under the water to feed. The animal was named after the verb, not the other way around.

• In the era of TV dinners, it wasn’t enough that you ATE your veggies. No, etiquette experts still found time to make some interesting rules about HOW you consumed them as well. According to one guide, asparagus should be cut in half in order to avoid “the ungraceful appearance of a bent stalk ... falling limply into someone’s mouth.”

• What’s in a name? Part 2: The French name for cotton candy is “Barbe a papa,” or “dad’s beard.”

• Mary Babnik Brown generously donated 34 inches of her natural golden locks to the United States military during World War II after they determined that blond hair that had never been treated or exposed to heat was the most resilient material to use as the crosshairs in bombsights.

• A 7-year-old boy had long complained about his swollen and aching jaw, and small wonder: Surgeons at the Saveetha Dental College and Hospital in Chennai, India, found 526 teeth crammed inside his mouth! After removing a seven-ounce, “well-defined bag-like mass” from his jaw containing hundreds of miniature teeth, it took the team five hours to carefully search for and count all of them. The hospital asserted that it was “the first ever case to be documented worldwide, where so many minute teeth were found in a single individual.”

• Led Zeppelin let Ben Affleck use their song “When the Levee Breaks” in the movie “Argo” on one condition — that they digitally alter the record player’s needle drop to the correct spot on the vinyl. *** Thought for the Day: “The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” — William James © 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.

LIFESTYLE

HOROSCOPE JULY 15 - JULY 21

JULY 22 - JULY 28

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) A perplexing situation LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) More good ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Starting something LIBRA

(September 23 to October 22) Money needs to be dealt with in order to avoid problems news about a loved one helps reassure others new is always exciting for the adventurous Aries. matters should be worked out, even if it takes time later on. Rely on both your own sense of what’s right who could not share your more-optimistic view And here’s the good news: This time you might be away from a more romantic situation. Better to and the advice of someone you trust to help work before. Continue to help everyone in need of your able to get some assistance in helping you finish settle things before feelings turn hard and angry on it out. comforting presence. what you’ve started. all sides.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Let your sharp Taurean business insight guide you when considering a “dream deal.” Without all the facts, it could turn into a nightmare. Remember: Investigate before investing.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Creating TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Put your daydreaming new friendships could turn out to be the unexpected penchant on hold for now, and face the facts as they but welcome result of reconnecting with old friends. are, not as you’d like them to be. Your customary The weekend is a good time for fun and games. hardheaded approach to “deals,” etc., is called for.

Enjoy!

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Sharing so much of SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) your time and your gifts with others is what you do so well, and this week, don’t be surprised if others want to share with you. Enjoy the experience. You’ve earned it.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Problems beyond

your control might delay some of your plans.

The more you learn about what you plan to do, But things should start to get back to normal by the more likely you are to consider making some midweek. The weekend could bring an unexpected changes in your plans. This is good; don’t resist it. (but welcome) visitor.

Instead, go with it.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) A difficult personal CAPRICORN

(December 22 to January 19) A situation seems to defy efforts to resolve it. Perhaps career change is still in your aspect, but a potential you’re too close to it. Take some time to reassess workplace change could be what you’ve been what went wrong, and then see where things can looking for. See what develops before making any be set right. drastic moves.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Leonine pride could AQUARIUS

(January 20 to February 18) Your be piqued a bit when someone else appears to be energy levels are high this week, which should help standing in your light. Be patient and resist the urge you get all your workaday tasks done and still leave to growl at the interloper. You’ll soon be the “mane” you with enough breath to handle some domestic attraction again. challenges.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) A jobrelated problem could turn out to be less troublesome than it seemed at first. Just a few moments of talk ‘twixt the parties resolves everything to everyone’s satisfaction.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) The Sagittarian Archer takes aim at health and fitness issues this week. Watch your diet, and try to put more exercise time into your typically busy schedule.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) It’s a good time to buckle down and tackle those unfinished tasks so CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) As you’ll be ready to take on other projects. The week’s you continue to focus on a career or job change, it’s end could bring an invitation from a most surprising a good time to look over some of your rarely used skills and see where they can fit into your future source. workplace plans.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Mixed signals could

create a few stressful moments for the Lion. But AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) A loved by midweek, explanations should help ease the one’s health might be worrisome, but there’s good tension. The weekend is party time! Share it with news by midweek. Expect people who share your someone special. ideas and your goals to try to contact you by the week’s end.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) This is a good “catching up” week for finishing tasks, calling old PISCES (February 19 to March 20) A colleague’s situation benefits from your clear assessment of the fluke could cause problems with your plans. If so, friends and maybe reading that book you haven’t request that makes the typically perceptive Pisces circumstances involved. On the personal side, that use the time to troll for other available options, and opened yet or renting that movie you wanted to see feel uncomfortable is a request you probably will new relationship looks as if it will continue to grow. you might be pleasantly surprised at what turns up. again. want to turn down. The weekend favors family gettogethers.

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VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) A professional PISCES (February 19 to March 20) An unexpected

BORN THIS WEEK: You enjoy the company

BORN THIS WEEK: You have a gift for making others feel warm and wanted. Even newcomers will feel like old friends.

of lots of people, but you also can treasure the moments shared with just one special person.

2020 KING FEATURES SYND., INC.

LIFESTYLE COLUMN

PG.19 PUZZLE ANSWERS

SAVAGE LOVE UNPLUGGED

You’re the sub, act like it

BY DAN SAVAGE

My wife asked me to write to you about our situation. We’ve been married for 15 years. I am 50 years old and my wife is a decade younger. We are a heterosexual couple with kids. I am a submissive male and I like to play with my ass using differentsized dildos. I enormously enjoy being penetrated with sex toys. A few years ago I introduced the idea of a FLR — female-led relationship—to my wife and she accepted it.

We are a happy couple! My wife is more on the traditional side of sex and I respect that. We have PIV sex twice a week and I try to give her pleasure as much as I can. Looks like everything is OK, right?

But recently she complained that I have stopped ejaculating when we have sex. And it’s true: When we engage in vaginal penetration, I no longer ejaculate. I like it this way because I don’t lose my sex drive and I can continue. But she doesn’t like it. For her my ejaculate is the “cherry on top” of the sex and my coming during sex is important for her pleasure and satisfaction.

My wife thinks that I stopped ejaculating because I developed the habit of pleasuring myself with dildos and butt plugs in the shower. My wife thinks the toys are distracting me.

Do you think it’s true? If that’s the case, what should we do? I love my wife but I also love my butt plugs and dildos.

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SPOUSE UNPLEASED BY HUSBAND’S UN BLASTS

You should come in your wife.

If your wife is in charge — you proposed a “femaleled relationship” and she accepted — then she gets to give the orders and you’re supposed to do what she says.

(Within reason, of course.) So when she says, “Come in me,” you should say, “How high up your vaginal canal would you like me to come?”

Even if you weren’t in a female-led relationship, SUBHUB, refusing to come in your wife when you know that feeling you come inside her is important to her pleasure is a weirdly literal kind of withholding behavior — and considering how GGG your wife has been, SUBHUB, refusing to come in her so you can “continue” presumably without her isn’t something a loving submissive would do. It’s something a selfish asshole does.

Your wife doubtless suspects the same thing I do: You aren’t coming in her because you’d rather blow your load in the shower. She sees you when you slip out of bed to go cram sex toys in your ass and blow your load down the down the drain instead of finishing in her. And if that’s what you’re doing — and I’m pretty sure that’s what you’re doing — then you’re treating PIV sex with your wife as foreplay and the time you spend alone with your ass toys as the main event.

If I were your wife, SUBHUB, I would find that annoying too. And however much you love your plugs and dildos and I would hope you love your wife more. At any rate, you aren’t submissive to your plugs and dildos — you’re submissive to your wife, who isn’t made of silicone and who has needs and feelings that have to be taken into account.

At the very least, SUBHUB, your wife’s pleasure should be your first priority during PIV sex — and it’s not like you can’t combine PIV with a little butt play. You can always shove one of your beloved plugs in your ass before you have PIV sex with the wife.

And if you didn’t refrain from ejaculating every single time you had PIV, SUBHUB, if it was something you were allowed to once in a while with your wife’s permission, she might be willing to accommodate your desire every tenth time you have PIV. I am a 53-year-old guy. Since I’ve been struggling with depression and anxiety all my life, I’ve never been in a situation where sex was a possibility. I’m really dying to know what it’s like.

I’ve gotten much better over the years and the women who know me think the world of me. But they aren’t in a position to help me out.

Other women seem to want someone much more outgoing and confident than I am or ever will be. Confidence comes from experience and I don’t have any. My one girlfriend could not hide the fact that my inexperience offended her.

Other people on blogs and such have recommended a prostitute, but that’s not really what I’m looking for. It’s about more than sex. I want someone to care for me as I am. Is there hope for me? Or has the world just left me behind?

VERY INEXPERIENCED RELATIONSHIP GUY IN NEED

I know it’s not what you want to hear, VIRGIN, but I agree with other blogs and such: I think you should find a sex worker. Find a nice, patient woman who does sex work and be completely upfront about why you’re seeing her: You’re so painfully self-conscious about your sexual inexperience that you find it hard to date.

TRIVIA ANSWERS: 1. Route 66 2. Moscow Mule 3. Cumulonimbus

4. Four 5. Antarctica 6. Swinger 7. Cuneiform

It may take some searching, VIRGIN, but there are sex workers who want to help their clients grow and heal.

“Many people have the stereotypical misconception that all sex workers are disconnected, uncaring, and only there for the money,” said Ruby Ryder, a sex worker and sex educator. “While money is indeed a part of it, many of us understand that human beings need touch, connection, and acceptance. We provide an opportunity for clients to be vulnerable, whether it’s fulfilling their kinky fantasies or simply having sex.”

And while the relationship you have with a sex worker you might see regularly for a year or two is certainly transactional, VIRGIN, it’s still a relationship and about more than sex.

I’m not suggesting you see sex workers exclusively for the rest of your life (even if I’m not not suggesting that either), VIRGIN, I’m only suggesting you see a sex worker to find out what sex is like, gain a little self-confidence, and maybe feel a little more hopeful for your future.

Ruby Ryder is on Twitter @Ruby_Ryder and online at www.peggingparadise.com.

8. Ernie 9. Four 10. 1.5 ounces

While the offerings for female POV VR porn is pretty paltry I’ve never seen my wife come harder than she did with me inside her and a pair of goggles on her face giving her the perspective of a man getting fucked by a beautiful trans woman.

I love the idea that this turns her on and I actually think she looks hot with goggles on!

Besides the cost of a subscription to a VR porn site, the financial barrier is really pretty low — most people can use their smartphone and a $20 headset to get started, which is much cheaper than seeing a sex worker and much less time consuming than engineering a consenting affair.

And there’s no risk of STIs or COVID-19! Just wanted you to consider VR as a possibly overlooked tool for your otherwise always-outstanding advice in the future!

VERY RECENT PURCHASE OPTIMIZES REALITY NICELY

Thank you for writing in, VRPORN, and you’re right: VR porn sounds like a great way for an adventurous monogamous couple to have a little virtual variety — whether that couple is monogamous by choice or monogamous for the duration of this stupid pandemic.

In addition to the technology, of course, you’ll need a partner who not only knows you fantasize about other people (like they do, like everybody does), but who’s also excited about helping you explore those fantasies. Thanks again for sharing, VRPORN!

I’m a longtime reader who’s never had a question that your archives couldn’t answer. But there is something I wanted to share with you and your readers!

My wife and I have incorporated virtual reality (VR) goggles into our sex life with great success, Dan, and they could be the answer to a range of questions that you get in the column.

They’re so useful, in fact, that your failure to mention them is starting to look like a glaring Listen to Dan and comedian Jay Jurden on the Lovecast! omission! Because let’s say someone writes in www.savagelovecast.com; mail@savagelove.net; Follow who wants to open their relationship or explore Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage a cuckold fantasy (like one of last week’s letter writers!) but they’re worried about the emotions involved, potential STIs, or COVID-19? VR goggles!

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Photo by Grant Baldwin