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Fooz Fighters waiting for Grohl to show up

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Glendale Star Executive Editor

Brent Wright and Nicky Rich are hoping for a miracle.

The guitarist and singer, respectively, of the Fooz Fighters will hit the Murphy Park stage in Glendale on Saturday, Feb. 26 — the same day the band they honor will be at Innings Festival.

“The Foo Fighters are arguably the No. 1 most iconic rock band out there,” Wright said. “How cool would that be?

“They were just inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. There are very few tribute bands who do what we do with the Foo Fighters. There are other Foo Fighters tribute bands, but they don’t go to the degree we do.”

The Fooz Fighters dress and play the same instruments as the rock band and, Wright said, the musicianship is similar.

“I tattooed the feathers that Dave Grohl has on his arms,” Rich said of the Foo Fighters lead singer. “Tomorrow morning I’m going in for about eight hours to duplicate everything on his arms, from the elbows up. I’ve done some research and looked at photos.

“Some of the stuff on Dave’s arms is a little raw. I want to match it but make it look a little better.”

For example, he said, the tribal tattoos Grohl has used to have red inlay, but now it’s “all faded out.” As for instruments, Rich uses a Gibson just like Grohl.

“The amps are what the Foo Fighters play through,” Rich said. “We bring the energy like you wouldn’t believe. We explode on stage and sweep you off your feet.”

Wright said Fooz Fighters are frequently complimented on their resemblance to the real Foo Fighters.

“It’s one thing to look like the Foo Fighters, but the sound is the hardest part,” he said. “That’s what takes the most work, and it takes breaking these songs apart, instrument by instrument, note by note, to fi gure out how they’re playing these songs.

“We give people that Foo Fighters experience that they can’t get for $20 or, in the case of our Glendale show, for free. Tickets to see the Foo Fighters are $300 and up. Good luck getting close to the stage, too. Our shows, you can get up to the front and feel like you’re part of the show.”

Rich stressed nobody’s wearing a wig. The sound isn’t simple, and the Foo Fighters “rock.”

“There are a lot of little notes and harmonies that you don’t hear,” he added about the Foo Fighters.

“One of our huge accomplishments is we don’t use backing tracks. Nothing is prerecorded. It’s not fake. Queen Nation and Fan Halen have to go through all those costumes and makeup. My hat is off to them. They rock.

“I’m very fortunate that Dave (Grohl) just throws on a T-shirt and some vans. How lucky am I? I grew my hair out.”

Last year, Fooz Fighters made it to the fi nal round of E!’s “Clash of the

Fooz Fighters are, from left, bassist Gui Bodi, guitarist David Tishenkel, singer Nicky Rich, guitarist Brent Wright and drummer Boll3T. (Photo courtesy of Fooz Fighters) Cover Bands,” featuring Adam Lambert.

“We spent a week up in Hollywood fi lming that show,” Wright said. “We won our episode and made it all the way to the fi nals. We were amazed to be a part of the show, much less win.”

Fooz Fighters as part of Live at Murphy Park

WHEN: 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26 WHERE: Murphy Park, North 58th and West Glendale avenues, Glendale COST: Free admission INFO: https://bit.ly/ LiveAtMurphyPark

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Midwestern U offering online summer classes

BY GLENDALE STAR STAFF

Midwestern University’s College of Health Sciences is offering a new online summer program designed to help prospective speech-language pathology students from a wider range of undergraduate experience prepare for graduate studies at the university’s Glendale campus.

The speech-language pathology leveling track is a four-course online program intended to allow for a wider range of applicants for the 24-month Master of Science in speech-language pathology program at Midwestern.

Generally, students complete undergraduate degrees in communication sciences and disorders prior to applying for the SLP program; however, with the new leveling track, students who complete other undergraduate degrees (e.g., biomedical sciences, physical therapy, teaching, etc.) now have an avenue to gain their expected prerequisite knowledge.

The summer program offers four online courses in anatomy and physiology of speech and hearing, phonetics, speech and hearing science, and child language development.

The leveling track courses require no additional tuition costs from students, and upon successful completion of the program, students will continue with the regular on-campus curriculum in the following fall quarter.

The Midwestern University speech-language therapy program offers learning experiences and the opportunity to collaborate interprofessionally with other health care professions students in various disciplines at the university’s Glendale campus. For more information about the speech-language pathology program and the SLP leveling track option, contact Midwestern University admissions at 602-572-3215 or admissaz@midwestern.edu, or visit midwestern.edu/azslpprogram.

The speech-language pathology leveling track is a four-course online program intended to allow for a wider range of applicants for the 24-month Master of Science in speech-language pathology program at Midwestern. (Photo courtesy of Midwestern University)

Folk & Heritage Festival celebrates Arizona lore

BY GLENDALE STAR STAFF

The 32nd annual Glendale Folk & Heritage Festival is set for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 5, and Sunday, March 6.

Attracting local residents and regional visitors, this festival is held in spring to showcase and celebrate traditional Arizona music and culture through learning, performances and workshops. Drawing from a rich heritage of ranching, railroading and mining, the Folk & Heritage Festival allows attendees to experience the diversity of the Southwest.

The festival takes place at Glendale’s Historic Sahuaro Ranch, at 9802 N. 59th Avenue, and the adjacent Main Library at 5959 W. Brown Street.

It features more than 400 performers on six stages, showcasing folk and bluegrass music, along with scattered jam sessions and authentic storytelling throughout the weekend.

In addition, workshop areas will invite attendees to learn to play spoons, saws, ukuleles, harmonicas, swing guitar, pennywhistle, jug band, skiffle music and autoharps.

Marshall Trimble, Arizona’s official state historian, will open the festival on Saturday, and he, along with other Culturekeepers named during Arizona’s Centennial, will present workshops with story and song that celebrate Arizona and its history. Established in 2002, the Culturekeepers program was created to recognize state residents who are committed to upholding the traditions, rituals and culture of Arizona.

There will also be free kids activities like face painting and crafts. Food and refreshments will be available for purchase. Event admission is free. Some seating is available; however, attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or picnic blankets.

A returning favorite to the festival this year will be the Bookmans Musical Instrument “petting zoo,” a noisy and fun experience for all ages. From percussion to string instruments, Bookmans provides foster music appreciation. The event will also feature a Plein Air Painting Competition on Saturday, March 5. Plein air refers to paintings done outdoors, and artists can paint anywhere within the Glendale city limits. Check-in and judging will take place at the festival site. The event is open to Plein Air artists ages 18 and older who paint oil, watercolor, acrylic or pastel. Registration is 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday, with submissions due by 3 p.m. For additional information on the competition, visit the city of Glendale Arts and Culture website. The Glendale Folk & Heritage Festival is produced by the city of Glendale Special Events team and supported by the Glendale Main Library and the Glendale Public Art Program. For more information about times and a complete list of the performers, workshops and activities, visit glendaleaz.com/events.

February 24, 2022

Peoria actor takes her fi rst turn on The Phoenix Theatre stage

BY BRIDGETTE M. REDMAN Glendale Star Contributing Writer

Jazmin Noel Moehring remembers being in the audience at The Phoenix Theatre as a 9-year-old and hoping she could be on a stage like that one day.

From Wednesday, March 2, to Sunday, May 1, she will be on that very stage as an ensemble member and understudy for “The Color Purple.”

It’s a story the Peoria resident discovered in high school. The book was not offered in the curriculum, and she couldn’t persuade her English teacher to add it.

“I thought, I’m going to read it myself,” Moehring said. “I read it and fell in love with it and the story and themes of resilience and a powerful Black woman as the protagonist.”

She then listened to the music from the musical and discovered it was beautiful, Black music, full of jazz, gospel, ragtime and blues. After watching the movie, she thought the story needed to be told more often.

Alice Walker published the book in 1982 and the next year would win a Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for fi ction. The novel traces two generations of Black women, centering on Celie, who starts the novel at age 14, a pregnant victim of incest and abuse. In 1985, Steven Spielberg turned it into a coming-of-age movie starring Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover and Oprah Winfrey with a score by Quincy Jones.

In 2005, it premiered as a musical on Broadway with a book by Marsha Norman and music by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray.

Moehring has many reasons why it’s important for a show such as this to be staged in 2022. This includes the show’s content, the need for more diverse casting, and because actors are struggling to get work as the country’s theaters emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The show, which has an all-BIPOC 19-person cast and a BIPOC director from Chicago, Daryl D. Brooks, centers the stories of the original novel’s women and how they submit or stand up to abuse and manage to survive in a world stacked against them.

“Walking in the rehearsal room, a lot of us had the same idea,” Moehring said. “We said out loud, ‘We have not been in a room with this many Black performers.’ For most of us, that was a fi rst — and to have a dedicated Black production team.”

Moehring said 2020’s events, such as George Floyd’s murder, emphasized the importance of providing space for more Black artists to tell Black stories. It’s why “The Color Purple,” a story that starts in 1909, is important to tell today.

“Because not only is it important to get a whole bunch of Black artists together, but after 2020 with Black Lives Matter so prominent — and we are still in a time of the Black Lives Matter movement — we need to promote their work even more,” Moehring said.

While many actors tried to work from home during the pandemic, others were left without work for the duration. Even now, with shows being canceled or organizations choosing to put on small shows to provide for greater safety, it is hard for actors to fi nd work.

“(The Phoenix Theatre) is putting all of us together in one space where we can feel that community and family, and even more so to tell a story that is about family and staying strong through diffi cult times, just being resilient and hanging on to the people you love and hanging on to those that love you,” Moehring said.

The message, she added, resonates with everyone, especially when life often seems incredibly diffi cult. “The Color Purple,” Moehring said, offers hope.

“I feel like this is an important story for people of color, but also for anyone who is going through hard times,” Moehring said.

“The world is, frankly, rough right now. It is hard to always see the positive and really hard to say that there is going to be a bright side. I think anyone who is struggling right now can watch this show and feel empowered and ready to get through what they need to get through right now and know it will be OK at the end of it.”

In addition to being a member of the ensemble, Moehring understudies Squeak, whom she describes as a hysterical, little sassy woman. Squeak is a waitress who has an affair with Celie’s stepson, Harpo.

“I’m just so fi lled with gratitude for the role that I have,” Moehring said. “I just want to contribute to the team the best I can. I hope to be able to use my abilities and the gifts that I have been given by God to share on stage with all these beautiful people and hopefully impact people so they will walk away with something learned and something gained.”

Growing up in Peoria, Moehring said it was not a highly diverse area. As someone who is biracial, she said she struggled to fi nd a place where she belonged, that neither “side” really wanted her there. Then she discovered singing.

“My dad would play me the Mississippi blues CDs in his car and Michael Jackson,” Moehring said. “We’d sing together and he would play the piano and we would wail out, and I felt free. For once, I felt like I was good at something, and it made me happy.”

From singing, she got into musical theater. Her fi rst audition was for “Singin’ in the Rain,” and she brought an umbrella and did the choreographed dance number. At those auditions, she met the voice teacher, who would stay with her from age 9 to 19. While her identity crisis did not go away, she learned that when she was in theater she played very clear roles on stage, roles defi ned by a script. “Audiences saw me for what I wanted them to see me for,” Moehring said. “I found this newfound respect, newfound passion, and just a feeling of being safe and being home.” She’s now an ASU sophomore theater major with an acting concentration and a minor in musical theater. She takes every opportunity to perform. She played Pennywise in “Urine Town,” Deloris in “Sister Act” and Maria in “West Side Story” for the Arizona Broadway Theatre and was an ariZoni nominee for her role as Rose in Spotlight Youth Theatre’s “Gypsy.”

Moehring said she believes it is each person’s duty to use their talents to affect others. For her, it was performance. It’s something that can spark conversations between people and hopefully leave the world a better place.

“Art is one of the few lasting forms that we can share through generations and through many age groups,” Moehring said. “It can bridge a lot of time and space. I encourage you to go out. If it’s not ‘The Color Purple,’ go to an art museum and look at the pretty paintings and sit for a moment and know you are sharing a common experience. You are not alone on this planet.”

Jazmin Noel Moehring will be part of “The Color Purple” ensemble. (Photo courtesy of Phoenix Theatre)

The Phoenix Theatre Company’s “The Color Purple”

WHEN: Various times Wednesday, March 2, to Sunday, May 1 WHERE: Hormel Theatre, 1825 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix COST: See website for ticket information INFO: phoenixtheatre.com

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