FEBRUARY 8-14, 2023
VOLUME 19, NUMBER 6
12
COMPUTER LOVE
Online dating has transformed how people of all races, religions, and creeds meet new people and their soulmates.
4 9
NOMINATION PERIOD STARTS
JANUARY 8 AND RUNS
THROUGH FEBRUARY 17!
Those voted in the Top five during the nomination period in each category will move on to Final Round of voting March 8-April 19.
VOTE.THETRIADSBEST.COM
4 February guarantees year after year Valentine’s Day-themed events left and right to enamor the Triad, but not a single one compares to the CAMEL CITY BURLESQUE/HAUS D’KATZMEOW SHOW this upcoming Saturday, February 11 at Winston-Salem’s Camel City Playhouse.
6 On Wednesday, February 22, the Triad Film Collaborative (TFC) will celebrate its fifth anniversary with the self-explanatory Triad Film Collaborative SHORT FILM SHOWCASE, which will take place at 7:30 p.m. at RED Cinemas, 1305 Battleground Ave. in Greensboro.
7 “It’s a big deal,” said Guilford Technical Community College President Tony Clarke as he prepared on Jan. 31 to announce a partnership between the school and the North Carolina Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education, or NC FAME, PROGRAM.
8 Once upon a time, there were only three TV channels to watch, and in the
late 1970s, no show was bigger than “Laverne & Shirley,” a sitcom starring CINDY WILLIAMS and Penny Marshall as roommates who worked at a Milwaukee beer factory.
9 Doors slamming. Lights flickering. Unseen voices. These and other well-worn trappings are currently on display in FEAR, a lackluster horror film by multi-hyphenate Deon Taylor (writer/producer/director).
14 As Cupid is emblematic of the holiday, it’s appropriate that Arts Uptown Greensboro is presenting Voyeur Love 2, the organization’s second GATE CITY EROTIC ART SHOW.
16 Oh, yes. The “ SPECTACLE OF LOVE,” is both an album from Greensboro-raised Libby Rodenbough and a solid summation of Valentine’s Day in general–it’s the season where romance abounds for saps, sweethearts and songbirds.
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Publisher CHARLES A. WOMACK III publisher@yesweekly.com
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Editor CHANEL DAVIS chanel@yesweekly.com
YES! Writers IAN MCDOWELL MARK BURGER KATEI CRANFORD JIM LONGWORTH NAIMA SAID DALIA RAZO LYNN FELDER
PRODUCTION
Senior Designer ALEX FARMER designer@yesweekly.com
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Marketing ANGELA COX angela@yesweekly.com
TRAVIS WAGEMAN travis@yesweekly.com
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DISTRIBUTION JANICE GANTT ANDREW WOMACK
Charlotte – The public is invited to a meeting with the N.C. Department of Transportation this month to discuss the proposed extension of Clanton Road from Donald Ross Road to Wilkinson Boulevard in Charlotte.
The proposed project, State Transportation Improvement Program Project No. P-5730, would construct a grade separation over the Norfolk Southern rail line, and close the existing at-grade crossing on Donald Ross Road. It’s intended to address traffic and safety concerns and improve road and multimodal connections throughout the area.
Project details, including maps of the proposal, can be found on the NCDOT project web page at https://publicinput.com/clantonrd-ext.
The meeting will be held 5-7 p.m. February 16th at the American Legion at 1940 Donald Ross Road, Charlotte, NC 28208. Interested residents can drop in any time to learn more about the proposal, have questions answered and talk with NCDOT representatives. There will not be a formal presentation.
People may also submit comments by phone, email or mail by March 3rd.
For more information, contact NCDOT Rail Division Project Engineer Greg Blakeney at 919-707-4717; gmblakeney@ncdot.gov; or 1553 Mail Service Center in Raleigh.
NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled people who wish to participate in this workshop. Anyone requiring special services should contact Simone Robinson, Environmental Analysis Unit, at 1598 Mail Service Center in Raleigh; 919-707-6062; or strobinson1@ncdot. gov as early as possible so that arrangements can be made.
Those who do not speak English, or have a limited ability to read, speak or understand English, may receive interpretive services upon request prior by calling 1-800-481-6494.
Aquellas personas no hablan inglés, o tienen limitaciones para leer, hablar o entender inglés, podrían recibir servicios de interpretación si los solicitan llamando al 1-800-481-6494.
February guarantees year after year
Valentine’s Daythemed events left and right to enamor the Triad, but not a single one compares to the Camel City Burlesque/ Haus d’Katzmeow show this upcoming Saturday, February 11 at Winston-Salem’s Camel City Playhouse, located at 110 7th St. W in WinstonSalem. The fairly newly established collective of professional burlesque performers that make up Camel City Burlesque/Haus d’Katzmeow began performing a bit over a year ago, quickly establishing a home base in the downtown theater. Their upcoming show “Crazy Lil’ Thing Called Love” will be the first of its kind as it highlights and celebrates the most loving day of the year.
Producer and owner of Camel City Burlesque/Haus d’Katzmeow, Selia Katzmeow, collaborates closely with Camel City Playhouse artistic director Chris Cohen. As soon as the possibility of having a Valentine’s Day special became an option, she developed the theme for the show.
“I think the entire Triad is craving this type of performance,” said Katzmeow. “To anyone who watches the show, it’s about empowerment, it’s about consent.”
Just last month, the burlesque company
performed in Burlington during New Year’s Eve, and the audience was astounded to have this type of show taking place in their small downtown.
As big as Camel City Burlesque/Haus d’Katzmeow feels in their warm and strong community, Katzmeow is aware of what a small subculture the performers belong to. With the support of Camel City Playhouse, though, the theater not only hosts the company, it has made a point to provide a home for it along with booking it throughout the rest of the year.
“We have non-stop emails coming in
asking when our next burlesque show is,” said Cohen. “People are lined up. We sell out almost every time. Everybody who works the show is fantastic, so talented and you walk away with a smile on your face.”
May Hemmer, one of Camel City Burlesques/Haus d’Katzmeow performers, first met Katzmeow several years ago while performing in the Wiggle Room of Winston-Salem’s longtime Rockabilly music festival Heavy Rebel. Originally from New Orleans, like many other burlesque performers, Hemmer would travel all over
to compete and participate in burlesque performing events. In the last few years, she moved to North Carolina and has leaned on Katzmeow as she settled into a drastically di erent burlesque culture from the one she had left back home in Louisiana.
“She was one of the first people to take me under their wing, so to speak,” said Hemmer of Katzmeow. “When I moved here I really didn’t know anybody, so we became more like family. She’s like a sister to me.” Hemmer has thoroughly enjoyed her experience performing for Camel City Burlesque/Haus d’Katzmeow and when she first saw the Camel City Playhouse it reminded her of home with its intimate, old-school, and vintage vibe to it. Additionally, the talent that Katzmeow brings to the company portrays all facets from seasoned to newer performers of all ethnicities, body types, and backgrounds.
“There’s a lot of queer community involved,” added Hemmer. “As someone that’s part of it, that’s a big volume when you can identify with someone on that stage.” A beautiful, brown, and queer femme, Hemmer commends Katzmeow on her commitment to diversifying the company in looks, styles, and ethnicities. Camel City Burlesque/Haus d’Katzmeow is true to its representation of people of color and all body types and thrives beautifully within the safe space in which this diversity has continuously been welcomed with open arms by Camel City Playhouse. “It takes a village to run this type of show,” concluded Hemmer. “It’s not just us on
stage, there’s a whole crew that makes everything work and we’re all equal in that.”
Katzmeow, right along with Hemmer, is tremendously grateful to Camel City Playhouse and how the theater has allowed, welcomed, and a rmed the diversity in her team, along with being very open to learning about the art of burlesque. When her company is not bringing down the house at the theater, Camel City Burlesque/Haus d’Katzmeow takes up di erent performance opportunities such as corporate events, where an employer hires artists to produce specific types of shows. One of these events is scheduled at Kernersville’s Breathe Cocktail Lounge, located at 221 N. Main St., on Saturday, February 18.
The owner of the cocktail lounge, Christine Federico, and Katzmeow have known each other for more than 20 years, and Federico has continuously tried to push Kernersville to be open about seeing new things. At one point, she brought a drag show to the small town and unfortunately received some pushback. However, she persists and continues to bring back Camel City Burlesque/Haus d’Katzmeow to the space, amazing audience after audience who get to experience the performers coming down from the cocktail lounge’s small stage.
Breathe Cocktail Lounge is known for having established themes throughout the seasons and the Camel City Burlesque/Haus d’Katzmeow performance on Saturday, February 18 is designed with the lounge’s current Dreaming in Paris theme.
“Our crowds are very, very respectful,” adds Katzmeow on performing at the cocktail lounge. “It’s because they are told from the beginning to respect and consent.” As opposed to working in the playhouse where the theater provides
absolute creative freedom to the collective, preparing corporate performances for businesses like the cocktail lounge challenges the burlesque company di erently, requiring it to abide by the business’s specific performance requests.
SophieBot5000, also known as “The Transexual Temptress” began her performance career in drag more than a decade ago. As she developed as a performer and got more work done, she had more to showcase and eventually was invited to perform at the Wiggle Room with Katzmeow. Having performed in drag for so long, SophieBot5000 assumed burlesque would be the same as drag, and while it’s similar in ways, it is also di erent in others.
“To this day, one of my favorite things to do now is share a dressing room with like eight other strippers,” she said. “It’s the way that we talk to each other, and the way that we talk about our bodies, its equal parts, objective, subjective, support-
ive, complicated, controversial.”
The performance scheduled at the playhouse this Saturday is almost sold out, but there are more upcoming performances booked throughout the year, including one scheduled on the same weekend as the Pride Winston-Salem Festival.
“We’re trying to make it a safe home for everyone, we are heavily into women’s empowerment and the beauty of all body types, all races, every ethnicity,” said Co-
hen. “Everyone is beautiful, and if you don’t show that on stage, what are we trying to do?”
In addition to general seating, Saturday night’s performance also includes special seating and a few VIP tables that will provide champagne, goodies, and treats.
“Crazy Lil’ Thing Called Love” invites us not only to celebrate love itself but the love we have for so many of life’s delights such as food, dancing, martinis, and more.
“The one thing that I want people to do when they come to the show is not only to look at it and be entertained by the amazing dancing, by the beautiful costumes, and by our super hot performers; but to also let yourself be provoked, in a way that burlesque is supposed to provoke you,” said SophieBot5000. “Let it be something a little bit sexy, a little bit dirty, a little bit naughty that you do for yourself.”
For more information on a “Crazy Lil’ Thing Called Love” at the Camel City Playhouse, visit www.camelcityplayhouse. com. For more information on Camel City Burlesque/Haus d’Katzmeow’s performance at Breathe Cocktail Lounge, visit www.breathecocktaillounge.com. !
On Wednesday, February 22, the Triad Film Collaborative (TFC) will celebrate its fifth anniversary with the self-explanatory Triad Film Collaborative Short Film Showcase, which will take place at 7:30 p.m. at RED Cinemas, 1305 Battleground Ave. in Greensboro. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door, or in advance by calling (336) 230-1732 or by visiting the RED Cinemas website: https://www.redcinemas.com/.
Each year, the Short Film Showcase highlights the work of actors and filmmakers that live or work in the Piedmont Triad area. This year’s event will include eight films made in 2022 and eight films from each of the previous years since the showcase began in 2018.
The eight new films being screened are Remember Me? and Real Men Cry; both directed by Jordan Scott; Are
You? and Fingers Crossed, both directed by Anita Clark-Anderson; Stayed Down and Lonely, a double-shot of music videos directed by Trey McKee; All the Right Things, directed by Jay Burkholder; and Conditions, directed by Ben West, who has had films in four of the five previous TFC showcases.
The eight fan favorites on the bill are Daniel and The Squire (2018), directed by Peter Bodin; A Grim Dinner (2018), directed by Steven Hancock; The Vision (2019), directed by Gabriel Tufano; The Phantom, Ghost Stories (2019), directed by Mitch Toney; Survive Together (2020), directed by Tyler McKenzie; Escaping Demons (2020), directed by Richard Clabaugh; Dear Brother (2021), directed by Ben West; and 2021’s Always (proof of concept), directed by Taylor Grace Davis.
The Triad Film Collaborative was founded in 2017 by filmmaker Ken Comito to provide a common resource for filmmakers in the area to network, share projects, learn, and grow. The group meets on the third Thursday of each month at Revolution Mills in Greensboro. Iris Carter, formerly the city producer for the Greens-
boro 48-Hour Film Project, is the current president of TFC.
“I am amazed at the talent we have in the Triad area,” she said. “I’ve been watching the film community grow over the past 14 years or so and am excited by their determination to learn and develop their skills, and I’m excited for these films to be available to a wide audience.”
Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic a ected film production, as well as everything else, yet that didn’t curtail the ambitions or aspirations of area filmmakers. “People made films during the pandemic, albeit on a small scale in regard to cast and crew,” Carter said. “It also gave people time to watch and learn from others, to catch up on tutorials and online workshops. Many spent a lot of time writing scripts and discussing them online. In fact, TFC started a screenwriting group and moved it to Zoom during the pandemic, and the group still meets weekly using the same forum. The resources, e orts, and practice have helped individuals hone their skills and they have a strong desire to share their art. Stories are meant to be told, and films are meant to be seen!”
Carter’s sentiments are seconded by
Rebecca Clark, executive director of the Piedmont Triad Film Commission (PTFC), which is one of the event’s sponsors.
“We are proud to show support for the amazingly talented filmmakers that have committed to keeping their projects — and themselves — local,” she said. “They provide the roots to our greater film community.”
“The film industry in our area is making a comeback,” observed Carter, “and I believe that opportunities are out there for those who want their voices heard. There are so many people in our area with a wide range of skill sets, and in TFC we are bringing people together to use the talents they have with opportunities to learn more while having fun making films. Big-studio money is not required for making films. It’s all about the story.”
For more information about the Triad Film Collaborative, visit the o cial website: https://triadfilm.org/. For more information about the Piedmont Triad Film Commission, visit the o cial website: https://piedmontfilm.com/. !
See MARK BURGER’s reviews of current movies. © 2022, Mark Burger.
“It’s a big deal,” said Guilford Technical Community College President Tony Clarke as he prepared on Jan. 31 to announce a partnership between the school and the North Carolina Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education, or NC FAME, program.
“NC FAME, The First in Flight chapter, is going to have a direct and immediate impact on the Triad’s workforce,” said Clarke. “Along with classroom time, students will be on the floor with a local manufacturing company learning valuable skills while getting paid a good salary. When they successfully complete the program, they will step into a well-paying job or have the option of transferring to a four-year school.
“At the same time the company is gaining an employee they know is well-trained and skilled. It’s a great investment in our future here in the Triad.”
The work-study program is for two years and debt-free, with the earnings from on-the-job training potentially paying for the course. Graduates earn an associate of science degree. Training will be at the college’s Center for Advanced Manufacturing on West Gate City Boulevard.
The four NC FAME sponsor companies, Jowat Adhesives in Archdale, MasterBrand Cabinets in Lexington, Toyota Battery Mfg. NC, in Liberty, and Zielh-Abegg in Greensboro.
“This is a great day for workers and businesses in North Carolina,” said Gov. Roy Cooper. “Community colleges are our not-so-secret weapon. Companies all over the world know about the North Carolina community college system, which I think is the best in the country. This is exciting that businesses want to come and partner with community colleges.”
He remarked that so many new jobs are created in the Triad region and he was excited to announce a new way to fill those jobs.
Cooper said to get those new jobs, the workforce needs quality childcare, education and training.
Cooper noted that in the past, people learned a trade by becoming an apprentice to someone who could teach them. That is the basis of NC FAME.
“This excites me,” Cooper said. “For years businesses invested in apprenticeships and internships. Over the years … businesses moved away from apprenticeships. But necessity is the mother of
invention and we know how much our businesses need a quality workforce. We know [apprenticeships and internships] are coming back.”
Don Stewart, Toyota Battery vice president, said this was the first FAME chapter, the First in Flight Chapter, in North Carolina and the state is only the 14th to have a FAME program. The training received will help close the skills gap.
When he first visited GTCC, Tony Davis, FAME National Director for the Manufacturing Institute, was amazed at the people and teaching at the school.
“This is going to be second to none,” Davis said. “Employers have a distinct need and are collaborating with local partners to expand career pathway opportunities for the region’s workforce by bringing this powerful program to their area.”
Toyota Battery created FAME in 1988 as a way to train students in advanced manufacturing technology. It moved to the Manufacturing Institute for National Scaling in 2019. Today, the Manufacturing Institute is the workforce development and education partner of the National Association of Manufacturers.
Dennis Parker, the founder of FAME, issued a challenge to GTCC: “Make this North Carolina FAME First in Flight Chapter the best chapter in the entire FAME network. This school has the ability and potential to do that.”
Clarke explained the students are in what he called “cohorts”. There will be approximately 30 students in the first cohort. The new program begins August 2023 and current students are eligible to enter NC FAME. With only 30 students in the program, NC FAME will pick the mostqualified students.
“It is an honor, and further validation of GTCC’s impact on our community, that FAME would chose the college for its first chapter in North Carolina,” said George Ragsdale, a member of GTCC Board of Trustees. “Dr. Clarke and his leadership team do a fantastic job and continue to build a trained workforce unsurpassed in North Carolina. This workforce is one of the primary drivers of all the new job and economic growth we are seeing in the area. We are certain to see this continue to grow and benefit all residents of the Triad now that the FAME/GTCC partnership has been established.”
For more information, visit https://gtcc. edu/gtccfame or https://fame-usa.com. !
As live theater continues to rebound from a global lockdown prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, UNCSA Drama Dean Scott Zigler identifies several trends that will help the industry define its new normal.
Some organizations are trading the high overhead cost of brick-and-mortar buildings for partnerships that attract new audiences. According to Zigler, this model reduces ticket prices and breaks down economic barriers. “Buildings bring substantial overhead costs. That contributes to higher ticket prices,” he explains. “When you make the whole city your stage, you can reach people who have historically been priced out of live theater.”
He predicts that the new model will also break barriers in which stories get told. “When you are actively taking theater into the community, you pay particular attention to what kinds of work will speak to the audience,” he says.
New stories for wider audiences will drive demand for traditionally underrepresented actors, writers and producers, Zigler predicts. He points to recent productions, including the all-Black cast Broadway revival of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman.”
“This is not just plugging Black or Latinx actors into ‘White’ stories,” Zigler says. “It is resetting classic plays into di erent community settings, which resonates with people who have never seen their stories on stage performed by actors who look like them.”
And that results in meaningful work for Black and Brown actors, directors, producers and creative team members.
Many actors eventually stretch their creative muscles by writing and
directing for stage and screen, but Zigler says the transition is happening earlier in their careers, especially for women. He points to Michaela Coel, the award-winning British actress who won an Outstanding Writing Emmy for her work on the BBC and HBO comedy “I May Destroy You”; Pheobe WallerBridge, who won both acting and writing Emmys for her series “Fleabag”; and Rachel Bloom, whose series “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” won at the Emmys, Golden Globes, Gotham and Television Critics Association.
“All three of these women trained as actors,” Zigler says. “Actors are finding the only way to get their stories out is to tell them in their own words.”
Zigler says the social media platforms, particularly TikTok, will propel more and more actors into mainstream opportunities.
In the spring of 2022, UNCSA School of Drama student DaMya Gurley, who had amassed almost 400k followers on TikTok, was cast in the sketch comedy series “Stapleview,” with episodes airing weekly on TikTok live.
TikTok continues to thrive despite the controversy surrounding security risks, and Zigler says industry insiders will come to terms with its power. “TikTok has become an acceptable way of entering the entertainment industry, even for those who might not have any training or experience.”
ARTS COUNCIL is the chief advocate of the arts and cultural sector in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. Our goal is to serve as a leader in lifting up, creating awareness and providing support to grow and sustain artistic, cultural and creative o erings throughout our region We acknowledge that it takes every voice, every talent, and every story to make our community a great place to live, work, and play. Arts Council is committed to serving as a facilitator, organizer, and promoter of conversations that are authentic, inclusive, and forward-thinking. There are over 800,000 art experiences taking place in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County annually. To learn more about upcoming arts and culture events happening in our community please visit www. cityofthearts.com.
nce upon a time, there were only three TV channels to watch, and in the late 1970s, no show was bigger than “ Laverne & Shirley,” a sitcom starring Cindy Williams and Penny Marshall as roommates who worked at a Milwaukee beer factory. The series was a spin-off from a “Happy Days” episode in which Fonzie had arranged for Laverne (Marshall) and Shirley (Williams) to double date with him and Richie (Ron Howard). By its third season, “Laverne & Shirley” was the numberone show in the country, and its stars became cultural icons.
I caught up with Cindy last April and we talked by phone about her upcoming one-woman show, “Me, Myself, and Shirley,” which she performed at High Point Theatre. The show was a big hit and we stayed in touch after that, but I wondered why I didn’t get a response to my most recent email. Now I know why. Cindy had been in bad health the past few months, and on January 25 she passed away at the age of 75. The following are highlights from our conversation back in April.
JL : Do you remember the first time you performed on stage?
CW : Yes, it was in the first grade, and they had a talent show, and I sang “Hickory Dickory Dock,” and I had total stage fright, but I did it.
JL : Do you remember who won the talent show?
CW : No, but I’m sure it was some ne’er-do-well first grader (laughs).
JL: When did you first realize that you wanted to act professionally?
CW : It was in high school. I had wanted to be a nurse, but I didn’t have an academic brain, so I entered a talent show at school, and the drama teacher, Mr. Kulp, said, “If you have an elective, I’d like to offer you a spot this coming semester to be in “Play Production,” so I did. That’s when I thought I’d like to be able to earn a living from acting. I just loved it so much.
JL : Over the years, various cast and crew members on “Laverne & Shirley” say that they had to work long hours because you and Penny would often do re-writes on the script. What drove you to work so hard on that show?
CW : We had a litmus test, which was if the script made Penny and me laugh out loud, then we figured it would translate to the audience at home. When it didn’t, we would re-write it, or try and put things in that made it funny. Once we got the show on its feet and started moving around, we would add things, add lines, and ad-lib. The whole cast would.
JL : Even in the late 1970s, there were certain things you couldn’t do or say on television, thus the reason for you and Penny using the phrase “Vody-O-Doe-Doe,” instead of saying, “having sex.” If “Laverne & Shirley” were on the air today, would using more graphic lan-
Oguage make the show better or funnier?
CW : No, it wouldn’t. When audiences of today laugh at graphic language, they’re usually laughing out of nervousness, not out of joy. Also, we had a censor back then. He was a born-again Christian and the nicest guy, and he wouldn’t let us get away with anything. That’s how we came up with “Vody-O-Doe-Doe,” which made the audience laugh out loud because they know what Shirley did. It’s much more fun when everybody is thinking the same thing at the same time. Instead of saying someone is showing pornography, we’d say, “they’re showing dirty pictures,” and the audience would laugh because it’s much more fun. We used innuendo and attitude in a fun-loving way.
JL : Moving from comedy to drama, I went back recently and watched the episode you did on “Law & Order SVU” in which you played an evil woman who was trying to kill her little granddaughter. You also played serious roles in such films as “The Conversation” with Gene Hackman. Do you prefer doing drama over comedy, or wish you had done more?
CW : I’d like to have played more middle-of-the-road parts, but I didn’t have a chance because no one was going to cast me after “Laverne & Shirley.” I remember going up for this big part, and I went in, and the producer said, “I’d love to cast you, but I can’t. You’re just too recognizable as Shirley Feeney.” And it’s the truth, and I understand that. Look, it’s a blessing that I got to play that character and it became so popular with people, so I never regret that.
JL : Do you remember when you first realized you were famous?
CW : I guess it was in the second season. We were in New York City and they had asked us to be in the Thanksgiving Day parade, and we were on this float, and we saw all these people push past this barrier and they were running toward us. So, we looked behind us to see who it was they were running toward, and we were going to join them (laughs). It must be somebody big. Then all this security came up and we realized it was for us. That was the first time we realized the popularity of the show. Penny and I had this same glitch in our personalities where we thought, “we can’t possibly be the popular girls.” We never took show business seriously, and I think that’s part of the reason that “Laverne & Shirley” kept our feet on the ground.
JL : The road to success hasn’t always been easy for you. You had to wait tables at a pancake house, and you had all of your scenes cut from your first film, but eventually, you became one of the most famous people in the world. What is it that anyone from any walk of life can learn from your journey?
CW : It can all be accomplished, but you have to always stay yourself. You have to keep your sense of humor. If you get knocked down, you have to get right back up and just keep going. God played a big part for me. I would talk to God and I’d get brave again. You always have to stay brave, and have faith in yourself and in all the beautiful things around you. You’re not always going to be invited to the party, you’re not always going to get the job, and you can’t let that deter
you from what you want. If somebody else gets the job, you bless them and say, “it wasn’t meant for me.” There was a point where I thought I’d be back to waiting tables, and I was OK with that, and it’s right before I got “Laverne & Shirley.”
JL : I know you get a lot of fan mail, but I wonder if you realize how much pleasure and even comfort you’ve given to people over the years. There must have been times when someone had just lost a loved one or lost their job, and they turned the TV on and watched “Laverne & Shirley,” and you had an impact on their lives.
CW : Thanks, Jim. Yeah, people still come up to me and say, “You got me through a very bad time in my life and made me laugh at a really bad time.” I love people and want to comfort them.
JL : So, in a way, I guess you did become a nurse.
CW : Yeah, in a way I guess I was a nurse. But doing the show was such a blessing for me and such a privilege.
Fans of Cindy feel the same way whenever we watch her on screen.
Cindy Williams left us way too soon, but she left us oh so much. !
Doors slamming. Lights
flickering. Unseen voices. These and other well-worn trappings are currently on display in Fear, a lackluster horror film by multi-hyphenate Deon Taylor (writer/ producer/director), whose 2019 police thriller Black and Blue was pretty good and whose 2020 Fatal Attraction knock-o Fatale was pretty bad. Fear is worse.
The film’s eye-catching poster identifies the genre but does not indicate the narrative. Essentially, it’s about a group of friends reuniting for the weekend at Strawberry Lodge, a 19th-century California landmark that is something of a bastard cousin to The Shining’s Overlook Hotel. Its legacy is spooky, as many guests have checked in, but … well, you get the idea.
Best-selling author Rom (Joseph Sikora) has brought girlfriend Bianca (Annie Illonzeh) along, ostensibly to pop the question. She’s waiting for the right moment to tell him she’s pregnant. The other guests are executive producer Cli ord “T.I.” Harris, Jessica Allain, Iddo Goldberg, Andrew Bachelor, Ruby Modine, Tyler Abron, and producer Terrence “Terrence J” Jenkins. They’re supposed to be playing old chums but there’s little discernible chemistry among them.
With the departure of withered innkeeper Michelle McCormick, Fear’s gears start grinding, which describes the film’s plodding pace. Around a nighttime campfire, they discuss their individual fears. Someone essentially remarks, “I’m tired of being scared.” If you feel the same way, Fear is the movie for you.
Using the COVID-19 pandemic as a plot point, a new airborne variant is announced on news bulletins, the symptoms including hallucinations and paranoia. Some characters have experienced such symptoms, but another must be stupidity — because they inexplicably turn on one another. In the meantime, Rom is researching the hotel’s paranormal past. Then the bodies start dropping.
The nods to other films are plentiful (The Blair Witch Project and The Mist are here, too), but Taylor doesn’t use them any
more e ectively than other movies have. The characters aren’t well developed or even likable. One simply doesn’t care about them. On the plus side — which is meager — there is some spooky imagery, courtesy of cinematographer Christopher Duskin, and the requisite splattering of gore.
It’s a long-held tradition that January has been the dumping ground for studio leftovers, going for a quick hit-and-run cash grab while holiday blockbusters and awards contenders are still in release. Fear upholds that tradition. !
High Point University invites the community to campus for an exciting lineup of complimentary cultural events. The spring schedule includes a variety of speakers, art, music and theater performances.
For a complete list of community events and to sign up for email notifications on future events, go to: www.highpoint.edu/live.
WIND ENSEMBLE CONCERT
February 21
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Hayworth Fine Arts Center, Pauline Theatre
SPRING DANCE CONCERT
March 16-18
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Hayworth Fine Arts Center, Pauline Theatre
EXHIBIT RECEPTION & JUROR’S TALK
March 29
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Darrell E. Sechrest Art Gallery
March 29
Instrumental Chamber
Ensembles Concert
April 4
Jazz Ensemble Concert
April 11
A Night at the Movies
HPU Community Orchestra
High Point Theatre
April 14
Clarinet and Percussion
Ensembles Concert
April 20-22
Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson
Theatrical Performance
April 24
Mozart’s Requiem Choral Concert
April 26
Departures Wind Ensemble Concert
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FEBRUARY 12
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Jean Merritt of Philadelphia has a special knack for spreading goodwill. She writes letters. According to Philadelphia magazine, Merritt solicits mailing addresses and then responds with a handwritten (“in meticulous cursive”) letter on captivating stationery. Her missive to reporter Victor Fiorillo mentioned that she has an overabundance of writing papers and postcards. “I’ve been writing letters since I was a little girl, and never stopped,” Merritt said. Along with requested letters, she writes to people in nursing homes through Letters Against Isolation and to people in prisons. “My mother collected stationery, and I’m still using the stationery I found in her house when she died in 2011. ... I see stationery on clearance, and I can’t resist it.” Sadly, she said most people don’t write her back. But, she noted, “Doing this is also just really good for my brain.”
— During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when students in Harvey (Illinois) School District 152 were learning remotely, the district provided meals that families could pick up. According to WGN-TV, food service worker Vera Liddell, 66, allegedly helped herself to some of that food — to be specific, 11,000 cases of chicken wings. Liddell worked for the district for more than a decade. A business manager uncovered the plot during a routine audit, finding “individual invoices signed by Liddell for massive quantities of chicken wings, an item that was never served to students because they contain bones,” prosecutors said. Liddell would place the orders, then pick up the food in a district van. They didn’t reveal what Liddell did with the $1.5 million worth of wings. She was charged with theft.
— An unnamed 27-year-old man was arrested on Jan. 27 in Seattle after a homeowner returned to her house to find him in her bathroom, filling the tub with water. KOMO-TV reported that when police arrived, they discovered a smashed window and the burglar inside, “clothed but very wet, and the bathtub was full of water,” reports said. The intruder would not provide a motive for his strange break-in and was charged with residential burglary.
Varsity basketball coach Jahmal Street and assistant coach Arlisha Boykins were fired from their positions at Churchland
High School in Portsmouth, Virginia, after Boykins, 22, came o the bench as a sub in a Jan. 21 girls’ JV game, The Washington Post reported. The girl who was unavailable for the game was 13 years old. As a result of the incident, the team’s remaining games were canceled. Churchland investigated and held meetings with players and parents. “Coaches always preach to kids about integrity ... so I was just shocked,” the father of the absent player said. He said his daughter will not attend Churchland next year.
Musa Hasahya Kasera, 68, has a problem, but he admits it stems from his own irresponsibility, Yahoo! News reported. The eastern Ugandan man has 12 wives, 102 children and 578 grandchildren. “At first it was a joke,” he said, “but now this has its problems. ... Two of my wives left because I could not a ord the basics like food, education, clothing.” Most of the family live in a house with a rusting corrugated iron roof on a mere 2 acres of land. “I can only remember the name of my first and the last born, but some of the children, I can’t recall their names,” Kasera lamented. Now his wives are using contraception; “I have learnt from my irresponsible act of producing so many children that I can’t look after,” he said. Horse, meet barn door.
— American animal rights activist Alicia Day, 34, was arrested in Moscow, Russia, on Feb. 1, according to Reuters, after she paraded a calf through Red Square, shouting “Animals are not food!” In a Russian court, she was fined 20,000 rubles ($285) and sentenced to 13 days of “administrative arrest.” Although Day is in Russia on a tourist visa, she explained in court that she had a driver bring the calf to Red Square so she could “show it a beautiful place in our beautiful country.”
— A 34-year-old California man was arrested in Florence, Italy, on Jan. 26 after he drove his rented Fiat onto the Ponte Vecchio, a stone bridge dating from 1345 that spans the Arno River and is now a pedestrian walkway and shopping destination. SF Gate reported that the unnamed driver told police he couldn’t find parking and didn’t realize he was on the historic bridge. He was fined about 500 euros. !
©2022 Andrews McMeel UniversalEnjoy more vitamins, minerals, micro, macro nutrients and phytochemicals to help remove free radicals from your system.
Foray
Voiced
Put on some wrist jewelry?
Foch
Brits
1 Tone of an environment
2 Validated, as a claim
3 Period of Model T’s
4 Right-hand book page
5 Pickle choice
6 Ending with ethyl
7 Many indie movies
8 Like queens
9 New Zealand native
10 Univ. URL ending
11 Gunlike stunners
12 Animator Tex
13 Saintly article
14 “— ed Euridice” (Gluck opera)
15 Nefarious group plot
16 Bobolink’s kin 17 Big headline 18 Explosions 24 “The Raven” poet’s inits. 25 Gather in
pharaoh
Editors Note: Due to press deadline, the online version of this story will be longer than it is in print.
nline dating has transformed how people of all races, religions, and creeds meet new people and their soulmates. With the general description of today’s dating pool being described as “having pee in it,” many people looking for love have opted to search behind the screen for their happily ever after, whatever that may look like.
The tech industry has answered the call with dating sites and apps ranging from Tinder, Match, and OkCupid to Grindr, HER, and SinglesMeet. According to a recent survey by Pew Research Center conducted in July 2022, Tinder “tops the list of dating sites or apps and is particularly popular among adults under 30.” Match and Bumble closely follow it.
“Tinder use is far more common among younger adults than among older Americans: 79% of online dating users under 30 say they have used the platform, compared with 44% of users ages 30 to 49, 17% of users 50 to 64, and just 1% of those 65 and older. Tinder is the top online dating platform among users under 50. By contrast, users 50 and older are about five times more likely to use Match than Tinder (50% vs. 11%).”
The research survey revealed that three out of 10 Americans have used a dating site or app with online dating being more
common among younger adults than older, more widely used by the LGBTQA+ community, among men than women, and by those with at least some college education versus those with a high school education or less.
OThe Pew Research Survey also concluded that one in 10 adults meet their significant other through a dating site or app and finding online dating success. The following couples we spoke to in the Triad fell into that category.
Kinard and Demetrice Douthit met on Tinder in December 2019. Kinard had only been on the platform for a week or so before meeting Demetrice, who had been on some apps before but had only been on Tinder for less than a month.
“It was kind of not real. You’re swiping left and right, and sending messages sometimes and sometimes people respond to you but it doesn’t feel to me. It feels very fake to me until you can make contact with somebody in person,” Kinard said. So I haven’t been on there very long, maybe a week or so. I really haven’t been doing a lot of that.”
The 42-year-old Director of Student Support didn’t meet anyone in person until Kinard, citing that some people were flaky and she was a little “old school.”
“I was like, I’m not giving out my phone number on this app until I know you’re a real human. So people flake on me in person. I think that may have been part of it, too,” said Demetrice.
Kinard was not deterred. Once he got her Instagram handle, he did his own research.
“I did a deep into her Instagram. I went all o into her pictures trying to see what I could find out about her. I saw that she was a single mom. I saw the di erent things that she had down and the trips
that she was taking and the stu she was doing. I saw she liked music,” he said. “I just kind of felt like we had some things in common. I saw where she was doing important things with colleges. I thought that we would have similar values and goals. I knew we had some common ground when I saw those things.”
Demetrice had more of a challenge when it came to finding out more about the 47-year-old musician and WinstonSalem State University Assistant Professor.
“He didn’t have a lot of stu on Instagram but getting to know him was more about that first meeting.”
The duo met at Panera for lunch and spent several hours talking and getting to know each other.
“I gave him my real phone number and not my google number. I did my homework more once we became friends on Facebook. It showed that he was all band.”
The couple was married in November 2022 but knew almost a month after meeting that they were each other’s “person.”
“We talked and texted a lot. We dated a lot. We wanted to spend more time together. We did everything from movies to dinner to Netflix and chill to me even going with him to work,” Demetrice said.
“For me, it was date three when I really felt something. We were in Winston at Foothills listening to some music, eating dinner, and I was like, ‘pause, girl. You need to pump your brakes on this one. It’s
something with this one.’”
Kinard said that he felt that the third date was special and remembers asking to kiss her after the date, but says it took him almost a month to know that she was the one.
“I knew something had shifted on that third date but I didn’t really know until I was on a work trip. I was in Atlanta and she wasn’t with me. We were talking on the phone and there were some things that she kept saying to me that just made my whole body resonate,” he said. “I believe it was my love chakra.”
Although the couple found happiness fairly quickly on the platform, they tell others looking for love on dating sites to be themselves and to be honest.
“Jesus is in the Tinder because we found each other,” Kinard said, laughing. “If you know yourself and you are willing to be yourself, the app can work. People don’t know how to be themselves anymore, and they always send in this representative. And then, of course, there’s this great divide between who you really are, and what you told them you are. I just happen to be a person who doesn’t know how to do that. I can only be myself. I just think we were really blessed. That’s why I say that Jesus is in the Tinder.”
Demetrice said that she tells her girlfriends to be honest about what they are looking for.
If you are looking for a partner, if you are looking to be married, be very clear with who you’re meeting on the app. Don’t play those games of let me just have this conversation and say what they want to hear,” she said. “Also to listen to the people that you’re talking to. I think what was critical in our first meetup is that I felt like he was really intentional about not
just finding somebody to hook up with. He really was looking for more than let’s just Netflix and chill. We get caught up in the glitz and the glam but people can be telling us the whole time, this is what it is.”
For Sabrina and Lauren Richmond, the love story is a little di erent. Sabrina had just moved to Winston-Salem for school and started a profile on Plenty of Fish to find friends in the area.
“I didn’t have any intention of dating somebody because I was coming out here to focus on myself,” she said. “I knew a lot of people who had made friends and connections through Plenty of Fish so that’s where I started.”
She messaged Lauren and told her that she was looking for “people with similar interests to hang out with.”
Lauren had just gotten out of a relationship but was interested.
“I was ready to put myself out there. I really wanted to just have a good time,” she said There was just one issue standing in the way.
“I see that she’s looking for friends, but I’m looking at her pictures, and I’m thinking ‘there’s just no way.’ So I messaged her, and I’m like, well, thank you, but I just don’t think we could be friends.’ We talked with each other for a couple of weeks over the phone and through the app, and decided to meet each other.”
The pair met in person in 2015 after Lauren left an abusive relationship and was eight weeks pregnant.
“That’s the route I decided to go. She’s been there every step of the way, every appointment. Now we have a seven-yearold son. His name is Presley. She named him.”
Lauren was 20 at the time and Sabrina
was 27 when they met each other.
“I was really nervous because the night that I went to go meet her, she was staying at her friend’s house, and I was with my friends, and I was seriously looking like a mess,” Lauren said. “I was two minutes away from her house, and she thought it would be funny to text me and say, ‘just kidding I don’t want to meet anymore.’ So she was kidding, but I didn’t know it. I got all upset. I turned around, and she was like, ‘Are you not coming?’ I was like no, I turned around. You told me never mind and she starts dying laughing. I go back and we meet each other. It was so awkward. We ate cake in the living room and watched a television show. We just hung out.”
Lauren and Sabrina said that don’t know exactly when they knew the other was the “one,” and it just happened organically for the.
“I just felt the need to kind of protect her and stick around. We continued dating and had some ups and downs because she was going through stu , and I was going through stu because I left California for a reason,” said Sabrina. “For me, it was maybe two or three years in which I felt like I could trust her to be loyal because from where I came from, everybody around me was dishonest and disloyal. So
I had a lot of issues with relationships in the past because of honesty.”
Sabrina said that she also found the friendship that she wanted, albeit one for a lifetime.
“We actually got along well, so I did find the friendship that I wanted. Things just kind of developed. From there, I started planning how I was going to move to the next step. I started preparing to put money aside and to look for stu to propose to her.
Lauren said she knew when she could step outside of her comfort zone with Sabrina.
“I feel like when I was able to just not think about what I’m doing, I just knew that I did love her. It was like ‘wow, this is nice.’”
The couple was married on Halloween 2020 under a blue moon.
The pair warns others looking for love on online dating sites to be cautious and smart when looking for love.
“If you can research a person, do so. You never know what you’re signing up for. Give it a shot but be careful.” !
CHANEL DAVIS is the current editor of YES! Weekly and graduated from N.C. A&T S.U. in 2011 with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. She’s worked at daily and weekly newspapers in the Triad region.
The word “erotic” is derived from Eros, the Greek god of love and desire. Originally a handsome naked young man with wings, more cynical poets later depicted him as a blind child, leading to the chubby little archer we know as Cupid, the god’s Roman name.
As Cupid is emblematic of the holiday, it’s appropriate that Arts Uptown Greensboro is presenting Voyeur Love 2, the organization’s second Gate City Erotic Art Show, in the Khalif Event Center, located at 2000 East Wendover Ave, on Friday, February 17, after Valentine’s Day.
Arts Uptown Greensboro is a program of Uptown GSO Inc. (UGI), a nonprofit founded by Joseph Wilkerson to stimulate investment in northeastern Greensboro.
“Pornographic art can be erotic, but erotic art is not necessarily pornographic,” said Wilkerson. He also stressed that it can be educational as well as provocative.
“All art is subjective, and that’s especially true when it comes to the erotic variety. We’re stripping away the stereotypes and stigma about what sexuality relates to erotic art, and giving the artists the opportunity to explore what that means to both those creating the art and those experiencing it.”
others to follow their lead.
“For whatever reason, that didn’t happen, and then, after a few more years, Covid came along, which shut down a lot of stu . When we finally got back outside, as the cool kids would say, we did the Sneakerball for Juneteenth, and that went really well, and then we did an art battle in partnership with Marty Kotis at his space, which is really nice. We were hoping to partner with Marty on Voyeur Love 2, but he had a di erent space in mind he felt it would work better at, and that space isn’t ready yet, so we had to pivot and go back to the Khalif Event Center, and here we are.”
Wilkerson said that the upcoming event is proving to be a great way for him and his partners in Arts Uptown Greensboro to reintroduce themselves to the city they want to uplift and stimulate.
“It’s really just a matter of making people aware that we’re doing another erotic art show, which looks like
to erotic art, and giving the artists the opportunity to museum.
He compared that experience to a child seeing the naked human body depicted in an art museum.
“When you ask your parents about that, they say it’s not about sex. But honestly, it is about sex, and if there’s a way for your parents to have a conversation with you about that, going to a museum or gallery can be that opening. So here, we’re trying to foster that same conversation between adults.”
opening. So here, we’re trying to foster that same con-
This is the second time in a decade that Wilkerson has loween and erotic art, in a show that tapped a bit into , as far as having a masked apparently hadn’t been an erotic art show in Greensand his coming in with an erotic art piece made
This is the second time in a decade that Wilkerson has organized an erotic art show. He called that first one a big success but said the fact that no others had followed its lead is a major reason he’s doing it again.
“We did an erotic art show nine years ago this October, but it was more themed around that season, with Halloween and erotic art, in a show that tapped a bit into the movie Eyes Wide Shut, as far as having a masked event. When we came up with the idea back then, there apparently hadn’t been an erotic art show in Greensboro for a long time. My first partner, Phillip Young, who is now vice president of Uptown Greensboro, was one of my studio artists and had an erotic piece in the studio space. I’d been thinking of the kinds of events we could have at that space, and his coming in with an erotic art piece made me realize we could do a whole show. I’d been thinking of calling it Vaguely Disguised Innuendo, but Phil liked the title Voyeur Love, and when I heard it, I liked it, too. That turned out to be a great show, and we sold some pieces.”
They’d always planned to do another one, but Wilkerson said they’d been waiting for
it’s going to be as successful and fun as the first one. It’s already doing what we hoped it would, which is to get a lot of the artists excited, as this is an opportunity for them to pull a piece out of the closet, so to speak, or to create new pieces.”
Wilkerson said one example of that happened the morning before he spoke to YES! Weekly
“We met with an artist, Mandy Dunn, and she had never done an erotic piece and was glad of the opportunity. I think that she did a great job with the two pieces that she submitted. That’s kind of the genesis we’ve been hoping and planning for.”
He expressed satisfaction with how it’s shaping up as a very diverse show.
“Another artist we’re featuring is Doug Cason, who’s done a lot of murals with Mary Kotis, and who participated in the Dirty Show out of Detroit. His artwork is probably closer to the fine art side and I’m really happy to be showing his stu . We’re partnering with body painter Shan Ferreira. She was in our Art Battle and we knew we wanted to feature her bodypainting skills and her models, but we ended up partnering with her, so she’s still going to bring that, and a lot more.”
Wilkerson promised the show will arouse the ear as well as the eye.
“There’s 3Stax, a live band covering a lot of songs by Prince because his work is perfect for this, and comedian Big Los. And I’ll be presenting a digital collage I call Obey the Algorithm, which was inspired by my falling down that rabbit hole on Instagram looking for erotic art and being inundated with so much stu . I’m calling it Sonic Erotica, where we have 50 wireless headphones that will give you the full content of the presentation.”
The Gate City Erotic Art Show: Voyeur Love 2 begins at 7 p.m. on February 17 in the Khalif Event Center at 2000 East Wendover Ave. Tickets start at $20 and can be found on Eventbrite.
“Come with an open mind,” said Wilkerson. “Erotic masks are welcome.” !
IAN MCDOWELL is the author of two published novels, numerous anthologized short stories, and a whole lot of nonfi ction and journalism, some of which he’s proud of and none of which he’s ashamed of.
The Gate City Erotic Art Show: Voyeur Love 2 will be held at the Khalif Event Center, 2000 East Wendover Avenue, Greensboro, February 17 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at Eventbrite starting at $20
7:00 P.M.
available for home games below:
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Wednesday, February 8
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h, yes. The “Spectacle of Love,” is both an album from Greensboro-raised Libby Rodenbough and a solid summation of Valentine’s Day in general — it’s the season where romance abounds for saps, sweethearts and songbirds.
Rodenbough will actually be in Greensboro for Valentine’s Day, playing with Lou Hazel and Rodes Baby at the Flat Iron on February 14; and their 2020 “Spectacle of Love” album features a few tracks worthy of a Valentine’s mixtape, while the venue itself these days seems the product Cupid’s arrow a few years on.
Now owned and operated by husbandand-wife, Josh King and Abbey Spoon, the Flat Iron continues to nurture and grow along with their family and the Greensboro community — though it didn’t always feel that way, as explored in King’s
O“Another
“I wrote that song during a shit time in our lives,” King said, recalling the familial struggles around conceiving their second daughter, the pandemic pressures on his work as a musician, and the death of friends. “I just wanted to write something that she could listen to and be reminded that even though everything was fucking crazy, I wasn’t going anywhere and we’d live the fucking crazy together.” Flash forward a couple of years, and they’re living a whole new set of crazy — which they invite folks to share six nights a week.
Meanwhile, “Tired Eyes” from Winston’s Water Culture wades in similar waters. “‘Tired Eyes’ is a song about a love persevering through time and hardships,” said Austin Etchells, a new member in the group of “dads with a passion for lawn care and emo music.” “It’s about being fully comfortable and accepted as you are, and being comforted at night and in the morning by the tired eyes of your love.”
Mixing the bedrock of married life and the practicalities of musician life, The Kneads’ “Not A Square To Spare For The Polar Bear,” o ers an ode to singer
Michael Joncas’ wife — after more than a few years of her wondering. “Over the years, as I shared new song ideas with my wife she always jokingly said, ‘so this one is gonna be about me, right?’” he explained. “The majority of my lyrics are about other people, characters from books, world events. I don’t usually write about myself. So with this tune, I was finally able to say, “‘yes, this one is about you.’” Serving Replacements-style powerpop, the track urges, “whatever it takes to prove I’m worth your time.” They’ll play the Pour House on March 25.
Love songs hit a bit di erently for bands of married folk like the folksters in Couldn’t Be Happiers and Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs.
O ering “Folk(ish) fuel for your psychedelic soul,” the duo of Zack and Kendra Harding in BMLB have a new album in the works — though it’s “Moment With You,” o their 2021 “Folk(ish)” album that captures their essence. Written in a McDonald’s parking lot at the crack of dawn, after an airport farewell, the track beckons to break clocks and relish time spent together. They’ll be at Southend Brewing on February 11.
Another married duo, Jordan Crosby Lee and Jodi Hildebran Lee, make up Couldn’t Be Happiers, who make “folkrock for everyone” through fantastical source material via an admittedly thick layer of sap. “As if the band name wasn’t sappy enough, we’ve got plenty of sappy love songs,” they said, pointing to their “apocalypse” love song, “Tree House.” Growing out of an inside joke about shortcomings and strengths, “it’s about how we would survive together when global warming starts swallowing up our cities — of course, we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to throw in some progressivism,” they noted. By the bridge, the pair reconciles their fate together, singing, ”when there’s nowhere else to go, we’ll go together, and when there’s no time left to live, we’ve lived forever.” CBH will be at the Flat Iron on February 9 and at Roar on February 26.
From the fantastical to the more straightforward love songs, it comes as no surprise that the indie poppers in Sweet Dream have put out plenty of sweet stu , with songs like “You” (featuring Reliably Bad’s Jessica Schneider) or “With Me” o of their 2020 “Caricature” album; and
“Maybe” o the “Blessed” EP. They’ll also be at Etc.GSO on February 17.
Packing a little more punch, Dai Cheri’s latest single, “Let Magic Lead the Way,” leans into an a ectionate post-punk lens suiting their calling as “an indie rock band specializing in really loud love songs.” They’ll be at Monstercade on February 25 with Tired All the Time and Lofield.
In the singer-songwriter realm, Michael C. Parris’ “Tiny Little Love Song” o his 2022 record “Honeybee” relates the comforts of home found in the light of a blue-eyed lover. Written at the Mercyland Songwriter Workshop in Hot Springs with Marissa Spence (who went on to marry those blue eyes) the track was recorded in Nashville with an ensemble of musicians and lifelong friends. Currently taking a break during his daughter’s basketball season, Parris is scheduled to perform as part of the Martha Bassett Show on May 4.
For songwriter Doug Baker, love looks and feels di erent these days — a notion he explored on “What Does Love Look Like Now (Rosser’s Song),” a track from his 2021 LP, “Navigating Life.” “It’s all about discovering love in its truest and deepest sense later in life,” Baker explained. “We definitely aren’t teenagers. Hell, our kids aren’t even teenagers! It might sound corny to some folks to call her my muse, but that’s really the case as I’ve written a couple of other songs about her and our relationship.” Baker is currently developing a songwriting education program through the High Point Arts Council and curates the “Songwriters@Scup” series at Scuppernong Books in Greensboro (the next installment on February 12 features Carmen Bliss, Jim Ritchey, and Emanuel Wynter).
From muses to memories, “Mneme” by Being Followed o ers sweet musings on memories and love — both real and imagined — from the duo of “insu erably romantic nihilist heroes, singing things, plucking strings, moving 1s and 0s.” For writer Chris York, “it’s about how you remember a moment is sometimes more valuable than truth.” Based on a cold winter years ago, “I was 21, strung out, with no hope and zero clue living in a squat house with a bunch of other kids making equally bad decisions,” York explained. “A group of transients came from NYC to stay just long enough to wait out the worst part of winter on their way further south. She walked in and everything changed. I had a reason and it was her. The truth is she fell in love with my best friend. But what I remember means more than truth.”
In contrast, Clay Howard’s latest love o ering, “I’m Here..” searches for clarity. “I was starting to dip my foot back in the dating pool after the failure of my 25-year
marriage,” Howard explained. “It’s really a plea to be totally present in a relationship — and totally available.” The single is part of an upcoming album with producer Doug Davis. Howard’s group, the Camel City Yacht Club will be totally available (and smooth) at Joymongers Barrell Hall on February 24.
Howard also appears on Dale Cole’s “I Have Tried,” adding to the vocal arrangement to the doo-wop-inspired plea for the unrequited. “It’s a modern take,” Cole noted. “We’ve all been in the situation this song references. You meet someone, fall madly in love, and that person doesn’t reciprocate. But you just can’t let go.” Cole has a new single releasing on February 10. He’ll be at ROAR in Winston-Salem on February 8 with the Camel City Revelators for a monthly fundraiser and drive for the Second Harvest Food Bank Of North West North Carolina; and as part of the Bootleggers at Folly’s Draft & Snack in Kernersville on March 18.
The love cats in the Cure-heavy rock outfit Toothsome touches on a di erent sort of pain in ”Milk Punch,” the single from their 2022 EP, “Largesse.” “My girlfriend jokes that if I leave her she’ll chop my dick o , and as someone who has been surprise-divorced before, I can’t tell you how comforting that is,” vocalist Tom Sowders gushed about his muse (who this writer knows to be a lovely, lovely lady). “Milk Punch is about my love, who found me kind of fucked up over an ex and waited for me to get healthy. The vibe matches the easy vibe of our mutual love. I can’t wait to write a hundred more songs about her.” The next show from the TriadTriangle hoppers will be with Bangzz and Spirit System at Local 506 on March 24.
From new love to new releases, the NuBeing Collective will put out a video for their rendition of “My Funny Valentine,” featuring Lacy Haith, on February 14. They’re currently working on a new album, curating the 2023 Strange Fruit Festival, and developing the upcoming NuFinds live music series.
Meanwhile, Joshua Kendrick will release “Be My Parachute” for Valentine’s Day. “It’s like a love letter to dance to,” Kendrick explained, “knowing I have someone to catch me when I fall has my heart singing beat beat be my parachute!” The song is the third installment of a bi-weekly release series he’s planned through 2023. His next show is at Tailgators on February 9.
From new flings to married folks and all sorts of honeys in between. Happy Valentine’s Day, Triad lovers! !
KATEI CRANFORD is a Triad music nerd who spotlights area artists and events.
FIREHOUSE TAPROOM
10146 N Main St | 336.804.9441
www.facebook.com/firehousetaproom/
Feb 18: Mardi Gras Masquerade Ball
FOUR SAInTS BREwInG
218 South Fayetteville St. | 336.610.3722 www.foursaintsbrewing.com
Thursdays: Taproom Trivia
Fridays: Music Bingo
Feb 19: Honky Tonk Jam w/ Mark Dillion & Friends
Feb 25: wayward Blues Band
CAT ’S CRADlE
300 E Main St | 919.967.9053
www.catscradle.com
Feb 9: warren Zeiders
Feb 10: G. love & Special Sauce and Donavon Frankenreiter
Feb 10: Kathleen Edwards
Feb 11: Angel Olsen
Feb 11: Kimbra
Feb 11: Speed Stick
Feb 13: STRFKR
Feb 17: The Criticals
Feb 17: Amy Ray Band
Feb 17: Adam Melchor
Feb 18: Ella Jane
BOJAnGlES COlISEUM
2700 E Independence Blvd | 704.372.3600
www.boplex.com
Feb 8: John Mellencamp
Feb 15: Dancing with the Stars: live!
Feb 17: Katt williams
Feb 25: 2023 Blues Alright Tour
THE FIllMORE
1000 NC Music Factory Blvd | 704.916.8970
www.livenation.com
Feb 11: Jim Messina
Feb 13: lil Darkie
Feb 14: STRFKR
Feb 15: Parkway Drive
Feb 16: Russel Dickerson
333 E Trade St | 704.688.9000
www.spectrumcentercharlotte.com
Feb 8: Carrie Underwood
Feb 17: Impractical Jokers
Feb 18: Adam Sandler
Feb 26: winter Jam 2023
TAP HOUSE
6000 Meadowbrook Mall Ct | 336.448.5330
www.facebook.com/vstaphouse
Feb 9: Soundkraft
Feb 10: Hawthorne Curve
Feb 11: Jill Goodson Band
Feb 16: Shoulder 2 Shoulder
Feb 17: Decades
Feb 18: Vinyl Tap
DuRHAm
CAROlInA THEATRE
309 W Morgan St | 919.560.3030
www.carolinatheatre.org
Feb 11: Angel Olsen
Feb 18: Shana Tucker, ChamberSoul
Cello & Songs
Feb 23: Tower of Power
DPAC
123 Vivian St | 919.680.2787
www.dpacnc.com
Feb 8: Dancing with the Stars: live!
Feb 22: Brandi Carlile
Feb 24-26: Riverdance
Feb 28-Mar 5: Jagged little Pill
ELKIn
REEVES THEATER
129 W Main St | 336.258.8240
www.reevestheater.com
wednesdays: Reeves Open Mic
Fourth Thursdays: Old-Time Jam
Feb 11: Presley Barker
Feb 17: Blue Dogs
Feb 24: Tommy Prine
gREEnSBORO
BARn DInnER THEATRE
120 Stage Coach Tr. | 336.292.2211
www.barndinner.com
Feb 4-25: Murdered to Death
Feb 10: Soul & Inspiration: A Tribute to The Righteous Brothers
Feb 24: Encounter
310 S. Greene Street | 336.333.2605
www.carolinatheatre.com
Feb 11: Rouge: A Cirque & Dance
Cabaret
Feb 17: Jo Dee Messina
Feb 18: The Mavericks
1126 S Holden Rd | 336.333.1034
www.thecomedyzone.com
Feb 14: Chris wiles
Feb 17-18: T.K. Kirkland
Feb 22: Casey Frey
Feb 24-25: Cocoa Brown
Mar 2: Christian Johnson
Mar 3-5: Ali Siddiq
Mar 10-11: J.J. williamson
Mar 17-18: Josh Adam Meyers
Mar 21- Apr 1: Hypontist leon Sankofa
COMMOn GROUnDS
602 S Elm Ave | 336.698.388
www.facebook.com/CommonGroundsGreensboro
Mar 18: Sleepless Denver
Feb 8: Dinosaur Church
Feb 10: Wyatt Easterling w/ Chris Myers
Feb 11: Unheard Project
Feb 14: Libby Rodenbough + Lou Hazel w/ Rodes Baby
Feb 15: Dirty Grass Players
Feb 16: Shaun Martin Trio
Feb 17: Kind Hearted Strangers w/ Colin Cutler
Feb 18: Deluge w/ Spank
HOURS: Tues-Fri: 3pm-unTil saT & sun 12pm-unTil
GaraGE TavErn
5211 A West Market St | 336.763.2020
www.facebook.com/GarageTavernGreens-
boro
Feb 10: retrovinyl
Feb 17: Brother Pearl Trio
Feb 18: Stereo Doll
GrEEnSBoro ColiSEum
1921 W Gate City Blvd | 336.373.7400
www.greensborocoliseum.com
Feb 10: The legendz of the Streetz
Feb 11: Journey w/ ToTo
Feb 23: Blake Shelton
HanGar 1819
1819 Spring Garden St | 336.579.6480
www.hangar1819.com
Feb 8: limbs
Feb 12: Gideon w/ For The Fallen Dreams
Feb 16: The Cadillac Three
Feb 18: Creed Fisher
Feb 25: norma Jean
STEvEn TanGEr CEnTEr
300 N Elm Street | 336.333.6500
www.tangercenter.com
Feb 7-9: riverdance
Feb 10: royal Comedy Tour
Feb 11: John Pizzarelli & Catherine russell
SwEET olD Bill’S
1232 N Main St | 336.807.1476
www.sweetoldbills.com
Feb 9: metro Jethro’s
Feb 16: Turpentine Shine
Feb 23: Tin Can alley
THE DECk
118 E Main St | 336.207.1999
www.thedeckatrivertwist.com
Feb 9: renae Paige
Feb 10: vinyl Tap
Feb 16: Ethan Smith
Feb 17: Hampton Drive
Feb 18: TJ The DJ
Feb 23: Bradley Steele
liberty
THE liBErTY
SHowCaSE THEaTEr
101 S. Fayetteville St | 336.622.3844
www.TheLibertyShowcase.com
Feb 11: wonderwall: a Beatles Tribute
Feb 18: russell moore & lllrd Tyme out
linColn THEaTrE
126 E. Cabarrus St | 919.831.6400
www.lincolntheatre.com
Feb 9: Big Gigantic
Feb 9: The Stews w/ Easy Honey
Feb 10: Far too Jones w/ lauren nicole
Feb 15: The Great mountain Groove Ft. Sicard Hollow, The Sweet lillies and Pixie & The Partygrass Boys
Earl’S
121 West 9th Street | 336.448.0018
www.earlsws.com
mondays: open mic
Thursdays: will Jones
Feb 10: matt Dylan
Feb 11: mike Cosner and the Fugatives
FiDDlin’ FiSH
BrEwinG ComPanY
772 Trade St | 336.999.8945
www.fiddlinfish.com
Tuesdays: Trivia
Feb 10: none of the above
Feb 17: Camel City Blues
FooTHillS BrEwinG
638 W 4th St | 336.777.3348
www.foothillsbrewing.com
Sundays: Sunday Jazz
Thursdays: Trivia
Feb 10: inCogniTo
Feb 17: anne & the moonlighters
miDwaY muSiC Hall
11141 Old US Hwy 52, Suite 10 | 336.793.4218
www.facebook.com/midwaymusichallandeventcenter
mondays: line Dancing
Feb 11: Jimmy Shirley Jr. and the Footlights
Feb 18: Granite City rollers
THE ramkaT
170 W 9th St | 336.754.9714
www.theramkat.com
Feb 8: The mountain Goats Duo
Feb 19: SuSTo
roar
633 North Liberty Street | 336-917-3008
www.roarws.com | www.roarbrandstheater. com
Feb 8: Divine Poetry
Feb 10: Darrell Hoots
Feb 10: ready Set radio
Feb 10: DJ Fish
Feb 11: rewind
[1. ART: Where is the Prado Museum located?
[2. GEOGRAPHY: What is the only country that the Equator and the Tropic of Capricorn pass through?
[3. LANGUAGE: What does the Latin phrase “tempus fugit” mean?
[4. MATH: What is another name for the division sign?
[5. MUSIC: How long did it take singer Bob Dylan to write the big hit “Blowin’ in the Wind”?
[6. ANIMAL KINGDOM: How many times on average does a ruby-throated hummingbird flap its wings in one second?
[7. MOVIES: Which movie features the line, “Keep the change, ya filthy animal”?
[8. LITERATURE: Which novel features four children named Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy?
[9. TELEVISION: What is Joey’s famous line in the sitcom “Friends”?
[10. ANATOMY: What is a common name for the pinna in human anatomy?
The Sportscenter Athletic Club is a private membership club dedicated to providing the ultimate athletic and recreational facilities for our members of all ages. Conveniently located in High Point, we provide a wide variety of activities for our members. We’re designed to incorporate the total fitness concept for maximum benefits and total enjoyment. We cordially invite all of you to be a part of our athletic facility, while enjoying the membership savings we offer our established corporate accounts.
Week of February 13, 2023
[ARIES (March 21 to April 19) A hectic period begins to wind down. Take time to draw some deep breaths and relax before getting into your next project. A longabsent family member could make contact as well.
[TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) You’re eager to move forward with a new challenge that suddenly dropped into your lap. But you’d be wise to take this one step at a time, to allow new developments to come through.
[GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) You’re almost ready to make a commitment. A lingering doubt or two, however, should be resolved before you move ahead. An associate could provide important answers to your questions.
[CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Caution is still the watchword as you move closer toward a decision about a new situation. If you act too fast, you might miss some vital warning signs. Go slowly and stay alert.
[LEO (July 23 to August 22) Your new goal looks promising, and your golden
touch does much to enhance its prospects for success. In your private life, Cupid does his best to make your new relationship special.
[VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) That impatient side of yours is looking to goad you into moving before you’re ready to take that big step. Stay calm and cool. Let things fall into place before you act.
[LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) A legal matter you hoped would finally be settled could be a pesky problem for a while until all the parties agree to stop disagreeing with each other. Be patient.
[SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Partnerships — personal or professional — which began before the new year take on new importance. They also reveal some previously hidden risks. So, be warned.
[SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Your associates are firmly on your side, and that persistent problem causing you to delay some activities should soon be resolved to your satisfaction.
[cAPrIcorN (December 22 to January 19) Favorable changes continue to dominate, and you should be responding positively as they emerge. Someone wants to become more involved in what you’re doing.
[AQuArIus (January 20 to February 18) A friend wants to share a secret that could answer some questions you’ve wondered about for a long time. Meanwhile, travel aspects continue to be strong.
[PIsces (February 19 to March 20) Stay on your new course despite so-called well-meaning efforts to discourage you. Rely on your deep sense of self-awareness to guide you to do what’s right for you.
[BorN THIs week: You have the capacity to meet challenges that others might find overwhelming and turn them into successful ventures.
sudoku on page 11
crossword on page 11
The outdoors is really a reflection of you. It’s up to all of us to do our part to help preserve the natural beauty of our state. Join us in following the 7 Outdoor NC Leave No Trace Principles, so our spaces can remain beautiful and enjoyable for years to come.
PLAN AHEAD AND PREPARE STICK TO TRAILS AND OVERNIGHT RIGHT TRASH YOUR TRASH LEAVE IT AS YOU FIND IT BE CAREFUL WITH FIRE KEEP WILDLIFE WILD SHARE OUR TRAILS