Zocalo Magazine - May 2016

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Z贸calo

Tucson arts and culture / ZOCALOMAGAZINE.COM / MAY 2016 / no. 74





inside

May 2016

07. Food & Drink 10. Events 14. Borderland Ghost Towns 19. Arts 21. Galleries 23. Performances 27. Tucson Artists Open Studios 37. Film 39. Southwest 43. Tunes 54. Poetry 55. Look Back 56. Life in Tucson On the Cover:

Tucson Artists’ Open Studios return May 14 & 15 and May 21 & 22. Your guide to the open studios begins on page 27.

Zócalo is an independent, locally owned and printed magazine that reflects the heart and soul of Tucson.

PUBLISHER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR David Olsen CONTRIBUTORS Craig Baker, Andrew Brown, Francisco Cantuú, Jefferson Carter, Sara Cline, Emily Gindlesparger, Carl Hanni, Jim Lipson, Danny Martin, Troy Martin, Niccole Radhe, Amanda Reed, Herb Stratford, Diane C. Taylor, Jeff Weber. LISTINGS Amanda Reed, listings@zocalotucson.com PRODUCTION ARTISTS Troy Martin, David Olsen AD SALES: Kenny Stewart, advertising@zocalotucson.com CONTACT US:

frontdesk@zocalotucson.com P.O. Box 1171, Tucson, AZ 85702-1171 520.955.ZMAG

Subscribe to Zocalo at www.zocalomagazine.com/subscriptions. Zocalo is available free of charge at newsstands in Tucson, limited to one copy per reader. Zocalo may only be distributed by the magazine’s authorized independent contractors. No person may, without prior written permission of the publisher, take more than one copy of each issue. The entire contents of Zocalo Magazine are copyright © 2009-2016 by Media Zoócalo, LLC. Reproduction of any material in this or any other issue is prohibited without written permission from the publisher. Zocalo is published 11 times per year.

May 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 5


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6 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | May 2016

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food&drink Z

Brunch With MOM This Mother’s Day, spend some quality time with the most important person in your life, and do it over a meal at one of these fine Tucson brunch spots. Reservations are strongly recommended (seats fill up very fast!) and note that many prices do not include tax or gratuity.

THE GRILL AT HACIENDA DEL SOL

RITZ-CARLTON DOVE MOUNTAIN

Surrounded with desert beauty, this resort is offering a full brunch buffet with omelet and waffle bars, cheese blintzes, a seafood station with sushi, prime rib, an array of decadent desserts such as chocolate lavender cupcakes and raspberry champagne panna cotta and bottomless mimosas. Brunch is from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Price: $65 per adult, $32.50 per child age 7-14, free for ages 6 and under. 5601 N Hacienda Del Sol. 520-529-3500. HaciendaDelSol.com

For a relaxing, spa inspired brunch, join this award winning culinary team in a celebration with a brunch buffet at the CORE Kitchen and Wine Bar. Brunch is from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Price: $80 per adult, $35 per child. 15000 North Secret Springs Drive. 520-572-3401. RitzCarlton.com/DoveMountain.

MAYNARDS KITCHEN Served family style, this three course brunch will feature strawberry and mascarpone crepes, leg of lamb, poached salmon and bing cherry and white chocolate devil’s food cake. Vegetarian options will be available upon request. Brunch is from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Price: $55 per adult, $15 per child age 10 & under. 400 N Toole Avenue. 520-545-0577. MaynardsTucson.com

AGUSTIN KITCHEN Set in the Mercado San Agustin, a four course menu will be offered with many local and sustainable sourced items such as, grilled spring vegetables, gazpacho, surf & turf, glazed game hen, and a mini desert trio. A separate menu will be available for kids. Brunch is from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Price: $50 per adult, $15 per child age 12 & under. 100 South Avenida del Convento. 520-398-5382. AgustinKitchen.com

HILTON TUCSON EL CONQUISTADOR Live music and a champagne toast make for a delightful brunch buffet in the Turquoise Ballroom, featuring farmers market salads, lemongrass poached shrimp, prime rib, Chef Ernesto’s famous pasole, pistachio crusted chicken tenderloin, huevos rancheros, blueberry and apple bread pudding, and a desert extravaganza. Brunch is from 10:00 am to 2:30 pm. Price: $59.95 per adult, $19 per child age 6-12, children under 5 are free. 10000 North Oracle Road. 520-544-1244. HiltonElConquistador.com

TOHONO CHUL Soak in the springtime atmosphere at the Garden Bistro with a brunch buffet featuring breakfast favorites such as an omelet station, freshly baked cinnamon rolls, quiche bar, carving station, jalapeño scalloped potatoes, portobello risotto, seared ahi tuna lettuce cups, and an assortment of desserts such as brûlées, streusel and cakes. Brunch is from 9:00 am to 2:30 pm. Price: $44.95 per adult, $13.95 per child age 10 & under, children under 5 are free. 7366 North Paseo del Norte. 520-742-6455. TohonoChulPark.org.

DAKOTA BAR & GRILL Featuring a brunch buffet with delicious fare such as, herb crusted prime rib, tavern style ham, oysters, silver dollar pancakes, chilled strawberry champagne soup, eggs benedict, and a selection of desserts. Each mother will receive a complimentary mimosa. Brunch is from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Price: $38 per adult. Telephone for kids pricing. 6541 E Tanque Verde Road (located in Trail Dust Town). 520-298-7188. DakotaTucson.com.

WESTWARD LOOK Held in the Sonoran Ballroom, this brunch buffet features delectable options such as, artisan cheeses, conch ceviche, chicken stuffed with leeks and brie, pecan crusted trout, roasted pork loin, and a variety of pies, cakes and mini desserts. Brunch is from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Price: $59 per adult, $25 per child ages 5-11, children under 4 are free. 245 East Ina Road. 520-917-2970. WestwardLook.com. continued on next page... May 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 7


Historic Dunbar Spring

c. 1915 Bungalow, Impeccably Restored, 2bdrm 2ba, $299,000. MLS # 21609234

Mud Adobe Workshop • Saturday May 7th Learn from a master, Adam Ortiz, graduate of the old school of “MUD.” Adam will discuss and demonstrate some of the little known but essential rules of working with mud adobe, the benefits of living in an “adobe,” as well as the importance of recognizing and handling the enemies of this amazing substance. SAT, MAY 7TH, 1PM-3PM, 937 SOUTH MEYER. For more info, call Tim at 520-241-3123.

Tim Hagyard Susie Deconcini 520.241.3123

Barrio Mud Adobe

c. 1905, Original Adobe, Home and Guest house restored and expanded in 2002, $475,000 MLS # 21524648.


Photo: J. Martin Harris Photography

food&drink Z

The Westin La Paloma offers one of the more spectacular spots in Tucson to brunch with Mom.

THE WESTIN LA PALOMA RESORT & SPA

ARIZONA INN

Celebrate the occasion in this stunning foothills desert landscape, with enticing options such as, lemon fennel poached chicken, crab claws, slow roasted pork loin with a blackberry chipotle glaze, pan roasted sea bass, lemon ricotta pancakes, custom omelets, and an assortment of deserts such as chocolate Kahlua flourless cake, baked meringue pops, and southwest inspired deserts such as prickly pear rhubarb cobbler. Brunch is from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Price: Mother’s Day Brunch: $59.99 per adult, $21.99 per child. 3800 East Sunrise Drive. 520-742-6000. WestinLaPaloma.com.

Offering a three course champagne brunch with traditional favorites such as, wedge salad, smoked salmon benedict, filet mignon, grilled lamb chops and an assortment of desserts. Brunch is from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm. Price: $65 per adult (includes a glass of champagne or sparkling cider), $35 children under age 12. 150 North Main Avenue (inside the Tucson Museum of Art courtyard). 520-628-8533. CafeaLaCartTucson.com

THE CARRIAGE HOUSE Inspired by Hong Kong tea houses, this newly opened venue offers a brunch menu with international dim sum fare mixed with traditional favorites such as roasted pork buns and dumplings, French toast, quiche and eggs benedict. Brunch is from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.Prices vary. 125 South Arizona Avenue. 520-615-6100. CarriageHouseTucson.com

CAFÉ A LA C’ART Located in the Tucson Museum of Art courtyard, this local’s favorite will feature a traditional brunch with classic fare such as apple wood smoked bacon, shrimp cocktail, blintzes with fruit compote, vegetable frittata, braised short ribs, miniature desserts, and a build your own omelet station. Brunch is from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.Price: $29.95 per adult, $10.95 children under age 12. 150 North Main Avenue (inside the Tucson Museum of Art courtyard). 520628-8533. CafeaLaCartTucson.com

PENCA Serving a $29 3-course menu in addition to a $12 kids menu. The kids stay happy with ensalada de fruta or gelatina de fresa, and quesadilla or corn cakes, while Mom enjoys gelatina de pina colada, ensalada de fruta con chamoy de jamaica or trucha a la plancha (seared trout over a spinach salad with grilled vegetables, jalapeno, lime and cilantro chimichurri.) Other options are sopa de elote y flor de calabaza and tamales con acihote. Everyone finishes off with paletas (ice pops in the flavors of jamaica, pina, fresa, chamoy, papaya con chile and lime.) Brunch is from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. And don’t forget Dia de las Madres on May 10th. 50 East Broadway. 520-203-7681. PencaRestaurante.com

CUP CAFÉ Featuring four specials to mark the occasion in addition to their regular brunch menu, smoked salmon frittata, sleeping frog farms frittata, chicken & brioche French toast and a duck confit paella. Brunch is from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm. Prices vary. 311 East Congress Street. 520-798-1618. HotelCongress.com/Food n May 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 9


Z events

Weird Plant Sale at the Tucson Botanical Gardens, May 6 & 7

Tues 03- Sun 08 Agave Heritage Week

Learn about the culinary heritage, culture and science of the agave plant. Guests, 21 and over, can taste tequilas, bacanoras and sotols inspired by the indigenous plant, that has influenced dishes and beverages nationally and internationally. Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St. For information on times and events or for ticket prices visit HotelCongress.com/events

Wed 04 FC Tucson vs. University of Arizona Cheer on the Tucson semi-professional soccer club and the University of Arizona’s soccer team at the same time as the two teams face off in a friendly match. The game begins at 7:30 P.M. Kino Sports Complex, North Stadium, 2817 E. Ajo Way. For more information and tickets visit FCTucson.com

Fri 06- Sat 07 Weird Plant Sale

Celebrate National Public Garden’s Day on May 6, by buying a unique plant. Tucson Botanical Gardens is holding a plant sale for cacti, strange succulents and other exotic desert plants. Admission to the gardens is free until 1 P.M. Tucson Botanical Gardens, 2150 N. Alvernon Way. For more information and times visit TucsonBotanical.org

Sat 07 Mero, Mero Tauqero Taco Festival Spend the day tasting tacos from over 25 vendors and then learn how to make your own taco, salsa and tortillas. The event will have games and entertainment as you eat, drink and learn. The event begins at 3 P.M. Tickets range from $30-$80 and is a 21 and over event. Casino Del Sol Resort, Spa and Conference Center, 5655 W. Valencia Rd. For more information and tickets visit CasinoDelSol.com

Sat 07- Sun 08 Mother’s Day Weekend at Old Tucson

may Mon 09 Mariachi Extravaganza

Bring mom to Old Tucson and you can get in for free to experience the wild west too! Old Tucson is offering buy one get one free for admission, for a day of shows, history, food and much more. Tickets are $17.95 for adults and $10.95 for children. 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. Old Tucson, 201 S. Kinney Rd. For more information visit OldTucson.com

Professional groups come together to bring mariachi music that will make you want to stand up and dance. The Gaslight Theatre hosts the annual Mariachi Extravaganza. The night begins at 7 P.M. Ticket prices vary. Gaslight Theatre, 7010 E. Broadway Blvd. For tickets and more information on the performances visit TheGaslightTheatre.com

Sun 08

Fri 13

Mother’s Day Brunch in the Gardens Enjoy brunch with mom surrounded by flowers

Mt. Lemmon Hill Climb

and greenery while eating food from the special Mother’s Day menu at Café Botanica, located in the Tucson Botanical Gardens. Brunch is from 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. Guests must pay regular admission to the gardens, $13 for adults. Reservations for brunch are recommended. Tucson Botanical Gardens, 2150 North Alvernon Way. For more information visit TucsonBotanical.org

Want a biking challenge? Join the Greater Arizona Bicycling Association for on of the toughest 100 bicycle hill climbs in the U.S. Check-in time for the challenge begins at 5:30 A.M. If you register before the race the cost is $30 for nonmembers. The climb begins at McDonald District Park at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains, 4100 North Harrison Rd. For more information and early registration visit BikeGaba.org

Mother’s Day Breakfast at the Zoo

Sat 14

Breakfast, mimosas, elephants and kangaroos? Start the Mother’s Day morning with a delightful breakfast at Reid Park Zoo, after breakfast walk around and see the wildlife at the zoo. Breakfast is 8 A.M. to 9:30 A.M. Admission, which includes entry to the zoo and breakfast, is $40 for adults and $15 for children. Reid Park Zoo, 3400 Zoo Court. For tickets and more information, including the menu, visit ReidParkZoo.org

Mothers Day Tea at the Mini Time Machine Want a sophisticated Mother’s Day afternoon. The Mini Time Machine Museum hosts a Mother’s Day tea, complete with tea, scones, sweets and classical guitar music played in the background. After tea explore the museum. The event is 2:30 P.M. to 4 P.M. Tickets ate $25 and include breakfast and entry to the museum and a small favor. Reservations are required. Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures, 4455 E. Camp Lowell Drive. For more information visit TheMiniTimeMachine.org

National Train Day in Tucson

During the early years of Tucson, the train system brought in people from all backgrounds, opening many railroad jobs and transported tourists to the area, making Tucson the eclectic place it is today. All are welcome to celebrate National Train Day at the Southern Arizona Transportation museum. Participate in craft making, ride a choochoo train, learn about Tucson’s train history or even ring the Locomotive bell! The event is 10 A.M. to 8:45 P.M. Free admission. Historic Train Depot, 414 N. Toole Ave. For more information visit TucsonHistoricDepot.org

Noche de Las Estrellas

A night of Mariachi and Folklorico music, presented by Sunnyside High School. The proceeds from the event benefit student academic scholarships. The event begins at 4 P.M.. Tickets are $10. Casino Del Sol Resort, Spa and Confrence Center, 5655 W. Valencia Rd. For more information on the performances and tickets visit Tickets.SolCasinos.com

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may

events Z through may 31 I Stand with Saguaros Borderlands Theater presents “I Stand with Saguaros,” a three-act engagement of theater and activities celebrating the saguaro cactus in partnership with Saguaro National Park. “I Stand with Saguaros” is a public campaign to befriend, support, and connect with the saguaro, icon of the Sonoran Desert. Participants are invited to stand with a saguaro for an hour (or less) in Saguaro National Park, in celebration of the National Park Service’s 100th year. Members of the public can join musicians, poets and writers, interfaith communities, and others in standing with saguaros every weekend in the Park through May 31. Part participatory theater, part meditative nature experience, “I Stand with Saguaros,” aims to connect urban residents,out-of-town visitors, and youth to the saguaro cactus, awaken a deeper understanding of local geography and ecology, break down notions of “border” between humans and nature, and foster a greater stewardship of and sense of belonging within the Sonoran Desert. Participants are invited to stand (or sit) with a saguaro cactus in the Park for an hour (or less) and then encouraged to share their experience via social media, using #IStandwithSaguaros. Group stands are organized throughout the duration of the campaign and feature anchor groups including musicians, poets & writers, and members of Tucson’s faith communities. All stands are free and open to the public. People can also stand individually or organize their own group events. “I Stand with Saguaros” is the first series of events in a larger project called “Standing with Saguaros,” which received funding by National Endowment for the Arts “Imagine Your Parks” Initiative to support projects engaging people through the arts with memorable places and landscapes of the National Park System.

More information can be found at StandingWithSaguaros.org

Sat 14 2nd Saturdays

A night filled with music, vendors, street performers and more. The event is held every second Saturday of the month. Free admission and street parking is free. 5 P.M. to 10:30 P.M. On Congress Street from Toole Avenue to Church Avenue. For more information on the event and the performances visit SecondSaturday.wpEngine.com

Motorcycle Poker Run

Motorcyclists join a “poker run” to benefit programs for Tucson firefighters. The motorcyclists will not be running but instead ride a 60-mile route. At each mile they will collect a card to complete a poker hand by the end of the “run”, for the chance to win prizes depending on their poker hand. At the finish line there will be music, food, prizes and more. Onsite registration begins at 7:45 A.M., the ride starts at 9 A.M. Northwest Fire District Training Complex, 5125 W Camino de Fuego. For more information and registration visit TucsonFireFoundation.com

Sat/sun 14 & 15 Sat/Sun 21 & 22

Sat 21

Ongoing

A retro celebration of the arts, where live music, swing dancing, art from local artists, and amazing tastes all come together for a vibrant night. The event starts a 6 P.M. Tickets are $45 each and proceeds support the Creative Arts Therapy program. Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort, 10000 N. Oracle Rd. For more information and tickets visit Saaca.org

Fri 06 & Fri 20

SWING

Sat 28 Meet me Downtown 5k

It’s a running block party, the largest in Arizona! Run or walk the 5k and then join in on the block party that has free food, music, activities and more. Cost for registration begins at $25 and will go up the longer you wait to sign up. Also don’t miss activities the night before, the Friday Night Festival of Miles, which includes, the Tutu mile, the kids mile and other types of miles. The block party night and race begins at 7pm at the Children’s Museum 200 S. 6th Ave. For more information about Friday and Saturday visit AZRoadrunners.org.

Friday Night Live During alternating Friday evenings of each month, enjoy music and food at the Main Gate Square Jazz Summer Concert Series. This month listen to the sounds of Reno Del Mar and the DeGrazia Band. 7 P.M. to 9 P.M. Free! Main Gate Square, 814 E. University Blvd. For a list of performers and dates visit MainGateSquare.com

Sun 08, Sun 15, Sun 22, Sun 29 Music Under the Stars

Bring a blanket, chairs and a picnic while you listen to Music during the 62nd year of Music Under the Stars where artists, groups and the Tucson Pops come to perform. Begins at 7 P.M. Free. DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center in Reid Park, 900 S. Randolph Way. For more details on performances visit TucsonPops.org.

Tucson Artists’ Open Studios

Observe artists at work, as artists open their studios to give you the chance to watch them, meet them, talk to them and admire their work. The event is 11 A.M. to 5 P.M. Saturday and Sunday. TucsonOpenStudios.com

May 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 13


Z borderlandghosttowns

The Domes by Francisco CantĂş / illustrations by Danny Martin

This is the latest installment of Borderland Ghost Towns, an ongoing series which pairs architectural illustration by Danny Martin with short essays by Francisco CantĂş

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T

he place known as “the domes,” located in the desert outside of Casa Grande, isn’t a typical ghost town. In fact, it isn’t even a town, and never has been. There are no ruined homes here, no abandoned mines, no old jailhouses or general stores, no holdout residents or eccentric caretakers. Just strange, futuristic concrete domes crumbling beside the open highway.

While the domes may not qualify as a town, they are considered by many to be a dwelling place for ghosts. Outside the structures one evening, I struck up a conversation with a truck full of teenagers. My tío says this place is no joke, a girl named Desiree told me. Another girl named Star nodded her head in agreement. My dad used to party here, she said. He’s seen some scary things. A boy named George jumped in to explain to me how the domes have been used as a site for satanic rituals. They found one of the domes filled with chicken heads, he told me, another time they found a human body chopped up in a black bag. One time, George went on, there was a cult out here performing a sacrifice. This one guy became possessed by the devil and started to stab himself. George balled one of his fists and jabbed it into his stomach, groaning theatrically. The girls looked at him and cringed. Have you seen that show Ghost Adventures? George asked me. I shook my head. You should watch it, he said. They came out here and summoned a demon—there was a figure in a black cloak with horns and everything. The history of the domes began in 1982 when InnerConn Technologies of Mountain View, California purchased a barren swath of land south of Interstate 8 for the establishment of a new manufacturing headquarters. Like many ghost towns, the domes began with a promise: build it and they will come. When construction was completed on four of the seven planned structures, the company held a celebratory champagne luncheon on the site. Hopes were high that the plant would soon be filled with employees assembling circuit boards, quartz watches, computers, and other electronics. A year later, however, the company was bankrupt and the domes were abandoned before a single product had rolled off the assembly line. In this way, the domes have come represent a computer-age iteration of the classic “boom and bust” narrative common to so many ghost towns: a burgeoning industry seeks to impose a vision of modern prosperity onto remote terrain, but the industry shifts and collapses, and that which was built is left to recede into an indifferent landscape. In the years since their abandonment, the domes have used been for more than just satanic rituals. They have served as a site for raves and parties, church gatherings and concerts, photo shoots and music recordings, and as a place for people to drink, dump trash, and freely practice graffiti. Inside the domes concrete floors are strewn with beer cans and broken glass, with ribbons and glow sticks, with firecrackers and empty cans of spray paint. Some rooms are littered with broken pieces of concrete and chunks of yellowed insulation fallen from the disintegrating ceiling high overhead. In each building, light spills in through jagged openings in the roof, through long cracks and neat circular window holes in the wall. Much of the graffiti that adorns the inside of the domes is simple, the same sort of rudimentary scrawling that can be found inside abandoned structures everywhere. Someone has written “Pancho,” someone has written “forget me not,” someone has written “why are you reading this?”

borderlandghosttowns Z Other visitors to the domes have taken it upon themselves to share small bits of wisdom. “U reep wat u sew,” one artist postulates. “The purpose of life is a life with purpose,” asserts another, “so I would rather die for a cause then live a life that is worthless.” Many people have taken to the walls to express an affinity for their substance of choice. Someone has claimed one dark corner in the name of “McNUTTY 420.” In another room, an artist has depicted a man’s bearded face emerging from a Volkswagen bus, a massive joint hanging from his lips. Nearby, another person makes it known that they are “funky not a junky but I know where to get it.” On another wall, someone with a preference for caffeine has painted a pink coffee cup ringed by the words “death by decaf.” The same artist has also depicted a massive ying yang sign with black and white coffee cups in the place of opposing circles. Elsewhere, a gigantic mug has been painted in swirling psychedelic colors. The walls also hold dueling assertions of faith, small arguments mapped out in spray paint: a bitch GOD IS DEAD ⬆ VERY ALIVE YOUR ONLY SALVATION Whether or not the domes have actually been used as a staging ground for occult rituals, satanic graffiti is undeniably ubiquitous. Someone has written “666,” someone has written “welcome to hell,” someone has written “THE END IS NIGH.” In the corner of one room, beneath a sloppily painted pentagram, a healthy pile of rodent droppings can be found next to a blood red stain on the ground and the scattered bones of a small animal. It is easy to see how rumors of haunting have come to hover at the domes. When I first made my way through the structures, I was struck by how my footsteps echoed back and forth between the tubular walls like the sound of a ray gun in an old science fiction film. The sound of my own voice reverberated in every direction, as if unseen figures were repeating my words like an incantation. For a brief moment, I was startled by the sudden and panicked flight of a bat. Later, my heart skipped a beat when two doves dropped from their perch to swoop past me, the sound of their wingbeats resonating in the air long after they were gone. Outside the domes, as I stood with the teenagers outside their truck, I asked them if they were planning to venture inside. They were silent for a few moments, looking at each other warily. I just came to look, Desiree finally said. Star nodded her head vigorously. George scoffed. I’m going over there, he said, straightening his shoulders. Desiree looked at Star with wide eyes. Star shrugged. Are you staying here? I asked the girls. Desiree looked at me as if I were crazy. Hell to the yeah, she said. George ran across the street, stepping over trampled-upon strands of barbed wire and a sign that warned against trespassing. For several minutes I stood with Star and Desiree talking about haunted places in the desert. As we talked, we could hear the sounds of George smashing things inside the domes, shouting over the evening din of the crickets. A few moments later, Desiree gasped and pointed across the road. George was standing atop one of the domes. Get down from there! Desiree yelled across the distance. George jumped up and down atop the dome, consumed with laughter, a black figure flailing his arms in the sunset. n May 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 15


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Z arts

David Brown’s Table Mesa Plateau, at Etherton Gallery

Ben Johnson, Optical Echo, 12x12-oil on canvas, 2016 at Davis Dominguez Gallery

Joe Forkan, Tucson Palo Verde, at Etherton Gallery

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arts Z Barbara Brandel, Luck, at Davis Dominguez Gallery

Upcoming Art Highlights by Herb Stratford Summer in Tucson is a prime time to experience the rich and diverse visual arts offerings of the city. With the higher temps, and lack of performing arts activities it’s also a great opportunity to seek out new and unique work, as well as that of established veterans, often in air-conditioned comfort. A few exciting exhibitions are set to debut in the coming weeks and we’ve got the details for you here. Etherton Gallery’s annual summer show entitled The Artists of Lewis Framing is starting June 7. The gallery’s annual summer show often shines a light on a group of artists who may not have otherwise been seen, and is also usually curated around a theme. This time that theme is artists who have worked with Lewis Framing over the years. Lewis, which is owned by Tucsonan Bea Mason, has done custom frame work for a remarkable number of local artists, and seven of them are being featured in this show. A few of the in the exhibition that were available to view at press time included; painter David Kish’s Agave Wave, a mesmerizing green treat that is both geometric and loosely expressive at the same time as well as David Brown’s Table Mesa Plateau which seems to be comically winking at the viewer while hinting at a subtle joke, as are the paintings of William Wiggins. Joe Forkan’s excellent paintings along with jewelry by Leslie Wardlaw nicely round out the show. An opening reception for the show is set for Saturday, June 11 from 7-10pm at the gallery, located at 135 S. 6th Ave. above Downtown Kitchen & Cocktails. At the Davis Dominguez Gallery their 24th annual Small Works Invitational show went up on April 29 and will be on display through June 25. The show features gallery artists and invited guest artists to exhibit works that are 12” by 12” or smaller for painters, and 18” or smaller for sculptors. This curious criteria challenges participants who normally work larger, to work in a new perspective and sometimes also results in delightfully smaller versions of work that might not otherwise be created. Over the years hundreds of Tucson’s bestloved artists, as well as its new up-and-coming artists, have been featured in this show, which is always an audience favorite. In fact, just 30% of the artists this year are gallery regulars, with the rest being invited to participate. This year there are a total of 83 artists participating, several of the artists this year have exhibited every year. Candice Davis, one of Davis Dominguez’s co-owners is excited particularly about the work of new participant Katie Monaghan, who

makes abstract pattern paintings. Davis says that each year about 1/3 of the works in the show sell, which makes this annual show somewhat noteworthy for all involved given the sometimes anemic art sales market of late. Davis is hesitant to identify any trends of patterns in this edition of the show, but does note that there are less encaustic works and more chalkboard surfaces of late being created. Davis’ partner Mike Dominguez is quick to point out that the show is a labor of love for the pair and while they value strong work, they also are partial to artists who are not “prima donnas.” Davis and Dominguez point out that they invite the participating artists but do not select the work that is exhibited, preferring to go on gut instinct that an artist will select the right work for the show. Dominguez also points out that this is not a show of miniature artworks based on the size requirement, rather it is a show that challenges artists to create a full statement in a smaller space – not just to shrink a work to the stated dimensions. Some eye-catching works by Tucson artists like: Andy Polk, Kathryn Polk, Jim Waid, Bruce McGrew, Carrie Seid and Ben Johnson join a pointed political piece by Alfred Quiroz and are sprinkled in with other compelling wall and sculpture works. Another way to take in lots of great summer art all at once is to attend the Central Tucson Gallery Association’s (CTGA) annual Summer Art Cruise, set for June 4. The event features eight of the nine members sharing one opening night, which makes it easy to see lots of great art, all in one self-guided evening. This is the 18th time the free event has occurred, and it unofficially marks the beginning of the summer art season. With several of the galleries located within walking distance, the event is very accessible with local parking close by. The eight participating galleries this tour are; Davis Dominguez Gallery, Baker + Hesseldenz Design/Fine Art, Conrad Wilde Gallery, Contreras Gallery, Louis Carlos Bernal Gallery, Moen Mason Gallery, Philabaum Gallery and Raices Taller 222 Gallery. For more information on individual gallery’s hours and shows visit CTGATucson.org. Hours for the event are from 6-8pm at most locations with some places staying open later. The CTGA hosts two annual events, with the other one falling in February entitled the Art Safari, which also serves to collaborate and raise the profile of member galleries, as well as connecting artists with audiences, on one evening. n May 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 19


Z art galleries & exhibits

Lionel Rombach Gallery “Luis,” by Joaquin Perez-Blanes shows as part of “Amuletos Through the Frontera” exhibit at the Lionel Rombach Gallery, 1031 N. Olive Rd. from May 10-17 for the “Amuletos Through the Frontera” exhibit. The opening reception is from 3-4pm on May 10. 20 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | May 2016


art galleries & exhibits Z ARIZONA HISTORY MUSEUM Chasing Villa and Above and Beyond: Arizona and the Medal of Honor are on view through May. Hours: Mon & Fri 9am-6pm; TuesThurs 9am-4pm; Sat & Sun 11am-4pm. 949 E. 2nd Street. 520-628-5774. ArizonaHistoricalSociety.org

ARIZONA STATE MUSEUM Intimacy of Faith, featuring retables and ex-votos from the Gloria Fraser Giffords and the Giffords family on view through May 2016. Hours: Mon-Sat 10am-5pm. 520-621-6302. 1013 E. University Blvd. StateMuseum.Arizona.Edu

CENTER FOR CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY The Lives of Pictures: Forty Years of Collecting at the Center for Creative Photography is on view to May 14th. Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat-Sun 1-4pm. 1030 N. Olive Rd. 520-621-7968. CreativePhotography.org

CONRAD WILDE GALLERY 11th Annual Encaustic Invitational: Length x Width x Depth is on view through May 21st. Hours: Tues-Sat 11am-5pm. 101 W. 6th St., #121. 520-622-8997. ConradWildeGallery.com

CONTRERAS GALLERY Different But Familiar is on view from May 7th to 28th with an opening reception on May 7th from 6-9pm. Hours: Weds-Sat 10am-4pm. 110 E. 6th St. 520-398-6557. ContrerasHouseFineArt.com

DAVIS DOMINGUEZ GALLERY Small Things Considered – 24th small works invitational is on view to June 27th. Hours: Tues-Fri 11am-5pm; Sat 11am-4pm. 154 E. 6th St. 520-629-9759. DavisDominguez.com

DEGRAZIA GALLERY IN THE SUN DeGrazia After Dark featuring nocturnal paintings by Ted DeGrazia and The Way of the Cross are on view to Aug 24th. Hours: 10am-4pm daily. 6300 N. Swan Rd. 520-299-9191. DeGrazia.org

DESERT ARTISANS GALLERY Sonoran Sizzle opens May 3rd with an opening reception on May 6th from 5-7pm. Trunk Show: Tad Lamb is on May 7th from 10am1pm. Hours: Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; Sun 10am-1:30pm. 6536 E. Tanque Verde Rd. 520722-4412. DesertArtisansGallery.com

DRAWING STUDIO Art Undressed: A Celebration of the Human Form is on view to May 7th. 2760 N. Tucson Blvd. 520-620-0947. TheDrawingStudiotds.org

ETHERTON GALLERY Sightlines featuring works by Dick Arentz, Jody Forster and Daniel Leivick is on view to Jun 4th. In the Temple Gallery, Tucson Artists Group: Re-Emergence 2 is on view to May 30th. Hours: Tues-Sat 11am-5pm. 135 S. 6th Ave. 520-624-7370. EthertonGallery.com

IRONWOOD GALLERY International Society of Scratchboard Artists 5th Annual Exhibition is on view to May 29th. Hours: Daily 10am-4pm. 2021 N. Kinney Rd. 520-8833024. DesertMuseum.org

MERCI GALLERY Botanic Art Group Show is on view to May 31st. 630 E. 9th St. 520-623-2114. MerciGallery.com

MINI TIME MACHINE Children’s Day Display is on view to May 29th and Miniature Military Figures by Joe Seibold will be on view through 2016. Hours: Tues-Sat 9am4pm and Sun 12-4pm. 4455 E. Camp Lowell Dr. 520-881-0606. TheMiniTimeMachine.org

MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART Max Estenger, 1991-2016 and Nicole Miller, Every Word Said: History Lessons from Athens and Tucson and For All, Selections From the Arts for All Archive are all on view to May 29th. Hours: Weds-Sun 12-5pm. 265 S. Church Ave. 520-624-5019. MOCA-Tucson.org

PHILABAUM GLASS GALLERY & STUDIO

California Dreamin’ is on view to May 28th. Hours: Tues-Sat 10am-5pm. 711 S. 6th Ave. 520-884-7404. PhilabaumGlass.com

PORTER HALL GALLERY Randy Larson is on view May 1st to 31st with an artist reception May 12th from 5-7pm. Hours: Daily 8:30am-4:30pm. 2150 N. Alvernon Way. 520-326-9686. TucsonBotanical.org

May 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 21


Z art galleries & exhibits

Yikes Toys & Gifts Bewitched

/ New Works by Valerie Galloway. Exhibition: April 30 - September 5, Artist Reception: Saturday, June 18, 6-8 pm. 2930 E. Broadway, info@yikestoys.com / 520-320-5669, YikesToys.com.

SETTLERS WEST GALLERY

Summer Show opens May 7th with a reception at 5:30pm. Hours: Tues-Sat 10am-5pm. 6420 N. Campbell Ave. 520-299-2607. SettlersWest.com.

SOUTHERN ARIZONA WATERCOLOR GUILD Mother’s Day Show is on view May 3rd to Jun 5th with an opening reception on May 6th from 5-7pm. Hours: Tues-Sun 11am-4pm. Williams Centre 5420 East Broadway Blvd #240. 520-299-7294. SouthernAzWatercolorGuild.com

TUCSON MUSEUM OF ART

Ai Weiwei: Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads: Gold is on view to June 26th. Into the Night: Modern and Contemporary Art and the Nocturne Tradition is on view to July 10th. Continuing exhibitions include: La Vida Fantastica: Selections from the Latin American Folk Art Collection; Big Skies/Hidden Stories: Ellen Wagener Pastels; Waterflow: Under the Colorado River Photographs by Kathleen Velo; String Theory: Contemporary Art and the Fiber Legacy. Hours: Tues-Wed & Fri-Sat 10am-5pm; Thurs 10am-8pm; Sun 12-5pm. 140 N. Main Ave. 520-624-2333. TucsonMuseumofArt.org

UA MUSEUM OF ART 2016 Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition is on view to May 13th and Artworks: Through Our Eyes is on view to May 8th. McCall At The Movies: Selections from the Archive of Visual Arts is on view to Nov 6th. Hours: Tues-Fri 9am5pm; Sat-Sun 12-4pm. 1031 N. Olive Rd. 520-621-7567. ArtMuseum.Arizona.Edu

hummingbirdmarket.com

Broad-billed illlustration by George West

The Finest Hummingbird Nectar

Ace Hardware Civano Nursery Green Things Harlow Gardens Mesquite Valley Growers OK Feed & Supply Old Town Artisans Picture Rocks Hardware

• • • • • • • •

The Magic Garden Santa Rita Lodge Tohono Chul Tucson Estates Hardware Vista Feed & Supply Western Nation Parks Assoc The Wild Bird Store Wild Birds Unlimited

May 27th. Hours: Mon & Thurs 9am-8pm; Tues, Weds, Fri 9am-5pm. 1508 E. Helen St. 520-626-3765. Poetry.Arizona.Edu

WEE GALLERY “Patriarchs by Proxy” - Craig Cully is on view May 7th to Jun 4th with an opening reception on May 7th from 6-11pm. Hours: Thurs-Sat 11am-6pm; Sun 11am-5pm. 439 N. 6th Ave, Suite #171. 520-360-6024. GalleryWee.com

WILDE MEYER GALLERY Group Show is on view from May 5th to 28th with an

available in tucson at:

• • • • • • • •

UA POETRY CENTER UA Student Contests Broadside Exhibition is on view to

opening reception on May 5th from 5-7pm. Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-5:30pm; Thurs 10am7pm; Sat 10am-6pm; Sun 12-5pm. 3001 E. Skyline Dr. 520-615-5222, WildeMeyer.com

WOMANKRAFT ART GALLERY Drawing Down the Muse is on view to May Made in Tucson

hummingbirdmarket.com 22 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | May 2016

28th with a reception on May 7th from 7-10pm. Hours: Weds-Sat 1-5pm. 388 S. Stone Ave. 520-629-9976. WomanKraft.org


photo: Tim Fuller

performances Z

Christopher Johnson as Esteban and Matt Bowdren as Manuel in The Bridge of San Luis Rey, The Rogue Theatre.

ARTIFACT DANCE Surrounding Dillinger, postponed until Spring of 2017, Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. ArtIfActDanceProject.com

ARIZONA ONSTAGE PRODUCTIONS Bad Jews, May 6-22, Cabaret Theatre, Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. 270-3332, ArizonaOnStage.org

BALLET TUCSON Ballet Tucson 2, May 21-22, Stevie Eller Dance Theatre, University of Arizona, 1737 E. University Blvd. 903-1445, BalletTucson.org

BERGER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Stories That Soar, May 14-15, 1200 W. Speedway Blvd. BergerCenter.com

BLACK CHERRY BURLESQUE May 6, 8pm and 10pm, Surly Wench Pub, 424 N. 4th Ave., 882-0009, TucsonBurlesque.com

BORDERLANDS THEATER Standing With Saguaros, through May 31, Call for information, 882-7406, BorderlandsTheater.org

CARNIVAL OF ILLUSION Season Finale, May 7 at 5:30pm and 8pm, Lodge on the Desert, 306 N. Alvernon Way, 615-5299, CarnivalOfIllusion.com

FOX THEATRE Shatner’s World, May 6, The Naked Magic Show, May 13, Lisa Lampanelli, May 27, 17 W. Congress St. 624-1515, FoxTucsonTheatre.org

THE GASLIGHT THEATRE Rise of the Sheik, through June 6, 7010 E. Broadway Blvd. 886-9428, TheGaslightTheatre.com

LIVE THEATRE WORKSHOP Jack and the Beanstalk through June 5, Rapture, Blister, Burn, May 5-June 11, 5317 E. Speedway Blvd. 327-4242, LiveTheatreWorkshop.org

MAIN GATE SQUARE Friday Night Live Summer Jazz Series, Reno Del Mar, May 6, DeGrazia Band, May 20, Music starts at dusk, Geronimo Plaza, Euclid and University Blvd.

NOT BURNT OUT JUST UNSCREWED Improv Comedy Every Friday and Saturday evening at 7:30pm, 861-2986, UnscrewedComedy.com

ODYSSEY STORYTELLING SERIES Again 5-5-16, May 5, 7pm, The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress, 730-4112, OdysseyStorytelling.com

THE ROGUE THEATRE The Bridge of San Luis Rey, through May 8, 738 N. 5th Ave. 551-2053,TheRogueTheatre.org

SEA OF GLASS CENTER FOR THE ARTS An Evening with Emi Sunshine, May 2, The Accidentals, May 13, Soul Track Mind, May 20, 330 E. 7th St. TheSeaofGlass.org

ZUZI! DANCE COMPANY Student Showcase, May 20, Zuzi’s Little Theater, 738 N. 5th Ave. 629-0237, ZUZIMoveIt.org

May 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 23


Z arts

Artist Joe Marshall 24 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | May 2016


arts Z

Art with Superpowers Joe Marshall’s fine art prints add color to Tucson by Craig Baker

B

elieve it or not, the self-described hippy/punk-rocking local print-making master (we added the master part ourselves), Joe Marshall, actually began his adult life as a pharmacist. Though he says he wanted to study art in the first place while at Rhode Island University as a youth, he felt compelled to follow a more practical path and so elected to major in biology and chemistry. After school, with little to return to career-wise in his tiny hometown, Marshall relocated to Boston. But he says that the atmosphere there was unwelcoming and reminded him of high school in its “cliquish” nature. “I grew up in New England,” he laughs, “and people were just kind of mean to each other there.” So when a close friend moved to Bisbee in 1991, it only took one visit for Marshall to realize that the Old Pueblo was more in line with his personal vibe. So he relocated, too, and he hasn’t left Arizona since. Moving to Tucson also helped Marshall to forge his way in the art world and, thus, to eventually make art his full-time career. He worked at the Drawing Studio as an assistant to Andy Rush in the 1990s, where he expanded on his knowledge of print-making from the few classes he had taken in college, and he began carving his own blocks late in the decade. He also started teaching the art form and, through his extracurricular interests in permaculture, landed a gig making the technical drawings for Brad Lancaster’s award-winning series of books titled Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, which led to other endeavors in technical illustration. And though he still enjoys his work with pen and paper, Marshall’s true passion is the print. “The fact that you can do repetition and multiples,” Marshall says, “I think that’s kind of the superpower of print making…I could just paint a painting, but then you have to ask a lot of money for it. But this way there’s more than one, and they’re all over the place.” It’s little wonder, then, why Marshall has also taken to creating his own comic book series, titled Invisible Journey (printed himself, of course), in his free time. Though he started out carving on much softer linoleum blocks, Marshall switched to using wood explicitly in 2006. He does the carving at his home studio by hand, though he often brings the final product down to Tanline Print Shop on South Fourth Ave.—where he works as shop manager alongside fellow print nerd, Jeik Ficker—when he’s ready to do a run in ink. He says it takes about a day to complete a carving meant to be run in a single color, but images done via the reduction process in more than one color can take several days since each color necessitates its own particular layer of carving. He runs limited print series of each image, though he doesn’t destroy the block when finished, opting instead to store them in a block library at home which has now amassed well over one-hundred items in its inventory. He’s managed to more-or-less master his form over the years, though Marshall says that the medium isn’t exactly the most forgiving. “Once I make a decision,” he says, “that’s it—both on the carving and when I print it.” But that process, and the focus required to complete it, have caused him to view the world in a rather unique way. “Carving is kind of a different thing,” Marshall says, “because you’re removing the material—you’re revealing it as opposed to building it.”

For that reason, Marshall says that he has to “change the way” he thinks about images whenever he finds himself working on a computer. When working in wood, or even on paper, Marshall says that “you’re kind of constrained by the wood or the linoleum, or the pen and the ink, whereas on a computer you can almost do whatever you want…and you can just keep screwing around with the same image forever.” He says that the natural end point provided by his medium of choice helps him to know when to stop working on a particular image, and that the limitations of that material can contribute in its own way to a final product. “There’s a lot of balance and composition that goes on (in print making), because if you carve too much out, then your image starts falling apart.” Thus, in a way, the medium itself tells him, the artist, when his work on a particular image is complete. His carvings tend to focus on what he sees around him—his family, an old ford truck owned by his wife’s grandfather. In short, they are scenes that are inherently Tucson, though that isn’t necessarily deliberate. “I just make things that are sort of around me. Whatever comes to mind. And I don’t think about whether it’s Tucson or not,” he says, “but, I mean, it is Tucson because I live here.” As far as Marshall is concerned, it’s precisely that engagement in his community that keeps him making art, though. He says his friends in the local art scene inspire him in that their voices are a part of that local dialogue about the arts, in general, and he can actually see their influence in the world around him. “A lot of them are doing what they like doing (in order) to make Tucson what they want (it to be),” he says. In that way, his effort to pass his knowledge on to others serves the same purpose. “One of the things I like about having people come in and teaching people is that, when they learn how to do it (carve and print), they get this different mindset about how they can interact with something and kind of master it,” Marshall says. And though many of us would consider ourselves comfortable operating in the digital world, Marshall points out that few of us actually take the time necessary to master that platform. And “regardless of computers,” he adds, “so much stuff is manufactured for people now, and (carving) gives people a chance to delve into what they can create themselves.” To that end, Marshall is hoping to put together at least one carving and print making class for this summer at Tanline, though he says he has to organize his kids’ schedules during that period before he can even start to think about his own. Still, for anyone interested in learning how to make fine art with superpowers, it would be at least worth keeping a lookout. n More info on Marshall and his art is available at YayBigArt.com or TanLinePrinting.com. You can also find Marshall’s art and other Tanline products at PopCycle and Art House Centro in Old Town Aritsans, and on stickers in vending machines at Che’s Lounge, Hotel Congress, Saint Charles Tavern, and Old Paint Records (also in Old Town Artisans).

May 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 25



Tucson Artists’

Open Studios

May 14 & 15 and 21 & 22, 2016

Explore Art in Your Neighborhood

Up-to-the-minute listings and detailed maps at TucsonOpenStudios.com Guide provided in part by Zócalo Magazine • May 2016


Tucson Artists’

49

Open Studios

Lisa Agababian

MAY 14 & 15 AND 21 & 22, 2016 • TUCSONOPENSTUDIOS.COM 46

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Dirk J. Arnold

Artist Studio Cooperative

44 W 6th St

Barbara Brandel

5

46

Michael Cajero

Rand Carlson

8000 South Kolb Rd at I-10 Open: 21 & 22

Neil Collins

Eliza Craig

101 W 6th St

38

Patrick Day

361 S Main Ave Open: 14 & 15

Steven Derks

801 N Main Ave

K. Loren Dawn 549 N 7th Ave Open: 14 & 15

2506 N Stone Ave

Diane Dick

529 S Meyer Ave

CRANE DAY handWEAVER 549 N 7th Ave

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452 S Stone Open: 14 & 15

Leslie Cho Newman

47

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503 E 9th St

Diane Dale

101 W 6th St

1019 N Jacobus Ave

Chello Chavez

101 W 6th St

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Janet K. Burner

101 W 6th St

Nancy Charak

44 W 6th St upstairs

45

Tom Buchanan

42

45

101 W 6th St

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1720 N Forty Niner Dr Open: 14 & 15

101 W 6th St

Bill Baker

2730 N Pantano Rd

Chris Bubany

Geri Bringman

101 W 6th St

45

Dr. Gary Auerbach

4851 E Hampton St

1

45

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Athena Garments

439 N 6th Ave Suite 179

45

4

226 E 5th St

Mary Theresa Dietz 101 W 6th St (behind Conrad Wilde)

TUCSON ARTISTS’ OPEN STUDIOS • MAY 14 & 15 AND 21 & 22, 2016 • TUCSONOPENSTUDIOS.COM Guide provided in part by Zócalo Magazine • May 2016

Yovannah Diovanti 901 N 13th Ave 109A


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Lynne East-Itkin

Peter Eisner

3054 N 1st Ave Suite 7

D.C. Parsons, Freda Epum

801 N Main Ave

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Katja Fritzsche

Donna Flenner

10

34

Kira Geddes

Larry Gomez

4866 E Calle Pequeña (back) Open: 21 22

Erin Hughes

9

2891 N Beverly Ave

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Patrick Hynes

Margaret Joplin

101 W 6th St

44

3

James Huffer

101 W 6th St

5901 N Hombre Ln Open: 21 & 22

6249 E Hawthorne St

33

13

Randall Hobbs

Karen Hymer

Illene Hurley

101 W 6th St Open: 21 & 22

5085 N Valley View Rd Open: 21 & 22

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620 E 19th St #130

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Kathryn Gastelum

Valerie Galloway

2930 E Broadway Blvd

Del & Hi Hendrixson

101 W 6th St

1 E Broadway Blvd

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(22) 2608 N Stone Ave

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Jeff Ferst

101 W 6th St

Natalie Fruciano

452 S Stone Open: 14 15

3025 N Campbell Ave #161

Diane Fairfield

2241 N Oracle Rd Suite 5

39

18

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403 N 6th Ave Suite 157

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Maxine Krasnow

Jane Kroesen

3326 N Dodge Blvd

45

101 W 6th St

Debra Little

1720 N Forty Niner Dr Open: 14 & 15

Cindee Lundin

9040 N Oracle Rd Suites A and B

439 N 6th Ave #139

14

2025 W Ruthrauff Rd Suite 145

Anne Leonard

Lawrence Lee

8867 E Desert Lily Pl

28

1

Joan R Lisi

Rachael Lamb

928 S 3rd Ave

47

Judith Mariner

809 N Irving Circle

TUCSON ARTISTS’ OPEN STUDIOS • MAY 14 & 15 AND 21 & 22, 2016 • TUCSONOPENSTUDIOS.COM Guide provided in part by Zócalo Magazine • May 2016

Nicola Marshall 549 N 7th Ave


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Zoom in to all of these locations with the detail maps at tucsonopenstudios.com Guide provided in part by Zรณcalo Magazine โ ข May 2016

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Pima Community College Downtown Campus

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OPEN ALL FOUR DAYS CHECK WEB SITE

MAY 14 & 15 AND 21 & 22, 2016 • TUCSONOPENSTUDIOS.COM Zoom in to all of these locations with the detail maps at tucsonopenstudios.com

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Annicah McCray

Jack McLain

101 W 6th St

Joe Rebholz

Inna Rohr

8000 South Kolb Rd at I-10 Open: 21 & 22

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Dragana Skrepnik

220 E Congress St Open: 14 & 15

Tony Guzman and Alex Streeter

Jessica Van Woerkom

44

Liz Vaughn

Kathryn Wilde

549 N 7th Ave Studio #5

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Don Trout

Rich Walton

Gavin Hugh Troy 44 W 6th St #3

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Liz Weibler

Greta Ward

1301 S 6th Ave Suite 147 Open: 14, 21, & 22

101 W 6th St

26

101 W 6th St

220 E Congress St Open: 14 & 15

600 W Pomegranate Place

439 N 6th Ave #179

Lorraine Williams

Lisa Stotska

5486 W Durham Hills St Open: 14 & 15

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Mykl Wells

Richard Trible

5486 W Durham Hills St Open: 14 & 15

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1022 W Ontario St

549 N 7th Ave Open: 21 & 22

Michelle Spanyard

2701 E Croyden St Open: 21 & 22

Betsy C Tanzer

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2115 E Spring St behind main house

Sonoran Printmakers

1703 E Fort Lowell Rd

551 S Meyer Ave

Maurice J. Sevigny

549 N 7th Ave

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101 W 6th St

Cita Scott

439 N 6th Ave #179

6234 E Placita Lozana

Angela Pittenger

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William Allen Skiles

Lorrie Parsell

4840 W Placita del Quetzal

Roxanne Rossi

101 W 6th St

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1335 E Allen Rd

Ron Nelson

634 S 5th Ave

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Richard R. Wyland Jr. 2942 W Ironwood Hill Dr

Sharon Wysocki

400 N Citadel Ave Phone 928-792-3961 for appt.

TUCSON ARTISTS’ OPEN STUDIOS • MAY 14 & 15 AND 21 & 22, 2016 • TUCSONOPENSTUDIOS.COM Guide provided in part by Zócalo Magazine • May 2016


ENDANGERED ARCHITECTURE

HISTORIC PRESERVATION MINIATURES BY DIRK J. ARNOLD

www.endangeredarchitecture.com 44 W 6th St • Tucson Artists’ Open Studios • May 14 & 15 and 21 & 22

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In Many Hands Courtyard 3054 N 1st Ave, Suite 7 (520) 624-7612 MHArtistCoop@gmail.com ManyHandsArtistCoop.com Regular Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 11am - 5pm Spring Open Studio Hours: 2 weekends: May 14, 15, 21 & 22 11am - 5pm

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Colorado-based stitching artist Linda Moore presents a new collection of fiber creatures blending mythos and realism, suggesting transcendent narratives of domesticity with wit and a knowing eye. Reception is free to the public.

TUCSON ARTISTS’ OPEN STUDIOS • MAY 14 & 15 AND 21 & 22, 2016 • TUCSONOPENSTUDIOS.COM Guide provided in part by Zócalo Magazine • May 2016


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TUCSON ARTISTS’ OPEN STUDIOS • MAY 14 & 15 AND 21 & 22, 2016 • TUCSONOPENSTUDIOS.COM Guide provided in part by Zócalo Magazine • May 2016


May 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 35


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36 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | May 2016


photo: Jesse Jackson. Courtesy of Loft Cinema

film Z

Loft Cinema crowd at 2001: A Space Odyssey

70mm Films Rule at the Loft by Herb Stratford This past January, Southern Arizona cinephiles had reason to rejoice—The Loft cinema debuted their 70mm projection system with two screenings of the Stanley Kubrick classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. With that auspicious debut, a new film program was born, and with each successive screening, at the Loft has either sold out or been at near capacity. But for the uninitiated, what exactly is 70mm and why should you care about it? The decision to add the film format to the Loft’s projection booth was made in part due to the resurgence of audiences wanting to see movies on “film,” and in somewhat lost and specialized formats. 70mm film is twice as large as 35mm, and as such has a higher resolution when projected resulting in a much more rich visual experience. The format has been around almost as long as motion pictures themselves—the first recorded use of this size negative was in 1896-97—but has had several iterations over the ensuing century. Most recently 70mm fell out of favor due to the cost of the film stock and the lack of projectors that could show finished prints in theatres around the country. But, like many artistic formats (vinyl for one) there is always an audience who appreciates and will support high-quality content. Up north a few of the Harkins Theatres have the ability to screen 70mm, but the Loft is the only venue in Southern Arizona with the equipment and a program of regularly scheduled screenings. The Loft’s system, installed by Northwest Projection has also recently put in 70mm setups in Portland, Oregon and in several Alamo Drafthouse locations around the country. The Loft is in good company with the format and can sometimes talk to their peers about good prints that have been recently discovered and screened. Jeff Yanc, program director at the Loft Cinema now has the task of tracking down elusive 70mm prints to screen as part of the series, which can be few and far between. To date, the Loft has presented 4 titles; 2001 (1968), Laurence of Arabia (1960), The Wild Bunch (1969) and The Hateful Eight (2015). With screenings taking place once a month, or twice if there is enough audience demand. Upcoming screenings include, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad Mad World (1963) on May 21 and the original Tron (1982) on June 11 and 12. Yanc said that he’s had to pass on a few titles that he’s been offered, due to the sub-standard quality of the print, and many titles he’d like to screen are simply not available. All of this of course adds to the cachet of the format and the experience of seeing a film in 70mm at the Loft. n May 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 37


Ed Keeylocko surrounded by Old West memorabilia inside his Blue Dog Saloon.


southwest Z

Cowtown Keeylocko The Old West Town that Never Was by Craig Baker, photos by David Olsen

T

he story of Cowtown Keeylocko is, quite literally, the stuff of local legend. Host to two annual festivals—Keeylocko Days in October and Spring Fever in April—as well as the occasional special event, the working ranch lies at the end of a mile-long dirt road off of Arizona Highway 86/West Ajo Way about forty miles southwest of Tucson; a handful of homemade signs (one of which is topped by a sun-bleached cow’s skull) lead the way into ‘town’ near a border patrol check station not far from mile marker 142. So long as you call ahead, you’re likely to find the property’s owner and sole resident, Ed Keeylocko, sipping clear tequila from a baby food jar at the Blue Dog Saloon—the private, fullyfunctioning bar and music venue that Keeylocko built by hand. With its dirt floors, wooden plank walls, and an impressive assortment of vintage western bric-a-brac, the saloon is a throwback to days long gone. And it’s not the only such structure on the property. Since he acquired the land in the early 1970s, Keeylocko has also built a library, restaurant, jailhouse, a bank which once distributed its own currency (called “Keeylocko Dollars”), an arena, an outdoor stage, and even a chapel where he can quickly marry interested visitors. To that effect, Ed Keeylocko is also an ordained minister. On any normal day, the ambiance of Cowtown Keeylocko has all of the same eerie charm—and roughly the same population—as a legitimate nineteenthcentury ghost town. Where the appearance of the property is one of an active old west haven, sans the people, the only sounds in Cowtown Keeylocko come from the wind in the creosote and the occasional braying bull. An assortment of intimidatingly large pigs can be seen wandering the grounds freely or wallowing under the stage. Perhaps appropriately, a number of the buildings onsite have fallen into disrepair over the years and now exist more-or-less simply as facades. Others have been converted from their original intended uses into elaborate storage sheds full of various odds and ends. Still, the 84-year-old cowpoke has dreams of refurbishing, and even expanding on, his creation. “I want to put it back like it was when I first built it,” Keeylocko says of his Cowtown. He

says he’d ultimately like to add another saloon, a museum, and “places for people to stay—either teepees…or little bungalows—so that people can get away from a place, to relax and think, and to see the stars. A lot of people on the east coast have never seen the stars,” he says. As for the man himself, Ed Keeylocko is a bit of a mystery. And he tends to speak primarily in metaphors and anecdotes, which makes parsing the particulars of his story into something of a riddle. According to his own accounts, Keeylocko was born in South Carolina on December 3, 1931 to a mother named Alice Long, who was so anxious to be rid of him that she refused to give him a name. Without anyone’s knowledge, the doctor who birthed him—named Julius Edward Grant—filed the birth certificate under the name Julius Edward Long. But, when he was abandoned as an infant in the yard of Alice Long’s estranged aunt, Esther Brooks, he was unofficially given the name Edward J. Brooks. It wasn’t until he tried to join the military at the age of seventeen that Keylocko—then Brooks—learned that there was no official record of his existence as he knew it, and so he was baptized and admitted into the armed forces with only a certificate of baptism. He fought in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars before retiring almost twenty-four years later and relocating to Arizona. “In Arizona they didn’t see a person’s race,” he explains of his choice of residence. While Keeylocko was stationed briefly in Sierra Vista, he says it was a single positive experience with a white store clerk in Tombstone that gave him this impression. “I’d remembered that all those years,” he says. After moving to his ranch, in an effort to learn how to “breed the horns back on” his cattle (what he calls “undomestication”), Keeylocko received a degree in agriculture from the U of A and began populating the place with livestock. It also wasn’t until he’d acquired his property near the Coyote Mountains that Ed self-applied the name Keeylocko. He says his inspiration came from a South Carolinian urban legend about a man named Keylock, who would “show up and rectify the situation” whenever plantation owners were mistreating their slaves. Keeylocko says that his foster mother used to say that the wily young

continued on next page... May 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 39


Z southwest

redhead in her keep reminded her of the “mystery man,” and so Keeylocko adopted the name officially. He made it his own by adding an extra “E” and tacking on an “O” to the end. As for the origins of his Cowtown, Keeylocko tells a story about trying to sell his cattle at auction in Tucson in the 1970s. He says his unique key-and-lock brand had piqued the interest of the other ranchers in the area, but that for years none had managed to put a face to the man who owned it. Once he showed up in person to make a transaction, however, and the buyers realized that Keeylocko was black, they refused to buy from him. He says a pair of “good-ole-boys” intercepted him in the parking lot that day and suggested that, if Keeylocko wanted to sell his cattle and name his own price, he ought to just build his own town. So, that’s just what he did. Since then, Keeylocko has become something of an expert on Old West history, with particular expertise on African American cowboys. “Blacks have made a long, long history in the West,” Keeylocko says, though he insists that he didn’t know it when he first took to the lifestyle. He says the term “cowboy” actually refers to young slaves and Native Americans who managed herds in the early days of the Old West, long before whites like Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and John Wayne were painted as the heroes of the range. Keeylocko refers to that particular movement in American media as “the fiction west,” during which he says African Americans were effectively written out of their true history. But there were still those who remembered the long cattle drives which had been staffed mainly by black plainsmen. Keeylocko says that, for a long time, lots of white ranchers weren’t so fond of the moniker. “The Texans didn’t like the word ‘cowboy,’” he says, “they wanted to be called ‘cowmen’… so, I guess the name just stuck, and everybody accepts that now, but it wasn’t always like that.” And it’s precisely that neglect for true history in the mainstream annuls that builds misunderstanding and prejudice, Keeylocko says. “When you don’t tell the true history,” he says, “that’s where the trouble starts.” As of yet, there is no heir apparent for Keeylocko’s legacy and namesake, though there are a few regulars at the Blue Dog Saloon who no doubt would do all they could to keep things going in the absence of the man they call “Pops.” Still, Keeylocko is open to meeting someone that fits his standard as a replacement. “You have to be a visionary about the past and the future,” he says, “you can’t think of just right now because it changes periodically, and you have to be aware of these changes.” That’s the mindset that will keep Cowtown Keeylocko alive, he says. But for now, it’s still just him and the regulars; and the occasional over-night party. And, yes, camping is included with admission. n 40 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | May 2016



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soundalternatives Z

State of the Compact Disc Still alive and well by Jim Lipson

People who earn their living in the so-called record biz will be quick to lament the demise of the standard compact disc. Hell, even the iPod is considered to be somewhat of a dinosaur. With so many different ways to access music, be it streaming, downloading, or whatever, the idea of creating new full length albums for mass consumption seems to be something only indulged in by those with either the biggest of names or by those relative unknowns (local musicians), who might like the idea of making money, but are ultimately more driven with the notion of creating and getting their music out where it can at least be heard. This monthly column is dedicated to the locals. And while you could simply choose to call this a local music and reviews column, I like to think of it as something more. The truth is, even if you don’t have a so-called big name, the full length CD is still an extremely viable and effective vehicle for the creation and distribution of art. Here are some insights into three new products, relatively hot off the still active disc-making presses. Nancy McCallion did not intend to release two new projects within a couple of months of each other, but as the local headliner for this month’s 31st annual Tucson Folk Festival, she felt she could not afford to miss taking advantage of such a timely opportunity. Opossum and Praties documents her love, affection and affinity for Irish music. While it did not completely define the music with her much beloved group, the Mollys, it was always a staple of their repertoire and a big part of their sound. Here she revisits many of those tunes, and in a delightful turn of events, has chosen to reinterpret several songs originally sung by her Mollys cohort and partner in crime, Catherine Zavala. Because Zavala was so identified with these tunes the results are remarkably fresh, breathing new life into some old chestnuts. This is no more evident than on the remake of “My Hat.” A signature tune that was so strongly identified with Zavala, who might don a myriad of hats throughout the course of the song on stage, McCallion's new approach is still upbeat but now refined and ever so slightly mellowed with age. The result is an interpretation that, unbelievably, almost makes you forget this was a tune so strongly identified with the Mollys. Recorded with Danny Krieger on guitars and Heather Hardy on violin, the musicianship is also stellar throughout. Hardy is simply one of the great major talents of our musical community while Krieger, an Arizona Blues Hall of Famer

(and McCallion’s husband), shows here he can play in almost any musical idiom. While McCallion and her Wee Band always do well with a slew of gigs doing Irish music around St. Patrick’s Day, this is a strong album than can and should be toasted to at any time of year. On Dancing Days, McCallion’s newest release with her group the Scarlett Lettermen, she can also be found revisiting and reinterpreting some of her older work, and the results are both tight and loose all at once. With Chris Davis on guitar, Karl Hoffman on bass and Les Merrihew on drums, McCallion has found a perfect match of musical kindred spirits. “When I Die” is a sweet folk-rocker with just the right touch of guitars and rhythm, while “Don’t You Come on Strong, is another one of those older songs now getting a fresh coat of paint. Likewise for “Say Nothing,” an old Molly’s tune as well as “Maria,” another one of Zavala’s songs. And then there’s “Who’s Sorry Now,” whose big power chords and piano licks are almost, dare I say it, Springsteenian in nature. And so it goes, one tune after the next, showing a maturity and grace in the arrangements and execution thereof, that can only be achieved through McCallion’s extraordinary and lifelong commitment to her work. Borrowing, or rather sharing with McCallion from her bounty of great players, namely Hardy and Hoffman, Gary Mackender, aka Mr. Carnivalero, has crafted something so different in Dreams are Strange that it defies any of the usual cliches or comparisons we reviewers so often rely upon. The melding of the banjo and accordion alone (insert joke here) probably goes against every sensibility and accepted musical convention known to mankind and yet it works in most wonNancy McCallion drous ways. Adding Hardy’s haunting violin to some of these tunes, “Donna’s song” in particular, is more than enough to make one sit up and take notice. Other tunes play out like they could be part of a soundtrack, “Psychic Mary,” in particular sounding like something straight out of a Woody Allen movie (one of the good ones). And then there is Mackender’s vocal delivery. While he might be the first to tell you he’s never going to win a male vocalist of the year award, there is an authenticity and heartfelt delivery to his singing that others with more natural gifts and talent, could learn much from. Not everything here is going to excite everyone, but expertly recorded in Mackender’s home studio, in these 14 tunes there is a lot to like and be moved by. n May 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 43


photo: John M Sepp

Z tunes

Ronstadt Generations 44 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | May 2016


tunes Z

When More is More (Two shows in one) by Jim Lipson

photo: Jesse Jackson

In an age when the usefulness of multi-tasking has seriously been called into question, the notion of less is more has become quite fashionable. And in many instances this makes perfect sense. Still, there are times when more is actually more, something that will be on full display on Friday, May 20 at the Whistlestop Depot (127 W. Fifth St.), when the Ronstadt Generations team up with Kate Becker to celebrate the release of two new full length recordings. While each project was recorded independent of each othKate Becker with Ronstadt Generations er, there is some common ground here. Becker’s CD is not only produced by Petie Ronstadt but also features participation from almost everyone within the Ronstadt Generations band. And that’s a good thing as Pirate Radio, Becker’s third release, is clearly her most accomplished and fully realized to date. Having spent a lot of time New York City, Becker is quick to point out how much of her music has been influenced and informed by a mix of east coast jazz, funk and blues. For this record however, she has successfully accessed a relatively brief period in her life when she lived in the tropics, off the coast of Honduras, and managed to translate that into a collection of songs that retains an authentic Caribbean vibe. “Radio Man,” which opens the album, may not be the title track, but the story behind it—how Becker’s chance meeting with an independent radio personality led to doing an hour long interview on a small radio station in Key West, FL in 2012--was a pivotal in terms of serving as the catalyst to begin working on something new. “After that interview and driving back (into Florida), it’s like driving through the Caribbean,” she said. “That gave me the juice, inspiration and drive to start a new project. Many of these songs came to me in a very

short time.” In addition to that back story, Radio Man, arguably has one of the album’s best lines when she sings, “Where did all the deejays go/ now that robots run the show/We need independent radio.” Well after the album was begun, Becker and her collaborator, bass player Mike Hieber, realized they were stuck, at which point she brought the project to Ronstadt. In addition to bringing in others from his group, including drummer Aarom Emory, who had recorded and played with Becker in her previous band, the Zodiacs, the project, with the help of many guest musicians, began to take on a sound that was finally to her liking.. Others taking part include Ruben Moreno, Marco Rosano, Rick Peron and Salvador Lopez on horns, along with vocalist Salvador Duran who adds his renowned vocals to three of the tracks. Khris Dodge also adds his considerable talents on steel drum. While Pirate Radio may not have been conceived as an autobiographical time line, it presents as a collection of intimate reflections, primarily colored by Becker’s time in the Caribbean, but with stops along the way in the urban northeast and desert southwest. As for the Ronstadts, with In the Land of the Setting Sun they may finally get to emerge from the huge shadow cast by the family name that in some ways has been both a blessing and a curse. Obviously there may be no name in Arizona with greater name recognition than theirs. But with that comes not only the burden of comparison to Linda (big sis to Michael J and aunt to Petie and Michael G) but also how difficult it is for their work to stand alone and be appreciated for its own merits which are considerable and with this album, on full display. El Camino, the opening track, is the kind of Mexican traditional that has

continued on next page... May 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 45



tunes Z probably dominated family gatherings for generations and was in fact recorded by Linda on her Canciones de mi Padre LP. It is distinguished here by precise guitar picking and the tight harmonies of Michael J and Alex Flores. Its relatively sparse but exacting instrumentation is not only perfect for this arrangement but also makes for a significant contrast for the next tune, Michael J’s original song, Coyote. That song from which the album derives its title, brings on guitars, cello, saxophone, bass, drums and full compliment of voices showing both range and depth of the group. What follows is a diverse collection of tunes all showcasing the band at its best, be it Petie and Michael J’s beautiful The Horse and the Barn, a couple

of tunes led by cellist Michael G (and rarely heard locally as he now lives in Cincinnati), a couple of instrumentals, more Spanish language traditionals led by Michael J on the lead vocals, and a polka to boot. A band that can write, play, sing and interpret, this album easily lives up to the high standards and expectations synonymous the name Ronstadt In addition to the actual Ronstadts, the band is rounded out by Sam Eagon on upright bass, Flores on vocals and sax and Emory on drums. n Opening for Kate Becker and Ronstadt Generrations at the Whistlestop Depot on May 20 will be Mariachi Herradura, at 7 PM. Tickets are $15.

Photo Credit: Istvan Vizner

Kate Becker

May 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 47


Z tunes


tunes Z

Carry Me to the Other Side Laura and the Killed Men’s new album, Everchanging Trail by Emily Gindlesparger

"Spin me a story of great things; your words will be my guide / Carry me to the other side." In the middle of Laura and the Killed Men's first full-length album, these lines are an invitation into the stories and sounds of The Everchanging Trail. Fittingly, the band kicked off their album release party at Club Congress this April with an acapella version of this song, "Hymn." The four stepped to the front of the stage, away from the mics, and took a breath together. The harmonies of "Hymn" are both simple and slightly unconventional; they build tension throughout, and the song transcends from an old spiritual to a "secular gospel" that's been updated for the modern world. Just after their final note, they picked up their hollow-body electrics and standup bass for the twangy and sweet "Caroline," and a man in a cowboy hat burst from the audience with his light-footed partner to break into a two-step, surrounded by a circle of hipsters. Secular gospel, then a barn dance. Such is the dynamic allure of Laura and the Killed Men. Band mates Sam Golden, Seth Vietti and Robert Hanshaw were already seasoned musicians in Sun Bones before joining forces with Laura Kepner-Adney. Instantly, Golden and Kepner-Adney became complementary songwriters, and the new songs include remnants from their own musical histories. Some lyrics hung around for years, Kepner-Adney says, waiting for the right melodies; they began to crystallize around Golden's guitar fragments. Such was the case for "Pocatello Son", a song inspired by their late friend Cyril Barrett. Kepner-Adney remembers lying in a park in Flagstaff, weaving phrases of Barrett's into her lyrics, when Golden layered on a fragment he'd been fiddling with since a show in Prescott. From such patchwork pieces, the song built momentum around the tribute to their friend. "And you said you'd stay forever in the borderlands / But sometimes the sun shines too bright," Kepner-Adney and Golden sing in harmony, with a lonesome pedal steel threading underneath. It's the vocals that set this album apart from straightforward Americana music. The quartet blends precise choral voices in complex arrangements that lend craft to their full and freewheeling sound. This is evident in "Arms Again," a driving country rock tune with tight harmonies that defy the trope. But next in "Sara's Room," they change tack with a pedal steel guitar that darkens the rockabilly undertone, and chorus vocals reminiscent of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Laura and the Killed Men does this again and again, combining influences from a wide range of country music history.

"We reach back in time for inspiration, and not just to one point, to many," Golden says. "It can be satisfying to listen to the album that has drawn from so many points in time, and still hangs together and sounds cohesive." Perhaps the best illustration of the spark in their collaboration is on the song, "Winter In Her Teeth," a song with widely experimental percussion influenced by Birdie Busch and the Greatest Night. "We ended up going crazy on it--in a cool way," Golden says. "Everything we tried worked." And when he says everything, he means it quite literally: the band jangled keys, bounced a soccer ball, ripped paper, and hit a musical stand that had spare change and a collection of drum parts tied to it. The song also includes pieces of speakeasy piano, and a musical saw and jaw harp played by Kevin Mayfield, making it the most diversified instrumentation on the album. The result is a sound that coalesces in surprising ways. "We kept putting sounds in until that song had this little meniscus on top of it," Kepner-Adney explains. "It was completely full of things, and it couldn't hold anymore." The process by which a song like this comes together highlights the strengths of Everchanging Trail, which has shifted the band's style from its Appalachian folk sound more solidly into the realm of Americana country. "In the middle of mixing the album with Jim Waters, he told me we sounded like a band," Laura says. From such a seasoned engineer, "I thought that was the best compliment we could get. We sounded complete, and the album is cohesive and polished and . . . good." As has been the constant case with Laura and the Killed Men, the band continues to evolve--and will do so in even more unique ways now that Golden is moving to St. Louis. They plan to write songs while on tour and over Skype, but they're not too concerned about these shortened stints to create. "Strict deadlines unleash the muse," Kepner-Adney says. And so, the band plays on. At the close of their album release show at Club Congress, the quartet stepped out in front of the mics to sing with no instruments, no amplification. The crowd hushed. These are the kinds of moments that still define Laura and the Killed Men as folk music: it's music that involves the audience. And so in the hush, they sang this: These ancient plains, these rivers wide / With each step the land unveils / But listen, children, beware your pride / It is not yours to keep, this everchanging trail. n For more information on their new release, please visit LauraAndTheKilledMen.com May 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 49



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Amy Mendoza and the Strange Vacation at The Screening Room on Friday, May 6.

Schedules accurate as of press time. Visit the web sites or call for current/ detailed information.

2ND SATURDAYS DOWNTOWN Congress Street, 2ndSaturdaysDowntown.com Sat 8: Please see web site for details.

BOONDOCKS LOUNGE 3306 N. 1st Ave. 690-0991, BoondocksLounge.com Sun 1: Michael P. & The Gullywashers Mon 2: The Bryan Dean Trio Wed 4: Nancy & The Scarlet Lettermen Thu 5: Titan Valley Warheads Sun 8: The Bryan Dean Trio Wed 11: Ed Delucia & Michael P. Thu 12: Titan Valley Warheads Fri 13: Missy Andersen Concert Sun 15: The Last Call Girls Mon 16: The Bryan Dean Trio Thu 19: Titan Valley Warheads Fri 20: Johnny Ain’t Right Sat 21: Heather & Li’l Mama Band Mon 23: PO THE BAND, The Bryan Dean Trio Wed 25: Ed Delucia & Michael P. Thu 26: Titan Valley Warheads Fri 27: Anna Warr & Giant Blue Sun 29: TRU Composure Mon 30: The Bryan Dean Trio

BORDERLANDS BREWING 119 E. Toole Ave. 261-8773, BorderlandsBrewing.com Sun 1: Kevin Pakulis Fri 6: J Clay K Sun 8: Kevin Pakulis Sun 15: Kevin Pakulis Thu 19: Angelo Versace Fri 20: Little Cloud Sat 21: Sunduster Sun 22: Kevin Pakulis Sat 28: Sundarata Sun 29: Kevin Pakulis

CAFE PASSE 415 N. 4th Ave. 624-4411, CafePasse.com Thursdays: Jazz with Glen Gross & Friends

ches lounge 350 N. 4th Ave. 623-2088, ChesLounge.com Please visit the web site.

CLUB CONGRESS 311 E. Congress St. 622-8848, HotelCongress.com/club Sun 1: Peach Kelli Pop, The Boogienauts, Wight Lhite Wed 4: Givers Thu 5: Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers Fri 6: So Hideous, Bosse-De_Nage Tue 10: Matt Andersen, Lee Harvey Osmond Wed 11: Susan Fri 13: Rising Appalachia, Arouna Diarra

52 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | May 2016

Photo courtesy apocalyptica.com

Photo courtesy Amy Mendoza and the Strange Vacation.

Z tunes

Apocalyptica appears at The Rialto Theatre on Saturday, May 7.

Sat 14: Cash’d Out, Nathaniel Knows, Sid The Kid, Andrew Shuta, Bob Really Mon 16: Aesop Rock, Homeboy Sandman Tue 17: Wreckless Eric Wed 18: Father, Tommy Genesis Fri 20: Katterwaul, Head Over Heart, West Foot Forward Sun 22: Chris Cohen, Blondi’s Salvation Wed 25: Sugar Candy Mountain Thu 26: Off With Their Heads Fri 27: James McCartney Tue 31: Built To Spill

Santa Pachita Thu 12: Louise Le Hir Fri 20: Cold Sweat

Cafe Coronet

220 N 4th Ave, 445-6625 ermanosbrew.com Thu 5: Michael P. and the Gullywashers

402 E. 9th St. 222-9889 CafeCoronet.com Tue 3: O Ryne Warner Wed 4: Naim Amor Thu 5: Moons Over My Hammy Sound Machine Tue 10: Moss Orion on Steel Pan Wed 11: Naim Amor Thu 12: Kyklo Tue 17: Jess Matsen Thu 18: Matt Cordes Tue 24: Mariah McCammond Thu 26: Moons Over My Hammy Sound Machine Tue 31: Kyklo

LA COCINA 201 N. Court Ave. 622-0351, LaCocinaTucson.com Sun 1: Mik & The Funky Brunch Thu 5: Freddy Parish Sat 7: Nathaniel Burnside Duo,

CUSHING STREET BAR & RESTAURANT 198 W. Cushing St. 622-7984, CushingStreet.com Fridays & Saturdays: Cool Jazz

DELECTABLES RESTAURANT 533 N. 4th Ave. 884-9289, Delectables.com Fri 13: Leila Lopez Fri 20: Leila Lopez

Ermanos

FLYCATCHER 340 E. 6th St. 798-1298, TheFlycatcherTucson.com Tue 3: Scott Biram, Jesse Dayton

FOX TUCSON THEATRE 17 W. Congress St. 624-1515, FoxTucsonTheatre.org Fri 6: Shatner’s World

HACIENDA DEL SOL 5501 N. Hacienda Del Sol. 2991501, HaciendaDelSol.com Nightly: Live Music on the Patio For information please visit the web site.


The Hut 305 N. 4th Ave., 623-3200 huttucson.com Sundays: Acoustic Open Mic, with Cadillac Mountain Thursdays: Mockingbirds Fridays: Sunset Soul eith Kelsey St. Germaine Saturdays: Mike & Randy’s 420 Show with Top Dead Center

MONTEREY COURT 505 W. Miracle Mile, MontereyCourtAZ.com Sun 1: Nancy Elliott & Friends— Sunday Brunch Performances, Chuck Hawthorne Tue 3: Jesse RS Wed 4: Nick McBlaine & Log Train Fri 6: Joe Marson & Bad News Blues Band Sat 7: Heartbeat Sun 8: Nancy Elliott & Friends— Sunday Brunch Performances Tue 10: Nancy McCallion & Danny Krieger w/ guest Heather Hardy Wed 11: Tucson Songwriters Showcase Fri 13: Nancarrow plus Kevin Pakulis Band Sun 15: Nancy Elliott & Friends— Sunday Brunch Performances Tue 17: The Tucsonics—Western Swing Thu 19: Claude Bourbon—Medieval & Spanish Blues Sun 22: Nancy Elliott & Friends— Sunday Brunch Performances

Photo courtesy hotelcongress.com

Photo courtesy Seaofglass.com.

The Accidentals appear at Sea Of Glass on Friday, May 13.

tunes Z

James McCartney appears at Club Congress, Friday, May 27.

Sun 29: Nancy Elliott & Friends— Sunday Brunch Performances, Roy Bookbinder—Blues

PLAYGROUND TUCSON 278 E. Congress. 396-3691, PlaygroundTucson.com Sundays: The George Howard Band

Plaza Palomino 2990 N. Swan Rd., 907-7325 plazapalomino.com Sat 21: Rillito River Band

RIALTO THEATRE 318 E. Congress St. 740-1000, RialtoTheatre.com Sun 1: Natalia Lafourcade, Diluvio Mon 2: Explosions in the Sky, Disappears Tue 3: La Ley, Prime Ministers Wed 4: Sun O))), Big Brave, Hissing Thu 5: David Cross Fri 6: Saul Hernández Sat 7: Apocalyptica, 10 Years, Failure Anthem Sun 8: Memphis May Fire, We Came As Romans, Miss May I, For Today Fri 13: Pato Banton & The Now Generation Sat 14: Somo, Quinn XCII Wed 18: J Boog, Hirie Fri 20: Rusty Green, Defeat The Band, Pipeline, The Raskal, The Endless Pursuit, Tustoned Kids, Infinitely Zero Sat 21: Hank Green with Special Guests, Driftless Pony Club, Harry and the Potters, Andrew Huang,

Rob Scallon Thu 26: Tyler The Creator, Taco Mon 30: Sam Beam and Jesca Hoop Tue 31: Refused, The Coathangers, Plague Vendor

Royal Sun Lounge 1003 N Stone Ave (520) 622-8872 BWRoyalSun.com Sun-Tue: Happy Hour Live Music Sundays: Ivan Denis

The Screening Room 127 E. Congress (520) 882-0204 screeningroomtucson.com Mon 2: Tucson Cabaret Open Mic Fri 6: Leigh Lesho, Little Cloud, Amy Mendoza and the Strange Vacation Mon 9: Tucson Cabaret Open Mic

Sea Of Glass--Center For The Arts 330 E. 7th St., 398-2542 TheSeaOfGlass.org Mon 2: Emi Sunshine Fri 13: The Accidentals Fri 20: Soul Track Mind

SKY BAR TUCSON 536 N. 4th Ave, 622-4300. SkyBarTucson.com Tue 3: Tom Walbank, Naim Amor Wed 4: Open Mic Thu 5: Fire & Gold Belly Dance, The Introverts, deFrance, Mason Sat 7: Lenguas Largas, Whispering Wires, Carbon Canyon

Tue 10: Tom Walbank, Haboob Wed 11: Open Mic Thu 12: Another Run, The Rifle, Wight Lhite Fri 13: Cirque Roots Sat 14: Deschtuco, Un:ted States, Demonyms Tue 17: Tom Walbank, The Cloud Walls Wed 18: Open Mic Fri 20: Alter Der Ruine Sat 21: Kristeen Young, Fea Tue 24: Tom Walbank, Haboob Wed 25: Open Mic Fri 27: Cirque Roots Sat 28: The Ambivalent Tue 31: Tom Walbank

SOLAR CULTURE 31 E. Toole Ave. 884-0874, SolarCulture.org Sat 21: Moralz aka Jo-S, Quentin Hiatus, Ghast, Thomas B

Tap & Bottle 403 N. 6th Ave. 344-8999 TheTapandBottle.com Thu 5: The Mercy Kit Thu 12: West Texas Intermediate Thu 19: Kyklo Thu 26: Hey, Bucko! Sun 29: Last Sunday Revival

May 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 53


Z poetry SANDRA On the day she Failed to signal Failed to put out her cigarette When “politely” asked It was a rain-threat Tuesday Sky grey As a trench coat But in the movie called Honky City No one was pulled over & the cop was nicer If you want to know What obsesses me It’s all this misaligned behavior On the part Of our compatriots Also death obsesses me But in the movie It was all so nice, so much nicer & the cop was as blond as Flash Gordon In a blond wig & his little peaked cap Shone on the peak Like a wet shoe She died in her jail cell Inexplicably Put that in your dream-cup baby Inhale those mouth-watering apples --Karen Brennan Karen Brennan is the author of seven books of varying genres including poetry collections The Real Enough World (Wesleyan University Press 2006) and little dark (Four Way Book 2014). A National Endowment of the Arts recipient, she lives in Tucson. Portrait of the author by Steve Romaniello Zócalo invites poets with Tucson connections to submit up to three original, previously unpublished (including online) poems, any style, 40 line limit per poem. Our only criterion is excellence. No digital submissions, please. Simultaneous submissions ok if you notify ASAP of acceptance elsewhere. Please include the following contact information on each page of your manuscript: mailing address, phone number, and email address. Ms won’t be returned. Notification of acceptance or rejection by email. Zócalo has first North American rights; author may re-publish with acknowledgment to Zócalo. Payment is a one year subscription. Address submissions to Zócalo, Poetry, P.O. Box 1171, Tucson, AZ 85702. The poetry editor is Jefferson Carter.

54 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | May 2016


lookback Z

by Jeff Weber / @loljeffweber

National Record Store Day at Wooden Tooth Records (4/16/16) MOCA Local Genius Awards 2016 (4/16/16) National Record Store Day at Wooden Tooth Records (4/16/16) Pima County Fair 2016 (4/17/16)

May 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 55


Z tucsonstreetportraits by Andrew Brown / @aemerybrown

Dmitri Manos

Kitty Brophy at Local Genius Awards

Clif Taylor at Local Genius Awards

56 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | May 2016


Ivy at Local Genius Awards

Andrew Weil at Local Genius Awards

Ofelia Zepeda at Local Genius Awards

May 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 57


Danny Martin’s

Tucson Neon Coloring Book 30 black and white drawings of Tucson’s historic neon signs.

2nd printing! Available online at: WoodAndPulp.com Or find it at any of these Tucson area outlets: Antigone Books, University of Arizona Bookstore, Arizona Experience Store, Art House Centro / Old Town Artisans, Bookstop, Blue Willow, Bookmans (all locations), Downtown Clifton, Hotel Congress, Loft Cinema, MAST, Pop Cycle, Presta Coffee Roasters, Stella Coffee, Yikes Toys, and Zia Records.



949 N Van Alstine $111,000

921 S. Meyer, $559,800

840 S. 8th Ave, $253,000

736 S Herbert, $158,000

1000 N Anita, $136,000

990 S. Meyer, $331,800


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