Java.Jan.2018-single-pages

264 • JAN 2018 

The 

Darts 

DREAMERS • THE FARM AT LOS OLIVOS • DOUG PRESTON

SOUNDS BY 

PHOENIX AFROBEAT ORCHESTRA 

TAYLOR UPSAHL + THE FOSTER FAMILY BAND 

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SUNN TRIO + LAS CHOLLAS PELIGROSAS + MORE 

Sound and art converge for 

an all-new, all-day, all-ages 

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throughout Phoenix Art Museum. 

VISUALS BY 

FILMBAR + PLAY THE DOCUMENTARY + MORE 

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Ages 21 

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1625 N. Central Avenue 

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@phxart 

phxart.org/amplified 

PhxArt Amplified is organized by Phoenix Art Museum with support by Stateside Presents, David Moroney, FilmBar, Arizona Opera, and Teen Art Council.

REGISTER FOR SPRING 

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Maricopa Community College District is an EEO/AA institution

CONTENTS 

8 

12 

22 

32 

34 

FEATURES 

Cover: The Darts 

Photo by: Jim Louvau 

8 12 22 

34 

DREAMERS 

DACA Recipients Dream On 

By Demetrius Burns 

A FARM IN THE CITY 

Aric Mei and Matthew Moore’s 

Growing Vision 

By Jeff Kronenfeld 

BLUSH 

Photography: Katie Ramsey 

Creative Direction & Styling: Sam Marinos 

DOUG PRESTON 

Up Until Now 

By Mitchell L. Hillman 

THE DARTS ARE ON POINT 

By Tom Reardon 

COLUMNS 

7 

16 

20 

30 

38 

40 

BUZZ 

Dreamers 

By Robert Sentinery 

ARTS 

Danielle Hacche Form and Focus 

By Amy L. Young 

Breaking Ground Fest 

By Jenna Duncan 

Rossitza Todorova 

Ashley Naftule 

FOOD FETISH 

Pa’La 

By Sloane Burwell 

SOUNDS AROUND TOWN 

By Mitchell L. Hillman 

GIRL ON FARMER 

Visions for a New Year 

By Celia Beresford 

NIGHT GALLERY 

Photos by Robert Sentinery 

JAVA MAGAZINE 

EDITOR & PUBLISHER 

Robert Sentinery 

ART DIRECTOR 

Victor Vasquez 

ARTS EDITOR 

Amy L. Young 

FOOD EDITOR 

Sloane Burwell 

MUSIC EDITOR 

Mitchell L. Hillman 

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR 

Jenna Duncan 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 

Demetrius Burns 

Jack Cavanaugh 

Jeff Kronenfeld 

Ashley Naftule 

Tom Reardon 

PROOFREADER 

Patricia Sanders 

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS 

Enrique Garcia 

Jim Louvau 

Johnny Jaffe 

Katie Ramsey 

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Publisher assumes no liability for the information 

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JAVA MAGAZINE 

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email: javamag@cox.net 

tel: (480) 966-6352 

www.javamagaz.com 

4 JAVA 

MAGAZINE

BE THE FIRST TO SEE 

SYMMETRY 

IN STONE 

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WE PUT THE ART 

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Artist Christian Candamil puts a twist on a piece 

by Janis Leonard and fashion designer Galina Mihaleva 

THURSDAY DATE NIGHT 

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all day (12 --- 9pm) 

ROSCOE TAYLOR 

with Jimmie McElroy 

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THEWOMACK.US

BUZZ 

DREAMERS 

By Robert Sentinery 

Phoenix isn’t a border town, but being the largest city in a border state brings 

many issues to the forefront. Immigrants end up here, capitalizing on the 

opportunities fueled by this growing metropolis, and their families assimilate 

into the fabric of the city. Most of us who live and work in the community 

know a Dreamer who is making a valuable contribution. 

While issues related to DACA have become political fodder further polarizing 

this country, it is important to put a face to the debate and take a look at 

the contributions these individuals make. This month, we interview three 

Dreamers: Maxima Gutierrez, an outspoken social activist who helps 

undocumented people in the community; Jairo Lopez (AKA Boris Bon Bon), 

a hipster DJ who rocks places like Valley Bar, Crescent Ballroom and Bikini 

Lounge; and Suny Santana, a talented chef and soon-to-be restaurateur at the 

much-anticipated Taco Chelo in Roosevelt Row (see “DACA Recipients Dream 

On,” p. 8). 

Matthew Moore was featured in last month’s edition for his UP Furniture 

Company, which brings creative ergonomic furniture to office environments. 

This month, he enters the fold for the Farm at Los Olivos, in collaboration with 

restaurateur Aric Mei. Moore’s family has been farming in the West Valley 

for generations and he brings this knowledge to the project, which will have 

a working demonstration farm for visits and field trips along with a produce 

stand and a restaurant that utilizes ingredients grown on site. 

This is where Mei comes in. He literally grew up in his family’s restaurant 

(Nello’s Pizza in Tempe) and has since opened his own popular Parlor Pizzeria. 

Mei has always worked with local growers and even has a functional garden 

at The Parlor. The Farm at Los Olivos will offer seasonal cuisine based on the 

harvests. There is one hitch, however, the project is awaiting final approval 

from the Parks Department, based on a community outreach campaign. Using 

public parks for a private enterprise raises eyebrows for some, but there are 

numerous examples of amenities in parks across the country that were built 

without using tax dollars (see “A Farm in the City,” p. 12). 

Finally, sometimes we just need a break from the ongoing political circus. The 

raw garage-rock sound of The Darts is the perfect escape. This five-piece, 

all-female lineup will knock your socks off. Things are really taking of for the 

group, composed of two Phoenicians and three Angelenos, with an upcoming 

European tour and a Japan trip planned for the end of the year. Hats off to 

these women who slay on stage with their instruments and look great doing it 

(see “The Darts Are on Point,” p. 34). 

WEDNESDAY LADIES NIGHT 

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Yama Sushi House.com | 602-264-4260 

4750 N. Central Ave. Unit B-2, Phoenix

DACA Recipients Drea 

By Demetrius Burns 

8 JAVA 

MAGAZINE

m On 

Photo: Diego Lozano 

Resilient shirt by Ganaz Apparel 

Our President ran a campaign that targeted – among others – those deemed illegal, foreign 

and alien. He largely won due to his staunch stance on “othering” people. In light of this, it’s 

crucial to highlight those who live in the shadows as a way to play with the light. Arizona 

is home to several thousand seeking asylum through the Dream Act. Instead of aliens or 

foreigners, we call them Dreamers. 

The three people interviewed here are ordinary humans with the drive and heart to make a difference. 

Although they each have their own stories, they are united in a singular goal to achieve a better life. 

And, at the end of the day, providing asylum is part of the gospel of the American Dream. Isn’t that the 

pilgrim passage? Trying to make it better. Are immigrants just the new pilgrims? 

You’ve walked for over five hours, but it feels like 20 when you’re five years old. Your little brother is being 

carried by a stranger, and your mom is moving quickly. The stars above are magnetic, huge and alarming, and 

you feel the moon sag into you. There is no time for a lot of questions. You have to keep moving. You dropped 

your stuffed animal a while back, but it’s too late to pick it up now. 

Once you make it to the big city, you are separated from your mom and jammed into an apartment with 

several other people – how many, you’re not sure. You are five years old and without a mother in a land that 

doesn’t know your name and doesn’t seem to want to. Crying doesn’t feel like a safe thing to do right now, so 

you just let your eyes sink into the ground. You make yourself quiet. 

Finally, your mom comes back. She is relieved. It’s time to start a new life, she says. You don’t know what 

that means, but you think it’s something special. You don’t understand her enthusiasm, but you sense that life 

will be different in some way. 


JAVA 9 

MAGAZINE

Maxima Gutierrez – Social Activist 

Phoenix activist Maxima Gutierrez was born in 

Morelos, Mexico, and came across the border 

when she was five. She attended Kenneworth 

Elementary, where she had the benefit of being in 

a dual-language classroom. Gutierrez didn’t really 

have to consider her legal status until high school at 

South Mountain. She couldn’t get her driver’s license, 

couldn’t get a job, couldn’t travel to Washington 

D.C. for a school trip. This issue was something that 

really made her sad. Her best friend was offering to 

pay for her trip and everything, but she couldn’t risk 

being stopped by agents at the airport. She couldn’t 

risk her freedom – tenuous as it was. “From then 

on, it became about having to say no. I had to have 

an explanation for why I couldn’t do things,” said 

Gutierrez. After graduating from high school, her life 

just became harder. 

She couldn’t get a job and couldn’t afford college 

because her immigration status meant she had to 

pay out-of-state tuition and wouldn’t qualify for 

institutional scholarships. For about two years, she 

lived in a sort of stasis, just watching television at 

home and bemoaning her situation. However, when 

she heard about private scholarships, she started 

going to the library and doing research. She was 

eventually able to obtain a scholarship, and with that 

money – along with the money she raised making 


jewelry – she enrolled in school. While at Phoenix 

College, she learned about a group of undocumented 

students at Arizona State University. 

Her connecting with the group at ASU coincided with 

the passing of SB1070, and Gutierrez’ friends would 

go down to the capitol to protest. At the time, she 

didn’t care to even know who the governor was. She 

was out of the lurk about the various powers that kept 

her in the shadows. Over time, she became more active 

with her friends and became involved in the protest 

community, where she found a home and a place. 

Gutierrez currently works for Aliento, an organization 

that helps provide community assistance for 

undocumented immigrants. She also has a clothing 

and accessories brand called Ganaz Apparel, 

which she works on with another undocumented 

immigrant. “Keeping in mind what’s at risk every 

day is really heavy. Part of that is seeing how we can 

be better as we keep up this fight. We have to keep 

fighting,” said Gutierrez. 

The first time you hear The Doors is in your parents’ 

car with the windows rolled down on a dusty Phoenix 

freeway. This opens a window into a moment, into 

a feeling, into a way of being. You are eight years 

old and new to the United States and feel suddenly 

at home in the brooding croons of Jim Morrison. You 

feel like he recognizes your humanity and understands 

something about you that you can’t quite put a finger on. 

You love the way that music just creates a feeling. 

You love how music is a sort of hideaway, a kind of 

storage place for feelings, moods and moments. You 

are enthralled by the way music makes you feel at 

home no matter where you are. 

Jairo Lopez (AKA Boris Bon Bon) – Deejay 

Jairo Lopez was born in Mexico and lived there 

until he was eight. He grew up listening to Norteño 

music. He moved to Phoenix and settled in the West 

Valley. As a kid, it seemed like an idyllic place. He 

remembers just riding around on bikes and hanging 

out with his friends. He was really happy as a kid. 

Once high school hit, the truth about his community 

was revealed. There were drive-by shootings in his 

neighborhood, and even school didn’t feel safe. Lopez 

found comfort in music and art. He played guitar 

throughout his childhood, painted and loved to just 

listen to music. 

Music is something that can transport you away 

from your environment, away from the pain and the 

hurt. Music can make magic happen. Once Lopez 

graduated from high school, he started hanging 

around Grand Avenue in Phoenix. At the Red Door 

Gallery on Grand, he met Mike Peters, who was a 

local deejay and knew a lot about music. 

10 JAVA 

MAGAZINE

Photo: Shelby Moore 

“I would visit him at his house and hang out. He was 

very into music and had a bunch of instruments and 

a big record collection. He would let me play around 

with his stuff. I thought that was really nice of him. A 

lot of people are really particular about their gear. He 

was okay with me picking up his stuff and moving it 

around,” Lopez said. 

Eventually Peters showed Lopez how to work a 

turntable, and he took it from there. Lopez played 

his first-ever set (under the moniker Boris Bon Bon) 

at Bikini Lounge about 12 years ago, and now he’s 

playing shows all over Phoenix at local spots like 

Crescent Ballroom and Valley Bar. 

Though he’s enjoyed a lot of success, he believes 

it’s vital to stay humble. “The most important lesson 

that I learned is that it’s easy to get caught up in your 

ego. You just got to be humble. It gives you structure. 

That’s the most important thing,” said Lopez. 

You can’t get a job. You need papers. What do you 

do? You jump into trashcans and pick out cans and 

give them to your cousin to sell for scraps of money. 

Everything requires a state ID or a Social Security 

number. But you are determined. It’s not going to end 

in a trashcan for you. 

You go to college and learn how to cook. You find 

yourself in kitchens working long hours. It’s okay 

Photo: Shelby Moore 

because at least you aren’t in a trashcan anymore. You 

are cutting vegetables at a mythic pace. Everything 

happens so quick in a kitchen. You have no time 

to process, and you just have to keep going, keep 

chopping, keep grinding. 

Suny Santana – Chef 

For a long time, Phoenix chef Suny Santana was 

planning to be a pro soccer player. He attended a soccer 

academy in Mexico and practiced religiously. Once his 

family moved to the United States, he started to change 

his mind about where his life would go. 

High school was challenging for him, as he couldn’t 

get work because of his immigration status. His dad 

was a mechanical engineer, and he realized really 

quickly that he didn’t want to do that. His mom 

cooked a lot, so he started making his way into the 

kitchen with her. “I asked a bunch of questions to 

understand more of what is going on behind the 

scenes,” said Santana. “She corrected me on a lot 

of things. When we were cooking, we were really 

talking about life. You’re cooking, you’re cutting a 

vegetable, but at the same time there were all these 

questions. An hour or two hours would pass, but it 

wouldn’t even feel like it.” 

Eventually he decided to attend Phoenix College and 

take cooking classes, which propelled him to apply 

for kitchen jobs. He worked long shifts at various 

restaurants before finding Aaron Chamberlin’s St. 

Francis, where he applied four different times. 

Chamberlin eventually gave him an opportunity. 

Santana decided to use a friend’s Social Security 

number to take advantage of the opportunity. A week 

after submitting the number, Chamberlin came back 

and told Santana that they knew it wasn’t really his. 

That’s when Santana had to tell Chamberlin the truth, 

that he wasn’t legal. 

Instead of turning him away, Chamberlin decided to 

help Santana get his papers – this was around the 

time that DACA was being implemented. Though 

Chamberlin couldn’t employ Santana until he got 

his paperwork, he would call him daily during the 

process. The papers eventually came, and they were 

able to continue their collaboration. An amazing 

opportunity recently opened up for Santana to partner 

with Chamberlin and Gennaro Garcia on a new 

restaurant, Taco Chelo in Roosevelt Row, and they 

are working on that now. 

Santana is ardently religious and believes that God 

is the source of all his success thus far. He recently 

renewed his DACA paperwork, which extends his 

time in the United States for another two years, 

and he is in the process of obtaining a green card. 

“Coming here as illegal was hard, but DACA gave me 

an opportunity, and now I am working to become a 

resident of the United States,” said Santana. “That’s 

a big step. This country has opened doors for me, and 

if I can also help out this country, I will do it.” 

JAVA 11 

MAGAZINE

ar 

A IN THE CITY 

f 

m 

Matthew Moore and Aric Mei’s Growing Vision 

By Jeff Kronenfeld 

Once, the upwardly mobile neighborhoods of East Phoenix were 

mostly covered in citrus groves. The city was an oasis in the desert, 

one made possible by canals dug by an ancient people today known 

as the Hohokam. Then, following the end of World War II, the city began 

its meteoric rise, seeing its population more than quintuple. 

As the suburbs grew and freeways stitched together the communities 

making up the Valley, the agriculture that once provided the region its 

raison d’être was pushed further and further afield. The five Cs yielded to 

real estate as the economic engine of the region. 

One of the few physical remnants of this bygone bucolic era are the 

olive trees in Los Olivos Park, located a block north of Indian School and 

bounded by 28th Street to the west. The olive trees occupying the 28-acre 

park once served as windbreaks for the citrus orchards. The orange trees 

are long gone, replaced by grass fields where people kick soccer balls, toss 

Frisbees or walk their dogs. 

Aric Mei and Matthew Moore would like to return a portion of this fallow 

field to production. The project, known simply as the Farm at Los Olivos, is 

one of the more daring ones under consideration in Phoenix. 

In response to a request for proposals put out by the Phoenix Parks 

and Recreation Department, the pair’s company, Greenbelt Hospitality, 

proposed to convert a portion of the park, 4.5 acres, into a farm, education 

center, restaurant and produce market. Of the three proposals submitted, 

theirs won. 

The roughly $5.5 million project wouldn’t cost the city a dime. It would 

actually generate revenue for the parks department, which would receive 

12 JAVA 

MAGAZINE

Photo: Danielle Wood 

a yet-to-be-determined percentage of the revenue created, of which a 

portion would go to directly benefit Los Olivos Park. In return, the city 

would lease a portion of the park to Greenbelt Hospitality for 40 years. 

The project is unique, and much of it grows out of work Mei and Moore 

have already been pursuing through other means, such as unconventional 

art projects and educational initiatives at local schools. Moore – whose 

company, UP Furniture, was profiled in last month’s issue of JAVA – brings 

his background and perspective as a fourth-generation Arizona farmer 

and an artist. Like many of his other endeavors, a big part of the aim is to 

reconnect people with the natural systems that sustain them. 

Through his Digital Farm Collective, Moore created time-lapse videos 

documenting the life of crops from seed to harvest. Emblematic of 

Moore’s unique approach – one that blends consumer education, activism 

and art – Moore arranged for the videos to be played in supermarket 

produce sections. The Farm is a logical extension of this, a place where 

people can watch their food grow in their own neighborhood in real time. 

“To me, it is so important to understand how we live on this rock flying 

through space, and it’s so delicate. We are thinking about climate change 

and how we’ve removed ourselves, from a technological standpoint, from 

so much of where our food comes from,” Moore mused as we walked 

through the proposed site for the urban farm’s field. “We don’t think about 

seed to plate. The opportunity to come and see an environment that is 

cycling through different seasons is really impactful.” 

Moore became excited as he described the litany of educational 

community projects he is dreaming up. These include walking tours 

and gardening and cooking classes for seniors from the neighboring 

Devonshire Senior Center. There would be a range of hands-on projects 

for students from nearby schools, such as a kind of scavenger hunt where 

kids would learn to recognize different crops and stages of growth. Moore 

is passionate about bringing kids out of classrooms and into the farm. 

Listening as Moore describes the vegetable kohlrabi as “an alien 

spaceship sort of taking off out of the ground,” it’s easy to see how his 

creativity and passion will engage students not just to become interested 

in botany and agriculture, but in getting their hands dirty as part of a 

wider community. Indeed, Moore and Mei hope to grow the community, as 

well as pinto beans, peppers, corn and more. 

“It’s so much more than a financial model – it’s about the community and 

what kind of space we can create, the ripple effect of an idea that goes 

out and becomes a lot bigger than what we’re doing here,” Moore said. 

Wiry, with an angular, clean-shaven face, Mei has a background almost 

as eclectic as his partner’s. He started learning the ropes of the hospitality 

industry at his family’s restaurant, Nello’s Pizza in Tempe, since he could 

JAVA 13 

MAGAZINE

NORTH 

14 JAVA 

MAGAZINE 

EAST GLENROSA AVENUE 

NORTH 28TH STREET 

LOS OLIVOS PARK 

EAST DEVONSHIRE 

DEVONSHIRE SENIOR CENTER 

barely see over the counter. Later, he moved to 

Los Angeles to pursue a career in music, which 

eventually led him to working on music videos 

and commercials. His job at A Band Apart Films, 

a production company that Quentin Tarantino 

helped found, allowed him to work with the 

likes of NSYNC, Bon Jovi and Sheryl Crow, 

whom he appeared onscreen with briefly in the 

music video “Steve McQueen” as her paramour, 

when an actor didn’t show. 

As fun as that was, Mei eventually tired of the 

artificiality and hungered to make something 

more real and permanent. He returned to the 

Valley and began work on the Parlor Pizzeria. 

He led the extensive remodel, which saw a 

vintage hair salon converted into the wood-oven 

pizzeria he has now run for nearly a decade. 

The small but prolific garden located on its 

premises helped initially stoke Mei’s interest in 

performance agriculture. 

“I know it sounds crazy, but planting that little 

garden at the entrance to the Parlor, that was 

truly the gateway drug for me,” Mei said. At 

the end of a long day working on the build-out 

of the pizzeria, Mei would take off his tool belt 

and pull on his gardening gloves. It was a very 

public way to learn the ins and outs of desert 

cultivation. 

A big moment for Mei occurred while attending 

a meeting for a local politician at a private 

residence. He noticed the homeowners had 

raised beds in their front yard. Then he learned 

they had been inspired by his garden at the 

Parlor. Seeing the impact his little 100-squarefoot 

plot had, he began to dream of something 

much bigger. 

After the Parlor’s long-term success, Mei 

wanted to find a project that would allow him to 

do something different, something truly unique. 

“It has to be an evolution – for me, it’s about the 

search for something deeper,” Mei said. 

Mei and Moore initially met when Mei agreed 

to host a fundraiser for Moore’s Digital 

Farm Collective at his home in Arcadia. Mei 

recalled them instantly taking to each other. 

They had both recently completed bathroom 

remodels and had, through coincidence

or synchronicity, picked the exact same 

handmade tile from Mexico. 

The more they spoke, the more they realized 

they shared. They had both driven the same 

type of car in high school, a Jeep Cherokee. 

Further, Mei had been volunteering with the 

Arcadia Neighborhood Learning Center, now 

called Echo Canyon School, where he taught 

kids not only about gardening but, putting on his 

chef’s hat, how to prepare and cook the foods 

they grew. On a deeper level, the pair shared a 

vision for pulling back the veil on our society’s 

industrial agriculture system. 

“If you’re a city dweller, your opportunity to see 

and understand agriculture in even the most 

basic of ways is nearly impossible,” Mei said. 

“This whole journey has really been about how 

to get that essence of agriculture safely planted 

in the core of our city for a very long time.” 

Moore and Mei envision a project that is 

“generational.” They want to bring agriculture 

back to the city in a way that is sustainable. 

They spoke sadly of the closing earlier this year 

of PHX Renews, a 15-acre community garden 

that had been located near the intersection 

of Indian School Road and Central. By pairing 

the farm with concessions (a restaurant and 

produce market), they believe they’ve created a 

model that will finance itself and add something 

for all parties. 

Like anything new, the proposal is not without 

controversy. A spate of unfounded rumors 

spread through the Devonshire Senior Center 

and online alleging that there were plans to 

sell the park off and convert it to condos. Mei 

and Moore suddenly faced a public relations 

nightmare, dealing with angry residents and 

senior center users. 

Moore and Mei quickly organized the first 

of two public meetings on December 11 at 

the senior center, as the need to address the 

rumors forced things to move more quickly than 

anticipated. They spent nine hours meeting with 

residents to discuss their concerns and dispel 

the false rumors. After the people had a chance 

to meet the pair and see the details of the 

proposal, the vast majority seemed to support 

it. All the attendees that I spoke with said they 

believed the project should be approved and, 

more than that, were excited for it to open. 

Mei and Moore will host a second community 

meeting at the Devonshire Community Center 

on January 11. Then it’s back to the Phoenix 

Parks and Recreation Board, probably sometime 

in late February. If the meeting goes well, the 

Farm at Los Olivos could be open and growing 

as soon as 2020. 

JAVA 15 

MAGAZINE

Photo: Erin Coscia 

DANIELLE HACCHE 

Form and Focus 

By Amy Young 

Phoenix-based artist Danielle Hacche’s recent work is a series titled Coalescing 

Form and Focus. These pieces feature pastel, acrylic, gouache and micron pen on 

paper in geometric abstractions. Her crisp and clean lines bring her astute sense 

of composition to the fore, while thoughtful uses of shapes and colors combine 

for sharp, dynamic and engaging results. We chatted with her about her work, its 

history and what’s next. 

Tell us about when you started making art. 

To be honest, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t making art. From a very young 

age I excelled at art in school, and it was the only class I looked forward to. I went 

to New School for the Arts for high school, and that’s when I knew I wanted to get 

an art degree in college. I did a foundation year at Falmouth College of Art and 

Design, primarily studying painting. That led to a scholarship to the School of the 

Art Institute of Chicago, where I further honed my technical abilities. It helped me 

refine my style, along with everything it took to consider art as a possible career. 

What inspired this current body of work? 

My most recent work has evolved a little this last year. I began the series six 

years ago, but it had a little more of a Southwest feel. In the last year, it’s 

been heavily influenced by early 20th century Modernist art and architecture, 

especially from the German Bauhaus and those that it influenced, like the 

Brutalist movement that began in the 1950s in England. The large monoliths 

of raw concrete with emphasis on the natural textures of the material and 

the geometric shapes are an aesthetic I adore. I love working on paper with 

pastels or gouache, in a similar way, to allow the textures to enhance the 

overall image. 

What do you notice about the evolution of your work since you started 

making art? 

My work in high school was a lot messier. I was just developing my own style 

and turned to the likes of Basquiat, for reference. Same thing in my early 

college years. In my last year of college, I began a cleaner, more minimal look, 

with emphasis on the materials and color. I was pouring paint at that time 

to give me a very flat, shiny surface. That became too messy for me, so I’ve 

simplified things even more now to a very minimal aesthetic. 

16 JAVA 

MAGAZINE

Your work exemplifies an affinity for precision – does that play into the 

message you want to convey? 

When I go into the studio to paint, it’s a time of focus for me. I can completely 

concentrate and still my mind. I’m mostly a process painter, so I’m not overly 

concerned about conveying a message to a potential observer. With all the noise 

out there, it’s exactly what I want to escape from in the studio. I appreciate art 

with an agenda, but personally I choose to avoid making too many statements 

within my work. 

You were showing in the phICA shipping containers (on Roosevelt) 

in December. Work in one of the containers by Bob Carey was 

controversial, due to a portrait of the artist in blackface. The curators 

pulled his show. Subsequently, you chose to take your work down, too. 

Can you tell us why? 

I didn’t feel it was appropriate to continue showing, in light of the reaction to 

the show next door to mine. I only saw the work Bob Carey was displaying on 

the day of the opening. I felt similarly confused, initially, and then concerned by 

the imagery and intentions of the artist. Without an artist statement, there was 

no context in which to view the work, so therefore we had to make up our own 

assumptions. I was a bit consumed at the time with launching my exhibition, but 

the public reaction reinforced my initial gut feeling and, even though Carey’s show 

was removed, it still didn’t feel right for me to continue exhibiting within that 

environment. 

What’s next for you? 

I’m in my studio every week working on new pieces. Most of this series is on 

paper, and that limits me, regarding materials and size, so I’m toying with the idea 

of larger-scale works on a new substrate. I see some experimentation in the near 

future. 

What do you hope people take with them from your work? 

I hope they take away the stillness I experience when creating them. Making art 

is a meditative process for me, and I hope others gain a quiet moment to observe 

whatever it is they want to take away from the imagery. People are always trying 

to make out something in the geometric shapes, so it’s always fun to hear the 

different perspectives. 

On Instagram: @danihacche 

Coalescing Form And Focus Series: #32, #31, #36,#40, #35, pastel, acrylic, gouache, micronpen on paper. 

JAVA 17 

MAGAZINE

Julio Medina 

Jay Carlon 

BREAKING GROUND FEST 

Features International Dance Talent 

By Jenna Duncan 

Two L.A.-based dancer/choreographers, Jay Carlon 

and Julio Uribe, open up about their inspirations and 

projects. 

Jay Carlon 

As a young dancer who travels the world touring with 

Strange Fruit Circus Company (based in Melbourne, 

Australia), Jay Carlon finds himself sitting alone in 

airports quite a lot. During one layover in Russia, he 

decided to switch on his cell phone video camera and 

work on some moves. This inaugurated his “Dance Film 

Selfie” series, which he’s been working on four years. 

“The project started out just as a silly, record-myselfand-post-online 

thing,” Carlon says. “But then, upon 

returning back to America, I found myself really 

excited about it.” As an archival series where he 

can document his travels, it also records the ways 

his body moves at a certain time in his life. It has 

also encouraged Carlon to take long, solitary walks. 

He’s not looking for an audience, but just the right 

location. “It’s not like I’m busking; it’s not like I’m 

asking for tips. I’m just activating a location.” 

Carlon recently founded a performance company in 

L.A. and staged a large show at the beach in Santa 

Monica this past October. He worked with 40 performers 

and had them emerge from the ocean. He will bring his 

“Dance Film Selfie” live to Breaking Ground, dancing 

to songs he chose because they evoke emotion, carry 

nostalgia and feel familiar to him. 

“I put my phone down, I walk out, I dance, and then I 

come back to my phone,” he says. “I like that there is 

a DIY aspect, but this is also ritualistic.” 

Julio Medina 

Medina, who currently teaches dance full-time at 

California State University Long Beach, says he grew 

up in a Hispanic community, and dancing was always 

part of the social fabric of his life. From childhood, 

he remembers dancing merengue, cumbia and salsa 

at family and social events. But he didn’t get serious 

about dance as a career path until late, he says. 

In college, he started out studying business and 

physical therapy. 

“Towards the end of high school, I was meeting with 

some breakers, and they were teaching me how 

to break and how to krump,” Medina says. When 

he went away to Atlanta for college, he became 

even more immersed in the scene. He founded 

an all-male hip-hop group, TrickaNomeTry (TNT), 

pronounced like the word trigonometry. Through his 

kinship with these dancers he really got to know the 

world of breaking and street dance culture. 

“One of my research interests is of hip hop on the 

concert stage. One day in the studio I was looking 

at a move called the Windmill. It’s what you would 

consider a power move. It demands a lot of physical 

strength and momentum.” Medina describes the 

piece he will be performing at Breaking Ground as 

something like a deconstruction of the Windmill. 

Though he didn’t intend the piece to be funny, 

people sometimes react with laughter. There is 

also a spoken text element to his performance. “It 

goes from movement and text to something bigger. I 

wouldn’t consider it a poem, I would consider it more 

like storytelling,” he says. 

Breaking Ground Contemporary Dance Festival takes 

place at the Tempe Center for the Arts Jan. 19-20. For 

more information, visit conderdance.com. 

18 JAVA 

MAGAZINE

Photos: Airi Katsuta 

ROSSITZA TODOROVA 

Time Turns Geometry into Beauty 

By Ashley Naftule 

I wish I had Rossitza Todorova as a math teacher. 

Listening to her talk about the “inexhaustible” 

qualities of geometry reveals a poetry about lines 

and angles that my public school education never 

even hinted at. “Geometry is a metaphor for the 

manmade,” Todorova said. “When I think of nature, 

it’s as a circle. Nature creates circular systems, while 

man is always making straight lines – roadways, 

infrastructures. Geometry enhances our ability to 

control our place, our environment.” 

Todorova has a pool shark’s eye for angles. It’s how 

she’s able to describe a diamond as “three perfect 

squares that have been folded in half” or break 

down books as a series of “repeating squares.” Her 

appreciation and mastery of geometric form is on full 

display in her latest show at eye lounge, Distance Is 

Measured in Time. 

Born in Bulgaria, Todorova has been a prolific 

and active artist in the Phoenix arts scene. She’s 

worked as a fundraiser and done art administrative 

work for both the ASU Art Museum and Phoenix 

Art Museum. It’s her job to create connections, to 

draw lines between groups and individuals to keep 

the art world growing. No wonder she’s so good at 

artistic geometry. 

In person, Todorova’s work looks like industrial 

origami: smooth metal and alloys folded 

immaculately into shapes that look like they are in 

a state of becoming something else. Todorova talks 

about lines as a form of compressed time (a road isn’t 

just a road, it’s also a physical embodiment of the 

amount of time it takes you to get from your home 

to the gallery or supermarket). Looking at her sharpangled 

structures, you get a sense that every threedimensional 

fold represents some kind of journey or 

effort in the artist’s life. 

Psychedelics might help one to see another side of 

time in Todorova’s sculptures – time dilation. Her 

geometric forms look like fractals or half-forming 

crystals, the kind of shapes that might flicker and 

fade behind your eyelids while on a particularly 

strong psilocybin or ayahuasca trip. The shadows 

they cast across the gallery as the sun sets heighten 

the feeling that you’re looking at a warping of reality. 

Everything solid breaking down into the eternal flow 

of geometry. It feels like time itself has stopped 

within these four walls. 

Distance Is Measured in Time also adds a new wrinkle 

to the veteran artist’s work – video. “This is the first 

time I’ve added video to my work,” Todorova said. 

“I make compositions that have a lot of movement. 

These video pieces are literally moving, whereas 

with my drawings, paintings and sculptures, it’s the 

composition of them that creates the impression that 

they’re moving.” 

Todorova’s exhibition creates the kind of environment 

you want to linger in. Look at her work long enough 

and you can feel it start to fold your mind into strange 

new shapes. 

Distance Is Measured in Time 

Through January 14 

Eye Lounge 

eyelounge.com 

JAVA 19 

MAGAZINE

Pa’La 

Wood-Fired Cooking 

By Sloane Burwell

Good things come in small packages, or so the saying goes. I like 

to think that means good food comes from tiny restaurants. This 

is due, in no small part, to the fact that there isn’t a plethora of 

fantastic farmers around here. Don’t get me wrong – there are 

amazing people coaxing gorgeous vegetables out of the scorched earth 

we call home. It’s hard work, though, crafting perfection from impeccably 

sourced goods. Claudio Urciuoli is the kind of chef that makes it look easy. 

Known from his stints at Taggia, NOCA (come back, Elliot) and Noble Bread, 

just to name a few, Claudio is a kind of kicked-back perfectionist with an 

eye toward organic and sustainable food. Pa’La is his newest venture, and 

it’s a sleek, modern, tasty adventure. 

In a charming and cheerful restored bungalow, you’ll find Urciuoli’s new 

spot. It’s gorgeously landscaped with a smattering of what looks to 

be growing foodstuffs, including a charming grape vine that is already 

producing gorgeous, tiny wine grapes, all of which merely hints at what is 

inside. The interior has room for about 20 people, and a large, sunny patio 

has additional seating. Full attention is drawn toward the toasty, tiled 

wood-fired oven where the magic happens. Pa’La is ostensibly a seafood 

and tapas restaurant, but it feels like so much more. 

The charming chalkboard lists the handful of items currently available. 

Today, Pa’La is only open for lunch, which makes eating here feel like an 

accomplishment, especially since it isn’t open on weekends, and dinner is 

still a little ways off. Every bit of foodstuff served here has an eye toward 

sustainable sourcing. 

The bowls, named after famed Chilean surfer and environmental 

activist Ramon Navarro ($16), who is featured in a documentary Claudio 

recommends called The Fisherman’s Son, come loaded with a warm, nutty 

grain mix of kamut, spelt and three wheats – sonora, einkor and durum 

– plus roasted peppers, golden beets and a choice of hand-harpooned 

swordfish or mahi mahi. It’s nourishing, warming, tasty and seems, quite 

frankly, virtuous. It simply FEELS good eating this. 

I also loved the Schiacciata ($11), a freshly baked pita-esque bread, topped 

with apple, ham, fresh herbs and mozzarella. The hot-out-of-the-wood-firedoven 

taste lends an earthly, crunchy appeal to the dish. I’d expect this, and 

everything else on the menu, to change with the seasons, and I can’t wait. 

This mozzarella was so fresh and milky, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn it 

was pulled that day. Swirls of green olive oil finish it off, perfect for swiping 

up with torn bread. 

Honestly, the first time I ever tried burrata was from Chef Claudio, so I 

was happy to see it under Tapas ($7). Fresh morsels of creamy heaven dot 

delicious mini-schiacciata, with more of the silky Le Ferre extra virgin olive 

oil. To be frank, when a chef like Claudio calls out the oil, pay attention. 

This is the good stuff – peppery, with a kick, and a slight hit at the back of 

your throat to remind you there are legit polyphenols here (that’s what gives 

premium and fresh olive oils that bite in the back of the throat). I’d order 

several – this portion can be shared, but I never want to. 

New Bedford scallops are cut and swirled into grapefruit pieces in a perfect 

Ceviche ($8). So deliciously balanced and flavorful, this ceviche will melt 

in your mouth. It misses the funky sting of lesser ceviche (which is a good 

thing) and instead dissolves into nothing short of bliss – at least for me. This 

is what true skill and the best ingredients when merged together are capable 

of producing. The portion looks a bit small, I’ll be honest, but this quality of 

scallop, ethically sourced, isn’t found every day. You will savor it. Each bite, 

one piece at a time, which is the trick, really, for Claudio’s food. To me, his take 

forces you to slow down and savor each bit and bite. 

While you’re doing that, you might notice something about the cutlery and 

dishes, which are all biodegradable. You’ll find natural materials meant to break 

down. And he’s the first chef that I recall having a compost option next to the 

trash, ensuring that nothing goes to waste and nothing will stay in a landfill for 

the next century. 

Don’t skip the Almonds and Olives ($3), a kicky mix of spicy marcona almonds 

and picholine olives, warm and fantastic and just salty enough to keep you 

going back for more. 

And, of course, there is dessert – a crispy, nutty circle of farro hazelnut cookies 

with deliciously bitter grapefruit jam. I can’t recall the last grain-based cookie 

I had that wasn’t wheat or oats, and I’ll be coming back for more. There’s 

something quite wholesome about them. I can envision this, consumed with an 

impossibly small cup of perfect espresso before escaping on a Vespa, like in a 

Fellini film. 

Expect the menu to change with the seasons, and with the harvest. Which 

sounds like heaven to me. It’s almost like a new restaurant every couple of 

months. The same is true for the fish. Chef Claudio will serve what is fresh, 

sustainable and ethically sourced. And you might consider their small selection 

of perfect olive oils and balsamic vinegars for sale near the counter. 

Attention to detail and handmade quality aren’t things that can be mass 

produced. And Claudio isn’t trying, which is why I have always found his food to 

be so interesting and engaging. Each small plate is a flavorful world unto itself, 

and lasts only as long as it takes to consume. It’s a reminder of the transitory 

nature of things, and a reminder that this kind of attention to detail and focus is 

an artform we don’t see much any longer, and also a reminder that good things 

come on small plates. 

Pa’La 

2107 N. 24th Street, Phoenix 

Monday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

palakitchen.com 

(602) 795-9500 

JAVA 

MAGAZINE 

21

BLUSH

24 JAVA 

MAGAZINE

26 JAVA 

MAGAZINE

Photography: Katie Ramsey 

Creative Director and Stylist: Sam Marinos 

Models: Andie Downs and Ceara Burns 

Makeup: Tessa Jessup 

Hair: Francesca Ippolito 

28 

Clothing: JAVA Maidermood Vintage, Assistance: Gabby Quersin 

MAGAZINE

29 JAVA 

MAGAZINE

Doug 

Preston 

Up Until Now 

by Mitchell L. Hillman 

30 JAVA 

MAGAZINE

Doug Preston has been a mysterious side 

player and session man for many bands 

that I’ve followed around town for the 

last decade. Whether it was Mister Lucky, 

Ruca or Scattered Melodies, his guitar sound has 

always caught my ear and raised me out of whatever 

I was drinking to take notice. I can remember this 

happening while listening to records, but especially 

on stage. 

Last year Preston decided to step away from the 

sidelines and get into the studio to record his own 

vision. I’d originally intended to give it a small 

writeup for the December issue, but by the third 

listen, I wanted to do more with it. 

The album might strike you as the work of a veteran 

from the 1990s Arizona scene, which is ironic 

since Preston was slinging his guitar in El Paso 

at that time. Granted, he’s been playing around 

Phoenix in one way or another since the early 

2000s, and his sound has that indie-rock-meetsdesert-Americana 

vibe that lets you know it is 

decidedly from the Southwest. 

On his full-length solo debut, Preston presents a 

collection of songs that make you feel right at home 

with a desert state of mind and gathers quite a few 

of this town’s talents to bring it to life. I’d always 

hoped for more from Mister Lucky, but instead I got a 

whole lot more from Doug Preston, finally spreading 

his wings on Up Until Now. 

The first thing I noticed when I got my hands on this 

record is that some of these songs sounded familiar, 

but that’s due to catching more than a few Mister 

Lucky shows in my time. Some of Preston’s material 

here hails back even further, to his days with The Low 

Men, as well as Raul and the Reptiles. 

Knowing all that, one thing becomes clear – Preston 

has had this impressive artistic vision from the start, 

and is now owning up to his talent and no longer 

hiding within a band. That said, he is joined on the 

record by drummer Phil Popovich (Mister Lucky) and 

bassist Ricky Powell (El West, Mister Lucky, Prague), 

while he handles nearly everything else here, along 

with a few surprise guests. 

Up Until Now kicks off with the appropriately titled 

“Hello” and a clever voicemail message. Then it 

immediately launches into one of the best driving 

songs I’ve heard in a while, although it’s not about 

driving. It’s about awkwardly contacting a lost 

friend, relation or loved one. But it’s the kind of tune 

you play to hit the highway while you’re thinking 

about that friend who, after all the years and the 

bridges burned, you’re still concerned about. It’s got 

a stunning synth line that drives me wild, which is 

unexpected to say the least. 

“There’s No Hiding” kicks off with a fantastic bass 

line that gets stuck in my head for days and stays 

there even when the shimmering guitar comes in. 

You’re not expecting it to explode a minute in, but 

it does, and the rock ’n’ roll rains from the heavens. 

It’s a single-worthy track that leaves any hint of 

Americana in the dust, while it rocks furiously and 

propels you from the opener toward the first single 

that’s seen release. 

“Now and Then” features Preston joined on vocals by 

local legend Shawn Johnson. It’s not difficult to figure 

out why this was the single. It’s the perfect synthesis 

of Preston’s songwriting vision. Every element that 

makes his music pop can be found here at one 

moment or another, and there’s never a second that 

isn’t exceeding expectations. It’s got an early Eagles/ 

Flying Burrito Brothers/Poco vibe to it that will excite 

the fibers of your soul, and Johnson’s vocals are the 

icing on the cake. 

I fell in love with a song called “Letters From Maria” 

about a year or so ago. I remember because I’m 

not usually one for slow, sentimental numbers, 

but Preston’s vocal blows my mind on this one. It’s 

not that his performance is unreal, and he doesn’t 

play his hand too heavy. With so much subtlety 

and emotional inflection, he could break your heart 

at any moment. “I’ve got all your letters, I know 

them by heart,” Preston sings. “Faded and creased, 

falling apart. Those words are all that’s left to show 

you were here, so I’ll keep them close, my dear.” 

Devastatingly beautiful, without getting you down. 

The song also happens to feature an appearance by 

Bill Hamilton (Mr. Eastwood/Two Tone Lizard Kings). 

“My Spot on the Wall” is one of my favorite tunes 

based solely on its composition, as it traverses 

mellow passages and an ascending locomotive guitar 

groove. More of a musical experience than a mere 

song, it all bends on the lyrical refrain that ends the 

tune on a heartfelt note: “I forgot about the way that 

you move ... that you move me.” 

The near seven-minute centerpiece of the album is 

“Miles to Go,” and it’s as dusty desert roots rock as 

you can get. It’s also a sprawling Americana number 

that features Shawn Johnson once more. In the end, 

there is nothing but uncertainty to be found here. 

But as a document of Preston starting a new career 

chapter, it’s relatable for anyone: “All I know is 

there’s miles to go.” 

“All in the Cards” is a slow-burning rocker that 

brandishes a slightly different sound, and that’s 

because of Andy Borunda (Carol Pacey & the Honey 

Shakers) slaying the guitar. If I was a betting man, 

I’d say it’s about struggling with depression, because 

the lyrics paint an intimate portrait of that vividly: “I 

came downtown to escape the suburban sprawl. You 

get so down sometimes. I don’t want to crawl. But 

now I feel these things are real. You know I might 

lose it all.” This song feels like how I feel when times 

are low, but dammit if Preston doesn’t make you feel 

better about that somehow. 

The pounding drums that start “Waste of Time” 

with the reverberations of a guitar make for one of 

the more stunning intros on the album. The song is 

another straightforward number, but with a pretty 

substantial pop backbone. It’s got groove, it’s got 

a hook, and it’s alternately a ballad and a monster 

rocker. It’s also possibly Preston’s best overall singing 

on an album, filled with impressive vocal maneuvers. 

“The Knife” is the finale to this 40-minute odyssey 

through the talent of Doug Preston. This is the tune 

that hails from his days with Raul and the Reptiles. 

It also features either an accordion or some clever 

programming designed to sound as such. It’s an “easy 

on the soul” kind of ending, a soft sendoff into the 

Arizona sunset. Within it is found some impressive 

wisdom. “There’s one more thing that I must say. 

You have to view each sunrise as if this is your last 

day. There’s so much left to do and there’s so little 

time. Keep this feeling with you and share it when 

it’s time.” The accompanying arrangement puts the 

perfect ending on an album that I find brilliant. 

Upon a month or so of reflection, I hope that Up 

Until Now is the first step toward an impressive solo 

career for Doug Preston. The album sticks with you; 

the riffs, lyrics, imagery and emotional content will 

remain in your mind if you spend the proper time with 

it. And in the end, that will do you some good. 

JAVA 31 

MAGAZINE

ERIC RAMSEY 

It’s a Rough World Baby 

CAPTAIN SQUEEGEE 

Harmony Cure 

RPM ORCHESTRA 

Stepwise 

They say you can’t judge a book or an album by its 

cover and, yet, looking at Eric Ramsey on the cover 

of It’s a Rough World Baby, it sounds exactly as 

you’d expect. Ramsey has an easygoing, roots rock, 

folk vibe that’s just as much electrified blues as it 

is Americana. Somehow between the cover and 

the title, I anticipated just how easy on the soul the 

entire six-song experience was going to be. Not 

only is the man a guitar maestro that will have you 

marveling the entire time, but he’s an intelligent and 

clever lyricist. 

The title track is a humorous take on Biblical stories 

and Christian tropes that comes off as relatable 

rather than righteous. The first track on the record, 

“Big Old Bunch of Your Love,” is obsessed with holes, 

and emptiness in general. From holes in the windows 

and your jeans to a hole in your soul, there’s even a 

clever nod to Gabriel’s trumpet. “Highway” is a longstretched 

road in the desert heat and plays out like a 

reflective drive in the Sonoran sandscape. There’s an 

intoxicating vibe to the song that invites you to get 

lost in the reverie, smooth and warm, with Ramsey’s 

charming drawl painting each frame. 

If you want something soaked in blues and slide 

guitar, direct your attention to the stunning “Please.” 

It’s heart wrenching, introspective and self-reflective, 

but immaculate in its confessional beauty. “Somehow 

She Loves Me” is everything the title suggests – a 

wildly romantic ode to a woman who, beyond his 

own understanding, returns his love manyfold, and 

really that’s all most of us are looking for in life. The 

record finishes with “Crash on the Levee (Down in the 

Flood),” a number steeped in the blues that allows 

you to once again marvel at this man’s guitar. 

Captain Squeegee takes its time cultivating records. 

It’s been just over four years since they released the 

monumental To the Bardos!!! and that was after a 

five-year wait from the previous record. The good 

news is that we have a new Squeegee record; the 

bad news is that it’s only five tracks, but, hey, it’s 

18 minutes of bliss we didn’t have before. The first 

single, “Our Children,” kicks off like a space-age 

bachelor-pad jazz broadcast from Venus. It’s a threeand-a-half-minute 

sonic drug that floats in and out of 

understanding because there’s so much magic. Danny 

Torgersen’s crazed vocals and lyrics on one hand, 

a complete horn array on the other, and then the 

arrangements and compositional insanity. Nothing 

like splitting your brain open from the start. 

“Terrorist of Time” is one of their closest approaches 

to pure pop, in a sense that fans of American Music 

Hall, Harry Nilsson and Brian Wilson will appreciate. 

Jazz got hip for a moment in the 1970s, and the start 

of “Just a Brain” evokes that somehow. It’s a slow 

burner, but more in line with the experimentation 

found on the opening track, along with a bit of the 

hook-heavy charm of the number that preceded it. 

“Smile Shield” follows in a heavy haze of shimmering 

beauty – the kind of pop you’d find in Saturn’s rings 

on a Saturday night. The finale is “Ghost Ships” and 

the only tune here to slightly exceed four minutes, 

even though you could live lifetimes in each one. It 

wouldn’t be Captain Squeegee if they didn’t bend 

space and time. It’s a soulful, jazzy number to close 

things out and gives you the perfect vibe to carry you 

through however long we’ll have to patiently wait 

for their next installment of sonic sexplorations and 

cosmic conscious commentaries. 

RPM Orchestra albums always leave me stunned. 

They rewire my brain slightly. I’ve only ever seen 

this band once or twice, because it’s the kind of 

circus that I’d like to run away and join. 2015’s Hit 

on All Sixes is still in frequent rotation at my house, 

and Stepwise, released in late 2017, has joined 

that eternal spin cycle. Stepwise is the album I was 

expecting last time, which is to say, a document of 

what RPM Orchestra does around town when they 

are not putting out albums or trying to save the 

Phoenix Trolley Museum. That is to say, this record 

collects some fantastic highlights from their silent 

film scores at Filmbar and shows at The Lost Leaf. 

Jim Dustan, Erik Hunter, Pete Petrisko, Jocelyn Ruiz 

and Vic VOID combine their talents to create some 

of the most fascinatingly strange compositions 

you’ve never heard. The opener, “Hey You,” is as 

close as we come to a single. Before looking at the 

notes, I thought the album was going to be more 

conventional. That is, until the shortwave radio kicks 

in at the start of “Curious Nature,” during which you 

can overhear conversations at the bar. “Go West” is 

from their score for the silent film of the same name. 

“Intermittent Waltz” hails from their score for the 

silent Snow White, while “By Sea” is from their score 

for Nosferatu. If you know the movies, you can totally 

imagine their perfection listening to the madness; if 

not, you’re probably in for an even stranger time. 

The foot-stomping hoedown of “Long Way Back” 

recalls roots rock outfits of the mid 1980s from the 

deep South with banjo. A creepy arrangement of 

“Willie the Weeper” gives a bit of nightmare material 

to wrestle with. “Rise + Shine,” the finale, features a 

duel between two shortwave radios. It’s an epic ending 

to possibly the strangest local album of last year. 

32 JAVA 

MAGAZINE 

Sounds Around Town By Mitchell L. Hillman

GENERAL ANXIETY 

Self-Harm 

THE SINK OR SWIM 

Oasis Unknown 

WHSTLE 

Built For It 

A lot of incredibly interesting bands made their debut 

in 2017 in our music scene, especially on the fringes 

and at things called “noise shows.” General Anxiety 

started crashing through shows and getting quite a 

reputation for their sinister psalms filled with rage, 

angst and a clawing grrrl power vibe. It’s no wonder 

they quickly became a fascinating attraction, with 

actress/model/musician Chelsea Claire leading the 

group on vocals, Jameson Mars (The Oxford Coma) 

on bass and Hunter Royston on drums. 

I’ve suspected that if Mars is used properly, you 

wouldn’t need any other guitar in the mix, and 

General Anxiety proves that to be correct. It’s also 

great to have Claire back on stage, since it’s been a 

few years. She sounds instantly comfortable raging 

with the mic once more. As raucous and angst-fuelled 

as the music is, the luxury is that you can understand 

every single lyric, barb, confession and sentiment – as in 

“Boxer,” where Claire says “fight me” in such a fashion 

that it’s slightly startling and terrifying. 

“Along Came Bitterness” is one of my favorite 

titles ever and one of the best songs found here. 

“Dragging Heels” feels like it came straight out of 

the indie peak of the early 1990s. “I can only survive 

medicating myself” is a powerful yelp from “Done,” 

which sounds like someone trapped in a relationship 

as much as their own personal pit of despair. Self- 

Harm finishes appropriately with “Trust Issues,” 

which seems somewhat more evolved than the other 

songs and is their best effort musically. This EP is a 

document of a band priming themselves to explode. If 

you want music that Lydia Lunch and No Wave artists 

would heartily approve of, I’d suggest you get this 

slightly harrowing debut from General Anxiety. 

I’ve been following The Sink or Swim from the 

moment they started putting out records in early 2016. 

That year they released two back-to-back EPs of power 

pop indie rock as a trio, before expanding their lineup. 

Last year they put out two stunning singles, which do 

not appear on their third EP, Oasis Unknown. The Sink 

or Swim are Nate Zeune (guitar/vocals), Lou Resnick 

(drums), Niel Erlich (bass/vocals) and Derek Rossman 

(guitar/vocals). The five new songs on their record 

show the further evolution of this band. 

Rossman is the ringer on this release, and his 

appearances on “Arizona” and “Dopamine” last 

year showed early signs of his assimilation into the 

band. His guitar becomes an outstanding element 

on the opener, “Queen Colleen,” while Zeune’s 

understated vocals shine like a distant star. Resnick 

and Erlich show up as the rhythm section everyone 

wants in their band. “Life After Midnight” is the first 

single, and it’s got an easy groove, with Rossman’s 

vocals and a cool, catchy hook that’s as subtle as 

it is sexy. “Reason to Leave” has the quirkiness 

and neuroticism that first attracted me to the 

band. It’s got a jazzy exploration that takes its time 

exploring the unrelenting groove – one of their most 

fascinating arrangements to date. 

The sentimental “Winter Clothes” seems to pull 

from early 1970s Laurel Canyon rock. It’s AM rock 

to be sure, from an era that existed long before 

any member here was born. “Full Moon” is the 

finale, and it’s got a sexy groove courtesy of Erlich, 

with shimmering guitars and a touch of ELO. Oasis 

Unknown is a stark contrast to their previous EPs, but 

this is a band exploring every edge of their talent. 

They’ve traded their hooks for grooves without 

diminishing their sound a bit. 

Sounds Around Town By Mitchell L. Hillman 

WHSTLE released their four-track calling card to 

the world in late 2017 with Built For It. This new 

outfit presents indie-tinged pop with catchy hooks 

and a dark vibe beneath the surface. WHSTLE is 

Saydi Driggers (vocals), William Butler (guitar) and 

Jake Briggs (percussion). I’m not sure who’s laying 

down the electronica backbone to all of it, but 

that’s in there, too. It’s a fascinating blend, to be 

sure, but the music seems to largely be a vehicle 

to put Driggers’ vocals and lyricism in front of the 

world. Her sultry voice commands your attention 

through the entire record. 

The arrangements on “Terrified” are on the cusp 

of total mainstream, but with an edge that might 

terrify normal folks. After the pop anthem of the 

title track, the slight trip hop vibe of “Void” and the 

brilliance of “Terrified,” the finale, “Loaded Gun,” 

stands in striking contrast, as they check out blues 

rock. Butler’s guitar is immaculate here, and Driggers’ 

voice is perfection. This song should definitely be a 

single somewhere. 

I am eagerly anticipating their next record, because 

they could go in a multitude of directions. Add crossgenre 

appeal and remix potential for at least three 

of these tracks, and WHSTLE could be cultivating 

quite a crowd with their mix of danceable exploration. 

Driggers’ vocals are sublime, but after a few spins, you 

will find yourself digging all the details of these tunes. 

For more on these events and other highlights of 

the Phoenix music scene, check out Mitchell’s blog 

at http://soundsaroundtown.net. For submissions 

or suggestions contact him at mitchell@ 

soundsaroundtown.net 

JAVA 33 

MAGAZINE

The 

Darts 

Are On 

Point 

34 JAVA 

MAGAZINE 

By Tom Reardon

Since their inception in 2015, The Darts (following the UK’s “Darts” by about 

three decades) have been circling music communities in Phoenix and LA and 

soon the world, like a predatory jungle cat ready to pounce and devour its prey. 

Led by Phoenicians Nicole Laurenne on organ and vocals and Christina Nunez 

on bass and vocals, The Darts are rounded out by Los Angeles area–based Michelle 

Balderama on guitar and vocals and Rikki Styxx on drums and vocals. The combination 

of these four talented musicians is nothing short of spectacular. This is a whole 

new level of “Girl Power,” but let’s get one thing straight: forget about gender for a 

minute, The Darts are a good f*cking band. 

Just because they happen to be four attractive females who look great in all black, 

The Darts are no gimmick and are definitely not to be taken lightly. Give a listen to 

their latest release, Me.Ow. on Dirty Water Records (Laurenne is an owner of the 

US partner, and Nunez provides A&R work), and try not to get sucked in immediately by 

the fuzzy, hypnotic bass of opener “The Cat’s Meow.” As the record goes on, it actually 

gets stronger, which is nice in this day of artists cranking out one or two good songs and 

surrounding them with filler. 

With strong nods to garage heroes like The Cramps, Fuzztones, Thee Headcoatees and 

The Trashwomen, fans of killer organ-driven, fuzzy garage rock with swagger and soul 

need to get on board this train right now. Songs like “Get Messy” and “Gonna Make 

You Love” show a combination of ass-shakin’ groove and psychedelic muscle that lesser 

bands can only aspire to. 

Laurenne and Nunez are seasoned vets (and really, leaders) of the garage scene 

here in Phoenix, having been part of local favorites like The Love Me Nots, The 

Madcaps and Zero Zero. Balderama spent time in LA’s Brainspoon, and Styxx 

drums in LA’s The Two Tens and The Dollyrots, in addition to handling the skins in 

The Darts. As 2018 unfolds, the band will be extremely busy with multiple trips 

to Europe in the works and a possible Japan tour later in the year, as well as a slate 

of releases ready to dot the calendar. 

In an effort to get to know the busy band a bit better, we exchanged some emails and 

instant messages over the first few weeks of December. Here’s what we learned: 

Photo: Scott Evanesky 

Photo: Jim Louvau 

So Nicole, you and Christina both live around downtown Phoenix. What do you 

like about it? 

Nicole: I like being able to walk to Durant’s, Pino’s and Oven & Vine, and I like all the old 

houses and great venues nearby. Downtown is so fun these days. 

Rikki and Michelle, how has it been for you to spend a lot of time here in town? 

Rikki: I love Phoenix because I love hanging out at Nicole’s house. We just “girl talk” 

and drink tequila and try on outfits. It’s everything you’d want to happen when four 

girls in a band get together. We made our last video there in her backyard and dressed 

as mermaids and threw cake at each other. So, to me, Phoenix is rad and some of my 

favorite venues are there: Valley Bar, Rebel and Crescent. 

Michelle: Phoenix has been amazing to us and it’s become a second home for me. I’ve 

been a fan of many bands from Arizona for quite some time. Their acknowledgment has 

brought us support in building success outside of Phoenix. 

Michelle, tell me about your musical path. What have you been up to? 

Michelle: Being brought up in a musical family, learning to create and play music came 

naturally. One of my early influences was my school band teacher, with the amount of 

love and dedication she put into knowing how to play over 10 instruments. 

Photo: Karl Wentzell 

JAVA 35 

MAGAZINE


My father was one of my biggest influences. All his stories about playing, writing 

and recording music had a huge impact on my buying of my first 4-track recorder 

and falling in love with the creativity of songwriting. My first band was Brainspoon 

in 2005 and we made two amazing records. I spent most of my 20s practice/ 

writing/recording and performing in Los Angeles. To this day, that was still some of 

my best work in songwriting. 

A lot of the first songs I contributed to The Darts were extra songs I had sitting on 

my 8-track that I didn’t get a chance to record in Brainspoon. [This] all led up to 

writing some songs with Nicole and joining up with Rikki and Christina to record a 

few tunes in 2015. 

Why are The Darts a great fit for you? 

Michelle: The drive that each of us has to pursue the mindset that anything is 

possible. Second, the amount of fun we’ve had in the process. It’s been so amazing 

the dreams that have come true this year, pretty epic! 

Teaming up with Nicole has been so wicked cool! Finally being able to pursue the 

passion of creating music [with someone else] is a priceless feeling. We’ve been 

able to accomplish so much in just being around for a year now [as a live act]. It shows 

that anything is possible with this band and I am so grateful to be a part of it all. 

Why are The Darts different from other bands you’ve been in? 

Nicole: Darts are different because all the band members are in it to see the 

world together and share as many good moments as possible on and off stage, 

which is equally as important to us as making the best noise we can come up with. 

When you prioritize fun, food, sights, laughs and wonder as much as creativity and 

all the usual band goals, it really changes everything. Everyone just values each 

other more as friends and people, and it turns into the best freaking international 

slumber party ever. 

What would you like people to take away from a Darts show besides lots 

of records, t-shirts and posters? 

Ricki: What I would like people to take away is how much we love the music we 

play. I think some musicians go thru the motions but we give everything with every 

note, every hit, everything. 


What, if anything, would constitute a Darts pre- or post-show ritual? 

Christina: Usually after driving all day, we will load in and sound check at the 

venue and then scramble to go see as much cool stuff in whatever city we’re in 

before we have to go back to the club. Then usually we’re sitting in a green room 

running through the set and trying to find all of our lost pantyhose, phones, etc. 

That sounds like a lot of fun. What makes a good rock and roll show? 

Michelle: It always comes down to the fans, helping to make it an epic night, 

because without them, [there is] no show. We feed off the crowd and they feed off 

of us and that connection is what makes a great rock ’n’ roll show. As a passionate 

fan, music has brought me a sense of happiness throughout my life. Becoming a 

rock ’n’ roll entertainer and being on the other end, I hope I can inspire and spread 

the positive vibes. 

What is your gut reaction when people refer to The Darts as a “girl band”? 

Ricki: I love it, because we are. 

36 JAVA 

MAGAZINE

What’s the perfect length for a song? 

Christina: Depends. Some songs say it all in a 

minute and some songs can go on for 15 minutes and 

I still won’t want it to end. 

Michelle: Short and sweet, put on repeat! 

Nicole: 2:30. 

Photo: Scott Evanesky 

Christina: Haha! It’s just funny because no one is like, “This all-dude band is awesome.” It’s also just so nice 

to have a band filled with girls who can play the shit out of their instruments, at last! It’s a whole new kind of 

rad experience. 

Nicole, why are keyboards so underutilized in rock ’n’ roll today? Or are they? 

Nicole: Keyboards have always been underutilized in rock, speaking from a possibilities standpoint. But I don’t 

think that’s a bad thing necessarily. Keys don’t always provide enough hard-hitting attacks to speak well in 

the rock genre. They work best when there is a good spot for a melodic line or a pad underneath, or a gentler 

rhythm part than a guitar might offer. So, it makes sense to me that they don’t always fit. 

What are some of the band’s biggest influences? 

Michelle: I have such a huge range of influential bands, I would say for this band: TheStooges, The Cramps, 

Brian Jonestown Massacre, Q65, Wand, Uriah Heep, King Khan & The Shrine, The Black Angeles, Howlin’ Wolf 

and White Hills, to name a few. 

Christina: Billy Childish, Holly Golightly, The Trashwomen, Nick Cave, any band Ian Svenonius has ever had, 

Marc Bolan and so many more. 

Nicole: Thee Tsunamis, The Trashwomen, Ty Segall, Coathangers, Death Valley Girls, King Khan and BBQ 

Show, The Gories and L.A. Witch. 

What other local bands do you love? 

Michelle: The Mission Creeps, Scorpion Vs. Tarantula, Green Lady Killers, The Folcken Wolves. 

Christina: I feel like there are a lot I don’t know about since I haven’t gone out much lately but love Scorpion 

Vs. Tarantula, French Girls, Shovel, Playboy Manbaby, The San Jacinto Death Row Prison Band. 

Ultimate Phoenix show? 

Nicole: Ultimate Phoenix show: The Darts, Playboy Manbaby and Shovel, either playing at every local record 

store during the course of Record Store Day, or during an Arizona-labels-only record swap event, which I would 

love to put together in 2018. 

Favorite Darts song to play? Why? 

Michelle: “Gonna Make You Love” because I 

actually get to sing main vocals. It features a lot of 

tape echo, which is a new sound element added 

on this latest record. I’m excited to capture it live. 

There’s even a groovy music video that we recently 

put out for it. 

Christina: “Evil Wayz” because it’s so heavy and is 

filled with triplets [musical term, not three babies]. I 

love that. 

Nicole: “Strange Days” because I love pulling my 

Farfisa down on top of me during the bridge (much to 

the chagrin of my legs which are later covered with 

bruises), and “The Cat’s Meow” because it is just so 

dang sexy. 

Rikki: Whatever is first on the set list because that’s 

when we get to really hear the room for the first time 

and get to see what we are in for as far as the crowd 

goes. 

What does 2018 hold for The Darts? 

Christina: 2018 is already looking very fun for the 

Darts. Lots of touring, festivals, Europe and maybe 

Japan. We will be able to have fun together and see 

tons of cool bands, play really amazing shows and 

see sights all over the world. 

Nicole: We will be recording four new songs 

by February, for release on various split 7”s with 

other artists [like Japan’s Mellvins] and labels [like 

Alternative Tentacles] that we love. Then we’ll 

do another six to eight songs before we leave for 

Europe in April. By August, if all goes well, we might 

have the next record ready for release. And then we 

are planning a November tour in Japan with The 

Fadeaways. Probably several more videos will seep 

out of us too, as the year goes forward. 

Michelle: We strive in making records, baby! 

Playing lots & lots of festivals and touring the world, 

one day at a time. Rock ’n’ roll must be saved! 

www.thedarts.us 

JAVA 37 

MAGAZINE

GIRL ON FARMER 

Visions for a 

New Year 

By Celia Beresford 

I’m going to start out small with my goals for 2018. 

The first thing on my to-do list is to get my eyes 

checked. This has been on the list for a few years. It 

has been inconvenient not being able to see, but it’s 

manageable. The thing that bothers me most is the 

constant squinting. And it’s not even the squinting 

that bothers me, it’s the result of the squinting. 

Most notably, the two vertical chasms between my 

eyebrows that get deeper and more pronounced with 

each attempt to see something more clearly. Who 

knows how many squints away I am from being able 

to keep spare change in these forehead slots. 

I am the person you see at the bar who’s looking 

around, kind of lost, and then, after a long, hard 

squint, sees you and smiles. Except, you don’t know 

who I am. That’s because I often think I see people 

I know, but once I get a bit closer, I realize, nope, 

that’s a stranger. I’ve got to get within range to be 

able to recognize details. Because of this condition, 

I am extra empathetic when someone looking at 

me, smiling big, heads my way and then realizes 

I’m not who they thought I was. I don’t want them 

to feel embarrassed, so I smile back and act like I 

might know them, too. It is this golden heart of mine, 

coupled with poor vision, that led me to decide that 

2018 is the year of the eye exam. 

On a hungover Sunday morning, my husband 

and I were driving from Phoenix on the freeway. 

Simultaneously, we hit parking-lot style traffic and 

the low-fuel light turned on. The gas light in my car 

is temperamental, and you never know if you have 

two or twenty miles left. It took ten minutes to get 

to the next exit, which happened to be smack dab 

in the hood. We pulled into a gas station that, for 

some reason, had a line of cars and several people 

hanging out in and around their cars. I was trying to 

patiently wait our turn, but I was also crashing pretty 

hard and needed either a burrito, a cocktail or a nap. 

Or all three, preferably in that order. However, none 

of these dreams were coming true as we inched our 

way up the gas line. That’s when I spotted my friend. 

I noticed a woman looking at me, kind of 

concentrating, like she was trying to figure out if 

she knew me. In return, I tried to figure out if I knew 

her, which was tricky since she kind of looked like 

38 JAVA 

MAGAZINE

I am the person you see at the bar who’s looking 

around kind of lost, and then, after a long, hard 

squint, sees you and smiles. Except, you don’t 

know who I am. That’s because I often think I 

see people I know, but once I get a bit closer, I 

realize, nope, that’s a stranger. 

a thumb with eyes, nose, mouth and dark hair. She could be anyone. “Is that 

___? No, is it ___?” I muttered to myself. She maintained eye contact, and I ran 

through the list of people she could be, namely, anyone I knew who had dark hair. 

I decided she was a friend, Sharon, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time. Also, 

Sharon and I had a bit of a falling out. This makes sense, I thought. Sharon sees 

me but doesn’t want to come say hi, which was fine with me and my increasing 

nausea. But then Sharon gave me a big smile and a little wave. And I smiled 

back. Then Sharon started getting closer and, while engaged in a full squint, I 

realized that, nope, this is not Sharon, this is a stranger. Then the waving and 

smiling became so vigorous that I thought she must be waving at someone in the 

car next to me or beside me. 

Sharon picked up speed and headed for the car full force. Once she was within 

range, the pockmarked face, excessive blinking and jaw grinding became clear 

and I realized, oh, she’s coming to the car to ask for money. I found that being 

trapped between two cars at a gas pump, with a meth head quickly approaching, 

was not my favorite place to be. I lowered the window and before she even 

asked, I told Sharon I didn’t have any money. She was fine with this and then 

asked if I’d like to purchase any crystal. “Nah, I’m good, thanks,” I politely 

declined. She took this well and gave a big smile. This is when I saw that her 

teeth looked like they had been painted with red Kool Aid. What drug even does 

that? Sharon, persistent and jittery, took a good, close-up look and me and then 

asked, “How about a gun?” 

What? A gun? There are so many questions here. The meth, sure, she probably 

just whooped up a batch. But a gun? Where did it come from? With all those 

jitters, did she really feel that she was the best person to have it? And most 

importantly, did Sharon think of me as one of her people? I know I wasn’t at the 

top of my game, but seriously, out of all the people at the gas station, I was the 

one who looked like they might be interested in some meth and/or a gun? 

Thankfully, the car ahead of us pulled out and my husband and I made our 

getaway back to the freeway. Sharon got back into her jalopy with some guy 

and smiled and waved as we pulled away. At least I think it was her. As I’ve 

mentioned, the squint is not so reliable. This year, I’ll know for sure.

NIGHT 

GALLERY 

Photos By 

Robert Sentinery 

1 

2 

3 4 

5 

6 

7 

8 9 

10 11 

1. Handsome couple at Christmas Classic ’17 

2. Christmas Classic with Indigo, Dana and Mitch 

3. “Tiny Works” artist at {9} Gallery 

4. Jesse breaks out the Patron at his Christmas party 

5. Shana and Jeremy get in the holiday spirit 

6. See these guys every yeat at the Christmas Classic 

7. Kevin, Rachel and Samir at Jesse’s fete 

8. Renée and her bro at Dana’s party 

9. Holly, jolly crew at Phoestivus 

10. Danielle and friends at Dana’s 

11. Stephen and co. at the Christmas Classic

12 13 14 15 16 

17 18 19 20 21 

22 23 24 25 26 

27 28 29 

12. Nicole and pal at Kaiserworks Christmas Party 

13. Silvana, Kyong and Laura at {9} Gallery 

14. Tato and Sara at The Lodge 

15. Bassim and Shauna at The Lodge 

16. Lisa, Davina and Alejandra 

17. Chadwick & Rembrandt “The State of Phoenix” at The Lodge 

18. “Tiny Works, Tiny Dances” at {9} 

19. “The State of Phoenix” opening at The Lodge 

20. Mia and pal at Scott’s birthday celebration 

21. Getting their painting fix at Phoenix Festival of the Arts 

22. Michael and Mello at The Lodge 

23. Lunch with the Evolve PR and Marketing crew 

24. {9} Collective members Kathy and Lynn 

25. Patrick and Darrin at Scott’s b-day party 

26. Jam Pak at Phoenix Festival of the Arts 

27. Verónica Aponte’s MFA show at Step Gallery 


29. Studio visit with artist Leslie Sandbulte

30 31 

32 33 34 

35 

36 37 38 39 40 

41 

30. All together now for Scott’s 60th b-day 

31. Kyllan Maney’s piece or Phoenix Festival of the Arts 

32. Fred and Gail Tieken at The Lodge 

33. Mural artist at Phoenix Festival of the Arts 

34. Look who showed up for Scott Jarson’s 60th 

35. More mural art at Phoenix Fest of the Arts 

36. Child prodigy at work 

37. More fun at Scott’s b-day party 

38. Valerie and Lynde at The Lodge 

39. Artist trio at Phoenix Festival of the Arts 

40. This artist’s work leans toward the phantasmagoric 

41. Having fun at the Victorian Folly booth 

VISIT 

US 

ONLINE 

w w w . J A V A M A G A Z . c o m

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52 53 54 55 56 

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42. Alexis and pal at Scott’s birthday bash 

43. Kaiserworks crew at their company Christmas party 

44. In the holiday spirit at Kaiserworks 

45. Mulled wine, anyone? 

46. Mackenzie and her cuz at Phx Festival of the Arts 

47. Holiday cheer at Kaiserworks 


49. Creative Connect at Walter Gallery featuring Szabo’s “Ligature” 

50. Mixmaster Murphy at Jesse’s Christmas party 

51. Celebrating the holidays with this trio 

52. Snapped these guys at Kaiserworks 

53. Couch-locked couple at Jesse’s party 

54. ’Tis the season 

55. This photographer gets snapped 

56. Taryn and Evan have the best holiday sweaters 

57. Ernesto and friend at Phoestivus 

58. Jacob and pal at The Lodge 

59. Holiday fun at Kaiserworks

60 

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60. Cheers and beers at Jesse’s Christmas party 

61. Manning the Local First booth at Phoestivus 

62. Phoestivus friends and family time 

63. Rob and Nicole at Walter Gallery 

64. Host with the most Jesse and lovely Tondra 

65. “Downtown Phoenix” authors Jim, Seth and Suad 

66. I see your true colors shining through 

67. Jeff and pal in town from Taos 

68. Birthday boy Scott Jarson and Patrick 

69. Carolers sing at Phoestivus 

70. Yum, the Phoestivus Ale was tasty 

71. Salted Serenity Sweets makes delicious caramels 

72. Strawberry Hedgehog in the house at Phoestivus 

73. Saffron Jak’s Jayson and his mom 

74. Hipster Santa knows if you’ve been naughty or nice 

75. Lee and Hila, so happy together 

76. These guys have been holding it down in Phoenix forever 

77. The Abominable Snowman gets love at Phoestivus

66 78 79 67 80 68 

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78. Red, red wine makes you feel so fine 

79. The Twenty-three’s are out and about 

80. Hip Historian Marshall Shore in the flesh 

81. Ken founded Phoestivus and Sara runs the show 

82. Another Christmas Classic with these guys 

83. Christmas Classic ’17 in Sunnyslope 

84. Brea and her beau 

85. Red wine and sequins for the holidays 

86. Kate and Mark at Phoestivus 

87. These guys were handling all the vinyl 

88. All together now, Christmas Classic ’17 

89. Dallas and Mitch puttin’ on the Ritz 

90. A chilly night in Phoenix town 

91. Shaun, Jesse and friend 

92. Christmas hugs for Tondra and Rachel 

93. Tondra’s musical family 

94. Say yes to the dress 

95. Another Christmas Classic in the bag

JACQUES 

MARIE MAGE 

NOW AT 

BEST EYEWEAR 

PHOENIX NEW TIMES 

5538 N 7TH ST 

(602) 283-4503

spring opening celebration @smoca 

Spring Opening Celebration 

Friday, February 16, 2018 I 7 – 9 p.m. I Free 

Mix and mingle with artists, collectors, art lovers and curators to celebrate SMoCA’s 

exciting season featuring three new exhibitons. 

southwestNET: Acid Baroque is organized by Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. Sponsored by the Jane A. Lehman and Alan G. Lehman Foundation and Security Title Agency. 

Claudio Dicochea, de la Chavela y la Residente Permanente, la Multi Pass (of Chavela and Permanent Resident, the Multi Pass), 2017. Acrylic, graphite, charcoal, and transfer on wood. 

Courtesy of the artist and Lisa Sette Gallery 

Claudio Dicochea, de Teniente Comandante y el caso de la reacia liberadora, la Barbaridad (of Lieutenant Commander and the case of the reluctant liberator, the barbaridad), 2017. 

Acrylic, graphite, charcoal, and transfer on wood. Courtesy of the artist and Lisa Sette Gallery 

SMoCA.org I 7374 East Second Street, Scottsdale, Arizona 85251 I 480-874-4666

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