Java-Sept-Pages-2018

271 • SPET 2018
Catrina
Kahler
AMANDA ADKINS • SONORAN DESERT FALCONRY • JARED & THE MILL

MARGARET
GLASPY
Opening Act: Jenny O.
September 21 | 7:30 p.m.
$28.50–$38.50
“Margaret Glaspy’s expectation-defying
approach and empathetic songs are about to
turn the world upside down.”
—Noisey
Upcoming Concerts
Juana Molina
September 15
Mwenso and the Shakes
September 18
Kandace Springs
September 28
2018 Concert Series sponsored by
MIM.org | 480.478.6000 | 4725 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix, AZ

CONTENTS
8
12
22
30
34
FEATURES
Cover: Catrina Kahler
Photo by: Rembrandt Quiballo
8 12 22
34
CATRINA KAHLER
Poised at the Helm of Artlink
By Rembrandt Quiballo
ARTIST AMANDA ADKINS
Battles Endometriosis
By Jenna Duncan
REFLECTIONS
Creative Director: Mello Jello
Photographer: Tony Aguilera
ENLISTING BIRDS OF PREY
Sonoran Desert Falconry
By Jeff Kronenfeld
JARED KOLESAR
Jared & The Mill
By Tom Reardon
COLUMNS
7
16
20
30
38
40
BUZZ
Boom Town
By Robert Sentinery
ARTS
Joe Willie Smith Sees an Orchestra
By Ashley Naftule
Samantha Lyn Aasen at Eye Lounge
By Amy Young
FOOD FETISH
Chef Stephen Jones
By Sloane Burwell
SOUNDS AROUND TOWN
By Mitchell L. Hillman
GIRL ON FARMER
Fly Baby
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
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Jenna Duncan
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Celia Beresford
Jeff Kronenfeld
Ashley Naftule
Rembrandt Quiballo
Tom Reardon
PROOFREADER
Patricia Sanders
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Tony Aguilera
Enrique Garcia
Johnny Jaffe
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Java Magazine
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JAVA MAGAZINE
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YUA HENRI MATISSE
AND THE INNER ARCTIC SPIRIT
Original Works by Henri Matisse and the Native
Alaskan Masks that Inspired Him
Only at the Heard Museum | Oct. 29, 2018 - Feb. 3, 2019
Members see it first. Details at matisse.heard.org
Henri Matisse, Esquimau. Lithograph, ca. 1947, Plate I (frontispiece) from
Georges Duthuit’s Une Fête en Cimmérie, 1963. Collection Musée départemental Matisse,
Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France. Gift of Barbara and Claude Duthuit, 2010. # 2010-1-6 (2-1).
© 2018 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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BOOM TOWN
By Robert Sentinery
BUZZ
Like everything in else Phoenix, the arts and culture scene is booming. The gloom
of the recession is fading and the economy is pushing new heights. Roosevelt
Row isn’t the scrubby grassroots arts community it once was, with high-density
developments squeezing out the funk. Hopefully enough character will remain for
a blending of old and new, and there is still plenty of room for cultural expansion
onto Grand Ave.
With all the changes taking place, it’s important to have solid leadership in the
arts. Fortunately, the nonprofit Artlink has evolved throughout its 30 years and
is now playing a key role. The organization’s past achievements include the
founding of Phoenix First Fridays and the annual Art Detour. Newer initiatives
like the Artlink Artist Council, which brings together the Valley’s most vital
artistic voices, have helped cement the organization’s role. Artlink’s dynamic
president, Catrina Kahler, brings her passion for the arts and downtown into the
mix (see “Catrina Kahler at the Helm of Artlink,” p. 8).
Amanda Adkins is a full-time artist whose work is on an ever-expanding
trajectory. A recently completed mural at Central Arizona Supply near 16th Street
and Camelback, featuring giant crows and flowers, is her largest work to date. If
you were watching the progress on the mural, you’d have noticed that it came to
a screeching halt for several months. That was because Adkins was hospitalized
for the treatment of endometriosis.
Having been through so much pain and discomfort and several surgeries, Adkins
has become a vocal advocate for endometriosis awareness. The disease, which
affects millions, is often kept quiet because it attacks women’s reproductive
organs. Just getting a proper diagnosis was a major ordeal for Adkins, and
without proper treatment, the disease can spread devastatingly to other organs.
In her new paintings, Adkins faces her battle straight on. “Crow Speak” opens
at Grand Arthaus on September 7, and Adkins will donate a portion of the
sales to the Endometriosis Foundation (see “Artist Amanda Adkins Battles
Endometriosis,” p. 12).
Birds of prey are often seen as symbols of independence, strength and prowess
(think the American bald eagle). But they have also been used in the service
of mankind throughout history, for hunting and more. Nowadays, falcons are
particularly useful for keeping away pest birds that can damage or contaminate
crops and become a general nuisance. Sonoran Desert Falconry and its sister
company, Sonoran Desert Bird Abatement, offer services to a range of clients,
from luxury resorts in Scottsdale to lettuce farmers in Yuma (see “Sonoran
Desert Falconry: Working with Birds of Prey,” p. 30).
Finally, kudos to Jared & The Mill for being one of the hardest-working bands
to come out of this town. They’re out on the road most of the year, touring
relentlessly, spreading their gospel. Founder and frontman Jared Kolesar took
some time to talk about the band’s homegrown origins. While they don’t get to
spend much time in Phoenix these days, they will be in town for their annual
Holiday Extravaganza on Dec. 15 at the Van Buren to benefit Toys for Tots (see
“Jared Kolesar from Jared & The Mill,” p. 34).

Catrina
Kahler
At the Helm of Artlink
By Rembrandt Quiballo
Photo: 8 JAVA Rembrandt Quiballo
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Bentley Gallery is bustling with activity on a hot summer night. A group of artists has
congregated in the back of the space. A trio at one end includes Randy Slack,
Christine Cassano and Marilyn Szabo. The rest of the circle is made up of other
notable Phoenix artists: William LeGoullon, Liliana Gomez, Patricia Sannit, Pete Deise.
But the scene is not another art opening; rather, it’s an Artlink Artist Council meeting.
They’ve all come here tonight to voice their opinions on various topics. The back and forth is
lively, sometimes serious, with bits of levity. Leading the conversation is Catrina Kahler.
Presiding over such robust artistic personalities might seem daunting, but for Kahler, it’s just
another day on the job.
Kahler has always been a woman of action. Her commitment to downtown Phoenix can be seen in
the results of her hard work. She’s made it her mission to let everyone know just what she sees as
Phoenix’s best self. Whether as a resident, through an online magazine or running an active arts
organization, she’s worked tirelessly to bring attention to what she loves.
Kahler was born in Tucson and has lived in the Phoenix metro area since 1989. Both her parents
hailed from the Chicago area and moved to Arizona in the early ’60s. Her father was a salesman
who owned his own business. “We moved around a lot, going where the business took us,” Kahler
said. “I got a taste of discovery from that experience, learning about a new place by exploring and
observing.” She has lived in the Southwest her entire life, although family trips to Chicago made an
impression on her. “I remember visiting when I was young. I felt the energy of that city and never
forgot it. My mom loved Chicago and the city life, so no doubt I got my passion for cities from her.”
Kahler went to high school in Albuquerque and
then made the move to Phoenix to attend ASU.
She worked her way through college and lived
with her sister to keep expenses down. She
majored in English but wasn’t particularly fond
of academics and found lectures not to be the
most stimulating environment.
Kahler’s brother-in-law was an event producer
and promoter, and he needed part-time help.
With no experience in the field, Kahler saw
this as an opportunity and jumped right in. “I
wanted to learn by actively doing something,”
she said. “I started by answering phones, and
soon I was producing a parade, running in-game
promotions for spring training games, doing PR
and working in all levels of event production.
That was my education. I worked hard and I
learned a ton. It was a fantastic experience, and
perfect for someone like me who wanted to dive
into a project and learn as I go.”
Although Kahler was already a long-time
Arizona resident, she wasn’t truly acquainted
with downtown Phoenix. Her work had taken
her all over the Valley, but one fortuitous
drive down Roosevelt Street finally captured
her attention. She recalls, “When I first
encountered that historic neighborhood (the
area along Roosevelt Street from Central
Avenue to 7th Avenue), the mix of history,
architecture and engaged residents was unlike
anything I had encountered in my previous
fourteen years of living in the Valley. It attracted
me from the start.”
Kahler has made it her mission to help the
whole Valley – and beyond – become aware
of the area’s unique qualities. She started
by buying the historic Coe House. Now a
multi-use space featuring offices, the house
has periodically served as a gallery. Kahler
also acquired Downtown Phoenix Journal, an
online magazine focused on the area. She has
diligently built both entities into what they
are now.
Through Downtown Phoenix Journal, Kahler
began a partnership with Artlink to produce the
map for Art Detour, the annual event started
decades earlier by artists with studios in the
Warehouse District. The artists worked together
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to invite the public on a “detour,” away from
the mainstream museums and galleries, to
discover a different aspect of the Phoenix arts
community. Along with organizing Art Detour,
Artlink, a nonprofit organization, promotes the
monthly First Fridays art walks.
Kahler had always been fond of Artlink and
joined its board of directors in 2011, eventually
becoming president. “Its inclusive nature and
passion for artists is palpable, and I love it,”
she said. “Artlink always stood out to me as a
strong organization because it’s so rooted in the
community as a whole.”
Art Detour celebrated its thirtieth anniversary
this year. As with any annual event that’s lasted
that long, it’s seen its share of ups and downs
throughout the years. Today, Art Detour and
Artlink are enjoying a momentous upswing, due
in large part to Kahler’s leadership. Under her
guidance, Artlink has continued to expand its
scope and become integral to the advancement
of the arts and culture in Phoenix.
A popular addition initiated by Kahler and
Artlink has been the annual Art d’Core Gala.
It started as a way to celebrate Art Detour’s
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silver anniversary and has now become the
can’t-miss art party of the year. “We wanted to
celebrate by having a social event that brought
together different facets of the arts community,”
Kahler said.
“We wanted to host an event where artists
could join with downtown Phoenix stakeholders
and the business community, all in one place.
These groups were always isolated whenever
there was an event,” she said. “There would
just be artists or just business people or just city
people, and we wanted to start bringing them
all together to create connections.”
Another significant initiative has been the
formation of the Artlink Artist Council. The
group comprises artists who have established
themselves in Phoenix. Kahler explains that
she sought to “identify a way to speak to the
level of professionalism in the arts community.”
Another goal, according to Kahler, is to “create
a connection between the organization and
artists who’ve had on-the-ground experience
becoming successful.”
“These are my favorite meetings,” Kahler said,
“with sixteen artists of this caliber in the room.
It’s a pleasure to dig into the details of the
organization and to hear their viewpoints.”
These two enhancements now go hand in
hand as the Art d’Core Gala has become a
showcase for members of the Artlink Artist
Council to display their work. The combination
of fine art, set in the elegant Warehouse 215 at
Bentley Projects, and the who’s who of the arts
community has made the Art d’Core Gala the
ideal art event for the city.
Kahler has also been overseeing an innovative
way to keep track of arts and culture events
in Phoenix. “As the arts community grows, we
need to create more sophisticated methods and
tools to support it,” she said. “We developed
Phoenix Urban Guide (PUG) as a culture map,
event calendar and, most importantly, a
database that gives us the ability to identify,
connect and promote our cultural assets in a
variety of ways. Right now we are developing
an artist directory that will make it easier to find
local artists.”
Artlink’s most ambitious project by far is its
partnership with Park Central – Phoenix’s first
shopping mall that opened in the 1950s. Much
of the space has been derelict for years and
is finally being revitalized. A critical part of
the redevelopment will include an arts and
culture component with potential for exhibition,
studio, performance and rehearsal spaces,
and, of course, a gallery for art sales. “There
are some members of the business community
who thankfully recognize that, yes, they want
to engage with arts, but they don’t necessarily
know how,” Kahler said. “The developers of
Park Central want to connect, but they realize
that they’re not in the business of arts and
culture. So they set out to find a partner in that
effort, and they chose Artlink.”
Kahler is leading the charge for an arts-andculture
approach to the project in a way that
engages artists to contribute to that plan. “We
will identify the assets that the Park Central
redevelopment contributes, but we will get
feedback from the visual arts community, the
performing arts community and others,” she
said. “We want to determine what this project
represents and what it could be at its highest
and best use, to contribute to the arts in a way
that elevates the community as a whole.”
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By Jenna Duncan

The representational work in a new exhibit of paintings and
installations by artist and muralist Amanda Adkins tells a
very personal story about living with chronic pain and the
debilitating, incurable disease endometriosis. But it is also a
story of connecting with community and living with hope for recovery.
Adkins has been experimenting with painting on wood. This was
something she tried in her previous series, but the subject matter
wasn’t as personal. She prefers wood to canvas for its grain and feel.
“When I began this series two years ago, I purchased a bunch of
panels and decided that I was going to make it all on wood. I like
that wood has a little more resistance and makes things a little
more technical,” she says. “I wanted a challenge, and I wanted
something new.”
She started this series shortly before her third endometriosis surgery.
She began by painting a crow standing on three red pomegranates.
One of the stylistic elements in her paintings is the depiction of
animals. For this new series, she sought out the right creatures from
the wild to help convey what she was living through physically.
Though Adkins has lived with endometriosis and its awful effects for
decades, she wasn’t very public about it, nor did she often address it
in her paintings. Not until a couple of years ago, when her illness took
a bad turn.
“I had read this article about a scientist who did some research on
how crows communicate. He went into an animal park wearing a
mask and carrying a dead crow,” she says. “All the crows reacted
immediately.” When other crows saw the masked stranger, they
reacted violently, plunging toward him, trying to attack. The crows
also chattered loudly among themselves. She says the scientist then
returned to the same murder of crows a few days later wearing
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the mask, and they had the same reaction. “They
remembered him,” she says, “and they knew he was
a danger to them.”
The next time he returned, it was more than a year
later. But the same crows and even their offspring
remembered him. It was as if the older generations were
passing down their knowledge through storytelling. “It
was like they were saying, ‘Danger! Danger!’”
Adkins correlates this communication and the habit
of the crows chattering to a community she’s recently
become active in – women who are living with the
pain, surgery and other effects of endometriosis, and
sharing their experiences online.
“Each painting is a diaristic allegory of a moment in
my continued journey with a debilitating, chronic,
under-researched and incurable disease known as
endometriosis,” she says in a statement on Facebook.
In the past couple of years, she started to find other
artists living with “endo,” like Mab Graves and Ellie
Kammer, on Instagram.
The crows in Adkins’ new paintings have more than
one meaning, she says. Yes, a group of them visiting
her body while she’s recovering in the hospital can
represent the women chatting online, but for many
people, crows are ominous creatures that inspire
terror. In this way, crows could also represent the
disease itself.
Adkins also incorporates imagery from the desert in
much of her work. Cacti with their threatening thorns
seem to linger, and the unpainted areas on the wood
panels suggest desert sunsets and sandy places.
Several of the images include pomegranates, and
their blood-red inner fruit is suggestive of the female
erogenous zones and reproductive interiors.
Adkins is using the juice of the pomegranate in a
creative and new way, too. Her opening will not only
show around twenty paintings but will also contain
two installation works and a video. One of the
installations is composed of a familiar desert plant,
the devil’s claw, or Proboscidea, with a long chain of
what looks like soft cotton dangling from its interior.
Proboscidea are well known for the fact that, after
flowering, their dried husks fall off and have a way
of “clawing” onto animals, birds or even people, and
“traveling” to other fertile fields. Eventually they fall
open and release their seeds.
The cottony-looking material in Adkins’ installation
is actually the innards of several tampons that she
unraveled by hand. On closer inspection, it is eerie
to see that this isn’t natural cotton at all, but instead
appears to be an artificially produced, inorganic
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material that doesn’t look soft. At the bottom of the
fibrous material, Adkins has attached one of the
devil’s claw seeds, to represent ovulation.
Ten of these unraveled seedpods appear together.
However, one of them is different. Going back to the
pomegranate juice, Adkins has soaked one of the
unraveled “cotton” tails in the juice. The bloodied
one stands out among the set to represent the fact
that statistically one in ten women will develop
endometriosis in her lifetime.
“It affects six million women [in the U.S.], but they’ve
been using that number for years,” Adkins says. “I’m
sure there’s actually more. It can take a woman up to
ten years to get a correct diagnosis.”
For Adkins, it took her six years to discover what was
the cause of so many of her physical problems. She
had known something was wrong ever since she was
a teen. “But when you’re young, you don’t want to
talk about your period,” she says. “It’s very taboo.”
Even though she grew up in a family of six with
almost all sisters, it was still too embarrassing to talk
about. She says she remembers pain and extremely
heavy bleeding. “I remember I’d bleed into my
clothing and have accidents at school. I would have
to go home and change my clothing.”
Then, in her twenties, it got worse. She says she
began to ask doctors questions and seek more
medical help. One doctor told her she had irritable
bowel syndrome. Another told her she was simply
more prone than most women to bladder infections.
Another, a gynecologist, suggested she seek
psychiatric help because it appeared to him that the
manifestations of her pain might just all be in her head.
She finally visited a female gynecologist that a family
member recommended. She doesn’t necessarily
attribute the correct diagnosis to the fact that her
new doctor was a woman. But this doctor did know
what endometriosis was and also knew how to
detect it. In Adkins’ case, she was correct.
“There is no blood test for this. There is only surgery
to diagnose and treat it,” Adkins says. “That is what’s
amazing about this disease: nothing has changed in
the way they treat it in twenty years.” Adkins also
says research into it is very underfunded. However,
the Endometriosis Foundation of America claims that
it affects around 200 million women worldwide.
“There are just as many people who have endometriosis
as there are who have type 1 diabetes,” Adkins says.
One of the startling facts about this disease is that, like
cancer, its cells can multiply and spread throughout a

woman’s body, attacking and attaching to other organs.
It is not uncommon for the disease to invade one’s
bowels, which did happen to Adkins.
Not only the challenges of her own personal
experience but also the silence around the disease
and lack of information prompted Adkins to get her
message out. She joined a Facebook group called
Endometriosis Awareness and began posting about
her surgery experience. She defines her experience
as horrible. Adkins says once she was in surgery, it
was discovered that her case was much worse than
anyone had expected. “It had damaged so many
organs,” she says.
“I realized that my quality of life had gone down a lot.
But I hadn’t realized all the things the disease was doing
to me – that it could do all of those things to me.”
She went in for a partial hysterectomy, but doctors
found that the endometriosis was up under her ribs.
It had spread to her bowels and her diaphragm, which
they had to remove a piece of. It was all over her uterus,
so that had to be removed. It had also spread to her
ovaries, and her ureter was damaged. A piece of her
bladder was removed. Adkins had to go home with a
catheter for two weeks and was in constant pain.
“While all of that was going on, I was still trying to
paint about my experience,” she says. That was one
year ago.
In March, Adkins underwent another surgery to
remove her ovaries, and during the surgery there was
a complication. Two days after going home, Adkins
became violently ill and at one point was vomiting
blood. During the surgery, the doctors had sliced
open her ureter and placed a stint from her kidney to
her bladder to keep things flowing. But the stint had
slid down into the bladder, causing serious internal
bleeding. Adkins was rushed back to the hospital,
hooked up to IVs again and strapped to her hospital
bed. She had to be put in a medically induced coma,
and she received seven blood transfusions.
“When I briefly woke up from that surgery, I was
intubated,” she says. “Basically, they had to put a
breathing machine on me and tubes down my throat.”
“In one painting, I have this tube coming out of the
crow and into a flower, and that is representative of
the catheter that I had for two weeks,” Adkins says.
The difficulty for an artist of living in an ailing body
may remind viewers of the work of Frida Kahlo. It is
well known that Kahlo painted regularly throughout
her illnesses and even when recovering from the
partial amputation of her leg. Kahlo even devised a
system of riggings and weights so she could lie in her
sick bed and paint on a canvas suspended above her.
Adkins is not allowing her disease to keep her out
of the studio, either. At times, she says, working on
this series was therapeutic, even though the physical
nature of painting can be exhausting.
Through her new network and community of women,
Adkins even produced a short educational video
where she sat down with several peers and invited
them to share their experiences. She asked her
“endo” friend June Lancer, a filmmaker, to help. The
video will be on view at Adkins’ opening.
“Crow Speak: An Exhibit by Amanda Adkins”
Opens Friday, Sept. 7 at 6 p.m.
ArtHaus, 1501 N. Grand Ave.
Artist talk Sept. 21 at 6 p.m.
The artist has committed 10 percent of her sales to the
Endometriosis Foundation.
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ARTS
JOE WILLIE SMITH
SEES AN ORCHESTRA
By Ashley Naftule
Composer Harry Partch once described himself as
“a philosophic music man seduced into carpentry.”
Partch was poking fun at his reputation for
building his own instruments. Adorned with
evocative, fantastical names like Crychords,
Diamond Marimbas, Gourd Trees, Eucal Blossoms
and Cloud-Chamber Bowls, Partch’s instruments
sounded and looked otherworldly, as if the man
had reached into a dumpster full of bamboo shoots
and scrap metal and hammered these elements
into Dr. Seuss-ian formations.
It’s worth remembering composers like Partch and OG
musical prankster John Cage because they poke giant
holes in classical music’s image as a staid, humorless
artform. And it’s why some of the most exciting
musicians working on the experimental stage
today are spiritual heirs to their anarchistic spirit.
Arizona artist, sculptor and musician Joe Willie
Smith is one of them.
A veteran artist who has been deeply embedded
in the Phoenix arts community for decades, Smith
is putting together an exhibition for Mesa Arts
Center’s Get Jazzed Festival. The show, Ko Mo –
Not Knowing (opening on Friday, Sept. 14), will
display a variety of Smith’s works. Among those
pieces are Smith’s self-made instruments: unique
assemblies of metal rods, wires, horns and warped
surfaces, turned into sound-generating wonders
through the artist’s deft touch.
Whereas so many artists are eager to spill the beans
about the meaning of their works in artist statements
long enough to strain David Foster Wallace’s eyes,
Smith prefers to let viewers work it out on their own.
Ko Mo – Not Knowing could very well be a mission
statement for Smith. Reflecting on a massive drill
bit–inspired sculpture he designed for Harrison
Properties in downtown, Smith said, “I don’t like to
tell people what things are. I want them to stand
there and figure it out.”
For anyone who fears a sentiment like that means
Smith makes confounding art, rest assured that
most of his work isn’t meant to be a J.J. Abrams–
style mystery box. He often designs functional
art and has also sold custom-built furniture and art
pieces at local boutiques like Lizabel’s Treasures and
Practical Art.
Consider his “Musical Chairs” sculpture, which he
displayed at the Gebert Contemporary in Scottsdale.
The nine-foot-wide piece fused five smashed steel
chairs hung from the ceiling. This warped chandelier
could be played – Smith revealed his sonic wizardry
by putting mics in just the right places to tease out all
sorts of textural sounds from the piece.
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Inspired by Alexander Calder’s mobiles, Smith is fond
of creating pieces that have a similar skeletal quality,
often evoking Calder’s brilliant colors (including a
shade Smith admiringly calls “Calder red”).
Though he’s been an artist for most of his life,
displaying works at venues like Bentley Gallery and
Eye Lounge, Joe Willie has also landed work in major
collections locally and beyond – including Phoenix
Art Museum, Butler Museum of American Art and
Taller Experimental De Graphica in Havana – and
in corporate and private collections, including film
composer Danny Elfman’s.
Smith has been commissioned to do experimental
sound workshops at the Musical Instrument
Museum, where he has also performed with
Paraguay’s Recycled Orchestra. Like his avant-garde
forefathers, Smith understands that music can be
found anywhere. You just have to know how to coax
it out of hiding.
And, like Partch specifically, Smith is a scavenger at
heart. A gifted “picker” and avid collector, he knows
how to find the materials for his works by hitting
up the right junkyards and secondhand shops and
sometimes just from stumbling upon them “in the
wild” during his walking meditations through town.
Smith once did a show for Scottsdale Public Art that
was called Cultural Savant. A name that doesn’t suit
him: savant implies an instinctual, unthinking way
of knowing. Smith’s work, even if it comes from an
instinctual place, displays a level of skill and craft
that doesn’t “just happen.” It takes a true master to
make a chair ring like a bell.
Ko Mo – Not Knowing
September 14 through January 6
Mesa Contemporary Art Museum, North Gallery
The opening reception, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on September 14,
will feature musical performances from Blaise Lantana, Dennis
Rowland and Jesse McGuire.
mesaartscenter.com
Joe Willie Smith playing Musical Chairs (Courtesy of Gebert Art)
Joe Willie Smith, Sonic Sculpture (Courtesy of Mesa Arts Center)
Joe Willie Smith in studio with instrument
(Courtesy of Mesa Arts Center)
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SAMANTHA LYN AASEN
at Eye Lounge
By Amy Young
Last year, we covered Phoenix-based artist Samantha
Lyn Aasen’s exhibition Sparkle Baby’s Slumber Party.
That show comprised mainly her photography, along
with some video that featured Aasen herself in dual
roles – one being the show’s namesake, Sparkle
Baby. In that particular pink and glittery world –
styles that the artist loves to embrace – the timeless
ritual of the slumber party was examined. Beyond
that, the show explored the dynamics of friendship
between girls during the ever-complex passage
through those often grueling tween and teen years.
In her latest exhibition, Modern Merkin, Aasen again
addresses girlhood, but where Sparkle Baby was
rooted in a youthful time zone, this show emphasizes
the move into womanhood and finding a balance
between the two places. Don’t worry, there’s still
plenty of pink and loads of glitz.
Merkin is an extension of Aasen’s Vajazzle series, which
features photos of the artist’s own vagina adorned with
different types of decorative elements. Fancying up one’s
mons pubis area is known as “vajazzling,” and here,
that’s just what you’ll see.
Each photo is shot to only focus on that area of the
body. If Aasen didn’t reveal that she vajazzles and
photographs herself, there wouldn’t be anything else
to make that distinction – these are close-up shots.
The reason for that is not only that the artist likes to
fully understand firsthand the workings of the things
that interest her, it’s also that she’s not interested in
“putting my mark on others.”
What she’s chosen to mark herself with this time is
indeed a multitude of colorful and festive trinkets, many
of them easily leading to varying interpretations. For
instance, tiny baby figurines strategically positioned
around mini pacifiers are commonly considered cute,
but this one could also serve as awareness-raising for
reproductive rights – especially important during such
crucial political times.
A mons pubis covered in thick, colorful glitter is
dazzling and festive, while its glassy depth and
sharp nature make it a little more intense. It’s
like life – complicated. Other items you’ll see
vajazzled include electric pink frosting, candy
hearts and faux diamonds.
Aasen first found herself fascinated with this type
of self-décor back in 2014. “I saw the actress
Jennifer Love Hewitt on a talk show,” Aasen says,
“and she was talking about how vajazzling was an
empowering act for her. I got intrigued and obsessed
with finding all the information about it that I could.”
In addition to the empowering feeling vajazzling
brings to some, Aasen also likes that it’s fun and
silly. She has even embraced the practical aspects,
looking at objects and wondering, “Is this something
I could glue to myself?” And in trying it out, she got
a taste of how vajazzling can be kind of impractical.
“I think that’s why it has had a buzz, but never really
took off,” she says. “It’s not always very comfortable.
Some of the items, like the diamonds, for example,
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are sharp and pokey. Sometimes things fall off, and
not at the best times.”
Aasen may not want to put her mark on you, but she’s
fine with you adorning her. In her brilliant interactive
portion of the exhibition, you can sit down at a
computer and play DIYVAJAZZLE. The game that she
created allows the user to pull animated gifs from
a side bar and drag them to the bare pubic mound
on screen. Flashy graphics and slogans encourage
the player to beautify that mound as they see fit.
Not happy? Press the “start over” button and have
another go around.
Obsessive research is at the core of Aasen’s work,
and it pays off. Her exhibitions are sincere and
complete; her compositions, keen and rewarding.
She attributes that trait of digging into subjects
with ferocity to having been a lonely kid. Then and
now, she turned it into a major motivator. In those
early days, she followed her interests down internet
rabbit holes to their depths. Maybe it’s also why,
when viewers expect her to feel bare or exposed,
she doesn’t think twice about revealing herself. She
notes that “this particular part of me is not at all the
most vulnerable.”
Aasen also sees the show as a bit of a “f*ck
you” to some of the art censoring she’s seen
happen recently. Of course, to some, her show is
controversial. “People think it’s sexual,” she says,
“which it’s not, but in any case, it’s art and art is
not to be censored.” She noted that signage on the
on the door leading to the exhibition points out that
the show features nudity, following that “warning”
with one directive: Enjoy.
Modern Merkin
Through September 10
Eye Lounge in downtown Phoenix
eyelounge.com
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CHEF STEPHEN JONES
Reboots The Larder + The Delta
By Sloane Burwell
One of the great things about the Phoenix culinary scene is that it is quite possible
to follow chefs throughout their careers. That might seem like a small thing, but
it isn’t. If you eat around often enough, you can find a food cart that moves into
brick and mortar. Or follow a chef who reinvents their persona, food or culinary
language. This is why I love The Larder + The Delta so much. Food aside, which is
great, I’ve loved watching Chef Stephen Jones evolve and settle in. The Larder +
The Delta feels like his home, at long last
Once the executive chef at Latilla at the fancypants Boulders Resort, Chef Jones
then became the first executive chef at Blue Hound Kitchen when it opened at
Hotel Palomar downtown. He left to start The Larder + The Delta as a tiny food
stall at the adorable De Soto Market (RIP). So yeah, I’ve been a fan girl for a
while. At one point, I even named his crave-able cauliflower and buffalo wings as
my top pick from Uber Eats. So you could say I was ready for this spot to open.
To find The Larder + The Delta, ignore the street address. If you do, you’ll reach it
easily, because it’s just on the other side of the Found:Re Hotel’s valet parking lot.
I’m bringing this up because my companions and I wandered aimlessly and had to
ask the poor hostess to come out and wave to us before we found it. Inside, you’ll
find an open kitchen concept with lofty ceilings. Five or six tables dot the window
area, with church pews for seating against the windows. You’ll find more seats at
the bar, where cheery yellow barstools beckon. I’ve heard rumors of the restaurant
adding outside seating – which is great, because if 50 people fit here, I would be
mightily surprised.
Chef Jones has a deft hand with spices, and his whole experience for diners is
a nod and wink to soulful Southern flavors. There’s even a 20-foot-tall mural of a
jazz musician, which is gorgeous. It made the disco soundtrack slightly puzzling,
although I will never protest hearing MFSB being played anywhere.
I loved the iced tea – it’s a mellow sun tea. Ecowarriors like me will adore the
raw bamboo that replaces the straw. It’s a sustainable and earthy choice, and I
hope we’ll start to see these everywhere. Fans of mixed drinks will love the long
and impressive house-made cocktails list. With a small curated food menu, it’s
not hyperbole to say there are about as many cocktails as menu options, and the
highly trained staff will walk you through the best pairings.
The Cauliflower ($10) is the smoky, spicy, blue-cheesy masterpiece it always was.
Now it feels a titch spicier, and I’m happy about that. The Vegetable Beignets
($11) are puffy perfection – the menu hints at vegetable ash in the mix, but I’m not
sure. The holy trinity (carrot, onion, celery) tucked inside was so well flavored, we
ignored the black garlic mustard. Big mistake: It’s grainy, kicky and yummy. The
Whole Roasted Broccoli ($13) is a smoky, roasted meal in itself. Notes of lavender
and citrus round out the flavor, while some super-spicy chile flakes will make
you hit high C. Use the house-made labneh (a tangy Lebanese yogurt cheese)
for a cooling effect. You’ll love the fermented mustard that appears on the plate
(someone loves mustard here, and I love that).
The Crispy Pig Ears ($8) come fresh out of the fryer and coated in Cheetos dust. I’m
almost wondering if they should level up to Flamin’ Hot Cheetos at some point, but
these are yummy and exactly what you’ll remember if you had them at the De Soto
location. The Pimento Cheese and Ham ($14) is probably my favorite thing on the
menu, after the lovely cauliflower, of course. A fantastic cheesy spread is loaded
with pimentos and served alongside strands of ham, so lovingly cured, unctuous
and perfectly fatty, it’s like the best American charcuterie. I might give up on
prosciutto if I could find this locally.
We threw caution to the wind and tried the Farm Raised Smoked Catfish Dip ($14),
which was probably closer to a catfish rillette – a spreadable meat and fat dish that
is now super glamorous. Honestly, it’s probably the most upscale version of catfish
you’ll ever have. Perfect pieces of dark brown bread are grilled and loaded with
butter. It’s the dark, atmospheric rustic bread that is almost naturally sweet. Chunky
smoked fish schmeared along the top is a fabulous flavor pairing and somehow
seems fancy. The pickled treats that come alongside almost seem like gilding the
lily but do manage to cut some of the fat. We loved it. And believe me, I had to beg
my companions to order this. Catfish dip as an entree raises eyebrows. But I raise
my glass: It’s superlative.
The Butcher’s Steak ($24) varies, and on our visit it was a perfectly cooked skirt
steak. Our charming server didn’t give us an option on cooking style. When we
pressed, we got the full rundown on meat preparation based on cut, and we
agreed with her choice. The steak was perfect. The vinegar-based potatoes
underneath were good, but the cold temperature was an odd choice under a hot
steak. The arugula came in two pieces, which made the salad aspect nonexistent.
But I’d definitely try this again. Considering it’s been less than a month since the
restaurant opened, this dish was impressive.
And the Chicken ($26) was quite an approach. An entire half of a spatchcocked bird
appears on the table, including the clutched foot. It was artistic, slightly macabre
and a total conversation starter. The bird was cooked to smoky perfection. I loved
what seemed like Chinese five spice, and the slight salt crust was amazingly well
executed. We inhaled it. The cornbread panzanella was bereft of the salad portion
(we noticed a theme of marginally missing greens) and felt more like handfuls of
cornbread croutons. Tasty, but odd.
As Phoenix changes and kicks into overdrive, I hope we don’t lose our sense of
culinary community. I have absolutely adored watching Chef Stephen Jones and
his career evolve over time. I’ve loved following him and cheering as he branched
out on his own. It’s an adorable touch that he’s hung photos of himself through the
culinary ages on the side wall – a nod to his skill and tenacity. The Larder + The
Delta is delicious and adorable. And I can’t wait to see what Chef does next. I’ll be
watching and waiting. And dreaming about that amazing cauliflower.
The Larder + The Delta
200 W. Portland, Suite 101
thelarderandthedelta.com
Monday: closed
Tuesday to Thursday: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Friday: 11 a.m. to midnight
Saturday: 4 p.m. to midnight
Sunday: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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ReflEctions
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Creative Director: Mello Jello @Officialmellojello
Photographer: Tony Aguilera- @Tonyaguileraphoto
Model: Mello Jello
Clothing: Alexander Sanchez- @Alexanders_designs and model’s own
Hair and Makeup: Mello Jello
Location: Mirror Maze at the Arizona Science Center- @AZscience
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By Jeff Kronenfeld
Photos: Ashley Czajkowski
There is a war on in our skies. Tiffany White, master falconer, is a general in
this war. The enemies know her. They recognize her: the big brown eyes, the
freckle-dusted cheeks and the curly locks. But she knows them, too.
Displaying impressive avian wonkishness, White speaks of birds the way most
people do of friends or family. Closest to her heart is Morpheus, a five-year-old
Harris hawk. Like people, not all birds are as reliable as Morpheus – such as his
mate, Morgana Pendragon.
Like an exasperated mother, White rolls her eyes as she discusses Morgana,
who she says is “crazy.” Given the size and sharpness of Morgana’s talons and
beak – female Harris hawks are on average 35 percent larger than males, with
an average wingspan of between three and four feet – Morgana probably isn’t an
animal you’d want sitting near your face.
“There is no accounting for taste,” White said with a shrug. “Morpheus is in love
with her. I keep her around because he won’t eat if she’s not.”
Whether it’s acting as marriage counselor to feathered creatures or cleaning
mouse guts off a wall, it’s all just another day in the life of a falconer.
White first got into falconry while working as a biologist for the state of Florida in
the early ’90s. Although falconry was her passion in those days, it wasn’t yet her
profession. She made the leap into falconry-based bird abatement, and her war
with the great-tailed grackle and other pest bird species, in 2015, when she and
partner Sally Knight formed Sonoran Desert Falconry, a non-profit, and Sonoran
Desert Bird Abatement, an LLC.
Falconry – the use of birds of prey by humans for hunting – has been practiced
throughout Asia, Europe and the Middle East for thousands of years. Infamous
practitioners include the conquerors Alexander the Great and Genghis Kahn, in
addition to bigamist King Henry VIII.
Falconry-based bird abatement, industry slang for using birds of prey to drive
away pests, is much younger. A number of wineries throughout California
adopted the practice in the ’90s to combat the loss of millions of dollars’ worth of
grapes to European starlings and other pests each year. Resorts and golf courses

also adopted the practice, as have some airports and
other locations where errant birds can pose serious
hazards. There’s even a program in France to train
eagles to attack terrorist drones.
Threats from Arizona’s skies come mainly in the
form of beaks and bowel movements. “A grackle
had grabbed a lady’s piece of bacon and, I don’t
know why, she decided she wanted it back,” White
explained. “She tried to grab it from the grackle, and
it pecked her finger. I think that was the incident that
got us hired.”
Sonoran works with the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess
resort, where they also offer weekly Hawk Talks.
With White currently in Yuma working on an exciting
new project, Knight currently runs the talks, along
with Jeffrey Trainer, Sonoran’s director of operations.
They answer questions, pose for pictures with their
birds and discuss falconry with the general public.
“People don’t get close to birds of prey, especially
owls, because they’re out after dark,” Knight said. “A
lot of people put rodenticides out to get rid of desert
mice and rats and all that. It’s very harmful to the
ecosystem. People don’t think of how that can affect
birds and other animals, so it’s nice to educate them.”
Through their non-profit arm, Sonoran offers
educational programming for schools in low-income
neighborhoods. They usually bring a hawk, a falcon
and an owl and discuss the differences among them.
They educate students about conservation and
potential career paths working with animals or in
farming. For many students, these visits are their first
interactions with such animals.
“Most kids know more about drones right now than
they know about any type of bird of prey,” Trainer
said. White in particular enjoys these settings
because she provides a unique role model, being a
business-owning woman of color – and one who also
happens to have a badass bird perched on her fist.
While White and the other handlers at Sonoran
all have strong feelings about their birds and the
environment, the great-tailed grackles at the Princess
resort in particular seem to have strong feelings in
return, if not exactly reciprocal ones. “They’re a trip,
and they’re smart, too,” Tiffany said of her bird bêtes
noires. “All I have to do is walk through there, and
birds are screaming at me. I’m not kidding – they’ll
actually take things and drop them on my head.”
Sonoran’s largest contract to date, and the reason
for White’s recent move to Yuma, came after a
phone call from Paula Rivadeneira, a food safety
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and wildlife extension specialist at the University of
Arizona’s Cooperative Extension in Yuma.
Agriculture added $7.3 billion to Arizona’s economy in
2014. Farming is particularly vital to Yuma, the winter
green capital of the US, which produces 90 percent
of our country’s leafy vegetables between November
and March.
Earlier this year, an E. coli outbreak in romaine lettuce
grown there led to five deaths and left hundreds
sick across 35 states. A bacterium primarily living in
animals’ digestive tracts, E. coli is thought to spread
to crops when pests defecate on or near fields. Flood
irrigation then spreads the bacteria.
Farmers use a number of methods to deter birds from
their fields, everything from scarecrows to Mylar
streamers to acoustic cannons, lasers and poisons.
Rivadeneira, who has a PhD in biology, thought there
must be a better way.
“I’m a wildlife biologist, and my goal is really to help
the farmers figure out a more natural and economical
way to keep wildlife out of their fields,” Rivadeneira
said. “In most cases, they’re using lots of different
deterrents, including having people standing in the
fields to keep animals out. That just didn’t make
sense to me.”
While in the past Americans have tended to view
nature and business as diametrically opposed,
Rivadeneira is one of a growing number who believe
natural and human systems can be made to function
in better harmony. She began researching alternative
approaches to pest management when she first
learned about falconry-based pest abatement.
“If the vineyards can do it, why can’t we?”
Rivadeneira asked herself. She called falconers
around the state about her idea, but found only
White willing to talk and help. Rivadeneira asked
White if she would be willing to serve as the
falconer for a grant proposal she was preparing, and
White said yes.
When the Center for Produce Safety awarded them a
$380,000 grant to run a two-year pilot project, White
immediately began packing her bags and assembling
a team of birds. Rivadeneira fixed up an old RV, with
a gift of new tires from a friendly farmer, and set
up the Super Cool Agricultural Testing and Teaching

Lab, SCATT Lab for short, where White and the other
handlers stayed during the first season.
“They lived out there in the field, and they went
out every morning at sunrise and flew their birds,”
Rivadeneira said. “They would make rounds
all day, checking to make sure that there were
no nuisance birds in the fields, and they collected
data for me at the same time.”
At the end of the first season, they had a 97
percent success rate for keeping birds out of the
fields. Despite this, some farmers remain skeptical,
wondering if wide-scale adoption of the techniques
would be economically feasible.
“There are always going to be people that have
doubt because they’ve been doing things a certain
way for a long time and think that, even if it doesn’t
work perfectly, it works good enough,” Rivadeneira
said. “We’re hoping that we can convince some of
those growers to just try it.”
However, with the falconry method’s effectiveness
so clear and the need for keeping pests out so vital
to human and industry health, Rivadeneira believes
this innovation will continue to expand. She hopes
one day to see a full-time agricultural falconry center
established in Yuma, which she says would go a long
way toward making the environmentally friendly
practice accessible to as many farmers as possible.
Another project Rivadeneira and Sonoran are
partnering on is the installation of owl boxes – freestanding
structures suitable for barn owl nesting –
throughout farms to help control rodent populations.
While attending an invitation-only international
barn owl conference (which must have been a real
hoot), Rivadeneira encountered a group of Israeli
scientists who had been pioneering owl-based rodent
abatement for decades.
Rivadeneira learned a number of things from the
Israelis, most crucially the need to set up boxes in
much higher densities. On average, barn owls eat
around a third of their body weight in rodents every
night, or around six mice. Since barn owls are not
territorial, meaning they don’t defend a set area
against other members of their species, they can live
in close quarters as long as there is sufficient food
supply. When mice populations decline, the owls will
naturally tend to disperse over time.
While we will never completely win the war against
animals such as grackles and mice, perhaps someday
we’ll come to understand that, like it or not, we
depend on natural systems. Perhaps, instead of going
it alone, we will – as any goose flying north knows
– appreciate the value of working in formation with
other species.
“I think for farmers it’s really important that they do
this because they’re producing our food outside in
the world, and there has to be a way to live and grow
naturally with animals around us,” Rivadeneira said.
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JARED KOLESAR
JARED & THE MILL
BY TOM REARDON
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Somewhere around 2012 my daughter, who was 18 at the time, told me about this “amazing”
band she saw at First Friday, which was her favorite hangout then. It was emphasized
heavily, as in, “Oh my God this band is so amazing. Seriously, they are amazing,” for several
months, so the name Jared & The Mill was not foreign to me when the opportunity arose to
interview the band’s lead singer and rhythm guitarist, Jared Kolesar.
I wasn’t yet familiar with the band’s sound, which is reminiscent of a young, eager version of
Mumford & Sons – but the desert version. I love the fact that a service like Spotify exists, so I could
go back and listen to the band’s catalog. There is something very fun about getting a feel for how a
band has matured. And in the years that have passed since my daughter was a senior in high school
and still falling in love with sensitive artists, Jared & The Mill has come of age.
JAVA: You have such a big sound. Tell me about your band.
Jared Kolesar: So we’re really a bunch of buddies. Myself and my best friend for a long time,
Michael Carter (banjo and mandolin), have known each other since seventh grade. We grew up
together and started playing music and had some pretty crazy adventures growing up.
Did you grow up in Phoenix?
Yeah, we’re all born and bred from Arizona. Larry Gast (III) is the lead electric guitar player. He and I
met through a very cool mutual friend, Emily Tim. I was getting my degree at ASU, at the WP Carey
School of Business. I was kind of nervous about entering the real working world, so I figured maybe
I should start a band and just play a couple shows and get it out of my system. Then I’d be ready for
the real world.
So, I hadn’t really had a band before, but I knew of Larry through Emily, and I kind of cold called him
and said, “Hey, I’m starting a band and I’m wondering if you want to be a part of it.”
I’d never really done the whole process of jamming and writing songs, so I got together with him
and Mike and his buddy Josh (Morin), who plays drums. We met up in a little room in Tempe in
August, so it was hotter than hell. Larry called up a kid he grew up with – their dads were in bands
together – and that was Chuck Morris (bass guitar). And that was the original five in the band.
What part of town did you guys grow up in?
Scottsdale. Michael and I went to Chaparral. Larry and Josh actually grew up together, too. They’ve
been best buddies their whole life, too, and went to Goldwater High (in North Phoenix). Chuck grew
up in Chandler.
So, is everybody around the same age?
Yeah, more or less. Michael is the oldest at 29, and Chuck is the youngest at 24. I’m 28.
I read you guys went to ASU. Was everybody going to ASU when you started?
Yeah, four of us were. Chuck was getting his real estate license. We are all in line with the mighty
Sun Devils.
So, around 2011, you had this urge to start a band, but you had never done a band before?
I had played with people here and there, but had never actually done the band thing, where you
would play shows, record music and try to sell merch. So, it was definitely a brand-new world for
me. I had never really been a part of the scene or anything. I couldn’t name a single local band at the
time. I considered the Marquee (Theater in Tempe) to be an intimate venue. I was completely green
to the whole idea of playing music and coming up as a band. So maybe that lack of perspective is
what helped me drive the band.
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That’s one of the most unique perspectives in
terms of the musicians I’ve interviewed. Do you
think that shaped your way of going about the
band? Because you guys are doing everything
independently, correct?
Completely independent and pretty proud to be that
way. We’re proud of how hard we’ve worked to get
where we are, and we’ve done it all pretty much by
the sweat of our brows.
How has that helped, not being part of the scene,
in deciding to go the do-it-yourself route?
At the time we were coming up, the Phoenix scene
had a kind of mythos around it for me that I didn’t
fully understand. I figured I’m going to keep my head
down and keep on practicing, writing songs, and
utilize the advertising and marketing skills that I
picked up from my degree. I decided I was going to
do my best to make this thing work.
Was it frustrating?
There were a bunch of house shows being put on
around Tempe, but whenever I reached out to throw
my chips in, I never really heard back. I got turned
away by (places like) the Trunk Space and I didn’t
really understand what was lacking. I guess, in
hindsight, it was because I didn’t have any presence
in the scene. So there weren’t a whole lot of reasons
for people to want to add us to their shows.
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But we kept moving independently and eventually got
in just by showing people how hard we worked. We’d
go out to First Fridays and play acoustic renditions
of our songs. Eventually we landed a show at the
Rogue Bar. It was great to actually be in a room with
speakers where we could play, and we gained some
good fans there.
What was your first big show or, more
accurately, when do you think the band began
to get noticed?
We had the opportunity to open for a band at the
Crescent Ballroom. That was when we started
to establish ourselves. It was kind of this weird
integration into the scene after we had already
gotten started – rather than coming up in the scene.
We realized if we worked hard, had good songs and
played them well, then we could succeed. And that’s
kind of been our model this whole time.
Once we’d played in Phoenix a bunch and we had
a little money – we never put money from the band
in our own pockets. We always put it back into the
machine, so if we needed to rent a van and buy food
on the road, we could do that – (we) were able to
go to California for a week or two. Then we went to
Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. We started making
the rounds, and it hasn’t really stopped. We just kept
on the road and have basically ridden it as far as we
could because that’s what we do.
Nice. Have you ever toured the whole country
at this point?
Oh yeah. We’re out like seven to nine months of the
year. We live on the road in our van. Her name is
Tamata.
I am going to go out on a limb here and say that
since you’re on the road so much, you guys are
all doing the band full time.
Yes, this is something that we all focus on, but we all
have side hustles that we work.
Oh cool. What’s your side hustle?
I’m involved with an app that comes from Phoenix
called Bravo Tip And Pay. It’s a really fantastic
disruptor for the PayPal market where you are able to
send money to a service professional and to friends
and family. It’s essentially safer and easier to use
than any of the competition.
So, you guys have been doing this for a bit now.
I assume you’ve got things down, but what’s the
toughest part about doing it on your own?
One thing that comes with the political clout of being
on a label is getting to play the king of all festivals,
Coachella, for example. Coachella gets booked up
pretty fast because they’ll book a band like 21 Pilots,
and their label, Fueled By Ramen, will be like, “Okay,

you can have 21 Pilots, but you also have to book
these other bands that we just picked up this year.”
Everything we’ve done is essentially built on
friendships we’ve made with people who believe
in us and are willing to pull strings. For whatever
reason, they believe in what we have going on and
are willing to put their neck out for us. That’s how we
were able to play the Life Is Beautiful (Fest) a couple
of years ago, and we played Firefly last year. We get
our opportunities here and there.
I got a chance to listen to your new record, This
Story Is No Longer Available, and it’s really
good. I especially like “Dark Highways.” Tell
me about that one.
That song was actually written by Michael Carter.
He’s been in a relationship with a girl named Ashley
for several years now. The song is very true to the
vibe of being a musician with a loved one back home.
You just miss the hell out of that person and you would
do just about anything to just get a couple of minutes
with them. That’s the place the song comes from.
How do you guys write?
I usually write the chorus, melody and the words to
a song. Then we build our parts around them. I do
the majority of the writing. That was the model we
started with. Then Larry and Michael started writing
songs. They bring them to the band and we do the
same thing, where everyone just writes their parts
around them.
It’s invigorating and exciting to hear a song that you
really love that isn’t necessarily inspired by your own
mind. We get to have that different perspective and
it’s pretty cool.
I’m curious, since you do so much touring, how
has that changed your perspective on the music
scene here in Phoenix?
Everything we’ve come across in this nation is
unique in its own way. I think Phoenix is growing
and developing in a direction that is actually really
community based. I feel a lot of really aggressive
competition between bands in places like Los
Angeles, New York and Atlanta, where people
don’t really seem to work together. Whereas, a lot
of people in Phoenix really seem to like working
together, and it’s been awesome to see the music
scene develop in the past five or six years.
Do you have anything coming up locally when
you guys get back in town?
On December 15th, we have our fourth annual
Holiday Extravaganza, which will be at the Van
Buren. It’s going to be a lot of fun. We work with
Toys for Tots to help kids whose families aren’t able
to afford Christmas.
You talk about truly loving your audience. Were
you conscious of this from the beginning, or has
it developed with the band’s evolution?
We definitely discovered that part of ourselves
while we were out on the road. In the last couple
of years in particular, seeing the division that we
have in this country and realizing how people are
so quick to judge one another. We try to create a
space where people feel special and gain a sense of
contentedness. I think that’s when we started really
realizing our responsibility to make people feel like
they belong and how important this is.
Excellent. Not the easiest work.
It can be very stressful at times. But it has moments
that are really special.
You have a single coming out soon, correct?
Yeah, on August 31st we’ll be releasing a song called
“Feels Like,” and we’re really excited about it. We’re
also doing a live video for “Feels Like” on the 14th of
September.
JAVA 37
MAGAZINE

GIRL ON FARMER
FLY BABY
BY CELIA BERESFORD
Flying brings out a wide range of different emotions
in people. While some travelers are mellow and calm,
others break out in a sweat the moment they get to
the airport. There are so many things to consider:
Where is the gate, how long is the security line, will
my fl ight take off on time, and most importantly,
will there be room in the overhead compartments?
None, some or, unfortunately, all of these things may
bother you. Then, you have to get on the plane and
engage in actual travel. That’s what you’re there for,
after all. And, in the same way that people respond
differently to travel, there are also several different
types of characters to encounter on the plane. Let me
introduce you to some of your travel companions and,
even more fun, the people you may sit next to.
First, you have your flight attendants. They fall into
the following categories: Sassy & Spunky, Rude, and
Funny Guy. You can spot the SS type right away when
you board. They will call you “hun,” maybe lightly
brush your arm when you get on the plane and seem
genuinely happy you are there. I’ve noticed a trend of
sparkly blue or purple eyeshadow that covers not just
the eyelid, but also around the sides and underneath
the eye. It’s an interesting look, but they can certainly
pull it off. When they come around the aisles with
the food and drink service, they are eager to take
your order and to give you both the cookie biscuit
and the mini pretzels if you ask. Now imagine the
opposite of the sparkle and kindness I just described.
Replace the eyeshadow glitter with a striped scarf
tied firmly around the neck. That is the Rude type.
The Funny Guy: He or she is a real joker over the
intercom. When it’s time for the safety demo, Funny
Guy likes to make silly faces while showing you how
to blow up your inflatable life vest. FG keeps things
light, bringing levity to such tragic possibilities as a
water landing. I was recently on a flight to Chicago
and over the intercom FG told us about a credit card
offer where you could earn triple miles. He joked
about ways you could use the miles, such as sending
a teenager on a one-way trip or a mother-in-law to
somewhere cold. He got an audible chuckle from the
passengers, including myself. Three days later, I flew
back home and there he was again, making the same
joke. I felt betrayed. I thought it was off the cuff. But
no, it was just his Funny Guy shtick.
As far as your seatmates, here’s what you have to
look forward to:
The Cougher: This travel mate insists on traveling
even with a case of whooping cough. Instead of
38 JAVA
MAGAZINE

All I know is that on my most recent flight, the
Farter attack was so heavy I had to cover all
facial orifices and bury my head on my tray
table, similar to a duck-and-cover bomb drill
from the ’60s.
several large coughing outbursts throughout the flight, Cougher is shy and to
avoid attention will make little, baby coughs DURING THE ENTIRE FLIGHT. The
Cougher will then say “no thanks” when offered water or a cough drop.
The Hog: These guys got screwed with the middle seat and they are pissed. They
will aggressively put down the armrests and lay full forearm on both sides just to
let you know what’s what. If you accidentally bump your arm into The Hog, they
will reassert their armrest authority with a push back.
The To Go: This person thinks they are SO smart because they got their airport
food to go and now they don’t have to eat the crappy food on the plane.
Unfortunately To Go does not consider anyone else in their vicinity, only their own
culinary satisfaction. This is why instead of bringing a simple sandwich, To Go
brings something super smelly like Chinese, Thai or broccoli chowder. Something
messy and smelly that will be sure to induce vomiting in those nearby. The more
it smells, squirts, leaks or drips, the happier To Go is with their meal.
The Farter: You knew this was coming, and you know who I’m talking about. To
Go may transform into Farter or Farter may just be working through a heavy night
of partying. All I know is that on my most recent flight, the Farter attack was so
heavy I had to cover all facial orifices and bury my head on my tray table, similar
to a duck-and-cover bomb drill from the ’60s. When I closed my eyes, I swore
someone was holding a dirty diaper under my nose.
The Fusser: These guys keep all of their bags under their seat for immediate
and repeated access. They need to pillage and plunder their multiple bags in a
seemingly endless quest for books, pens, notebooks, electronics or snacks. Each
time they go on a hunt for one of these things, there also seems to be an entire
bag reorganization that happens. I know this one the best. It’s me. And I’m sorry.
I get bored, and I’m trying not to order the $15 cheese plate that seems oddly
irresistible once I see it on the inflight menu.
Are you all ready for your next flight? Learn about your potential travel
companions and prepare yourself as necessary. With proper preparation, you can
avoid being a Fly Baby – someone who complains about their flight to whoever
picks them up from the airport.

NIGHT
GALLERY
Photos By
Robert Sentinery
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1. Swapped pics with this lovely
2. First Friday fun a {9} Gallery
3. Nicole and Daniel at Modified Arts
4. What does Vaiden’s magic bowling ball have to say?
5. House of Stairs’ Holly Pyle and Kevin - JAVA Fuse Sessions 8. Post show festivities with Brandon Decker at Valley Bar
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9. She book release event at Noons
6. Frida vibes at Gracie’s
10. ’80s dreamin’
7. Forth of July fun with Aileen
11. Kenny, Joshua and artist Evan Paul English at Shortcut Gallery

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12. Charles and friend at Lost Leaf
13. Damian Gomes at Gracie’s
14. Celebrating the Fourth at Joe’s place
15. In the Company of Women opening at Phoenix Art Museum
16. Joel Copley and Steve Weiss at Joe’s place
17. PAM’s Women show opening with artist Anne Lopez
18. Elizabeth shows up a cute guy and a melon
19. Hugs for Fausto and Tina
20. Christine gets a Brad and Jennyfer sandwich
21. Catching some live music at Valley Bar
22. In the Company of Women opening at Phoenix Art Musuem
23. Women-themed Nerd Night at PAM with Devony Looser.
24. Drinks and art at the museum
25. Women show opening
26. Amazing stencil work by John Koleszar at {9}
27. Late night at Gracie’s
28. Forth of July fun with Justin, Daisy and hubby Jeremy
29. Interactive fashion co-lab with artist Patricia Sannit

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Every 2nd Sunday
beginning 9/9 at 6p
5749 N 7TH ST, PHX AZ
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30. First Friday at {9} Gallery
31. JAVA Fuse Sessions 2 at Valley Bar
32. Jenna talks about David Lynch’s women at Nerd Night
33. Valley Bar fun with these two
34. Stencil artist Benjam at {9}
35. Open mic night at the Wine Vortex in Sedona
36. It takes focus and skill to face the monster mule
37. She femme art and poetry book by Sydney Cisco and Eunice Beck
38. Open mic night at the Wine Vortex in Sedona
39. Stencil art installation by Dadsocks at {9}
40. Local T-shirt love
41. Kandice channels her inner Wonder Women
42. Sedona Wine Vortex with my sis Laura and friend
43. Holly Pyle from House of Stairs, JAVA Fuse Sessions 2
44. Jon’s got the balls take us on
45. Abbey meet Matt - Decker show at Valley Bar
46. She book release at Noons
47. Rojan Cellos in Playas De Tijuana

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48. At Noons for the She book release
49. Flamenco Por La Vida at Crescent Ballroom
50. More fun at the She book party
51. Kim Blake at Paul Moser’s Echo’s Sister signing at The Hive
52. All together now at Gracie’s
53. They got their copy of She: Visual Art + Poetry
54. Paul Mosier signs Echo’s Sister for a fan
55. First Friday fun at Gracie’s
56. Echo’s Sister signing at The Hive
57. Jesse from Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold at Valley Bar
58. Dynamic duo at Modified Arts
59. Summer vibes in the front yard of Lost Leaf
60. Keri and Julia at The Hive
61. Summer nights at Lost Leaf
62. Birthday girl Lisa and hubby Sean
63. Teen time at Echo’s Sister book signing
64. Love the op art dress
65. Roosevelt Row street sounds

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66. Danielle and Lara, Prep Show opening at Modified
67. Brianna Noble paintings at Eye Lounge
68. At Noons for the She book release
69. Last issue’s cover guy Matt Magee at Framed Ewe
70. Sexy trio at Gracie’s
71. Kevin and Geibral at JAVA Fuse Sessions 2
72. Her cool vintage Schwinn is call Rusty Mustard
73. Art and frames at Framed Ewe
74. The Larder + The Delta chef/owner Stephen Jones
75. Snapped this sweet duo at Gracie’s
76. Geibral Elisha Movement at Lost Leaf
77. Samantha Lyn Aasen’s Modern Merkin opening
78. Sydney and pals at Gracie’s
79. Fausto snapped this pic
80. Evan Paul English at Shortcut Gallery
81. Joking around with Zack and Samir
82. All together now at Gracie’s
83. Summer stylin’ at Framed Ewe

JULIETTE HEMINGWAY,
A Man and His Trumpet
(detail), Mixed media,
12 x 12 inches.
*FREE
Admission!
Jazz It Up!
Jazz Inspired Art from Today
Sept 14, 2018 - Jan 20, 2019
FREE OPENING RECEPTION:
Friday, Sept 14 (6-11pm)
One East Main Street • Mesa, Arizona 85201 • 480-644-6560 • MesaArtsCenter.com