JAVA-NOV-2018

273 • NOV 2018
CHRISTOPH
KAISER
FORREST SOLIS • BRANDON DECKER • CHRISTINE CASSANO

CITY OF WATER CITY OF FIRE
Explore the extraordinary artifacts and
history of the ancient Mesoamerican city.
ON VIEW NOW
PHXART.ORG
CENTRAL + MCDOWELL
@PHXART
This exhibition is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in collaboration with the Secretaría de Cultura through the Instituto
Nacional de Antropología e Historia de México. This exhibition has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human
endeavor. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.*
IMAGE CREDIT: Circular relief, 300–450. Stone. Museo Nacional de Antropología / INAH, 10-81807. Archivo Digital de lasColecciones del Museo Nacional deAntropología / INAH-CANON.

INVENTING AN AMERICAN ICON
OPENING NOVEMBER 9
From earliest imagination to musical
revolution, these are the instruments
that electrified the world.
Sponsored by
Featuring the private collection of Lynn Wheelwright
MIM.org | Open Daily | 4725 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix, AZ

CONTENTS
8
12
22
30
34
FEATURES
Cover: Chritspoh Kaiser
Photo by: Thomas Ingersoll
8 12 22
34
CHRISTOPH KAISER
Design Islands in a Sea of Noise
By Ashley Naftule
FORREST SOLIS
Fine Art Mystique
By Rembrandt Quiballo
NOVO
Photographer: Josue Orozco
Stylist: Jackie S. Marin
LITMUS
New Work by Christine Cassano
By Jenna Duncan
BRANDON DECKER
Relocates to California
By Tom Reardon
COLUMNS
7
16
20
38
40
BUZZ
Culture Building
By Robert Sentinery
ARTS
When Deserts Become Electric
By Amy Young
Catching Up with Solomon Trio
By Kevin Hanlon
FOOD FETISH
WHyld Ass: Vegan Delights
By Sloane Burwell
GIRL ON FARMER
Lounge Life
By Celia Beresford
NIGHT GALLERY
Photos by Robert Sentinery
JAVA MAGAZINE
EDITOR & PUBLISHER
Robert Sentinery
ART DIRECTOR
Victor Vasquez
ARTS EDITOR
Rembrandt Quiballo
FOOD EDITOR
Sloane Burwell
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Jenna Duncan
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Celia Beresford
Kevin Hanlon
Jeff Kronenfeld
Ashley Naftule
Tom Reardon
Amy Young
PROOFREADER
Patricia Sanders
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Enrique Garcia
Thomas Ingersoll
Johnny Jaffe
Josue Orozco
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4 JAVA
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Photo © Jim Louvau, 2017
SEE GROUNDBREAKING
EXHIBITIONS & WORLD-CLASS
EVENTS, ONLY AT THE HEARD.
Sonwai The Jewelry of Verma Nequatewa
Yua: Henri Matisse and the Inner Arctic Spirit
Open for First Fridays. Visit heard.org for a complete list of exhibitions and events.
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Partial funding provided by the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture
through appropriations from the Phoenix City Council.

CULTURE BUILDING
By Robert Sentinery
BUZZ
Christoph Kaiser has been transforming spaces in Garfield for more than a
decade, long before the neighborhood, with its downtown proximity, became
a hotspot for restaurants and residences. Kaiser’s early design work in the
’hood comprised finding neglected historic homes and reconfiguring them into
multifamily rentals with cutting-edge finishes and layouts. Kaiser seems to
possess an uncanny ability to make something out of nothing; he turned the attic
of one building into a 700-square-foot apartment worthy of Dwell magazine.
Kaiser really hit his stride when he transformed a mid-century grain silo into a
366-square-foot tiny house that went viral – thanks to real estate giant Zillow,
who utilized it in a promotional campaign. Built on two levels, the curved steel
walls of the silo meant that everything had to be custom fabricated, and the
results are stunning.
Kaiser’s other architectural designs include the new Welcome Diner, Undefeated
boutique and the Phoenix outpost of Changing Hands, among others. His
personal residence, the 1907 red brick Grand Pyramid Cottage, which is listed on
the National Register, is a masterpiece of restoration and thoughtful updating.
His design firm, KaiserWorks, occupies the surprisingly spacious attic above (see
“Christoph Kaiser: Design Islands in a Sea of Noise,” p. 8).
Forrest Solis is an artist whose work is garnering much attention of late. Her
2016 immersive installation in a former hospital entitled L+D (labor and delivery)
is hands-down one of the strongest artistic statements this city has seen. Solis’
work is heavily rooted in the female perspective, without falling into the current
wave of new feminism. As a tenured professor moving her way up the ranks in
ASU’s School of Art, she is influencing a new generation of artists to pick up the
torch (see “Forrest Solis: Fine Art Mystique,” p. 12)
Christine Cassano is another female artist making important work. Her exhibition
“Litmus,” which just opened at Gebert Contemporary, moves away from the
exploration of the biological inner workings of her own health issues, zooming
out toward a macro view of the health of our planet. Using flight paths and
satellite imagery, Cassano looks at the scars of man’s actions against the planet
that are visible from space, including oil fires and deforestation. At the same
time, she explores some very personal issues, including the loss of her father,
a fi ghter pilot who perished due to a mechanical failure when she was a young
child (see “Litmus: New Work by Christine Cassano,” p. 34).
Finally, we say farewell to Brandon Decker, who has been a proud Arizona
resident for years. With his musical career on the upswing, the artist has made a
move to the Bay Area and is embarking on a national tour in support of his new
record, Born to Wake Up, on Brooklyn’s Royal Potato Family label. Decker says
his beloved Sedona will always feel like home. We wish him good luck on his
journey (see “Brandon Decker Relocates to California,” p. 30).

Christoph
Kaiser
Design Islands in a Sea of Noise
By Ashley Naftule
Photo: Thomas Ingersoll
8 JAVA
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Photo: Winquist Photography
A
white silo juts over a wall in the Garfield neighorhood like something out of The Jetsons. The curved
metal building resembles an ice bucket that’s been crowned with a cone hat. A vertical opening in
the front reveals a two-story home behind glass: a combination kitchen/living room, with a staircase
winding up the inside of the silo to a bedroom. Like the Guggenheim in miniature, it eschews the boxy
four-wall structures we’re accustomed to for circular rooms filled with curved, custom-designed fixtures.
The Silo House looks and feels futuristic, like the kind of tiny home that bourgeois colonists would build on the
surface of a terraformed moon. But this building came from much humbler, earthbound origins. It was once a
mid-century grain silo. But that was before architectural designer Christoph Kaiser came along and turned it into
the state-of-the-art Silo House for himself and his former wife.
That ability to look at a decaying industrial silo and see a comfortable home inside is one of the secrets to
Kaiser’s success. Whereas so many people are eager to knock down Phoenix’s past to build the future, Christoph
is finding creative ways to make them coexist within the same space.
“Design constraints are a welcome thing to me,” Kaiser says. “I think architecture becomes interesting when
potentially autonomous forms rub up against other things. Whether it is elements or historic contexts, like a
ancient cathedral sitting next door to a modern museum – richness is born out of that.”
A one-man encyclopedia of architectural knowledge, Kaiser tosses off a reference to a Richard Meier–designed
museum in Germany to put a bow on his point. “It’s next to a historic cathedral. You can’t walk past something
JAVA 9
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UNDEFEATED, Photo: Winquist Photography
like that without being jarred by the juxtaposition of
old and new. It creates a tension that is evocative and
speaks to people because it is so powerful.”
For anyone who’s spent time working and playing in
central Phoenix, Kaiser’s work has spoken to them at
some point. Christoph’s firm, KaiserWorks LLC, has been
quietly and steadily altering the face of central Phoenix:
redesigning elements in the Garfield neighborhood,
including the new home for Welcome Diner on Pierce St.,
the Undefeated clothing and sneaker boutique next to Lux
Coffee, and Changing Hands Bookstore’s Phoenix location.
These are just a few of the local projects that Christoph
and his team at KaiserWorks (Mark Lewis, Trevor Kowal,
Drew Scharnitzke, and John Davis) have masterminded
over the years.
While Kaiser and his team are quickly leaving an
indelible mark on the Phoenician landscape, the
architectural designer wasn’t always set on putting
down roots in Arizona. “When I left Phoenix to go study
in Boston [at Harvard University] and Germany, I didn’t
think I would be coming back to work here,” Kaiser says.
“I thought, okay, this place is not on the cutting edge of things. It’s just not. Our finger’s
not on the pulse of culture and art here; we didn’t even have a downtown core to
speak of at the time. We didn’t have urbanity.”
It was while Kaiser was doing interviews for work in Germany, San Francisco, and
New York City that he started to realize the potential of Phoenix. “New York is a
city whose story has been written,” he says. “It already has a very strong identity.
Any kind of jobs I’d be working on there would be smaller infill projects – cool
bars, maybe, or furniture showrooms and such.”
Phoenix’s lack of history and culture ended up becoming a major reason for
Kaiser’s decision to hang his shingle here, because the city represents a sort of
blank slate where people with vision can still leave a mark.
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UNDEFEATED, Photo: Winquist Photography
“The thought of coming to Phoenix, to a place where I actually would be needed
and could become a player in the field, was immediately attractive to me,” Kaiser
muses. “Design can be an insecure endeavor, in a way. I don’t like having to
explain to people why my profession is justified. It’s nice in Phoenix because most
people recognize the need for designers, for people that bring vision to the city.
Because if it’s left up to number-crunching developers, we get horrible spaces. And
I think a lot of people see that if it’s not done well, you end up with places that
people really don’t want to spend time in.”
Part of what drew Kaiser to become embedded in the Garfield neighborhood –
where his home and studio are located – was that it was a part of town that
hadn’t been ruined by those number-crunchers yet. In a recent interview, Kaiser
said of Garfield: “I discovered buildings with soul, buildings built by hand before

Photo: Thomas Ingersoll
Photo: Shelby Moore
developers perfected the art of building houses as cheaply as possible and then
cosmetically jacketing them with stucco and faux materials to make them look like
something they are not.”
That desire to preserve the original spirit of a building is central to Kaiser’s
practice. It’s one of the principles behind his “Mullet Modern” approach to design:
“Conservative in the front, party in the back.” The shell of an old structure like the
grain silo is preserved while the inside and its surroundings are transformed into
something bold and forward-thinking.
Kaiser didn’t always want to study architecture. As a child, he had a deep interest
in both science and the arts. “I was fascinated with everything phenomenological,”
Kaiser says. “The sun, the wind, how the elements of the earth built structures.
But I also had a proclivity for art.”
Initially studying to be an industrial designer in college, Kaiser quickly pivoted
toward architecture. “I always wanted to make things that people use: something
that has utility, but that is also beautiful.”
One artistic method that cast a particularly strong spell on Kaiser as a student
was the hand sketch. “The ability to capture three-dimensional space with a hand
sketch really appealed to me,” Kaiser says. “Seeing that you could capture the
form of a bird with a few lines. To sit in a room and draw a space with pencil and
paper was just an amazing skill to me because it’s a two-part thing. You sketch the
space you see, and then you sketch what you want to apply to that. It could be a
drawing of a city intersection or a vacant lot in front of you. You sketch the intersection
and then follow suit with whatever building you are designing for that space.”
When it comes time to fill that empty space, there are two core concepts that
Kaiser comes back to time and time again. “There has to be an integrity there,”
he says. “Building a wood frame house and then putting plastic elements on it so
it looks like a castle is dishonest and horrible, like building a stage set. It has no
soul. It’s like talking to a superficial person who is putting on a facade. You’re not
connecting with the soul of that individual. You’re seeing this other thing they’re
putting out in full force. Architecture is the same way: That what it is, is what it is.”
Kaiser is also fond of playing with what he calls tofu. “I have an appreciation for
these pure white forms,” he says. “Because it becomes about light and shadow at
that point. If it’s a pure form, you’re looking at how light plays off the object. It’s
like tofu to me. This material that takes on whatever form or flavor you give it.”
That appreciation for pure form ties back in to Kaiser’s Silo House. “Once you walk
inside, the game changes. Outside is this white cylinder, but you walk in and now
you’re encountering black leather and walnut and it becomes much more haptic,
tactile and warm.”
That interest in contrasts also informed Kaiser’s approach to designing the
Changing Hands Bookstore in Phoenix. “There’s so much merchandise there. You’re
swimming in this sea of almost white noise, like every book is a different color of
the rainbow. Just this cacophony of stuff. So the First Draft bar, the large chimney
and the point of sale areas act as counterparts – these recognizable moments
within all of that.”
Much like the old medieval craft guilds that gave birth to the Freemasons, Kaiser
also sees a spiritual dimension in the art of architecture. As a designer, he looks
out at the universe and sees something that bears the hallmarks of being crafted.
“It strikes me as being purposeful,” he says, reflecting on the nature of the world.
“It’s so tremendously uncanny. We have this periodic table that lets us build
silicon wafers and computers. We can also build bombs. This whole thing is like a
playground for the human imagination. That doesn’t strike me as accidental.”
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Forrest
Solis
Fine Art Mystique
Text and Portraits
By Rembrandt Quiballo
12 JAVA
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The most memorable art exhibit in the last several years in the Valley was
not in a gallery or a museum, but in a former hospital. The show, produced
by artist Forrest Solis, was titled L+D, which stood for labor and delivery.
It featured large-scale oil paintings depicting the artist in psychologically tinged
scenes relating to experiences of childbirth. It was an impactful show, with the
immersive environment producing a fitting context for the work.
Since then, Solis has continually created works that deftly touch on women’s
issues. Her paintings are not only aesthetically well crafted but also thought
provoking. She founded a multi-media project that creates an inclusive space for
women to talk about their experiences of giving birth. Meanwhile, she has gained
tenure as an art professor and has advanced through the administrative ranks at the
School of Art at Arizona State University.
Solis was born in Houston, Texas, and her parents divorced when she was an infant.
Solis’ mother took Forrest and moved to a suburb northwest of Chicago, where
she remarried. Solis attended the prestigious Chicago Academy for the Arts High
School. This early experience would put her on a clear trajectory toward the arts.
“It was kind of like the movie Fame, where there were performing arts, creative
writing, theater and dance, where every floor had a different art scene,” she said.
“At that young age, I learned what it meant to be dedicated to a life of art. There
was nothing I would not have d one to pursue my life’s path.”
At the same time Solis was flourishing at school, things at home became volatile.
Her mother’s relationship soured and became abusive. “Domestic violence is
definitely something I’ve experienced, and I was old enough,” Solis said. “I was
really aware of what was happening. That definitely made an impression on me,
seeing my mother, who was a role model, and who I thought was really strong
and assertive, in a situation where she didn’t see a way out because she had
three kids and no professional skills other than being a secretary. So she really
didn’t see a way out. Then finally it got to a point, like when he broke her nose on
Mother’s Day, where she was like, ‘That’s it. Whatever it takes, I will do whatever
it takes to get us out of this situation.’ And she did.”
Solis’ admiration for her mother grew, along with her interest in visual art. She’d
always had an aptitude for drawing and painting and would find her muse early
on. “I was really honestly obsessed with figures,” she said. “I didn’t just draw
things, I drew people, at a young age. I almost had an obsession and admiration
for my mother. She was gorgeous, very different looking than I am. She was really
stunning to me and really smart, graceful, elegant and all those things. I spent my
youth in her shadow just admiring her, and I started to really look at women and
think about the performance of being a woman, the spectacular nature of it.”
Solis studied painting, earning her BFA at the Kansas City Art Institute and her
MFA at Indiana University. After graduating, she taught at a small liberal arts
college for three years and then came to Arizona to pursue a tenure-track position
in the School of Art at ASU. Solis didn’t see herself as a teacher at first, but she
had always admired her teachers throughout her education. It took some time to
adjust, but she was determined and has now been teaching courses in figurative
drawing and painting for more than a decade. “I work with undergraduate and
graduate students,” she said. “I feel privileged to be teaching at ASU, a place
that values providing access to a high-quality education. The students are sincere
in their desire to learn. Many have overcome challenges to be at ASU, and I have
to live up to that responsibility each time I set foot in the classroom.”
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Solis’ admiration for the art program at ASU has grown, and so has she, having
been promoted to Associate Director of the School of Art at ASU. She handles
matters related to academic affairs and curriculum scheduling along with her
regular teaching responsibilities. “Now I’ve really started enjoying administrative
work,” she said. “I just find it hyper stimulating in a way that teaching isn’t.
Teaching is great because you have to be constantly responding to something
in real time. You have to really think on your feet and be insightful. But
administrative work is like running five households with ten kids or something.
There’s just so much to do simultaneously, and it’s all very important. It is
meaningful when you get something accomplished, so it’s stimulating in a way
that I find very fulfilling.”
Solis has been creating engaging paintings throughout her career. An early
body of work juxtaposed passages from old books on how to act like a “proper”
woman with contemporary scenes. Another body of work delved into her
interpersonal psyche through uncanny dolls and toys. Through it all, she has been
obsessed with the human form, in particular her own.
“People would ask, ‘Why do you paint yourself?’” she questioned. “Historically,
men have been painting self-portraits for centuries. But when women paint
self-portraits, it tends to be associated with vanity. There are tons of historical
paintings of women looking in the mirror, women observing themselves, and
they are all basically allegories for vanity. It is an interesting experience to really
look at yourself critically to paint. You’re no longer really seeing yourself as this
subjective being. You’re looking so hard to see the form and color, and I’ve found
that to be really liberating.”
“I’m talking about ideas that many artists talk about, they just use different subject
matter,” Solis said. “They might use animal images rather than the self. They might
use landscapes or objects, but the essence can still be about the spirit, religion,
or psychological spaces. You can do all of those things. Many artists just pick a
particular subject to explore their ideas, and I’ve chosen self-portraits.”
During her time at ASU, Solis became pregnant and gave birth to her son. This lifechanging
experience led her to establish the multimedia visual art and oral history
project Creative Push. “I wanted to make a body of work that was about my birth
experience,” she said. “It was pretty intense. So the paintings were supposed to be
like horror film stills and were large-scale, really ambitious works. But I also wanted
to be able to have other women make artwork about their birth experiences and to
also, in the meantime, record those stories. There are all kinds of stories. We’ve
recorded everything; we have well over a hundred stories now.”
“We’ve created a film, had a podcast and a few group exhibitions,” Solis said. “So
Creative Push has really grown. But I just wanted to create a space where a woman
could go and listen to lots of different stories with no particular ideology behind
them. To just have a space that respects people’s experience as a whole, and then
respects artwork about this really challenging topic.”
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HERSTORY
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Desert Garden UCC Church, 18818 N 128th Ave, Sun City West, 85375
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Solis continues to pursue that mission every day. Her most recent project is 10
Artists/2000 Speculums, wherein 10 women artists were given this medical tool
to incorporate into their work somehow. It all started when a local ob-gyn group
offered Solis a large batch of speculums. The exhibit, curated by Solis and Lauren
R. O’Connell, showcases some of the strongest women artists in the Phoenix
area, such as Saskia Jordá, Ann Morton, Cydnei Mallory and Malena Barnhart.
Solis’ painting for the show references Gustave Courbet’s work L’Origine
du Monde or Origin of the World. She has painstakingly recreated the once
controversial work, but her self-portrait, titled Origin of the Other, features a
golden speculum opening up her own vagina with teeth, representing a kind of
vagina dentata. It is part of a body of work that reconstructs Courbet’s paintings,
altering their original meaning, as Solis imbues it with her female point of view.
Solis’ work has never been overtly political, but in the era of #MeToo and Time’s
Up, one cannot help but see her work as subversive. The act of creating is
political statement enough. “I’m not really making work in response to a political
situation,” Solis said. “So I feel like I just happen to be in line with something
that’s very timely, because I’ve always made work like this. I’ve always made
work that’s really assertive. It asserts my femaleness. I really like being female
and I feel very powerful as a woman.”
www.forrestsolis.com
www.creativepush.org
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ARTS
WHEN DESERTS BECOME ELECTRIC
Ricardo Rivera from Klip Collective
By Amy Young
Between now and mid-May, an evening stroll through the Desert Botanical Garden
(DBG) is more than just a chance to partake of the natural beauty found within
its perimeter. During this time, you’ll be gliding through Electric Desert. Thanks
to Philadelphia’s Ricardo Rivera and his collaborative team – together, they form
the Klip Collective – with combined projection mapping, aesthetic, and technical
skills, Electric Desert is an illuminated utopia where light and sound unite for
multisensory stimulation.
The combination of a myriad patterns, vivid and expressive colors, and motion is
thoroughly dazzling and brilliant. It’s worth multiple visits, as the initial experience
immediately holds you in a wowed and breathless state as your mind races to
follow its sound and motion.
Projection mapping, for those not in the know, is a video projection technology
whereby video is mapped onto various surfaces, turning them into interactive
displays. It’s also something Rivera is a pioneer of, with a hefty resume to prove it,
along with some pending patents in this arena.
“Klip Collective started in 2003,” Rivera says, “but I was a video artist and
filmmaker prior to that. I developed this approach to bringing spaces to life via
video projection and projection mapping, which wasn’t really even a thing back
then. We wanted to do it more commercially, so we started with some clients like
the W Hotel.”
A list of big clients followed, including Nike and Target, and landing spots for
these creative projections were as interesting as the Hudson River in New York
City. Currently, Rivera says, the group is focused on large-scale installations, like
Electric Desert.
Phoenix’s Desert Botanical Garden isn’t the first garden setting they’ve electrified;
in fact, it was their first installation in a similar environment that led them to the
desert. Nightscape: A Light and Sound Experience by Klip Collective opened in the
summer of 2015 at Philadelphia’s massive Longwood Gardens.
“Ken Schutz, the executive director of the DBG, saw the Longwood installation and
got my information from their team and invited me out to discuss doing something
similar here. I put together a proposal and we went from there.”
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It wasn’t Klip’s first time working with plant life, but the scale was much larger
at both the Pennsylvania and Arizona gardens. It was a different landscape to
maneuver in, though, compared to many of the buildings and city surfaces they’d
worked with previously.
Rivera says he had an opportunity to “map trees and use plants as my inspiration,”
on a smaller scale. And though the spaces and surfaces they map are often very
different, Klip’s crew doesn’t find that daunting. “Each project is site specific.
People often ask me about my inspiration with the Electric Desert and the
Longwood project, and the inspiration comes from the sites themselves. I go to
each space and really soak it in, and then I develop the content and installations
based on the space itself.”
Rivera still loves working with non-organic surfaces and man-made buildings, but
right now he is loving what he can do with nature. “I’ve been doing buildings for so
long,” he says, “so this gives me a chance to take such a different approach. The
natural landscape is so inspiring. With these shapes and forms, we’ve developed a
lot of cool techniques, and they’re awesome. It’s all different, but it’s really cool.”
Does he have a projection mapping bucket list? Indeed. One of them could even
find him in Arizona again. “I love Arcosanti,” he tells us. “I’d love to do something
there. When I go somewhere, this is something I think about, or when I read about
interesting places, it’s the same thing. From places like Arcosanti to abandoned
monolithic buildings in Russia – there are so many amazing places, and it’s
impossible to not think about new ways to bring them to life.”
Sometimes, part of bringing spaces to life is highlighting their history. Klip’s
Vacant America project exemplifies that goal. In one Vacant America installation,
they use installation art and virtual reality, along with left-behind items in an
abandoned school, to tell its tale through these found objects. “We had yearbooks
to show faces, names, and images,” Rivera says, “and incorporated things like
that with sounds that included an interview with a teacher who taught there in
the 1960s. It was really something. I love showing the history you can just feel
when you walk into so many abandoned spaces.”
A mobile projection unit is another passion project on Rivera’s list, as well as a
Lovecraft-inspired traveling carnival. For now, you can see the mastery of these
innovative techniques at Electric Desert as they merge with creativity and skillful
resolve to bring a new vibrancy to our intriguing surroundings.
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Catching Up with
Solomon Trio
By Kevin Hanlon
Life is not always a nicely packaged pop song with three verses, a chorus,
and a bridge. Sometimes it dawdles. Other times it builds and runs.
Sometimes it has no words, just raw emotion – whatever those feelings
happen to be. Sometimes you’re on top of your world, and in the next
moment, you’re back where you began, holding onto bittersweet silver
linings and calling for tomorrow. Perhaps that is why the music of Solomon
Trio is so uniquely accessible. They’ve mastered the art of taking life as it
comes.
The inventive Latin jazz trio from Phoenix is composed of percussionist
Israel Solomon, keyboardist Carly Bates, and saxophonist Armando Salas.
Their music incorporates improvisation and standard forms as it dances
between conversational and traditional ideals. In the live setting, the
trio volleys ideas back and forth with one another as they move toward
a central theme, like an impassioned walk that results from the building
tempo of an intellectual discussion.
Solomon interplays congas, claps, and hums to create a percussive
framework for his bandmates to enter. Bates then responds to offer
context and feeling before Salas’ saxophone roams about the given space
as its curious protagonist, eager to stretch his legs and speak his mind.
The true magic of an evening with Solomon Trio is that each member plays
around in these interchangeable roles and takes his or her own turn at
the podium. The three musicians investigate newfound environments and
fluctuate between varying soundscapes as they explore the full spectrum
of life available to their senses.
“Lately, we’ve been incorporating bird sounds,” Solomon answers after
I ask him whether the band pulls from a more original or standardsbased
set of material. I recalled an example of the band’s ornithological
incorporations from their September show at Valley Bar. In both quieter
moments of peace and louder moments of intensity, Solomon would
slide his thumb across the conga skin to create a sound that seemed to
replicate a male tropical screech owl singing from the entrance of his
home: “Come in! Come in! You are welcome here.”
The natural sounds blend with traditional chord structures that listeners
readily recognize as having roots in Latin jazz and African polyrhythm. The
band saunters through the ethereal, dissolves into direct conversation,
and then finally returns home to a more traditional form before a piece
is through. Their music is smooth but not always soft, free but never
undeliberate, meditative and yet wholly responsive. The trio plays the
present moment, and as such, sets are never duplicated.
Solomon says their music is the meeting place of the band’s cultural
and spiritual backgrounds. “We’re all very sure of ourselves,” Solomon
explains. “So from there, we’re able to blend the music of Africa,
indigenous cultures, Latin America, and of course nature.” In combining
their firm roots and common trait of self-assurance, the band is able to
pull continuously from a source of inspiration made up of new sounds
and past lessons, while releasing themselves to the present moment and
remaining open to what comes next.
The group holds a regular residency every other week at Fuego Bistro in
Phoenix, and recently performed at The Cool Down Sessions (hosted by
Zeedubb of The Stakes) at ThirdSpace in downtown Phoenix. In addition,
Solomon Trio collaborates with DiRTYOGA for the Yoga & Jazz Experience
at Civic Space Park once a season.
At the last installment of Yoga & Jazz, Solomon Trio built their set around
four themes: ocean, jungle, desert, and space, in place of an actual setlist.
“We like to say it’s non-traditional jazz for non-traditional yoga,” says
Solomon. “While the music certainly sets an intention, the teacher and the
people practicing do so as well. So as much as we’re being heard, we’re
listening to and reading the space around us, too.” The next Yoga & Jazz
Experience with Solomon Trio will take place on Sunday, January 6, and
admission is free.
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Photo: Bill Goodman
Photo: Elaine Thomas Campbell

WHYLD ASS
Vegan Delights - By Sloane Burwell
About a year ago, a new vendor appeared at the Uptown Farmers Market. I had
no idea what they were selling, but when I saw their banner in my early morning,
pre-caffeinated haze, my brain read their name as Wyld Stallyns, the intergalactic
band made famous in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Alas, no Keanu Reeves or
air guitars were to be found in their charming booth: instead, it was an outpost of
the Flagstaff vegan restaurant WHyld Ass. Since then, their stand has regularly
stocked some of their greatest hits, including what have become two staples in
my kitchen – carrot habanero hot sauce and sprouted grainy mustard.
They’ve recently expanded their vegan empire to include another brick-and-mortar
location, nestled into a tiny spot just south of Camelback on 7th Street. WHyld
Ass (I will never tire of saying their name) seeks to serve tasty food with a focus
on health, without pretension or faux meat analogues. You won’t find any Impossible
Burgers; no faux wings anywhere in sight. What you will find is very affordable,
flavorful and healthy plant-based food, served with a touch of sass.
WHyld Ass packs about 10 tiny tables inside a cheery, well-lit box. Outside, you’ll
find space for maybe another six people. This means it’s pretty easy to make a
friend or at least overhear some interesting conversations around you. The pastry
case always sports a couple of berry cobblers, their exceptional banana bread and
my favorite – the Pepita Chocolate Brownie ($3.50). About the size of a dollar bill,
this brownie is light, moist and pretty close to a cake. Whole pepitas are stirred in
and scattered on the top. It’s incredibly tasty, and in a blind taste test, I wouldn’t
have known this was vegan. I adored my huge slice of Maple Cinnamon Cake
($3.75), an explosion of fall flavors that I can’t wait to taste again. Expect a rotating
selection of baked goods, with a nod toward the seasons.
Everyone is served chlorophyll water in lieu of tap or filtered water. Each visit,
the mix was a bit different. On my first visit, it was so light that it made the glass
appear slightly green. I preferred this version, since the taste was more umamilike.
On my last visit, it was nearly the color of lime Kool-Aid. Still interestingly
flavored, this version had a taste that was distinctly grassy. Not bad, but not my
favorite. Evidently, chlorophyll is a powerful antioxidant.
On a chalkboard, you’ll find the current flavors of kombucha listed. I absolutely
adored the Watermelon ($3.50/small), which tastes like liquid Jolly Rancher, but
slightly less sweet. For an extra 35 cents, go for the jalapeño upcharge. It cuts the
sweet and is an interesting counterbalance.
Breakfast is a treat. Maybe one day I’ll try a coffee smoothie, but instead I opted
for the Spicy Stabilizer ($6.50), a kicky mix of celery, cucumber, lemon and cayenne.
Once their espresso machine is up, expect a litany of coffee drinks, but
today drip coffee will suffice. I absolutely adored the Stuffed French Toast ($12):
two slices of gluten-free bread loaded with Danish cashew cheese and smothered
in berry compote. The sweet potato hash served alongside is crispy perfection,
made even more perfect when dunked in a dollop of their house-made sprouted
grainy mustard. Fair warning – this condiment packs a punch!
Everyone loved the Biscuits and Gravy ($8.50). A massive rosemary and orange biscuit
is split and covered in black pepper chipotle gravy. It’s warming and hearty, and
the smattering of Southern-inspired kale collard greens on top cuts fat like a knife.
For fun, we ordered the Zucchini Bacon ($3.50). While no one is going to mistake
it for the real thing, it was salty, charming and delicious swirled into the sweet
French toast and savory biscuits and gravy. I’d order it again – probably on their
BLT next time.
Expect their early opening menu to be fluid. This week’s selections were mostly
greatest hits from their Flagstaff location. That will expand as they get their
bearings. However, no matter what is added, I don’t want to miss their Avo Melt
($11.50). A panini is loaded with their potato cheese (is it cheese? I’m not sure, but
it is creamy and enjoyable), fresh avocado and black beans, and grilled until hot and
crispy. The heat does something to the fat in the avocado, so when it’s delivered via
bread, crunchy from the press, it’s just about perfect. The accompanying side salad
is fresh and flavorful, topped with their kicky, herby and refreshing vinaigrette.
I also loved their Farmers Warm Veggie Salad ($11.00). I’m assuming this gets its
name from the seasonal veggies they find in the markets. This time it was carrots,
zucchini, mushrooms, onions and garlic, tossed with that kicky vinaigrette and
served over a large mound of warm quinoa, which covers fistfuls of spring mix salad
greens. It’s literally a plate of healthy goodness. While I wouldn’t call the walnut
parmesan actual cheese, it does lend a salty, savory and creamy component that
lifts the dish. Good for you isn’t always this good.
You’ll find their Superfood Guacamole all over the menu. Our new server wasn’t up
to speed on all the ingredients that made it superfood, but we did detect chia seeds
in the mix, adding a slightly crunchy element. We asked for just a scoop, which was
precisely what we got – served neat, without any scooping mechanism, like chips.
We didn’t miss them. We ate forkfuls of superfood guac until it was super gone. I
love gauc, and this is a good one: minimal cilantro, lots of crunch from onions and
tomato, and loads of lime juice. Superfood? Not sure. Super good? Absolutely.
WHyld Ass clearly has a sense of humor and a mission. They are bringing fresh,
flavorful, plant-based food with a nod toward the environment to central Phoenix.
Printed all over the menu, WHyld Ass proclaims, “Excited to be here!” I believe
them. And with food this tasty, I’m excited too.
WHyld Ass Phoenix
4810 N. 7th St., Phoenix
whyldass.com
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NOVO
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photographer: Josue Orozco
stylist: Jackie s. Marin
mua: Daniela Lafarga
model: Jennifer c. Harris
model management: Arizona model management
studio: BloK studio
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Brandon Decker
Relocates to California
By Tom Reardon
PHOTOS BY JAKE GREEN
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JAVA: How is your move going to affect the
band?
Brandon Decker: Well, certainly I’ll be playing less
with my Phoenix people – decker. has always had
kind of erratic membership. Well, I love, love, love all
the people that I’ve performed with down there and
as often as I can, I will [continue to play with them].
I’ve been doing a lot of solo performing over the last
year – just logistics of it and financially.
What I imagine is I will continue to branch out and
perform with other amazing musicians. In no way is
that a lack of appreciation for my lovely cohorts in
Phoenix. I love the music that most of us have been
playing [together] for quite a few years now, but you
know, it is just the way it goes.
There is an urgency and honesty to Brandon Decker’s music that stretches far beyond any of the usual
platitudes used to describe songs. I would simply say this: Listen to the man’s music and you will feel like
you know him.
Since 2009, Decker has been doing his band, decker. (note the lowercase “d” and the period at the end – for
dramatic effect), and the results have often been enlightening for both artist and audience. There is a quest for
truth in his music that is refreshing, and if you go back and listen to the full catalog, the growth of Decker as an
artist is obvious and impressive, to say the least.
There are some genre-bending moments in the decker. recordings that are often pleasant and, unlike the
work of a lesser band, are not jarring or out of place: hints of Americana, straight-up rock ’n’ roll, a little
gospel, and an alternative/indie sound that keeps it just close enough to the proverbial edge so that even
the most jaded hipsters will give it a chance.
Brandon Decker, the man, is not afraid to tackle some tough subjects in his music and confront his own
demons, angels, and shadows from song to song. Physically he is slight, but when you share space with him,
his presence is significantly felt. He has the endearing quality of someone who probably gives a great hug, and
that is a wonderful quality in our current world. But he is also supremely talented.
The musicianship expressed in Decker’s growing catalog is always top notch, and as a vocalist, the long-time Sedona
resident (who has recently moved to northern California, unfortunately for us) is one of the brightest lights our
state has seen in recent years. Decker the lyricist is not afraid to tackle subjects that reach down into your soul
and wring out emotions we tend to bury rather than confront, but he does it with a deftness and respect for
humanity that makes it seem comforting, soothing, and, in a weird way, nurturing.
On Born to Wake Up, Decker’s recently released record on the Brooklyn, NY–based label Royal Potato Family,
the singer/songwriter continues to evolve into an artist you need to pay attention to while you still have the
chance to see him in smaller venues. As there have been standout tracks on previous releases – like “Princess
of Cups” from 2009’s Long Days or “We Used to Sing” from 2010’s Long as the Night – that have showcased
Decker’s songwriting, Born to Wake Up is a pleasure to listen to while driving across the desert or working on
your latest project.
We caught up with Decker while he was driving near Barstow, California, to talk about his move to the San
Francisco Bay Area and what is happening with him right now.
JAVA: Will there be a decker. California
version?
BD: I imagine I will be playing music with people in
the Bay Area. I know a lot of people out there that
are really good, and I’m eager to get in with them,
whether it’s in the decker. spirit or something else,
but I imagine that it will be decker. because that’s
what I’m working on right now.
JAVA: And the tour that you’re on right now, is
that the full band or you solo?
BD: It’s really across the board. Most of it is with my
best friend who does backup singing and percussion
with me. Then I’ve got dates also adding on my
keyboard player, who’s my longest tenured player. I’ve
been with her for five years. And then I have dates
out on the East Coast with additional members, and
I also have dates with the whole band out west later
in the year.
JAVA: Tell me about your best friend.
BD: His name’s Dante LoPresti.
JAVA: And tell me about your keyboard player.
BD: Amber Johnson. Amber has been with me
through thick and thin for about five years.
JAVA: Anyone else we should know about?
BD: My bass player, Andrew Bates, has been with me
for a long time as well, and he’s a great friend and
player. And Meliza Jackson plays guitar. She just got
brought on with the Darts. She’s a great human.

JAVA: That seems like it is an important factor
with you, people being great humans.
BD: Well, I’ve been doing this long enough to know
that if you don’t have people in your operation with
integrity and self-awareness, it’s not going to work
for very long. Those are the kind of people that I like
to surround myself with. That’s the kind of person I
try to be.
JAVA: It’s funny that a lot of people don’t seem
to get that, no matter what they are trying to do
with a group of people.
BD: Yeah, I don’t know. I can’t speak to what others
do or don’t do. But I know that in the time I’ve been
making music, most bands I’ve known have gone by
the wayside. You know, being around people who are
growing in the way you are growing is definitely the
way we want to pass our time in life.
JAVA: How long have you been playing music?
BD: decker. started in 2009. Right about nine years
ago. I’ve been playing music to varying degrees of
patheticness since 1999.
JAVA: What was your first band?
BD: (laughs) I’d rather not say. I keep it a secret. It
was in Phoenix. My first band was called A Vacant
Night’s Sky, and it was, you know – I had some good
players, but it was really kind of alternative and
grungy or something. I don’t know. I’m not proud of
the songs.
JAVA: Very few musicians stumble into their
very first band and it just makes sense right
away. You have to find those right people with
a similar vision and integrity and you can hang
out with in a confined space.
BD: That’s true. There’re a few versions of decker. I’m
not proud of, too (laughs).
JAVA: Did you know growing up that playing in
a band was going to be something you wanted
to do? How did you find your way to doing live
music?
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BD: Once I learned how to play guitar and sing at the same time, you know, I
just always loved to sing for people. When I quit using heavy drugs in my midtwenties,
I felt like I had a lot to say and I wanted to say that in songs. As I wrote
those songs, I wanted to perform them, and as I began playing them live, I wanted
to be able to reach the most amount of people possible. That has been my journey.
JAVA: Did you grow up in the Phoenix area?
BD: No, I’m mostly not grown up (laughs). I guess you could say I spent my
formative years in St. Louis, Missouri.
JAVA: How did you find your way to the desert?
BD: Well, I had gone out to California for a few years and I wanted to finish my
college. I couldn’t get in out there, so I went to NAU. I moved to Flagstaff and then
when I got done there, I moved to Phoenix, but it was too hot and too sprawly.
Now I just dip in and dip out, but I just can’t stand the heat or the excess shopping
centers. I’m so glad to see Phoenix really coming up. It does seem to be really
gentrifying now, but there is a wonderful community of artists and activists. It
really has a lot to offer, but as far as a place for me to live, it doesn’t seem like a
very sustainable place.
JAVA: What was the first album you bought with your own money?
BD: I believe that would be Aerosmith, Greatest Hits. I had just started watching
MTV. I was coming out of second or third grade. I really liked the song “Rag Doll.”
This is just brutal honesty. I probably still know every song on that record.
JAVA: What do you do to get ready for a show? How do you psych
yourself up to put on a good show for folks?
BD: I’ve definitely gotten more ritualistic of late, but I like to get into some kind of
meditative space. Maybe do a little yoga. Sedona definitely had an impact on me.
My cohort Dante and I will burn some different incense, and I need to get away
and be quiet for a while. Performing is not a real social thing for me anymore. I
just feel the energy and anxiousness to perform and need to channel that prior to
the show, and then afterwards just feel kind of blown out. Not to say that I have
to be alone, but it’s a real emotional thing. Maybe because of the content I’m
trying to create.
JAVA: What are you trying to create?
BD: An authentic, connecting viewing experience.
JAVA: It seems like that is a common thing among bands lately.
BD: Maybe that’s something we’re all needing.

Litmus
New Work by Christine Cassano
By Jenna Duncan
34 Photos: JAVA Matty Steincamp
MAGAZINE

Photos: Monica Fernandez Casal
Photo: Damian Taylor
Artistic vision sometimes examines the big picture, but other times it focuses on
the microscopic. The scope depends on the artist’s lens through which we are
invited to glimpse the world. The elements an artist focuses on depend on their
mood, state of mind, and place in life, as well.
Christine Cassano recognizes that her work is often deeply connected to her own
journey, self-reflection, and internal and external processes. In a show of new
works, “Litmus,” on view at Gebert Contemporary, Cassano organizes smaller
swatches borrowed from one great, complex, delicate and fragile ecosystem and
fine-tunes the focus to examine its blemishes. In this case, that big-picture system
is Mother Earth, and the blemishes are all micro-aggressions, patches of damage
and destruction appearing on her virgin skin that have been put there by human
activity.
“Litmus” features copper and aluminum plates with satellite images of topography,
circuitry, and aviation charts printed on them. One wall of the show features a
10-foot installation comprising more than 500 sections of aviation charts imprinted
on circular fragments of copper that float on pins. The round images on copper
intermingle with small mirrors. Cassano explains that the mirrors are meant to
suggest self-reflection for the viewer, as in, what is our role in all of this? How are
we responsible, or are we complicit?
Cassano’s brother William is a commercial pilot who has prior Marine Corps
experience. He is the one who provided her with his old flight charts. The other
personal part of this work was that Cassano reconnected with one of her father’s
closest friends, Bill Readdy, who worked for NASA – a man known to Christine
and her brother as Uncle Bill. Readdy was her father’s squadron pilot and a very
close family friend. He was there the day they lost her dad. Cassano’s father was
a fighter pilot; he died in a training action in Puerto Rico due to mechanical failure
resulting in a plane crash.
Uncle Bill was around a lot at the time to console and help heal the family. He later
advanced in his career, first becoming a test pilot and then moving on to NASA.
Now retired, Readdy served as a space shuttle commander for three different
missions. This connection reinforced Cassano’s fascination with space and the
imagery that informs her new work.
The images from space that appear in Cassano’s work were taken by satellite and
are the result of some of the greatest minds and imaginations at NASA. Cassano
was able to use them because they are not copyrighted, although she edited them
extensively.
This year, Cassano was awarded an Artist Research grant from the Arizona
Commission on the Arts. She received the notice of the award last December and
must complete her proposed project by the spring of 2019. Cassano applied for
the grant to learn new methods and work with new materials. A big goal of hers
was to explore techniques for molding concrete and create a large-scale sculptural
pour.
“What I wanted to do was create a sculpture dealing with that pattern of the
technology that’s been appearing in my work. Basically, I wanted to have this
mega, fossilized-looking piece of electronic equipment in the desert in a remote
area and have it set up so that images were broadcasted on top of it,” she
explains.
The image of a motherboard has been a dominant form in Cassano’s work for the
last several years. She has made variations on this theme, cutting smaller forms
from real reclaimed motherboards to form her own networks, connections, and
circuits out of organic materials, including woven strands of her own hair.
The research grant piece, “Cache,” is a 300-pound cast concrete motherboard.
Cassano, along with some assistants, designed the large-scale mold and then
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Photos: Monica Fernandez Casal
filled it with scrim (a mixture of concrete and fiberglass). The edge of the poured
concrete appeared rough, almost like the frayed edges of a textile.
Once the form was made and set, Cassano transported it to Joshua Tree National
Forest and shot time-lapse video footage of her collection of blemished Earth
images projected onto the form. Tucked into the dark desert night, the images
appear on the sculpture as if they have been beamed by satellite. Former
Phoenician, now Los Angeles–based photographer Sean Deckert helped Cassano
produce the desert time-lapse. During playback of the video, as the day grows to
night, the still images slowly appear. And then as dawn approaches, the images
slowly disappear.
The still images that Cassano selected represent different visible forms of human
impact on the planet that can be viewed from space. They include oil fires in Iraq,
deforestation in South America, agriculture in the Sahara, human-caused wildfires,
algae blooms from chemical runoff into oceans, and densely populated urban hubs.
She edited the images to enhance things like saturation, contrast and intensity for
increased effect.
“Sometimes I think what’s interesting about those satellite images is that they are
beautiful, but they are also crazy disturbing, when you look at them up close,” she
says.
Cassano obtained permission from a group of anthropologists to use satellite
Earth-scan images of a previously unknown site of Mayan ruins near Tikal that
has been for centuries canopied by the dense Guatemalan jungle. Using a type of
aerial scanning satellite technology called Lidar, the anthropologists discovered
the sprawling city and located thousands of structures back in February. They
estimate this newly discovered site could be the biggest of the Mayan world.
This summer, Cassano took a four-day workshop with well-known concrete pourer
and trainer Cody Carpenter, along with 70 attendees from around the world
(Cassano was one of only three women in the class). Most of Carpenter’s work
is architectural, but for his Plan B workshop, groups explore other purposes for
pouring concrete. Carpenter allows the workshop attendees to circulate and share,
gravitating toward work on a project that most captures each member’s interest.
Cassano describes the experience as interactive and collaborative, a “hive-mind
mentality.”
“We all helped each other with stuff, and I was able to take a break from my
project and help with some of theirs. I brought the mold-making capacity to it.
Most of these guys specialize in custom concrete. So I was the ‘art girl,’” Cassano
says. She met Cary Ezell at the workshop, and he invited her to visit his property,
Bungalow in the Boulders, in Joshua Tree, where she installed her “Cache”
motherboard and began to film the day-to-night-to-day time-lapse cycle.
In contrast to the durability of the enormous concrete motherboard, another work
that will be featured in “Litmus” is an enormous construction of glass, metal, and
porcelain, an item of utter fragility. “The Gravity of Correspondence” consists
of a large mirrored base, 2 feet wide by 6.3 feet in length. The mirror faces the
ceiling, like a tabletop. Suspended above are small porcelain “petals” that almost
resemble snowflakes – 450 of them. Each piece was hand-formed and is so thin
that the edges are translucent and can catch light. These are stacked delicately
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$100 IN GIFT CARDS
$20 BONUS GIFT CARD
UNTIL DECEMBER 31, 2018. REDEEMABLE AT NEXT VISIT.
Photo: Sean Deckert
atop one another, with gravity as their only adhesive, the intricate pattern
seeming precious and precarious.
In the past, Cassano has used her work to explore natural things on a cellular
level. She’s put a focus on the micro and the internal, honing in on very personal
experiences with her body and her own health. At other times she has focused on
the Earth and what is buried in the ground. With this show, she delves into the
technical and ecological, closely examining man’s impact on the ecosystem. Her
work often brings together the four elements: air, water, fi re and earth.
C
Cassano also has acute synesthesia, a neurological condition that creates the
sensation of experiencing one kind of sense through another. It is almost like M
having your senses cross-wired, she explains. For example, she can hear colors.
Y
“When I hear music, I see color in a very intense way,” she says. Another sense
CM
that becomes crossed is her sense of touch, which can also produce intense
MY
sensory overload.
CY
But she’s lived with synesthesia long enough that it’s not a distraction to her
work. The special effects operate on their own bandwidth, so, in a way, she’s
K
able to control them and even harness the energy. “When I go all the way in the
body and I look at these systems and these cells, I’m really trying to navigate or
decode my own cross-wiring,” she says. “I’m so fascinated by systems because
mine work so differently.”
“Litmus” is on view at Gebert Contemporary, 7160 E. Main Street, Scottsdale,
through Dec. 8.
CMY
Cobra_Joystick_Ad-1.pdf 1 9/24/17 7:00 PM
GENUINECONCEPTS.US
It’s not the size of the joystick,
It’s how you use it!

GIRL ON FARMER
Lounge Life
BY CELIA BERESFORD
You know the feeling that the rich and privileged know
about places and things that normal people don’t? I’m
not talking about the obvious things that are thrown in
our face, like private islands and yachts with names like
“Salty Senorita” or “Getting Nauti.” I mean the gnawing
feeling that things are happening right under our noses
that we just don’t know are there. Psychically, you
can feel that honey milk massages are being given to
someone, somewhere, but you just can’t seem to find it.
I’m here to confirm this suspicion: yes, the richies have
secret places everywhere, even at the airport.
My friend Kendra and I were flying out of Phoenix to
different places but only within an hour of each other.
“Let’s go together to the airport,” she said. “We can
go to the lounge.” I didn’t know anything about this
lounge, but Kendra works for an airline, so I assumed
it was an employee perk. And anytime I hear “lounge,”
I picture an exclusive area that involves comfort and
hopefully food and drink. Going to the airport with an
airline employee has a benefit of its own. You can go
through the security line with them, which means they
fl ash their badge and you get to go to the shorter line
that VIPs go through.
Skipping the line had me excited to get to the lounge,
so when it was time to take off my shoes to go through
the scanner, I took mine off right away and popped
them in the bin. Have you ever worn a pair of TOMS?
You know, the ones that donate shoes to shoeless
children in places of need. The shoes aren’t filled with
money, food, vaccinations or anything that might make
a lasting difference, but it’s enough to compel you to
buy what is essentially an overpriced pair of slippers.
But there is something else about TOMS. They smell
horrendous. I have a few pairs of shoes, and I promise
none of them smell like a cat vomited in them, but
this is exactly what happens when you wear a pair
of TOMS more than three times. It’s not just me. I’ve
asked around and Googled it extensively: TOMS smell
in a serious way.
I had forgotten about my putrid-smelling shoes when
I went to the airport. This was unfortunate for those
around me. Especially so because there seemed to be a
security hold-up and my shoes just sat in the gray box
for what seemed like an hour, emanating such a stench
that I’m sure it created visible smell lines like you see
in cartoons. While my Pig Pen shoes sat there, I chatted
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“I had forgotten about my putrid-smelling
shoes when I went to the airport. This was
unfortunate for those around me. Especially
so because there seemed to be a security
hold-up and my shoes just sat in the gray
box for what seemed like an hour.”
with Kendra, hoping my voice would distract from the odor but also wondering
if I was overly sensitive to the smell and maybe no one noticed. “Can you smell
my shoes?” I asked her. “God yes.” She is such a good friend, she ignored it. The
people behind me in line did not feel the same way.
“Can you smell that?” the finely dressed man asked his lady friend. “What is
that?” she responded in a voice that had the tone of a whisper, but not the
volume necessary to constitute whispering, so you know she wanted me to hear.
What was I supposed to do? Put my shoes back on and expose myself as the
smeller? For all she knew, it could be the people behind her or maybe even the
innocent-looking laptop bag in the bin behind my shoes. Maybe it was her smelly
boyfriend? I decided to punish both of them for not being empathetic to my foot
odor. Maybe I had a clinical problem? I don’t, but that’s not the point. I made a
mental note to not wear these shoes in public again.
Now, the glory time was here – time for the lounge and all its promises. Kendra
said, “OK, I have to hide my employee badge when we go in the lounge. It’s not
for employees.” “Wait a second, I thought the lounge was only for employees.
Where are we going?” Now, she explained that her mom had a fancy and
coveted “black” credit card. The card, which Kendra has a copy of, comes with
access to the lounge, where there are free food and drinks, comfy lounge chairs
and speedy wifi. These things basically meet my criteria for a dream vacation.
I didn’t need to actually go anywhere. But things got even better once I got to
the lounge (which has a small fountain when you walk in to relax you from your
stressful interactions with all the airport common folk) and I saw the FREE nacho
bar, complete with a big pump of squirty cheese.
It’s true, the lounge entrance is not hidden like the 9¾ platform to Hogwarts, but
you do have to go up a flight of stairs while you are already in the terminal with
the gates. I don’t know about you, but I had no idea another level existed while
I was squatting on the floor next to my gate because some asshole decided his
carry-on, jacket and flight pillow all needed their own seats in the waiting area.
According to Kendra, this lounge isn’t even the best in the airport and is small
potatoes compared to airport lounges throughout the world. What I’m getting at
is, somewhere, someone is getting the honey milk massage. But for now, if you
want to find the airport hideaway for fancy people in Phoenix, just sniff out the
squirty cheese.

NIGHT
GALLERY
Photos By
Robert Sentinery
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1. Wine tasting in Jerome at Cellar 433
2. Nicole is the queen of A Vampire Tale
3. Phoenix legends JB and May
4. For The People in the house at Chaos Theory
5. Mitch from Rare Scarf works her fashion magic
6. Hola señoritas
7. The Slack’s hosting Chaos Theory 19
8. @burrit0_babe and @officialmellojello
9. Thomas from Slope Records
10. @dangerlyn and pal at the EBN’s 10-year
11. Birthday girl brunch with Marcelle and Tiff

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12. Chris and Susan at Chaos Theory 19
13. Invincible Grins rocks the Jerome Indie Film Fest
14. Lisa and Tara go way back
15. The King of A Vampire Tale
16. Frank, his lady and his truck
17. Had a blast time with these guys at Cellar 433
18. Fortoul Bros. art install at Phoenix Art Museum
19. Desert Hot Tub Club singer and friend Jerome Film Fest
20. Peace out with wine
21. Dynamic duo at Legend City Studios
22. Comic relief at A Vampire Tale
23. Handsome couple at Chaos Theory
24. Awesome artist posse
25. VIP tent at AZ Taco Fest
26. All together now with Nicole and Andrew
27. Stripes and a smile at Legend City Studios
28. Good times with Christy, Yuki and Isse
29. The man behind Cellar 433

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Register for Spring 2019!
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30. Fortoul Brothers install their show at PAM
31. Thomas and Kyong at Chaos Theory
32. Tondra and Charis bookend this interesting group
33. Jennyfer and Jana at Chaos Theory
34. Scorpius Dance presents A Vampire Tale
35. Catrina and Chris at Chaos
36. Invincible Grins – Jerome Indie Film and Music Fest
37. Photographers Jesse Rieser and Chris Loomis
38. ASU art students at Legend City Studios
39. Merryn and friend attend Chaos Theory
40. The full cast of Scorpius Dance’s A Vampire Tale
41. Legend City Studios with these two.
42. Dayglo fun with Mitch from Rare Scarf
43. Sam Fresquez and co. at Chaos Theory
44. Hey Tara, are you guys sisters?
45. Klip Collective art at DBG’s Electric Desert
46. Chaos Theory 19 attendees
47. Fortoul Bros. after party at Roland’s

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48. Posing with JB Snyder art
49. Party people at Cellar 433
50. Airi and Christian
51. Scorpius Dance silk suspension
52. Jade Bar in the Margarita Tent at AZ Taco Feat
53. All hail the Vampire Queen
54. Good to see Ty Carter back on the scene
55. My old friend Jonathan and his gal at Taco Fest
56. Lee with Eric and his lady at Chaos Theory
57. Bumped into this interesting fellow at Taco Fest
58. Ajo Al’s has been racking up the Taco Fest trophies for years
59. Alejandra and Abe at Chaos Theory
60. More fun in the Margarita Tent at Taco Fest
61. Restaurant Progress had the best margarita IMHO
62. Marcelle and friend at Chaos Theory
63. Sampling tasty drinks in the Margarita Tent
64. It looks like Chris sprouted some neck horns
65. Mixing drinks in the Margarita Tent at Taco Fest

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66. Isse makes an encore appearance
67. Leonor Aispuro trunk show at Noons
68. Representing Pobrecito in the Marg Tent
69. Don Julio in the house at Taco Fest
70. Elvis Before Noon’s 10-year at the Vig Arcadia
71. Men with hats, Christopher and Johnny at Chaos
72. These guys brought their doggie to Taco Fest
73. Winner, winner, taco dinner
74. Taco Fest couple
75. Kim Sweet’s opening at Eye Lounge
76. Lee and Sarah dress in the boney best
77. Container Galleries on Roosevelt with David Brady
78. Taco Fest trio
79. Damiana tries on new specs at Framed Ewe
80. Family friendly Taco Fest
81. This guy’s ’stache is legit
82. Xico Container Galleries with Eunique Yazzie
83. Brunch at Ocotillo with Amanda and Shaun

LAURA MENARDI JACOBSEN,
You’re Not Strong Enough
Said the Snake, 2018. Oil on
canvas, 11½ x 11½ inches
BidUP!
BidUP! Fundraiser
Silent Auction
Fundraiser
Exhibition & Preview Dates: Nov 13-16, 2018
Reception & Sale: Fri, Nov 16, 2018 (6-8pm)
*FREE
Admission!
Jazz Stories
Faith Ringgold
Continues through Nov 25, 2018
FAITH RINGGOLD, Mama Can Sing,
Papa Can Blow #1: Somebody Stole
My Broken Heart from Jazz Stories series
(detail), 2004. Acrylic on canvas with
pieced fabric border, 80½ x 67 inches.
(c) 2018 Faith Ringgold, ARS member;
Courtesy ACA Galleries, New York.
One East Main Street • Mesa, Arizona 85201 • 480-644-6562 • MesaArtsCenter.com

Phoenix New Times, Best Eyewear 2018
FRAMED
EWE
The Colony, Phoenix
The Biltmore, Phoenix
Fred Segal Sunsest, Los Angeles
@framedewe
framedewe.com