DOWNTOWN / UNIVERSITY / 4TH AVE

Tucson Open Studio Tour

November 8, 2013 |

Since 1987, the Tucson Pima Arts Council (TPAC) has sponsored the Fall Open Studio Tour, an annual event during which artists all over Tucson welcome the public into their studios. It allows the populace an opportunity to see the artists in their working environments, to have an intimate peek behind the curtain, to view artists’ latest works and visit with them to learn about their craft. Visitors may purchase directly from the artists fine works in a great variety of mediums including glass, metal, painting, sculpture, and photography.

The free tour takes place on Nov. 9 and 10, between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., with 224 registered artists participating. Roberto Bedoya, TPAC’s Executive Director, has witnessed the growth of the event during the past seven years since he joined the organization. Bedoya estimates that as many as 8,000 visitors—mostly Tucsonans—attended last year’s event and we can expect to see at least as many turn out this year.

A recent report released by TPAC entitled, “Creating Prosperity: How the Arts Improve Our Economy and Our Community Value,” informs us of the significant positive financial impact that the arts have on the city of Tucson and Pima County. So significant, in fact, that they report $87.7 million in annual revenue channeled into the local economy from art and cultural events and programming, which is almost twice the national county median.[1]

According to the report, attendees of such events spend an average of just over $23 per person. This number does not include figures on art sales nor admission fees, but reflects the money spent by attendees of events such as the Open Studio Tour with local businesses. From this report, one may glean the value of supporting the arts, as the arts do much to support our community.

The artists themselves potentially have much to gain from the event as well. Roughly 100 artist responses to a survey conducted by TPAC about the 2012 Open Studio Tour suggest that that a significant number of artists sold work, with the average in sales being approximately $500, culminating in total sales of close to $100,000.

Susan Gamble, of Santa Theresa Tile Works located on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Sixth Street, has observed the success of the Open Studio Tour since its inception. It’s not just the increased number of visitors to her shop during the days of the event, but the exposure it creates for her business and all of the studios and businesses in her area. It’s a great opportunity for the general public to get an introduction to works and services that they may not otherwise be enlightened about through traditional means. It allows her to connect with a broader audience and that audience returns well after the event.

“I’m convinced that people come back to our place because of Open Studio Tour,” says Gamble.

During the weekend event, artist studios can be visited from Picture Rock on the west to Wentworth on the east—from as far north as Catalina down to Irvington Road at the south, with the greatest concentration of open studios in downtown and central Tucson. For a complete map of open studios, visit TucsonPimaArtsCouncil.org. There you can also browse by artist name. Free print versions of the Artist Directory are available at select locations around Tucson including the Pima County Public Libraries, Bookmans’ locations and The Loft Cinema.

The Jewish Community Center offers a preview show of works by participating artists in their fine art gallery at 3800 E. River Rd. Works were hung for display on Friday, Oct. 18 and will remain available for viewing through Thursday, Nov. 7 with a closing reception from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the last day, during which one artist will be selected by an exhibit juror to receive a $500 award for Best in Show from the TPAC Board of Directors. The gallery is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed on Saturdays and during Jewish holidays.

The studio tour is Nov. 9-10, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. For a complete map of

open studios, visit TucsonPimaArtsCouncil.org. [1] Americans for the Arts (AFTA), Arts and Economic Prosperity IV Report (2012). Please note: these figures do not include the University of Arizona’s cultural institutions.

A few of the participating artists, from left to right, top to bottom: Gavin Troy; Samuel Ponce; Janice Taylor; Laurel Burton; Monica Warhol; Carol Steffgen; Kyle Johnston.

Forging a Utilitarian Classic

November 3, 2013 |

The art of the blacksmithing returns to the Tucson Presidio.

Blacksmithing is disciplined, detailed work, needing strength and dexterity to stoke the fires and hit the molten metal with the correct pressure.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Scott Sandars

On Nov. 9, the unmistakable scent of hot metal will waft through the Presidio San Agustín del Tucson, re-introducing the lore of the smithy to Tucson.

That day, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., the Arizona Artist Blacksmith Association (AABA) holds a metalworking event at Presidio San Agustín, a mix of demonstration for the public and technique-honing for the professionals. Modern-day blacksmiths will hammer away at the red ore in the reconstructed fort at the corner of Washington Street and Court Avenue, keeping tradition alive and showing crowds how frontier smithing was a cornerstone of settlement survival in Tucson.

Blacksmithing was critical to this dusty northern outpost of New Spain when the presidio fort was built in the 1780s by the conquistadors. Smiths were the armorers who repaired weapons for military and their trade also served settlers by shaping metal shoes for horses and mules, forging nails, hardware or tools for building, and repairing essential equipment, such as wagons and plows.

The AABA has conducted demos state-wide since the association’s founding in 1981, for both the public and also for the 235 state-wide members, 44 of whom are based in Southern Arizona. Although many members are hobbyists, there is a strong core of practicing blacksmiths still at work in Tucson. Two Tucson metal smiths and AABA members, Bill Ganoe and Eric Thing, helped initiate this Tucson Presidio demonstration.

Tucson’s blacksmithing legacy has roots in the 11-acre presidio downtown, probably to the west of City Hall and south of Alameda, at the site pinpointed by archaeologists as the first blacksmithing operation. In the 1850s, a ring-shaped, 1400 pound meteorite (still the largest of its kind in the world) was used as an anvil at this site. Although the Smithsonian now houses this meteorite, its replica is on display at Flandrau Science Center on UA’s campus. More modern-day Tucson smithing lore is found at 724 N. Main St., where Wm. Flores and Son, Tucson’s contemporary first family of practicing blacksmiths, has been stoking its forge since 1929. The family’s first shop was on Court Street.

Storied Hands
Blacksmithing was always hard work in the west. With new iron expensive and hard to come by, very little was produced in colonial Mexico, and iron that was shipped to settlers from across the Atlantic Ocean needed to be hauled up to New Spain by mule train from Veracruz. The Industrial Revolution sped the demise of the handcraft, and blacksmithing may have become extinct if not for the founding of the Artist Blacksmith Association of North America (ABANA) in 1973.

The AABA, a chapter of the North American organization, continues its demonstrations and workshops in an effort to document the stories and techniques of the master craft. Harold Hilborn, a Tucson blacksmiths and founder of Holy Hammer Ironworks, doesn’t want the craft to fade into history, and meticulously preserves old-style handwork as do many of his fellow association members.

“This is why we hold our demonstrations for the public, to keep the forges lit and burning, and help the craft stay alive,” says the skilled smith.

Blacksmithing is disciplined, detailed work, needing strength and dexterity to stoke the fires and hit the molten metal with the correct pressure. It’s a lifetime practice that’s also an art.

Functional Craft
According to Hilborn, blacksmiths put a little bit of themselves into each piece, while staying true to historic principles of craftsmanship and functionality.

Adrian Legge at a September AABA demonstration in Camp Verde.
Photo by Barry Denton

“We take tools of and techniques of the past and use them to sculpt functional art for homes or business,” says Hilborn. For metal art admirers, Hilborn wants to clarify an often incorrectly-used term: “The metal security iron you see on homes and business is ornamental iron, not wrought iron. Wrought iron is a type of metal with very little carbon in it, and around World War II manufacture or production of it stopped, as alloy steel became more prevalent. Back in the day, ornate decorative iron was produce by a blacksmith shop but it was largely forged wrought iron bars with cast iron elements.”

Modern blacksmiths still produce this type of work today but use low-carbon steel alloys for art that ranges from railings and decorative furniture, to fireplace enclosures, sculpture and lighting. “A main difference between a modern blacksmith and a fabricator/welder is that we use a forge anvil and hammer to shape our products, to give them texture and life,” Hilborn explains.

Demo Details
The pros will get a chance to work with master craftsman Mark Aspery – certified with Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths, the UK-based guild that begun in London in 1324 – in a two-day Joinery Workshop the same weekend as the Presidio San Agustín del Tucson demo. Skills (ability to perform basic forging techniques and to hammer for several hours each day) and separate registration for the Nov. 10-11 workshop are required.

While the blacksmith demonstrations are underway on Nov. 9, onlookers also will have a chance to purchase gear and books, as well as browse a tailgate with association members selling mostly blacksmithing-related items and tools. An afternoon drawing for an “Iron-in-the-Hat” raffle (of forged art and functional items on display during the demonstrations) will benefit the AABA general fund.

Head to the Presidio San Agustín del Tucson, 133 W. Washington St., Nov. 9 to see hot metal hammered and a classically-wrought, utilitarian art. Admission to the demonstration is free to the general public, but there is $20 fee for AABA members. Donations will help benefit the Presidio rebuilding effort.

Safety goggles may be de rigueur, of course.

More details on the  Nov. 9 event are at TucsonPresidio.com. For information on the Nov. 10-11 Joinery Workshop and Arizona Artist Blacksmith Association, visit AZ-Blacksmiths.org.

The Playhouse Lights the Lights

November 3, 2013 |

Matt Cotten of Puppets Amongus
photo by Jade Beall

“There’s something about puppetry that is universally fascinating,” said Matt Cotten, the man behind the magic of Puppets Amongus. “It’s sort of a strange novelty.”

Cotten, a puppeteer with 18 years of experience is the sole proprietor and Artistic Director of Puppets Amongus. Puppets Amongus was established three years ago and now has a home, The Playhouse, which opened last year.

The Playhouse offers people a chance to see Cotten’s puppets in the act. And this fall, there’s a lot to look forward to.

Cotten is the voice, the artist and the writer for all of the shows featured at The Playhouse, 657 W. St. Mary’s Rd. He uses shadow puppets, glove puppets and even giant parade style puppets to bring stories to life for a wide variety of audiences.

“To be able to project a character onto this object and bring it to life and sort of have it carry out improvisation or narrative is tremendously interesting on so many levels,” he said.

Cotten explained that is was when he was studying painting as a graduate student at the University of Arizona in 1995 when he grew interested in exploring the world of puppetry.

“I wanted a direct interaction with my audience, instead of seeing my work hanging in a gallery,” he said. “The audience was very, very responsive to puppetry in a way that you don’t really witness in a gallery as a painter.”

There are many levels of creativity needed to piece together a puppet show – script, set, character, music – all of which lend themselves to add to the novelty and authenticity of a puppet show.

“That all sounds kind of crazy, but there are so many psychological layers to the practice of puppetry,” Cotten explained.

Cotten said he has around 100 glove puppets and close to 250 shadow puppets.

He even has larger-than-life Beatles puppets and John Lennon, as fate would have it, is about to get a makeover to become Harry Potter. Think about it, John Lennon with a scar on his forehead and his trademark glasses could totally pull off the Harry Potter look.

He says the only form of puppetry he doesn’t utilize are marionettes. “Strings drive me nuts,” he said.

“Some puppets I’ve had for more than 10 years so it may sound odd, but they have their own core personality, which is kind of an extension of me. But they will play different roles in different ways,” Cotten said. “I think of my puppets as actors who are refining their craft. They will often play various roles in different productions.”

Some of the puppets Cotten works with include Shoe the old Chinese man, Barley the boy, and Thomas from Newcastle, England. Thomas plays a variety of characters – from a simple, oafish woodsman to a French chef.

“My favorite part about acting, well, I like the creative process. That’s my favorite thing,” explained Thomas. “Sometimes my director doesn’t know which direction to go and I say, ‘Cast me for that part! I’ll do a wonderful job!’ I am just a puppet after all.” And if anyone has authentic Jamaican allspice, Thomas, in his role of French Chef, Pompidou, would greatly appreciate it.

Barley shared that he’s played everything from a baby or a seven-year-old boy, to an Irishman in the St. Paddy’s day show. He also said that his favorite audience to perform for is children.

“I like kids, kids like me,” Barley said bashfully. “I look kind of funny I guess. I’ve got this weird expression on my face that exudes happiness and joy, and excitement at the prospect of a very exciting adventure ahead of me.”

But puppet shows aren’t just for the kids. Cotten also offers a puppet cabaret – fun, provocative, humorous – for the adults.

“The puppet cabaret has just been a format for people to experiment and not worrying about having to censor themselves at all,” Cotten said. “That was risqué and that was a lot of fun. The response was wonderful.”

He invites other puppeteers to join him in creating the cabaret in a variety show that features short acts of shadow and traditional forms of puppeteering. “So it’s a format that is intended to activate a community, to sort of kick start an interest in puppeteering,” he added.

Heimlich, the puppet from Deutschland, hosts the cabarets. “I like to make dirty jokes” said Heimlich in his thick German accent. “They don’t let me out for the children’s shows, no.”

The Playhouse also shows short films of some of the best puppetry in the world, as compiled by Heather Henson – the famous Jim Henson’s youngest daughter. Cotten is showing seven volumes of the films.

“You wouldn’t be able to see these any other way,” Cotten said.

The Playhouse is located at 657 W. St. Mary’s Rd. November family performances include “Crumpled” on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 9, 10, 16, 17 at 4 p.m. For the full, fall schedule of shows and ticket prices, visit PuppetsAmongus.com.

Puppets Amongus’ Hatter’s Hollow
photo by Jade Beall

 

Veloci Rapture

November 3, 2013 |

Bicycles. Art. Two great tastes that taste great together, as the Reese’s commercials used to say. With its mostly-flat streets and sunny blue skies for fans of the former, combined with the open minds and low rents favored among practitioners of the latter, Tucson has long been home to aficionados of both.

It should come as no surprise to us desert rats, then, that a studio workspace for bicycle-loving egalitarian artists has in recent years sprouted and flourished in the Old Pueblo. In a landscape dotted with Sonoran flora and bounded by national parks, inspiration is literally everywhere and two-wheeled creative types tend to gravitate towards one another.

VelociPrints, headquartered at 310 S. Meyer Ave., is a hub of sorts for these freewheeling folks. There is absolutely no admission cost to their upcoming annual show featuring all-print, limited edition two-dimensional bike-inspired art, and every single one of the works displayed, and sold for only $40 each, at Borderlands Brewing Company, 119 E. Toole Ave.!

A percentage of all sales will go to Tu Nidito Children and Family Services, the only organization in Southern Arizona offering comprehensive grief support for young people suffering the loss of a loved one, and a complete set of prints will be donated to this year’s Bicycle Inter-Community Art and Salvage (BICAS) Annual Art Auction – which takes place this December.

VelociPrints founder and director Nathan Saxton is only too happy to sing the praises of his collective’s many talented members. Among VelociPrints’ fifteen participating artists is Matt McCoy, a graphic designer for beloved film/art house The Loft Cinema and a local disc jockey as well. Printmaker Luis Valdez, according to Saxton, “has got a really good sense for the feel of Tucson.” Mural painter Ruben Urrea Moreno creates art about bikes and also builds bikes that are art pieces, and is known for his make-art-every-single-day tagline, “To paint – you must paint.”

Bicycles. Art. What’s missing?

Beer!

Is there any better place for the VelociPrints gang to show their stuff than Borderlands Brewery Company, one of the latest and greatest watering holes downtown?

“This will be our third year at Borderlands,” says Saxton, describing the combination of bicycle-inspired artwork and locally-produced suds as a “natural match.” The whole idea of the “community-centric” VelociPrint Show is “to get a ton of people in the building. Everybody contributes a little and everybody gains a little. Bicycling is an activity that people of all ages and economic levels can enjoy,” Saxton says.

“We’ve designed this event in that spirit, and our goal is that everyone who attends is inspired to jump on a bike the next day.” Or even later that same evening, one presumes.

VelociPrint Show 2013 debuts at Borderlands Brewing Company, 119 E. Toole Ave., on Saturday, Nov. 16 from 4-9 p.m. and runs through Nov. 30. The savvy cyclist might want to pedal over from the Greater Arizona Bicycling Association (GABA) bicycle swap meet taking place nearby at 5th Avenue and 7th Street earlier that opening day on Saturday, Nov. 16. Just look both ways and be careful crossing those modern streetcar tracks that were recently laid down!

Bicycles. Art. Beer. Community. For more information, visit BorderlandsBrewing.com, BikeGABA.org and VelociPrints.com.

Elevating Female Voices

November 1, 2013 |

“The Best of Kore Press 2012 Poetry,” which Bowden describes as “a landmark publication since we’€™ve never done something like this before and we published it the year of our anniversary.”
Book cover photo by Valerie Galloway

Late October saw Kore Press’ downtown adobe office filling up with artwork – donations from local artists for the non-profit press’ 20th anniversary fundraiser, garden party and art auction on Nov. 10.

A large assemblage, eight framed pieces, from local artist Eva Harris had arrived since the last time co-founder and Executive Director Lisa Bowden had been in. She gazes at the accumulation with appreciation and curiosity, while Director of Operations and Development Therese Perreault describes the work.

“These are from Eva, calligraphy pieces done in the traditional form,” Perreault says while pointing to the compact disks that are accompanying each piece. “She listens to music when she works, and includes the CD and the track that inspired the piece.”

Everything is lying face down. Bowden exhibits patience even though it is clear she is itching to look at them. “It can wait,” she smiles, and leads me over to their library to explain the work published by the press. Bowden pulls out a chapbook and details how Kore Press offers a short fiction award for a single short story, in addition to its first book award for poetry.

“We have a big name judge and we publish it in a chapbook. The design is 8-1/2 by 11 (inches) folded in half, quick and dirty and interesting and compelling, like a short story. We do some kind of handmade element,” Bowden points to the 2010 short fiction award winner, Heather Brittain Bergstrom’s All Sorts of Hunger cover.

“In this case it’s a knot sewn through the Os in the title. Leslie Marmon Silko judged this one and Heather Brittain Bergstrom just signed a two book deal with big publishers in New York. She’s a Northwest writer and writes a lot about the sex worker industry in that part of the country. The voices of her characters are really interesting and unusual.”

Brittain Bergstrom’s book deal illustrates Kore Press’ success in its charge as a feminist press to elevate women’s voices and push to change the dominant paradigm of gender inequity in publishing.

“Women are unrepresented in creative writing and literary worlds, and in the publishing world and in the journalism world and in the media world, just like they are everywhere else.” She says it simply, and refers to Kore’s informational pamphlet that lists these statistics:

  • Only 29% of the members of the New York Times editorial board are women; 35% of The Wall Street Journal; 40% of the Los Angles Times.
  • Since 1948, the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has been awarded to 42 men and 17 women.
  • Since its inception in 1923, Time Magazine has had only one female editor.
  • In 1980 there were over 40 feminists presses in the U.S. Now there are 10, eight are non-profit. Three have lasted over 20 years. One of them is Kore.
  • Kore has published over 120 female writers and has launched over 50 careers.

We step back two decades, to the beginning of Kore in October 1993. As conversations between creatives are wont to do, the idea that sprung from the minds of Karen Falkenstrom and Bowden took hold, became a reality and grew.

“We discovered there wasn’t anything like it in the Southwest, per se. In California, yes, and it just kind of took off from there. We were talking over coffee at The Cup Cafe and just decided, ‘We’re going to do it, we’re going to make it happen’.”

In the fall of 1993, Bowden had come out of the university’s English department and had been working for several years with Charles Alexander at Chax Press (“it was all about letter press printing and hand binding, mixing inks and using this wonderful old machines to make books”), Falkenstrom had been an MFA student and assistant to the director at the UA Poetry Center at the time, Alison Deming.

Synchronicity steps in when Alexander takes a job in the Midwest and sells the press to Kore; serendipity came along to bring Kore its first publication, Alison Deming’s manifesto Girls in the Jungle: What Does it Take for a Woman to Survive as an Artist?

Bowden had heard Deming present that 10 point manifesto at the Tucson Museum of Art’s exhibit of Guerrilla Girls posters. “Oh, yeah, I want that, I want that, that’s what I want to do, that’s what we’re about,” Bowden says, remembering the inspiration and excitement. “It was one of those light bulb moments. And Karen was working with Alison at the time at the Poetry Center and she just asked her. And I thought, ‘Well, that was easy, she just gave us a piece to publish’.”

The broadside was easy to publish; however the press’ first book Helen Groves, by Olga Broumas and T Begley, was done by hand and took a year and a half to produce 200 copies. “It was laborious and beautiful and kind of an exquisite thing,” Bowden shares. “From that point, we went back and forth between the two” forms of publishing.

This piece by Cynthia Miller is an auction offering at the garden party, Nov. 10.

“To me, what was important to establish was the value of aesthetics and beauty and the care that went into the making of the book was a way of honoring the labor of the writer. Sort of in-kind, because we weren’t making anybody any money, so to really lift up those voices with beauty and aesthetics and sort of arrest people visually as much as the words would do otherwise. Those were my skills, that is what I brought to the table.”

While Kore has mostly moved away from the labor intensive book-as-art publishing, its efforts to elevate the voices of women has manifested in other ways, through community engagement and working with young women to inspire and provoke their minds and realities.

As the press moves forward, the next steps include progressing into the national arena with a national board of directors, recognizing that “our books are distributed nationally, we have national and international submissions for our contests, and so, by the nature of what we do, we have a national and international audience” Bowden states.

“Sustaining is a whole other thing and that’s what we’re really interested in now, looking at what we’ve done and how to sustain that. And the track record that we have, not just in terms of longevity, but the kind of reach and impact that we’ve had with our projects is compelling to a lot of people.”

University of Arizona Art Professor Ellen McMahon is one of those people.

“Lisa Bowden and I shared a studio when she founded Kore Press and I’ve been a supporter since then,” McMahon writes via email. “I think I’ve donated work to every auction they’ve had. Kore is doing amazing and important work, encouraging and supporting women to get their ideas and voices out into the world. I have great respect for Lisa and the organization she has grown over these years and I’m glad to be a contributor.”

Local artist/auction consultant Valerie Galloway agrees, saying “Many women have benefited from Kore Press and the exposure they have received. I think it’s important for individual members of artistic communities to help each other and support each other, and this is a wonderful way to do that. I admire Lisa so much for her tireless dedication to women writers and the arts in Tucson.”

Mixed-media artist and art donor Cynthia Miller shares, “I have always been a supporter of  Lisa Bowden and Kore Press, even before Kore, when Lisa worked with Chax Press at the Steinfeld Warehouse. Lisa’s commitment to the craft of contemporary bookmaking is well met by the writing women of our generation. Kore Press celebrates everyone. I am just happy to be a small part of it all.”

Be a part of Kore Press’ 20th Anniversary celebration, fundraiser and art auction on Sunday, Nov. 10 on the lawns of the Franklin House, 402 N. Main Ave., from 2 p.m.-6 p.m. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Children under 12 are free. The price includes light fare, drinks and bidding privileges on the work donated by over 30 artists. Tickets available at KorePress.org or by calling (520) 327-2127.

 

A Barrel of Unpretentious Fun

October 31, 2013 |

photo by James J. Jeffries

Wine is one of those things everyone knows something about, but for most people, that knowledge is usually confined to decision trees involving bottled or boxed, red or white.

Frank Lietzau is on a mission to change that, without all the buttoned-down stuffiness often associated with the world of distant vineyards and sommeliers. One needn’t look further than the Hofsbrau Münchhausen T-shirt he wore on a packed Friday afternoon last month at his new downtown wine bar, Unplugged at 118 E. Congress St., the entrance to which is flanked by two very large oak barrels.

Lietzau’s knowledge of wine ran deep. He dished out detailed anecdotes with each successive bottle he poured to a group of giddy bar patrons eager to learn more about the fantastic wines they were sampling. More importantly, he is refreshingly unpretentious about his very misunderstood trade.

“One has to be honest,” said Lietzau. “If you want to learn about the world of wine, you simply have to go out and taste things, and if you don’t like them, be honest!”

The menu at Unplugged is designed in a way to be extremely accessible to patrons making their first foray into wines. Order a flight for $12, which will consist of a specific array of wines – such as red, white, obscure, or Rieslings – and you’ll get three glasses of 1.5 ounces each to sample.

As you down your first glass, you’ll begin to feel the warm, relaxing, and convivial atmosphere of the bar take hold. The bar and table surfaces are thick wood, buffeted by grey metal fixtures and warm, soft lighting provided by votive candles and a few understated industrial lamps. The glowing light wall behind the bottles changes color according to what Lietzau deems appropriate given the day’s crowd and playlist.

In this sense, Lietzau’s venture is very much in line with the driving forces and overall vibe behind the explosive development in Downtown Tucson; he’s offering a terrific, difficult-to-find variety of small-winery products from across Europe that he is truly passionate about, but going about it in an incredibly welcoming manner that perfectly merges stylish and casual.

“This is my second time here,” said Terri Callarez, as she enjoyed a wine flight of obscures. “It’s a really mellow place to abandon your workday.” She also referred to a choice she made on her first outing, another unusual offering called the John Lee Hooker, which is comprised of one bourbon, one scotch, and one beer. (wink, wink).

“Tucson doesn’t have anything like this,” said Lietzau, referring to his ability to bring in wines that are very seldom seen in this part of the world. It’s this mixture of high quality and openness that exemplifies the spirit of the new movement energizing the city’s heart, as Lietzau honors the skilled beer and winemaking excellence of the Old World, bringing it right into our own community’s historical epicenter.

And if you simply want to relax in this atmosphere, but you’re not so into wine or want a buffer to all of those rich fermented grapes, Unplugged still has you covered with an array of craft beers, including Gaffel Kölsch.

Gaffel Kölsch, as Lietzau explains, “has been brewed near my hometown in Germany for more than 500 years.” It, along with other suds that come from right here in the Old Pueblo – such as Dragoon Brewing Company’s Monsooner – is sold at a very reasonable $5.50 per glass.

Unplugged also offers a rotating variety of delightful small eats, from bruschetta to bratwurst and the customary cheese and fruit plates to accompany your journey into something new and wickedly wonderful.

As is fast becoming the rule these days, this wine bar seems to be yet another compelling destination for Downtown adventurers craving bold new flavors firmly steeped in culinary tradition.

Unplugged resides at 118 E. Congress St., just west of the historic Chicago Store. For more details, visit their Facebook page at Facebook.com/unpluggedtucson. This article is courtesy of the Downtown Tucson Partnership. For more information on where to eat, shop, live and play downtown, visit DowntownTucson.org.

photo by James J. Jeffries

Music November 2013

October 30, 2013 |

2ND SATURDAYS DOWNTOWN Congress Street, 2ndSaturdaysDowntown.com
Sat 9: The LoBros Band, The Jonestown Band, Funky Bonz

AVA AMPHITHEATER at Casino Del Sol
5655 W. Valencia Rd. CasinoDelSol.com
Sat 9: Heart
Sat 16: Battle of the Badges

BORDERLANDS BREWING
119 E. Toole Ave. 261-8773, BorderlandsBrewing.com
Fri 1: Tortolita Gutpluckers
Sat 2: Mustang Corners
Sun 3: Jazz Telephone
Thu 7: Hank Topless
Fri 8: Leila Lopez
Sat 9: Shrimp Chaperone
Wed 13: David Rose
Thu 14: Chris Jamison
Fri 15: The Determined Luddites
Thu 21: Joe Stevens of Coyote Grace
Fri 22: Tommy Tucker
Sat 23: Buffelgrass Band
Wed 27: Stefan George
Fri 29: The Introverts
Sat 30: Widow’s Hill

BOONDOCKS LOUNGE
3306 N. 1st Ave. 690-0991, BoondocksLounge.com
Mondays: The Bryan Dean Trio
Tuesdays: Lonny’s Lucky Poker Night
Thursdays: Ed Delucia Trio
Sundays: Lonny’s Lucky Poker Night
Fri 1: Live Music with Neon Prophet
Sat 2: Equinox
Sun 3: Heather Hardy & Lil’ Mama Band
Fri 15: Live Music with Neon Prophet
Sun 17: Last Call Girls
Fri 29: The Amazing Anna Warr & The Giant Blue Band

CAFE PASSE
415 N. 4th Ave. 624-4411, CafePasse.com
Wednesdays: Jazz Wednesday
Thursdays: Songwriter Thursdays feat. Sweet Ghosts
Fridays: Blues Fridays feat. Tom Walbank & Roman Barton Sherman
Saturdays: Country Saturdays feat. Hank Topless
Sundays: Sunday Brunch feat. Salvador Duran

CLUB CONGRESS
311 E. Congress St. 622-8848, HotelCongress.com/club
Fri 1: All Souls Procession Party
Sat 2: Copper and Congress, The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
Sun 3: Face Paint Town
Mon 4: The 1975
Thu 7: Jonathan Batiste & The Stay Human Band
Fri 8: 26th Annual Scooter Rally Kickoff Party
Sat 9: Jonathan Batiste & The Stay Human Band
Sun 10: Blitzen Trapper
Tue 12: Of Montreal & Big Freedia
Wed 13: Tera Melos
Mon 18: John Vanderslice

John Vanderslice performs at Congress on Nov. 18.

Mon 25: Built to Spill

LA COCINA
201 N. Court Ave. 622-0351, LaCocinaTucson.com
Sat 2: Oscar Fuentes
Sun 3: Santa Pachita
Sat 23: The Sonoran Dogs

FOX TUCSON THEATRE
17 W. Congress St. 624-1515, FoxTucsonTheatre.org
Fri 1: An Evening with Mandy Barnett and Classic American Music
Sat 2: Twist and Shout: The Definitive Beatles Experience
Sun 3: Vince Gill: Chasing Rainbows Gala
Tue 5: Pacific Mambo Orchestra feat Tito Puente, Jr
Thu 7: Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt
Fri 8: Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey
Sat 9: The Piano Man: Celebrating the Music of Billy Joel and Elton John
Sun 10: How Great Thou Art: The Gospel Music of Elvis
Fri 15: TPOA Battle of the Bands
Sat 16: Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could
Wed 20: Eddie Money
Thu 21: Jim Breuer

HACIENDA DEL SOL
5501 N. Hacienda Del Sol. 299-1501, HaciendaDelSol.com
Sun 3: Hans Olson
Sun 10: Bacon Patrol
Sun 17: Black Skillet Revue
Sun 24: Grams & Krieger

MONTEREY COURT
505 W. Miracle Mile. 207-2429, MontereyCourtAZ.com
Fri 1: Those Beatles Guys
Sat 2: Kevin Pakulis Band
Sun 3: Heather Lil Mama Band with Tony & the Torpedoes and Jerome Kinsey
Wed 6: Peter McLaughlin and Alvin Blaine
Fri 8: Snowapple Quintet
Sat 9: Gabriel Ayala Quintet
Thu 21: Peter Case
Fri 22: Bob Corritore & Dave Riley CD Release Party
Sat 23: The Coolers
Fri 29: Kiko Jacome & Stone Avenue Band

PLUSH
340 E. 6th St. 798-1298,  PlushTucson.com
Fri 1: Logan Greene Electric, River Man, Wallpaper Prison
Sat 2: Ashbury, Another Lost Year, Elisium
Tue 12: Downtown Brown, Laser Dad

PLAYGROUND BAR AND LOUNGE
278 E. Congress. 396-3691. PlaygroundTucson.com
Tuesdays: Dinner & A Movie
Wednesdays: REWIND: Old School Hip Hop
Fridays: Merry Go Round :: 4 rotating DJs

RIALTO THEATRE
318 E. Congress St. 740-1000, RialtoTheatre.com
Fri 1: Paul Oakenfold
Sat 2: An Evening With Ryanhood
Sun 3: Dance of the Dead: The Official After Party for the 24th Annual All Souls Procession
Tue 5: Riff Raff
Wed 6: Gramatik: Age of Reason Fall Tour 2013
Thu 7: Baauer
Fri 8: Clutch
Sat 9: Robert Cray Band
Sun 10: Lupe Fiasco: Tutsuo and Youth Preview Tour
Mon 11: Misfits
Tue 12: KMFDM
Thu 14: Chance the Rapper
Fri 15: Relient K & Motion City Soundtrack
Sat 16: Gaelic Storm
Sun 17: Hopsin and Yelawolf
Mon 18: John Vanderslice
Fri 22: Lluvia Flamenca
Mon 25: Alkaline Trio & New Found Glory
Wed 27: Groundation
Fri 29: Thirty Seconds to Mars
Sat 30: X & The Blasters

SKY BAR
536 N. 4th Ave. 622-4300, SkyBarTucson.com
Mondays: Team Trivia
Tuesdays: Jazz
Wednesdays: Open Mic
Thursdays: Live Music

SOLAR CULTURE
31 E. Toole Ave. 884-0874, SolarCulture.org
Thu 7: Geographer with Royal Bangs
Wed 13: Dean Moore
Thu 14: Portland Cello Project
Fri 22: Andrew Jackson Jihad
Tue 26: Sera Cahoone

SURLY WENCH PUB
424 N. 4th Ave., 882-0009, SurlyWenchPub.com
Fri 1: Black Cherry Burlesque
Tue 5: Artphag
Fri 8: Blackout
Sat 9: Fineline Revisited
Fri 15: Muskhog CD Release
Sat 16: Club Sanctuary
Fri 22: Tucson Roller Derby Party
Sat 23: Cleric, Brazz Tax
Sat 30: Fineline Revisited

TOPAZ
657 W. St. Mary’s Rd. TopazTundra.com
Thu 14: Weed, Otherly Love, Hellshovel, Prom Body, AZ77
Fri 22: Night Beats, The Resonars, Dream Sick
Sat 23: Mr. Elevator and the Brain Hotel, The Freezing Hands, Katterwaul, Union Pacific

The Gathering of Souls

October 30, 2013 |

photo: Dominic Bonuccelli, azfoto.com, courtesy of All Souls Procession

In it’s twenty-fourth year, the All Souls Procession returns to honor the dead and celebrate life in one of the Southwest‘s biggest events.

On Sunday, Nov. 3 the streets of downtown Tucson and the surrounding neighborhoods will be transformed for a yearly gathering of epic magnitude for a divine purpose. Drums will bellow as citizens and visitors march donning skull-painted faces and brightly crafted masks. Many will hold signs with pictures of departed loved ones and some even push grandiose floats that depict burial scenes and skeletons. Thousands of people will line the streets to cheer on and dance to the music of marching bands and street musicians as the community of Tucson unites in edifying emotion.

As the procession nears its final location, the crowd of 50,000 participants and nearly as many onlookers file into the open space where bursts of fire stretch towards the sky momentarily lighting the white cloaked dancers suspended from 100-feet in the air above. As the music intensifies and the chanting begins, a large cauldron of written letters and prayers is hoisted above the crowd where it is lit on fire to send the charred ashes to their recipients in the afterlife. Music from the elevated stages will echo loudly into the night as the crowd revels in Tucson’s legendary All Souls Procession.

The highly anticipated procession returns, and  thanks to the efforts of a small and determined organization known as Many Mouths One Stomach, the event is flourishing more than ever. For MMOS founding member and the artistic director for the event, Nadia Hagen, the work begins for the next year’s procession as soon as the last procession ends.

“We’ve been working on logistics as far as routing the path and obtaining permits from the city and we have been figuring out how the streetcar will impact the downtown part of the trail,” says Hagen. “We’re using a finale site where there’s a lot of construction and development going on. Really it’s a yearlong planning process. This event grows exponentially, so naturally each year is the biggest it’s ever been.”

This always-evolving event will see many new changes to its lineup and location this year, as gatherers are encouraged to meet on Nov. 3 at Hotel Congress as early as noon to experience Face Painting Town, where expert face painters will be on hand to help aid in the makeover process. Then the participants are asked to assemble at 5 p.m. at the underpass of 6th Avenue and 6th Street where procession will begin directly at 6 p.m. The route moves south on 6th Avenue to Alameda then leads west to West Congress Street where it will conclude at the final meeting grounds past the freeway at Mercado San Agustin.

“The location of the route is very pragmatic and it is dictated by construction, which there is an abundance of downtown, but we want to stay in the heart of the city,” says Hagen. “It’s great for people to feel ownership over the main artery of our town. Unfortunately we’re not able to keep the Mercado space permanently because it’s all slotted for development. There is a tentative plan to use a plot of land to the west of the Mercado. If the city and the public can really push for a festival ground to be allocated on that space then that would be a permanent home for this event.”

While nearly 100,000 people turn out to participate in and watch the procession, the event finds itself in a yearly struggle to stay afloat financially and to remain an independent entity. This year the coordinators at MMOS are again asking for donations at the procession which will greatly help them fund this and next year’s event and to make sure that they can continue the tradition for years to come.

“Less than 1.4% of the people who come to this event fund the entire thing. Those are the only people who donate. If we could get 5% of the people who come to donate then we would never have to run a campaign to continue this,” says Hagen. “This year we’re going to have people out in the crowd that we’re calling the Hungry Ghost Crew who are going out to collect offerings of money. We want to make it clear because we know in the past that people have been confused and have thrown donation money into the urn that was meant for us and it ends up getting burned. Giving a little makes a huge difference for us and it is the difference between this event living and the event dying.”

The ASP was originated in 1990 when a local artist named Susan Johnson put together a performance piece to help grieve the loss of her father. Coinciding with Mexico’s Día de los Muertos, the event began seeing larger and larger crowds of people who wished to mourn the loss of their own loved ones and feel the sense of unity that came with such a momentous gathering of community. While the event has grown and evolved beyond the wildest dreams of it’s founders, all of the hard work and year-round effort that goes into planning the event all becomes worthwhile at the climax of the evening.

“The closing ceremony is always the best part for me when we light the urn of prayers,” says Hagen. “I love talking to people who have never experienced it and try to describe it for them. I can grow jaded from all of the year-round work that we do for this, but when we haul out the urn and people put in their prayers and we hoist it above the massive crowd and burn it, that moment is indescribable. That moment is beyond any words and it makes all the big efforts and heartaches and hardships that go into this just melt away.”

For information on the procession, maps, details on contributing and schedules of events and workshops, visit AllSoulsProcession.org. 

______________________________________________________________________________________________

From workshops to parties, a series of events surround the procession before and after the main event. Highlights include:

Saturdays & Sundays through October
Lantern, Float and Mask-Making Workshops:  Free, donations appreciated. 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Seinfeld Warehouse, 101 W. 6th St.

Sundays & Wednesdays through October
Procession of Little Angels Costume Workshops: Free, donations appreciated. Wednesdays,6 p.m.-9 p.m., Sundays, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Maker House, 283 N. Stone Ave.

Saturday, Nov. 2
Procession of Little Angels: An All Souls experience just for kids and families with loads of art activities, performances from Stories That Soar with Tucson Circus Arts and a sunset Procession around the park. Free, donations appreciated. 3 p.m. Armory Park, 221 S. 6th Ave.

Saturday, Nov. 2
Night of the Living Fest: Deerhoof and The Meat Puppets join a huge lineup of amazing national and local musicians for this Arts and Entertainment Fest and Official All Souls Pre-Party. $35-$75. Noon-1 a.m. Old Tucson Studios, 201 S. Kinney Rd. NightOfTheLivingFest.com

Sunday, Nov. 3
All Souls Procession Finale: Free, donations appreciated. 6 p.m. Music with Tribe Called Red (Ottawa Canada), Hojarasca Andina (Bogota, Columbia), and opening ceremony from Danza Azteca Calpulli Tonantzin. Mercado San Augustin, off of West Congress Street at 100 S Avenida del Convento.

Sunday, Nov. 3
Dance of the Dead After Party: Featuring A Tribe Called Red. $35, 9 p.m.
Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St.

 

 

 

Bidding a Mournful Adieu

October 29, 2013 |

Nowhere Man & A Whiskey Girl
Derrick & Amy Ross
photo by Jimi Giannatti

Comprehending death is always difficult for the living. We know it is coming, we’ve experienced it deeply time and again, but it is nevertheless devastating and jarring with each cherished darling whose temporal, physical existence ends.

On Oct. 14, 2013, Amy Ross – the singer and pianist of Nowhere Man and a Whiskey Girl – died from complications of Systemic Lupus. Years of kidney dialysis, and a diagnosis that left the last few years of her life on the other side of the apex of that diagnosis, took its toll on her body. Her love, husband, and songwriting partner Derrick Ross, the duo’s guitarist, chose to join her.

The music communities from Bisbee to Flagstaff are bereaved by the loss of this open-hearted, talented couple whose charm, grace and acerbic wit will be missed by those who knew and loved them. Following their deaths, friends of Amy (40) and Derrick (39) began the cathartic process of coming together to build a float in their honor for the Nov. 3 All Souls Procession (ASP).

Over several weekends preceding ASP, musicians, photographers, artists and writers poured heart-broken energy into a beautiful homage to Nowhere Man and a Whiskey Girl. Big band letters, NMWG, were constructed to top a sixteen foot long and four foot wide float, end-capped by a piano for Amy with a guitar above it for Derrick.

Spearheaded by Keli Carpenter and Taylor Bungard of The Tryst, the construction’s rapid evolution blew everyone away. Over 40 thoughtful, competent and caring hands were on deck, driven by an urgency of time and emotion, and they deftly pulled it all together. As of Oct. 27, finishing touches such as lights, balloons, flowers and the float skirt were yet to be added, but with the vision of that amazing group of creatives, it is a float that will certainly stand out gorgeously in the All Souls Procession.

Local musician Stuart Oliver offered this quote, from The Healing Wisdom Of Africa by Malidoma Patrice Somé, as a reflection of their passing: “Death is not a separation but a different form of communion, a higher form of connectedness with the community, providing an opportunity for even greater service.”

On Nov. 23, local musicians will pay tribute to NMWG in a benefit show at Plush, 304 E. Sixth St. As of press time, the line up included: Buzz and the Soul Senders, Lonna Kelley, Dylan Charles, Dusty Buskers, Kiss the Killer and Fatigo. Check out the event on Facebook here. Other details forthcoming at PlushTucson.com.

 

Nov. 1 Looks To Be a Little “Chili”

October 28, 2013 |

Music, food & fun rocks the Tucson Fire Fighters chili cook-off each fall.
photo by Bert Thomas

The forecast for Nov. 1 is HOT. And it isn’t about the weather – we’re talking chili, and lots of it.

For the past 18 years, various stations from Tucson Fire Department and other surrounding departments have convened at El Presidio Park, 160 W. Alameda St., for the annual Tucson Fire Fighters Association’s chili cook-off to benefit the Tucson Firefighter’s Adopt-A-Family program. Last year’s event brought in more than $62,000 to aid hundreds of Southern Arizonan families who were in need of holiday gifts, food and clothing.

“As firefighters, our job is to serve the citizens of the city, and this does not end when we are off duty,” wrote Captain Sloan Tamietti, Tucson Fire, in a letter to the cook-off’s sponsors and potential donors. “This event helps us maintain the ability to continue doing just that, but we cannot do it alone.”

According to the Tucson Fire Fighter’s Association website, last year’s cook-off attracted more than 10,000 visitors and served over 750 gallons of chili.

“It’s open to anybody and we just have it set up as a food festival,” Tamietti said in an interview. “We want to show our way of giving back to the community.”

The cook-off is free to attend. To buy chili, visitors will purchase tickets to exchange for chili samples. If you’re not a fan of the spicy stuff, don’t worry! There’s mild, bean-less, meatless and green varieties of chili stewing in the pots. And if you don’t like chili at all, a variety of other food is there to savor as well – quesadillas, Eegees, frozen yogurt – and all of the proceeds still go to the Adopt-A-Family program.

“When we first started doing the Adopt-A-Family programs, we started to exhaust materials,” said Anthony Gonzalez, TFD Captain at station 20. “We decided to come up with an event that would generate interest in the fire departments and bring families together for a good cause.”

Gonzalez and his comrades came up with the idea of the cook-off eighteen years ago.

“I remember going to my fire chief, and my fire chief told me, ‘Great idea, Tony, but it’s not likely to get enough support.’ I said, ‘Alright, we’ll see.’”

On Dec. 7 that same year, the first firefighter chili cook-off was born, and, as fate would have it, so was Gonzalez’s son. Gonzalez went on to organize the first 10 cook offs.

“We put 100 percent back into the community,” Gonzalez said. “And people look forward to this event all year long.”

Local fire stations compete for best chili & best booth.
photo by Bert Thomas

But it’s not just charity. It’s also a friendly competition between the departments and individual stations. The prize? Bragging rights for the team that cooked the best chili and for the team with the best dressed volunteers and best decorated booth.

“The firefighters really put their all into their creative booths and costumes. It’s always fun and exciting to see what they’ve come up with,” said Cassie Curran who has been to the cook-off the past four years. “The chili cook-off is an event I look forward to every year! And it goes without saying that the chili is delicious. It really kicks off the holiday season activities in Tucson for me.”

There will also be live music at the event, played by musicians who are volunteering their time as well.

“It’s for the community and we want to let them know that we try real hard to do our best for the community,” said Roger Soriano, TFD Captain who has participated in every one since the event’s inception. “We love doing it. We are a community, we enjoy it and we are who we are.”

Soriano’s booth will be giving our quesadillas along with other tasty treats.

“It’s a lot of fun, and a lot of work,” Soriano said. “Our particular group has young and old, and we drink beer, and we’re there and we have fun and we raise money.”

Soriano said that he believes the cook-offs are getting so big, that they will eventually have to find a new home.

“We’ve outgrown downtown, we’re going to have to move it,” he said. “I think that we can get a bigger, better crowd. The more we raise, the more we can give back.”

The money raised for the Adopt-A-Family program helps families during Thanksgiving and Christmas, and even helps provide a fun surprise to kids at the Diamond Children’s Cancer Center at the University of Arizona Medical Center.

“We have one of our ladder trucks go down to the cancer center for the kids and Santa Claus comes through the window to give out gifts,” Tamietti said.

The cook off is on Friday, Nov. 1 from 10 a.m.–10 p.m. at El Presidio Park, 160 W. Alameda St. It is free to attend. For more information, visit the cook off’s website or Facebook page.

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