Events

Show & Tell for Grown Ups

November 5, 2014 | Jamie Manser

Steward Observatory in 1923.
Photo courtesy: Peter Beudert/“Focusing the Universe”

Under subdued lighting in a Downtown bar, one generally doesn’t expect to see a panel of flat screens lit up with multi-media presentations by University of Arizona professors. But on a monthly basis, that is precisely what happens at Playground Bar & Lounge, 278 E. Congress St.

On select Wednesdays, UA’s Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry hosts Show & Tell – a bridge-building effort to connect the community with a wide variety of UA professors’ projects and research.

For the last two years, Show & Tell has showcased topics as diverse and expansive as the subjects offered at the university, including: “Global Revolution: From Harlem to Havana” and “Documenting the Border in Unprecedented Times” to “Tales from the (Video Game) Archive II” and “The Poetics of Noise: Poetry and Punk, 1965-1980.”

On Wednesday, Nov. 12, Show & Tell looks to outer space and at the UA’s international role in astronomical research with the presentation “Focusing the Universe.” The in-progress documentary being presented that night bears the same name. Through interviews, narration and images, the documentary delves into the history and influence of the Steward Observatory via a “chronological path of development of astronomy at UA,” explains School of Theatre, Film & Television Distinguished Professor Peter Beudert.

“It is fair to say that nowhere else in the world are three independent academic units of Astronomy, Optical Sciences and Planetary Sciences (at a university). The synergy is amazing.”

To understand how the UA got to where it is astronomically, Beudert and School of Theatre, Film & Television Associate Professor Michael Mulcahy, are highlighting the major players in the Steward Observatory’s creation and evolution. Front and center is A.E. (Andrew Ellicott) Douglass, who was hired by UA in 1906 as an Assistant Professor of Physics and Geography. Beudert describes Douglass as a visionary who advocated funding and building a university observatory for a decade. That funding came in 1916 when Lavinia Steward donated $60,000 to UA to build a telescope in her husband’s name. According to Wikipedia, “Mrs. Steward was a wealthy widow who had an interest in astronomy and a desire to memorialize her late husband, Mr. Henry Steward.”

Other notable influencers in the documentary include: Aden Meinel, who chose Kitt Peak as the site for the National Observatory, was a Director of Steward Observatory and later founded UA’s Optical Sciences; Gerard Kuiper, founder of the Lunar and Planetary Lab who mapped the moon in the 1960s; Peter Strittmatter, the Steward Observatory director for 32 years who turned it into a world class institution; Richard Harvill, UA President from 1951-1971 who invested heavily in Astronomy (and other many important UA units); and Roger Angel, creator of the Steward Observatory Mirror Lab.

Beyond the tales of those individuals are the quirky, historic tales of the process in context. While funding was secured in 1916, WWI thwarted the building of the telescope for several years. Ultimately, it took three different U.S. companies to construct the telescope: “The Warner and Swasey Co. (Cleveland) built the body and mount of the telescope; The Spencer Lens Company (Buffalo) made the mirror; John A. Brashear Co. Ltd (Pittsburgh) polished the mirror,” states Beudert. The pieces were shipped by train, with the last few miles covered by horse-drawn carts.

In 1923, the Steward Observatory, 933 N. Cherry Ave., was dedicated. In 1962, its telescope was moved to Kitt Peak.

“One thing Douglass did was to say the observatory had to be open to the public and that’s never stopped since the 1920s,” Beudert shares. “The mission was to allow people in this community to see what they couldn’t see any other way.”

Visit as.arizona.edu/public to see Steward Observatory’s public resources for sky gazing. Show & Tell: Focusing the Universe is on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 6 p.m. at Playground Bar & Lounge, 278 E. Congress St. Learn more about Show & Tell, and the Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry, at Confluencenter.arizona.edu.

An Afternoon with Jimmy Santiago Baca

November 1, 2014 | Jamie Manser

Jimmy Santiago Baca
Photo courtesy JimmySantiagoBaca.com

Presented by The University of Arizona’s Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry & College of Education

Thu, Nov 6
1 p.m.-4 p.m. Free
UA Student Union, 1303 E University Blvd., Kiva Room, 2nd Floor
Confluencenter.arizona.edu

Poet and community activist Jimmy Santiago Baca – who was a runaway at 13, served a five-year maximum security prison sentence, where he learned to read, and emerged from lock-up in 1979 as a writer – comes to Tucson for a reading and a screening of the documentary based on his 2002 memoir “A Place to Stand,” with a Q&A to follow.

Lauded by the Associated Press for “his raw poetry and vivid essays that seek to capture the experience of Mexican-Americans and American Indians in the Southwest,” Baca has devoted his post-prison life to writing and teaching others who are overcoming hardship. His themes include American Southwest barrios, addiction, injustice, education, community, love and beyond. He has conducted hundreds of writing workshops in prisons, community centers, libraries and universities throughout the country. Baca is the winner of the Pushcart Prize, the American Book Award, the International Hispanic Heritage Award and, for his memoir “A Place to Stand,” the prestigious International Award.

In 2005 he created Cedar Tree Inc., a nonprofit foundation that works to give people of all walks of life the opportunity to become educated and improve their lives. In 2006, Baca was awarded the Cornelius P. Turner Award, which honors GED graduates who have made “outstanding contributions” in areas such as education, justice and social welfare.

More information is available at Confluencenter.arizona.edu and JimmySantiagoBaca.com. Capacity at the Kiva Room is limited to 100 people, with entrance on a first-come, first-serve basis. Paid parking is available at the 2nd Street Parking Garage on 2nd Street and Mountain Avenue.

Envision Tucson Sustainable

October 26, 2014 | Jim Lipson

Saddled with a name that is cumbersome at best, ambiguous at worst, an argument could be made there is no day-long gathering more important to our very survival as a species than the third annual Envision Tucson Sustainable Festival.

Yes, a bit melodramatic perhaps. But living in a world where essential resources such as water, food and energy are becoming painfully more finite, figuring out how we can sustain our way of life without depleting the dwindling resources around us is eventually going to have to become part of everyone’s consciousness. This is especially so should we hope not leave it to our children to deal with the excesses of political shortsightedness and environmental mismanagement.

Wow, more hyperbole, and yet – besides using a more energy efficient light bulb or rolling a blue recycling container in front of or behind the house once a week – how many of us really look to incorporate new ideas or technologies into our lives or lifestyles, that could really make a difference? This is the essence of the festival, which this year – by moving out of the traditional feel-good Reid Park bandshell and surrounding display area – is hoping to facilitate a much more engaged experience combining educational talks, displays and workshops with many hands-on opportunities.

As one of its organizers, Greg Wetzel acknowledges, “The first two (festivals) were very humble. We feel this one will be different because having it at the Y, with its courtyard, conference room and back areas will help make it more of a community expo.” And indeed the expansive YWCA on Bonita Street just west of Downtown, will provide a completely different feel and more contained environment for the variety of speakers, exhibitors and Do it Yourself (DIY) areas.

In addition to asking the public to begin thinking (or thinking more in-depth) about what “sustainability” means and what it might look like, the festival will also serve as a showcase highlighting many activities around sustainability that are already going on within our community. Things such as composting, solar, organic gardening and water harvesting will all be a part of the festival. New ideas such as energy economics and sustainable business models will also be on the agenda.

For sustainable ideas in transportation, the Tucson Electric Vehicle Association will also be on hand with a selection of electric vehicles, answering your questions and providing perspective on the viability of such vehicles. In celebration National Co-op month, the Food Conspiracy Co-op is collaborating with a cluster of business cooperatives to talk about and share information on the variety of cooperative business models

This year’s festival will also recognize the next generation of sustainability leaders. According to its press release, Envision Tucson sustainable will again honor a school and its enthusiastic kids that integrate raising food and building green skills with classroom learning. This year’s award winner is Manzo Elementary School, which has also been honored nationally as a Green School of the Year. The University of Arizona’s Students for Sustainability are also working with the festival to make this a UA campus collaboration with the community.

Local and native foods will also be on display in a food court for purchase, which will of course feature non-GMO options. The YWCafe will be open, selling organic coffees and aquas frescas. Local musicians throughout the day are set to provide a soundtrack for the event.

True to its mission, the festival will also be practicing what it preaches by leaving the Y with a newly planted 30’ x 30’ garden plot that is going in on Saturday, Oct. 18 – the week before the Sunday, Oct. event. According to Wetzel, “We have to leave something behind that’s sustainable.”

The Envision Tucson Sustainable Festival takes place on Sunday, Oct. 26 at the YWCA, 525 N. Bonita Ave. from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information visit EnvisionTucsonSustainable.org.

Celebrating Two Decades of Funk

October 2, 2014 | Jon D Auria

Funky Bonz
photo courtesy of Brent Kort

While it may seem like being a musician in a band is a glorious, instantly rewarding, fool-proof way to shine in the spotlight and soak up all of the success that comes with performing on stage and recording albums, the sad truth is that most musical outfits are short lived and only have the lifespan of around two years (if you’re lucky). But despite those dismal odds, some bands are able to rise above the usual cases of inner-band drama, creative differences and musical ennui that typically capsize most groups.

One stunning example lies in Tucson’s very own Funky Bonz, which has been cranking out albums and electrifying live audiences for over 21 years. If that doesn’t impress you, then perhaps taking a listen to the band’s groove-filled, genre-hopping funk will.

Founded in 1991 by singer Brent Kort (who has remained as the only constant member), the group found its niche in the flourishing Tucson music scene as it quickly gained popularity for impressive musicianship and upbeat songwriting.

“Some of our songs have lasted for over 20 years, but our songwriting skills have definitely evolved and I rely a lot on my band members’ talent as well,” reflects Kort. “I love all of my original members, but when I started replacing members when they were leaving, I always gained some extra elements added into the music. At one point we added horns and have been a horn-driven funk band. We’ve seen a lot of different versions of this band, and I am very excited about the current line up we have.”

Merging funk, blues, reggae, rock, jam and dance music into its own personal style, Funky Bonz has made a big name for itself in the Southwest. The band has received six TAMMIES (Tucson Area Music Awards) and have shared the stage with acts such as Bootsy Collins, AWOLNATION, Fishbone, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, Weapon of Choice, Leftover Salmon, Ozomatli, The Slackers and many other heavy hitters. But even with the success that Kort and Funky Bonz have experienced, the members never let it get to their heads and they remain fixed on why they first began playing music – writing danceable, upbeat songs just for the funk of it.

“I’ve never had any delusions of grandeur with this, and we’ve been through so many stages with this band and endured it all. For a while we were weekend warriors who were always touring the Southwest, though now we’re mainly homebodies, but we do still play out of town every once in a while,” says Kort. “It’s fun to collaborate with other musicians and we’ve never taken ourselves too seriously. We just like to play in front of a crowd and have a good time. I love writing music and I couldn’t ask for better people to share these visions in my head with and perform them out live for people.”

To celebrate its twenty plus years as a band, Funky Bonz released a retrospective album that encompasses the music created by the ensemble over the past two decades titled Buried Bonz: A Recorded History, Volume 1. This pseudo-greatest hits album offers a selection of the best songs from previous records, unreleased material, covers and even new tracks that the band recently recorded in Wavelab Studios. The album is currently available on iTunes.

“We went into Wavelab Studios and we recorded a few new songs for it, so there will be brand new stuff with our new members. I always love going into the studio and I wish I could spend more time in it, but time is money. I love Wavelab and I’ve always loved working in there,” says Kort. “I’ve had great experiences in the studio and this time we brought in guests to play with us on some songs. We were on a short-lived label called ExPat Records, so we made an EP for them that was only released through their distribution, but those songs will be on this. It’ll be a little old, a little new and all funk.”

Funky Bonz will also be celebrating by performing Downtown on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. as part of 2nd Saturdays on the Scott Avenue stage. With a stellar new horn section and a talented line up supporting him, Kort feels that his current lineup is one of his best ever. And if previous concerts serve as any indication, then Funky Bonz’s October 2nd Saturdays performance is one not to be missed.

“We’re going to play a lot of the songs off of our new album starting with our new stuff. We’re really looking forward to it because (2nd Saturdays) is one of the best stages to play at in town and it is really one of the best events in town. There’s always a great crowd that really seem to enjoy live music. Tucson is a great place for music because there are plenty of bars that give bands the opportunity to play for people and there are plenty of bands that come through town to play here. We have a very versatile scene here in Tucson.”

Visit Facebook.com/FunkyBonz for updates on shows and new albums. To purchase the music of Funky Bonz, visit iTunes. See 2ndSaturdays.com for more information on the Oct. 11 event.

Funky Bonz
photo courtesy Brent Kort

Tucson Spanish Flamenco Festival

September 13, 2014 | Zocalo Staff

Tue, Sept. 23-Sun, Sept. 28

Melissa Cruz, a Bay Area-based flamenco professional. Photo courtesy Tucson Flamenco Festival

Melissa Cruz, a Bay Area-based flamenco professional, performs at the Flamenco Festival.
Photo courtesy TSFF

A unique opportunity to experience flamenco and Spanish culture in a traditional late-night, outdoor festival atmosphere in Downtown Tucson!

With six nights of performances, including the 2nd Annual Guitar Competition – a tribute to the late Paco de Lucia – and musicians and dancers from around the globe, this year’s event promises to delight audiences of all ages.

See the website for information on the performers, the schedule and details on the workshops and classes.
$20-$45. Thu-Sat, 8 p.m.-11 p.m.; Sun, 2:30 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.

Casa Vicente, 375 S. Stone Ave.
(520) 884-5253
TucsonSpanishFlamencoFestival.com

Suds for Sun Sounds

September 11, 2014 | Jon D Auria

When the temperatures are hot during the summer – and into the fall – months in the desert, few things beat enjoying the taste of a delicious beer on a warm day.

Well, that is unless you’re enjoying sampling a number of different beers in the company of thousands of friends and people from your community and all in the name of a worthy cause. In this instance, the cause is Sun Sounds of Arizona and the event is the Great Tucson Beer Festival.

Colorful characters populate the annual Great Tucson Beer Festival.
Photo: ©2011 Rachel Seelen/Urban Abstrakt Photography/courtesy Sun Sounds

In its 28th year, Sun Sound’s Great Tucson Beer Festival is again taking place at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium, 2500 E Ajo Way, on Saturday, Sept. 27 with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. for early bird entry and 6 p.m. for general admission. Offering attendees a selection of over 150 beers on tap to sample, plus a diverse, mouth-watering array of food from local restaurants and a number of fun activities and live music, Sun Sounds is expecting their biggest and best festival to date.

“This is something that we look forward to hosting every year, as it brings so many people from our community together to support a cause that we’re very passionate about,” says Sun Sounds Tucson Station Manager Mitzi Tharin. “We’re lucky to have so many people return to the event each year, but already this year 51% of the people who have bought tickets so far are brand new, which is exciting for us. We want everyone to enjoy themselves and have a fun time and hopefully it raises awareness for the service that we offer.”

Founded in Phoenix in 1979 by Dr. Frank Kells, Sun Sounds created a Tucson branch in 1985 where they provide spoken versions of written text that covers everything from newspapers, magazines, books and all forms of media to those who cannot read print due to visual disabilities. By providing over 2,000 radios to visually impaired Tucson residents and allowing them to stream the content over the internet, Sun Sounds has helped over 15,000 Tucsonans stay up on the news and their favorite books while truly enhancing their quality of living.

“The service that we provide is so important because when someone is unable to read on their own, it can really devastate people. So to bring them spoken versions of printed words really changes their lives and makes them feel like they’re no longer disadvantaged in that aspect,” says Tharin. “We read a wide spectrum of programs that can be chosen on our guide to satisfy everyone. We offer fiction, non-fiction, news, magazines, westerns, dramas, comedies and pretty much anything someone would want to hear. And they get a human voice, not a synthesized voice, which makes a big difference.”

The annual beer festival helps the organization tremendously, as they generate over two thirds of their yearly budget by putting on this event. In a truly win-win situation, the attendees are treated to a night full of fun, excitement and dancing, as the band Eighties and Gentlemen will be performing music from the 80s, 90s and 2000s. The audience can also partake in a variety of games including horseshoes, static steer roping, beep ball and many others. And it all will take place in the beautiful setting of Kino Sports Complex.

“This is the second year that the Sun Sounds organization will host its annual beer festival at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium and we couldn’t be happier to have them and to be a part of their fundraising event,” says Kino Sports Complex Marketing Manager Sallyann Wassmuth. “They put in so much work and planning to make it fun and entertaining for everyone and there is a real social element to the event all centered on the beer and food sampling from local breweries and restaurants.

“And most importantly, Sun Sounds puts a tremendous effort into promoting a safe, responsible event. They offer designated driver tickets and partner with the Holiday Inn just around the corner where the hotel provides shuttle service to and from the event. Cab Service is also available. They are really conscientious about providing responsible options to everyone,” Wassmuth adds.

For designated drivers, there will be plenty of free parking in the accompanying lots as well as non-alcoholic beverages to enjoy. And while this is a mellow evening of fun, this event is entirely tailored for adults and no one under 21-years-old will be granted entry. General admission tickets are available online or through Plaza Liquors, Thunder Canyon Brewery and Sun Sounds for $45 and VIP tickets are also available for $85 which gives you early entry to the event as well as access to VIP benefits.

“It’s a win for everybody because attendees have such a blast and it helps to sustain what we do for the entire year. It’s so important to us to keep the momentum going with this event,” says Tharin. “The entertainment will be really good and that’s always a favorite of the crowd. You’ll get to sample a lot of food and try different beers that are unique and seasonal and all while being around a lot of really great people.”

The event is Saturday, Sept. 27, with doors at 6 p.m. Kino Sports complex is located at 2500 Ajo Way. For more information visit AZBeer.com or call (520) 296-2400.

Food complements the bevy of beer offerings at the Great Tucson Beer Festival.
photo: ©2013 Rachel Seelen/Urban Abstrakt Photography/courtesy Sun Sounds

Tucson Women on the Mic: A FST! Storyteller’s First Year

September 5, 2014 | Melanie Madden

This September, FST! Female StoryTellers observes its second birthday on Wednesday, Sept. 10, and I’m so happy to celebrate with them.

When FST! (pronounced “Fist!”) began in September 2012, I wasn’t aware of it. I didn’t know any of the women involved. I’d only been in Tucson a month, a California transplant newly arrived to work on a two-year graduate degree at UofA. I had no ties to the local community, no connections outside the insular world of my MFA cohorts. I had no idea that right across Downtown, somewhere beyond all that street car construction, the girl gang I’d been looking for all my life was being conceived and born.

I wouldn’t learn about FST! until June 2013, when the guy I was dating invited me to my first show, “A Letter to Anyone” at LoveSmack, a warehouse gallery on Toole Avenue next to the railroad tracks.

“You’re going to love it,” he said. He was right. I was immediately delighted, and confused. An open forum, just for women to tell their stories? An at-capacity paying audience who listens? When James described it to me as “feminist storytelling,” I imagined the most sparsely attended poetry readings I’d ever uncomfortably sat though. When we arrived, and I saw so many folding chairs set up, filling the empty gallery space, I worried these poor gals were kidding themselves. Then people came and claimed all those seats, and I wondered if I had stumbled into a dream.

Comic Lauren Wiggins founded FST! for a simple reason: she likes doing stand-up, but was getting tired of rape jokes. As a middle finger to the stand-up world’s open hostility to women, Wiggins set out to create an alternative space where women could take the mic, and only women (on the gender spectrum, not as half of a binary—transwomen and transmen are FST!ers, too) would be invited onto the stage.

Two years later, FST! has featured 44 unique storytellers, hosted 22 shows, and raised over $5,000 for local nonprofits and community organizations. It is independent, all-volunteer, grass-roots, and community-based. It has moved from LoveSmack in the Warehouse Arts District, to (now defunct) Beowulf Alley Downtown, to its present longstanding 4^th Avenue venue, The Flycatcher (formerly Plush). There is a website: Fstorytellers.com. I proudly show my affiliation with a bright pink FST! button I wear on my purse, and FST! T-shirts are designed by local artist Donovan White. What I’m trying to say is this: FST! is legit.

As I watched the seats at LoveSmack fill up on that sweltering Saturday night in June 2013, and not with the gray-haired second-wavers in tie-dyed sundresses that I expected (no disrespect, I’ve got mad love for the tie-dyed second wavers, some of whom are great supporters of FST! – thank you! Please tell stories with us!), but with punks and hipsters and bright-lipped, tattooed chicks. Where were the NPR tote bags? Where were the Birkenstocks with organic cotton socks? What were these cool people going to do when the women got on stage and started telling stories?

It’s like I said: they listened. And we laughed. And we were moved.

I knew right away I wanted in.

I submitted my first story for the August 2013 show, “Shameless,” at Beowulf Alley Theatre. In the year that followed, I took the stage six more times, telling stories for “Never Say Never,” “Next Chapter,” “I Fought the Law,” “Best Summer Ever,” “ . . . And I’m an Adult!” and celebrated my first FST!iversary in August, with “More than Meets the Eye.”

I’ve grown a lot as a performer, and as a writer, thanks to FST! My fellow FST!ers are so good they inspire and challenge me to get better. Recently, I joined FST!’s storytelling committee, helping to give feedback on the story drafts we see each month. FST! provides more than just a platform for women to share their stories – it offers resources to make those stories more powerful. At rehearsal, when FST!ers give each other tips on how to tweak a story or its delivery, the conversations are always constructive and supportive. We encourage one another, believe in one another, and always leave rehearsal pumped about our next show.

As the organization celebrates its second birthday this September on Wednesday, Sept. 10, there are still people in Tucson who’ve never been to a FST! show, or still aren’t sure what it’s all about. It isn’t about any one thing, except this: women’s lives. Since women’s lives are made up of all kinds of different experiences, it’s tough to summarize just what kind of stories will show up on the FST! stage on any given month. But here are some traits that FST!’s most moving and memorable stories have in common.

Truth
Sure, we may change names to protect the innocent. We may embellish, exaggerate, and employ hyperbole – it’s not like we’re being held to the same standard of truth as witnesses in federal court. But the power of FST! stories comes from the fact that they are based on our storytellers’ lived experience.

Humility
Of course none of us would be standing under the spotlight with a mic in our hands, demanding the attention of a roomful of people, without some measure of ego – but the best FST! storytellers understand that a good performance serves the story, and the goal of the story is to share some little measure of wisdom that can benefit the audience (even if it’s just to make them laugh). On the FST! stage, storytellers check their egos at the door.

Life
The best stories teach the audience something, but they aren’t lectures. They are smart, but don’t talk down to us. They are enlightening without preaching, vulnerable without self-pitying, touching but unsentimental.

Underrepresented Voices/Breaking Stigma/Confronting Taboos
FST! strives to be a diverse and inclusive space for women and transfolk. To become a space that better represents all women’s stories, we would like to welcome more FST!ers who are 40+, women of color, queer and/or genderqueer, and disabled. FST! storytellers are often incredibly courageous, telling stories that the mainstream media and culture thinks we should be ashamed of. We want more of the voices that aren’t being heard.

On the FST! stage, topics have included sex, chronic illness, mental illness, plastic surgery, domestic violence, abortion, teen motherhood, and sex work. It might sound, on the whole, like a lot of uncomfortable material, but the stories come with humor and personality and presence, and every time, I am amazed to see audiences go there with us and leave just a little bit wiser having been part of the journey.

I suppose “community” is the word for what we have – this space where we support each other and work so hard to craft our stories into an experience we can laugh about together – but I prefer “girl gang,” because there’s something edgy about us gals on the mic, fists in the air, challenging the status quo. Being funny, and feminists, at the same time. FST! shows always entertain, and the audience always has our back – no judgment. It’s a beautiful thing.

The next event happens at Flycatcher, 340 E. 6th St., on Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. Get more information at FSTorytellers.com.

Combating Violence with Laughter

September 5, 2014 | Jon D Auria

Physical abuse is a serious issue that plagues our society every day with astounding numbers of cases of violence – primarily against women – that hurt our family structures and those we love in debilitating ways. Every year over 4 million physical assaults occur on women dealt by their partners; women under 24-years-old are at the greatest risk of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault.

Suzie Sexton: Tucsonan, comedienne, attorney, an activist against violence and organizer of the Stand Up To Stop Violence annual fundraisers.
Photo: Allan Sturm Photography

Clearly this issue is no laughing matter. But as the old adage states, laughter is the best medicine for most things, and thanks to Tucsonan Suzie Sexton and her organization Comedy for Charity, she’s doing her part to help put an end to abuse.

On Sunday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m., Suzie is presenting the 4th Annual Stand Up To Stop Violence variety show at the Fox Theatre in Downtown Tucson. The highly anticipated event will be emceed by David Fitzsimmons and features comedy performances by Bill Dawes, Jill Bryan (sister to Jimmy Kimmel), Elliot Glicksman and Suzie Sexton herself. Janee Starr, Hope Sullivan and LeeAnne Savage will provide music and a dance number will be performed by Dancing In The Streets AZ. There will be raffle prices, drinks and a red carpet with reporters and camera crews from Tucson Lifestyle Live. Proceeds will go to Dancing In The Streets AZ and Emerge! Center Against Domestic Abuse.

Senseless violence is something that has affected Sexton immensely in her own life, the impetus behind holding these fundraising events.

“Unfortunately, I was terribly affected when my sister was murdered in a mugging in Chicago in 1980. A lot more people are impacted by violence than anyone typically imagines. So I became an activist so that I can do all that I could to prevent this kind of violence from happening,” says Sexton. “I wanted to do something positive, so I’m using this gala to raise awareness and money to prevent violence and also to entertain people with a great show. There’s always the comedy-tragedy juxtaposition and I like to use the phrase that when there’s laughter there’s hope.”

After growing up in Illinois, Sexton went on to become an attorney in Tucson where she takes on cases against violence and physical abuse, but she decided that there was still more that she could do, so she minted her own organization and paired up with other great institutions that share her passion. One such institution is this year’s co-beneficiary Emerge! Center Against Domestic Abuse, which provides a 24/7 crisis hotline, emergency shelter, transitional and permanent housing programs, safety planning assistance, case management, legal assistance, individual and group support, and much more to victims of violence.

“Our mission is to provide the opportunity to create, sustain and celebrate a life free from abuse. We are focused on the individual needs of each of our participants and offer a wide range of services to assist them in their journey,” says Emerge’s VP of Philanthropy Kimberly Thompson. “Our goal is to educate people about the tremendous amount of abuse and violence in our community and the need for all of us to get involved. Suzie has seen how violence can damage lives and wanted to do something meaningful and we all benefit for it. It’s wonderful thing, hearing a roomful of Tucsonans laughing and enjoying themselves and at the same time contributing to the safety of our community.”

Bill Dawes headlines the 4th Annual Stand Up To Stop Violence variety show.
Photo: Maria Tornberg

As the event has evolved over the years, so has the caliber of its gala, as this year’s headliner, Bill Dawes, comes from New York City where he is currently working on a new Broadway play while also performing stand up across the country. Dawes has already had an impressive career where he has starred in the hit Broadway play Bronx Bombers as Mickey Mantle, has had roles on Sex in The City, Law & Order and Criminal Minds on top of touring the world for his successful comedy act.

“Comedy at its purest form should always be for charity. The idea that there are people that you can make laugh and help raise money towards a cause just makes sense. If I could do that for every show, I’d do it,” says Dawes. “As a comic you can spend a lot of your life navel gazing and you feel like everything you’re doing is for your tortured inner-child, so when there’s something validating and uplifting that isn’t just for yourself and can be used to help people, it’s a great thing. I’m truly honored to perform at this year’s gala and to support such a meaningful cause that affects all of us.”

“We’ve really pulled out all of the stops for this year’s show and we’re so excited about it. I love bringing live comedy to Tucson because it’s way different than watching comedians on TV, and this event gives you a lot of bang for your buck. It’s not just comedy; it’s a whole variety show,” says Sexton. “I get an emotional high from raising money for this cause and I love making people laugh, so those two things combined are a big win-win.”

Tickets for the Sunday, Sept. 21 event are available at the Fox Theatre box office, 17 W. Congress St., and online at FoxTucsonTheatre.com for $19, $29 or $49 for VIP. Student tickets with ID are $10. For more information visit ComedyForCharity.org.

The Ultimate Shabby-Chic Bash

September 2, 2014 | Craig Baker

Unbeknownst to the majority of locals, Tucson has in its midst one of the world’s foremost experts in recycled art. Though you won’t find his work hanging in the Louvre just yet, Mykl Wells makes his living as a working artist by creating incredible surrealist works out of paint and cardboard — his website proudly lauds the fact that he gets most of the stuff he uses for his work “out of dumpsters.” He even hand-makes the frames for his custom pieces out of recycled cardboard, effectively taking the castoffs from your Costco trips and turning them into colorful character studies that tantalize and delight. In fact, in 2012 Wells was one of only six artists selected to create an installation at Cartasia — a prestigious biennial cardboard art show held in the medieval Tuscan city of Lucca, Italy.

The idea of traveling to Italy to make a gigantic cardboard sculpture had natural appeal for this local artist (as I imagine it might for any warm-blooded human being) but the prospect did present a bit of a challenge — that is, continuing to pay his bills while working for free overseas. It was this predicament three years ago that gave rise to Tucson’s first ever Cardboard Ball. The event attracted about 150 people, Wells says, and got him where he was trying to go — Wells even ended up winning first prize in the exhibition for his 18-foot sculpture entitled “Snowdrop,” which was essentially a giant upside-down head with a flower growing from its neck.

Cardboard Ballers shaking their grove thing. Photo: ©2013 Warren Van Nest

Once Cartasia was in the rear-view, though, Wells was reluctant to let the success of the first Cardboard Ball disappear for good. So they did it again, and last year’s iteration raised about $3,000 for the All Souls Procession Workshop Series, a series for which our local cardboard guru is also responsible. This year Wells hopes to raise about $5,000 for his workshops, which he says will be taking to the streets in a new mobile format. “We’re looking to the east side of Tucson, and also to Vail, Tubac and Oro Valley as well. We’re trying to reach out to the larger community that maybe doesn’t get by the All Souls Procession Workshops because they aren’t downtown,” says Wells. His hope is that in spreading the word about the event even further within our own community he might be able to raise enough money to bring on a guest artist for the workshops in upcoming years — an effort, he says, which could help spread the word about Tucson’s eclectic art scene to players in other artistic communities nationwide, and even worldwide.

The Cardboard Ball is now poised to become a favorite annual freak-fest amongst both local art enthusiasts and general party-people, and Wells says this year’s event will feature a few upgrades. Not only will there be a runway on which party-goers can show off their flashy-yet-frugal paper-based duds, Wells is also making tubes available for cardboard jousting and sponsoring a dance party with live music from Scott Kerr, Mik Garrison, and The Carnivaleros, as well as two live DJ sets to keep you jumping. There will be at least one keg of Borderlands Brewing Company’s “Las Almas Ale” on hand — which was crafted specifically with All Souls in mind — with beer, wine and food available from the Maker House Cafe. Artists are encouraged to submit pieces for the event. To participate, simply drop your cardboard masterpiece off at Maker House the day before the Ball any time between noon and 8 p.m.

Not sure what to wear to such an extravaganza? Just pop by Maker House at any point during the art drop off and Wells promises to be onsite with the materials and the know-how necessary to make sure you’re absolutely Cardboard Ballin’ for the big event. Paper cuts be damned — this is gonna be good.

The Cardboard Ball goes down on Saturday, Sept. 27 at Maker House, 283 N. Stone Ave., at 7 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at Maker House, Yikes Toy Store, 2930 E. Broadway Blvd., and Pop-Cycle, 422 N. 4th Ave., in advance for $10 or pay $15 at the door. More info on Facebook.com, search Cardboard Ball, or try AllSoulsProcession.org.

The Cardboard Ball embraces creative shenanigans. Photo: ©2013 Warren Van Nest

Run Boy Run’s “Something to Someone”

August 31, 2014 | Dan Rylander

Run Boy Run
photo courtesy Run Boy Run

The quintet comprising Run Boy Run is a tightly knit group, playing together since 2009 when they blended as a band through that most-common connection vehicle in greater Tucson, the UofA. Driven by virtuoso fiddle, cello, stand-up bass, guitar, and, above all, beautiful melodies and unearthly female vocal harmonies, they’ve carved a regional name for themselves squarely at the intersection of bluegrass, Americana, folk and classical.

Friday, Sept. 5 sees the CD release party for “Something for Someone,” an eleven-track recording that is deep, complex, and often melancholy; ten of which are original compositions. Recorded in Seattle and released on their own Sky Island Records label, the second full-length album finds the band displaying the instrumental virtuosity that characterized last year’s release “So Sang the Whippoorwill,” with a songwriting maturity.

Violin, guitar player and band manager Matt Rolland addresses the band’s songwriting process: “We approach songwriting individually, but song-arranging collaboratively. We have five songwriters in the band. The songs (on this album) are largely born out of our first national tour in 2013, traveling 25,000 miles in two and a half months. We all wrote songs on the road and after we returned home… we were hungry to get together and work up band versions of those songs.”

The album was constructed from those songs, and taken from bare idea to fully arranged and recorded in two months. “It was an experiment of sorts to try to do the album the way we did – learning all those new songs, arranging them, and then recording them – in a two month period. The end product is a testament to the group’s creative process and also a painting of where we are at right now as musicians and songwriters,” elucidates Rolland.

The band connections run deep with Rolland married to Bekah Sandoval – writer, fiddler, guitarist and one of three female power-house vocalists in the group – her songwriting sister Jen Sandoval also sings and plays mandolin; and cellist, vocalist, and Rolland’s sister Grace Rolland is also a part. The band is rounded out by bassist Jesse Allen.

“At the end of the day, it helps to be related because you’re committed to putting back together whatever is broken. There’s a shared history with siblings that is just a reality for us – it helps in some ways and challenges us in just as many ways. Fortunately, nothing has been broken that badly in the band other than a collarbone and an ankle,” Rolland gratefully states.

Notable album tracks include The Lord Taketh Away and Heavy the Sorrow – both require more than one listen! On these cuts, the writers are clearly pulling deeply from the sad proud Americana tradition of composing slower, heart-wrenching songs about betrayal, death, loss, and faith.

Third track Dream in the Night is a lilting melancholy number which could have been composed after walking Tucson’s North 4th Avenue, and to the listener, begs the question: Was it?

“In a way, it was,” Rolland explains. “Bekah (Sandoval) wrote this song while we were on the road, missing Tucson. The imagery comes from the Dia de los Muertos parade that takes place downtown. We recorded this song live at the studio – one of the only songs on the album we did this way. We wanted to sound like you could be hearing it in a club, lights low, candles flickering… (a) sensory experience reflective of the parade itself – sights, sounds, colors, and music in all directions.”

If one has experienced Tucson’s soul-stirring All Souls Procession, which Rolland references, that feeling rings true through the cut.

There are also foot-moving toe-tappers here. Song six, an instrumental entitled Sunday for Larks, has a classical chamber-music feel and a dance feel at the same time. And the last track on the release, is both sad, emotionally, and moving, physically, as the lyrics of Far From My Home carry us through the ultimately fruitless empty search for love away from home, and, as the tune progresses to the second and final movement of the piece, called The Lion and the Fawn, a dance again breaks out for the listener, who is sent away from the listening experience with a spring in their step.

The band is definitely gaining national exposure. By the end of 2014, they’ll have logged six regional tours at years’ end, performing over one hundred live shows. From Sept. 3 through Nov. 16, Run Boy Run will perform twenty-one times in ten different states.

“We’ve learned that three weeks is our ideal tour length; much longer and our voices wear out, limbs get tired, we get road-weary,” says Rolland. “We’ve learned that booking a balance of show types on tour – clubs, festivals, concerts, house concerts, radio spots – helps us come away feeling energized from a tour.”

Catch them before they hit the road again!

Run Boy Run performs on Friday, Sept. 5 at the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St., along with Ryanhood before embarking on its ten state odyssey. The official release date for the album is Oct. 28. Pre-orders – CD, digital or vinyl – are available at RunBoyRunBand.com. For more show details, see RialtoTheatre.com.