Coachella Valley Independent November 2025

NOVEMBER 22, 2025

745 N. Gene Autry Trail, Palm Springs VIP ADMISSION

Noon-1 p.m.

$90 or $160 for two

GENERAL ADMISSION

1-5 p.m.

$75 or $120 for two

Designated Drivers admitted for $5 per person.

NEW: Unlimited Tastings!

Over 40 craft beers to taste; souvenir mug while supplies last

Food trucks

Limited edition T-shirts

Rare beer flights

Warbird rides

Must be age 21 or older

Enjoy airplanes? Enjoy craft beer? Then the Palm Springs Air Museum’s 13th annual Props and Hops Craft Beer Fest is just the place for YOU. The breweries’ booths are set up inside the Miles hangar, and vintage airplanes are only a few feet away. The hangar doors (about 100 feet wide) remain open, so everyone can mingle inside and out, sampling beers and watching the ramp, where aircraft will be taking off and landing throughout the afternoon!

Food Trucks: Charlie Loco Tacos, Papa Headz, Party Pop, Uncle D’s Smokehouse, Wetzel’s Pretzels, and Fries Galore

Live Music by Desert Sol and the John Stanley King Band

Friendly pets on leash welcome Ticket includes Beer Festival only, not entrance to the museum Presenting Sponsors

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Mailing address: 31855 Date Palm Drive, No. 3-263 Cathedral City, CA 92234 (760) 904-4208 www.cvindependent.com

Editor/Publisher

Jimmy Boegle

staff writer

Kevin Fitzgerald

coveR and feature design

Dennis Wodzisz

Contributors

Haleemon Anderson, Melissa Daniels, Charles Drabkin, Katie Finn, Bill Frost, Bonnie Gilgallon, Bob Grimm, Terry Huber, Valerie-Jean (VJ) Hume, Clay Jones, Matt Jones, Matt King, Keith Knight, Cat Makino, Brett Newton, Greg Niemann, Jeffrey Norman, Dan Perkins, Theresa Sama, Jen Sorensen, Robert Victor, Eleanor Whitney

The Coachella Valley Independent print edition is published every month. All content is ©2025 and may not be published or reprinted in any form without the written permission of the publisher. The Independent is available free of charge throughout the Coachella Valley, limited to one copy per reader. Additional copies may be purchased for $5 by calling (760) 904-4208. The Independent may be distributed only by the Independent’s authorized distributors.

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A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

I spent an October weekend in Phoenix at a journalism conference—and the experience truly rattled me.

Newsgeist, which is produced by Center for News, Technology and Innovation, brings together about 200 journalists and news leaders from around the world to discuss the topics and concerns on the minds of the attendees. This year, themes included dealing with AI, how to better reach audiences/potential audiences, and the topic that left me rattled: the immense threat to press freedoms by the actions of the federal government since Donald Trump reassumed the presidency.

I went to Phoenix knowing about these threats, of course—but the gravity of the situation we’re facing right now in the United States really set in after journalists from other countries, where press freedoms were taken away, pointed out that what happened in their countries is happening here, but a lot more rapidly

Look at what has happened in Hungary, for example, and notice the parallels. This is from a 2024 story by The Associated Press:

Since 2010, Orbán’s government has promoted hostility to migrants and LGBTQ+ rights, distrust of the European Union, and a belief that Hungarian-American financier George Soros—who is Jewish and one of Orbán’s enduring foes—is engaged in secret plots to destabilize Hungary, a classic antisemitic trope. …

According to press watchdog Reporters Without Borders, Orbán has used media buyouts by government-connected “oligarchs” to build “a true media empire subject to his party’s orders.” The group estimates that such buyouts have given Orbán’s party control of some 80% of Hungary’s media market resources. In 2021, it put Orbán on its list of media “predators,” the first EU leader to earn the distinction.

The title didn’t come out of nowhere: in 2016, Hungary’s oldest daily newspaper was suddenly shuttered after being bought by a businessman with links to Orbán. In 2018, nearly 500 pro-government outlets were simultaneously donated by their owners to a foundation headed by Orbán loyalists, creating a sprawling right-wing media conglomerate. And in 2020, nearly the entire staff of Hungary’s largest online news portal, Index, resigned en masse after its lead editor was fired under political pressure.

This is the same Orbán who has given well-received speeches to American conservative groups. The same Orbán considered an ally and “a great man, a great leader in Europe” by Donald Trump.

And now Donald Trump is following Orban’s playbook to silence the news media.

I was worried before Newsgeist. Now I am legitimately afraid.

If you care about freedom of speech and democracy, you should be, too. Don’t take it from me; take it from the journalists whose countries slid into authoritarianism—and now see the exact same thing happening in the United States of America.

I

f you’re a regular reader, you’ve probably noticed this month’s print edition looks a little different.

For the second time in our print edition’s 12 1/2 year history, we’ve had to switch printers. The first switch happened in 2020, when Gannett, the parent company of The Desert Sun, shut down its Palm Springs press and moved printing operations to The Arizona Republic in Phoenix. We had been printed in Phoenix since then—but Gannett shuttered that print operation in early October.

So as of this issue, we’re being printed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal

This illustrates one of the biggest threats to printed newspapers like our monthly print edition—the decreasing number of presses. A couple of decades ago, virtually every town in the country had at least one press. These days, that’s not the case. Instead, a dwindling number of presses are handling print jobs from a wider geographic area.

The bulk of Southern California’s daily newspapers are now being printed by one operation in Riverside, including The Desert Sun and even the Los Angeles Times (which shuttered its press in March 2024). Meanwhile, the Phoenix daily is now being printed in Las Vegas, on the same press as the Independent

This is a problem. Print newspapers are not dead—but due to the dwindling number of presses, they’re in jeopardy.

—Jimmy Boegle, jboegle@cvindependent.com

HIKING WITH T

BY THERESA SAMA

One of the Coachella Valley’s hidden gems isn’t really hidden at all.

The Willis Palms Oasis is nestled within the heart of the Coachella Valley Preserve, which protects 20,000 acres in the Indio Hills. The Willis Palms Oasis Loop Trail is a geological wonder, with a 1,200-foot-long grove of California fan palms (Washingtonia filifera). Once you arrive and go inside these lush palm groves, you will feel like you’re in a jungle a world away from the desert surroundings of the Coachella Valley

About a quarter-mile north of Ramon Road/Washington Street, along Thousand Palms Canyon Road, you will see a small parking area and map kiosk/trailhead on the north side of the road. This is where the trail begins. From here, you will enter a sandy wash that goes along the San

Andreas Fault. Doing the loop clockwise makes for a more gradual ascent and scenic descent through the oasis. You can also hike a short out-and-back just to the oasis; it’s only about a 10-minute walk from the trailhead/parking area. The trail gets a little rocky shortly after it starts and gradually ascends toward a ridge. You will enjoy panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and the unique desert landscape.

If you choose to go farther, this trail connects to the McCallum Trail, which leads to McCallum Pond. You can go even farther to the Moon Country Trail, which leads to an amazing vista.

The Willis Palms Oasis is always accessible, but other parts of the Coachella Valley Preserve—particularly the Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve, part of the larger Coachella Valley Preserve—have very limited hours. As of this writing, the hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday.

Along the well-marked trail, the landscape transitions from open desert to a twisting canyon that leads to the Willis Palms Oasis. These native palms thrive thanks to underground water trapped by fault lines, creating a rare and vibrant ecosystem in the middle of the desert.

Willis Palms Oasis is more than just a typical scenic stop with amazing views—it’s a symbol of the desert’s ability to support life. After a fire swept through the area in 2010, this large palm grove has rebounded, showcasing the resilience of native flora. The towering palms provide shade and shelter for a variety of plant and animal species. If you pause a moment to capture the breathtaking views and enjoy the serene sounds of birds singing (this truly is a birders’ paradise), you may also hear animals scurrying underneath the fallen palm fronds that cover the ground like a blanket of carpet. It truly is a captivating yet serene moment.

The trail is also known for its seasonal wildflowers and its historical importance. The Cahuilla Indigenous tribes once used the fan palms for food, shelter and materials, and the

area is a vital part of their cultural heritage. Today, the oasis stands as a living testament to the intersection of nature and history.

Willis Palms Oasis Trail is a moderate trail loop, about 4 miles, with just more than 530 feet of elevation gain. Personally, I’d say it’s a fairly easy hike, with the exception of some thick sand, along with rocky spots here and there; you will definitely want to wear proper hiking shoes. Hiking poles are helpful, too. Bring at least one or two liters of water. Wear a hat and sun protection, as the only shade you will have will be at the oasis, should you choose to make the short climb and go inside—which I highly recommend. Whether you’re exploring the oasis for the first time or returning for another adventure, it is an awe-inspiring place vital to the history of the region.

Looking to the north, above the canyon walls, you’ll see the Little San Bernardino Mountains. In the distance to the northwest, towering high above the view of San Bernardino Mountains, will be San Gorgonio Mountain (or Old Greyback, as it’s called), the highest peak in Southern California, standing at 11,503 feet. To the southwest is San Jacinto Peak, the second-highest peak in Southern California, at 10,834 feet. Directly south is the Santa Rosa Mountain Range, with Toro Peak as the highest point, at 8,717 feet.

Before you go on any hike, I recommend checking the Friends of the Desert Mountains’ trails page at www.desertmountains.org/trails; it includes status links for most local trails. On that page, you’ll also find the 10 Desert Essentials for hiking; following them is a must!

One more thing: As of this writing, the federal government shutdown was ongoing, and as long as it continues, access to federally managed lands may be affected.

As the weather gets cooler and the holidays approach, consider spending time outside and taking a hike. It’s a simple yet powerful way to stay active, connect with nature, and prepare your body and mind for the season ahead. With so many upcoming outdoor events

The Willis Palms Oasis, part of the Coachella Valley Preserve, is both beautiful and historically significant

in the Coachella Valley, there’s no shortage of ways to celebrate the great outdoors.

Here are some details about some fun events/runs/walks coming up:

• National Take a Hike Day, on Monday, Nov. 17: Celebrate the joy of hiking at one of the valley’s many preserves. Whether you choose Willis Palms or another scenic route, it’s a great day to lace up your hiking shoes and hit the trail.

• The Astronomical Society of the Desert hosts a monthly star party from 5 to 9 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 22—and the event is free! Experience the desert night sky at the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Visitor Center, at 51500 Highway 74, in Palm Desert. Telescopes and expert guides make this a magical evening for all ages. See more details and register two weeks prior at www.desertmountains.org/event/star-partyat-the-monument-11. Note: If skies are overcast, or if the federal government shutdown continues, the event will be cancelled.

• The Palm Springs Wild Turkey Trot 5K occurs on Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 27, from 8 to 10 a.m. It’s a fast, flat course through downtown Palm Springs, starting at 100 N. Palm Canyon Drive (at Tahquitz Canyon Way). See the details and register at RunSignup.com.

• Also on Thanksgiving is the Martha’s Village and Kitchen 5K, from 8 to 11 a.m. This family-friendly run/walk supports the nonprofit’s homeless services. Wear your best turkey hat and racing tutu! It starts at 73545 El Paseo, in Palm Desert. Learn more and register at RunSignup.com.

• The Coachella Valley Heart and Stroke Walk is slated for Saturday, Dec. 6. The expo opens at 8 a.m., with the walk at 9 a.m. Join the American Heart Association for the 5K walk/run at Civic Center Park, at 43900 San Pablo Avenue, in Palm Desert. The event features a kids’ zone, food tents and water bowls for four-legged friends. Learn more and register at www2.heart.org.

Climb higher. Go farther. See what’s out there.

760.325.1391 pstramway.com

Community Is Our Priority.

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OPINION KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS

BY BONNIE GILGALLON

Matt Baylor was born in Los Angeles, and grew up in Utah after being adopted at a very young age. Music was his first love; he played piano, violin and harmonica, and sang in a Mormon youth choir.

After moving back to L.A., Naylor continued his quest for a music career, graduating from the Dick Grove School of Jazz Music with a focus on recording.

In 1990, Naylor began visiting a friend in Palm Springs who designed custom swimming pools and water features; three years later, he moved to the Coachella Valley to work for him. The company, now Architectural Blue, has designed fountains at the Gardens on El Paseo and at the Agua Caliente Palm Springs casino.

Naylor continued his music, working with children and putting on numerous musical concerts along the way. In 2015, he started the Marquee Academy of Performing Arts in Palm Springs.

“We started nurturing ‘triple threat’ performers—singing, acting and dancing,” Naylor said. “We had lots of performances there, sometimes fundraisers, including for Well in the Desert at the time. When we mounted a production of Annie, and it was so good that The Desert Sun put us in both of their magazines.”

The academy closed during COVID-19 shutdowns, but Naylor said some of his former students still keep in touch. Some have auditioned for The Voice and American Idol, and others have formed their own bands.

A few years ago, Naylor and his writing partner, the late Jeanie Cunningham, co-wrote a musical about homelessness called Off the Street, which premiered at Revolution Stage Company. It was based on the life of a local woman named Twyla (called Lyla in the musical), who was the beloved matriarch of the local homeless community and, according to Naylor, “funnier than hell.” One day, despondent over Twyla’s lot in life, Naylor wrote a song called “Off the Street.” With Jeanie’s help, it blossomed into a full-fledged stage show, which was well-received.

“Jeanie was like my soul sister,” Naylor said. “She urged me to get back into music. Because of her, I’m writing music every day now and re-working the musical. Next year, for the first time in ages, I will be doing a concert of my own music.”

On a visit to Puerto Rico in 2013, Naylor bought a 250-acre coffee farm and began reviving it. He soon discovered that some of his ancestors ran their own coffee farms nearby.

“It turns out they are also music people. It’s in the blood. … My blood called to me to learn my ancestry,” he said. One month after Naylor purchased the farm, he took a DNA test and found his biological father, brother and sister. Today, the coffee farm is going strong, and

Naylor travels often between Palm Springs and Puerto Rico. “It’s coffee season now, and we are harvesting about 20,000 pounds,” he said.

In 2013, Arlene Rosenthal, then Well in the Desert’s board president, invited Naylor to lunch. The two ran in the same social circles but had never actually met. Rosenthal urged him to take a look at the work the Well does for local homeless folks.

“When I was very young, I remember my parents helping out people in need—including immigrants—and bringing them to the house,” Naylor said. “Compassion comes naturally. When I was in L.A., I got to know some of the homeless folks and worked with Project Angel Food, taking food to people with AIDS. I really got to know what poverty was. So when Arlene asked me (to help), it just seemed like the right thing to do. I joined the board and have been there ever since.” Rosenthal passed away in 2023, and Naylor now serves as the board president.

Founded in 1996, Well in the Desert serves 80,000 meals a year to people, both housed and without homes, dealing with food insecurity. Naylor says the level of compassion shown by the Well in the Desert’s board and their many volunteers is amazing. “They really step up to the plate,” he said. (Full disclosure: My life partner, Eric Frankson, serves on the Well in the Desert board.)

Naylor said myriad factors can lead to homelessness, including mental health issues, drug addiction, job loss and serious emotional trauma, including PTSD from combat.

“Every person on the street is an individual, and they have individual needs,” Naylor said. “Until we, as a society, find out what those needs are, were not going to solve the problem. Just giving them a house is not the answer.”

Naylor said he would love for the organization to have a building with a kitchen where Well in the Desert could prepare meals for the homeless and not have to depend on area churches. He’d also like that building to include transitional housing and services, like mental health and drug counseling.

Meet Matt Naylor, a musician, a coffee farmer and the president of Well in the Desert

In recent years, the relationship between Well in the Desert and the city of Palm Springs has been contentious. Naylor criticized the city for not having a real plan to fix the homeless situation.

“When they arrest homeless people, it makes it seem as though they’ve gotten them off the street,” Naylor said. “We have 550 homeless people on the street. After police arrest a large group, they then say there are only 86. Do those numbers really add up?”

Naylor said that when a homeless person is arrested, they are usually taken to the county jail in Indio, where they’re held for 72 hours and then released back onto the street. Occasionally, the possessions the homeless person had with them when arrested—like a tent, blankets, clothing, etc.—are stored, but oftentimes, they are seized and thrown away.

Helping the homeless with free meals and other services can be stressful, and so can trying to convince skeptical folks in the valley that compassion and generosity are the answers. Thankfully for Naylor, his music helps keep him going.

“Music is my life,” Naylor said. “If I did not have that, who knows what would have happened? Music saved me—and still does.”

Learn more about Well in the Desert, including details on how to donate or become a volunteer, at www.wellinthedesert.com

Bonnie Gilgallon has written theater reviews for the Independent since 2013. She hosts a digital interview show, The Desert Scene, which can be heard on www.thedesertscene.com and viewed on Mutual Broadcasting’s YouTube channel. Learn more at bonnie-g.com.

HEALTH CARE CRISIS

by Melissa Daniels

As many as 300,000 people are at risk of losing their health insurance in the Inland Empire due to a combination of federal and state policy changes.

In the Coachella Valley alone, about 36,292 people are projected to lose health care between September 2025 and December 2027, according to data from the Inland Empire Health

Plan, which administers Medi-Cal locally. That’s about 29% of the population currently covered by IEHP.

Jarrod B. McNaughton, the chief executive officer at IEHP, said the insurance losses stem from a combination of factors. That includes changes in the California state budget, the “Big Beautiful Budget Bill” that Congress passed this summer, and the expiring Obamacare tax credits that some Democrats are fighting to extend during the current government shutdown.

It all points to just how complex modern health care has become.

“It is literally like a Jenga puzzle because of all of these pieces that we have,” McNaughton told the Independent. “We’ve created this incredibly unwieldy system where if you pull one piece out of that Jenga puzzle, the whole thing starts to collapse. And we’re starting to see some of that now.”

Right now, IEHP has about 1.5 million members. But around 300,000 are likely to lose coverage due to policy changes, including:

• About 150,000 people who are undocumented and are currently covered under MediCal could gradually lose access. McNaughton explained that federal Medicaid rules clash

with the state’s decision to extend coverage. The state also won’t be adding anyone new, and will eventually require a premium payment for folks who want to stay on.

• IEHP estimates around 20,000 people may stop enrolling in IEHP due to the end of the advance premium tax credit. These have been used to offset the cost of health care plans purchased on the Covered California marketplace.

• Others include those who may stop enrolling because the requirements and paperwork to get Medi-Cal are becoming too onerous. That includes the new federal work requirements that would begin in 2027, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

As bad as it is for people to lose their health insurance, the effects go well beyond those individuals, McNaughton said. The risk pool shifts; for instance, if a co-pay is required for people who are undocumented to stay on, healthy people may not participate, but those with more health issues may want to stay insured.

McNaughton also said the region could be affected due to a provision in the federal budget bill that cuts what’s called provider taxes and state-directed payments. These have helped boost reimbursement rates for physi-

Local medical providers prepare for an upcoming surge of uninsured individuals

cians and hospitals, but will be pushed down in the next few years under the new federal budget bill. McNaughton said he’s particularly worried about hospitals closing down.

“If you start to see hospitals or emergency rooms close within the state or the country, that is a huge worry, because it doesn’t matter if you’re on Medicare, or if you have commercial insurance or Medi-Cal,” he said. “It’s one door for everybody.”

Health-care partners around the region are preparing to deal with the losses as best they can. In some cases, this means making plans to fund more mobile health clinics for low-income communities. In others, it means figuring out business plans for hospitals that may be receiving less money from state and federal programs.

A survey from the IEHP Foundation, the nonprofit arm of IEHP that supports health equity initiatives, surveyed 70 health nonprofits in the region about how their funding streams have been affected by the new federal laws and executive orders—and 92% of the organizations that received federal funding have seen either a decrease, a pause or a termination of that funding. About 67% indicated that funding cuts or changes to eligibility requirements would directly impact their communities.

IEHP Foundation CEO Greg Bradbard told the Independent the organization is “very concerned about the anticipated changes to Medicaid requirements and how it is going to impact

access to health care across our region.”

The Coachella Valley already struggles with equitable access to care. Out of just more than 1,000 hospital beds, 86 percent of them are located in the western Coachella Valley (i.e., Palm Springs or Rancho Mirage), according to Desert Healthcare District reports. Yet many lower-income residents are concentrated in eastern parts of the valley—particularly in communities farthest east like North Shore and Mecca, as well as those north of the interstate like Garnet, Sky Valley and Thousand Palms.

Chris Christensen, chief executive officer of the Desert Healthcare District, said the district is still determining what the full effects of the fallout will be. While it doesn’t provide care directly, the district supports medical partners across the region. Recent grants, for instance, have gone to Coachella Valley Volunteers in Medicine, the Inland Empire Ronald McDonald House and Cancer Support Community Los Angeles for its extended Coachella Valley programming.

Right now, the district is beginning to build out its next long-term strategic plan, and Christensen said the current landscape of potential health-care coverage losses will play into that. For instance, the district has two mobile health-care units that it uses to help get care to underserved communities—including at events focused on women’s health—and Christensen said that’s one area that it might look at increasing.

“My belief is that the mobile medical program could expand to allow outreach to those residents who are ultimately going to lose insurance coverage,” he said.

Christensen said properly addressing health care gaps and uninsured populations needs to result from a collaborative effort between care providers, health care districts, clinics and nonprofits.

In the meantime, McNaughton’s advice to residents currently enrolled in IEHP is to make sure they complete and submit any paperwork they receive to remain eligible. He also said people should continue to seek medical care, even “with all of this going on.”

“Make sure you’re doing the right thing for you and your family to get the care that you need,” he said.

This story was made possible in part by a grant from the IE Journalism Innovation Hub + Fund of the Inland Empire Community Foundation. To submit ideas, comments or questions to the Coachella Valley Independent about housing in the desert, visit tinyurl.com/housinginthedesert.

CV HISTORY

TAfter 62 years, the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway remains one the valley’s most popular attractions—for locals and tourists alike

The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, which opened in 1963, was outfitted during the summer of 2000 with the world’s largest, most state-of-the-art rotating cable cars. The two 80-pasby greg niemann

he most dramatic attraction in Palm Springs is an unforgettable ride—straight up the mountain.

senger cars slowly revolve, affording visitors both an exciting up-close view of rocky crags, and an all-encompassing panorama of the Coachella Valley floor.

The tram ride from Palm Springs’ Chino Canyon to Mount San Jacinto whisks passengers from the 2,643 foot Valley Station to the 8,516 foot Mountain Station, a climb of more than a mile, in about 10 minutes. The total route by cable is only 2 1/2 miles, making it one of the world’s steepest.

There are five towers on route, and as you near one, you can feel the car move a little vertically; then there’s a little bump, a slight drop and a sway, often provoking sounds of apprehension by the occupants.

At the end of the trip up the mountain, passengers disembark at Mountain Station—a welcome relief during the summer months. It’s quite typical to note a temperature range of 30 to 40 degrees or more. The Mountain Station is the gateway to the 14,000 acre Mount San Jacinto State Park and Wilderness Area. There are 54 miles of hiking trails, campgrounds, refreshing streams and verdant valleys. The trails range from short walks to more ambitious hikes, including overnighting and summiting the various peaks.

The Mountain Station also features a restaurant, a cocktail lounge, a snack bar, a gift shop, a museum and a theater showing a documentary film on the history of the tramway.

A Dream That Never Died

The tramway was the fulfillment of a dream that took 28 years to come to fruition. It was in the summer of 1935 when two Palm Springs men were driving to a Kiwanis meeting in Banning. Electrical engineer Francis Crocker mentioned to Carl Barkow, publisher of The Desert Sun, that it would be nice to take people up to the top of the mountain to cool off. Crocker immediately envisioned a tramway up the sheer cliffs to the snowcapped summit.

“Crocker’s Folly” was born, and he set about garnering support. He enlisted the aid of O. Earl Coffman, the manager of the Desert Inn and the son of area pioneer Nellie Coffman. The pair, along with the energetic Frank Bogert, received a lot of local enthusiasm, but ran into political roadblocks. Early on, they

were also opposed by environmental groups who feared the construction would threaten wildlife.

The objective was to create a Mount San Jacinto Winter Park Authority, which would then generate the funding and plan the massive effort. The bill to establish the authority was vetoed by Gov. Culbert Olson in 1941, and in 1943, Gov. Earl Warren let a similar bill die, shelving the plans during the war.

Gov. Warren did sign a third bill in 1945 and a seven person governing board was appointed, with Coffman as the chairman, and Crocker as the secretary.

No Public Money

As rights-of-way were acquired for private and Indigenous lands, and designs were considered, the authority raised funds via the sale of bonds. No public money went into the project, and all of the $8 million-plus in bonds was paid off by 1996.

Coffman spent two years in Switzerland to observe and evaluate trams and negotiate with the Von Roll Company for the equipment. The original two cars, as well as the two new ones, were built in Switzerland and shipped to Palm Springs.

From an engineering standpoint, the project became, according to some, the “eighth wonder of the world.” Only the first tower is accessible by road, so helicopters flew some 23,000 trips over 26 months, without significant mishaps, to construct the other towers, and to ferry the men and materials for the 35,000-square-foot Mountain Station.

The Mountain Station was designed by E. Stewart Williams, who had already achieved fame as one of the mid-century modernists. On the mountain, he developed a rustic, outdoors look, adhering to state park guidelines.

The noted modernist Albert Frey, using man-made materials, designed the Valley Station, which accentuates its marriage with nature by spanning the creek.

Open in 1963

It didn’t take long for the negative term “Crocker’s Folly” to go by the wayside. Instead, Francis Crocker is now known as the “Father of the Tram.”

His dream was completed in 1963, with the

inaugural rides in September. Some celebrities, including Walt Disney and Red Skelton, marked the event by hosting parties in their Palm Springs homes.

The tram has been ridden by governors, senators, presidents and princes, not to mention scores of other celebrities from the sports and entertainment world. Episodes of Mission: Impossible, Mannix, General Hospital and Beverly Hills 90210 were all filmed there. In The Six Million Dollar Man, Lee Majors actually did his own stunt work, crawling on the cables.

Crocker himself was apparently not present for opening day, having previously resigned in a dispute with other members of the Mount San Jacinto Winter Park Authority.

If Francis Crocker is considered the Father of the Tram, then O. Earl Coffman must be

considered the Godfather of the Team. Coffman traveled far and wide, lobbying politicians in Riverside, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento and even Washington, D.C. Coffman died in 1967; Crocker lived until 1992.

As one of the top attractions in the Palm Springs area, tourists still flock to the tram all year long. Tramway management says more than 20 million people have traveled on the tram since 1963.

Sources for this article include Desert Memories, published by The Desert Sun (2002); Palm Springs Legends by Greg Niemann (Sunbelt Publications, 2006); Palm Springs: First 100 Years by Mayor Frank M. Bogert (Palm Springs Heritage Associates, 1987); and the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway website.

“You Don’t Become a Doctor to Keep Shareholders Happy. You Do It to Keep People Healthy.”

~Eric Leroux, MD, MBA, VP and Chief Quality Officer

Our Patients Are Our Priority.

Eisenhower Health is the local favorite for patients and physicians alike. Our not-for-profit status gives doctors the environment they need to do their best work. Here, they can focus on providing patients comprehensive, compassionate care because we don’t have to worry about pleasing shareholders — we answer only to the community we serve, and that means you. We reinvest every dollar we make into enhancing our services and infrastructure. And that translates into exceptional care for everyone in the community.

At Eisenhower Health, our bottom line is providing great care.

Ride the 100’ Ferris Wheel

NOVEMBER ASTRONOMY

By Robert Victor

At dusk on Nov. 1, the bright first-magnitude “star” in the east-southeast to southeast, about 4° to the lower left of the 83 percent waxing gibbous moon, is actually Saturn.

Binoculars or a telescope will reveal impressive details in the surface features along the moon’s terminator, or day-night boundary, where sunrise is taking place. Look again the next evening, Nov. 2, when the terminator will have moved about 12°, or 1/30 of the way around the moon’s sphere, and additional moonscape will have emerged into sunlight. Saturn will appear 11° to the moon’s upper right.

Point your telescope toward Saturn in early November, and you’ll see the rings tipped less than 0.6° from edge-on, giving an appearance of a ball of yarn pierced by a needle. Later this month,

from Nov. 21-26, the rings will appear only 0.37° from edgewise—the closest to an exact edge-on view we’ll get until 2038-2039.

The other bright objects at dusk are two zero-magnitude stars, golden Arcturus, low in the west-northwest, visible only early in month, and blue-white Vega, nearly 60° higher; and the first-magnitude stars Altair and Deneb, completing the Summer Triangle with Vega; Fomalhaut, mouth of the Southern Fish, within 30° to the lower right of Saturn; and Antares, very low in the southwest.

Other bright stars during evening twilight in November are zero-magnitude Capella, the “Mother Goat” star, already risen in the far northeast at mid-twilight at the start of November; and red-orange first-magnitude Aldebaran, eye of Taurus, the Bull, rising to the lower right of Capella, and 14° below the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters star cluster.

At the end of evening twilight, Saturn and faint Neptune will appear near the 84 percent waxing moon on Nov. 1, and the 91 percent moon on Nov. 2. The full moon, the closest of 2025, occurs on Nov. 5, at 5:19 a.m. The Pleiades star cluster will appear 8° to the lower left of a 99 percent waning moon on Nov. 5, and 7° to the upper right of a 96 percent moon on Nov. 6. By two hours after sunset on Nov. 6, Aldebaran will have risen 10° to the lower right of the moon.

On the date of the full moon, Nov. 5, the “Supermoon” will rise around sunset, and then moonrise occurs later on each successive evening. On the next four evenings, Nov. 6-9, moonrise will still be fascinating to watch, as it will clear the horizon at a point farther north than the sun ever does.

If you go outside to look when the moon is highest in the sky on the early morning of Nov. 8, you’ll catch it as it passes just south of overhead, some 5° higher than the greatest altitude attained by the summer solstice midday sun. The moon will be surrounded by a ring of brilliant objects. Steady, yellow-white Jupiter, shining at magnitude -2.4, is the brightest,

28° to the moon’s east-southeast. Blue-white twinkling Sirius, of magnitude 1.4, ranks next in brightness, and is nearly twice as far to the moon’s south-southeast.

Going clockwise around the oval beginning with Jupiter, we encounter the “Twin” stars of Gemini, Pollux and Castor, 4.5° apart; next, Capella; and then down to Aldebaran, 20° to the lower right of the moon; next, 26° to the lower left, is Rigel, Orion’s foot; and then on to Sirius. Just east of a line back to our starting point, Jupiter, we encounter Procyon, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Minor, the Little Dog. The reddest of the stars of first-magnitude or brighter, the supergiant Betelgeuse, lies inside the oval of stars. Regulus lies well outside the oval, in the eastern sky 35° to the east of Jupiter.

The star Sirius will reach its highest point in south about an hour after the moon does so on the morning of Nov. 8. Sky watchers in the Coachella Valley can watch for Canopus, at magnitude -0.7, the second brightest star, passing directly south only 3°-4° above the horizon, 22 minutes before the bright star Sirius passes its high point, 40° up.

The entire ring of stars, the Winter Hexagon described above, can be observed at a wide range of times through November. Look for it in the eastern sky, by around 11 p.m. on Nov. 2, backing to 9 p.m. by month’s end. Procyon and Sirius are the last of its stars to rise.

Even brighter than Jupiter is Venus, of magnitude -3.9, but the inner planet is heading toward superior conjunction on the far side of the sun in early January. At the start of November, Venus is still easy to spot, very low in the east to east-southeast about an hour before sunrise. On Nov. 2, follow the arc of its handle to Arcturus, low in the east-northeast, and on further to Venus, with first-magnitude Spica 3.5° to the planet’s lower right.

Follow the waning moon in morning twilight daily for two weeks, beginning with the full moon of Nov. 5 and continuing through Nov. 18. For three mornings, see the moon

The

month brings

earlier nighttime

Planets and Bright Stars in Evening Mid-Twilight

For November, 2025

skies,

This sky chart is drawn for latitude 34 degrees north, but may be used in southern U.S. and northern Mexico.

a meteor shower, and a lot of bright objects around the moon

appear in Taurus: closely west of the Pleiades on Nov. 6; widely north of Aldebaran on Nov. 7; and east of Elnath, tip of the Bull’s northern horn, on Nov. 8.

Evening mid-twilight occurs when the Sun is 9° below the horizon. Nov.1: 40 minutes after sunset. 15: 42 " " " 30: 42 " " "

On Sunday morning, Nov. 9, Castor, Pollux and Jupiter, 9°, 11° and 13° from the moon, form an arc east of the 78 percent waning gibbous moon. On Nov. 10, the 68 percent moon is 4°-5° from Jupiter and Pollux, and 9° from Castor, while Venus will be 10° to the lower left of Spica. On Nov. 12, the 47 percent moon, just past last quarter phase, will be within 6° west of Regulus. On the next morning, Nov. 13, the 37 percent crescent will appear 7° east of the star.

In the predawn darkness hours on their peak date of Monday, Nov. 17, Leonid meteors are expected to increase as their radiant in Leo rises higher between midnight until the first light of dawn. The trails of shower members, extended backward, will seem to radiate from within the Sickle of Leo.

The new moon occurs on Nov. 19 at 10:47 p.m. Uranus and the Pleiades are both at opposition to the sun on Nov. 20. On Nov. 21, 25 minutes after sunset from Southern California, a 3 percent crescent moon might be visible with binoculars in a very clear sky, only 3 degrees up in the southwest. On Nov. 22, an hour after sunset, a much easier 7 percent crescent moon would be visible very low in the southwest. On the next evening, the 13 percent crescent will appear in the Teapot’s handle. On Nov. 29, Saturn appears 6° to the lower right of a 69 percent moon. On the last evening of November, the 79 percent moon appears 20° to the left of Saturn.

Robert Victor originated the Abrams Planetarium monthly Sky Calendar in October 1968 and still helps produce an occasional issue. He enjoys being outdoors sharing the beauty of the night sky and other wonders of nature.

Since March 2012, The L-Fund has offered financial and other assistance to local lesbians in need.

This time next year, the structure of The L-Fund may be different— but its leaders promise that its mission will remain the same.

Current L-Fund board members, led by co-chairs Robbin Burr and Mei Ling Tom, have been taking a hard look at the challenges the organization is facing in terms of growing membership and maintaining its services as local needs grow. As a result, the organization is looking into a possible merger with the LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert.

“Some of the things that we do well are building and continuing relationships with a loyal group of founders and supporters (who) have been so generous to the L-Fund since the very beginning,” said L-Fund co-chair Mei Ling Tom during a virtual town hall meeting on Oct. 1.

The organization currently operates four programs: the Lesbians in Need (LIN) fund; the L-Fund Education Assistance Program (LEAP); a health and wellness fund; and the Debra I. Moore Grant for the Arts program.

“With growth comes new challenges,” Tom said during the town hall. “We have been growing ever since the beginning, and continue to grow—and it’s just so much work. … We don’t really have as many volunteer resources that we need to help us … and additional concerns are ahead of us due to the new political environment, as we do not have resources to weather a heavy storm. Everyone is very well aware of all that’s happening, and we don’t have the infrastructure or the support for our small board.”

While The L-Fund

has made a huge impact, it’s done so without a paid staff. That means the work falls on the seven-person, all-volunteer board.

“I want everyone to understand how hard we have tried to take this board to a larger number, and also to recruit diversity in age, in thought and in ethnicity,” said co-chair Robbin Burr during the town hall. “We have worked almost to the point of exhaustion, frankly, to try to find people who can come to the board bringing the skill sets a little more current, and also (ensuring) that we have the bandwidth to do what we need to do as an organization.”

Burr has a long history with LGBTQ+ nonprofits. She was the executive director of a Chicago gay and lesbian center called the Center on Halsted, and the board chair of CenterLink, a coalition of LGBTQ community centers. During those years, she met Mike Thompson, the current CEO of the LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert, known as The Center.

“I started talking to Mei Ling, (and) I said, ‘We need The Center,” Burr said during the town hall. “… And we began to talk about what would it look like if we merged The L-Fund with The Center. And there’s a bigger dream

for us there, to be honest with you. Centers across the country … struggle with how to engage lesbians. … The dream is that we figure out how to do it here, and we can take it everywhere to centers across the country.”

Thompson said he shares Burr and Tom’s optimistic outlook on the benefits and strategic wisdom of bringing The L-Fund into The Center.

“What has been created in this (L-Fund) organization is unlike anything else that is happening across the country,” Thompson said during town hall. “In this time that we are living in, and as a community center that has responsibility for serving LGBTQ+ people along their way, our interest is in doing what is best for lesbians in need in our community. … There is no way that we could replicate what the founders and everyone since has created in … The L-Fund. Now that we are the size that we are, having The L-Fund at the Center is an absolute complement to our work. … Like Robbin said, this is not a unique situation to the desert (of) centers not having vibrant and meaningful programs for lesbians in the community. So this gives us a greater stake in the ground, and … we share that vision of creating a model that can be replicated, so lesbians in communities across the country can have a greater resource in their community center.”

currently owns its McDonald/Wright Building in Palm Springs, and is planning an expansion. In 2021, the organization opened The Center Coachella, and recently moved its Community Food Bank into a much larger location.

“ Centers across the country struggle with how to engage lesbians. … The dream is that we figure out how to do it here, and we can take it everywhere to centers across the country. ”

—Robbin Burr, The L-Fund co-chair

At its launch, The L-Fund board consisted of six board members who, the website says, “once a month (and sometimes twice a month) … enjoyed homemade brunches and get-togethers. Each woman placed $20 into a basket for assisting lesbians. They soon had enough money to respond to the first L-Fund request to assist a lesbian with $120 for critical life-saving medicine.” Today, according Burr, The L-Fund has roughly $500,000 in its accounts to cover its all-volunteer operations, including fundraising, event staging and disbursement of grants and awards.

“The needs are becoming tremendous, as you might imagine,” Burr said at the town hall. “Just to give you a sense, we’ve given away $30,000 more this year at this (point in) time than we did last year.”

These are needs with which The Center— with a full-time staff of 35 people—can assist.

‘Both Coming Into This With Strength’

While many LGBTQ community centers across the country are struggling, the LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert is thriving. Since 1998, through numerous name and organizational transitions, The Center has grown in size and scope. The organization

“We had our all-staff meeting at The Center Coachella yesterday,” Thompson told the town hall audience. “They had a map up of 20 different community points (where) we are currently doing programming across the east valley. … Our community has stepped up with very generous support of The Center, allowing us now to be a $5 million organization. … By nonprofit standards, with (an annual) budget of $5 million, an organization should have anywhere between $1.4 million and $1.7 million in reserve, to indicate the strength of the organization. Our reserve fund today

stands at $1.6 million. If times get a little bit challenging, we’ve got a reserve now. We don’t want to touch that, but it also gives us some security that we’re going to be OK.”

Thompson continued: “Given this financial strength of The L-Fund, it just makes sense (to merge), because neither of us would be entering this partnership crippled. We’re both coming into this with strength financially, but also with the strength of community support behind us. I think the community is going to respond in a very generous way, seeing the collaboration, because now L-Fund volunteers can truly be L-Fund volunteers, and our staff picks up a lot of the work that L-Fund board members had been doing. We’ve got a communications team; we’ve got a social media team; we’ve got a development team; and we’ve got a strong programs infrastructure. So we can preserve the integrity of The L-Fund structure, and then just provide all the other support around that, so it can really thrive and likely launch to a new level of growth.”

The plan, should the merger proceed, is for The L-Fund board to act as a search committee for a director to head their embedded operations. The Center will expand its board to include two new seats, which will be filled by L-Fund representatives.

A Model to Help, Both Locally and Beyond

After a second, in-person town hall on Oct. 8, the Independent went back to each of the three leaders to ask what they took away from those two exploratory discussions.

Tom expressed gratitude to everyone who has, and continues to, support The L-Fund.

“We are forever grateful, because that (generosity) helps us continue to do what we do,” Tom said. “… We look forward to keeping everyone abreast … as we move along. We’ll definitely keep everyone updated along the way.”

Burr emphasized the positive aspects of the proposed merger.

“The L-Fund would dissolve its own 501(c) (3) and become The L-Fund at The Center,” Burr explained to town hall attendees. “The L-Fund would have a dedicated director that will report directly to Mike. Currently, the funds that we bring over to The Center from The L-Fund will stay in a restricted account that will be used only for The L-Fund. Our donors, our supporters, will be able to dedicate their giving to The L-Fund. … If you’re giving us restricted funds for LEAP, or you’re giving us restricted funds for health and wellness, or you’re just giving funds to The L-Fund, that’s how it will come, and that’s how it will stay.”

Burr and Tom repeated several times during the town hall that the merger-study process will not be rushed.

“We want to take our time and be sure this is done really well and appropriately,” Burr said. “And The Center doesn’t want to do anything until they start their next fiscal year, which begins in July 2026. We believe that’s the right time, anyway, so that we have time to really map this out, (and) figure out the direction.”

“The L-Fund could not be more excited and thrilled that we are in such a good space that we need to do this,” Burr said. “We want the community to understand that we are coming at this as a very, very positive, exciting thing for us, because it is. … I know engaging the “L” in LGBTQ+ is a challenge everywhere … and the L-Fund has a chance to influence helping, and reaching and engaging the “L” in centers across the country, once we get the model built here. So I’m super excited about that part.”

Thompson said The L-Fund leadership will ultimately make the decisions regarding what’s best for The L-Fund’s long-term sustainability.

“What The Center (has) always been interested in, and what we will continue to be interested in, is that members of our community of LGBTQ-identifying people across the Coachella Valley have their needs met by someone,” Thompson said. “That is what’s of primary importance. Where we have the capacity and the resources and the programming to address those needs, we want to do that. Where need to partner with other organizations, we want to do that. So whatever the outcome of this exploration is, we want to make sure that lesbians in need in our community have a resource to go to in The L-Fund. … We’re thrilled that The L-Fund has looked to us as a possible partner, and we would be honored if they chose to partner with us in this meaningful way, because our interest then would become maintaining the integrity of the program to ensure those in need who come to The L-Fund will continue to get what they’ve always gotten from The L-Fund.”

Jeremy Novy shares examples of queer street art from around the world at Impell Gallery during

Palm Springs Pride

Global Queer Resistance Through Street Art, a short-run exhibit at Impell Gallery during Greater Palm Springs Pride, will feature works by renowned queer street artist Jeremy Novy.

The exhibition shows how queer street art has historically served as a form of rebellion against discrimination and violence, while also expressing joy and optimism.

“Queer art has always been an oppressed art form,” Novy said. “We are not taggers— we are street artists. This is for social change. It’s about doing something better.”

In addition to showing Novy’s own work, Impell will display more than 50 pieces from Novy’s extensive collection of queer street art, including works by Keith Haring, FAILE, Shepard Fairey, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Gran Fury, Queer Nation and ACT UP.

Impell Gallery owner Mark Pellegrino said Novy’s collection represents a range of international artists. Novy will be on hand for impromptu art talks about the history and ongoing impact of queer street art.

Novy travels often, doing commissioned work and meeting up with street artists throughout the country and abroad. When we spoke over the phone in early/mid-October, he was in his hometown, Milwaukee, to paint a rainbow crosswalk.

“I went to art school here, so people kind of appreciate my art,” Novy said. “I’ll be going down to Chicago to hang out with some street artists down there. We’ll go out and paint some posters. Then, I head to Austin for a couple of days and go out with some friends who are street artists there. We’ll put up posters and do stencils before I go to Brenham, Texas, and then I’ll be back to California.”

Considered one of the pioneers of the queer street-art movement, Novy is credited with opening up space for queer artists to exist and create within the larger world of street art. He said the current political climate around the country is concerning, mentioning the targeting of drag queens and the removal of

By Haleemon Anderson

rainbow sidewalks in cities he has visited.

“Queer visibility is a really, really important thing,” Novy said. “I do stencils of drag queens, and I see that as art, but putting out that image can confront someone who may be homophobic. I think that queer street art can be a protest to the removal of our rainbow crosswalks, and to the lack of murals. … When it comes to queer murals, we don’t have them, because cities consider them too controversial to the variety of people who live in their city.”

Novy pointed out that anti-LGBTQ sentiments spread well beyond the U.S.

“I have two murals, one in Sydney, one in San Francisco, and both of them were defaced at different times, specifically by religious groups who said that it was their religious right to not have to see this,” Novy said. “It was really sad, because the Sydney (incident) happened the day that Australia allowed for same-sex marriage to happen. Someone was upset that had passed, and they went to deface this mural.”

More than 15 years ago, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded Novy with a grant. With the funds, he curated an exhibition, A History of Queer Street Art, which premiered in San Francisco in 2011, and later traveled to pop-up galleries in Los Angeles and at Yale University. The exhibit that will be on display at Impell Gallery has roots in that 2011 show.

“I used the grant to start this collection,” said Novy. “I was trying to (say), ‘Look, I’m not the only one. There are all these other people, and it’s an actual art movement.’ At that time, it was really hard for me to find other street artists, because street art wasn’t (viewed in such a friendly way), like how it is now. You can really show your face, and it’s trendy, and it’s not looked at as graffiti so much anymore.”

You likely have seen an instance of Novy’s most famous creation, the floating koi fish. They are ubiquitous, appearing in public and private spaces, both indoors and out. Novy has stenciled koi in numerous cities across the country and on three continents, with the San Francisco Bay Area having the highest concentration of koi per square mile of any region in the states.

Novy said street art is special because it uses public spaces to send messages. The typical art-gallery visitor may be educated or wealthy, while a majority of the population may never intentionally seek out art. In contrast, street art brings art to everyone, regardless of income or background.

Novy said Yale University was interested in the connections between contemporary street artists and the protest/queer art from previous generations.

“Yale University, as a part of their queer studies program, was interested in the new artists making street art, and thinking about the older street art that started out with the AIDS epidemic (that was) telling the government that they needed to pay attention to the queer community—how they needed to react to this crisis that’s happening,” Novy said.

“Even Keith Haring, (he) was definitely part of the hip hop scene. He was like a DJ, and part of a band, and a lot of different things with the downtown New York crowd of artists at that time. Yale was really interested that there are new artists with similar ideas about expressing their existence.”

Novy said he’s proud to have helped build a streetart community around the world, which today can use social media to make instant connections.

“Some of them said that I was kind of unionizing queer artists, or making it so other queer artists knew (each other), and were able to connect to specific queer street artists,

which was kind of amazing,” he said. “I was in Barcelona two years ago and ended up meeting a queer street artist there. I’ll just go onto a street, and if I find something that has a queer image in it, I’ll look them up online, and then I’ll literally reach out to them: ‘Hey, I’m in your city; I’m this artist. Would you like to go out and do art together? Or would you just like to meet and have a talk?’ In that process, I’ve been able to trade posters with these artists. I’ve been able to purchase their art to support what they’re doing and really turn it into a larger collection.”

Novy moved to Cathedral City two years ago, and Global Queer Resistance, his first local show, is in line with a tradition of activism in the city. In 2016, Cathedral City installed the first rainbow sidewalk in Coachella Valley.

Novy said the weather here is good for his work; the dry heat helps his canvases dry faster. He also finds that the Coachella Valley offers him a respite from his travels.

“I really just find it a relaxing place away from my travels to major cities. It’s quiet and it’s nice,” he said. “Some places I go, there is homophobia, not necessarily blatant, (but) a certain censorship that you realize has something to do with a deeper meaning, rather than just homophobia.”

Global Queer Resistance Through Street Art will open with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 6, and will be on display from 2 to 7 p.m., Friday through Sunday, Oct. 7-9, at Impell Gallery, at 610 S. Belardo Road, Suite 1000, in Palm Springs. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.instagram.com/ impellgallery. Learn more about Jeremy Novy at jeremynovystencils.com.

Palm Springs resident Gregory Douglass has been crafting heartfelt, folk-inspired pop songs for nearly three decades.

Douglass utilizes experimental piano and production, with straightforward acoustic guitar, to deliver strong lyrical messages, touching upon thoughts of preservation (“Don’t stop ’til your freedom bound,” from “Alibis”), frustration (“This world is hung over swinging upside down / I think I’ve had enough by now,” from “Upside Down”) and anger (“Don’t tell me how it’s going to be all right / You don’t know a damn thing about my life,” from “Sail the Sea”).

Douglass is getting ready for what is advertised as a “multi-sensory concert experience” on Sunday, Nov. 16, at Revolution Stage Company in Palm Springs.

During a recent phone interview, Douglass explained how he got his musical start.

“I actually went to a college prep school, and I was the only kid who did not go to college with everyone’s support,” Douglass said. “Back then, it was the Ani DiFranco years … when there was a DIY indie artist movement where you could do it on your own. That’s what I was really determined to do, and I did it for over 20 years. I’ve got 10 albums out, and I was full time (as a performer) for over 20 years, touring around. I was based in Vermont, so I focused mostly on the East Coast and the Midwest.”

After many years of performing, Douglass came out West to explore less rigorous musical opportunities.

“In 2015, (my husband and I) went to L.A., and it was the beginning of winding down from doing so much touring and so much of everything on my own,” he said. “I’ve had a manager and booking agents, but for the most part, I was really managing everything myself, and I just was burning out for all the same reasons that so many others have. I knew that something needed to change, and that the industry was evolving in all sorts of weird ways. … We both dropped everything and went out to L.A. for five years—and then the pandemic hit. I have to admit, I felt a little bit relieved to not feel so guilty about not touring. That was, for so many of us, a reawakening.

Douglass and his husband soon fell in love with the Coachella Valley, and became residents in 2021.

“We discovered Palm Springs just to get away from L.A., and after a year in flux, we just decided, ‘Let’s just go to Palm Springs and see what’s going on,’” Douglass said. “My husband really wanted to get into real estate here, and we knew it was a sanctuary in many ways, and a safe haven for a lot of gay men who we knew—but we didn’t realize the extent of it. Understanding that nearly 50% of the population (in Palm Springs proper) identifies as LGBTQ+ is really fascinating. Who else in the world can say that?”

Douglass wants to keep Palm Springs a

sanctuary, which is one reason why, he said, he and his husband started The Palm Springs Guys, an events guide and blog for local gay males.

“We started The Palm Springs Guys, a local gay resource hub that’s providing resources and information,” he said. “… As I’m learning, I’m sharing (what I learn) with other people, and it’s really become helpful and resourceful for people who are curious. … We do these monthly happy hours now called The Palm Springs Guys Happy Hour, and we bounce around and support local businesses.”

Palm Springs has provided a lot of happiness for Douglass, he said.

“There’s so much quality of life that has come from living here, which was a really big shift for me, because I’ve been playing music and touring around ever since I graduated high school, so I didn’t really enjoy my life outside of working and entertaining other people,” he said. “In a lot of ways, I’m making up for lost time, and I have been really having a great time just being involved with the community, and living my best gay life in ways that I really wasn’t able to before.”

While Douglass has found a great LGBTQ+ community in Palm Springs, he said he was surprised to see that Palm Springs proper lacks performers of original music, in his

very receptive to that. There’s just not a lot being offered to them here. I always have this similar conversation with people, about why there isn’t more original music here, and it doesn’t even cross people’s minds, because it’s nowhere even on their radar.”

Douglass trades personal lyrics for more universal stances on issues that people in the LGBTQ+ community face.

“A lot of queer people, regardless of where they’re coming from or what their age is, are dealing with a lot of big issues, and shame is probably one of the biggest, especially with gay men,” he said. “Palm Springs is a very interesting melting pot, but as some people would joke, it’s not very diverse. It’s a bunch of middle-aged, white, gay men, more than anything. If we’re judging a book by its cover, it’s easy to make that assumption, but if you’re really getting to connect with people and get to know people, you have every kind of person here. … People from all over the world are finding a safe space here, so in that sense, it’s very rich and diverse. It’s interesting to get to know people and understand they’re coming from all walks of life, but we’re dealing with a lot of the same issues.”

Douglass said many attendees of his shows leave emotionally moved.

“When I’ve talked to people after shows here, I get more of, ‘Wow, I really needed that,’ or ‘I didn’t realize how much I needed that emotional release,’” he said. “If somebody comes up to me and says, ‘You made me cry,’ that’s the biggest compliment in the world.” Douglass said he’s picky about scheduling shows.

opinion.

“It’s also been interesting to live here as a musician, as a primarily original singer-songwriter, in a town that really has no original music,” Douglass said. “It’s totally bizarre. I did not expect that to be the case. Of course, the high desert is a totally different story, but here in Palm Springs, there are so many cover bands and the Rat Pack-era tributes, and plenty of drag shows and karaoke and whatever, and it’s a lot of fun. All of that has its place, but I’m one of the few who’s trying to make a name here locally more on the original-music end of the spectrum.”

There’s actually a lot of original music throughout the Coachella Valley, as regular readers of the Independent know, but Douglass is right in the sense that many people pass on new music in favor of a Sinatra performer or a great cover band. Because of this, Douglass said, he works to make every performance special, and digs deep into his lyrics to create an emotional and meaningful bond with audiences.

“Anytime I play a show, I usually have a habit of (telling audiences), ‘OK, (you have) permission to feel your feelings tonight, because I know that most of you are not doing that from day to day in this never-ending party town,’” he said. “People have been

“I’ve been really particular about where and how often I’m playing, because I want to make sure it is a listening room, and that it is an experience for people,” Douglass said. “Instead of just being, ‘Hey, I’m playing every week at this one place,’ I want to do an event, and I want to do it right. I want people to walk away feeling, ‘That was what I needed,’ or, ‘That was something different than what the norm is here.’”

The concert at Revolution Stage Company will serve as a “pre-release” show for Douglass’ upcoming album, his first in more than a decade.

“The album is called Amateur, and it (has) a very classical chamber-pop vibe with just a string quartet, piano, vocals and harmonies,” he said. “I haven’t really done anything quite like that before. I’m just re-visiting my music again in ways that I am excited about. … I’m sharing new songs for the first time, and I’m collaborating with a videographer to do something more conceptual for that. I’m trying to create an experience for people when they come to a show, so it just feels more surprising and fulfilling.”

Gregory Douglass will perform at 7 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 16, at Revolution Stage Company, at 611 S. Palm Canyon Drive, No. 15, in Palm Springs. Tickets are $33 in advance, or $35 at the door. For tickets and more information, visit www.revolutionstagecompany.com.

LIVE ON STAGE!

DO-GOODER

The Nonprofit SCENE

November 2025

SANTA ROSA AND SAN JACINTO MOUNTAINS NATIONAL MONUMENT CELEBRATION TO BE RESCHEDULED DUE TO GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

A kick-off celebration, including a time-capsule installation, planned for Oct. 23 at the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Visitor Center on Highway 74, was postponed. Please check desertmountains.org for Friends of the Desert Mountains (FODM) event updates during the federal government shutdown.

“The Visitor Center is closed to the public, and Bureau of Land Management and USDA Forest Service staff would not have been able to participate due to the shutdown,” said FODM executive director Tammy Martin. “We will celebrate this wonderful national treasure when the time is right.”

One of the first national monuments designated under the National Conservation Lands status, Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument was established by an act of Congress on Oct. 24, 2000, “in order to preserve the nationally significant biological, cultural, recreational, geological, educational and scientific values found in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains.”

Jointly managed by the BLM, the USDA Forest Service and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, the monument’s boundary encompasses about 280,000 acres.

Friends of the Desert Mountains connects people to the land through conservation, education and research. We also are the official nonprofit partner of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. We engage all ages and abilities to reveal the wonders of the fragile desert and mountains we call home and instill an environmental awareness that we hope lasts a lifetime.

Learn more at www.desertmountains.org.

FIND REGIONAL FOOD BANK OPENS NEW FOOD SECURITY CAMPUS

On Friday, Sept. 26, FIND Regional Food Bank celebrated the grand opening and ribboncutting of its new 80,000-square-foot Food Security Campus in Indio, marking a major milestone in the fight against hunger across the desert region.

The expanded facility will significantly increase FIND’s capacity to accept, store and distribute donated food to neighbors in

need. Beyond food storage and logistics, the additional space will feature a workforcedevelopment training warehouse for youthinternship opportunities and financial-literacy courses, and other educational resources designed to foster long-term stability and selfsufficiency.

“This new campus isn’t just about distributing more food—it’s about creating pathways for people to build stability and thrive. Through our workforce development programs, youth internships and financial literacy courses, we’re helping individuals gain the tools and confidence to secure higherpaying jobs and break the cycle of poverty,” said Debbie Espinosa, president and CEO of FIND Regional Food Bank.

The event was attended by elected officials and representatives lending their support to FIND’s mission to create a community that is free of hunger and food insecurity.

Local delegates from the cities of Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Desert, Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, and the town of Yucca Valley, were present to add their collective voice to FIND’s continued mission of relieving hunger, the causes of hunger, and the problems associated with hunger through awareness, education and mobilization of resources and community involvement.

Founded in 1983, FIND Regional Food Bank serves more than 10,000 square miles, including eastern Riverside and southern San Bernardino counties, from the high desert and Joshua Tree across the Coachella Valley to Anza, down to the Salton Sea and the border of California and Arizona.

FIND is the largest hunger-relief and food rescue organization in the region. They are the Feeding America food bank for California’s southeastern desert region and recognized as the USDA distributor for Riverside County. FIND also serves as the regional disaster response food bank as designated by California state. FIND’s mission is to “End Hunger Today, Tomorrow, and For a Lifetime.”

FIND feeds an average of 120,000 individuals, families, children and seniors each month. Their 155 distribution sites include nearly 100 nonprofit community organizations and 30 free community mobile markets, serving food deserts and low-income areas. FIND also offers outreach services that connect residents with benefit assistance programs to improve financial security.

Learn more at findfoodbank.org.

—Submitted on behalf of the nonprofits by Karin Jaffie and Morgan Gaspard

ARTS & CULTURE

MID-CENTURY MARVELOUS

By Jeffrey norman

As he leads a visitor on a tour of the new home for Dezart Performs, artistic director Michael Shaw can hardly conceal his excitement. Some 17 years after the company’s unlikely origin, a dream is about to come true—and he is savoring every moment.

“Almost 15 years ago, somebody was interviewing me and asked, ‘Where do you want to be in 10 years?’ And I said, ‘Gosh, in 10 years, I would love to have my own broom and my own floor to sweep,’” said Shaw.

It took a few extra years, but on Nov. 13, the Dezart Playhouse will celebrate its grand opening with three nights of gala performances of West Side Story in Concert. The celebration is the culmination of countless hours of planning and fundraising, and sheer determination.

Shaw came to California in the 1980s. “I wanted to be a movie star,” he said. Instead, he started what became his first theater company with three college friends.

Later, Shaw and his husband, Clark Dugger, bought a second home in Palm Springs.

“While we were remodeling our condo here, our designer turned us on to the Backstreet Art District, and we fell in love with one particular space called Dezart One Gallery,” he said. “One of the artists running the gallery wanted to create a salon setting with live performance.”

A young actress named Daniela Ryan was doing a one-woman show in the space. One weekend, Dugger got roped into running the lights for her show.

“At the time, Clark knew nothing about theatrical lighting,” Shaw said. “I went to the show, mostly to see him run lights. I met Daniela that night, and we just bonded. We thought, ‘Do we want to create some theater together?’ And that’s how Dezart Performs was born.”

They stayed in that space for three years, presenting comedy, new works, poetry and improvisational theater. Eventually the gallery closed, and Shaw learned that the Palm Springs Woman’s Club was available.

“We moved in, expanded on some of the existing infrastructure and ran a full four-show season for the next 14 years,” he said.

In recent years, Dezart began selling out virtually every one of its performances. The company needed to grow.

Shaw said he and his board started thinking seriously about finding their own space about five years ago. “Coming out of COVID, we realized that the community still needed us and wanted us,” he said. “We conducted a feasibility study to find out if the community could support a new space for Dezart for the long term. We learned that it could.”

Shaw, Dugger and the Dezart board spent

the intervening years looking at spaces they could rent and build out to suit their needs. They went through three potential properties, all of which fell through for one reason or another.

“We were not ready to give up,” said Shaw. “We were about to renew our search when a donor told us he had a friend who said there might be a building in Palm Springs coming on the market.”

And so there was. It was an historic, mid-century building designed by Robson Chambers and Albert Frey to be the home of the First Church of Christ, Scientist.

“I had a longstanding wish to turn a church into a theater,”‘ said Shaw. “I grew up in the church, and I find it very transformative. It’s a performance space. Church is performance, and theater is a performance. … We fell in love with the building instantly. As soon as it officially went on the market, we put our bid in, and they accepted it.”

The biggest issue at the time was that Dezart didn’t have the cash on hand to come up with the down payment. They had raised a lot of money, but had more pledges than actual cash. Shaw approached David C. Lee, a longtime friend of the theater who’s best known as the co-creator of Frasier, among multiple other television and stage credits.

“He has been an incredible supporter of Dezart,” said Shaw, “and when the opportunity with the church came about, he asked us what we needed. We told him. And he gave it to us. So, David C. Lee is the reason we were able to get this building.”

Lee made a gift of $500,000, partly as a match, to cover the costs of the down payment and ongoing mortgage payments.

For Dezart Performs to have its own building is especially meaningful for Shaw. “I got to design it with a remarkable planning committee,” he said. “It’s been hours and hours of exhaustive discussions with architects and theater designers and other stakeholders, but I have always had a vision of what I’d like the ‘playground’ to look like.”

The initial phase of the project will include a 123-seat, fully equipped theater, as well

Dezart Performs opens its new playhouse with a concert version of ‘West Side Story,’ which debuted in the same year as the building—1957

as dressing rooms, a rehearsal hall, meeting rooms and an event prep space. The second phase, slated to open for the 2026-2027 season, will introduce new theater seating, indoor and outdoor bars, a box office and upgraded restrooms.

Shaw envisions the playhouse as a place where Dezart Performs can expand its own production capabilities, while also serving as a community center for other artists and organizations to showcase their work, hold meetings and lectures, be part of big events like Modernism Week and the Palm Springs International Film Festival, and more. They’ve already started renting space to other theater companies for their rehearsals, and Shaw also hopes the building will allow Dezart Performs to renew its education efforts.

But first, they have to get the building open.

“I have to give a shout-out to our amazing general contractor and all of the subcontractors,” said Shaw, “and a superb design team that includes architect Susan Secoy Jensen, landscape architect JC Miller and TheatreDNA consultant Michael Ferguson. We are doing this in such a short amount of time. The level of skill and expertise on this project blows my mind, and our board has been incredibly supportive.”

One of those board members, Nancy Bleiweiss-Nevil, said she’s thrilled to be a part of Dezart Performs.

“To be performing in our own theater, an historic mid-century modern building, is awesome,” she said. “We are opening doors for our wonderful past patrons and now a whole new group who love and appreciate this glorious architecture”

Shaw chose West Side Story in Concert as Dezart’s first production in its new home, in part, because the First Church of Christ, Scientist, opened in what was then its new building in 1957. “And that was the same year West Side Story opened on Broadway and changed musical theater,” he said.

The new space isn’t big enough to stage some of West Side Story’s major production numbers, so the next best thing, in Shaw’s mind, was to bring in a great cast and a 15-piece orchestra, do a concert version and make it a gala weekend.

“I can’t wait,” he said. “People are going to come in here and sit in this new space, and at the end of show when the song “Somewhere” is performed, they’re going to hear it fresh and new and unlike any way they’ve ever experienced it. That’s the clincher to this evening for us: ‘There’s a place for us,’ and we need that now more than ever. I want the playhouse to be that place where people want to come and find peace and joy and respite.”

The remainder of the 2025-2026 Dezart Performs schedule includes the recent Tony Award-winner for Best Revival of a Play, Eureka Day, in January; the West Coast premiere of Destroying David in February/March; and the 1995 Tony Award winner for Best Play, Love! Valour! Compassion! in April.

All will be performed on a brand-new stage in Dezart Performs’ glorious new theater. Shaw is delighted. He got his broom.

The new Dezart Playhouse is located at 605 S. Riverside Drive, in Palm Springs. Learn more at dezartperforms.org.

CAESAR CERVISIA

By brett newton

The Coachella Valley heat and the allergens are finally starting to wane, and I thought it would be a good time to enjoy one last quick getaway before the busy season arrives. There’s an area, not far away, whose breweries keep crossing my radar: Temecula/Murrieta. A quick drive over the mountain seemed in order on a warm, clear autumn day, so I set off.

I began my short journey with a name from the past: Black Market Brewing. They’ve been going since 2009, and I found them shortly after they won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 2010 for their Rye IPA. But outside of a few random taps or cans here and there, I hadn’t been to the brewery in more than a decade.

When last I saw it, they were expanding from a much smaller section of their building into a larger one. In that larger space now sits the brewhouse, a small pizza parlor and some benches with older arcade cabinets (which you know I was all about if you’ve read my column before). A lovely bartender named Natalie loaned me a buck so I could play said cabinets.

I ordered a flight. Some stand-outs were the Cucumber Sour, which has been around for many years and is as good as ever; it’s a light-bodied kettle sour with the flavor of the whole cucumber, peel and all. The “In Call” Pils is a hoppy pilsner with floral Waimea hops, and Bad Actor is a tropical IPA with notes of passionfruit and guava. After a tasty pint of an American pilsner called Good Vibrations, I left happy in the knowledge that Black Market’s beers still held up. It’s definitely worth stopping by if you’re in

Temecula.

I checked in where I was staying and got a ride to the real reason I was motivated to go to the area: Solaris Beer and Blending A friend has been bringing some of their beer, and I’ve been very impressed. I mean no disrespect to the other breweries I visited, but Solaris seemed like it might deserve a space on my list of favorite breweries in Southern California. I walked into a stylish, modern-looking taproom with a long, curved bar, and did something predictable: I ordered a full pour of their 8° Czech pale lager, Accent Lighting. Served in the appropriate mug, appropriately light at a 3.2% alcohol by volume, and with a fluffy white head, it was very tasty and refreshing, with plenty of flavor from the malt and Saaz hops. By the time my mug was empty, I knew I had to have a flight so I could try much more in a shorter period of time. Natural Lighting

Our beer scribe heads to Temecula/ Murrietta for a quick, brews-filled getaway

was the previous beer’s dark lager version, with notes of toast and chocolate. It was crisp and full-flavored at 4.5% ABV, and I would have been just as happy had I ordered a mug of that.

Idle Moments was the most intriguing beer on the menu. It’s a collaboration with Beachwood Blendery and is a blend of lambic-style ale, a pilsner with wild yeast, an aged saison and the 8º Czech pale lager, with osmanthus flowers, Saaz hops and aged hops. I got the funkiness from the sour ales with notes of cherries, citrus, flowers and much more. Skylab Jobs Near You is a West Coast IPA with tons of dank, citrusy and tropical fruit flavors. It was here where I was struck by the mouthfeels of each of these beers: They were all on point. TDH Parallelograms is another West Coast IPA that is similar to the Skylab, but even danker. Both are full of hop flavor and also highly drinkable.

If I had been a more boring columnist, I’d have just stayed at Solaris all night, but a 50-foot walk in the same commercial center brought me to Electric Brewing Co. I’d been here before the COVID-19 times, and I was due for another visit. I struck up a conversation with fellow Certified Cicerone Dustin (whose other job was as brewer at Rincon Reservation Road Brewery in Valley Center) and went about trying some of the many beers on offer.

I began with the Fest Bier 2025 to do my judgy thing—as I’ve stated many times before, it’s difficult to hide flaws in a lager— and they passed with flying colors. It hits all the notes, has a nice and fresh Noble hop flavor, and finishes crisply. New Zealand Riptide

is what is now being called a New Zealand pilsner. I’m a simple man: I see NZ hops (Nelson Sauvin, Motueka and Riwaka, in this case), and I order. This beer had the tropical fruits and dankness that these hops impart so well, and the pilsner body supports these flavors and aromas for your enjoyment.

Then I asked for any IPA besides a hazy … and I was given two hazies to try. Juicy Rainbows is the name of the first, and it does something most hazy IPA don’t: It drinks more like a West Coast IPA. That is an indictment of hazy beers, I know, but I just don’t like the milky, murky mess of flavors that are rampant in the style. The second hazy was a Quad IPA brewed in collaboration with the great North Park Beer Co. for NPBC’s recent ninth anniversary. It was quite sweet and fruity, and shockingly smooth for the 12% ABV. Interesting, but no thank you.

Honorable mention goes to 8 Bit Brewing, located near both Solaris and Electric, but since I visited on a Monday, their taproom was closed. I have tried a handful of solid brews from them in the past year, but it was not to be this time. Instead, I took a stroll down the road to enjoy a Mongolian hot pot and contemplate my lovely day in the Temecula Valley, grateful for all of the good beer that had been put in front of me.

Wine country, look out: Temecula’s beer country is making moves.

Brett Newton is a certified cicerone (like a sommelier for beer) and homebrewer who has mostly lived in the Coachella Valley since 1988. He can be reached at caesarcervisia@gmail.com.

VINE SOCIAL

By Katie finn

Every November, food and wine writers across the country dust off the same old advice column about what to pair with turkey. You know the one: “Pinot Noir and cranberry sauce are a match made in heaven,” or, “Riesling cuts through the richness of gravy.” Cute. True. Heard it.

This year, I’m skipping the pairing talk and tackling the real Thanksgiving wine challenge: how to protect your good bottles from your family. Because somewhere between the turkey carving and the football game, that bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape you’ve been saving for years is about to

meet its worst enemy: Uncle Bob, who thinks “Brunello” is a new electric car and describes all red wine as “nice and dry.”

So instead of wine pairings, here are a few tried-and-true industry tricks from my sommelier friends and me to help you enjoy your favorite bottles—without sharing them with the masses who think “chablis” always comes in a three-liter jug.

1. The Bathroom Wine Strategy

This is one of my personal go-to moves. It’s simple, elegant and effective: Pour yourself a glass of “bathroom wine.”

Stash your favorite wine glass and a bottle or decanter of your good stuff in the bathroom—on the counter, next to the bathtub, or even in the shower, whatever works. Then, when Aunt Margie starts mashing the potatoes with the same vigor she uses to recount her bunion surgery, politely excuse yourself.

Step away from the chaos; lock the door; pour yourself a splash; enjoy five glorious minutes of peace. Listen to the hum of family life muffled through the walls while you savor the fine structure and balance of your secret glass.

The beauty of “bathroom wine” is twofold: Not only do you get to enjoy your special bottle without interruption; you also get the rarest Thanksgiving luxury of all—solitude.

2. Dresser Wine:

A Pre-Game Ritual

My friend Chris, a fellow sommelier and general wine genius, swears by what he calls “dresser wine.” It’s the bottle he and his wife open while they’re getting ready for the day’s festivities— before the guests arrive, before the oven timer starts dinging, before the turkey panic sets in.

“It’s always Champagne,” he told me, with the reverence usually reserved for sacred rituals. “It sets the tone. We pour two glasses, finish getting ready, and share a toast to surviving the day ahead.”

There’s something beautifully civilized about this—a little pre-game sparkle before the doorbell rings. It’s a reminder that Thanksgiving is supposed to be fun, not a triathlon of gravy

boats, side-eye and small talk.

And if you think about it, Champagne goes with everything—especially getting dressed. So yes, keep a cold bottle of bubbles in your bedroom, and start your holiday on a high note.

3. The Laundry Room Cellar

If the bathroom feels too obvious and the bedroom too sacred, allow me to suggest another prime hiding spot: the laundry room. It’s the Switzerland of the household—neutral territory. No one lingers there unless something’s on fire or the dryer has eaten a sock.

You can, however, casually “check on the dryer” as many times as you like. Pour a small glass, and revel in the hum of the spin cycle while sipping something that puts a smile on your face. There’s something poetic about enjoying a wine with finesse while surrounded by Tide pods and lost buttons.

Plus, if anyone wanders in, you have a perfect alibi: “I’m just making sure the tablecloth gets dry in time.”

4. The Decoy Bottle Trick

Sommelier Blair—an industry veteran and unflappable host—takes a more tactical approach to holiday wine survival: the decoy bottle.

Here’s how it works: Instead of leaving your prized 2008 Barolo out for anyone with no sense of shame, grab a few empty bottles from your recycling bin—the cheaper-looking, the better. Clean them thoroughly, and then refill them with your good stuff. If you’ve got an unlabeled “shiner” bottle lying around, even better. Write “cooking wine” directly on the glass with a marker, and set it on the kitchen counter next to the gravy pan.

To the untrained eye, it’s just another sad bottle destined for the saucepan. But you and Blair know the truth: That humble decoy is quietly housing a masterpiece. While everyone else is busy topping off their glasses with the practical “value” wines you selected, you’re savoring a perfectly aged Barolo that’s finally opened up—because, bonus, pouring it into another bottle has essentially decanted it.

Hide the good stuff: a sommelier’s survival guide to Thanksgiving wine

This trick has everything a sommelier could want from a covert operation: discretion, efficiency and plausible deniability.

5. BYOW (Bring Your Own Wine Glass)

If you can’t hide your wine, hide your glass. Seriously—a discreetly labeled glass can save your favorite pour from turning into a communal tasting flight.

A piece of washi tape with your name on it, a colored marker on the stem, or even a little wine charm can make all the difference. This way, when Cousin Derek walks by holding a Solo cup and says, “What’re we drinking?” you can smile sweetly and point him toward the open bottles on the bar.

Meanwhile, your personal glass stays topped with your favorite Bordeaux—untouched, unshared and undiluted by melted ice cubes.

6. Redefine “Sharing”

Before you call me selfish, let’s get one thing straight: This isn’t about hoarding. It’s about curation.

You wouldn’t serve white truffle risotto to someone who puts ketchup on their steak. So why pour your $80 bottle of aged Burgundy for the same person who once told you their favorite wine was “the blue one with the kangaroo”?

If you genuinely want to share, pour your

special bottle for the few people who will appreciate it—your wine-curious cousin, your foodie friend, your favorite aunt who once taught you how to swirl. Create a little side-tasting moment before dinner. A secret club, if you will.

This way, you still spread the love—just selectively.

7. The Postgame Pour

Finally, save a splash for yourself for later. When the dishes are done, the leftovers are packed, and everyone’s fighting over the remote, sneak back to your stash.

Pour one more small glass of the good stuff, and toast yourself for surviving another holiday with grace, humor and a memorable bottle. In the end, Thanksgiving isn’t about perfect pairings or impressing anyone—it’s about finding joy in the small, delicious moments. Like a secret sip of wine behind a locked bathroom door.

This November, don’t sweat the pairings. Instead, stock your hiding spots; label your glass; and remember: There’s no shame in keeping a little bottle of happiness just for yourself.

Katie Finn is a certified sommelier and certified specialist of wine with two decades in the wine industry. She can be reached at katiefinnwine@ gmail.com.

the 2 Restaurants Unlimited Flavors

FOOD & DRINK INDY ENDORSEMENT

On this month’s menu: a revelatory tomato salad, and a hearty traditional Mexican soup

By Jimmy Boegle

WHAT Tomato salad

WHERE Bar Issi, at the Thompson Palm Springs, 414 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs

HOW MUCH $17

CONTACT 442-334-2405; www.thebarissi.com

WHY It’s perfect.

There are many wonderful options on Bar Issi’s dinner menu.

The hamachi carpaccio ($29) is a delight. The gazpacho ($15)—with sun-gold tomatoes and cantaloupe—is delicious and refreshing (but beware if you are anti-cilantro). The ricotta-filled agnolotti in pomodoro sauce ($32) might just convince me to give vegetarianism a try. (OK, not really—but this dish is really good.)

Even the pizzas are top-notch.

But it’s the tomato salad, with three simple components, that keeps me coming back.

Basil. A sherry vinaigrette. And—most importantly—fresh heirloom tomatoes. That’s all there is to this salad, unless you get the optional anchovies ($9), but trust me: Even if you like anchovies, they’re not necessary.

This simple, perfect dish shows that the folks in the kitchen of this “breezy and elevated coastal Italian restaurant”—which opened several months ago in the Thompson Palm Springs—know what they’re doing. Great food doesn’t need to be fancy or complicated; as long as you have quality ingredients and knowhow, you’re likely to produce delicious food.

Yeah, Bar Issi ain’t cheap; on my journalist’s budget, I’m certainly not able to dine there regularly. But the big-city vibe, the excellent service, the fantastic cocktails and the wellthought-out dishes make Bar Issi worth a visit.

Given that heirloom tomatoes are a seasonal ingredient, I know that quite soon, Bar Issi will likely remove this tomato salad from the menu. On one hand, that bums me out. On the other, I am excited to learn what the thoughtful chefs in Bar Issi’s kitchen will concoct to take its place.

WHAT Caldo de rez WHERE Taqueria Tlaquepaque, 362 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs HOW MUCH $16.95

CONTACT 760-325-1125; www.taqueriatlaquepaquerest.com

WHY It truly tastes homemade. I’d just gotten home from a week out of town. I felt like crap (whether it was a respiratory bug or just bad allergies, I don’t know) and I wanted soup—comforting, homemade soup.

The hubby, however, wanted Mexican food.

Taqueria Tlaquepaque and its sister restaurant, El Taco Asado, are our current go-to’s for good, homey Mexican fare, largely due to their oh-so-yummy grilled chicken. (I sang that chicken’s praises in this space way back in 2013.) I’d never tried Tlaquepaque’s caldo de rez—a traditional beef and vegetable soup—so I decided to get that to-go (along with another thing or two), while the hubby could get the carne asada burrito Suizo he was craving. As long as the soup was decent, it was a win-win, right?

It was a win-win, indeed.

This soup truly seems homemade: Chunks of beef join carrots, potatoes, squash, peppers, cabbage and half of a corn cob in a mellow yet delicious broth. (The fact that the pieces of beef, carrot and potato are massive, while slightly inconvenient, adds to the homemade vibe.)

Of course, if you’re not in the mood for soup, Taqueria Tlaquepaque’s massive menu most certainly includes a thing or three you’d like—even a nice selection of breakfasts. The hubby, as mentioned above, loves their Suizastyle carne asada burrito, and I can vouch for the fact that anything with the grilled chicken will certainly be delicious. (Get it in a taco-and-enchilada combo, or if you’re really hungry, inside of a chimichanga.) An endorsement-within-an-endorsement goes to the fresh, nearly perfect guacamole.

But if you are under the weather, or simply desiring a nice, hearty soup, get the caldo de rez. You can thank me later.

Restaurant NEWS BITES

By charles drabkin

FALL BRINGS A FLURRY OF FUN FOOD FESTS

The Coachella Valley Filipino Food Festival is returning to Palm Springs, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 15. This year’s celebration will be in Downtown Park, next to the statue of Marilyn Monroe. Admission is free and open to the public. The festival includes music, food vendors and dance demonstrations. Learn more at cvfilipinofest.org.

On Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 15 and 16, plan to head to the Palm Springs Stadium Pavilion, at 1901 E. Baristo Road, for the Palm Springs Food and Wine Festival. The celebration of flavor and creativity will include wineries from around the globe, celebrity chefs, cooking demonstrations and a host of local restaurants. Regular admission on Saturday or Sunday is $155, with VIP options and discounts for veterans/members of the military. Learn more at palmspringsfoodandwine.org.

The following Saturday, Nov. 22, from 1 to 5 p.m., head over to the Palm Springs Air Museum for its annual Props and Hops Craft Beer Festival, with more than 40 craft beers to taste, a host of food trucks, live music and vintage planes to admire. General admission tickets are $75; for $15 more, a VIP ticket admits you an hour early. Designated drivers pay just $5. Get your tickets at palmspringsairmuseum.org/props-and-hops-craft-beer-festival.

IN BRIEF

Popular sandwich spot Duke’s Mini Mart, at 69900 Frank Sinatra Drive, in Rancho Mirage, has reopened a year after a fire. Hooray! Learn more at dukesminimart.com. … The Steakhouse at the Agua Caliente Palm Springs, at 401 E. Amado Road, has launched a new Sunday brunch buffet for $46, with chilled seafood, prime rib, ham, a selection of sweet and savory pastries, and a host of sides and steakhouse favorites. This is not to be missed. Find out more at aguacalientecasinos.com/dining/steakhouse. … The restaurant formerly known as Grand Central, located at 160 La Plaza, in Palm Springs, is under new ownership and has changed its name to Hunny’s Restaurant and Bar. The new owner tells me they have significant changes planned, although they are implementing them slowly. The plans include late hours (open until 3 a.m.) on weekends, turning the backroom into a speakeasy, installing a new pizza oven and replacing the very unpopular metal chairs. There was a mix-up in the liquor license transfer, so as of this writing, Hunny’s is offering only non-alcoholic beverages. Find out more at hunnysps.com. … A new European café is opening at 540 S. Indian Canyon Drive, in the space most recently occupied by La Bottega. Vineophile Café is slated to offer small plates, weekly wine tastings and lots of cheese. Owner and sommelier Jen Carter is waiting for the approval of the liquor license, but hopes to open by the end of the year. Until then, she will continue to bring the wine bar to you with wine tastings at your own home or office. Watch vinophilecafe.com and keep your eyes on this column for updates. … A Wingstop had opened at 1717 E. Vista Chino, Suite 14, in Palm Springs. With a host of flavor options for both classic and “boneless” wings, as well as chicken sandwiches, this chain has a devoted following. Check out the full menu at wingstop.com. … Something big is happening at Bar Cecil, at 1555 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite H104, in Palm Springs. Beaton’s at Bar Cecil will be an intimate lounge with inventive cocktails and small plates by chef Gabriel Woo. Guests will be able to sip, dine and linger on the expanded garden patio and in a lovely indoor space. Keep your eyes on this space for details on the menu and opening dates; barcecil.com. … Something is also happening at the former home of Sonny’s Bar and Grill, at 214 E. Arenas Road, in Palm Springs. The space now has paper on the windows and will soon be occupied by a new bar and restaurant. Keep your eyes on this column for updates. … An Indio Food Truck Fridays favorite has opened a brick-and-mortar location. Outside the Masa is now at 43905 Clinton St., in Indio. The website (outsidethemasa.com) hasn’t been updated with much about the restaurant, with the exception of the address, but the food in the pics on Instagram (instagram.com/outsidethemasa) looks delicious. … Ernest Coffee and Bootlegger Tiki are up for sale. These businesses helped revitalize the space at 1101 N. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs, that once housed Don the Beachcomber. When I first moved to the desert from Seattle, Ernest is the coffee shop where I would work and hang out, to feel less homesick. If a sale happens, we’ll have the details here. Do you have any hot tips or news to share? Reach out: foodnews@cvindependent.com.

November 13 - 16, 2025 La Quinta Civic Center

Experience the finest in local culinary delights, Napa Valley wines, top-shelf spirits, Margarita Island and Live Entertainment throughout the park.

160 world-class artists – 37 new to La Quinta! # Elite Top Ten Fine Art& Craft Events in the Nation 2025 – Greg Lawler Art Fair Source Book

Fine Art & Craft Event in the Nation – Greg Lawler Art Fair Source Book 2021, 2022, 2023 & 2024 #1: Favorite Outdoor Art Festival

Southwest Art Magazine Reader’s Choice Award 2023

MUSIC

RETURN OF THE PLAZA

By MATT KING

In a year that has included the closure of Little Street Music Hall and the end of shows at Music House Indio due to permits, a local rock star is helping bring one local venue back to life.

Brian Ray, a part-time Palm Springs resident and a member of Paul McCartney’s touring band, is a member of the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation’s board, which is overseeing the renovation of the historic Plaza Theatre in downtown Palm Springs.

After years of fundraising and planning, the theater will re-open its doors with a special gala featuring Cynthia Erivo on Monday, Dec. 1.

Ray has been visiting the Coachella Valley since the ‘70s, but only became familiar with the Plaza Theatre after moving here in 2018.

“I was approached by a musician friend of mine named Spike Edney, who tours with Queen as a keyboard player, who asked if I wanted to be involved in a fundraiser charged with helping raise funds for the remodeling of this beautiful, old ’30s theater in the middle of town,” Ray said during a recent Zoom interview.

This idea would eventually become Rock the Plaza, an all-star concert hosted at the theater on Nov. 11, 2022, featuring performances by Alice Cooper, Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Paul Rodgers (Bad Company) and Orianthi, with a backing band featuring Edney, Ray and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame drummer Matt Sorum (Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver, The Cult), also a Palm Springs resident. Rock the Plaza raised $200,000.

Ray said he was awestruck when he first toured the theater with Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation board president J.R. Roberts.

“He took me into the theater and turned on the lights, and my jaw dropped,” Ray said. “I said, ‘Oh my God.’ I’m instantly transported into this little Mexican village with windows and balconies and a starry night sky, and you’re instantly in a new environment. I just fell in love with it, and I’ve been involved ever since, for six years.

“It’s an interesting story how that whole plaza center—the shopping center and the theater and those little apartments above it—were all built at the same time, and it was done by a woman, Julia Patterson Carnell, heiress to the National Cash Register Corporation. It was all imagined and built by a woman, and it’s just such a fabulous story. It deserves to be saved. It’s something very special right in the middle of town.”

Just before the Plaza gets back to business, a recording of the Rock the Plaza concert is being released on vinyl. Rock the Plaza: Concert to Save the Historic Plaza Theatre in Palm Springs, produced by Ray, is being released on Nov. 28.

“This is just something I did, basically for

fun and for free, as another donation to the city and to the foundation,” Ray said. “ … I sort of jumped into action and called the company I engaged to do our live sound, Clair Global, to ask if they would further donate Pro Tools, an engineer and a system. They had already donated all of the front-of-house and monitor sounds and desks for our concert, so I was asking for an extra donation at the last minute, two weeks before the show, and the guy said, ‘Yeah, I can do that for you.’”

Ray wanted to ensure that the legendary performances were able to be remembered forever.

“I went out of pocket for those things and got this done because no one else had made plans to do it, and I thought, this could be good; this could be really important—and you know what? It’s really good,” he said. “Paul Rodgers is singing insanely well; the band is sounding terrific. Alice Cooper put on a killer show and sang great. Joshua Homme was a revelation. Orianthi was shredding on guitar, and she sang great as well. We had the makings of 90 minutes of very strong music.”

The double-LP is being released as a part of Record Store Day, a celebration of vinyl and record stores that happens twice a year, where artists press limited editions, new music or fun surprises onto vinyl, and send them to record stores all over the world. Only 1,200 vinyl copies of the Rock the Plaza release will be available.

“We worked out a deal where the foundation gets paid from dollar one. It’s a really good deal for the city, for the foundation, and we got accepted onto Record Store Day,” Ray said. “We had to scurry around and pull all strings toward the middle to make it work, with agreements with the artists and label waivers to be able to release their material in a live setting. It’s a lot of work and a lot of excitement and a lot of effort, and it’s paying off.

Ray is happy to do all that he can to benefit the Plaza.

“I may not be the fundraiser guy … but I can do something,” he said. “The concert I could do, and then getting an album deal with this, I figured out I could do, and some other cool things on the tech side. I’m responsible for bringing in a big video wall that will be part of the theater forever. This is something that’ll

Brian Ray brings musical expertise and connections to the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation board

separate us from other performing arts centers and smaller theaters. When people walk in, they will be impacted by the tech that’s there— some really great pro tech. All of these things are really fun for me.”

The calendar for the Plaza Theatre features a great variety shows, with events catering to both the older Palm Springs crowd and younger fans of entertainment spread across the desert. The Oak View Group, which also runs Acrisure Arena, is managing the Plaza.

“The Plaza Theatre is doing everything it can do to be what we call an ‘open room,’” Ray said. “One of the things that the foundation wanted to have in place … was that Oak View Group would be holding the calendar for bookings, but would not be trying to dominate with Oak View Group or Live Nation-only acts. In other words, any promoter can come in and rent the room. It’s not exclusive to any one promoter, and that was important to me, and Oak View Group was 100% on board with that. John Bolton (general manager of the Plaza) and Oak View Group have done a fantastic job so far, booking and managing this herculean effort.”

One unique event on the schedule is the Dec. 9 film screening of Queens of the Stone Age: Alive in the Catacombs, a live concert the

filmed from the Paris catacombs. Joshua Homme, a Queens of the Stone Age member and Coachella Valley native, will take part in a Q&A after the screening.

“When I asked (Homme) to be a part of our fundraiser Rock the Plaza, he was all in from the beginning,” Ray said. “He says, ‘You don’t understand; I used to beg my mom to go and see movies there when I was 13 years old,’ and he told that story from the stage at Rock the Plaza. Down the road a little bit when we were booking, I just texted him and said, ‘Joshua, we would love to have you be a part of our opening month. Is there something you’d like to do?’ I had just heard about Live at the Catacombs, and he said, ‘Oh man, I’d love to do that.’”

Ray said the Plaza Theatre’s programming will serve all desert communities, not just Palm Springs.

“This will be a cultural sort of campfire for all of the desert cities, because it was built in the image of people that came long before us, back when California was Mexico,” he said. “It’s a celebration of Palm Springs and all the Coachella Valley, so it’s a place where we can all come and meet and enjoy art together.”

Learn more at www.palmspringsplazatheatre.com.

MUSIC

MICHOACÁN CONNECTION

By matt king

Alocal musician has joined the backing band for an internationally beloved indie-folk act.

A few years ago, desert favorites Giselle Woo and the Night Owls shared a bill with Y La Bamba, performing on different nights of the Oasis Music Festival at the Plaza Theatre.

Giselle Woo and Janine Rivera, both of Giselle Woo and the Night Owls, went to say hello to Y La Bamba leader Luz Elena Mendoza after the show—and discovered that Rivera and Mendoza’s

families are from the same place: Coalcomán, Michoacán.

Rivera and Mendoza started chatting and following each other on social media. One day, Mendoza asked Rivera to FaceTime. During the call, Mendoza said a band member was leaving, and asked Rivera to join Y La Bamba. She said yes.

You can catch Rivera, on percussion and backing vocals, performing with Y La Bamba on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at Pappy and Harriet’s.

During a recent phone interview, Rivera talked about the latest tour with Y La Bamba, opening for Alabama Shakes at four shows at multi-thousand-seat venues.

“The biggest thing we’ve done with the Night Owls is Coachella, which is huge, but getting to do this (tour) was … I can’t explain it,” Rivera said. “There were so many elements to it, from the sound check to the stage, and even the way that they decorate the stage. (Alabama Shakes) travel with more than 40 people on their team, so they have someone who does wardrobe, sound techs, roadies, audio techs, production managers and stage managers. Just seeing all the tour buses and getting to experience their sound check and how dialed in everything is really lights a fire under your ass, like, ‘OK, I’ve got to be extra on it.’”

The tour may have been brief, but performing for thousands of people across several states was an incredible experience for Rivera.

“We did two in Montana. The first night was sold out, and then we did Utah after that, and then we did Kansas City,” she said. “… Montana was at the KettleHouse Amphitheater, and literally behind the amphitheater, you have a river that’s running, and it’s just mountains and green grass and trees.”

Y La Bamba’s first show on the tour faced intense weather delays.

“We had to push the show up a little bit, because there was lightning nearby,” Rivera said. “A huge storm was coming, so they said if there’s lightning (within) five miles near the theater, they have to evacuate everything. They had to evacuate three times, but people stuck around, which was amazing. I think out of all the shows I got to watch Alabama Shakes perform, that one was the best one, maybe

because (Brittany Howard, guitarist/vocalist for Alabama Shakes) was extra-grateful that people stuck around.”

Rivera admitted that her nerves ran high ahead of these shows.

“As soon as it started, I just remember my adrenaline being 150%,” she said. “I play congas and do backing vocals, and luckily, we did a song that is super-percussion-forward early in the set—like, I was the one driving it to start the show. A lot of my nervous energy was being released through playing the congas, and I was very grateful.”

Both Y La Bamba and Giselle Woo and the Night Owls’ music is filled with Latin grooves and Spanish-language lyrics. Rivera and Mendoza’s connection, through music and family origin, has enriched Rivera’s Y La Bamba experience.

“On the first tour that I did with her a year ago, we did a cover, the lead singer and I, and she said right before we started singing, ‘This is Coalcomán, Michoacán,’” Rivera said. “I remember just getting chills, because I’m like, ‘Yeah, this is us.’ Our blood and our roots come from the exact same place, and it does make me feel closer to her, and even more proud. I’ve always been proud that my parents are from there, and that my blood or my roots are from there, but now getting to experience that with another musician who is also Mexican American—it does make me feel closer to her.”

While Giselle Woo and the Night Owls hold multi-hour practices multiple times a week, Y La Bamba’s practice schedule is quite different. Since the band members are spread around the world, all-day practices take place in the days before a tour, leaving a majority of rehearsing to be done at home.

“It’s so challenging, because you’re practicing by yourself,” Rivera said. “I’m like, ‘Oh man, I hope it sounds good when we’re all finally together.’ I did feel like this last time that we got together, it was easier. … The first day, we did a seven-hour rehearsal, and my hands were just so tender. I had never played congas for that long.”

Rivera has been able to share the stage with Giselle Woo during a few Y La Bamba shows.

“It definitely makes me feel a lot safer, when you’re with someone who you’re making music

Janine Rivera, of Giselle Woo and the Night Owls, now performs in front of thousands as part of Y La Bamba

with all the time,” Rivera said. “She’s always really encouraging, so having her there is really nice. We just got to do an acoustic show at The Ford theater in L.A. I played a little percussion for a couple of songs, and Giselle played guitar, and it was nice. For this one, it wasn’t the whole band. It was Beau (Isabeau Keonaona Waia’u Walker), the other singer, Giselle, Luz and myself, and then she had different singers who are from L.A. and Mexico City. We had about seven singers, and we all did a choir.”

Touring with Y La Bamba has exposed Rivera to some harsh realities of the music world.

“Traveling with an all-female lineup, you’ve just got to be tough, because you’ve got your sound guys who are like, ‘I’ve been doing sound for over 30 years, and I know everything, and these girls are coming, and they know nothing.’

… With the Night Owls, I don’t think we’ve ever had a bad experience with the sound person, but I have traveling with an all-female lineup,” she said. “It’s interesting to see in the industry how some people are super-jaded, and they’re just doing it because they’re getting paid, but then you have your people who are super-stoked to work with anyone, and still passionate about what they’ve been doing. I’ve learned how to talk to everyone, to network, and really be firm about what you need when you’re onstage.”

Rivera also learned that success, for some

local artists, requires trips outside of the Coachella Valley.

“Sometimes it’s not really how good a group is; it’s really where you’re from,” she said. “Sometimes you get the opportunity when the right person catches your show, and they have connections in the industry, and that’s what will help out. … From what I’ve learned and what I’ve seen, you’ve just got to play out of the desert.”

Rivera pointed out one way in which the Coachella Valley can provide more opportunities for desert bands. Giselle Woo and the Night Owls are one of the local bands who have had the opportunity to perform at Acrisure Arena, outside in the pavilion, before big events.

“Instead of people playing outside while people are getting drinks and just walking … it would be amazing to have bands opening up inside the arena,” Rivera said. “When you go to catch shows anywhere else, you’ll discover the opening band, because you’re already in your seat. You’re waiting for the next person to perform. I think that it would really highlight local talent, to have them inside the arena.”

Y La Bamba will perform at 9 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 5, at Pappy and Harriet’s, at 53688 Pioneertown Road, in Pioneertown. Tickets are $31.86. For tickets or more information, visit pappyandharriets.com.

MUSIC

GUITAR HEROES

By MATT KING

Another renowned rock musician has become a part-time desert resident.

John William Lowery, aka John 5, is a guitar virtuoso who’s performed with David Lee Roth, Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie, and is the current guitarist for Mötley Crüe. When he’s not shredding for the Crüe, or working on his solo material, he splits time between Los Angeles and the high desert.

Lowery will be celebrating his love for the desert on Saturday, Nov. 29, at Pappy and Harriet’s, when he performs at the iconic venue for the first time.

“It’s like I’m playing the Hollywood Bowl,” Lowery said during a recent Zoom interview. “I love Pioneertown, because it’s so cool and so weird. It’s like you’re on the moon. I just go there and eat sometimes. I’m super-excited to play there. We were putting the tour together, and I was like, ‘We gotta play Pappy and Harriet’s,’ so we booked it for the very last show, and I’m super excited.”

Lowery said he’s spent time in the desert since he was 3 years old.

“My grandparents lived out there,” he said. “I just love the desert, Palm Springs and, personally, I love the low desert. … We live parttime in Joshua Tree half of the week, and half the week in L.A. If I could live there full-time, I would, but (my wife) just doesn’t want to make that jump yet. I absolutely love the Mojave. It’s my happy place. I just love it so much. The Coachella Valley—I’m obsessed.”

Like many other rock stars, Lowery has found solace in both the high and low desert.

“I remember when I was so young, I would just stay outside and catch the lizards and stuff, but my parents would make me come inside because I would get sunstroke all the time,” he said. “It’s such a hard thing to explain, but I just have this love for it, and it just makes me feel at peace. … If I’m back East or in the Midwest or down South, I just can’t wait to get back to the desert. It’s very strange. I just really love Joshua Tree and Palm Springs and Palm Desert and Indian Wells, everything.”

Beyond the sights, Lowery has become attached to his fellow high desert residents.

“I love the people,” he said. “I’ll say hi to people all the time. I love The Home Depot there, and I love the Walmart there. There was a guy there who had this old, old truck, and he was an old dude. I said, ‘Hey man, I really dig your truck; how long have you had it?’ He goes, ‘Well, I got this new in 1967.’ I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ The guy has had one truck his whole life. I just love that stuff. He’s got one truck; he’s got one house; and that’s it. I think that’s

so cool, but you don’t see that a lot anymore.”

Lowery admitted that the serenity of Joshua Tree is hard to leave.

“When we’re there, I’m like, ‘Hey, let’s go to Palm Springs; let’s go to dinner, or go eat’ … but when we’re in Joshua Tree, it’s so comfortable and cozy and quiet,” he said. “I remember Palm Springs when it was pretty desolate; 40-something years ago, it was quiet. Now it’s like a big city.”

The Michigan-born, leather-jacket-wearing rock star is even in love with the insane summer temperatures.

“I’m like a lizard,” Lowery joked. “I have no problem with that heat. I’m totally fine. I hate the cold.”

John 5’s performance at Pappy and Harriet’s will be the first time Lowery performs in the Coachella Valley or high desert. He was scheduled to perform with Mötley Crüe at Acrisure Arena on New Year’s Eve in 2023, but the event was cancelled 10 days before the show.

A post on Mötley Crüe’s Instagram read, “The very short time frame to produce the event resulted in issues beyond our control.” Lowery shared the full story.

“We were in Japan and Australia, and we had all our gear, and the (Acrisure) show was for New Year’s Eve,” he said. “It was sometime in December when we got home. With all your gear, you put it on a ship, and it freights all the way back to Los Angeles. Our gear didn’t show up back in L.A. until Jan. 11. We had nothing. It was incredible. Our whole show was on this ship, and I was like, ‘I can’t believe it.’ … It was going so slow because of the weather, so there’s nothing we could do. I was crushed, because I love Palm Springs.”

Crüe is still rocking, and while there are no current plans for the band to make up the Palm Desert show, there is still hope.

“We just did the Las Vegas residency; we were there for a month, and every show was phenomenal,” Lowery said. “Vince (Neil) was incredible; he sang great. I love looking at these shows on YouTube and stuff, because they’re great. I love Mötley Crüe, and I’m so proud of the shows that we did there. They just kicked ass. They’re putting stuff together right now, and I’ll be super-excited to get back on the road

John William Lowery, aka John 5, discusses his love of the desert and his friendship with Ace Frehley in advance of his Pappy and Harriet’s show

with those guys. I talk to them every day.”

My Zoom chat with Lowery came a few days after the death of KISS guitarist Ace Frehley, a friend, collaborator and inspiration to Lowery.

“I first was introduced to Ace in 1977,” he said. “I was 7 years old; this is when Love Gun was coming out, and I was in Sears, and (the album) was all over the place. I loved monsters, and I loved music, and I was like, ‘Whoa, it’s like monsters with guitars.’ I asked my mom for the record. She got me the record, and it changed my life forever. I always loved Ace, and I got a guitar that year as well, Christmas of 1977.”

The two guitar gods collaborated on Ace Frehley’s 2016 release, Origins Vol. 1, soloing through a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Spanish Castle Magic” and the KISS classic “Parasite.”

Lowery attempted to talk about Frehley at his concert on Oct. 16—the day on which Frehley, 74, passed away following a fall at his home— but Lowery got choked up.

“I got on the mic to talk about Ace, and I couldn’t even do it,” he said. “I just broke down and started the next song. I couldn’t even do

it. … I’m just in a state of shock, because he was fine and healthy. It’s horrible. It’s so hard for me, because we were close; we were good friends, and he wanted to do another record, and he was talking about that. It’s really tough.”

In a way, Frehley’s legacy will live on through John 5, as years of inspiration and collaboration has left his sonic stamp on Lowery’s guitar playing.

“It’s strange to think, but Ace has always been in my life, ever since I was 7 years old,” he said. “It’s like losing a family member. It’s definitely a trip, and it’s horrible. I talked to him a week before his accident, and he was happy and healthy and in great spirits, and it’s just so heartbreaking and devastating what happened. But Ace is immortal. His legacy will live on forever, I believe.”

John 5 will perform at 9:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 29, at Pappy and Harriet’s, at 53688 Pioneertown Road, in Pioneertown. Tickets are $37.56. For tickets and more information, visit pappyandharriets.com.

MUSIC

STILL FIGHTING THE POWER

By Matt King

It’s 2025—and Public Enemy is still bringing the noise!

Public Enemy, led by the duo of Chuck D and Flavor Flav, broke down both musical and societal barriers when they dominated the world in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Their aggressive musical style bridged a gap between rap and rock, using loud, guitar-and-drum-heavy samples as sonic backgrounds for captivating and powerful vocal performances. Lyrically, Public Enemy put politics

and calls to action within their poetry to make music with a message, calling attention to police brutality, systemic racism and more.

After 40 years of performances, Chuck D and Flavor Fav are still crafting important, musically diverse jams. Public Enemy is set to perform at Fantasy Springs on Friday, Nov. 14.

During a recent phone interview, Carlton Douglas Ridenhour, aka Chuck D, talked about bringing the Public Enemy energy to a casino stage.

“I think the casino performances are amazing to me, just because of the setup,” he said. “It’s all really conducive to entertainment. Starting from Las Vegas and what they did with the casinos in the ’50s and ’60s, it’s sort of like the same thing, but now they’re abundant across the United States, and it has Indigenous participation in a lot of these facilities. The facilities are set up for performances and keeping the crowd coming to a place as a magnet, and keeping them entertained. I really like it. I like it because I also get a chance to see vintage acts at this place.”

Since Public Enemy has been on the casino circuit, Ridenhour has been able to see a lot of tribute bands to iconic rock acts … but he wonders where the tributes to hip-hop stars are.

“I’m going to get into the business of trying to construct and create tribute bands,” he said. “Tribute bands, I think, are the next realm for hip-hop and rap acts, and I’d like to form a couple of them myself, as well as going out there and performing as Public Enemy. I like how tribute bands in rock really go through the full act. I like how they give 1,000 percent to try to nail what a band has in their attributes.”

The first tribute act on Chuck D’s mind: an all-women group paying tribute to women in hip-hop.

“That would make a lot of sense, because women in hip-hop always get a not-so-accurate depiction of their artistic merit,” Ridenhour said. “(The musicians should) be able to do anybody from Latifah to Salt-N-Pepa to MC Lyte to Cardi B, because people want to hear the songs. … I think what Public Enemy does as a group; we’re sort of like our own tribute band, but I could see tribute bands around PE in different ways around the world. I think

that’s a next good phase.”

Public Enemy’s Indio performance will be part of the group’s new musical era that, in part, trades a rock show for a DJ frenzy.

“For years, we had the band unit behind DJ Lord and Khari Wynn, our guitarist, and T-Bone Motta, the drummer, but we’ve de-emphasized the band for what we call a ‘DJ Kings’ unit,” Ridenhour said. “That’s two set-up DJs orchestrated by the alpha DJ, DJ Johnny “Juice” Rosado, who is the DJ under our very first records. Bassist Brian Hardgroove is now a drummer who stays in lock and key with the rhythm of the turntable orchestrated by Juice.”

Ridenhour said the DJ Kings unit can be just as improvisational as a live band.

“It’s been a lot of fun seeing the DJ Kings unit come to fruition … and being able to do great, quick audibles,” he said. “If I want to do ‘Bring the Noise’ on ‘We Will Rock You,’ Juice is a musicologist enough to make adjustments on the fly, which makes us different than we’ve ever been before. With DJ Lord and the rhythm unit, the band was more aggressive and wild with their abilities. With Juice, it’s a precision of musicology—spontaneous yet calculated.”

Thanks to the skills of the new DJ lineup, Public Emeny shows are off-the-cuff celebrations of music from all eras, with remixes and song experiments almost guaranteed.

“They’ve got certain apparatus with the turntables where you could erase the vocals,” Ridenhour said. “If I’m getting down to a classic

Public Enemy brings a new DJ setup and innovative tech to Fantasy Springs

rock record—say, “Stairway to Heaven”—there’s an ability to remove Robert Plant, and you’ve got a whole new thing that you could rock over on the fly. You don’t have to look and get the instrumental version, because there never was one. Then you’ve got a DJ who’s operating as a band leader with the original orchestration of whatever that classic act was, and manipulating the rhythm and time, almost like you’ve got a band.”

Chuck D and Public Enemy have always been supporters of new technology, and this is just the latest example.

“There’s always a new chapter, and it always seems that technology introduces the chapter—whether you like it or not,” Ridenhour said. “Especially in the time when there’s a lot of fear of AI and what it’s perceived to do or eradicate in its path … AI could be steered.”

Of course, Ridenhour and company pour a LOT of human emotion and experience into Public Enemy shows. While technology is utilized, it doesn’t dominate the performance.

“Music is meant to hold on to your mistakes, like a scar and a signature,” he said. “AI is meant to perfect things. If you have a bucket of white paint, it doesn’t mean that you poured a bucket of white paint over everything. You’ve got to figure out how to manage that bucket of white paint. You’ve got to do it in strokes.

“The thing with Public Enemy is we try to always show a way, and show young artists that there’s a way that they can find their signature, their scars, and their style—and still be creative. That’s the thing that’s always driven us.”

Public Enemy are set to perform at 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 14, at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, at 84245 Indio Springs Parkway, in Indio. Tickets start at $62.50. For tickets or more information, visit www.fantasyspringsresort.com.

Happy November! The Coachella Valley and high desert are filled with entertainment options galore. Here’s a sampling of the many, many events gracing the desert this month. Acrisure Arena hosts music, fighting and basketball (in addition to a full slate of Coachella Valley Firebirds hockey)! At 7:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 7, viral synth-pop star Tate McRae brings song-and-dance energy to town! Tickets as of this writing started at $103.50. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 8, Mexican music star Christian Nodal will showcase his unique mix of mariachi and norteño styles. Tickets start at $61.35. At 6 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 15, the gloves are off, because it’s time for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. This organization is billed as the first to hold a legal bare-knuckle boxing event in the United States since 1889. Tickets start at $41.55. From Tuesday, Nov. 25, through Friday, Nov. 28, the Acrisure Invitational returns with four days filled with college basketball! Tickets for individual games start at $46.20, while a four-day pass starts at $222.85. Acrisure Arena, 75702 Varner Road, Palm Desert; 888-695-8778; www. acrisurearena.com.

Fantasy Springs is offering sounds, laughs and culture. At 8 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 9, prolific Mexican singer-songwriter and actor Pedro Fernández shares tunes from his impressive 39-album discography. Tickets start at $72.50. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 15, comedian Sebastian Maniscalco will crack jokes and share stories with his unbeatable wit and Chicago charm. Tickets start at $102.50. From Friday, Nov. 28, through Sunday, Nov. 30, the annual Cabazon Indio Powwow will take place, with Native American food, craft stations, bird singing and other performances,

starting at 5 p.m. on Friday, and 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The event is free. Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, 84245 Indio Springs Parkway, Indio; 760-342-5000; www. fantasyspringsresort.com.

Spotlight 29 features diverse musical offerings and consistent comedy! At 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 1, Night Ranger transports the band’s ’80s hard-rock style to the modern day. Tickets start at $38.80. At 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 7, Latin rockers Ozomatli, who mix activism and cultural sounds, are set to visit Coachella. Tickets start at $28.50. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 15, king of the soprano saxophone Kenny G will spread smooth jams in the desert. Tickets start at $43.95. At 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 21, norteño-sax outfit Conjunto Primavera will share sounds from Mexico. Tickets start at $54.25. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 29, comedian Willie Barcena will bring the laughs. Tickets start at $28.50. Speaking of comedy, Honest Goodness Comedy Fridays brings Will Burkart (Saturday, Nov. 1), Jamie Kennedy (Nov. 7), Eric Schwartz (Nov. 14), Jeff Garcia (Nov. 21) and Erik Escobar (Nov. 28). Tickets start from $12.51 to $39.19. You must be 18+ to attend. Spotlight 29 Casino, 46200 Harrison Place, Coachella; 760-775-5566; www.spotlight29.com.

The

Venue REPORT

continued from page 31

Here are some highlights from a busy month at the McCallum Theatre. At 1 and 6 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 2, and 7 p.m., Monday, Nov. 3, kickstart your Christmas celebration with Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical, spreading holiday glee straight from Whoville! Tickets start at $50. At 7 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 5, drag icon Sasha Velour mixes classic theater with raunchy jokes and lip-sync fun! Tickets start at $53. Tickets are moving fast to see the Palm Desert Choreography Festival, showcasing dance from all over the United States, at 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 8, and 4 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 9. Tickets start at $33 on Saturday and $28 on Sunday. Enjoy more Christmas tunes, this time by an orchestra, when Mannheim Steamroller performs at 3 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 16, and 7 p.m., Monday, Nov. 17. Tickets start at $58. McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert; 760-340-2787; www.mccallumtheatre.com.

Morongo Casino is offering plenty of interesting events worth the drive to Cabazon. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 1, actor Charlie Sheen heads to the desert, fresh off of the release of his memoir, The Book of Sheen, and a two-part Netflix documentary, aka Charlie Sheen. Tickets start at $89.50. At 8

p.m., Friday, Nov. 7, Grupo Clasificado and Banda Renovacion team up for Spanish jams all night. Tickets start at $46.75. At 9 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 8, country music duo LoCash brings the twang to town. Tickets are $42.75. At 9 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 20, country star Chase Matthew offers cowboy vibes in Cabazon. Tickets are $26. At 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 21, rock singer Bret Michaels of Poison fame will sing and shred. Tickets start at $99.50. Morongo Casino Resort Spa, 49500 Seminole Drive, Cabazon; 800-252-4499; www. morongocasinoresort.com.

Agua Caliente in Rancho Mirage is packed with great events, so here are some notable acts coming through. At 8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 6, experience the energetic sounds of Femmes of Rock, a quartet of rockin’ violinists who perform string-heavy arrangements of classic rock jams. Tickets start at $49.28. Heavy-hitting country rockers ZZ Top will bring grit and groove to the desert at 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 7. Tickets start at $59.55. At 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 14, the layered rock sounds of Jefferson Starship are set to land in Rancho Mirage. Tickets start at $48.73. At 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 21, early ’90s hitmakers Gin Blossoms will spread their jangle pop. Tickets start at $48.73. At 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 22, see the Beach celebrate their musical history with remaining member Mike Love and his band. Tickets start at $85.40. Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage, 32250 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage; 888-999-1995; www. aguacalientecasinos.com.

Agua Caliente Palm Springs rolls on with the residencies. Desert Blues Revival Wednesdays feature R&B hits from Hope Diamond (Nov. 5), blues-rock masters The Gand Band tackling songs from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Nov. 12) and blues guitar from Brazil performed by Fernando Noronha (Nov. 19). Shows are at 7 p.m., and tickets start from $17.85 to $22.11, available at eventspalmsprings.com. Carousel Thursdays

showcase a tribute to Roberta Flack by Sweet Baby J’ai (Nov. 6) and trumpet chops from Dan Delgado (Nov. 13). Shows are at 7 p.m., and tickets start at $19.98 to $24.25, available at eventspalmsprings.com. The Cascade Cabaret series features the return of a local drag great with Viva Variaté With Tommy Rose at 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 14, and a 1963! Time Capsule show at 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 21, celebrating the music and media of the year with performances from Tod Macofsky and The Desert Crows. Tickets for these shows start at $22.11, again at eventspalmsprings. com. Agua Caliente Casino Palm Springs, 401 E. Amado Road, Palm Springs; 888-999-1995; www.aguacalientecasinos.com.

Pappy and Harriet’s is busy as always; here are some highlights. At 9:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 8, funk powerhouse Ghost-Note will spread the groovy, slap-bass gospel. Tickets are $31.86. At 9 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 13, enjoy some sweaty hard rock sounds from Thunderpussy. Tickets are $26.68. Experience an intimate show by a rock legend, as Dean DeLeo, of Stone Temple Pilots, brings new project One More Satellite to the desert, at 9 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 19. At 9 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 26, local country songstress Kimberly Cofer and her band The Tumbleweeds bring the twang! Tickets are $31.86. Reggae will ring throughout the high desert when Long Beach Dub Allstars perform at 9:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 28. Tickets are $31.86. Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 53688 Pioneertown Road, Pioneertown; 760-228-2222; www.pappyandharriets.com.

Mojave Gold also has a busy November, so here are some notable events. At 8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 6, cosmic country artist William Tyler brings the psychedelic twang to Yucca Valley. Local experimental steel guitar and upright bass duo Sister John Angela will open the show. Tickets are $24. At 8 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 11, fuzz your face off with highenergy, loud rock jams from Strawberry Fuzz, Jakobs Castle and Strange Case. Tickets

The Venue REPORT

are $21. Get deep and emotional with dark crooner jams from Vlad Holiday at 6:45 p.m., Friday, Nov. 14 Haerts will open up the show. Tickets are $18. Stick around, because at 9 p.m., Friday, Nov. 14, you can sing along to your favorite angsty hits performed by Emo Kids, a cover band that plays all things emo! Tickets are $21. At 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 15, Cut Chemist, a founding member of Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli, visits Mojave Gold for a candlelight listening party, sharing cuts from his personal vinyl collection. Tickets are $21. Mojave Gold, 56193 Twentynine Palms Highway, Yucca Valley; 442-205-0192; mojavegolddesert.com.

Oscar’s in Palm Springs has a lot going on in November in addition to its normal residencies. At 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 6, comedian Adam Sank and his hilarious friends bring jokes and jabs to the desert.

Tickets start at $44.95. At 9 p.m., Friday, Nov. 7, dance the evening away to a fun-filled set of musical gems from DJ Tracy Young. Tickets are $16.49. Also at 9 p.m., Friday, Nov. 7, Oscar’s is hosting a meet-and-greet with Blac Chyna following her performance at Greater Palm Springs Pride. Tickets start at $125. At 6 p.m., Friday, Nov. 14, drag stars Sherry Vine and Billy L’Amour team up for an evening of parodies, choreographed dances, jokes and more! Tickets start at $32.95. At 7 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 19, the MX Pineapple Cabaret will feature music, comedy and drag performances to raise funds for Pineapple Support, a therapy service for workers in the online adult industry. General admission is free, but reserved seats start at $20. At 6 p.m., Friday, Nov. 21, award-winning singer Natalie Douglas will perform the songs of Roberta Flack. Tickets start at $39.95. Shows include a food and drink minimum. Oscar’s Palm Springs, 125 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs; 760-3251188; oscarspalmsprings.com/events.

The Purple Room will keep your weekends busy! At 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 7, and Saturday, Nov. 8, vocalist Jonathan Karrant will tackle select choices from the Great American Songbook. Remaining tickets are $45.70. At 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 14, the Black Market Trust will energize hits of the past with their pop jazz sensibilities. Tickets start at $56. At 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 21, and Saturday, Nov. 22, and at 7 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 23, Purple Room favorite and music icon Marilyn Maye brings her ageless vocals to town. This 97-year-old will bring the house down! Tickets start at $97.20. At 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 28, and Saturday, Nov. 29, drag superstar Miss Conception kicks off the Christmas season with “Happy Holigays!” Tickets start at $50.85. All ticketed shows include dinner reservations two hours before show time. Michael Holmes’ Purple Room, 1900 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs; 760-322-4422; www.purpleroompalmsprings.com.

MUSIC

LUCKY 13 the

Get to better know two amazing guitarists who are coming to the desert with their bands

by matt king

NAME Cyril Jordan

GROUP Flamin’ Groovies

MORE INFO The Flamin’ Groovies may not be a household name, but the band has left an indelible mark on rock ’n’ roll. Their fuzzed-out rock gems in the ’60s and ’70s helped popularize the genre known today as garage rock, paving the way for bands like the Cramps, Cheap Trick and the White Stripes. The Flamin’ Groovies are still out on the road, led by founding member and guitarist Cyril Jordan. The band is set to perform at Mojave Gold at 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 21.

What was the first concert you attended?

The Beach Boys. Paul Revere and the Raiders were there; Jan and Dean were there. It was incredible.

What was the first album you owned?

I bought Chuck Berry’s Berry Is on Top, and I bought Surfin’ U.S.A. by the Beach Boys.

What bands are you listening to right now?

I’ve been listening to The Yardbirds a lot.

What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get?

The Name Game (by Shirley Ellis): That was a big record in the ’60s, and it was just really stupid and lame. Every once in a while, we’d have a good novelty record back then, but this was one that irritated the hell out of me.

What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live? It existed about 50 years ago, and apparently they were wild and incredible, and their name is one of my favorite names of a band: Wayne Cochran and the C.C. Riders.

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?

I wouldn’t know how to answer that. I never feel guilty about anything I dig, especially anything to do with art.

What’s your favorite music venue?

There were a bunch of them back then: Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood, the Avalon Ballroom here in San Francisco, Park West in Chicago. I’ve played so many places around the world, and occasionally there’s a club that sticks out.

What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head?

That great lyric by Bob Dylan, “Once upon a time you dressed so fine / You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn’t you?” has been stuck in my head for a very long time.

What band or artist changed your life?

I wouldn’t say there was a band that changed my life. Right around 1959, I fell in love with the electric guitar. I couldn’t believe how cool it looked, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The more records I heard that had electric guitar, I just fell in love with it. When I saw the Beach Boys, they had a hit with a song called “Little Deuce Coupe,” and the combination of their Fender electric guitars and the rock ’n’ roll that they were playing just came together and sucked me in like a vacuum cleaner.

You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking?

That’s a difficult one, because most of those kinds of questions have been answered by the artist and figured out by me. I’ll give you an example: The Byrds’ Roger McGuinn—he formed The Byrds was because he saw A Hard Day’s Night. Why did Bob Dylan go electric? He heard the Beatles “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and he couldn’t believe how loud it was.

What song would you like played at your funeral?

“Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin.

Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?

Probably Meet the Beatles! Back then, usually the B-sides of records were worthless. On Meet

the Beatles! every song was incredible.

What song should everyone listen to right now?

“Over, Under, Sideways, Down” by the Yardbirds. I played it over and over in my bedroom after I came home from high school. It’s one of the most energetic records I’ve ever heard.

NAME McKenzie “Shermy” Freeman GROUP The Surfrajettes MORE INFO Rippling, reverb-drenched, washed-out guitar tones; booming drum sounds; and grooving bass lines are the three traits that make The Surfrajettes a force of modern surf rock. The Surfrajettes have enchanted fans of surf music new and old, and even fans of other genres, as their top streaming songs are rumbling instrumental covers of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” and Blondie’s “Heart of Glass.” The band also composes their own rockin’ jams. The Surfrajettes, with guitarist McKenzie “Shermy” Freeman, are set to perform at Agua Caliente Palm Springs on Thursday, Nov. 20. For tickets and more information, visit Events Palm Springs’ Eventbrite page.

What was the first concert you attended?

I think it was AC/DC when I was 11, the Stiff Upper Lip tour in 2000. It was either that or Natalie MacMaster, who is a Canadian fiddle player from Cape Breton Island.

What was the first album you owned? It was the third grade. My parents got me a CD player/boombox for Christmas, and I remember they gave me the CD before the boombox, so I was really confused, because I had no way to play it. It was Billy Idol’s Vital Idol

What bands are you listening to right now?

Bauhaus, which might be because it’s Halloween, which is kind of stereotypical, but I am who I am. Also, a band called The Cleaners From Venus, and Lesley Gore.

What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get? Drake. I’m Canadian, and I’ve actually really tried listening to him, and I’m really happy for people who enjoy Drake, but I just can’t hear it. Call me old fashioned; I’m really not a prude, but I also don’t love the trend of vulgarity in music.

What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?

Lesley Gore in her prime. I think people hear “It’s My Party” or “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows,” and I don’t know if people realize the talent that woman has.

What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?

I don’t really have any guilty pleasures. I can proudly sing many polka songs. I’m not easily embarrassed!

What’s your favorite music venue?

Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto. When we first started as a band, we never thought that we would get to a level where we would be playing at the Horseshoe Tavern. That was such a big deal. Now we play at the Horseshoe Tavern.

What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head?

It’s going to go back to Lesley Gore: “It’s My Party,” and it’s become meaningful in a different way. It’s the song that we close our show with every night. It was my birthday actually, the show that we started that on, so it started as an inside joke because it was my birthday, and “I’ll cry if I want to.” That lyric just became meaningful to me, because it actually means more: It’s my life! Butt out.

What band or artist changed your life? I always credit AC/DC as being the first band I ever really loved. I grew up really rural, in the country, and we had one channel, so there wasn’t a lot to pick from. But then my dad put on an AC/DC tape, and that was the first thing that I really was obsessed with.

You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking?

I read in a magazine that Randy Rhoads asked Eddie Van Halen how he got his Floyd Rose to not go out of tune, because he would like to dive on his whammy bar, and he wouldn’t tell him. I use a whammy bar all the time in surf music, so I would ask Eddie Van Halen, “How the hell did you keep your guitar in tune?”

What song would you like played at your funeral?

I’ve always loved the song “Under the Milky Way” by The Church, which might be a fun funeral song. It’s not sad; it’s melancholy, but I feel like that was a really important song in my musical development.

Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time? Van Halen. All killer, no filler.

What song should everyone listen to right now?

“Only a Shadow” by The Cleaners From Venus, which is a super-niche song I heard in a restaurant and love.

OPINION COMICS & JONESIN’ CROSSWORD

43. Tomb Raider protagonist Croft

44. Joints that may get shaky

46. It’s a crowd, so to speak

48. Letters that used to follow CD

49. Land holdings

51. Result of brushing against wet ink

53. Seer’s skill

55. 30 Rock star

56. Man-goat creature

57. Purple flower

59. May honoree

60. You, to Quakers

64. Highlight of some musical performances

65. Intermission of a play?

68. Refuse to authorize

69. Bunch

70. Heart stat

71. Docs that use endoscopes

72. Follow

73. Cheesy sandwiches Down

1. Racetrack transactions

2. “___ Atardecer” (2022 Bad Bunny track meaning “Another Sunset”)

3. Archaeological site

4. Slow movement, in music

5. Hebrew for “hill”

6. Gets stuck

7. Airline approximations

8. Hobby room

9. “Sounds fun”

10. Garden shed implement

11. Chess game with no pieces?

12. 1989 Mazda debut

13. Milkshake insert

18. Cheerful and carefree

23. ___ Cat (SNL Season

51 opening musical guest)

25. Ride around town, maybe

26. Ube, for one

28. Stopper

29. Cookie sheet destination

30. The nose of a folded airplane?

31. Overly assertive

32. The whole thing

35. In disrepair

37. Pond dweller

38. Domesticated

40. Perceive

42. Source of some bun seeds

45. Sound’s partner

47. Jazz ___ (comedic musician named for a flightless bird)

50. Releases

52. Not so

53. Get away from

54. Ambulance sound

56. Low-visibility, in a way

58. Big name in chips

59. Lipizzaner feature

61. It’s for children, according to Pat Benatar

62. Oregon-to-New York direction

63. ___ out a victory

66. Key near Q

67. Heart stat, for short

© 2025 Matt Jones

Find the answers in the “About” section at CVIndependent.com!

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