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CONTENTS FEBRUARY 8-22, 2022 • VOL. 52 NO 16
Upfront .......................................7
Eat ............................................ 21
Feature ..................................... 10
Music ........................................ 27
Get Out ..................................... 16
Savage Love .............................. 31
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Dan Gilbert photo by Erik Drost/FlickrCC
UPFRONT
A NATIONAL BLACK ORG FUNNELED DAN GILBERT DOLLARS TO ANTI-KUCINICH PAC. THEN THE PAC WENT AFTER BIBB. A WASHINGTON D.C.-BASED organization devoted to building Black political power served as an intermediary for nearly $50,000 controlled by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert during the 2021 mayoral primary, Scene has learned, and funneled it to Citizens for Change, the super PAC aligned with former city council president and mayoral candidate Kevin Kelley. This financial arrangement was disguised by a campaign finance framework that delays donor identification in some cases and permits anonymity in others. And though it remained unpublicized, the arrangement inflected the response of the organization’s founder, Quentin James, who felt duped—and, others have suggested, culpable— when Citizens for Change pivoted from bashing Dennis Kucinich to bashing Justin Bibb, and doing so with racist tropes. The D.C.-based organization is the Collective PAC. In August, it publicly endorsed Bibb, who went on to defeat Kelley in the
November general election. A Super PAC affiliated with it is called “The Southern Strategy PAC.” Multiple sources with knowledge of the interaction said that this PAC was made available to accept Gilbert’s money and that it then donated his funds to Citizens for Change after assurances that they would be used only to target Dennis Kucinich. Why Gilbert preferred to cloak his involvement in the primary is a mystery, especially because he went on to donate $50,000, via his company Rocket Holdings, to another PAC, Citizens for Cleveland’s Future, that was formed to back Kelley in the general. The media relations team at Gilbert’s Rocket family of companies has not yet responded to Scene’s inquiries. Update: Rock Holdings, as it turns out, did not openly donate to Citizens for Cleveland’s Future. Ideastream reporter Nick Castele has confirmed that the $50,000 donation which was originally attributed to Rock Holdings was attributed to the Construction
Employers Association in an amended FEC filing. But regardless of his motives, The Southern Strategy PAC suited Gilbert’s needs. Among other things, its website is a veritable black box. It has no listed staff. Its address is a P.O. Box in Washington, D.C. Its only social media presence is a dormant Facebook page, the entire activity on which transpired over one 24-hour period in August, 2020. The email address linked from its “Contact” button is inoperable. All messages are returned to sender. Its mission, outlined on the website, is the engagement of “new and unlikely” voters, including Black people and suburban women “at the heart of the emerging Democratic coalition across the South and in states and districts where the greatest barrier to electoral success is sufficient and sustained financial investment.” Beyond a $25,000 transfer to a related committee, The Southern Strategy PAC’s only contribution in 2021 was to Citizens for Change.
Scene managed to connect the dots only after after reviewing The Southern Strategy PAC’s incorporating documents, which list a woman named Jennifer May as treasurer. May is the founder of a D.C. consultancy called Next Level Partners, which provides, among other things, compliance and accounting services for Super PACs. According to the Federal Election Commission, Jennifer May is also the Treasurer for the Collective PAC. Both PACs also share a P.O. Box. To some in the Bibb camp, The Southern Strategy’s activities smelled a lot like money laundering. “Gilbert and Rock Holdings washed their money through [The Southern Strategy PAC],” one source with ties to the Bibb campaign told Scene. But others said that, unfortunately, this was simply the nature of the United States’ campaign finance laws. “It’s not [laundering],” said a source who spoke on condition of
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anonymity for legal reasons. “It’s just the system. There are donors who are allowed to play in politics anonymously. The borderline illegal thing was Citizens for Change going to donors and saying we’re going to do one thing, but then, by the way, we’re actually doing another thing. Every donor could technically ask for their money back.” According to recent disclosures published by the FEC, there were only 12 donors that backed Citizens for Change. These donors contributed more than $250,000 in a flood of big-ticket donations in August and September. The Southern Strategy PAC was among them. Some of Cleveland’s best-known oligarchs supported the effort: Browns owners James and Dee Haslam, ($44,000), who happen to be orchestrating a massive lakefront development plan to further enhance the value of their pro sports franchise; Greatest Generation tycoon Albert Ratner, ($42,500); Dick Pogue himself, (a
DIGIT WIDGET 50 Cleveland Public Works Director Michael Cox’s years of service. Cox will retire Apr. 4, 2022, 50 years to the day after starting his employment with the city.
1,200 Number of calls received by the City of Cleveland’s 311 line last Friday, after the second major snowstorm in as many weeks.
500 Number of those calls returned.
2 Number of staffers receiving calls at the city’s 311 line. The call center has a staff of seven, but due to the severity of the storm, only two workers made it into the office.
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The Southern Strategy logo
UPFRONT
paltry $2,500); Minute Men Staffing baron Jason Lucarelli, ($25,000); developer Wesley Finch, ($10,000); David Heller, President and CEO of the real estate development firm NRP Group, ($10,000); Randy Myerhoff, ($10,000), CEO of accounting firm Cohen and Co.; Miami’s own Sheldon Guren, ($5,000); and technologisttitan Dan T. Moore, ($2,500), longtime Metroparks Commissioner and big-game hunter. Despite the towering wealth of these regional personages, it was the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council, presided over by the brash Dave Wondolowski of Broadview Heights, that donated the most total money to Citizens for Change: $50,000, in three separate donations. But The Southern Strategy PAC was not far behind and was in fact responsible for the largest single contribution: $48,250, on Sept. 2. The day after that donation was processed, Citizens for Change modified its game plan in the primary. Though it had billed itself as a candidate-neutral PAC devoted exclusively to discrediting Dennis Kucinich and preventing the former Boy Mayor’s return, everyone paying attention knew it was a Kelley operation. The Cuyahoga County Democratic Party’s old guard—the infamous “Parma Boys,” including County Executive Armond Budish’s Chief of Staff Bill Mason, County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley and Wondolowski—were said to be pulling the strings. When they saw that Justin Bibb was building momentum on Cleveland’s west side, the only side that mattered to Kelley in the primary, Citizens for Change published a controversial mailer that appeared to darken Bibb’s skin and purported to expose his ethical abuses and criminal history. The interior of the mailer documented a pattern of missed meetings during Bibb’s tenure on the RTA board of trustees and showed a timeline of unpaid traffic tickets and landlord disputes. Multiple sources have told Scene that the mailer was the brainchild of Wondolowski and Wondolowski alone. Others with knowledge of the Kelley machine told Scene that both Michael O’Malley and Roetzel & Andress attorney Galen Schuerlein— one of the architects of the failed attempt to thwart Chris Ronayne’s candidacy for county executive— had a hand in conceptualizing the mailer’s content and design. The mailer was printed using Qwestcom Graphics, the preferred vendor of the County Dems’ rickety old guard. Citizens for Change paid Qwestcom
$15,680 on Sept. 1, the only such expenditure in its paperwork. Quentin James was furious when he realized he’d been misled or played for a fool, back in September. He uncorked a thread on social media on Sept. 7 that he said would “blow the lid” off Citizens for Change, “(aka Kevin Kelly for mayor Inc.)” (sic). In that thread, James outed O’Malley, Mason and Wondolowski as the trio behind the mailer and said its content was “designed to scare white voters from voting for Bibb because he’s Black.” This mailer was enough to disqualify Kelley from the race on its own, he wrote. When Scene interviewed James on Sept. 7, he confirmed that he’d been approached to donate to Citizens for Change. Speaking in general terms, he said that “people” were outraged that the money they donated for a specific purpose (attacking Kucinich) was being used for a different one, (attacking Bibb). At the time, James did not reveal the extent of his organization’s involvement. Instead, he expressed displeasure with the nature of the Bibb mailer and Cleveland’s political culture. “The way they decided to attack Justin was completely below the belt,” he said. “It was racist. It was unprofessional. And this behind-thescenes lying is just amateur hour. These are three of the most powerful men in Cuyahoga County [Mason, O’Malley and Wondolowski] and this is how they behave? It’s just sad.” James said he was relatively new to Cleveland but had already clocked how hesitant locals were to criticize those with power. That included Black leaders, he said. “I look around and they seem to be afraid to speak up against this fake machine politics,” he said. But when pressed for further details, James said he had already “put it all out there” on social media and didn’t want to share specific names about who’d approached him
and how. When Scene contacted James in the wake of the FEC disclosure, he said he had no further comment, and was in any case not at liberty to discuss his PAC’s donors. But others with knowledge of the exchange said James was persuaded to use The Southern Strategy PAC as a vessel for Gilbert’s money by Gilbert or a close associate. They were allegedly connected by Michael Bowen, the Calfee attorney and political operative who was enlisted to manage the latter half of Frank Jackson’s re-election campaign in 2017. Bowen’s involvement in Citizens for Change had been previously known. His wife, Sarah Brandon, was listed on the PAC’s incorporating documents. And Justin Bibb’s campaign alluded to his influence in an email to donors on Sept. 3 after the controversial mailer was delivered. “Citizens for Change, a Political Action Committee linked to a local attorney [Bowen], sent out a mailer today, which shows Cleveland politics at its worst,” the email read. “It’s the same dirty tricks we’ve all seen before, desperately trying to keep power in the hands of the same old, same old self-serving powerbrokers. Today, we immediately refunded donations received from Michael Bowen and his wife, Sarah Brandon, who are behind this dark money PAC spreading misinformation.” In his capacity at Calfee, Bowen represents Dan Gilbert’s Rock Holdings Inc. When reached by phone, Bowen declined to comment, but clarified that his involvement with Citizens for Change ended with the primary. Bowen was not the only non-donor who left the impression that the Bibb mailer was an aberration and a betrayal of trust. Veteran political consultant Jerry Austin, who was contracted by Citizens for Change, said that the Bibb piece had been designed and mailed without his knowledge. Others told Scene that they felt
Mooney to Run for Judge, Would Vacate City Council Seat if Victorious Ward 11 Cleveland City Councilman Brian Mooney has filed petitions to run for judge in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, Scene has learned. An attorney and former assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor, Mooney was appointed to the city’s legislative body by outgoing councilwoman Dona Brady in early 2020. He successfully fended off challenger Michael Hardy in the 2021 general election to retain his seat. Less than three months after winning a new four-year term, however, Mooney has opted to seek another elected position. In a phone call last week, Mooney told Scene that he was doing so because of his own legal background and because of the dynamics of the local judicial races. “Nobody was willing to run against [Republican Joan] Synenberg,” Mooney said. “I think
photo by Sam Allard
Bowen, who has long been personal friends with Bibb, had been thrown under the bus in the ordeal. If Northeast Ohio’s preeminent puppet masters were disturbed by the racist direction of the Bibb mailer, it didn’t prevent them from ponying up in the general. Gilbert emerged from the shadows—or at least Rock Holdings did, when the FEC published the donor lists months after the election—to contribute $50,000 to the second PAC, Citizens for Cleveland’s Future, created to support Kelley in his head-to-head matchup against Bibb. The Haslams and Al Ratner, via his family’s RMS Investment Group, made additional contributions as well. So, too, did Wondolowski’s group, Jason Lucarelli and Wesley Finch. All these Super PAC contributions were for naught, though, as Cleveland’s moneyed interests and the goons at their disposal watched Bibb’s margin of victory grow larger and larger on the evening of Nov. 2. Having spectacularly bungled the Kelley campaign and made asses of themselves in their attempts to block a Chris Ronayne endorsement for County Executive, the party’s old guard is now flailing to cling to power and relevance. The influence of their aging benefactors dwindles in lockstep. The Bibb victory, then, should serve as an airtight cap on an era of private cabals determining the city’s succession planning behind closed doors. It was what it was, maybe, but should never be again. -Sam Allard
contested elections are better for democracy, and I wanted to make sure the voters have a choice.” Synenberg is currently running unopposed for a six-year term in the general division of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. She most recently defeated Andrea Nelson Moore in 2016 and had been previously appointed to the bench by Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Mooney would face no challengers on the Democratic side in the May primary and would go head-to-head against Synenberg in the November general. Mooney said he couldn’t speculate why no one had yet filed petitions to challenge Synenberg, but said he was unafraid and was looking forward to running a spirited campaign. He gathered his signatures this weekend—only 50 were required— and submitted them at the Board of Elections Monday. “Ordinarily I wouldn’t have thought about it,” he said. “But I’m qualified, and with my background, I feel like I have something to offer the judiciary.” Mooney said it was too early to think about the implications for Ward 11, but should he lose in the judicial race, he would retain his city council seat. Council members tend to retire or seek new jobs after they’ve served two years of their four-year terms, at which point the city charter allows them to appoint successors on their own. But if Mooney is victorious in November, he would vacate his seat with three full years remaining, meaning a special election in the west side ward would be required.
“I don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch, but I would meet with the leaders and activists in my ward to help plan that process,” he said. He has not thought about who he might support. “None of this is personal,” Mooney said. “As much as it might seem that way, it’s not. For me, it’s fun. And it’s giving people a choice. I’m going to run a good campaign, and we’ll see where the chips fall.” -Sam Allard
Nina Turner Announces Run for Congress, Setting up Rematch with Shontel Brown Nina Turner has announced that she is running for congress once again. In a video message published last week, Turner said that she was running “unapologetically to fight for the people and speak truth to power.” Turner’s candidacy, which was suspected when she filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission in September to keep her campaign committee in active operation, sets up a re-match with congresswoman Shontel Brown, who defeated Turner in last year’s special election to replace Marcia Fudge. Turner was considered the heavy favorite entering that race, with national name recognition and a substantial fundraising advantage. Brown closed the gap in the final weeks with the support of PACs who sent an onslaught of negative campaign mailers to voters in Northeast Ohio. Though Turner won in the city
of Cleveland, Brown scored huge margins of victory in the east side suburbs, particularly in areas with a high concentration of Jewish voters, as Brown styled herself as a champion of Israel and Turner was considered antagonistic for supporting Palestinian rights. Turner’s new campaign is much like her previous one. She says she will support Medicare for All, advocate for raising the minimum wage, stand with working people against powerful corporations and fight for childcare and climate justice, among other things. In her video, she references Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and says she would be a leader like him, working tirelessly for the “poor, working poor and barely middle class.” “Greater Cleveland needs a changemaker,” she said, “not someone who will go along to get along.” (This is a direct reference to Brown, whose campaign platform last year centered on her willingness to cooperate with the Biden administration.) Brown will be the incumbent this year, but the shape of the district remains in flux. The Ohio Supreme Court rejected a new gerrymandered map proposed by Republicans, and a new version can be expected from the state legislature next month. In its current form, the district would include only Cuyahoga County, not portions of Summit County. -Sam Allard
scene@clevescene.com @clevelandscene
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FEATURE
Illustrations by John G.
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Who’s Electing Judges in the Cleveland Area? Not Those Ensnared in the System In Cuyahoga County, voting patterns have resulted in mostly White judges deciding the fate of mostly Black criminal defendants By Rachel Dissell, Ilica Mahajan, Anna Flagg, and Wesley Lowery, The Marshall Project This story is published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit newsroom covering the U.S. criminal justice system. FEW PEOPLE IN CUYAHOGA County wield as much power over as many lives as the 34 elected judges who preside over felony cases. These Common Pleas judges consider the cases of thousands of people a year, making decisions about bail, plea deals and sentencing. They determine who feels the full weight of the law and who receives leniency. But when it comes time for residents to vote those judges in — or out — of office, the people with the most at stake often don’t cast ballots. Take Ward 5, a majority Black area about three miles east of Cleveland’s downtown Justice Center. In the past six years, an unusually high proportion of defendants listed the ward as their home address — the second-highest in the county. Yet just about a quarter of the ward’s registered voters marked a ballot for a judge in 2020. To put that into perspective, Ward 17 saw more than half of its registered voters cast a ballot for judge in 2020. Attorneys, academics and people who have experienced the system firsthand offered fundamental reasons for low turnout: a glaring lack of useful information about how the courts operate and the individual track records of judges themselves, compounded by a deep distrust of the entire criminal justice system. That’s also what more than 40 residents told us in interviews conducted by the Cleveland Documenters, a group that pays people to attend local government meetings and gather civic information. Christopher Thorpes, a community activist and lifelong resident of Ward 5, told The Marshall Project even though he has worked on political campaigns,
he doesn’t vote for judges. Residents tell him, he said, that they know firsthand how unfair the system is, so why should they legitimize it? “Nobody wants to vote for a person who might end up locking them up,” he said. Black residents of Cuyahoga County are arrested and sent to prison at disproportionate rates. To understand what role the court system — and its elected judges — play in these lopsided outcomes, The Marshall Project collected and analyzed more than six years of court data. The Marshall Project spent months using tools to “scrape” the court records, one case at a time, from public internet dockets to assemble a database. We also compared defendants’ home addresses with county elections data to understand which voters were casting ballots in judicial races. We intend to use these analyses to answer questions we’ve gathered from community members and explore the points where injustice warps the system. Here’s what we found: Court outcomes worsen existing racial disparities. Though Black people make up only about 30% of the county’s residents, almost two-thirds of the people who are arrested by police and charged with felonies by prosecutors are Black. Then, after judges impose sentences, state records show three-quarters of people in state prisons convicted in Cuyahoga County are Black. Individual judges make a big difference — for example, some judges almost never send defendants to prison for common charges like theft and low-level felony drug possession, while others incarcerate 30% or more. While Cleveland residents make up two-thirds of defendants in the court, votes from the city account for less than a quarter of those cast in judges’ races. That means the vote in
the predominantly White suburbs in judges’ races effectively carries three times the power of the vote in the majority Black city. Voters have more power than they may think. If everyone who showed up to vote had cast ballots for judges as well, that could have swung the outcome in 9 of 15 contested judicial races since 2016 — without turning out a single additional voter. Judge Brendan J. Sheehan, administrative judge of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, said there’s no straightforward way to determine the role of judges in sentencing disparities. “A wide variety of variables then comes into play with each case,” he said. “Simply put, there is a unique story behind each sentence that raw data cannot capture.” Cuyahoga County’s voting patterns have resulted in mostly White judges deciding the guilt or innocence of the county’s mostly Black criminal defendants. Of the 34 judges currently on the bench in Cuyahoga County, 30 are White and four are Black. The disparity in power between county and city voters creates a big problem, because few judges on the ballot understand the experiences of people who appear in court — often people of color living in the city, said Erika Anthony, who co-founded Cleveland VOTES. “Essentially, our bench is dominated by White, Westside Irish Catholic individuals,” Anthony said, referring to the county’s long tradition of electing judges with the same Irish and Italian surnames, like Gallagher and Russo.” OHIO, LIKE MOST STATES, allows voters to elect its judges. Twice, in 1938 and 1987, attempts to switch back to an appointment system have appeared on the ballot, only to be soundly defeated. But even after fighting to keep the right to elect judges, county voters
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wasn’t enough information available to help them decide which judges to vote for. Those who voted for judges said they did research using campaign ads, news articles or websites like Vote411.org or Judge4Yourself. com, which rates candidates based on interviews with local bar associations. Often, those sources didn’t answer specific questions they had about candidates or measure how current judges were doing their jobs. “I would like to know their records of how they sentence, and how strict they are, or how lenient they are, or if they are more prejudiced one way or another way,” said Sara R. Jackson, 79, of University Circle. “There needs to be an unbiased committee, organization, agency or something that looks at their record –– reviews the judge’s performance,” said Donna Speigner, 56, of Warrensville Heights.
consistently show up less often for judicial elections. Many judicial races in Cuyahoga County aren’t contested — 20 of the 35 county-level criminal court judicial races since 2016 had a single candidate. That often results in less participation in those elections and easy victories for incumbents. “It’s almost impossible to vote out a judge,” said Jerry Primm II, who has managed and consulted on judicial campaigns and said there is an unwritten rule among local Democrats to never challenge a sitting judge. “And they know this. They’re keenly aware. They know they have that job for 30 or 40 years, depending on what their age is.” Every voting precinct in Cuyahoga County — as they do largely across the country — sees a drop off in voting in judicial races. In November 2020, 29% of county voters marked their ballot for president, but not for judges. In a precinct in Cleveland’s predominantly Latino ClarkFulton neighborhood, nearly half of voters who cast ballots in 2020’s presidential election left the judicial
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More than half of the 46 city and county residents interviewed by Cleveland Documenters said there wasn’t enough information available to help them decide which judges to vote for. races blank. In contrast, in a precinct in the Ludlow neighborhood in suburban Shaker Heights, slightly more than 13% didn’t vote for judges. It just isn’t possible for many voters to keep track of the multiple candidates and judges’ races, experts and civic leaders say. A 2013 report by the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association concluded “it is hard to conceive how even the most industrious and conscientious voter could possibly collect enough information to make informed decisions” — noting that the county has nearly 100 judicial elections each six-year period, with every voter eligible to pick judges at the local, county and state level. “Voters kind of lose heart after a while,’’ said Lawrence Baum,
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emeritus professor of political science at Ohio State University. The sheer number of judicial races and the fact they fall to the bottom of the ballot increases fatigue, he said, and sends voters on “a desperate search for relevant information.” State and local nonpartisan groups have stepped up efforts in recent years to give voters more information on judicial candidates, Sheehan said. “I want as many people as possible who are eligible to vote to do just that,” Sheehan said. “We should pursue all avenues to get those voters the information they need to make informed choices.” Still, more than half of the 46 city and county residents interviewed by Cleveland Documenters said there
THE CHASM BETWEEN WHO experiences the county’s criminal justice system and who elects its judges is most stark in Cleveland’s 7-V precinct, which includes the 350-bed men’s homeless shelter in a former metal sorting warehouse on a treeless stretch of Lakeside Avenue. The downtown shelter makes this a unique voting precinct — many of the county’s people experiencing homelessness list it as their address both in court records and on voter registration forms. The precinct had by far the highest share of criminal defendants in 2018 and 2020 of any in the county, and also contributed one of the lowest shares of votes cast in judicial races. About 80% of those homeless throughout the county are people of color. They also are highly likely to face the justice system, often for so-called poverty crimes, like falling asleep on a public bus, said Molly Martin, of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless. But despite their frequent contact with the justice system, Martin said homeless residents may not pay close attention to local races for powerful justice system players such as judges and county prosecutors. (The last time there was a contested county prosecutor’s race, in 2016, it garnered even fewer votes than the average judicial race.) “If folks don’t have a consistent phone, or are living in survival mode, they’re not thinking about the election,” said Martin, who has helped lead voter registration efforts across the city during recent election cycles.
But not all areas with substantial numbers of defendants have low rates of voting for judges. There are pockets in Cleveland and the suburbs that are home to more court defendants but also vote for judges at above-average rates. The Clark-Fulton neighborhood is home to St. Rocco, a century-old church built by working-class Italian immigrants, known for producing lawyers and revered judges, like Salvatore Calandra, who sat on the municipal court for a quarter of a century. Today, voters in the precinct where the church stands no longer turn out in force to elect judges. Nearly half of voters in the precinct who cast ballots in last year’s presidential election left the judicial races blank. More than 1 in 20 adults in this precinct appeared before a judge between 2019 and 2020, one of the highest rates in the county. Latinos now make up more than half the population in the neighborhood; residents speak Spanish in most of the corner stores. County voters got access to bilingual ballots about a decade ago, but only after the U.S. Justice Department
threatened to sue the county’s Board of Elections. Still, many residents are new to participating in elections for city council, mayor, and judicial races, said Selina Pagan, director for the Young Latino Network. Many likely “don’t even realize that they have power to shift these dynamics within our court system” by voting for judges, she said. Cleveland’s Latino communities are not a monolith, she said. Puerto Rican residents often voted at much higher levels on the island, but may not feel a part of democracy in Cleveland, she said. Residents from Guatemala, Colombia or Mexico sometimes live in households with family members who are applying for U.S. citizenship or who are undocumented and can’t vote, so that habit isn’t naturally passed on to children. Pagan sees this dynamic in her own family. “I still have to jump through hoops to talk about this stuff with my family because it’s exhausting to them,” she said. “They don’t have any hope in the system.” Few judicial candidates prioritize campaigning in the community,
which is mainly in Ward 14, perhaps because of the historically low turnout, Adam Davenport, a neighborhood planner, said. “I’ve been working in the neighborhood for over ten years, and I’ve had maybe two judges make active efforts to come to block clubs,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a judge, maybe one, that had any campaign literature in Spanish.” Thorpes said judicial candidates also rarely show up in Cleveland’s Central neighborhood, a majority Black stretch on the near east side of the city, which is thick with low-income housing complexes. He theorized that’s because voter turnout is historically low — less than 5% of registered voters in Central turned out in November’s mayoral election. That lack of engagement means fewer chances for residents to learn about the roles judges play in the system. Or to size up how the sitting judges have treated members of their community. “If you want my vote, you need to get out. And you know what? Even let the people do a survey on you,” Thorpes said. Common Pleas Judge William
Vodrey, elected in 2020 after his second run, said he tried to campaign “anywhere I thought I might find voters,” whether the most affluent or the poorest neighborhoods in the county. It was easier to do, he said, in places with already active Democratic ward clubs, most of which are in the suburbs. (Vodrey said he does remember attending one information session in Ward 5, which includes Central.) Vodrey said he sent out some campaign mailers in Spanish and Arabic. “I don’t know how many voters that might have reached,” he said. “But I thought it was important to meet people where they were at.” Residents in Central have some of the most pressing reasons to care about which judges are elected. About 1 in 8 residents faced charges before a judge in the past six years, and that experience ripples out into the community, to their families and friends. It’s hard to expect people who are returning from incarceration or who have encountered police or courts to act alone to change the system, said Fred Ward, a founder of the Formerly Incarcerated Individuals Necessary Political Action Committee, which started interviewing and endorsing judicial candidates a little over a year ago. It can be discouraging, he said, when formerly incarcerated residents see judges who they’ve found to be unfair get political endorsements and major party backing. “They don’t feel like they have a voice,” he said. Ward said that can shift with collective action. Ward’s PAC campaigned against Common Pleas Judge John O’Donnell, who lost two bids for the Ohio Supreme Court based on his decision to acquit Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo. The officer stood trial after he and other officers fired 137 bullets into a car following a 2012 police chase, leaving two unarmed people, Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, dead. Ward’s PAC also pushed for Issue 24, a police accountability ballot initiative that passed in November. “People in power only care about two things,” Ward said. “Whether you have the capacity to keep them in power or whether you have the capacity to take them out of power.”
Reporting contributed by: David Eads, Cleveland Documenter Kellie Morris, Michelle Pitcher, and Nicole Lewis.
scene@clevescene.com @clevelandscene
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GET OUT
Everything to do in Cleveland for the next two weeks
The Spits come to the Grog Shop. See: Sunday, Feb. 13.
WED 02/09 Cavaliers vs. San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs might have a losing record this season, but you can’t count them out since they have one of the NBA’s greatest coaches ever. They come to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse tonight at 7 to take on the Cavs. Consult the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse website for more info. 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.
THU 02/10 Great Big Home + Garden Show The Great Big Home + Garden Show returns to Cleveland’s I-X Center this weekend with more than 400 exhibits to “inspire homeowners looking to find fresh, ideas from hundreds of experts in kitchen and bath, landscaping, décor, flooring and more.” Find out more about everything from modular homes to staycation
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gardens. Today’s hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and the show continues through Sunday, Feb. 13. Check the I-X center website for more info. One I-X Center Dr., 216-676-6000, ixcenter.com.
FRI
02/11
The Music of Billy Joel and Elton John Starring Michael Cavanaugh Cleveland native Michael Cavanaugh presents the Music of Billy Joel and Elton John, two iconic rock/pop stars who’ve toured together in the past, in this special performance that takes place at 8 p.m. at the State Theatre. Consult the Playhouse Square website for more info. 1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
SAT
02/12
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (The Musical) With a script written by Mo Willems,
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the creator of the New York Times best-selling Pigeon picture books, this comedic musical production features both actors and puppets as it tells the story of a bus driver who has a crisis that could make the bus late. Performances take place at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. today and at 2 p.m. tomorrow at the Mimi Ohio Theatre. Tickets range from $10 to $15. 1511 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
SUN 02/13 The Spits Closing in on three decades, the Spits, as it’s put in a press release, “walk the line between punk mayhem and well-honed songwriting.” On the road in support of their newest record, VI, which came out last year, they play the Grog Shop tonight at 8. Recorded by Erik Nervous on cassette four track, the band’s new LP offers accessible punk rock that should translate well to the stage.
Timmy’s Organism and Hawk Baby open. Tickets cost $16. 2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-321-5588, grogshop.gs.
MON 02/14 Vegan Monday Each Monday, the Winchester chef puts together a special vegan menu featuring items such as comfort burgers, Philly burgers and peach cobbler. The kitchen opens up at 4 p.m. and stays open until midnight. Check the website for more info. 12112 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216-600-5338, facebook.com/ TheWinchesterMusicTavern.
TUE
02/15
Open Turntable Tuesday Tonight from 7 to 9, the Winchester hosts its weekly Open Turntable Tuesday. Jason Gokorsch will book guest DJs and offer slots to people who want to bring their own vinyl
GET OUT and spin their favorite songs or deep tracks. First time DJs are encouraged, and equipment is provided. Patrons can also bring records for the night’s DJ to add to their set. Sign up on Northeast Ohio Vinyl Club’s Facebook page. 12112 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216-600-5338, facebook.com/ TheWinchesterMusicTavern.
WED 02/16 Jesus Christ Superstar A classic musical that comes to us courtesy of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, Jesus Christ Superstar features classic Broadway belters such as “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” and the glorious title track. A touring production of the hit comes to Connor Palace tonight at 7:30. Check the Playhouse Square website for more info. 1615 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
THU
02/17
NBA Rising Stars Game The NBA’s All-Star Game comes to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse this weekend, and the festivities kick off tonight at 9 at the arena with the Rising Stars Game. An All-Star Saturday Night event takes place at 8 tomorrow night at the arena and the 71st All-Star Game goes down at 8 on Sunday night. Check the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse website for ticket prices and more info. One Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.
FRI
02/18
Rocky Horror Picture Show The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the 1975 film that still draws an exuberant, costumed crowd that likes to throw rice and dry toast and sing along to the songs in the movie, still draws big crowds to local showings. Expect a throng to show up for tonight’s screening that takes place at midnight at the Kent Stage. Note that no outside props will be allowed but prop bags will be for sale for a nominal fee. Tickets cost $10, $7 if you’re in a costume. 175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org.
SAT
02/19
World Fighting Championships World Fighting Championships come to town this weekend. The match begins at 8 tonight at MGM Northfield Park — Center Stage. Consult the venue’s website for ticket prices. 10705 Northfield Rd., Northfield, 330-908-7793, mgmnorthfieldpark. mgmresorts.com/en.html.
SUN 02/20 COYO Winter Concert Dasara Beta, trumpet, will perform Alexander Arutiunian’s Trumpet Concerto, replacing the previously announced music by Beethoven and Mozart featuring the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. Beta, a senior at Rocky River High School and member of COYO, is one of the winners of the ensemble’s annual concerto competition. The event begins at 3 p.m. at Mandel Concert Hall. Check the Cleveland Orchestra website for ticket prices and more info. 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.
MON 02/21 Movie Mondays Every Monday, Cleveland Cinemas hosts $5 Movie Mondays, where film fans can catch up on the latest Hollywood flicks for significantly reduced prices. Bring your friends and family and make Movie Mondays a weekly tradition — many theaters even offer discounted concession stand items. Participating theaters include Apollo Theatre, Cedar Lee Theatre and Chagrin Cinemas. Additional charges apply for 3-D movies. clevelandcinemas.com.
TUE
02/22
Lyrical Rhythms Open Mic and Chill This long-running open mic night allows some of the city’s best rappers and poets to strut their stuff. The event begins at 8 with a comedy session dubbed 2 Drinks & a Joke with host Ant Morrow. The open mic performances begin at 10 p.m. Tickets cost $5 in advance, $10 at the door., $5. 2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-932-1966, bsideliquorlounge.com.
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene February 9-22, 2022 | clevescene.com |
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EAT STILL SAYING OUI AFTER ALL THESE YEARS Le Petit Triangle is as charming and delicious as ever
ON A RECENT SUNDAY MORNING, my wife and I squeezed into the last pair of available seats at Le Petit Triangle Café. Our table was situated in the front window of the original pie-shaped space – le petit triangle – which is less of a dining room with an open kitchen than a kitchen with a few extra seats. The snow outside was accumulating at a rapid pace, but that didn’t slow the steady stream of optimistic walk-ins, who waited for tables in the heated enclosed patio. Sipping our Bloodys and Pamplemosas, we decided that there was nowhere in Cleveland we’d rather be. To know the story of Le Petit Triangle is to know the history of modern-day Ohio City. This irreplaceable bistro’s origins stretch back 20 years to a quirky incubator called Market 25, which was located where Bar Cento and Bier Markt had long held court. It was there that a woman named Denajua introduced many of us to authentic French crepes, which she crafted while delivering a litany of salty bon mots. When that retail experiment went bust Denajua relocated her crepe stones to Fulton Road, where she opened Le Oui Oui Café. A year later she sold the bistro to a new owner, who in turn sold it the following year to yet another operator with no prior restaurant experience. Stepping in to save the day were Tom and Joy Harlor, who for a decade prior had been running the popular Tremont deli Take-A-Bite. After moderate but meaningful interior modifications (and the removal of some risqué art), the Harlors debuted Le Petit Triangle in 2007. Originally, the new owners had planned to move away from the crepes, but instead they embraced and improved the roster of sweet and savory filled pancakes. Since originally reviewing the restaurant the year it opened, I’ve been back only a handful of times, which is a shame. If there’s a downside to this beat, it’s the inability to return to established places because we are too busy covering the new. Going forward, Scene will endeavor in these pages to highlight more of the people and places that
Photo by Douglas Trattner
By Douglas Trattner
have stood the test of time. After all, sticking around is its own mark of achievement and excellence. While many people would consider W. 25th Street the heart of Ohio City, true admirers might place that pin closer to the intersection of Bridge and Fulton. There, stalwarts like Momocho, Johnny Mango, Le Petit Triangle and nearby Heck’s have a combined 110-plus years
end spot. We’re here to serve a really good product at a decent price point for the neighborhood. There are a lot of times I’ll walk in and the clientele is three-quarters neighborhood people and I know and greet them all. That is the most lovely thing.” Two years in, The Harlors took over the next-door space from Kimo’s Sushi (another Market 25 alum), which bumped up the occupancy
LE PETIT TRIANGLE CAFÉ 1881 FULTON AVE., CLEVELAND, 216-281-1881 LEPETITTRIANGLE.COM
of service, which doesn’t happen by accident. Over here, the pace is slower, the locals are more plentiful and it’s nearly impossible to not bump into an owner-operator. Over the years, the Harlors have made incremental improvements to the space, food and vibe, but the Triangle has always stayed true to its original mission to serve the neighborhood. “We’re a café,” Joy explains. “We’re not here to be the highest-
from 24 to 55. When the front patio was established, that number climbed to 75 in season. Day, night or weekend Le Petit’s menu is loaded with appealing bistro classics. Some items carry over from one menu to the next, including the irresistible escargot ($10). Presented in the shell, bathed with parsleystudded garlic butter and paired with bread, the dish is required eating. Don’t sleep on the mussels marinière ($9) and salt cod potato cakes ($9),
the kitchen’s take on bacalao that is paired with garlic-lemon aioli. Like any good bistro, this one glides easily from French onion soup to beef bourguignon. Friends meet for happy hour here to share a cheese plate, some oysters on the half shell and a bottle of wine or pop in post-dinner for bananas foster crepes and frothy cappuccinos. Brunch here is in high demand, when neighbors amble from nearby homes for boozy coffee drinks and breakfast, brunch and lunch dishes. In addition to french toast, omelets and savory crepes, there are hearty plates like the steak tartine ($18), a pan-seared strip topped with a pair of fried eggs and served with roasted potatoes and toast. No surprise, the kitchen makes a decadent Croque Monsier ($11), a ham and cheese sandwich on eggy challah capped with creamy béchamel. The gap between this visit and my next won’t be as long as the last one.
dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner
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EAT BITES
Banter to reopen in Detroit Shoreway in former Minh Anh spot By Douglas Trattner WHEN MATTHEW STIPE announced in 2020 that Banter would be closing its original westside location after five years, he made a pledge not only that the restaurant would return, but also that he would endeavor to make that comeback happen in Gordon Square. Today we learned that Banter indeed will be returning to Gordon Square, specifically the former home of Minh Anh restaurant. “We were looking almost exclusively in Ohio City and Gordon Square,” Stipe explains. “We wanted to find what was going to be a good fit not only for how we fit into the neighborhood but also fit well with the landlords.” That new landlord is the Bond Street Group, which is building the Waverly & Oak development right next door. Although the new location is a short 10-minute walk east from the original, it might as well be a mile in terms of foot traffic. The move shifts Banter from the westward fringe of Detroit Shoreway to its heart. “We were definitely on an island at our other location, but with the new location being right next to some great restaurants its nice to be able to have good neighbors like that and we’ll only enhance that part of the neighborhood,” Stipe says. Stipe says that the Minh Anh building is larger than it might have appeared to diners given that more than half of the space was devoted to storage and other behind-the-scenes activities. When all is said and done, the new Banter will be larger and less chopped up than the original. Diners also can look forward to some outdoor dining space. “We’ll probably get away from that art gallery-esque feel that we had,” adds Stipe. “I think our guests will still expect a more modern feel – you know, sleek, clean lines – but definitely a little bit more color. We want it to be a little bit more comfortable, a place where people can relax and hang out for hours
Photo by Burkle Hagen Photography
and hours.” Stipe says given new neighbors like Astoria, Flight and Gordon Square Market, the plan is to scale back on the retail beer and wine sales and to focus more on higherend, harder-to-find selections. But that also will allow the kitchen, which will be helmed by chef Nick Dlugoss, to get a little more ambitious with its offerings. Those items will be joined by the standard lineup of fried cheese curds, Polish Boys, corndogs, poutine and sliders. Stipe says it’s very early in the process, but the current estimate is an opening sometime before the end of the year. “It’s nice going back to a neighborhood that really supported us so well, where we had so many great friends and regulars that we hope to see back,” he says. “That makes it a little easier, that we have a reputation and that people can expect great Canadian comfort food.” Banter also operates a satellite shop at Van Aken District’s Market Hall.
Sibling Revelry in Westlake Adds Kitchen, to Unveil New Menu This Month Back in 2019, Sibling Revelry (29305 Clemens Rd., 440-471-8589) rolled out a light snacks menu to support the acquisition of a new liquor license. But that was just the first step of a more ambitious plan
to build out a new kitchen, expand the dining room and begin offering guests a richer food and beverage experience. “We got that all up and rolling, started our layout and demolition for the new kitchen and then Covid hit and we pumped the brakes real hard,” explains GM Mike Lucas. After focusing exclusively on beer sales during the past two years, the Westlake brewery has resumed and nearly completed construction. By mid-February, management will unveil a full-service kitchen and additional dining space. The new layout supports 120 diners indoors. Chef Scott Bennett is putting the finishing touches on the menu, which is described as “elevated pub fare.” Diners can look forward to items like wings, burgers, sandwiches and pizzas. “Nothing too crazy,” Lucas adds. “I just want people to try and experience everything.” Orders can be placed at a kiosk or one’s smartphone. The patio also received an overhaul. Visitors will see new AstroTurf, Adirondack chairs and fire pits. Lucas says that the new food service will commence on February 18. Since opening in 2016, the award-winning brewery has taken possession of nearly all of the 20,000 square feet in its building. The 30-barrel brewhouse has the capacity to produce 10,000 barrels per year.
Agave & Rye to Open This Summer in Former Bar Louie Space in Downtown Cleveland Bar Louie (1352 W. 6th St.) quietly closed its downtown location two years ago (along with more than 60 other locations nationwide). And given the state of the hospitality industry during the past two years, it’s not surprising that a different operator had not staked a claim on the spacious downtown property. But now one has: Agave & Rye, a regional chain with roots in Covington, Ky. Since opening its first location, the gourmet taco and spirits concept has exploded to 10 locations throughout Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee and Alabama. Founder and CEO Yavonne Sarber chalks that growth up to the company culture. “We hire and develop the right team members, that’s the secret,” Sarber says. “You can have the best concept, the best pizza, the best food, the best environment, but if you don’t have the best people, you’re not going to succeed. I’m a firm believer that it’s not that there aren’t enough people that want to work, it’s that there’s not enough people that may want to work for you.” Of course, this particular piece of Cleveland is hallowed ground. Long before it was home to Bar Louie and Metro Bar & Kitchen and Metropolitan Café, it was the site
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EAT of Piccolo Mondo, where a young chef named Michael Symon once worked. At roughly 6,000 square feet, the restaurant is large by many standards, which is what kept it unoccupied over these past few years. “There was significant interest in the space, but it had to have a certain operator who could work with the size, vaulted ceilings and take advantage of the significant wraparound patio opportunity,” says CBRE Cleveland broker Stephen Taylor. While that outsized footprint might have caused Sarber to pause back in 2018, she didn’t much blink in 2022. Agave & Rye spaces have steadily grown from 2,500 square feet to 4,000 to 5,000 to 7,200. “All locations are typically on a wait, regardless how many seats we have,” she says. While each location is slightly different, they all are tied together in spirit by their interior design, art, lighting and layout. Agave & Rye boasts a strong cocktail program starring freshsqueezed juices and premium spirits. But it’s the “Epic Tacos” that consistently draw raves. “We put French technique into a taco,” says Sarber. “The taco is the vessel, right. We do duck confit in a taco, butter-poached lobster and truffle in a taco. It’s unconventional and it’s delicious. And on top of that, it’s all fresh. We do not have freezers.” When Agave & Rye opens this summer it will seat 220 indoors, 100 outside on the wrap-around patio and a select few more in the Alibi Room, a lower-lever speakeasy serving high-end spirits. Sarber says that when the opportunity to open a location in Cleveland popped up, she pounced. “We are longtime Cleveland Browns fans,” she says. “We picketed against Art Modell. When we saw the opportunity to be near the stadium, we thought, yes! We’d love to be part of that energy.”
Sauce the City Galley in Ohio City to Close at the End of February Since the Galley Group pulled the plug on the Ohio City Galley in 2020, Victor Searcy Jr. has single-handedly been keeping the building activated. With cooperation from the building’s owner, he not only reopened his Sauce the Citychicken restaurant, but also recruited other operators to join him. Thanks to Searcy’s
efforts, concepts like Pearl’s Kitchen, Good Meal Jane, Twisted Taino and Cleveland Vegan Club all had places to land and take flight. “We’ve been able to give other chefs opportunities and I believe we were successful helping those entrepreneurs,” Searcy explains. “They all landed better spots and signed bigger deals. I believe that’s what the mission of the building was initially.” But that all ends at the end of this month, when the galley will close once again. Searcy recently announced that he’s opening a brick-and-mortar shop in University Heights, which he will do in March, and will turn his attention there. “We are going to focus on a smaller building that better reflects our concept size,” he says. “We don’t need 11,000 square feet.” As for the future of the space in Ohio City, time will tell. Scene reached out to the Snavely Group, which owns the property, for comment but has not yet heard back. “Big shoutout to Snavely for the opportunity to let us try and operate such a large building and responsibility,” adds Searcy.
Fast-Casual Afro-Caribbean YumVillage Now Open on Cleveland State Campus YumVillage, a fast-casual AfroCaribbean restaurant, is now open in the Langston Building on the Cleveland State Campus (2215 Chester). Founded by Chef Godwin Ihentuge, who got his start not at culinary school but in the cafeteria at Wayne State University, the brand was born in Detroit, where it has multiple locations. The menu reflects his family history — he has relatives in Jamaica and his father is Nigerian —and features some familiar dishes (jerk chicken, jollof rice) alongside some that may be less so (suya fried chicken, maafe). The Cleveland location will be operated by Carasai Ihentuge, Godwin’s brother, who moved here permanently after attending John Carroll. Like the locations in Michigan, the YumVillage in Cleveland will feature arts events and cooking classes to help showcase the other aspects of the two cultures.
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MUSIC STRIKING A CHORD
Waxahatchee’s latest album captures the sentiment of these uncertain times By Jeff Niesel WAXAHATCHEE (AKA SINGERsongwriter Katie Crutchfield) released its latest studio album, 2020’s Saint Cloud, just as the pandemic hit, cancelling tours and essentially bringing the music business to a standstill. At the time, Crutchfield found the shutdown particularly upsetting. “I had worked so hard and had this big plan [for the album],” she says in a phone interview from her Kansas City home. Waxahatchee performs with Madi Diaz at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 14, at the Agora Theatre. “It felt like it would be this big breakthrough for me. I had a good fan base before Saint Cloud, but I could tell it would be a big moment and a big shift for me. To have all that happen as I was ready to go out and promote the record and tour and do press, and all that was shocking and really disappointing.” But because the songs on Saint Cloud address the feelings of isolation and anxiety that many felt as the pandemic hit, the album resonated on a deep level with listeners and likely expanded Crutchfield’s fan base, albeit in an unpredictable manner. “In hindsight, I feel like [the release] happened as it was supposed to happen,” Crutchfield says now. “The themes of the record struck a chord with more people because of the pandemic. The record is about my journey getting sober, which is a pretty isolating experience, or can be. When I was younger, my lyrics were really explicit and exactly about my experience. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve skewed toward more universalsounding lyrics, and I try to be more poetic in the way I describe my experience, so it can apply to more people. I feel like doing that on Saint Cloud meant that the record would be applicable to people’s experiences during the pandemic.” Throughout the album, Crutchfield makes reference to various cities where something significant happened in her life. Album opener “Oxbow,” a tender ballad with hiccupping vocals and gentle keyboards, takes place in Barcelona, Spain, where Crutchfield
stopped drinking. “I’m walking through different parts of my life,” she says of the tunes. “It’s rather undeniable and been talked about a lot that [singersongwriter] Lucinda Williams is such a huge influence on this album. I really studied her songwriting and something she always does is she describes the setting and puts you in the physical places she’s in as a way of describing the emotions. I tried that out a little bit. I’ve always done that a little bit, but I really did it on Saint Cloud. I wanted to get myself into the headspace. It’s like, ‘I’m 17 in Alabama or in New York City.’ I did that to get into those places. It’s kind of an experiment.” As much as many of Saint Cloud’s tunes have a somberness to them, the lilting “Can’t Do Much” possesses a celebratory vibe, and the same goes for the careening “War.” “‘Can’t Do Much’ is about falling in love, and the ups and downs and shifting from the honeymoon stage into a long-term relationship,” says Crutchfield. “It’s the stuff that comes with that. I was in that transition. I wanted to write an unromantic love song. It’s about real love and the good, the bad and the ugly.” The current tour doesn’t just find Crutchfield supporting an album that’s now nearly two years old. Earlier this year, Crutchfield released “Tomorrow,” a tune she cut
Waxahacthee.
Molly Matalon
the tone of the story. I thought it was super unique and that I had to do it. I thought it was perfect. They gave me the scripts and a bunch of prompts indicating where they needed songs. With the help of my friend Rob Barbato, I wrote the songs, and he and I put them together. It was so fun. I’m so used to having a vision for an album and working so hard to see it through, and it was cool to serve somebody else’s vision.” She says the single’s perky melody was one she had in her “back pocket.” “Every so often, I’ll write a song that I don’t see as a Waxahatchee song, and I don’t know how to work
WAXAHATCHEE, MADI DIAZ 7 P.M. MONDAY, FEB. 14, AGORA THEATRE, 5000 EUCLID AVE., 216-881-2221. TICKETS: $25-$30, AGORACLEVELAND.COM.
for the animated kids’ program El Deafo that airs on Apple TV. When the folks at Apple originally approached Crutchfield about writing music for the show, she didn’t think it was something she could pull off. “I maybe take myself too seriously because I said that I didn’t think I could write children’s songs,” she says. “When I met with one of the creators and Cece Bell, the creator of the book, who narrates the show and basically is the show, I loved them and identified with them and
it into my record,” she says. “One of the first prompts was something like, ‘Write a radio pop melody.’ I told them I thought I already had something. That’s what became ‘Tomorrow.’” Crutchfield, who grew up in Alabama, has said Saint Cloud represents a return to her musical roots. “[Country] was the first music I fell in love with,” she says. “That love of country music led me to Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, the people I think are the greatest songwriters
who ever lived. One thing led to another. I think that coming up in Alabama as a teenager in the early 2000s, I rebelled against that type of stuff. I didn’t want to be seen as Southern and country. I was so punk rock. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve circled back to my true roots, which feels really good.” Just as Saint Cloud veers into Americana territory, the live show now has some twang to it. “In my live show, I had started to lean more in that [alt-country] direction,” Crutchfield says. “I was getting good feedback from that. Everyone who saw me perform in that way said it felt closer to my truth and was more natural than the loud guitars. On this tour I have coming up, I shifted it around a little bit. The two guys that play guitar [in the live band] played on Saint Cloud. They are of the band Bonny Doon, based in Detroit. They’re one of my favorite bands. If you haven’t heard their album, go listen. We are old friends. My touring bass player is Eliana Athyade, and she is super talented. And, for the first time, I’m touring with a new drummer, Eric Slick, from [the indie rock act] Dr. Dog. He’s this amazing jack-of-alltrades drummer who’s playing with me. I feel really excited about this lineup. It’s going to be really good.”
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene
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MUSIC FINDING HIS ROOTS
Gavin Coe creates a documentary film about a guitar that contains his family history By Jeff Niesel FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS, local musician Gavin Coe has worked on a project involving a book his great grandfather’s brother wrote about his family history. Coe basically used that book as a road map to find all the farms his family lived in and built from the 1700s through today. He then took a piece of wood from several of them going back nine generations, and had Attila Custom Guitars in Parma assemble the wood into a custommade, original-design guitar that he’s just started using. “My uncle Ray wrote a co-history book about my family,” Coe explains in a recent phone interview. “He started the book in the late ’60s and then finished it in the ’80s. He did it before Internet and computers. He drove across Ohio and went to libraries and courthouses. He found old newspaper articles and traced our roots to the 1600s. I found the original farms my family lived on over the last 250 years. Between the nine generations, I think there were three or four different barns. The oldest one was in Virginia, which was burned down. The only thing that was left was the church built in 1810.” When Coe told Clint Walker, the current owner of one of his old family barns that’s located in Mansfield, about his project, Walker said he was very familiar with Coe’s family history. “My grandfather had built the farm and painted his name on the wall,” says Coe. “The people who own it now are as much into Ohio history as I am. They respect the previous owner like I respect the owner of a previous guitar. Clint Walker looks at the barn in the same way.” Coe has worked with Attila Custom Guitars since he was in high school, so he knew owner Attila Csapo could build him a guitar. “[Csapo] built me my first guitar when I was 18,” says Coe. “He can do anything. If you have this crazy idea that I had, he can do it. He liked the idea. And the cool thing about working with a luthier you know is that’s like having a trusted bandmate. When I’m on stage with a drummer I’ve been playing with for
The guitar that Attila Csapo built.
ten years, he knows what I’m going to do before I do it. It’s the same with a luthier. It was a process getting the wood ready for him. A barn beam had old nails in it that it took me hours to get out.” Coe just debuted Remember My Family: The Coe History Guitar, a documentary about the guitar. The film details that history within it and the thought process behind designing it. The documentary, which is on YouTube, concludes with a 25-minute performance inside a barn built in the 1870s by his grandfather, Civil War Captain Alben Coe Jr. Black & Coe, a local group featuring Mike Barrick from
Gavin Coe
Armstrong Bearcat, Bill Ransom from Beth Hart’s band, and local singer-songwriters Reese Black and Taylor Lamborn perform in the flick as well. “Originally, the idea was similar to how [comedian] Dave Chappelle started doing shows in the middle of the cornfield with anybody he wanted because everything was shut down,” Coe explains. “I was sitting there thinking that all the good guys aren’t doing anything. The guitar got finished, and I took a band down there to record in the barn. It’s cool because it’s historical, but the science of it is cool too. The guitar and the room are made from
the same tree. We were going to just do a video, but we made a 20-minute video about the history of the wood and how I designed the guitar. I borrowed from the different main companies whose guitars I play.” Looking ahead, Coe says he’ll use the guitar for his performance with Liz Bullock on Feb. 26 at Brite Winter. And he has a record with the Brakes coming out on March 27 that will feature the guitar heavily too. “I try to save the guitar for special occasions,” he says.
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February 9-22, 2022 | clevescene.com |
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SAVAGE LOVE DRINKING GAMES By Dan Savage Hey Dan: I’m a 40-year-old bi guy, and I’m really into drinking cum. I say “drinking” and not “swallowing” because I’m talking about glassfuls. I make and sell videos of me drinking large amounts of cum. Since I don’t have a stable of guys to supply me, I use frozen cum. It used to just be my own that I saved up over time, but I met a guy online a couple years ago who’s into feeding his cum to people like myself. I have some health concerns about it. First, could STIs survive the freezing-and-thawing process? I’ve already had a few glasses of his cum, so the boat has sailed regarding my current “cumbull,” as they’re known in my niche sexual community, but I’m looking at getting more donors. Second question, how much cum is safe to drink? And digest? It does give me an upset stomach, but I can usually handle that. But am I damaging myself by not taking my body’s prompt to throw it up? From the research I’ve done, it seems the zinc in cum is the biggest worry. Just 100 mls or so contains your daily required intake of zinc and too much zinc can have some negative health effects. I’m aiming to drink at least a liter in one video and don’t feel comfortable discussing this with my doctor. Could you contact a doctor for me? Canadian Cumsumer P.S. I would’ve called into the podcast, but my sister is a listener, and I would rather not share this info with her. Before anyone can jump in the comments and post “FAKE” in all caps, CC enclosed his Twitter handle, which allowed me to verify that he’s for real. What’s more, a quick scroll through CC’s Twitter revealed that he’s not the only person out there methodically acquiring and chugging enormous amounts of semen. As it turns out, there’s a thriving community of “cumbulls” online who enjoy supplying, and even more cumguzzlers like CC who enjoy imbibing. (Sadly, CC asked me not to publish his Twitter handle, so you’ll just have to trust me: this letter is not a fake.) Okay! Let’s meet this week’s guest expert! “It seems like there are two questions here,” said Dr. Josh Trebach, an emergency medicine physician and a medical toxicology fellow in New
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York City. “The first question is the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The second is, ‘How much is too much?’ Is it safe to drink large volumes of semen?” Dr. Trebach looked at the medical literature, CC, but found it “extremely lacking” for individuals who freeze, thaw, and drink large amounts of semen. “But we do know that sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can be transmitted from performing oral sex,” said Dr. Trebach. “This includes syphilis, herpes, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and HIV. And while it’s tempting to assume the freezing and thawing process would create a less welcoming environment for STIs, there’s evidence to suggest some STIs survive the freezing process quite well. Gonorrhea can survive temperatures lower than -300 degrees Fahrenheit for over a year. Chlamydia has also been able to survive after being frozen.’’ So then what? “Given the lack of data for those that freeze, thaw, then drink semen, I would encourage anyone doing this to err on the side of caution and assume practically the same risks as performing oral sex,” said Dr. Trebach. “This means knowing the STI status of you and your partner(s) and engaging in appropriate prevention strategies, e.g., PrEP, and frequent STI testing.” So, let’s say your cumbull has been tested and is currently STI-free and in a monogamous relationship with someone who has also been tested. Or tested, STI-free, and supplying his semen to men and women like you is his sole sexual outlet. If that’s the case, CC, you shouldn’t let an exaggerated fear of contracting an STI stop you from pursuing this pleasure. That said, CC, the more cumbulls you add to your herd, the greater your risk for contracting an STI becomes. Obviously. So, for safety’s sake where STIs are concerned, you should stick with your trusted supplier, even if that means longer waits between shoots. As for your plan to drink an entire liter of cum in one video… “So, how much is too much?” said Dr. Trebach. “In toxicology, we use a concept called the ‘median lethal dose,’ or ‘LD50,’ to describe how toxic a given substance is. The LD50 is, basically, the quantity of a substance that would kill 50% of people who
| clevescene.com | February 9-22, 2022
were exposed to it — or in CC’s case, ingested it. It would be theoretically possible to extrapolate from human or animal data on the lethal dose of each individual ingredient (such as zinc) to come up with the LD50 of semen, but this would be theoretical and imprecise.” And now a little science, a little math, and a little guesswork (from me, not Dr. Trebach): Zinc is a trace element that’s important for our immune systems, metabolic functions, our body’s ability to heal wounds, and the production of important enzymes. Adult males should ingest about 11 milligrams of zinc daily, a single teaspoon of semen contains about 3% of that, and there are 203 teaspoons in a liter. So, if you were to drink an entire liter of semen, CC, you would be ingesting roughly six times your daily recommended allowance of zinc, or 66 milligrams. Assuming you don’t have some other, undiagnosed health condition, that’s probably not enough zinc (or semen) to kill you, but it is enough to make you puke. “My opinion is that if you’re drinking so much of anything that you feel like you’re going to vomit, you should probably cut back, as that may be your body’s way of telling you something is wrong or that there is too much of something present,” said Dr. Trebach. “And continuous irritation to your gastrointestinal tract through direct injury, distension, and repeated exposure is not advised.” And even if there might not be enough zinc in a liter of semen to kill you, that doesn’t mean it’s safe to quickly ingest a liter of it. “An age-old adage in the world of toxicology is that the dose makes the poison,” said Dr. Trebach. “Even things that may seem benign — water, candy, semen — can be deadly with a high enough dose, and you can have ‘toxic’ effects well below a lethal dose. In one liter of semen there’s enough sodium to surpass the recommended daily intake of sodium, and that’s just not really healthy.” People have actually died from drinking too much water, CC. It’s rare, but it happens. And it stands to reason that if a person can die after drinking 3-4 liters of water over the course of a few hours — which, again, has happened — it wouldn’t surprise
anyone to learn a person died after drinking an entire liter of semen over 140 seconds, i.e., the maximum length of a video clip posted to Twitter. You say you don’t want your sister finding out about your kink after hearing your voice on my podcast, CC, and I have to assume you don’t want your sister — or the rest of your family — finding out about your kink after hearing from the coroner. I have a lot of mottos, CC, and one of them is, “Moderation in all things — including moderation.” Your kink is not my kink, CC, but your kink is okay, as the saying goes, and your kink is about the consumption of immoderate amounts of semen. But I would advise you, as I have advised many others, to be moderate about how often you’re immoderate. In your case, that means carefully choosing your cumbulls, puking when your body tells you to puke, and cutting back on the semen if your body needs to puke each time you do this. Otherwise, enjoy. But the final word goes to Dr. Trebach, who wanted to add a quick disclaimer: he hasn’t examined you or taken a full history and physical, CC, so he doesn’t want you to think this is true medical advice. “And I know talking with a doctor about some of these issues is hard, but I like to think things are getting better. Today’s new doctors are, in my opinion, much more comfortable and open when answering questions about sexual health. Although some questions may be niche, we physicians owe our patients respect and confidentiality as we are here to help them, not make judgments. Please find a doctor that you can discuss these questions with, so they can give you the best possible recommendations.” Follow Dr. Josh Trebach on Twitter @jtrebach. P.S. Good news, everybody! Just as I was wrapping up, CC emailed to say I could share his Twitter handle here. So, if there’s anyone out there who still thinks this letter is a fake, go have a look at @zoesixxx on Twitter. Be warned: you’ll never order the chowder again.
mail@savagelove.net t@fakedansavage www.savagelovecast.com
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