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in this issue San Antonio Current
Issue 19_01 /// january 2-15, 2019
Publisher: Michael Wagner Editor-in-Chief: Sanford Nowlin
Editorial
Senior Editor: Bryan Rindfuss Art Director: Carlos Aguilar Staff Writer: Chris Conde Digital Content Editor: Sarah Martinez Contributors: Alexis Alvarez , Ron Bechtol, Erik Casarez, Daniel Conrad, James Courtney, Callie Enlow, Jose Garza, Dan R. Goddard, Alejandra Lopez Gonzalez, Lance Higdon, Steven G. Kellman, Hannah Lorence, Michelle C. Lorentzen, Abby Mangel, Kiko Martínez, Jeremy Martin, Kelly Merka Nelson, M. Solis, Gary Sweeney, J.D. Swerzenski, Kelsey Valadez, Erin Winch Editorial Interns: Clarence Beal, Lori Salazar
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08 Feature
46 Etc
CAPACITY CROWD
San Antonio could gain 1.1 million new residents, but making the right preparations depends on how city officials interpret the numbers
Savage Love, Crossword Puzzle, Astrology, This Modern World
BY S A N F O R D N O W L I N
07 News
Director Caleb Craig Warns His Audience About the Dangers of Blind Trust
15 Calendar
Our top picks for the week
23 Arts
Growing Pains
The Briscoe Western Art Museum is expanding, evolving and grappling with the right concerns
27 Screens
Give Them Pause
If Beale Street Could Talk is a beautiful and heartbreaking love story interrupted by injustice
Objection, Your Honor
On the Basis of Sex is an inspirational biopic, but also far too conventional for a trailblazer like RBGgoes here as long ans you need.’
29 Food
Sweet Surprises
BBQ Life by Chris delivers savory, straightforward ’cue with a few twists
33 Music
Blinding Light Show
If S.A. had a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, these 10 bands belong in its inaugural class
2018 Flex
These 8 S.A. acts reached a bigger stage last year
Music Top Picks
On The Cover: Projections show San Antonio could be bigger by more than a million people in 2040. What does that really mean? And are city leaders taking the right steps to plan? Illustration: Cody Muir Art Direction: Tracie Louck sacurrent.com | January 2–15, 2019 | CURRENT
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THURS, MARCH 28•2019 AT THE SAN ANTONIO MUSEUM OF ART
FOOD•DRINKS•ART•MUSIC Early Bird Tickets Now Available at BENEFITING 6 CURRENT | January 2–15, 2019 | sacurrent.com
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GLITTER POLITICAL
Director Caleb Craig Warns His Audience About the Dangers of Blind Trust BY JADE ESTEBAN ESTRADA
I
t’s after 10 p.m. at the Overtime Theater when I meet with Caleb Craig. We’re discussing By Our Hands, an original, science fiction play he’s directing and that opens next month. Co-written by Morgan Clyde and Michael Song, the play explores the theme of gun control and the perils of blind trust. During the rehearsal’s final hour, focused on fight choreography, Craig’s calm demeanor when addressing the cast suggests a nurturing directorial style. “I’m nothing more than an editor,” said Craig, 22, explaining advice he once received about the director’s role. “The actors are the ones that are bringing this [play] to life.” While Craig is deferential in how he deals with actors, he’s certainly not shy about tackling political subject matter, even though he’s still in the dawn of his theater career. Like many of his generation, Craig’s first significant political experiences came through the movements to elect Bernie, Hillary and Beto. He’s left-leaning on his social media platforms, though he says his family “falls more on the conservative end of the political spectrum.” Similarly, the actors he’s assembled come from “varying world views and political back-
grounds, ideologies [and] lifestyles.” There isn’t an intentionally unifying philosophical message to By Our Hands, Craig adds, though its primary themes take centerstage. In the play, a totalitarian government controls a majority of the firearms. The end goal of the resistance is to retrieve them. “We understand that the people are going to see [the theme of] gun control, but I’ve communicated to [the actors] that this play is very much about blind trust in leadership,” he said. “[World leaders in government] are telling you what you want to hear, and you believe that they’re going to protect you and [that] they have your best interest in mind.” Craig offers up three pop-culture reference points to let audiences know what to expect. First, the overlying scenario is similar to the post-nuclear video game Fallout, where radiation poisoning among survivors is as common as tacos on a Tuesday. Second, independent tribes have popped across the land, much like in The Walking Dead. Finally, the play’s centralized government can appear at any moment for a sweep, much like in Robin Hood. The people of in the play’s time and non-specific place live in omnipresent fear.
news
Jade Esteban Estrada
“And there’s a lot of fear in our country right now surrounding guns,” Craig says. “I think that fear goes both ways it plays.” I ask him if he’s saying that he can see both sides of America’s gun control debate. “Yes and no,” he replies. “I’m saying I understand that the fears exist on both sides. That doesn’t necessarily mean that I agree with or understand the argument that’s happening on both sides.” He gives an example. “You know, [the notion that] to protect schools, we need to arm all of our teachers. I look at that and I go, ‘How does this end in a good way?’ There’s no scenario where this plays out [well], if you just sit down and think about it for a hot second. Think about all the variables that go into that... Taxpayer dollars and ‘How are we going to initiate this?’ Teachers are going to have to be trained to use firearms. It just doesn’t work. It just doesn’t play out that in the way that I think you want it to.” He continues: “But I understand the fear and I appreciate that [some activists and politicians] want to try to institute something that will protect our children, [but] that doesn’t mean that I understand your way of going about it.” Craig expects people on both extremes of the gun-control debate might attend By Our Hands to see how the subject translates to the stage. We chat about diversity in casting, which has changed a lot over the past few decades. In the 1990s, it was a response to a changing political climate and the desire to see wider representation in characters on television and in film. I ask Craig what his thoughts are on the evolution of blind casting, wondering if the pressure of political correctness can impede storytelling. “I get to be the SJW,” he says with a chuckle. “I don’t think blind casting happens today as much as it did [in the ’90s]. As someone who also exists in this world as an actor, I’m finding there are fewer and fewer opportunities for me as someone with white skin.” He says he looks forward to seeing how the Broadway revival of Oklahoma! handles the time-and-place element with its unprecedented casting diversity. “For me, I didn’t necessarily intentionally seek to have a diverse cast,” Craig says, putting his director’s hat back on. “If I ended up with a cast of all white people, well, it’s because each and every one of those individuals exemplified the qualities and characteristics that I wanted to see for the roles that I cast.” That said, his cast is pretty diverse. Political and social commentary is increasingly interwoven in much of what we see in entertainment today. Craig and By Our Hands’ co-writers, Clyde and Song, are unapologetically initiating conversations through their work. Come and take it.
Find more newsmore coverage Find news every day at sacurrent.com
CAPACITY CROWD Shutterstock
San Antonio could gain 1.1 million new residents, but making the right preparations depends on how city officials interpret the numbers BY SANFORD NOWLIN
A
s San Antonio continues its unprecedented growth trajectory, city officials and developers have thrown around a staggering projection — that Bexar County stands to gain 1.1 million new residents by 2040. It’s an impressive figure; one derived from U.S. Census data. And it’s intended, no doubt, to jar residents from complacency as Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s appointed committees work up potential solutions for housing, traffic, jobs and other expansion-related issues. After all, what could be more disruptive than 1.1 million newly arrived millennials, looking for tech jobs, demanding downtown housing and further
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jamming up our morning commutes? But here’s the problem: That’s not what the data actually suggests. Roughly half of the residents San Antonio adds annually are people born here — and demographers expect that to hold true through 2040. In contrast to those tech job-coveting millennials, a large percentage of the locally born residents will come from low-income families. That, experts point out, creates a different set of challenges than incentivizing downtown condos and locating new sources of last-mile transportation. For example, the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, the group which generated the 1.1 million-new-residents estimate, also projected the city would need to add
some 520,000 housing units by 2040 to accommodate that growth. “It’s not out of the question that Bexar County could add 1.1 million new residents in that time period,” said Lila Valencia, senior demographer at the Texas Demographic Center. “But the assumptions about needing that amount of new households seems like a stretch, especially knowing how many of those people are born here.” Valencia points out that most of the residents born between now and 2040 wouldn’t be old enough to look for their own housing. While cities should plan for growth, Valencia said it also behooves leaders to remember that the numbers — especially for relocations — are a moving target. National and regional economic
trends can drastically slow the influx of new residents. “Those data can shift at any moment, especially when you’re talking about migration,” she said. “The further out you go with your projections, the less likely they are to be reliable.”
Putting Down the Pencils To be fair, city officials — including Nirenberg — acknowledge that a large swath of the new growth will be babies born to San Antonio parents. It’s not as if they’re trying to sweep that detail under the rug. Still, critics charge, the 1.1. million figure is often dropped without mentioning where half the growth 11 6
A Very Maine Winter Evening
Friday, January 11 | 6:30–9:00 P.M. Free with Museum admission
Warm up winter at a Maine-inspired celebration of Becoming John Marin: Modernist at Work. Themed gallery activities • Music • Food and drinks for purchase by Tre Trattoria Plus it’s your last chance to enter our SAMA Experience Raffle to win a ruby red GT Mustang convertible (samuseum.org/raffle).
200 West Jones Avenue | samuseum.org sacurrent.com | January 2–15, 2019 | CURRENT
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CALLING ALL WORKING ARTISTS & CRAFTSMEN! ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SHOWING OFF YOUR CRAFT AT MARKET SQUARE? SEE BELOW AND CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION! All Working artists, craftsmen and shoe shiners will be authorized for temporary outdoor vending on a first come/merchandise basis on the Tuesday of the second week of each January. Working artisans and craftsmen are defined as those persons who use raw and natural products and creatively handicraft individually every component and who demonstrate their craft on premises at all times. Any type of clothing accessory or accessory item will generally not be permitted to be sold unless the clothing accessory or accessory item is hand crafted as per the definition of working artisans and craftsmen, and with the prior written approval of the Market Square manager.
Only non-food items are permitted to be sold and items cannot already be sold at Market Square. APPLICATION DATE, TIME & LOCATION JANUARY 8, 2019 | 10AM - 6PM FARMER’S MARKET STAGE | 612 W. COMMERCE ST. MORE INFORMATION: @BENITO.ACOVIOIII@SANANTONIO.GOV 210.207.8600 @MARKETSQUARESA 10
CURRENT | January 2–15, 2019 | sacurrent.com
CENTER CITY DEVELOPMENT & OPERATIONS
“At some point, we’ve got to put down the pencils and pick up the shovels. The cost of doing nothing to meet these challenges is No. 1 unacceptable, and No. 2 insurmountable.” — Ron Nirenberg
Bryan Rindfuss
Population Projections, 2010-2040 Bexar County Population Households
2010 1,715,000 609,000
2040 2,817,000 1,129,000
Numerical Change 1,102,000 520,000
Annual Percentage Change 1.7% 2.1%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
68 is coming from. That leaves the implication that most or all is coming from outside. But Nirenberg maintains S.A.’s growth preparations factor in gains from both inside and outside. As an example, he cited his Housing Policy Task Force, which last year laid out a path to increase the housing supply for lowand middle-income residents while acknowledging the city’s long history of socioeconomic segregation. “At some point, we’ve got to put down the pencils and pick up the shovels,” Nirenberg said. “The cost of doing nothing to meet these challenges is No. 1 unacceptable, and No. 2 insurmountable. If we do nothing, we’ll find ourselves more economically segregated and struggling even harder with all the metrics we’re trying to turn around.” Still, neighborhood activists worry that the city has repeatedly shown itself to be more interested in cheerleading downtown development than tackling the difficult task of ensuring more affordable housing. Council voted 8-2 last month to renew the Center City Housing Incentive Policy (CCHIP), which offers fee waivers and tax rebates as incentives for developers building in the urban core. The program spurred development of more than 6,500 downtown housing units, but many are unaffordable to average San Antonians. At that meeting, Councilman Rey Saldaña — one of two on council to vote against reinstating CCHIP — expressed concern that residents who work in tourism-related jobs downtown couldn’t afford the apartments and condos within blocks of their jobs. “I fear we might be getting closer to a vision of San Antonio that looks like Austin and less like San Antonio,” he said. Cynthia Spielman of the Beacon Hill Neighborhood Association said city officials understand that half of the near-term growth is coming from inside, but many conveniently forget that fact when it’s time to advocate for developers. 13 6 sacurrent.com | January 2–15, 2019 | CURRENT 11
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6 11 To adequately prepare for the births of more than half a million new kids, she added, the city should be putting the same amount of attention on making sure it has adequate schools and educational infrastructure as it is on downtown living units. “There’s not a consistent thoughtfulness about that [1.1 million-new-residents] statistic,” Spielman said. “[City leaders] are aware that a lot of the growth is people being born here, but they’re not consistent about acknowledging it when they enact policy.”
Growing Together The 1.1 million number comes with plenty to unpack, but University of Texas at San Antonio Professor Heywood Sanders said he expects city officials to continue bandying it about. “It has an appealing ring,” said Sanders, who studies public policy. “It has a way of taking relatively bloodless figures and turning them into a compelling case for doing something. But it’s worth asking just what growth and transportation problems we’re actually trying to solve.” The projected increase also isn’t out of line with what’s expected in other big cities around the Lone Star State, Sanders points out. According to the U.S. Census, Texas had the largest population
growth of any state over the past year, gaining around 380,000 people. Using 2015 as a base year, Bexar County’s population is expected to grow by 53.4 percent by 2040, according to Sanders’ review of Census data. Applying the same model, Travis County (Austin) would experience a 53.2 percent increase over that time, while Harris County (Houston) would increase by 52.2 percent. “We’re right in line with the general population growth,” he said. “Simply put, this isn’t that big of a deal. Because Harris County is so much bigger to start with, they stand to add 2.36 million people over that same time period.”
Logical Conclusions Still, Nirenberg said San Antonio must act now to make sure it’s not overwhelmed. He adds that current city leadership is aware of the problems facing low-income residents — both present and future. Part of the solution, he argues, is more mixed-income housing and denser neighborhoods with a mix of single-family and apartment living. “The challenge for us is ensuring that folks on a limited income or a fixed income can afford to live in San Antonio,” he said. “If we don’t solve for gen-
erational poverty, San Antonio will forever have an anchor around our necks.” But UTSA’s Sanders suggests that downtown infill alone won’t solve the housing or traffic problems Nirenberg aims to address. San Antonio’s employment centers are not concentrated solely in the downtown area. They are clustered along highway corridors and scattered around Loopland. And, according to the same AAMPO report that included the population projection, San Antonio’s employment centers will remain similarly far-flung in 2040. Boeing, for example, recently said it plans to add 1,000 new jobs at its facility at the Port San Antonio in the city’s southwest quadrant. Any of those workers that move into downtown apartments or condos will still be commuting and clogging highways. The renewed CCHIP includes incentives for housing developments near employment centers, but those come late in the game to offset the city’s years of flowing tax abatements and other perks to employers that elected to locate in far-flung locations. “Does a new apartment complex on Broadway near The Pearl really change the employment prospects of downtown?” Sanders asks rhetorically. “That’s seriously open to question. It’s important to talk about the future of the city and where we’re going, but we should be talking about it in a realistic and sensible way.” sacurrent.com | January 2–15, 2019 | CURRENT 13
14 CURRENT | January 2–15, 2019 | sacurrent.com
calendar
Curated by Houston-based painter Jonathan Paul Jackson, the creative pupu platter combines sculptures, paintings and collages by 10 FL!GHT newbies: Tom Bandage, Bye Meredith, Kel Brown, Jack Smith, Ryan Day, Meredith Richey, Charles Been Russell, Sara McKee, Dual and Jackson himself. As Jackson sees it, “A Mixed Bag” presents “an opportunity to find a work you can discuss with others or just simply enjoy or not enjoy on your own.” Free, 6-10pm Thu-Fri, FL!GHT Gallery, 112 Blue Star, (210) 872-2586, facebook.com/flightsa. — Bryan Rindfuss
THU | 1/3
Spurs Sports & Entertainment
SPORTS
SPURS VS. RAPTORS L
2014 NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard returns to the AT&T Center on Thursday night in the most anticipated game of the season for Spurs Nation. Leonard left San Antonio this summer the same way he arrived, via trade, albeit under entirely different circumstances. Sharpshooter Danny Green was shipped to Toronto with Leonard, where the duo has excelled, bolstering the Raptors’ perimeter defense much like they did for San Antonio when they wore silver and black. In a season of peaks and valleys, DeMar DeRozan has been a beacon for the Spurs, reinforcing his All-Star status in a stacked conference. Jakob Poeltl, who arrived with DeRozan, has shown flashes of brilliance as he settles into a new system. In a professional league increasingly defined by player movement, Leonard’s return presents a potential flashpoint for the Spurs. $50-$2,351, 7pm, AT&T Center, One AT&T Center Pkwy., (210) 444-5000, attcenter.com – M. Solis
THU | 1/3 - FRI | 1/4 ART
‘A MIXED BAG’ p
While some of the exhibitions we preview on these pages go to extreme lengths to hang a thematic umbrella over works that, at the end of the day, have little or nothing in common, others make no pretense that there’s any common thread beyond the aesthetic whims of the curator. Such is clearly the case with “A Mixed Bag,” an aptly titled group show opening at FL!GHT with receptions on First Thursday and Friday.
FL!GHT Gallery
FRI | 1/4 - SUN | 1/6 SPECIAL EVEN T
MANNY CASTILLO WEEKEND L
San Anto Culutral Arts
Founded in 1993 by the community-minded trio of Manuel Diosdado Castillo, Cruz Ortiz and Juan Miguel Ramos, the West Side nonprofit San Anto Cultural Arts (originally dubbed Inner City Cultural Arts) has impacted the lives of hundreds of young artists through its two signature endeavors: a continuously active Community Mural Program that’s responsible for more than 50 works of public art, and El Placazo, a community newspaper offering mentorships to inner-city youth in the areas of writing, photography and journalism. A steadfast source of encouragement and inspiration who served as the organization’s executive director and played drums for Snowbyrd and other local bands, Castillo died of cancer on January 6, 2009. To honor his lasting legacy on the 10th anniversary of his passing, San Anto Cultural Arts and Castillo’s former students Rigoberto Luna (Presa House Gallery) and Danny Delgado (Hi-Tones, Con Safos, etc.) have, with the blessings of the Castillo Family, teamed up for a trio of commemorative events across three venues. Kicking things off on Friday, Presa House’s “Remember Me” is anchored by a group exhibition featuring artists who were directly inspired by or personally connected to Castillo (Ruth Buentello, Jane Madrigal, Israel Rico, Joe De La Cruz, Mary Agnes Rodriguez and Jose Cosme, to name a few) but also invites members of the community to contribute to “How Did Manny Include Me?” — a letter-writing project inspired by Castillo’s inclusive nature as well as his ability to connect individuals who shared or valued San Anto’s “culture, history and causes” (free, 6-11pm Fri, Presa House Gallery, 725 S. Presa St., presahouse.com). The following night marks the anticipated reunion of retro Latin soul quintet Sexto Sol (Eddie Hernandez, Samuel Villela, Greg Goodman, Juan Ramos and James Moody) at a Manny Castillo Tribute Concert complete with “Manny-inspired tunes and a selection of Manny’s personal vinyl collection” spun by DJ Kelmis (free, 7:30pm Sat, Con Safos Cocina y Cantina, 607 Hemisfair Blvd., consafos-sa.com). And on Sunday, San Anto wraps up the weekend with ¡Manny Presente! — a gathering that invites the community to partake in poetry readings by Santiago Garcia and music by Joaquin Eliseo Linn along with DJs Kelmis and Despeinada while sharing “Manny Stories” under the collective hashtag #mannypresente (free, 1-3pm Sun, San Anto Cultural Arts, 2120 El Paso St., sananto.org).. — BR
calendar SAT | 1/5 COMEDY
JEREMY PIVEN p
Taking a note from the Louis C.K. playbook, actor Jeremy Piven has launched his own “redemption tour” of sorts. In the face of credible allegations of
sexual misconduct from four women (which Piven has categorically denied), CBS reneged on an episode order of his crime procedural Wisdom of the Crowd in late 2017, leaving the longtime TV star without a vehicle. Then, in January of last year, investigative reporting by Buzzfeed brought the number of accusers up to eight. Similarly accused,
Louis C.K. at least expressed some remorse and took a brief break from the limelight before popping back up at the Comedy Cellar unannounced in a move widely considered misguided at best. Yet, despite lacking the longstanding stage career of C.K., Piven has apparently decided that touring his own post-#MeToo standup show is a good next move. While purportedly capable onstage, his material is about what you’d expect from the Entourage star, which certainly doesn’t help to dispel the allegations that he may be a serial abuser. $29.50-$44.50, 8pm, Charline McCombs Empire Theatre, 226 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 226-3333, majesticempire.com. — Kelly Merka Nelson
her brash spoken-word performances and prolific collaborations with local experimental musicians, most recently out-jazz band Rodenticide. Her solo album, Bloodletting, drops this month. Texan multi-instrumentalist Sarah Ruth treks all over the nation with her hammered dulcimer and harmonium, performing extended vocal techniques interwoven with electroacoustic sound art in layered ambient pieces that reflect her time working with Meredith Monk. Freetail is picking up the tab for the evening, so you can enjoy a complimentary brewski as you bathe in the soundscape. Free, 7pm, FL!GHT Gallery, 112 Blue Star, (210) 872-2586, facebook. com/flightsa.. — KMN
TUE | 1/8 MUSIC
CONTEMPORARY WHATEVER: SAMANTHA RIOTT + SARAH RUTH p
Contemporary Whatever’s monthly experimental performances continue at FL!GHT with two out-of-this-world women. Self-proclaimed “seductive siren and nihilist hysteric” Samantha Riott is well known in New York City for Courtesy of Jeremy Piven
TUE | 1/8 SUN | 1/13
Joan Marcus
THEATER
WAITRESS L
Courtesy of Samantha Riott
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When Waitress was released in 2007, you’d have never expected that this little indie flick would be much more than a cult hit. But what better for a musical adaptation than a dramedy centered on love, new beginnings and pie? Featuring music by singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, Waitress, as its title implies, centers on young waitress and pie-baker extraordinaire Jenna. Trapped in a controlling marriage, Jenna discovers she’s pregnant, much to her dismay. With help from her friends, she seeks to enter a pie contest with a high reward, but surprising love connections and interference from her abusive husband throw a wrench into the mix. The musical certainly captures the original essence of Adrienne Shelly’s film script, which shines a light on the complexities of domestic violence, and Bareilles’ music enhances a feel-good story exploring love, friendship and baking. $40-$150, 7:30 pm Tue-Thu, 8pm Fri, 2pm & 8pm Sat, 2pm & 7:30pm Sun, the Majestic Theatre, 224 E. Houston St., (210) 226-3333, majesticempire.com. — KMN
calendar THU | 1/10 ART
‘WORD ON THE STREET’ p
As New York magazine reminded readers in an article last year (“Trump Has Turned Millions of Americans into Activists,” April 6, 2018), “The day after Trump’s election, outraged women
(and their male allies) descended on D.C. to express their contempt for the pussy-grabber-in-chief, in the largest protest since the Vietnam era.” Amid the massive crowd of 500,000-plus were conceptual, defiant and poetic protest banners created by female artists and writers associated with the creative endeavor “Word on the Street.” In tandem with the mobilization of the
masses, this ongoing project has gathered steam via New York exhibitions and programs in Times Square and the Watermill Center. Combining the talents of internationally recognized artists (including musical mad scientist/ performance artist Laurie Anderson, text-centric provocateur Jenny Holzer and mixed-media master Wangechi Mutu), local poet/author/educator
Naomi Shihab Nye and sister-powered organizing entity House of Trees (aka HOT, launched by San Antonio’s own Jennifer Khoshbin and Brooklyn-based Amy Khoshbin), “Word on the Street” broadcasts messages both simple and sublime while referencing and questioning everything from the White House (Holzer) to Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Antigone (author Anne Carson’s declaration “I Was Born for Love Not Hatred”). Opening a window into its politically charged past, present and future, “Word on the Street” arrives in the Alamo City courtesy of Artpace via a group exhibition on view in the Hudson Showroom through April 28. Free, opening reception 6-9pm, on view 10am5pm Mon-Fri, noon-5pm Sat-Sun through April 28, Artpace, 445 N. Main Ave., (210) 212-4900, artpace.org. — BR ART
‘INHERITED MEMORIES’ j
House of Trees Collective
Cristina Muñiz
Born and raised in San Antonio, visual artist Cristina Muñiz “walked away from a partially complete painting major” 20-plus years ago, got a “stable full-time job” at a retail chain and finally returned to school to study art — this time focusing on graphic illustration and earning an associate’s degree from San Antonio College. Showing her work locally since 2011 — including group exhibits at High Wire Arts and Melinda Martinez Studio — Muñiz eventually transferred to Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI), where she furthered her studies in painting and earned her BFA in 2014. Shortly after graduating from KCAI, Muñiz was accepted into the Charlotte Street Foundation Studio Residency Program, which provides resident artists with dedicated work space and champions Kansas City as “a dynamic home for artists in various career stages and disciplines.” Brought to life with everything from pens and markers to graphite and watercolors, Muñiz’s “autobiographical” abstractions combine personal memories and family narratives with impulse and instinct. “When something comes to me, I grab whatever is near and lay something down quickly,” Muñiz told the Current in 2017. Described by the artist as her “first professional showing” in her hometown, Muñiz’s latest exploration of introspective mark-making takes shape in a collection of “tangible artifacts” she files under the intriguing title “Inherited Memories: Dreams from Before I Was Born.” Free, 6:30-9pm, Cinnabar Art Gallery, 1420 S. Alamo St., Suite 147, (210) 557-6073, cinnabarart.com. — BR sacurrent.com | January 2–15, 2019 | CURRENT
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calendar
San Antonio Symphony
FRI | 1/11 SAT | 1/12 MUSIC
BRAHMS SYMPHONY NO. 4 L
THU | 1/10
Oscar Moreno
Resolve to be a more active participant in the local arts and culture scene this year? Whether or not that’s the case, the San Antonio Symphony’s first concert of 2019 is a great entry point for anyone who could be considered less than classically inclined. Kicking off with Tan Dun’s Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds, the Symphony performs a modern meditation on nature with creative
instrumentation that includes slide whistle, flexatone, iPhones and a few other surprises. They next shift gears to our man Wolfgang Amadeus, showcasing Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero on the Piano Concerto No. 24, one of the few works in which Mozart embraced a darker, minor key. But, the big guns don’t come out until the end: to close out the night, the Symphony whips out the Brahms Symphony No. 4. The final symphony of Brahms’ career culminates in what is considered to be one of his crowning orchestral achievements —it’s monumentally epic, and not to be missed! $10-96, 8pm Fri-Sat, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624, sasymphony.org. — KMN
DANCE
ESTRELLAS L
Tamara Adria’s avant-garde flamenco troupe Arte y Pasión is reprising its 2017 production Estrellas. An official DreamWeek event, Estrellas brings together both visual and performance art, as well as flamenco performances. Adria, who is Jewish, seeks to draw parallels between contemporary issues (such as the Texas detention camps filled with migrant children) to events in 1940s Germany. “From the Inquisition to the Holocaust, we have a history of being insulted by our identity … We are called “Jew” as if it is an insult even though that is what we are,” Adria said. Beginning in 1939, Nazi officials ordered all Jewish people over the age of six to wear a yellow star on the left side of their chest. The badge was used not only to identify, but to humiliate and segregate. Estrellas is the Spanish translation of the word “stars.” According to new data released by the FBI, hate crimes against Jews and Jewish institutions rose by 37 percent between 2016 and 2017. In October, a gunman fatally shot 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Developed in Medieval Spain, the art of flamenco incorporates Arabic, Moorish and Jewish traditions (Jews were expelled from Spain in 1942). Perhaps no other art form better exemplifies the merging of cultures while also expressing the pain felt by marginalized peoples. Free, 6:30pm, Brick at Blue Star, 108 Blue Star, (210) 241-2741, arte-y-pasion. com. — Marco Aquino
TH EATER
BY OUR HANDS
An oft-unrecognized aspect of stagecraft is the art of the fight scene. When done right, the audience flinches in reaction to fake punches, but when done poorly it may as well be overdubbed with yakety sax. The Overtime’s first performance of the year celebrates the art of stage combat in a high-octane original production written by Morgan Clyde and Michael Song: By Our Hands. In the shattered landscape of a post-nuclear apocalypse, rebellious militias vie for control in spectacular fashion, seeking out a rumored weapons cache in the wasteland. Clashes, predictably, ensue. Recently funded on Kickstarter, the production is yet another example of the Overtime’s commitment to producing new, original work by local artists. $10-15, 8pm Fri-Sat through February 2, the Gregg Barrios Theater at the Overtime, 5409 Bandera Rd., Suite. 205, (210) 5577562, theovertimetheater.org. — KMN
FRI | 1/11 - SAT | 1/12
The Overtime Theater
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calendar
Live in the Stars Briscoe Western Art Museum
FRI | 1/11 TUE | 1/15 SPECIAL EVEN T
DREAMWEEK HIGHLIGHTS
J O I N U S F O R O U R G R A N D O P E N I N G
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CURRENT | January 2–15, 2019 | sacurrent.com
In San Anto, MLK Jr. Day isn’t just an excuse to take a long weekend. Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., and San Antonio’s MLK Jr. March in particular, DreamWeek was founded to promote tolerance and equality and foster growth through discourse across cultures. Heartily embraced by the city, DreamWeek enters its seventh consecutive year bigger than ever, launching straight into a bevy of events that showcase some of the diverse talent that our city has to offer. At the Scobee Education Center, the International Dark-Sky Association celebrates the night sky as both a scientific wonder and an inspiration for artistry in Aires Above Ground: The Backbone of Night with a screening of The City Dark in the planetarium and a premiere of local composer Dan Cook’s The Backbone of Night ($50-$75, 7:3010pm Fri, Scobee Education Center, 1819 N. Main Ave., airesaboveground.com). Teatro Audaz has timed its latest production to match up with the onset of DreamWeek festivities, putting a Latinx twist on the classic Shakespearean comedy The Taming of the Shrew by updating the setting to a border town in 2018 ($15, 7:30pm Thu-Sat, 2:30pm Sun, Palo Alto College Performing Arts Center, 1400 W. Villaret Blvd., teatroaudaz.com). Feeling helpless in the face of each day’s dreadful political headlines? Texas State Sen. José Menéndez wants to empower you to act — his education-
al lecture “Legislation Is for Everyone: Transforming Advocacy into Action” will demystify the legislative process and lay out how the average person can be empowered to participate, regardless of whether it’s an election year (free, 10am-12pm Sat, University of Incarnate Word, Mabee Library Auditorium, 4301 Broadway). For its “Destino San Antonio” exhibition, the Briscoe dug into its archives to create an experiential exhibit on San Antonio history, featuring a selection of stereographs of the city from the 1860s to 1930, video documentaries, a replica arcade with 3-D image viewers and other interactive programming. Plus: it’s fully bilingual! ($8-10, on view 10am-5pm Wed-Sat, 10am-3pm Sun, 10am-5pm Mon, 10am-9pm Tue through January 21, Briscoe Western Art Museum, 210 W. Market St., briscoemuseum.org) Of course, this is only a minute fraction of what’s scheduled for this and next week. Hit up dreamweek.org to take a gander at the full smorgasbord on offer. — KMN
calendar SUN | 1/13 TALKS
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Former ocean scientist and now-landlocked Austin-based writer Juli Berwald moved on from textbooks to publish her unconventional treatise on jellyfish, Spineless: The Science of Jellyfish and the Art of Growing a Backbone, in the fall of 2017. Part love-letter to undulating invertebrates, part memoir, and part meditation on climate change through a gelatinous lens, Spineless covers topics as disparate as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s deployment of a jellyfish as a murder weapon in a Sherlock Holmes story and the bleeding of women from the sciences due to the imbalanced stresses that home and family life put on their careers. Berwald will share her thoughts on her personal journey as well as humanity’s collective responsibility to the planet in her approachable style, so even if you failed freshman bio you’ll still be able to BLU-RAYS 4K VIDEO GAMES HARDWARE ACCESSORIES VINYL RECORDS CDS DVDS BLU-RAYS 4K easily follow along. $9.50-$30, 5pm, Barshop Jewish Community Center, 12500 NW Military Hwy., (210) 302-6820, jccsanantonio.org. — KMN
MON | 1/14
E M P LOY M E N T
SPORTS
SPURS VS. HORNETS p
Over the summer, James Borrego quietly made NBA history when he signed a four-year deal with the Hornets, becoming the league’s first Latino full-time head coach. A native of Albuquerque, Borrego sandwiched two stints in San Antonio with a turn as the interim head coach of the Orlando Magic. After signing with the Hornets, Borrego wisely forged a relationship with his ascending point guard Kemba Walker and successfully lured Spurs legend Tony Parker to Charlotte to provide a veteran presence. With Walker and Parker running the point, the Hornets look poised to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. After recently expressing his affinity for the Alamo City, where Parker plans to settle after retirement, a warm homecoming is in order for the greatest point guard in franchise history. $13-$1,685, 7:30pm, AT&T Center, One AT&T Center Pkwy., (210) 444-5000, attcenter.com. — MS
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Spurs Sports & Entertainment
Mrs. June Wieringa at JuneWieringa@ekfdiagnostics.com sacurrent.com | January 2–15, 2019 | CURRENT
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22 CURRENT | January 2–15, 2019 | sacurrent.com
arts
Growing Pains
The Briscoe Western Art Museum is expanding, evolving and grappling with the right concerns BY JAMES COURTNEY
I
was all excited to write a brief and cheerful update about recent gifts and new expansions at the Briscoe Western Art Museum, an institution that, for reasons that are hard to pin down precisely, is near and dear to me. Opened in 2013, the Briscoe, named for former Texas Gov. Dolph Briscoe, Jr. and his wife Janey, is situated on the River Walk and in a generally prime spot downtown. The one-and-three-quarters-acre campus boasts both a historic setting (partially built in the remains of San Antonio’s first library) and a contemporary feel (its beautiful pavilion was constructed by renowned local architecture firm Lake Flato). It’s also quickly built up its collection over its short life. But, as I thought about wording my introduction, I had a strange feeling that I was reaching for an audience rather than writing for one. I asked myself a fundamental question: “Who cares?” And, then I got to wondering why I was asking myself that
question — I mean, I care. I see people at the Briscoe when I go there with my family. Surely they care, right? In working through these thoughts and concerns I decided that the article might be able to address the new stuff at the Briscoe while also grappling, even if in a rather preliminary way, with the “Who cares?”
question, or at least a related question: “Who should care?” I spoke to Briscoe Head of Development Katherine Trumble and Briscoe Education and Programs Manager Kristen Mancillas. We talked of the museum’s latest gifts and of the quest to draw the larger San Antonio art community, and community in general, into the institution and into the range of Western art.
The Gifts “Our collection is rapidly growing due to the many donations of Western American art and artifacts we have received over the past year,” said Briscoe Vice President Liz Jackson in a November press release about the latest gifts. Those came in the form of a trove of art and artifacts from the Jack and Valerie Guenther Foundation, Judy and Warren Knowlton, and Debbie and John Montford. One of the coolest new assets is a collection of 55 different spurs, made by various craftsmen, dating as far back as 1790. 24 6
Two of the Briscoe’s recent acquisitions: the 1870 painting Fandango by an unknown artist (top) and Martin Grelle’s 1996 painting Gathering Storm.
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arts
Clockwise from left: a vintage stereocard featured in the exhibition “Destino San Antonio,” the Briscoe’s River Walk entrance, Curt Walters’ Cimmerian Whispers, a recent gift to the museum from the Jack and Valerie Guenther Foundation.
6 23 The spurs and other new pieces are already on display in the freshly opened New Works Gallery on the first floor. “A lot of times, people will give art, or money to purchase art, and it won’t go on view for a long time,” Trumble said. The New Works Gallery, a prelude to a complete reinstall (and more) over the coming years, came along as a way to get new stuff in front of visitors right away.
The Bigger Sell There are questions about what the heck Western art even is. The West what? Not, in this case, the Western World (as Western Europe and North America are sometimes collectively referenced). But, like, the Wild West? The Western Frontier? The Old West? West of the Mississippi? John Wayne’s West? The Indigenous West? The Mexican West? In actuality, the way that you answer that question, or whether you want it definitively answered at all, makes a huge difference. A difference that looms 24
CURRENT | January 2–15, 2019 | sacurrent.com
and beckons and is ever more present, and instructive, within the world of Western art. The correct answer for an institution like the Briscoe is, of course, all of the above — and more. But, there are still complexities to be thoughtfully addressed, biases to be overcome. Mancillas unflinchingly admitted that the Briscoe does “struggle in general when it comes to getting the larger art community to take Western art seriously.” She said she doesn’t “like defining Western art to people who come for a tour,” because part of what she sees as the museum’s mission is breaking preconceived notions — many simplistic and even problematic — and “opening that up for people to decide on their own.” Trumble acknowledged the struggle too. “One way to bring in the larger art community is with our special programs and exhibitions that try to show a broader sense of Western art,” she said. “More breadth is a focus for sure, moving forward,” Trumble stressed before adding, “We are growing, and things are changing all the time.”
Briscoe offers multicultural context Mancillas said it’s important that all in doses. It has laid the framework for people in San Antonio be able to see a broader and more inclusive underthemselves in the museum. standing of Western art, and it invites “If people don’t see events and exhibthe community to support it and help its as relevant to their community, then it see itself honestly. we are missing out on them,” she said. In terms of programming, the annuIn terms of fulfilling that all-imal Yanaguana Indian Arts Market and portant aspect of the museum’s call, workshops led Mancillas took by local artists ownership and Briscoe Western Art Museum Joe Harjo and didn’t mince $8-$10 (free on Tuesdays from 4-9pm) Cruz Ortiz in words. conjunction “I’ll be the 10am-5pm Mon, 10am-9pm Tue, 10am-5pm with the exhifirst to admit we Wed-Sat, 10am-3pm Sun bition “Destino do have holes in 210 W. Market St. San Antonio” our collection: (210) 299-4499 (a collection the indigenous of stereoview perspective, briscoemuseum.org cards depicting the Latino San Antonio perspective, people and places from the 1860s to the African-American perspective, the 1930) are just a few examples of the perspective of women,” she added. ways in which the museum is endeav“We have work to do. But, we are conscious of the nature of that work and we oring to authentically engage the city and its cultures. are addressing these things bit by bit.” Stay tuned to sacurrent.com for a comWith its diverse collection of panion to this story that includes perspecartworks and artifacts spanning over five centuries of history and featuring tives on the Briscoe, and Western art in general, from several local artists. some huge names in Western art, the
COMING TO SAN ANTONIO WED• JAN 30 • 7PM
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If Beale Street Could Talk is a beautiful and heartbreaking love story interrupted by injustice BY KIKO MARTINEZ
I
f you’re unfamiliar with the work of late African-American novelist James Baldwin, the socially conscious writer broke barriers throughout his career with stories about a host of complex and personal issues, including racism, religion and homosexuality. In 2016, the documentary film I Am Not Your Negro, which was adapted from one of Baldwin’s unfinished manuscripts, earned a well-deserved Oscar nomination and featured actor Samuel L. Jackson narrating Baldwin’s own ideas about American history and civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. The beauty of Baldwin’s writing, once again, resonates in If Beale Street Could Talk, a drama by filmmaker Barry Jenkins, who won an Oscar for screenwriting and a nomination for directing the critically acclaimed 2016 film Moonlight. In the hands of Jenkins, Baldwin’s 1974 novel of the same name is adapted into an observant and touching story of young, requited love, but also one that shoots straight to the heart of how systemic racism has shattered black and brown lives for generations. Set in Harlem in the early 1970s, Beale Street follows Clementine “Tish” Rivers (KiKi Layne) and Alonzo “Fonny” Hunt (Stephan James), a black cou-
Annapurna Pictures
ple whose childhood friendship has blossomed over the years into true love. Their romance, however, is put on hold when Fonny is wrongly arrested for a crime he didn’t commit and sent to prison, where his fate hangs on the testimony of one racist cop (Ed Skrien) and a woman (Emily Rios) choosing the easiest route for justice. While locked up, Fonny learns that Tish is going to have his baby — a piece of news that makes Tish and her mother Sharon (Regina King) even more desperate to prove Fonny’s innocence before he fades into the prison system. At times, Beale Street feels like we’re watching a stage production, with Jenkins’ approach to crafting conversations between characters allowing ample time for each line of dialogue to have its moment. But Jenkins always finds his way back to his cinematic roots. His distinctive style and framing are
Objection, Your Honor On the Basis of Sex is an inspirational biopic, but also far too conventional for a trailblazer like RBG
M
uch like last year’s documentary RBG, the feature biopic On the Basis of Sex doesn’t depict current U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s full contribution as an iconic legal scholar but manages to hit enough high points early in her career to deem it mostly inspirational. Still, for a film highlighting such an esteemed women’s-rights activist like Ginsburg, it is unfortunately much too conventional to make a worthwhile impression. OTBOS begins with Ginsburg (Academy Award nominee Felicity Jones), a married mother of one, enrolling in Harvard Law School in 1956, where she was only one of nine women in her class (Harvard started admitting women six years prior). Her husband Marty (Armie Hammer) was also attending Harvard Law at the time, although their relationship isn’t given as much emotional weight as in the 2017 doc.
screens
Give Them Pause
Focus Features
Written by first-time screenwriter Daniel Stiepleman, who happens to be Ginsburg’s real-life nephew, OTBOS focuses on the challenges Ginsburg faced after she graduated from law school (she transferred to Columbia) and couldn’t find a firm that would hire her despite the fact she was at the top of her class. There are plenty of examples of mansplaining to choose from during OTBOS, but it’s during her time in college and while searching for a job as a lawyer that will spur the most indignation from audiences. In one scene, a potential employer explains to her that although her credentials are second to none, his firm couldn’t hire her because the wives would get jealous. Along with her battle through the unapologetic trenches of New York City law, OTBOS follows Ginsburg, who at the time was a law professor at
fitting for a film like Beale Street, where looking into the faces on screen is just as important as hearing the words they’re speaking. Through its nonlinear storytelling, Beale Street controls its pacing and draws it out effectively. Like Moonlight, its slow-burning narrative pairs well with the deep-seated emotion Jenkins is hoping to tap into. In Beale Street, he has found the epitome of love as a tool for survival and the sacrifices a family will make to protect their own. Reteaming with Moonlight Oscar nominees Nicholas Britell and James Laxton for a stunning original score and pristine cinematography, Jenkins has transported audiences to a place where the only cure for hopelessness is fighting through the pain.
Rutgers University, as she preps for one particularly groundbreaking case — a 1972 lawsuit known as Moritz v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The case saw Ginsburg representing Charles Moritz, her client who was denied a tax deduction for caregiver expenses simply because the tax law only identified female caregivers as the rightful recipients of the deduction. She argued the gender-discrimination case in front of Denver’s 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and won — thus opening the doors for other gender-discrimination cases to be heard in the U.S. Supreme Court, such as Frontiero v. Richardson, Ledbetter v. Goodyear and United States v. Virginia. Directed by Mimi Leder (Deep Impact), who is a glass-ceiling destroyer herself (in 1973, she became the first female to graduate from the American Film Institute Conservatory), OTBOS plays it as safe as possible and misses an opportunity to package Ginsburg’s six decades of influence on the courts into an absorbing twohour history lesson for mainstream audiences who only know her as the “Notorious RBG” or as a viral meme. Instead, Leder relies on simplistic storytelling and clichés to drive the narrative forward. Objection sustained.
— Kiko Martinez
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food
Sweet Surprises
BBQ Life by Chris delivers savory, straightforward ’cue with a few twists BY RON BECHTOL
M
ost of us don’t want our barbecue to be too corporate or contrived. Ideally, a good joint should at least appear to have evolved organically over time — preferably passed down, generation after generation. And though family feuds are legendary in the world of ’Q, so are stories of successful dynasties. Chris Ashford took over Ed’s Smok-N-Q, a former Sonic drive-in on S. W.W. White Road, renaming it BBQ Life by Chris so his parents Edward and Waldean could retire. (They didn’t, but that’s another story.) It still seems like a family operation — complete with kids and that institution’s inevitable (and inevitably forgiven) hitches and hiccups. Of which we encountered a couple… “…and I think I’ll have the peach cobbler for dessert.” “We don’t have the peach cobbler.” “What about banana pudding?” “We don’t have that either.” “Have you stopped doing desserts?” “No, the lady who does them is in the hospital.” Best wishes for a speedy recovery. There weren’t any Jalapeño Rib Tips on our visit, either (though they plan to start doing them again soon, according to the pitmaster, who put in a cameo appearance). The all-beef Lockhart sausage that is normally on the meat plates was AWOL and being replaced by the pork-and-beef Yoakum variant… And, as we learned a short while later, the pulled pork wasn’t ready, either. “Turkey?” “I’ll check — maybe not yet.” “If no turkey, then chicken. Surely there’s chicken.” Yes, there was chicken, and it was good. Nothing to drive across town for, but honest, generous, and kissed just enough by mesquite smoke. The same can be said for
Ron Bechtol
the falling-from-the-bone ribs: no syrupy glaze or super-peppery crust. Just simple, satisfying, straightforward pork — on this we all agreed. There was less agreement on the brisket. One vocal participant thought it superior to that coming off the pits at cult favorite 2M Smokehouse BBQ, about a mile south on W.W. White. The rest of us thought that
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comparison was both unfair and untrue, but differed on the particulars. Could have been luck of the draw, but my serving was fairly fatty and a little loosey-goosey for my taste. Those with lean-leaning servings found the fat far more flavorful. But we all concurred on one point: in contrast to that joint down the street, where sauce is superfluous, Chris’ sauce did wonders for the brisket by 31 6
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MON-SAT 2 -7PM
Charlie Brown’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill
Ron Bechtol
6 29 lubricating the lean and cutting through the fat with its suggestions of subdued spice and molasses. As for that substitute sausage, it was spectacularly good, snappy and well-seasoned. BBQ Life puts the brisket and sausage together in the Outlaw sandwich. Add sauce here, too. And contemplate playing with your food a little (sorry, Mom) by removing the long-sliced links from the top of the pile of moist meat and putting them on the bottom, making for a structurally easier-to-eat package. Less squooshing. We were well into our sides — classic green beans, toothy regular pinto beans, county-fair-creamy potato salad, sweet pintos that suggested cans of pork and beans but way better — when a little Christmas miracle appeared: glistening slices of moist turkey breast, courtesy of the house to make up for all the unavailable items. Normally, I shun turkey on barbeque menus, considering it to be come-lately to the historic canon. That’ll teach me. This was the best breast ever, moist and further anointed by a stock aromatic with thyme and maybe more. “It’s a secret,” our server said of the stock. “I’d have to kill you…” Or words to that effect. Verdict? Our favorite plate of the day and definitely worth waiting (and driving) for. Moral (in case you need one at this time of year): At Chris’, in spite of missing menu items, it’s A Wonderful Life — BBQ and otherwise.
BBQ Life by Chris 902 S. WW White Rd.
KARAOKE + TRIVIA
jan 5
GENTLEMAN JOE & CRISSY
jan 12 I -35
(210) 359-1511 11-8 Wed.-Mon., 11-3 Tues.
Sandwiches and plates: $5.25-$14.50
Best bets:
sausage, brisket, turkey breast, beans
The Skinny: BBQ Life by Chris has taken over the old drive-in-cum-barbecue joint previously owned by Chris’ parents under the Ed’s Smok-N-Q moniker. The pits are accordingly well-seasoned and accustomed to turning out quality ‘Q. Mesquite-smoked brisket can be fatty but flavorful, sausages (depending on which is available) good ’n snappy, both pork ribs and chicken straightforward and just smoky enough. But the surprise might just be smoked turkey breast. Give it a try along with another surprise: sweet pinto beans.
jan 19
AUSTIN FORREST 1 1 8 8 8 S TA R C R E S T | 21 0 4 9 6 - 7 0 9 2 CHARLIE-BROWNS.COM sacurrent.com | January 2–15, 2019 | CURRENT
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CURRENT | January 2–15, 2019 | sacurrent.com
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Blinding Light Show
If S.A. had a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, these 10 bands belong in its inaugural class BY MIKE KNOOP
L
ast month’s announcement of the latest inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame once again makes one wonder if the Hall’s nominating committee actually likes rock ’n’ roll. And by rock ’n’ roll, I mean drivingwith-the-windows-down, hanging-out-atthe-lake-all-day rock ’n’ roll. Do you blast Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees” on the car stereo so drivers can hear it three lanes over? Will the Zombies’ chamber pop masterpiece, Odessey and Oracle, be playing at your next BBQ? No and no. And, sure, Def Leppard is getting inducted this year, but the Hall made them sweat for it — like they did with Rush, Kiss, Van Halen and even Black freakin’ Sabbath. Judas Priest, the band that took Sabbath’s sound and turbo-charged it, is still not in. Hard rock and heavy metal should have their own hall of fame. And in what better city should it be located than the home of Joe Anthony, “San Antonio’s Godfather of Rock ’n’ Roll”? The KMAC/KISS disc jockey, along with fellow radio pioneer Lou Roney and Stone City Attractions promoter Jack Orbin, made South Texas a welcome oasis for harder bands from Europe, Canada, even Australia. So, without further ado, here are the inaugural inductees for the San Antonio Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Hall of Fame, along with a signature song we hope they play at the induction ceremony.
1. JUDAS PRIEST “VICTIM OF CHANGES”
6. BUDGIE “BREADFAN”
2. SAXON “DENIM AND LEATHER”
7. BLUE ÖYSTER CULT “CITIES ON FLAME WITH ROCK AND ROLL”
In his recent autobiography, founding guitarist K.K. Downing noted that radio exposure by Anthony had Priest playing San Antonio arenas while they were still playing clubs elsewhere. Singer Rob Halford’s incredible, indelible scream began here. This British band has a loyal local following and are coming back in February. Saxon spins an anthem about the days when fans hung out in record stores and actually stood in line for concert tickets. “Denim and leather brought us all together.” Hell yeah, it did.
3. UFO “ROCK BOTTOM”
Enter guitar phenom Michael Schenker. His way with the wah-wah pedal wowed one and all, while Phil Mogg’s vocals and lyrics were the band’s secret weapons.
4. MOXY “SAIL ON, SAIL AWAY”
A five-minute crash course in Led Zeppelin, courtesy of this Canadian outfit. Anthony helped the Moxy get their first U.S. gig as a headliner. Another early Anthony favorite, AC/DC, opened.
5. LEGS DIAMOND “WOMAN”
The unofficial official power ballad of San Antonio. The anguished vocals of Rick Sanford put every ballad-peddling hair metal band ever to shame.
How much do Budgie and San Antonio love each other? Enough that the 2002 incarnation of the long-lived UK power trio recorded a live album at the Sunken Garden Theater, perhaps the city’s most iconic concert venue.
Local rockers may never understand how lucky they are to live in a town where a BÖC tune besides “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” could be heard on the radio.
8. TRIUMPH “BLINDING LIGHT SHOW/ MOONCHILD”
What KMAC/KISS listener doesn’t remember this eight-minute power-prog opus from Canada’s second-most popular rock trio?
9. URIAH HEEP “STEALIN’”
This anthem features the best of the ever-evolving lineup of the British hard rock workhorse.
10. SCORPIONS “LADY STARLIGHT”
A surprisingly tender ballad from the band that gave us suspect lyrics like, “Give her inches and feed her well.” And that’s just the tip of the spear, folks. Riot, Starz, Thin Lizzy, Krokus and many more would be welcome in our own rock ’n’ roll Valhalla. Who would you put in San Antonio’s Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Hall of Fame?
Find more music coverage Find more news every day at sacurrent.com
JOI N US THUR SDAY F OR
¡Vamos a Tequila! SPEC IA LS ON F INE TEQUILA A ND TEQUILA C OC KTAILS
DJ Biig Miike 10 P.M. - 2 A.M.
Open Mic Night! E V E R Y T U E S D AY | 1 0 P M - 2 A M
WITH BRIAN HECKLER
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Courtesy of Garett T. Capps
Vox, made it through enough rounds of auditions to break through. With fierce looks to accompany her immaculate voice, the South San High School grad sang her way into the top 10 while getting shoutouts from celebrities like RuPaul along the way. Jaime Monzon
2018 Flex
These 8 S.A. acts reached a bigger stage last year BY CHRIS CONDE
D
ear San Antonio, y’all flexed hard in 2018, and the world saw that shit. From local artists signing deals with Atlantic Records to locally written songs being featured in hit TV shows, Alamo City artists did an admirable job of repping the city in 2018, and we couldn’t be more proud. Here are eight local talents that shone a national — and sometimes international — light on our city:
ment and a testament to the decade they put into the grind.
2. ADA VOX MAKES IT TO TOP 10 ON AMERICAN IDOL 5 After 13 attempts to get on the show, Adam Sanders, better known as Ada
Courtesy Disney-ABC Press
If you’re unfamiliar with the experience that is House of Kenzo, you’re missing out on one of San Antonio’s most intriguing live art/music/performance/installations/groups. From landing official South by Southwest showcases several years in a row to playing the most-recent Day for Night music festival, alongside folks like Nine Inch Nails and Cardi B, House of Kenzo is on the rise. This year, the dance-driven collective found itself in Poland for performances at Unsound Music Festival, a music and art gathering that encourages attendees to immerse themselves in sonic adventure.
4. GARRETT T. CAPPS’ “BORN IN SAN ANTONE” LANDS ON SHOWTIME’S BILLIONS L
1. NOTHING MORE GETS THREE GRAMMY NOMINATIONS 5
Technically, the 60th Grammys highlighted outstanding music created in 2017. But the ceremony happened in 2018, so we’re just going roll with it — namely because it featured San Antonio’s own Nothing More. The active-rock heartthrobs secured three nominations, including Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song for “Go to War” and Best Rock Album for The Stories We Tell Ourselves. Though the band didn’t leave with any awards, the nominations are still a huge achieve-
3. HOUSE OF KENZO PLAYS UNSOUND MUSIC FESTIVAL IN POLAND T
Courtesy of Holy Knives
After a SXSW showcase, experimental alt-country singer-songwriter Garrett T. Capps secured a couple of spots on an official SXSW Spotify playlist. Long story short, an A&R professional heard “Born in San Antone,” loved it and decided to use it on Showtime’s show Billions. It didn’t hurt that the song showed up in the first minute and a half of the season premiere. While that’s shy of 15 minutes of fame, nearly a million viewer watched the show, ensuring a lasting publicity boost for Capps. 37 6 sacurrent.com | January 2–15, 2019 | CURRENT
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weekly Specials
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YOUR CITY THROUGH OUR LENS S A C U R R E N T. C O M / S L I D E S H O W S
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5. KARMA STYLZ APPEARS IN RYAN MURPHY’S POSE
A member of House of Kenzo before leaving for New York in 2014, Karma Stylz has been working hard to make a name for himself — and honey, it’s working. If being a backup dancer for Lil Mama and landing in Alexander Wang Adidas and Nike ads isn’t enough, you can catch Stylz as a background dancer and extra in the first season of the new Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story, Glee) show Pose. Based on that track record, we’ll continue to expect big things from this San Antonio dancer.
6. R&B SINGER XAVIER OMÄR GETS MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF STREAMS
Even though he left S.A. in 2014, Xavier Omär managed to make big strides in the music industry in the past few years. (But, hey, his parents still live here, and you can catch him kicking it at The Pearl sometimes.) After reviews in publications like Pitchfork, XXL and Vibe, Omär sold out his first headlining tour, the Pink Lightning Tour, spanning 16 cities, including Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. He also headlined ASICS Tiger’s Sound Mind Sound Body Sessions, helping launch the brand’s spring/summer 2018 line at the Hollywood Roosevelt in January. That same month, his hit “Blind Man” passed 20 million streams. On top of all that success, he also produced Sango’s single “Sweet Holy Honey,” which is nearing a million streams. If that’s not hustling, show us what is.
7. RAPPER BLAKE SIGNS TO ATLANTIC RECORDS
After seeming to come out of nowhere, Blake landed on numerous streaming charts over the past few years, driving more than a million listens on his Spotify and Soundcloud pages. Beaumont-born and San Antonio-raised, the trap/ mumble rapper has continued to make exciting moves in the industry. This year, he signed a deal with Atlantic Records, rubbing elbows with the likes of Cardi B and Meek Mill.
Open 3p-2a Everyday • Happy Hour 3-7pm Daily
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8. HOLY KNIVES GARNER NATIONAL ATTENTION FOR YEAR OF THE BLACK DOG L
N. Presa St.
The Holy Knives, formerly known as Levees, made some stellar moves this year. The band’s debut LP, Year of the Black Dog, landed reviews in publications like Paste, and they’ve been working hard to amplify their presence on a national level. By introducing just the right amount of pop aesthetics and psychedelic textures into their sound, the Holy Knives are carving out their space in indie rock.
E. Houston St.
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RIVERTINI AWARD WINNER 600 N. Presa St. Inside the Maverick Building 210.267.9885 THELOCALBARSA.COM LIKE US ON FB: THELOCALBARSA
sacurrent.com | January 2–15, 2019 | CURRENT
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FIVE DAYS OF PARTIES, SEMINARS AND TASTINGS CELEBRATING CRAFT COCKTAILS
JANUARY 14-20, 2019 sanantoniococktailconference.com
FRI • JAN 11 BART CROW
JOSH GRIDER DOORS: 7PM | SHOW: 9PM
S AT • J A N 1 2 AUSTIN MEADE
ERICK WILLIS DOORS: 7PM | SHOW: 9PM
S AT • J A N 1 9 RECKLESS KELLY
& COREY HUNT BAND DOORS: 7PM | SHOW: 9PM
FRI • JAN 25
Happy New Year from Twin Liquors! A great way to kick off 2019, The San Antonio Cocktail Conference is one of a kind in Texas, bringing together top bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts for educational seminars, guided tastings and cocktail events.
READ SOUTHALL BAND CHRIS COLSTON & WIGHT LIGHTERS
DOORS: 7PM | SHOW: 8:30PM
S AT • J A N 2 6 KYLE PARK
SIX SANCHEZ DOORS: 7PM | SHOW: 9PM
L I V E AT F L O O R E S . C O M TWINLIQUORS.COM Please drink responsibly.
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CURRENT | January 2–15, 2019 | sacurrent.com
14492 OLD BANDERA RD. HELOTES, TX 78023
music | music Picks NAHAYA q
Courtesy of Filthy
SPRAIN, FILTHY, ANTS L
Thursday, January 3 L.A.’s Sprain heads up this swell experimental rock bill that will your New Year off with a dose of patient sadness imbued with heavy metal moods. The band, more versatile than most would-be hard rock outfits, makes music that runs from slow sadcore stylings to the raging tumult of hardcore-yet-melodic noise. All of it is thoughtful and dynamic, and the layers of surprising instruments and touches of grace let you know Sprain is onto something unique. Ants and Filthy, two of S.A.’s finest experimental, rock-based bands, will provide support and peddle their own sonic wares, which range from unhinged shoegaze explorations to tightly executed post-punk, respectively. A night sure to appeal to those who fancy themselves fans of creative adaptations of hard rock stylings. $3, 9pm, Hi-Tones, 621 E. Dewey Pl., (210) 7858777, hitonessa.com. — James Courtney
Friday, January 4 Technical, heavy and groovy as fuck, Nahaya harness all the best parts of metalcore and let those textures shine throughout their latest EP, Transcendence, released last summer. While our metal tastes at the office are pretty inclusive, we were really thrown off (in a good way) by the catchiness and solid production of their single “At Work with Fire.” Lucky you and us, the band is performing at the Amp Room the first week of the year. Alongside folks like Realm of Disgust and Death Will Tremble, Nahaya proves that San Antonio acts are continuing to push metal on through the decades. $5, 8pm, The Amp Room, 2407 N St Mary’s St, (210) 320-2122, theamproom.com. — CC
Courtesy of Nahaya
NOTHING CHIEF + HOLY KNIVES p
Thursday, January 3 Definitely one of San Antonio’s local bands to make some noise that people outside the 2-1-0 could hear, The Holy Knives made some moves in 2018, releasing an EP and a debut full-length. The group is actually gearing up for their first show of the year at Brick at Bluestar alongside one of the most well-known acts still shredding the Alamo City — Nic Long of Lonely Horse. The singer, songwriter, guitar player and one-half of the powerful blues-driven desert rock duo told the Current over the phone that his set will most likely be an improvisational performance punctuated with looped guitar riffs and vocal harmonies ringing so loud that interdimensional voices could harmonize and sing along. Free, 5pm, Brick at Blue Star, 1773, 108 Blue Star, (210) 262-8653, brickatbluestar.com. — Chris Conde
Courtesy of Holy Knives
real music scene in San Antonio, you won’t want to miss this show. Free, 8pm, The Cove, 606 W Cypress St., thecove.us. — CC
Ryan Adam Humphries
FREE WEEK L Jonas Conn-Parent
WHOLE MILK L
Monday, January 7 When any band has the audacity to seemingly toss adjectives together to describe themselves in an effort to be ironic or aloof, it makes me want to not write about them. That was my first impression of Denver’s self-described “surf jazz” outfit Whole Milk. Then I discovered that surf jazz was an actual genre, and I gave Whole Milk a shot. Boy, am I glad I did. Combining elements of chillwave with indie pop and bass-forward grooves that carry the faintest whisper of dub, Whole Milk’s sound is refreshing and carefree. They don’t sound like they’re trying to be anything, and that’s one of the best parts about what they do. With Opaque Ghost, MysterE, and Something4nothing as the local support, this show looks tight. $5, 9pm, Reggae Bar, 826 San Pedro, (210) 772-9891 — CC
NINA DIAZ 5
Courtesy of Los #3 Dinners
LOS #3 DINNERS L
Saturday, January 5 In the words of former San Antonio Current editor Enrique Lopetegui, “#3 Dinners isn’t just a band — it’s a San Antonio icon, like the Alamo or the Spurs. The band is beyond good and evil. Too often, perhaps, they’re taken for granted: they’ve been rocking for over 30 years, and barring some unforeseen cataclysm, they’re here to stay.” Yes, the Dinners are very much alive and kicking ass, and judging by how often these dudes continue to gig, they are gonna be here for a while. “Old guys play first,” charismatic vocalist and guitarist Lenny Friedland told the Current before their set, “so we can go home early and hook up the morphine and watch The Weather Channel.” For an opportunity to see one of the bands that helped create a
Thursday, January, 10 Few local bands have made the impact that Girl in a Coma did. And whether folks here realize it or not, dealing with the boys’ club that is the music industry, combined with overcoming the still-problematic machismo culture that exists in San Antonio, that impact goes beyond the music itself. From touring with the likes of Morrissey, Social Distortion and Tegan and Sara, to building a cult-like following in the U.S. and abroad, Phanie Diaz, Nina Diaz and Jenn Alva broke through the glass ceiling that most local acts run into and kept pushing higher. Even before the band broke up this past year, Nina Diaz found her voice as soloist and showed a more mature, independent edge, all while remaining humble and true to her roots. Harnessing pop sensibilities and molded by rock roots, Nina Diaz’s sound is something we didn’t realize we needed until we heard it. The recent L.A. transplant returns home for a special show at Limelight that’s sure to be amazing. $8-$12, 7pm, Limelight, 2718 N. St. Mary’s St., thelimelightsa.com. — CC
Thursday-Sunday January 10-13 Every year, since its inception, Paper Tiger’s Free Week stands as a testament to just how much the venue has shaped S.A.’s music scene. Each year, the spot hosts several days of free shows that thoughtfully bring together the best of local music with excellent out-of-town talent. Talk about a customer-appreciation week that we can get behind! This year, the four-day blowout will feature the Shut Ups (new wave/postpunk from Oakland), King Tuff (Burger Records reppin’ garage psych), Stonefield (psych rock from a crew of Aussie sisters), The Cops (anti-authoritarian psych-punk from HTX) and more. On the local front, we’ll be excited to catch the Grasshopper Lies Heavy, Stegosaur, Fea, Sunjammer, True Indigo, Elnuh and many more. The lineup continues to grow as Free Week nears, so be sure to check out the website listed below or Paper Tiger’s Facebook page for updates. Free, 8pm-12:30am (Thurs), 8pm-2am (FriSat), 2pm-7pm (Sun), Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — JC
Courtesy of Nina Diaz
sacurrent.com | January 2–15, 2019 | CURRENT
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3 3 0 e g r ay s o n s t TEXAS PINK FLOYD
RUBEN V
FRI, JAN 4 | DOORS: 8P | SHOW: 9P
SAT, JAN 5 | DOORS: 8P | SHOW: 9P
KEVIN KOSUB & THE BLACKTEARS
THE HAYRIDE HOP WITH DEVAN JONES & THE UPTOWN STOMP
SUN, JAN 6 | DOORS: 3P | SHOW: 4P
MON, JAN 7 | DOORS: 7:30P | SHOW: 8P
W O
EE
SH
FR
SOLDIER SONGS AND VOICES
THE POWELL BROTHERS
TUES, JAN 8 | SHOW: 7P
WED, JAN 9 | DOORS: 7:30P | SHOW: 8:30P
P EE HO FRRKS
O W
JITTERY JACK & AMY GRIFFIN, TAMMI SAVOY & CHRIS CASELLO, SEAN MENCHER - BOSTON TO AUSTIN WINTER 2019 TOUR
ROB BAIRD ALBUM RELEASE SHOW
THU, JAN 10 | DOORS: 7P | SHOW: 7:30P
FRI, JAN 11 | DOORS: 8P | SHOW: 9P
BLUE WATER HIGHWAY BAND
THE HAYRIDE HOP WITH JOLIE & THE JACKALOPES
SAT, JAN 12 | DOORS: 8P | SHOW: 9P
SUN, JAN 14 | DOORS: 7:30P | SHOW: 8P
samsburgerjoint.com 40
CURRENT | January 2–15, 2019 | sacurrent.com
music | music Picks
makes loud, abrasive, barking heavy metal that most often falls into the category of deathcore or metalcore. $5, 8:30pm, Bonds 007 Rock Bar, 450 Soledad St., (210) 225-0007, bonds007rockbar.com. — JC
Courtesy Of The Baylor Project
Sianvar/ Jeremy Hernandez
DirectedByBANK
T-PAIN L
Friday, January 11 Remember when T-Pain ruined our collective childhood by telling us that on “Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin’),” that part where he’s like “I’m a buy you a drank / ooooh weeeee” is actually “I’m a buy you a drank / and then.” “It’s ‘and then’ not ‘ooh wee,’” the singer said on Twitter. “[B]ut really it’s whatever you want it to be just enjoy the song however you hear it. I just appreciate you listening. #BuyUADrank #THANX.” Why, T-Pain? Why’d you have to go and do that? Sure, I mean, lyrically it makes more sense but why? Why’d you have to go and ruin something that we loved? Anyway, Tallahassee-Pain is most likely playing that song plus many of his mid-aughts hits when he heads to San Antonio for a show at the Aztec Theatre. $59-$104, Fri Jan 11, 7pm, Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., theaztectheatere.com. — CC
these artists on Bandcamp will get you a quick sample of what you can expect to hear at this well-curated show. Free, 8pm, Imagine Books and Records, 8373 Culebra Rd., (210) 236-7668, imaginebookstexas.com. — JC
PIGWEED AND ASTRAY THRU ETERNITY
Friday, January 11 Bond’s 007 Rock Bar, that bastion of all that made rock music in the 1990s both good and terrible, is always giving us great nostalgia acts from a time period that many of us would like to forget. But the place knows what it is and knows its audience — and that’s always an admirable thing. This weekend, rock aficionados can look forward to another precisely on-brand show at Bond’s, this time featuring local acts Pigweed and Astray Thru Eternity. Pigweed, which has been rocking shows in S.A. for damn nigh
ROSHII, ST. DUKES, DONELLA DRIVE, NOISE QUOTA 5
Friday, January 11 This bill for lovers of indie-influenced alternative rock brings together four solid San Antonio acts. Roshii, for starters, is a young band with mountainous energy and a knotty, if pop-twinged, math rock sound. St. Dukes’ music, meanwhile, falls on the energetic and jangly side of intricate indie-pop, swelling with youthful rhythms of celebration and abandon. Donella Drive, a band that has seen several lineup changes over the past year or so, is the most straightforward alternative rock act on the bill. Last but not least, Noise Quota makes lightly experimental alternative rock music with pretty pop influences and post-punk extrapolations. A quick search for each of
SIANVAR, GHOST ATLAS AND MORE L
Saturday, January 12 Something of a post-hardcore supergroup, Sianvar features members of Dance Gavin Dance, Stolas, Hail the Sun and A Lot Like Birds. The band’s sound, as evidenced on the one LP and one EP it’s released since forming in 2016, blends prog rock with post-hardcore, math rock and experimental elements, for a sound that feels like a fresh update on the collective sound of all the bands that the members of this group hail from. With a sophomore LP in the works, fans can hope to hear Sianvar try out some new material at this show. The stacked lineup for this one also features like-minded/like-sounding acts Ghost Atlas (a group from Birmingham, Ala., that just recently dropped a swell new album All is in Sync and There’s Nothing Left to Sing About), Wolf and Bear, Marila Voe and Another Side, Another Story. $16-$18, 7pm, Jack’s Patio Bar, 3030 Thousand Oaks Dr., (210) 494-2309, jacksbarsa.com. — JC
PASTEL GHOSTS, MR. KITTY 5
Courtesy of Roshii
10 years, makes alternative/nu-metal music that eschews much of that genre’s typical melodicism for noise and instrumental exploration. There are also elements of prog as well as Southern rock to Pigweed’s sound. Astray Thru Eternity, meanwhile,
Saturday, January 12 Fans of ethereal, dark, brooding and artsy electronic/dance music are in for a real treat in the form of a fine dual bill at Limelight. The evening pairs two rad electronic acts from Austin, a city with a steadily burgeoning weird-electro scene. Pastel Ghost comes to ATX by way of her home town of Oakland. She describes her own music as “dream rave,” which seems a damned apt description for the whispery, gauzy, shimmering and intimate dance sound that she conjures. Check out Pastel Ghost’s music at pastelghost.bandcamp.com. Mr. Kitty, for his part, make music with a bit darker bite. Witch house and new wave-goth vibes abound in Mr. Kitty’s music, but the heavy
use of bright synths and catchy rhythms helps keeps his music infinitely danceable. Check out Mr. Kitty’s work at mrkittydm. bandcamp.com. $10, 9pm, Limelight, 2718 N. St. Mary’s St., thelimelightsa.com. — JC
THE BAYLOR PROJECT L
Saturday, January 12 Just five days after performing at NYC’s Blue Note Jazz Club, the Baylor Project will bless San Antonio with its soulful and endlessly inventive live show. The Grammy-nominated (Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Traditional R&B Performance) husband-and-wife duo of Jean and Marcus Baylor adeptly blends the roots of jazz with blues, gospel, R&B and soul, creating an emotive and spiritual sound. In the live setting, the duo’s virtuosity is on full display, right alongside its effortless chemistry. In turns uplifting, crushing, dynamic and even interactive, a live performance from the Baylor Project is not to be missed. For a taste of what you can expect from this special concert, check out the pair’s debut album The Journey, over at thebaylorproject.com. $35, 8pm, Jo Long Theatre, 226 N Hackberry, (210) 207-7211, thecarver.org. — JC
Courtesy of MR. KITTY
sacurrent.com | January 2–15, 2019 | CURRENT
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HAP P Y
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A L L D AY SUN-MON
C O L D D R A F T & H A N D C R A F T E D C O C K TA I L S .
LOCATED IN THE PEARL.
312 PEARL PARKWAY | BLUEBOXBAR.COM | HOURS: MONDAY - SUNDAY, 4PM - 2AM
HAPPY HOURS: MONDAY - SUNDAY, 4PM - 8PM 42
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the band’s current incarnation. $5, River Road Icehouse, 8pm
TEXAS PINK FLOYD \
Without resorting to a vague, “inspired-by” name, Texas Pink Floyd is exactly what it sounds like — a Texas-based Pink Floyd tribute band that’s determined recreate the glory days of the innovative prog-rockers, not just through music but also with the iconic visual accompaniment. Like peanut butter and jelly, Pink Floyd is perfectly matched with lasers. $25-$70, Sam’s Burger Joint, 9pm
SATURDAY, JANUARY 5
MEL’S BEAT’N CANCER ROCK’N BENEFIT
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2
Why simply rock out with your cock out when you can do it while helping a fellow San Antonian who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma? Friends of respected bassist Mel Castillo are helping pay his rising medical expenses by organizing an all-day-and-all-night lineup of San Antonio’s heaviest bands, including Jessikill, Elysian and the Oath to show that cancer — or at least its accompanying medical bills — can be defeated by the power of rock ’n’ roll. $10, Fitzgerald’s Bar and Live Music, 6pm
THE EMILY GIMBLE TRIO
SUNDAY, JANUARY 6
Courtesy of Texas Pink Floyd
BY SHANNON SWEET
Emily Gimble is a third-generation musician from a family of influential Texans that includes famed fiddler Johnny Gimble, her grandfather. But she’s using her pedigree as a stepping stone in her own journey, not a silver spoon. Gimble’s soulful voice can convey heartbreak and triumph in one breathy swoop, and she’s also an accomplished pianist. Her smooth and mellow jazz accompaniment proves that she’s a talent in her own right. Free; Jazz, TX; 5:30pm
THURSDAY, JANUARY 3
THURZGAYZ: GRANDE NEW YEAR
Say “thank u, next” to 2018 with a DJ spinning tunes by Ariana Grande, the pop star who knows all about a year being a rollercoaster. In addition to chart success, she experienced Pete Davidson and the death of an ex. The celebration also offers a chance to ring in 2019 to the bangers that defined new-millennium pop for the past few years. Free, Brass Monkey, 10pm
FRIDAY, JANUARY 4
DEADEYE
For Deadheads still reeling from the death of guitarist and bandleader Jerry Garcia, it may be a tough pill to swallow that the rest of the band joined forces with coffee shop crooner John Mayer. But getting with the times needn’t be mandatory thanks to Grateful Dead tribute acts like Austin’s DeadEye, who may be preserving tie-dye memories better than
KEVIN KOSUB AND THE BLACKTEARS
Fronted by San Antonio character, label executive and curator of the Sir Douglas Museum — a shrine to legendary Tex-Mex innovator Doug Sahm — Kevin Kosub and his Blacktears are way more than good ol’ boys playing square dance music for the heavily intoxicated. Notable for a cover of “Deep in the Heart of Texas” that’s so heavy with the drug references, it could’ve been penned by Hunter S. Thompson, the Blacktears are possibly too rowdy for the traditional two-step, and that’s the way we like it. Free, Sam’s Burger Joint, 3pm
TUESDAY, JANUARY 8
SOLDIER SONGS AND VOICES
Coping with pain through the power of music has never been easier with the nonprofit community outreach of Soldier Songs and Voices, a free workshop that teaches music lessons and songwriting to veterans and active-duty military. Free, Sam’s Burger Joint, 7pm
THURSDAY, JANUARY 10
LUCAS JACK TRIO
Busting out the kind of baroque pop that transformed Elton John into Sir Elton John, Lucas Jack’s piano, soaring vocals and airy, ear-wormy tunes can inspire warmth and a lust for life even in the coldest of hearts. Free, Gruene Hall, 6pm
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I’m a 19-year-old bisexual woman really into orgasm denial and edging. With the recent Tumblr ban on all NSFW content, I have no idea where to indulge my kinks and find my community. I’ve never needed to go anywhere else to find porn, explore my sexuality, and be surrounded by supportive people—and now I’m at a loss. A few Google searches have been really disheartening. Clearly I’ve been spoiled by all the easily found porn made by women, for women on Tumblr. Hell, I’m used to it being made by bisexuals, for bisexuals. I feel like I’m 15 again, desperately scouring the internet for anything that applies to me. Please tell me where I can find my porn! Missing my porn community P.S. You wrote about how this ban harms sex workers, Dan, but please write about how it harms queer and kinky people, too! “Many people are scrambling to relocate their fetish communities in the wake of Tumblr’s ban on ‘adult content,’” said Alexander Cheves, a queer writer who lives in New York City. “Porn is more than hot videos — porn creates communities. I wouldn’t know half the gross stuff I’m into if it weren’t for Tumblr!” Luckily, MMPC, the men and women who created and/or curated the content that spoke to you and affirmed your identity didn’t evaporate on December 17, the day Tumblr’s porn ban went into effect. Many have taken their clips, captions, GIFs, and erotic imaginations to other platforms and some are creating new platforms. “MMPC should devote some time to scouring Twitter for bisexual women into orgasm denial and edging, some of whom may be uploading their original content to platforms like Just For Fans,” said Cheves. “The creators of JFF are right now working on a more Tumblr-like social-media extension to their site. Other start-ups like Slixa or ShareSomeCome and social platforms like Switter have emerged in the wake of this crackdown. These are corners of the internet where MMPC can find her porn.” Cheves wrote a terrific piece for Out that connects the dots between Tumblr’s ban on porn and the anti-sex, anti-porn, anti-sex-work, and anti-queer crackdown that was already under way on other platforms (“The Dangerous Trend of LGBTQ Censorship on the Internet,” December 6, 2018). While there’s still tons of porn on the internet, as many people have pointed out (myself included), the crackdown on explicit content on social-media platforms is fucking over vulnerable queers. As Eric Leue, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition, told Ch-
eves: “Many people in straight, heteronormative communities don’t understand what the big deal is [about the Tumblr adult content ban], because their lives and cultures are represented everywhere. For those in queer, or niche, or fetish communities, Tumblr was one of the few accessible spaces to build communities and share content.” And as long as sex-education programs don’t cover queer sex or kinky sex — and there’s no sign of improvement in either area — LGBTQ youth and young people with kinks will continue to get their sexual education on the internet. And the harder it is to access explicit content, particularly explicit noncommercial content, the harder it’s going to be for young queers to find not just smut that speaks to them, but the education they need to protect themselves. “More youth will get hurt and more will get HIV thanks to Tumblr’s content ban,” said Cheves. “That’s not scaremongering — that will happen. Case in point: I grew up in a fiercely religious home on a 500-acre farm in the middle of Georgia with dial-up and a pretty intense parental blocker. I couldn’t access porn — I couldn’t even access articles with sexual illustrations, including sexual health illustrations. When I went to college in 2010, the same year Grindr hit the App Store, I knew absolutely nothing about HIV and nothing about my community. It’s no wonder that I tested positive at 21.” Shortly after getting the news that he was HIV+, Cheves started an educational queer sex blog. “I answer sex questions from anyone who writes in — I stole the idea from you, Dan, to be honest,” said Cheves. “I wanted to reach those kids in the middle of nowhere, kids like me.” While Cheves writes professionally today — you can find his advice column in the Advocate and his byline in other publications — he still updates and posts new content to thebeastlyexboyfriend.com, his original queer sex blog. “Sites like my blog are needed now more than ever,” said Cheves. “If MMPC wants to help her community survive, she may no longer have the option of being a passive consumer — she might have to start a website or blog, wave a digital flag, and find others. The internet is so massive that censorship will never be able to keep people with niche fetishes from congregating, digitally or otherwise. It’s just going to be a little harder to find each other.” Follow Alexander Cheves on Twitter: @BadAlexCheves
mail@savagelove.net @FakeDanSavage on Twitter www.ITMFA.org
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“Birthday Holiday” ACROSS 1 Palestinian president 6 Indira Gandhi’s son 11 Actor Shepard of “Idiocracy” 14 Ben Stiller’s mom Anne 15 Edit out 16 Brand of pads 17 Scottish singer born 12/25/1954 19 Pince-___ glasses 20 Do, for instance 21 Island instrument 22 Porgy’s love 24 Conversation 26 Dish with peanut and lime garnish 29 It’s been alternately called a “cash point” or “bankomat” 30 One who takes things the wrong way? 33 “___ Lang Syne” 34 Not so puzzling 35 Cold storage? 36 Canadian world leader born 12/25/1971 39 Juan ___ de LeÛn (Fountain of Youth seeker) 40 Did penance 41 Put ___ signal 42 Citrus soft drink introduced in the 1960s 43 Scott Joplin song
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etc FREE WILL ASTROLOGY BY ROB BREZNY ARIES (March 21-April 19): No one has resisted the force of gravity with more focus than businessman Roger Babson (1875–1967). He wrote an essay entitled “Gravity - Our Enemy Number One,” and sought to develop anti-gravity technology. His Gravity Research Foundation gave awards to authentic scientists who advanced the understanding of gravity. If that organization still existed and offered prizes, I’m sure that researchers of the Aries persuasion would win them all in 2019. For your tribe, the coming months should feature lots of escapes from heaviness, including soaring flights and playful levity and lofty epiphanies. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The night parrots of Australia are so elusive that there was a nearly six-decade stretch when no human saw a single member of the species. But in 2013, after searching for 15 years, photographer John Young spotted one and recorded a 17-second video. Since then, more sightings have occurred. According to my astrological vision, your life in 2019 will feature experiences akin to the story of the night parrot’s reappearance. A major riddle will be at least partially solved. Hidden beauty will materialize. Long-secret phenomena will no longer be secret. A missing link will re-emerge. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Millions of years ago, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, Antarctica, and North and South America were smooshed together. Earth had a single land mass, the supercontinent Pangea. Stretching across its breadth was a colossal feature, the Central Pangean Mountains. Eventually, though, Europe and America split apart, making room for the Atlantic Ocean and dividing the Central Pangean range. Today the Scottish Highlands and the Appalachian Mountains are thousands of miles apart, but once upon a time they were joined. In 2019, Gemini, I propose that you look for metaphorical equivalents in your own life. What disparate parts of your world had the same origin? What elements that are now divided used to be together? Re-establish their connection. Get them back in touch with each other. Be a specialist in cultivating unity. CANCER (June 21-July 22): 2019 will be an excellent time to swim in unpolluted rivers, utter sacred oaths near beautiful fountains, and enjoy leisurely saunas that help purify your mind and body. You are also likely to attract cosmic favor if you cry more than usual, seek experiences that enhance your emotional intelligence, and ensure that your head respectfully consults with your heart before making decisions. Here’s another way to get on life’s good side: cultivate duties that consistently encourage you to act out of love and joy rather than out of guilt and obligation.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Here are four key questions I hope you’ll meditate on throughout 2019: 1. What is love? 2. What kind of love do you want to receive? 3. What kind of love do you want to give? 4. How could you transform yourself in order to give and receive more of the love you value most? To spur your efforts, I offer you these thoughts from teacher David R. Hawkins: “Love is misunderstood to be an emotion; actually, it is a state of awareness, a way of being in the world, a way of seeing oneself and others.” VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “Most living things begin in the absence of light,” writes Virgo author Nancy Holder. “The vine is rooted in the earth; the fawn takes form in the womb of the doe.” I’ll remind you that your original gestation also took place in the dark. And I foresee a metaphorically comparable process unfolding for you in 2019. You’ll undergo an incubation period that may feel cloaked and mysterious. That’s just as it should be: the best possible circumstances for the vital new part of your life that will be growing. So be patient. You’ll see the tangible results in 2020. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Many plants that modern Americans regard as weeds were regarded as tasty food by Native Americans. A prime example is the cattail, which grows wild in wetlands. Indigenous people ate the rootstock, stem, leaves, and flower spike. I propose that we use this scenario to serve as a metaphor for some of your potential opportunities in 2019. Things you’ve regarded as useless or irrelevant or inconvenient could be revealed as assets. Be alert for the possibility of such shifts. Here’s advice from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.”
Each containing the other’s key.” I propose that we adopt this scenario to symbolize one of the central riddles of your existence. I’ll go further and speculate that in 2019 one of those boxes will open as if through a magical fluke, without a need for the key. This mysterious blessing won’t really be a magical fluke, but rather a stroke of well-deserved and hard-earned luck that is the result of the work you’ve been doing to transform and improve yourself. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): What themes and instruments do people least want to hear in a piece of music? Composer Dave Solder determined that the worst song ever made would contain bagpipes, cowboy music, tubas, advertising jingles, operatic rapping, and children crooning about holidays. Then he collaborated with other musicians to record such a song. I suspect that as you head into 2019, it’ll be helpful to imagine a metaphorically comparable monstrosity: a fantastic mess that sums up all the influences you’d like to avoid. With that as a vivid symbol, you’ll hopefully be inspired to avoid allowing any of it to sneak into your life in the coming months. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In Canada, it’s illegal to pretend to practice witchcraft. It’s fine to actually do witchcraft, however. With
that as our inspiration, I advise you to be rigorous about embodying your authentic self in 2019. Make sure you never lapse into merely imitating who you are or who you used to be. Don’t fall into the trap of caring more about your image than about your actual output. Focus on standing up for what you really mean rather than what you imagine people expect from you. The coming months will be a time when you can summon pure and authoritative expressions of your kaleidoscopic soul. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In the eighteenth century, Benjamin Franklin was a Founding Father who played a key role in getting the United States up and running. He wasn’t happy that the fledgling nation chose the bald eagle as its animal symbol. The supposedly majestic raptor is lazy, he wrote. It doesn’t hunt for its own food, but steals grub obtained by smaller birds of prey. Furthermore, bald eagles are cowardly, Franklin believed. Even sparrows may intimidate them. With that as our theme, Pisces, I invite you to select a proper creature to be your symbolic ally in 2019. Since you will be building a new system and establishing a fresh power base, you shouldn’t pick a critter that’s merely glamorous. Choose one that excites your ambition and animates your willpower.
THIS MODERN WORLD BY TOM TOMORROW
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The slow, gradual, incremental approach will be your magic strategy in 2019. Being persistent and thorough as you take one step at a time will provide you with the power to accomplish wonders. Now and then, you may be tempted to seek dramatic breakthroughs or flashy leaps of faith; and there may indeed be one or two such events mixed in with your steady rhythms. But for the most part, your glory will come through tenacity. Now study this advice from mystic Meister Eckhart: “Wisdom consists in doing the next thing you have to do, doing it with your whole heart, and finding delight in doing it.” SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian polymath Piet Hein wrote a poem in which he named the central riddle of his existence. “A bit beyond perception’s reach, / I sometimes believe I see / That life is two locked boxes / sacurrent.com | January 2–15, 2019 | CURRENT
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