“The Times They are A-Changin’ ”

Come writers and critics who prophesy with your pen . . .

When I was 9 I wrote a 20-page book about a superhero mouse titled, “ONYAY.” This was the magic word he would say before throwing the cat into the sink or lifting the school. For illustrations, my mom took me to a local pet shop and we posed mice in tiny Superman capes. I still prefer to take my own photos.

Twelve years, multiple journalism classes and a brief stint with the Arizona Daily Wildcat later, I landed a three-week internship with the Tucson Citizen.

My first assignment was a Calendar cover story about local painter David Tineo, whose eyesight has been deteriorating over the years, making it more difficult for him to pursue his passion. I could not have asked for a better assignment. Being able to write about such an extraordinary man who has managed to overcome such adversity was something I hardly expected to be doing in my first week. I was covering a story that I legitimately cared about and that I thought the public would as well.

I can’t forget the gratification I experienced the following week when I saw the center-spread photo of Tineo in front of his mural. Aside from the awe of seeing my byline, I truly felt that I was doing something significant, something that would make a difference to somebody, anybody, maybe just him.

Since then, the Tucson Citizen has given me many other opportunities to further explore this aspect of journalism. On another assignment, I sat on the low cushions of a local Afghan restaurant while the family that owned it explained that in their culture serving people food is an honor, not a chore. At a local library, DJ T. Richard Smith told me about the racism and adversity he overcame to become one of Tucson’s most legendary radio personalities. In another story, the smooth-talking street magician, Crow Garrett, graciously offered me tips on how to pick up ladies using a bit of magic.

I am fascinated by people and the stories they have to tell. For the last nine months the Tucson Citizen has allowed me to make a living conveying these stories to the community. I am sincerely grateful for the time this paper and its staff allowed me to perform this service.

“Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone, for the times they are a-changin’.”

Recently, all newspapers, not just the Tucson Citizen, have fallen on hard times. Whether it’s the Internet or the economy or a cruel combination of both, traditional newspapers all over the country have been fighting to keep their heads above water. Every day seems to be the bearer of bad news for this profession that many of us hold so near and dear.

I don’t know what the future of journalism holds or whether print media can survive, but I do know that the ideals of the profession will endure, in one form or another. With the exception of police officers and firefighters, there are few other professions in this world that so highly value their duty to serve the public. While journalism can sometimes be a thankless job, there are people who dedicate themselves day in and day out, not for recognition but because they believe in the fundamentals that journalism represents. They believe that the public has the right to be informed in an accurate, dependable and professional fashion.

While I am new to the world of journalism, I like to think that through my time working with the Citizen I have begun to embody these ideals as well. Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find work as newspapers sink and hiring freezes. For this reason I have been considering eventually getting a degree in teaching to ensure that I will have an income once I graduate. However, I don’t think I could ever turn my back on journalism. There is too much I would miss: The fascinating people, the fast pace, the exhilaration of creating and the accomplishment of a job well done. Then there is the overwhelming excitement of deadlines, including buckets of coffee, lack of sleep and the night terrors of thinking you’ve missed one. It’s a journo’s life for me. If that doesn’t pan out I could always go back to writing children’s novels.

Having the opportunity to work with the staff of the Tucson Citizen has opened my eyes to all of these things, both the exhilaration and the night terrors. While I did not get to know all of the staff as well as I would have liked, simply seeing their dedication has showed me what selfless and devoted people journalists are. I am so thankful to every one of you for that and wish you all the very best. Here’s to you, ol’ Tucson Citizen.

Fast-paced Calle Debauche drives you to move, but curves slam brakes on dancing

Local instrumental band Calle Debauche – listing such influences as Frank Zappa, ’70s avant-garde rock and eastern European folk – plays music that is impossible to squeeze into any one genre. It’s also impossible to dance to.

“You want to dance, but you can’t,” says guitarist Mohadev. “Sometimes, people dance because it has danceable elements, but then it’s constantly changing. As soon as you start dancing we’ll go into a noise thing where it’s unclear how to dance.”

“But if somebody is up for the challenge . . . ,” marimba player Chris Halvorsen dares.

Calle Debauche was formed in 2006 as a guitar, bass and drum trio but has since replaced bass with tuba, saxophone and marimba. Mixing horns with rock influences, Mohadev found tuba player Dave LeGendre and sax player Guillem Sarle through their listings on craigslist. LeGendre was looking to play in a small classical band while Sarle was trying to start a funk band of his own. Instead, they both wound up contributing to the eclectic stylings of Calle Debauche.

Mixing horns with rock influences, Calle Debauche – translated as “street debauchery” or “debauchery street” – sounds a bit like an orchestra gone wild.

“We combine a lot of elements that the connection between them is not very obvious,” Mohadev says. “A lot of the stuff we play is really heavy, and I’ve never heard a band playing heavy music with a tuba instead of a bass player or with a marimba player.”

Based on the types of music each musician in the band prefers, this eclectic result is no surprise. According to Mohadev, drummer Fred Malter listens to Latin jazz, tuba player LeGendre prefers metal, Sarle favors funk while Halvorsen jams to folk music and ’70s rock. As for Mohadev, his eclectic tastes include Bulgarian wedding music, death metal and post punk among countless others.

Calle Debauche fuses this elaborate combination into one big genre-bending medley.

“A lot of our music is instrumentation and the blending of different styles in a very seamless way instead of just genre-hopping,” he says. “We combine different styles into the same songs or the same compositions.”

Calle creates these intricate songs using a composing program called Mozart. The program allows the musicians to write arrangements and then play the result back on their computer.

“It sounds like video game music,” Mohadev says.

From there, the musicians print sheet music and pass it to the rest of the band to learn how to play the songs.

“We don’t really know exactly what it’s going to sound like until we start playing it and interpreting what’s been written,” Mohadev says. “We make a lot of stylistic decisions on how to play the parts.”

May 21, Calle Debauche will have a party at Plush to celebrate the release of its first CD. The self-titled disc is a vast departure from the band’s 2007 EP “Potemkin Carnival,” Mohadev says.

“The EP was all over the place. Each song was in a different style,” Mohadev says. “The new one is a lot more focused.”

While audiences at the CD release party may have difficult time dancing to the music, they probably will never be bored, Halvorsen says.

“We try to keep the intensity up so the show is pretty fast paced. Just song after song, we jump from one to another.”

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IF YOU GO

What: Calle Debauche CD release party with Flagrante Delicto and Chris Black

When: 9 p.m. May 21

Where: Plush, 240 E. Sixth St.

Price: $5

Info: 798-1298, www.plushtucson.com

It’s Friday at the Pima Community College digital arts department. Post production is down to the wire. Technically, films should be finished today.

One student sits in front of a computer, modifying sound for the film “Todas Almas” while director Jesse Powell watches over his shoulder. As the film begins to play on the screen the sound man clarifies there is still work to be done.

“Just keep in mind the audio’s not done on it,” he says.

Powell jokingly shouts at him.

“You got 20 minutes, 15!” Then with an air of resignation, he says, “We’re coming in on Sunday.”

Over the weekend Powell, as well as Grant Hunker, the director of “Estaban’s Ride,” will put the final touches on their films, preparing for Pima’s screening this Saturday and Sunday. The screening is the culmination of a semester’s work for Pima’s digital arts students. About 30 short films will be showcased alongside the features “Estaban’s Ride” and “Todas Almas.”

“Estaban’s Ride” follows the struggle of a son coming to terms with his father, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. In “Todas Almas,” a woman is reunited with her dead husband through an All Soul’s Day tradition of writing letters to the dead. While the films’ plots are very different, they share a common thread.

“They are (companion films) in the sense that they encapsulate different feelings of the Southwest,” Powell says. “We brought the culture that we experience here in Tucson and southern Arizona and put those feelings into the films.”

Both films are collaborative works of the 2008-09 Pima digital arts program. At the beginning of the school year, the scripts for “Estaban’s Ride” and “Todas Almas” were presented to students and they were allowed to apply for positions on the production team.

“They gave us two scripts that were workable, within our means of making a film and set the task for us to take over,” Powell says. “We were basically given a script. Then they said, ‘Go for it!’ ”

Both Hunker and Powell were eager to have the opportunity to direct their respective films.

“Estaban’s (story) I knew right away,” Hunker says. “When I grew up my grandfather had Alzheimer’s. It’s sad to lose that connection with someone you love. You’re not sure what’s going on with that person, and it’s hard to imagine what they’re going through.”

For Powell, it was a love of tradition that connected him to “Todas Almas.”

“I grew up in between Arizona and Mexico so I have ties to that culture,” he says. “I felt that I could communicate the ideas of the (All Souls Day) holiday through this film.”

After filling out applications and essays, Hunker and Powell were chosen as the directors of the films.

Together with the rest of the students, the directors spent the first semester focusing on aspects of pre-production such as casting and shooting. In the fall, their focus shifted to post-production aspects of film such as editing and cutting. Students from the entire department participated according to their area of interest or specialty.

“The whole department is intertwined in this production and that’s what’s really cool,” Powell says. “You’re working with your friends. You know what to expect from people. It turns into a family with this program.”

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IF YOU GO

What: Pima Community College Digital Video and Film Arts Screening

When: 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Where: PCC Center for the Arts Proscenium Theatre, West Campus, 2202 W. Anklam Road

Price: free

Info: www.pima.edu

A little over a year ago Amanda Shauger, host of KXCI-FM’s “30 minutes,” was covering Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s meeting with the Ladies Auxiliary organization at the Sheraton Hotel in Tucson.

After Arpaio finished addressing the media and went inside, Shauger says she was approached by local law enforcement and told in a “firm” and “disconcerting” manner that she needed to leave the property immediately.

“It was kind of frightening,” Shauger says.

It wasn’t until she noticed a member of Pan Left Productions with a video camera documenting the incident that Shauger’s mind was put at ease.

“I felt safe,” she says. “I just thought, ‘Wow, I would always like Pan Left to be in the community, documenting as many situations like that as possible. What can I do to help?’ ”

A couple of weeks later Shauger was an active member of Pan Left Productions, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this month.

The company is a local nonprofit film collective dedicated to creating movies about social issues as well as assisting and promoting liberal film makers and artists. The organization was started in 1994 by Jeff Imig and Lisa Wise, two University of Arizona film students who were looking to make a difference in their community.

“Lisa Wise and I decided we wanted to do something with the skills we were learning that could actually help people and help various organizations we were involved in. The result of that was Pan Left,” Imig says.

Fifteen years later, the collective both creates documentaries and offers guidance and equipment to the public for a small fee or in exchange for work time within the studio. The group also organizes various media classes at local school and libraries.

“We strive to put the tools of production in the hands of people that are often disenfranchised from mainstream media,” Imig says. “We provide both equipment and a system of support for media producers to produce work that has a message or in some way challenges the status quo.”

One of the many filmmakers who got their start through Pan Left is Daniela P. Ontiveros. In 2001, Ontiveros approached Pan Left and proposed a documentary about her hometown of Cananea, Mexico. The small mining town was on the verge of financial ruin when the mine was at risk of closing.

“This was a documentary that would not only teach me a lot about my roots, but hopefully let other people in the world see the impact of globalization in small mining towns,” Ontiveros says.

Pan Left not only allowed Ontiveros to use its equipment but it also helped her acquire a small grant to fund her project. The undertaking would have been too overwhelming without the help of Pan Left, she says. After she completed the documentary, Ontiveros continued to volunteer with Pan Left and has been a member of the collective for nine years.

Over the past 15 years, Pan Left has produced about 30 to 40 documentaries and has assisted filmmakers who otherwise would not have had the opportunity to create movies.

“We believe that everybody has a voice but that it is not always equally represented in the media. So our importance is to give representation to voices that don’t often get heard and stories that you wont see in the mainstream,” says Mary Charlotte Thurtle, executive director of Pan Left.

To celebrate its “quinceañera,” Pan Left has had ongoing events over the past few weeks. The group on Friday will host an art show and auction at Dinnerware Gallery, and Saturday local music icon Calexico will play a benefit show for Pan Left at the Rialto Theatre.

“Many of us have known a number of the folks in Calexico for a long time,” Imig says. “They’re one of the great bands right now and it’s a real joy to have them in Tucson. They’ve always been supportive of us letting some of our folks use their music.”

While Imig says that it has sometimes been a struggle to keep the lights on over the past 15 years, he is confident that as long as people have stories to tell and the ambition to tell them, Pan Left will continue to serve the community for many years to come.

Imig says “(15 years) is a testament to the dedication of dozens of filmmakers that have come through here and donated their time and sweat to making videos that they hope will tell important stories, maybe change the world, maybe just change the way some people view the world. It’s hard work, but it’s always been rewarding.”

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IF YOU GO

What: Represent! Our Collective Body Art Show and Auction

When: 6 p.m. Friday

Where: Dinnerware Artspace, 264 E. Congress St.

Price: admission is free

Info: 792-9171, www.panleft.org

What: Pan Left benefit concert featuring Calexico and Sergio Mendoza y La Orkesta

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Where: Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St.

Price: $20-$26

Info: 740-1000, www.rialtotheatre.com

The Last Smash Platinum Bash should have been called the Last Smash Platinum Mishmash instead, with a mix of genres in the lineup: rapper Jay-Z, pop princess Kelly Clarkson, ’90s alt-rockers Third Eye Blind, and Australian techno-pop twin sisters The Veronicas.

The resurgent Third Eye Blind – made up Tony Fredianelli (guitar), Stephan Jenkins (lead guitar, vocals) and Brad Hargreaves (drums) – is happy to be part of the music gumbo that will be served Wednesday at Arizona Stadium. In an e-mail interview, Fredianelli discusses constellations, demographics and stadium shows.

Question: How has your music changed over the years, or more specifically how is “Ursa Major” different than your previous albums?

Answer: I think the production on this new record is much more cohesive than the last two records. We have a new studio and the songs tend to really fly out of the speakers. The tones are organic – and loud.

How does the name Ursa Major relate to the new album?

“Ursa Major” is a title my singer Stephan came up with. Ursa Major is also known as the big dipper or the constellation of the great bear. He thinks our band is like a bear that’s been hibernating and is ready to rock.

With all of the recognition that you’ve had in the past, do you ever find yourself trying to reproduce the same kinds of songs that brought you your initial success?

To try and attempt writing a song by trying to recapture some other real moment would wind up being false by its attempt to re-create. If you’re at that point, you aren’t a songwriter in this band. Each song is unique and comes from a true authentic naked place.

It seemed as though the the band took a bit of a hiatus from recording and touring. What happened?

As far as releasing music, that is true. But we have never stopped touring. My singer Stephan had a tough time finding the lyrics. He is really hard on himself and it’s taken quite a while. It (the new music) will be worth the wait.”

Have you found your current demographic is the same fans you had in the late ’90s, or are you attracting a new generation?

The weirdest thing is our fanbase started and has remained 16-24. College students have always been the general makeup.

Have you performed a lot of college shows like your upcoming concert at the University of Arizona?

We have played hundreds of college shows and were the most requested band to play colleges, even more so than some of the newer well-known acts.

What are the advantages and drawbacks of performing big stadium shows?

The sound is always an issue because it tends to bounce around everywhere, so your monitoring becomes crucial. It’s nice to have the energy exchange of a large group of people, but the smaller, intimate shows are more to my liking.

At UA, you guys will be performing with Jay-Z and Kelly Clarkson. What are the positives and negatives of playing with artists outside of your genre?

The positive of playing with peeps outside your genre is you are exposed to different ebbs and flows of other types of music/art. The negative could be that the fans are so varied at the show, there may be uneven exchanges in the crowd of love/anger.

Can audiences expect to hear any of your classic hits or are you strictly playing your new material?

It’s really a blend of both old and new.

Have you played in Tucson before? Do you remember anything specific about Tucson?

I think so. It’s dry and hot, from what I remember.

What are your plans for the future?

Promoting Third Eye Blind and my side projects, Mindfield and Diablo Joe.

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IF YOU GO

What: Last Smash Platinum Bash featuring Jay-Z, Kelly Clarkson, Third-Eye Blind, and The Veronicas

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday; doors open at 5

Where: Arizona Stadium on the University of Arizona campus

Price: $26-$200

Info: asuaspecialevents.com

Also playing KFMA Day are long-time rockers Ph8.

The band, a frequent act on local and regional stages for the last 10 years and an opener for national acts such as Linkin Park and Disturbed, has decided to call it quits but not before giving fans one last performance.

“We thought maybe we could make it in the music business and make a living but after 10 years we couldn’t do that, so everybody is pursuing careers and doing other stuff,” says vocalist, Marcus Davis, who is now a turbine-engine mechanic. “This might be the last time people see us for a while.”

The decision to pull the plug came as the members found it increasingly difficult to dedicate time to the band and manage their day-to-day lives, Davis says.

“You get wrapped up in growing up and buying a house. You don’t have as much time and that’s kinda where we’re at right now,” he says.

Ph8 officially separated about a year ago, but it could not pass up the opportunity to play with one of the bands that has always influenced its music.

“We’ve never had a chance to play with Korn. We’re big fans of theirs, so it was a killer opportunity for us to open for somebody like that, that we’ve held in such high esteem over the years. We were like, ‘hell, yeah!’ ”

Ph8 does not expect to play any other shows, but Davis still enjoys getting together with his bandmates for jam sessions.

“We had such good times together; it’s been like a party,” Davis says. “We’ve had such a fun time; it has been a great experience. I love the guys I’m in the band with. We’re all still the best of friends.”

Local rock band The Kindled is beginning to progress from a slow burn to a full-fledged fire.

The 8-year-old band was recently picked to be one of the performers at Saturday’s KFMA Day,its biggest show to date.

“It’s an adrenaline rush, a good rush,” vocalist-guitarist Ian Browning says. “It’s not like I’m nervous. It’s like I’m crazy excited.”

The Kindled, originally, A Kindled Apparition, was started by Browning, Corey MacGormen and Chad Arnold in middle school. The trio, Browning says, simply had nothing better to do but play ding-dong ditch or start a band.

“We were just bored kids over the summer trying to play some instruments,” he says. “We just taught ourselves.”

Little did they know that eight years later they would be recording in the same studio as many of their favorite artists. In 2003, the band added guitarist David Gullman and the lineup hasn’t changed since. The band members, all graduates of Ironwood Ridge High School, recently recorded their album, “Restore” at Blasting Room Studios in Fort Collins, Colo., a studio created by members of the band Descendents and used by a variety of artists whose sounds and styles have touched The Kindled.

“You walk in and there’s a hallway and on the right side and it’s all the CDs they’ve done,” drummer and songwriter MacGormen says. “We saw Rise Against, The Casualties, we saw all of these bands that we were totally influenced by.”

“Recording at the Blasting Room was the coolest thing we’ve ever done,” Browning says. “It was so cool to be at a place where all our favorite CDs have been recorded.”

After the recording, The Kindled, which plays punk-progressive rock , opened a show for Authority Zero and Strung Out. During the concert the band passed out demo CDs. By coincidence, one of them landed in the hands of KFMA’s “Creepy Pete.”

“It was completely random how he got it,” Browning says. “One of us handed him the demo somehow because we were the only ones handing them out.”

“Yeah, or somebody dropped it on the ground,” MacGormen interjects, laughing.

Next thing the band members new, they were on the phone with KFMA’s Matt Spry discussing playing KFMA Day. Again, it seems The Kindled is getting close to another band that has greatly affected it music because Korn is the headlining act.

“Korn was kind of my starting point as a musician,” MacGormen says. “I probably wouldn’t be playing if it wasn’t for them. All in all, the bands are pretty sweet this year.”

KFMA Day is just a warm-up for The Kindled. The band has 12 instrumental tracks prepared for a CD that are awaiting lyrics and members hope to hit the road soon and begin touring.

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IF YOU GO

What: The Kindled at KFMA Day, also featuring Korn, Hollywood Undead, Escape the Fate, Anberlin, Red, ph8

When: 1 p.m. Saturday

Where: Tucson Electric Park, 2500 E. Ajo Way

Price: Tickers are $35 and are available at Catalina Mart locations or online

Info: 407-4500, www.kfma.com

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RELATED STORY

Ph8 will use concert to say goodbye

Tucson band calls its work ‘cartoon music’

Erik Ketchup, bassist and vocalist of local band Flagrante Delicto, hunches over the Club Congress bar, nursing his hangover with a Bloody Mary.

A fedora of sorts sits back on his head and his stretched ear lobes are plugged with eternally preserved beetles encased in glass. The rest of his wardrobe is drab and torn except for his immaculately clean neon green converse kicks.

After discussing various mustache waxes, drummer Aharon Wonky arrives and we move outside where the two can chain-smoke their hand-rolled cigarettes. Perhaps the only thing stranger than Ketchup himself is his music.

“Man, I’ve tried to be a singer-songwriter for years and every time I try to write a song, it’s like cartoon music,” he says with a hint of self-loathing. “I should call Warner Bros.”

After a pause he lifts the sleeve of his shirt to reveal an upside-down Warner Bros. trademark tattooed on his arm. On the other arm a crude tattoo of the devil fornicating with a woman peaks out from under his sleeve.

After being in a number of bands that Ketchup describes as “terrible,” in 2006 he started Flagrante Delicto, which is playing in this year’s Spring Club Crawl on Saturday. The group takes the stage at 1 a.m. at Club Congress, one of the 30 venues featuring 80 bands in the biannual club-hopping extravaganza.

Ketchup discovered the name for the band while watching divorce court. In legal terms it means, “to be caught in the act,” but the direct Latin translation is “while the crime is blazing,” he says.

“We’re writing from a different place. I feel like we’re infiltrating the music scene and it’s like a crime.”

While a variety of different local musicians play with Flagrante and record on their albums, the only official members of the band at this point are Ketchup and Wonky.

The duo met during a show that Flagrante was performing at Vaudeville before Wonky had become a member. Wonky, who worked sound for the venue at the time, was blown away after hearing Flagrante play.

“I’ve heard and mixed just about every local band and when I heard Flagrante they were the only band that I was like, “I want to drum for these guys. ‘ ”

Over the next few months Wonky continued to voice his interest in playing with the band but Ketchup dismissed him as just a fan. It wasn’t until a mutual friend brought Wonky and Ketchup closer that Ketchup would seriously consider Wonky for the part.

“I was like, ‘Yeah whatever, dude. You work at Vaudeville.’ Then we started hanging out because we found out we were sleeping with the same girl and I was finally like, “OK, I’m going to give this guy a chance.’ ”

Ketchup gave Wonky a copy of his CD and a week later Wonky returned, having memorized every drum part on the album just from listening to it. He was in.

Together, Wonky and Ketchup goof around like schoolboys, constantly cracking jokes and laughing with each other. It is this same playful and ridiculous camaraderie that shines through in Flagrante’s music.

The songs are comprised of a cacophony of various instruments including horns, keyboards and even marimbas with occasional vocals, all emulating the absurd nature of Wonky and Ketchup. The style of the music ranges from experimental to circus to dance rock and beyond. Perhaps the most surprising element of Flagrante is how genuine and thoughtful the members are about their seemingly erratic music.

“You can’t limit yourself when you’re writing music,” Ketchup says. “It’s just what comes out of you, and that’s what’s inside of my mind – it’s this cartoon music.”

Part of this “cartoon music” style came from a desire to buck against the confines of what Ketchup and Wonky call “the Tucson genre.” They preferred to create their own niche in Tucson music rather than follow in the footsteps of other local bands, Ketchup says.

“I was really tired of the name for the Tucson music genre being like desert-rock-alt-country-desert, so I just got angry and started writing love songs about coulrophilia (a term referring to sexual attraction to clowns) and clown sex.”

While Flagrante’s music may not be accessible to everyone and is probably a long way from getting them signed with a major record label, Wonky and Ketchup are simply concerned with making music exactly how they want – regardless of what others think.

“Now is the time for the independent musician,” Ketchup says. “Major labels are dying and it’s kind of a beautiful thing.”

This transformation is giving musicians freedom from trying to meet the demands of major record labels, Wonky adds.

“It puts way more creative control and power into the artist’s hands. You can build a fanbase online and people can get your stuff instantly. You can reach the world,” he says.

Flagrante played Club Crawl in 2007 and Wonky and Ketchup consider the event one of the best opportunities for local musicians to spread their music.

“It’s really fun to play for drunk people who live on the East Side that you’re never going to see again,” Ketchup says. “Usually when we play a show we have a pretty good turnout, but I can name almost everyone in the room. So it’s really nice to play at either a festival or Club Crawl.”

The band also will pass out free copies of their most recent CD, “Piss and Ink,” during the show. Their follow-up, which will incorporate even more instruments to create a wacky orchestra of sorts, is scheduled to be released by January.

Unlike other musicians, Wonky and Ketchup have no illusions about their careers and plan to continue living the dream of music and poverty.

“I’m very happy where I’m at right now,” Wonky says. “I’m not going to say what every band says: ‘Oh, we’d just like to make a living off playing music,’ because there are bands we love that all have day jobs.”

Ketchup shares his partner’s sentiments.

“If you really want something to happen for you it will. But it involves a lot more than that phrase,” he says. “I do what I love. Even though I might not have a meal today, as long as I get to play music. I might be in my 60s, homeless in the street, telling some kid about the time that I was in a band and did exactly what I wanted to do with my life.”

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IF YOU GO

What: Spring Club Crawl

When: various times Saturday

Where: various venues downtown and along North Fourth Avenue

Price: $8 wristbands in advance (wristbands can be bought at both Zia Records locations.) $10 on the night of the event.

Info: 622-8848, www.hotelcongress.com

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SPRING CLUB CRAWL SCHEDULE

*schedule subject to change*

Go to clubcrawl.net for updated schedules and maps.

BUD LIGHT MUSIC STAGE

(Fifth Avenue and Broadway)

8 p.m. – Black Tuesday

9 – Grams & Krieger

10 – Mr. Boogie Woogie

11 – Crosscut Saw

midnight – Whole Lotta Zep

KRQ STAGE

(North of Toole, east of the former Greyhound station)

8 – Triple Double

9 – The Hounds

10 – Hipster Daddy-o

11 – Cosmic Slop

midnight – Spirit Familia

ZIA / MOUNTAIN STAGE (Fifth Avenue and Congress Street)

8 – Mozart’s Sister

9 – The Runaway Five

10 – Sunday Afternoon

11 – Skitn

midnight – Rootz Underground

TEJANO/LA PRECIOSA STAGE (Congress Street and Sixth Avenue)

8 – Nudoz

9 – Nudoz

10 – Ritmo Tejano

11 – 4th Nivel

midnight – 4th Nivel

RIALTO (318 E. Congress St.)

8 – Andrew Collberg

8:45 – Lonna Kelly

10 – M. Ward

midnight – The Jons

CLUB CONGRESS (311 E. Congress St.)

9 – Young Mothers

10 – R. Cougar

11 – Blind Divine

midnight – Static Session

1 a.m. – Flagrante Delicto

CONGRESS OUTDOOR STAGE (311 E. Congress St.)

8 – The Low Ones

9 – Crossing Sarnoff

10 – Haley Jane

11 – Lydian and the Amphybians

midnight – Mostly Bears

MAYNARDS (400 N. Toole Ave.)

9-11 – Batucaxé

THE DISTRICT (260 E. Congress St.)

8:30 – Al Perry

9:30 – Tracy Shedd

10:30 – La Cerca

11:30 – Naim Amor

12:30 a.m. – Al Foul

SPORTS ON CONGRESS (254 E. Congress St.)

9 – Test 1

9:45 – Black 1

10:30 – Shaun Harris with DJ Tarzan

11:15 – Big Meridox with DJ Bonus

midnight – Get Loose with DJs Bonus and Hometown Herm

VAUDEVILLE (110 E. Congress St.)

Church of Rock Revelations

Hosted by Rev. Larry

9 – Lovemound

10 – Thunderosa

11 – Great American Tragedy

midnight – Hellrancho

1 a.m. – Split Hoof

O’MALLEYS (247 N. Fourth Ave.)

8 – Standby Red 5

9 – Ethos

10 – Fracture The Times

11 – Augustine

midnight – Four, Five Six

THE HUT (305 N. Fourth Ave.)

8:30 – Katastro

9:30 – RAC

10:30 – Rasta Sauce

11:30 – Hecker

12:30 a.m. – Another Day

THE HUT OUTDOOR STAGE (305 N. Fourth Ave.)

8 – Geoffrey J.

9 – Dirty Me

10 – Cadillac Mountain

11 – The El Camino Royales

midnight – Uprooted

SHARKS (256 E. Fourth Ave.)

8:30 – Gaza Strip

9:45 – Los Nawdy Dawgs

11 – Avenida 6

midnight – DJ Chucky Chingon

RED ROOM AT THE GRILL

(100 E. Congress St.)

10 – Cassette Culture

11 – Gamma Like Very Ultra

midnight – Gabriel Sullivan

MARTIN’S (557 N. Fourth Ave.)

7-9 – Salvador Duran

CAFÉ PASSE (415 N. Fourth Ave.)

7 – TerraFormation

8 – Duo Sonido

WINSETT PARK (Fourth Avenue between Sixth and Ninth streets)

7-9 – Desert Bluegrass Association

DELECTABLES (533 N. Fourth Ave.)

7-10 – Nowhere Man and a

Whiskey Girl

CHOCOLATE IGUANA (500 N. Fourth Ave.)

7-9 – Stefan George

MAGPIES (605 N. Fourth Ave.)

7-9 – Phil Borzillo

ENOTECA (58 W. Congress St.)

6-9 – Lamont Arthur

CUSHING STREET BAR (1988 W. Cushing St.)

7-10 -Jeff Lewis & Friends

CASA VICENTE

(375 S. Stone Ave.)

7-9 – Sentido

SHOT IN THE DARK CAFE

(121 E. Broadway)

7:30 – Mark Bockel

8:30 – Special guest

9:30 – Pat Rickert

Plus more music on these stages:

Twelve Tribes (345 N. Fifth Ave.)

Kelly’s Market (51 N. Sixth Ave.)

Burger City (47 N. Sixth Ave.)

Local funky-reggae-jazz band Triple Double get their name from a basketball term referring to an exceptionally versatile player who has double digits in three different stats. It is with this same versatility that Triple Double slam dunks on their new album, “Dot My Eighths.”

“Playing one specific type of music would get boring,” bassist Preston Winter says. “So if we can mix it up, do a little bit of this with a little bit of that, it’s never going to get boring. It’s fresh and exciting every time.”

Triple Double is so dedicated to this genre ambiguity that when asked what they would consider their predominant style, they respond with a well-rehearsed phrase that the members can recite from memory. Well, all of the members except the band’s new rookie player, Alex Sandweiss.

“It’s a funky reggae,” begins piano player Sandweiss, but he is quickly cut off by drummer Tom Cracovaner.

“No, it’s a soul-soothing funky, reggae, blues party! ” Cracovaner clarifies.

“I keep forgetting the ‘soul-soothing!’ ” Sandweiss says dejectedly as he mouths the phrase under his breath.

Triple Double was started in 2003 by brothers Jimi Cracovaner (guitar) and Tom Cracovaner (drums.) Together with Preston Winter on bass the band produced two albums.

About a year ago Sandweiss joined the team’s roster and the band began work on their new album, “Dot my Eighths.” The CD, the group says, is their best and most versatile, with much of the credit going to the addition of Sandweiss and his piano.

“We’re doing a lot more harmonies on the vocals and we have a piano now,” Tom Cracovaner says. “(Sandweiss) has been a driving force behind the music with us.”

“(Sandweiss) has been an integral part of this album,” Jimi Cracovaner adds.

One song where Sandweiss’ piano influence is especially evident is “Harmony Love Affair.” As the name suggests, the song showcases the band’s harmony and vocal range that are sometimes lost in the bands faster and louder songs. With just the piano driving much of the song, the vocals come across crystal clear.

The band will perform this song and other material from “Dot My Eighths” at a CD release party May 1 at Plush. Audience members will receive a free copy of the disc and get to see the group in action.

“The most unique thing about our band is our live performance,” Jimi Cracovaner says. “We try to not just create the music but an entire experience. We really bring a lot of joy and happiness to our shows. It’s passionate. We’re just all very passionate. We dance, we try get the audience involved and send people home with a smile.”

As for the future, Triple Double plan to launch a regional tour to promote the new album. They also hope to continue their evolution as musicians.

“I can’t tell you exactly where our music will go but that’s half the fun,” Jimi Cracovaner says. “It’s kinda like life – you don’t really know where it’s going to go and you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

The band also plans to get a little practice off the stage and on the basketball court. Triple Double claims that they are not only versatile musicians but also damn good basketball players.

“I think we would like to take on any local band in pickup basketball,” Sandweiss says.

“Open challenge, bring it,” taunts Winter.

“Direct them to our MySpace page,” adds Jimi Cracovaner. “We’ll set up a game.”

Speedy pigs compete for ice cream at county fair

The 90-foot horseshoe racetrack is laid out ahead. On one end, the starting gates are being loaded; on the other, soft-serve ice cream with Oreo cookies awaits the victor. The starting gates rattle as the athletic animals become anxious. Similarly, the tension builds in the crowd. Suddenly, the gates fly open and they’re off!

Screaming Yellow Oinker, Go-Go Green, Pork-Belly Blue and Speedracer Red tear around the track as spectators scream for their champions.

“The racing pigs is an event that just about any age group will enjoy watching,” says Launa Rabago, marketing director of the Pima County Fair, which kicks off April 16. “(Audiences) think it’s funny and entertaining. I haven’t ever recognized that pigs appeal to any certain age demographic, so we consider it an event for everybody regardless of age.”

“Cook’s Racing Pigs” at the Pima County Fair is just like any other day at the races, the pig races that is. Before each race, audience members pick a color, yellow, green, blue or red. These correspond to one of the pigs in the race. Once the race is finished, everyone who picked the color of the winning pig is awarded a blue ribbon – that proudly declares, “My Pig Won!” – and entered in a drawing for hats and shirts.

“It’s a memory that we’re able to create for the spectators at the Pima County Fair,” says Charles Cook, owner of the pig racing company. “Some folks have never won a blue ribbon before.”

Cook, 48, raised pigs as a child and teenager in the agriculture organizations 4-H and FFA. At the age of 26, Cook, whose mother owned an ice-cream shop, was asked by a representative from the California State Fair if it would be possible to train pigs to race. As it turned out, all it took was cookies and cream.

“They are very motivated by the dessert,” Cook says. “Whoever gets there first gets more, so that’s their incentive to outrun the others. They actually change positions and you can see that they’re trying hard to get there first.”

Cook’s racing pigs are different from other porkers seen around the fair, he says. Rather than being meaty and muscular, the wild breed pigs he purchases are smaller and thinner. This ensures they can fit in the starting gates for as long as possible.

Cook buys the pigs once they are weaned from their mothers – and the training begins.

“In the first day of training they walk around the track until they realize they have that reward at the finish line,” Cook says. “Then the second day, they jog. And the third day, they run.”

Once the pigs have become seasoned competitors, they tour the country, competing with one another for that grand prize of ice cream and cookies. Each pig’s career lasts about one year or, “as long as they can fit in the starting gate,” Cook says.

As is the case with any athlete, there comes a day when the pigs realize they just aren’t what they used to be. Once the racers have passed their prime, they are retired and sold to anyone wanting a legendary racing pig. Cook generally buys only female pigs and tries to sell them to breeders to create the next generation of competitors.

As far as his own retirement, Cook says he and his family still have a lot of races left in them.

“We’ll be doing this until we’re physically too old to travel down the road and our new 9-month-old son will take over the business in the future.”

———

IF YOU GO

What: Pima County Fair

When: April 16-26. Main Gate opens at noon on weekdays and 10 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Closing time is from 11:30-12:30 p.m.

Where: Pima County Fairgrounds, 11300 S. Houghton Road

Price: $7 general, $2 for 6-10 years old, $5 for parking

Info: 762-FAIR, www.PimaCountyFair.com

What: Cook’s Racing Pigs

When: daily heats at the fair are 1:40, 4:30, 6 and 9 p.m.

———

CONCERTS AT THE FAIR

April 18: Country star Phil Vassar, 7:30 p.m.

April 19: norteño musician Ramon Ayala, 7:30 p.m.

April 20: youth performance troupe Breakdown Tucson, 8 p.m.

April 24: Nat and Alex Wolff of The Naked Brothers Band, 7:30 p.m.

April 25: ’80s rocker and reality TV star Bret Michaels, 8 p.m.

April 26: alt-country band Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers, 5:30 p.m.

Concerts are free with fair admission

A pot of chili simmers in the kitchen of Bruce Weiner’s west Tucson home while laughter rolls from the dining room. An earthy couple in their 20s and two snowbirds in their 60s sit across the table from one another discussing the craziest places they’ve slept.

Joan Felice, 60, once slept on a platform on the back of an RV attached to a garage. She and her husband had never met the younger couple before today, nor had they met the 49-year-old Bruce before they arrived. It was an interest in traveling – specifically couch surfing – that brought the unlikely couples together on this late February evening.

“People who have the couch-surfing spirit are the ones who are interested in meeting other people,” says Joan’s husband, Tom. “I like couch-surfing because you meet people with different ideas. You meet people who have a whole different way of looking at something than you do.”

The two couples contacted Weiner through the Web site www.CouchSurfing.com. They will stay with him for a week while they visit Tucson. Joan and Tom Felice are stopping through Tucson on their way to the warmer climate of Mexico. The younger couple, Meadow Erskine and Dan York, came to Tucson for the gem show. The four of them are among the hundreds that Weiner has hosted during his two years living in Tucson.

CouchSurfing.com is a free Web site that allows members to set up a profile where they can upload photos, list interests, describe the type of people they enjoy, and so on. Once members have created a profile, they can type the name of any city in the world and receive a listing of members who live in that area and who have made their couch, futon, bed, backyard or hardwood floor available for surfers.

In turn, the new members can then make their respective sleeping space available for surfers coming through their city.

CouchSurfing.com was started in 2004 by Casey Fenton as a nonprofit organization to promote cultural exchange and to “create a better world one couch at a time,” says Dan Hoffman, one of the original founders of the organization.

Almost every couch surfer will say that he or she heard about the site from a friend. Those friends apparently have told lots of others as well because the 5-year-old organization exceeded 1 million members March 12, with more than 300 of them living in Tucson.

This landmark stands as a testament to the integrity and quality of the Web site, says Crystal Murphy, a couch surfer herself and one of the organization’s four U.S. global ambassadors in the U.S.

“To this day we are extremely grass roots in our organization and over 70 percent of members say they heard about couch surfing from a friend,” says Murphy, whose couch in Birmingham, Ala., is often occupied by weary wanderers. “The fact that this has traveled word of mouth from the first 15 members to now almost a million is phenomenal,” she said in an interview March 9.

Since a friend told Tom and Joan about couch surfing in 2008 they have now surfed more than 35 times within the U.S. and Canada. They say couch surfing is the only way to travel. That doesn’t mean they didn’t have reservations in the beginning.

“I was actually very skeptical,” Joan says. “I was like, ‘Yeah, right. We’re going to go and someone is going to just say ‘Hi, come on in.’ And they did! And it was amazing!”

Joan says her mind was also put at ease by the wide array of security measures couch surfing has implemented on the site.

Any time someone hosts a member or has been hosted, the participating members exchange “references” documenting the experience they had with the surfer or host. These references are made public for potential surfers and hosts to view.

The Web site also has an optional verification system in which a member can make a $20 credit transaction that allows the site to confirm the name and address of the member. The money is distributed back into the organization.

Tom and Joan now stay with couch surfing hosts for every migration south and hail it as the most successful Web site on the Internet.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Casey Fenton gets a Nobel Prize someday,” Tom says seriously.

However, even with their advocacy, Tom and Joan admit they are not the primary demographic of couch-surfing. In fact, they say the “novelty” of their age gives them an edge when requesting couches.

“I think once in a while people are just bored and they think, ‘Let’s get those old geezers over and see what they’re about,’ ” Joan says.

Tom jumps in on the impersonation.

“Yeah, then I can tell my dad he should get out more,” Tom says to a roar of laughter from Weiner and the younger couple.

Weiner’s other guests, the younger couple at the table, better fit the normal demographic. York is not yet a member but decided to join Erskine on her trip to Tucson. In just his few days of couch surfing York has come to be an avid fan.

“I’ve been a traveler for a while and I’ve always had to resort to tents and campsites, which is cool, but finding out about this is even cooler,” he says. “It’s a great way to meet people and find out about an area rather than just looking through tourist pamphlets.”

Erskine has been a member of CouchSurfing.com since 2007 and has used the site many times. Her greatest couch-surfing memory was a family dinner she had while staying with a host in Toluca, Mexico.

“It was a big dinner and they had different Mexican dishes and different courses and since we didn’t speak a lot of Spanish it was a lot of fun because they were teaching us slang words and things that were less by the book.”

Cultural exchanges like this are the reason couch surfing was created says Murphy, the couch-surfing global ambassador.

“Couch surfing’s biggest mission is to break down social and cultural barriers and to show that there is more to the world than you know,” she explains.

This mission, Murphy says, will endure as long as couch surfing continues. She also says that according to creator Fenton, no matter how many people jump on the couch surfing wave or how popular it becomes, it will still remain a nonprofit.

“Fenton has stated that couch surfing will never be for profit,” Murphy says. “There will never be advertisements on the site and he will never sell couch surfing out.”

CouchSurfing is currently working on being categorized as a nonprofit educational organization in order to receive government grants. The organization also will be launching a parallel site called “CouchSurfing Cares,” which will use couch-surfing hosts to temporarily house refugees displaced by natural disasters.

Such altruistic sentiments and the intercultural connections that couchsurfing promotes are what make the Web site the best site on the Internet and perhaps the greatest organization in the world, according to Tucson’s oldest member of couch surfing, Patricia Edwards, 72.

“If anything is going to promote world peace it’s couch surfing,” Edwards says.

At first listen, The Devil Makes Three could be mistaken for a typical old bluegrass, country band.

Pete Bernhard sings songs of love, loss and whiskey to the twang of his old guitar. Accompanied by Lucia Turino’s thumping standup bass and Cooper McBean’s banjo, the illusion is complete. However, it’s not long before you realize The Devil Makes Three isn’t your grandpappy’s folk band; it is much, much more.

“We’re not a nostalgia act,” Bernhard says. “We sing about topics that are currently relevant. We don’t sing songs about mining, trains or covered wagons.”

The Devil Makes Three will play Plush on Monday as part of Tucson’s West by Southwest festival.

The band was formed six years ago by a group of Sacramento musicians looking to create their own style of modern yet traditional music. By fusing influences such as Johnny Cash, Gary Davis, Django Reinhardt, swing, jazz and folk, The Devil Makes Three has created a sound that is all its own.

“We play as many styles as we can get away with in a string band with no drums,” Bernhard says. “If you take all the music we love and run it through the filter of us as musicians it just comes out sounding that way.”

While the band’s sound is a unique mix of styles and influences, there are still some old-time conventions that the band holds true. One is their style of songwriting. Much like the folk and bluegrass greats of the past, The Devil Makes Three’s songs often tell a story.

“The Bullet” starts out with a fast finger-picked guitar rhythm reminiscent of folk legend Bob Dylan and breaks into Bernhard singing about a 19-year-old boy who stole “everything the eye could see” and “drinking ’til (he) don’t know the meaning of alone.”

“A good song is a good story in my opinion,” Bernhard says. “I’ve always tried to write that kind of song. It’s just what I find most appealing.”

As for the characters, Bernhard says that some are fictional but that he tries to write all songs with at least some degree of personal experience and reality.

Members of The Devil Makes Three say their concerts are as unconventional as their music.

“In a good live show there are no seats and everybody stands. We usually play a rock venue or a big concert hall type place and everybody dances and it’s more like a rock show than folk show,” he says. “We try to play a great upbeat show and just have some fun.”

———

The Devil Makes Three will play Tucson’s West by Southwest festival, when local venues book bands that are passing through the Old Pueblo on their way to the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas. West by Southwest will take place Sunday-Tuesday and then will pick up the next week from March 22-25.

IF YOU GO

What: The Devil Makes Three in concert during the West by Southwest Music Festival

When:10:30 p.m. Monday

Where: Plush, 340 E. Sixth St.

Price: $8

Info: 798-1298, www.plushtucson.com

———

WXSW SCHEDULE

Most of the West by Southwest concerts will be hosted by Club Congress and Plush, with a few bands playing at Solar Culture on March 23. Admission is $8 per night or $15 for all seven nights. For tickets, go to www.ticketweb.com

DAY 1, SUNDAY

PLUSH, 340 E. Sixth St

8:30 p.m. – Telekenisis

9:30 – Say Hi

10:30 – Rafter

11:30 – Viva Voce

DAY 2, MONDAY

CLUB CONGRESS, 311 E. Congress St.

7:30 p.m. – Alela Diane

8:30 – Delta Spirit

9:30 – Elvis Perkins

11 – ’80s Night

PLUSH

9:30 p.m. – Richard Swift

10:30 – Devil Makes Three

11:30 – Jason Lytle of GD

DAY 3, TUESDAY

CLUB CONGRESS

9:30 p.m. – Gliss

10:30 – Blakes

11:30 – Dusty Rhodes and the Dirt Band

PLUSH

9:30 p.m. – Music Video?

10:30 – O+S (GN support)

11:30 – Great Northern

DAY 4, MARCH 22

PLUSH

9 p.m. – Miniature Tigers

10 – St. Helens Vietnam Band

11 – Bishop Allen

DAY 5, MARCH 23

SOLAR CULTURE, 31 E. Toole

8:30 p.m. – The Botticellis

9:30 – Sugar & Gold

10:30 – Bart Davenport

CLUB CONGRESS

7:30 p.m. – Golden Boots

8:30 – Maps & Atlases

9:30 – Spinto Band 11 – ’80s Night

PLUSH

8:30 p.m. – TAT

9:30 – Tera Melos

10:30 – Marnie Stern

11:30 – These Arms Are Snakes

DAY 6, MARCH 24

CLUB CONGRESS

8:30 p.m. – TBA

9:30 – Moog

10:30 – Princeton

11:30 – Sebastien Grainger and The Mountains

PLUSH

8:30 p.m. – McDougall

9:30 – Hillstomp

10:30 – Red Fang

11:30 – Early Man

DAY 7, MARCH 25

CLUB CONGRESS

8:30 p.m. – Mika Miko

9:30 – Aids Wolf

10:30 – Crystal Antlers

11:30 – Monotonix

Hard work pays off. At least it’s beginning to for members of the local indie-rock band Holy Rolling Empire.

After years of playing the Tucson music scene and working as bartenders and construction workers, the blue-collar musicians have signed with Burning House Records and will have a release party for their first full-length album, “Gigantis,” March 6 at Club Congress.

“This album is about overcoming a lot of things that we’ve all had to go through in the last couple of years just to get to the point of writing a full-length,” says Orin Shochat, lead singer and keyboardist. “This album is about the sacrifices of being in a band.”

“Gigantis” is the group’s first album since 2006, when, under the band name The Crowd, the members released an EP. While the EP received favorable recognition within the local community, the group strived to create a full-length record. It was a connection through another Tucson group that would get the wheels of “Gigantis” rolling.

“Our record owner signed (Tucson’s) The American Black Lung and (ABL) said that we were good guys and that we work hard so (the record owner) decided to try us out and everything has been going good since,” bassist Bryan Moran says.

As soon as Holy Rolling Empire signed with Burning House, the members quickly began work on “Gigantis,” which they say is a far cry from their original EP.

“Everything has changed,” Shochat says. “We put so much more time and creative energy into this new album with interludes and outros and different instruments that we used on it. The songs themselves are more structured and mature. The sound itself is just a lot different.”

It doesn’t take long to hear the “difference” in the band’s new songs. “Bipolar Bear Mania,” on HRE’s Myspace page, is a prime example of the polished and intricate music that appears to have been produced with “Gigantis.” The song showcases a perfect blend of Shochat’s smooth vocals mixed seamlessly with the band’s unique and fun style of pop rock. HRE guitarist Ian Carstensen hails the band’s new album as “a total reformation of (the members) as musicians and as people.”

It is this reformation that the band plans to bring to Club Congress for its CD release party. Included in the $10 cover is a copy of the new album – as well as a damn good time, Shochat says.

“(Fans) go to the show to have a good time, so I feel like it’s my personal mission to make sure that everyone is having a good time. If that’s it, if they hated the music but still had a good time, it’s a success.”

Burning House Records helped the band create its new masterpiece and has even taken on some of the more mundane tasks of preparing for shows, guitarist Noah Horton says.

“It’s really interesting for the first time to have our label tell us, ‘You’re going to have a publicist and she’s going to do this for you,’ ” Horton says. “We’re thinking, for the first time, ‘We don’t have to sit down and e-mail these people and try to promote for these shows?’ ”

These added perks don’t mean that the boys of HRE have gotten lazy. Until they build an empire of fame and fortune, these holy rollers still have to keep their day jobs. This leaves a very small margin of time for band practice.

“There are three of us doing construction now who wake up super early in the morning, and two of us who are bartenders who stay up until 4 in the morning,” Horton says.

“So we meet right around 6 to practice,” Moran interjects.

After a brief pause, Horton has a revelation.

” ‘The hardest working band in Tucson.’ That could be your headline.”

———

IF YOU GO

What: Holy Rolling Empire CD release Party, with Mostly Bears, American Black Lung Transfer, The Ottersey

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St.

Price: $10 with CD, $6 without

Info: 622-8848, www.hotelcongress.com

At first glance, a Boys R Us show may seem no different than those of other risqué Tucson performance groups. It’s not until you notice a slight bulge in the underwear of the pretty girl you’ve had your eyes on or discover the fake mustache of the hunky guy who caught your attention. Suddenly, it dawns on you. He might be a she – or vice versa.

“We’re a collective group of gender benders,” says Dante Celeiro, troupe manager and performer. “Some people are gay or straight or bi or transgender or anything in between. Our job is to push that envelope and to entertain. By the end of the show we have you thinking or even questioning, ‘What’s the point of gender?’ ”

Boys R Us started in Tucson in 2002 as a drag king style performance group. It has since broadened its scope to include male and transgender entertainers. The group primarily performs lip-synched variations of songs both to entertain and address topics of gender stereotypes and labels.

The burly, mustachioed Celeiro, who has been on hormone therapy for the past five years, says many of the group’s skits are based on cast members’ personal experiences. For example, The Veronicas song “Untouchable” evokes memories of Catholic grade school for Celeiro, who incorporated the incident into one of the sketches in the upcoming “Kneel Before your King” show. In the sketch, two girls are being reprimanded by a nun because of their attraction to each other.

“I heard the song and it just reminded me of Catholic school girls. It reminded me of being in grade school,” Celeiro says. “I remember going to Catholic school and having my uniform on and seeing girls and just thinking, ‘I like you.’ ”

While Boys R Us’ subject matter is sometimes considered taboo, Celeiro says that oftentimes people simply need to be exposed to things they don’t understand in order for them to accept and even embrace them.

“People see that this (transgender) person is normal,” Celeiro says. “The only thing that’s different from this person is the physical part. What’s in the mind, what’s in the heart, that’s still who I am. That doesn’t change.”

Jessica Rosenbaum, who has been a member for about a year and a half, says that Boys R Us provides an all-inclusive forum to tear down stereotypes and bridge connections between people regardless of their sexual orientation or gender preference. While some people may be skeptical about attending their first gender-bent show, Rosenbaum assures that few are left apprehensive.

“People come in from off the street that would have never ever been caught dead at a Boys R Us show in their lives and they walk away saying it was the best thing that ever happened to them.”

Boys R Us has recently begun to see more people coming in from off the street. The group has noticed a dramatic increase in their audience as a whole as well and in the number of straight couples attending, says Celeiro.

“About half of our audience is straight now,” he says. “At first it was predominantly (homosexual) female based. To see that evolution tells us that we must be doing our jobs.”

Boys R Us’ upcoming show at Club Congress will be no different than the rest. The group will continue to cast light on prevalent topics of gender as well as keep the audience laughing and guessing what will come next. The only thing consistent in a Boys R Us show is that the audience never knows what to expect.

“Is it going to be sexy, is it going to be funny, is it going to be political, is it going to be geeky or is it going to be serious? That’s how we do our shows,” Celeiro says. “It’s like a roller coaster ride.”

———

IF YOU GO

What: “Kneel Before your King” Boys R Us performance (21 and older)

When: 7 p.m. Saturday

Where: Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St.

Price: $7 general, $10 limited seating

Info: 622-8848, www.hotelcongress.com

Few people know that during the ’70s Tucson was a regular stop for many of history’s greatest musicians including James Brown, Little Richard, Ray Charles even Jimi Hendrix.

During this time, T. Richard Smith was the host of the IMPAK soul radio program and a key player of the cultural music scene that once thrived in our sunny city. Now IMPAK is back and the 56-year-old Smith is working to resurrect a small piece of the funk and style that Tucson has lost along the way.

“Back in my day, man, you had to know how to rhyme on time, to get it going down, make somebody’s liver quiver, make their back snap and make them get ready to rhyme with the rhythm. You had to have personality,” Smith says exhibiting no shortage of his disc jockey “personality.”

Smith was exposed to soul and rhythm and blues by his family at a very early age and carried an intense passion for the music as he grew older. At the age of 11, Smith recalls selling newspapers outside of the KTKT-AM radio station in downtown Tucson and deciding that he would someday make a career out of his love for music.

“I remember I was looking through the plexiglass, looking at the disc jockey and I said, “God, I want to do that when I get older,” Smith says. “Then this white guy comes out and he asked me what I was doing. I said, ‘I’m looking at the disc jockey because I want to be like him,’ and he said, ‘Don’t dream that, son, because there are no colored disc jockeys.”

Thirteen years later in 1974, Smith was hosting and producing the IMPAK radio show on KTKT, dedicated to spreading a genre of music that rarely received the airtime it deserved.

“The original explanation of IMPAK was to bring a sound that has impacted music around the world, which is rhythm and blues, soul and funk,” says Smith.

In 1984 management changed at KTKT and IMPAK was disbanded. Twenty-four years later, in 2007, Smith met with KXCI-FM’s rhythm and blues radio host Jason Hastings and the idea of resurrecting the IMPAK radio program came up.

“My show was the only one on the air that was playing any soul or funk,” remembers Hastings. “In terms of diversity of genres represented by the station, I think it is important to have more shows that feature soul and funk music.”

In April of 2008, IMPAK was back on KXCI-FM (93.1) every Saturday night from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday, Smith now plays classic soul music and gospel as well as rhythm and blues artists from around the state. According to Smith, IMPAK is a refreshing departure from the commercialized radio shows of today.

“Now you have radio that is so corporate. They have so many stations that they don’t give a damn about the community where they have the stations,” Smith says. “Mr. T’s flavor is different. I was the original ‘T’ in Tucson on the air. My flavor is different because I’ve lived those rhythm and blues. I’ve lived in a community where basically that’s all there was.”

Although Hastings’ KXCI show, “The Connection,” plays a similar genre of music as Smith’s, he has no problem acknowledging Smith as a local soul legend.

“T. Richard has a personality that’s larger than life. He has a wealth of experience in the industry. He’s been around to actually witness a lot of these acts and a lot of these musicians as they came up and became famous.”

Not only does IMPAK pump a wide array of classic soul tunes but it also gives listeners a glimpse into a time when Tucson was funky and disc jockeys were more than talking heads, Smith says.

“You listen to me, I’m going to take you on a history ride.”

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IF YOU LISTEN

What: IMPAK, a radio show spotlighting classic soul, gospel and R&B music from around the state

When: 11 p.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday

Where: KXCI-FM (91.3)

Info: 623-1000, www.kxci.org