JULY 2016 • VOL 2 • ISSUE #7 • THEDEVILSTRIP.COM 10 Highland Square Porches (and yards) will be Rokn 17 Who was Mr. East Akron? 22 Why people are doing yoga outside the Akron Art Museum FREE AUGUST 2016 • VOL 2 • ISSUE #8 • THEDEVILSTRIP.COM SPECIAL SECTION: PORCH ROKR 19 10 What’s happening and where at PorchRokr 2016 12 Six PorchRokr bands we think you should know 15 Is Akron the poetry capital of 12 E. Exchange Street 2nd Floor the Midwest? Akron, Ohio 44308 10 Publisher: THE ARTS Chris “no carny-handed mango man” Horne Email: [email protected] 18 Intuition plus rusty junk equals Phone: 330-555-GHOSTBUSTERS Akron Tree Project Art Director: Alesa “doesn’t sleep” Upholzer 19 A look inside Kirk Olmstead’s studio Managing Editor: M. Sophie “Has Many Names, Wears Many Hats” Hamad Email: [email protected] 20 Art Bomb Brigade coming to a wall near you Visuals Editor: Svetla “The Balkan Comrade” Morrison Director of Sales & Distribution: 3528 TJ "is in fact a Newsie, hat and all" Masterson Email: [email protected] CULTURE CLUB 26 91.3 The Summit: How does 43 The Editorial Team local radio compete? THE ARTS Lead Editor .......................................Bronlynn “Space Kitty” Thurman 28 BMe leader uses $10,000 award to Asst. Editor ............................Megan “Oxford comma slayer” Combs fund The W.O.M.B. Literary Arts Editor .................Noor "Nervous Poodle Poet" Hindi 31 30 The Trouble with Old People COMMUNITY & CULTURE Lead Editor ...............Katie “Miss Jackson if You’re Nasty” Jackson Asst. Editor ...............Ilenia “Our Short, Tired Garbanzo Bean Eatin', WTF Video Girl Writer” Pezzaniti FOOD & DRINK FOOD & DRINK table of contents Editor ...........................................Lia “Just One More Slice” Pietrolungo 31 Did you even know that Angel Falls has a kitchen? MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT 18 Music ............................................Brittany “Sass Master Flash” Nader 33 Butter Your Nuts moves to Akron Music ....................Clay “Needs a Whimsical Middle Name” Chabola Entertainment ..............Andrew “Has a Mighty Fine Beard” Leask 35 A double dose of The Wanderer 42 Sta Writers, Columnists & The A/V Club: Kristina “Urban Explorer” Aiad-Toss; Emily “Lady Beer Drinker” Anderson; Melanie “newbie for now” Anderson; Rick “Small Business Chronicler” Bohan; Holly “The Wanderer” Brown; MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT Christina “no paddles, fl ow downstream” Dearing; Sam "Buzzkilling Feminist" DePaul; Michelle “The Camera Nerd” DeShon; Emily 42 Beware WHAT? Bewarewolves. “Potty Perfectionist” Dressler and Marissa Marangoni, Bathroom Culture Enthusiast; Brian “Wemlo Twinge” Dunphy; Grace “Always 43 Zep the Bear reviews the Running Away” Ebner; Lois “Beautyscandal” Elswick; Kait "rice cake enthusiast" Erdman; Gabe “Softballin’” Gott; Dan “The Akron Liberal Redneck Knight” Gorman; Paul “I don’t write but I can draw” Ho man; Chris “the Film Freak” Kessinger; Jacob Luther, the Towny Townie 44 Film Freak goes vintage with video Toonist; Hillary "Gets Lost in Her Own World but Reappears if There is Dancing Involved" Martter; TJ “Don’t Call Me Shirley” 33 Masterson; Krissy "Someone make me a real fi sh taco before I go insane" O'Connor; Atticus “Wreckage” Pamer the absolutely real and totally non-fi ctional Georgio Pelogrande; Roger Riddle, Wears Meet Daffodil! She is a social gal who loves everyone she meets. Daffodil the Purple Pants; Amanda "That Crazy Cat Lady" Sedlak-Hevener; Lenny “Where’s Squiggy?” Spengler; Nicole “likes the way Akron enjoys soaking up all of the pets she can get! She loves to roll around in sounds” Stempak; Steve “is not a zombie” Van Auken; Patrick catnip and bat around her toys. Daffodil should do well with children and “Pattycakes” Worden; and The Shane Wynn Supremacy has lived with other cats prior to arriving at Pawsibilities, Humane Society of Greater Akron. Daffodil is hoping to bloom into a forever home soon! ———————— ———————————— PTAB O L Alka is around 5 years old and weighs about 50 pounds. This pretty lady CONTACT US: D E gets along well with most other dogs but needs a home with no cats, and O c e ....................................................................(330) 842-6606 A General Info [email protected] she would do best in a home with older children. Alka already knows sit, Advertising .......................................... [email protected] down, stay and settle on command. She is eager to learn much, much, Dstribution .................................... [email protected] Website ................................................. www.thedevilstrip.com more, and she is doing just that, in our manners course (she is attending Facebook ...................................Facebook.com/thedevilstrip here at the PHSGA). In this class she is focusing on real life training that she Twitter .................................................................@akrondevilstrip Instagram ............................................................... @thedevilstrip P can use in new her home, like kennel up on cue, and how to politely greet ETS someone. Alka loves toys of all kinds but a good old fashion tennis ball is ———————— ———————————— the way to this girls heart. She loves to swim in the summertime and roll around in snow during the winter. Alka would be an amazing running/hiking The Devil Strip is published bi-monthly by Random Family, LLC. Akron partner, she has been taken off site many times by staff and volunteers and Distribution: The Devil Strip is available free of charge, limited to one copy has easily completed 5-6 miles. Sprint on down and meet Alka today! per reader. Copyright: The entire contents of The Devil Strip are copyright 2016 by Random Family, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without PAWSibilities Humane Society of Greater Akron written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Publisher does not assume any liability for unsolicited manuscripts, materials, or other content. Any 7996 Darrow Rd., Twinsburg, OH 44087 | 1.888.588.8436 | 330.487.0333 submission must include a stamped, self-addressed envelope. All editorial, [email protected] | www.summithumane.org | www.facebook.com/summithumane advertising, and business correspondence should be mailed to the address listed above. AUGUST 2016 • VOL 2 • ISSUE #8 / THE Devil Strip | 3 pub notes YOU CAN'T ALWAYS Pub Notes >> GIVE WHAT YOU WANT (But if you try, sometimes you’ll give what you need) early every person I admire in and around never get to spoil my daughter, who wasn’t yet matter of fact. Humble. He did, however, get Akron has been supported, inspired or four months old when he passed. Eventually, animated as he talked about the Summit for befriended by Russ Pry at some point. though, I began to see how my pain was carved Kids at the Knight Center. Still, it was not pride NThis makes the news of the Summit out of a place made by what he’d gifted me. I but enthusiasm, like he was genuinely excited County Executive’s untimely death even more am a better parent, spouse and friend because that he could be part of helping so many painful. Mr. Pry was, by all accounts, as good, of my father. But if I dig, if I try, I can share with children have some fun and load up on school devoted and passionate a public servant as others my dad’s best aspects so those things supplies. He was happy. he was a caring and generous human being. continue to live. It will seem like it’s me, but it’ll Indeed, I have no doubt he was such a good be him. public servant because he was such a great Part of what made him special is that he didn’t human being. We only ever honor people like Russ Pry by carry himself like he thought he was special. becoming more like them and helping others Instead, he preferred, from what I can tell, We could fi ll every single page in this issue with do the same. We grieve, and then we rally. He to see what was special in others. What an tributes from people whose lives were made did so much, he gave so much, the only way excellent way to live. Let’s give that a shot for better by the presence of Russ Pry — and we to keep this community going forward is to do a while, eh? Start small, like with a friend, would still have a waiting list long enough to fi ll more and give more ourselves. The more we and work up to treating a stranger like they’re every single page in every issue the rest of this give — as he gave to so many others — the special, too. Bet you’ll be surprised where that year. And then some, I bet. These testimonies more people we can encourage to follow suit. leads you. About the Cover have fl ooded social media, and as I read them, I wish for something better to say than, “I’m I only crossed paths with him a couple times, Thank you for your dedication, your generosity sorry for your loss.” The phrase just isn’t big but I liked him a lot. We fi rst met because Beth of spirit and your example, Mr. Pry. You will be That time a mysterious enough to fi t. The loss isn’t confi ned to one Boggins at United Way of Summit County missed, but you won’t be far from our thoughts person, not even at a time. These friends, arranged it so I could interview him, as she had or deeds. illustration scared the weeping together, have become — or perhaps earlier done with the late Judy Read, another crap out of me always been — a makeshift family whose local stalwart of compassion and kindness. The — shared bond is both the man they’re mourning whole time we talked, Chris and the principles that guided his life. I kept looking for the A year ago, I solicited local art to adorn the politician. I couldn’t fi nd sides of newspaper racks we would fi rst In the wake of my father’s death, I learned that him.