2 | Erie Reader | eriereader.com June 12, 2013 CONTENT June 12, 2013 Editors-in-Chief: FEATURE CULTURE Brian Graham & Adam Welsh managing Editor: 9 CATV And I Am TV 12 IF WE WERE YOu... Ben Speggen New Programming, Local Stars, and Contributing Editor: Here’s what we would do Cory Vaillancourt Impending Budget Cuts: The Past, Present, Contributors: and Future of Erie's Public Access TV 14 TO-dO LIST Alex Bieler Nappy Roots, "Next to Normal" Brennan Donnelly Pen Ealain NEWS AND NOTES 15 Q&A WITH ALT-J Matthew Flowers 4 THE "SPIRIT OF ERIE" The British Indie Buzz Band Takes a Break Dakota Hoffman From Touring to Answer a Few Important COmES TO LIFE Leslie McAllister Questions Rich McCarty The Perry 200 Commemoration Continues Ryan Smith with this $200,000-plus Production FASHIOn Jay Stevens 7 No More Fast Fashion Rebecca Styn 5 STREET CORnER SOAPBOX Bryan Toy 17 The Street Fashionista Copy Editor: Climate Change and Lake Erie Alex Bieler 6 THE WAY I SEE IT 19 YOu OuGHT TO KnOW designer: Kevin-John Jobczynski Mark Kosobucki EMTA Buses Rerouted, Texting and Driving Burim Loshaj 6 TECH WATCH Cover design: Mark Kosobucki Can Technology Make You Healthier? Photographer: Matt Kleck Jessica Yochim Things improved television. quickly under the guid- Flowers interviews the people Interns: From the Editors ance of the folks at behind these stations, the program- Adam Kelly CATV. The troupe be- ming and creative direction they Ryan Maloney onald Draper. Walter turing the “us” in a community. After hind ERTV were moved to the stu- explore, and the challenges they face. Tom Shannon White. Daenerys Tar- all, how many of us have a dynasty dio, and Speggen posted up behind a While one station’s been a mainstay 32 W. Eighth St. #500 garyen. These are the built around ducks or direct our lives desk and guests enjoyed the comfort in Erie for quite some time, the Erie PA, 16501 characters we welcome solely on visiting the gym, doing of a sofa. We even had special effects. other is still in uncharted waters. [email protected] into our lives in high defintion to laundry, and getting a fake tan? And our musical guest was live in And while one is growing quickly, Denthrall us, to captivate us, to en- So what if the cameras are truly the studio. They played three times the other is now facing significant The Erie Reader is Erie’s only free , tertain us, and to distract us from turned on us? And what if we’re the during that episode, and were still budgetary cuts. independent source for news, culture, and the mundane, the monotony, the ones directing them? What if the relatively new to the Erie music What does this mean for you, for entertainment. The Erie Reader is a forum struggles, and the challenges of our community directed and starred in scene. us, for the story of Erie and its com- for ideas and discussion, and seeks to drive day-to-day endurances that unfold TV? Enter community access televi- That’s as far as ERTV went (for munity? Those are questions Flowers two-way communication with its readers. At before us in real definition. sion -- something the Erie Reader the time being), but what came from explores in this character-driven fea- the Erie Reader, we endeavor to highlight the While a few still swear off televi- isn’t all that unfamiliar with. that is a desire to tell this story. One ture of the Matthew Weiners, Vince best of Erie by providing in-depth, magazine- sion and claim what little bit of Awhile back we toyed with the of the guitarists and singers in that Gilligans, and George R. R. Martins style journalism that cuts to the heart of the hipster cred exists for eschewing the idea of a TV show. You may have live-in-studio band was Matthew of Erie’s public access universe. issues that matter to Erie. The Erie Reader glowing rectangles that light up our even caught us once or twice while Flowers, whose band Falling Hol- You’ll find that, along with a re- is published every other week at The Corry electric hearths, many find reprieve surfing around. Managing Editor lywood graced our cover last year visiting of climate change and Lake Journal, 28 W. South St., Corry, Pa. 16407. The in becoming lost in the storylines of Ben Speggen would interview writ- when they released their debut al- Erie, a look at the rerouting of Erie’s Erie Reader is distributed at over 250 high characters of another time, another ers about what they had contributed bum “Set The Table.” Since then, the buses, a discussion of fair trade and foot-traffic locations in Pennsylvania from North East to Girard to Edinboro. The Erie place, and other worlds. They’re our to an issue currently on stands. It band’s been gaining momentum, de- “fast fashion”, an interview with hot Reader is also available by mail subscription; escape, our entertainment, our con- started small, with Speggen behind veloping followings in surrounding indie band Alt-J, a profile of Erie one year (26 issues) for $49.99. Send check or nection to something other than us. a table and a writer flanking him on cities, and is currently working on its celebrity sports artist Kevin-John money order payable to Flagship Multimedia, But driven by budgets, commer- each side. There was only two angles, second album, less than a year later. Jobczynski, previews of the Erie Inc., to the address below. In addition to cials, and ratings, these stories are far and no one moved around the small- Flowers also showed us he can Playhouse’s “Next to Normal” and appearing in print, Erie Reader adds new from our own. As much as we revel in ish circular table. Then a cutaway write more than catchy, thoughtful, the huge “Spirit of Erie” Pageant, content daily at www.ErieReader.com as losing ourselves in these tales, we’re would happen, and suddenly there and entertaining lyrics and music -- and the upcoming Nappy Roots well social media sites. All rights reserved. not secretive, chauvinistic Madison was a musical guest, first a guy with he can write some damn fine stories show at the crooked i. All content © Flagship Multimedia, Inc, 32 W. Avenue ad men, amoral, cancer-rid- a guitar off to the side of the table, fit for print here in the Reader. And So stay tuned, Erie, as we continue Eighth St., Suite 500, Erie, Pa, 16501. No part dled chemistry teachers turned meth just out of the first camera’s focus, with that, we bring you his first cover to bring you the characters that pop- of this publication may be reproduced without cooks, or gorgeous, dragon-wielding and then second a hard cutaway to story. It focuses on CATV and I Am ulate our city, the issues and events permission. Direct inquiries to 814.314.9364 conquerors of Westeros. a previously recorded bit of a show TV, and captures the past, present, that matter to us all, and the stories or [email protected]. And reality TV falls short of cap- in a local bar. and future of Erie’s public access that would make for some great TV. June 12, 2013 eriereader.com | Erie Reader | 3 The "Spirit of Erie" Comes to Life NEwS The Perry 200 Commemoration Continues with this $200,000-plus Production of the By: Ryan Smith he spirit of nature. WeirD The spirit of dis- By: Chuck Shepherd covery. The spirit of victory. The spirit of resolve. The spirit of community. TheT spirit of the future. he Food and Drug Administration proposed That's the stuff “The Spirit of recently to limit the quantity of tiny "mites" Erie” – a history-making cel- thatT could occupy imported cheese, even though ebration of Erie’s storied pasts, living, crawling mites are a feature desired by its amalgam of presents and its aficionados. ("Cheese is absolutely alive!" pro- panoply of possible futures – is claimed microbiologist Rachel Dutton, who runs made of. the "cheese laboratory" at Harvard University.) And for the Erie Playhouse's In fact, cheese is home to various molds, bacteria creative minds and their all- and yeasts, which give it flavor, and sellers rou- local cast and crew of 200-plus, tinely use blowers to expel excessive critters, but bringing Erie’s spirit to life the FDA now wants to limit them to 6 bugs per means delivering (and, later square inch. However, according to a May report this month, premiering at the on NPR, lovers of some cheeses, especially the Bayfront Convention Center) French Mimolette, object, asserting both an in- the most abounding all-original difference to the sight of mites creeping around theatrical spectacle ever to be -- and a fear of taste-loss (since the mites burrow seen in the Flagship City. into the hunk, aerating it and extending the fla- At $200,000-plus in produc- vor). [NPR, 5-11-2013] tion costs, the multi-media ex- travaganza that is “The Spirit” Ryan Smith imothy Adams, 24, was charged with home is “truly the biggest thing we invasion in May in Gardner, Mass., but only have ever produced – and cer- Dancers Stacey McClure (left) and Jade Burns (center) work on bringing the afterT resident Michael Salame slammed him into tainly the most costly,” says movement of "The Spirit of Erie" to life with choreographer Kelley Ulmer during a the floor. Salame is 70 years old, has had eight Playhouse Executive Director recent practice for Erie Playhouse's biggest-ever production, premiering later this heart stents, and is forced to wear special cover- Almitra Clerkin, who co-wrote ings on his arms at night because of nerve damage month and one of the main highlights of Erie's Perry 200 Commemoration season.