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Ranked-choice voting gaining speed in Massachusetts
Starting in 2022, Massachusetts voters might be able to vote for their second favorite, third, fourth, and last-pick choice for political office, if voters across the state approve a proposed ballot question next year to adopt ranked-choice voting. In Amherst, which...
Editorial: Advocates for human rights deserve to be heard
This week a disgusting lawsuit — that tried to censor a Palestinian human rights panel that in part dealt with how Palestinian voices are censored — was dropped. Three anonymous students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst tried to stop the May event, titled...
‘A Unified Celebration’: Local artists, organizers get ready for annual First Night in Northampton
Northampton’s annual First Night will ring in the new decade with 12 hours of performances from local musicians and bands, theater ensembles, comedy troupes, alongside salsa dancing, yo-yo tricks, and fireworks on New Year’s Eve the downtown portion of the city. The...
Podcast: Former Ninja Turtles artist Eric Talbot on becoming a tattoo artist
Eric Talbot, of Easthampton, was an artist drawing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for more than 30 years. Now he works at Oxbow Tattoo as a tattoo artist. He (along with his tattoo mentor, Tyler Chaney) speaks with editor Dave Eisenstadter about the transition and...
Monte Belmonte Wines: Sparkling wines for New Year’s Eve … and normal drinking days in 2020
We are entering into the year 2020. That year sounds fake. Like a future I never imagined myself seeing. Where is my jetpack? Where is my visiphone? Oh, I have that? Nice! 2020 is, of course, an election year. If you are anything like me, you will be doing a lot of...
Bizarro Briefs: Someone on the Naughty List
Someone on the Naughty List It’s unfortunately a scene that is not completely uncommon. On a train heading from Manhattan to Long Island this past Saturday, two men began arguing until it culminated into a physical altercation. One man, allegedly drunk, shouted...
Stagestruck: The Equity Equation
Every year in this column I make an equity survey of area theaters – not Equity the actors’ union, but the representation of women and people of color. And every year the outlook, once deeply depressing, gets a little better. Of the 45 full productions I saw this year...
V-Spot: I’m Tiptoeing Around His Erectile Dysfunction
Dear Yana, I’ve been dating my current partner for almost two years now and our relationship has been great with the exception of our dwindling to now nonexistent sex life. It was amazing for the first six months until he starting having some health problems. His sex...
Free Will Astrology: You’ll be more grounded in 2020 than Igor Stravinsky, Libra
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The English word “hubris” means prideful, exaggerated self-assurance. In the HBO TV series Rome, the ancient Roman politician and general Mark Antony says to his boss Julius Caesar, “I’m glad you’re so confident. Some would call it hubris.”...
Stagestruck: History Lessons – Recalling the past to inform the present
The past, as they say, is prologue. We look back to ground our present and see ahead more clearly. And in these murky times, that’s more necessary than ever. At least, that’s the impression I drew from the sheer number of shows I saw this year that have their roots in...
Bizarro Briefs Podcast: What is art, anyway?
A performance artist eats a $120,000 banana, and then another performance artist writes “Epstien (sic) didn’t kill himself” in lipstick on the wall where the banana used to be. Those stories are among this week’s weird news stories discussed by...
Opal Canyon on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
Opal Canyon plays modern country and folk with a dash of psychedelic rock. Check out the band’s performance in the video below. Interview with Opal Canyon:
Letters to the Editor: Come together over hunger
Come together over hunger As a Kansan, I’m proud that Rep. Roger Marshall (R-Great Bend, Kansas) introduced H. Res. 189 alongside Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Worcester) to work towards bettering global nutrition with U.S. aid. It’s been introduced to recognize...
Staff Picks: Reanimate the Bay State, Hatchery dance, Matilda, and Le Cirque de Noel
Lush Honey, Spinelli, and Honeycomb at the Sierra Grille // THURSDAY The Buzz, A Honey Pot Production along with Reanimate the Bay State will be hosting a show at the Sierra Grille in Northampton this Thursday featuring soul and funk quartet Lush Honey, guitar,...
Jazz for the holidays: FlavaEvolution to play their take on some holiday classics at Gateway City Arts
David Picchi, who conducts arrangements for jazz quartet FlavaEvolution, labels the group’s sound as “fresh new jazz music for your mind and soul.” “We’re trying to bring something that you haven’t heard or things that you have heard and put them into new contexts to...
From scales to skin: Former Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles artist Eric Talbot talks about his move to tattoos
Eric Talbot got his first tattoo at around 19 years old living in Portland, Maine, during the early 1980s. When the veteran tattoo artist who inked Talbot’s first tattoo — a skull and crossbones on his left forearm — saw Talbot’s artwork, he was impressed and told...
Editorial: Don’t Let Big Money Win the Argument Over Medicare for All
Every year around this time, I take a look at my pay stubs and look at the accrued total I’ve paid in health insurance premiums. This year, it will be almost exactly $5,000, which doesn’t include the additional copayments as well as the hundreds spent on dental...
Valley Show Girl: Alice Loves Alien
Life and music partners Gina Andia and Brendan Clark aren’t new to the Valley music scene, but their latest project Alice Loves Alien is fresh to our ears. I don’t mean to judge a book (or album) by its cover but when I received an early copy of the self titled debut...
Bizarro Briefs: Eating a $120,000 Banana
A man walked into the Art Basel gallery in Miami Beach, Florida, and ate a work of art that had recently sold to an art collector for $120,000. The piece of art consisted of a banana duct-taped to a wall and was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and titled...
The Beerhunter: Kismet Brewing Company Prepares to Open in Westfield
After 10 years together, Rich and Liz DeSousa are trying to find a way to spend more time in the same room. That’s the kind of marriage you’re supposed to study for pointers — or maybe for the reveal of some secret ingredient. In my most recent visit with the couple:...
Cinemadope: The Age of Activism
When well-known activist Frances Crowe died this August at her home in Northampton, the loss rippled through the town in a way few passings do. One hundred years old at the time of her death, Crowe had touched generations of Valley residents — changing some minds,...
Podcast: Steve Pfarrer discusses historical fiction writers of the Valley
Valley Advocate writer Steve Pfarrer discusses his recent story about historical fiction writers in the Valley with editor Dave Eisenstadter. Writers Pfarrer talked to include David Gillham, Susanne Dunlap, Serena Burdick, and Gita Trelease. Listen here: You can hear...
V-Spot: I Can’t Stop Masturbating to My Toxic Ex
Hello, I’m nervous to write in and feel like I’m the only person who has this problem: I’ve been on-and-off dating someone for about three years. We fight nonstop and basically it’s just not a good relationship for either of us. Recently, I’ve been trying to move on...
Free Will Astrology: Free yourself like Conan O’Brien, Aries
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Nobody knows really what they’re doing,” says Aries comedian Conan O’Brien. “And there are two ways to go with that information,” he continues. “One is to be afraid, and the other is to be liberated, and I choose to be liberated by it.” I...
Letters to the Editor: ‘We all know how that goes’
‘We all know how that goes’ In response to “Between the Lines: Automation without oversight has deadly consequences,” published Nov. 28 – Dec. 4, 2019. Self-driving cars is a stupid technology. It assumes computers will always function well. We all know how that...
Snowhaus on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
Snowhaus plays party punk and shredding emo pop. Check out the band’s Advocate Sessions performance in the video below. Interview with Snowhaus:
Bizarro Briefs Podcast: A hellish marriage proposal, a belligerent pig on live TV, and an epic use of a narwhal tusk
Valley Advocate editor Dave Eisenstadter and Hits 94.3 host Trumpy talk about the week’s weird news in a podcast version of the Valley Advocate’s Bizarro Briefs section. Hear about a hellish marriage proposal, a belligerent pig on live TV, and an epic use of a narwhal...
Staff Picks: Mad Habits, Rosie Porter, Crooked Still, and a Short Film Festival
Mad Habits, Ananda Luna, and The Hanged Man at Majestic Saloon // SUNDAY This Sunday at Majestic Saloon in Northampton will feature the musical stylings of progressive folk quartet Mad Habits, experimental and world fusion artist Ananda Luna as well as Bella’s Bartok...
Monte Belmonte Wines: My Christmas Wine Wish List For Santa
Dear Santa, It has been one year since my last confession. I have been a fair to moderately good boy. There has only been the occasional quid pro quo. And even when wine companies have shipped me free wine, I have been unafraid to damn them with faint praise in this...
An imaginative trip through history: Valley historical novelists talk about their craft
Time travel has been a perennial theme for fiction writers for over 200 years, as well as a theme from ancient myths, dating back far longer, from countries all over the world. It’s also an idea — or at least the notion of moving into the future is — that’s been...
Editorial: Support for those seeking sanctuary
It was as recently as October when I used this space to observe the two-year anniversary of Lucio Perez taking sanctuary in the First Congregational Church in Amherst. A resident of the Valley for nearly 20 years, Perez is married and has three children who are U.S....
A champion of the heart: Local woman joins organization to provide heart disease information and support to women
When Lynette Bloise would tell her husband, “It’s happening,” he knew exactly what that meant: a trip to the emergency room. Before May 2018, Bloise would have cardiac episodes stemming from conditions that caused her heart to suddenly beat erratically, alternating...
Bizarro Briefs: Cows hooked into the Matrix
Next stop, The Matrix Farmers in Moscow are now experimenting with virtual reality headsets to help improve milk production among cows. The thought is by rigging a VR headset on cows that simulate tranquil experiences, it will create a calmer atmosphere for the cattle...
Stagestruck: Holiday Stages, Part Two – Potpourri
Last week I previewed some area productions of those holiday stalwarts A Christmas Carol and The Nutcracker. But it’s not all ghosts and sugarplums this Yuletide. Here are some alternatives for your seasonal theatergoing, tracking north to south, then making a curve...
V-Spot: I Can Only Climax from Masturbation!
Hi Yana, I’m a cis-woman in college and I’m in a new relationship with a girl I really like! We have sex a lot and it’s wonderful but there’s one big problem: she can’t make me come. We have tried everything we could think of, but it always ends up as me taking over...
Cinemadope: ‘I’m Leaving Now’ playing at Amherst Cinema
If you talked much politics over the Thanksgiving table this year, you probably noticed that very few of those involved knew what they were talking about. Which is to say that most of us, however passionate we might be about a particular issue, often lack a true...
Free Will Astrology: Cultivate Leonard Cohen’s state of grace, Leo
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In composing this oracle, I have called on the unruly wisdom of Vivienne Westwood. She’s the fashion designer who incorporated the punk esthetic into mainstream styles. Here are four quotes by her that will be especially suitable for your...
Julia Clark on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
Julia Clark plays acoustic grunge rock-infused indie music. Check out her performance in the video below. Interview with Julia Clark:
Letters to the Editor: Psychedelics on their way
On its way In response to “The Return Trip: Psychedelics may come back from the abyss of illegality,” published November 21-27, 2019. Serene, I bet we beat your state to this. — Billy Tower, Facebook comment Billy Tower, lol you’re probably right! But glad to know...
Staff picks: Jalbatross, the Great Depression, Roger Salloom, ‘The Forgotten Spirit’
Jalbatross at Bishop’s Lounge// FRIDAY Shake off your Thanksgiving food coma with the 7th Annual Jalbatross Post-Thanksgiving music party. The band is led by brothers Ryan Jalbert (the Motet) and Colin Jalbert joined with local musicians Darby Wolf and Reed Sutherland...
Bizarro Briefs Podcast: An intruder beaten up by an 82-year-old woman, brother sister bonding, and illegal bologna
Valley Advocate editor Dave Eisenstadter and Hits 94.3 host Trumpy talk about the week’s weird news in a podcast version of the Valley Advocate’s Bizarro Briefs section. Hear about an intruder beaten up by an 82-year-old woman, brother sister bonding, and illegal...
Winter Arts Preview 2019-2020
It’s winter again. Or almost anyway. As the days grow shorter, it’s no coincidence that religious holidays emphasize light-up decorations and light in and of itself. At the same time, arts organizations also put an effort into bringing some light into our lives with...
Editorial: Automation without oversight has deadly consequences
In March 2018, a 49-year-old woman named Elaine Herzberg was struck and killed by an Uber-owned self-driving car in Tempe, Arizona. Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a summary of its report on the accident, and the results are quite...
Eric Cunha’s Psychic Pica is ‘80s Synth Pop in the Year 2019
Valley musician Eric Cunha started playing drums when he was a baby. For one of his first Christmases he got a Muppet’s drumkit that initiated it all. He would end up getting other toy drum sets throughout the years until he got his first real kit when he was 10. In...
Bizarro Briefs: Would-be burglar beaten up by 82-year-old woman
Housebroken A would-be burglar encountered something he didn’t expect when he broke down the door of a Rochester, New York, home — the brute strength of the 82-year-old woman who lived there. The woman, who told a local television station she works out almost every...
Clueless Parent: I’m a bad singer, but my toddler doesn’t mind
I’ve thrown out my back. I’m constantly see-sawing between excessively caffeinated and impossibly tired. My old clothes don’t fit anymore. And I’m convinced that the tune to “Elmo’s Song” will forever crowd out more important thoughts from my brain. Some of the...
Cinemadope: A Garden Party – Franklin County gets busy
If you’re out and about in Franklin County this weekend, you might want to make some room in your Saturday calendar. In an area that is often on the quiet side for film events, this weekend is shaping up to be a busy one for film lovers in the northern half of the...
Stagestruck: Holiday Stages, Part One – Evergreens
Charles Dickens’ classic tale of the mean old miser who gets the Scrooge scared out of him by midnight spirits is likely the second-most often retold Christmas story, after the one about Jesus. The Russian fairy tale about the little girl and the nutcracker is...
Podcast: Peter Stilla speaks about psychedelics and legalization
Peter Stilla wrote the recent Advocate cover story “The Return Trip: Psychedelics may come back from the abyss of illegality” looking at how mushrooms, LSD, and mescaline may be poised to be legalized for certain uses. He also speaks about how the drugs...
V-Spot: Is Thickness Good?
Writer’s note: This is a two-part question that I got via my Instagram DMs! Editor’s note: As reported by our friends at urbandictionary.com, mtc often translates to “massive throbbing cock.” Part #1 — 1:46 p.m.: So, my case is strange. I’m wondering if sex therapy is...
Free Will Astrology: Be responsive like Beethoven, Sagittarius
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Humans invented the plow in 4500 BC, the wheel in 4000 BC, and writing in 3400 BC. But long before that, by 6000 BC, they had learned how to brew beer and make psychoactive drugs from plants. Psychopharmacologist Ronald Siegel points to this...
StompBoxTrio on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
StompBoxTrio blends together jazz, soul, funk, and rock for a style all their own. Check out the band’s performance in the video below. Interview with StompBoxTrio:
Letters to the Editor: Is an interrupted crime still a crime?
Responses to Greenfield’s Safe City Ordinance In response to “Greenfield is now a Safe City: What’s next for the sanctuary movement?” published November 14-20. Thank you for your good coverage of this issue, and your ongoing good coverage of Greenfield. I think the...
Bizarro Briefs: Crappy Booze
In Mossel Bay, South Africa, a gin maker is infusing their alcoholic drinks with something that’s pretty crappy — elephant dung. The creators of Indlovu Gin thought of the idea after learning that elephants eat a well balanced meal of fruits and flowers, of which they...
Staff Picks: Leafies, Lucy Wainwright Roche, farm stories, and Kimaya Diggs
The Leafies You Gave Me Album Release Concert // SATURDAY Writer by day, surrealist operatic musical powerhouse by night Chris Goudreau is one of the core members of The Leafies You Gave Me, a 10-piece music and drama group that prides itself on putting on a...
Monte Belmonte Wines: Trying to Love Italian Wine
At age 2, my grandfather emigrated from Bonito, Italy, on the good ship Colombo and docked in Ellis Island in 1922. He became a U.S. citizen the old fashioned way — by waiting in a relatively short line, getting deloused and having his name changed from Crescenzo to...
Bizarro Briefs Podcast: Dung made into booze, a terrible anti-meth campaign, and a 43-year-old Twinkie
Valley Advocate editor Dave Eisenstadter and Hits 94.3 host Trumpy talk about the week’s weird news in a podcast version of the Valley Advocate’s Bizarro Briefs section. Hear about dung made into booze, a terrible anti-meth campaign, and a 43-year-old Twinkie. Listen...
The Return Trip: Psychedelics may come back from the abyss of illegality
When over the past several years states began to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes and then some of them for recreational use, many people from the Baby Boomer generation witnessed something they doubted they would ever see in their lifetimes. People who had...
Editorial: Use your billions on something other than running for president
There has rightly been much interest in the Democratic primary, both from voters and from potential candidates. By spring of this year, it became clear we had a record number of people running to be the one to take the dishonest, racist Trump out of the office of...E-Edition
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