Apr 13-19, 2016
The Man Behind Burlington’s Latest Music Scene; A Swanton Mechanic Keeps Imported Planes Flying; Two Foodies Eat Brattleboro
Cover Story
Meet Jer Coons, the Man Behind Burlington’s Latest Music Boom
The Burlington music scene has an ebb and flow. It’s cyclical, marked by vibrant high points among periods of relative quiet. The early 1980s was one such fertile era, thanks to bands such as Pinhead and the Decentz. The Phish boom of the late ’80s was another, as was the mid-1990s alt-rock scene that orbited the…
Obituary: Alexa Rose Cioffi, 1985-2016
Alexa Rose Cioffi, 30 of Colchester, Vermont, died unexpectedly on April 9, 2016. Alexa was born on November 21, 1985 in Burlington, Vermont. Alexa attended Orchard School, Christ the King, Rice Memorial High School, South Burlington High School, Johnson State College and Community College of Vermont. Alexa was employed for several years by GBIC. Alexa…
In Memoriam: Dr. Dolores Sandoval, 1937-2015
A Memorial will be held for Dr. Dolores Sandoval 1937-2015, in the Memorial Lounge, University of Vermont, April 21st, 2016 5-7 p.m. reception to follow Memorial Lounge. Dr. Sandoval joined the UVM faculty in 1971 and served for 28 years as a much loved teacher and scholar. Dr. Sandoval received her B.S. from the school…
The Boss
Melissa McCarthy’s latest comedy is something of a cautionary tale. It tells a story with a profound moral, though not the one its creators intended. The movie’s message: America’s plus-size sweetheart is in danger of making the Eddie Murphy Mistake. Some of you will remember that Murphy, now a bitter has-been, was once the biggest…
Birding Is Not Your Grandpa’s Pastime Anymore
Binoculars: check. Smartphone: check. OK, let’s bird. If you’ve been curious about birding but aren’t sure where or how to start, now is your time. It’s never been a more accessible or popular pastime. And birding is no longer just a retired person’s leisurely hobby. These days, fresh-faced young birders with smartphones in hand are…
Hardcore Henry
I will see a movie for a gimmick. “Found footage,” reverse chronology, multiple actors playing the same character — I’m there. My holy grail is a movie that tells a good story while playing with our assumptions about how storytelling works. So of course I had to check out Hardcore Henry, an action film told…
Caledonia Spirits Debuts Gin Aged in Vermont Oak
Barrel aging is all the rage these days; here in Vermont, local artisans use oak to flavor everything from maple syrup to coffee. But as the practice became trendy, barrels became scarce. The shortage — spurred by increased demand for American bourbon, which must rest in new oak barrels by law — reached its height a…
How Vermont’s Rebel Yell Shaped the New Record From Chicago’s Into It. Over It.
When Chicago’s indie-rock darlings Into It. Over It. played their first Burlington show in October 2014, front man Evan Thomas Weiss found himself inspired by his surroundings. The band has since toured all over North America and Europe, but that visit, for a gig at Signal Kitchen, proved particularly formative. It ultimately set into motion…
Border Air in Swanton Keeps Imported Planes Alive
A stiff snow squall swirls around the main building at Franklin County State Airport in Swanton as a large, twin-engine turboprop prepares to roll out of the hangar. Airport manager Cliff Coy watches silently as the King Air B200 revs its engines with a high-pitched whine and slowly inches its way onto the tarmac. The…
Rescue Chief: Don Turner Leads Unruly Opposition
House Minority Leader Don Turner stood on the House floor last Tuesday and delivered a stern message about a 13-cent increase in the cigarette tax that his fellow lawmakers had just approved. “Day 92 of the session, and yet another tax increase,” the Milton Republican scolded. “Vermonters can’t afford it!” Republican Carolyn Branagan of Georgia,…
Deepa Clothing Store Dresses Nepali Community
Last Saturday morning, Yam Mishra rushed into Deepa Clothing Store in Burlington’s Old North End. The Howard Center program manager was stopping by the store on his way to bring his children to Nepali language class at nearby St. Joseph School. He exchanged hurried words with owner Lal Maidali. Seconds later, Maidali handed his customer…
Jay Craven Steps Into the Future for New Film
In a brick-walled alley in downtown Burlington last week, director Jay Craven remarked on the unpredictable events that had complicated the shooting of his upcoming film, Wetware. Less than 24 hours earlier, the owner of a planned shooting location had rescinded his permission, which necessitated a last-minute scramble for an alternative site. What’s more, the…
Free Will Astrology (4/13/16)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “When I discover who I am, I’ll be free,” said novelist Ralph Ellison. Would you consider making that a paramount theme in the coming weeks? Will you keep it in the forefront of your mind and be vigilant for juicy clues that might show up in the experiences headed your way?…
Departing Curator DJ Hellerman Looks Forward, and Back
An enduring quote in the English language sounds like the pronouncement of a cognitive psychologist but was actually penned by author F. Scott Fitzgerald: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” That could describe DJ…
WTF: What Are Those Train Cars by the Moran Plant?
A glance at the lone railway line east of Burlington’s Moran Plant can be deceiving. Unless you’re close by, perhaps biking or jogging north on the city’s rec path, you might imagine that the tracks just keep on going. And the line used to — all the way through the Champlain Islands and into New…
Father and Son Actors Meet Onstage for Seminar
The first time Sam Cutler performed onstage with his father, Roy Cutler, was in a production of Footloose during his sophomore year of high school. Sam played Willard, and Roy played Reverend Shaw Moore; they shared the stage for two minutes and didn’t speak a word of dialogue to each other. Now, more than seven…
Letters to the Editor (4/13/16)
Not Good Enough? So, once again, we are making exceptions for Dr. Yaw Obeng [“Burlington School Super’s South Burlington Digs Trigger Residency Debate,” April 6]. Not living in Burlington? Are we not good enough for you? The answer is: Apparently not. You see, our schools are not good enough for his kids to attend; they…
![Burlington Sign Tour [SIV439]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/episode439-4-e1755131172298.webp?resize=250%2C166&ssl=1)
Burlington Sign Tour [SIV439]
4/9/16: Last week was Vermont Design Week and to celebrate, we took a tour of historic signs in downtown Burlington on a sunny Saturday. We were joined by two architectural historians and one graphic designer who helped us take a closer look at these markers that surround us and document the passing of time. If…
Soundbites: Remembering DJ BP
Where to begin? If the local music community had a flag, it would be flying at half-mast this week. The Burlington music scene, and, in particular, the hip-hop scene, has been in mourning since Sunday, April 3, when Ryan Morin, aka DJ BP, died. His unexpected passing was a profound shock to anyone who knew…
Oh Gosh!
Originally published March 16, 2011. In 1982, Billi Gosh worked to get Madeleine Kunin elected as Vermont’s first female governor — and she had her husband Bobby’s help. He organized an unlikely campaign fundraiser: a musical tour, including performances by a variety of local acts. Kunin lost that year — to incumbent Richard Snelling —…
UnKommon, Back in the Building
(Self-released, CD, digital download) Back in the Building, the latest album from local hip-hop duo UnKommon, is inseparable from the circumstances surrounding it: the death of founding member Ryan Morin. If you live in Burlington and are in any way connected to local hip-hop, or local music in general, it’s been hard to avoid news…
Time Out: Group Says Schools Suspend Too Many Students
School officials suspended Toni Foote’s 13-year-old son multiple times when he was in seventh grade at Burlington’s Lyman C. Hunt Middle School. They cited him for dress code violations and disrespectful behavior. From his mother’s perspective, the punishment seemed at times arbitrary and harsh. Speaking for her son, who did not want to be interviewed…
My Girlfriend Can Only Orgasm From Oral Sex
Dear Athena, I recently started seeing a woman in her early thirties who lives out of state. We’ve been getting together about twice a month for a few days at a time, and we have a genuinely great time all around. We are both very sexually progressive and communicate our needs, desires and fantasies openly…
Blahvocado, Go Get Hurt
(Self-released, digital download) When last we left Matt Pignatore in 2015, he was thrilling our indie-rock-lovin’ ears with Suck Up All Your Guts, released under the pseudonym Blahvocado. The album was the first he’d made since moving to Vermont from New Jersey earlier that year. Pignatore has since settled into the Queen City. Though he…
Battering Ram: Would ‘Shap for LG’ Push Kesha Out of the Race?
When she launched her lieutenant gubernatorial campaign last October, Rep. Kesha Ram (D-Burlington) recalled the skepticism she faced when she first ran for the Vermont House seven years earlier. “Right out of the gate, I was underestimated,” the 29-year-old legislator told her audience of wine-swilling Dems at Burlington’s Union Station. Cheering Ram on were House…
New York Time: Sanders Makes His Case on ‘Bernie’s Block’ and Beyond
If Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) pulls off a win in New York’s Democratic primary on Tuesday, he’ll owe it to young activists such as Lauren Chinault. “I want to know I did everything I could to help him win,” the 28-year-old bookkeeper said last week at her modest home in the Rockaway section of Queens.…
Face to Face With Ria Blaas’ Sculptures
Ria Blaas first came to Vermont from her native Netherlands “on a whim,” she said. That was 1981, a year after she completed training in sculpture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam. With the exception of about three years in the mid-’80s, she has been here since, making her home in the…
Exploring Brattleboro’s Eateries
Along Whetstone Brook, factory blocks tell tales of milling and machining in downtown Brattleboro. Narrow streets climb a moderate grade away from a wide, silty river, lined by old brick buildings gridded with single-sashed windows and granite sills. Shot on black-and-white film with no cars in sight, many photos of eastern Vermont’s largest city would…
Hel’s Kitchen, Gracie’s Restaurant to Close
Patrons of Hel’s Kitchen in Montpelier have another couple of weeks to swing by for week-night takeout. Owner Helen Labun Jordan will close the theme-driven restaurant, which serves homespun takes on international cuisine, after service on April 30. Unlike many restaurant closures, this one didn’t have financial motives. “Business is going really well,” Labun Jordan…
Williston’s Goodwater Brewery Opens Tasting Room
Last Friday evening, about 15 people crowded around the bar at Williston’s new Goodwater Brewery. Every stool was taken. Goodwater is the project of longtime Williston homebrewer Marty Bonneau and his nephew, Chris Capetz, who relocated with his family to Chittenden County from St. Petersburg, Fla., for Goodwater. Their beer hit the market almost two…
