RIP Mr. Rooney 1932-2017

Last Thursday, Pittsburgh lost a native son.  Dan Rooney, former chairman of the Pittsburgh Steelers and United States Ambassador to Ireland, passed away at the age of 84.

Mr. Rooney was born in 1932, one year before his father, Art "The Chief" Rooney founded the Pittsburgh Pirates Football Club--or the first iteration of the Steelers.  At five years old, he was already involved with the franchise working as a water boy, and he later met his wife, Patricia, in the office of the Steelers where she was working.

Much of the successes of the Steelers and that of the National Football League are due to Mr. Rooney's contributions.  It was Mr. Rooney, the general manager, who selected Chuck Noll to lead the team from mediocrity in 1969 to a record four Super Bowl victories during the Steel Curtain Dynasty.  It was Mr. Rooney, the former accounting major from Duquesne University, who crafted the modern unrestricted free agent system in 1992 that resulted in higher player salaries.  And it was Mr. Rooney, the owner, who urged the NFL to create more opportunities for minorities to earn high-level coaching and administrative positions in what ultimately became known as the 'Rooney Rule'.

Mr. Rooney had a lifelong commitment to advancing the relationship between the American and Irish people.  In 1976, he and former CEO of the H.J. Heinz Corporation, Anthony O'Reilly, founded the Ireland Fund, which promotes peace, culture, and charity.  The nongovernmental organization has increased its world exposure, sprouting chapters in 12 other countries and has raised over $550 million since its inception.  Mr. Rooney's nationalist relations with Ireland also made him an apt choice to serve as the US Ambassador to the country under President Barack Obama. From July 1st, 2009 to December 14th, 2012, Ambassador Rooney served his appointment, and to date, he is the only ambassador to have visited all 32 counties in Ireland. 

Despite his world adventures and despite the level of prominence he elevated the Steelers franchise, Mr. Rooney always considered the North Side of Pittsburgh to be his home.  He was an accessible man, walking to Pirates games and frequenting local spots in the neighborhood, like Gus & Yia Yia's storied icy ball stand or Legends, an Italian-style eatery next to Allegheny General Hospital.  Tailgaters could mingle with the owner on game days as he traveled the five minutes down North Shore Drive from his house to Heinz Field in a black golf cart.

Dan Rooney is survived by his wife, Patricia, and their seven children.  The eldest of them is Art Rooney II, the current owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  His memory lives on in the hearts and minds of Steelers past and present as well as inside the people of Pittsburgh.  Following his death, Obama recounted his friendship with Mr. Rooney saying, "he was a model citizen and someone who represented the United States with dignity and grace on the world stage...a championship-caliber good man."

A public viewing is being held for Dan Rooney later this afternoon at Heinz Field from 2pm to 7pm at the PNC Champions Club inside the stadium.  On Tuesday, a funeral mass is scheduled to take place at Saint Paul Cathedral in Oakland. 

"Her Power"

Tori Meglio next to Baron Batch grenade in Big Dog Coffee - photograph by Alex Young

Tori Meglio, a 22-year-old from Pittsburgh, is the brand manager for artist Baron Batch and creative collective Studio A.M. She introduces local communities to Batch's artwork and the encouraging atmospheres that Studio A.M. provides, like Sunday brunch. Meglio is mindful of her interactions with amazing women and men throughout the city. Though her work is cool, it's also professional. Curating display spaces for Batch's artwork in the Heinz History Center or collaborating with local businesses like Threads On Carson to celebrate "Her Power," Meglio is prideful of her presence in the city. Her confident personality allows her to navigate business waters that men think they own. In a brief interview below, learn how Meglio impacts equality, puts men in check and still enjoys the workplace because she could meet Mr. Right on the job.

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Meglio: First, let me explain where I've been with politics in the past nine months. I have successfully never watched a video of Donald Trump. None of my social media feeds have that. I plug my ears. That's not my battle to fight. So, I have come to this realization that it's the one-on-one interactions you have with people every day that will change the perception of what women are. By me holding myself as the kind of woman that I am and how I interact with men will change the perception of all men in the future. The way that I interact with women will change that perception. Be kind, and that's how I am going to make change. Every day, every woman I talk to I'm engaged. 'What project are you working on? How are you doing? What are you into?' It's about going deeper, making people think about themselves and respect themselves because they are accomplished in some sort of way and are proud of what they're doing. There's an impact I can make by doing that. 

ITR: Why is it difficult for women and men to collaborate with mutual respect and an appropriate professional relationship?

Meglio: I think there's two scenarios, there's the mature man and there's the immature man. The mature man probably approached me to do business with him, or the way we have come to collaborate we have mutual respect for each other. So he is respectful because he understands what's going on. Also, I'm never afraid to say what the boundaries are. Some people never say that out loud and if you don't say it out loud before it's a problem the immature man could flip it on you, 'wow, why would you ever say that?!' Like, yo, it's just for the record. This is more about me than him.

I've also found that, I'm 22-years-old right, it's time to date people, work is a great place to find a special person. Think about all of our parents who met at work or these people you find out they met at work. That's totally cool. That means you have the same interests. I hope it just didn't affect your work, or if you met them at work you then had other jobs. I would hate for you to have to put your feelings with your significant other into your work unless you really wanted to.

ITR: How does Baron Batch represent women fairly?

He's doing a wonderful job because for Baron it's not about saying 'make a woman your business and project manager.' He's like, 'My business is thriving and I have a woman doing it and she is doing a bomb-ass job.' It's much more about leading by example than verbalizing. I think he would just hire the best person of any race or any orientation for the job with the right timing. Beyond Baron, people who can work with all types of people have welcoming work environments.

Discover more about Tori and her involvement with Baron Batch and Studio A.M. here. May we absorb their legendary movements as a creative collective more thoroughly soon.

CMPVTR CLVB presents: CTRL Space CMD

Image produced by CMPVTR CLVB and St.Clair Castro

Last Thursday, CMPVTR CLVB--a collective of musicians, visual artists, and futurists--hosted the first night of their four part event titled CTRL Space CMD at Logan Fringe Arts Space in Northeast DC.  The exhibition, which will be running every Thursday during the month of April, is a "series of conceptual performance pieces dissecting mankind's intrinsic connection to space, time, and The Creator."  Night 1, or "Ritual," focused on contemporary and ancient ideas of idolatry, religion, cults and more.

The event space is part of Capital Fringe's arts bar.  It's reminiscent of Wynwood Walls in the art district of Wynwood, Miami due to its open-air entrance and colorful murals that highlight the side walls.  A few cafe tables and chairs fill out the space, doubling the exterior as a performance space when the weather permits.  As I walked inside the venue, I wasn't sure that I was in the correct location.  It was quiet in the sense that I heard no music and there were only two or three people in the room--a woman tending to the bar and another making fresh popcorn for $1.  The venue is actually separated into a bar/reception area and a theater space by a large wooden door. 

Mr. Daywalker photographed by Lanie Edwards

I opened the door to a black box-style theater where people sat in a sensual immersion.  Mr. Daywalker, a percussionist, and vocalist from Northern Virginia, was tracing a metal bowl with a wooden stick.  As it emitted a melodic ringing noise, video modulation and projection mapping of psychedelic patterns and images of ritual (e.g., African tribes and obelisks) were simultaneously projected onto video screens by Quannum Throw, Anti-Hero and St.Clair Castro.

CTRL Space CMD operates like a festival style format, so each week will feature a number of artists making progressive music that emotes.  After Mr. Daywalker's set, St.Clair Castro, who is one of the two curators of the month-long exhibition, set the ambiance for the remainder of the evening with a DJ mix.  At a particular moment, Castro's explorative sounds had the audience nodding their heads along to instrumentals that sounded like a derivative of Migos' "T-Shirt".

A theme that is central to mankind's connection to space and time is race.  Though it is an unfortunate truth, race is a part of man's historical context, and especially within the context of the District of Columbia.

"Gentrification.  Boy I'm about my isms," rapped Nate G x Afro Velvet, a duo of visual artists who synthesized their interests of design and fashion into a musical performance of Afro Futurism.  They will return to the CTRL Space CMD exhibition on April 27th for Night 4: Meta- The Evolution of Blackness.

Sir E.U and RobSmokesBands' collaborative performance created a juxtaposition of those who were content to sit and watch the musical performances in the audience versus those who felt the vibe change to a more participative, turn-up environment.  On songs like "Walk to Japan" where Sir E.U strutted around the stage with two microphones, the audience was encouraged to dance and jump around much like at any hip hop show.

RobSmokesBands closed out the show in another collaborative effort as jazz/blues fusion band Funk Disaster paired with the Pittsburgh drummer.  Singing similarly to Bob Dylan's nasally, high-pitched riffs, RobSmokesBands Funk Disaster played covers of Hall & Oates' 1981 single "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" and Bobby Caldwell's rendition of "What You Won't Do For Love."  Multiple people in the audience began to cheer as vintage highlight reels of the 1970s Steel Curtain dynasty played along with the sounds.  The band also brought out lineformation MILF's very own, Tedy Brewski for a surprise performance. 

Tedy Brewski and RobSmokesBands Funk Disaster (left to right: Joe Wilson, Sam Catherman, Rob Stokes and Jack Delamater) photographed by Maxwell Young

In an interview with DC Music Download, St.Clair Castro and Jamal Gray talked about how CTRL Space CMD is the culmination of three years of research and education.  Through performances at other creative venues, like Velvet Lounge, Black Cat--where Glow End Theory is held--as well as smaller gatherings at the homes of artists, such as Rob Stokes' 'HOUSEWARMING' series, CMPVTR CLVB has tinkered with how to present an amalgamtion of production and beat making with live instrumentation, dance, installation art, and video mapping.  What's more though, is that their experimentation has also cultivated a network of creative artists in the District of Columbia who are striving to define what the cultural community is going to look like in the nation's capital in the near future.

Gray says of the event, "CTRL Space CMD is just preparing everybody for what's to come from Nag Champa, St.Clair Castro, CMPVTR CLVB, and the extended family...it's a launch pad."

CTRL Space CMD will be an exhibition for the remainder of April, every Thursday, at Capital Fringe's Logan Fringe Arts Space.  RSVP here.

4/13/17- Night 2: Alter- Interstellar Escape Plan

4/20/17- Night 3: Sauvage- The Untamed Planet

4/27/17- Night 4: Meta- The Evolution of Blackness

Capital Fringe

1358 Florida Avenue Northeast

Washington, DC 20002

Live with the Youth at A.I.R.

Quaishawn Whitlock, Anthony Quesen, James Jaap and Nate Weaver - photograph by Alex Young

Being youthful is having unrelenting energy coupled with a burning desire to absorb new information and new skills.

The youth spirit can be inspiring, especially for those who feel like they've lost that twinkle in their eye, their vigor for a vibrant life.

Specific organizations in Pittsburgh strive to foster the essence of youth for kids by supporting their creativity.

Together, The Andy Warhol Museum and Artists Image Resource, an artist-run printmaking facility on the North Side, have partnered for Youth Open Studio. Their collaboration has gone on for some years now, at least since 2013, and their work teaches teenagers the photographic silkscreen printing process, new art techniques, and provides the kids with a creative space to complete their independent projects.

At A.I.R. for the open studio, 13 to 18-year-olds fill the workspace. The Warhol's artist educators offer assistance and company to the kids. The studio time is an opportunity for the kids to push their artistic talents outside of the classroom. Many of the participants go to CAPA, Pittsburgh's Creative and Performing Arts school.

A.I.R.'s facility is spacious with several levels and various print machines. The top floors are saved for feature exhibitions by artists in the community. Anthony Quesen, James Jaap, and Nate Weaver, a senior, freshman, and eighth grader at CAPA, chill in one of the printing spaces on the first floor. Lil Yachty bumps from the speaker system, and not that bubbly Lil Yachty, the Lil Boat with rawness and bars in his songs like "Mase in '97" or "Hasselhoff." Quaishawn Whitlock, one of The Warhol's resident artist educators, supervises the young crew.

"We come here every Wednesday," Anthony says.

Anthony, the senior primed to attend the Maryland Institute College of Art next fall, helps James refine his screen printing process. I go live on the InTheRough Style Instagram as the kids draw white paint over black hoodies to adorn them with a graphic of a hand with a rocket ship as one of the fingers. They bob their heads to the background music, stopping the prints to dance in front of my camera as they realize they have an audience.

The kids' energy is infectious. I fixate on their positive attitudes which precede them because of Anthony's pink unicorn shirt and porcupine crown he wears. They are patient with each other, Anthony tells James to apply more pressure when he draws the squeegee across the screen so that his print shows crisp on the hoodie. They marvel at the finished project. "I'm definitely wearing this to school," James says.

As curious as I am of their aura, their inquisition of Quaishawn and I is just as strong. "Alex, are you an artist too?" Anthony says. I tell him I write the news for the youth in Pittsburgh. All of their eyes get big, but I direct the conversation back to them. "Q showed me your prints. You're crazy, man," I tell Anthony. He moves to show me more of his art that he holds in a folder. Anthony's work is like a dream world from the mind of an adolescent on acid or something trippy like that, reflective and colorful.

Around the three kids again, James says he is into music but takes interest in just about everything. Nate is reserved, the youngest of the bunch and a skilled printer. I tell the freshman and eighth grader to keep hanging out with older kids. "It means you're ahead of your time," I say.

The background music cuts off at this point, so I go to the speaker and plug in my iPhone. I need to play a song that matches the youthful energy in the room. I had to play XXXTENTACION's "Look At Me!" Blaring bass hits and hype vocals resonate with a rage and fun that compares to teenage spirit. The five of us break out into a spontaneous turn-up. We're jumping high up and down, shimmying our shoulders and shouting the lyrics. "Look at me, YUH!" Anthony daps me up. "This song is too hard," he says.

After, we wind down. Quaishawn puts everything back in order and locks A.I.R.'s doors. As we leave, I tell the kids to keep their energy no matter what. We follow each other on IG and depart.

"They're so inspiring to be around," Quaishawn says. "They make me want to go home and lose myself in my artwork."

Astonished by the interaction, Q reflects on the kids. "Everyone has that spirit in them. But when we come home from work we're tired. You just have to do it, be willing to get lost in your youth."

The Andy Warhol Museum and Artists Image Resource will continue to be present for Pittsburgh's young community. Youth Open Studio continues to run on Wednesdays from the North Side studio, and on April 28 The Warhol will host its annual Youth Invasion party at the museum with food, silkscreen printing, and musical performances by groups like hip-hop oriented 1Hood.

A.I.R.

518 Foreland Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15212

The Warhol: Youth Invasion

April 28, 2017 | 5-10 p.m.

117 Sandusky Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Jenesis Magazine Celebrates 10th Anniversary with Party and Hennessy

Jenesis Magazine covers

Jenesis Magazine, Pittsburgh's "word up" publication, will celebrate their 10th anniversary on April 1.

"How many people do you know have done something good for 10 years?" Thomas Agnew, Jenesis' publisher and managing editor, said to his Instagram story.

Encouraging a community is the fruit of Jenesis' thorough work. The magazine's commentary has supported many different artists across the country. Jenesis was present to document the ascension of Pittsburgh legends like Mac Miller, Girl Talk, and Wiz Khalifa. Agnew's curiosities, as well as those of the interviewers and photographers who have contributed to Jenesis, have generated conversations and imagery about heroes like rappers Smoke DZA, ScHoolboy Q, and photographer Cam Kirk.

Dive into years of feature articles, interview clips, and day-in-the-life videos on JenesisMagazine.com. Covet the print editions with iconic covers-- Wiz December 2009, "Deal Or No Deal."

Thomas Agnew signed copy of Issue 56 with Smoke DZA & vibe pin

10 years of documenting creative human life deserves a thank you. Jenesis has placed the spotlight on a lot of people by giving them words, stages to perform, and wall space to display. Boom Concepts, an event space under Jenesis and D.S. Kinsel's umbrella, hosts progress-makers and problem-solvers. Events like the Women's Focus Group Forum and the magazine's content detail progress-makers and problem-solvers.

Agnew and his team are Pittsburgh historians who have seen the city grow and nurture ambitious individuals, such as local business owners like Daniel Childs of Chromos Eyewear or rising musicians Choo Jackson and Tairey.

So when Jenesis Magazine celebrates their 10th anniversary on Saturday, a lot of people should attend their party at Boom Concepts. Not showing up is like not attending your grandma's 100th birthday party. People should want to express their gratitude for Jenesis taking responsibility to appreciate other artists' work and showcasing it to larger audiences.

The anniversary party kicks off at 10 p.m., and DJs iB Rease of Ohio and Wave Matthews of New York will offer hip-hop selections. Free Hennessy, a staple at Boom, spills from 11:30 p.m. - 12:30 a.m.

Show up for Jenesis, support their culture.

Boom Concepts

5139 Penn Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 15224