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Some veteran musicians spend years or even decades trying to earn parental approval for pursuing a career in such a challenging and competitive field.
But when San Diego singer, songwriter and trumpeter Tori Roze needs some motherly affirmation at concerts with her band, The Hot Mess, she only needs to look a few feet to her left on stage. Her mother, Lee Clark, plays flute and sings harmony vocals in the group, which celebrates its 13th anniversary with a free Wednesday livestream performance at The Casbah.
“My mother has been doing music her entire life, from bands to orchestras, and she was also a talent agent,. Being in this band keeps her chops up,” Roze said of Clark, a special education teacher at Granger Junior High School in National City.
Maroun Abou-Ghanem, owner of the Brass Rail in downtown Port Huron, has died at 63.
Abou-Ghanem passed away unexpectedly on May 8. Born Feb. 19, 1958, in Zahle, Lebanon, he was the youngest of five children and immigrated to Port Huron in 1987. He learned to speak English while watching game shows and soap operas, according to his obituary.
The Brass Rail was never the same again after he began his bartending career working for his cousin, Helen David. David died in 2006 and was an active member of many boards and organizations including the Community Foundation of St. Clair County, worked on countless projects for the city and introduced the popular Tom and Jerry drink.
Human remains found at the former General Electric campus, now Electric Works, are at least 100 years old and likely associated with a former cemetery .
SaVanna Wanzer has dedicated her life to trans education and representation
The tireless founder of May Is? All About Trans empowers the transgender community, one teaching moment at a time
Interview by John Riley
April 28, 2021
SaVanna Wanzer Photo: Todd Franson
“I’ve learned in life that you can have as many sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, and family you want by adopting people in the community who generate love,” says SaVanna Wanzer. “Whoever gives you love, you give that love right back to them.”
Wanzer’s life is all about love, from her personal relationships to her advocacy on behalf of her beloved transgender community. But acceptance has not always come easily to the 58-year old trans activist and health educator. While Wanzer’s identity was accepted by her birth and adoptive mothers, and some extended family members like uncles and aunts, most of her siblings struggled to accept her.