Category Archives: lifestyle
Ghost of club animates Mon Valley Academy for the Arts
The Twin Coaches Supper Club, formerly on Route 51 in Rostraver Township, was a swinging big band joint with a history spanning from the early 1930s through its fiery demise in October of 1977.
The club was purchased in 1944 by Rose and Tony Calderone, who brought major acts to their newly enlarged hotspot – a must-stop venue for touring performers. Legends such as Tony Bennett, Charleroi native Shirley Jones, Canonsburg’s own Perry Como, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sammy Davis, Jr., graced the club’s stage through the years. Backed by the Frankie Barr Orchestra, whose top-notch professional musicians made easy work of even the most intricate of scores, the sound and scene were the best around.
Sometime in 1997, Charleroi resident and professional drummer, Mark Smith, purchased a 1938 vintage Slingerland Radio King drum kit. Further research revealed it was owned and played by original Frankie Barr Orchestra drummer Glenn Brady. And sometime in 2015, when Smith came across two suitcases full of 68 handwritten music charts from the Coaches, he decided it was time to breathe new interest into the Valley’s music scene.
Smith met with Susan Sparks, an artist with experience in non-profit arts management, and California area representative Pete Daley, to discuss the possibility of forming a charter music school or performance center with the idea “to take art to different venues.” But without sufficient funds or additional personnel, a clear pathway for their idea was not evident. However, Smith, with big band charts in hand and keen interest from original members of the Frankie Barr Orchestra, created an event to turn the ghost of Twin Coaches Supper Club into a living, breathing phenomenon.
On November 16, 2016 “A Night at The Coaches” gala music event took place. “We had a reunion concert at Belle Vernon High School, geared on the Coaches show, including nine members of the Coaches band,” Smith enthused, “It was our first big venue. We had 350 people for a two hour show dedicated to memory of the Coaches, a dance troupe, and five featured vocalists.”
Though the show was a great success, it also revealed a somber truth about arts in the Mon Valley. “We said ‘there is a void here,’” Smith explained, continuing “I made a living in the Valley playing. And in the Valley, the arts have fallen apart…for the last 15 – 20 years work has become difficult. In the Valley’s heyday you could make a living as a musician and raise a family. (In more recent years) it has dwindled, and all my colleagues have trouble, too.”
Still, “Memory of the Coaches sparked this renewed effort for live entertainment” in the Valley, Smith said. So, to fill the void, Smith and company “decided to create and incorporate Mon Valley Academy for the Arts (MVAA, a 501(c)(3), with Smith as president). Our mission is to create cultural events and incubate younger players with older players.”
To find those players, Joe Campus, 83, a trumpet player, conductor, and arranger from the Coaches “came up with the idea of the Twin Coaches Junior Stage Band,” Smith said. “We went to local middle and high schools and recruited 17 student musicians. Each had to be interviewed, auditioned, and rehearsed, just like the Coaches band.”
Students from areas traversing Woodland Hills to Waynesburg passed muster and became part of the junior stage band. With mentoring and teaching help from Duquesne University graduates, along with Joe Campus, those students are learning the ins and outs of both music performance and the music business.
Smith said of the mentoring process “We talk to them about the economy of the business – how to be on time, how to dress, how to spend your money, how to practice. We talk about the whole rounded business of being a professional musician.”
Funding for charts, advertising, and more is provided in part by the Frick Tri-County Credit Union, which sponsored the junior stage band and provided an additional perk for each student who completed their 2017 concert: A $200 cash scholarship. An additional perk for the student musicians was playing with Joe Campus’s former Twin Coaches Supper Club band. “We did this as a tribute to Joe. We want to keep the junior stage band intact so it’s a working band with its own jobs” Smith said.
Word of the junior orchestra is out and having positive effects for live music in the Valley. In addition to Chess Park concerts by jazz and big band acts, along with The Twin Coaches Junior Jazz Trio, Smith received a “great call from a local dance studio that wants to do a dance recital with the Twin Coaches Junior Orchestra. Over the years, dance recitals went to records and CDs, but we’re talking about live music with dancers on the stage.”
The Mon Valley Academy for the Arts has also grown into its own permanent office at the newly renovated Mon Valley Chamber of Commerce Building, along with enjoying an expanded volunteer board, advisory board, and staff. Additional funding to keep the programs running is an ongoing need, and the MVAA continues working on grants to help cover expenses.
To find out more about the Mon Valley Academy for the Arts and its upcoming events, including its November, 2018 gala, art shows, and more, friend them at facebook.com/pg/monvalleyacademyforthearts.org/ and for the Twin Coaches Orchestra Project, facebook.com/groups/1694687720747275/about/ Contact MVAA via e-mail at info@monvalleyacademyforthearts.org
Story by Keren Lee Dreyer for Pennsylvania Bridges
About Face with Tasha Oskey: Cost effective skincare devices
Since I’ve been writing these columns, one thing I have always been adamant about is having an efficacious and consistent home skincare regimen. I know not everyone has the time or quite frankly the money to get facials or other expensive skincare treatments, so what if you added something to your everyday skincare routine to give it a nice boost? A good way to do this would be to use an at home skincare device. Incorporating something like this into your skincare regimen would be a great way to get results at home and in most cases it would cost less. There are many of them to choose from so I will be starting with some basic ones in this month’s column and go into some more complicated ones next month.
Neutrogena is one of my favorite drugstore brands and they make some really nice at home skincare devices. My personal favorite is the microdermabrasion system. I use this quite often at home and I love how soft and smooth my skin feels afterward. The microdermabrasion system comes with an applicator, 12 single use puffs, an attachment head, and two AA batteries. The puffs stick onto the attachment head which fits on the applicator wand. What’s really nice about this device is the puffs are pretreated with ultra fine crystals and mild purifiers so you don’t have to add anything yourself. All you do is wet the puff, turn on the applicator wand, and put it directly on the face. It comes with two speeds so you can work your way up. The puff feels a little gritty with a sandpaper texture and as you move it across the skin you feel a vibration. It really gives a nice gentle exfoliation and stimulates cell turnover. You do have to replace the puffs because you discard each one after use. It might not go as deep into the pores as a professional microdermabrasion treatment would but it definitely gives you a deeper exfoliation than using a scrub. I really recommend this device if you want to do something extra for your skin and it’s very simple to use.
Neutrogena makes another skincare device that gets great reviews. It’s called the Light Therapy Acne Mask. The mask emits red and blue lights that help to treat acne. The blue light is supposed to kill the bacteria that causes the acne and the red light helps to calm the inflammation from acne. It comes with a mask and the mask activator. You plug the mask activator into the mask and hold the start button for a full second. This will turn it on. Then you put it on your face for 10 minutes. Make sure your face is cleansed and dry before you use it. It says you can use the mask daily and prides itself for being UV free and chemical free. I have not used this mask because I don’t have acne but it is a best seller. I don’t think it would be powerful enough to completely get rid of acne altogether but I do think it could definitely help reduce breakouts and calm inflammation that usually comes with acne. Also, I really like the research behind light therapy and how its used to treat different skin issues.
Another really simple skincare device that you can use at home is a jade roller. This is one of my favorites and it’s so easy to use. A jade roller is a handheld tool that you massage all over the face and neck. It usually comes with the two jade stones, a big and a small one. The bigger one is for the larger areas of the face and neck. The smaller one is for under the eyes and around the mouth. Jade rollers originated in China and have been around for a long time. They have recently become more popular in Westernized skincare. The jade feels very cool and it helps to reduce puffiness and swelling under the eyes. You take the tool and gently roll it along your face like you are massaging it. This helps to increase circulation and help with lymphatic drainage which reduces fluid retention. I like to use it to help work my serums and oils into the skin.
These three devices are really simple to use and relatively inexpensive compared to professional treatments. In next month’s column, I will be diving into some devices that are a bit more complicated and a little more expensive. In the meantime, enjoy the remaining months of summer and please wear your sunscreen!
Written by Tasha Oskey for Pennsylvania Bridges
Southwestern Pintsylvania: The Lipkes from Leaning Cask
Leaning Cask brewer Joshua Lipke and his co-owner and wife, Stefanie Lipke
This month, I sat down with Leaning Cask brewer Joshua Lipke and his co-owner and wife, Stefanie Lipke, in Springdale, PA. The brewery has been open for a little over a year, but Joshua has been brewing a lot longer than that. He, like many others, started with a homebrewing hobby and expanded. The turning point for the Lipkes to take the step from homebrewing to opening their own brewpub was a trip to England in the mid-2000s. While there, they tried cask ales, which are a bit different than what you normally get in the U.S. in terms of brewing and serving style.
The brewery has three authentic English hand pumps, one of which is portable. Leaning Cask is also one of the only places in the Pittsburgh area that has a beer engine, which assists in pumping the beer from casks stored in the basement. Joshua says that while they do keep their beer warmer than most, it isn’t quite to the 50°F to 55°F that it would be served at overseas. Their beer is stored in the basement but not quite at those true “cellar” temperatures you would see in England. The casks are closer to traditional temperatures at 45°F to 50°F because they are stored in the farthest corner of the cold storage.
When it comes to the beer itself, contrary to popular belief, it isn’t only English-style beers that are brewed and stored in casks. Stefanie says they put any type into casks, and they often use it as a way to try out a new beer or style of beer since the initial release is on a smaller scale. Cask beers aren’t the only types they have, either. The brewery has 12 taps, which allows a wide variation—a little bit of everything.. On most visits to Leaning Cask, you will see three to four different IPAs on tap, their own cider, a stout or porter, a wheat, English ale, and some type of Belgian. Depending on when you visit, various seasonal beers will come into play, too. Another tradition you might notice is all the brews are named with a dog theme. The Lipkes love dogs and appreciated how dog-friendly English pubs are. They wanted to bring a little of that home with them, so they not only have dog-themed beer names, but they are also very welcoming to dogs, as long as they are well-behaved. They go even a step further than allowing dogs inside the bar—they have an actual indoor bathroom for dogs only. While it is becoming more common for breweries to allow dogs, this may be the only indoor dog restroom!
Joshua, the sole brewer, brews as close to traditional English style as his equipment allows. He has a thirteen-barrel setup in the basement of the pub, as well as room to expand upstairs. He says this setup is relatively large for a new brewery; less than ten barrels are more common for somewhere that has only been open for a little over a year. I asked if he had any advice for homebrewers who may be considering expansion into commercial brewing, and Joshua said, “Be prepared for the business adventure. It’s a lot more than just making beer. That’s the simple way to put it. Do your research, know what you are getting into and, really, if you don’t have a business background, get some help or some education on it because the bottom line is you are running a business. Brewing is my downtime. That’s when I don’t have to think about the other things. Even if you are making stellar beer, you’ll be able to make good beer at the commercial stage, but it’s everything else that goes into a business.”
At this point, Leaning Cask is Joshua’s full-time job, but Stefanie still works as an elementary school counselor full time. It was refreshing to meet a woman in the industry because the craft beer and brewery field is dominated by men. Stefanie says she doesn’t feel she’s been pushed aside or ignored and feels like she gets the same amount of respect as Joshua when she introduces herself as an owner. She is a member of the Pink Boots Society, an organization for women in the beer industry and, despite the support she’s experienced, says, “I definitely think there could be more recognition, awareness, and more females involved.”
With so many breweries in Southwestern Pennsylvania, The Leaning Cask offers a British twist that helps it stand out in a booming industry and provides a style of beer that was under-represented in the area until now. They distribute to approximately 20 locations in the area but, since Springdale is not far outside the city limits, why not go to the source to try their beer?
Leaning Cask is located at 850 Pittsburgh St, Springdale, PA 15144. They are open Wednesday and Thursday, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday 12 p.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. New casks are released every Thursday.
Author’s Note: I am working on setting up interviews with other Southwest PA breweries. Is there a brewery you’d like me to cover? Reach out to me via email – PABridges.Reanna@comcast.net
Story by Reanna Roberts for Pennsylvania Bridges
Pennsylvania Bridges June 2018 Edition – Lean on Me
The June 2018 edition of Pennsylvania Bridges – Lean on Me – is now available online and in print.
May 2018 Edition – “Coming Back to Life”
The May 2018 edition of Pennsylvania Bridges – “Coming Back to Life” – is now available online and in print.
Pennsylvania Bridges April 2018 – “Spring Into Action!”
The April 2018 edition of Pennsylvania Bridges is now available online and in print.
Pennsylvania Bridges March 2018 – “Make Some Noise!”
The March 2018 edition of Pennsylvania Bridges – “Make Some Noise!” – is now available online & in print.
February 2018 – “All You Need Is Love”
The February 2018 edition of Pennsylvania Bridges – “All You Need is Love” – is now available online and in print.
January 2018 – Opportunity Knocks?!?
The January 2018 edition of Pennsylvania Bridges – Opportunity Knocks?!? – is now available online and in print.
December 2017 – “The Gift of Giving”
The December edition of Pennsylvania Bridges – “The Gift of Giving” – is now available online and in print.
