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5 Questions with Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers

Several talented musicians at some time or another have gone along for the ride with Drive-By Truckers. Among them: singer-songwriter Jason Isbell; his former wife, bassist Shonna Tucker; pedal steel player John Neff, and keyboardist Spooner Oldham, who used to record with the legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (more on that later).

But at the core of the group, taking turns driving the truck, have always been the band’s co-founders, Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood, who have been playing together for ages, even before the band started in 1996.

We caught up with Hood by phone last month, in advance of Drive-By Truckers’ March 28 show at The Queen. He sounded jovial and energized. It was seven dates into the band’s 2018 tour and just a few nights after their concert in Portland, Ore., which has become Hood’s home after moving there with his family in July 2015—far from his longtime residence in Athens, Ga.

“I love Portland,” Hood says, adding that the transition from Athens was relatively easy. “They’ve got more in common than they do different, honestly. Obviously Portland’s a much bigger city, and I’m enjoying that a lot. But they have a very similar vibe. Athens has more in common with Portland and Brooklyn and Austin than it does most small southern towns.”

Drive-By Truckers is on a roll at the moment. The band is touring for the second time on the success of its most recent album, 2016’s American Band, which not only was one of their most critically-acclaimed albums—appearing on many best-of-the-year lists – but also one of their most overtly political. Sample lyric: “Ronnie Reagan must be spinning his grave; Putin’s on the rise, Ukraine’s under siege; Fascism’s knocking and Trump says ‘Let them in.’”

“This record has legs,” Hood says. “We’re out touring right now, and the route we’re on is really similar to what we did [right after American Band]. We’re playing a lot of the same rooms, and, in some cases, bigger rooms. And in every single town, attendance has been up.”

On that note, here is Hood, talking about the power of song-writing, recording, and his long-standing relationship with his musical partner, Cooley.

O&A: You really do have southern music in your blood. Your dad, David Hood, was the bass player for The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and later was a co-founder of Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. What was it like growing up in that environment, with all these famous bands coming in and out (of the studio) and your dad being a southern rock legend in his own right?

Hood: Yeah, I was well aware of what was going on. I really kept up with it as much as I possibly could because I was really interested in it. I always wanted to do this, too. But, at the same time, I wasn’t really there. I was at home; I was a kid; and I wasn’t really allowed to be [at the studio].

Getting info from my dad about what was going on was sometimes next to impossible. I’d have to find out from other means [chuckling]. Because Dad was very much into keeping home separate. He was old school. In his day, you didn’t take work home with you. I hardly saw him pick up an instrument at home or anything like that.

He really didn’t want me to go into music, either, so he wasn’t particularly supportive of me doing it for a long time. Probably up until Southern Rock Opera. [The band’s third album, released in 2001.]

O&A: Soon after Southern Rock Opera, you recorded Dirty South in FAME Studios, which is where your dad and The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section got their start. Was that an attempt by you to tap into or reconnect with that southern rock history?

Hood: Yeah, you know, I grew up practically down the street! I mean I always had wanted to record there. So once we had the means to do it, we just did.

I still now want to record at 3614 now that they’ve reopened that [3614 Jackson Highway, the location of Muscle Shoal Sound Studio, which his father helped start and run]. I really want to go record there. Just as I have a list of places I hope we can record, you know, before time runs out. We got to record at Electric Lady a couple years ago, and that was cool. And we made our last record at Sound Emporium, and that was really great. So I’ve got this list of legendary studios that I’d like to capture while they’re still around.

Drive-By Truckers play to an enthusiastic crowd during their 2016 tour for English Oceans. Photo Jay Blackesberg

O&A: Do you find that recording at different studios affects the vibe or the final output to the point that it influences the overall theme of the record?

Hood: Oh, yeah. I’m sure it does. Everything affects it. At the same time, we made one of my favorite records in my living room. So it has to do with so many things as far as what we bring to the table. But the room can certainly affect things, positively or negatively, depending on the experience.

O&A: You and Mike Cooley co-founded Drive-By Truckers in 1996. But before that you were in a band together called Adam’s House Cat, which Musician magazine had listed as one of its Top Ten Unsigned Bands back in the late ‘80s. What was it that brought you and Mike together, creatively?

Hood: Boredom and being broke. We met as roommates. I moved in with a guy I knew from college, and Mike was his other roommate. And that’s how we met. He had a guitar, and I had a guitar. We were broke, so we didn’t have money to go out. We’d buy a case of really cheap beer and sit in the living room and pick and jam.

I’d always written songs, so I was eager to mostly play my songs anyway, and he didn’t really want to play a bunch of covers. He kind of thought it was cool that I had a bunch of songs. Even before any of us were worth a shit at it, I liked what he did with my songs. I liked his approach to what I was writing. He attacked them in a way that I thought was very appropriate for what I wrote. It was kind of counter-intuitive because he would almost always do the opposite of what I heard in my head, but I liked that.

Shit, we’ve been playing together for 33 years! This is our fourth band. We had two bands between Adam’s House Cat and Drive-By Truckers that were, like, dismal failures. But we just kept coming back to it. It worked.

Ironically, we didn’t necessarily get along back then. It wasn’t like we were unstoppable close friends. We were close, because we played together forever. But it was kind of a—I don’t want to say stormy close—but we were like brothers who didn’t necessarily get along. I’ll put it that way.

It was that kind of relationship for a really long time. We were roommates for three different points of time, but we weren’t necessarily good roommates, either [laughs]. We were roommates that sometimes wanted to kill each other.

It’s all really funny now because I would say we’re super close now. We get along great now. But that was kind of the last piece of the puzzle. We figured out how to play together long before we learned how to get along [laughs].

O&A: You guys recorded the single “Perilous Night” in November. A lot of people have been talking about how political it is, how strongly worded it is. Then you donated proceeds of the 7-inch single to the Southern Poverty Law Center. How does it feel to do that—to come out and really say how you feel and, at the same time help an organization that you believe in like that?

Hood: Right. I mean to me that’s kind of the whole point to what we do. Writing was something I did because it made me feel better. It was a way for me to express what I was thinking about: either what was bothering me, or pissing me off, or hurting my feelings, or making me sad or depressed or whatever. Occasionally what makes me happy. But usually it’s a way of dealing with the more negative things.

So to be able to back it up with some modicum of action was good. Our donation to the Southern Poverty Law Center isn’t going to be a game-changer [laughs] Unfortunately. I wish it was. But at least I think we’re doing what we can.

We try to support various good causes. There’s no shortage of people who need support. We’ve been raising money for Nuci’s Space, a suicide-prevention non-profit from Athens, for 20-plus years now. That’s always been our pet cause. But it’s good we’re able to add a few more things, too.

This is the second thing I’ve done for the Southern Poverty Law Center. I did a song for them about a year ago—a solo thing—that was for a little EP they put out with Bonnie Prince Billy, myself, William Tyler and a couple of other artists. Really good artists. I was really proud to be part of that.

And it was the perfect use for a song like “Perilous Night,” because I’m not trying to profit from our country’s current failure of judgment [laughs]. I’m trying to support my family, but I’m happy to do whatever I can that helps fund the resistance.

I really didn’t see that song as being part of the next record. It’s more of an epilogue to the last record.

Patterson Hood and Drive-By Truckers play The Queen on Wednesday, March 28. For more info and tickets, go to TheQueenWilmington.com.

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5 Questions with…

Josh David Barrett of The Wailers

It’s hard to pinpoint another touring musician who has bigger shoes to fill right now than Josh David Barrett.

For the past three years, Barrett has been singing lead vocals for The Wailers, the legendary reggae band that backed Bob Marley from 1974 until his untimely death in 1981, and whose mastery of laid-back island grooves helped sell more than 100 million recordings worldwide.

It’s hardly lost on Barrett that, as a musician, he is in an extraordinarily esteemed and yet possibly precarious situation: performing with the world’s most recognized reggae band where once stood an artist that The New York Times suggested “may the most influential musician in the second half of the [20th] century” —the same artist who wrote all but one-half of a song on Exodus, a reggae masterpiece that Time Magazine declared “Best Album of the Century.”

At the same time, it’s not like Barrett was simply a name randomly picked from a hat-full of possible Bob Marley replacements. Sure, it helped that Barrett is a distant cousin of longtime Wailers bandleader Aston “Familyman” Barrett and that two previous additions to the band were descendants of original members. But of equal importance, Josh David Barrett already had made a name for himself as a multi-instrumentalist, recording and performing with other multi-talents such as Kanye, Stevie Wonder and Quincy Jones.

“My musical journey has been a long and blessed one,” Barrett says. “I’m grateful to have all those experiences to add to this current one.”

Barrett is looking forward to The Wailers’ new release on Feb. 6—Bob Marley’s birthday and just two days before the band’s much-anticipated performance at The Queen in Wilmington, a town Marley once called home.

We spoke to Barrett by phone last month, and here is what he had to say—in his Jamaican accent—about his upbringing, his outlook with The Wailers, and his Rastafari faith.

O&A: You were really on your way before you joined The Wailers. As a competent and up-and-coming musician you played with artists like Common, Mary J. Blige, Q-Tip and Solange. Which musical experience was the most important to you before joining The Wailers?

Barrett: I would have to say growing up and playing in church because I feel spiritual music is the essence of Rasta music as a brand of reggae. When one says reggae music, I want to think Rasta. It’s the spiritual “one love, one God, one aim, one destiny.” That is what we inspire and aspire to bring to the people. I think that is the most important part of my upbringing: that togetherness, that oneness, that making one sound giving glory to the Most High, Jah Rastafari.

O&A: You make a direct connection between [your upbringing] and what you are doing now. What does that connection mean to you? What does singing in The Wailers mean to you?
Barrett: Well, it means a lot because reggae music has three elements where we speak of as Rasta: word, song and power. The word is the message; the sound is the music; and the power is when we come together and sing and dance, as Bob Marley said, jammin’ in the name of the Lord.
That is what I find most valuable, that unity, how it brings people together throughout the four corners of the world. Seeing how it inspires people and liberates people—to be a messenger of that is a joy. To me, that is the greatest job me could ever have.

O&A: I know there are a lot of other reggae artists, and I’m not trying to diminish any of their roles. But Bob Marley is the king of reggae. How did you feel about trying to step into that role at first?
Barrett: I hold a great deal of respect for the legacy of Bob Marley and The Wailers. For years I felt the best way I could express my appreciation was through music—my own music—with which I’d formed a band called Judah Tribe with [other musicians]. Through that, we were able to express our joys, our woes and our great appreciation for this great work, the great message, Rastafari. So it was a natural progression.

Learning and understanding every day the magnitude of [Bob Marley] being the first one to do this great work, to make it reach where it did reach, is very important. And I understand, just a little bit, about the pressure that Bob Marley and the Wailers had to go through. I mean they were shot at for this music, for this struggle.

And I understand not everybody love reggae music or love Rastas when you are out there saying “one love.” So we’re out there to encourage those who love justice and hate aggression and counteract all the works of evil that seek to divide humanity.

O&A: How do you see the music you are performing fitting in with what’s going on in our country and throughout the world?

Barrett: As much as we love this music, this music and this struggle was born out of protest. While there is a joy to singing these songs, ina myself, I wish we didn’t have to sing these songs. But this message is still needed. Not all of it—some of it is more joyous. But when you sing “Them Belly Full” or “Heathen,” those are things we have to sing because we still see it prevalent on Earth. So the music is needed, and the message is needed.

The world I don’t feel is balanced. And if we are not wise, we’ll end up going backwards. All of us must take it upon ourselves to be a living example, be a Bob Marley, wherever you are in your sphere, in your work. It’s gonna take that to win this struggle.

O&A: Where would you like to see this go, playing with The Wailers? Do you have any long-term goals?
Barrett: Wow… I have a dream that one day The Wailers will play in Ethiopia when the royal dynasty of Emperor Haile Selassie and Empress Menen is restored. That would be a glorious day, and I would love to be there as a participant in this great affair and blessing being that, for Rasta, Ethiopian history is crucial. We don’t want to convert anyone, but correct the abuse. We want to see that world power, that knowledge, that grace, restored in Ethiopia with we, the singers and players of instruments to celebrate this great occasion.

Catch Josh David Barrett and The Wailers at The Queen on Thursday, Feb. 8, for what will surely be a memorable performance. For details, go to TheQueenWilmington.com.

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For the Record With Kurt Houff

“For the Record” is a periodic feature in which musicians discuss what they’ve been listening to lately.

If you talk to Montana Wildaxe lead guitarist and co-founder Kurt Houff about music, it’s surprising how much of the conversation focuses not only on sound, but also on sight and feel.

“Your influences are not always directly related to music,” Houff says. “Visual, auditory, anything that you process can be an influence to your music. It comes out in what you do.

“I have people come up to me and ask, ‘What do you see when you are building a solo?’ And honestly, I think of it more as a painting than an auditory thing. It’s more of a visual thing.”

It’s an interesting observation from a musician who has been long celebrated locally for his ambitious guitar solos—rollicking, circuitous sonic monologues that somehow counter a laid-back, almost instinctual style of play.

However, if Houff makes it all look easy, it’s an illusion of sorts. There is work to it, after all.

“I’ve done a fair share of studying [but I] apply it to the point where, when I go to perform, it’s not obvious that I tried to study something,” the guitarist says. “I assimilate it with what I do from a day-to-day perspective so that it really becomes another tool or another set of colors to put on [my] palette.”

With more than three decades with Montana Wildaxe, Houff has had time to collect a wide array of musical tools and colors. Along with the other members of Delaware’s most legendary jam band, Houff will be displaying that onstage artistry the night of Saturday, Dec. 23, at The Queen in the annual holiday show that has become a local tradition, attracting both longtime fans and inquisitive newbies looking to discover what the fuss is all about.

Houff himself remains somewhat curious about the popularity of the yearly event.

“I can’t put my finger on exactly why people continue to come out,” he says. “I’m assuming the music’s good because I enjoy it. But I think it also has to do with the camaraderie amongst the people who have come to see us [all these years]. They come out to see their friends who they haven’t seen in a while, and we’re a part of those friends. We’re kind of the catalyst for getting together.”

In addition to their revered renditions of songs by the Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, Little Feat and other classic jam bands, Montana Wildaxe’s connection with its audience certainly has helped fuel its success. Houff recalls a time, not so long ago, when the band played back-to-back weekend nights every month at Kelly’s Logan House.

“We’d get a lot of crap for it, but we’d do the first set then we’d take that seemingly endless half-hour break and hang out with everybody,” Houff recalls, chuckling. “Throw back a couple of beers or whatever and then head up on stage. They’re working their tails off having a good time in the crowd, and we’re up there sweating everything out for them.”

If you plan to get wild and festive with the Wildaxe crew this month—whether for the first or for the umpteenth time— you may be interested in the influences that have colored the sensibilities of one of the local music scene’s most colorful musicians. Here’s Kurt Houff on those influences:

Artist Unknown – Autumn Leaves

My first exposure to recorded music in album form—I don’t even know what the album was called—but I believe it was a collection of jazz standards with the first cut on the record being an instrumental version of “Autumn Leaves.”

My mom used to tell me that, as a 3-year-old child, I would pull that album off the stack because I recognized the picture on the cover, a beautiful autumn landscape, and then I would put it on. I would play the first cut, walk over, jerk the stylus off the record player and start it again. I would play it for hours, the same song, over and over again.

I’m pretty sure it was a piano trio. And to this day, piano trios are my favorite jazz vehicles.

The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

When I was 8 or so, my sister and her friends were just absolute Beatles freaks, for lack of a better term, and so Sgt. Pepper’s would probably be the next record. Paul McCartney basically indicated that this album was the Beatles’ response to the Beach Boys and [what they were doing in the studio at that time]. Hearing that later made perfect sense to me. But back to wh

en I was first listening to it, that wasn’t even a thought in my head. I was just floored by sounds of that record: the

guitar tones, some of the tape loop stuff, and McCartney’s bass lines throughout the entire album.

Part of [what was going on at that time] was that artists were exposed to new and different things and were asking, “How do I get at this sound that I hear in my head?” In today’s music, that childlike sense of discovery doesn’t seem to exist much anymore. Everybody’s jaded. Nobody’s going “How do I do this differently?”

Jeff Beck – Wired

The next step in my thought process was probably Jeff Beck. The hit song off that record was “Blue Wind,” and it [featured] the guitar carrying these quite different melodies that I was not used to hearing a guitar carry. That’s what struck me about it.

I had listened to some Yardbirds stuff and Jeff Beck Group’s “Shapes of Things.” Then I listened to Yardbirds without Jeff Beck, but those guitarists didn’t speak to me as much as the Jeff Beck stuff. So as soon as Wired came out, I was like, “I gotta listen to this!”

I didn’t know how he was getting those sounds back then. It was not like I’d seen tapes of him, or video footage, or any of the stuff you can Google now. So I just listened to it and said, “That’s cool. How does he get the guitar to do that?”

Rory Gallagher – Tattoo

I was watching TV and saw Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert and they had a Rory Gallagher bit. There he is in this really worn flannel shirt playing this beat-up Stratocaster with a tone that was pretty much guitar-to-amp. Some of the stuff that he did with guitar just absolutely blew my mind. It was probably the first time I saw somebody doing that with guitar.

This would have been ’74 or ’75 and I would have been 11 or 12. I think I’d just recently bought my first copy of Guitar Player magazine. [I was] just really starting to wrap my head around it all.

So I went to the record store at the Concord Mall—Village Records or something like that—and went in there and saw the record. The album cover is a picture of Rory done up like a tattoo. Same flannel shirt he was wearing on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert.

His playing was pre-Stevie Ray Vaughan “Stevie Ray-ism.” Somebody who kind of channeled stuff. And once he got into an extended jam, he was somewhere else.

The Kinks – Arthur

I think it was the political commentary. I didn’t quite grasp it as I would today: songs like “Mr. Churchill Says” and songs about the prudishness of the Victorian era.

It’s rock ’n’ roll. I mean rock ’n’ roll really is a rebellious voice back to its origin. It’s a distaste for authority, just beating the man down.

Dave Davies played a significant amount of Stratocaster on that record and the tone of those guitars always speaks to me.

Houff and the rest of Montana Wildaxe perform their annual holiday show on Saturday, Dec. 23, at The Queen. For tickets and more information go to TheQueenWilmington.com.

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For the Record: With John Lodge

At 72, John Lodge can look back on an extraordinary life as a musician who has played bass and sung and written songs for The Moody Blues since 1966.

Having sold more than 70 million records worldwide with The Moody Blues and with the band recently earning a nomination into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Lodge certainly has earned the right to rest on his laurels.

But after 50-plus years in the music business, he decided September of 2016 was the right time to embark on his first solo tour—eight club dates in the UK.

With last year’s release of his second solo album, 10,000 Light Years Ago, Lodge didn’t want to make the same mistake he did after releasing his first, Natural Avenue. He never toured after releasing that album 38 years ago.

“I always felt like I hadn’t completed that circle, really,” Lodge says, during an Oct. 20 phone interview. “So when I recorded my new album, 10,000 Light Years Ago, I was determined to go on the road and perform not only that album, but also songs from The Moody Blues that I’ve never played [live] before.”

Now he is bringing the tour to the U.S., with a stop here at The Queen on Sunday, Nov. 5. In addition to cuts from the solo album, Lodge also will be performing songs that can be heard on his new concert recording, Live in Birmingham, which was recorded on the last night of his UK tour in the town where he was born.

The Birmingham Town Hall show was especially significant, for it was there, as a as a 13-year-old boy, that he sat in the front row of the balcony and watched Buddy Holly perform for the first time in his life.
“Buddy Holly was the biggest influence in my career completely,” Lodge says. “People talk about rock ‘n’ roll, and I say, ‘Yeah, I was into rock ‘n’ roll from Day One.’ But Buddy Holly really tuned my music.

“What I wanted to do with my live album was for me to stand on that stage where Buddy Holly was and almost look back up at the balcony and see a young Johnny Lodge looking down. So that sort of completed a circle.”

Here are Lodge’s takes on his favorite Buddy Holly album and a few other records that have been on his turntable—or on his mind —recently and most resoundingly:

The Crickets – The “Chirping” Crickets
[This is] the album that really changed my life from a musician’s point-of-view, as a 13-year-old boy with a six-string guitar for the first time. There was a program in England called Jukebox Jury that played new records, and they played a record by Buddy Holly and the Crickets called “That’ll Be the Day.” I was just absolutely intrigued.

I tried to find it—it took me ages—two months I think, before that album was actually available in the UK.

It’s a go-to album, because of the double-tracking of guitar parts and the bass playing. It’s stand-up bass, but it’s really interesting the ways the bass and guitars work together.

The wonderful thing about Buddy Holly is that basically up until then, rock ‘n’ roll was 12 bars or eight bars. But Buddy Holly just changed everything by putting minors in there; putting sevenths in there; not playing 12 bars; putting guitar solos in there; different rhythms. Chirping Crickets was all of that.

Every time I play that album, it magically transports me back to that time. It reminds me of everything that got me hooked on rock ‘n’ roll. And the English version of rock & roll, I might say. I know Buddy Holly was American, but somehow he translated so well into the Englishness of rock ‘n’ roll.

John Lennon – Imagine
It’s just such a brilliant, brilliant album. Everything about it. The way it was played, the musicianship, and some wonderful songs on that album, like “Jealous Guy.” There’s a string part in that song. It just comes in once, and every time I hear that—there’s just something magic about that album.

Nina Simone – Baltimore
Nina Simone’s voice is unbelievable, and the orchestration on that album is beautiful. What I love about that album is that is the different way in which each song is approached. You’ve got sort of West Indian music in there, but you also have wonderful orchestrations in the song about a father going to Paris. If people want to listen to a fantastic album, listen to Baltimore.

Her voice just transcends everything to me, it’s pitch-perfect. There’s a melody in her voice. If there’s anybody who wants to be a fantastic singer, find the melody in your voice. It’s not so much about trying to hit the highest note possible and singing it as loud as possible. It’s about getting that melody, where you actually draw people into that melody. And her voice just draws me in every time.

B.B. King and Eric Clapton – Riding with the King
I love going to the Delta in America. All of that area, through Helena and Memphis and Tupelo, with Elvis [being born there]. When I was in Memphis once, I remember going to this rib shack. And they had all this wonderful music playing, Robert Johnson and other great blues artists. Then they played a track from this album, Riding With The King, which had just come out. To me, bringing those two musicians together in that rib shack was just brilliant.

I play that album a lot. We grew up with Clapton. Our first tour in America was with Clapton. The Moody Blues played our first concert, believe it or not, in Paris with Cream.

B.B. King and Eric Clapton, just playing against one another on this album, it’s just a great album. To me, it brings together the blues from the Delta and English blues.

John Lodge – Live From Birmingham
It was released today, so I have to mention it! [laughs]

The reason it’s a go-to album is that I’ve had to listen to it so much just to make sure the mix is right, and the mastering is right, and the pressing is right. [laughs again]

I’m so pleased with the guys in the band. They played so well. It was only one show. We didn’t go back into the studio [to do overdubs] at all. Everyone just gave their all with this record.

We were talking about Nina Simone, [and] trying to find the melody and emotion in the voice. And that’s what you got to do on stage: You’ve got to get that melody in the instruments. It’s not about how loud they play. It’s about that melodic sound that draws you in and captures you.

Bassist John Lodge of The Moody Blues will appear at The Queen on Sunday, Nov. 5. For tickets, go to TheQueenWilmington.com. To order copies of Lodge’s recent releases—and for more tour information—go to JohnLodge.com.

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Hold the Beef, I’ll Have the Bison

We invited five noteworthy locals to sample the signature bison entrées at Ted’s Montana Grill. Here are their verdicts.

An artist, an athlete, a writer, an event planner and a community activist. Those were the five personalities comprising our guest list for what we called our first “Out & About Roundtable.”
Their mission? To try bison entrées at Ted’s Montana Grill at the Christiana Fashion Center and rate their experience. We chose Ted’s because the chain serves more bison than any other group of restaurants in the world.

Most of our guests had only ever ordered bison once or twice, and no one had eaten it on more than five occasions. Since the meat is largely a rarity in these parts, all of them looked forward to the opportunity to try it again.

The evening started with wine and introductions, followed by conversation that flowed easily from one topic to another, with lots of shared insights and laughter. But when the food was served, talk revolved mostly around the meal itself. The guests also seemed impressed by the restaurant’s commitment to environmental practices and unique sustainability standards (See sidebar).

In alphabetical order, here are our guests and their comments on the meal:

Paul Calistro
Calistro has more than 30 years of community service, including 26 as executive director of West End Neighborhood House. He is also the founder, CEO, and president of the Cornerstone West Community Development Corporation. Through both organizations, Calistro leads community revitalization efforts on Wilmington’s West Side.
What he ordered: Bison meatloaf with garlic mashed potatoes and “Aunt Fannie’s” squash casserole.
Thoughts on his meal: The meatloaf was outstanding: firm, moist, great texture. Unlike many restaurants, [theirs] was not masked by sauces, but stood on its own. Honestly can say it was one of the best meatloaves I’ve ever had. If you like meatloaf you’ll love this dish. The garlic mashed potatoes were prepared nicely and again required no additional sauces or condiments. Top quality. The squash casserole was not my favorite. It was served hot, and had a good texture but seemed rather bland.
Thoughts on ordering bison again: If I was offered traditional meatloaf versus bison, the bison would be my choice, hands down. Their meatloaf surpassed even my grandmother’s secret recipe. I also tried the filet and pot roast and was impressed with both.
Other thoughts: Don’t forget dessert and appetizers. Loved the shrimp appetizer and the apple pecan crumb ice cream dessert. Gigantic portions.

JulieAnne Cross
As the co-founder and head organizer of Delaware Burger Battle, Cross is perhaps the perfect person in this area to rate bison as it compares to beef. In addition to Burger Battle, Cross has a long history of promoting a multitude of local events, often utilizing her expertise in social media and her contacts in the region.
What she ordered: Bison filet with green beans and “Aunt Fannie’s” squash casserole.
Thoughts on her meal: I enjoyed the meal. I enjoy steakhouses, and there were parts of this meal that were “lighter” than what I’m used to. A small biscuit with the steak was smart. I can eat enough bread at an Outback or Firebirds to feed a family for a week. I felt like I had a lot of [other options that] I would have chosen from besides what I ordered. Great burger selection.
Thoughts on ordering bison again: This is at least my second time having bison. I quite liked having it in steak form. Great chewing texture, and a flavor that was very similar to beef, but subtly richer and lighter at the same time.
Other thoughts: I did not get this same impression the first time I visited. Hearing about the company’s commitment to the environment—the way each restaurant operates like a non-chain establishment, with hand-picked suppliers and commitment to farmers—really sold me on this unique restaurant. I hope every guest gets to hear about the benefits of eating bison and the breed’s modern history.

Henry Milligan
Known in this area as “Hammerin’ Hank” for his impressive boxing career in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Milligan still stays fit physically and mentally, working as a personal fitness instructor by day and an adjunct professor at Wilmington University by night. He’s also an actor. In fact, Milligan might be the only person on the planet to have traded punches in the ring with Mike Tyson and lines in a scene with Robert De Niro.
What he ordered: Bison Kansas City Strip with broccoli and sweet potatoes.
Thoughts on his meal: I am a big beef eater, and this compared very favorably with some of the best steaks I have had. One small negative was that the broccoli was not great: undercooked and bland. But the rest was superb.
Thoughts on ordering bison again: I loved it, and would do it again tomorrow. Can we?
Other thoughts: The methods of operation were interesting and seemed very meticulous. I am looking forward to returning, even though it is a little out of the way for me.

Terrance Vann
At just 25, Vann has worked wonders in Wilmington’s art scene, rising to prominence with his animated and thought-provoking paintings, designs and murals. Last year he received the Delaware Division of the Arts Emerging Professional Award. In 2016 he also created the March cover for Out & About.
What he ordered: The Avalon burger with French fries. I was drawn in by the Gruyere cheese.
Thoughts on his meal: I was impressed with the quality and taste of everything that I had. Especially the jalapeno margarita!
Thoughts on ordering bison again: I was curious at first because it’s been a while since I’ve had it, so I kind of forgot what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised because in my mind I pictured it being tougher than a normal beef burger, but the bison is definitely on another level. It is a little more pricey, but you can taste the difference in the quality compared to normal beef.
Other thoughts: Seems like they put a lot of consideration into how they go about crafting the food. Everything tasted fresh and looks like there are several steps in place to ensure quality. I like how they consider the environment and the lives of the animals as a part of their mission. Great food and great service overall.

Leeann Wallett
Wallett knows about food: She writes on the subject for both Out & About and Delaware Today, where she also writes restaurant reviews. Her Out & About piece about foods that can help fight of sickness in the winter months appears on pg. 35. Wallett has lived in many areas of the country, calling the Wilmington area home for the past few years.
What she ordered: Pot roast with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans.
Thoughts on her meal: It was a lovely meal with stellar company and outstanding hospitality. I was excited to try multiple cooking techniques/preparations, since we all opted for different entrees. Not only was my pot roast great, the bison filet and the meatloaf were solid on their own.
Thoughts on ordering bison again: This wasn’t my first time eating bison, so I was excited to try a different preparation (pot roast vs. burger). I was happily surprised at how lean, tender and flavorful the meat was. It even made outstanding leftovers.
Other thoughts: My first impression was skeptical, to say the least. But as I talked with the restaurant operator and [the staff], I was surprised at how much thought went into the branding and operation. These days, you hear a lot about “sustainable” farming/ranching/cooking practices and “scratch-made” food, but those terms can be very deceiving. However, Ted’s embraces this whole-heartedly and is disrupting the restaurant industry with truly “sustainable” practices and “scratch-made” food.

Ted’s Montana Grill is the result of a partnership between LongHorn Steakhouse founder George McKerrow Jr. and media mogul Ted Turner, also a notable philanthropist and environmentalist. In 2008, they launched “The Green Restaurant Revolution” tour, meeting with restaurateurs around the country—including Philadelphia, New York City and Washington, D.C.—to promote sustainable restaurant practices. Ted’s Montana Grill is located at 3194 Fashion Center Boulevard, across from the Christiana Mall. To make reservations, call 366-1601.

Conservation Via Consumerism

Can adding bison to the menu help strengthen their numbers?

It is estimated that as many as 60 million American bison* roamed the plains during the times of the first colonies. But reckless hunting practices in the 1800s brought the species to the brink of extinction. By 1902, there were fewer than 800 bison left in North America.

Relatively speaking, the past 15 years have been a good stretch for bison. Last year, the National Bison Legacy Act, signed by President Obama, elevated the bovid to the status of “national mammal,” where it joins the bald eagle, our national bird.

More important, however, is the fact that the past 15 years have seen the largest surge in numbers of bison since the near obliteration of the species. At the end of the 20th century, bison numbered around 250,000. Today those numbers have more than doubled.

Oddly enough, restaurants share some credit for the boost. Ted’s Montana Grill, which opened its first store 15 years ago, now serves more bison than any other restaurant chain in the world. Its operators say that by increasing demand for bison meat, they have encouraged more ranchers to raise larger herds.

The sudden rise in numbers largely support that claim, as the greatest increases of bison have occurred on privately owned lands.

Ted’s Montana Grill developed a 22-page “Sustainability Story” to provide an overview of the chain’s high standards in conservation and environmentalism. In addition to reviewing their efforts in energy efficiency, water conservation and waste reduction, the document also includes a section on bison.

“The ultimate cornerstone of Ted’s Montana Grill’s sustainability efforts is bison,” it reads. “Because bison are a natural part of the North American ecosystem, bison ranching can be beneficial to the natural environment. Grazing bison help promote a healthy ecosystem with roaming hooves that function as natural tractors, aerating the earth and rotating seeds. Their waste is a potent fertilizer.”

Although a cynic might dismiss these statements as “potent fertilizer” in a marketing sense, they are not exaggerations. In 2010, a study of the American bison by the International Union for Conservation of Nature argued that the animals “have a marked influence on the patterns of occurrence, distribution, and density of other species.”

“No other wildlife species has exercised such a profound influence on the human history of a continent,” the study concluded.

Those are big words for a big animal—particularly one that seemingly gets so little attention. Maybe with more awareness and more interest, the bison population can double again over the next 15 years.
Nov. 5 is National Bison Day. Ironically, one of the best ways to celebrate and promote the growth of the species may be to order it for dinner.

*Bison are often inaccurately called “buffalo” (We all know the verse from “Home on the Range”: “Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam”), but the American bison lives in North America, while the two main buffalo species reside in Africa and Asia. A small population of bison relatives called the European bison lives in isolated parts of Poland.

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5 Questions with Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind

Stephan Jenkins (center) and Third Eye Blind look to rock The Queen on Wednesday, Oct. 11. Photo courtesy of Third Eye Blind

Audience.

It’s a word and a concept that comes up again and again during a phone interview with Stephan Jenkins, Third Eye Blind’s co-founder, lead vocalist, and force majeure.

As Jenkins explains, whether it’s older fans going all-in with the band’s newer music, or newbies discovering the band’s hits from the ‘90s, he’s overjoyed that there are enthusiastic and engaged listeners out there who enable the band to continue to play, tour, and record new music.

A little more than two decades ago, such a dream seemed unattainable for Jenkins. Living in a shared apartment in San Francisco with other struggling 20-somethings, he had dropped out of graduate school to pursue a full-time career as a musician.

It was years of struggling with little income, making do on coffee during the day and lots of cheap spaghetti dinners.

“Ramen noodles,” Jenkins says with a laugh. “Spaghetti dinners were for special occasions only!”

That special spaghetti dinner was surely on the menu the night the band signed its deal with Elektra Records, which led to a debut album that not only drastically changed the trajectory of Third Eye Blind, but featured songs that would define the late ‘90s.

“Semi-Charmed Life,” “Jumper,” and “How’s It Going to Be,” all hit the Top Ten, and the album itself remained on Billboard Hot 100 for two years.

The success shocked everyone involved. Particularly Jenkins.

“I come from the DIY, indie ethos,” he says. “That was always my mindset, and I was always surprised when anything other than that happened.” 

In advance of Third Eye Blind’s Wednesday, Oct. 11, show at The Queen, Jenkins, who is now 53, spoke to us about those early days, about the music business right now, and his metaphysical take on the spirit of the season.

Here’s what he had to say:

O&A: In a way, it’s kind of a trope: the starving musician who scores a hit album and suddenly becomes famous. But that really is the story behind the band, isn’t it? Or is that oversimplifying it?

Jenkins: Yeah, it does simplify it, because I spent years trying to get bands together to no avail. There was always a revolving set of musicians and trying to get studio time, with year in and year out, nothing to show for it—except that I was constantly developing as a songwriter and a producer. ?

By the time I actually had a record deal, I had developed real chops as a producer, enough so that a lot of my demos became songs on the first record, and I got to produce my first record. So, the time actually was well-spent, but it certainly didn’t feel that way when I was coming along.

O&A: From when you were first starting—and struggling all those years—to when it finally hit, how does it look 20 years later?

Jenkins: Time is always a blur. I still have lots of friends in San Francisco. I mean I have some who are 26 and 27, who are still living six or seven people to a flat and one bathroom, and just trying to make it all work.  That’s where I was [at their age]. And I’ll still come over and sit in the kitchen and make spaghetti. All of that is still something that I know.

But I also have all kinds of different access. Looking back on it, I think [whoever] I was at that time evolved and changed. I can look at that person and be more empathetic to who I was at the time than I perhaps I was for myself when I was actually living it.

O&A: From where you started to where things are today, the music industry has changed so dramatically. In 1997, you were there at the end of an era in terms of the big record companies. How do you compare the way things were to the way they are now?

Jenkins: Well, you were a lot more controlled [then]. There were a lot more gatekeepers [who] had a lot more control over what could happen. There was also the opportunity to actually make money selling records. And now there’s a lot more freedom and a lot less money.

I kind of prefer it now. I think these are the good ol’ days right now.  [Back then] I wanted to bite the hand that fed me, and I didn’t like it that you had to be on MTV—or that you had to be on radio—to reach an audience, [Or] that the record company could tell you what kind of music video to make.

Those things bothered me because, however it may sound, I actually am an artist. I’m not a song-and-dance man and I’m not there to fit into somebody else’s mold. I think I measure things more in terms of a happiness quotient now. I’m definitely a lot happier now.

O&A: Your last record, Dopamine [released 2015], got good reviews. And you’re a band that’s still touring 20 years after releasing its first record. How does that feel? I mean there aren’t a lot of bands from the ‘90s who can say that.

Jenkins: No, not very many. I mean there’s… [pauses to think] Green Day, Foo Fighters, Chili Peppers, Weezer and us. That’s about it. I mean, it’s great. I’m grateful. But I had nothing to do with it. It’s our audience that does that. I have an audience that keeps our music alive. The music resonates with our audience and illuminates as they are living now. And that’s probably one of the most beautiful, best-feeling gifts that I’ve ever received being a musician.

We have a bigger audience [than we did in the ‘90s]. We have a more dedicated audience. You just can see it at the shows. There’s an intensity, and we are comprehended in a way that is beyond what it was before.

O&A: This last question might sound like it’s coming from left field, but for this October edition we’re talking a lot about ghost stories and the paranormal. I’m curious: Have you ever had an experience that you would say was paranormal that you’d like to share with our readers?

Jenkins: What first comes to my mind is something different, which is that Sept. 22nd is the equinox. And October is the period of the equinox, and that’s a time, according to folklore, when witches’ powers are at their greatest because the day and night are evenly split. Anything can happen.

It’s this sense of ambivalence: witches’ powers come up at midnight and the crossroads. It’s all these kinds of things that I can actually feel. So it’s like your own magic, witchy powers become more available. This is why it’s my favorite time of the year because I have this sense that anything could happen. Magic could happen.

So I think it’s important for people to tap into their own sense of that. Because we are, in part, moved and influenced by the movement of the planets. It’s not a joke that when you got a full moon that you feel a little bit more crazy. And you didn’t even know it was full—you’re just acting that way. So, I invite everyone to celebrate their own magic powers.

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For the Record With Darnell Miller

Photo Jim Coarse

In this year’s Performing Arts edition, we are launching a new feature, “For the Record,” in which local musicians discuss what they’ve been listening to lately.

Our first entry in this series focuses on Darnell Miller, who, by day, teaches music at Kuumba Academy Charter School in Wilmington. By night, Miller leads his soul and funk band, The Souldaires, at venues like The Nomad Bar, where they play the first Wednesday of every month. This month, Miller will also release his solo five-track EP, Jesus & Jameson, which features the already released single “Bastard.”

“I wanted to make it separate [from The Souldaires],” says Miller. “Sound-wise, it’s two different things: The Souldaires is one thing, and the Darnell Miller thing is a whole other thing.”

In other words, local fans should prepare for the unexpected.

“If I said what it is by genre, I would say funk, rock, soul, gospel,” Miller says. “But that’s too generic. I don’t know how to explain it, so I just call it Jesus & Jameson: a little bit of Heaven and a little bit of Earth.

A self-proclaimed music nerd with a love of liner notes, Miller has an encyclopedic knowledge of the back-stories of the music he likes. Keep reading and you’ll get an idea of what we mean.

Mavis Staples – Your Good Fortune EP
The sound of everything on that album—the song-writing—it’s really one of the most overlooked albums in the last couple of years. It’s a really great album. It was co-produced by Son Little, who is an up-and-coming, amazing guy. I didn’t discover him until later. But he [made his mark] on this Mavis Staples album, totally. Perfect combination.

Gary Clark, Jr. – Live North America, 2016
Oh, my goodness, I love that he can play his ass off! Lately, I’ve been really listening to songs, really listening to what that person is saying, and [paying attention to] black artists moving outside the lines. And he is one of those guys. To me, he’s more than just a blues artist: He’s a little bit of everything. The album, sonically, sounds great. The guitars are nice and dirty. The vibe. Everything sounds great.

CeCe Winans – Let Them Fall in Love
I think of albums that I play over and over again, and this is one of them. I don’t know if you know, but my background as a touring musician and as a professional musician was the gospel world.

[Ed Note: Miller’s career as a gospel vocalist spanned more than seven years and took him on tour across the U.S. and abroad, including England, Spain and Africa.]

When I decided to step back from gospel and transitioned, I stopped listening to anything gospel. I maintained relationships, but I just stopped listening. But then I just happened to see a picture of this album cover. And the picture told me what the album might sound like. So I was like, ‘I should check this out,’ and I was glad I did. For gospel, this album is a game changer. It’s retro. So she’s doing ‘70s country; she’s doing Ray Charles-type stuff; she’s doing Phil Spector-type stuff. It’s really good production-wise. Tommy Sims, who is one of my favorite producers, produced this with CeCe Winans’ son, who I didn’t know had it in him.

Chris Stapleton – From A Room: Volume 1
This dude can sing. Some of these songs made me revamp lyrics for Jesus & Jameson because I felt he was saying some of the same things that I wanted to say. So I just kept listening and listening.
I love the drums on this album. I listen to mixes and how stuff sounds sonically and the different sounds that people use. The drums on this album really pop.

Solange – A Seat at the Table
This album will probably be on everyone’s list, but for my last pick I’m going to have to go with this one. By the way, I’ve been a Solange fan for years. I’ve been always hoping that she would get her break. Everything about her is artistic. With Solange, either you love it or you hate it.
Her last album was very ‘80s-sounding. This one is stuff I’ve never heard before. And it features production by two of my most favorite people in the world: Raphael Saadiq and Questlove. Everybody knows I love Questlove. So, when he’s involved, it just has to be good. But for people to like this album was a complete surprise to me, because it’s so different. It’s not mainstream. She decided to tell a different story.

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5 Questions With Tom Segura

The Netflix comedy star brings his honest and deviant humor to The Playhouse on Rodney Square this Friday

When he was 18 years old, Tom Segura took way too many drugs while hanging out at a bar one night with friends. Along with instantly becoming the life of the party, he blacked out completely.

He also almost died.

At some point, he fell to the floor. His sister called an ambulance, and he was whisked away to a hospital, where he later woke up in the emergency room staring at the bright ceiling lights with multiple tubes running out of his mouth.

He had awakened from a coma. Doctors told him later he was lucky he ever woke up at all. What saved him from flatlining?

The fact that he was fat.

On the Comedy Central show This Is Not Happening, Segura recounts that traumatic cautionary tale in a way that is equal parts honest, relatable, endearing and frightening. It also may be the funniest drug-overdose story that you’ll ever hear.

Like Richard Pryor talking about catching fire from freebasing, it’s Segura’s willingness to joyfully hopscotch back and forth between the appropriate and inappropriate, the mundane and the outrageous, the tragic and the downright hilarious that makes his brand of stand-up stand out.

It’s probably also the reason the stand-up artist has two successful comedy specials – Completely Normal and Mostly Stories – currently running on Netflix.

This Friday, Segura brings all of his funny and perverse energy to The Playhouse on Rodney Square as part of his No Teeth, No Entry Tour. Here’s what he has to say about his act and his frame of mind.

O&A: The story about your overdosing on GHB [Ed: also known as liquid ecstasy] – and the whole embarrassing thing of almost killing yourself by doing something stupid – a lot of people would never share that. But you did. And that’s something that comes up again and again in your comedy, that you’re not afraid to make yourself look a certain way…

Tom Segura: A lot of times I’ve thought about the overdose, and the whole reason I took too much was because I had too much in my mouth, and I didn’t want to look dumb by spitting it out. You know? I had too much of a poison in my mouth and I’d rather swallow it. It’s so crazy that I would think like that. But it is one of those things where, in the moment, you’re like, “You don’t want to look like an amateur.”

Even to this day, I realize that I’m so polite, that I do things against my better judgment so that I don’t appear impolite. It won’t be a mouthful of drugs. But I’ll stay in situations where everything inside of me telling me “Say something,” but I don’t want to appear rude. As I get older, I’m like, “Just address what’s actually bothering you instead of appearing impolite.”

O&A: Do you feel that comedy is an outlet to express all those pent-up frustrations?

TS: Oh, yeah. 100 percent. I mean, you have to be bothered by something. Somebody was talking to me, like, “I know you think comedians are angry.” And I said, “Well, they should be. Not walking around wanting to punch holes in walls. But they should be bothered by something. Because if you’re not bothered by something, you’d have nothing to talk about.”

That’s the whole thing: You should be annoyed if you’re funny. If you are so enlightened, if you’re in a place of nirvana, you’re not funny. You might be inspiring. But you’re not funny.

I feel standup is a place [to share] all the things that may not be conversation points or things that you can grind-out about in everyday life. It’s an outlet where you can go: “This is what’s bothering me. This sucks.”

O&A: On that note then, what’s your definition of good comedy? What are the elements that make it work for you?

TS: You don’t want to be indifferent in comedy. For me, the whole thing about comedy is that you have an opinion on something. It doesn’t matter if it’s an opinion on oven gloves or if it’s an opinion on who’s being confirmed to be on the Supreme Court. As long as you have an opinion – and usually the stronger the opinion, the better – that’s a great start.

Then it’s always about highlighting, almost exaggerating, an element of what you are saying. That’s what makes something pop! You have something punched up. It’s a departure from normal dialogue. It’s that extreme example.

It’s also dropping those social guards. Letting that politeness drop is what makes, I think, the best comedy flourish. Because the person is not worried if this is PC or acceptable to everyone. When you have all those elements combined, I think you have good comedy.

O&A: You’ve been doing this a long time. You started standup almost right after college. When did you learn that you were funny?

TS: I felt that I had some ability early on. We moved a lot when I was a kid. And when you’re a kid, everything’s about that social acceptance.

When you’re moving a lot, every time you start off, you’re reestablishing yourself and trying to make friends. And I would make kids laugh. Sometimes I would really make kids laugh. Like really hard. In my eyes, I was making them laugh more than I’d seen other people make other kids laugh. That gave me at least the illusion that I had some ability to do that. The more that I moved, and the more that I tried to be funny and had success with it, the more I thought, “Maybe that’s something I can do.”

O&A: Every comedian has airplane or airport humor, but yours is different because yours involves more your interactions with people you meet, whether it’s the comedian Bruce Bruce, or Mike Tyson, or even everyday people you meet. Are you constantly recording this stuff in your head?

TS: I think I’m tuned in to those things as being funny. We all have all these interactions all the time. But different comics are more tuned in to certain interactions.

I get turned on by small, mundane interactions if I think they’re socially awkward or inappropriate. If somebody says something – and I’m like, “Wait… what?!” – my radar goes off, because to me, that’s funny. And I know I’m going to report on it. Almost like a journalist. I’m going to tell people about it. I live for those interactions. They have always been super funny to me.

Tom Segura will perform at The Playhouse on Rodney Square this Friday, July 28, as part of his No Teeth No Entry Tour. Showtime is 8 p.m. and tickets can be purchased via the website or by calling The Grand’s box office at (302) 652-5577.

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Guinness Perfect Pour

Friendly competition in Atlantic City

On June 5, dozens of bartenders from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware descended upon the Ri Ri Irish Pub at the Tropicana Atlantic City to answer a question that has been asked again and again through the ages: “What area pub pours the best pint of Guinness?”

To answer the question, Guinness held dozens of Perfect Pour competitions among hundreds of participating bars in municipalities throughout the Tri-State region. The winner and runner-up in each competition qualified for the June 5 Regional Finals.

“It’s a great way to infuse the importance of Guinness quality and legacy, with some fun healthy competition among the top Guinness accounts in the Tri-State,” says Dustin Davis, On-Premise sales manager for Standard Distributing, the company that distributes Guinness in Delaware.

Guinness is perhaps the only brewery in the world that encourages a specific six-step procedure for pouring its product. All six steps were factors in the Perfect Pour competition.

Locally, competition ran from February through March 17. After all the pints had been poured and downed, Dead Presidents Pub in Wilmington was declared the Champion of the Perfect Pour, with Klondike Kate’s earning Runner-Up, and bartenders from both establishments went to the Regionals.

As it turned out, Fritz Ablao of Kate’s and Chris Murphy of Dead Presidents would go head-to-head in the first round, with Murphy edging out Ablao to advance to the second round. In a later match-up, Dead Presidents owner Brian Raughley also advanced after defeating a bartender from New Jersey.
From there the competition got noticeably tougher. Neither Raughley nor Murphy would advance to the Final Four, which saw the hosting bar, Ri Ri Irish Pub, named the ultimate champion.

If it was a case of home-field advantage, no one was complaining. With the Guinness flowing freely from tap handles and grins on the faces of competing bartenders, one would have thought this was a party among longtime friends. It was a lively atmosphere from start to finish, an Irish grudge match in which, at the end of the day, everyone won.

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Reconsidering Marijuana

HB 110 offers Delaware a chance to be a leader in the Mid-Atlantic region

Sixty-one.

That is the percentage of Delawareans who are in favor of the state legalizing marijuana, according to a poll conducted by the University of Delaware last September.

Stats like that have gotten the attention of state legislators, who in March introduced House Bill 110, also known as the Delaware Marijuana Control Act.

If HB 110 passes into law, it will allow state residents over the age of 21 to purchase up to one ounce of marijuana at licensed dispensaries for recreational use—not just for medical purposes, as the current law specifies.

In effect, it would make Delaware the ninth state in the country to legalize marijuana. And while the First State may have missed its chance to be first to legalize, it would be the first in the Mid-Atlantic region—an important distinction that legislators say would lead to increased tourism, as it has been shown to do in other states.

Other positive economic drivers include the creation of additional jobs at dispensaries, cultivation facilities, product manufacturers and laboratories. And then there’s the estimated $22 million in tax revenues and licensing fees Delaware could collect in the first year alone.

Not a bad first step for a state that is millions of dollars in the red.

“House Bill 110 creates an entirely new industry in our state,” said Rep. Helene Keeley, the primary sponsor of the bill, during the press conference announcing the bill’s introduction.

Back in October of 2014, Out & About looked at what was going on in Colorado after the majority of voters there approved legalization in the general election of November 2012. We spoke with, among others, Rachel K. Gillette, a Colorado attorney and then-executive director of the state chapter of the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws.

“We’re going to see the benefits of [the legal market], including a safer product that is overseen by regulatory agencies and tested in certified laboratories,” Gillette said. “You don’t see the benefit of any of that when all of the control is with drug cartels, black market drug dealers, and street-level drug gangs.”
On the subject of the black market, legalization has been shown to have some positive effect on deterring crime in Colorado. A 2016 report, Marijuana Legalization in Colorado: Early Findings, compiled by the Colorado Department of Public Safety, shows that the number of marijuana arrests decreased by 46 percent between 2012 and 2014.

Moreover, the report says, “in terms of court filings, the total number of marijuana-related filings declined 81 percent between 2012 and 2015, from 10,340 to 1,954.” This includes decreases in felony filings (down 45 percent) and petty offenses (down 88 percent).

That is a lot saved in time and costs for both enforcement and the courts.

Meanwhile, the total revenue Colorado received from taxes, licenses, and fees increased from $76 million in 2014 to $135 million in 2015 to more than $200 million last year.

Quite an amount of growth, no pun intended.

Perhaps not surprisingly, polls show the majority of Colorado residents have a favorable view of legalization. In a 2016 election poll, residents were asked what kind of impact they thought legalization had on the state’s economy. Take a guess at how many said it had a positive effect…

You got it: 61 percent.

The same percentage of the population that, in Delaware, supports legalization.

Coincidence? Sure. But, the point is, despite the challenges that legalized marijuana presents, perceptions are changing, both in states looking to legalize and in those that already have.

Research indicates that the legal marijuana industry could reach $22 billion by 2020. And with each passing year, more states are making the move toward legalization.
The momentum is building across the country.

Here in the Mid-Atlantic, Delaware can lead . . . or follow.