He turned his love for guitars into a lifestyle

Richard Anderson Jr. spends his days surrounded by guitars, thanks to his work as a guitar tech at Juggernaut Music repairing stringed instruments. He couldn’t be happier.

The guitar has been the salvation for his life. An introduction to the electric guitar at the age of 14 provided an outlet for expression.

“I used to get beat up all the time in high school,” Andersen said. “I went to Mission Academy in Farmington. It was rough. Music was the only thing I had.”

Albums like “Alive II” by KISS and “Frampton Comes Alive” by Peter Frampton made an indelible impression on Andersen, and formed his vision to pursue the musician’s life.

“When I first heard Jimi Hendrix…I never heard a guitar sound so beautiful in my life. The music was coming out from his heart and soul,” he said of his early inspirations.

PURSUING A DREAM

Upon graduating from high school, Andersen moved to Hollywood and attended the Musicians Institute College of Contemporary Music, where he gained the foundation for his music career.

At the Musicians Institute, he learned music theory, ear training, harmony, and performance.

“They taught me a lot about music, including playing live. I was just trying to learn the business and found out that the music business is wicked. If you have a weak heart and thin skin, it’s going to eat you up,” he said.

Eventually, Anderson began playing as a hired gun throughout California with bands like Haight-Ashbury, Redbone, and Thunderhand Joe and the Medicine Show.

“I was in LA for 10 years, just playing music,” he said. It’s a sad life. Most of the time you want to do your own thing, but you have to survive. I’d play for as many bands as I could and make $40 here and $20.”

Surviving those lean years provided opportunity, however, and Anderson performed at renowned venues like Whisky a Go Go, Troubadour, Gazzarri’s, the Roxy Theater, and others.

In 1999, he moved back home. Soon after, Mother Earth Blues Band was formed. Anderson started the band with his nephew, Merlin “The Wizard” Yazzie.

“We had two guys from Hopi playing with us and it was a really good band. We had good gigs and we were getting hired for shows in different cities before it all fell apart,” he said. “The drummer and singer got hooked on stuff and they couldn’t shake it.”

When the band imploded, he nearly gave up on music. Thankfully, he met singer Chucky Begay and pursued newfound inspiration.

“She made me want to play again. She pulled me out of a really dark place. She changed my life around,” he said.

The duo wrote songs together, including “Someone Like You,” “Female Rain,” and “Long Walk.”

“We still perform to this day. These days, we play with a lot of different players, many of them professional hands from other bands,” he said.

The most prized possession for Anderson is a 1971 Fender Telecaster that he calls the “Most Patriotic Guitar in the World.” The guitar bears the signatures of various Navajo Code Talkers.

“These are the men who gave us all the freedom that we enjoy today. These men sacrificed their lives for the freedom of rock and roll. The guitar is made in America, too. You can’t get more patriotic than that.”

“I’d like to have it displayed in a museum,” he added.

Anderson’s songwriting guitar is a 1963 Gibson Les Paul. His all-purpose third guitar is a 1993 Peavey that was signed by Buddy Guy, Buffy Sainte Marie and Bill Miller.

“They say God looks out for fools and I guess I’m the biggest fool of all because there’s no way I could afford these guitars,” he said. “Each one of my guitars is a blessing. If these guitars could talk ...”

These days, Anderson is performing with the Navajo Wranglers, a local outlaw country band. Recently, the band recorded tracks at Juggernaut Music, which opened a recording studio component for the shop.

“I’ve been working on new material, native pride kind of songs. I’m hoping to have some guest rappers on these tracks to express native pride and our native world today,” he said.

For now, Anderson is content to be surrounded by guitars and sitting in with visiting bands headlining at the venue. The struggle is real, but in the end, the love of music is the basis for survival through good times and bad.

For more information, visit www.woundcloud.com/ponestone.

By Rick Abasta
For the Sun

Hozho Academy is one step closer to erecting an 80-foot-high “air-supported structure” for kids to play sports in.

The topic was broached during an April city council meeting. The dome would provide a space for physical education classes and sports team practices.

The domes are huge, tent-like layers of specialized fabric held in place with vinyl-coated cables. Because of the dome design, the width of the structure determines the height. The one Hozho Academy is looking at is 115,200 square feet, and is built by Yeadon Domes, a company based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Hozho Academy’s Director of Operations and Athletic Director Cyle Balok said that the school’s current gym is often used by the public for things such as basketball practice and aerobics classes. He said that the air structure would also be open to the public, noting that it could hold six to eight youth teams at a time. The model that the school is looking at has dividers that could keep multiple teams separate.

“[The dome] would be the biggest indoor athletic facility in the state of New Mexico. It would bring people to Gallup to come see this and use it, but more importantly it would give our kids a place to be active, to be involved, and get off the streets,” Balok said.

The June 27 city council meeting was a chance for the councilors to review the ordinances that Hozho Academy wanted to change.

One ordinance that the council discussed during the meeting changes the amount of parking spaces Hozho Academy is required to have.

Under the previous parking regulations, Hozho Academy was required to have a minimum of 275 parking spaces. The school currently has 176 off-street parking spaces, leaving the school short of 99 spaces.

Because of this, the former regulations did not allow them to expand or build on the school’s property in any way. However, a proposed text amendment to the regulation changed all of that.

The text amendment reduces the required parking spaces from five per 1,000 square feet of floor space to four per 1,000 square feet of floor space. This would reduce the shortage from 99 spaces to 44 spaces.

During the April meeting, Councilor Fran Palochak, Dist. 4, voiced her concern, noting that the school already has problems with parking.

“... We have a big problem every single day with [Hozho Academy] because they’re parking down at the sports complex. … I see the same thing happening if you have a big event down there,” Palochak said back in April. “Then we set a precedent for the whole community to have less parking spaces than the required amount.”

Balok countered the parking argument during the June 27 council meeting, saying that the activities held in the structure would take place outside of school hours.

“We don’t have an issue with parking during the school day. If we ever had team practices or tournaments going on there, or anything where we’re bringing people in, it would be  outside of school hours,” Balok said.

Balok also said that the school is already working on providing more parking; they’re leveling the ground, and they’ll begin paving in the near future.

Gallup’s Planning and Development Director C.B. Strain told the council that the school’s parking situation would have to be a “you don’t know until it gets put into place-type of thing.”

Restrooms were another concern for the council. The dome would not have any restrooms. Instead, the school is opting to either build another structure for the facilities, or the restrooms inside the school will be used.

The councilors voiced further concerns about the school not being open during the summer, and thus, the restrooms not being available. Strain said that not allowing access to restrooms is against the law, so the school’s restrooms would be available to anyone playing or practicing in the dome, along with any game attendees.

The other ordinance allows educational facilities located within the General Commercial and Heavy Commercial Zone Districts to place air-supported structures upon their property.

After Balok’s presentation, Councilor Michael Schaff, Dist. 2, spoke out about the dome. Hozho Academy is a part of his district. He said that multiple people had called him to voice their concerns about the dome. He called the possible dome “an eyesore” for the community.

Councilor Linda Garcia, Dist. 1, acknowledged Schaaf’s opinion, but ultimately thought the dome would be a good thing for Gallup.

“I’m contemplating that it might be a nuisance to that area, but at the same time we need to move forward to make this a success for the Gallup area,” Garcia said.

Balok took time to note that the air-supported structure wouldn’t cost as much as a traditional building.

“What we’re able to cover with this type of facility would cost three to four times as much if we were to do conventional construction,” Balok said.

Mayor Louie Bonaguidi supported the idea of the dome.

“Maybe I’m optimistic, but I really think with the way technology is and with the way things are going today … I think Gallup is ready for some new ideas, personally,” he said.

Bonaguidi proposed that the council take a vote to approve the new ordinances.

Palochak and District 3 Councilor Sarah Piano were not at the June meeting, so Bonaguidi, Garcia, and Schaaf were the only voting members. Schaaf voted against approving the ordinances, but they ultimately passed with Bonaguidi and Garcia’s votes.

Hozho Academy has to wait 30 days before they can apply for a conditional permit hearing. In an interview with the , Strain said that the earliest they could apply is Aug. 11, which would make the hearing date Sept. 13.

The hearing would be a public hearing held in front of the Planning and Zoning Committee. The public is invited to come and voice their opinion of the dome.

By Molly Ann Howell
Managing Editor

Rating: «« out of ««««

Running Time: 93 min.

Pitch Perfect 3 opens with a bizarre scene that involves the main characters in a dangerous situation, performing before a group of crooks until chaos breaks out. It’s all shown with little explanation and the sheer strangeness of it earns a laugh. One wishes that the rest of the film was willing to go in the more outrageous direction of its opening. Unfortunately, the majority of this follow-up is a genial but rather bland retread of ideas and themes that have been presented before.

This sequel picks up with the a cappella group The Barden Bellas having separated and struggling to make their way. Beca (Anna Kendrick), Amy (Rebel Wilson) and the rest of the group decide to re form after an unusual and highly improbable opportunity presents itself. The group joins a USO tour through Europe. They join rival bands who are competing to impress a famous entertainer (DJ Khaled) who will allow the winner to open for him at a final performance. While touring, the group attempts to fend off ex-commentators turned documentary filmmakers Gail (Elizabeth Banks) and John (John Michael Higgins), while Amy encounters a mysterious figure (John Lithgow) from her past.

While the occasional line here and there earns a chuckle, many of the jokes fall flat this time out and story points feel repetitive. The concept of the ladies leaving college behind and having difficulty finding employment and happiness in their adult lives is a little too similar to the concerns depicted in the previous entry. There is also a general choppiness to the proceedings here, with most of the characters (like the bands competing against the leads) falling into the background. And, there is little explanation as to why members of the Bellas are having an unwanted and unlicensed documentary made about them.

The film only really jolts to life when an antagonist makes some real threats and begins taking hostages. There is some amusing physical comedy during the climax as well as a few good lines when one of the characters attempts to threaten the villain over the phone. They attempt to do so in a menacing manner, but also try to hold an amiable conversation with a friend entering the room at the same time. These moments feel much more effective because they’re fresh, new situations.

In fact, it leaves one wondering what the movie could have been had it followed this tangent instead. One can imagine a film in which the friendly, innocent-looking group is asked by the government to infiltrate and take down a criminal organization under the guise of a cappella entertainers. It seems like the results would have been a much funnier film than the one delivered.

Fans of the Pitch Perfect series may get a chuckle here and there, but this entry pales in comparison to the original film, and can’t even match the middling returns of the first sequel. As it stands, Pitch Perfect 3 doesn’t take advantage of its most interesting ideas and instead relies on formula. It’s unfortunate, and the end result sounds off-key.

Visit: Cinemastance.com

By Glenn Kay

For the Sun

Rating: ««« out of ««««

Running Time: 152 min.

It hardly seems that reviews are necessary given the anticipation for the latest entry in the behemoth Star Wars saga. While this reviewer will admit to not being a huge aficionado of the franchise, or one who understands the gargantuan enthusiasm, I will confirm that Star Wars: The Last Jedi provides series devotees plenty more of what they want. While overlong and clunky in spots, it includes enough action, adventure and otherworldly beasts to entertain.

The opening crawl claims that despite the huge victory in blowing the up the planet-sized “Starkiller” base, the rebels have been whittled down. In fact, they’re on the verge of being wiped out by Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) of the First Order. The remaining resistance tries to make an escape through space, but find themselves being pursued by the massive enemy fleet, which can track their every move. Poe (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega) and a worker named Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) try to locate a code-breaker who can dismantle the First Order’s tracing signal as Rey (Daisy Ridley) attempts to recruit Jedi Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to help in the fight.

The improvement in this particular chapter comes with the addition of a welcome sense of humor. There’s an amusing joke early on as a First Order general (Domhnall Gleeson) attempts to communicate with the rebels and messages aren’t acknowledged. And later, there are fun physical gags with the Porg, who are essentially a species of space chickens. The villains are mocked frequently in this feature. While the use of humor does diminish the sense of threat, it does add a bit of levity amidst the personal melodrama. And, of course, Luke Skywalker gets to deliver a couple of sharp comments. Admittedly, plenty of jokes fail, but the playfulness on display helps.

This humor makes up for a very simple story. Rey spends much of the film on a remote island training alongside a less-than-enthused Skywalker. Via the power of telepathy, she also develops a closer relationship with Ren, who attempts to explain his motivations and why she should consider him an ally. A weaker element is the covert mission to find a code-breaker on a planet that looks like... well... Monte Carlo. There is talk about the uncaring upper-class who reside in the resort, but Finn and Rose never confront these characters directly. In all, there’s too much exposition in the middle of the film that slows events down.

Still, the big action set pieces are entertainingly rendered and fun to witness, including the initial conflicts with an enormous fleet and the climactic confrontations late in the film. When the movie deals with action, it’s a fine piece of popcorn entertainment. And while there’s nothing presented that will go down as iconic in Star Wars history (even Attack of the Clones featured a memorable scene with Yoda pulling out a lightsaber, doing back-flips and taking down enemies), it’s all capably handled and appears to be slowly moving the series onto a different path.

It’s longer than it needs to be, but fans who have been eagerly awaiting this chapter will likely love every minute of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Those of us who aren’t as taken with the series on the whole won’t necessarily be converted, but will find this effort to be a flawed yet enjoyable diversion as well as an episode that may even improve slightly on The Force Awakens.

Visit: Cinemastance.com

By Glenn Kay
For the Sun