Forget any notions you’ve ever had of a fat lady singing opera onstage. Mezzo-soprano Olga Perez looks more like she belongs in the cast of American Idol. But this fall, Arizona Opera’s newest diva-in-training will take on one of her first major roles, in the company’s season opener, Rigoletto (for…
Travis Mesman engages in a nonstop battle with gravity. At 34, the dancer and movement artist wages his war against the invisible adversary during each of his performances, whether he’s propelling his lithe and muscular body through twisting acrobatic routines, or stilt-walking on a stage like a gigantic daddy longlegs,…
Paul Wilson’s had more than a few obsessions in his day. In fact, the über-eccentric artist’s spent a lifetime indulging his endless manias for the past (particularly 1953-1963) and all things kitschy or campy. Following his kooky muse since childhood, the 45-year-old Valley native has chronicled his ever-changing fixations through…
Barry Schwartz is a wired guy. Jittery and manic, the overly hyper artist sounds as though he’s practically plugged into the wall as he explains the large-scale electrified installations he’s built around the world during the past 20 years. In lightning-quick fashion, Schwartz rattles off factoids about attenuators, ground leads,…
There’s a sly smile that highlights Paisley Yankolovich’s face. It’s the kind of bemused calm of knowing that the Christian performance artist’s journey with Jesus is less a sunset-showered walk on the beach than an adrenaline-pumping roller coaster that invites people to hop on and throw up their hands at…
Oksana Kroshkina’s background is as intriguing as her alluring Russian accent. The 31-year-old Soviet-born beauty spent almost a decade traveling the world, masterfully engaging in thrilling and danger-filled exploits on behalf of her motherland. Was she some Communist femme fatale or secret agent? Goodness, no. Kroshkina starred as a high-flying…
Victor Gade’s charisma is no illusion. The affable Argentina-born magician, 59, has a constant twinkle in his eye and suave smile on his face, charming people wherever he goes. He’s also constantly in entertainer mode; cracking jokes or conjuring a simple magic trick from his pocket to amuse an impromptu…
Heavy metal singer Patrick Flannery has lived in the Valley since 1983, and he knows a thing or two about the mingling of faith and freakiness in Phoenix. As a teenager, the Catholic-raised Flannery sang in a choir that performed for Pope John Paul II at Ss. Simon and Jude’s…
Andrea Silkey is obsessed with the quality of her music mixes. Every week, the 31-year-old DJ (who’s also know as Sonique des Fleurs) spends several hours in front of her computer hunting through digital music sites like beatport, djdownload, and trackitdown, sampling more than 500 MP3s of techno, house, and…
You might remember the story of four young Latino men from Carl Hayden High School who built an underwater robot named “Stinky” in 2004. They stunned the nation when Stinky kicked MIT’s lame robot’s ass in a college-level competition in California — not once, but twice. The foursome quickly became…
Ray Karam is trademarked. At least, his title is. As tastemaster for Cold Stone Creamery, this guy takes his frozen treats seriously. Cold Stone is headquartered in Scottsdale, with more than 1,400 stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam, Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan. That’s a lot of ice cream…
In the concierge business, you’re only as good as your Rolodex — and Judy Kabler’s the best. As the pleaser in charge for the Valley Ho, Kabler is charged with keeping well-to-do scenesters snug as bugs in rugs — or, rather, snug in their mod-with-a-nod-to-vintage rooms at the ’50s-era hotel…
Divine Essence is never at a loss for words. The poet and spoken-word artist has been performing around the Valley for more than five years, and hosting open mic nights since 2002, when she started a regular spoken-word shindig at Livingston’s soul food restaurant in Scottsdale. When Livingston’s closed, Divine…
Sloane McFarland is not usually a man of so few words (he passed on several of our scintillating fill-in-the blanks), but he’s certainly a guy of many actions. Whether he’s making art or developing buildings, McFarland comes at it from the heart, and our city’s the better for knowing him…
She plays with rickrack. He plays with clay. And they make a living. Don’t you hate them? Then you must not know Cyndi Coon and Jeremy Briddell, the artists who make up Laboratory 5. It sounds so mysterious, but Lab 5 (www.lab5shop.com and www.laboratory5.com) is really just the showplace for…
When Tony Carrillo started his comic strip, F Minus, as an undergrad at Arizona State University, he was just looking for a way to make some extra cash. As a fine arts student, he certainly never thought he’d wind up cracking jokes for a living. But within a year of…
Eric Byrnes, 31, ain’t gonna have to worry about being poor anytime soon. The lively and spirited left fielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks just signed a three-year, $30 million contract extension with the team, meaning D-Backs fans can look forward to his antics both on and off the baseball diamond…
As a principal with Ballet Arizona, Michelle Mahowald has performed solo in Swan Lake and Coppelia, and originated a role in director Ib Andersen’s Play. But for our ticket money, the sweetest role in ballet is the one she performed last year, as the Sugar Plum Fairy in Andersen’s take…
Sam Pewitt doesn’t look anything like White Goodman (Ben Stiller’s character in the 2004 movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story) but he cares about the sport with the same intensity. A Scottsdale businessman by day, Pewitt spends his nights and weekends playing a game most people haven’t thought about since…
If you get a chance to see Axé Capoeira Arizona perform, take it. Because there’s no way to do this group — or its art form — justice with words. Capoeira is described as a Brazilian-Afro art form, incorporating movement, music, and culture. See? Hard to get a visual. Another…
Impeccable taste comes naturally to David Sheflin. As owner of Vintage Fashion Inc., he’s built an elite clientele eager to snatch up his high-end designer finds — anything from pristine Pucci to vintage Von Furstenburg to the most desirable Gucci bag from 25 years ago. On the side, he’s curated…
From Magnolia Bakery in New York City to Sprinkles in Beverly Hills (and, soon, Scottsdale), gourmet cupcakes are the nation’s sweetest dessert fad. But until earlier this year, the Valley hadn’t caught on to the trend. So when sisters Stephanie and Lindsay Esparza, originally from Orange County, decided to open…
