Arts DEVO

Who’s afraid of a big gay choir? In the 2008 general election, 56.1 percent of Butte County voters joined a slim majority of Californians in choosing hate over love. Now, in the aftermath of the passing of Proposition 8, the courts are in the midst of hopefully overturning the anti-gay marriage measure that took away same-sex couples’ civil right to marry.

In an effort to encourage acceptance via music with a message of tolerance and freedom, the famed San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus has embarked upon a California Freedom Tour, and will be making a stop in Chico Sunday, Jan. 31, at 2 p.m., for a show in Chico State’s Harlen Adams Theatre. The group has teamed up with Chico’s Stonewall Alliance, and the performance will be recorded by KCHO for future broadcast.

The King returns After two years of restoration, the El Rey Theatre in downtown Chico is having a grand reopening this weekend, and in addition to its usual schedule of live music courtesy of JMax Productions, the historic theater will once again show films on its big screen. The seats have been replaced, the lobby murals have been freshened up, beer/wine and food service have been brought in, and for opening weekend there will be a classic double-feature (Friday & Saturday nights) with E.T. (7:30 p.m.) and Scarface (11 p.m.).

As reported in the New York Times Ex-Chico rocker Paul Rhoney (he of Sleepyhead fame) has been living in Portland, Ore., raising his baby daughter, building rad(!) custom guitars (www.paulrhoney.com), and, until he quit last week, been working at a FedEx store. The week before Rhoney quit, a man walked into his store and handed him a note that read: “This is a robbery, I’ll wait outside for the police, sorry.” The man, Thomas Decker, then walked outside and waited for the cops to come and take him away, which they did. According to the story, which was picked up by The Associated Press and published around the world, Rhoney said, “I’m thinking he’s either going to pull out a weapon and this is serious [or] it’s a joke,” adding the he felt Decker “just needs some attention.”

I asked Rhoney if there’s anything else he wanted to add to the story. There was:

“What hasn’t been reported anywhere is that the note was not only the note. It was written on the back of a three-page handwritten letter. I didn’t even read it, but for all I know it was his revolutionary manifesto. I think the whole incident was meant to somehow be a statement, but because I failed to copy the note, no one will ever know what he had to say. I mean, I was standing right there next to a frickin’ copy machine! Why, oh why, didn’t I copy it?!”

DEVOtions

• Welcome back students: The bars, the taco trucks and the fro-yo shop are very happy you’re home.

• Really say I love you: Wylde Side Studio in Oroville is helping relatives of active service men and women send audio messages to their on-duty loved ones. They will record your words (or your song!) and convert your message into an audio file that can be attached to an email. Call 403-8805.

• The radness: If you see artists Dylan Tellesen, Matt Barber or Andrew Terrell around town, give ’em a high-five for their rad 3-D art experience for the final exhibit at The 46 studio this past weekend. It took them three months to create the illusion of glass-bottom floors, floating water creatures and towering bears, and it was truly awesome!