Not going to lie: it’s still a bit unusual to see my name in/on the Riverfront Times. It’s been a good, long while since I was a staffer at the RFT, a run that encompassed most of the ’90s. It’s even been over a decade since a short freelance run in the early-2000s. As a veteran of very mixed experiences as a reader/consumer of the RFT since, I’m appreciative of the new energy brought to the paper by its fourth ownership group and by new(ish) editor Sarah Fenske, with whom I’d previously worked with at Feast.

This week’s cover, on moving from a vegetarian to a meat-eating diet, was something that grew out of the “Ax to Table” project that I attempted (but didn’t complete) while freelancing with Feast in 2015. It’s surprising for any abandoned project like that to enjoy a second life, especially with as prominent a rebound as an RFT cover.*

Since the beginning of the year, I’ve profiled legendary bar builder Bob Burkhardt, have interviewed Pokey LaFarge and have a story in the can, featuring new-to-St. Louis blues musician John McVey.

This new stretch of work with an old publication’s been fun. And that’s all I have to say about that.

(* The piece drew a rebuttal. Huh.)