42 JANUARY 2019 By Cody Kennedy Riley Knapp has been surrounded by music since he was a kid. The Arcadia native attended Hopi Elementary, St. Theresa’s, Ingleside Middle School, and Brophy Prep before heading to Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. Today, Knapp and the other half of the musical group RKCB, Casey Barth, have collided with the music scene and are preparing to depart on a 21-stop tour around the United States and Canada. The tour kicks off at Valley Bar in Phoenix on January 26. Knapp and Barth met while they were both attending USC and realized they both have an intense passion for music. “We met while studying popular music. The dean pulled a few select students into a private master class with hip hop legend Young Guru one day, and we were able to play each other music we had written/produced. After hearing each other’s songs, we decided to work together,” Knapp said. The duo’s first two songs were written in Barth’s apartment and uploaded to SoundCloud. From there, RKCB was on the scene and ready to make moves. And fans are listening, as RKCB has more than 120 million “streams” on Spotify. A stream is counted when a song is played for more than 30 seconds. “There is ever-changing inspiration for us, but we glean a lot from the real world. Whether it’s a rhythm we hear as a car passes by, or a life event that sparks a story, the real world always seems to be our greatest muse,” Knapp said. RKCB’s music has been called “electronic soul,” and is described on various websites as “R&B with pop melodies, synth loops, impassioned vocals and a perfectly-pitched falsetto.” After the tour kick-off at Valley Bar, RKCB will head to the east coast and Canada before concluding with a stop at the Troubadour in West Hollywood on March 9. “We are probably the most excited for this tour of any tour we have been on. We are really getting to experiment with different lighting set ups as well as rearranging the live show sonically. There is also a good amount of new music we get to play, which always excites us,” Knapp said. So, what will RKCB be doing in the future? “Making music, curating music, and hopefully having an impact on as many people as possible while we do so,” Knapp said. RKCB TOUR KICKOFF Where: Valley Bar, 130 N. Central Ave., Phoenix When: January 26 Time: 7:30 p.m. Arcadia native brings his music home Riley Knapp (right) and collaborator Casey Barth tour as the music duo RKCB. The group will kick off a U.S. tour with a show on January 26 at Valley Bar. By Michelle Donati-Grayman When Salon Boutique opened last year, it was filled with more than 70 suites offering nail, salon, skin care services and more. One customer, Tina Aghassi, knew that if the boutique’s patrons were anything like her, they were in a rush to get to their appointments and didn’t have time to grab food or a drink on their way. That’s what inspired her to leave her job at a private golf course and open Mama Bears Espresso Bar in Salon Boutique, located at 3115 E. Indian School Road, last January. The coffee shop is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mama Bears offers coffee, specialty drinks, pastries and other food options to boutique patrons, suite owners and other shoppers. It prides itself on supporting local products and services. “We have something for everyone,” Aghassi said. “In addition to those who stop by before, during or after getting services, we get a lot of people who come in after finding out we serve Peixoto coffee.” The Peixotos have owned a coffee plantation in Brazil for over a century, bringing their specialty beans to their Chandler-based coffee shop where they roast them to order. In addition to its coffee menu, Mama Bears serves scones and croissants from Picket Fence Pastries, as well as pre-cooked and packaged food from Feast Mode Meal Prep. Its food menu changes with each delivery. The shop also includes a small retail section that features products from Arizona such as Madalyn Nault Accessories, which makes purses and accessories, and Crooked Cactus, which specializes in concrete and woodworking. “There are a lot of local, talented people here,” Aghassi said. “I love supporting them.” With a year of business under her belt, Aghassi is expanding her coffee shop by offering catering and exploring the idea of a second location. “I’ve always been a people person,” Aghassi said. “Mama Bears has allowed me to meet so many great people in our community.” Mama Bears serves up all things Arizona PHOTO: MANNY CANSECO Baird does not offer tax or legal advice. ©2018 Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated. Member SIPC. MC-224125. When talent, guidance and execution come together, there’s no limit to what you can accomplish. Imagine the power of you and Baird. updated: 10/09/2017 Kirk Diller Senior Vice President Financial Advisor 14648 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 175 Scottsdale, AZ 85254 480-624-2303 . 877-792-7594 kdiller@rwbaird.com Imagine The Power of Teamwork

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