by Travis Mateer
When cultural cry babies attacked the Zootown Arts Community Center (ZACC) for its supposed role in culturally appropriating Mexican culture for Missoula’s version of Day of the Dead, the ZACC did the safe thing and ran in the other direction. When the event reemerged, the narrative of return was carefully crafted to protect the cowards who empowered the woke mob in the first place.
Before the latest controversy hit the ZACC, this “community” center had just finished firing a bunch of staff while hiring a new director with the hilarious last name JUSTICE. Here’s how Sarah JUSTICE sees her new role running the ZACC:
“I believe wholeheartedly that art and music are essential in people’s everyday lives and have the power to heal, so to work for a nonprofit that provides diverse music and visual art programming to the community is exciting to me,” Justice said.
While I share Sarah Justice’s belief in the essential role of art, my experience renting a studio at the ZACC, making a documentary, then having that documentary SUPPRESSED because my focus on Nick Checota made the power-brokers who control art expression in this town sad shows what these people REALLY do when it comes to art, and it’s this: they use art and artists to CONTROL NARRATIVES.
Before getting to this latest controversy, it’s important to understand that the ZACC is merely an extension of the Nick Checota entertainment empire, an empire this wealthy Wisconsin transplant started after getting bored following Daddy’s footsteps in medical real estate. The Checotas were instrumental in helping the ZACC buy the building they currently reside in, and Nick’s wife, Robin, is the current board president. Pretty convenient for a couple that got their start less then 10 years ago.
“It’s not about glamour. It’s not about being seen at the front door. It’s not about hanging out with artists in the backroom. It’s not about partying with customers. It’s about being very transactional and very focused on your business. It’s all business first”
That’s Nick Checota, the owner and entertainment buyer for Logjam Presents and the manager, promoter and owner of Missoula’s The Wilma Theater, Top Hat Lounge and the KettleHouse Amphitheater. Checota shares lessons he’s learned building successful businesses in Montana, on this episode of “Can Do.”
Checota arrived in Montana a few short years ago with a career focused on developing real-estate for religious hospitals. But he quickly turned his focus to the entertainment business when he bought the two most venerable music venues in Missoula, Montana. Checota completely restored the venues, adding state of the art technology and renovating both. As he accomplished all this, he simultaneously started a mostly student-run production company and built a new 4,500 seat amphitheater. On this episode of “Can-Do” Nick Checota talks about this astounding professional transformation.
This disgustingly fawning “news” article is from 2017, two years before Nick Checota and Mayor Engen tried using $16 million in public TIF money to build a convention center. Since then, in addition to my documentary on TIF, I’ve continued tracking the Checota Empire, which only survived Covid thanks to Jon Tester and Federal bailout money. Here are some of those articles:
Is Nick Checota’s Family History A Cautionary Tale For Missoula? (October 24th, 2019)
Nick Checota Decrees William Skink Uses Untrue Facts And False Narratives, So Let’s Review Our Lord’s Accusations (February 5th, 2020)
Nick Checota And City Of Missoula Are Getting Sued By The Paddleheads (August 12th, 2020)
Nick Checota: Entire Live Music Industry Could Crumble In A Matter Of Weeks (December 11th, 2020)
Nick Checota Gets $1,244,243 in CARES Act Funding, But Can’t Answer Phone For Local Media (February 25th, 2021)
Two Years Ago Today Lord Checota And Herr Engen Began Experiencing The Community Reaction To Their TIF Scheming (October 21st, 2021)
Is Nick Checota’s Top Hat Restaurant Still A Music Venue? (February 1st, 2022)
Have I Shamed Nick Checota Into Bringing Music Back To The Top Hat? (August 12th, 2022)
Jon Tester Feigns Concern Over Millionaires Who Got Financial Covid Assistance…Like Nick Checota? (December 3rd, 2022)
What Kind Of Deal Did Nick Checota’s Logjam Presents Just Sign With Live Nation? (August 1st, 2023)
With all this context in mind, let’s now examine the Indigenous cry baby who led a woke tantrum on social media because a band formerly known as WAR PONY was going to be performing at the ZACC. Here’s how NBC Montana is reporting on this idiotic controversy:
The Zootown Arts Community Center in Missoula is making changes to the lineup of their annual ZEST ZACC Fest event next March.
ZACC announced a handful of artists for the festival. Among them was the controversial band Florabelle, formerly known as War Pony.
Florabelle garnered criticism in the past due to allegations of racist caricatures of Native American people as well as cultural appropriation.
People expressed their disappointment on social media.
The funniest part about this controversy is how the ZACC invited it to occur in the first place. How did they do that? They “consulted” a token Native, got a woke warning from this token Native, then ignored this token Native. When the predictable tantrum ensued, the new moronic leadership at the ZACC first attempt to control the narrative by disabling comments on Instagram. When that dumb move didn’t work, they decided to cave to growing online pressure.
A local indigenous musician was consulted about the choice prior to the announcement.
As an advocate and supporter of the ZACC, she made it clear that she believed the decision would upset a lot of people in Missoula and beyond.
She told us her concerns were ignored, so she vented her frustrations on social media.
“It was clear to me that even though I was consulted, the words of one individual were not going to hold sway,” said Dylan Running Crane, local musician and creator of the petition.
This whole dumb controversy is the PERFECT way for the Missoula arts community to start 2025. Stupid controversies are GREAT ways to distract an ignorant town from REAL controversies, like how our Sheriff’s Office has the power to euthanize and execute black men, and right under the noses of all these woke twerps who don’t have a fucking clue what REAL white supremacism and racism looks like.
The token Native in this controversy wants the ZACC to be a SAFE SPACE for her. Well, when bullshit like this cultural tantrum gets highlighted, while my 5 year mission to break the narrative control surrounding what happened to Sean Stevenson gets the LAWFARE treatment, along with the strategic media silence needed to keep this town ignorant, I don’t think ANYONE in this town is “safe”.
Running Crane said she loves working with the ZACC and if it became a space that is no longer safe for her marginalized friends and family it would be devastating.
The band that already caved to woke pressure hasn’t released a statement in response to this bullshit, nor should they. When I saw them perform at Free Cycles recently, it’s obvious they have something called TALENT and the show was GREAT! Also, no one tried cancelling Free Cycles for providing the venue, so why is the ZACC being targeted?
The answer, I believe, is this: when you cave to the woke mob, then they own you, culturally speaking, and they will CONTINUE using their cancel power whenever it’s convenient.
If you appreciate what THIS artist has done to stand up to the cultural cry babies in this town, then consider donating to Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF). Or don’t, and let this new generation form the “essential” art you will be told to enjoy…OR ELSE!
Thanks for reading!