The death of rock music has been greatly exaggerated, according to three books by music critics featured in our cover story.
One, written by musician and former Metro Silicon Valley arts editor Mike Huguenor, celebrates the local band Slow Gherkin, which recently played to packed houses here. His book, Elvis Is Dead, I’m Still Alive, recalls the birth of Santa Cruz and Silicon Valley underground bands through the lens of Asian Man records, a label started in a Saratoga garage by Mike Park some three decades ago.
It’s a story that hasn’t been told and will be a valued text about the history of local indie rock. We published an excerpt focusing on a renowned Santa Cruz band.
Then there’s a book featuring the tie between spirituality and punk music, something that seems as unlikely as dipping french fries in a milkshake. (Yeah, I’ve seen it done. Gross.) But reporter John Malkin, who is interviewed by critic Mat Weir, has so many surprises in his book Punk Spirit!: An Oral History of Punk Rock.
“I tend to think everyone, and every group, has a spirituality to them,” Malkin says. “A spoken or unspoken philosophy about life, death, suffering, connection and creativity. Even if they don’t want to call it ‘spirituality.’”
I always thought punk was a baptism by spit, but Malkin will take you to surprising places about the spirit of what used to be thought of as the most dangerous music.
Finally, Good Times writer Bill Kopp—who lives in the Santa Cruz of the South, Asheville, North Carolina—digs deep into the history of concept albums, those musical efforts sometimes labeled as bombastic and pretentious, but which can be a holy grail for music fans who crave more dimensions than simple songs.
One of the beauties of Kopp’s book, What’s the Big Idea, is that he focuses on 30 out of more than 1,000 concept albums that largely flew under the radar. He avoided the Beatles, the Who or David Bowie, partly because he interviewed participants in each of his chosen few.
He’s got a lot to teach here, even to the most die-hard music fans and the book will undoubtedly send you to your favorite used record store to pick up classics you might have missed.
Also in these pages, you’ll find our first of our profiles of nonprofits looking for help from Santa Cruz Gives. In keeping with our music theme, writer DNA profiles radio station KSQD, which, among other things, has a staff of the most knowledgeable music lovers in town. Read it and give, give, give what you can.
On the food front, writer Andrew Steingrube introduces you to Switch, a new bakery that bakes without gluten. A must-read.
Happy reading, eating and catching up on time to listen to great music.
Brad Kava | Editor
PHOTO CONTEST
PHOTO BOMB Moran Beach November 8. Photograph by Jesse Paul
GOOD IDEA
U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Representative Sharice Davids (D-Kan) led 88 lawmakers in pushing Senate Environment and Public Works and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leadership to protect electric vehicle (EV) investments while reauthorizing bipartisan surface transportation legislation.
The lawmakers supported the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, but they stressed that the reauthorization cannot truly be bipartisan if it furthers the administration’s attacks on electric vehicles.
GOOD WORK
Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District received a $1,152,000 grant for its Paratransit Vehicle Replacement Project. “This grant is going to make a big difference for Santa Cruz County residents,” said Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Jimmy Panetta. “We both proudly voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, precisely because it boosted grant funding for programs like this. With this announcement, we’re going to get newer, cleaner buses that are going to save money for Santa Cruz Metro. In Congress, we’ll continue corresponding with the Department of Transportation and advocating for funds that improve transit for Californians.”
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
‘Swinging for the fences with an idea too big for one song.’
—Writer Bill Kopp on concept albums
