An amalgamation of traditional Irish, English and American pubs, Parish Publick House in Aptos is described by co-owner Joel Sawtell as “the community’s second living room.” Born in Maine and raised in New Hampshire, Sawtell came to Santa Cruz on a one-way train trip at age 19. He began working in local restaurants both back-of-house and front-of-house, getting bit by the industry bug and eventually meeting future business partners Nate and Erik. They saved their money and were able to partner with Karen, a prominent local restauranteur, becoming a part of the Parish seven years ago.
Sawtell describes their menu as pub-based California cuisine with European influence and twists. Palate-awakening appetizers include chicken wings with choice of eight different sauces and beer-battered Southern pickle spears. Entrée bests are the Bangers and Mash with locally sourced sausage and the Irish Dip sandwich with roast beef, Irish cheddar cheese, Irish stout mayo and Jameson au jus. Another favorite is the Out and In Burger, a play on an In-N-Out animal style burger. The dessert headliner is the house specialty chocolate bread pudding.
How do you find purpose in owning a restaurant?
JOEL SAWTELL: One of my passions that I try and pay forward came from previous owners and co-workers mentoring me and giving me a chance to grow in the industry. They helped me carry on and embody what it means to be a family restaurant that supports each other and the community, and now I try to pass along those same virtues. I love getting to be a part of seeing people grow and move on to college and other jobs, finding direction in their lives as they go through life’s journey.
What does the Parish mean to Aptos residents?
I feel like we have become a great place in the community, providing a welcoming spot for locals to come together. We have many regulars who are here multiple times a week, and we greatly appreciate their support. We also host a lot of special events like birthdays, holiday parties and wedding receptions. We have a great private party room that really makes these events extra special and fun; people have a great time.
My existence led by confusion boats Mutiny from stern to bow Ah, but I was so much older then I’m younger than that now.
—Bob Dylan, “My Back Pages,” 1964
Precisely two decades ago, the iconic, well-traveled and weather-beaten singer-songwriter Bob Dylan appeared on the CBS Sunday evening television show 60 Minutes to promote the release of his hypnotic, quasi-fictional “memoirs,” Chronicles: Volume I, that had raced up the best-seller charts in the autumn of 2004.
Interviewing Dylan was the venerable Ed Bradley—strong-voiced, steady, straightforward—who had been a stalwart on the mainstream news program since the early 1980s.
They seemed like an odd couple. Bradley, donning a suit and well-trimmed beard, was direct and sincere in his approach to Dylan (he said he had wanted to interview the singer-songwriter since he first joined 60 Minutes in 1981), while his counterpart Dylan—pale, his curly, graying hair disheveled, and donning what appeared to be the hint of a pencil mustache—came off as elusive, even mysterious, his celebrated blue eyes darting into the distance, apparently operating in a different realm entirely.
It made for a fascinating, revelatory encounter.
Early on, Dylan provided awkward and disengaged one-word answers: When Bradley asked Dylan if he had written, as legend has it, his early-’60s anthem “Blowin’ in the Wind” in just ten minutes, his answer was a hesitant “Probably.”
“Just like that?” Bradley followed.
Dylan nodded his head and eventually muttered, “Yeah.”
Bradley pressed on. “Where did it come from?” he queried.
Dylan muttered: “It just came, uh, it came from, like um, right out of that wellspring, uh, of creativity, uh, I would think, you know.”
As the interview progressed, Dylan opened up, little by little, like a tightly wound jelly jar. “I don’t know how I got to write those songs. Those early songs were almost magically written…” He then quoted from his 1964 classic, “It’s Alright, Ma.”
Darkness at the break of noon Shadows even the silver spoon The handmade blade, the child’s balloon Eclipses both the sun and moon To understand you know too soon There is no sense in trying…
“Try to sit down and write something like that,” Dylan offered. “There’s a magic to that, and it’s not Siegfried and Roy kind of magic, you know? It‘s a different kind of a penetrating magic. And, you know, I did it. I did it at one time.”
Bradley asked him if he thought he could do it again today.
“No,” Dylan acknowledged, like an aging baseball pitcher who had lost a mile or two on his fastball. “You can’t do something forever. I did it once, and I can do other things now. But, I can’t do that.”
LIKE A ROLLING STONE Bob Dylan praised Timothée Chalamet’s portrayal of him in this new biopic. Photo: Macall Polay
The that referenced ruefully by Dylan—the truly phenomenal creative outpouring in which he wrote and performed dozens of profoundly brilliant songs—songs that are still vital and penetrating today—was his journey that began in the early 1960s, when he had just turned 20. It ended mid-decade, when fatherhood and a nearly fatal motorcycle accident sent him into a rural hiatus in upstate New York. That is the subject of and creative force, I would argue, of James Mangold’s superb, compelling and nearly perfectly crafted new film, A Complete Unknown, opening tomorrow (Christmas Day) at theaters throughout Northern California—including the Del Mar in downtown Santa Cruz, the CineLux Capitola Cafe and Lounge, the CineLux Scotts Valley Cafe and Lounge and the CineLux Green Valley Cinema in Watsonville.
Let me note here at the outset that, as a Dylan aficionado of roughly 60 years, I had great trepidations when I first heard that Mangold (Girl Interrupted, Kate & Leopold, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) was intending to make this movie. I felt that he had done an absolutely splendid job in directing the Johnny Cash musical biopic, Walk the Line, with an inspired turn by Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role, but Dylan was a figure of many different stripes and far more iconographic complexities than Cash.
Indeed, I recall cringing when I heard about it (visions of the cartoonish Bob Marley biopic One Love came immediately to mind). No one can pull that off, I felt, finding and directing someone to capture and recreate Bob Dylan and that at once grungy yet seemingly golden era in New York’s Greenwich Village in the early ’60s. No one.
I was wrong. Quite wrong. In a masterful turn of inspired casting, Mangold chose the talented young actor Timothée Chalamet in the lead role (he of Call Me by Your Name, Wonka, Lady Bird, Beautiful Boy and Dune fame, among others). Chalamet captures and embodies the young Dylan in a profound way that, for me at least, was unimaginable. He is remarkably convincing.
In this respect, there was something thoroughly fortuitous (and unforeseen) in leading up to production, which was originally slated to initiate roughly five years ago. Due to the Covid pandemic and some labor strife in Hollywood, rather than having only four months to prepare for the role of the iconic young Dylan, the 28-year-old Chalamet had five years. He made the most of it.
Chalamet immersed himself in Dylan’s music. He learned to play the guitar and the harmonica, practiced his Chaplin-esque mannerisms, and captured the essence of his voice and delivery—so much so that the real Dylan, now a salty 83, registered his approval in a posting on X (my god, Bob Dylan now tweets!): “There’s a movie about me opening soon called ‘A Complete Unknown’ (what a title!). Timothée Chalamet is starring in the lead role. Timmy’s a brilliant actor so I’m sure he’s going to be completely believable as me. Or a younger me. Or some other me.”
The film is loosely (as in very loosely) based on Elijah Wald’s 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric!: Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties, which chronicles Dylan’s ambitious journey to New York City in 1961, his maturation in the growing folk music scene (around the likes of Dave Van Ronk and Pete Seeger), and his controversial transformation from acoustic folkie to an electric rock ’n’ roller, highlighted by his iconoclastic electric set at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. It’s a well-told tale and highly familiar to Dylan acolytes worldwide.
The screenplay for the film was adapted by Mangold and his longtime associate Jay Cocks, who I read somewhere actually interviewed Dylan in 1964 while Cocks was a student at Kenyon College in 1964. Mangold and Cocks have clearly used Wald’s book for the narrative structure of the film and played around with the dramatic tensions in the form of Dylan’s complex and often contentious relationships with Seeger, as well as his longtime girlfriend, Suze Rotolo, whose name was changed (rather inexplicably at Dylan’s direction) to “Sylvie Russo” in the film. I suspect that Dylan’s Chronicles and Rotolo’s own introspective memoir, A Freewheelin’ Time, added considerable depth and breadth to these portrayals.
That’s the basic narrative of the film, with dramatic tensions emanating from Dylan’s complex relationships with fellow folk singers Pete Seeger (played by Edward Norton) and Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro) and girlfriend Russo (Elle Fanning). The actors all deliver exceptional performances in their respective roles and all deserve Academy Award nominations.
License to Cinema
Just so true and pure Dylan fanaticos (of which there are legions) know that I was paying attention when I attended a press screening of the film in San Francisco two weeks ago, I couldn’t help but notice the considerable cinematic license that Wald took with the real-life material on which his film was based (spoiler alert). Seeger is given a much larger presence in Dylan’s life in the film than is actually warranted (he was not at Woody Guthrie’s hospital bed when Dylan first arrived, and Dylan never crashed his TV show, much less appeared on it).
The same can be said about Johnny Cash (who wasn’t even at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival in which he is portrayed to have played a supportive role to Dylan’s musical development). And Baez is depicted as playing a guitar in her duets with Dylan, which she never did; Dylan alone played it (but Mangold apparently liked the visual balance the two of them holding acoustic guitars together created).
And, since I am a bit of a geographical geek, the four-corner intersection of Bleeker and McDougal streets in the film is much broader than the narrow cul-de-sac in which the two streets come together in the West Village (which I walked through on my first trip there in 1971 and to which I have always visited whenever I return). I could go on and on.
In fact, it’s been widely reported that Dylan went so far as to insist that a completely made-up scene be included in the film. I have no idea which one it was, though it well could have been a supposedly improvised scene with a Delta blues singer named “Jesse Moffet”; as far as I can tell, there was no musician who went by that name, and Dylan never appeared on that show.
MY BACK PAGES Chalamet as Bob Dylan and Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez perform together in this not always accurate film. Photo: Searchlight Pictures
Apparently Dylan imposed the same instructions to Martin Scorsese in Rolling Thunder Revue, which was supposedly a documentary about Dylan’s 1975-76 tour of the same name. The whole bit about actress Sharon Stone, crashing the Dylan entourage as a rebellious teen, was completely made up, reportedly to Dylan’s delight.
None of those details matter, of course, because Dylan’s explosive artistic impulses are what matter and are at the true heart of the film. But I do have a couple of issues in respect to context and which do in fact inform Dylan’s journey.
The first is that there is really no mention, or significant reference, to the so-called British Invasion, headlined by the Beatles, of course, but also the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Dave Clark Fine, ad infinitum. That invasion had a powerful impact on Dylan’s drive to go electric and break free of the rules and limitations of the folk traditions.
The second, and equally significant, matter, is that Dylan, in his late teens, did not initially view himself as a folksinger. Not even close. He was inspired by the likes of Little Richard, Elvis, Chuck Berry, Jimmy Reed and a host of others. His first band, the Shadow Blasters, formed in Hibbing in 1957, pounded out rock ’n’ roll for concerts at Dylan’s high school. His musical birth was conceived in the hard-driving rhythms and pulse of rock ’n’ roll, hence the title of his electric breakthrough album, Bringing It All Back Home, which included rockers “Subterranean Homesick Blues” and “Maggie’s Farm.”
Then, of course, there is the widely reported matter of Dylan’s extensive drug use at this time, which almost certainly fueled his creative flights. Not a single reference to that in A Complete Unknown, either.
ROCK ROOTS
My own personal (and, admittedly, lifelong) encounter with Dylan actually began where A Complete Unknown ends, early in 1966. I was 10 or 11, riding in my mother’s Ford down Highway One near the once-rural community of Soquel, when “Just Like a Woman,” from Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde album, played over the radio. It’s a moment that still resonates strongly to this day.
His was a voice with emotional tonalities I’d never encountered before, and, let’s face it, have encountered few times since. He was one of a kind, and like so many others of his fans across the nation and across the world, I knew it the instant I heard it. It changed my life. His voice and his passion and his complex, poetic lyrics profoundly touched something deep inside my youthful soul. It was a moment of self-discovery that would repeat itself over and over again.
Dylan, nearly a full generation older than I, provided the soundtrack to my life and for many members of my post-war generation and beyond. Dylan’s evocative phrasing, with all of his trademark nasal intonations and dramatic emphasis on variant syllables, touched deep into the soul of the songs’ various characters and their setting, defining not only who we are as a people but where we’ve been.
A few years later, I discovered Logos, a used records and bookstore, then located on Cooper Street, across from the old Richardson Romanesque Cooper House before it was torn down following the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. I bought my first books and most of my first records there (all of which I still have, much to my kids’ chagrin), and where I discovered strange and rare Dylan bootleg records that were titled “GWW” (meaning Great White Wonder) and printed in honey-gold see-through vinyl. It was like a magic world had opened up.
One of the bootlegs contained a recording of Dylan with “the king of all Dylan nuts,” as Rolling Stone’s A.J. Weberman, who used to go through Dylan’s garbage in New York while creating a rather preposterous analysis of Dylan’s songs, would describe them.
There was also an early interview with Cynthia Gooding, a widely respected Village folk singer and musicologist who had begun hosting a radio program on WBAI in New York. In February of 1962, she hosted Dylan for an interview in anticipation of the release of his eponymous first album, Bob Dylan, issued by Columbia Records. It also included some songs that I had never heard before, part of Dylan’s folk repertoire before he had landed in his first recording studio.
Gooding, then more than twice Dylan’s age, conducted an intimate (even flirtatious) conversation with Dylan, which was woven between his performance. But what really caught my attention was his claim he’d just come there from South Dakota.
He claimed to have worked “with the carnival, off and on, six years,” doing “just about everything. I was the clean-up boy. I used to be on the main line on the Ferris wheel. Used to run rides … I didn’t go to school a bunch of years. I skipped this and skipped that…” He talked about a “lady I knew in the carnival. It was … they had a freak show in it, all the midgets and all that kind of stuff. … Her skin had been all burned and she was a little baby, didn’t grow right, so she was like a freak.
“All these people would pay money to see. That really sort of got me. It’s a funny thing about them. I know how these people think. They want to sell you stuff, those spectators. Like they sell little cards of themselves for ten cents. They got a picture on it, and it’s got some story. Here they are on stage. They want to make you have two thoughts. They want to make you think that they don’t feel bad about themselves and also, they want to make you feel sorry for them. I always liked that, and I wrote a song for her. It was called, ‘Won’t You Buy a Postcard.’ Can’t remember that one, though.”
FOREVER YOUNG Timothée Chalamet learned guitar and harmonica to cover rock’s rambling man.PHOTO: Searchlight Pictures
All of this struck me as odd. I knew enough of the Dylan canon to know that he had grown up in Duluth and Hibbing, on the Iron Range, that he had attended the University of Minnesota, in the Twin Cities, and that he had dropped out in 1961. The carnival tale, stories of being a cowboy out west in Wyoming and New Mexico, had all been made up as part of the back story to his creative genius.
I spent too much of the evening listening to the song over and over again, well into the late-night darkness, just as I had to dozens of other Dylan songs from my adolescence into middle age. I simply could not let it go. The song, the voice, the lyrics, they were all inside me, providing, in a strange way, a cosmic shelter from the storm, while at the same instant challenging me and feeding an interior anxiety about the world and our fates and our times. At the watershed year of 50, I was still coming of age. It was an epiphany.
That is, of course, Dylan’s great interpretive gift and his genius: His ability to condense and crystalize so much emotion, so much sagacity, into a single song or performance; it has been what has made him the most fascinating and compelling musician (and, I would argue, artist) of the past half-century.
Over the closing credits of A Complete Unknown, Chalamet’s recordings of Dylan’s songs are used until the end, when Dylan’s version of “Tambourine Man” is played until the screen turns black. One can’t help but to be struck immediately by the subtle contrast between the two. Dylan’s voice and guitar performance had complexities and a richness and depth that Chalamet’s did not. They haunted me as I walked out of the theater into the cold chilled streets of San Francisco.
There are only a handful of ’60s heroes who have survived as Dylan has; ever-changing. More than a half-century after the era depicted in A Complete Unknown, Dylan is still busy being born, his creative juices still flowing and flowering, perhaps not as they did during that magical moment, but flowing and flowering nonetheless. As a very wise man once told me, there’s nothing like the real thing.
Following up on last week’s letter Endangered Monarchs, the Center for Biological Diversity, instrumental in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife listing of the monarch as threatened, is now taking action to protect Mexico’s migration forests. The exploding U.S. demand for avocados is fueling the ruining of monarch habitats, pushing the imperiled monarchs toward extinction. The center is asking U S. grocers to adopt avocado-sourcing policies that protect human rights and monarch habitat. What we can do is ask local grocers to stop buying avocados from Mexico, and buy from CA sources. Santa Cruz has the largest population of monarchs in CA because of the ideal habitat protected and enhanced by its citizens. Santa Cruz is #1 on the planet for monarchs.
Fiona Fairchild | Monarch Activist 🦋
HATE CRIME
JOINT STATEMENT FROM SANTA CRUZ PRIDE AND PAJARO VALLEY PRIDE CONDEMNING THE HATE CRIME AGAINST THE NEIGHBOR’S PUB ON DEC. 10
The Neighbor’s Pub opened to a robust crowd of people on December 5, 2024, and just five nights later, the LGBTQ+ establishment was the target of a hate crime. Areas around the front door were set on fire, and a homophobic slur was carved into the glass window. We strongly condemn such actions—hate crimes have no place in our communities.
The Neighbor’s Pub is a place to “foster and emphasize community within the LGBTQ+ community. It’s a place where LGBTQ+ community members gather, learn, celebrate, and give back. It’s a place for LGBTQ+ community members to be in community with one another.”
We stand with owner and developer Frankie Farr for their initiative to create this space for the Santa Cruz community and will continue to support their efforts to maintain a welcoming and safe environment. Acts of hate will not deter us. We will show up with PRIDE, embracing our authenticity and visibility. Together, we stand united. Together, we demonstrate our resilience in the face of adversity and refuse to let these actions silence our community. We are neighbors, and we are here to stay!
ONLINE COMMENTS
On Bruce Bratton’s Death
Not only has Santa Cruz lost its heart. It is now without a Soul, RIP BRATTON. Where is that bumper sticker of the week?
Jimmy Kelly | GoodTimes.sc
Farewell, Bruce
I just learned the sad news from Bruce’s email list column. I thank you, Christina, for your piece here, which seems to this old (1983-2005) Santa Cruzan to be spot on. I, too, cannot imagine Santa Cruz without Bruce. I’m glad to read that he died in his sleep, presumably without current painful health issues or other bad vibes.
Leslie Sweeney | GoodTimes.sc
Thanks, Christina Waters
Thanks for this Christina. I didn’t know Bruce personally or professionally, but his presence was ubiquitous. I knew he was important to this town, and full of its history. I learned more from your article.
When I arrived in Santa Cruz, Ed Ferrell hired me to work the graveyard shift at Ferrell’s Donuts, the old one on Mission Avenue where Pizzeria Avanti sits now. A cast of characters walked through the door between midnight and 6am, and my job was to flip over a mug, pour coffee and suggest donut options.
One night a disheveled, mumbling character with curly hair walked in and sat down. He confided in me that he was Bob Dylan and told me a few stories. Was he or wasn’t he? I asked him a few challenge questions to try and authenticate him, and while his answers weren’t entirely convincing, there was no way to prove him an imposter either. He paid for his coffee and left.
He was like the guy I’d run into on the Pacific Beach boardwalk each night who claimed to be Kiss’ Peter Criss, which was impossible to disprove without makeup.
The notion of Dylan appearing in a Santa Cruz donut shop at 3am was not entirely implausible. The Internet hadn’t been invented yet. There was no way to call an image up. Celebrities and literary figures could remain mysteries. They communicated through cryptic lyrics.
Dylan spoke with songs, and some evoked the Biblical prophets. Dylan found drugs, then Jesus, and then drifted away from the church.
Dylan was a larger than life figure in the way that no one can be these days. From that era, memories come shrouded in an aura. Was that mystical fog there when we were living in those days, or does it simply appear when we reminisce, like a movie flashback that flips to black and white when it comes on screen?
Dan Pulcrano | Publisher
PHOTO CONTEST
EARLY BIRD DINNER An osprey having a fresh seafood dinner overlooking West Cliff. Photograph by Vanessa Lee
GOOD IDEA
County libraries are seeking applicants to serve as the second Youth Poet Laureate. This initiative celebrates the vibrant world of youth poetry. The Poet Laureate will serve a one-year term, spanning from April 2025 to April 2026. This award offers reading and publication opportunities for the selected poet. The position is open to individuals 13-18 who live in the county and can commit to serving locally throughout the program year.
UC Santa Cruz is highlighting two transformational gifts to its campus. The recently established Sabatte Family Scholarship will provide four years of tuition plus living expenses for up to 50 high-achieving undergraduates annually for the next 30 years. StrathearnRanch, the newly announced University of California natural reserve, will be the seventh stewarded by the campus, offering invaluable ecological, educational and research opportunities to UC students, faculty and other researchers for generations.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Let us sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow.”
‘I started writing it the day after one of my best friends overdosed,” Joshua Cremer says slowly after some contemplation. He’s talking about the power of songs to have a life of their own, sometimes mysteriously hiding their true meaning—even from the artist—until a later time.
He points to the song “Demi” by his band Eyes Like Lanterns, who play the Catalyst this Saturday, Dec. 28, as an example.
“I didn’t really know what it was about until the whole thing was done and I realized, ‘Oh, this is straight grief. It’s me talking to my friend.’”
Currently based out of Santa Cruz, Eyes Like Lanterns is a dark and brooding Americana quartet. Grittier than the Lumineers but more chart-toppingly polished than, say, The Builders & the Butcher or Murder By Death, Eyes Like Lanterns formed in Chico in 2017. Originally, it was the name for Cremer’s solo project as he played bars, venues and wherever else allowed live music.
During the past seven years Cremer cut three EPs as Eyes Like Lanterns (2017’s Bury Your Name, 2021’s All the Way Down and 2023’s Plague Spells), playing various instruments to fill out the sound on the tracks.
However, earlier this year he recruited Jesse Kenneth Cotu Williams on bass, Jorge Marquez on drums and Billy Reese on second guitar for a new, fuller chapter in Eyes Like Lanterns’ story. It all began in a very typical Santa Cruz musician way: the service industry.
“Jorge and I work together at the Bywater [in Los Gatos],” Cremer says. “He bought a drum set and started learning the songs from Spotify.”
The irony is Marquez is actually a bassist who played in grindcore band His Irate Life. So why the switch to the skins?
“I was allowed to play drums now,” Marquez says, laughing.
A week later they picked up Reese, who suggested Williams, having played with him previously for country artist Brandon O’Connor.
Despite being a fledgling group, this quartet is made up of seasoned players. They’ve already played several shows and are looking to lay down some tracks on record in the new year. They kicked things off with a session at the Sound Store with Matt Wilson.
“I’m really excited to see where the songs will go from here now that I have a band,” Cremer admits. “I don’t have to worry about anything sliding. I can focus on my parts and we can do something together that we couldn’t have done individually.”
Reese agrees.
“We get a lot of freedom from Josh to do our own thing,” he says. “Which is so cool because our live act is so different than the records. The spirit of a song is still there even if we—as a band—play it completely differently.”
The upcoming Catalyst show—the band’s debut at the venue—is billed as an intimate show, offering seating instead of the usual “standing room only.” It’s a fitting choice for a band whose music needs to be mulled over and savored. Eyes Like Lanterns’ latest EP, Plague Spells, is a perfect example of why Cremer’s music commands attention.
While songs like “Simple Math” are upbeat, with almost a Mumford & Sons or Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros tone, tracks like “Coke Dreams” or the title track are streaked with sullen stripes. The EP’s closing song, “Ghost I Know,” is an homage to the past and the ever-changing nature of what it means to be human. More than just songs, Cremer sees his art as esoteric.
Or as Williams simply states, “It’s magic. Music can make you feel better or worse.”
“They’re spells,” Cremer says. “They’re powerful in the right hands and can change people’s lives. I think love and music are the only two strains of magic that we, as humans, have left and haven’t absolutely beaten out of the world.”
Eyes Like Lanterns plays at 8pm on Dec. 28 at the Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $19. 831-713-5492.
The term “two-way player” has a whole range of definitions.
In the case of Mad Yolks (1411 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz), two-way takes on a stack of meanings.
They go two ways on fresh-and-fast-casual options, with Poke House spots in Monterey and downtown S.C. (1543 Pacific Ave.).
Meanwhile, they give their Poke House fare two chances at enjoyment, by teaming up with Too Good to Go (toogoodtogo.com/en-us), which limits food waste by hooking up app users with deals on leftover day-of inventory.
And the twins behind Mad Yolks and its brioche egg sandwich brunch boom just added a second spot in San Jose (1087 Meridian Ave. #40), while they suss out the possibilities for a location in Capitola.
So yes, they’re making plays, while continuing to provide signature items for Santa Cruz Warriors practices and season ticket holder events, while flying Yolked signage at games.
“It’s exciting to be a ‘part of the team’ and support the local squad, see them play and have some interaction with the players, who give us some love on social media,” says co-owner Henry Wong. “We find it very fun and very cool.”
Looking ahead, the Wave City Warriors play the Mexico City Capitanes Jan. 17, then take on the Stockton Kings Jan. 20 and Salt Lake City Stars Jan. 24 and 25. madyolks.com, santacruz.gleague.nba.com
BEAN MACHINE
Coffee connoisseur-roaster-barista Eddie Alaniz has done the Lord’s work by replacing a former Starbucks at Capitola Mall (1855 41st Ave.) with his own Coffee Conspiracy. The craft operation, which soft-opened Dec. 22, got moving as a bicycle coffee cart along East Cliff Drive, before moving to now-online Honey B’s Market and later doing his own micro cafe on Locust Street. Fans can support his effort by peeking at his Go Fund Me. “What began as a small, scrappy idea has grown into something bigger than I ever could have imagined—a brand that thrives on the love and support of a community that’s always had my back,” Alaniz writes. gofundme.com/f/coffeeconspiracy.
DRIVING THAT TRAIN
One of the better developments of the year gone by happened when gifted chef and Santa Cruz native Mikey Adams took the helm at Alderwood (155 Walnut Ave., Santa Cruz), saying, “I love this town, and it’s always been my dream to be a chef in Santa Cruz.” While he ups the flavor quotient with his wood-fired seafood, Alderwood has introduced a weekly hang with Grateful Dead Sundays, with Deadhead tunes, happy hour deals 5-6:30pm, special themed cocktails and prime rib. alderwoodsantacruz.com
FLAVOR LIT
Casa Nostra in Scotts Valley shut down late last week, citing financial and personnel challenges…The freshly released 2023 Le Cigare Volant by Bonny Doon Vineyard and vino legend Randall Grahm signals his 40th vintage of the iconic brand, bonnydoonvineyard.com…Charlie Hong Kong owner Carolyn Rudolph decided to stop serving soda at her landmark restaurant (1141 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz) ahead of the city’s tax on sugary beverages, which starts May 1—mineral water with low or no sugar for all, charliehongkong.com.
There have been years when staying home on New Year’s Eve seemed like the best option. Not this one. If you like EDM, classic rock, Indian music or burlesque, Santa Cruz has you covered.
Check out our critics’ suggestions.
ROCK
Ring in the New Year with American Idol finalist and international recording artist James Durbin at the Inn at Pasatiempo’s 1920s-themed celebration, A Night at the Speakeasy. Each ticket includes access to all festivities at the glamorous evening, including a concert by headliner Durbin and the Lost Boys—expect to hear plenty of ’70s and ’80s rock—hors d’oeuvres, party favors, a photo booth and a no-host bar. Dress to impress in 1920s glamour and join in on the fun with hosts James and Heidi Durbin and Santa Cruz’s own Lost Boys. MELISA YURIAR
INFO: 8pm–12:30am, Inn at Pasatiempo, 555 Hwy. 17, Santa Cruz. $87.21, adv. (including fees). 21+. eventbrite.com
SOUL MUSIC
Harry and the Hitmen have dug through crates of classic soul records with names like Motown, Stax, Volt and Chess on the label, finding all the choicest sides and rehearsing until they have them down tight enough to get loose, showing these classics the proper respect when they suit up and present the music that they love to an appreciative and equally well-dressed audience of soul fans. They write their own original tunes as well, taking influence from the masters of the genre and turning out “new soul classics.” Wolf Jett will be on hand Tuesday to kick start the dancing. KEITH LOWELL JENSEN
There is no better place to ring in 2025 than at a sexy and fun burlesque show with friends. Drawing together some of the best performers from up and down the coast, If’n Wendy will host Best Coast Burlesque’s New Years Eve Extravaganza at the Santa Cruz Actors’ Theatre. There will be two showings, so those who celebrate early and those who celebrate late can equally enjoy the show to its fullest extent. Each show will include a complimentary toast of champagne or NA sparkling cider, so everyone can clink in the new year together. So relax, unwind and enjoy the best burlesque on the best coast. ISABELLA MARIE SANGALINE
INFO: 7pm (doors open at 6:15) or 10pm (doors open 9:15), Actors’ Theatre, 1001 Center St., Santa Cruz. $33.85. 21+. eventbrite.com
RAVING
Break out your galactic gear and celebrate with cosmic lasers, dazzling projections and oversized props like towering robots and massive alien spaceships that will transport you to another galaxy. Dress in your NYE best or go all out in galactic-themed outfits—think astronauts, aliens, or metallic, glittery, or holographic styles. Experience an epic countdown to 2025 with stunning effects that will leave you feeling out of this world as you ring in the new year! Music by local DJs, food and drink specials, fun, fantasy and escapism promised. DJ Nola Cruz warms up the crowd 9-10pm, followed by DJ Robin Applewood from 10-11pm (the Pulse of the Party); DJ Maniakal handles the Countdown from 11pm–1am.
INFO: Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church St., Santa Cruz. $69.99. 21+. santacruztickets.com
SITAR POWER
AT 418 PROJECT Sitar Power fuels an ‘artist-led gathering in gratitude.’ Photo: Contributed
One of Santa Cruz’s most spectacular musicians—and his equally amazing son—will host a night of Indian music to bring in 2025. Called “An Artist-led Gathering in Gratitude,” Ashwin Batish presents his Indian fusion band, Sitar Power, with bands including Mamus, who play folk/soul revival, and the Limina Space Collective, an art experience. It takes place at the 418 Project from 8pm on. There are no-host bars, live music with an open mic, a midnight aerial dance, wandering artists, a photo Casbah and spoken word performers. Sounds like an amazing way to travel the world right here in town.
INFO: 8pm, 418 Project, 155 S. River St., Santa Cruz. $32.95-$211.45. 18+. eventbrite.com
BEATS ANTIQUE AND YAIMA
It’s impossible to describe Beats Antique using just a single genre. One listen to their album, Shadowbox, and their unique hybrid of sound makes perfect sense. Sidecar Tommy, David Satori and Zoe Jakes make up the band. Mostly recorded at their studio in Oakland (which has been around since the ’50s), the Bay Area band also recorded in Russia and Israel, with guest artists from both. The album touches on down-tempo Middle Eastern influences to cinematic orchestral arrangements.
YAIMA is a Cascadian elemental and alchemical electronic music duo based in Seattle.
Members Mas Higasa and Pepper Proud allow the listener to journey through sonic soundscapes traversing sensually stimulating and heart-centered compositions. Their music is reminiscent of groups such as Purity Ring, Massive Attack, Bjork, Portishead, Wildlight, Emancipator and Lulacruza.
INFO: Doors 8pm, show 9pm, Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $64.87–$93.92. catalystclub.com
INTERGALACTIC NYE BASH WITH SPACE HEATER
Space Heater is a Santa Cruz-based band with one foot planted firmly in the foundations of funk, while the other foot prefers a galaxy far, far away. Blending the funky sounds inspired from Prince and James Brown to Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, the Heat will likewise take you on a delicious journey careening through cosmic jams, landing you squarely on the dance floor with ecstatic revelers. With an expanding roster of sultry originals and the occasional cover song, you won’t have much choice but to shake that thang…
INFO: Doors 8pm, show 9pm, Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $30/adv, $35/day of show. 21+. moesalley.com
MORE OPTIONS
If none of the above fits quite right, try these events on for size:
The Time Travelers Ball: Glamour Through the Decades, presented by Big Queer Events, offers a space for participants to pay tribute to their favorite fashion era, and enjoy a drag and burlesque show with over a dozen performers (8:30–10pm) and music curated by DJ Father Taj. The de rigueur midnight champagne toast will be enhanced by a charcuterie station. Doors open at 7pm at the Courtyard by Marriott, 313 Riverside Ave., Santa Cruz. eventbrite.com
Santa Cruz Art Expressions hosts Lumina, with diversions that include “surreal projections, intriquing art, dance beats and lasers” as well as DJs, hourly ball drop countdowns and immersive projections. 8pm at Santa Cruz Art Expressions, 1545½ Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $28.52. eventbrite.com
China Cats New Years Eve features the Grateful Dead tribute band plus liquid light show, 9pm at Veterans Hall, 846 Front St., Santa Cruz. $50. mountainmusicproductions.com
Fishhook reels in revelers with “good times, dancing and rock & roll,” plus party favors and a champagne toast, 9pm at the Crow’s Nest, 2218 East Cliff Dr., Santa Cruz. $20. crowsnest-santacruz.com
Bruno’s Bar and Grill throws a NYE Black and White Ball in Scotts Valley, with music by Fire Peach and all the New Year’s necessities: party crowns, noisemakers, and a full bar. 8pm at Bruno’s, 230 Mount Hermon Rd., Suite G, Scotts Valley. $25. brunosbarandgrill.com
The Joint Chiefs convene at Sevy’s for a night of music-filled night with food & drink specials, and happy hour from 8–10pm. Book a reservation on Open Table or take the first-come, first-serve bar seating. 8pm–12:30am, Sevy’s Bar + Kitchen, 7500 Old Dominion Ct., Aptos. sevysbarandkitchen.com
The T. Rollin Trio deliver covers from the ’60s to the ’90s, plus originals. 9:30pm at Joe’s Bar, 13118 Highway 9, Boulder Creek. No cover. drinkatjoes.com
Heavy surf on Monday smashed into the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, shearing off a 125-foot section off the end and sending an already-closed business into the ocean, along with a public restroom and two pieces of heavy construction equipment.
Emergency officials rescued several people who fell into the ocean as they repaired damages from the storms in 2023, said Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley.
A Bobcat tractor and a crane also fell into the ocean, he said.
“A lot of debris is in the water moving toward the beach,” Keeley said.
Santa Cruz Police received a call about the damage at 12:44pm.
A large swath of Santa Cruz’s beachside has been closed, including the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Cowell’s Beach and the Small Yacht Harbor.
No existing businesses are thought to be structurally damaged, but on Monday afternoon, engineers were inspecting the wharf to assess the extent of the damage, Keeley said.
But with surf conditions expected to get worse—and with damage assessments ongoing—it’s unclear how that will change. The damage, he pointed out, occurred during low tide.
“We’re going to have a high tide in a couple of hours, and that could cause additional problems for us,” he said.
Joe Schwappach, a worker at The Picnic Basket, a Santa Cruz eatery between the Boardwalk and the Wharf, was surprised by the commotion as several police vehicles raced by.
“And then we looked out and we saw a bunch of driftwood in the ocean,” Schwappach said. “And then we realized that the pier collapsed and drifted all the way down the beach on to the point down there.”
There are no reports of significant injuries.
“Due to life-threatening ocean conditions, please avoid all coastal areas, including overlook areas such as rocks, jetties, or cliffs,” Santa Cruz spokeswoman Katie Lee said. “Dangerous and powerful waves can sweep across entire beaches unexpectedly. Do not enter the water, and do not cross flooded streets. Conditions will remain dangerous through noon on Dec. 24.”
At Sunset State Beach, emergency responders arrived at approximately 11:30am for a report that a man was injured by a large piece of driftwood. Witnesses said that at least five people were trapped at the bottom of the stairs close to the entrance of the beach.
Nearly a dozen emergency response vehicles responded to the scene, and emergency workers worked for more than 10 minutes to remove the man from under a giant piece of driftwood.
“He appeared conscious for a time, conversing with personnel as they worked to free him from under the driftwood, but fell into a state of seeming unconsciousness shortly after efforts began,” a witness said.
Emergency workers could be seen performing CPR on the man for more than a half hour before he was taken to a local hospital.
Additional reporting by Zen Weaver, Drew Penner and Antonio Ramirez.
At approximately 12:44 p.m. today, a call was received reporting that the end of the Santa Cruz municipal wharf, where the Dolphin Restaurant and Restroom #3 were located, collapsed into the ocean along with three construction workers.
Due to ongoing construction, this area has been closed to the public since January 2024.Two victims were rescued by Lifeguard Unit 3166, and one victim self-rescued. There are no reports of significant injuries at this time.
A drone deployed by the Santa Cruz Police Department confirmed that no additional victims were in the water and assessed the extent of the damage.
The municipal wharf will be closed until further notice.
Due to the high surf advisory and the large amounts of debris, including potential hazardous materials released during the incident, Main Beach and Cowell’s Beach are also closed.
Due to life-threatening ocean conditions, please avoid all coastal areas, including overlook areas such as rocks, jetties, or cliffs. Dangerous and powerful waves can sweep across entire beaches unexpectedly. Do not enter the water, and do not cross flooded streets. Conditions will remain dangerous through noon on Tuesday, Dec. 24.
Please share this information with friends, family, and out-of-town visitors to help ensure everyone’s safety.
The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees will appoint a new member to replace outgoing Trustee Kim De Serpa, rather than hold a costly special election.
The trustees made the 6–0 vote Wednesday night after a discussion that turned contentious as the board bickered with trustee-elect Gabe Medina, who was in the audience
De Serpa has held the Trustee Area 1 seat since 2010. She resigned last week after being elected to the County Board of Supervisors.
The district has 60 days to fill the position.
A special election would cost the district $80,000.
Medina suggested the district should be more transparent in the process of bringing in a new trustee. The district should also update the applications to identify when people applying for the position have made campaign donations to current members, he said.
He pointed out that Trustee Misty Navarro, who was appointed in October, made two separate $250 donations—one on Sept. 10 and the other on Sept. 16—to Kim De Serpa in her campaign for Santa Cruz County supervisor.
“It doesn’t seem like there was good play involved in making that decision,” he said.
In a text message on Thursday, Medina wrote, “the process lacked transparency, and raised concerns about public confidence in decision-making.”
“Overall, it felt like a rushed process, and we missed an opportunity to involve the voices of those most impacted,” he added.
Creating a survey for the people living in Trustee Area I, Medina said, would help assure that they have a say in the process.
“We have a recurring issue of ‘friends hiring friends,’ and this decision appeared to be another clear example of that dynamic,” Medina said. “Addressing such practices is crucial to rebuilding trust and ensuring that appointments are based on merit and community input rather than personal connections.”
Medina also said a poll of his 1,700 constituents showed that many wished they could have had more input in the process when Navarro was appointed.
Medina also said that Navarro’s title should be changed to “interim trustee,” since she was appointed and not elected.
In her comments, Navarro defended her contribution to De Serpa’s campaign and her position on the board.
She also decried the “contentious” nature of the meeting.
“I hope that when we’re on the board together we can do so in a more kind and respectful manner,” she said.
Navarro said that she has known De Serpa professionally for five years.
“I made a campaign contribution to her because I know who she is, and I know all the hard work that she does and I support her being on the (Board of Supervisors). (That) has nothing to do with being on this board.
“The reason I am on this board is that I have children in the district who go to these schools. I care about these students, I work with these students every single day, and frankly your comments are incredibly insulting.”
•••
The trustees also heard reports on a potential teacher housing complex for the district, and the dual project of a performing arts center and a pool at Pajaro Valley High School.
All three projects, still in the conceptual stage, will be funded by Measure M, the $315 million bond approved in the November election.
The district is considering seven school sites for the teacher housing project: Aptos and Renaissance high schools, Rolling Hills Middle School, Diamond Tech and Freedom, H.A. Hyde and Amesti elementary schools.
District officials see this project as a way to attract and retain teachers. A project in Santa Cruz City School District is charging 65% of the market rate, said Ralph Le Roux of 19six Architects, which was chosen for that project. It is estimated to cost between $60 and $91 million. The performing arts center and pool at PV High are estimated at $25 million.
An athletic field, completed in 2019, was funded by Measure L, the $150 million bond approved in 2012.
Le Roux said it will be at least five years before the project takes shape.
The Neighbor’s Pub is a place to “foster and emphasize community within the LGBTQ+ community. It’s a place where LGBTQ+ community members gather, learn, celebrate, and give back.
The term “two-way player” has a whole range of definitions.
In the case of Mad Yolks (1411 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz), two-way takes on a stack of meanings.
They go two ways on fresh-and-fast-casual options, with Poke House spots in Monterey and downtown S.C. (1543 Pacific Ave.).
Meanwhile, they give their Poke House fare two chances at enjoyment, by teaming up with...
Santa Cruz Police released this report:
At approximately 12:44 p.m. today, a call was received reporting that the end of the Santa Cruz municipal wharf, where the Dolphin Restaurant and Restroom #3 were located, collapsed into the ocean along with three construction workers.
Due to ongoing construction, this area has been closed to the public since January 2024.Two victims...
