Cabrillo Stage launches its summer season with the return of ‘I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change’
Last summer it debuted to sold-out performances and audiences couldn’t get enough. So what better way to satiate theatergoers than to bring it back? That’s what Cabrillo Stage is doing this summer with its return performance of “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change!” The comedic musical centers around four different actors who take on a multitude of roles and personalities in a display of various relationships that cover an enormous age span. For any actor it’d be a tough challenge to tackle such a script, but for the four actors who starred in last year’s production, they’re getting a second chance to mix things up, try new approaches, and perform in the play all over again.

Soquel Vineyards is one of the primo wineries belonging to the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation. Owners Peter and Paul Bargetto, along with their partner Jon Morgan, deserve many congratulations for recent awards. The Partners’ Reserve 2008 Pinot (Santa Cruz Mountains Lester Family Vineyard) won a gold medal at the prestigious San Francisco Chronicle wine competition, as did their 2007 and 2006 Pinots. Check the website for Soquel Vineyards’ full range of wines and awards. They have won a multitude of gold and silver medals at various competitions.

Fragrant smoke rises from the grill where teriyaki-marinated pork baby back ribs ($6.99/lb.) cook slowly over indirect heat. I was surprised to find this delicacy at Soquel’s Fish Lady.

Finally noticing the lettering that announced the availability of smoked fish, I wandered into the store where I found smoked ahi, trout, scallops, and of course wild salmon ($1.25/oz.). This moist pink fish with a mild smoky-sweet teriyaki flavor was topped with a coarse black pepper glaze. Although soft, it is dense enough to remain chunky when tossed with pasta. This fish lady will also smoke the fish you catch.

Mark Halfmoon and I have been on the road for 15 days now, having just left Los Angeles last night. We spent four days interviewing people and documenting the Los Angeles experience. In some ways this is where it all began for me, many years ago when I first moved to California and lived just north of Los Angeles. I instantly knew that California was where I wanted to be. It took me 20 years and many visits to finally move here and little did I know that I would end up in Santa Cruz, now my home for the last seven years. There were less people then and there were more prune and citrus fields, now replaced by housing complexes, but the spirit of California is very much alive.

Carolina Chocolate Drops are fresh faces in old-timey traditions
With old-timey string bands overflowing out of the porchfront woodworks and into the mainstream, the Carolina Chocolate Drops are a reminder that such twangy revelry is by no means limited to white players. Just like Bela Fleck’s recent documentary exploring the banjo’s African origins, Throw Down Your Heart, the trio plucks out—via plenty of virtuosic plucking on its 2010 release, Genuine Negro Jig—preconceived ideas. The banjo, after all, came to America aboard a slave ship from Africa, and just as much as there is a reminder of that history in the band’s music, there is also, perhaps more importantly, an assertion that modern black music isn’t limited to that which is most often seen and celebrated on radio and television.

Despite the moniker, Project Felon is the brainchild of two friends who share a simple love for hip-hop and good times, Playz and Kevlar. “We’ve made mistakes in the past,” explains Playz, “but we’re beyond it. I’ve got kids, they need me and that’s as real as it gets.” Kevlar adds in agreement, “A lot of the time people live in the past and let that determine their future. It’s all about making the right decisions.” With that mantra in mind, Project Felon has been working hard trying to establish Santa Cruz in the hip-hop world. Armed with Playz’s rhymes and beats, along with Kevlar’s freestyle flow, Project Felon’s live performances have earned the duo everything from radio interviews to television spots.

Freaking out, digging the bomb shelter, buying all kinds of canned food—just stocking up.
Kyle Davis
Santa Cruz | Server

With 100 million-plus gallons of oil spewed into the Gulf so far, who wouldn’t be? Santa Cruz may be quite a ways from the Gulf Coast, but that doesn’t mean residents can’t do something about it. As we approach 60 days since the BP rig exploded, here are some tips for getting your voice heard: Join Hands Across the Sand in a global protest against Big Oil on Saturday, June 26. Locally, the event will be at Cowell and Main beaches beginning at 11 a.m. (Visit handsacrossthesand.org for more information.) Organize your own event or fundraiser, or write to our federal representative, 17th District Congressman Sam Farr, or to the president (there’s a template on the Sierra Club’s site, beyondoil.com).

New teen-led group seeks non-violent solutions to local gang issues
The paper shook in Taylor Burdick’s hands, but her voice remained clear and steady as the Santa Cruz High School (SCHS) junior read a poem dedicated to her friend Tyler Tenorio, a 16-year-old fellow student who was beaten and stabbed to death by gang members in October 2009.

It was Saturday, May 29 at the Louden Nelson Community Center, and the event was the first forum hosted by Peace on the Streets (POTS), a non-violence group created by 20 SCHS students. Burdick stood before an audience of about 150 fellow students, parents, teachers and community members and shared her memories of Tyler, concluding, “For now he is a star in the sky, and I know I will see him again someday.” She looked up from her paper and added, before taking her seat, “I just really want to see a difference in our town.”