I’m flying to Los Angeles with friends for the Anime Expo. I’m going to dress as a character from My Hero Academia, the Japanese manga series.
Maryia Dzenisevich, 17, Student
GIO
I’m going to Tahiti for 10 days or so. It’s a trip my dad planned with a friend from college and his family, and I’m going to live on a sailboat—a catamaran—for a weekend.
Gio Marini, 17, Student
BRANDI
I’m going to Friday Night Reggae at The Pool in Reno to see Ky-Mani Marley, Bob Marley’s son. I’m going to get in the pool and swim and listen to reggae and have drinks. That’s all I got going on.
Brandi Stirton, 54, Retired
CHIP
I just got a boat with forward-facing propellers for skiing and wakeboarding, so I’m going to go out boating. We’ll go out with our kids and make it a family affair.
Chip Hodgson, 63, Retired
MELODY
I’m going to visit Hawaii—the Big Island—where I used to live. I went last year, but before that it had been many years. Frogs are now there! It was weird. They’re invasive and very loud!
Melody Litt, 53, UCSC
CRIS
I’m going to learn to do standing backflips. From the videos I’ve seen, the first thing I have to practice is being comfortable with falling. I can do a front flip, but only on a trampoline.
An Orange County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the University of California and ordered a temporary stop to all striking activities by the United Auto Workers (UAW) through June 27.
The ruling comes after the state labor board ruled twice in favor of the UAW 4811 which represents 48,000 post-graduate and graduate student workers in the UC system who went on strike over UCLA’s treatment of pro-Palestinian protestors. The Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) found that the UC system had in fact committed some labor violations and that the strike could continue.
“From the beginning, we have stated this strike was illegal and a violation of our contracts’ mutually agreed upon no-strike clauses,” said the UC in a statement. “We respect the advocacy and progressive action towards issues that matter to our community and our community’s right to engage in lawful free speech activities — activities that continue to occur across the system. However, UAW’s strike is unrelated to employment terms, violates the parties’ agreements, and runs contrary to established labor principles.”
The UAW said the UC’s shopping of the case to conservative Orange County was reminiscent of union-busting tactics used by Starbucks and Amazon.
“There is a sense of disappointment and defeat but also we just did a huddle and there is a sense of people being pissed off,” said Rebecca Gross of UCSC UAW. “It feels bad. It feels bad that they tried to do this evasion and it worked.”
However, this does not mean that the strike is illegal, according to Gross.
“It is just a temporary restraining order and it does not mean that our strike is illegal. Decades of labor law has shown us that unfair labor practice strikes are legal,” said Gross.
Laurence Bedford tells me that for his hiking buddy Sven Davis, “Minimalism gets to be a religion.” Laurence grins and explains that Sven cut the handle off his toothbrush to save the weight. And that as Sven reads his books, he tears out the pages that he’s read and burns them in the campfire.
“Sven uses one cup, for tequila at night, and the next morning your oatmeal smells like tequila,” Laurence says.
According to naturalist John Muir, a good way to start a hike is to “throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence.”
And that’s what Sven and Laurence set off to do: a camping trip in Big Sur up in Carmel Valley. They parked Sven’s old Subaru near China Camp, put on their packs and walk down the Pine Valley Trail, intending to hike four miles and set up camp in a meadow for a few days. Their hike started perfectly on a gorgeous spring day, and they were getting close to the meadow.
Laurence recounts the trip to me: “It was our alcohol-free trip, we didn’t have anything to nip on.” They did three and a half miles and were not far from their meadow destination.
The Sound of a Hike Changing
The two friends were walking under an ancient, giant tree, shooting the shit.
Laurence said, “Hey Sven, you know those pumas and cougars?”
As Laurence walked, he turned his head to look back at Sven.
“They sleep in the trees during the day. We’re always looking for them in the grass. But they could be right up there.”
The two men made eye contact to consider the imagined cougar in the tree, when they both heard a sharp crack from Laurence’s ankle. Sven said that he could feel the sound. They continued looking at each other, knowing their future had just changed.
Sven remembers, “Three and a half miles in and suddenly Lawrence’s ankle just goes pop. Like he just stepped on something weird. It literally made a noise. I said, ‘Let’s sit down for a minute. Let’s take stock on what’s going on here.’ It was kind of obvious that he hurt it, and so we hobbled over to the creek nearby.”
Laurence remembers, “Yeah, there is a moment of panic, you know, something just went crack in my ankle and I could feel it swelling. It swelled up really, really fast. When you don’t know if it was broken, when you don’t know what you’re dealing with … your mind now is racing. We’re in the fucking middle of nowhere.”
OutdoorLife.com says, “The first part of surviving an injury is immobilizing the moving parts. It’s always best to immobilize the next joint up from the injury, if possible. If an ankle seems sprained, immobilize it up to the knee.”
They didn’t know what to do. They knew they weren’t walking out that day and knew they didn’t want to get airlifted. They didn’t have cell phone reception anyway. And they also knew the old adage, “You don’t take your boot off because the swelling will ever not let you put the boot back on.”
I ask Laurence, “So what happened to your ankle?”
“My foot got caught and then snapped.”
Wilderness First Aid says, if something happens to you like that, they tell you not to take your boots off because you’ll never be able to put it back on. Your boot is supposed to contain the swelling.
Laurence explains that he was near a cold stream. “Instead, I took my boot off and stuck my foot into the cold stream. We had supplies for two, three days. I was like, ‘Hey, this is a good place.’ I could barely get my tent together. I was right next to the water, and we made a fire.”
It took one full day with his foot in cold water to contain the swelling. Laurence slept in his tent on the bank with his foot in the water for 23 hours. The swelling stabilized. On the second day, Sven started making crutches, using knots he had learned to tie in the Boy Scouts. The next morning, they tested them and the crutches worked. Laurence could plant both crutches out in front of him and then swing his body forward, land on his good right foot, replant the crutches in front of him and keep swinging forward. It was faster than walking.
Crutches for a Man with Tape
Laurence tells me, “The second day Sven engineered the crutches and, you know, you always have duct tape. You always have nylon string, you know; there you have basic stuff that you always have with you.”
I interrupt Laurence’s story, “Wait a minute, wait a minute. You always have duct tape with you? You’re hiking and you have duct tape?”
“Yes! Always have duct tape.”
An Outdoor Life Survival Skill manual agrees that duct tape can help when assembling a crutch in the wild: “The fork should be heavily padded by wrapping it with clothing or another soft material. A little duct tape works well.”
Laurence had a four-inch saw on a knife, but just as Sven assembled his long sticks to start in with the little saw, a passing hiker stopped and unfolded a large crosscut saw and Sven cut his sticks in a few minutes.
The crutches worked perfectly. His left foot never touched the ground, and he developed a swinging cadence that outpaced Sven. “You just put both of them down at the same time. You swing forward and land on your one good foot. My left foot never really had to touch the ground.” Laurence was deeply impressed by Sven’s crutches. “You know, they stood up to my weight and everything. I mean, the engineering was great.”
So, they were home free, with Laurence swinging his body through his crutches, clipping along fast, and Sven goes, “Like, dude, stop! Listen! There is a rattlesnake just hanging on the trail.”
Laurence says, “The rattlesnake came out of the grass and then started coming forward. I heard the rattle but didn’t know where it was. It was coming across the path at us. I backed up and then Sven came up with a tree branch and encouraged it into the woods. We continued our journey and made it out in record time.”
Ladybug, Ladybug ... Your House Is on Fire
Laurence’s grapefruit ankle turned out to be a severe sprain and got better. He wanted to return to get his backpack and gear but was delayed by the Big Sur fires and floods of 2018.
“We had taken pictures of the locale and the tree. I had documentation of where that pack was so we could go back and get it. We had to go through two seasons of fire and flood. I didn’t end up going back up there for two years.”
“The 2018 wildfire season was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire season on record in California, with a total of over 7,500 fires burning an area of over 1,670,000 acres, the largest area of burned acreage recorded in a fire season.” (fire.ca.gov)
Laurence returned to the Pine Valley trail in 2019 to find that the big tree, his pack, and the whole forest were gone.
Laurence keeps Sven’s crutches in his office at the Rio Theatre.
It’s no secret that since the pandemic the Santa Cruz music scene has been going through a major revival. Along with the reopening of the Santa Cruz Veterans Memorial Building—aka Vets Hall, one of the only all-ages venues left in town—the 40831 hardcore scene blew up nationally in 2021 with Santa Cruz and San Jose bands like Drain, Scowl and (now defunct) Gulch leading the charge.
However, there’s another burgeoning scene that’s quickly sprouted to the surface and it’s poised to keep our city on the music map for another sound altogether.
This Friday the inaugural Santa Cruz Scene Celebration Festival (SCSC Fest) is ready to highlight 14 of those bands at the Santa Cruz Veterans Memorial Building. In addition to bands like Sluttony, Trestles, Career Woman and the Anti-Groupies, the all-day event will feature booths by local artists, vendors and others in a salute to everything Santa Cruz.
“We want this to be for the community,” says Santa Cruz Recording Studio’s Josh Dimatulac (A&R/Salsa). “After all, Santa Cruz is in the festival’s name.”
And it’s a price point hard for any live music lover to refuse.
“We’re only charging $10,” co-organizer Claire Wirt says. “And we’re not taking any money. After we pay security, the bartenders and things like that, all of the bands are splitting the door proceeds evenly.”
The event is sponsored by Santa Cruz Recording Studio, where Claire’s husband, the Grammy-nominated producer Jim Wirt, has recorded singles for all of the bands on the festival bill over the past year.
“A lot of these kids don’t really know what it means to be actually produced,” Claire explains. “They might have a few plug-ins but that’s it. So my pitch was ‘Come do a single with us and it’s yours. We don’t want a part of it.’”
The final destination for those singles will be a compilation CD released by Santa Cruz Recording Studio later this year.
“We want to keep it all Santa Cruz [bands] geographically,” Jim states.
While he might not be a household name to those outside the industry, his work is internationally known. Incubus, Something Corporate, Alien Ant Farm, Jack’s Mannequin, L.A. Guns, Something Corporate and more have all found themselves on the other side of Jim’s board. Wirt was also the man in the chair behind Hoobastank’s 2001 platinum-selling self-titled debut album.
Last year the Wirts relocated to Santa Cruz and immediately started doing what they do best: connecting with local musicians to record and promote.
But what exactly is this bubbling new scene?
“If I had to define it I’d call it West Coast Surf Punk,” Dimatulac says.
“Santa Cruz Surf Punk!” Jim cuts in with a laugh. “Anything that’s anything we can call ‘Santa Cruz Surf Punk.’”
Despite what the engineers call it, this new scene—like anything new and exciting—is hard to define.
These groups are a cornucopia of genres melding punk, garage, emo, indie, dream pop and more for a mosaic of sound. Each show can have different lineups with different styles of music, yet it all, somehow, seems to blend effortlessly. Maybe that’s because the groups themselves are a hodgepodge of local and student musicians, mostly in their early to late 20s with some as young as teens or as “old” as their early 30s, lending a wide variety of influences.
Take Perch, for example. Formed right before the pandemic, this quartet draws from the well of mid-2000s pop punk and mid-western emo for songs that are as passionate and introspective as they are catchy. They recently recorded a soon-to-be-released single with Wirt.
“Recording with Jim was awesome because he had a real punk approach,” Perch drummer Rowen Graves says.
Guitarist Pablo Robles agrees.
“He gave a lot of very artful criticisms. He wasn’t trying to fuck with our songs but instead was trying to get them to sound as best as they could be.”
Other bands in the scene seem to be on the opposite end of the music spectrum.
Sluttony—a four-piece, all-femme group—rides a previously unknown line between riot grrrl, classic rock and ’90s alternative. Last year they won the Shabang Battle of the Bands—cosponsored by local promoters, Free the Youth—earning them $1,000 and a spot on that year’s Shabang Festival in San Louis Obispo. Since then they’ve relocated to Los Angeles to grow the band’s presence when they’re not on the road or returning to play Santa Cruz shows, which they still do on a frequent basis.
Then there’s groups like Trestles.
This four-piece band rocketed from house shows and venues like Streetlight Records and the now closed Bocci’s Cellar to the Catalyst main stage, Phoenix Theater in Petaluma and Cornerstone in Berkeley. Just as their namesake is an amalgamation of steel beams and supports, Trestles builds a sound welded by art rock, indie dream pop and garage rock a la Strokes, Fontaines D.C. and Beach Fossils. Plus, they do a killer cover of David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream” in a display of the band’s musical knowledge.
But what makes this fledgling group of new musicians the very definition of a scene is their friendship. All of the bands are constantly playing shows together around Santa Cruz and the greater Bay Area. They lift each other up and support one other’s music, building a community instead of competition. On any given weekend one can easily find acts like Trash Day, Vertiginous, N.O.S., Field Hockey, Universe, Bonesio and others playing gigs around town.
Because of this, it’s only getting bigger.
Just look online and see the thousands of fans and monthly listeners that have their eyes focused on Santa Cruz. Trestles has 13.6 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify while four-piece punk-influenced garage band Couch Dog has 17.8 thousand. Mom Cars has a staggering 58.6 thousand Instagram followers with Sluttony coming in hot with 49.9 thousand.
It’s this open-minded, inclusive mentality that drew the Wirts to get involved with the Santa Cruz Scene Celebration Festival in the first place.
“This scene isn’t so hardcore and niched,” Jim says. “There’s room for a lot of people to get involved.”
INFO: 2:30pm, Santa Cruz Veterans Memorial Building, 846 Front St., Santa Cruz, $10 door. 454-0478
The Santa Cruz City Council unanimously approved a 48-unit housing project at the current site of the Food Bin and Herb Room on May 28 after the developer submitted plans for 59 units on the site.
Eleven Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) were removed from the project by the council because of how they were being created. Under state law, the developer presented the ADUs as “amenity space” for storage.
Workbench never hid its intentions for the space and wanted to be honest with the public about its eventual intent, said Jamileh Cannon of the developer at the meeting.
But council members said they felt misled by Workbench.
“If they are going to be ADUs, why not just make them ADUs?” asked Councilmember Renee Golder.
The ADUs were added to the project after Workbench continued to make changes to the project to get to the 59-units that were approved by the Santa Cruz Planning Commission in January.
Workbench, led by Jamileh Cannon and Tim Gordin, has come under criticism from the City Council recently for making a flurry of last minute changes to the project that forced the Council to send the project back to the planning commission on May 16.
Councilmember Renee Golder said in the April 30 meeting that Workbench needed “to get real.”
“I have to say how frustrated I’ve been with Workbench and with the owners of the property to be unwilling to make even minor modifications to appease the neighbors,” Golder said. “I think moving forward I know Workbench has several proposed developments coming in around town and I just want to make it really clear I hope you can be better partners.”
One of these projects is the 18-story Clocktower Center. Workbench is hosting a virtual community meeting at 6:30 pm Wednesday June 5 to discuss the controversial tower-proposal that was unveiled in March.
However, new pro-housing state law severely limits the recourse for the City Council to make changes in development projects.
Santa Cruz YIMBY released a statement accusing the council of violating state law: “the Santa Cruz City Council voted to approve a downsized version of the Food Bin Project at 1130 Mission Street. These changes eliminated 11 homes and are in violation of California’s Housing Accountability Act (HAA) and Density Bonus Law.”
Councilmember Martine Watkins defended the current City Council’s pro-housing record but expressed dismay at the loss of local control over zoning.
“This Council has supported a lot of development,” Watkins said. “We’re actually very far ahead in what we need to accomplish compared to a lot of jurisdictions. Housing is a priority certainly and respectively in a way that the community can have it work for them is like a Santa Cruz value. I am hoping to see that moving forward.”
Santa Cruz Planning Director Lee Butler said that the developers see using this storage-space-to-ADU law “as a tool to make projects pencil.”
“We do not under case and state law have the discretion to remove the storage units,” Butler said on May 16.
The City Council took a different view and viewed the units as discretionary in its denial of the ADUs.
In January, the project was appealed by Ian and Natasha Guy and a group called the Laurel-Cleveland Neighbors. The neighbors found miscalculations in Workbench’s density calculations and building set-back, allowing them to include more units.
“Other developers are watching this. They are going to say: ‘Does this game of pushing everyone around, is anyone going to call us out on this?’” said James Mueller, a neighbor to the project.
The neighbors proposed a 50-unit, four-story building but this was not taken up by the council.
If Workbench decides to submit another proposal with Food Bin owner Doug Wallace, the building could be significantly taller.
According to Workbench’s revisions submitted to the Santa Cruz Planning Department, “the owner could go back through the planning process and create a building that is 86 units,” under current state law that was not in effect at the time of the initial application.
Workbench did not respond to a request for comment.
“There is kind of a game of telephone happening. The neighbors will talk to the city, they’ll talk to city council members, eventually we’ll get some of that information,” said Cannon. “It’s been a very frustrating game of telephone.”
Elaine Johnson was 15 before she realized that the “aunt” who lived with her grandmother was actually her grandmother’s partner of four decades.
In those days, LGBTQ largely had to live in the shadows, lest they draw scorn from a society not yet evolved enough to accept them.
Now, with a widespread societal acceptance of people’s sexual preferences and identities, events like the Pride Parade are held across the U.S.
Johnson, who is Executive Director for Housing Santa Cruz County, served as Grand Marshal for this year’s Santa Cruz Pride parade, which took place Sunday in Santa Cruz.
“I know that, me being the Grand Marshall, they would be so proud,” she said. “So I’m standing on their shoulders today.”
Kaden Lee, 9, who attends Green Acres Elementary wanted to march in the parade, but an ankle fracture sidelined those hopes. Not to be deterred, Kaden and her mother hired a pedi-cab festooned with rainbow fringe.
“I think everyone should accept the people who they are,” Kaden said. “It’s a good day because it’s Pride and every day is pride.”
Hundreds of people lined Pacific Avenue to watch the festivities, which included costumes from run-of-the-mill street wear to elaborate, rainbow-covered fabulosity.
This included Sandy Rosen and Cobra Teal, who in flowing, flowered purple finery called themselves “The Radical Fairies.”
In addition, several elected officials joined the parade.
If elected in November to the Fifth District seat on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, Monica Martinez would be the first openly LGBTQ supervisor in the history of the county.
“So I’m working really hard to break that glass ceiling,” she said.
“I’m here celebrating the diversity of our community. Inclusion and equity is a pillar of my campaign as a candidate for county supervisor.”
Adam Spickler, who is the first transgender man to serve on the Cabrillo College Board of Directors, also joined the parade, representing the college.
“The more visible we remain, the more we continue to send the message that love and identity matter, and should be celebrated everywhere,” he said.
Joelle Mulligan, who works at Joby Aviation, came with her family, including her 4-year-old and 2-year-old kids.
“It’s important that they learn about loving everybody and accepting everybody,” she said. “There’s this whole thing right now where we need to walk the walk in terms of showing up for everybody.”
Emerick Panda drove from San Jose to attend the event.
“I’m here just to represent,” he said. “There are other places where people can’t be out in public, and this shows them that they can be who they want.”
Bria Nathan from Santa Cruz said she was there to celebrate, but also to send a message in a time of increasing acts of violence against Black and transgender people.
“So all the conservatives and right-wingers don’t think they can scare us away from anything,” she said.
Standing nearby, Jett Bartolo agreed.
“We want to represent all of our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer alphabet gang, and just show our pride and celebrate.”
The Rodriguez Brothers are pianist/composer Robert and trumpeter/composer Michael, New York natives who play a mix of mainstream and Latin jazz, following the path of their father, jazz drummer Robert Rodriguez. Mike Rodriguez helped the late Chick Corea win a Grammy award as part of Corea’s Spanish Heart Band. He’s also worked with Charlie Haden, Joe Lovano, Quincy Jones and Wynton Marsalis. Former teen prodigy Robert’s credits include work with Arturo Sandoval, Ray Barretto and Christian McBride. The brothers have recorded four albums since they teamed up in 2002, including one nominated for a Latin Grammy. DAN EMERSON
INFO: 7pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $31.50/adv, $36.75/door. 427-2227.
FRIDAY
REGGAE
BOOSTIVE
Prepare to drift away with the smooth jam band Boostive. Close your eyes and let go as your head, arms and hips swing to the music collective. Their music emanates with the brisk glow of summer nights at the beach; minds will disembody to float in the ether while percussion and horns rattle the bones to the beat, urging the body to dance, move and sway. There is no stillness in the music or the audience at a Boostive show. ISABELLA MARIE SANGALINE
It’s arguably the most challenging era in human history to grow up. The Santa Cruz Queer Trans Youth Council is one of many resources in town to help kids navigate the boundless questions of identity they face. Teen poet and speaker Madeline Aliah occupies a seat on the council and has recently published her debut chapbook, This Is My Body. A piercingly honest rendering of her inner journey from boy to young woman, the book takes on everything from queer history to accusations of gender abandonment. Bob Gómez, Watsonville Poet Laureate, attests, “Madeline is a dragon spirit who sees what the rest of us cannot see.” ADDIE MAHMASSANI
A jazz saxophonist who has played with everyone from Snoop Dogg to Lauryn Hill and St. Vincent, Kamasi Washington is one of the greats of our era. Any fans of Kendrick Lamar’s masterpiece To Pimp a Butterfly should thank Washington for the sax in that album, too. Washington collaborated with other current greats to found West Coast Get Down, a collective based out of LA that has been called “the Wu-Tang Clan of jazz.” Lisa Simpson and Bill Clinton might have tried to make sax cool, but Washington has achieved it; his music is vibrant, soulful, elegant and exciting. JESSICA IRISH
Since 2011, Habibi has blended their love of psych rock and girl group harmonies for a dreamy, mesmerizing sound that explores the inner space of sound without losing control. Yet, despite making a name for themselves in the surf and garage rock world, Habibi only had two albums under their belt, until now. Their album Dreamachine just dropped, and it’s their most adventurous yet. Along with drawing from their Detroit-rock roots, Habibi steps it up with funk and even disco for a fresh sound that displays the band’s versatility. Just get plenty of rest the night before because a Habibi show demands nonstop dancing from start to finish. MAT WEIR
Enjoyed by generations of music lovers, mariachi is probably the most recognized type of Mexican musician, and it has permeated pop culture. A mariachi band varies in size and instruments but must always have a guitar, acoustic bass and horns. This Sunday Cabrillo College is hosting the inaugural Mariachi Festival to honor and celebrate this unique style of musician and its rich heritage. Attendees will be able to enjoy afternoon performances by six different groups including Mariachi Santa Cruz, Mariachi Libertad, and Mariachi Osos de Pájaro High School. MAT WEIR
Actor, writer and comedian Ryan O’Flanagan provides some much-needed laughter this weekend as he brings his quirky, character-driven sketches to the Crepe Place stage. Known for appearing as an actor in Netflix’s American Vandal and Comedy Central’s Corporate, O’Flanagan partnered extensively with Funny or Die to create his Overly Excited Tourist web series. In 2018, he released a half-hour stand-up special with Comedy Central in which he capitalizes on his endearingly awkward personality. In it, he jokes about trying to hit on his deaf neighbor and then realizes he had mistaken her for a different girl. AM
Fans of author Marie Lu are in for a treat when the Chinese American author comes to Santa Cruz ahead of the release of Icon and Inferno—one day ahead, in fact—to discuss the sequel to her hit thriller/romance YA novel, Stars and Smoke, with another New York Times bestselling author, Abigail Hing Wen, author of the Loveboat series. While the event is free, Bookshop Santa Cruz asks that participants register online at their website to keep a headcount. Patrons with a little extra cash can also preorder the hardcover version on the website and opt to get it signed by Lu at the event. MW
INFO: 6pm, Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. Free. 423-0900.
WEDNESDAY
JAZZ
SHABAKA
Over the past decade, London-based multi-instrumentalist and composer Shabaka Hutchings has become one of the most auspicious newcomers on the jazz scene. Growing up in Barbados, his first instrument was the clarinet, and he divided his time between classical studies and playing in calypso bands. From 2004 to 2008, he toured and recorded with a wide range of European improvisational bands. Since switching to sax and flute, Hutchings has developed a style that mixes Afro-Caribbean, South African jazz and London club dance music. In April, Impulse Records released his debut solo album, Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace. DE
INFO: 7pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $42/adv, $47.25/door. 427-2227.
Twenty years ago, when Kirby Scudder and Chip (yes, one name only) created First Friday, they were not thinking outside the box, they didn’t have a box. They built the whole thing out of sand, held together by dreams.
They changed everything for Santa Cruz artists and the community that loves to gather around art. They created a monthly art tour that is a platform for artists to show and sell their work; businesses, galleries, and art spaces would host an artist, and create a show on the first Friday evening of every month. On June 7, this New Atlantis vision for Santa Cruz will be celebrated at the Radius Gallery in the Tannery Art Center.
Come together, right now…
THE COW BUS
Santa Cruz has a huge community of artists, and an even larger community of families who gather around art. Co-founder Kirby Scudder had a light-bulb moment when he was creating First Friday; he realized that it’s a social event. He started doing walking tours downtown, and every month more people would come. The group of people following him from venue to venue grew and grew, and then he did the Cow Bus in 2007, where he would drive art parties around town.
Santa Cruz humorist Sven Davis describes Kirby and Chip’s approach: “They used the spaghetti-on-the-wall technique. See what sticks. They had so many crazy ideas and one-third of them worked out and that was fine; it was rough and tumble all the way. Downtown was still a wreck from the earthquake and anything interesting was a good thing. There were a lot of empty storefronts, and they took advantage of that.”
What stuck on the wall?
Kirby would do these big projects, like a giant, cardboard reproduction of downtown, in a space that is now the University Town Center Building.
Kirby is a renowned large installation artist; his Blue Maquette was 32 feet long, a one-hundredth scale model of downtown Santa Cruz. He crafted this showpiece in one month and slept beside it on a cot.
CHIP MATES Chip and Kirby worked together incessantly, and Mayor Emily Reilly started calling them Chirby. Photo: Contributed
“These damn upstarts”
“Those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” —Friedrich Nietzsche
Before First Friday, the old Museum of Natural History and Art (MAH, pre-Nina Simon) and a couple of galleries at the University ruled the roost. They decided who got to be shown and who didn’t.
“Some of the established art community pushed back against First Friday,” says Davis. “It was getting a lot of press, a lot of attention, and a lot of the art wasn’t their stuffy art establishment fair. It was scrappy folks just doing lots of different things around town. People were going into stores, and it was helping to pull downtown together. The gallery-museum crowd thought it was just getting too boisterous. For years the art establishment had a lock on any talk about art, but First Friday made it much more free form.
“Some long term established art venues pushed back because they thought, ‘If I open my doors on the day everybody else does, we all lose part of our audience.’ It turns out that more is more, for everyone. First Friday is democratic.
“The establishment wasn’t interested in participating in First Friday because it was this upstart thing that they didn’t have any control over, and they didn’t want to be affiliated with something that they felt wasn’t curated properly. First Friday was saying, ‘We got a bunch of empty space, why not put art in there?’ Kirby and Chip had a TV show called ‘So What?’ and they would invite whoever. It was really to help revive downtown Santa Cruz. Bars and restaurants would have a good night on First Friday.”
Is First Friday still like that today?
“Like anything 20 years old, it has gotten more established, structured, mellow,” Sven adds. “But anybody can do it. If I’m a starving artist on the street and I want to put something in a restaurant and the restaurant is OK with it and we want to sign up for First Friday, you don’t get turned away.”
Chip tells me that it started with Mayor Emily Reilly asking them the question, “In a town packed with artists, why can’t we have art all over town?”
Chip answers: “Emily’s question made us think about what a gallery is, who it serves and how. We started thinking about art institutions differently in terms of access and economy, and it may have been threatening to some people. We knew that a vibrant gallery scene in a place like Santa Cruz needs a robust arts scene. We didn’t create either, we just helped reveal what already was. So many, many people came forward to make this happen, but our first anchor was Joe and Debbie Quigg, who loaned out their buildings (five places) to us to get started.”
I first met Kirby and Chip in 2004 when they opened the Question Mark Gallery. They had talked the owner of an unused commercial property on Cathcart Street into letting them put art in the empty store. They called it Kart (sounds like Kmart). The only constant theme for the show was that the 1,000 pieces were for sale at $19.99 or less. Artists who had dreamed for years of showing their work were now showing it. First Friday brought democracy to the Santa Cruz art scene.
Kirby says, “Good Times Weekly played a crucial role in getting First Friday going. Editor Greg Archer and publisher Ron Slack gave us a free insert that listed all the venues. It was a game changer.”
The First Friday Calendar is still published in Good Times Weekly every month.
“…they all said the same thing, ‘You’re crazy.’”
Kirby remembers their first gallery opening. “Chip and I got invited by the City to host this first gallery; they had enough money to pay rent for three months.
“It was always going to be a temporary thing, and all these artists were stoked to be shown. But then the three months was over and the artists freaked out, so Chip and I agreed to go out and start other galleries.
“And eventually we had like six downtown, and then the Tannery. Chip wanted to do First Thursdays because at that time the museum was doing a First Thursday, which was their free event to the public.
“But it was a disaster because what would happen is all the homeless would go there to eat the free food and the Museum hated it. We wanted to get an audience from over the hill but knew they’re not going to come here on Thursday night.
“They would come to spend the weekend, so we started the First Friday thing. Chip and I just went around, literally all day long, going to every venue. Like every idea we ever had, they all said the same thing, ‘You’re bat-shit crazy.’ And then by month three, it started to take off.”
New blood at the helm as new venues come aboard.
FRIDAYS ON MY MINDAbi Mustafa, Santa Cruz artist who works toward social justice, and Bree Karpavage, First Friday Director. Photo: Richard Stockton
In 2020, Bree Karpavage (kar-PA-vage) became director and backbone of First Friday after the founders, Kirby, Chip and his wife Abra, handed her the marketing platform. They chose Bree to energize First Friday for her artistic knowledge, curation skills and her social media knowledge.
You want the person running the show to be comfortable in their administrative role and Bree exudes an easy-going confidence that grounds her excitement for art. I meet Bree in front of Minnow Arts at 204 Locust St.
“First Friday was intended to be all about emerging artists,” she says. “Artists who don’t necessarily have the connections with the traditional galleries, they don’t know how to get their art out there, and First Friday is a springboard for them.
“But over 20 years it has become a place for any artist of any level to show their work. A lot of well-known artists are Santa Cruz based; they live and work here but they haven’t necessarily shown here, and now because of First Friday, they’re starting to show in Santa Cruz.
“Andrea Borsuk is a well-known painter whose work explores notions of journey, time and destiny. Glen Carter is very popular. And then, there’s Jody Alexander here tonight at Minnow Arts.”
Covid was almost as big a villain as the early skeptics.
“We’ve got 43 events in May,” says Bree. “The R. Blitzer Gallery has just opened back up with First Friday, four years after Covid hit. Visual Endeavors is back, they haven’t shown since 2019.
“And we’re seeing a lot of new venues pop in hair salons, wineries, Next Space and Satellite Workspaces. Ferrari Florist is hosting First Fridays. Adorn Apothecary is going to be hosting the first time in June.
“It’s stronger than ever and won the Good Times Platinum Award for art exhibits. Our website gets over 20,000 hits a month, and thousands show up on our Friday. It’s growing to the East Side; Capitola Village has started with First Friday. It’s spreading around the county. For the 20th Anniversary, the opening will be First Friday June 7from 5 to 9 pm, in the Radius Gallery at the Tannery. Kirby and Chip will be there.”
As I wait for Minnow Arts to open for Jody Alexander’s show, I talk with an artist named Genevieve who hopes to show her work someday through First Friday.
“Why do you want to show your art?”
Genevieve says, “Because it’s part of the process to show your art to others.”
Bree agrees. Bree does collage using magazine cuts and she feels showing her art is essential, “It’s a level of completion. Once you make something, it’s not complete until you share it, and someone else can be a witness to it. When you witness an artist’s work, you are witnessing the artist.”
A Deep Dive with Jody Alexander
Jodi Alexander
We walk into Minnow Arts at 5pm and the walls are covered with photographs of water, transferred to linen, with scientific data all over them.
I meet Jody Alexander; she looks like she could have swum here from Monterey.
“Why water?”
“When I was younger, I was a competitive swimmer, a butterflier,” she says. “I swam at UCLA, qualified for the Olympic trials, swam on the US Nationals Team. During the pandemic when the pools closed, I realized how important swimming is to me, I started open water swimming. I even bought a house up in the foothills so I could swim more easily in lakes. I started wondering why this is so important to me. Is there something wrong with me? What is it about the water? And that’s what this show is.”
Water is H2O
Oxygen one
But there is also a third thing
That makes it water and nobody knows what that is
“So, in this show, I’m trying to figure out what that is. The magic of water. And the third thing is different for everybody. I discovered the third thing for me is color and most of these photos were taken underwater.”
We look at a patchwork of water photos. “Those are the colors of the 11 lakes I swam in last summer. I collect data about the water, temperature, color, elevation, location coordinates. It’s kind of a tongue in cheek quasi-science study. It’s personal, I did not like this dark green water in one lake.”
What does it mean that First Friday is promoting your event?
“Oh, it’s amazing. It’s a way to get everybody out at the same time, celebrating whatever art is going on in the county. I’ve been going to First Friday since the very beginning.”
I ask the owner of Minnow Arts, Christie Jarvis, why she joined First Friday.
“We’ve been connected for two years, and we’ve gone from very few attending to hundreds a night. We have ongoing sonic happenings. First Friday has elevated our eagerness to keep going, to keep putting up shows, because it really brought people in. We like to present artists who have never had a show before.”
Does it cost a venue money to join First Friday?
“It does, fifty bucks a month,” says Bree. “For that, they get great social marketing, and they get in the Good Times in their monthly First Friday Calendar. We’ve upped our game with social media, to create a circle of support; artists, galleries, administrators, we’re all in this together.”
I drive to the Radius Gallery, located in the historic Tannery Art Center, 1050 River St., and gallery director Ann Hazels tells me, “It is inclusive, it is open to all, and I think that’s where curation is such an important part. Who is the right artist to show at the right spot? Here at the Radius Gallery, I can bring in artists who present a more experiential show.”
Ann turns to the massive kelp forest hanging from the ceiling. “Now we are showing Kalie Granier’s “Lungs of the Sea Forest”, and you can walk into the middle of it and sense the feeling of swimming in a kelp forest. It makes you think more deeply, how you move through the world and honor what is being disturbed in the world. You get the feeling of belonging to it.”
Over the last three years Kalie Granier has gathered kelp from the beaches of Santa Cruz and Monterey and has created her installation with hundreds of pieces of kelp that you can stand inside of.
“I did this specific installation last summer in Buenos Aires and here at the Radius Gallery, I can present it in a way that people can completely get immersed in the kelp,” says Kalie. “This is a collection of more than three years of harvesting of kelp from the beaches. It is difficult to find a piece of kelp that is dry on the sand, and not damaged. I use recycled yarn to wrap their weakest points, to take care of them.”
Why kelp?
“This installation is about our interdependence with the sea. Kelp is a fundamental species for us and today, 90% of our kelp in California is lost or damaged. I want to present an ecological message in a positive way.”
It’s everywhere now.
Twenty years ago, there was no such thing as First Friday, anywhere. But now, First Friday is in San Jose, San Francisco, and all over California.
Kirby says, “In 2004, we were broke and thrilled to put six venues together. Now it’s up to 43 and is spreading across the country. There will be a hundred someday. For a town like this that had two galleries, to me, that is success.”
What potentials should you strive to ripen as the expansive planet Jupiter glides through your astrological House of Connection, Communication and Education in the coming months? I’ll offer my intuitions. On the downside, there may be risks of talking carelessly, forging superficial links, and learning inessential lessons. On the plus side, you will generate good luck and abundant vitality if you use language artfully, seek out the finest teachings, and connect with quality people and institutions. In the most favorable prognosis I can imagine, you will become smarter and wiser. Your knack for avoiding boredom and finding fascination will be at a peak.
TAURUS April 20-May 20
Since 1969, Taurus singer-songwriter Willie Nelson has played his favorite guitar in over 10,000 shows. His name for it is Trigger. Willie doesn’t hold onto it simply for nostalgic reasons. He says it has the greatest tone he has ever heard in a guitar. Though bruised and scratched, it gets a yearly check-up and repair. Nelson regards it as an extension of himself, like a part of his body. Is there anything like Trigger in your life, Taurus? Now is a good time to give it extra care and attention. The same is true for all your valuable belongings and accessories. Give them big doses of love.
GEMINI May 21-June 20
Off the coast of West Africa is an imaginary place called Null Island. A weather buoy is permanently moored there. Geographers have nicknamed it “Soul Buoy.” It’s the one location on Earth where zero degrees latitude intersects with zero degrees longitude. Since it’s at sea level, its elevation is zero, too. I regard this spot as a fun metaphor for the current state of your destiny, Gemini. You are at a triple zero point, with your innocence almost fully restored. The horizons are wide, the potentials are expansive, and you are as open and free as it’s possible for you to be.
CANCER June 21-July 22
When I worked as a janitor at India Joze restaurant in Santa Cruz, California, I did the best I could. But I was unskilled in the janitorial arts. I couldn’t fix broken machines and I lacked expertise about effective cleaning agents. Plus, I was lazy. Who could blame me? I wasn’t doing my life’s work. I had no love for my job. Is there an even remotely comparable situation in your life, Cancerian? Are you involved with tasks that neither thrill you nor provide you with useful education? The coming months will be an excellent time to wean yourself from these activities.
LEO July 23-Aug. 22
I foresee two possible approaches for you in the coming months. Either will probably work, so it’s up to you to decide which feels most fun and interesting. In the first option, you will pursue the rewards you treasure by creating your own rules as you outfox the system’s standard way of doing things. In the second alternative, you will aim for success by mostly playing within the rules of the system except for some ethical scheming and maneuvering that outflank the system’s rules. My advice is to choose one or the other, and not try to do both.
VIRGO Aug. 23-Sept. 22
Please note that during the next 12 months, I may seem a bit pushy in my dealings with you. I will encourage you to redefine and enhance your ambitions. I will exhort you to dream bigger. There may come times when you wish I wouldn’t dare you to be so bold. I will understand, then, if you refrain from regularly reading my horoscopes. Maybe you are comfortable with your current type of success and don’t want my cheerleading. But if you would welcome an ally like me—an amiable motivator and sympathetic booster—I will be glad to help you strive for new heights of accomplishment.
LIBRA Sept. 23-Oct. 22
Three months after Rachel Denning bore her fourth child, she and her husband sold everything they owned and embarked on a nomadic life. They have been roaming ever since, adding three more kids along the way. She says they have become addicted to “the personal transformation that travel extracts.” She loves how wandering free “causes you to be uncomfortable, to step out of the familiar and into the unknown. It compels you to see with new eyes and to consider things you had never been aware of. It removes preconceptions, biases, and small-mindedness.” If you were ever going to flirt with Rachel Denning’s approach, Libra, the next 12 months would be a favorable time. Could you approximate the same healing growth without globetrotting journeys? Probably. Homework: Ask your imagination to show you appealing ways to expand.
SCORPIO Oct. 23-Nov. 21
Among the Europeans who first settled in South America were Jews who had been forcibly converted to Christianity by Portuguese and Spanish persecutions. Centuries later, some families resolved to reclaim their Jewish heritage. They led a movement called la sangre llama—a Spanish phrase meaning “the blood is calling.” I invite you to be inspired by this retrieval, Scorpio. The coming months will be an excellent time to commune with aspects of your past that have been neglected or forgotten. Your ancestors may have messages for you. Go in search of missing information about your origins.
SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22-Dec. 21
If you simply let the natural flow take you where it will in the coming weeks, you would become a magnet for both degenerative and creative influences. Fortunately, you are reading this oracle, which will help ensure the natural flow won’t lead you toward degenerative influences. With this timely oracle, I am advising you to monitor and suppress any unconscious attractions you might have for bewildering risks and seemingly interesting possibilities that are actually dead ends. Don’t flirt with decadent glamor or fake beauty, dear Sagittarius! Instead, make yourself fully available for only the best resources that will uplift and inspire you.
CAPRICORN Dec. 22-Jan. 19
Capricorn politician Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is campaigning to be US President. But oops: He recently confessed that a parasitic worm once ate a portion of his brain, damaging his memory and cognitive skills. “The worm is dead now,” he assured us, as if that were a good reason to vote for him. Why am I bringing this up? Like most of us, you have secrets that if revealed might wreak at least a bit of mayhem. As tempting as it might be to share them with the world—perhaps in an effort to feel free of their burden—it’s best to keep them hidden for now. Kennedy’s brain worm is in that category. Don’t be like him in the coming weeks. Keep your reputation and public image strong. Show your best facets to the world.
AQUARIUS Jan. 20-Feb. 18
The English and French word “amateur” comes from amatus, the past participle of the Latin word amare, which means “to love.” According to one definition, an amateur is “someone who pursues sports, studies, or other activities purely for pleasure instead of for financial gain or professional advancement.” In accordance with astrological omens, I encourage you to make this a featured theme in the coming months. On a regular basis, seek out experiences simply because they make you feel good. Engage in lots of playtime. At least part-time, specialize in fun and games.
PISCES Feb. 19-March 20
Good news, Pisces: In the coming weeks, one of your flaws will mysteriously become less flawed. It will lose some of its power to undermine you. If you engage in focused meditation about it, you could rob it of even more of its obstructive force. More good news: You will have an enhanced capacity to distinguish between skillful pretending and earthy authenticity. No one can trick you or fool you. Can you handle even more good news? You will have a skillful knack for finding imperfect but effective solutions to problems that have no perfect solution.
Film-goers of all ages can easily hum the opening bars of half a dozen movie scores written by legendary composer John Williams, a man whose flair for the cinematic has created memorable soundtracks for more than five decades. A few film titles will jumpstart your recall. For example—Star Wars. You can already hear it. Indiana Jones, you’re singing along. Harry Potter, Jurassic Park and the immortal duh duh, duh duh, duh duh of Jaws.
Many in Hollywood are convinced that Steven Spielberg couldn’t have made a movie without a score by the tireless Williams, whose music formed the background for Summer Olympics, NBC News, and any number of top TV shows. It’s no exaggeration to say that billions, with a B, of folks from all over the world have heard and loved his music.
John Williams—with 24 Grammys, seven BAFTAs, five Oscars and four Golden Globes under his belt—knows how to arouse film-lovers’ emotions. His melodies are unforgettable, unleashing crescendos that sweep up to thrilling high points. Everything he writes exactly matches the emotional drama unfolding on the screen. The musical colors and textures of his compositions reinforce the beauty, danger, excitement and resolution of the imagery that accompanies his music.
At its best, his scores seem to make romance with the very structure of the film’s narrative, as if they had been created together in one seamless act of inspiration. Williams’ romantic symphonic scores remind many listeners and critics of the work of Richard Strauss, Antonin Dvorak, even Richard Wagner. Like Wagner, Williams is a master at creating musical motifs—themes—for the main dramatic characters in the films: for example, Harry Potter, Luke Skywalker, the shark called Jaws, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The Santa Cruz Symphony concludes its 2023-24 season on a high note with this gala tribute to the spectacular orchestral scores John Williams has created for such films as Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., The Poseidon Adventure, The Eiger Sanction, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Lincoln—and the list goes on.
Williams, who has been nominated 54 times for an Academy Award, is not only a passionate neo-romantic composer, but an equally passionate supporter of music education and has worked tirelessly to raise funds for educational causes. So the upcoming Pops Concert on June 8 is a celebration honoring Williams’ role in musical history, as well as supporting musicians and inspiring many generations of movie viewers.
This should prove to be a memorable climax to Santa Cruz Symphony’s 2023-24 season. The range of concert material has been ambitious. Opening in September with Richard Strauss, the Symphony’s October program included highlights from Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi and Bizet. In January Mahler and Ravel were joined by contemporary Korean work. The March Festivals concerts featured the work of Schumann and Stravinsky. And who could forget the monumental Mass in B Minor by Bach, joined by the Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus?
The John Williams Spectacular happens June 8 at the Civic Auditorium in Santa Cruz. But there’s more than just sweeping orchestral music. The season finale kicks off at 5pm with a street party in front of the Civic, with colorful music, dancing, food trucks, and costumes. Lots of fun of all kinds. The Pops Concert follows at 7:30pm, featuring music from many of Williams’ top cinema themes, including selections from E.T., Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park.
Santa Cruz Symphony plays the music of John Williams at the Symphony Pops Concert on June 8 at the Civic Auditorium, 307 Church St., Santa Cruz. From $40. santacruztickets.com
Kamasi Washington is one of the greats of our era. Fans of Kendrick Lamar’s masterpiece To Pimp a Butterfly should thank Washington for the sax in that album
Twenty years ago, when Kirby Scudder and Chip (yes, one name only) created First Friday, they were not thinking outside the box, they didn’t have a box. They built the whole thing out of sand, held together by dreams.
They changed everything for Santa Cruz artists and the community that loves to gather around art. They created a monthly art...
Santa Cruz Symphony concludes its season with a tribute to the orchestral scores John Williams has created for such films as Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T...
