Page 182 – Good Times

ABBA ZABBA Doo

Cover Stories

June 20, 2023

If you think the concert promotion company called (((folkYEAH!!!))) brings in a lot of aging hippies with acoustic guitars and banjos…you know, folk music…forget it.

The independent company brings in some of the biggest known and best unknown but soon to be known bands anywhere.

The name came to independent promoter Britt Govea, 48, who has been doing Bay Area shows for 18 years, because of the response people had to him when he told them of his latest booking– “Fuck Yeah,” they’d say.

But he needed something more age-friendly. He’s a family guy with a 9-year-old son and a proud mother. Thus folkYEAH was born.

And, yes, he books singer/songwriters, but he also booked the Red Hot Chili Peppers to play plugged in to 300 people at the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur. He booked the classic English band, the Zombies, to play the 500-seat San Francisco venue, the Chapel.

He produced a show by David Crosby and another time got Neil Young to play along with his then wife, Pegi, in Big Sur. He’s had indie darlings, Fleet Foxes, the heavy San Francisco electronic band, Brightblack Morning Light, two Santa Cruz shows by Los Lobos, including one on New Year’s Eve. And then, some performers everyone knows, including Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Beck and Arcade Fire.

He’s got the booking cred, doing some 300 shows a year, albeit, fairly quietly. He’s no Bill Graham, stepping into the spotlight, but he books shows based on the music he loves–unlike too many other promoters who book based mostly on ticket sales and the bottom line.

“A music lover is behind this 100 percent,” says the owner of 6000 vinyl records and 5000 CDs. “More than anyone with financial aspirations, I bring the music I’m into and that we love as a collective.”

Which brings us to his big roll of the dice this weekend: the first ABBA ZABBA Festival at Roaring Camp this Sunday. It mixes a Latin Psychedelic vibe with old school soul.

The festival’s name didn’t come from the old school Abba Zaba candy bar, but rather, in the esoteric musical body that makes up Govea’s backbone, it comes from a Captain Beefheart song, “Abba Zaba.” He added the extra b.

“It’s from my favorite LP, ‘Safe as Milk’,” says Govea.

The lyrics give you a clue as to what to expect from the Festival–in other words, expect the unexpected:

“Babbette baboon [repeat] abba zaba zoom

Two shadows at Noon, Babbette baboon

Comin’ over pretty soon, Babbette baboon”

Govea has been working eight years to put on his first Santa Cruz festival and he hopes it will become a semi-annual tradition, to bring great up-and-coming music into a beautiful outdoor venue, filled with nature. It will play unusually for a rock festival on a Sunday from 11am to 8pm.

“My goal was to keep it a tighter, curated event with 1,000 to 1,500 people who can watch from a good vantage point and not run back and forth between stages,” says Govea. “It’s a sitting in the park vibe.”

This will be one of those festivals people will talk about for years to come.

Headliners Thee Sacred Souls is an up and coming band that’s played in Santa Cruz before, selling out shows in Moe’s Alley. Their music is timeless, a mix of 60s soul and R&B but with a modern feel. Two of the members grew up in Southern California low-rider culture and the sound comes through: a mix of sweet, soulful tunes with nostalgic, romantic lyrics.

R&B retro-soul singer Lady Wray fits in seamlessly with the other acts, bringing her incredible singing range into the mix. She is the first artist Missy Elliot signed to her label, The Goldman Inc, in 1997. She has worked with music giants like Jay-Z and the Black Eyed Peas. Her powerful vocals carry every song, with people comparing her to the likes of Arethra Franklin.

Female american rock band trio Tchotchke will also be gracing the stage, along with the funky, psychedelic sounds from BOLERO!

THEE SACRED SOULS

The first time I saw Thee Sacred Souls, I couldn’t help but think about my relationships—past, present and future. I swooned as lead singer Josh Lane took the mic in his hand, eyes closed, and filled the room with his sweet, soulful voice, backup singers punctuating his words with soft and high melodies.

Combined with Sal Samano on bass and Alex Garcia on drums, the trio’s music feels like a diary entry. They sing of love and relationships, stripping back fluff to get at the substance of relationships: communication, honesty, infatuation, all set to a soft and whimsical soundtrack that could be from the 60s.

“This whole genre really lends itself if you look back in history, to love, whether it’s romantic feelings or heartbreak,” Lane says. “That’s at least three fourths of the topics in soul music. And then on top of that, I’m more of a romantic, fantasizing about the different stories that could be when it comes to love, mix that up with actual experiences. Those are the kinds of stories that I felt drawn to when I would listen to the instrumentals that Sal and Alex bring to the table.”

Even when the lyrics do the hard work of taking on serious topics and divulging deep truths, the sound of the music is warm and soft, like a Sunday afternoon spent with dear loved ones. High notes and guitar riffs flow and swell as seamlessly as water, giving the music an easygoing feel.

The band formed in early 2019 in San Diego and quickly landed a record deal with the revered Daptone label. Their first singles racked up more than ten million streams in a year and garnered attention from Billboard, Rolling Stone, and KCRW.

Lead singer Lane joined the group after a few stints as a singer in other indie bands. A Sacramento native, he grew up on gospel music in church.has a background in opera singing and classical music, which comes through with some of the impressive range he’s able to hit and those high notes that give the music a soulful touch.

Meanwhile, drummer Alex Garcia and bassist Sal Samano connected in San Diego, bonding over their shared love of low-rider culture and Chicano soul music.

“I grew up on soul music,” Samano says. “My dad was always playing soul in the background, at family get-togethers and barbecues and throughout the house. I would collect soul records. When we were starting this band I found my way back to soul, I think it just played the biggest part in my childhood.”

The three’s taste in music and what they were raised on combined to create an ageless sound with influences from 60s R&B, soul and funk with a modern spin.

Both Samano and Lane say that at the core, they’re making music that people can relate to. At shows, Samano says he will look out into the crowd and see people tearing up, crying and having pure emotion on their face.

Lane says that the music touches on the most human experience: love.

“I would hope that people would take this record and have it be a companion to their life,” Lane says. “You know, maybe play a record, maybe play one of the songs when they’re in love with their partner and maybe play some of the songs at home when they’re feeling introspective about love or heartbreak or even working through the tougher parts of a relationship.”

TROPA MAGICA

It was a magical accident that created Tropa Magica’s magical sound.

Singer/songwriter and guitarist David Pacheco, 35, was brought up mostly on cumbias, the Mexican folk music his parents played. Then one day, he was getting out of his parent’s minivan and he spotted a jacket of CDs on the ground.

Inside were discs by Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd and suddenly he was bitten by the bug of rock and roll.

“I was really intrigued by the music,” he says. “I had heard of them but never delved into it. If it wasn’t for that, I would have listened to more hip-hop.”

All of a sudden, he started wearing black T-shirts and exploring the shimmery, psychedelic sounds of classic prog rock. And he created a new style he calls “psychedelic-cumbia-punk,” a breathtaking amalgam of traditional folk music with heavy, spacey rock that defies any one category.

Seeing two shows this year, the band took my breath away. It was like hearing Pink Floyd before anyone knew who they were. I saw them open for Los Lobos and again at Moe’s Alley, and I bought all of their music. I couldn’t wait to tell all of my friends about them and I can’t wait to see them again at ABBA ZABBA.

The band will play as a trio with David, his brother, Rene, 31, on drums and bassist Jason Juarez. The brothers have added violin and keyboards at some shows. The brothers started playing together in East LA (also home base for Los Lobos) when they were 14 and 17 and their name comes from an earlier version when they were called Commons and their Tropa Magica (magical troupe) and had sword swallowers and jugglers. They cut back when traveling with seven people was too difficult.

They’ll play a greatest hits set at ABBA ZABBA, they say, and will gauge whether the audience wants to dance or space out. I vote space, but I’ll be happy either way.

Reunification Fail

Local News

Todd Guild

June 20, 2023

In October, two Santa Cruz siblings were violently removed from a relative’s home and forced into a family therapy program with their mother.

After that, Maya and Sebastian, now 16 and 12, were not heard from until May 29, when they ran away from their mother’s home and went into hiding.

“We finally got away,” Maya says in the first of a series of videos, taken with a shaky camera as the kids were driven away during their 3am escape.

Since then, the kids have taken to Instagram to describe their experiences with reunification therapy, a controversial program that ostensibly aims to reunite children with alienated parents.

“I was so scared, I didn’t move at all,” says Sebastian. He says one transport agent pushed him into the car seat by his throat.

They were then driven to Los Angeles, where their mother waited with two family therapists: Santa Cruz-based Regina Marshall and Lynn Steinberg, who has a practice in Southern California.

Both kids have accused their mother of abuse and say they want to live with their father. Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Rebecca Connolly has awarded full custody to their mother.

In a brief filed in Santa Cruz County Superior Court, psychologist Catherine Barrett states that, when the court determined that no abuse had occurred, Steinberg suggested that the children’s father must have been alienating the mother.

Barrett calls this a “false choice,” and says that, if the kids’ psychologist had used a clinically accepted framework, they may have been able to discern a cause for the kids’ behavior.

“…it should be noted that parental alienation has not been empirically validated by the field of clinical or forensic psychology and does not align with the research of the field,” she states in the court filing.

As a result, “the children unquestionably experienced trauma during their retrieval and likely during ‘reunification therapy,’” Barrett states.

Reunification therapy and the concept of parental alienation is controversial in psychiatric circles, the latter not recognized in the latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Tina Swithin, who campaigns against reunification therapy in her blog One Mom’s Battle, says there is little oversight or regulation for reunification therapy.

“It has all sprouted up from the infiltration of this pseudoscience,” she says.

In the Program

The four-day, intensive therapy program included being kept in a room with the knobs removed from the door, which was equipped with an alarm, Maya says.

The kids say they were repeatedly accused of lying about their accusations against their mother. They were also threatened with being taken to a “wilderness camp,” where insubordination could mean having food or blankets withheld.

“Even when I first came in I was crying and sobbing because I didn’t want to see my mom, and Lynn Steinberg told me, ‘you’re overreacting, you’re faking it,’” Maya says.

Transport agents guarded the door, she says, and one of them slept on a mattress outside.

While the sessions included efforts to reconnect the kids with their mother—such as going through their childhood toys with their mother to try to rekindle happy memories—they were also coached to lie about their location, forbidden to contact their friends and father, and change their names.

“We just had to keep lying and hiding, and the thing I wanted more than anything else was to talk to my dad,” Maya says. “But that was the thing we were prevented from the most.”

A Professional’s Take

Pennsylvania-based licensed clinical psychologist Jaime Zuckerman, who is not involved in Maya and Sebastian’s case, says such therapeutic methods can be psychologically damaging.

“The way they go about doing this, to rip the children away from the healthy parent and force them into a relationship that they do not want to be with, is extremely traumatic for them,” Zuckerman says.

Still, the kids’ experience, while often flying under the radar of public perception, is a fairly common occurrence, she says.

“It’s just never really been talked about in this way,” she says. “This is the first case that’s been vocalized on social media.”

Zuckerman says these cases often begin with a claim of parental alienation, a concept not widely accepted in psychiatric circles.

But many judges are not well educated in nuanced issues such as coercive abuse and narcissistic abuse, and many see it as one parent keeping children from the other parent, she says.

Because many judges aim for children to have relationships with both parents, they often rule in favor of the “alienated” parent.

“Because it’s hearsay and because it’s coming from children, and because it’s a contentious divorce, all of these things together really align with the idea that the child is making it up and the parent is coaching them,” Zuckerman says.

Steinberg did not return multiple requests for comment. But she says in her website that her program has a 100% success rate, a claim seemingly belied by the kids’ escape.

But Zuckerman says that many children subjected to programs like Steinberg’s frequently pretend to comply to end the hours of interrogation and “gaslighting.”

“Lynn Steinberg is notorious for brainwashing children and forcing them to align with the abusive parent,” she says.

Court-appointed reunification therapist Jeanette Yoffe, who practices in Los Angeles, says she creates intricate plans that involve all family members.

“But it has to be done step by step by step, and it is imperative that everyone follows the treatment plan that the reunification therapist puts into place, to follow the child’s lead and progress,” she says. “Because the children are victims here.”

When a child does not want to be with one parent, Yoffe says she strives to find out why, and delves into all points of view. But she never uses force.

“To forcefully coerce a child to do reunification therapy is unethical and immoral,” she says. “And it will cause further trauma down the line.”

Yoffe is dubious of Steinberg’s claim that her four-day program can be successful.

“It doesn’t take four days,” she says. “It can take four years. This is a process; you can’t force it. “When we have children stating they don’t want to return, we have to believe them and understand where their anxiety is coming from and decide as a team what is the best practice here.”

Ongoing Efforts

Since the siblings were taken, Maya’s friends have mounted a campaign to change the local and state laws that allowed it. And they have kept the story in the public eye, with several public picketing events throughout the county.

Their efforts have so far been successful. The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors in March approved an ordinance that prohibits the use of force by companies that transport children.

Claire Protti, 16, and a group of friends met with Assemblywoman Gail Pellerin and Senator John Laird, both of whom are backing Senate Bill 331—also known as Piqui’s law—which would require that anyone testifying in custody disputes have the proper training or education.

The law would also require special training for judges in domestic violence issues and would prohibit courts from ordering reunification therapy.

SB 331 passed unanimously out of the Senate floor on May 24 and is now being considered by the Assembly.

Protti says that the group wants to keep publicizing the issue as their friends wait to return to Santa Cruz.

“Maya right now is in a state of limbo,” she says. “They aren’t able to come home to see their family for fear they will be taken and we don’t know how long this will continue.”

The group is also calling for a recall of Judge Connolly, who is up for reelection in 2024, Protti says.

“We want to show her that we are disappointed in her, she has been failing us,” she says.

Painting for Justice

Local News

Josué Monroy

June 20, 2023

Almost two years to the day since the Black Lives Matter mural on Center St. was vandalized in an act of hate, the community is coming together to restore the mural.

The road leading up to this day has been marked with pain, dialogue and grace as local activists engaged in a process of restorative justice to address the vandals’ actions.

The highly-anticipated repaint is set for June 24 and many community members have signed up to be a part of the event. Organizers are also expecting Hagan Warner, one of the two men responsible for the mural’s defacement in July 2021, to be there.

This is the result of mediation efforts by members of SC Equity Collab (SCEC), a local initiative founded by artist and activist Abi Mustapha in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.

The group and some 500 volunteers painted the original mural, giant yellow letters spelling “Black Lives Matter” in front of city hall in 202o. The endeavor channeled the energy of nationwide protests for racial justice and police accountability after Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police that year.

For these activists, the decision to embark on the path of restorative justice was born out of empathy and to address the shortfalls of our punitive justice system in bringing humanity into the process.

A Dialogue

In Nov. 2022, Hagan Warner and Brandon Bochat were sentenced to 90 days in jail and ordered to pay $19,000 in restitution for felony vandalism and hate crime for burning truck tire marks into the BLM mural in 2021.

A crucial part of their sentence, one which Abi Mustapha and her group advocated for, was for the perpetrators to engage in restorative justice. This would take form as community dialogues led by SC Equity Collab and the Conflict Resolution Center of Santa Cruz County.

According to a press release for the mural restoration by SC Equity Collab, the men’s sentences included several aspects of a restorative justice model, including participation in a victim-offender dialogue and participation in a racial equity educational program.

Sean McGowen, co-founder of SCEC, sees the value in extending opportunities for people like Warner and Bochat to make amends to those they harmed.

“The reason that this work is important is because if you take somebody who has committed a hate crime into prison, for instance, it’s only gonna further perpetuate that system,” McGowen says. “They’re gonna learn in that system values that make them worse.”

The restorative justice model emerged in 1970’s with the focus being on victim-offender mediation. Although Santa Cruz does have a community court program, the restorative justice approach is less common in traditional criminal court. According to Mcgowen and others, Warner has been receptive to the approach, while Bochat has shown less willingness to engage, making minimal contact with the SCEC.

For some involved in the restorative mediation process for Warner and Bochat, the harm caused by their actions is not easy to brush away.

Restorative Reservations

Thomas Sage Pedersen, a local activist and host of the Speak For Change podcast, was involved in a community dialogue earlier this year as a former member of SCEC. While he ultimately supports the process that the vandals are engaged in, he has mixed emotions.

“There’s a bittersweetness to it,” Pedersen says. “If Black folks were in the same position they wouldn’t be treated the same.

“Now we’re talking about restorative justice and giving all this grace to these White young adults, which is good, but I just really want to see it done to Brown and Black folks.”

Chris Davis, co-founder and director of local non-profit Santa Cruz Black, also engaged in a mediation session. He echoes some of the sentiments brought forth by Pedersen.

“Emotions were at 11,” he says.

Davis feels that having to go through the process of restorative justice can dig up the trauma of violence against Black people. In this case, it does not have to end in physical violence, but reliving the harm done to the local Black community does not bring healing for him.

“[Black people] have to do the work first, and that to me is irritating. It’s exhausting,” Davis says.

Pedersen and Davis concur that despite their raw emotions and doubts about this process, it can only benefit the community.

“We are showing the world, our community, this process of restorative justice,” Pedersen says. “What [Warner and Bochat] do in the future will inform us on what to do in the future. It’s an exercise in empathy.”

Paint and Pain

The upcoming BLM mural restoration has created a buzz in Santa Cruz, with many residents eager to participate. As of last week, over 150 people had signed up through SCEC’s website. More participants are expected to join the list this week and drop-ins on the day-of are anticipated.

Santa Cruz County Third District Supervisor Justin Cummings is ready to see the repainting happen. Cummings was Santa Cruz Mayor in 2020 and has shown support for the restorative justice efforts spearheaded by SCEC.

“It’s been a long time coming and I hope there’s a really good turnout. It will be a positive event,” Cummings says.

When asked about the willingness for Warner to make amends and participate in the restoration, Cummings believes it’s a positive thing for the community.

“I think it will be a step in the right direction,” Cummings says. “There’s gonna be a lot that needs to be done in order to really heal the pain that was caused to many members of the community. But I think it’s gonna be an exercise in good faith.”

Sean McGowen admits that it may be hard for some to grapple with the emotions surrounding the event and Warner’s presence.

“The community was harmed and, yes, there will be emotions at the event,” says Mcgowen. “Talking about racism is not a painless thing. The only way to show up sometimes is in tears.”

Community members looking to participate in the mural repainting can sign up at SC Equity Collab’s website. The event will be this Saturday, June 24 from 10am to 5pm. All are welcome.

Heeling Process

Local News

Tarmo Hannula

June 20, 2023

Around 50 men slipped into pairs of bright red and pink high heels Friday for a quick dash around the block in downtown Santa Cruz in the 2023 Santa Cruz County Bank Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event.

In its 11th year, the annual gathering originated as a fundraiser for Monarch Services and to promote awareness about domestic violence and sexual assault.

The Walk features male employees of Santa Cruz County Bank and their local business partners.

After a brief welcoming ceremony, the crowd of heeled runners burst out from the starting line in an awkward and jilted sprint.

“Let me tell you, even the first 50 feet was tough,” said Dug Fisher, senior vice president for County Bank. “But it’s worth it, to be able to help places like Monarch Services. They’re an amazing community service for our community.”

At the close of the race, Fischer was pulled from the cheering crowd to be presented the, “He’s Got Legs Award.”

Leeann Luna, Program Director of Monarch Services, said, “We are excited to partner, once again, in this fun event that supports our vital services to empower individuals, families and our communities to take action against violence and abuse.”

Monarch Services has been providing community assistance to survivors of violence for over 45 years. Their services include counseling, shelter, emergency financial aid, transportation, support groups and more. Monarch Services is the only rape crisis and human trafficking center in Santa Cruz County. All services are available in Spanish and English and are free or low cost.

From the Desk of Editor, Brad Kava

Editor’s Note

Brad Kava

June 20, 2023

Santa Cruz California editor of good times news media print and web — Brad Kava | Good Times Editor

I am saddened by the death of Daniel Ellsberg last week. I got to know the man who was a hero to liberals, intimately. We were handcuffed together and jailed briefly in 1978 at a protest at the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant in Colorado.

Ellsberg, who died at 92, was a former military analyst who became a symbol for the peace movement in 1971 when he released documents exposing lies about the Vietnam War to the press. His effort was documented in the movies The Pentagon Papers and The Post.

After working for newspapers in Santa Cruz (Good Times and the Independent), I moved to Boulder, Colo. to work for a book publisher owned by a former CIA agent. After reading my share of horror stories there, I decided to join the movement protesting the transport of nuclear materials by train around the Rocky Mountains, and joined hundreds of people blocking the tracks.

As one of the older and more conservative looking people in a troupe of beautiful, wild and tie-dyed hippies, I got lumped in with Ellsberg through the arrests and later the federal trial.

For me, this was sort of a spring vacation, but for Ellsberg it was a serious job. He was a symbol for the movement and a voice of rationality among the patchouli crowd. He reminded me of a young Paul Newman and his words were gold and brought peace to a crowd that could have gotten angry and ridden off the rails, literally (see Jan. 6, 2021).

It’s hard being arrested, handcuffed and tossed around by scowling federal officers, but overall they were civil and we did everything we could to be polite and peaceful. The ones who got really ugly were the government’s prosecution team.

I didn’t know this until after the trial, but prosecutors relentlessly called and threatened my parents back in New York, trying to get them to have me not go to trial. They couldn’t stand the fact that they would have a clean shaven guy in a jacket and tie on the witness stand.

They told my parents they would make my life hell and I would never get a job again and they would throw me in jail for a long time. I will always thank my parents for not telling me this until after the trial, and for not trying to influence me.

I was found guilty and got probation for a first offense, but I felt like I did my part. The arsenal was eventually closed down. I managed to find jobs afterwards.

The lesson I learned was just how evil the government can be. They never threatened me, but they chose my weakest point–my parents. Why harass those poor people? It was just plain underhanded and malicious.

But it opened my eyes as a journalist to be sympathetic to those who protest, to question authority, and to know that sometimes conspiracy theories are real.

And I’ll always think fondly of Ellsberg, who showed us that peaceful actions can speak louder than words.

The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.
Theodore Roosevelt

Things to do in Santa Cruz for the Week of June 21 – 27, 2023

Things To Do This Week

Brad Kava

June 20, 2023

Things to do in Santa Cruz for the Week of June 21 – 27, 2023

Arts & Music

DIRTY CELLO San Francisco singer and cellist Rebecca Roudman has to make a serious choice. She channels Janis Joplin when she sings, and we don’t draw that comparison lightly. Then, when she bows her large stringed instrument, it’s pure Nirvana, one of the last bands to really rock the cello on tour. While we aren’t huge fans of cover bands, this one makes each song sound new, with a setlist that includes Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones and Janis Joplin. We saw them at the free Sunday afternoon concerts at Seascape Resort and here they are again, for free at the Capitola Twilight Concert, Wednesday 6-8 pm on the Esplanade (120 Monterey).

Paul Thorn & Band with Mira Goto opening

Thorn is a troubadour in the best sense, a traveler who brings his story/songs around the world. In contrast with earlier work that riffed on short-term love affairs, as well as “kissing the right one good-bye,” the writing on Thorn’s latest release, “Never Too Late To Call” features music from a man who is with the “right one” and is happy to be there. In the case of what is arguably the CD’s most tender composition, “Sapphire Dream,” Thorn teamed up with his daughter Kitty Jones, who co-wrote the song and accompanies her dad on vocals. Much has been written about Thorn’s early years performing in his father’s Pentecostal church and later coming under the tutelage of his Uncle Merle, a pimp and small-time hustler. Plenty of material to draw from for a great songwriter. The show is Friday, 7:30 to 10pm at the Rio Theatre 1205 Soquel Ave. Tickets are $32-$40.

Community

Bubble Magic What kid doesn’t love bubbles? If you find one, don’t bring them to this. Buuuut if your wee ones love the floating soap you must, must, must bring them to see long time Santa Cruz personality Tom Noddy, who will blow their minds with his bubble blowing skills.

You’d better arrive early to grab a spot at the Capitola Library’s Ow Family Community Room for the 2-3pm performance, Thursday. The beautiful new branch is at 2005 Wharf Road, Capitola.

Kid-friendly, family friendly, things to do in Santa Cruz, events — Tom Noddy’s Bubble Magic. Photo courtesy: Tom Noddy

Take a Hike and Learn Something This 90-minute, behind-the-scenes hiking tour takes visitors into Younger Lagoon Reserve adjacent to the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. The lagoon has diverse coastal habitats and is home to birds of prey, migrating sea birds, bobcats, and other wildlife. Come and see what scientists are doing to track local mammals, restore native habitats, and learn about the workings of one of California’s rare coastal lagoons. A tour is offered on selected Thursdays and Saturdays of each month beginning at 10:30 AM, including this Saturday. Space is limited to 18 participants. Call 831-459-3800 or sign-up online. Seymourcenter.ucsc.edu

Nerdville 831 OMG, the Silicon Valley Comic Con is gone, so Nerdville 831 on Sunday is your best local shot for all things nerdy, cool, colorful, fun, creative, artistic, modern and did I say cool. It’s so great that the city of Watsonville is keeping fantasy alive, when San Jose has given it up. The Friends of Watsonville Parks and Community Services Department sponsors this fun and family-friendly day of anime, cosplay and collectables.

This year it honors the ANIME community in Watsonville with vendors and artists, local and from afar, making available homemade anime-related crafts and collectables.

This 10am-5pm event is free to all Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) students with proof of current 2022-2023 student ID card. The event is also FREE for youth under the age of 5.

Tickets: $20 for adults and $10 for non-PVUSD students/youth (6-17).

It’s at Watsonville High School’s new gymnasium 250 East Beach Street and yes, the GT editor and his 7-year-old son will be there proudly showing the colors.

The Boys Are Back in Town

Music

Stuart Thornton

June 20, 2023

It’s the night before Mother’s Day, and audience members of the near capacity crowd at The Crepe Place jockey for a place to see Santa Cruz’s long running Dusted Angel begin their first show with new guitarist Ed Gregor. Condensation frosts the windows of the intimate venue as singer Clifford Dinsmore notes that “sometimes all of us are more tortured than we want to be.”

With that pronouncement, the music begins slowly with shimmering cymbals and guitars slowly building like a wave. In the crowd, cell phones go up and start filming as the jagged metal riffs of “The Thorn” overtake the room.

By the band’s second song, “Plastic People,” the bald and baseball capped heads of the crowd move rhythmically up and down like pistons. Next up, “Sensory Obliteration” is a thick heavy metal assault with a slowed down midsection that roars back to life again with Steve Ilse’s drums erupting like fireworks.

After a handful of songs in the crowded room, what is most obvious about the band—besides its impressive playing—is its connection to the audience. Though Dusted Angel has only played sporadically since forming around 2008, there’s definitely an appetite for their music in Santa Cruz.

A few weeks after The Crepe Place show, Dinsmore—who was the vocalist in legendary Santa Cruz hardcore band Bl’ast—explains how Gregor joining the band has reinvigorated Dusted Angel. “It really brought us back to that super two guitar crush, which is such an important factor in our band,” he says. “It’s just the best yet.”

A longtime friend of the band, Gregor has played in the Santa Cruz ‘90s act Hedgehog and in the popular Sunnyvale punk group No Use for a Name. “No one makes more sense,” Dinsmore says of his new bandmate. “Not to mention the fact that he is one of the best guitar players we have ever seen. He just knows what Dusted Angel is.”

The sound of the band encompasses punk rock, doom metal, and stoner rock. While the music is heavy and the band members play with the energy and intensity of hardcore, it is still approachable. “It’s almost classic rock on steroids,” Dinsmore says.

For a band that has been playing off and on for 15 years, Dusted Angel have only released a single album, 2010’s Earth Sick Mind. Dinsmore is hoping that changes soon, especially with the addition of Gregor. “Now we have our mind really set on recording,” he says.

Dinsmore believes that the band’s scarcity of recorded material and infrequent shows has meant that every performance they do is an event. “We have nothing that you can buy,” he says. “It’s rare that we have anything for sale. We don’t play a lot. You can’t really go listen to the music or buy a record. It almost works for us in a way because it maintains that mysterious element of like holy shit if Dusted Angel comes around you better see it because who knows when it will happen again?”

Dinsmore is not only excited by the new energy in Dusted Angel, but he is also stoked on the current state of the Santa Cruz music scene, which is saying something since he has been performing locally since 1983. A big reason for his enthusiasm is that Chuck Platt of Santa Cruz punk band Good Riddance now owns the Crepe Place, while longtime rocker Brian Ziel (Enemy of My Enemy, Suckerpunch) runs Moe’s Alley. In addition, part of the team behind The Catalyst bought the Felton Music Hall.

All of the new developments in the local music scene cause Dinsmore to make a big announcement. “[The Santa Cruz music scene is] the best it’s ever been in history,” he says, “in my opinion.”

Dusted Angel, The Freeks, and Blackwulf perform Sunday, June 25, 4pm. $15/advance, $20/day of the show. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. https://moesalley.com

Juneteenth March

Local News

Lia Prusha and Tarmo Hannula

June 20, 2023

Around 300 people joined the peaceful “March Towards Love and Courage” Monday evening from the London Nelson Community Center to City Hall as part of Juneteenth.

“The goal of the event is bring awareness of the last three years of the Black Lives Matter movement since the George Floyd tragedy and reflect on the current state of the Black Lives Matter movement in Santa Cruz,” event organizer and Capitola resident Thairie Ritchie says. “Today we march for unity, education and policy change.”

The marchers chanted slogans and waved signs such as, “Black and Asian Solidarity,” “We Must Stand Together,” and “Yellow Peril Supports BLack Power,” as they walked to City Hall where a rally unfolded.

Ritchie organized the first Juneteenth march back in 2020, in response to police murdering George Floyd. About 500 people showed up to march compared to this year’s 300, despite Juneteenth becoming a Federal holiday in 2021. Nationwide, BLM engagement has fallen since 2020: according to a Pew Research Report published last week, 51% of Americans support Black Lives Matter compared to 67% in 2020.

Ritchie says that while organizing both events, he has found himself having to reassure “predominantly white spaces” that the march will be peaceful.

For non-Black locals who want to become more engaged, he advises, “It’s not enough to just support the painting of a mural and take a knee and post on your social media feed. It’s a commitment to making sure we uplift Black lives. This looks like making things more accessible, more affordable, and supporting legislation to those effects.”

Racism is still prevalent in the county, as is evidenced by the Santa Cruz City Hall street mural that was defaced in 2021. The rally centered around that mural, which still has heavy skid marks across the length of the sprawling mural, evidence of the hate crime. A mural repainting rally is set for Saturday.

In Capitola, another BLM mural, on Pleasure Point, has been repeatedly vandalized since its unveiling in 2020.

Ritchie, who passes by on his bus ride to work, saw the mural defaced and restored several times before being taken down.

“There have been some successes within Santa Cruz city limits, but outside of Santa Cruz, around the entire county, I don’t feel that Black Lives Matter is fully embraced,” says Ritchie.

He hopes to see a re-ignition of the conversation about public safety and re-imagining policing, an issue that came up in 2020 that has lost urgency since former Santa Cruz Chief of Police Andy Mills resigned.

“We need to see your response as not just advocates and empathizes, but we need your support in helping as well as uplifting that light and the Black community in these times,” Ritchie says.

Weed Reads: Legal Pot Industry May Face ‘Extinction Event’

Cannabis

Dan Mitchell

June 20, 2023

Weed Reads: Legal Pot Industry May Face ‘Extinction Event’

California’s legal pot industry has struggled since it began in 2018. High taxes, burdensome regulations, the refusal of many local governments to issue licenses and the continued dominance of the illicit trade have all kept what should be a large, thriving business from reaching its potential.

The crisis moment might have been delayed by the pandemic, when cannabis was deemed to be an “essential” business and thus continued to operate even when most other businesses were closed during the lockdown. As that was happening, demand for weed grew, thanks in part to a lot of people staying at home with not much to do. That likely allowed many stores to remain open and many growers to keep growing, even as they continued to struggle and even as many of their peers left the business or went back to serving the illicit market.

But now, the industry might be facing an “extinction event,” as some in the industry and the media have put it. That of course overstates things, though not by much. The industry isn’t going to disappear, but it’s already shrinking fast and in danger of becoming much, much smaller and of being dominated by a few big players. Industry consolidation is something many industry advocates started warning about even before voters approved Prop 64 in 2016, which authorized legalization.

The California cannabis industry now faces its greatest challenge. “Perfect storm” is a horrible cliché, but it fits the current circumstance.

First, there isn’t enough money, despite all the dollars consumers spend on legal weed. Retailers have worked with ultra-thin margins and dispensaries have taken on large amounts of debt. That problem became worse this year when the tax law was changed to make retailers responsible for paying the state’s cannabis excise tax which puts a heavy burden on cash-strapped dispensaries.

One report toward the end of last year put the total amount of debt among dispensaries at about $600 million. Whatever the real number is, it has likely ballooned this year already.

The deadline for dispensaries to pay the state’s excise tax was May 1, and more than 13% failed to do so by that date, according to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. That represents 265 shops that now face penalties of 50% of what they owe. That could be a “death blow” for many of them, as SFGate recently put it.

Meanwhile, pot growers continue to flee the legal market in droves, thanks again to costs as well as persistently low wholesale prices. The state’s “canopy”—the total acreage devoted to growing weed—shrank by about 23% since January of 2022, according to one analysis. During the same period, 1,766 cultivation licenses went inactive, 845 of them just this year, according to the California Department of Cannabis Control.

As if all this weren’t enough, a pathogen has spread to nearly all of California’s pot plants. The disease, HLVd (hop-latent viroid), doesn’t kill the plant, but it reduces the weight of buds by nearly a third and it reduces THC content, making every plant grown less valuable than it otherwise would be.There are solutions to the pathogen problem, mainly involving testing and removing infected plants. But it’s one more burden for an industry that can’t take any more.

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