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
When punk took off in and around London, three bands were in the vanguard of what came to be known as the “punk class of ’77.” Sex Pistols and the Clash would be the highest profile acts who broke through into the public consciousness, but a third group—the Damned—made serious inroads as well. And rather than coast on the reputation they cultivated in the 1970s, today’s Damned makes new music with all the spirit of their punk-era work.
Burning brightly, Sex Pistols quickly collapsed under their own weight. The Clash held true to their values and scored critical and commercial success, but they sputtered out after a decade together. In contrast, the Damned endure to this day: three of its four founding members (plus one key member who was there for some of the band’s best early work) are in the group today. The current run of shows represents the first tour in 35 years to feature the Damned’s classic ’80s lineup.
When the Damned first appeared on the scene with their debut single, “New Rose,” their brash and bratty attitude helped pave the way for punk’s ascendancy. Produced by Nick Lowe, the song distilled punk essence into two and a half minutes, with nuclear blast guitar, whip-smart drumming (from Rat Scabies), Captain Sensible’s insistent bass lines and the from-the-grave vocals of Dave Vanian. Guitarist and songwriter Brian James would depart the band within a year, beginning the Damned’s cycle of revolving-door membership. But Vanian, Sensible and Scabies would be on board for nearly all of the group’s best work.
Sensible (born Raymond Burns) switched to guitar decades ago. With a lineup featuring Vanian and longtime member Paul Gray, the Damned created 2023’s Darkadelic. That album combines punk attitude and psychedelia-meets-goth flourishes, while taking a sharp aim at current-day topics. “We don’t really discuss what the lyrics are going to be like before entering into an album project,” Sensible says. “But we did talk about the music this time around; we decided it was going to [have] more of a garage psych element than the last few records.”
Intentionally or not, many of the themes on Darkadelic are topical. Sensible’s “Beware of the Clown” focuses on self-centered liars and buffoons who attain high elected office. Another of his compositions, “Leader of the Gang,” ruminates on disgraced (and currently incarcerated) glam rocker Gary Glitter. A co-write with Gray, “Follow Me” takes aim at social influencers.
“We were just talking about the lyrics of Darkadelic compared to our songs from back in the day,” Sensible recalls. Citing early Damned classics like “Stab Your Back” and “Smash it Up,” he admits that those songs had primitive lyrics compared to current-day tunes. “I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing,” he says with a laugh, “but we’ve certainly gone up a couple of levels.”
Another one of Sensible’s tunes on Darkadelic is “Wake the Dead,” a songwriting collaboration with Martin Newell. A poet and musician who has written scores of enduring pop-rock tunes, Newell has always taken a do-it-yourself approach to music. That set of principles has kept him at some distance from commercial success.”Why Martin isn’t one of the biggest names in music history, I don’t know,” Sensible says. “I always describe him as a one-man Beatles. And he’s great to write with.”
“Wake the Dead” leverages the Damned’s status as goth heroes. Sensible explains that through his travels on social media, he discovered that many of the group’s songs have been played at funerals. “I suppose we and our audience are the right age where people do pop off occasionally,” he deadpans. So he decided to write a tune purposely designed for that use. “It has a heroic, ‘two fingers to the Grim Reaper’ vibe,” he says. “It’s not all, ‘Oh, I’m scared of going!’ Goths and punks, they’re not scared of that nonsense. Just enjoy life while you’re here!”
And at age 70, Captain Sensible certainly seems to be enjoying his life, both in and out of the band he co-founded nearly 50 years ago. Sensible left the Damned in 1984 for a solo career, returned, left again and returned to stay in 1996. “I gave the Damned up [in ’84] because it wasn’t paying as much,” he says with a hearty laugh. “Disgraceful, isn’t it?” His solo career leaned in a more pop direction, earning him money plus several hit singles in the UK.
But Sensible says that the Damned is his first musical love. “I just love standing there with an insanely loud amplifier and a Gibson SG in my hand,” he says. “It’s just a marvelous thing; I recommend it highly.”
The Damned performs with the Avengers on Tuesday, June 11 at 8pm. The Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $49.50 adv/$55 door. etix.com
“It has a heroic, ‘two fingers to the Grim Reaper’ vibe. It’s not all, ‘Oh, I’m scared
of going!’ Goths and punks, they’re not scared of that nonsense. Just enjoy life
“Even if you don’t need it, you might just have to have it. And we’ve probably got it!”
Bonnie Belcher is talking to me about the Santa Cruz Antique Faire, held on the second Sunday of every month, from 8am-5pm, on Lincoln Street between Pacific and Cedar.
“What’s there?” I ask.
“Fifty vendors offering an eclectic blend of antiques and unique items, vintage clothing, collectibles and ephemera. Items from high end to low end, and everything in between.”
Explaining why people keep coming to this recurring fair, Belcher says, “It’s a social event. People see these vendors every month and they all get to know each other. They come down and sit and talk. Or maybe the vendor has something special for that person. They know what they collect. It’s a very laid-back event.”
“But they’re having a ball,” I observe.
“Yes, and I want to make sure that our customers realize we are still downtown just as we’ve always been on the second Sunday of the month. We’re on Facebook and Instagram, santacruzantiquefaire.”
I tell her, “I was getting drunk with some Frenchmen across the parking lot who said, ‘Richard, Sleepy John Sandidge is selling his vintage records at the Faire.’ I staggered over and had the time of my life.”
“Everybody loves Sleepy John and his records. He’s got some awesome old posters too. John is a great addition to the show,” Belcher says.
On the topic of haggling, Belcher observes, “Dickering is appropriate, depending. A long time ago when I was still a vendor, I had an item for sale with an original price tag of $1 on it from like 60 years before, and the customer asked, ‘Would you take 50 cents?’
“That’s pretty funny,” I say.
“Most people have some finesse, and they’ll say, ‘Is this your best price?’ or ‘Can you do any better?’ Generally, the vendor, depending on what they have in it, will work with the customer.”
Belcher explains the fair’s origins. “It was started in 1993 to bring people back downtown after the earthquake. I was a vendor then, I have been a vendor rather than a promoter most of my life. My first spot was right in front of the hole where Gottschalks used to be. The show first started on Pacific Avenue. Then we moved to Lincoln Street, which is absolutely the best location downtown for us, right?”
“What happens when they start building the garage?” I ask.
“What garage? Ha, ha! Seriously, we want to stay on Lincoln and use the other parking lot, on the other side of the street. We definitely want to stay downtown,” Belcher responds.
“What kinds of antiques and collectibles will we see?” I ask.
“Some of our most popular items are ’80s toys, jewelry, LP records and vintage clothing. People also seem to enjoy old enamel signs and advertising tins, which are hard to find. We usually have a pretty great variety of vintage garden items as well, like those cement animals that you put in your yard. We have one vendor who is a bit of a renaissance man; he sells a lot of leather items like boots, jackets and bags as well as offering leather repairs and cleaning to your prized leather goods. People like ephemera, and we have that too.”
“I Googled ephemera and it said, ‘Items of collectible memorabilia, typically written or printed ones, that were originally expected to have only short-term usefulness or popularity.’ What would be something that would be ephemera?” I ask.
“Ephemera is like things that you were not meant to keep,” she explains. “For instance, I collect old Halloween pumpkin lanterns. They’re very expensive now. They were made of papier-mâché; you’d put a candle in them and when it burnt out, you threw them away.”
A disclaimer from Bonnie Belcher: “The Santa Cruz Antique Faire has no affiliation with, nor do we endorse any other show that may be using our same or similar name. To clarify and to avoid any confusion, please note that we are solely operated and located in Santa Cruz, downtown on Lincoln Street, on the second Sunday of the month. We have been bringing vintage awesomeness to Santa Cruz for over 25 years and will continue to do so, and as always, admission is free.”
For questions about vendor space availability or to learn more about the Santa Cruz Antique Faire, call (831) 476-6940 or email sa*******************@***il.com.
A funny thing happened down in Paso Robles this past weekend: Santa Cruz kept surfacing.
The first wave hit while I toured Tin City, Paso’s industrial-style tasting room-brewery-restaurant district. A group of Westside businesses aims to emulate Tin City’s well-branded appeal with the debut later this month of a new name for its own cluster of tasting spots, foodie hubs and breweries, designed to let visitors know there’s more than enough flavor to warrant a specific trip.
“A neighborhood oasis,” says Barry Jackson of Equinox, one of the group’s participants, and one of the Westside vintners collaborating on the Surf City Wine Walk 1-4pm this Sunday, June 9 ($50/advance, $55/day of, winesofthesantacruzmountains.com).
Big Basin, Bottle Jack, David Bruce, Madson, Margins, Rexford, Santa Cruz Mountain, Silver Mountain, Sones, Ser, Stockwell and Wrights Station—each with tasting rooms in the Swift Street area—all flow.
Back in Paso, at the rarefied event that is the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest, Santa Cruz stood out amid a curated group of brewers from six continents. Sante Adarius Ales wow’d with a miraculously smooth 14+ ABV brown ale; Private Press Brewing spread word and tastes of its barrel-aged gifts; and Humble Sea impressed with brews like Walk the Dank double IPA.
Humble Sea’s star turn to the south comes as it extends regional reach to the north: Its latest outpost will take over the former Wines of California Wine Bar on San Francisco’s Pier 39 as soon as next month, complete with 100 seats, a large patio and a yet-underdetermined restaurant/purveyor partner.
So a Humble season that’s already sizzling at a half dozen locations—the original Westside flagship, Alameda Point, Pacifica, the made-for-the-summer Santa Cruz Wharf beer garden, and Felton, which relaunched recently with Bread Boy Co. doing smash burgers—approaches all-out en fuego.
AMIGO NUMBER THREE
There are two types of taquerias in el mundo: Those with salsa bars and those without. Those with the generosity and game to extend the type of homemade lineup Los Pericos does—tomatillo, molcajete, sinus-triggering “orange” salsas among them, to go with crackling fresh chips—achieve a level of community cred hard to achieve without it. That’s one reason (see also: California super burrito) the Pericos flavor flock is growing. (Pericos is “parrots” in Spanish.) As the OG spot in the heart of downtown Surf City (139 Water St., Santa Cruz) creeps toward two decades, and #2 holds it down in the valley (531 Corralitos Road, Watsonville), the third sibling of the family-owned operation just debuted in Aptos (36 Rancho Del Mar). So bring on the namesake Pericos tacos in all their buche brilliance and carnitas charm. taquerialospericos.com
RAPID RATIONS
foodtrucksagogo.com Food Trucks A Go Go roars on 5-8pm Fridays at Sky Park in Scotts Valley through Labor Day with live music, wine-beer garden action and snacks from the likes of Epoch Eats, Kuki’s Bowls, Parker Presents Oysters and Tacos El Chuy, …Another Friday institution also pops this week, as it has for two decades, with First Friday Art Walk throughout the area, firstfridaysantacruz.com…Two Santa Cruz Westside Farmers Market pop-up breakfasts cometh July 27 (by chef Brad Briske of Home Restaurant) and Aug. 10 (Diego Felix of Colectivo Felix), boosting the market’s educational/food access efforts, santacruzfarmersmarket.org…William Carlos Williams, take us to the horizon: “In summer, the song sings itself.”
One of the first customers to try the cuisine at the newly opened Rustico Italian Street Food was Thomas DeSurra, who was so wowed that he asked to work there and started the next day as a manager. In the industry since age 16, DeSurra spent most of his early career in a back-of-house capacity before transitioning to the front-of-house, rounding out his résumé.
He says Rustico’s ambiance is warm, cozy and “takes you back to Rome,” set off by a prominently red and white color scheme with green accents. He begins the menu’s tour with the arancini, a super cheesy rice ball made with risotto that has an “Instagram-worthy cheese pull.” The sandwiches on handmade fresh-baked focaccia bread are another standout.
The pizzas are the flagship menu item, rectangular Roman-style with light and fluffy crust against crispy edges. Favorite flavors are the Calabrese with four-hour caramelized onions, thin sliced potatoes and ’Nduja (a savory/spicy Italian sausage), the namesake Rustico with tomato, garlic and basil, and the Don Sergio with a mozzarella/parmesan base, garlic, thyme and balsamic-cooked cremini and porcini mushrooms.
How has business been so far?
THOMAS DESURRA: The downtown community has been super welcoming and very patient with helping us get off the ground. We’ve been getting busier every single week and really love the word of mouth that’s been praising our virtues and welcoming a new take on Italian food in our town. We look forward to continuing to serve great food to an incredible community and becoming a bigger part of Santa Cruz dining culture.
How do you compare back-of-house and front-of-house work?
I love the creativity that comes with creating dishes and menus, and love the teamwork of a well-operated kitchen and that flow of putting out great dishes as a collaborative effort. What I love about FOH is seeing people’s reactions and creating good experiences for people. Working in food service has been incredibly gratifying for me, and experiencing both sides of restaurant work has given me a unique perspective.
1003 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. Tuesday-Sunday, noon-2pm and 4-9pm. 831-226-2227.
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...
