At 11:20am today, anyone with a cell phone can expect an emergency alert from the federal government.
The alert is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission.
The national test will consist of two portions, testing Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) and Emergency Alert System capabilities. Both tests are scheduled to begin at approximately 11:20am.
The message will read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”
The WEA portion of the test will be directed to consumer cell phones. This will be the third nationwide test, but the second test to all WEA-compatible cellular devices. The test message will display in either English or in Spanish, depending on the language settings of the wireless handset.
The EAS portion of the test will be sent to radios and televisions.
This will be the seventh nationwide EAS test.
The purpose of the test is to ensure that the systems continue to be effective means of warning the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level.
Our excellent and evolving Santa Cruz Symphony is offering some appetizing extras this season, and you won’t want to miss a chance to catch the Mads Tolling show this coming Sunday, Oct. 8, the opening concert of the expanded 2023-24 Recital Series.
Mads Tolling & the Mads Men are wildly talented musicians changing the way you’re going to think about live music. Jazz standards and cinematic classics are reimagined and swung through the brilliant violin stylings of two-time Grammy Award winner Mads Tolling.
Yes, you might not think of the violin as an instrument designed for jazz. But Tolling and company will change your mind about that preconception. The native of Copenhagen, Denmark was turned on to jazz at the age of 14.
Jazz genius Miles Davis was the instrument of change and by the time Tolling was 20 he was mad for jazz, coming to this country to study jazz at the renowned Berklee College of Music. Even while he was a student he started touring with Stanley Clarke and his band, and with the Turtle Island String Quartet.
The touring has never stopped, and the Grammy awards began. Tolling not only performs and jams with jazz greats from his San Francisco base, he’s a composer as well, and was commissioned by the Oakland East Bay Symphony for a violin concerto.
What’s exciting about the Danish-American violin explorer is his cross-over tendency that has taken him through the classical repertoire, into the heart of American jazz, into the eclectic sounds of his latest project, Mads Men. What Santa Cruz audiences will enjoy this coming weekend is Tolling’s playful celebration of ’60s style jazz classics, with the Mads Men Sam Beven on bass, Colin Hogan on piano, and Eric Garland on drums as his world-class backup band.
Remember all those irresistible 60s studio band numbers? Herb Alpert and “A Taste of Honey”? Tijuana Brass, the theme from The Pink Panther?
Coaxing uncanny, unbelievable sounds from his violin, Tolling has a lot of fun swinging his way through innovative versions of Bob Dylan by way of Jimi Hendrix. From blues to salsa to every great TV theme song, and pungent movie soundtrack favorites, the Mads Men work through imaginative morphings of soul-to-jazz licks and through it all there’s the incredible violin virtuosity of Tolling who is busy readjusting our ears and expanding our understanding of what a stringed instrument should be doing.
Mission Impossible? yeah, that’s part of his bag of instrumental tricks. You’ll remember all these classics from the great decade of popular media music, but Mads Tolling and the Mads Men will also soothe your need for nostalgia, and transform “easy listening” into a higher artform.
Mads Tolling kicks off the Sunday afternoon recital series, that continues with Hakan Ali Toker on Nov. 5, Destiny Muhammad on Dec. 17, and Gwendolyn Mok on Jan. 7. Nothing is as exciting and memorable as live music, and the Santa Cruz Symphony Sunday Afternoon Recital Series is the perfect avenue into new experiences for every music lover, newcomer or veteran.
Sunday, Oct. 8 at 2pm at the Samper Recital Hall, Cabrillo College.Tickets.
Scott Hill clearly recalls the first time he saw the legendary Santa Cruz Bl’ast! and how the event changed the course of his life. The guitarist and singer for long running stoner rock band Fu Manchu witnessed the power of the boundary pushing punk meets metal act at the now defunct Balboa Theater in Los Angeles on a night in November 1985.
Hill was familiar with the other punk groups on the bill—JFA and Die Kreuzen—but when Bl’ast! began playing the pulse pounding bass intro to “Only Time Will Tell” he and his buddies were excited by what they heard and ran down to stand in front of the stage.
“We just got annihilated for 40 minutes,” Hill says of the experience.
On the drive home, Hill and his bandmate in the SoCal hardcore group Virulence decided they had to change their sound after being so impressed by Bl’ast!
“I would say if I didn’t see that show or didn’t get into Bl’ast! then Fu Manchu wouldn’t exist,” Hill says.
Santa Cruz’s biggest punk export until newcomers like Drain, Bl’ast! began making their mark in the Santa Cruz music scene in the mid 1980s. Their debut album, 1986’s The Power of Expression, was released on one of the most influential independent record labels of the 1980s, SST Records, which was run by Greg Ginn of Black Flag.
“During that Power of Expression time is when it all kind of gelled,” Bl’ast! vocalist Clifford Dinsmore says. “And then we just started musically advancing at a really fast rate and we started formulating the songs for It’s in My Blood.”
With its tempo shifts, proficient playing, and unexpected detours, It’s in My Blood predicts the boundary-breaking[1][2] hardcore of current acts like Turnstile and Fucked Up. The wild sound came after the departure of guitarist Steve Stevenson and as a reaction to being pegged by some as Black Flag disciples. “The whole point was to be totally different from anything,” Dinsmore says. “We just hated the typical drumbeat of hardcore.”
Guitarist Mike Neider helped the band go into a new direction on It’s in My Blood. “We wanted to do something different,” he says. “Kind of some left turns, downs, ups, and all the way around.”
It’s in My Blood even had an assist from Santa Cruz rock royalty: Ken Kraft of Snail engineered the recording of the album in Mars Recording Studio near Aptos.
“He was so open minded and just cool about what we did that he just helped us get a good sound for the time,” Dinsmore says.
Unfortunately, the band’s next album, 1989’s Take the Manic Ride, found the songs slathered in 1980s style production. “We wanted it live,” Neider says. “We wanted it raw. No studio at all. Unfortunately, we got the opposite.”
After Take the Manic Ride, the band essentially fell apart and came back together again in different iterations—Blackout, LAB—with players like Brant Bjork of Kyuss fame. They eventually came together again for a full-fledged west coast reunion tour in 2001.
There’s been tantalizing bits of progress since then for Bl’ast! fans. In 2012, a lost Bl’ast! recording session was found that included songs from when William DuVall—now of Alice in Chains—was in the group. Bl’ast superfan and rock legend Dave Grohl mixed the session, which was released as the album Blood in 2013.
Grohl came back into the fold for the 2015 single “For Those Who Graced the Fire,” which included Grohl on drums, Dinsmore on vocals, Neider on guitar, and Chuck Dukowski, formerly of Black Flag, on bass. The song includes pummeling and precise riffs and rhythms that testify to the band’s continuing explosive power.
The current incarnation of Bl’ast is a powerful beast that features Dinsmore, Neider, and original bassist Dave Cooper along with former Queens of the Stone Age players Nick Oliveri and Joey Castillo. Bl’ast! recently played a few Southern California shows, where both Neider and Dinsmore were impressed by their own band’s sound.
“There hadn’t been the two-guitar crush since 1987 when William DuVall was in the band,” Dinsmore says. “To hear it that way again was really unreal.”
Bl’ast! plays the big room of The Catalyst—a venue they never got to perform in during their initial run—for the first time in almost 10 years. After that, there might be an even bigger surprise for longtime fans. “If we schedule it right,” Neider says, “you’re going to hear a couple of really gnarly records that will take place with this five piece, maybe with some guests involved.”
Bl’ast!, Excel, and Lost Cause perform Saturday, Oct. 7, 8pm. $25/advance, $35/general admission, $40/last chance. The Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. https://catalystclub.com
“The only honest art form is laughter, comedy. You can’t fake it. . .try to fake three laughs in an hour–ha ha ha ha ha—they’ll take you away man.” – Lenny Bruce
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: A bushy-faced New Jerseyan, Jewish Deadhead moves to Santa Cruz from Chico and becomes the cornerstone of the comedy scene for the next two decades.
Ok, the punchline needs some work but that’s why I’m a journalist and not a comedian. The person in reference, of course, is DNA, who made this his legal name after losing both of his parents when he was 27 and chose to be called by his initials. For 17 years he has brought laughter, music and art to his second adopted community, and this year he celebrates a milestone: the 10th anniversary of the Santa Cruz Comedy Festival (SCCF).
“I watch comedy and comedy festivals like some people watch sports,” he says matter-of-factly. “I’ve designed and curated the particular line-up this year to satisfy the most people.”
For the Big 1-0, he’s pulled all the stops to make this the biggest fest to date. From Oct. 4 to 7, 40 comics will descend on 10 venues across the downtown and greater area for laughter, music, fun and possibly the cathartic breakdown.
This year features a cornucopia of returning local comedians such as Mac Ruiz, BJ Rankin, Chree Powell and Curtis Taylor III and venues like the Blue Lagoon, Streetlight Records and Kuumbwa Jazz Center.
“Every year except the drive-in year [2020] we’ve had a show at the Kuumbwa,” DNA says. “Lenny Bruce used to play jazz clubs, you know? Comedy and jazz have a deep connection.”
Yet 2023 also has lots of firsts with venues like Abbott Square and Rosie McCann’s joining the mix to new acts such as Art Critique with comedians literally critiquing art (“It’s where high-brow meets low-brow” according to DNA) and the Talkies–a multimedia comedy troupe out of Los Angeles.
“They make short films, some of them make PowerPoint presentations,” he explains. “It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.
Then there’s the Friday night headliners at the Rio Theatre: Marcella Arguello, Louis Katz and Moshe Kasher. All three have gigged in Santa Cruz in the past, but never together and never before at SCCF.
With so much to do, see and laugh with (or at, depending), we’ve narrowed the spotlight.
MAC ATTACK
JUMPING IN Local comedian Max Ruiz at Rosie McCann’s PHOTO: Mat-Weir
No matter what the profession, hobby or skill, everyone has to start somewhere and that’s usually at the bottom. For comedians that means open mics and local showcases, two things Santa Cruz comic, Mac Ruiz, is very familiar with.
“The Blue Lagoon is where you go to cut your teeth, it’s the punk room,” she explains over coffee. “It’s your training. When we had the Poet & Patriot it was the Friday Night Lights or homecoming room. Everyone’s there and you don’t have to be a certain way. Now we have Rosie’s which is the preppy room. It’s in a restaurant and a bar so you can order a steak, salad and glass of wine or grab a shot of whiskey and a beer while watching stand-up.”
She should know. Although a transplant to the Santa Cruz scene, she planted hard and quickly grew roots, hitting the rooms in 2019 and now co-hosts the weekly, free, 8pm, Monday night show at Rosie McCann’s.
“I wasn’t serious about comedy until I moved to Santa Cruz and saw there was such a healthy scene here,” says Ruiz. “It seemed like such a good community so I jumped in and pretty much immediately felt welcomed.”
Ruiz’s comedy is open and vulnerable. Her act often includes personal stories of trauma she takes the power back from through laughter.
“We all go through a lot of silent battles that maybe no one will ever know about,” she explains. “If I can take those battles, put them out there, and have even one person relate or gain the courage to get through their own, that’s what gives me the courage to continue.”
A five year veteran of the SCCF, this week Ruiz performs at the Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery with Eddie Pepitone and J.T. Habersaat on Wednesday, Oct. 4 and is hosting the Woodhouse Blending & Brewery on Saturday, Oct. 7.
“That’s going to be a really cool show people should check out because we’re going to have two stages,” she says. “Which is something I’ve never seen before at the festival.”
WOKE BULLY
Marcella Arguello
Marcella Arguello’s origins in comedy sound like a scene from a Hollywood film.
“Jim Gaffigan told me,” she remembers. “I went to see him headline Punchline San Francisco years ago before he was hugely famous. We were just shooting the shit and he just said out of nowhere, ‘You should try comedy.’”
Born in Modesto, Arguello is no stranger to Santa Cruz.
“Modesto’s great because it has access to everywhere,” she says. “We’d take a short drive to go camping, or the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, or San Francisco. As teenagers going to The Mystery Spot was the jam! We did it every summer.”
The daughter of Salvadoran immigrants, Arguello says she was always the good kid growing up, at least academically.
“I would kiss my teacher’s ass but then be a bully to some kids,” she explains. “They couldn’t tell on me because the teacher wouldn’t believe them. It was the beginning of learning how to deal with the Hollywood industry.”
Since her humble days doing stand-up around the Bay at places like the Punchline and the Brainwash Cafe–a laundromat in San Francisco that doubles as the longest running open mic in the city’s history hosted by Tony Sparks–Arguello has earned a long list of credits.
She wrote for Netflix’s Bill Nye Saves the World, appeared as herself on Fuse TV’s We Need to Talk About America (a reality show where first generation, bi-racial comedians dissect American culture to side-splitting and contemplative ends with new episodes dropping this month), and hosted Tubi’s clip show, The Cache. Her first album, Woke Bully, debuted at number three on the Billboard Comedy Charts and was named one of the Best Comedy Albums in 2019 by NPR.
This past February, she released her first MAX (ne: HBO MAX) special, Bitch, Grow Up! The hilarious 30 minute set takes audiences through topics like her height (6’2”), her dating life and her childhood pledge through the D.A.R.E. program to never take drugs, then growing up.
“It’s literally one show, one take,” Arguello admits, saying she only cut out two jokes.
Her fast-paced wit and sharp tongue is a warning to any would-be hecklers.
“Much to the chagrin of my father I’ve always been quick to point out some logical fact or misstep. I’m the ‘Well, actually’ person in my family.”
As her star rises, she remembers her roots, personal and comedic, which is advice she would give anyone with the passion–or self-loathing–to get up in front of strangers for several minutes in an attempt to make them laugh.
“I wish younger comedians would watch older comedy,” she says. “There are so many great women comedians, especially in the 1990s!”
As for the festival, she’s excited to come back to Santa Cruz and share the stage with old friends.
“You want to know how long I’ve known Louis [Katz]? The last show I watched before I started doing stand-up was Dave Attell with Louis opening and we all partied after. I was 21 so that was 17 years ago.”
KILLING IT WITH KATZ
Louis Katz
Louis Katz is a comedian’s comedian.
His 2018 album, Katzkillz, was named one of the Top Five Comedy Albums of the Year by Vulture.com. He was featured on NBC, HBO, and five times on Comedy Central. His episode of This Is Not Happening–a four year long running show created by Ari Shaffer featuring comedians telling crazy, bizarre and hilarious stories from their lives–has nearly 3 million views.
So why isn’t he a household name?
“It’s cool being a comedian’s comedian but it would also be nice to be an audience’s comedian,” he laughs. “But I’m happy and grateful for all I’ve achieved and where I’m at. So few people get to make a living doing this.”
Just like his other Rio co-headliners, Katz’s stand-up career started in the Bay Area. However, his comedy writing goes back to when he was only nine years old with his jokes read live on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. The show had prompted elementary school kids to send their best material.
“So the truth is,” he laughs. “A lot of kids did. They just didn’t become comedians so nobody gives a shit.”
In the pre-internet days, comedy wasn’t as mass marketed as it is today. There were basically three ways to get it without going to the clubs: albums, movies and Saturday Night Live, which Katz would stay awake for and sneak to watch when he could.
“It was like this secret world,” he remembers. “It was on late at night but made fun of all the things that happened during the day. Like, they’d have commercials but they weren’t real. I loved the subversiveness of it.”
Another favorite around the Katz home was the legendary Mel Brooks.
“There’s two different kinds of Jewish families: either you’re a Woody Allen family or a Mel Brooks family. Like the Beatles and the Stones of Jewish comedy,” he says. “And we were a Beatles and Mel Brooks household.”
While attending his junior year at UC Berkeley, Katz joined a local sketch comedy group and it was during his first show that something clicked.
“The second night really killed and I remember I couldn’t sleep. I was just staring at the ceiling thinking, ‘This is it. This is what I’m going to do for the rest of my life.’”
While his time in the Bay might’ve been short–only four years before moving to New York where he still lives–he remembers it fondly. He would look in the back of weekly newspapers for lists of open mics and curated shows he might be able to get a spot on.
BURNING MENSCH
Moshe Kasher
Here’s another one for you: a comedian who’s been sober for 29 years goes to Burning Man 2023—where celebrities, influencers and “regular” people posted about a rainy, mud-filled hellish landscape–but has the time of his life.
In fact, it was Kasher’s 22nd time and his favorite year yet.
“It was funny to be inside of a fake news story,” he says. “We were there and there was rain, and mud and it was inconvenient. But then we’d look at the news and go, ‘Oh, I think we’re in a refugee camp.’
“People love to hate Burning Man and listen, I can’t hold that against anybody. There’s a certain degree of schadenfreude when you see people who’ve been annoying you for over a decade talking about their special, annual third eye opening retreat. I get it.”
Born in Queens, NY but raised in Oakland, Kasher’s dive into the world of EDM (electronic dance music) is like many others in this area: 15 years old with a friend at a Bonny Doon Full Moon rave.
“That night definitely changed the trajectory of my life,” he remembers.
“From there I became all of the things when you’re sober and deep into the rave scene: a promoter, a dj, a sober ecstasy dealer that would very awkwardly see people from my Friday AA meeting who had gone out to party, so I’d hide in the shadows with a bag full of Molly pills in my pocket so they didn’t know what I was doing there. The rest is history.”
Kasher describes his family business as “writing words.” His grandfather was a journalist and Yiddish author. His aunt is a Holocaust historian, author and documentarian.
Along with his specials, Kasher’s writing credits include episodes of shows like Betty, This is Not Happening and his 2017 Comedy Central show, Problematic. He’s a successful author, with his 2012 autobiography Kasher In the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy From Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient And Then Turned 16 and the forthcoming Subculture Vulture: A Memoir in Six Scenes about the six subcultures that’ve defined his life.
Kasher’s also no stranger to podcasting. His first in 2011, The Champs was co-hosted by Neal Brennan (co-writer of Chappelle’s Show) and DJ Douggpound (Tim and Eric Nite Live!) which featured guests like musician Questlove, comedian Wanda Sykes, NBA player Harrison Barnes and more. It ran for five years and was voted “Best Podcast” in the L.A. Weekly’s “Best Of 2014” issue.
In 2020 Kasher and his rabbi brother created Kasher vs. Kasher a short-lived, four episode podcast about how to do Judaism during a pandemic and lockdown.
“We’re like the perfect see-saw of a Jewish family,” he jokes of his brother. “An entertainer and a comedian.”
His current show, The Endless Honeymoon Podcast, started in 2019 and features Kasher and his wife–the incredibly funny and dry-witted Natasha Leggero–and their guests. People call in asking for relationship advice that is dished out with one scoop of sincerity, a couple dashes of sarcasm, smothered in comedy and lightly roasted. Think Love Line only the hosts are married and much funnier than Dr. Drew..
It’s named after their 2018 Neftlix special, The Honeymoon Stand Up Special, with the same format only includes the added bonus of a half hour solo set from each.
“We actually started doing that show together in Santa Cruz at the Vets Hall,” he recalls of their 2016 The Honeymoon Tour. “The Mermen played before us. I will never forget that show, it was really awesome.”
IT’S ALL IN THE DNA
DNA
Along with stand-up and the Bay Area there’s another thing all these comics have in common: DNA. After all, he’s the reason for the Santa Cruz Comedy Festival in the first place.
When asked, neither Arguello, Katz nor Kasher could remember just how–or when–they met the man with the famous beard. In a way, it’s an appropriate response. Whether it was Chico, Santa Cruz or the greater Bay Area, DNA’s always been there in the background connecting people to each other, throwing a concert or hosting a show and doing everything he can to support whichever community he’s in.
“In a weird way, we all met DNA long before we even existed if you think about it,” Kasher slyly observes.
He’s not wrong.
DNA is the double helix tying this all together. There are so many comedians and musicians that he’s helped along the way whether it was by booking them, passing along sagely advice, or just being a friend to listen and laugh with.
“Back in the day we would get into every room we could,” Arguello remembers.
As the owner of DNA’s Comedy Lab he brought stand-up and experimental art to Downtown Santa Cruz, earning him the honor of “Biggest Leap of Faith” by ex-Good Times editor, Jacob PIerce. Even as the pandemic took his business and the fires threatened his home, he believed in the power of comedy to bring a community together and that year’s SCCF was held as a drive-in with audience members honking out their laughter through their car horns.
For 13 years until 2019 he hosted the weekly, free, Blue Lagoonies comedy showcase featuring local amateurs, up-and-coming performers and Bay Area headliners. After taking a year off after the pandemic, he’s returned as the show’s producer and sometime host or performer.
He’s been a board member of San Francisco’s Comedy Day in Golden Gate Park for the past dozen years. For the last eight of those, he’s been able to get volunteer Santa Cruz comedians to wake up early on the day of the festival, drive to Robin Williams Meadow and build the entire event. Everything from setting up the flatbed truck stage to building the green room tents, taking care of the trash, helping out with sound and more.
“It’s a great team building thing,” he exclaims. “Last year we all almost died because it was flash flooding with torrential rain. A two ton ten almost fell on our heads and we almost got electrocuted on stage. But–you know– I think those sorts of things are good for people.”
“DNA has been very instrumental for me, feeling that it’s possible for everyone to be included,” remarks Ruiz, who volunteers for Comedy Day. “However you identify. Whatever the color of your skin is and anything in between. Everyone has a place. That’s really set a high standard for me.”
Truthfully, he’s probably reading this right now thinking “Why are you talking about me when there’s the festival, comedians and community to highlight?” Which is so very DNA of him. A mystic truthseeker trapped in the body of a hippy, Deadhead comedian who just wants to see those around him rise up and do good. Or as he likes to say: “It’s not all about you. Nothing is all about anyone. It’s all about us.
FLY FISHING FILM TOUR If you’ve never seen the intricate dance of a fly fisher’s line upon a peaceful river, you’re in luck: the annual Fly Fishing Film Tour is coming to town. The self-described “traveling roadshow of the best fly fishing films in the world” covers an impressive spectrum of fly fishing experiences, with footage gathered in fish-packed waters around the globe. In addition to top-notch cinematography, the organizers encourage local conservation efforts and community-building, promising a live emcee, raffle prizes and local fly shop presence. Even if it’s not your thing, go in honor of your grandpa. ADDIE MAHMASSANI
6pm, Aptos Grange, 2555 Mar Vista Drive, Aptos. Free. 688-3974.
THURSDAY 10/5
ROCK
NIGHT BEATS The psychedelic garage rock universe of Night Beats continues to expand with Rajan, the project’s sixth and latest album. The record’s name is a loving nod to Night Beats founder Danny “Lee Blackwell” Rajan Billingsley’s mother, who, in the Indian tradition, passed a shortened version of her surname—Sundarajan—on to her son. Psychedelic Baby Mag says that the album “lands somewhere between Spaghetti Western film score and psych pop-opus.” It’s a swirling combination of jazz, blues, soul and hip-hop that starts with a banger called “Hot Ghee.” AM
LUCKY CHOPS All the hits, but brass, brass, and more brass. Lucky Chops is a six-person ensemble of saxophones, trombones, trumpet, drums, and a sousaphone. The band rocks out to covers of all the best pop, Motown, and funk of the past and present, as well as originals. Listening to Lucky Chops feels a bit like getting booted back to the height of ska, when trombone players were rockstars and skanking was king. Openers Coffee Zombie Collective bring a bluegrass energy to their covers, spanning from The Flaming Lips to Bruno Mars. The theme of the night is: everything familiar is new again. JESSICA IRISH
SECRET EMCHY SOCIETY Ever wonder what if Buck Owens and Nick Cave had a secret, queer love child born somewhere along the dust of Highway 5? The answer lies much closer than Bakersfield, as the Secret Emchy Society comes straight out of Oakland. Formed by Cindy Emch, the “First Lady of Queer Country” according to the Huffington Post. Secret Emchy Society came together at the last minute, literally, when her friend threw her onto a show with a 45 minute set without notice. Emch told the house band to follow her lead and the rest is history. Part Americana, part honky tonk, some hellbilly for spice and wrapped in a tortilla of dark story telling. MAT WEIR
8pm, The Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $12. 429-6994.
COMEDY
SANTA CRUZ COMEDY FESTIVAL When DNA, the local king of the comedy scene, lost his fledgling experimental club a year into Covid, he could’ve walked away from it all. Instead he continued his yearly comedy fest with the mission to bring together Santa Cruz through laughter. Now in its 10th year, the Santa Cruz Comedy Fest opens on Wednesday and continues for the next three days. It culminates on Friday with three big name headliners: Louis Katz, Marcella Arguello and Moshe Kasher. But have no fear, the entire festival is filled with comedians of all ages, stages and rages with local and not-so-local performers appearing at 10 different venues downtown like Streetlight Records, The Blue Lagoon, and Rosie McCann’s. MW
8pm, Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave.,Santa Cruz. $25. 423-8209.
SATURDAY 10/7
BLUEGRASS
BREWGRASS FESTIVAL 2023 Is there a better way to spend your Saturday than sipping craft beers and vibing to bluegrass bands? That’s a rhetorical question, because of course that’s the best way to unwind from a long week of working for The Man. The Roaring Camp Railroads has a solid lineup of killer bands at this year’s Brewgrass festival including Rattle Can, Wolf Jett, Yonder Mountain String Band, The Goat Hill Girls, and Hot Buttered Rum. As far as beers go, there will be a bunch of breweries pedaling their ales. Shanty Shack Brewing Co, Humble Sea Brewing Co, Hop Dogma Brewing, and Buena Vista Brewing Co. AARON CARNES
1pm, Roaring Camp Railroads, 5401 Graham Hill Road, Felton. $65/adv, $75/door. 335-4484.
MONDAY 10/9
ROCK
BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE After three decades, we’re still not quite sure how to label the Brian Jonestown Massacre. Psych rock? Garage? Shoegaze? Experimental shoegaze psychedelic garage rock? Originally formed in San Francisco by Anton Newcombe, this wild musical experiment has put out a plethora of different music over 20 albums that encompasses everything listed above and more. As tumultuous as their music is, their personal relationships and wild off-stage antics that sometimes make it on stage have earned them notoriety in the media and an almost mythological status in underground music. Fun fact: their tambourine player, Joel Gion, not only used to be a Santa Cruzan but also worked for several years at Streetlight Records. MW
8pm, Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $30. 423-8209.
TUESDAY 10/10
SKA
MUSTARD PLUG Mustard Plug have been playing ska-punk since the early 90s. The Grand Rapids, Michigan bunch toured non-stop in the late 90s during the mainstream ska-boom. They weren’t one of the bands with a hit on the radio, but they had a huge cult following. In the 2000s, they kept the ska flame burning with their ironically titled “Ska is Dead” tour that showed that the music still drew big crowds. But something interesting about the group—their records got better the longer they remained a band. Their latest, Where Did All My Friends Go?, is an incredible album. It was recorded by The Descendents’ Bill Stevenson and released on Sept 8 by the hip new ska label Bad Time Records, showing that Mustard Plug are still making relevant music in 2023. AC
8pm, Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $23/adv, $26/door. 713-5492.
JAZZ
HIROMI Grammy-winning pianist Hiromi releases her 12th studio-album, Sonicwonder, this month to the delight of jazz aficionados around the world. Hailing from Japan, the virtuosic star consistently delivers high-energy live performances, blending post-bob with prog-rock and stride, a style that ragtime players like Mary Lou Williams and Fats Waller championed. Sonicwonder takes the composer’s innovation to the next level with funk grooves and synthesizers in the mix, bouncing fluidly between jazz and dance club vibes. “The word ‘wonder’ has a lot of meaning,” Hiromi says. “It fits the musical view that I have for this project…it is definitely a new adventure for me.” AM
7pm & 9pm, Kuumbwa Jazz, 320 Cedar Street, Santa Cruz. Sold Out ($42-$63). 427-2227
Rachel Goodale, 24, Server at Mad Yolks on Pacific
“The changing weather that inspires people to change and explore new things. I get “Fall Fever” when the dry leaves rustle on a chilly morning but then it’s warm in the afternoon. I also love the Halloween Parade Downtown, when the kids come out early, so excited in their costumes.”
Phil Melahn, 48, Engineering Manager
“I really love the smell of smoke in the cold air and cooking over a safe fire pit outdoors. And of course, the changing colors of the leaves.”
Mackenzie Maxwell, 16, Student
“The way the beach feels, being at the ocean in October is my favorite. I love overcast skies, and the orange leaves in October.”
Morgan Stinson, 16, Student
“Definitely Halloween, and everything about the general feel of October, it’s my favorite month.”
Rick Allan, 60, Woodworker
“How Halloween reminds me of when I was a child. Going round and about and seeing how people decorate their homes, seeing the kids out. My wife loves scary movies, but I can’t watch ‘em.”
Jay Pastick, left, 64, YouTube-ologist, and Andy Sheehan, 60, Student/Musician
“What I like is that October is when we finally get our Summer.” —Jay “I like October because I like shorter days. I like dark coming sooner.” —Andy
FEL is a tribute to Florence Elsie Lede, winery founder Cliff Lede’s mother. Florence was a home winemaker who provided the early inspiration for Cliff’s love of wine. FEL wines are located in Cliff Lede Vineyards in Yountville, and those who have visited this remarkable winery know what gorgeous wines are produced there. It’s a stunning winery with a beautiful tasting room and outdoor area. We celebrated my husband’s birthday there with family several years ago. We had lashings of food and wine that day – all perfectly paired and delicious.
FEL’s 2021 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir ($42) “bears the hallmark characters of cherry and chocolate with intense mission fig and cranberry on the nose.” It’s simply delicious.
FEL Wine at Cliff Lede Vineyards, 1473 Yountville Cross Road, Yountville, 707-944-8642. Felwines.com
ONX Wines & Vineyards
It’s hard to visit even a fraction of the many wineries in Paso Robles. But ONX Wines is now sending out flights of four different wines in a sweet little tasting kit. The kit I sampled contained Indie Rosé (Tempranillo), Reckoning (Syrah), Mad Crush (Grenache) and Caliber (Cabernet Sauvignon). Each kit contains information about each wine, along with food-pairing suggestions. I was mad about the Mad Crush, with its marvelous flavors of strawberry, fig, cedar and berry. And I went with ONX’s suggested pairing of a barbecued chicken sandwich. Delish! These beautifully packaged tasting kits are $65 and would make delightful gifts for wine lovers.
Prosecco and More Made in Italy, the Valdobbiadene Metodo Classico Prosecco Brut is a festive sparkling wine that’s very nicely packaged. And from the Languedoc region of France are these reasonably priced wines: Domaine Jean Claude Mas, Cote Mas Brut Rosé; Crémant de Limoux, NV; Domaine J.Laurens, Rosé N 7, Crémant de Limoux, NV.
Fred Keeley has had a long, noteworthy career as a State and local politician. Decades serving numerous local and State level roles have led him to become Mayor of Santa Cruz. Mayor Fred is advocating for and promoting dramatic downtown development, he terms it “the third of three big inflection points of change,” (citing the other two as the arrival of UCSC and post-earthquake rebuild).
His and others’ central idea of downtown development appears to involve essentially razing the structures in the area referred to as “South of Laurel” where the temporary Warriors arena is now pitched. The plan includes erecting a new arena and housing and commercial spaces in multiple towering structures 12 stories and higher.
Anyone or any group that opposes or simply questions this development often is characterized as uninformed, naïve, or uninvolved at one end; anti-housing NIMBY socialistic outliers at the other. Such descriptions are each untrue! Those who might question this drastic development are looking through the lens of “care and concern” rather than through the lens of “profit and politics.”
Steve Bare | Santa Cruz
Balanced Reporting
Thank you for Josue Monroy’s balanced reporting on the debate over downtown’s future and Housing for People’s proposed initiative.
Regarding those hoped-for affordable units—Isn’t it a fact that the Santa Cruz Planning Commission recently recommended increasing the inclusionary requirement to 25% for housing projects with over 30 units?
If so—when Fred Keeley is quoted as saying that the 25% number was picked “out of a hat” and goes on to complain, “Was the number ‘25%’ the result of community meetings?”—we are left with two choices:
Either Fred Keeley is speaking out of ignorance, a disturbing shortcoming for someone whom the voters have entrusted to be our mayor for the next four years; or Keeley is deliberately obfuscating the matter in an attempt to mislead his constituents, a breach of faith that is even more disturbing. A betrayal.
If the latter is true, this must be a low point in Fred Keeley’s long career of public service.
As I watch these giant new buildings going up downtown, I’m conflicted. On one hand, I wish we could keep Santa Cruz looking like it did 50 years ago; small, with strict height restrictions.
On the other hand, I know we are short on housing and cities need to condense to provide a range of places to live and services for the new residents. We are following the latest trend of building retail below residential units, which, if it works, will help downtown thrive and provide mixed uses.
On one hand, we are becoming more of a 15-minute city, meaning that you can get the services you need within a 15-minute walk or bike ride. That’s essential to a vibrant downtown.
On the other hand, we are becoming less and less quaint and picturesque. Not to be a total retro-head, but I miss the days before the 1989 quake when Pacific Avenue was a curving snake with cobblestone paths and the big battles were for saving local businesses and keeping out chain stores. Now, we’ll take what we can get to provide people with what they need as stores like Costco, the Gap, Forever 21, Ace and CVS prove. Big isn’t always bad.
I don’t want to be one of those growth-is-always-terrible people, and while I miss our cute downtown, I’ve seen benefits to growth, such as the Warrior’s arena, which is bringing people together and stimulating business, while providing a great family atmosphere.
(I’m really bummed out to lose the Nickelodeon theaters, one of my favorite things about downtown. We’re following up on what’s happening there for an article).
In last week’s issue, journalist Josué Monroy gave an objective perspective of what downtown growth looks like. If you missed it, check goodtimes.sc
I’d really like to hear your opinions on this. Are you happy with the way we’re growing? What can we do better? What mistakes are we making? How do you want the city to look over the next decades? Drop a line to ed****@*****ys.com
For some other perspectives on the history of our county, you must read our interview with historian Sandy Lydon about how we got where we are, and you should go see his talk at the Rio Theatre next week, his last.
And for a much needed laugh, check out our cover story on the tenth anniversary of DNA’s comedy festival…and learn how he got his legal, unusual name.
Let the Good Times roll.
Brad Kava | Editor
Photo Contest
FAN IN THE STANDS James Durbin greets a fan, Brandon, at the Scotts Valley Art and Wine Festival. Photo: Virginia Sajan Photography
Good News
The Santa Cruz County Office of Education, in partnership with the X Academy, announces the launch of the new Santa Cruz COE X Academy Robotics Club.
With chapters in Santa Cruz and Watsonville, the club is available at no cost to all high school students. Club members are able to design and build an underwater robot, learning skills such as 3D design, coding, and laser-cutting.
Two open houses are scheduled this weekend in both Santa Cruz and Watsonville. For more information, visit cs.santacruzcoe.org/robotics.
Good Works
To address community health concerns related to air quality, Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) has once again pledged to participate in California Clean Air Day by offering free fares countywide, including trips on the Highway-17 Express and ParaCruz, on Wednesday, October 4, 2023.
METRO is offering free fares to the community to encourage the use of public transit as a way to reduce air pollution, which matters more than ever. It also serves as a reminder to our community that everyone has a role in clearing the air and increasing the health of our community.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“All life we work, but work is a bore. If life’s for living, what’s living for?” —Ray Davies
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I’ve been doing interviews in support of my new book, Astrology Is Real: Revelations from My Life as an Oracle. Now and then, I’m asked this question: “Do you actually believe all that mystical woo-woo you write about?” I respond diplomatically, though inwardly I’m screaming, “How profoundly hypocritical I would be if I did not believe in the ‘mystical woo-woo’ I have spent my adult studying and teaching!” But here’s my polite answer: “I love and revere the venerable spiritual philosophies that some demean as ‘mystical woo-woo.’ I see it as my job to translate those subtle ideas into well-grounded, practical suggestions that my readers can use to enhance their lives.” Everything I just said is the prelude for your assignment, Aries: Work with extra focus to actuate your high ideals and deep values in the ordinary events of your daily life. As the American idioms advise: Walk your talk and practice what you preach.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I’m happy to see the expanding use of service animals. Initially, there were guide dogs to assist humans with imperfect vision. Later, there came mobility animals for those who need aid in moving around and hearing animals for those who can’t detect ringing doorbells. In recent years, emotional support animals have provided comfort for people who benefit from mental health assistance. I foresee a future in which all of us feel free and eager to call on the nurturing of companion animals. You may already have such friends, Taurus. If so, I urge you to express extra appreciation for them in the coming weeks. Ripen your relationship. And if not, now is an excellent time to explore the boost you can get from loving animals.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini author Chuck Klosterman jokes, “I eat sugared cereal almost exclusively. This is because I’m the opposite of a ‘no-nonsense’ guy. I’m an ‘all-nonsense’ guy.” The coming weeks will be a constructive and liberating time for you to experiment with being an all-nonsense person, dear Gemini. How? Start by temporarily suspending any deep attachment you have to being a serious, hyper-rational adult doing staid, weighty adult things. Be mischievously committed to playing a lot and having maximum fun. Dancing sex! Ice cream uproars! Renegade fantasies! Laughter orgies! Joke romps! Giddy brainstorms and euphoric heartstorms!
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Cancerian comedian Gilda Radner said, “I base most of my fashion taste on what doesn’t itch.” Let’s use that as a prime metaphor for you in the coming weeks. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you will be wise to opt for what feels good over what merely looks good. You will make the right choices if you are committed to loving yourself more than trying to figure out how to get others to love you. Celebrate highly functional beauty, dear Cancerian. Exult in the clear intuitions that arise as you circumvent self-consciousness and revel in festive self-love.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The amazingly creative Leo singer-songwriter Tori Amos gives this testimony: “All creators go through a period where they’re dry and don’t know how to get back to the creative source. Where is that waterfall? At a certain point, you say, ‘I’ll take a rivulet.’” Her testimony is true for all of us in our quest to find what we want and need. Of course, we would prefer to have permanent, unwavering access to the waterfall. But that’s not realistic. Besides, sometimes the rivulet is sufficient. And if we follow the rivulet, it may eventually lead to the waterfall.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Do you perform experiments on yourself? I do on myself. I formulate hypotheses about what might be healthy for me, then carry out tests to gather evidence about whether they are. A recent one was: Do I feel my best if I eat five small meals per day or three bigger ones? Another: Is my sleep most rejuvenating if I go to bed at 10pm and wake up at 7am or if I sleep from midnight to 9am? I recommend you engage in such experiments in the coming weeks. Your body has many clues and revelations it wants to offer you.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Take a few deep, slow breaths. Let your mind be a blue sky where a few high clouds float. Hum your favorite melody. Relax as if you have all the time in the world to be whoever you want to be. Fantasize that you have slipped into a phase of your cycle when you are free to act as calm and unhurried as you like. Imagine you have access to resources in your secret core that will make you stable and solid and secure. Now read this Mary Oliver poem aloud: “You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.”
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): An Oklahoma woman named Mary Clamswer used a wheelchair from age 19 to 42 because multiple sclerosis made it hard to use her legs. Then a miracle happened. During a thunderstorm, she was hit by lightning. The blast not only didn’t kill her; it cured the multiple sclerosis. Over the subsequent months, she recovered her ability to walk. Now I’m not saying I hope you will be hit by a literal bolt of healing lightning, Scorpio, nor do I predict any such thing. But I suspect a comparable event or situation that may initially seem unsettling could ultimately bring you blessings.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): What are your favorite mind-altering substances? Coffee, tea, chocolate, sugar or tobacco? Alcohol, pot, cocaine or opioids? Psilocybin, ayahuasca, LSD or MDMA? Others? All the above? Whatever they are, the coming weeks will be a favorable time to re-evaluate your relationship with them. Consider whether they are sometimes more hurtful than helpful, or vice versa; and whether the original reasons that led you to them are still true; and how your connection with them affects your close relationships. Ask other questions, too! PS: I don’t know what the answers are. My goal is simply to inspire you to take an inventory.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In his book, Meditations for Miserable People Who Want to Stay That Way, Dan Goodman says, “It’s not that I have nothing to give, but rather that no one wants what I have.” If you have ever been tempted to entertain dour fantasies like that, I predict you will be purged of them in the coming weeks and months. Maybe more than ever before, your influence will be sought by others. Your viewpoints will be asked for. Your gifts will be desired, and your input will be invited. I trust you won’t feel overwhelmed!
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): William James (1842–1910) was a paragon of reason and logic. So influential were his books about philosophy and psychology that he is regarded as a leading thinker of the 19th and 20th centuries. On the other hand, he was eager to explore the possibilities of supernatural phenomena like telepathy. He even consulted a trance medium named Leonora Piper. James said, “If you wish to upset the law that all crows are black, it is enough if you prove that one crow is white. My white crow is Mrs. Piper.” I bring this to your attention, Aquarius, because I suspect you will soon discover a white crow of your own. As a result, long-standing beliefs may come into question; a certainty could become ambiguous; an incontrovertible truth may be shaken. This is a good thing!
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): If we hope to cure our wounds, we must cultivate a focused desire to be healed. A second essential is to be ingenious in gathering the resources we need to get healed. Here’s the third requirement: We must be bold and brave enough to scramble up out of our sense of defeat as we claim our right to be vigorous and whole again. I wish all these powers for you in the coming weeks.
Homework: What if you could heal a past trauma? How would you start? Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com
Our excellent and evolving Santa Cruz Symphony is offering some appetizing extras this season, and you won't want to miss a chance to catch the Mads Tolling show this coming Sunday, Oct. 8, the opening concert of the expanded 2023-24 Recital Series
Scott Hill clearly recalls the first time he saw the legendary Santa Cruz Bl’ast! and how the event changed the course of his life. The guitarist and singer for long running stoner rock band Fu Manchu witnessed the power of the boundary pushing punk meets metal act at the now defunct Balboa Theater in Los Angeles on a night in November 1985.
No matter what the profession, hobby or skill, everyone has to start somewhere and that’s usually at the bottom. For comedians that means open mics and local showcases, two things Santa Cruz comic, Mac Ruiz, is very familiar with. “The Blue Lagoon is where you go to cut your teeth, it’s the punk room,” she explains over coffee. “It’s your training...
Mustard Plug have been playing ska-punk since the early 90s. The Grand Rapids, Michigan bunch toured non-stop in the late 90s during the mainstream ska-boom. They weren’t one of the bands with a hit on the radio, but they had a huge cult following. In the 2000s, they kept the ska flame burning...
"The changing weather that inspires people to change and explore new things. I get “Fall Fever” when the dry leaves rustle on a chilly morning but then it’s warm in the afternoon. I also love the Halloween Parade Downtown, when the kids come out early, so excited in their costumes."
"I really love the smell of smoke in the cold...
FEL is a tribute to Florence Elsie Lede, winery founder Cliff Lede’s mother. Florence was a home winemaker who provided the early inspiration for Cliff’s love of wine. FEL wines are located in Cliff Lede Vineyards in Yountville, and those who have visited this remarkable winery know what gorgeous wines are produced there. It’s a stunning winery with a beautiful tasting room and outdoor area.
Build Big or Not?
Fred Keeley has had a long, noteworthy career as a State and local politician. Decades serving numerous local and State level roles have led him to become Mayor of Santa Cruz. Mayor Fred is advocating for and promoting dramatic downtown development, he terms it “the third of three big inflection points of change,” (citing the other...
As I watch these giant new buildings going up downtown, I’m conflicted. On one hand, I wish we could keep Santa Cruz looking like it did 50 years ago; small, with strict height restrictions.
On the other hand, I know we are short on housing and cities need to condense to provide a range of places to live and services...
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I’ve been doing interviews in support of my new book, Astrology Is Real: Revelations from My Life as an Oracle. Now and then, I’m asked this question: “Do you actually believe all that mystical woo-woo you write about?” I respond diplomatically, though inwardly I’m screaming, “How profoundly hypocritical I would be if I did not...
