June Smith tells the story of how and why she writes
As I look back over the years, I realize I’ve followed in the footsteps of my paternal grandfather, Edwin, a longtime newspaper columnist. Perhaps, it makes sense, as I was born under the Gemini zodiac sign in Mercury, the planet associated with strong communication skills.
It started in grade school when I entertained my class with a made-up-as-I-went written saga. Then, as a freshman in high school in a suburb of Chicago, I volunteered to be the enquiring reporter for our school paper. This gave me the chance to hobnob with basketball and football stars, because otherwise, in order to get attention as a girl at my school, you had to be either rich or drop-dead beautiful. This was the same high school Ernest Hemmingway had attended, and I imagined absorbing his talent while sitting at his desk in journalism class.
Years later, I married Jim Smith, an engineer who teamed up with a home winemaker friend to start a small winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains. As co-owner of Roudon Smith Winery, I offered to edit the Winegrowers Association newsletter and was elected publicity chairperson.
When the travel editor for the daily newspaper in Santa Cruz retired, I applied to write travel articles and later became a wine columnist and regular correspondent. The rise of television in the 1950s started the decline of newspapers, and then the explosion of the Internet in the 1990s taught me that it was time to start writing online. That was easily accomplished, and I applied to write a wine column for Examiner.com, joined by my wine rep friend, the late Jerry Starr.
It was a perfect union; Jerry wrote about local wines and events, and I took on personal stories about the winery owners. After Examiner.com ceased operations six years later, I looked for other options and found Suite 101, a collaborative publishing site that offered writers the platform to supply “the 101” on any subject they felt qualified to report on. I won $101 in its writing contest!
Press privileges helped me interview local singer James Durbin and other American Idol finalists, as well as contestants in So You Think You Can Dance. I went on to write for The Los Angeles Times, Santa Cruz Visitors Council, Good Times Santa Cruz, Patch.com, the Santa Cruz Small Business Monthly, plus a dining column for the Times Publishing Group.
My husband, Jim, passed away in 2003, but I kept writing. Jim and I had traveled to so many beautiful spots during our 46 years together, and “The Spectacular Pleasures of Tahiti” was a story needing to be told. Also as a tribute to him and to relay a special experience I had on the evening of his passing, “A Gift From Beyond” spilled out of me. The story was accepted numerous times in numerous places.
In 2005, local writer Karen Kefauver and a small group of published women writers formed a critique group, Women of Words (WOW). Each of us had expertise in a different category. I became a better writer, winning awards from the National League of American Pen Women and The California Writers Club.
Casting director and friend Judy Bouley invited me to work as an extra in “The Lost Boys,” then later in the production of “Turner and Hooch,” starring my favorite actor, Tom Hanks. I wrote, “I Put My Life on Hold for Tom Hanks” for the Sentinel, showing a photo of myself on the set with Tom in the background. From that day on, I was cast in every movie filmed in our area and loved writing about these exciting experiences.
My writing process is simple:
Get the idea.
Pitch the idea.
Write the “shitty first draft,” as advised by bestselling author Anne Lamott. She talks about the importance of having a “shitty” first draft, which can lead to a better second, and a great third — and trusting the process.
Needless to say, what you’re reading is not my first draft. In fact, this story, like others I’ve written for Good Times, will undergo edits and rewrites that will lead to several drafts before it’s published. And at age 92 in the year 2023, you might assume this is my final story—but it’s not! I predict my writing will continue. There are so many more stories to be told.
“Oh sweetie, you don’t have to call yourself that!” says the woman in the long grocery line as we converse casually. She tells me she’s a local, having grown up in Salinas.
My first job in TV news was in Salinas at the then NBC affiliate, KSBW, 50 years ago. She used to watch me on the news when she was a toddler. She managed to move to the Coast, and I spent decades in other parts of the country, working as a reporter, anchor and lawyer.
I bid adieu to sweltering Sacramento last summer when it hit 116 with a cold snap of 109, and moved back to my Central Coast roots. “I’m a full geezer now,” I say matter-of-factly. She reacts as if I’ve announced I am leprous.
Racism, sexism and ageism are the three “isms” that encapsulate much of current American culture from race relations to women’s bodily integrity to whether one should be barred from the presidency because they are deemed “too old”.
The least defined of these “isms” is ageism.
Everyone, it seems of every race, sex, creed or national origin, is similarly aghast at the vicissitudes of the so called “golden years”.
There’s the whack-a-mole realities of physical degradation; the sense of the impending, inevitable end; the invisibility of men and women in society once they hit a certain marker; and the cloying condescension of those who know full well that you don’t call others “honey” and ask if you have “big plans for the weekend”. Then, there is the elder parent’s nightmare. What parent hasn’t contemplated their kids being less than loving when the going gets tough, caring more about who gets the estate than your quality of life. Clearly, it’s an uneasy topic, and yet, unless you die young, you all get to deal with it.
So why not be pro-age and assert your pride as a geezer? Geezers have something no one else can have. They know stuff. They’ve pretty much seen it all by age 70, your basic baby geezer age.
If no one really sees you anymore, can you use that invisibility to your advantage? For example, Is it easier to avoid someone you don’t want to talk to if you say you are a little “hard of hearing”, which is sure to make them vamoose?
You can gracefully get out of going to events you have no interest in attending by claiming you just can’t sit that long. You don’t have to please a boss anymore, you aren’t looking to climb the ladder of success.
You can seek the genuine without regard to how it might affect your career or your earning power.
The new wild west of driving high… it’s a minefield out there
When I was a student at UCSC in 1968, my roommate and I bought a pound of Panama Red in San Diego. Afterwards, we had no money left and for two days lived in an art house movie theater that was running a round-the-clock horror movie marathon for $1 a day.
In two days, we sold enough weed in the theater to head back to Santa Cruz. After two days of no sleep, and smoking Panama Red continuously, we left at midnight. On Highway One in Oxnard, a cop pulled me over.
I said, “What seems to be the problem officer?”
“You were driving seven miles an hour.”
The CDC reports that 48.2 million Americans used marijuana at least once in the past year. One in eight high school drivers reported driving after smoking at least once during the past month.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is tasked with the extraordinarily important and difficult task of keeping impaired drivers off the road, but in the case of cannabis impairment, they have been dealt a legally empty hand.
An 0.08% alcohol level in your blood is the legal bar for a DUI. To smoke weed while driving is illegal—it’s an infraction—but aside from having a big fatty smoldering in the ashtray, when does the law kick in that you are too high to drive?
The trouble is, since everyone responds to weed differently, and science hasn’t come up with a way to measure cannabis-driving impairment yet, there is no metric for cannabis-DUI set in law. For now, the courts are not buying the idea that field sobriety tests for alcohol are proof of impairment for cannabis. According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) website, courts from Massachusetts to California have decreed that field sobriety tests for alcohol are not admissible in cannabis cases.
You’ve got to prove impairment beyond a reasonable doubt. Prominent Santa Cruz cannabis defense attorneys tell me that even expert impairment witnesses often admit under oath that given the current science, they can’t prove impairment beyond doubt.
So how do we use psychotropics to expand our world and then get home safe and sound? How do we get that 18-year-old kid who was driving 7 mph to pull over and sleep it off? How safe is it to drive high?
Santa Cruzans come together to weigh in on this issue.
THE CHP’S STORY
My first research stop was at the California Highway Patrol office on Soquel Drive just off of Freedom Boulevard. My predisposition to be wary of cops was blown away by how gracious and accommodating they all were.
I was granted an interview with Officer Murillo, who tells me, “Getting impaired drivers off the road is our bread and butter.”
CHP Officer Murillo: We’re looking for impaired driving, including impairment from cannabis, such as swerving, can’t keep your vehicle in its lane, driving too slow, you’re stopped at a green light, or you drive in an aggressive manner. The cue we really look for is erratic driving. People speed up, slow down, make a right turn out of the blue, drive without headlights at night.
Richard: But how do you tell when someone is high on weed? I’ve been a pot head for almost 60 years, and I can’t always tell when someone is high. My wife says she can’t tell when I’m high.
Officer Murillo: We take a 26-week course. We have experts who can identify cues. The studies for cannabis impairment are all on the website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA.) They have metrics on there, they have numbers. The website NHTSA is where you’ve got to go if you want the science behind what we do.
Cool! The science behind measuring cannabis impairment for the CHP is on the NHTSA website! I pull up the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website and find their Drug and Alcohol Crash Risk Study. Here is what the NHTSA study says regarding cannabis and driving:
“For the active ingredient in marijuana, … there was no indication that it significantly contributed to crash risk. The adjusted odds ratios for THC were 1.00, 95 percent, indicating no increased or decreased crash risk.”
Richard: The CHP heavily promotes the idea that people should drive slower, “Slow down and live!” NORML makes the case that pot not only makes people drive slower and more carefully, but that studies show, at low doses, it does not impair driving. They even cite studies that find at microdoses, it can actually improve some individuals’ driving. Honestly Officer Murillo, I believe I am one of those individuals.
Officer Murillo: I can’t 100% agree with that. Any drug can make you drive slower. I pull people over who are going 40 miles an hour on the freeway. Sometimes they’re on heroin. There is a YouTube Video on the NHTSA website which is backed by scientific research.
I gotta admit, the NHTSA website video is far cooler than I had expected.
Four young folks are toking up while packing a car with camping gear. They get in the car to head off on their trip and discover they are all too high to drive, so they set up their campsite in front of their house and high five each other.
But the video does make the life-or-death point, “If you feel too high to drive, don’t.”
Richard: What makes you decide to bust a particular person for driving high? Is there a metric you can use, like the 0.08% impairment alcohol level?
Officer Murillo: No, there is no metric. We don’t have numbers, we just go off our training and experience for cues of impaired driving, and from there we look for additional cues such as red and watery eyes, when you ask for their ID they fumble with their wallet. They give you another card rather than their ID, things like that.
We don’t grab a measurement and say, “OK, you’re DUI”, especially with cannabis. We look for specific cues, like eye movement, that give us the power of detaining. We base it off what we see and observe in the field to get to probable cause.
DRIVE HIGH GET A DUI Police have little tolerance for those driving under the influence.
REALLY, THAT’S IT?
I asked a prominent Santa Cruz cannabis defense attorney, “The CHP can get to probable cause by how your eye moves? Whether or not you go to jail depends entirely on the officer who is eyeballing you?”
The attorney says, “Yeah, that’s about it.”
A new study (2021) by researchers from the University of California at San Diego published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry concludes, “…trained police officers are frequently unable to discriminate between those who are under the influence of THC and those who are not based upon subjects’ performance on field sobriety tests.”
Welcome to the wild west of driving high.
Officer Murillo invites me to join his department at their Friday night Sobriety Checkpoint on Capitola Road and 17th Avenue.
They have eight large Pizza My Heart pizzas and offer me a piece. I stay for an hour and see them bust one guy for driving drunk, no one for being high on weed. I know there were people there who were at least a little high on weed, because I was.
PLEASE LORD, CAN I COME DOWN?
If I know I’m too high to drive, how will I know when I’m ready to drive? Cannabis hits everyone differently. The Mental Health Foundation reports:
moking or vaping peaks at around 10 minutes after inhaling and lasts 1 to 3 hours.
High dosage edibles can be as dangerous behind the wheel as heroin.
The next day you will be screaming into the mirror, “What were you thinking? You are never coming down!” I’m not putting edibles down, they are way healthier for your lungs, but if you drive somewhere and take edibles, we’re all hoping you’ll forget where you parked your car. You probably will.
The absolute necessity to keep edibles from getting behind the wheel is eloquently spoken by Santa Cruz Comedy Impresario DNA (he’s a pretty big fucking deal).
“If you’re doing dabs or edibles you’re not only risking your life, you’re endangering everyone else as well. If you’re baked, stay off the road. Especially in Santa Cruz, the little Amsterdam by the sea, whose main entry is the most nefarious highway invented, please, go to the beach and sit for a few hours before getting in the car.”
HOW HIGH IS HIGH?
To deter impaired driving, five states—Illinois, Montana, Nevada, Ohio and Washington—have set specific limits for THC between two and five nanograms per milliliter of blood. That amount is crazy low.
Studies published by Nature Scientific Reports, 2022, find no evidence that drivers whose blood samples tested in that range are more likely to cause a traffic accident.
According to the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention, people who rarely smoke weed can be quite dangerous if they toke and drive, and people who smoke a lot of weed are virtually unaffected by taking a couple of tokes. The American Journal of Addictions, 2009, published a study that indicates some individuals might actually drive better on cannabis.
A Santa Cruz cannabis defense attorney tells me, “So many people are daily smokers, and you almost wouldn’t want to be riding with them if they haven’t smoked. No shit, for some of them, you want them to feel at ease…Alcohol gives you that false bravado. Cannabis, if anything, does make you more cautious.”
There is a point of microdosed self-medication with cannabis that can make for a more measured decision. If I see a light turn yellow and I’m straight, I might think, “I can make it.” For a yellow light after one toke, I might be more defensive, “I’ve got time to stop.” High, I will change lanes less. A small amount of herb does not make me feel impaired, it makes me feel repaired.
No question, alcoholic driving is bad news. Alcohol mixed with cannabis is exponentially worse (American Journal on Addictions 2022).
Two to five nanograms/ml of THC in your blood may not (or may) make you an impaired driver, but that is a very low high. Five nanograms of THC/ml is like taking a gummy measured to have less than 10 mgs of THC.
THANK GOD, THERE’S AN APP
If you are a techie, there is an impairment test app called Druid that you can download from the Apple App Store onto your iPhone. The first 14 days are free and then it’s $1.99 per month. It’s a little three-part video game that takes about three minutes to play. To measure impairment, the app includes three divided-attention tasks that measure reaction time, hand-eye coordination and time-estimation accuracy. Another assesses balance.
You set a baseline score when you’re straight, and then when you’re high you play the game again and it tells you how far off you are from your straight score. The idea is to get as low a score as possible.
Both NORML and John Hopkins University researchers praise Druid for being an effective monitor of impairment. I had a young UCSC student try the app stoned and he scored 32, rated Excellent. I played the game sober and got a 67, rated Extremely Poor.
I had a couple of 20-somethings try it sober, and then try it very high, and while results were mixed, the app did indicate impairment when the young folks were super-stoned. I find the Druid impairment app difficult to negotiate, but then, I have old-fogey-disease when it comes to tech.
The young UCSC student tells me, “A small amount of weed relaxes me, I can sink into my seat and focus on driving defensively. But if I smoke more than a tiny amount, I get anxious and flustered. I gotta stop and walk it off if there’s even a little bit too much.”
GETTING THE BIG PICTURE
The NHTSA website says that multitasking is a key component of safe driving: that’s what makes being high while driving an issue.
I agree.
Weed gives you great focus on detail, but micro-vision is not what’s needed on the road. I can’t smoke weed when I perform standup comedy because I need macrovision on stage. I need to take in the whole crowd, not the guy with the lizard in the front row. Like standup comedy, driving is a big picture game. If I am focusing too much on detail, I’m not ready to drive.
Comedian George Carlin said he would first write his jokes sober, then go back and edit them high. I wrote this article sober, and now I’m getting high to edit typos. Now the thought of driving scares me to death. I’ll do yoga and listen to the rain. This is great weed, Santa Cruz weed. I ain’t going nowhere.
DRUIDLY ACCURATE Simple to use, even when you’re impaired. Photo: Richard Stockton
I would like to thank you for your excellent story,Parks for All, about the effort to build a universally accessible playground at the centrally located and popular Jade Street Park in Capitola. Like the well-used LEO’s Haven playground at Chanticleer Park, children with disabilities can play alongside friends, neighbors and family members, experiencing joy.
LEO’s Haven has become one of the most heavily used playgrounds in the county, which isn’t surprising since one in every ten children have a disability, as do two out of every ten people in the general population. Universally-designed playgrounds clearly show that when public spaces are designed with all abilities in mind, children, parents, grandparents and caregivers benefit.
County Park Friends is working to raise $1 million for the playground from the community and the City of Capitola will fund the balance of the estimated $1.79 million project. Fundraising has begun, and if you’d like to learn more or to contribute, please visitcountyparkfriends.org/jadestpark. You can help to make this dream a reality. Thank you.
Dan Haifley, campaign volunteer
STREET TALK’S HERE TO STAY
I’ve been a reader for about 30 years.
I am glad to see the return of Street Talk. Rather than have people fear expressing their “politically incorrect” reply to possibly controversial questions, maybe allow them to do so anonymously.
I thinkthere could be a few more Letters included each week. Two or three letters is not enough.
I have found recent cover stories of little interest to me personally. More useful than coverage of some local band, Grateful Dead followers, or other topics like that, would be coverage of what is going on in local planning and government. There are BIG proposals under way or coming in the near future, and a lot of locals have no clue. They either haven’t heard about it or they have false information. Lookout covers it but they are clearly biased, in favor of development.
So maybe Good Times could balance “lifestyle” stories (entertainment, food, surf scene, new local businesses) with a regular report on upcoming City Council, County Board of Supervisors agendas.
Maybe ask the library or Bookshop Santa Cruz to do a regular column on a few good books.
Personally, I could care less about wines. Or beer. I didn’t even know there was a cannabis column. What is the purpose?
How about a story on the food truck “scene”? It seems very limited to me. Not much variety. Why? Ask some food truck owners if they think local regulations make it difficult to operate. What could be done to have a more “robust” food truck scene, and attract maybe some from over the hill, where there is a wider range of “ethnic” cuisine (Korean, Burmese, Oaxacan, Vietnamese, etc.)
What I’ve been wanting for years is for the Good Times to not just publicize local concerts at local venues ahead of time, but to publish REVIEWS of the shows.
Surely there are knowledgeable music lovers who could write a short piece about a show they saw, whether it’s at the Kuumbwa, Moe’s, Felton Music Hall, the Civic, or the Rio. It could be about a major act who plays here, or a lesser known one. It would be great if the review was honest. If the show was disappointing, say so! If it was great, people may be more likely to buy a ticket next time the act comes around. How about someone writing a piece after the Mountain Sol Festival in September?
You could also publicize what shows and music festivals are coming to the Bay Area beyond Santa Cruz. Provide links to the upcoming San Jose Jazz Festival. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. Other annual festivals (Sausalito, Mountain View, etc.) Monterey Jazz Fest, of course. (Review that)
Reviews of art exhibits would be ok, like when the MAH has a new exhibit.
How about a “post-Covid downtown” issue, with updates on whether the Nickelodeon is ever going to re-open. Why the city still thinks it needs a new garage when there are hundreds of available parking spaces in the existing garages.
Reporting on the efforts to re-design San Lorenzo Park. Reports on what happens at different city Commissions, like the Parks & Rec Commission, Planning Commission, Water, Downtown Commission, and Library Advisory Commission.
County Planning Commission.
So balance the “fun stuff” with more “serious” reporting.
Thanks.
Judi G.
ONLINE COMMENTS
TOUGH COOKIE
Kerri is the hard-working “cookie lady” and a very good neighbor. Many small businesses did not survive the economic hardship that was created for the small businesses. She is one of the few who has dedication for excellence and never forgets hard work and so far, survived it.
I do not think she will ever sign up for the Universal Basic Income; self-employed people have different genes.
Zoltan l Santa Cruz
CALIFORNIA EXODUS
Does the city collect funds from other counties to take their homeless? And people wonder why we pay more taxes than any other place in the country. Probably the whole world leaves hard working local people with zero retirement and zero savings with a fat side of exploding property tax. Sales tax, DMV and business license fees are the most expensive. Failing infrastructure of the electrical grid, too. I know the agenda here is to drive me out of Cali and turn it into a mega ranch. Look at the success in San Francisco. Drove them out by the thousands.
I never, ever, never, ever, ever thought I’d be the editor of a story about driving while high on weed. After many years of mainstream news reporting, this is something you can only read properly in the alternative press, like Good Times.
The paper I used to work for, the San Jose Mercury News, would present this very stodgily–police said this and police said that–but Richard Stockton, who admits to driving while high, gives us first-person reporting, watching police enforce laws about people like him.
I’m betting this will be one of the most read stories in Good Times ever.
And, the writer, who is also a comedian, is funny as hell. Stockton is writing for the people, for those of us who may have driven on now legal cannabis and wondered how the law would handle us if stopped. And wondered what the difference is between driving high on weed versus driving on alcohol.
How many of you have wondered?
Don’t lie. Because I’ve seen some of the worst driving anywhere around our streets and only after reading this did I realize they were probably high.
As an aside, when I was bicycling recently, I got hit by a driver who was turning into the driveway of a cannabis shop. Coincidence? Probably not.
He was a kid and was not only apologetic as he saw my bleeding limbs, but he handed me 20 bucks.
I gave it back. He needed it more than I did and I have insurance.
Message: don’t drive high, as his story said.
And we’re waiting for the follow up: driving on mushrooms.
Good Idea
The Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency is asking for community input on how to use the county’s opioid settlement funds. As part of its settlement, the county will be receiving $26 million over the next 18 years, and on Wednesday will be holding a town hall where residents can learn how those funds will be used to address our opioid crisis. The town hall will include deputy health officer Dr. David Ghilarducci, county counsel Jason Health, and director of substance use disorder services Casey Swank. To learn more, visit: www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/Government/Pressreleases.aspx
Good Work
Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks announced last Tuesday that storm damages to the stairs at Manresa Uplands State Beach have been repaired. Visitors can now enjoy access between the bluff-top campground and the beach. The stairs were partially destroyed in March 2016 by El Niño. It took a $1.297, million state fund to rebuild the destroyed lower third of the wooden stairs.
Photo Contest
ETHEREAL LIGHTS Long exposure of Elyse and her partner walking into the blue waves. The Milky Way was sparkling, and the ocean was glowing. Photograph by Elyse Mitchell
Submit to ph****@*******es.sc. Include information (location, etc.) and your name. Photos may be cropped. Preferably, photos should be 4 inches by 4 inches and minimum 250 dpi.
Quote of the Week
“You can sway a thousand men by appealing to their prejudices quicker than you can convince one man by logic.”
THE SODA CRACKERS Country music is a divisive thing. Even those who love it often fight amongst themselves on what is–or isn’t–country. But for the ones who look to country for the Bakersfield sound, the outlaw ballads or country swing, Moe’s Alley’s Western Wednesdays could be their dream music series. This week Moe’s brings The Soda Crackers–a five piece band straight from Bakersfield that plays Western swing infused with a whole lot of fun. Steven Griswold and the California Convoy open the show. MAT WEIR
ENUFF Z’NUFF We all know that ’80s hair metal bands had excellent hair, but they also were pretty damn fine singers. Enuff Z’Nuff, a rockin’ band from Blue Island, Illinois, had their share of singles in the late ’80s. The videos for two of their most popular—“Fly High Michelle” & “New Thing”—show off their exquisite hair and lead singer Chip Z’Nuff’s pipes. It’s pure feelgood, headbangin’ music and will bring the entire audience back to a simpler time when the biggest issues of the day were choosing the optimal hairspray brand. Opening the show is local legend James Durbin, doing an acoustic set. James’s pipes are also otherworldly, and really go off when he’s singing metal, his all time favorite genre. AARON CARNES
PERCH Love it or hate it, pop punk is often people’s introduction to the world of rock music. Perch is one of Santa Cruz’s newest pop punk acts. They capture the essence of the genre: angst driven songs with longing lyrics of lost love, all set to upbeat, danceable tunes, and they keep it fresh with some heavier-than-normal riffs. Plus their singer, Kevin, “Lil’ Ben” Hogue has that “forever young” spirit and good looks to boot. Perch is the ideal group for fans of Pup, Jeff Rosenstock and Modern Baseball. Denver’s “really loud poetry” act Miniluv, Santa Cruz newcomers S.A.M. and veteran scene punks, Give You Nothing also take the stage. MW
INFO: 9pm, Blue Lagoon, 923 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $10. 423-7117.
SATURDAY
AMERICANA
RIVETS & RUST The band Rivets & Rust channel the ancient past right into the present with classic folk covers and fiercely honest originals. Formed in 2022 in Santa Cruz, the band features local singer-songwriter Tim Bennet on guitar and vocals, with keys by Angela Bennett, drums by Heather Clark, and additional guitar and bass by Glenn MacPherson, Eric Mauerman and Matthew Merrill. With roots in Minnesota, Missouri and Georgia, Bennett has rambled through some of the richest musical landscapes in the country. He brings it all to his multi-layered tunes. AM
KIRY SHABAZZ Kiry Shabazz might not be a household name, but give him time. This Cleveland born, L.A. based comedian’s star has been rising ever since 2017 when he auditioned for an open-call for the annual Stand-Up NBC Competition and won the whole shabang. The following year he performed on The Tonight Show, and since then has been featured on Bill Burr Presents: The Ringers and Epix’s Unprotected Sets. This is the second of three afternoons of comedy held at the London Nelson Community Center this month and a great way to end the summer with a lot of laughs. MW
INFO: 4:30pm, London Nelson Community Center Park, 301 Center St., Santa Cruz. $20. 420-6177.
SUNDAY
JAZZ
ALABASTER DEPLUME Angus Fairbairn based his fanciful stage name, Alabaster DePlume, on what he thought he heard some angry strangers yell at him during a jam night in his early twenties in South Manchester. That was in the early aughts, when he was just discovering his unique fusion of poetry and saxophone. He followed up his 2020 breakthrough album To Cy & Lee Instrumentals, Vol. 1 with April 2022’s Gold – Go Forward in the Courage of Your Love, in whose improvisational immediacy critics have delighted. Pitchfork called it “a balm of spoken word and spiritual jazz, both strangely uncomfortable and strangely comforting.” AM
INFO: 7:30pm, Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $20/adv, $25/door. 427-2227.
MONDAY
VIDEO GAME
BIT BRIGADE Kids these days don’t realize how easy they got it now! Back in my day, if we wanted to watch someone expertly race through a video game, you had to go to a Bit Brigade concert. The good news is Bit Brigade still plays, and it’s several steps above watching someone play Fortnite on Twitch. For one thing, the group always plays old school video games. And, the band actually plays the music and sound effects along to the game. It’s probably one of the most amazing performances around, honestly. It’s so filled with nostalgia that it becomes this surreal experience that no longer feels retro. It’s unreal and fantastic. At this show, they’ll be playing The Legend of Zelda and Ducktales. AC
LAUREN BRAZZLE ZUNIGA Lauren Brazzle Zuniga’s slam poetry is just as likely to elicit a belly laugh as they are a soft hmm of recognition, and her words are reliably titillating, confronting the realities, joys and challenges of queer sexuality in our society. Her performances have been celebrated on YouTube, at slam competitions, in high schools, and as tattoo inspiration. This week she’s bringing her humor and insights to Abbott Square Market. This event is an exciting opportunity for anyone with a poem in their soul; Zuniga leads the open mic, and the community is encouraged to perform alongside her. JESSICA IRISH
INFO: 7pm, Abbott Square, 725 Front St., Santa Cruz. Free.
Alabaster DePlume Brings Curious Mindful Jazz to Kuumbwa
Alabaster DePlume moves through the world with a sense of compassionate curiosity. The poet/singer/saxophonist, whose given name is Gus Fairbairn says, “Curiosity is one antidote to fear” and discovered his stage name through a chance encounter with an irate stranger.
On Sunday at 7:30 Alabaster will bring his experimental blend of music to Kuumbwa Jazz Center, being presented by Folk Yeah. Alabaster was born in Manchester, England and this marks his first visit to Santa Cruz, part of an extensive tour that includes San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto and London. Alabaster’s new album will be released on September 8; Come With Fierce Grace was recorded without rehearsals by creating spontaneous compositions to ensure a fresh, authentic experience. It’s a companion to his 2022 double-album GOLD.
INVIGORATING AND CALM
JM: The new album Come With Fierce Grace is invigorating and calming. That is one of my favorite places to be.
Alabaster: Yes, that’s a nice combination.
JM: I love that you use improvisation and approach music as a form of play. In a sense, life is an improvisation.
Alabaster: I love it so much. I love the challenge. It requires an acceptance that I don’t know what we’re doing! But we’ll find out by doing it. When somebody plays a certain thing that’s not necessarily what I would have chosen, I respond to it. I accept it and greet it. I’ve not heard it put that way before but, yeah, life is an improvisation. It’s not the only way to make great things happen. You can make great music that is very precise recital stuff, which I respect. But this is how I’m having my fun right now.
THEY CAN’T BEAT US
JM: Some of your music and spoken word have been quite political. And very funny. Like the piece “Slogans” where you string together advertisement language. “I Was Gonna Fight Fascism” is hilarious and poignant. You’re singing that you intended on taking action, but you were just too busy.
Alabaster: Yeah, I would’ve, but I just had so much on… Yes, this approach is a lot of fun.
JM: On your song “Don’t Forget You’re Precious” you’re pointing out that this isn’t just a more pleasant way to live–to love yourself–but it’s actually a political action.
Alabaster: Absolutely. It’s work and it’s a responsibility. But I’m mindful not to say, “Hey, listen to me! I’ll tell you what to do. You should do this.” I don’t want to come with that vibe because I don’t know anything! I’m here to learn. Instead, I can make fun of myself and laugh genuinely with compassion at myself. Which leaves room for the listener to go; “Yeah, I feel that way as well.” Now and then, I fail to remember that I’m worthwhile in this world. That is the very thing that I bring, accept and work on it in front of an audience. As the song says, “They can’t beat us. They can’t use us on one another, if we don’t forget we’re precious.”
I don’t feel I’ve done enough recently to describe myself as an activist. But my behavior and work have an influence. The real good that you do in this world will be invisible to you. It may be too subtle for us to consciously know or be able to talk about. All that we can really do is check our intention: where am I coming from? Am I happy with that?
JM: Tell me the story of finding your stage name.
Alabaster: I was dressed a bit funny walking up the street in Manchester. Somebody drives past in a really fast, loud car and they’ve got something to share with me, about me. They lean out of the window, but they had so little time because they were driving so fast. So, they couldn’t make a sentence. They just made a sort of noise. And that noise sounded to me like, “Alabaster DePlume!” So, I took it as encouragement. I knew I could have taken it as anything else. But I chose to take it as encouragement. And I continue to do so. Whoever that person was, I hope they’re having a really good day today.
Alabaster DePlume plays Kuumbwa Jazz Sept. 3 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Kuumbwajazz.org for tickets.Listen to this interview with Alabaster DePlume on Thursday at noon on “Transformation Highway” with John Malkin on KZSC 88.1 FM / kzsc.org.
Question of the Week: “Does the presence of the homeless deter you from visiting Downtown?”
Rebecca Clark, 32, SC Shakespeare Education Mgr
No, we’re all just one step away from being homeless, too. I’ve lived here all my life and it’s sad but it’s always been like this.
Craig Scott, 14, Student
The homeless people aren’t bothering us. Some of the people do need help, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a problem with a direct thing happening towards me.
Cairis Walls, 14, Student
When some people are angry or shouting it’s not toward us, it’s like to themselves. I don’t feel threatened, I just try to avoid it and try to stay away a little bit. But it doesn’t really bother me.
Marie Castro, 75, Director of Migrant Head Start (left) and Caroline Carney, 75, Retired Teacher
A lot of the homeless people are Santa Cruzians. They are part of our community too. You can’t escape into your cocoon, you have to be a part of reality. This is our reality. And just look around, Downtown can be charming. It has a lot to offer.
Amanda Rotella, 34, Santa Cruz Library Community Relations
No. I’m here almost every day for my work. I also like to come and support the local businesses. I think it’s important.
Lucas Roy Lehman, 60, Business Coaching
No way, zero. It does not improve my experience, however. It’s a visual thing that does not add to the aesthetic experience.
Namaste Bar and Grill opens to enthusiastic response.
The Namaste awakening is ongoing.
Less than a year after debuting Namaste India Bistro on Westside’s Mission Street, and not long after opening a Palo Alto outpost, the family of Indian restaurants has another newborn.
Freshly opened Namaste Bar and Grill scored a prime spot on Beach Street.
It has many of the dependable and robust standards its siblings do—think signature tikka masala, rack of lamb, tandoori chicken, veggie curries and Nepalese momos.
But here the fare gets more daring.
Ten different “curry pizzas” include butter chicken pizza, lamb boti kebab pizza and an outstanding shahi paneer pizza with cashew cream sauce (pro tip: ask for the spicy house chutney).
That in turn matches with other innovative dishes (the avocado-millet chaat is a must-try), bold color scheme, a short but potent craft drink menu from the full bar, high-energy pop fusion covers and beachside patio.
The complementary elements had the place full on our visit, alive with a vibe of summer discovery.
GENERAL JOY
San Gregorio, population 140, may have more character per capita than any other town in the greater Santa Cruz area.
The reason for it: the eponymous family-owned general store, which has scores of things inside it, including a saloon, a grocery corner, post office, free popcorn Fridays and a huge and magnetic inventory of gifts, art, literature and clothing.
That all merits a summer adventure north, just past Pescadero. A final draw: live music Friday through Sunday, paired with rotating homemade specials like country chili, pulled pork sandwiches and chana masala.
This weekend’s five bands: Three on the Tree plays Friday, Sandy Mountain and The Bundy Browne Band Saturday, Jay Howlett and The Gary Gates Band Sunday. The dish of the weekend, meanwhile, will be barbecue ribs and picnic salad.
sangregoriostore.com
OTTER OPPO
Speaking of summer adventures, another awaits in a different direction.
Down south in Moss Landing, the relatively new Woodward Marine Market enjoys a nice combo of its own: an Elkhorn Slough dockside deck with a sculpture fire pit; ample wildlife viewing and power plant backdrop; local nitro cold brew coffee, beer and wine; smart and satisfying grub like a loaded bouillabaisse, grass-fed beef burger and best-selling crispy-artichoke-and-prosciutto sandwich.
Plus all the food and drink is welcome aboard Monterey Bay Eco Tours’ electric catamaran pontoon, which leaves from the adjacent dock to meet brown pelicans, California sea lions and southern sea otters.
woodwardmarinemarket.com
BONNET BLESSING
Scotts Valley microbrewery Steel Bonnet Brewing Company has taken a promising leap.
Scottish owners Sue and Donald Cramb just debuted a production brewery in Salinas with the capacity to up output of their malty beers and ales 10 times over.
While new head brewer Tyler Carney supervises the scene in Salinas, the Scotts Valley brewery will serve more as an experimental hub crafting fresh recipes and small batch special offers.
This beautiful rose-colored Vin Gris is made by Sarah’s Vineyard in Gilroy. Vin Gris is the traditional name for a Rosé of Pinot Noir–and this 2022 estate grown and bottled is particularly good.
A neighbor came over, so I opened up the Vin Gris ($28) to share. Coming with a screw cap, it’s ready to pour in two seconds. Bone dry with crisp acidity, it’s perfect for hot summer sipping. With its notes of strawberry and watermelon, I’m sure that winery owner and grower Tim Slater is proud of this one. My neighbor loved it.
Sarah’s Vineyard is located on Hecker Pass–and what awaits are beautiful vineyards in a tranquil setting, and many different wines to experience. There are bocce ball courts, picnic areas, and music and dance events through the end of September.
Slater says that he and his partner Megan boast some pretty serious culinary skills. Check out the recipes on their website.
Opa! The Greek Festival will be celebrating all things Hellenic, including Greek cuisine, music and dancing. Don’t miss the loukoumades–golden puffs of fried dough drizzled with warm honey, nuts and cinnamon. The event is Sept. 8 & 9 outside Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church, 223 Church St., Santa Cruz. Free admission.
Santa Cruz County Fair
Mark your calendars for the upcoming Santa Cruz County Fair. We first make a beeline to see all the animals, including well-groomed sheep, pigs, cows and goats. Wine and beer are available, and the variety of food, including the not-to-be-missed deep-fried artichokes, is immense.
The event is Sept.13-17 at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 E. Lake Ave.,Watsonville. Santacruzcountyfair.com
As I look back over the years, I realize I’ve followed in the footsteps of my paternal grandfather, Edwin, a longtime newspaper columnist. Perhaps, it makes sense, as I was born under the Gemini zodiac sign in Mercury, the planet associated with strong communication skills. It started in grade school when I entertained my class with a made-up-as-I-went written saga.
“Oh sweetie, you don’t have to call yourself that!” says the woman in the long grocery line as we converse casually. She tells me she’s a local, having grown up in Salinas. My first job in TV news was in Salinas at the then NBC affiliate, KSBW, 50 years ago. She used to watch me on the news when she was a toddler.
The new wild west of driving high… it’s a minefield out there
When I was a student at UCSC in 1968, my roommate and I bought a pound of Panama Red in San Diego. Afterwards, we had no money left and for two days lived in an art house movie theater that was running a round-the-clock horror movie marathon for...
The week of August 30, 2023
PARKS FOR ALL
I would like to thank you for your excellent story, Parks for All, about the effort to build a universally accessible playground at the centrally located and popular Jade Street Park in Capitola. Like the well-used LEO's Haven playground at Chanticleer Park, children with disabilities can play alongside friends, neighbors and family...
OMG. I never, ever, never, ever, ever thought I’d be the editor of a story about driving while high on weed. After many years of mainstream news reporting, this is something you can only read properly in the alternative press, like Good Times.
This week's picks for things to do include country, 80s rock, Americana, punk and jazz music of the most creative kind. Plus, comedy and poetry. Check out what's happening and discover a surprise or two.
Alabaster DePlume moves through the world with a sense of compassionate curiosity. The poet/singer/saxophonist, whose given name is Gus Fairbairn says, “Curiosity is one antidote to fear.”
The Namaste awakening is ongoing. Less than a year after debuting Namaste India Bistro on Westside’s Mission Street, and not long after opening a Palo Alto outpost, the family of Indian restaurants has another newborn.
Vin Gris is the traditional name for a Rosé of Pinot Noir–and the 2022 estate grown and bottled Vin Gris by Sarah’s Vineyard in Gilroy is particularly good.
