Astronomers depend on instruments to collect the observations that fuel their work, but they don’t spend every night glued to the stars. On overcast nights, they turn to what they have already gathered, digging into past measurements and reworking the data. You’re in a comparable phase, Aries. For now, looking farther out into the glittering world won’t give you anything essential. The guidance you need is folded into what you’ve previously seen, felt, and taken in. It’s waiting for you to sort through and understand it on a deeper level.
TAURUS April 20-May 20
When lightning from a cloud hits sand or soil, the current travels down into the ground. It melts material along its path and forms tubular, branching glass structures that can penetrate deep below the surface. I believe that metaphorically similar phenomena will soon happen in your life, Taurus. Sudden insights or electrifying feelings will leave permanent traces in your psyche, creating new pathways for energy and information to flow. These disruptive inspirations and inspiring disruptions will rewire your internal circuitry, creating channels that will enhance your receptivity to future revelations. You’ll be able to absorb clues and hints from life that you weren’t tuned into before.
GEMINI May 21-June 20
I invite you to ruminate on death not as the conclusion of physical life, but as a metaphor for discarding what’s stale and outmoded. In that light, what would be the best deaths you could generate during the coming weeks? Use your imagination with verve and vigor as you dream up scenarios in which you purge parts of your life that are not serving your strongest, most vital yearnings. Visualize how much fresh potency that will liberate. (PS: To reiterate: You are NOT in physical danger.)
CANCER June 21-July 22
What part of you is too tame? Maybe your imagination is politely well-behaved, or maybe your voice edits itself before it dares to say what it really thinks. Can you inspire it to be wilder and freer? Not reckless or destructive, but more honest and experimental? Here’s a suggestion: Go on regular excursions with your wild side, maybe once every two weeks. Follow it as it chooses what to explore and create. This might ultimately teach your tamed self that it’s safe to let primal wisdom help steer you.
LEO July 23-Aug. 22
According to quantum physics, particles can become “entangled,” which means they share a single connected quantum state. Observing and measuring one particle reveals information about the other, even if they’re not in close proximity. Einstein called this “spooky action at a distance.” I predict that different parts of your life will also interweave in unlikely ways during the coming weeks, Leo. Moves you make in one area will seem to produce mysterious effects in other domains. For example, adjusting your morning routine may boost your creative output. Healing an old alliance could unlock a professional opportunity. Everything will be more intermingled than the visible evidence suggests.
VIRGO Aug. 23-Sept. 22
Your key power word for now is stretch. Speak it aloud multiple times every day, and write it on a card that you put in a place where you will keep seeing it. Also, make a point of physically and spiritually living out these three senses of stretch: 1. to lengthen, widen, or expand without snapping or tearing; 2. to unfurl your body to its full reach, boosting circulation and warding off stiffness or cramps; 3. to take on challenging tasks that push you to amplify your abilities and move beyond what you previously believed you could do.
LIBRA Sept. 23-Oct. 22
Four oracles for you, Libra: 1. You’re in possession of keys to doors that haven’t been built yet. Tuck those keys away somewhere safe. 2. You’re ready to dream up titles for stories your life hasn’t lived through yet. Write those titles down. 3. You are being granted sneak previews of your future, even though you can’t yet see the bridge that will carry you there. Imprint these glimpses on your memory. 4. You have everything required to grow a more muscular faith that’s grounded in real evidence, not in vague hopes and wishful thinking. Take advantage.
SCORPIO Oct. 23-Nov. 21
At the ancient Library of Alexandria, editors did far more than copy manuscripts. They compared multiple versions of important works and produced editions that aimed at definitively reliable texts. Their efforts at preservation required active intervention rather than mere reproduction. In the coming weeks, Scorpio, I think it will be fun and transformative for you to make similar adjustments to your own life story. How might your memories of the past need to be corrected and refined? How could you make your personal mythology more accurate and liberating? I invite you to revise and revivify the tales you tell yourself about your magnificent journey from the moment you were born until now.
SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22-Dec. 21
The speed of light is how fast it travels through a vacuum. When moving through water and other media, though, light’s swiftness decreases. The fastest possible speed in the universe only applies in emptiness. If you put anything in light’s way, it slows down. Let’s use this as a metaphor for your life. I suspect you may be frustrated by how incrementally things are moving. But you’re not in a vacuum. Your bright intelligence is traveling through the complex situations that life has brought you. So of course you’re not zipping along with maximum haste. My advice: Be grateful for the slowdowns. Learn all you can about how they are educating and transforming your brilliance.
CAPRICORN Dec. 22-Jan. 19
Cryptographer Claude Shannon (1916–2001) was the father of information theory. His achievements were comparable to those of Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, and Charles Darwin. Here’s one of his secrets: He kept his office filled with juggling equipment, unicycles, and mechanical toys, which inspired him to solve abstract problems. His playful tinkering helped inspire breakthroughs that ultimately created the digital age. For him, recreation and innovation happened at the same time. I invite you to try a similar approach in the coming weeks, Capricorn. Blend “serious work” with “just messing around.” Be alert for key insights that emerge from improvisation and experimentation. Your diversions won’t be distractions from your purpose but rather pathways toward it.
AQUARIUS Jan. 20-Feb. 18
Master calligrapher Yukimi Annand is an Aquarius. She teaches that beautiful letters emerge not just from the hand that holds the brush, but from the entire body and relaxed awareness. Breath, posture, centered weight, and quiet mind all flow through the arm to create each stroke. Trying to control the outcome with arduous effort produces rigid, lifeless art. This is an excellent teaching for you right now, Aquarius. Whatever you’re striving to accomplish, I beg you to refrain from forcing results through grueling, overly laborious exertion. Instead, align your whole being so that graceful outcomes flow naturally from your soulful coherence.
PISCES Feb. 19-March 20
The placebo effect is getting stronger over time. Placebos in drug trials are becoming increasingly effective, to the point where it’s sometimes becoming harder to prove that actual drugs work better than sugar pills. Are we getting better at healing ourselves through belief? That would be a problem for pharmaceutical companies but interesting for the rest of us. Dear Pisces, I believe your placebo response is exceptionally strong right now. In the coming weeks, use it deliberately. Be daring and exuberant in your efforts to heal yourself.
Homework: Visualize in detail that you’re living the life you want to. Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com
Two pairs of eateries with varying backstories, timelines, business models and cuisines are materializing downtown, in two acts.
The first act has already leapt to life and gets worldly.
Luna’s Borikén Bites and India Gourmet—both known local favorites, as pop-up purveyors and farmers market vendors, respectively—are now dishing at Abbott Square Market (725 Front St., Santa Cruz).
Luna’s (lunasborikenbites.com) assembles a festive palette of Puerto Rican flavors for your palate, like slow-roasted pork shoulder sandwiches (or pernil), rotisserie chicken (pollo asado), plantain “lasagna” (piñon), various plantain-based classics (tostones, mofongo) and more.
India Gourmet (indiankitchenking.com) does curry plates, samosas, and wraps naan around—and fills bowls with—best-selling chicken tika masala, lamb vindaloo and the tasty spinach saag-garbanzo bean combo wrap I tried (make sure to get a side of mint chutney).
Act two unfolds over in the former Alderwood Pacific (1108 Pacific Ave.), and leans more Americana microchain, as two greater S.F. Bay Area franchises look to break into the best Bay Area.
I’ve covered the arrival of party brunch favorite The Breakfast Club at Midtown (bcmidtown.com). Though the Alderwood space was looking good last I checked, Breakfast-Club-not-at-Midtown still seems a ways from opening.
The surprise there is that Campus Burgers has slapped up its own “Coming Soon” signage next door, with the subtitle “Home of the $1.99 Smashburger.”
The menu has five items besides that: cheeseburger ($2.99), double burger ($3.99), double cheeseburger ($4.99), fries ($5.99), soda ($2.99).
The bonus motto there: “Simple. Affordable. Delicious. Burgers and Fries. That’s it. You are going to love it.” campusburgers.com
Net gain
California’s first commercial salmon season in three years commenced on May 1 and the fishermen I spoke with report—unsurprisingly—that the early catch was sparse, but being back on the water was glorius. The season-long harvest limits are tiny compared to historic levels (100,000 versus multiples more), but that’s by design. The cap helps a suffering fishery recover on behalf of the fish (facing low—and warm—river flows, ocean temps and habitat loss) and hopefully a small boat fishing community on life support (thanks to lost seasons and high costs). Part of the joy emerged from a dock sale in Monterey where Joe Lucido sold whole salmon, and then cleaned and filleted them, for 32 lucky locals. For more on Santa Cruz dock sales, track Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust on Instagram (@mbfishtrust).
Slice and dice
Bay Area Pizza Week may have ended May 3 but standout spots keep proliferating all around Surf City (like two recent debuts spotlighted here, Sleight of Hand in The Cruz Room and Pogonip Pizza on the Westside), so it’s always lowercase pizza week, which Woodstock Pizza (710 Front St, Santa Cruz) honors with 11am-2pm Monday-Friday all-you-can-eat slices (usually with four choices) and unlimited sodas for less than $15, woodstockscruz.com…Be still my heart—Cabrillo Horticulture: Home Gardener Days Saturday Program sprouts 9:30-11:30am May 9, in Horticulture Room 5005, for 30 minutes of education followed by hands-on workshops in the department gardens, tools and gardening materials provided, with the stated goal “to provide the public a chance to experience the beauty of our campus and learn from our fabulous instructors” and topics like responsible, water-wise, sustainable and pollinator-friendly gardening, cabrillo.edu/events/volunteer-day-at-cabrillo-horticulture…Life hack: If you want to take water through TSA, you can (!), if it’s frozen…American writer/journalist/humorist Helen Rowland (1875-1950): “Love, like a chicken salad or restaurant hash, must be taken with blind faith or it loses its flavor.”
Inspired by having to cook for his family from a young age, Avram Samuels is the former Executive Chef and current Director of Culinary Food and Beverage Operations at The View.
Raised in New England, he went to culinary school in Vermont and then worked in Michelin-level kitchens on the East Coast before being recruited to California as a restaurant consultant. Wanting to level up the restaurant at Chaminade post-pandemic, Samuels was hired and given the culinary reins.
Design touches of wood, leather and chandeliers pair with traditional elements of Spanish style to set the space’s vibe, and has a panoramic ocean view from the patio, thus the name. Samuels describes the menu as modern American, combining French technique and global influence with a focus on sustainable local ingredients.
Best breakfasts include housemade birria huevos rancheros and the Chaminade Benedict with heirloom tomatoes and pea shoots. The lunch favorite is the 805 beer-battered locally caught fish and chips. The signature dinner appetizer is the Monterey Bay calamari tossed with arugula, banana peppers and sweet chili sauce.
A winning entrée is the Bee Burger, smashed-style with honey bacon jam on a brioche bun with bee pollen fries. Other highlighted choices are ribeye frites and shrimp fettuccini. Desserts are a housemade ginger snap cookie ice cream sandwich and sticky toffee pudding with whiskey caramel sauce.
Describe your passion for locality.
AVRAM SAMUELS: We are extremely proud of our seafood and produce sourcing, and we have an on-site organic garden from which we harvest most of our summer tomatoes and herbs. With the seafood, we know daily what is coming in, when and where it was caught, the method by which it was caught and the name of the captain – everything but the surname of the fish. This level of locality keeps my team and I very inspired.
Tell me about your bees.
About a year ago, we started hosting some colonies of local bees. We draw not only honey, but also honeycomb from them, which we incorporate into many of our food and beverage recipes. We also do honey tastings paired with cocktails and California cheese and charcuterie. There’s nothing like having on-property sourced honey, and it’s also a privilege to help do our part to save the bees.
1 Chaminade Lane, Santa Cruz, 831-475-5600; chaminade.com
‘I remember when they were building this shopping center,” Dark Ride singer and lyricist Emilio Menze says. “My mom would bring me here as a kid.”
I’m sitting with the band (minus drummer Briana Mota) at Village Host Pizza & Grill in Seascape. Along with photos on the walls of sports teams that the restaurant has sponsored over the years, hangs a framed copy of Dark Ride’s self-titled debut EP. So it’s only a fitting place to discuss Dark Ride’s new album, Blade Manor, released digitally and on vinyl on March 27 (and yes, Village Host now has that album framed on the wall as well). It’s an album five years in the making, put off due to the pandemic, the death of a close friend and former band member, and raising the funds to complete it.
However, Blade Manor is well worth the wait. It’s 41 minutes across 12 songs of fun, 80’s B-movie themes set to late 1990’s and early 2000’s riffs and harmonizing vocals.
“A few aspects were especially important to me,” Menze says. “I wanted the nostalgic factor, a fun playfulness, some darker songs and also songs like ‘Do or Die’ that are inspirational.”
They are goals the band hit perfectly like a nail in a coffin.
Take the song, “Rewind.” It’s an homage to the days of video stores, staying up on a Saturday night eating pizza (a Village Host pizza and box even make a cameo in the music video), watching cult and horror films. It was one of the first songs Menze wrote for the band and was meant to appear on the first EP, but didn’t make the cut.
However, the band kept it in rotation at live shows, one of several off the new album they would play for audiences long before Blade Manor dropped.
“Playing the songs before they were out gave us insight into which songs were really hitting with people and which ones weren’t,” says guitarist Ryan Heggum.
“It seems like people really enjoy ‘Life At the End of October,” adds guitarist Rob Hyodo. “It wasn’t even fully written when we went into the studio, but it felt like a masterpiece as it came together.”
Then there are tracks like “Electrocuted”.
It features the final bass recordings of Dan “Mothy/Mothman” Lamothe, Menze’s close friend and brother-in-arms when they played together in another Santa Cruz horror punk band, Stellar Corpses. Lamothe died under questionable circumstances in 2023 while training to be a fireman. It also features fellow horror punk rocker Argyle Goolsby of Blitzkid, another friend of Lamothe’s.
“It was daunting learning Mothy’s bass lines,” says bassist Jesus “Juicy” Lopez. “But when we played it the first time, something clicked, and it just felt right.”
It’s a song the band hasn’t played in public yet but looks forward to showcasing it this year at the annual Mothfest, a benefit show at Moe’s Alley on May 30 dedicated to Lamothe’s memory.
The album was recorded over the past five years at Ben Lomond’s Compound Recordings and Santa Cruz’s Noise Eater Recordings. One of the factors that makes the album so fun is the band’s camaraderie. Spend any time with a group, and it’s clear some bands don’t get along. Hell, some even outright hate one another.
Yet Dark Ride shares a bond that goes beyond the band.
“I am so stoked to be part of such a rad group of people doing this,” says Lopez. He explains that when the band toured Germany last year, it felt like they were “vacationing as a band.”
It’s a connection easily seen when spending any amount of time with the band. They tease one another like siblings, share an unbelievable amount of inner jokes, and hang out with each other on a regular basis.
“This is a collection of the funniest people I’ve ever met in my life,” Heggum says.
Hyodo agrees.
“There’s a lot of inner bandmate banter happening on stage,” he says. “And I hope people see we’re not forcing it, we genuinely enjoy playing with each other.”
Dark Ride also has a secret weapon, the hidden blade up their sleeve, their manager and merch person extraordinaire, Adia Schamber. She’s a firm believer in using one’s strengths where they are needed.
“I told them to focus on making good music,” she says. “And let me worry about the boxes of shirts, flights are booked and rentals are squared away.”
At the moment, Dark Ride has no shows scheduled outside of Mothfest, where they will share the stage with A Band of Orcs, Bones Shredder and Rezurex. That means there’s plenty of time to buy Blade Manor and learn the songs before their next gig.
“No matter what you’re into there will be something on this record that moves you,” Menze says. “I really wanted to write something that I would like as a fan, that would resonate with my heart and be authentic.”
Dark Ride plays MOTHFEST May 30, 8pm, A Tribute to Dan Lamothe with Rezurex, Bones Shredder & A Band Of Orcs at Moe’s Alley , 1535 Commercial Way. Tix: $18
As a room full of young jazz musicians rehearsed last week at Soquel High School, longtime band director Jim Stewart offered a piece of advice that could just as easily describe his own career.
“Sometimes a budding soloist will lose energy, but you have to keep that energy up,” Stewart told his students.
For 30 years, Stewart has done exactly that—bringing relentless enthusiasm, creativity and dedication to one of Santa Cruz County’s most celebrated music programs. This spring, the beloved teacher will conduct his final performances before retiring from Soquel High, closing a remarkable chapter that transformed a struggling school band into an award-winning powerhouse recognized across the nation.
Stewart’s final appearances with the Soquel High band program will come at the Spring Concert and Barbecue on May 19, followed by commencement ceremonies on May 29.
His departure marks the end of an era.
When Stewart returned to his alma mater—he graduated from Soquel High in 1982—the band program was hanging on by a thread. Enrollment had dwindled to roughly 25 students, most of them freshmen, with just one senior in the ranks.
“They decided we were going to have a band,” Stewart recalled. “The juniors stuck it out, but there weren’t many of them.” From that modest beginning, Stewart steadily rebuilt the program. Attendance doubled in his second year, then kept climbing. Today, roughly 150 students enroll in Soquel’s music classes annually, including beginner, intermediate, concert and jazz ensembles, along with music technology courses in synthesis and recording.
Under Stewart’s direction, Soquel’s bands have traveled statewide and beyond to compete in San Diego, Anaheim, Reno, Hollywood, Las Vegas and San Francisco. Twice, Soquel captured Gold Medal honors at the Anaheim Heritage Festival, competing against schools from as far away as Alaska and Connecticut.
One of Stewart’s proudest moments came in 2008, when Soquel won the Reno Jazz Festival.
“That year, the Jazz Band was just really strong,” he said.
Several alumni from that ensemble went on to careers as educators and professional musicians—something Stewart values as much as any trophy.
But accolades tell only part of the story.
Known for teaching in jeans and flip-flops, Stewart became as much a cultural fixture on campus as a music instructor. Under his leadership, Soquel’s varsity band became famous for spirited football game performances, complete with themed costumes ranging from superheroes and greasers to hippies and “snack hats”—headwear students could literally eat.
“The band being in the stands is definitely part of the Friday Night Lights,” Stewart said. “We follow the football players onto the field like a big train of energy.”
That spirit left a lasting mark on generations of students.
“He’s always been so supportive,” said sophomore Jeremiah Clarke, 15, a member of Jazz B. “He is very charismatic, very energetic. During pep season he’s always jumping around and dancing. He’s always pushing us to do our best.”
Jazz A sophomore Xavier Garcia, 16, said Stewart built a culture of excellence. “It’s a standard to win gold,” Garcia said. “He has a personal connection with every one of his students. Every student wants to be engaged because he’s an interesting teacher. I don’t know what we’re going to do without him.”
Stewart’s path back to Soquel was almost accidental.
After earning advanced degrees in music composition and theory, with an emphasis in electronic music, from the University of California, Davis and San José State University, he spent a period surfing and working odd jobs, including delivering flowers. During one delivery to Soquel High, he reconnected with an old friend, sparking a conversation about teaching and music technology that ultimately led him back to campus—where he succeeded his own mentor, the late David Leetz.
Now 62, Stewart said retirement is driven not by burnout, but by family. Following the death of his father last October, he wants more time to care for his mother, who has Alzheimer’s.
“I would probably stay a couple more years because I still like it,” Stewart said. “But I just needed the freedom and flexibility not to be in class.”
Retirement won’t mean slowing down. Stewart also plans to devote more time to family, his beautiful wife of 40 years Michelle, daughters Tyler and Shannon, and five grandchildren. He will continue performing with his band, The Clay Wheels, and—true to form —catch more waves.
“I’m definitely gonna surf some more,” he said.
Reflecting on three decades in the classroom, Stewart measures success less by medals than by connection. “Being able to be a part of this community for 30 years, I’ve made thousands of friends and probably a few enemies,” he said with a laugh. “Music is really secondary to the relationships that were developed here. And we got to make good music too.”
On any given morning in Santa Cruz, you might walk into one of Carina Reid’s Toadal Fitness classes expecting a workout, and leave feeling like something much deeper just shifted.
There’s sweat, sure. Music, energy, intensity. But there’s also something harder to define. Something emotional. Something human. That’s because Reid isn’t just training bodies, she’s building resilience.
From someone once described as “least likely to recover”, to a multiple Best Trainer award recipient, Reid’s path into fitness wasn’t linear. It was hard-won, shaped by addiction, recovery, and the slow, often invisible work of starting over.
“Things really started to shift when other people started seeing something in me before I could see it in myself,” she says. “For the first time, I actually wanted to live more than I wanted to give up.”
That shift didn’t come all at once. In fact, early recovery looked anything but dramatic. Reid remembers being given her first assignment after treatment: step outside for five minutes.“It sounds small,” she says, “but at the time, it felt like everything.”
That’s where her understanding of resilience began, as a series of tiny, almost imperceptible steps forward. “I realized resilience isn’t about doing something huge all at once,” she says. “It’s about continuing to show up in small ways when everything in you wants to run.”
As a child, Reid says she was hyperactive and constantly told to sit still. But movement was the one place she felt like herself.
“It didn’t become something deeper until I brought it into my sobriety,” she says. “This time, it became part of how I survived and rebuilt myself.”
Two decades later, she credits movement as one of the reasons she’s still sober. But what she’s built since goes far beyond personal healing.
Today, Reid has become one of Santa Cruz’s most magnetic fitness instructors (and winner of multiple GoodTimes Best Of awards) because of how people feel in her presence.
“I think what people respond to is that it’s a space where they can come exactly as they are,” she says. “They don’t have to pretend or be anything more than they are in that moment.”
In her classes, vulnerability isn’t something to avoid.
“Movement has a way of bringing things to the surface,” she explains. “Sometimes things people have pushed down for years.”
Reid is right there with them, fully engaged with her students.
“There’s something really powerful about being seen,” she says. “Not just as someone in a class, but as a human being.”
Reid pays close attention to how they carry themselves, their energy, and what might be happening beneath the surface.
That’s also how she knows when to push and when to support.
“It might sound vague, but honestly, I feel it,” she says. “When you’re really connected to someone, you can sense what they need.”
Reid describes a moment she sees again and again: someone on the edge of giving up, convinced they have nothing left.
“And then something shifts,” she says. “It happens so fast, you could miss it. But in that moment, they find something in themselves to keep going, not because I told them to, but because they felt it.”
That, she says, is where real change begins.
“Fitness isn’t surface-level,” she says. “It’s personal. It’s emotional. It’s about what happens when you can’t hide from yourself anymore.”
She pauses, then adds something that feels both simple and radical:
“It should be fun. It should be something where you celebrate what your body can do, not something where you feel like you’re always fixing yourself.”
That philosophy extends into the community Reid has helped build.
“The community gave me my life back,” she says. “It’s my heartbeat. It’s everything.”
In her early recovery, it was the people around her who showed her what it meant to be supported, to matter, to belong. Now, she’s helping create that same space for others.
“I really believe movement and community together are one of the most powerful combinations there is,” she says. “You don’t need to have it all figured out to start. It can be really small. Even just showing up at the parking lot.”
Because, as she’s learned firsthand, transformation doesn’t begin with perfection. It begins with willingness.
And sometimes, just five minutes is enough.
Visit FuelPhitness.com to learn more about Carina Reid’s work.
Elizabeth Borelli is a local wellness coach, author and workshop teacher. To learn more about the stress relief strategies and her upcoming Thriving Through Menopause Ayurvedic Based Wellness Workshop, visit ElizabethBorelli.com
‘This is such a weird time to be doing press in the first place,” Kat Moss says through the Zoom screen. “But it is a really beautiful opportunity to share.”
People around the globe may know Moss as the lead singer for Santa Cruz hardcore act Scowl, which blew up from a local band into an international act beginning in 2021. In the last five years she’s toured with Limp Bizkit, opened for Blink-182, played Madison Square Garden, rocked Coachella, Sick New World and other festival stages across the United States and throughout Europe and Australia. Yet many don’t know the person offstage when the lights go out, the doors are closed and the comfy clothes come on.
However, on Friday, May 1, she did an exclusive, one-night event in her brightly hair-dyed glory. Presented by Event Santa Cruz, “A Night With Kat Moss” featured a Q&A with Moss followed by a special live show with her and local rock band, Not Yet Old Dog (NYOD), doing a handful of cover songs from some of rock, punk and new wave’s biggest names.
“Seeing bands like Scowl and Drain receive this far-beyond Santa Cruz notoriety has been really cool and inspiring,” says NYOD drummer Jordan Taylor.
“It was a new thing for all of us and we were all very nervous,” adds NYOD guitarist Melody Caudill of their first practice with Moss. “Kat and I were talking about how we were freaking out all day before the practice. But it ended up being great, and the vibe was natural.”
Yet, Moss’ time with Scowl hasn’t been the rose-colored rise people may think The quick shot to stardom came at the cost of the familiar trappings of the rock ‘n roll lifestyle, combined with physical and emotional fatigue. When a close friend unexpectedly passed away in 2025, it pushed Moss to numb herself to the world.
“I really wasn’t really in my body or present, in fact, I think I had a lot of resentment at the time,” she says. “I was so fucking overwhelmed I just wanted to tuck my tail and run away from everything.”
So how did Moss go from being a shy introvert to one of the most recognizable faces in the hardcore scene? And what does her solo show mean for her future and Scowl’s?
“I’m really excited to unravel who my artistic self is,” she says. “Scowl turned into a machine. It’s really fucking cool and crazy, but it’s also nice to breathe a little, too.”
How flowers grow
Moss was born to a working-class family in Roseville, California, next to Sacramento, in 1997. She shared a bedroom with her older sister for most of her childhood growing up in Rocklin.
“We lived in the same house the entirety of my childhood,” she says. “My parents still live there, in our little three-bedroom.”
Her father is a California native who worked for the City of Sacramento, and her mother is a German immigrant who worked for the City of Roseville. Seeing the cultural differences firsthand had a major impact on Moss growing up.
“Having my only extended family in Germany and spending time there influenced me,” she states. “Feeling like I was observing the culture around me more than I was participating in it. Even now I feel like it affects the way I talk to people.”
Her home wasn’t a musical one in the sense that nobody played any instruments. However, she was always encouraged to express herself as creatively as she wanted. Her grandfather–or as she affectionately calls him, her Opa–was an artist and Moss fell in love with visual art at an early age. It’s easy to see that influence today when she’s on stage screaming with brightly colored hair, detailed makeup and punk rock outfits.
Still, music was a big part of her family. She remembers her mother always playing records and Moss fell in love with one band that is often associated with many people’s first musical awakening: the Beatles.
Like any budding fans, Moss and her sister became obsessed and their parents encouraged it. For Friday night movies, they’d rent Help!, Hard Day’s Night, documentaries and more. Family trips to the library would bring home books about the Fab Four they’d pore over.
“My favorite Beatle is Ringo, by the way,” Moss smiles. “I love Sgt. Pepper’s and the “acid Beatles” when they started getting weird and wacky but also serious.”
She says it was around the age of 10 that she first discovered YouTube and the entire musical universe opened up at her fingertips. It was the mid to late Aughts and emo and pop punk acts like Paramore, AFI, My Chemical Romance, and Green Day were having their spot in the cultural limelight.
“It all kind of hit me and I was obsessed with My Chemical Romance,” says Moss. “Like, favorite band of all time. I watched the Life in the Murder Scene documentary and I wanted to live that life.”
However, she didn’t feel she could express that to friends or family and often felt private about the things she liked.
“I didn’t know other people who liked the weird stuff I liked,” recalls Moss. “And I also rode horses so I had a bit of a dorky, outsider vibe. Now as an adult I can really wave that flag, but as a kid it’s really alienating and it’s really hard.”
Yes, Kat Moss was a horse girl.
Despite her working-class background–her mom would tell her and her sister that their college fund went to horse riding–Moss could be found at the barn after school every day, often until nighttime. Her work at the barn also supplemented the expensive hobby’s cost.
“I was working very hard, cleaning stalls, and always helping out,” she says. “I would spend all weekend there. I did not do slumber parties, that wasn’t my vibe. It was physical labor and working for my lessons.”
She credits those years in the barn to her work ethic, doing something that she loved no matter what. Horses were her “entire life” until the age of 19 when she realized she didn’t fit in with that lifestyle anymore. She wanted something else, but was unsure of exactly what it was, so she quit horseback riding “got a real job” and dove head-first into attending every live music show she could.
“Live music was my personality,” she laughs.
Enter Santa Cruz.
CAREER WOMAN At Streetlight Records Moss shows off solo album by Melody Caudill who also plays in Not Yet, Old Dog PHOTO: Natalie Sweeting (@ThroughTheBirdsEye)
Chosen family
Moss moved here when she was 20 years old and immediately became involved in the Bay Area hardcore scene, going to every show she could.
“Looking back at my earlier 20s and teens,” she says. “I was just as confused and unknown and a stranger to myself then as I am now. I’m still learning so much and it’s this ever humbling, ever transforming experience.”
She began booking local shows at SubRosa Cafe with her then boyfriend, Malachai Greene, ex-guitar player and founder of Scowl. She knew she wanted to be a part of the scene and figured this was the best way to do it. Between 2018-2019 Moss was at almost any hardcore show she could attend. She remembers this as one of the times she cherishes the most because it was then–through the DIY scene–she realized that musicians aren’t untouchable heroes, but regular people and even friends.
“What I didn’t realize at that time is that I had a power with words and poetry,” she says. “I could talk about this thing I believed in so much [the punk scene] and it felt magical. People around me who knew me and were familiar with me would say,’It sounds like you’re talking about God.’ Because it was God to me and I think that’s a shared experience for most young punks.”
This was also when Scowl formed.
The band started in March of 2019 after Moss told Greene she wanted to be in a band. As chance would have it, Greene had just quit playing in another local hardcore band, Jawstruck, with drummer Cole Gilbert. They quickly recorded a five-song demo with Charles Toshio at Panda Studios, and it was online by May. That summer, bassist Bailey Lupo joined the trio and by November, Scowl released its second EP, Reality after Reality.
Moss remembers those times as visceral, and when she started believing “this is real” and was excited to be a part of something larger than herself.
In early 2020 they went on their longest tour, a West Coast and Canada run with friends, Punitive Damage. It was on that tour that Moss not only admits she “felt accepted for the first time” but it was also when the band really gained confidence.
“We made $1200 or $1300 on merch and that was the most we had ever made,” she remembers. “And Malachi said, ‘I think we could record a record with that money.’”
That money would turn into the band’s first full-length, How Flowers Grow. Clocking in at 10 songs covering only 15 minutes and 34 seconds, it’s a blistering hit to the face of sound. It was recorded during the Covid lockdowns which actually gave the band time to flush out and distill the tracks to perfection.
On June 9th 2021, Scowl made national news when they participated in the first RBS (Real Bay Shit) fest. It was the first real Bay Area show since the lockdown and featured four Bay Area hardcore acts–representing what is known as the 40831–along with Xibalba from Los Angeles. It followed two Los Angeles renegade shows–one which shut down the Interstate 5 Freeway with over 3,000 bored, angry fans.
RBS was promoted online weeks prior but the location was announced online two hours before it started However, that didn’t detour over 2,500 people from showing up to a nondescript parking lot in San Jose, some flying from as far as Florida.
“I thought maybe there’d be 300, maybe 700 people max, ” says Lupo. “I’m still meeting people at shows, especially younger people, that tell me that was the first show they ever went to.”
How Flowers Grow dropped in November of that year on FlatSpot Records and within six months they were on tour opening up for Limp Bizkit at Madison Square Garden.
The next couple of years was non-stop touring with recording in between. In April 2023 Scowl’s next EP, Psychic Dance Routine, dropped and featured a different side of the band. This time Moss sang with clean vocals on the title track and “Opening Night,” which sounded reminiscent of 90s alt rock. That same month the band made their debut appearance at the infamous Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California.
However, the rise to the top always comes with a few haters.
IDLE ROARING ROOM Lupo (left) and Moss opening for Terror at the Downtown Santa Cruz Vets Hall in 2021. PHOTO: Mat Weir (@weird_journalism)
Not heaven, not hell
On August 5, 2023 a Taco Bell ad featuring Scowl was released during the halftime of the Women’s World Cup as part of the company’s Feed The Beat series. Despite hardcore superstars, Turnstile, appearing in the series in 2015, online rumors of Scowl–and Moss in particular–began swirling of them being “industry plants.” Three days later, Moss released a response on X (ne: Twitter) in which she shut down the naysayers and called out the scene’s systemic misogyny.
“Is it so hard to believe that a woman-led band can be a hardworking and organic success?” she tweeted. “Is it so challenging to grasp a woman’s success that you have to create a fantasy that the music industry had a hand in it?”
Lupo says Moss always handled the misogyny “like a star.”
“She rolled with the punches and was incredibly vocal whether it was online or on the mic at shows,” he says. “She would say, ‘This is a safe space and a community. Don’t even come if you’re a bigot, sexist or racist.’ She would talk about these heavy things on where our society is at right now.”
One possible reason for the online hate is Moss’ look. Instead of looking “tough” or trying to fit in by looking like one of the guys, she stayed true to herself and went a more feminine route. At any given show, she could be seen with brightly colored hair, loud makeup, skirts, dresses, go-go boots, and whatever else she felt like that day.
“I wanted to lean into aesthetics that weren’t frequently used in hardcore because that actually represented me,” she says. After all, women throughout punk history did it before her yet it never translated into the hardcore scene.
“I took that risk, went for it, and it took a life of its own,” Moss continues. “I didn’t realize that it would be such a signifier.”
During this time Scowl toured relentlessly playing across the United States along with England, Australia, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, France and more. While the band kept rocketing to bigger spotlights, it took a toll on the bands’ physical and mental health.
“I had so many people around me telling me ‘Take this all in. Be as present as you can because this is rare. You never know if you’ll ever get this again,’” she remembers. “I heard it and I knew it, but I could not be present. There was no fucking way.”
To survive it all, she had to “turn some stuff off” emotionally because touring didn’t allow her to process things like grief or trauma in a normal way. It’s one of many reasons why so many touring musicians turn to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism.
“It left me really, really emotionally immature for a while,” Moss admits. “It’s something I think touring musicians, artists and bands don’t talk about much. Touring heavily for a long time–at least in your 20s and formative years–will suspend your adolescence and very much so.”
For their next record, Scowl wanted to push the boundaries of what was expected and explore new sounds with their own twist on pop and alternative rock. The result was their 2025 full-length, Are We All Angels. It perfectly blends hardcore with riot grrrl, emo, and 90s radio rock for a sound that reflects the band members’ broad tastes in music.
“Scowl never changed things to make a buck,” Lupo says. “My record collection goes from Charles Mingus to Morbid Angel. I love music. Why limit yourself?”
It was released on the indie label Dead Oceans which represents artists like Japanese Breakfast, Phoebe Bridgers and Duran Jones. Initially, the label wasn’t pursuing the band as hard as others, but their reserve is one of the things that intrigued Moss.
“It’s a lot like dating,” she laughs. “We convinced each other and it was really beautiful and exciting. The band wanted to be represented in the transition of what we were becoming. I love bands that have an ever-changing identity and I wanted that.”
The album came out in April of 2025 and quickly gained critical acclaim from publications like NPR, New Noise Magazine and Kerrang! which named it one of its Best Albums of the Year. Five days after its release Scowl hit their national television debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
However, what should’ve been one of the best moments for Moss was mixed with feelings of guilt and remorse. A month before her close friend Bridget Smith, who choreographed Scowl’s “Psychic Dance Routine” video and was a huge supporter of Moss and Scowl forging their own path, unexpectedly lost her battle to ovarian cancer. Upon finding out, Moss said she “immediately resented touring,” because it took her away from spending time with the people she loved, her community and those who helped make her dream a reality.
“I was so fucking mad,” she says. “I was putting out a record, doing press every day and waking up early every morning in different hotels and I hated it.” `
For Moss, 2025 was–in her words–”emotionally crippling” despite the band’s rising success.
“We’d be walking around somewhere in Spain, in a beautiful city with the sun shining down on my shoulders, looking at this beautiful architecture, and I’m just sobbing,” she recalls. “Everyone would ask ‘Are you ok?’ and I’d say, ‘Yeah, I’m ok. I just didn’t get much sleep last night.’”
The constant touring and media cycle also took its toll on the band. In October 2025, Green announced he was leaving Scowl to focus on other endeavors while the others carried on.
So what’s next for her? She says her guess is as good as ours. For now, she’s taking time to meditate, going for walks in the redwoods and putting her feet in the dirt.
“I needed some freedom to breathe,” she says. “And to process not just the loss but the treasure of it–how bizarre it all was and is. That’s kind of where I’ve been, but now I’m in the position to try new musical avenues. I feel like a big 28-year-old toddler.”
Watch the highlights from ‘An Evening With Kat Moss” on the Event Santa Cruz YouTube Channel youtube.com/@eventsantacruz
I have traveled all over the Golden State, and there is still lots to explore. California offers so much.
Modeled after a Danish village, Solvang is an interesting place to visit – and it is where Alma Rosa Winery has its delightful tasting room in the heart of downtown.
This beautiful winery makes an abundance of fine wines, including their 2023 Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay ($40). It opens with “citrus blossoms, stone fruit and coastal breeze,” with flavors of yellow apple and stony minerality – adding depth and intrigue.
I enjoyed a glass when cooking chicken for dinner, immediately losing interest in the bird and appreciating the fine flavors of the wine.
Alma Rosa Winery, 1623 Mission Drive, Site M, Solvang, 805-691-9395. Almarosawinery.com
Lunch and a walk
Dream Inn Santa Cruz in partnership with K&D Landscaping, will host a Botanical Lunch and Stroll, an immersive afternoon focused on sustainability, climate-appropriate plantings, and inspired outdoor design. The event is at Dream Inn, Santa Cruz, noon to 3pm on Friday, May 15. Tickets are $39.19 (inclusive of tax). A raffle benefits Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Services. Register for the event at eventbrite.com
Fun wine tasting tour
Looking for a fun wine-tasting tour? Morgan Hill Wine Trolley offers just that. Hop on board their vintage trolley, and a friendly tour guide will take you to three beautiful wineries in the San Martin, Morgan Hill, Gilroy area. Includes a Gourmet Box Lunch. Mhwinetrolley.co
DISASTROID When is a 90s band not a 90s band? When they are San Francisco’s grunge stoner rockers, Disastroid. Their bio says that they make “heavy music that isn’t boring.” Seems like a boring way to describe the music, to be honest. However, after one listen, this description doesn’t do the band justice. Disastroid takes the spirit of grunge and smokes it out with a heavy sesh of sludge rock dosed with elements of math rock and paranoia. If the Nirvana song “Negative Creep” decided to make a band of its own, it would be Disastroid and life is a little better for it. MAT WEIR
THE BROTHERS COMATOSE Northern California has contributed more to the new Americana jam band scene than at first meets the ear. The Brothers Comatose, like The Mother Hips (whose lead singer, Tim Bluhm, produced their new album Golden Grass) have taken the genre of bluegrass and made it their own. It’s everything you love about bluegrass: the sharp picking, cheese grater guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, and the thumping upright bass. Of course, the harmonies are exquisite. What makes Brothers Comatose ahead of the pack is their tight songwriting that is soaked in California mellow. DNA
INFO: 8pm, Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz, $30-$35. 423-8209.
DOCUMENTARY
FREE PARTY: A FOLK HISTORY The free party movement got its start in Thatcher-era England, a scene that brought together the ravers with New Age adherents. The movement enjoyed its peak with a 1992 free festival in Castlemorton, the most expansive extralegal rave event in UK history. That event led to the Criminal Justice Act in 1994, greatly tightening the laws of trespass. Director Aaron Trinder’s 2023 film chronicles the story with Castlemorton rave as its central focus. The film’s arresting tagline: “They wanted the freedom to party; the State saw them as the enemy within.” BILL KOPP
INFO: 7pm, Indexical, 1050 River St. #119, Santa Cruz. Free. (509) 627-9491.
SATURDAY 5/9
REGGAE
PROTOJE With an island heartbeat and a sugarcane sweet voice, Oje Ken Ollivierre, known as Protoje, blends roots reggae with modern production. Known as one of the forerunners of the modern reggae revival of 2010, he keeps to the heart of reggae with soulful rhythms and conscious lyrics while incorporating hip-hop influences. Although he gained traction in 2005 with his mixtape Lyrical Overdose Volume 1, which was heavily hip-hop based, his sound eventually evolved to keep classic reggae and dancehall at the center. He threads in afrobeats and outlines songs with R&B textures, meditative melodies, and steady. SHELLY NOVO
INFO: 9pm, Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $41-$46. 713-5492.
LITERARY
DAVID SEDARIS David Sedaris is back to make Santa Cruz laugh with his latest collection of humorous essays, The Land and Its People. Sedaris balances autobiography with self-deprecation and reflection on the human condition. His latest collection of essays is a reminder of the importance of keeping your head up and eyes open and to meet life with warmth and curiosity. Through his experiences, he investigates what it means to be a traveler, brother, and lifelong friend, all while time takes its toll (as there are important people, important friends, he outlives and still remembers) These are his stories of the land people inhabit. ISABELLA MARIE SANGALINE
INFO: 7:30pm. Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church Street, Santa Cruz. $36-$62. 420-5260.
SUNDAY 5/10
CELTIC
SAN FRANCISCO SCOTTISH FIDDLERS Time to take a wee walk around the Scottish highlands. Note the glens, lochs and bogs. But take your pace and enjoy, for this is called a Stravaig. and it’s meant to take it all in. The San Francisco Scottish Fiddlers, under the directorship of Champion Scottish Fiddler Caroline McCaskey, want to take you on an exploration of Celtic-infused sounds on a special Mother’s Day afternoon show. McCaskey has toured the world, sharing her classically trained mastery of several instruments. DNA
ROBERT LESTER FOLSOM At 71 years old, Robert Lester Folsom might not be a household name in the same sense as Dylan, Donovan, or Garcia. However, he’s just as amazing a songwriter. As an independent artist, Folsom remained on the outskirts of fame, which is a shame because his songs are catchy, thoughtful and capture not only his sound but the sound of the eras in which they were recorded. His latest release, If You Wanna Laugh, You Gotta Cry Sometimes, is a perfect example. This volume is a collection of recordings from 1972-1975 and has a nostalgic, Laurel Canyon music vibe to them. MW
DUSK DEPT Dusk Dept. is a seven-piece collective of musicians who introduce themselves cloaked in black hoods, with no names or faces, only music. With roots in a deep rhythms, these musicians have heritage in groups like Ghost-Note, Dumpstaphunk, Snarky Puppy, and Daryl Johns. Staying under the shroud of anonymity, they focus on creating a musical atmosphere that has produced a cinematic funk vibe that turns shows into collective rituals. Soulful brass and pulsing bass invite the ear to wander. Their mysterious analog funk and captivating ambiance will leave audiences in a meditative state for hours. SN
ABLAYE CISSOKO & CYRILLE BROTTO Ablaye Cissoko is a master of the kora, the 21-stringed West African instrument. The Senegalese singer-composer musician has toured globally, working variously as a solo artist, collaborator and ensemble member. His work can be heard on more than a dozen albums, including five solo releases. Cyrille Brotto is a French diatonic accordionist and music educator with a high profile in France and throughout Europe. His work transcends genre, taking in baroque, classical, jazz and world elements to create a striking and fascinating synthesis. Together, the duo will present an evening of music exploring their cross-cultural collaboration. BK
INFO:7pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $49. 427-2227.
‘This is such a weird time to be doing press in the first place,” Kat Moss says through the Zoom screen. “But it is a really beautiful opportunity to share.”
People around the globe may know Moss as the lead singer for Santa Cruz hardcore act Scowl, which blew up from a local band into an international act beginning in 2021. In the last five years, she’s toured with Limp Bizkit, opened for Blink-182, played Madison Square Garden, rocked Coachella, Sick New World and other festival stages across the United States and throughout Europe and Australia. Yet many don’t know the person off-stage when the lights go out, the doors are closed and the comfy clothes come on.
However, on Friday, May 1st, she’ll be doing an exclusive, one-night event that will be all her in her brightly hair-dyed glory. Presented by Event Santa Cruz, “A Night With Kat Moss” features a Q&A with Moss followed by a special live show with her and local rock band, Not Yet Old Dog (NYOD), doing a handful of cover songs from some of rock, punk and new wave’s biggest names. There may even be a special guest band or two to keep the hardcore vibes flowing.
“Seeing bands like Scowl and Drain receive this far-beyond Santa Cruz notoriety has been really cool and inspiring,” says NYOD drummer Jordan Taylor.
“It was a new thing for all of us and we were all very nervous,” says NYOD guitarist Melody Caudill of their first practice with Moss. “Kat and I were talking about how we were freaking out all day before the practice. But it ended up being great and the vibe was natural.”
Yet, Moss’ time with Scowl hasn’t been the rose colored rise people may think The quick shot to stardom came at the cost of the familiar trappings of the rock ‘n roll lifestyle combined with physical and emotional fatigue. When a close friend unexpectedly passed away in 2025, it pushed Moss to numb herself to the world.
“I really wasn’t really in my body or present, in fact I think I had a lot of resentment at the time,” she says. “I was so fucking overwhelmed I just wanted to tuck my tail and run away from everything.”
So how did Moss go from being a shy introvert to one of the most recognizable faces in the hardcore scene? And what does her solo show mean for her future and Scowl’s?
“I’m really excited to unravel who my artistic self is,” she says. “Scowl turned into a machine. It’s really fucking cool and crazy but it’s also nice to breathe a little, too.”
HOW FLOWERS GROW
Moss was born to a working class family in Roseville, California –next to Sacramento–in 1997. She shared a bedroom with her older sister for most of her childhood growing up in Rocklin.
“We lived in the same house the entirety of my childhood,” she says. “My parents still live there, in our little three bedroom.”
Her father is a California native who worked for the City of Sacramento, and her mother is a German immigrant who worked for the City of Roseville. Seeing the cultural differences first hand had a major impact on Moss growing up.
“Having my only extended family in Germany and spending time there influenced me,” she states. “Feeling like I was observing the culture around me more than I was participating in it. Even now I feel like it affects the way I talk to people.”
Her home wasn’t a musical one in the sense that nobody played any instruments. However, she was always encouraged to express herself as creatively as she wanted. Her grandfather–or as she affectionately calls him, her Opa–was an artist and Moss fell in love with visual art at an early age. It’s easy to see that influence today when she’s on stage screaming with brightly colored hair, detailed makeup and punk rock outfits.
Still, music was still a big part of her family. She remembers her mother always playing records and Moss fell in love with one band that is often associated with many people’s first musical awakening: The Beatles.
Like any budding fans, Moss and her sister became obsessed and their parents encouraged it. For Friday night movies they’d rent Help!, Hard Day’s Night, documentaries and more. Family trips to the library would bring home books about the Fab Four they’d pour over.
“My favorite Beatle is Ringo, by the way,” Moss smiles. “I love Sgt. Pepper’s and the “acid Beatles” when they started getting weird and wacky but also serious.”
She says it was around the age of 10 that she first discovered YouTube and the entire musical universe opened up at her fingertips. It was the mid to late Aughts and emo and pop punk acts like Paramore, AFI, My Chemical Romance, and Green Day were having their spot in the cultural limelight.
“It all kind of hit me and I was obsessed with My Chemical Romance,” says Moss. “Like, favorite band of all time. I watched the Life in the Murder Scene documentary and I wanted to live that life.”
However, she didn’t feel she could express that to friends or family and often felt private about the things she liked.
“I didn’t know other people who liked the weird stuff I liked,” recalls Moss. “And I also rode horses so I had a bit of a dorky, outsider vibe. Now as an adult I can really wave that flag, but as a kid it’s really alienating and it’s really hard.”
Yes, Kat Moss was a horse girl.
Despite her working-class background–her mom would tell her and her sister that their college fund went to horse riding–Moss could be found at the barn after school every day, often until nighttime. Her work at the barn also supplemented the expensive hobby’s cost.
“I was working very hard, cleaning stalls, and always helping out,” she says. “I would spend all weekend there. I did not do slumber parties, that wasn’t my vibe. It was physical labor and working for my lessons.”
She credits those years in the barn to her work ethic, doing something that she loved no matter what. Horses were her “entire life” until the age of 19 when she realized she didn’t fit in with that lifestyle anymore. She wanted something else, but was unsure of exactly what it was, so she quit horseback riding “got a real job” and dove head-first into attending every live music show she could.
“Live music was my personality,” she laughs.
Enter Santa Cruz.
Chosen Family
EXPLOSIVE Kat Moss doesn’t just perform—she detonates. The Scowl frontwoman brings a visceral, full-body intensity to the stage, turning every show into a confrontation, a release, and something close to healing. PHOTO: MAT WEIR
Moss moved here when she was 20 years old and immediately became involved in the Bay Area hardcore scene, going to every show she could.
“Looking back at my earlier 20s and teens,” she says. “I was just as confused and unknown and a stranger to myself then as I am now. I’m still learning so much and it’s this ever humbling, ever transforming experience.”
She began booking local shows at SubRosa Cafe with her then boyfriend, Malachai Greene, ex-guitar player and founder of Scowl. She knew she wanted to be a part of the scene and figured this was the best way to do it. Between 2018-2019 Moss was at almost any hardcore show she could attend. She remembers this as one of the times she cherishes the most because it was then–through the DIY scene–she realized that musicians aren’t untouchable heroes, but regular people and even friends.
“What I didn’t realize at that time is that I had a power with words and poetry,” she says. “I could talk about this thing I believed in so much [the punk scene] and it felt magical. People around me who knew me and were familiar with me would say, ’It sounds like you’re talking about God.’ Because it was God to me and I think that’s a shared experience for most young punks.”
This was also when Scowl formed.
The band started in March of 2019 after Moss told Greene she wanted to be in a band. As chance would have it, Greene had just quit playing in another local hardcore band, Jawstruck with drummer Cole Gilbert. They quickly recorded a five song demo with Charles Toshio at Panda Studios and it was online by May. That summer bassist Bailey Lupo joined the trio and by November Scowl released their second EP, Reality after Reality.
Moss remembers those times as visceral and when she started believing “this is real” and was excited to be a part of something larger than herself.
In early 2020 they went on their longest tour, a West Coast and Canada run with friends, Punitive Damage. It was on that tour that Moss not only admits she “felt accepted for the first time” but it was also when the band really gained confidence.
“We made $1200 or $1300 on merch and that was the most we had ever made,” she remembers. “And Malachi said, ‘I think we could record a record with that money.’”
That money would turn into the band’s first full-length, How Flowers Grow. Clocking in at 10 songs covering only 15 minutes and 34 seconds, it’s a blistering hit to the face of sound. It was recorded during the Covid lockdowns which actually gave the band time to flush out and distill the tracks to perfection.
On June 9th 2021, Scowl made national news when they participated in the first RBS (Real Bay Shit) fest. It was the first real Bay Area show since the lockdown and featured four Bay Area hardcore acts–representing what is known as the 40831–along with Xibalba from Los Angeles. It followed two Los Angeles renegade shows–one which shut down the Interstate 5 Freeway with over 3,000 bored, angry fans.
RBS was promoted online weeks prior but the location was announced online two hours before it started However, that didn’t detour over 2,500 people from showing up to a nondescript parking lot in San Jose, some flying from as far as Florida.
“I thought maybe there’d be 300, maybe 700 people max, ” says Lupo. “I’m still meeting people at shows, especially younger people, that tell me that was the first show they ever went to.”
How Flowers Grow dropped in November of that year on FlatSpot Records and within six months they were on tour opening up for Limp Bizkit at Madison Square Garden.
The next couple of years was non-stop touring with recording in-between. In April 2023 Scowl’s next EP, Psychic Dance Routine, dropped and featured a different side of the band. This time Moss sang with clean vocals on the title track and “Opening Night,” which sounded reminiscent of 90s alt rock. That same month the band made their debut appearance at the infamous Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California.
However, the rise to the top always comes with a few haters.
NOT HELL, NOT HEAVEN
On August 5, 2023 a Taco Bell ad featuring Scowl was released during the halftime of the Women’s World Cup as part of the company’s Feed The Beat series. Despite hardcore superstars, Turnstile, appearing in the series in 2015, online rumors of Scowl–and Moss in particular–began swirling of them being “industry plants.” Three days later Moss released a response on X (ne: Twitter) in which she shut down the naysayers and called out the scene’s systemic misogyny.
“Is it so hard to believe that a woman-led band can be a hardworking and organic success?” she tweeted. “Is it so challenging to grasp a woman’s success that you have to create a fantasy that the music industry had a hand in it?”
Lupo says Moss always handled the misogyny “like a star.”
“She rolled with the punches and was incredibly vocal whether it was online or on the mic at shows,” he says. “She would say, ‘This is a safe space and a community. Don’t even come if you’re a bigot, sexist or racist.’ She would talk about these heavy things on where our society is at right now.”
One possible reason for the online hate is Moss’ look. Instead of looking “tough” or trying to fit in by looking like one of the guys, she stayed true to herself and went a more feminine route. At any given show she could be seen with brightly colored hair, loud makeup, skirts, dresses, go-go boots and whatever else she felt like that day.
“I wanted to lean into aesthetics that weren’t frequently used in hardcore because that actually represented me,” she says. After all, women throughout punk history did it before her yet it never translated into the hardcore scene.
“I took that risk, went for it, and it took a life of its own,” Moss continues. “I didn’t realize that it would be such a signifier.”
During this time Scowl toured relentlessly playing across the United States along with England, Australia, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, France and more. While the band kept rocketing to bigger spotlights, it took a toll on the bands’ physical and mental health.
“I had so many people around me telling me ‘Take this all in. Be as present as you can because this is rare. You never know if you’ll ever get this again,’” she remembers. “I heard it and I knew it, but I could not be present. There was no fucking way.”
To survive it all, she had to “turn some stuff off” emotionally because touring didn’t allow her to process things like grief or trauma in a normal way. It’s one of many reasons why so many touring musicians turn to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism.
“It left me really, really emotionally immature for a while,” Moss admits. “It’s something I think touring musicians, artists and bands don’t talk about much. Touring heavily for a long time–at least in your 20s and formative years–will suspend your adolescence and very much so.”
For their next record, Scowl wanted to push the boundaries of what was expected and explore new sounds with their own twist on pop and alternative rock. The result was their 2025 full-length, Are We All Angels. It perfectly blends hardcore with riot grrrl, emo, and 90s radio rock for a sound that reflects the band members’ broad tastes in music.
“Scowl never changed things to make a buck,” Lupo says. “My record collection goes from Charles Mingus to Morbid Angel. I love music. Why limit yourself?”
It was released on the indie label Dead Oceans which represents artists like Japanese Breakfast, Phoebe Bridgers and Duran Jones. Initially, the label wasn’t pursuing the band as hard as others, but their reserve is one of the things that intrigued Moss.
“It’s a lot like dating,” she laughs. “We convinced each other and it was really beautiful and exciting. The band wanted to be represented in the transition of what we were becoming. I love bands that have an ever-changing identity and I wanted that.”
The album came out in April of 2025 and quickly gained critical acclaim from publications like NPR, New Noise Magazine and Kerrang! which named it one of its Best Albums of the Year. Five days after its release Scowl hit their national television debut on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
However, what should’ve been one of the best moments for Moss was mixed with feelings of guilt and remorse. A month before her close friend Bridget Smith–who choreographed Scowl’s “Psychic Dance Routine” video and was a huge supporter of Moss and Scowl forging their own path–unexpectedly lost her battle to ovarian cancer. Upon finding out, Moss said she “immediately resented touring,” because it took her away from spending time with the people she loved, her community and those who helped make her dream a reality.
“I was so fucking mad,” she says. “I was putting out a record, doing press every day and waking up early every morning in different hotels and I hated it.” `
For Moss, 2025 was–in her words–”emotionally crippling” despite the band’s rising success.
“We’d be walking around somewhere in Spain, in a beautiful city with the sun shining down on my shoulders, looking at this beautiful architecture, and I’m just sobbing,” she recalls. “Everyone would ask ‘Are you ok?’ and I’d say, ‘Yeah, I’m ok. I just didn’t get much sleep last night.’”
The constant touring and media cycle also took its toll on the band. In October 2025, Green announced he was leaving Scowl to focus on other endeavors while the others carried on.
Which brings us to this Friday’s show. To answer the big question: no, Scowl is not breaking up. They still have shows booked, but will be pulling back from the extensive, continuous touring schedule they’ve followed for so many years. While it’s bittersweet for fans, it allows Moss to expand beyond the band and unravel who she is as an artist outside of the focus of Scowl, for now.
So what’s next for her? She says her guess is as good as ours. For now, she’s taking time to meditate, going for walks in the redwoods and putting her feet in the dirt.
“I needed some freedom to breathe,” she says. “And to process not just the loss but the treasure of it–how bizarre it all was and is. That’s kind of where I’ve been, but now I’m in the position to try new musical avenues. I feel like a big 28-year-old toddler.”
This week’s Free Will Astrology explores renewal, imagination, transformation and healing, with guidance for every zodiac sign from Aries through Pisces.
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This beautiful winery makes an abundance of fine wines, including their 2023...
Scowl’s Kat Moss channels chaos into catharsis. In this intimate portrait, the Santa Cruz vocalist reflects on pain, power and the strange healing force of music.
