‘I remember when they were building this shopping center,โ Dark Ride singer and lyricist Emilio Menze says. โMy mom would bring me here as a kid.โ
Iโm 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 Rideโs self-titled debut EP. So itโs only a fitting place to discuss Dark Rideโs 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). Itโs 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. Itโs 41 minutes across 12 songs of fun, 80โs B-movie themes set to late 1990โs and early 2000โs riffs and harmonizing vocals.
โA few aspects were especially important to me,โ Menze says. โI wanted the nostalgic factor, a fun playfulness, some darker songs and also songs like โDo or Dieโ that are inspirational.โ
They are goals the band hit perfectly like a nail in a coffin.
Take the song, โRewind.โ 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 didnโt 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.
โPlaying the songs before they were out gave us insight into which songs were really hitting with people and which ones werenโt,โ says guitarist Ryan Heggum.
โIt seems like people really enjoy โLife At the End of October,โ adds guitarist Rob Hyodo. โIt wasnโt even fully written when we went into the studio, but it felt like a masterpiece as it came together.โ
Then there are tracks like โElectrocutedโ.
It features the final bass recordings of Dan โMothy/Mothmanโ Lamothe, Menzeโs 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 Lamotheโs.
โIt was daunting learning Mothyโs bass lines,โ says bassist Jesus โJuicyโ Lopez. โBut when we played it the first time, something clicked, and it just felt right.โ
Itโs a song the band hasnโt played in public yet but looks forward to showcasing it this year at the annual Mothfest, a benefit show at Moeโs Alley on May 30 dedicated to Lamotheโs memory.
The album was recorded over the past five years at Ben Lomondโs Compound Recordings and Santa Cruzโs Noise Eater Recordings. One of the factors that makes the album so fun is the bandโs camaraderie. Spend any time with a group, and it’s clear some bands donโt get along. Hell, some even outright hate one another.
Yet Dark Ride shares a bond that goes beyond the band.
โI am so stoked to be part of such a rad group of people doing this,โ says Lopez. He explains that when the band toured Germany last year, it felt like they were โvacationing as a band.โ
Itโs 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.
โThis is a collection of the funniest people Iโve ever met in my life,โ Heggum says.
Hyodo agrees.
โThereโs a lot of inner bandmate banter happening on stage,โ he says. โAnd I hope people see weโre not forcing it, we genuinely enjoy playing with each other.โ
Dark Ride also has a secret weapon, the hidden blade up their sleeve, their manager and merch person extraordinaire, Adia Schamber. Sheโs a firm believer in using oneโs strengths where they are needed.
โI told them to focus on making good music,โ she says. โAnd let me worry about the boxes of shirts, flights are booked and rentals are squared away.โ
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 thereโs plenty of time to buy Blade Manor and learn the songs before their next gig.
โNo matter what youโre into there will be something on this record that moves you,โ Menze says. โI really wanted to write something that I would like as a fan, that would resonate with my heart and be authentic.โ
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.
โSometimes a budding soloist will lose energy, but you have to keep that energy up,โ Stewart told his students.
For 30 years, Stewart has done exactly thatโbringing relentless enthusiasm, creativity and dedication to one of Santa Cruz Countyโs 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.
Stewartโs 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 materโhe graduated from Soquel High in 1982โthe 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.
โThey decided we were going to have a band,โ Stewart recalled. โThe juniors stuck it out, but there werenโt many of them.โ From that modest beginning, Stewart steadily rebuilt the program. Attendance doubled in his second year, then kept climbing. Today, roughly 150 students enroll in Soquelโs music classes annually, including beginner, intermediate, concert and jazz ensembles, along with music technology courses in synthesis and recording.
Under Stewartโs direction, Soquelโs 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 Stewartโs proudest moments came in 2008, when Soquel won the Reno Jazz Festival.
โThat year, the Jazz Band was just really strong,โ he said.
Several alumni from that ensemble went on to careers as educators and professional musiciansโsomething 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, Soquelโs varsity band became famous for spirited football game performances, complete with themed costumes ranging from superheroes and greasers to hippies and โsnack hatsโโheadwear students could literally eat.
โThe band being in the stands is definitely part of the Friday Night Lights,โ Stewart said. โWe follow the football players onto the field like a big train of energy.โ
That spirit left a lasting mark on generations of students.
โHeโs always been so supportive,โ said sophomore Jeremiah Clarke, 15, a member of Jazz B. โHe is very charismatic, very energetic. During pep season heโs always jumping around and dancing. Heโs always pushing us to do our best.โ
Jazz A sophomore Xavier Garcia, 16, said Stewart built a culture of excellence. โItโs a standard to win gold,โ Garcia said. โHe has a personal connection with every one of his students. Every student wants to be engaged because heโs an interesting teacher. I donโt know what weโre going to do without him.โ
Stewartโs 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 Josรฉ 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 campusโwhere 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 Alzheimerโs.
โI would probably stay a couple more years because I still like it,โ Stewart said. โBut I just needed the freedom and flexibility not to be in class.โ
Retirement wonโt 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, andโtrue to form โcatch more waves.
โIโm definitely gonna surf some more,โ he said.
Reflecting on three decades in the classroom, Stewart measures success less by medals than by connection. โBeing able to be a part of this community for 30 years, Iโve made thousands of friends and probably a few enemies,โ he said with a laugh. โMusic is really secondary to the relationships that were developed here. And we got to make good music too.โ
On any given morning in Santa Cruz, you might walk into one of Carina Reidโs Toadal Fitness classes expecting a workout, and leave feeling like something much deeper just shifted.
Thereโs sweat, sure. Music, energy, intensity. But thereโs also something harder to define. Something emotional. Something human. Thatโs because Reid isnโt just training bodies, sheโs building resilience.
From someone once described as โleast likely to recoverโ, to a multiple Best Trainer award recipient, Reidโs path into fitness wasnโt linear. It was hard-won, shaped by addiction, recovery, and the slow, often invisible work of starting over.
โThings really started to shift when other people started seeing something in me before I could see it in myself,โ she says. โFor the first time, I actually wanted to live more than I wanted to give up.โ
That shift didnโt 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.โIt sounds small,โ she says, โbut at the time, it felt like everything.โ
Thatโs where her understanding of resilience began, as a series of tiny, almost imperceptible steps forward. โI realized resilience isnโt about doing something huge all at once,โ she says. โItโs about continuing to show up in small ways when everything in you wants to run.โ
As a child, Reid says she was hyperactive and constantly told to sit still. But movement was the one place she felt like herself.
โIt didnโt become something deeper until I brought it into my sobriety,โ she says. โThis time, it became part of how I survived and rebuilt myself.โ
Two decades later, she credits movement as one of the reasons sheโs still sober. But what sheโs built since goes far beyond personal healing.
Today, Reid has become one of Santa Cruzโs most magnetic fitness instructors (and winner of multiple GoodTimes Best Of awards) because of how people feel in her presence.
โI think what people respond to is that itโs a space where they can come exactly as they are,โ she says. โThey donโt have to pretend or be anything more than they are in that moment.โ
In her classes, vulnerability isnโt something to avoid.
โMovement has a way of bringing things to the surface,โ she explains. โSometimes things people have pushed down for years.โ
Reid is right there with them, fully engaged with her students.
โThereโs something really powerful about being seen,โ she says. โNot just as someone in a class, but as a human being.โ
Reid pays close attention to how they carry themselves, their energy, and what might be happening beneath the surface.
Thatโs also how she knows when to push and when to support.
โIt might sound vague, but honestly, I feel it,โ she says. โWhen youโre really connected to someone, you can sense what they need.โ
Reid describes a moment she sees again and again: someone on the edge of giving up, convinced they have nothing left.
โAnd then something shifts,โ she says. โIt 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.โ
That, she says, is where real change begins.
โFitness isnโt surface-level,โ she says. โItโs personal. Itโs emotional. Itโs about what happens when you canโt hide from yourself anymore.โ
She pauses, then adds something that feels both simple and radical:
โIt should be fun. It should be something where you celebrate what your body can do, not something where you feel like youโre always fixing yourself.โ
That philosophy extends into the community Reid has helped build.
โThe community gave me my life back,โ she says. โItโs my heartbeat. Itโs everything.โ
In her early recovery, it was the people around her who showed her what it meant to be supported, to matter, to belong. Now, sheโs helping create that same space for others.
โI really believe movement and community together are one of the most powerful combinations there is,โ she says. โYou donโt need to have it all figured out to start. It can be really small. Even just showing up at the parking lot.โ
Because, as sheโs learned firsthand, transformation doesnโt begin with perfection. It begins with willingness.
And sometimes, just five minutes is enough.
Visit FuelPhitness.com to learn more about Carina Reidโs 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,โ Kat Moss says through the Zoom screen. โBut it is a really beautiful opportunity to share.โ
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 sheโs 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 donโt 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, โA Night With Kat Mossโ 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 waveโs biggest names.
โSeeing bands like Scowl and Drain receive this far-beyond Santa Cruz notoriety has been really cool and inspiring,โ says NYOD drummer Jordan Taylor.
โIt was a new thing for all of us and we were all very nervous,โ adds NYOD guitarist Melody Caudill of their first practice with Moss. โKat 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.โ
Yet, Mossโ time with Scowl hasnโt been the rose-colored rise people may think The quick shot to stardom came at the cost of the familiar trappings of the rock โn 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.
โI really wasnโt really in my body or present, in fact, I think I had a lot of resentment at the time,โ she says. โI was so fucking overwhelmed I just wanted to tuck my tail and run away from everything.โ
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 Scowlโs?
โIโm really excited to unravel who my artistic self is,โ she says. โScowl turned into a machine. Itโs really fucking cool and crazy, but itโs also nice to breathe a little, too.โ
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.
โWe lived in the same house the entirety of my childhood,โ she says. โMy parents still live there, in our little three-bedroom.โ
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.
โHaving my only extended family in Germany and spending time there influenced me,โ she states. โFeeling 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.โ
Her home wasnโt 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 grandfatherโor as she affectionately calls him, her Opaโwas an artist and Moss fell in love with visual art at an early age. Itโs easy to see that influence today when sheโs 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 peopleโs first musical awakening: the Beatles.
Like any budding fans, Moss and her sister became obsessed and their parents encouraged it. For Friday night movies, theyโd rent Help!, Hard Dayโs Night, documentaries and more. Family trips to the library would bring home books about the Fab Four theyโd pore over.
โMy favorite Beatle is Ringo, by the way,โ Moss smiles. โI love Sgt. Pepperโs and the โacid Beatlesโ when they started getting weird and wacky but also serious.โ
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.
โIt all kind of hit me and I was obsessed with My Chemical Romance,โ says Moss. โLike, favorite band of all time. I watched the Life in the Murder Scene documentary and I wanted to live that life.โ
However, she didnโt feel she could express that to friends or family and often felt private about the things she liked.
โI didnโt know other people who liked the weird stuff I liked,โ recalls Moss. โAnd 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 itโs really alienating and itโs really hard.โ
Yes, Kat Moss was a horse girl.
Despite her working-class backgroundโher mom would tell her and her sister that their college fund went to horse ridingโMoss could be found at the barn after school every day, often until nighttime. Her work at the barn also supplemented the expensive hobbyโs cost.
โI was working very hard, cleaning stalls, and always helping out,โ she says. โI would spend all weekend there. I did not do slumber parties, that wasnโt my vibe. It was physical labor and working for my lessons.โ
She credits those years in the barn to her work ethic, doing something that she loved no matter what. Horses were her โentire lifeโ until the age of 19 when she realized she didnโt fit in with that lifestyle anymore. She wanted something else, but was unsure of exactly what it was, so she quit horseback riding โgot a real jobโ and dove head-first into attending every live music show she could.
โLive music was my personality,โ 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.
โLooking back at my earlier 20s and teens,โ she says. โI was just as confused and unknown and a stranger to myself then as I am now. Iโm still learning so much and itโs this ever humbling, ever transforming experience.โ
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 thenโthrough the DIY sceneโshe realized that musicians arenโt untouchable heroes, but regular people and even friends.
โWhat I didnโt realize at that time is that I had a power with words and poetry,โ she says. โI 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,โIt sounds like youโre talking about God.โ Because it was God to me and I think thatโs a shared experience for most young punks.โ
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 โthis is realโ 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 โfelt accepted for the first timeโ but it was also when the band really gained confidence.
โWe made $1200 or $1300 on merch and that was the most we had ever made,โ she remembers. โAnd Malachi said, โI think we could record a record with that money.โโ
That money would turn into the bandโs first full-length, How Flowers Grow. Clocking in at 10 songs covering only 15 minutes and 34 seconds, itโs 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 actsโrepresenting what is known as the 40831โalong with Xibalba from Los Angeles. It followed two Los Angeles renegade showsโone 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 didnโt detour over 2,500 people from showing up to a nondescript parking lot in San Jose, some flying from as far as Florida.
โI thought maybe thereโd be 300, maybe 700 people max, โ says Lupo. โIโm still meeting people at shows, especially younger people, that tell me that was the first show they ever went to.โ
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 Scowlโs 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 โOpening Night,โ 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 Womenโs World Cup as part of the companyโs Feed The Beat series. Despite hardcore superstars, Turnstile, appearing in the series in 2015, online rumors of Scowlโand Moss in particularโbegan swirling of them being โindustry plants.โ Three days later, Moss released a response on X (ne: Twitter) in which she shut down the naysayers and called out the sceneโs systemic misogyny.
โIs it so hard to believe that a woman-led band can be a hardworking and organic success?โ she tweeted. โIs it so challenging to grasp a womanโs success that you have to create a fantasy that the music industry had a hand in it?โ
Lupo says Moss always handled the misogyny โlike a star.โ
โShe rolled with the punches and was incredibly vocal whether it was online or on the mic at shows,โ he says. โShe would say, โThis is a safe space and a community. Donโt even come if youโre a bigot, sexist or racist.โ She would talk about these heavy things on where our society is at right now.โ
One possible reason for the online hate is Mossโ look. Instead of looking โtoughโ 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.
โI wanted to lean into aesthetics that werenโt frequently used in hardcore because that actually represented me,โ she says. After all, women throughout punk history did it before her yet it never translated into the hardcore scene.
โI took that risk, went for it, and it took a life of its own,โ Moss continues. โI didnโt realize that it would be such a signifier.โ
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 bandsโ physical and mental health.
โI had so many people around me telling me โTake this all in. Be as present as you can because this is rare. You never know if youโll ever get this again,โโ she remembers. โI heard it and I knew it, but I could not be present. There was no fucking way.โ
To survive it all, she had to โturn some stuff offโ emotionally because touring didnโt allow her to process things like grief or trauma in a normal way. Itโs one of many reasons why so many touring musicians turn to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism.
โIt left me really, really emotionally immature for a while,โ Moss admits. โItโs something I think touring musicians, artists and bands donโt talk about much. Touring heavily for a long timeโat least in your 20s and formative yearsโwill suspend your adolescence and very much so.โ
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 membersโ broad tastes in music.
โScowl never changed things to make a buck,โ Lupo says. โMy record collection goes from Charles Mingus to Morbid Angel. I love music. Why limit yourself?โ
It was released on the indie label Dead Oceans which represents artists like Japanese Breakfast, Phoebe Bridgers and Duran Jones. Initially, the label wasnโt pursuing the band as hard as others, but their reserve is one of the things that intrigued Moss.
โItโs a lot like dating,โ she laughs. โWe 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.โ
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 shouldโve 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 Scowlโs โPsychic Dance Routineโ 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 โimmediately resented touring,โ because it took her away from spending time with the people she loved, her community and those who helped make her dream a reality.
โI was so fucking mad,โ she says. โI was putting out a record, doing press every day and waking up early every morning in different hotels and I hated it.โ `
For Moss, 2025 wasโin her wordsโโemotionally cripplingโ despite the bandโs rising success.
โWeโd be walking around somewhere in Spain, in a beautiful city with the sun shining down on my shoulders, looking at this beautiful architecture, and Iโm just sobbing,โ she recalls. โEveryone would ask โAre you ok?โ and Iโd say, โYeah, Iโm ok. I just didnโt get much sleep last night.โโ
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 whatโs next for her? She says her guess is as good as ours. For now, sheโs taking time to meditate, going for walks in the redwoods and putting her feet in the dirt.
โI needed some freedom to breathe,โ she says. โAnd to process not just the loss but the treasure of itโhow bizarre it all was and is. Thatโs kind of where Iโve been, but now Iโm in the position to try new musical avenues. I feel like a big 28-year-old toddler.โ
Watch the highlights from โAn Evening With Kat Mossโ 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 โ 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 โcitrus blossoms, stone fruit and coastal breeze,โ with flavors of yellow apple and stony minerality โ 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,ย Site M, Solvang, 805-691-9395. Almarosawinery.com
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 Jacobโs Heart Childrenโs Cancer Support Services.ย Register for the eventย 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 Franciscoโs grunge stoner rockers, Disastroid. Their bio says that they make โheavy music that isnโt boring.โ Seems like a boring way to describe the music, to be honest. However, after one listen, this description doesnโt 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 โNegative Creepโ 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. Itโs 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 Trinderโs 2023 film chronicles the story with Castlemorton rave as its central focus. The filmโs arresting tagline: โThey wanted the freedom to party; the State saw them as the enemy within.โ 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 itโs 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 Motherโs 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, heโs 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,โ Kat Moss says through the Zoom screen. โBut it is a really beautiful opportunity to share.โ
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, sheโs 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 donโt 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, sheโll be doing an exclusive, one-night event that will be all her in her brightly hair-dyed glory. Presented by Event Santa Cruz, โA Night With Kat Mossโ 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 waveโs biggest names. There may even be a special guest band or two to keep the hardcore vibes flowing.
โSeeing bands like Scowl and Drain receive this far-beyond Santa Cruz notoriety has been really cool and inspiring,โ says NYOD drummer Jordan Taylor.
โIt was a new thing for all of us and we were all very nervous,โ says NYOD guitarist Melody Caudill of their first practice with Moss. โKat 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.โ
Yet, Mossโ time with Scowl hasnโt been the rose colored rise people may think The quick shot to stardom came at the cost of the familiar trappings of the rock โn 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.
โI really wasnโt really in my body or present, in fact I think I had a lot of resentment at the time,โ she says. โI was so fucking overwhelmed I just wanted to tuck my tail and run away from everything.โ
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 Scowlโs?
โIโm really excited to unravel who my artistic self is,โ she says. โScowl turned into a machine. Itโs really fucking cool and crazy but itโs also nice to breathe a little, too.โ
HOW FLOWERS GROW
Moss was born to a working class family in Roseville, California โnext to Sacramentoโin 1997. She shared a bedroom with her older sister for most of her childhood growing up in Rocklin.
โWe lived in the same house the entirety of my childhood,โ she says. โMy parents still live there, in our little three bedroom.โ
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.
โHaving my only extended family in Germany and spending time there influenced me,โ she states. โFeeling 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.โ
Her home wasnโt 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 grandfatherโor as she affectionately calls him, her Opaโwas an artist and Moss fell in love with visual art at an early age. Itโs easy to see that influence today when sheโs 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 peopleโs first musical awakening: The Beatles.
Like any budding fans, Moss and her sister became obsessed and their parents encouraged it. For Friday night movies theyโd rent Help!, Hard Dayโs Night, documentaries and more. Family trips to the library would bring home books about the Fab Four theyโd pour over.
โMy favorite Beatle is Ringo, by the way,โ Moss smiles. โI love Sgt. Pepperโs and the โacid Beatlesโ when they started getting weird and wacky but also serious.โ
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.
โIt all kind of hit me and I was obsessed with My Chemical Romance,โ says Moss. โLike, favorite band of all time. I watched the Life in the Murder Scene documentary and I wanted to live that life.โ
However, she didnโt feel she could express that to friends or family and often felt private about the things she liked.
โI didnโt know other people who liked the weird stuff I liked,โ recalls Moss. โAnd 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 itโs really alienating and itโs really hard.โ
Yes, Kat Moss was a horse girl.
Despite her working-class backgroundโher mom would tell her and her sister that their college fund went to horse ridingโMoss could be found at the barn after school every day, often until nighttime. Her work at the barn also supplemented the expensive hobbyโs cost.
โI was working very hard, cleaning stalls, and always helping out,โ she says. โI would spend all weekend there. I did not do slumber parties, that wasnโt my vibe. It was physical labor and working for my lessons.โ
She credits those years in the barn to her work ethic, doing something that she loved no matter what. Horses were her โentire lifeโ until the age of 19 when she realized she didnโt fit in with that lifestyle anymore. She wanted something else, but was unsure of exactly what it was, so she quit horseback riding โgot a real jobโ and dove head-first into attending every live music show she could.
โLive music was my personality,โ she laughs.
Enter Santa Cruz.
Chosen Family
EXPLOSIVE Kat Moss doesnโt just performโshe 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.
โLooking back at my earlier 20s and teens,โ she says. โI was just as confused and unknown and a stranger to myself then as I am now. Iโm still learning so much and itโs this ever humbling, ever transforming experience.โ
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 thenโthrough the DIY sceneโshe realized that musicians arenโt untouchable heroes, but regular people and even friends.
โWhat I didnโt realize at that time is that I had a power with words and poetry,โ she says. โI 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, โIt sounds like youโre talking about God.โ Because it was God to me and I think thatโs a shared experience for most young punks.โย
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 โthis is realโ 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 โfelt accepted for the first timeโ but it was also when the band really gained confidence.
โWe made $1200 or $1300 on merch and that was the most we had ever made,โ she remembers. โAnd Malachi said, โI think we could record a record with that money.โโ
That money would turn into the bandโs first full-length, How Flowers Grow. Clocking in at 10 songs covering only 15 minutes and 34 seconds, itโs 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 actsโrepresenting what is known as the 40831โalong with Xibalba from Los Angeles. It followed two Los Angeles renegade showsโone 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 didnโt detour over 2,500 people from showing up to a nondescript parking lot in San Jose, some flying from as far as Florida.
โI thought maybe thereโd be 300, maybe 700 people max, โ says Lupo. โIโm still meeting people at shows, especially younger people, that tell me that was the first show they ever went to.โ
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 Scowlโs 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 โOpening Night,โ 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 Womenโs World Cup as part of the companyโs Feed The Beat series. Despite hardcore superstars, Turnstile, appearing in the series in 2015, online rumors of Scowlโand Moss in particularโbegan swirling of them being โindustry plants.โ Three days later Moss released a response on X (ne: Twitter) in which she shut down the naysayers and called out the sceneโs systemic misogyny.
โIs it so hard to believe that a woman-led band can be a hardworking and organic success?โ she tweeted. โIs it so challenging to grasp a womanโs success that you have to create a fantasy that the music industry had a hand in it?โ
Lupo says Moss always handled the misogyny โlike a star.โ
โShe rolled with the punches and was incredibly vocal whether it was online or on the mic at shows,โ he says. โShe would say, โThis is a safe space and a community. Donโt even come if youโre a bigot, sexist or racist.โ She would talk about these heavy things on where our society is at right now.โ
One possible reason for the online hate is Mossโ look. Instead of looking โtoughโ 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.
โI wanted to lean into aesthetics that werenโt frequently used in hardcore because that actually represented me,โ she says. After all, women throughout punk history did it before her yet it never translated into the hardcore scene.
โI took that risk, went for it, and it took a life of its own,โ Moss continues. โI didnโt realize that it would be such a signifier.โ
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 bandsโ physical and mental health.
โI had so many people around me telling me โTake this all in. Be as present as you can because this is rare. You never know if youโll ever get this again,โโ she remembers. โI heard it and I knew it, but I could not be present. There was no fucking way.โ
To survive it all, she had to โturn some stuff offโ emotionally because touring didnโt allow her to process things like grief or trauma in a normal way. Itโs one of many reasons why so many touring musicians turn to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism.
โIt left me really, really emotionally immature for a while,โ Moss admits. โItโs something I think touring musicians, artists and bands donโt talk about much. Touring heavily for a long timeโat least in your 20s and formative yearsโwill suspend your adolescence and very much so.โ
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 membersโ broad tastes in music.
โScowl never changed things to make a buck,โ Lupo says. โMy record collection goes from Charles Mingus to Morbid Angel. I love music. Why limit yourself?โ
It was released on the indie label Dead Oceans which represents artists like Japanese Breakfast, Phoebe Bridgers and Duran Jones. Initially, the label wasnโt pursuing the band as hard as others, but their reserve is one of the things that intrigued Moss.
โItโs a lot like dating,โ she laughs. โWe 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.โ
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 shouldโve been one of the best moments for Moss was mixed with feelings of guilt and remorse. A month before her close friend Bridget Smithโwho choreographed Scowlโs โPsychic Dance Routineโ video and was a huge supporter of Moss and Scowl forging their own pathโunexpectedly lost her battle to ovarian cancer. Upon finding out, Moss said she โimmediately resented touring,โ because it took her away from spending time with the people she loved, her community and those who helped make her dream a reality.
โI was so fucking mad,โ she says. โI was putting out a record, doing press every day and waking up early every morning in different hotels and I hated it.โ `
For Moss, 2025 wasโin her wordsโโemotionally cripplingโ despite the bandโs rising success.
โWeโd be walking around somewhere in Spain, in a beautiful city with the sun shining down on my shoulders, looking at this beautiful architecture, and Iโm just sobbing,โ she recalls. โEveryone would ask โAre you ok?โ and Iโd say, โYeah, Iโm ok. I just didnโt get much sleep last night.โโ
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 Fridayโs 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 theyโve followed for so many years. While itโs 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 whatโs next for her? She says her guess is as good as ours. For now, sheโs taking time to meditate, going for walks in the redwoods and putting her feet in the dirt.
โI needed some freedom to breathe,โ she says. โAnd to process not just the loss but the treasure of itโhow bizarre it all was and is. Thatโs kind of where Iโve been, but now Iโm in the position to try new musical avenues. I feel like a big 28-year-old toddler.โ
There is a moment, somewhere between the oven and the table, when pizza is at its most powerful. The box warms your hands as you carry it to your car. The scent escapes in slow waves. Cheese, char, a trace of fennel, something sweet, something sharp.
You drive home with the windows cracked, not for air, but to keep from losing your mind. By the time you arrive, you are no longer hungry in any ordinary sense. You’ve been driving, intoxicated, under the influence of that aroma.
Now picture a night with friends at your favorite pizzeria. The long-awaited arrival. Steam rises. Hands hover. The first slice is lifted and the cheese stretches into a long, trembling thread before it yields. There is laughter, a pause, a kind of reverence. This is food as the experience of shared anticipation.
Itโs no accident this craving peaks now, as Santa Cruz Pizza Week arrives from April 22 through May 3, and it celebrates that moment and pushes it further. Local kitchens are treating the surface of the pizza as a field for invention, layering sweetness and heat, umami and sea, fresh and fat. The result is a tour of Santa Cruz through its toppings, a series of edible ideas that answer the simple question: what else can pizza be?
START WITH THE RULE BREAKERS
The Eggplant Parm Pizza at Bookies is a hearty take on Santa Cruz pizza.
At Bookie’s Pizza, the Beeteroni looks familiar at first glance. Red rounds against melted cheese, a classic composition. But here is the Bookie’s magic. The pepperoni is made from beets. It brings earth and a soft sweetness that shifts the balance of the whole pie. The salt of the cheese and the acid of the sauce stay in place, but the usual spice is replaced by something more curious, more grounded. For those who choose the vegan version, the effect is even more pronounced. The structure of a classic remains, yet the center is re-imagined Santa Cruz style.
Eggplant appears across town at Engfer Pizza Works as roasted eggplant meets pickled sweet peppers, red onion, arugula, and a flicker of orange zest. The eggplant is soft and deep, almost smoky. The peppers bring a bright tang and the citrus arrives, not as fruit, but as aroma, lifting everything. What might have settled into heaviness is turned into something vivid. You taste the garden and the grove in the same bite.
Where ocean meets forest and fog shares days with sun… Santa Cruzans love a beautiful contrast, and nowhere is that clearer than in the marriage of sweet and heat on a Santa Cruz pizza.
At Crow’s Nest Beach Market, the Smokinโ Hot Chick offers that tension with confidence with spicy barbecue sauce, chicken, applewood smoked bacon, jalapeรฑos, and a final gloss of hot honey. Smoke sits low on the palate. Heat rises. Then the honey ties the two together, sweet at first, then carrying the burn a moment longer. Each bite ignites, resolves, then resets. It’s a rhythm you won’t tire of.
A similar balance appears at Pizzeria La Bufala in the Dolce Piccante Party. Broccoli rabe brings a familiar freshness, while Italian sausage adds fat and salt. Hot honey returns, but here it plays against the greens as much as the meat. Bitter, sweet, rich. Each element pulls in a different direction, and the pleasure comes from the way each holds it own in a delicious dance.
At Kianti’s Pizza & Pasta Bar, The G.O.A.T. lives up to its name beginning with an aromatic roasted garlic white sauce. Mozzarella follows, melting into that base, while basil elevates the whole with a green, almost sweet brightness. Pepperoni brings salt and spice before goat cheese enters with its richness and tang, giving the pie a sharper edge. A drizzle of honey ties it all together, sweet against salt, smoothing the transitions between each bite. Add red peppers on request, and the heat arrives just late enough to linger.
SOME PIES LOOK INWARD, OTHERS TRAVEL
At East End Gastropub, the Seafood Scampi Pizza begins with a familiar coastal idea and sets it on dough. Shrimp, calamari, clams, garlic, lemon, and a smooth bรฉchamel. The lemon cuts through the cream, and the seafood brings a subtle salinity that lingers at the back of the tongue.
And then. Someone had to do it, and East End Gastropub did. The Taco Pie. It shouldn’t work, right? But it absolutely does. Seasoned beef meets a verde bรฉchamel, then comes the crunch of tortilla chips, the freshness of pico de gallo, and a sweep of Baja sauce. Texture becomes part of the flavor. Soft, crisp, cool, and warm in quick succession, playful, but not careless. Each layer fulfills its mission.
Elsewhere, the Mediterranean makes its case. At La Marea Cafe, the Mykonos gathers feta, olives, spinach, and tomato into a pie that evokes a Greek vacation. The salt of the olives and cheese leads the way, and the greens follow with a mild bitterness, clean, direct, and unapologetic in its flavor. The Green Heat from the same kitchen moves in another direction, with green garlic cream, spring pesto, sausage, ricotta, and jalapeรฑo. This is Santa Cruz in season. The garlic is fresh, not harsh. The pesto carries the field. The jalapeรฑo adds a spark that keeps the richness from settling.
Mushrooms, long valued as much for texture as for flavor, step forward in force at The Pizza Series. The Much, Much, Mushroom layers sautรฉed and fresh fungi over red sauce, then finishes with a porcini cream and herbs. This is depth built on depth. The flavor unfolds rather than strikes. Earth, then more earth, then a hint of wood and herb. It asks you to slow down, close your eyes, and experience.
The same shop offers a Rosemary Ham pie that moves in a sweeter direction. Caramelized onions melt into the salt of the ham, and Gruyere adds a nutty richness. Fresh chives cut through at the end. It’s yet another study in balance, with rosemary acting as a bridge between the sweet and the savory
At Fawn Pizza & Vinyl Bar, the Concrete Ship brings together sausage, pepperoni, olives, and bright red sauce in a composition that feels classic until you notice the details. The olives add a sharp note to what might otherwise be a wall of salt and fat. Their presence changes the whole pie. The Fun Guy, with its mix of mushrooms and ricotta white sauce, moves toward softness and cream, with scallions offering a final note that keeps it from fading.
SOME RELY ON MEMORY, THEN REFINE IT
HERB-FORWARD A fresh Chicken Pesto Paradise pizza at Churchill and Beers captures the inventive spirit of Santa Cruz Pizza Week.
At Churchill and Beers, Maryโs Pizza Combination brings together salami, pepperoni, cotto salami, sausage, and mushrooms over a house sauce. It is a full table in a single pie. The pleasure here is not novelty. It is execution. Each meat holds its place. The mushrooms absorb and release flavor in equal measure. It is the kind of pizza that reminds you why the form became popular in the first place.
At Upper Crust Pizza & Pasta, the Sicilian Square offers something else entirely. A thick crust with a crisp edge and a soft interior. Sauce and cheese settle into the structure rather than sit on top of it. It is a different geometry, one that favors depth over stretch. Paired with a salad and dessert, it becomes a full meal, the kind that anchors a table for an evening.
Flatbreads at Laili Restaurant take yet another path. Apricot chicken; pear with gorgonzola; eggplant parmesan. Fruit appears as it has for centuries in this cuisine. Sweetness meets salt and cream, in combinations that feel almost inevitable once you taste them. This is where pizza edges toward something older, drawing on the Silk Road traditions of Afghanistan, Persia, and India, where fruit, spice, and savory have long been woven together, yet still at home on the same table.
Back at the Crowโs Nest Beach Market, pesto finds its way into rolled batons as even the appetizer gets involved, a reminder that the language of pizza can extend beyond the slice. Dough, herb, oil, and heat. Simple, then not so simple.
A WEEK OF PIZZA: HAVING IT ALL
If there is a way to approach Pizza Week, it may be this. Begin with what you know, a classic combination, then move outward. Try a touch of sweetness, a bit of heat. Let contrast entice you. By the end, take on the pies that seem strange at first reading. The seafood, the beets, the combinations that raise an eyebrow. These are the ones that will linger in memory and spark conversations.
What ties all of this together is not novelty for its own sake. It is a kind of local instinct. Santa Cruz cooks with what surrounds it. Fields, markets, coast, and a willingness to experiment.
And in the end, you return to the beginning. The box. The scent. The first slice. Only now, there is more to it. A trace of citrus where you did not expect it. A sweetness that delights. A heat that arrives late and lingers. You take another bite to understand it, then another because you want it.
CREATIVE PIZZA IS NOT JUST WEIRD PIZZA
Again, creative pizza is NOT just weird pizza. Even Santa Cruz doesnโt want โweirdโ for its own sake. What we want is permission to be indulgent, maybe upscale, or just nostalgic, but with a twistโfamiliar comfort, nudged sideways. Thatโs very California, coastal and us.
Pizza Week is what happens when California pizza finds its way to Santa Cruz. California gave pizza permission to experiment. Santa Cruz gives it our personality
The result is not a scene chasing authenticity, but one comfortable remixing it. Surf culture plays its part, that casual, anything-goes sensibility that resists rigid rules. Proximity to farms matters too, where fresh toppings are not a luxury but a given.
Instead of one identity, weโre blessed with a patchwork of styles that somehow feels coherent and leaves you with the question what do I feel like today?
Pizza Week runs from April 22 through May 3. The craving it creates lasts much longer.
There’s a big pink wave expected to roll into West Cliff next week, and 6,000 Santa Cruz women and their families are planning to catch it. Well, not exactly, but that’s how it will look when the She Is Beautiful 5K &10K runners step off on Saturday, May 9 as the race and its many pink-attired participants run down Bay Avenue and along West Cliff Drive.
The 16th annual race celebrates women and families and benefits Walnut Avenue Women and Family Center, with runners of all abilities participating.
“It’s unique because it’s 90-percent women and girls, which brings an all-inclusive vibe,” said race director Melissa McConville. “It’s all abilities from walkers to participants racing for prize money.”
She.Is.Beautiful is more than your average 5- or 10k. The start line begins with massage therapist Jenny Shatzel on a scissor lift, and there will be “little bits of fun along the way,” such as a local women-owned sunscreen company, glitter glam and a cheer station. Three different brand activations will mark the course, including archways by presenting partner Dignity Health, an REI archway (passing out treats), and Hoka at the last half-mile station.
“The energy is amazing,” McConville added.
Nordic Naturals hosts a DJ at the finish line. “We are so excited to have them immersed in this event,” she added. The race starts on Bay Avenue, making a “keyhole loop” before returning to the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse for the finish line.
The post-race festival features more than 30 vendors, freebies and photo ops: Penny Ice Creamery, Goodles Mac & Cheese, and prize money for top female finishers in 5k and 10K divisions. “We pride ourselves on being a reasonably-priced event,” McConville said. “We put a lot of energy into making every part of our event extra intentional and thoughtful in every aspect of the event.”
She Is Beautiful started in 2011 with about 500 people on a mission “to get people moving forward physically, emotionally and spirituallyโฆ It’s a space to practice strength, goal setting and perseverance,” according to its website. Organizers soon added a second race in Santa Barbara on Sept. 12. She is Beautiful was founded and is directed by sisters McConville and Sara Marie Tanza, a pelvic floor physical therapist at Pelvic Potential.
The race has donated over $200,000 to the Walnut Avenue Center since its inception.
There are three bib pickups scheduled; May 6, 4:30-7 and Friday May 7, 11:30-6 pm. at the Capitola Mall (former Sears building) and one at Sunnyvale REI.
Registration to SIB is now open and includes access to the post-race festival, a cute race T-shirt or tank top, and free race photos. The custom SIB goodie bag includes free goodies redeemable with the race bib at downtown businesses, including Penney Ice Creamery, Verve, Pacific Cookie Company and Martinelli’s Company Store, 345 Harvest Drive in Watsonville. “Kind of like an adult trick-or-treating experience,” McConville said.
Firmly committed to the idea of adventurous programming, the Santa Cruz Symphony is about to unleash its final classical concert of the season on May 2 and May 3. Avoiding the predictable, the powerful program offers a premiereby ethnomusicology techie Jaro Lanier and the mighty Symphony No.9 by Ludwig van Beethoven. The concert begins with a charmer by Antonรญn Dvoลรกk, Carnival Overture, Op. 92, guaranteed to set an exuberant tone. Beethoven’s Ninth has been, since its debut in 1824, one of the all-time influential masterworks of Western music. With maestro Daniel Stewart on the podium, the performance will showcase the full throttle skill of the orchestra, joined by a quartet of exciting guest soloists in collaboration with the Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus.
One of Beethoven’s big surprises, back in 1824, was his addition of voices for the fourth and final movement. Daring, yes. Successful? Absolutely. A huge chorus, plus a quartet of soloists, bring the symphony to a thundering conclusion. Featured in the final movement are Soprano Dani Zhang, an award-winning artist from the New England Conservatory; Mezzo-soprano Ginger Costa-Jackson from the Metropolitan Operaโs Young Artist Development Program; Tenor Joshua Stewart, formerly with Munichโs Bavarian State Opera Studio and a Symphony favorite; and Baritone Edward Tavalin, an emerging Bay Area artist who has also performed with the Opera Project.
Easily one of the most demanding and exciting pieces of music ever composed, Beethoven’s Ninth rewards the mind as well as the senses. Why perform it now? After all, it was composed 200 years ago. Well, most Western orchestral music can be seen as a response to Beethoven, in much the way that most modern painting lives in the shadow of Picasso.
It challenges orchestras and conductors alike. Emotional depth, complex instrumentation, and best of all, the 9th acts as a musical embrace intended to include nothing less than all of humanity. The symphony oozes innovation, the repetition of musical phrases with varying instruments and time signatures, and intertwining themes requiring incredible variations.
There’s just no way to wrap your head around the onslaught of sounds, the array of sonic power. No one ever leaves this piece of music unchanged. It is simply too much to comprehend in words. That’s why music is the queen of the arts.
Perhaps the most important reason to be transported by Beethoven’s ultimate creation is its original inspiration, a hymn in praise of humanity and compassion. The time is right to be reminded of our collective bonds of connection. An Ode to Joy in troubled times couldn’t be more relevant.
Before the Beethoven, Maestro Stewart opens with a delightful Carnival Overture by Antonรญn Dvoลรกk, followed by something in the key of unusual, a composition for the Laotian khaen pipe, composed by tech pioneer Jaron Lanier and arranged for orchestra by Daniel Stewart. The music created for this traditional multi-piped instrument was premiered at the WRO 2000 Media Art Biennale in Warsaw and spotlights Lanier’s eclectic blend of technology, immersive virtual environments, and atypical instruments. The piece was intended to interact with virtual reality, a field of which Lanier is considered a pioneer. What’s new in this concert is the arrangement of Khachaturian’s Concerto for orchestra, by Daniel Stewart.
An international and very colorful figure in the tech world, Lanier has been active as a composer and performer of new classical music for almost 50 years. A Santa Cruz resident since the pandemic, Lanier keeps winning acclaim as a musical collaborator and as a computer scientist and futurist.
For more insight, come an hour before each concert for comments about the compositions from Dr. Don Adkins and Kiefer Taylor. Free open rehearsal is set at the Civic Auditorium on Thursday, April 30, at 7:30pm.
Tickets are moving swiftly. Cross your fingers and purchase tickets online at santacruztickets.com
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Santa Cruz Pizza Week, April 22โMay 3, is a full-tilt-boogie expression of our culinary imaginations with special pies, farm-fresh toppings and fearless flavors.
A wave of pink hits West Cliff as 6,000 runners take part in the She Is Beautiful 5K & 10K, a high-energy Santa Cruz race celebrating women and community.
