Hardly a day in Santa Cruz goes by that we don’t see some of Jim Phillips’ artwork, whether it’s the Screaming Hand, the Screaming Wave, the orange and yellow jelly bean or concert posters for the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Greg Allman, The Doors and The Surfaris.
But Phillips has been quiet behind the scenes, a mystery to many, especially Santa Cruz newcomers.
Now, there’s a documentary playing at the Rio Theatre that pulls open the curtain and lets us see his colorful and magical mind.
Writer and comedian DNA tells the story of the movie and its director in our cover story and lets you know why this showing is a must-see.
If only for Phillips’ work on surfboards and skateboards, Santa Cruz should be known as the surf capital of California, despite some other cities’ claims to the title.
And his talent is the gift that keeps on giving. His talented son Jimbo has followed the family tradition, as has Jim’s grandson, Colby.
Travel the world and you will spot their work on shirts, bringing global notoriety and fame to our county.
We need some laughs this week.
How about Richard Stockton’s article about Kira Jane Buxton, who will read from her new book at Bookshop Santa Cruz Feb. 13? She’s so funny, he says, he needs profanity to express just how funny. That’s a high water mark, Richard.
Then, there’s Sean Rusev’s story about Neko Case, a singer who breaks the mold. She’s come out with a new book and is talking about it at the Rio Theatre Feb. 7. Last time she was in town to sing, and this talk should give some insights into her mysterious ways.
On the serious side, Elizabeth Borelli has an important feature about Watch Duty, the app that lets you know what’s going on with fires, something we didn’t used to have to think about in the winter, but, as we learned in L.A., they are an omnipresent part of California living.
How about spending the end of Pizza Week at the Santa Cruz Warriors arena, where they are giving free Woodstock pizzas to lucky rows? Get the deets in Mark C. Anderson’s Dining Column this week.
Thanks for reading.
Brad Kava | editor
PHOTO CONTEST
FLASH OF GREEN No, the green flash at sunset and sunrise isn’t a myth. It was captured Jan. 5 on Seacliff Beach. Photograph by Paul Titangos
GOOD IDEA
Singer Ritchie Valens, who was born in Southern California, but whose family moved to Watsonville, is now a bobblehead, according to an announcement around the anniversary of his death on Feb. 3, 1959. Valens, born Richard Steven Valenzuela on May 13, 1941, had hits with “Donna” and “La Bamba.” He died in a plane crash outside Clear Lake, Iowa, a tragedy noted as “the day the music died” in Don McLean’s song “American Pie.” You can buy one at bobbleheadhall.com.
GOOD WORK
U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) introduced a package of three bipartisan bills to bolster fire resilience and proactive mitigation efforts. The package includes the Wildfire Emergency Act, to support forest restoration, wildfire mitigation and energy resilience; the Fire-Safe Electrical Corridors Act, to authorize the removal of trees or other vegetation within existing electrical utility corridors; and the Disaster Mitigation and Tax Parity Act, to further incentivize homeowners to proactively protect their homes from disasters.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Labels, we got you, but do you got us?” —Best New Artist winner Chappell Roan, who had no health insurance when she was dropped by her label, asking the music industry to treat artists fairly.
Imagine this: You’re already feeling lucky because you’re taking the first-ever Santa Cruz Pizza Week seriously—which is ongoing through Feb. 8 (santacruzpizzaweek.com)—and have already eaten your playing weight in dough, cheese, sauce, pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage, onions, bell peppers, black olives, garlic and anchovies. And extra cheese.
Then you have a seat at the Feb. 7 game between the Santa Cruz Warriors and the Austin Spurs and find out you’re in the “Lucky Row”—which happens four home games a year, and means everyone in your strip of seats gets a large pizza from Woodstock’s Pizza (710 Front St., Santa Cruz) and one of you gets a free pizza a month for a year.
Director of Marketing James Glover thinks it’s a zesty way for two Surf City staples to work together. “I love that the Santa Cruz Warriors are super local-oriented, earn good attendance, and are right down the street from us,” he says, noting Stoked Section season ticket holders get a free slice every game day. “They’re great partners, they’re fun, and they let us be creative.”
So that’s possible. What is also possible, and more likely, is that you have a great time at the game, pizza prizes or not, because on top of an unselfish and up-tempo basketball on the floor, every Wave City Warriors game involves a slew of celebratory action.
On any given night that might include a fundraiser ball toss with hundreds of fans chucking mini basketballs, a miniature bike race, dance contests, shooting showdowns, an ice cream taste test and a free Penny Ice Creamery scoop for all if the Dubs score 100, which triggers the greatest collective foodie cry heard echoing over the streets of downtown Santa Cruz, from announcer Brian Day: “Ice creeeeeeeeeeeeeeam.”
Upcoming home games beyond the Feb. 7 and 8 run-ins with the Spurs are vs. Stockton Kings Feb. 13; vs. Oklahoma City Blue Feb. 21 and 22; and vs. Memphis Hustle Feb. 28 and March 1. santacruz.gleague.nba.com
NEW AND IMPROVED
After just a few days open, Tortilla Shack is doing brisk build-you-own-burrito business 11am–10pm daily (until 9pm Sundays) at 1505 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. Co-owner Quinn Cormier, who also helps direct popular spots Izakaya West End (334 Ingalls St., Unit D, Santa Cruz) and East End Gastropub (1501 41st Ave., Suite I, Capitola), testifies the inspiration came from a chain familiar to many. (Hint: It rhymes with “pistole.”) “We’ve been envisioning a unique dining concept that captures the essence of fast casual dining,” she says. “Drawing from a concept my kids adore—which shall remain nameless!—I see an opportunity to create something similar yet distinctly different. This new venture aims to offer customizable, fresh options that cater to busy families, professionals, and more! All while filling a gap in an underserved area.”
CHOICE CUTS
Keeping with the theme of last month’s look ahead, one more new opening to look forward to: Other Brother Beer Co. #2 (10 Parade St., Suite B, Aptos). The food will rise to the level of the ++ craft beer, and the social schedule—featuring pop-ups, artist fairs, bingo and trivia nights and live music—makes community building a signature outcome, ETA end of year, or even early 2026, otherbrotherbeer.com…Best “Galentine’s Day” idea yet: 3-8pm Feb. 11, The Spa/Fitness Center at Chaminade folds 15-minute spa treatments, a cocktail or mocktail, light bites and hot tub, steam rooms and salt sauna access into a $55 package, chaminade.com…U.S. cottage cheese sales have soared by more than 50% in a half decade; industry trackers think TikTok is why…Yogi Berra, slide us into home: “You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.”
A Mexican-born chef who fell for sushi, Tavo immigrated 15 years ago at age 17 to attend culinary school. He began working in Japanese restaurants and climbed the promotional ladder from dishwasher to kitchen helper to cook, then finally learned how to cut sushi—which further fostered his love for the craft. He also did front-of-house work, like serving and managing.
Eventually, he came to believe his comprehensive résumé, entrepreneurial mindset and passion for sushi would be best coalesced by starting his own restaurant. The Buzz Sushi is that and also a market, opened four years ago in the heart of downtown. Tavo’s “unique hand-crafted outside-the-box sushi” is served amid a Dragon Ball Z meets contemporary hippie-themed ambiance for onsite dining or grab-and-go.
The special rolls headline, like the Caribbean with shrimp tempura, mango, cucumber, tuna, salmon, avocado, tobiko, and nuts. The Buzz-rito is a representative Mexican/Japanese marriage, with habanero tuna, crispy tortilla and the special secret Buzz Dressing. They also have more traditional options like nigiri and sashimi, as well as a signature vegan fish product made of soy protein, available on the menu as a sushi substitute. Beverage offerings include well-curated teas and juices, and soft-serve ice cream is for dessert.
What made you fall in love with sushi?
TAVO: Because it helped me find my direction in life. The first rolls I made as a sushi chef made me very emotional because I got to express who I am through my artistic creativity. Being a sushi chef has given me not only purpose and direction, but also the financial means to live where I love in Santa Cruz and provide for my family. Ever since I started working with sushi, I knew it was my life’s calling.
Tell me more about this vegan fish product.
I learned how to make vegan fish myself but it is very time-consuming, so now I get it from a company that mentored me on my chef journey. Many people don’t eat raw fish, so this vegan fish is not only delicious, but also a way for people who don’t like raw fish to be able to enjoy a sushi-like experience and savor the Japanese flavors that inspire me. It’s like eating fish, with a very similar taste but with a smoother and silkier texture.
“You are not more likely to find a more charming novel than Tartufo, Kira Jane Buxton’s story about “trufflemania” that whisks us away to Italy and serves up one buttery page of comedy after another.” —Washington Post literary critic Ron Charles
When comics pay the highest compliment, they say you’re funny as fuck. I know, such language, it’s terrible. But as a comic who’s just read Kira Jane Buxton’s new book, Tartufo, I have to say the woman is funny as fuck.
Tartufo is enchanting, raucous, packed with hilarious, rebellious characters, both animal and human, and it tells the tale of the dying Tuscan town of Lazzarini Boscarino being given hope of resurrection by a giant, six-pound truffle, presented as a god.
And what does the god-like truffle smell like to Buxton? “It smells like sex in a very small room.”
The animals of the woods, the deer and wild boar are the first to smell it, then animals in town. A dog understands that she will soon follow her nose to show her master what is out there. “The cipher that is summoning her. Calling for her in chemicals. A tease. A treasure. A story sent to her on the wings of the wind…and it will change everything.”
Buxton’s comedy is as deftly crafted as standup; the punch words of the jokes are at the end of the sentence. She pares the jokes down to the fewest syllables possible, and the comedic rhythm sweeps us along with perfect timing. I ask her if she ever tried performing standup live.
“I’ve never tried standup. I think that’s one of the art forms I revere the most. I’ve fantasized about trying, but I’m an introvert in an extrovert drag. I love listening to it, and maybe by osmosis I picked up some of the cadence.”
Cadence indeed. Humor dances across every page with infectious rhythm.
Here, Buxton introduces a cat named Al Pacino: “On this autumn morning, the piazza is empty but for one being. A cat—best described as a cross between a crumpled tuxedo and a well-used toilet wand—sits vigilant. Seven unplanned litters of kittens have tested her patience and her personality, so that she has matured into the kind of cat that will take a crap on the carpet before she takes crap from anyone else. … Ready to unleash hell upon any tourist who dares to smuggle an exposed ankle in through its door. For what is a tourist, truly, but an invader with blinding white crew socks and a selfie stick?”
Her blockbuster debut novel, Hollow Kingdom, was a finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor, the Audie Awards and the Washington State Book Awards, and was named a best book of 2019 by NPR and Good Housekeeping. The protagonist is a crow named Shit Turd who navigates a post-apocalyptic world of humans and zombies.
“Hollow Kingdom was the book I really didn’t believe anybody would touch. I wrote it for pleasure. I wrote it because I wanted to write about crows. I’m so passionate about them,” Buxton says.
“I wanted to write about the environment. You know, I wanted to write about tech addiction, and I wanted to have fun. And I finally stopped chasing so hard for all the trappings of publishing. I mean, to come up with a protagonist named Shit Turd…if I had been striving for landing a huge deal with a publisher, I would maybe have rethought it and the crow would have been, like, Bob,” she says.
Quite a different tale, Tartufo (Italian for truffle) has the same delightful lyrical rhythm and is packed with eccentric human characters and even more aberrant animal characters. Buxton has an uncanny ability to become the animal, and for a hilarious paragraph or two we get to travel as an ant, a cat, or a donkey who is so congenial he was nearly elected mayor of the town.
Tartufo is hilarious (every page), a delicious romp (Italian food throughout) that celebrates the connectedness of it all. Buxton says, “We’ve forgotten that it’s not us against the natural world; it’s not us and the natural world. It’s us. All of us, it’s all connected.”
What moved me most, when I wasn’t laughing, was letting the story and the writing sweep me along to experience that feeling that everything really is connected.
Buxton’s first line of text sees the wind as a spirit that affects all the book’s creatures: “The wisest souls say that pure mountain air makes us all go a little mad.” And the author lets the air of the Apuan Alps blow through every character in the story, and all do go a little mad.
Her descriptions of the natural world are so passionate that she will abandon verbs. “A fierce living perfume of the largest truffle he has ever seen envelopes him. An earthy aphrodisiac. Fermented sweat seeped from an earthen grave. The breath of a Gigantic god.”
Nature imbues the human throughout the book. Giuseppina, the manager of Bar Celebrita—the last bar of the village—“turns to the mirror, jostling the warring jellyfish in her beige bra.” The flow of time is natural: “Time trickles slowly in Tuscan towns, like a golden sap.” Even medicine has an animal component; when Delizia unwittingly becomes the new mayor, “she had considered helping herself to a little horse tranquilizer, but decided she couldn’t live with the additional guilt of depriving an enfeebled horse.” It is all relatable to us.
The auctioning of the giant truffle (six pounds) turns into a huge media event that overwhelms the citizenry. “Delizia is faced with the dilemma of her town not being ridiculed on the world stage.” The crisis deepens as the important town documents get shredded by mice. Madness and mayhem build; there is even a car chase of sorts. The approaching auction of the godlike truffle brings greed, attacks by a disgraced mailman, a psychic named Mamma Fortuna who must cover her crystal ball to prevent it from setting fire to the curtains, and an apparent battle with a ghost for the truffle.
Buxton was concerned about putting out this raucous, rollicking, funny ride of a novel in a time like this, that is so hard for so many. “At first, I was very nervous about releasing and promoting a book at this time, but the more I think about it, the more I think stories matter so much, they enable us to connect on a deeper level with others. They foster empathy. My hope for the evening is we all get together, have a chat and a laugh. Just have a laugh.”
In Tartufo, when the 86-year-old Nonna, “the soul and sunshine of the village,” is being chastised for being too silly about the recipe ingredients for roasted beans, her reply comes from Buxton’s soul: “Sometimes silly is the very ingredient we need.”
For her reading next Thursday at Bookshop Santa Cruz, Buxton will be joined in conversation by best-selling author and Santa Cruz literary light Elizabeth McKensie. Both women are funny—so if you like animals, Italian food and laughter, reserve a space.
Kira Jane Buxton reads at 7pm on Feb. 13 at Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave. Free; RSVP at bookshopsantacruz.com.
BOOK IT Buxton says, ‘My hope for the evening is we all get together, have a chat and a laugh.” PHOTO: Contributed
John Edward Makens’ directorial debut, Art and Life: The Story of Jim Phillips, which is showcasing at the Rio Theatre on Feb. 6, is a gem of a doc. Like all good documentaries, it’s thorough. Makens guides us on a rich journey of Jim Phillips’ life, and it’s a snapshot of a different time. The film will feel familiar for locals, as insider references, gnarly surf spots and a very proud, and loud, Santa Cruz-centric vibe permeates Art and Life, from start to finish.
Not only that, but Art and Life, about Santa Cruz’s notorious graphic artist, Jim Phillips, and his decades of underground influence on surf, skateboard and punk culture, is about to get a much wider audience, thanks to the camera work and vision of Makens.
Makens isn’t clamoring for the spotlight; he truly just wants more people, the world, to know about Jim Phillips. In an interview, Makens answers questions like a young Bob Dylan. Question: “Who is your favorite documentary filmmaker?” Answer: “Um. I don’t know, actually. I don’t really like documentaries.” Originally from Minnesota—just like Dylan—Makens made the trek to California in the early 21st century.
Although the DIY filmmaker doesn’t like to acknowledge that he had a taste for filmmaking when he grew up, by digging deeper Makens starts to sound like a cross between Steven Spielberg and Tony Hawk. “I always had a passion for film,” Makens admits. “I was always creating little movies and skits and stuff, and I knew how to work a camera. It was mostly snowboarding and skateboarding and whatever, you know?”
MOVIE GROM John Makens, originally from Minnesota, chose Jim Phillips for his first foray into documentaries. Photo: John Makens
Growing up in skate culture, Makens was familiar with Phillips, as all skate kids are. In 2008, the entrepreneurial Makens launched his own brand of arch support insoles, called Remind. Besides giving your foot self-care, they fit everything from work shoes to snowboard boots. “We needed a logo,” Makens says. “I just thought, who better than Jim Phillips? I sent an email and he responded right away. We started hanging out in Santa Cruz and he let me interview him about the logo that he had drawn for me. And suddenly, all these insane stories about Jim’s life just naturally poured out of him. That’s when it dawned on me. Somebody should make a documentary about Jim.”
It took a while to find the right crew and equipment. Makens enlisted some of the people that he had met while working in the entertainment industry, as an electrician and John-of-all-trades. “We loaded up all of our gear and headed to Santa Cruz. During our first shoot, we car-camped in Jim’s driveway for three weeks,” Makens laughs.
It’s this DIY attitude Maken brought to the project that elevates Phillips’ story of creating a singular vision of art that was wildly strange, played to a deep niche, and yet became iconic. There’s also an intergenerational friendship at play that grew out of Makens’ process of interviewing Phillips, which brings authenticity and charm to the documentary. It might be Maken’s first full-length effort, but his thumbprint and enthusiasm for the subject are all over it.
Art and Life: The Story of Jim Phillips just wrapped up a year of touring the globe at 20 film festivals. Premiering last year at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Art and Life stood out as a positive, upbeat, niche flick, amongst a lot of heavies like God & Country and The Fight for Black Lives. “Jim’s story was just so captivating because l I think a lot of people can relate to him and his struggles. But I also hope they are inspired by Jim’s drive and his love for art. I hope people will learn about him and see the movie,” Makens says.
Art and Life: The Story of Jim Phillips, has just opened on 50 screens across the country. And then it is coming to a streaming service in the spring or summer. Santa Cruz and Jim Phillips—and the work of John Makens—are about to peek above ground.
Art and Life: The Story of Jim Phillips will play at 7pm on Feb. 6 at the Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. Director John Makens and Jim Phillips will be on (screaming) hand. Tickets are $20 and available at riotheatre.com.
How will artificial intelligence change our world?
SYDNEY
My main issue is how it affects the creative community. AI takes a lot of artists’ work and copies it, and I think it takes away creativity when people rely on it too much. There’s potential for good things.
Sydney Yeats, 22, Santa Cruz Hostel
AUSTIN
I’m optimistic about it. On the internet it’s leveled the playing field to access information that people might not otherwise find. Hopefully it proves to be so smart that it will take the human element out of certain decision making.
Austin Raymer, 34, Researcher
EMMA
Any technology has good and bad results. Like Spider-Man, with great power comes great responsibility. Worst case is it becoming a propaganda machine. Best case is that it passes knowledge to the next generation.
Emma Yeats, 26, UC Berkeley Physics Ph.D. Student Researcher
WILL
It’s a learning curve of good and bad, but I ultimately think it will do good. It’s supposed to help us cure disease, like it has with cancer, creating a vaccine. It could help play the stock market. Hopefully it will help me find my car keys!
Will Morse, 59, General Contractor
CIELO
I think for the worse. Education will be minimized when children rely on AI for answers. Factory workers are being replaced by robots and teachers will be next, doctors too. But I’ve wanted to be a teacher since I was a kid.
Cielo Vera, 20, Teacher
WILL
AI will become normalized, but now it requires more energy than we can create. We’re also creating something we don’t know how to contain. One AI has already said we’re going to be gone. If that was me, I would have said, “Um, pull the plug!”
Back in my career coaching days, I was slightly obsessed with a certain book. I owned multiple copies, which I would readily loan, while referring to the work in numerous presentations over the years. So, it was especially exciting to learn that Dave Evans—one of the co-authors of this book, the international best-seller Designing Your Life—is a Santa Cruz local.
The book, based on the popular Stanford University course, has helped countless individuals navigate their personal and professional journeys using principles of design thinking. It’s an approach rooted in curiosity, creativity and iterative problem-solving—tools he and co-author Bill Burnett refined through years of teaching at Stanford and beyond.
For me, Evans’ work holds a deeply personal resonance. Years ago, I attended the Odyssey Planning workshop at 1440 Multiversity in Scotts Valley. Armed with a signed copy of his book, I dove into the exercises with enthusiasm. As life went on, however, I forgot about the worksheet I’d completed—until recently, when I stumbled upon it in an old notebook.
One of my “alternative plans” leaped off the page: Write a book. Become a yoga teacher. Collaborate with health and wellness companies. At the time, I was exploring other paths; looking back, it’s clear how the seeds planted that day have blossomed into my current reality. It’s a reminder of the quiet power of setting intentions, even if we’re not actively tracking them.
When I caught up with Evans for this interview, I asked him about what inspired the creation of Designing Your Life. His response was deeply human.
“Like most people, it started with walking out my own pain,” he shared. “In my twenties, I didn’t have great guidance from the adults around me. That struggle planted the seed. Years later, I was invited to teach a class at Berkeley called ‘Finding Your Vocation.’ What started as a favor for a friend turned into 14 semesters of teaching.”
By the time Evans and Burnett began collaborating at Stanford, the groundwork was in place. Burnett’s background in design paired seamlessly with Evans’ insights into personal development. Together, they created a course that would evolve into a global phenomenon.
Since the book’s release, the framework has only deepened. “We realized people are often stuck because they haven’t articulated their core values or examined their lives honestly,” Evans explains. “When they finally map out their time and energy, they’re often surprised by what they discover—like how much time they spend scrolling on social media.”
For those unfamiliar, Designing Your Life invites readers to approach their futures with curiosity and experimentation. The Good Time Journal, a foundational exercise, encourages tracking daily activities to identify what energizes or drains you. It’s a process of aligning your actions with your values—a small but profound step toward intentional living.
IDEO founder David Kelley calls it the “go-to book that is read as a rite of passage whenever someone is ready to create a life they love.”
Of course, like any transformative process, the journey isn’t without its challenges. “The biggest hurdle we see is people who think they know what they want but are afraid to start because they’re beginners,” Evans says. “We call it the ‘gravity problem.’ It’s about accepting what you can’t change and moving forward anyway. That acceptance can feel constraining, but it actually frees you to focus on what’s possible.”
Evans emphasized the importance of combining big dreams with realistic steps. “We regret putting the word ‘plan’ after ‘Odyssey’ in the book,” he admitted with a laugh. “It’s less about rigid plans and more about animating your curiosity. What’s the next small thing you can do to explore an idea? That’s where growth happens.”
For anyone feeling stuck, Evans offers simple advice: Start where you are. “Ask yourself, ‘What’s draining or supporting me?’ Most people don’t have an objective view of their own lives. The Good Time Journal can be an eye-opener.”
Beyond the book, Evans and Burnett continue to innovate. Their second book, Designing Your Work Life, expands on strategies for thriving in your current job or making small changes to improve your day-to-day. And in a tantalizing teaser, Evans hinted at a future project exploring how pain can inform meaningful design. “We’re calling it Designing by Pain. It’s about using life’s hardships as a creative force.”
Evans’ work resonates deeply in Santa Cruz, a community known for its openness to personal growth. Whether you’re navigating career changes, exploring creative pursuits or simply seeking more joy, Designing Your Life offers a framework to reimagine what’s possible.
As I reflect on my own Odyssey worksheet, I’m struck by the synchronicity of it all. My goals felt like distant dreams years ago. But by taking small, curious steps, I’ve found myself living them.
So if you’re wondering what’s next, try picking up (and hanging onto!) a copy of Designing Your Life—and let curiosity guide the way.
When Elon Musk smoked weed on Joe Rogan’s podcast in 2018, there was a general freakout. The media treated it as if Musk had done something naughty, even though pot was already legal in California by then.
And they didn’t focus much on the fact that Musk also drank whiskey during the 2-½-hour show, nor on the fact that he mucked about with a flamethrower and a samurai sword during the “interview.” He took one big hit of a spliff (weed mixed with tobacco) and suddenly he was “doing drugs.”
Hilariously, ABC7 in Los Angeles presented its self-serious report with the headline “Musk appears to smoke pot during interview; Tesla stock falls 9 percent,” as if it were possible that Musk had been faking the whole thing.
That stock dive, though, got to the heart of what most likely concerned most investors, and that has lately become a topic of national conversation as Musk has moved into a powerful position in the federal government: the man acted like a troubled tween throughout the show.
The episode amounted to a real-time case-study in arrested development on the part of both men. The conversation, though it touched on “issues,” like artificial intelligence, mostly came off like a couple of obnoxious 12-year-olds hanging out in a tree fort.
For many, the Rogan appearance was a revelation. Musk hadn’t been media-shy before that, exactly, but he hadn’t tended to do a ton of interviews or big public appearances. And when he did, he tended to be soft-spoken and to hew to what had until very recently been basic social conventions (though he was increasingly saying troubling things).
While Musk fanboys loved the podcast as much as they would later convince themselves they loved the Cybertruck, many others were plotzed by how immature, awkward and vaguely creepy he seemed. His spliff-hit was, at most, one tiny part of what perplexed people: one of the richest men in the world, and the leader of two major companies (Tesla and SpaceX)—long presented by the media as a “visionary”—turned out to be an addled manchild.
And now, he’s wielding enormous powers as a top member of the Trump administration, in charge of (oy) “DOGE,” a basically made-up “department” in the federal government that’s supposedly dedicated to “cost-cutting,” but which seems mostly aimed at vindictively gutting big swaths of the government based on the whims, resentments and authoritarian ideologies of both Musk and Trump.
Still, on the Rogan show, and later, Musk said some stuff about both weed and drugs that seems interesting in light of subsequent events, revelations and rampant speculation over whether he might be abusing hard drugs, especially ketamine.
The speculation isn’t surprising given Musk’s increasingly bizarre public behavior over the past several years. In 2023, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had “told people he microdoses ketamine for depression, and he also takes full doses of ketamine at parties, according to the people who have witnessed his drug use and others who have direct knowledge of it.”
Low doses of ketamine are a legit use for treatment of depression. Full doses at “parties” is not. He told Rogan that he had only rarely smoked weed, mainly because it’s “not very good for productivity.”
That Wall Street Journal story wasn’t just about Musk, but about how trendy drug use had become among Silicon Valley execs. Many of them use ketamine and psychedelics “as gateways to business breakthroughs,” as the Journal put it. That’s not exactly the stuff of Timothy Leary. It seems like maybe those guys don’t really understand the function of such drugs for recreation, for mind expansion or for treating mood disorders.
Given how terrible so many Silicon Valley companies have become lately—jamming the Internet with AI slop, sabotaging their core functions for no discernable reason, designing ridiculous, dangerous and unneeded products, etc.—maybe they should find different “gateways.” And if they just want “recreation,” may I suggest they just smoke a joint now and again?
When it comes to singer/songwriter Jackson Emmer, take it from Rolling Stone: “Americana songwriters are a dime a dozen these days, but few are writing songs like Jackson Emmer.” Emmer has been compared to Townes Van Zandt, John Prine and Guy Clark for his blend of humor and heartbreak. His songs are stories, some truthful, others tall tales, but all done with a signature style that has earned him places on Billboard and Spotify playlists and getting to play with artists like Sierra Ferrell and Robert Earl Keen. Joining him are musicians Abigayle Kompst and Mike Hellman for a Nashville-style songwriters’ round, playing music while surrounded by the audience, keeping it as folksy as it can get. MAT WEIR
Japanese noise luminary Mayuko Hino is a tour de force. Best recognized for her work in forming the trailblazing noise band C.C.C.C. (Cosmic Coincidence Control Center) in the early ’90s, the artist continues to meld raw electronics with visceral performance art. Her work brims with intensity: from metal percussion to self-made instruments and a bright-pink six-theremin oscillator—a one-of-a-kind instrument crafted for her by musician Ryo Araishi—Hino’s musical explorations continue to push the limits of the genre, forging immersive experiences that are unrelenting, cohesive and startling. With deep roots and influence reverberating across the genre, Hino remains the queen of Japanese noise. MELISA YURIAR
INFO: 8:30pm, Indexical, 1050 River St. #119, Santa Cruz. $16.
FRIDAY 2/7
FOLK
STEVE POLTZ
The inventive Canadian-born SoCal-raised guitarist built his career blending offbeat humor with poignant storytelling. From cofounding San Diego’s underground indie-rock cult favorite the Rugburns to cowriting Jewel’s hit ’90s single, “You Were Meant for Me,” the wildly eclectic Poltz has remained a fearless and unrelenting touring musician after decades of live performances and consistent output of independent projects. His latest, Stardust and Satellites, is all wit and warmth and may be the artist’s most sincere and interesting work yet. MY
INFO: 7:30pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $39. 479-9421.
BONNIE PRINCE BILLY
Some call his music freak folk; others label it lo-fi or gothic country. What’s undisputed is that Bonnie “Prince” Billy (born Will Oldham) is an original artist. Combining a punk aesthetic with a folk mindset, BPB quickly became a critics’ darling with releases like 1993’s There is No-One What Will Take Care of You. He’s as prolific as he is creative, with some 20 albums under his own (stage) name plus nearly as many others with previous and outside projects. His latest is The Purple Bird. David Ferguson opens. BILL KOPP
INFO: 8:30pm, Vets Hall, 842 Front St., Santa Cruz. $53-$72. 454-0478.
SATURDAY 2/8
PUNK
OPPRESSED LOGIC
Oppressed Logic remembers having fun, and this weekend, they’ll make sure Santa Cruz gets a full dose of fun straight in the teeth. The Oakland punk band has represented Bay Area punk worldwide for three decades with its thrashing riffs and political lyrics. Rounding out a California showcase are Berkeley’s the Boneless Ones, Nuisance in Public and C.R.A.P. (both from Santa Cruz) and Southern California’s Paint the Town Rad! For anyone saying the punk scene is dead, this show begs to differ. We’re talking circle pits, three-minute songs and all the cheap beer and shots the Blue Lagoon offers. Pull up and remember what it was like to have a soul instead of a nine-to-five. MW
INFO: 8:30pm, Blue Lagoon, 923 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $18. 423-7117.
KIT MAJOR
As the generation that grew up post-Green Day and Nirvana now take the torch into their own hands, breaking the “rules” of punk feels more natural. Kit Major grew up in Chicago, Tokyo and Beijing and now calls LA home. Her multicultural upbringing may explain the ease with which she breaks orthodoxy, mixing indy, alternative, pop, grunge and the many other “cores” that branch off punk. The result is aggressive, at times anthemic, and always catchy. Charming sister band Dog Party and Bay Area punk four-piece Tess & the Details kicks things off. KEITH LOWELL JENSEN
The appropriately named Storm Large will unleash her tempestuous voice, giving her passionately growling take on songs associated with women artists from Édith Piaf and Billie Holiday to Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo and Lorde, along with her original compositions. Her sound is, well, large—and powerful, combining the range of a classically trained singer with the gravel and grit more expected from punk’s maternal progenitor Patty Smith or Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon. Those who like their torch songs with a bit of gasoline poured over them will want to catch Large with longtime music director and collaborator James Beaton on piano. KLJ
INFO: 7pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $58. 427-2227.
WEDNESDAY 2/12
COUNTRY
NICK SHOULDERS AND THE OKAY CRAWDAD
The distance between punk and Country & Western isn’t as far as it might seem, and Nick Shoulders’ music bridges the gulf. While the Fayetteville, Arkansas native got his start playing in punk bands, by 2017, he’d pivoted to a solo career in an unabashed C&W style. He’s been a vocal critic of “ersatz country” and exemplifies the real deal in his music, complete with shouts, whistles and yodeling. Since his solo debut in 2018, Shoulders has released four albums and an EP. Jonny Fritz opens. BK
INFO: 8pm, Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $30. 713-5492.
Adapting one of America’s classic novels into a Broadway-style ballet is no small feat, but producers Gulya Hartwick and Sasha Gorskaya were up for the challenge.
After more than half a dozen years of production, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby finally hits the stage in a way never seen before in its previous incarnations as a Broadway, an opera and five different filmed versions.
“Can’t repeat the past?… Why of course you can!” said Jay Gatsby, Fitzgerald’s protagonist (played by Robert Redford in 1974 and Leonardo DiCaprio in 2013).
Taking audiences back 100 years to the roaring ’20s, complete with dazzling sets, large parties, acrobatics, an all-original jazz score and dazzling ballet footwork, the World Ballet Company’s The Great Gatsby is coming to the Santa Cruz Civic on Valentine’s Day as a part of a 140-city tour.
“I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties, there isn’t any privacy,” said the Gatsby character Jordan Baker.
“We’ve wanted to create this production for so many years,” Hartwick says. “The idea got into our minds in 2018. When my co-producer and partner Sasha wrote the libretto, our goal was to stay as close to the book as possible because we loved the story so much. We were of course inspired by both the film adaptations and the musical as well, which had a very interesting approach.”
Hartwick loves Fitzgerald’s descriptions of Gatsby’s “no tomorrow attitude.”
The production conveys one of the most recognizable pieces of 20th-century literature through not only the medium of ballet but also the acting work of the company’s dancers.
“It’s a Broadway-style ballet, which is a unique mix of genres, and it allows the audience to truly immerse themselves in a story,” Hartwick says. “We integrate live singing, effects, projection and acrobatics with the beauty and grace of classical ballet and traditional theater scenery, making it all come together into a stunning piece.”
A hundred years after the 1925 novel debuted, its narrative about the emptiness of wealth without love—and the importance of knowing who your true friends are—still holds true today, with flashy clothes and social media stories replacing stylish cars and lavish parties.
As the last line of the novel puts it, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
“It’s a timeless story about love, friendship and most importantly the American dream,” Hartwick says. “The ending makes everyone think about what’s important. What is the chase about and is true love worth it? Questions that make you want to speak with your loved ones.”
One standout company member is Hollywood composer Anna Drubich, known for her work on Navalny (2022), Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) and America Unfiltered (2024). Drubich has composed a jazz score that takes audiences through the tides and currents of Fitzgerald’s narrative.
“This music is so very special that it still sings in your head when you go to sleep and then stays with you when you wake up in the morning,” Hartwick asserts. “Anna accepted the challenge by switching to a new genre for her from film. I’m sure that the audience will notice those blockbuster motifs.”
The World Ballet Company’s mission is to create professional classical ballet that is accessible to modern audiences, from fans of ballet to the “ballet curious.”
Hartwick says, “The Santa Cruz show will be a special one, because it’s on February 14th and that’s the best day to see one of the greatest love stories live on stage. You will fall in love with the dancing and singing and glitter and dazzle. This will be an evening that will be hard to forget, so get your special someone, dress up and enjoy the show.”
The World Ballet Company production takes place at 7pm on Feb. 14 at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church St. Tickets: $45–$105; santacruztickets.com.
Hardly a day in Santa Cruz goes by that we don’t see some of Jim Phillips’ artwork, whether it’s the Screaming Hand, the Screaming Wave, the orange and yellow jelly bean or concert posters
John Edward Makens' directorial debut, Art and Life: The Story of Jim Phillips, which is showcasing at the Rio Theatre on Feb. 6, is a gem of a doc. Like all good documentaries, it’s thorough. Makens guides us on a rich journey of Jim Phillips’ life, and it’s a snapshot of a different time. The film will feel familiar...
