Capitola Wharf Reopened, More Repairs Needed

Todd Guild

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January 14, 2020

Capitola Wharf Reopened, More Repairs Needed

Quick engineering work and a bit of luck allowed the Wharf House Restaurant and Capitola Boat and Bait to reopen on Jan. 9, just a week after heavy winter surf destroyed two pilings that support the small boat hoist.

The New Year’s Day damage on the Capitola Wharf prompted immediate temporary fixes, including installation of a steel beam and braided cables that are currently holding up the damaged portion.

But even as hungry customers returned to the eatery, the boat business is hobbled without its hoist, which is the cornerstone of its business and out of commission until permanent repairs can be made.

“This is about 10 tons of concrete, and a small boat hoist that sits there, causing it to sag,” says Capitola Public Works Director Steve Jessberg.

Jessberg says he saw the area under the hoist sink six inches when he visited on Jan. 2, and another two inches a few hours later. It was the first time such settling has occurred, he says.

“It was moving quickly, and we determined that we needed to take immediate action to stop the hoist from falling into the ocean,” he says.

The Capitola City Council on Thursday unanimously approved the repair work, which so far has cost $25,000.

Engineers are now evaluating two options, the less desirable of which would require bringing in a pile driver to replace the broken pilings to the tune of $100,000.

Jessberg says the city is scheduling a team of divers who would evaluate the parts of the broken pilings that remain underwater, so that fiberglass-concrete pilings might be installed on top. That would cost about $50,000, Jessberg says, and is the option he recommended to the council.

In either case, the damaged wharf must be raised back into place. The work could include removal and reinstallation of the heavy hoist.

All the repair work comes from Measure F, the quarter-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2014 and again in 2016 to fund city services.

The fund currently has $1.2 million, which is earmarked for flume, jetty, and wharf improvements.

The City Council will approve the final project.

“I think we got really lucky,” Councilmember Ed Bottorff says. “Looking at that I think the fact that the hoist didn’t fall into the bay really was fortunate for us.”

Santa Cruz Gives Sees Record Donations

Steve Palopoli

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January 14, 2020

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In its fifth year, GT’s Santa Cruz Gives 2019 holiday giving campaign saw a record increase in donations over previous campaigns, and far exceeded its goal of raising $300,000 for local nonprofits, with a final tally of $410,048.

That total represents a 74% increase over last year’s $235,041 result.

As broken down by the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County, which has partnered with GT since the program’s inception in 2015, there were similarly remarkable jumps in several aspects of the 2019 campaign. Individual donations were up 81%, while matching/incentive funds rose a staggering 91 percent. The program crossed the 1,000 mark for individual donors for the first time, with a total of 1,022. The largest individual donation was $20,000.

In all, 37 nonprofits were selected to participate in this year’s Gives. The most money was raised by the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter Foundation; a total of $49,942. The SCCASF also had the most individual donors, with 317. For each of those accomplishments, they’ll receive $1,000 awards; a third $1,000 award for Most Innovative project will go to the Bird School Project, which focused their campaign on “Creating Leaders for the Environment.” All three awards are made possible by Oswald.

Despite the groups’ individual accomplishments, Santa Cruz Gives founder Jeanne Howard says that a review of this year’s results revealed how the campaign’s structure allowed the participating nonprofits to build on each other’s successes.

“Very few donors gave exclusively or even predominantly to one or two organizations,” says Howard. “Top donors consistently gave to five or ten or more organizations. This is exactly what we hope to inspire. It is also rare to see donors give only to environmental groups or only to youth groups or any single category. Most donors support nonprofits across the spectrum of needs.”

Besides the Volunteer Center and Oswald, GT has also drawn on the support of its other partners in Santa Cruz Gives—Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz County Bank and Wynn Capital Management—in finding its breakout success this year. A last-minute donation of $10,000 from the Community Foundation’s Applewood Fund put the campaign solidly over $400,000, which had been considered its “OMG goal.”

“The Community Foundation is proud to tip our hat and give thanks to the many generous people who helped break records in this year’s Gives campaign,” says the Community Foundation’s CEO Susan True. “We sponsor Gives because it’s exactly what we like to do most of all: bring people, resources and ideas together to inspire philanthropy and accomplish great things.”

‘Topics of Conversation’ Explores Power in Popular Culture

Wallace Baine

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January 14, 2020

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‘Topics of Conversation’ Explores Power in Popular Culture

The first buzzed-about novel of the 2020s has no overt Santa Cruz themes or references. But the subtext? That’s a different story.

Miranda Popkey’s newly released Topics of Conversation is a debut novel composed of a series of fictional encounters between an unnamed narrator and several other women over the course of 17 years. And those conversations and anecdotes always seem to lead, whether obliquely or explicitly, to themes of female desire, infidelity, violence, and victimization at the hands of predatory men. Whether it was meant to or not, the book will be seen as an uncomfortable if bracingly honest documentation of #MeToo disclosure.

The book is set, in part, in California—but in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, and Fresno. There are no references to Boardwalk rides or banana slugs.

The subtext comes from the 32-year-old novelist herself. Though she claims no one would ever guess it, Popkey is Santa Cruz County born-and-raised. And if her new book has any sense of restless spiritual dislocation to it, that may have started in her childhood.

“I think I had a feeling growing up that I was emotionally out of sync with Santa Cruz,” she says. “There is an easygoing vibe that the city has. But I’ve always been a little tighter-wound than your average Santa Cruz resident. I don’t surf. I don’t like to go to the beach. A lot of my adolescence was spent trying to figure out how I felt in relation to the place I grew up.”

Popkey, who now lives in Massachusetts, grew up in a series of homes with one divorced parent or the other, mostly in Ben Lomond and Bonny Doon. She graduated from Pacific Collegiate School in 2005. And at the age of 18, she left Santa Cruz for good.

Of the San Lorenzo Valley in particular, she says, “It’s a magical place. But there’s light magic, and then there’s dark magic.”

Popkey comes to Bookshop Santa Cruz on Jan. 16 to celebrate the release of Topics. If her attitude toward her hometown is ambivalent, her feelings toward Bookshop are much less complicated. “It’s incredible honor to read at Bookshop, which was one of my favorite places to spend time growing up.”

Regardless of her complex relationship with Santa Cruz, her return is triumphant, thanks to the new book, which has been well-received in media reviews across the country. There have been interviews on NPR, and recommendations from Time magazine, the Boston Globe, the New York Times, and other outlets.

The themes of the book—most vividly, how women are socialized to adapt to the demands of men—have been percolating with Popkey for most of her adult life. But she was just beginning to write some of the short stories that eventually became Topics when the revelations about predatory Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein first came to light in 2017.

“That was a big moment in unlocking what I wanted to write about, thinking about the kind of people who have been in control of our popular culture,” she says. “I thought about how far-reaching that really was, most horrifically for the women who were assaulted and raped, and whose life trajectories were changed by the fact that they had a single interaction with a man who had a great deal more power than they did—but also in the way that the women who watched the movies he produced were changed in smaller but not insignificant ways.”

Topics is notable not only for its themes, but also its narrative style. It is written in a kind of hyper-realistic adherence to the way people really speak, complete with conversational misdirections, weaponized bluntness, and the shorthand of intimacy.

“I wanted it to sound like people talk,” she says.

She credits listening to a lot of first-hand podcasts, particularly one from psychotherapist Esther Perel, for helping her internalize the natural rhythms of her prose.

Popkey says that growing up, her inclination as a writer was not toward fiction, but instead toward analytical writing. But she has found in fiction a basis for self-discovery.

“I always thought that if I ever wrote a novel, it would be embarrassingly autobiographical. The truth is every single feeling that is in this novel is a feeling that I have had, but nothing in the novel actually happened to me or anyone I know in the way [described in the novel].”

Her fish-out-of-water state of mind growing up may have sharpened her writer’s sense of empathy and self-awareness. But that sense of dislocation is part of her life still. In fact, she began writing the novel while staying at her mother’s house in Santa Cruz County.

“California is the place I’m from,” she says, “and it is part of my identity. It’s this problem that I’ve been trying to solve: I’m from California, but I don’t really seem like I am. But the older I get, the more the California comes out in me.”

Miranda Popkey will read from and discuss ‘Topics of Conversation’ at 7pm on Thursday, Jan. 16, at Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. Free. bookshopsantacruz.com.

What’s more important, security or privacy?

Columns

Matthew Cole Scott

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January 14, 2020

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What’s more important, security or privacy?

“Without security, privacy doesn’t mean very much.”

Melissa Brint

Walnut Creek

Retired

“I think that privacy is more important, because if you have a private place, you feel secure.”

Mikel Campbell

Santa Cruz

Artist

“You can’t have privacy without security. So I would say security is more important.”

Ralph Tunstell The 2nd

Santa Cruz

Writer/Musician

“Security first, then you can implement privacy.”

Robert Duffner

Santa Cruz

Product Marketer

“Well, don’t you want security for your privacy? And don’t you need privacy for your security? They are both the same thing.”

Aaliyah Wilson

Santa Cruz

Baker

Show Highlights Composer Jon Scoville’s Adventurous Career

Wallace Baine

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January 14, 2020

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Show Highlights Composer Jon Scoville’s Adventurous Career

The world of music is riven with rabbit holes into which composers, musicians and even fans often fall, never to emerge again. Veteran Santa Cruz composer Jon Scoville has not exactly avoided those holes—he’s just been able to find his way to the surface again.

Scoville’s astonishingly adventurous career as a composer is the centerpiece of a concert at Cabrillo College’s Crocker Theatre on Jan. 18 and 19, playfully titled “Scoville Units,” after the scale for determining the heat level of chili peppers. The show will feature more than a dozen Scoville originals, showcasing his embrace of styles from Balinese to tango to Brazilian, jazz and ballroom—and even a piece that touches on hip-hop, which he eventually labels simply as “urban.”

At the heart of the show, however, is Scoville’s decades-long work as the house composer for Tandy Beal & Company, which is run by his collaborator, muse, and spouse Tandy Beal.

Beal, one of the most prominent performing artists in Santa Cruz County for the last 40 years, is eager to bring Scoville into the spotlight.

“(This concert) is Tandy dragging me out of my nice little hideaway, where I can make music without any disturbances, and saying, ‘People need to hear what you’ve been doing for 40 years,’” says Scoville.

Joining the couple in celebrating Scoville’s restless musical spirit will be pianist Ivan Rosenblum, clarinetist Jeff Gallagher, the Premiere Saxophone Quartet, and dancers such as Rita Rivera, Mischa Scott, Molly Katzman, Paula Bliss, and many more.

“When we first started talking about this,” says Beal, who will perform a solo piece in the show, “it took about two years to convince him to come out of the background and say okay to it.”

Beal says the celebration of Scoville’s music will continue later this year with a new piece for theater and dance, and in 2021 with a re-staging of Tandy Beal & Co.’s signature work, the mesmerizing afterlife show Here After Here.

Growing up in Connecticut as the son of a Presbyterian minister, Scoville sang in the church choir from a young age, internalizing the stately tone of traditional Protestant hymns. But, as a budding composer, he quickly wandered farther afield.

“My sister, my mother, and my grandmother all played piano,” he says. “And I’d be upstairs listening to Duke Ellington, ’40s and ’50s jazz on the radio. I would turn off the radio and my sister would be playing a Bach partita. I was between these two poles of beautiful music. Early on, I got a taste for the wide world of sound, and I was not very judgmental about it. I listened to all of it.”

Scoville and Beal met in 1963 and moved together to California three years later. “I wanted to hear what all the noise was about,” he says.

They planned to land in San Francisco, but came first to Santa Cruz and never left. (Scoville was, in fact, the first employee hired at the new Bookshop Santa Cruz). He and Beal have lived together in the same house near Felton for more than 40 years.

At the time that they arrived, Santa Cruz was developing as a haven for new, adventurous, even avant-garde forms of music as the site of the Cabrillo Music Festival, and later New Music Works, and particularly as the home of internationally prominent composer Lou Harrison. Scoville and his insistent eclecticism come out of that culture.

“Lou was not a strict musical influence on my life,” Scoville says. “But he was a spiritual influence on my life. His sense of freedom to dive into other cultures and find what he liked in them set a standard for me.”

Another thing that Harrison and Scoville had in common was instrument building; Scoville even published a book on making instruments. But mostly, he buttered his bread with composing. For 40 years, he served on the faculty at the University of Utah, where he lived for four months out of the year. The rest of the year was spent in Santa Cruz, often collaborating with Beal and her dance troupe.

“Mostly, it’s Tandy,” says Scoville when asked about his productivity. “Having your muse in the next room is an advantage. If she likes what she hears, she slips a chocolate bar under the door.”

‘Scoville Units’ will be presented by Tandy Beal & Co. on Jan. 18 at 7:30pm, and Jan. 19 at 2 pm at Crocker Theatre on the Cabrillo College campus, Aptos. Tickets are $25-$50. tandybeal.com.

Rob Brezsny’s Astrology Jan. 15-21

Rob Brezsny

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January 14, 2020

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): Comedian John Cleese has an insight I hope you’ll consider. He says, “It’s easier to do trivial things that are urgent than it is to do important things that are not urgent. It’s also easier to do little things we know we can do than to start on big things that we’re not so sure about.” I hope you’ll make this advice a priority in the coming weeks. You’ll be wise to prioritize important tasks, even those that aren’t urgent, as you de-emphasize trivial matters that tempt you to think they’re crucial. Focus on big things that are challenging, rather than on little things that are a snap.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Author Honoré Balzac (1799–1850) was born with sun and Mercury in Taurus and in the tenth house. Astrologers might hypothesize from these placements that he was ambitious, productive, tenacious, diligent, realistic, and willful. The evidence supporting this theory is strong. Balzac wrote over 80 novels that displayed a profound and nuanced understanding of the human comedy. I predict that 2020 will be a year when you could make dramatic progress in cultivating a Balzac-like approach in your own sphere. But here’s a caveat: Balzac didn’t take good care of his body. He drank far too much coffee and had a careless approach to eating and sleeping. My hope is that as you hone your drive for success, you’ll be impeccable in tending to your health.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Before he was 21 years old, William Shakespeare and his wife had birthed three kids. When he was 25, while the brood was still young, he started churning out literary masterpieces. By the time Will became a grandfather at age 43, he had written many of the works that ultimately made him one of history’s most illustrious authors. From this evidence, we might speculate that being a parent and husband heightened his creative flow. I bring this to your attention because I want to ask you: What role will commitment and duty and devotion play in your life during the coming months? (I suspect it’ll be a good one.)

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Cancerian-born painter Stanley Spencer (1891–1959) didn’t align himself with any artistic movement. Early on, his work was an odd blend of French Post-Impressionism and 14th-century Italian painting. I appreciate his stylistic independence and suggest you draw inspiration from it in 2020. Another unique aspect of Spencer’s art was its mix of eroticism and religiosity. I think you’ll enjoy exploring that blend yourself in the coming months. Your spiritual and sexual longings could be quite synergistic. There’s one part of Spencer’s quirky nature I don’t recommend you imitate, however. He often wore pajamas beneath his clothes, even to formal occasions. Doing that wouldn’t serve your interests. (But it will be healthy for you to be *somewhat* indifferent to people’s opinions.)

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 1440s. In subsequent decades, millions of mass-produced books became available for the first time, making their contents available to a far wider audience than ever before. The printing press caused other changes, too—some not as positive. For instance, people who worked as scribes found it harder to get work. In our era, big culture-wide shifts are impacting our personal lives. Climate change, the internet, smart phones, automation, and human-like robots are just a few examples. What are doing to adjust to the many innovations? And what will you do in the future? Now is an excellent time to meditate on these issues.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You’re skilled at the art of self-editing. When bright new ideas well up in you, you understand they are not yet ready for prime time, but will need to be honed and finessed. When your creativity overflows, tantalizing you with fresh perspectives and novel approaches, you know that you’’ll have to harness the raw surge. However, it’s also true that sometimes you go too far in your efforts to refine your imagination’s breakthroughs; you over-think and over-polish. But I have a good feeling about the coming weeks, Virgo. I suspect you’ll find the sweet spot, self-editing with just the right touch.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Thomas Love Peacock was a Libran author whose specialty was writing satirical novels that featured people sitting around tables arguing about opinions and ideas. He was not renowned for cheerful optimism. And yet he did appreciate sheer beauty. “There is nothing perfect in this world,” he said, “except Mozart.” So much did Peacock love Mozart’s music that during one several-month stretch he attended six performances of the genius’ opera *Don Giovanni*. In this spirit, Libra, and in accordance with astrological indicators, I encourage you to make a list of your own perfect things—and spend extra time communing with them in the coming weeks.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Jean-Michel Basquiat started his career as a graffiti artist. When he evolved into being a full-time painter, he incorporated words amidst his images. On many occasions, he’d draw lines through the words. Why? “I cross out words so you will see them more,” he said. “The fact that they are obscured makes you want to read them.” In the coming weeks, you might benefit from discreetly using this strategy in your own life. In other words, draw attention to the things you want to emphasize by downplaying them or being mysterious about them or suggesting they are secret. Reverse psychology can be an asset for you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Because of the onslaught of the internet and social media, lots of people no longer read books. But in 2020, I highly recommend that you *not* be one of that crowd. In my astrological opinion, you need more of the slow, deep wisdom that comes from reading books. You will also benefit from other acts of rebellion against the Short Attention Span Era. Crucial blessings will flow in your direction as you honor the gradual, incremental approach to everything.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “I love to be surprised by something I have never thought of,” declares Capricorn actor Ralph Fiennes. According to my analysis of the astrological aspects, you’ll be wise to make that one of your top mottos in 2020. Why? First, life is likely to bring to your attention a steady stream of things you’ve never imagined. And second, your ability to make good use of surprises will be at an all-time high. Here’s further advice to help ensure that the vast majority of your surprises will be welcome, even fun: Set aside as many of your dogmas and expectations as possible, so that you can be abundantly receptive to things you’ve never thought of.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “I love fools’ experiments. I am always making them.” So said one of the most famous and influential scientists who ever lived, Aquarian-born naturalist Charles Darwin. In accordance with upcoming astrological factors, I invite you to draw inspiration from his approach. Allow yourself to explore playfully as you conduct fun research. Just assume that you have a mandate to drum up educational experiences, and that a good way to do that is to amuse yourself with improvisational adventures.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “How do you get your main pleasure in life?” That question was posed to Scorpio author Evelyn Waugh and Piscean social reformer William Beveridge. Waugh said, “I get mine spreading alarm and despondency.” Beveridge said, “I get mine trying to leave the world a better place than I found it.” I hope you will favor Beveridge’s approach over Waugh’s in 2020, Pisces—for two reasons. First, the world already has plenty of alarm and despondency; it doesn’t need even a tiny bit more. Second, aspiring to be like Beveridge will be the best possible strategy for fostering your mental and physical health.

Homework: How will you create the story of your life in 2020? RealAstrology.com.

Music Picks: Jan. 15-21

Aaron Carnes

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January 14, 2020

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WEDNESDAY 1/15

FOLK

SVER

If you like your folk from way back—and I’m talking way back—look no further than Nordic folk quintet Sver. Presented by the Celtic Society of Monterey, Sver brings the crisp flavors of the Scandinavians across space and time while keeping the traditional music alive. More than spirited followers of the music, they are all fantastic musicians, as evidenced by their latest album, Reverie, “recorded live…completely free of chopping” as they put it on their Bandcamp. MAT WEIR

7:30pm Michaels on Main, 2591 Main St., Soquel. $18/adv, $20/door. 479-9777.

THURSDAY 1/16

BLUEGRASS

GRATEFUL BLUEGRASS BOYS

Are you tired of hearing all your favorites songs not as bluegrass? Good thing the Grateful Bluegrass Boys are hitting the Michaels stage, banjos intact. I know you’re thinking that this is clearly a Grateful Dead cover band—and yes, they do bluegrass-ify some Dead tunes—but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Prepare yourself for an onslaught of tunes by Paul Simon, Led Zeppelin, Dire Straits, the Cars, Neil Young, Johnny Cash and Ray Charles—done in the most bluegrass-iest of ways. With the GBB, you’ll never have to suffer through another rock beat again! AC

7:30 pm Michaels on Main, 2591 Main St., Soquel. $10. 479-9777.

ALT HIP HOP

SAGE FRANCIS

It’s been almost 20 years since Sage Francis dropped his era-defining Personal Journals, but he hasn’t slowed down. Averaging about four albums a decade (not counting mixtapes), the Providence rapper still sounds just as nimble (and tormented) as he did around Y2K. Last May, he released This Was Supposed to Be Fun, the debut full length for his new project Epic Beard Men, a collaboration with rapper B. Dolan, whose unrushed delivery is a nice counterpoint to Francis’s KRS-One-style spit. Coheadlining on Thursday is the incandescent Sa-Roc, one of the best MCs on Rhymesayers. MIKE HUGUENOR

9pm Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Dr., Santa Cruz. $20/adv, $25/door. 479-1854.

FRIDAY 1/17

INDIE

AVIVA LE FEY

Aviva le Fey’s brand of Americana love songs aren’t the kind of slow-burning heartthrobs or giddy, marveling-at-first-love odes meant to be shared with your one and only. They’re the songs you sing along with alone, sobbing your way home from a break-up. They’re the ones you sing late at night, staring at the ceiling, trying to puzzle what when wrong, and when. Full of romantic yearning and aching introspection, Aviva’s piercing vocals lead you through the haunted fields of fallen lovers and unrequited attraction, searching for answers yet finding yourself forever lost, ever lovesick. AMY BEE

8pm Lille Aeske, 13160 Hwy 9, Boulder Creek. $20. 703-4183.

SOCAL ROCK

ALL SOULS

L.A. hard rockers All Souls say their biggest influence is the Pixies, but on recent single “Silence” there’s another ‘80s/’90s act they sound more like: Ozzy Osbourne. From the demented verse riff and creepily crooning melody (both of which sounds like they came straight of a haunted manor), to the Randy Rhoades-style guitar solo, “Silence” could be a page Ozz forgot to write in his Diary of a Madman. When All Souls come to Blue Lagoon, they play with San Jose’s Kook, who sound like Black Sabbath’s phantom limb. MH

8pm Blue Lagoon, 923 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz. $5. 423-7117.

SATURDAY 1/18

SOUL

PAWN SHOP SOUL

When Pawn Shop Soul started nearly a decade ago, they distinguished themselves from the other crate-digging retro soul tribute bands by placing their dynamic horn section up front and keeping the songs strictly instrumental. Now the group is releasing its first ever CD, and half the songs will feature locally revered vocalist Simone Cox providing actual singing. Unfortunately, Cox is leaving the area, but in the future, expect more vocal performances with with Angela Porter. Catch this show as one of the final opportunities to hear Cox sing the songs from the album. AC

8pm Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $12/adv, $15/door. 427-2227.

COMEDY

STEPH TOLEV

Pause for a moment and go check out the Steph and Deb three-episode mini-series on Comedy Central. Done? Great. Now that you’ve familiarized yourself with Steph Tolev’s brassy sketch comedy, you’re ready to check out her even brassier stand up. Her sets are full of all kinds of boorish little absurdisms that somehow end up charming and personable rather than full-on gross (although you may want to hurl a smidge during her cabbage soup diet bit). Relatable, respectably raunchy, and funny as hell, Steph Tolev will definitely make you pee a little, and laugh a lot. AB

7 & 9:30pm DNA’s Comedy Lab, 155 S River St., Santa Cruz. $20/adv, $25/door. 900-5123.

PSYCH-ROCK

SUPERNAUT

It’s 2020, so have your third eye open for some clear-minded foresight, starting with local psychedelic riders Supernaut. Since 2014, these guys have been delivering the heavy, fuzzed-out sounds of their twisted minds, but don’t start to freak out. You just arrived! Or so they say on the opening track of their killer new album, The Green, which dropped last November and is filled with apocalyptic, head-banging, smoke-sesh tracks. MW

9pm Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $6. 429-6994.

MONDAY 1/20

A CAPPELLA

SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK

Born in the waning days of the civil rights movement, Sweet Honey In the Rock was founded and directed by activist, vocalist and educator Bernice Johnson Reagon, a powerhouse singer deeply versed in an array of sacred and secular African-American musical idioms. She was such a potent presence that it was an open question whether the Grammy-winning all-women a cappella ensemble would continue to thrive after her retirement in 2004, but rapturous harmonies still flow from Sweet Honey. The group’s 45th anniversary tour brings the ensemble with a multi-generational cast. ANDREW GILBERT

7:30pm Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $42. 423-8209.

Avatar of Freedom and Liberty: Risa’s Stars Jan. 15-21

Risa D’Angeles

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January 14, 2020

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Mercury enters Aquarius this week; it’s the fourth quarter moon, our last week of Capricorn, and Monday is Martin Luther King Jr.’s Remembrance Day. “I have a dream,” he said. “I’ve been to the mountaintop, and I’ve seen the future.” Like Moses, MLK saw the Promised Land but was unable to enter there. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Capricorn, an upstanding disciple who possessed the courage, vision, insight and steadfast devotion needed to fulfil his task of freeing his people.

Behind all of his thoughts, writings, speeches and actions was a will and power, active intelligence and the love and wisdom needed to accomplish the Avataric tasks given to him. His Capricorn Sun gave him honor and dignity, will and magnetism and charismatic leadership displayed to the public. He was charming (Venus in Pisces, which made him a sacrifice and a savior), always seeking to unify people. MLK also had Mercury in Aquarius – a sign of a free thinker with a swift, quick, efficient mind. Important to his character was progress, originality and reform.

King was a fighter (Mars and Scorpio) for civil rights (Sag), and a peacemaker. Like the Christ, King “came with a sword,” a warrior for humanity’s freedom. King is most likely, like Lincoln, an “Avatar,” one who responds to and fulfills the spiritual hopes, wishes and needs of the people (Pluto in Cancer). Both Lincoln and King (martyrs) sought liberty for humanity. The New Group of World Servers today has taken up the banner both King and Lincoln held for humanity.

ARIES: You are bold, adventurous and know all about beginnings. We see everything scattered about you, waiting for Taurus to step in with stabilization and anchoring of your ideas. You’re able to accomplish great things if allowed freedom and non-judgment. You surprise everyone. Your desires and aspirations take you on journeys over mountains and plains. One day you sit down and begin to study. It builds your new mind. Love happens.

TAURUS: Your companion is Vulcan, husband of Venus. Many see you as the consistent, un-complex one, driven to care for others, sustaining them unto infinity. However, there’s another side. In the fires of Vulcan, in your service work, you are shaped into gold star of Venus. So often your response to new things is a firm “No”! Many think you’re stubborn, unable to change. What they don’t know is that you’re thinking, assessing, seeking mental illumination before really responding. Aldebaran and Alcyone are your companions.

GEMINI: Gemini (mutable), Virgo (mutable) and Aquarius (fixed) are the “people” of the zodiac. You, Gemini, are the twin, Virgo, the mother, and Aquarius pouring the “heavenly waters for thirsty humanity.” You provide the original matrix of learning, offer the fact of duality, the good and bad, the personality and soul, matter and spirit. You create a dialogue, a mystery often, one side (personality) of you dims while the other (soul) brightens. Your Egyptian god is Thoth. You carry messages. You’re the Magus.

CANCER: You are tide-like, moody, different each time we encounter you. You’re protected, shielded and walk crab-like around an object in order to ascertain safety. You’re intuitive, but often feelings are so deep they’re unable to be understood. You cook and nurture; find water where others can’t; the moon is your sister; and you remember the past with precision. You want to be close, but can’t unlock your shield. Try again.

LEO: You are the Solar Lord, no longer lunar. Your contact with the sun allows a light to be revealed on Earth, a light that humanity seeks and thirsts for. You’re aware of this and not aware of this. The Christ cannot reappear until a certain percentage of the world is illumined. You’re able to radiate light through Right Governing, Right Relations and coming always from the heart. Your work is to, like the Hierarchy, love more.

VIRGO: Sometimes you suffer from nervousness, the brilliance of your thinking overflowing with ideas that hardly any brain can hold. Your mind constantly changes, too, and then you feel unsure of ideas becoming ideals, and you think sometimes you need a new reality of self, one that contains a different level of confidence. Your constellation always hovers over the Bethlehem stable scene. You are holy. You are One.

LIBRA: Perhaps there’s something you need to discuss with another? Are you shifting priorities? Are the choices and decisions made months ago, changing again? Relationships are primary working tools for Libra. One day, having learned so much, you live alone for a while. Have you upheld fairness in the past years? So many times, the ideal in your mind cannot meet the reality on Earth. Do you then turn away? Venus loves you.

SCORPIO: So often, as fiery water, you can obsess about something or someone. So often you feel you’re dying. And so, you are, though not physically. Instead, experiencing the “burning grounds,” you’re tested nine times, everyone leaves you, and hardly anyone matches your passions. Surrender is a task Scorpios need to learn. Often you cannot hear others, listening as you do to your own emotions. Try. Pluto is your brother.

SAGITTARIUS: You think of yourself as free and easy, but really, you’re traditional, kind-hearted, often hurting since you’re best friends with Chiron, the centaur who was wounded and couldn’t die. Sometimes you feel this way, too. Let me tell you about Sag. Esoterically, you hold an arrow. Its point is a beam of light. It shows the way to the mountain of Initiation. You’re on a white horse. You hold the reins. Situations occur in your life that stop you in your tracks so you can find your way back to the light again. You’re often happy. Jupiter loves you.

CAPRICORN: Many think of you in one way, but deep down there’s another person that some only sense. You act like a traditionalist, but are actually a bit of a rebel. You may not show up in person for the revolution, but you’re with them in heart, mind, soul and spirit. You’re an old and ancient sign. You’re the gate through which people can gain spiritual access. You don’t know this. Sometimes people turn away from you. They can’t enter through your gate yet. You understand. Heart to heart.

AQUARIUS: Some Aquarians act like the traditional Capricorns and some act like “no-saying” Taurus. Some Aquarians are from the future. They came here on a star ship and feel lost, alien, interested, curious and wondering when they can go home. The spiritual Aquarian holds a water pot. In that pot are the stars of astrology, the emerging symbols and sounds of creation, the new physics, and the “waters of life the Aquarian pours forth for thirsty humanity.” Aquarians need community. Where is it, they ask? You’re to create it.

PISCES: Well, you realize that when you read other people’s interpretation of you (Pisces) it often misses the mark, saying things like Neptune rules you (what does that mean?) and you’re either drunk, confused, illusioned or in despair. But you know life as a Pisces is different. You live in the etheric folds of the universe where the very templates of life are created, filled with starry light beings. You’re one yourself, visiting here for a while. Sorrow you understand—and Light, too. Light of the World. Savior.

Be Our Guest: ‘Between Two Worlds’

GT Staff

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January 14, 2020

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Bassist Jeff Denson and guitarist Romain Pilon met 20 years ago as young, hopeful jazz students at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. The two charted their own impressive careers, occasionally joining forces whenever possible. A few years ago Denson toured with drummer Brian Blade and immediately recognized him as a kindred spirit. Denson realized that Blade was the third piece of the puzzle he’d been building with Pilon. The trio recorded an album together, Between Two Worlds, and it’s a behemoth of a jazz record. Now the threesome hits the road and brings this remarkable record to the stage.

7pm, Thursday, Feb. 6, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $26.25/adv, $31.50/door. Information: kuumbwajazz.org.

WANT TO GO?

Go to santacruz.com/giveaways before 11am on Thursday, Jan. 30 to find out how you could win a pair of tickets to the show.

Hollins House Chef Heads to Venus Spirits Cocktails & Kitchen

Christina Waters

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January 14, 2020

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Hollins House Chef Heads to Venus Spirits Cocktails & Kitchen

After almost ten years as the wizard of Hollins House restaurant, chef John-Paul Lechtenberg is taking his skills into a bold new arena at the new Venus Spirits Cocktails & Kitchen, scheduled to open in April. I caught up with the 32-year-old chef—and brand-new father—to find out how this new gig came about.

“I’d heard about the plans to open the place, and was interested in the idea of a new restaurant on the Westside where I have a lot of family,” he told me.

Lechtenberg contacted entrepreneur Sean Venus, and got the job—“we met and hit it off.” The chef told me his goal is ultimately to own his own restaurant, and “this was a great opportunity—getting it all started, being involved in the trouble shooting, and being able to add my own expression from the beginning.”

With experience at Spruce, Hayes Street Grill, and Au Midi, Lechtenberg wasn’t interested in joining a group whose ideas were already set in stone.

“Here it’s a collaboration of the whole team,” he says.

Stripe Design Group is orchestrating optics for the 100-seat restaurant, and overseeing the front of the house will be Catreina McGovert, who most recently opened the Jack O’Neill Lounge in the Dream Inn.

Asked about the trickiness of designing a menu to pair with liquor, Lechtenberg says, “that’s the cool thing. Since this is craft spirits, I like to zoom into the underlying ingredients in the liquors, rather than just putting liquor into the foods.” With the celebrated Venus Gin No.2, for instance, the chef was interested in exploring the gin’s spices, florals and berries, and utilizing those in recipe experimentation.

The new Venus restaurant’s culinary story could be called “Americana,” and Lechtenberg points to our melting-pot culture. “Especially here in California,” he says. “We have everything —Spanish, French, Native American. This is an American restaurant. There are no walls as far as where we’ll go, but it will be refined in the sense of using the best of the season. Absolutely no limits to what we’re planning.”

Lechtenberg made it a point to add that he was looking forward to bringing in new cooks to learn and grow—“I want the kitchen to be a learning environment.” From the new Venus dining room, we can expect “cocktails that complement the food and food that complements the cocktails.” The focus will be on shared plates, says the chef. “Meals can begin with bar snacks and then move on to shared entrees. Communal dining will be encouraged. I married into a Greek family where entrees are always shared.”

Slow Food Santa Cruz

If you hurry you can catch an all-star tasting from artisan cheesemakers paired with fine craft beers on Thursday, January 16, from 4:30-7pm at Staff of Life Market, 1266 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. Expect to sample cheeses from France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, the UK, and California and learn tasty details from the producers themselves. Should be a terrific opportunity to expand your palate at one of our natural foods landmarks.

Spicy Fungus

January is Mushroom Month (for obvious meteorological reasons), so check out the mushroom special this month at Barceloneta—grilled mushrooms encircling a Spanish-style fried egg, and dusted with parsley-garlic ajillo with black truffles. Si!

LATEST ARTICLES

LATEST ARTICLES

LATEST ARTICLES

LATEST ARTICLES

Miranda Popkey will read from and discuss ‘Topics of Conversation’ at 7pm on Thursday, Jan. 16, at Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. Free. bookshopsantacruz.com.

Melissa Brint

Walnut Creek

Retired

Mikel Campbell

Santa Cruz

Artist

Ralph Tunstell The 2nd

Santa Cruz

Writer/Musician

Robert Duffner

Santa Cruz

Product Marketer

Aaliyah Wilson

Santa Cruz

Baker

‘Scoville Units’ will be presented by Tandy Beal & Co. on Jan. 18 at 7:30pm, and Jan. 19 at 2 pm at Crocker Theatre on the Cabrillo College campus, Aptos. Tickets are $25-$50. tandybeal.com.

WEDNESDAY 1/15

FOLK

SVER

7:30pm Michaels on Main, 2591 Main St., Soquel. $18/adv, $20/door. 479-9777.

THURSDAY 1/16

BLUEGRASS

GRATEFUL BLUEGRASS BOYS

7:30 pm Michaels on Main, 2591 Main St., Soquel. $10. 479-9777.

ALT HIP HOP

SAGE FRANCIS

9pm Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Dr., Santa Cruz. $20/adv, $25/door. 479-1854.

FRIDAY 1/17

INDIE

AVIVA LE FEY

8pm Lille Aeske, 13160 Hwy 9, Boulder Creek. $20. 703-4183.

SOCAL ROCK

ALL SOULS

8pm Blue Lagoon, 923 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz. $5. 423-7117.

SATURDAY 1/18

SOUL

PAWN SHOP SOUL

8pm Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $12/adv, $15/door. 427-2227.

COMEDY

STEPH TOLEV

7 & 9:30pm DNA’s Comedy Lab, 155 S River St., Santa Cruz. $20/adv, $25/door. 900-5123.

PSYCH-ROCK

SUPERNAUT

9pm Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $6. 429-6994.

MONDAY 1/20

A CAPPELLA

SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK

7:30pm Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $42. 423-8209.

7pm, Thursday, Feb. 6, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $26.25/adv, $31.50/door. Information: kuumbwajazz.org.

WANT TO GO?

Go to santacruz.com/giveaways before 11am on Thursday, Jan. 30 to find out how you could win a pair of tickets to the show.

Spicy Fungus