What keeps you going?

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March 31, 2020

“Optimism for the bounty that tomorrow holds for our civilization. And spending time at the ocean to continue to bring nourishing food to Santa Cruz.”

Ian O’Hollaren

Santa Cruz

Commercial Kelp Harvester

“Mother nature. Knowing that she is in a time of need more than ever now. We need to be making more conscious choices about our purchases and everything that we’re doing in our daily lives.”

Dary Williams

Santa Cruz

Greenhouse Operations

“Having people I love that I can spend this time with. Right now I’m still working, so I still have income. I just know that we’re going to get through this.”

Zoe Wilschinsky

Human Resources

“My kids are keeping me really busy, and I’m cooking a lot and getting outside.”

Taflyn Wilschinsky

Santa Cruz

Physical Therapist

“Supporting my friends and my family, and being there to stay connected to my community.”

Stephanie Silva

Shipping and Receiving

Call It A Quarantstream: Musicians Take Performances Online

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March 31, 2020

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Call It A Quarantstream: Musicians Take Performances Online

For local musician Mahlon Aldridge, there’s always something special about volunteering at the Hearts and Hands Post Acute Care Rehab Center in Santa Cruz, where he’s been performing for 23 years with his ensemble of musician friends. Residents at Hearts and Hands suffer from a range of ailments—dementia, stroke, head injury—but they cherish Aldridge and his crew, as they gather people in the dining area to play songs by Led Zeppelin, Billy Preston, and Johnny Cash.

“It’s tough for them. They have a very small social world. Many never have visitors,” Aldridge says. “By the time we leave, people are lit up. They’ve been moving their bodies, singing, interacting with each other. You leave with a bit more crackling energy in the room.”

But these performances came to a sudden halt when the COVID-19 pandemic brought a statewide shelter-in-place order. With many of the residents at Hearts and Hands in the high-risk category for coronavirus, they’ve been mostly confined to their rooms.

On Friday, March 27, Aldridge performed for residents again, but this time online. With community-donated, Zoom-loaded iPads, he and his friends gave the residents music and social interaction at a time they most needed it. They’re hoping with some financial support they can expand their efforts.

This is the new, uncharted reality musicians face. With no public gatherings allowed, live music is effectively off the table for the foreseeable future. But that hasn’t stopped musicians from bringing music to the world. At a national level, it has ironically been an older and supposedly less-tech-savvy generation of artists like Willie Nelson, Patti Smith and Paul Simon who have led the way to a new norm over the last month.

Closer to home, musician Ben Morrison’s bluegrass group Brothers Comatose were scheduled to play Felton Music Hall on March 26. This show, along with an East Coast solo tour, was canceled. As a full-time musician, Morrison makes 95% of his income through live gigs. Now he lives with financial uncertainty.

“We fall outside the norms of society. We don’t have normal unemployment. We don’t have big savings accounts,” Morrison says. “We’re basically working paycheck to paycheck, completely funded by live shows.”

Fans have stepped up, purchasing more merchandise. And he’s done what nearly all musicians are now doing, performing Facebook Live concerts for tips. He’s made Fridays at 4pm his regular livestream timeslot.

“People are really coming through and supporting in whatever ways they know how,” Morrison says.

Local musician Dan Frechette had to cancel his upcoming Canadian tour. Not only was he strapped for cash, but he had more time on his hands, and he’s been livestreaming concerts on Facebook nearly every 12 hours. He’s made this month’s income through livestream tips, Bandcamp sales, Patreon subscribers and by selling a package of his entire discography—a whopping 61 albums—digitally and physically. In April, he starts over.

“I have nothing in my calendar ’til May or June. I don’t know if that’ll happen,” Frechette says. “It’s good for creatives because we’re able to share music with people that are needing it. If I can cheer people up with my banjo, I’m happy to do it.”

Like most other musicians, Frechette is just beginning to figure out the technical aspects of this—how to improve the audio and video quality and treat it like an actual gig.

Tim Brady from local group Cement Ship has been considering livestreaming shows. Since he’s not a full-time musician yet, he plans to donate the proceeds to non-profit H2O Malawi, dedicated to releasing the prisoners in the city of Mzuzu.

“It’s a new thing for everybody. You have to be your own broadcast system, as opposed to just playing music,” Brady says. “It’s an uncertain time, but everybody’s in the same boat right now.”

All of Santa Cruz’s music community is finding ways to adapt to this new reality. At Be Natural Music, where Music Director Matthew D Pinck has music lessons for 175 kids, he switched them all over to Zoom lessons on March 17.

“The kids are just screaming for normality,” Pinck says. “Some didn’t like it at first. Then a couple days later, they want their music lessons [back].”

No one is quite sure what the world will be like when live music returns. But when we get there, we will suddenly have a lot of people normalized to livestreaming and Zoom technology.

“There’s going to be some kind of phoenix from the fire that will rise out of this,” Morrison says. “Touring is hard. If there’s an option to replace some of that with this alternate method, then I think that’s going to happen.”

For continuing in-depth coverage of the new coronavirus and its effects locally, visit goodtimes.sc/category/santa-cruz-news/coronavirus.

To learn about action you can take now, whether you’re seeking assistance or want to find ways of supporting the community, visit goodtimes.sc/santa-cruz-coronavirus-resources.

New Titles from NorCal Authors for Your Reading List

Wallace Baine

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March 31, 2020

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New Titles from NorCal Authors for Your Reading List

Across Northern California, author talks and book signings are on ice for a while. But the publishing industry, which prepares releases many months in advance, has plenty to offer—and is mindful that shelter-in-place is potentially a golden opportunity for reading.

Book lovers who want to show a degree of solidarity with Bay Area or Northern California authors have lots of options for 2020 of new books in stores now, and on the horizon. Meanwhile, Amazon announced that it was de-prioritizing book deliveries during the COVID-19 pandemic—a move that has given independent booksellers a chance to get back in the game of book delivery in this social-distancing era, with mail order and in some cases even curbside pickup.

Available now is the latest from novelist, memoirist, and literary activist Dave Eggers. It’s a very short satirical novel titled The Captain and the Glory (Penguin Random House) about a cruise ship that elects an unqualified buffoon as its captain. Eggers isn’t playing coy here; the parallels with the Trump era are almost too painful to laugh at. It’s pointed, very dark, and blazingly partisan, and can probably be consumed in an afternoon.

Also newly released is the new memoir from the defiantly feminist writer and essayist Rebecca Solnit. Recollections of My Nonexistence (Viking) traces the author’s evolving worldview through her experiences of living in 1980s San Francisco. She traces her discovery of many marginal communities of artists and activists, the persecution of women on a daily basis through casual harassment and violence, and the joys of walking the neighborhoods of the city.

Beth Lisick’s Edie on the Green Screen (SPD) is another new novel of particular interest to NorCal readers. The novel tells the story of a 1990s San Francisco party girl who has grown into a middle-aged woman trying to reconcile her lifestyle in the era of tech bros and Silicon Valley monoculture.

Chinese-born San Francisco writer C. Pam Zhang is creating buzz with her new novel How Much of These Hills is Gold (Riverhead), due in April. The historical novel, set in the post-Gold Rush American West, follows the lives of two immigrant siblings from China, newly orphaned, negotiating a world that doesn’t want them.

Celebrated Santa Cruz poet Ellen Bass, who appears regularly in The New Yorker, releases her new volume of poems Indigo in April, reflecting on her parents’ lives, her challenges with growing older, and the image she’s creating now with her adult children.

Writer and adventurer Bonnie Tsui releases her latest book April 14. It’s a journalistic exploration of the human relationship to water called Why We Swim (Algonquin), with nods to the waters of the San Francisco Bay. It works as a kind of companion for those who enjoyed the similarly themed Blue Mind by Santa Cruz scientist J. Wallace Nichols.

Marin-based writer Kate Milliken is releasing her debut novel Kept Animals, set at a California horse ranch and following three teen girls negotiating tragedy and the aftermath of a devastating wildfire. It’s due April 21.

San Francisco native Alia Volz has a helluva story to tell. Volz is set to release her new memoir with the self-explanatory title Home Baked: My Mom, Marijuana and the Stoning of San Francisco (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). The book tells the story of the author’s family’s rewarding sideline during the 1970s and ’80s, delivering roughly 10,000 cannabis-powered brownies a month—Sticky Fingers Brownies, for those who might remember—to customers around the Bay Area, including those suffering through the early days of the AIDS crisis.

Due in June is a promising title by memoirist Kendra Atleework, who documents her deep attachments to her native home in the eastern Sierras and particularly in the town of Bishop. Miracle Country combines her own family story with a historian’s eye view of the infamous California water wars—in which the region’s rich water legacy was essentially hijacked by thirsty Los Angeles.

Also in June will be the newest from Santa Cruz novelist Laurie R. King, the author of the popular Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes line of historically oriented mysteries. King’s new book is called Riviera Gold and will transport readers back a century ago to the Roaring Twenties on the French Riviera.

Dylan’s Ballad – Love Song for the End Times: Risa’s Stars April 1-7

Risa D’Angeles

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March 31, 2020

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Dylan’s Ballad – Love Song for the End Times: Risa’s Stars April 1-7

Esoteric Astrology as news for the week of April 1, 2020

Bob Dylan (Taurus/Gemini/Sag–enlightened musician/messenger) unexpectedly released a new almost-17-minute ballad, “Murder So Foul”—a tribute to John F. Kennedy (“searching for his soul”) relating not only his death on that November day in 1963, but also bringing us up to our present strange times. The release of Dylan’s song is purposeful, offering us one of the major pieces in the puzzle of world events today. The past has come to the present, prophesizing and revealing itself.

The song describes the ’60s counterculture and calls to various aspects of our culture with a quiet background of violin, cello and piano. It’s hushed, like a mantra, a chant, spoken/sung in one key, the key of C—the ancient solfeggio frequency, the “love” frequency, the miracle tone, the sound of nature, of natural design, the sound within our DNA. What we need now as a humanity.

Let us look at the numbers. 528 hz – 5+2+8=15; and 1+5=6 (using Pythagorean math). The symbol “6” reflects the “spiraling down from heaven into the wholeness of earth.” The love frequency can be fundamental to broadcasting—bringing forth and manifesting all energy into reality according to the laws of physics. Dylan’s song is rich with allusions and expressive of a great wound humanity has carried since Kennedy’s death.

Dylan, in his usual cutting and mysterious self, describes not only the assassination but our times now. “What’s new pussycat? What’d I say? I said the soul of a nation been torn away / And it’s beginning to go into a slow decay / And that it’s 36 hours past Judgment Day.” Listen to the lyrics. It’s heart wrenching, it’s epic. A love song.

ARIES: It’s most important to think about goodwill and right relations to replace competitiveness, lack of tact, frustrations, headstrongness and brusque aggressiveness. Have the intentions to bring forth diplomacy. Allow your endeavors and physical activities to create resources that help, assist and serve others. As you make all things new, make them beautiful and harmonious, too—helping others to the “new frontier.”

TAURUS: Your subconscious comes to life, and all your assertive abilities go into hiding. In the deepest parts of yourself, you become courageous and brave. You may remember things from the past that create worry or anxiety. Tend to your body and nervous system with care, choosing foods that calm and lessen inflammation. A spiritual presence enters your life. You may attend or join a church, or begin a serious garden, knowing nature’s body is the body of God.

GEMINI: You need friends to chat and discuss new ideas with. You need new ones or old revolutionary ones that attract the radical informative sociable part of yourself. Many old ways of thinking need to fall away to understand the present critical times. Whatever your goals, it will be new thinking and awakened friends who help you move from here to there. Friends that help you value your special Mercurial Venusian self.

CANCER: You wonder about worldly attainment, how to understand your role during these times. You want to be remembered as a server. The protective shell of Cancer is good for these times. You don’t have to make excuses as to why you’re home so much. Home is your stage, your solace, your place of protection. It’s the place where you are the best you can be. Where you’re impulsive, trusting yourself, and shedding your shell for a moment or two.

LEO: You find yourself setting goals, planning and considering far distant travels. Perhaps not now, but when the world rights itself again. Your interest in philosophy, culture, religion and education can only be done in dreams at this time. This is a good time for personal study, for tending to daily life. When tending to your environment, bringing forth order and organization you feel more in control, optimistic and vitalized. Serve yourself now, Leo.

VIRGO: It would be good to read Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces during these quiet silent days, unmasking the “invisible man.” And good to look at, study and draw symbols to anchor the new archetypes of the new age. These will energize your life, release the most positive dimensions of your personality and soul. There will be a seeking for redemption and the way toward this will be revealed in dreams.

LIBRA: Although not quite aware of this, you’re quite brave. Others see this and want to be like you. You recognize others’ bravery because bravery and courage also rest within you like two bright shadows. You have a great sense of justice and seek to help those in need. In serving others in this crisis time, be sure to rest more so you don’t lose your way. Home is your safeguard, your sangha, your refuge. Crying is good.

SCORPIO: Here are questions you might ask yourself these days: Where is my service, what is my service and whom can I serve? How is my health, am I tending to my duties with responsibility and care? Do I practice right relations with all my relationships, with all kingdoms? Am I determined and do I hold myself in high regard? Do my words create goodwill and peace in others? Where is the truth and where is it found?

SAGITTARIUS: Most important at this time is your value system, your creativity in helping others, the supreme effort you make to see who is in need. You can do all these things in between pursuing entertainment, fun, pleasure, well-being and happiness. You can bring fun, playfulness, music and spirituality to others as long as you don’t get impatient. Wear colors that soothe, calm and nurture. Like green. The color of magic.

CAPRICORN: There is a shift or perhaps an acceleration of your foundation and base of operation. Psychological roots, your childhood, how you were nurtured, how you learned to nurture come into focus. You are fiercely protective of your family while actively pursuing creative arts. Great demands are made on families and loved ones these days. Always bring a sense of humor and play to all that you do. It nurtures people. Hold their hands.

AQUARIUS: Aquarius is the server of the zodiac. They step forward when humanity is in need. I heard you are working overtime—serving others even when tired and exhausted. Aquarius is the sign of humanity, and Aquarians love humanity. They have an independence of thought and a need for freedom. You are the light that shines on Earth for others. A light in the darkness until the dark is gone. You aid in the unfolding of the new era of freedom. It’s here now.

PISCES: Like all of humanity now, you will be wondering what is of value to you while simultaneously wondering what to dispose of, give away and generally release much of what was previously considered materially valuable. Many will find ourselves with only a suitcase or two, passport, laptop, phone, nothing else. This is a significant time for humanity seeking to be saved. It’s Pisces who has the key. Go where you are needed. Fear nothing. You know help’s on the way.

Rob Brezsny’s Astrology: April 1-7

Rob Brezsny

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March 31, 2020

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Free will astrology for the week of April 1, 2020

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “If all the world’s a stage, where the hell is the teleprompter?” asks aphorist Sami Feiring. In my astrological opinion, you Aries are the least likely of all the signs to identify with that perspective. While everyone else might wish they could be better prepared for the nonstop improvisational tests of everyday life, most of you tend to prefer what I call the “naked spontaneity” approach. If you were indeed given the chance to use a teleprompter, you’d probably ignore it. Everything I just said is especially and intensely true for you right now.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): When Nobel Prize–winning Norwegian author Knut Hamsun was 25 years old, a doctor told him that the tuberculosis he had contracted would kill him within three months. But in fact, Hamsun lived 67 more years, till the age of 92. I suspect there’s an equally erroneous prophecy or unwarranted expectation impacting your life right now. A certain process or phenomenon that seems to be nearing an end may in fact reinvent or resurrect itself, going on to last for quite some time. I suggest you clear away any misapprehensions you or others might have about it.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I invite you to remember what you were thinking and feeling around your birthday in 2019. Were there specific goals you hoped to accomplish between then and your birthday in 2020? Were there bad old habits you aimed to dissolve and good new habits you proposed to instigate? Was there a lingering wound you aspired to heal or a debilitating memory you longed to conquer? The coming weeks will be an excellent time to take inventory of your progress in projects like those. And if you find you have achieved less than you had hoped, I trust you will dedicate yourself to playing catch-up in the weeks between now and your birthday. You may be amazed at how much ground you cover.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I can’t swim. Why? There was a good reason when I was a kid: I’m allergic to chlorine, and my mom wouldn’t let me take swimming lessons at the local chlorine-treated pool. Since then, the failure to learn is inexcusable, and I’m embarrassed about it. Is there an equivalent phenomenon in your life, my fellow Cancerian? The coming weeks might be an excellent time to meditate on how to correct the problem. Now excuse me while I head out to my solo, self-administered swim lesson at Bass Lake, buoyed by the instructions I got from a YouTube video.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Is William Shakespeare the greatest author who ever lived? French philosopher Voltaire didn’t think so, calling him “an amiable barbarian.” Russian superstar author Leo Tolstoy claimed the Bard had “a complete absence of aesthetic feeling.” England’s first Poet Laureate, John Dryden, called Shakespeare’s language “scarcely intelligible.” T. E. Lawrence, a.k.a Lawrence of Arabia, declared the Bard had a second-rate mind. Lord Byron said, “Shakespeare’s name stands too absurdly high and will go down.” His contemporary, the poet and playwright Ben Johnson, asserted that he “never had six lines together without a fault.” I offer these cheeky views to encourage you Leos to enjoy your own idol-toppling and authority-questioning activities in the coming weeks. You have license to be irrepressible iconoclasts.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo-born Jack Ma is China’s richest person and one of the world’s most powerful businessmen. He co-founded Alibaba, the Chinese version of Amazon.com. He likes his employees to work hard, but also thinks they should cultivate a healthy balance between work and life. In his opinion, they should have sex six times a week, or 312 times a year. Some observers have suggested that’s too much—especially if you labor 12 hours a day, six days a week, as Jack Ma prefers—but it may not be excessive for you Virgos. The coming months could be a very erotic time. But please practice safe sex in every way imaginable.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): How hard are you willing to work on your most important relationships? How might your life change for the better if you gave them your most potent resourcefulness and panache? The next eight weeks will be a favorable time for you to attend to these matters, Libra. During this fertile time, you will have unprecedented power to reinvigorate togetherness with imaginative innovations. I propose you undertake the following task: Treat your intimate alliances as creative art projects that warrant your supreme ingenuity.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “I make mistakes,” confessed author Jean Kerr. “I’ll be the second to admit it.” She was making a joke, contrasting her tepid sense of responsibility with the humbler and more common version of the idiom, which is “I make mistakes; I’ll be the first to admit it.” In the coming weeks, I’ll be fine if you merely match her mild level of apology—just so long as you do indeed acknowledge some culpability in what has gone amiss or awry or off-kilter. One way or another, you need to be involved in atonement and correction—for your own sake.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): If you have been thinking of adopting a child or getting pregnant with a new child, the coming weeks will be a favorable time to enter a new phase of rumination about that possibility. If you’ve been dreaming off and on about a big project that could activate your dormant creative powers and captivate your imagination for a long time to come, now would be a perfect moment to get more practical about it. If you have fantasized about finding a new role that would allow you to express even more of your beauty and intelligence, you have arrived at a fertile phase to move to the next stage of that fantasy.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I suggest you make room in your life for a time of sacred rejuvenation. Here are activities you might try: Recall your favorite events of the past. Reconnect with your roots. Research your genetic heritage. Send prayers to your ancestors, and ask them to converse with you in your dreams. Have fun feeling what it must have been like when you were in your mother’s womb. Get a phone consultation with a past life regression therapist who can help you recover scenes from your previous incarnations. Feel reverence and gratitude for traditions that are still meaningful to you. Reaffirm your core values—the principles that serve as your lodestar. And here’s the No. 1 task I recommend: Find a place of refuge in your imagination and memories; use your power of visualization to create an inner sanctuary.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Are we just being poetic and fanciful when we say that wonder is a survival skill? Not according to the editors who assembled the collection of essays gathered in a book called Wonder and Other Survival Skills. They propose that a capacity to feel awe and reverence can help us to be vital and vigorous; that an appreciation for marvelous things makes us smart and resilient; that it’s in our selfish interests to develop a humble longing for sublime beauty and an attraction to sacred experiences. The coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to dive deep into these healing pleasures, dear Aquarius.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): For decades, the city of Sacramento, California suffered from severe floods when the Sacramento and American Rivers overflowed their banks. Residents authorized a series of measures to prevent these disasters, culminating in the construction of a 59,000-acre floodplain that solved the problem. According to my analysis, the coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to plan an equally systematic transformation. It could address a big ongoing problem like Sacramento’s floods, or it could be a strategy for reorganizing and recreating your life so as to gloriously serve your long-term dreams.

Homework: Tell jokes to humorists. Be extra kind to kind people. Sing songs to the birds. Change the way you change. freewillastrology.com.

Takeout Options Abound At Santa Cruz County Restaurants

Christina Waters

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March 31, 2020

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Takeout Options Abound At Santa Cruz County Restaurants

How easy was it?

It was easy as pie to call up, place an order, provide a credit card number and then swing by the Walnut Avenue entrance to the wine shop of Soif, where my order was carried directly into the trunk of my car. And away I went with one order of lasagna bolognese ($15), and another of half roast chicken ($20). Incredible aromas and beautiful food! Scooped onto our own plates and joined by glasses of Birichino Grenache, the meal lacked only the chic ambience of the restaurant itself.

The lasagna, layered with lots of beef sausage, greens—spinach perhaps—and creamy ricotta, was perfection. The garlic francese bread went quickly as did the crisp, garlicky Caesar salad. Super moist, succulent roast chicken arrived with its own caper olive oil dressing, plus the ultimate comfort food—potato gratin studded with artichoke. There was also plump grilled asparagus. This is comfort food made by experts.

We of course left a 20% tip on our credit card and hope that when we all awake from this strange dream, Soif will be there for us. Now it’s time for us to be there for them.

Soif takeout, 3pm-7pm, Monday-Friday. Call 423-3030 or email al****@******ne.com.

Forging ahead on an inauspicious week, David Kinch’s Mentone has opened for curbside pizza pickup. In addition to a handful of attractive t-shirts to purchase online, the long-awaited Aptos Village dining room currently offers three pizzas made on the wood-fired oven, plus a salad niçoise for two and some bracing cocktails-to-go. Sounds like an entry plan for the new place until the full menu and restaurant are open for patrons.

Mentone curbside pickup, 4pm until sold out, Wednesday-Sunday. Call 708-1174 or visit mentonerestaurant.com.

Nothing beats the intimate charm of Gabriella Cafe’s interlocking dining rooms, but until we can get back to toasting each other face to face, we can enjoy Gabriella’s food to go. Proprietor Paul Cocking suggests using Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub, or simply call in your order to 457-1677 and pick it up curbside. The substantial menu includes a full roster of specialty appetizers, salads, pappardelle, porcini gnocchi, butternut squash ravioli, white bean soup, and a range of mouth-watering entrees.

Gabriella Cafe, 910 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. gabriellacafe.com.

I placed my online order last week for Dirty Girl Produce delivery, selecting a $20 salad box from Joe Shirmer’s farm, and 48 hours later it arrived on my front doorstep loaded with infant chicories, lettuces, radishes, scallions and puntarelle! I shared half the bounty with my neighbor and am already planning to order the $40 hardy veggie box—with beets, carrots, cabbage, broccoli greens, dried beans, and jarred dry-farmed tomatoes to split with two others in my neighborhood. Start thinking freestyle CSA, people.

Dirty Girl Produce box delivery on Wednesdays and Sundays. Pickup also available at the downtown Santa Cruz farmers’ market 1:30-5:30pm Wednesday, or at Live Oak farmers’ market 9am-1pm on Sunday. dirty-girl-produce.myshopify.com.

New Leaf Community Markets has your back. During the new 8am-8pm hours, the first hour of the day is reserved for seniors and other high-risk members of the community. The Wednesday senior discounts now extend to all hours, Monday through Friday. And please leave those reusable bags and beverage containers at home.

Companion Bakeshop continues to bring heavenly pastries to the Cabrillo, Westside, and Live Oak farmers’ markets. While the Aptos store is currently closed, they have walk-up service at their Westside Bakeshop at 2341 Mission St. from 8am-2pm, says Bakeshop owner Erin Lampel. Call the Westside location at 252-2253, and they can have items ready to be picked up.

The dining room at Persephone in Aptos may be closed, but a new take-out menu is available for pre-order. Orders must be placed by 11am day of for pick up 3-5:30pm Friday-Sunday. Something a bit different here: Your order is provided cold and comes with heating instructions for finishing at home. This way patrons can enjoy the food freshly cooked, rather than needing re-heating at home.

Persephone, 7945 Soquel Drive, Aptos. persephonerestaurant.com.

One of our most enduring restaurants, Hindquarter Bar and Grille, is offering a special curbside pickup menu April 1-5 from 1-6pm. There are lots of food, wine and beer choices. As with every food purveyor, Hindquarter will make it through all of this only if their patrons support them right now!

426-7770, thehindquarter.com

Check out our continually updating list of local takeout and delivery options.

Ryan Lee Creates ‘Tiny Desk’-Style Channel for Santa Cruz

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March 31, 2020

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Ryan Lee Creates ‘Tiny Desk’-Style Channel for Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz’s Ryan Lee never imagined a record label interested in his solo recordings. In fact, the only reason he recorded the three songs on his Pinky Swear EP, which was released last week on Gold Robot Records, was because he needed some recording samples for his recently constructed home recording studio. That way if a band was interested in doing a recording session, he could show them the three songs as an example of his recording expertise.

But he was proud of the songs. He’d written every part, and played all the instruments (guitar, bass, drums, and vocals). Over the years, he’d played in many bands on all these instruments, but he’d never crafted and recorded his own music. One of his friends liked it so much, they showed it to Hunter Mack, owner of Gold Robot Records. Mack quickly got in touch with Lee, wanting more information about his project.

“I was not expecting him to want to release the EP. I don’t have a band,” Lee says. “I have two kids and a busy full-time job. I’m not going to be touring anytime soon.”

Mack was unphased. He too had kids and understood the difficulty of juggling life as a musician and a parent. He maintained his position. He liked the songs and wanted to release the EP.

The name of the record, Pinky Swear, references Elizabeth Warren’s campaign trail pinky promises she made with her young female fans to remember that running for president is what girls do. On the title track, Lee juxtaposes criticism for the way many politicians are beholden to the NRA with optimism toward the new generation of progressive women leaders. Other songs on the record discuss his family, while also looking to the corrupt nature of politics with a bent toward hope that the next generation will be less jaded.

He made these recordings two years ago. The main reason he built that home studio, which he calls Paradise Garage—a tiny shed in his backyard—was to record other bands’ albums. After completing the studio and landing a surprise record deal, he realized that he needed to reconsider his dream of being a recording engineer.

“Recording an album is very time-consuming. There’s several takes and overdubs. You can spend two days recording drums,” Lee says. “I have a 1-year-old and I work full-time as a fundraiser. My wife works full-time.”

The more Lee thought about it, the more he realized his true passion lies with mixing and mastering (as recording nerds know, where the real magic is done). He started bringing local bands over to Paradise Garage to do audio and video live performance recordings. After his first recording, he brought in videographer friend Nick Johnston (of Friendly Stranger Films) to collaborate. The quality shot up immediately.

It’s a tight space. When local band Bad Maps did their Paradise Garage session, they crammed in there like sardines, which adds to the charm.

“It’s definitely inspired by the same setup as Jam in the Van or Tiny Desk,” Lee says. “It’s an interesting experience because bands come over—me and my wife and my two kids are running around the backyard. There’s a playground in the back. I don’t know if these bands know what they’re getting into. But all the bands seem to have a lot of fun and appreciate the video.”

Paradise Garage has its own YouTube channel, with several band performances already uploaded, including a Magic Waters performance (featuring a thrown together band of his friends). Lee has several more ready to upload. He’s hoping to get a new one up every week. He wants to feature local bands—and when touring bands start rolling through town again, make it a destination for out of towners.

For now, his EP that he recorded two years ago is getting its official release. He’s hoping other people get excited about his music. If that’s the case, he might keep releasing new music. Fortunately, he happens to have a fully functioning recording studio in his backyard shed.

“I have like ten other songs that are done,” Lee says. “I really wanted to finish those.”

The Paradise Garage YouTube channel can be found atyoutube.com/channel/UCao3UyuXttfIzeKdkcEfuug/videos. Order the ‘Pinky Swear’ EP at ffm.to/pinkyswear.

Best of Santa Cruz County 2020: Editors’ Picks

Steve Palopoli

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March 31, 2020

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Best of Santa Cruz County 2020: Editors’ Picks

Welcome to the very first Best of Santa Cruz magazine!

Good Times has been tracking the best people, places and things in this area for decades now, and as the issues kept getting bigger and bigger every March, it became clear it was time for an upgrade. Plus, it always seemed crazy that our most in-depth, comprehensive guide to Santa Cruz County came and went after just a single week on stands. Despite that, I’ve had so many people tell me that they save the Best of Santa Cruz issue and use it as a guide all year long, and now this magazine format will make it easy for everyone else to do the same.

All the winners that you voted for in our balloting earlier this year are here, divided into the areas of Food and Drink, Arts and Culture, Music and Nightlife, Community Life, Shopping and Services, and Health and Recreation. And we’ve also carried over our tradition of celebrating some of the quirkiest, wildest and most wonderful things about living here in our Editors’ Picks. So without further ado, enjoy the Best of Santa Cruz!

STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Read All Best of 2020 Coverage:

To read the full e-edition of the Best of Santa Cruz County 2020 magazine, visit: bit.ly/BestOf2020Print

Best Excuse to Stand Around a Gas Station Parking Lot

El Volcan Food Trucks

No one among the enthusiasts of Watsonville’s El Volcan has to be convinced that a great restaurant does not necessarily require four walls and a front door. El Volcan is one of the area’s most popular food trucks, which rolls up dependably every day in the late afternoon to park next to the gas pumps at Gomez Automotive at the corner of Main Street and Riverside Drive. The truck serves up fresh Mexican fare until midnight every night (and on Fridays and Saturdays, it’s open until 2am). It’s no surprise that atmosphere ranks near zero (especially after sundown), but the food more than makes up for it—the carne asada taco, just wow—and, yes, the corn tortillas are made fresh right there. WB

Best Tahini

Dharma’s Restaurant

A lot of people don’t really know what tahini is—okay, maybe not a lot of people in Santa Cruz, but you know what I mean—and when the subject comes up, I have heard it described more than once as “kind of like peanut butter.” I have no idea what the people who say this are talking about, because I only eat tahini on rice, and here is my message to anyone who would put peanut butter on rice: you nasty! Maybe I have been spared the trauma of PB-like tahini because I only get it from Dharma’s. And when I say “get it,” I mean that I stalk this place for its tahini. I would participate in cult rituals centered around Dharma’s tahini, should such a cult spring up (I’m much too lazy to start one myself). Dharma’s take on this sesame-based sauce is so savory, so rich in flavor and so smooth on the tongue that I often go there just for a bowl of rice with two sides of tahini (warning: just one will not properly saturate your entire bowlful of rice). I would gladly eat it every day; in fact, that is my retirement plan! SP

Best on-brand restaurant decor

Wharf House Restaurant

Were you not already thinking of taking up fishing, becoming a ship captain, or finding a way to live out the rest of your life on the open seas? You probably will be once you step into the Wharf House. This restaurant at the end of the Capitola Wharf is not only properly named, it is decorated to the gills to inspire your wildest seafaring dreams. Order some clam chowder or fish and chips while you contemplate the stories behind the glass fishing floats, lobster traps, and other nautical treasures that surround you. AG

Best sunset view while sipping tequila

Cafe El Palomar

Santa Cruz boasts some stellar sunsets. While there’s probably no bad place from which to enjoy the last rays of the day, what view isn’t enhanced with a splash of tequila? Sip on the perfectly-balanced La Patrona here at a table with a view of the bay. You can watch the last light of the day as it settles over the beach volleyball courts, Walton Lighthouse, and the boats going to and from the harbor. It seems like a tailor-made stage for the sun to take its bow after a long day of keeping things characteristically warm and bright in Santa Cruz. Don’t be surprised if you feel like applauding. AG

BEST WELLNESS-ORIENTED CONVERSATION STARTER

“WHO’S YOUR ACUPUNCTURIST?”

Santa Cruz County is an area replete with nutritionists, osteopaths, naturopaths, cranial sacral massage therapists and the like. There are so many ways to move qi through the body and also so many experts on how to tonify patients’ energy. Acupuncture is a great go-to! I have two acupuncturists—Glenn Kazmierski and Nancy Lowe—and I swear by them both. Importantly, this arrangement gives me an edge whenever the topic of health comes up at a party (except that I don’t go to parties, because I’m too busy focusing on my health). JP

Best Memorial Site for a Gender-Bending Pioneer

Charley Parkhurst’s Grave

Among the hundreds of graves at Watsonville’s Pioneer Cemetery is the final resting place of Charley Parkhurst, one of the central figures in 19th-century gender history in America. Charley was born female and raised as a girl in New England, but ran away from home at age 12 and ended up in California during the Gold Rush, presenting as a man for the rest of his life, more than 40 years. He became a legendary stage-coach driver in Northern California but it wasn’t until after he died in Watsonville that it was discovered Charley was female. In 1868, he may have also been the first female ever to vote in a U.S. presidential election. Charley is just one of the fascinating stories to discover at the Pioneer Cemetery. WB

Best photogenic neighborhood for not-so-humble bragging

Pleasure Point

No one can accuse Santa Cruz of lacking photogenic spots, but Pleasure Point may really have it all if you want to encapsulate the local spirit for someone who’s never been here. From East Cliff Drive you can capture beachy, colorful homes dwarfed by palm trees, surfers and sea otters riding the waves together, and local shops dishing out the best pizza slices and cool new beach apparel. Visitors and locals alike mingle here on foot, on bikes, and at the beach to take in the sweeping panorama of Monterey Bay. The chill vibe beckons everyone to come hang out, and it all highlights why it can be so hard to be humble about how amazing Santa Cruz is. Your friends and family will be packing their bags in no time for a visit when they see photos of this slice of paradise. AG

DANKEST DUNK BY A SANTA CRUZ WARRIORS ALUM

CHRIS BOUCHER OVER GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO

There are so many joys related to watching the Santa Cruz Warriors. One is watching the careers of the old development-league stars who left for greener pastures—Seth Curry, Kent Bazemore, Damion Lee, Kendrick Nunn, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Dewayne Dedmon. As a matter of fact, one play in February by the scrawny former Sea Dubs forward Chris Boucher made the rounds online. Boucher, who’s now with the Toronto Raptors, threw down the rock hard for a filthy put-back dunk over perennial MVP favorite Giannis Antetokounmpo and also Pat Connaughton. This prompted the Raptors announcer to scream out Boucher’s name like a pubescent boy belting out a primal battle cry. Appropriate response. JP

Sweetest Magic Trick

Coastal Mirage

Some days when the weather is warm and the conditions are right, you can stand on West Cliff Drive looking toward Moss Landing and see tall cliffs of more than 100 feet lining the beaches of Monterey County. Of course, those cliffs aren’t real, and they probably have something to do with refractions, but they sure look cool. JP

Best beach that just keeps going and going

Manresa State Beach

There are beaches, and then there is the beach, and Manresa more than earns the title. Once you’re here, it really doesn’t matter if you turn left or right: the sandy shoreline seems to keep going endlessly in either direction. It also doesn’t matter what you’ve come to the beach for, because Manresa can keep everyone happy. At any given time you can find families and friends hanging out, boogie boarders and surfers enjoying the waves, fishermen casting in the surf, and all kinds of pups on parade with their humans. Having such a beautiful place to listen to the waves, stroll while taking in the natural world and just generally unplug for a while feels more vital than ever, and Manresa is always there to fill that need. AG

Best Country Road

Larkin Valley Road

The beaches and the mountains get all the attention. But sometimes all you need is a sleepy, meandering country road—to paraphrase John Denver—to take you home. One of the finest in the region is Larkin Valley Road between Seascape and Watsonville. The four-mile-long two-laner cuts through seductively serene and picturesque countryside between and roughly parallel to Highway 1 and Freedom Boulevard. Near the east end of the road is the historic Castro Adobe, one of the oldest and most beautiful buildings in the county. The road’s relative lack of car traffic makes it a decent option for an adventurous afternoon power walk, though its charms can also be enjoyed by car, motorcycle, bicycle, or riding lawnmower (the latter not recommended). WB

BEST HONDA AND ACURA REPAIR SHOP

MID-COUNTY HONDA ACURA

Mechanics Mark and Andy are so friendly whenever you bring your Honda or Acura in for an oil change, belt replacement or engine check-up, that you’ll never want to miss an opportunity to stop by. Customers can catch up on the latest in their lives and talk with Mark about his latest mountain biking escapades. The real mystery is how the two mechanics were able to put the atmosphere of the television bar Cheers into an auto repair shop. And I’ll come out and say it: going to Mid-County Honda Acura is the best part of driving an old Honda around town. These guys have good prices, too. JP

Best County Border Crossing

Rogge Lane Bridge

Straddling the Pajaro River and the boundary between Santa Cruz and Monterey counties in Aromas is the Rogge Lane Bridge, a once unspectacular thoroughfare that, thanks to the artists of the local community, has become a colorful and enchanting tribute to the steelhead trout that once populated the river (and are reportedly making a comeback). A small army of locals descended on the bridge in 2019 painting several dozen fish in bold colors, each individually designed and dedicated to an inspiration of the artist’s choice. The fish on the bridge are best experienced, of course, on foot, but even driving across it, the bridge flashes into sight much like a school of darting fish in a Pixar movie. WB

Best of Santa Cruz County 2020: Shopping & Services

Susan Landry

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March 31, 2020

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Best of Santa Cruz County 2020: Shopping & Services

Find out what readers voted as the best shopping and services.

Best Boat Tour

Chardonnay

Whether you’re a seasoned seafarer or you’re exploring the open waters for the first time, all ages and experience levels are welcome on Chardonnay’s sailing tours.
The company teams up with local businesses like The Buttery, Pono Hawaiian Grill and Humble Sea Brewing Company to offer guests first-class bites and on-tap brews for special sailing events like the year-round Champagne Brunch Charter or Santa Cruz Brewmaster Charter.
Rent out the 70-foot Chardonnay II or III for special events like weddings, business meetings or birthdays and observe the marine life of the Monterey Bay with up to 49 of your closest friends.
On Tuesday and Thursdays ‘BYO’ specials, guests can pack their favorite snacks and drinks and enjoy a two-hour venture aboard Chardonnay’s fleet for just $50.
The Chardonnay Sailing Charters garnered its name from the owner’s love of farming and producing local Chardonnay wines. Now, the company shares this love with guests by featuring a different local winery each Friday on its April-September Winemaker Charter.

Susan Landry

Best Crystals/Rocks/Stones

Mountain Spirit

Before opening up shop in Felton in 2010, the husband and wife duo behind Mountain Spirit sold wholesale crystals, gems and rocks across the country.
From cute, pocket-sized stones to large, focal-point geodes, Mountain Spirit has all your rock needs covered.
The store offers an impressive collection of new and used books on topics like new-age spirituality and women’s empowerment.
For the crafters among us, Mountain Spirit is one of the few places in the county that sells a wide selection of beads and jewelry-making accessories. It is virtually guaranteed to boost your creative spirit.
Stop in to find one-of-a-kind gifts or something extra special just for you.

Susan Landry

Best Jewelry

Dell Williams

Dell Williams opened in Santa Cruz in 1927. That’s more than 90 years of providing residents with top-quality jewels.
The family-owned business is the perfect stop for watches, engagement rings, designer jewelry and gifts for that special someone.
You can relax when shopping at Dell Williams, knowing that all diamonds are conflict-free and in compliance with UN resolutions.
Break your favorite pair of earrings? No problem. The staff at Dell Williams can handle just about any repair.
If you’re looking for a custom, one-of-a-kind piece, the master jeweler at Dell Williams is highly-trained to bring even your sparkliest dreams to life.

Susan Landry

Best Massage School

Five Branches University Health Center

The school opened in Santa Cruz in 1984, making it one of the first schools in the entire country to offer training in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and it is currently recognized as one of the top TCM schools nationwide.
They offer massage and professional bodywork certification programs based on Asian therapies including Qigong, Shiatsu, Tuina, and acupressure.
It has a study abroad program which allows students to experience the practice of TCM where it started, at one of the university’s several sister schools in China.
The school began with one classroom, five teachers, and 18 students. It now has two campuses, 14 classrooms, 200 teachers, 450 students, and 1,500 alumni. Oh, and it sees 160 patients a day.
TCM has been used in Asia for many centuries, making it one of the oldest forms of healthcare in human history.

Andrew Steingrube

Adult Store

Camouflage

1329 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 423-7613, camouflage.com

RUNNERS-UP Frenchy’s, Pure Pleasure

Alternative Health Services

Santa Cruz Integrative Medicine

740 Front St., Suite 130, Santa Cruz, 465-9088, santacruzintegrativemedicine.com

RUNNERS-UP Five Branches University Health Center, Thrive Natural Medicine

Antiques

Center Street Antiques

3010 Center St., Soquel, 477-9211, centerstreetantiques.com

RUNNERS-UP Attilia’s Antiques, Crawford Antiques

Arts and Crafts

Palace Art & Office Supply

1407 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 427-1550;

1501 41st Ave., Capitola, 464-2700,

gopalace.com

RUNNERS-UP Harts Fabric, Lenz Arts

Auto Dealer

Ocean Honda

3801 Soquel Drive., Soquel, 278-4253, oceanhondsantacruz.com

RUNNERS-UP Subaru of Santa Cruz, Toyota of Santa Cruz

Auto Repair

Specialized Auto

2415 Chanticleer Ave, Santa Cruz, 462-3458, specializedautos.com

RUNNERS-UP AE Motorsports, Rusty’s Repair

Bank (Local, Non-Credit Union)

Santa Cruz County Bank

7775 Soquel Drive, Aptos, 662-6000;

819 Bay Ave., Capitola, 464-5300;

75 River St., Santa Cruz, 457-5000;

2020 North Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 600-4000,

4604 Scotts Valley Drive # 10, Scotts Valley, 461-5000;

595 Auto Center Dr, Watsonville, 761-7600;

sccountybank.com

Bank (Credit Union)

Bay Federal Credit Union

3333 Clares St., Capitola;

48 Rancho Del Mar, Aptos;

2028 Freedom Blvd., Freedom;

420 River St., Santa Cruz;

255 Mount Hermon Rd., Scotts Valley;

1481 Main St., Watsonville;

479.6000, bayfed.com

RUNNER-UP Santa Cruz Community Credit Union

Barbershop

Montgomery’s Barber Shop

1047 Water St., Santa Cruz, 713-5038

RUNNERS-UP Get Faded Barbershop, Waves & Fades

Beauty Supply

Westside Beauty Supply

3555 Clares St., Capitola, 479-1026;

550-B River St., Santa Cruz, 459-8450,

westsidebeautysupply.com

RUNNER-UP Kinship Hair Company

Boat Tour

Chardonnay Sailing Charters

790 Mariner Park Way, Dock FF, Santa Cruz, 423-1213, chardonnay.com

RUNNERS-UP O’Neill Yacht Charters, Stagnaro Charter Boats

Bookshop (new)

Bookshop Santa Cruz

1520 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 423-0900, bookshopsantacruz.com

RUNNERS-UP Atlantis Fantasyworld, Bad Animal

Bookshop (used)

Bookshop Santa Cruz

1520 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 423-0900, bookshopsantacruz.com

RUNNER-UP Bad Animal

Butcher

Shopper’s Corner

622 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, 423-1398, shopperscorner.com

RUNNERS-UP Corralitos Market and Sausage Company, El Salchichero

Car Wash

Whalers Car Wash

2001 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, 423-0676, whalerscarwash.com

RUNNERS-UP Cruz Car Wash, Master Car Wash

Carpet Cleaning

Connoisseur

476-9721, santacruzclean.com

RUNNERS-UP Peachy Kleen, Sea Breeze Carpet Cleaning

Children’s Day Care

Simcha Preschool

3055 Porter Gulch Rd., Aptos, 479-3449, simchapreschool.org

RUNNERS-UP Coastal Community Preschool, Discovery Preschool

Computer Repair

Click Away

303 Potrero St., Santa Cruz, 420-1200, clickaway.com

RUNNERS-UP Blue Screen, Pleasure Point Computers

Consignment Clothing

The Closet Shopper

1203 41st Ave., Capitola, 476-1565, theclosetshoppersantacruz.com

RUNNER-UP Jet Set Bohemian

Crystals/Rocks/Stones

Mountain Spirit

6299 Highway 9, Felton, 335-700, mountainspiritstore.com

RUNNERS-UP Gaia Earth Treasures, World of Stones and Mystics

Custom Framing

Lenz Arts

142 River St., Santa Cruz, 423-1935, lenzarts.com

RUNNERS-UP Frame Circus, York Framing Gallery

Dry Cleaners

Classic Vapor

285 Water St., Santa Cruz, 423-4646;

809 Bay Ave., Capitola, 479-0650;

classicvaporcleaners.com

RUNNERS-UP Almar Cleaners, Master Cleaners

Eyewear

EyeQ

1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 466-3937, eyeqsantacruz.com

RUNNERS-UP Plaza Lane Optometry, Spex

Fabric

Harts Fabric

1620 Seabright Ave., Santa Cruz, 423-5434, hartsfabric.com

RUNNERS-UP Modern Handmade, Santa Cruz Sew & Vac

Feed Store

Mountain Feed & Farm Supply

9550 Hwy. 9, Ben Lomond, 336-8876, mountainfeed.com

RUNNERS-UP Aptos Feed & Pet Supply, General Feed & Seed, Westside Farm & Feed

Financial Planner

Christine McBroom / Lanai Financial Solutions

1066 41st Ave., Suite A101, Capitola, 476-7300, lanaifinancialsolutions.com

RUNNERS-UP Ivor Thomas, Cheryl Rebottaro

Flooring

Bay Area Floors

2617 41st Ave., Soquel, 662-3000, bay-area-floors.com

RUNNERS-UP Samaya’s Eco-Flooring, Warehouse Direct Flooring Outlet

Flower Shop

The Flower Shack

614 S Branciforte Ave., Santa Cruz, 423-3877, flowershacksc.com

RUNNERS-UP Ace’s Flowers, Susi’s Flowers

Furniture

SC41 Furniture

2701 41st Ave., Soquel, 464-2228, sc41.com

RUNNERS-UP Couch Potato, Redo Consign & Redesign

Garden Supply/Nursery

San Lorenzo Garden Center

235 River St., Santa Cruz, 423-0223, sanlorenzolumber.com/garden-center

RUNNERS-UP Dig Gardens, Far West Nursery

Gift Shop

Zinnia’s Gift Boutique

Graham Plaza, 219 Mount Hermon Rd., Scotts Valley, 430-9466, zinniasgiftboutique.com

RUNNERS-UP Botanic & Luxe, Outside-In

Green Retailer

The Zero Shop / Ethos

101 Capitola Ave., Capitola, 854-2490, ethossantacruz.com

RUNNERS-UP Greenspace, Eco Goods

Grocery Store (local)

Shopper’s Corner

622 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, 423-1398, shopperscorner.com

RUNNERS-UP New Leaf Community Markets, Staff of Life

Grocery Store (natural)

Staff of Life

1266 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, 423-8632, staffoflifemarket.com

RUNNERS-UP New Leaf Community Markets, Wild Roots Market

Hair Salon

Lavish Salon & Spa

602 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, 457-1544

RUNNERS-UP Kepare, Kinship Hair Company

Hardware Store

Ace Hardware

1214 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, 457-2222;

72 Rancho Del Mar, Aptos, 662-0222;

849 Almar Ave., Santa Cruz, 426-7650

RUNNERS-UP San Lorenzo Lumber, Scarborough Lumber

Headshop

Pipeline

818 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 425-7473

RUNNERS-UP KindPeoples, Treehouse

Home Decorating

Botanic & Luxe

701 Front St., Santa Cruz, 515-7710, botanicandluxe.com

RUNNERS-UP Dig Gardens, Warmth Company

Hotel

Dream Inn

175 W Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, 740-8069, dreaminnsantacruz.com

RUNNERS-UP Hotel Paradox, Chaminade Resort & Spa

House Cleaner

Sunrise Cleaning Service

421-9664, sunriseclean.com

RUNNERS-UP Dynamic House Cleaning, Maxima’s Cleaners

House Painter

T Paul Sek Eco-Friendly Painting

721 Seabright Ave., Santa Cruz, 588-4080, greenpaintingcontractor.com

RUNNERS-UP Andson Painting, JJM Painting

Hydroponic Supplier

The Grow Biz

2450 17th Ave., Suite 100, Santa Cruz, 475-9900, thegrowbiz.com

RUNNERS-UP Specialty Garden Supply, Mountain Feed & Farm Supply

Insurance

Sean Rovai, Farmers Insurance

6990 Soquel Drive., Aptos, 462-3222

RUNNER-UP Edna Vilozny, Farmers Insurance

Internet Service Provider (local)

Cruzio

877 Cedar St., Suite 150, Santa Cruz, 459-6301, cruzio.com

RUNNER-UP Got Net

Jewelry

Dell Williams

1320 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 423-4100, dellwilliams.com

RUNNERS-UP Artisans Gallery, Mountainside Jewelry

Kids’ Clothing

Jelli Beanz

2555 Soquel Drive, Santa Cruz, 462-6700, jellibeanzonline.com

RUNNERS-UP Hopscotch, Mini Mint

Kitchen Store

Toque Blanche

1527 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 426-1351, mytoque.com

RUNNERS-UP Outside-In, Santa Cruz Restaurant Supply

Landscaper

Terra Nova Ecological Landscaping

425-3514, terranovalandscaping.com

RUNNERS-UP Dreamscape Creative Landscape Solutions, K&D Landscaping

Laser Hair Removal

Laser Hair and Skin Solutions

783 Rio Del Mar Blvd. #71b, Aptos, 689-9830

RUNNERS-UP Monterey Bay Laser Aesthetics, UltraDerm

Lawyer

Michael Tunink

820 Bay Ave. #120, Capitola, 477-2001

RUNNERS-UP Ben Rice, Dina Hoffman

Life Coach

Marisa Abzug-Callender

501 Mission St., Suite 10, Santa Cruz, 704-6775, balancemft.com

RUNNERS-UP Melanie Sargent, Nikole Duke

Lighting

Riverside Lighting & Electric

300 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, 423-7411, riversidelightingandelectric.com

RUNNERS-UP Illuminée, Om Gallery

Lingerie

Camouflage

1329 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 423-7613, shopcamouflage.com

RUNNERS-UP Amoureuse, Yvonne’s Capitola

Mani/Pedi

Tracy’s Nails

1440 41st Ave., Capitola, 462-2292, tracysnailspa.com

RUNNERS-UP Opal Spa & Boutique, Red Carpet Salon

Massage School

Five Branches University

200 7th Ave., Santa Cruz, 476-8211, fivebranches.edu

RUNNER-UP Cypress Health Institute School of Massage

Men’s Clothing

Patrick James

7538 Soquel Drive, Aptos, 688-2105, patrickjames.com

RUNNERS-UP Berdels, Pacific Wave

Men’s Shoes

Sockshop & Shoe Company

1515 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 429-6101, sockshopandshoeco.com

RUNNERS-UP Eco Goods, Old School Shoes

Mortgage Brokerage

Opes Advisors Inc.

133 Mission St., Suite 210, Santa Cruz, 600-1580, flagstar-opes.com

RUNNER-UP Seabright Mortgage

Music Instruction

Everyone’s Music School

3627 Portola Drive., Santa Cruz, 902-0650, everyonesmusicschool.com

RUNNERS-UP Be Natural Music, Music Together

Musical Instruments

Sylvan Music

1521 Mission St., Santa Cruz, 427-1917, sylvanmusic.com

RUNNERS-UP Jansen Music, The Starving Musician

Pet Grooming

Bed & Biscuits/Groomingdales

2625 Chanticleer Ave., Santa Cruz, 475-1580, bedandbiscuits.com

RUNNERS-UP Coast Veterinary Services, The Whole Kitten Capoodle

Pet Sitting

Bed & Biscuits/Groomingdales

2625 Chanticleer Ave., Santa Cruz, 475-1580, bedandbiscuits.com

RUNNERS-UP Who’s Your Walkie, Woofpack 831

Pet Store

Pet Pals

3660 Soquel Drive, Soquel, 464-8775, epetpals.com

RUNNERS-UP Aptos Feed & Pet Supply, Earthwise Pet Supply

Pharmacy

Frank’s Pharmacy

7548 Soquel Drive, Aptos, 685-1100, franksrx.com

RUNNERS-UP Horsnyder, Westside Pharmacy

Photo Developing

Bay Photo Lab

715 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, 425-1100;

2959 Park Ave., Soquel, 475-6090;

920 Disc Drive, Scotts Valley, 475-6686;

bayphoto.com

Piercing Studio

Amory Body Arts

1720 Brommer St., Santa Cruz, 600-7801, amorybodyarts.com

RUNNERS-UP Mission Street Tattoo & Piercing, Staircase Tattoo

Plumbing Company

Bellows Plumbing, Heating & Air

2652 Research Park Drive, Soquel, 244-6718, bellowsservice.com

RUNNERS-UP Expert Plumbing, Duncan Plumbing

Portrait Photographer

Devi Pride

1060 River St., Studio #103, Santa Cruz, 600-6055, devipridephotography.com

RUNNERS-UP Annie Rowland, K Stone Photography

Pre-Owned Auto Dealer

Auto One

1236 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, 427-2700, santacruzautoone.com

RUNNERS-UP Toyota of Santa Cruz, Sunset Auto

Produce

Farmers’ Markets

RUNNERS-UP Shoppers Corner, Staff of Life

Real Estate Agency

Coldwell Banker

824 B Mission St., Santa Cruz, 489-8000, coldwellbanker.com

RUNNERS-UP David Lyng Real Estate – Pleasure Point, Sereno Group – Santa Cruz

Real Estate Agent

Lauren Spencer – Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

818-3723, coldwellbanker.com

RUNNERS-UP Tom Brezsny – Brezsny Associates, Shawna Spaulding – Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

Real Estate Team

Sereno Group – Santa Cruz

720 Front St., Santa Cruz, 460-1100, serenogroup.com/Offices/Santa-Cruz

RUNNERS-UP Brezsny Associates, The Madani Team / Room Real Estate

Record / CD Store

Streetlight Records

939 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 421-9200, streetlightrecords.com

RUNNER-UP MetaVinyl

Roofers

Knox Roofing

46 El Pueblo Rd., Scotts Valley, 461-0634, knoxroofing.com

RUNNERS-UP Daddario Roofing, Turk The Roofer

Senior Home Care

Safe at Home Senior Care

820 Bay Ave., Suite 101, Capitola, 462-3500, safeathomeseniorcare.com

RUNNERS-UP ComForCare, Lifespan

Senior Residential Community

Dominican Oaks

3400 Paul Sweet Rd., Santa Cruz, 462-6257, dominicanoaks.com

RUNNERS-UP Aegis, Sunshine Villa

Tanning

Glimmer & Glow

153 S. Morrissey Blvd., Santa Cruz, 469-4569;

266-L Mt. Hermon Rd., Scotts Valley, 471-8201;

glimmerandglow.com

RUNNERS-UP Paradise Tanning Co., Rio Tanning & Salon

Tattoo Studio

Good Omen Tattoo

1025 Water St., Santa Cruz, 425-1107, goodomentattoo.com

RUNNERS-UP Heavy Water Tattoo, O’Reilly’s Tattoo Parlour

Thrift Store

Caroline’s Thrift Store

402 Trout Gulch Road, Aptos;

408 Trout Gulch Road, Aptos;

662-0327, carolinesnonprofit.org

RUNNERS-UP Abbot’s Thrift, Grey Bears

Tires

Lloyd’s Tires

303 River St., Santa Cruz, 219-4122;

311 Capitola Rd. Ext., Santa Cruz, 346-1897;

5310 Scotts Valley Dr., Unit C, Scotts Valley, 777-5711;

lloydstire.com

RUNNERS-UP Calderon Tires, Pasillas

Toy Store (kids)

Childish

1127 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, 454-8208, childishsantacruz.com

RUNNERS-UP Jelli Beanz, Wonderland Toys

Video Game Shop

Level Up

113 Locust St., Santa Cruz, 295-6329

Vintage Clothing

Moon Zooom

813 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 423-8500

RUNNERS-UP All Shook Up, Tomboy

Waxing

European Wax Center

1955 41st Ave., Capitola, 477-9331, waxcenter.com

RUNNERS-UP Bare Studio, The Skin Bar

Women’s Clothing

Pacific Trading Company

1224 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 423-3349;

504 Bay Ave., Capitola, 476-6109

RUNNERS-UP Stripe, Tipsy Gypsy

Women’s Shoes

Sockshop & Shoe Company

1515 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 429-6101, sockshopandshoeco.com

RUNNERS-UP Bunny’s Shoes, Shoe Fetish

Read the full e-edition of the Best of Santa Cruz County 2020 magazine: bit.ly/BestOf2020Print

Best of Santa Cruz County 2020: Music & Nightlife

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March 31, 2020

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Best of Santa Cruz County 2020: Music & Nightlife

Find out what readers voted as the best music and nightlife.

Best Comedy Spot

DNA’s Comedy Lab

DNA’s Comedy Lab is an experimental comedy theater that features stand-up comedy, improv, sketch, live podcasts, game shows, and even the occasional serious book reading.
Comedians that have graced DNA’s stage have ranged in age from 7-70 years old and have included such big names as Eddie Pepitone, Doug Benson, Judah Friedlander and Adam Conover.
DNA is an actual person, and a comedian to be exact. He got his start by winning a Showtime College Laff-Off.
The Comedy Lab is located in the old Regal Cinemas Riverfront Twin Theatre. It is 15,000 square feet or 405 elephants. (They did the math.)
Several of the Lab staff are also stand up comedians. The official Lab dog is a Great Pyrenees named Justice, who also has a great sense of humor.

Aaron Carnes

Best Happy Hour

Hula’s Island Grill

Hula’s Island Grill is a fun, casual restaurant that serves Hawaiian fusion food with a California twist. Try a luau pork sandwich, pan seared shrimp tacos, Jawaiian jerk chicken plate, Hawaiian ceviche … yum!
Hula’s has an elaborate and flamboyant tropical tiki drink menu. The ambience is straight out of the 1950s-style kitsch tiki bar with island décor, surf art, carved masks and feel-good, laid-back music.
There are three locations. The original opened in 1998 in Monterey. The Santa Cruz location was the second, opened in 2006. The third is located in Phoenix, Arizona.
You can rent out the “Tiki Room” and host your own private events and parties.
They care about serving high quality and sustainable seafood, and they comply with the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program.

Aaron Carnes

Best Local Musician

Mira Goto

Mira Goto is a little bit Nashville twang and a whole lot of California. The 32-year-old singer-songwriter plays California Country, or as she refers to it, “Diet country.” She loves to tell complete stories in her songs.
She won “Musician of the Year” at the 2019 NEXTies, tied with singer-songwriter Henry Chadwick.
Goto signed a production deal with record producer Ken Caillat (the engineer for Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, among other things). She plans to release a EP later this year. Previously she released the album New Plaid Shirt under the name Mira Parfitt.
She started playing music as a preteen, starting with classical music on the violin, then graduating to emo music on the guitar.
A crowd favorite is her sweet and heart-wrenching song “Crazy Cat lady.” It’s a gorgeous song that anyone who’s ever loved a cat will definitely be crying along to by the third verse.

Aaron Carnes

Bar

Parish Publick House

841 Almar Ave., Santa Cruz, 421-0507;

8017 Soquel Drive, Aptos, 708-2036;

theparishpublick.com

RUNNERS-UP 515 Kitchen & Cocktails, Red Room

Bartender

Manny Mescalito @ Front & Cooper

RUNNERS-UP Alexandra Wheatley , Josh Youngblood @ Oswald

Comedy Spot

DNA’s Comedy Lab

155 S. River St., Santa Cruz, 900-5123, dnascomedylab.com

RUNNERS-UP Blue Lagoon, Crow’s Nest Restaurant

Craft Brewer (local)

Discretion Brewing

2703 41st Ave. Suite A, Soquel, 316-0662, discretionbrewing.com

RUNNERS-UP Humble Sea, Sante Adairius Rustic Ales

Dance Club

Blue Lagoon

923 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 423-7117

RUNNERS-UP Moe’s Alley, Motiv

Fancy Cocktails

515 Kitchen & Cocktails

515 Cedar St., Santa Cruz, 425-5051, 515santacruz.com

RUNNERS-UP Front & Cooper, Oswald

Happy Hour

Hula’s Island Grill

221 Cathcart St., Santa Cruz, 426-4852, hulastiki.com

RUNNERS-UP Alderwood, The Crow’s Nest

Karaoke

Boardwalk Bowl / Coasters Bar & Grill

115 Cliff St., Santa Cruz, 426-3324, boardwalkbowl.com/coasters-bar-grill

RUNNERS-UP Britannia Arms, I Love Sushi

Live Music

Moe’s Alley

1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz, 479-1854, moesalley.com

RUNNERS-UP Catalyst, Kuumbwa Jazz

Local Band

Soulwise

soulwisemusic.com

RUNNERS-UP Cement Ship, Coffee Zombie Collective

Local Comedian

Victor Dubin

RUNNERS-UP Richard Stockton, Sam Weber

Local Musician

Mira Goto

miragoto.com

RUNNERS-UP Alex Lucero, Morgen Smith

Margaritas

El Palomar

1336 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 425-7575, elpalomarsantacruz.com

RUNNERS-UP Manuel’s Mexican Restaurant, Tortilla Flats

New Brewery

Fruition Brewing

918 E. Lake Ave., Watsonville, fruitionbrewing.com

Place to Play Pool

Fast Eddy’s

4300 Capitola Rd., Capitola, 462-1882

RUNNERS-UP One Double Oh Seven Club, Surf City Billiards

Place to Play Darts

Poet & Patriot Irish Pub

320 Cedar St., Santa Cruz, 426-8620

RUNNERS-UP One Double Oh Seven Club, Surf City Billiards

Pub

Parish Publick House

841 Almar Ave., Santa Cruz, 421-0507;

8017 Soquel Drive, Aptos, 708-2036;

theparishpublick.com

RUNNERS-UP Poet & Patriot, Rosie McCann’s

Tap Room

Beer Thirty

2504 S Main St., Soquel, 477-9967, beerthirtysantacruz.com

Good TimesGood Times

Good TimesGood Times

Ian O’Hollaren

Santa Cruz

Commercial Kelp Harvester

Dary Williams

Santa Cruz

Greenhouse Operations

Zoe Wilschinsky

Human Resources

Taflyn Wilschinsky

Santa Cruz

Physical Therapist

Stephanie Silva

Shipping and Receiving

Read All Best of 2020 Coverage:

Best Excuse to Stand Around a Gas Station Parking Lot

El Volcan Food Trucks

Best Tahini

Dharma’s Restaurant

Best on-brand restaurant decor

Wharf House Restaurant

Best sunset view while sipping tequila

Cafe El Palomar

BEST WELLNESS-ORIENTED CONVERSATION STARTER

“WHO’S YOUR ACUPUNCTURIST?”

Best Memorial Site for a Gender-Bending Pioneer

Charley Parkhurst’s Grave

Best photogenic neighborhood for not-so-humble bragging

Pleasure Point

DANKEST DUNK BY A SANTA CRUZ WARRIORS ALUM

CHRIS BOUCHER OVER GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO

Sweetest Magic Trick

Coastal Mirage

Best beach that just keeps going and going

Manresa State Beach

Best Country Road

Larkin Valley Road

BEST HONDA AND ACURA REPAIR SHOP

MID-COUNTY HONDA ACURA

Best County Border Crossing

Rogge Lane Bridge

Best Boat Tour

Chardonnay

Best Crystals/Rocks/Stones

Mountain Spirit

Best Jewelry

Dell Williams

Best Massage School

Five Branches University Health Center

Adult Store

Camouflage

RUNNERS-UP Frenchy’s, Pure Pleasure

Alternative Health Services

Santa Cruz Integrative Medicine

RUNNERS-UP Five Branches University Health Center, Thrive Natural Medicine

Antiques

Center Street Antiques

RUNNERS-UP Attilia’s Antiques, Crawford Antiques

Arts and Crafts

Palace Art & Office Supply

RUNNERS-UP Harts Fabric, Lenz Arts

Auto Dealer

Ocean Honda

RUNNERS-UP Subaru of Santa Cruz, Toyota of Santa Cruz

Auto Repair

Specialized Auto

RUNNERS-UP AE Motorsports, Rusty’s Repair

Bank (Local, Non-Credit Union)

Santa Cruz County Bank

Bank (Credit Union)

Bay Federal Credit Union

RUNNER-UP Santa Cruz Community Credit Union

Barbershop

Montgomery’s Barber Shop

RUNNERS-UP Get Faded Barbershop, Waves & Fades

Beauty Supply

Westside Beauty Supply

RUNNER-UP Kinship Hair Company

Boat Tour