Rob Brezsny’s Astrology July 3-9

Rob Brezsny

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July 2, 2019

Free will astrology for the week of July 3, 2019

ARIES (March 21-April 19): When the universe began 13.8 billion years ago, there were only four elements: mostly hydrogen and helium, plus tiny amounts of lithium and beryllium. Now there are 118 elements, including five that are key components of your body: oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. All of those were created by nuclear reactions blazing on the insides of stars that later died. So it’s literally true to say that much of your flesh and blood and bones and nerves originated at the hearts of stars. I invite you to meditate on that amazing fact. It’s a favorable time to muse on your origins and your ancestry; to ruminate about all the events that led to you being here today—including more recent decades, as well as the past 13.8 billion years.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Most American women couldn’t vote until 100 years ago. Women in Japan, France and Italy couldn’t vote until the 1940s. Universal suffrage has been a fundamental change in how society is structured. Similarly, same-sex marriage was opposed by vast majorities in most countries until 15 years ago, but has since become widely accepted. African American slavery lasted for hundreds of years before being delegitimized all over the Western world in the 19th century. Brazil, which hosted 40% of all kidnapped Africans, didn’t free its slaves until 1888. What would be the equivalent of such revolutionary transformations in your own personal life? According to my reading of the astrological omens, you have the power to make that happen during the next 12 months.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini musician Paul Weller is famous in the UK, though not so much elsewhere. According to the BBC, he is one of Britain’s “most revered music writers and performers.” To which I say: revered, maybe, but mentally healthy? Not so much. He bragged that he broke up his marriage with his wife Dee C. Lee because, “Things were going too well, we were too happy, too comfortable, everything seemed too nice.” He was afraid that, “as a writer and an artist I might lose my edge.” Don’t you dare allow yourself to get infected with that perverse way of thinking, my dear Gemini. Please capitalize on your current comfort and happiness. Use them to build your strength and resilience for the months and years to come.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Cancerian voice actor Tom Kenny has played the roles of over 1,500 cartoon characters, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Spyro the Dragon, Jake Spidermonkey, Commander Peepers, and Doctor Octopus. I propose that we make him your role model in the coming weeks. It will be a favorable time for you to show your versatility; to demonstrate how multifaceted you can be; to express various sides of your soulful personality.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Leo author Donald Miller reminds us that fear can have two very different purposes. On the one hand, it may be “a guide to keep us safe,” alerting us to situations that could be dangerous or abusive. On the other hand, fear may work as “a manipulative emotion that can trick us into living a boring life.” After studying your astrological indicators for the coming weeks, Leo, I have come to the conclusion that fear may serve both of those functions for you. Your challenge will be to discern between them, to know which situations are genuinely risky and which situations are daunting but promising. Here’s a hint that might help: trust your gut feelings more than your swirling fantasies.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Why do flocks of geese fly in a V-formation? Because to do so enhances the collective efficiency of their travel. Each bird generates a current that supports the bird behind it. Let’s make this phenomenon one of your power metaphors for the coming weeks. What would be the equivalent strategy for you and your tribe or group as you seek to make your collaborative efforts more dynamic and productive? Unforeseen help will augment any actions you take in this regard.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue,” mused Libra author Truman Capote. “That’s why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet.” That cynical formulation has more than a few grains of truth in it, I must admit. But I’m pleased to tell you that I suspect your experience in the coming weeks will be an exception to Capote’s rule. I think you have the potential to embark on a virtual binge of rich discussion and intriguing interplay with people who stimulate and educate and entertain you. Rise to the challenge!

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In accordance with astrological rhythms, you are authorized to make the following declarations in the next two weeks: 1. “I refuse to participate further in this situation on the grounds that it might impinge on the expansiveness of my imagination.” 2. “I abstain from dealing with your skepticism on the grounds that doing so might discourage the flights of my imagination.” 3. “I reject these ideas, theories and beliefs on the grounds that they might pinch, squash or deflate my imagination.” What I’m trying to tell you, Scorpio, is that it’s crucial for you to emancipate your imagination and authorize it to play uninhibitedly in the frontiers of possibilities.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Dear Sagittarius, I invite you to make a copy of the testimonial below and give it to anyone who is in a position to support your Noble Experiment: “To Whom It May Concern, I endorse this Soulful Sagittarius for the roles of monster-tamer, fun-locator, boredom-transcender, elation-inciter, and mountaintop visionary. This adroit explorer is endowed with charming zeal, disarming candor and abundant generosity. If you need help in sparking your enthusiasm or galvanizing your drive to see the big picture, call on the expansive skills of this jaunty puzzle-solver.”

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Life will conspire to bring you a surge of love in the coming weeks—if you can handle it. Can you? Will you be able to deal adeptly with rumbling love and icy-hot love and mostly-sweet-but-also-a-bit-sour love? Do you possess the resourcefulness and curiosity necessary to have fun with funny spiritual love and running-through-the-labyrinth love and unexpectedly catalytic love? Are you open-minded and open-hearted enough to make the most of brilliant shadowy love and unruly sensitive love and toughly graceful love?

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I don’t endlessly champion the “no pain, no gain” theory of personal growth. My philosophy holds that we are at least as likely to learn valuable lessons from pleasurable and joyful experiences as we are from difficult and taxing struggles. Having said that, I also think it’s true that our suffering may lead us to treasure if we know how to work with it. According to my assessment, the coming weeks will bring one such opening for you. To help you cultivate the proper spirit, keep in mind the teaching of Aquarian theologian and author Henri Nouwen. He said that life’s gifts may be “hidden in the places that hurt most.”

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The Japanese word “wabi-sabi” refers to an interesting or evocative imperfection in a work of art that makes it more beautiful than if it were merely perfect. “Duende” is a Spanish word referring to a work of art that gives its viewers the chills because it’s so emotionally rich and unpredictably soulful. In the coming weeks, I think that you yourself will be a work of art with an abundance of these qualities. Your wabi-sabi will give you the power to free yourself from the oppressive pressures of seeking too much precision and purity. Your duende can give you the courage you need to go further than you’ve ever dared in your quest for the love you really want.

Homework: “Know thyself—or else! Follow your dreams—or else!” Please comment. tr**********@gm***.com.

How Making Furniture Saved Cate Le Bon’s Music

Mike Huguenor

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July 2, 2019

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How Making Furniture Saved Cate Le Bon’s Music

Cate Le Bon was caught in a loop. For the better part of a decade, the Welsh musician had been recording, touring, recording, and then touring again in an endlessly repeating pattern.

She had put out four transfixingly weird avant-pop albums. Though she wasn’t a household name, she had made fans out of St. Vincent, John Cale and Jeff Tweedy.

But in 2017, she decided she wanted to make furniture.

“It felt like I needed to check my motives, how invested I was, and re-prioritize things,” she says. “I didn’t comprehend that I was changing the whole architecture of my life.”

She enrolled in a course with Waters and Acland, a renowned furniture-making school in England’s Lake District. For the past few years, she had been living in L.A. In order to take the course, she declined all tour offers for a year, and relocated to a cottage in a national park near the Scottish border. Population: 40,000.

Alone more often than not, Le Bon carved and lathed during the day. At night, back at the cottage, she sat at the piano. With no other musicians around, and no album or tour in sight, music became a hobby again.

“It was like being a child again, where you would go and sit and write on mum and dad’s piano, without caring if the chords made sense,” she says. “It’s reaching that point where you allow yourself to be completely uninhibited. The piano really lends itself to getting lost in an emotion.”

Slowly, songs materialized. Le Bon says it was like writing without “the awareness of writing.”

“It’s something you’re using as a way to release something, instead of sitting at a guitar and going, ‘I have to write a record this week.’”

The result, Reward, which came out this May, is the soundtrack to her time in the Lakes. It is also one of the best albums this year, an avant-pop gem that is only oblique when necessary, and sinks in on repeat listens.

Opening with the dreamy, tidal rhythm of “Miami,” Reward eases in. On the next track, Le Bon goes straight for the heart.

“I love you, I love you, I love you, but you’re not here,” she sings on the chorus of “Daylight Matters.” “I love you, I love you, I love you, but you’re gone.”

With its subdued piano and Twin Peaks-esque guitar work, “Daylight Matters” is like a reflection on air. Before each verse, a ragged synth passes through the song like wind through a copse of trees, followed by a guitar section crisp as morning air. For a career with many high points, “Daylight Matters” is up there.

In a powerful one-two punch, “Home to You” follows. It’s a meditation on life in the margins, alternately comparing home to “an impasse,” “an atrocity” and a “cross hair, stubborn, dream loving.”

The video for “Home to You” explores Le Bon’s lyrics in striking fashion. Shot in a Roma neighborhood of Slovakia where unemployment nears 100%, the video features local teens, tenement dwellers and a community band, highlighting small moments of joy and community against an often-stark backdrop.

“The politics of division are absolutely rife at the moment,” Le Bon says of the video. “It’s impossible to comprehend what it is to be completely stripped of your basic human necessities. You can’t comprehend, but you can look, and you can care.”

Whether she’s putting together a song, a performance or a chair, Le Bon approaches them all with that same philosophy. Though her course is now over, she plans to continue making furniture. It’s an art that is now as much a part of her as music.

“I find it really nourishing,” she says. “It completely erodes any sense of time existing, which I really love. You sit with a piece of wood, and you slowly transform it into something you’ve designed. It’s very intimate, and it’s very personal.”

Cate Le Bon performs at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 7, at Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $15 adv/$20 door. 479-1854.

Music Picks: July 3-9

Aaron Carnes

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July 2, 2019

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Santa Cruz County live music picks for the week of July 3

WEDNESDAY 7/3

GOSPEL

PAUL THORN

Paul Thorn has been releasing exceptional American roots records for two decades, sampling elements of the blues, southern rock and R&B. Within all his music, there always permeated a deep spirituality and affinity for classic gospel music. This was the music of his childhood, after all; a preacher’s son, he would frequent black churches in Tupelo, Mississippi, and felt the power of gospel. On his most recent record, Don’t Let The Devil Ride, he goes all in on his gospel roots. A highlight on the record is the slowed-down cover of the O’Jays’ “Love Train.” AARON CARNES

8 p.m. Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. $25. 704-7113.

METAL

ASEPTIC

The grimy, visceral sound of this two-piece death metal band from San Jose has been giving listeners brain melts since 2014, with the duo releasing their Senses Decay EP last December. Before you celebrate America, make sure to raise hell the night before at the Blue Lagoon for the Summer of Suffering Tour, as they’re joined by local favorite heshers Zombie Ritual, along with Depraver, Sacred Origin, Disciples of Death, and Eskupe. MAT WEIR

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

FRIDAY 7/5

BLUEGRASS

RISING APPALACHIA

“Folksy” and “worldly” are usually used in opposition, as though “folk” somehow exceeds the category of Earth. But for Leah and Chloe Smith, this is a false distinction. Incorporating ragas, Celtic drums and West African strings, the sisters in Rising Appalachia aim for a kind of world bluegrass, Appalachian in spirit and harmony rather than in location or dogma. The Smith sisters seek out the subterranean roots connecting folk music of all cultures, voicing them in plucked strings and two-part harmony. MIKE HUGUENOR

8 p.m. Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $37. 423-8209.

INDIE

HAND HABITS

Hand Habits has a preoccupation with spaces: both those between other people, and the ones within. Not only do the band’s lusciously languid and gently alt musical arrangements confer a sense of movement, but the lyrics also explore every nook and cranny of relational perspectives, as if relationships are magnetic and atmospheric. Band leader Meg Duffy plays a sweet guitar and croons generously heartfelt melodies, making what would be heady, abstract ruminations more emotive, tender and anchored to real life. AMY BEE

9 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $15 adv/$17 door. 429-6994.

SATURDAY 7/6

PUNK

DIEGO’S UMBRELLA

The members of Diego’s Umbrella are shameless rock ‘n’ rollers who love to utilize the meatiest power chords to beef up their high-energy punk songs. They also mix elements of Eastern European dance music, Flamenco, klezmer, and ska. What do you call this jumble of influences? Who knows! It’s probably best to refer to it as “sweaty dance music,” the kind you line up for holding hands and kicking up your feet in joy, only to break out into a full-fledged mosh pit once the punk-rock guitars kick in. AC

9 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $12 adv/$15 door. 479-1854.

COMEDY

MEKKI LEEPER

Self-described “weak little nerd” Mekki Leeper made his late-night stand-up debut on the Late Late Show this January. Despite his milquetoast appearance, Leeper made a strong impression, riffing on his parent’s late divorce (“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to ruin my parents’ marriage as fast as you were able to”), and his interfaith upbringing in Morocco. And while you might not know him yet, you’ve likely heard his jokes—he wrote for the 2017 White House Correspondents’ Dinner with Hasan Minhaj. MH

7 and 9:30 p.m. DNA’s Comedy Lab, 155 S River St., Santa Cruz. $20 adv/$25 door. (530) 592-5250.

SUNDAY 7/7

CELTIC

OLD BLIND DOGS

Scottish quartet Old Blind Dogs has been keeping Celtic folk traditions alive and well since 1990, but still blends in its signature twist of blues, jazz and funk, and has remained one of Scotland’s favorite groups. MW

7:30 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $22 adv/$25 door. 427-2227.

MONDAY 7/8

AMERICANA

THE HA!

The Ha! plays Americana suffused with beach-bum surf hues and shades of coastal funk. It’s like a traveling seaside bonfire gathering—armed with upbeat tempos and bluesy harmonicas, looking for any excuse to make merry. In fact, The Ha! has found the perfect occasion to carouse via “Party with Purpose” tours, which raise funds for local nonprofit charities and encourage community get-togethers with live music. The mixture of good-time party music and good ol’ fashioned grassroots philanthropy makes for one hell of a jubilee. AB

9 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $10. 429-6994.

TUESDAY 7/9

WORLD

THE TURBANS

The origins of the Turbans can be traced back to Kathmandu, where guitarist Oshan Mahony’s chance encounter with fellow Anglo-Iranian violinist Darius Luke Thompson led to a fast friendship and extended busking sojourn around India. Back in the U.K., the band gradually honed a global sound reflecting an international cast of players. With an eponymous debut album on San Francisco’s Six Degrees Records, The Turbans tour as a septet featuring vocalist and guitarist Miroslav Morski, Greek vocalist Pavlos Mavromatakis, Israeli guitarist Moshe Zehavi, Belarus-born oud player Maxim Shchedrovitzki, and classical guitarist Pablo Dominguez. Building grooves rather than walls, the Turbans create dance music for the human race. ANDREW GILBERT

7:30 p.m. Michael’s On Main, 2591 Main St., Soquel. $10 adv/$12 door. 479-9777.

Love Your Local Band: RA-BE 333

Aaron Carnes

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July 2, 2019

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In 2013, when RA-BE 33 (aka Rob) moved to Santa Cruz, he decided it was time to get serious about rapping. Originally from New Jersey, he’d rapped plenty, but he always treated it like a hobby.

Once here, though, he hit the ground running. Since 2014, he’s released five mixtapes, and in June, he released his first official EP, Write of Passage. The five original songs were produced by Resonant Sun with extra support from Dropical. He also brought in three local female singers, Marya Stark, Carmen “Mama” Crow and Gina Rene.

“I love the sound of a female voice,” Rob says. “It really brings a good counter-element, and a more full dynamic sound.”

Rob’s sound is a hybrid of classic hip-hop beats, trap, bass, and a hint of world beat. The back and forth of his lyrical verses with the singers’ soulfully ethereal vocals creates a hypnotic element in the music.

“It’s about me breaking through the threshold of my creative edge as a writer, as an emcee and as a musician,” he says of the new release. “Really stepping into my most powerful role as a creator, and walking through my own hero’s journey in the process.”

rabe333.com.

Cafe Delmarette’s Recipe for Downtown Nostalgia

Christina Waters

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July 2, 2019

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Cafe Delmarette’s Recipe for Downtown Nostalgia

The Delmarette was an institution when my mother was a girl, one of those classic lunch counter soda fountain places run by sturdy women in aprons who called you “Hon.”

Despite multiple transformations—and one big earthquake—this tiny landmark continues to serve honest, delicious breakfast and lunch items to a multi-generational clientele.

I love this place, and when a chef with three Michelin stars reminded me that this is one of the best espresso places in town, I took the hint. Laid back yet can-do, today’s closet-sized Delmarette is stacked to the rafters with artwork, chalkboards, bags of coffee beans, and adorned by wooden tables, chairs and one long bench that reminds me of grade school furniture somewhere in the 1960s. The city rolls by and the Del Mar theatre marquees keeps watch over a trio of serene staffers who thoughtfully prepare, and personally serve, every single item.

I was presented with an impeccably designed double macchiato (beans from Cat & Cloud, $3) that sipped rich, rounded and buttery, but not bitter. David was right. And from the all-star list of “Famous Toasted Sandwiches,” I went for the headliner, Rita’s Breakfast Sandwich ($8.50). Awaiting my main dish, I noted that Delmarette offers a choice of exotic iced teas made of hibiscus, passionfruit-jasmine, and caramelized pear. You can select your favorite milk from among hemp, almond, soy, coconut, and two organic cow’s milks.

I used to tease my students when they told me their favorite Santa Cruz food was the rococo California Burrito. They would laugh if they could see me noshing on this over-the-top house special. Rita’s is a culinary study in grilled layers: herb-laced frittata, roasted potatoes, aioli, and white cheddar cheese were all pressed together into a glorious gooey mass between slices of toasted compagnon bread. An opulent breakfast that arrived with potato chips! Such indulgence. I added Cholula. Next time, I’ll add ham for a few dollars more. Delmarette has a vibe that qualifies as only-in-Santa Cruz. Not fast food, so bring a book and relax. In warm weather the outdoor seating beckons.

Cafe Delmarette, 1126 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. 420-1025, cafedelmarette.com.

Popping Birichino

Get ready for some delicious Full Steam Dumpling action on Thursday, July 11, when the winemakers from Birichino, Alex Krause and John Locke, prepare a neo-Throwback Thursday event at the tasting room with what Locke calls “older vintages of this or that” intended to pair with steamed bao, gyoza and assorted spicy dumplings.

Birichino, 204 Church St., Santa Cruz. birichino.com.

Farmers’ Market Breakfasts

It’s peak season for morning feasts to complement the experience of shopping for ultra-fresh produce at our various neighborhood markets. While you need to know that the two breakfasts scheduled for July at the Santa Cruz farmers’ market are already sold out, you can still jump in for your place at the Aug. 10 table with Chef Katherine Stern (of La Posta fame), who will be cooking up tomato and roasted corn salad, Fogline Farm pork loin, grilled little gems, marinated rock cod, potato biscuits, and lemon verbena-poached peaches with raspberry fool, all accompanied by 11th Hour coffee. Don’t miss this!

santacruzfarmersmarket.org. $45.

Truck Stop

On the third Friday of the month during the summer, and fourth Friday in September and October, look for Food Trucks on Pacific Avenue. Rogue Pye, Ate3One, Union Foodie, Nomad Momo, and others will be parked and loaded. No alcohol served. Come hungry.

Film Review: ‘Yesterday’

Lisa Jensen

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July 2, 2019

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Imagine if the Beatles had never existed. It was devastating enough for me as a teenager when the band broke up. How could life as we know it go on? If there had never been any Beatles, I rationalized grimly, at least we wouldn’t know what we’d missed.

In his audacious new movie Yesterday, director Danny Boyle poses an even gnarlier idea: suppose The Beatles had existed, and enjoyed their incredible nine years of productivity together—but then suddenly disappeared from the collective memory of basically everyone on Earth? Everyone but one guy. Imagine the potential for comedy (not to mention plunder and exploitation) if that guy were a struggling singer-songwriter who could take his pick from the entire song catalog of the Fab Four, certain that no one in the audience had ever heard of John, Paul, George, or Ringo.

Scripted by veteran Richard Curtis (Four Weddings And A Funeral; Love Actually), for the ever genre-bouncing Boyle, Yesterday is a sly, persuasive morality play about the wages and nature of success dressed up as a pop-cultural comedy. It’s also entertaining as hell, especially for those of us who do remember The Beatles, thank you very much, and will appreciate every in-joke, downbeat, visual and audio cue Boyle employs with such shameless glee throughout his tall tale.

Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) is marginally employed as a stock clerk at a big-box warehouse store in his native Suffolk, England. But he lives to sing and play guitar at neighborhood pubs and sparsely attended local festivals, gigs arranged by his self-appointed manager, Ellie (Lily James), his longtime best friend and most ardent cheerleader.

On the night Jack is ready to give up on his dream, his bike is clipped by a bus. After he wakes up in the hospital, minus a couple of broken teeth, everything is the same—except that when he plays “Yesterday” on the new guitar Ellie buys him, no one has ever heard of the song before. Or Paul McCartney. Sure enough, when he rushes home and Googles “Beatles,” all that comes up are pictures of shiny black insects.

Apparently a 12-second global blackout has shifted Jack into an alternate reality where his friends, family, life, and culture are the same (except for a few other random omissions that are some of the movie’s funniest throwaway jokes). But despite his initial protests that the music is not his, when he switches his playlist to Beatle songs, acclaim follows. His video on the warehouse company channel goes viral. Ed Sheeran (playing himself) pops round to take him on tour to Moscow (guess which song is a big hit there). A slinky, shamelessly craven L.A. agent (the hilariously acerbic Kate McKinnon) lands Jack a deal with a ginormous record label. (When he tries to sneak one of his own original songs into the session, she airily decrees it “Simple, without being charming.”)

The tension between how much Jack is willing to sacrifice of himself for the fame he thinks he wants gives the story depth. Meanwhile Boyle riffs cheerfully on Beatles iconography. The band’s career stages are cleverly referenced in Jack’s early black-and-white promo stills, skinny suits and later Help-era turtleneck. During the slo-mo bus impact, the music swells in an eerie remix of those closing notes from “A Day In The Life.”

Boyle also fools around with the notion that even the most celebrated legacy suffers when separated from its context. People keep trying to “improve” the song lyrics (“Hey Dude,” anyone?) or Jack’s Beatles-inspired suggestions for album titles. When someone asks him what “a hard day’s night,” actually means, Jack doesn’t know.

Patel is wholly engaging as the conflicted Jack. James is both radiant and playful, and Joel Fry is excellent as an embarrassingly clueless buddy who achieves maturity on the road with Jack. And a lovely what-if scene toward the end ties it all up on an irresistible grace note.

YESTERDAY

**** (out of four)

With Himesh Patel and Lily James. Written by Richard Curtis. Directed by Danny Boyle. A Universal release. Rated PG-13. 117 minutes.

Good Times Purchases Watsonville Register-Pajaronian

Local News

GT Staff

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July 1, 2019

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Watsonville, Calif.—Santa Cruz’s Good Times weekly has purchased the 151-year-old Watsonville Register-Pajaronian and its companion publication Aptos Life from News Media Corp. of Rochelle, Illinois.

Founded as The Pajaronian on March 5, 1868, the newspaper has an illustrious history. It became the nation’s smallest daily paper to earn a Pulitzer Prize for public service in 1956 after its photographer caught the county’s district attorney participating in illegal gambling.

Published since 1975, Good Times is Santa Cruz County’s largest circulation publication. “This acquisition gives us additional reach in the mid-county and south county areas,” said General Manager Lee May. In June, Good Times was honored to be chosen among the state’s three top publications of its size for the California Newspaper Publishers Association’s “General Excellence” award.

News Media Corp. publishes more than 70 media titles in nine states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming. “We were pleased to find a Northern California-based publisher with adjacent properties that was a good fit for the Pajaronian. This transaction enables us to focus on the success of our core properties in the Midwest,” said NMC president Nickolas Monico.

Owned by a succession of local owners for its first 72 years, the Pajaronian was sold in 1940 to the Cincinnati, Ohio-based E. W. Scripps Company, a national newspaper chain, and merged with the Watsonville Register to become the Register-Pajaronian. In 1995, News Media Corp. bought the publication.

An affiliate of Good Times that publishes weeklies in southern Santa Clara and San Benito counties will operate News Media’s four Monterey County weeklies: King City Rustler, Greenfield News, Soledad Bee, Gonzales Tribune. They will join a group that includes this year’s CNPA General Excellence winner for newspapers of its size, the Gilroy Dispatch.

Silver Mountain’s Sublime Cabernet Sauvignon

Josie Cowden

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June 26, 2019

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Silver Mountain’s Sublime Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker Jerold O’Brien of Silver Mountain Vineyards is celebrating 40 years in the business of making wine. He must be doing something right!

One of the things he is definitely doing right is organically farming his estate grapes, stewarding the environment and handcrafting all his wines. He also carefully sources non-estate grapes from respected vineyards. Fruit for his Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 ($44) comes from the esteemed Bates Ranch Vineyard in Gilroy, resulting in a luscious and very drinkable deep-red wine with lots of backbone. “The tannins are soft and well-integrated with flavors of wild blueberry, cedar, vanilla, forest floor,” says O’Brien.

This is the kind of wine that you open to reward yourself at the weekend. Sit back and savor all the Cab’s typical aromas of black currant, tobacco and coffee, plus the sublime flavors of rich, dark fruits such as black plums and blueberries.

Silver Mountain has two very different tasting rooms, one on the Westside of Santa Cruz and the other on O’Brien’s estate in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Silver Mountain Vineyards, 402 Ingalls St. Suite 29, Santa Cruz; Silver Mountain Drive, Los Gatos. 408-353-2278, silvermtn.com.

Cruise on the Rhine with Lester Family Vineyards

If cruising is for you and you love good wine, then you might want to sign up for a cruise on the River Rhine with Steve and Lori Johnson of Lester Family Vineyards in Aptos. This high-end, seven-night cruise aboard the AmaSerena includes free-flowing wine with lunch and dinner, visits to historic wineries and vineyards, daily Sip and Sail happy hour, an onboard wine tasting with the Johnsons, and a gourmet wine-paired dinner prepared by AmaWaterways’ award-winning culinary team featuring Lester Estate Wines. Dates are Nov 17-24, 2019.

*Info: Contact Margaret Miner at Barefoot Travel Agency, VinoDestinations, mm@dr********.com, or 925-399-4269.*

North Coast Coffee’s Search for the World’s Best Beans

Georgia Johnson

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June 26, 2019

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North Coast Coffee’s Search for the World’s Best Beans

North Coast Coffee Roasting has flown under the radar for nearly 20 years. With a focus on certified-organic coffee, head roaster Chris Carhart and colleague Ken Noyes have traveled the world in search of the best cup of coffee.

Though the labor involved in the roasting and brewing process can be overshadowed at some coffee houses by slick marketing and indoor plant-intensive decor, it all comes down to the sourcing and final product for Carhart and Noyes. It’s not easy to maintain more than two-dozen blenda. Both Cathart and Noyes worked at grocery stores in Santa Cruz before they landed their jobs roasting coffee five days a week.

Why organic coffee?

CARHART: Going organic, we feel, is the best way to affect change. We are interested in sustainability and someone getting paid what they deserve for their work. But for many farms, it’s really difficult to go organic and provide the practices that we require.

NOYES: Some roasters aren’t strictly organic, so they have other options of sourcing that we don’t. With our paperwork, even if the farm is using organic practices and inputs, if they haven’t been able to get organically certified, we can’t use that coffee. And for some smaller farms going organic doesn’t work. It’s a really expensive, long process, and some people can’t justify it. But for us, it gives us a floor for quality.

You travel to source the beans yourself, right?

CARHART: In the last six months, we’ve been to Guatemala and Honduras meeting with other roasters from around the country and visiting farms and mills. It’s kinda neat to meet other professional roasters from all over. We traveled over 500 miles and cupped over 100 types of coffee. It was intense. It wasn’t a vacation. At the end of it, I was like, ‘Kenny, are you tasting anything?’ My palate was shot.

NOYES: Yeah, you can only taste so much. With our Honduras trip, we were able to secure a lot from one particular female-owned farm, and we’d like to highlight that at some point. It was special to find that farm, and they make really good coffee.

North Coast Coffee Roasting will be pouring fresh, free cups of joe starting at 7:30 a.m. during the TAC Skimblast Contest at Seabright Beach on Saturday, June 29. Their coffee is available at local grocery stores including Staff Of Life, New Leaf and Shopper’s Corner. northcoastroasting.com.

Why Your Hearing Could Be Worse Than You Think

Georgia Johnson

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June 26, 2019

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Why Your Hearing Could Be Worse Than You Think

There have been many times I’ve come away from a concert or Fourth of July fireworks with my ears buzzing. I usually chalk it up to a great time, maybe the liquor, or both. When I finally go to sleep in a daze, thinking about how good the show was, it’s easy not to give a second thought to the background noise still reverberating in my head hours later. The next day, I’d wake up and the noise would be gone—and I’ve always taken that temporary quality for granted.

For more than 50 million Americans, the ringing, hissing or humming background noise won’t stop after a few hours. It continues for days, weeks, months and, for some 2 million people, it never goes away at all, impairing their day-to-day life. Prolonged exposure to loud noises increases the risk of developing the constant perceived ringing, but any damage can cause symptoms.

The receptive issue—that ringing sound—is often diagnosed as tinnitus, says Santa Cruz Ear Nose and Throat Doctor Daniel Spilman. It’s common for patients to come in complaining about ongoing ringing, Spilman says. He and his two partners generally see a few people per day about tinnitus, which adds up to about 10% of their clients. The doctors start by asking patients to rank the ringing and discomfort they are experiencing.

“What it comes down to is, if you hear ringing, does it bother you? The levels of bothersomeness start with, ‘Well I notice it a little bit, but it doesn’t bother me,’ then moves up to, ‘I notice it when I’m trying to fall asleep and it’s irritating,’ to, ‘Well, I hear it all the time and sometimes I can’t hear people over it, I can’t concentrate or get work done. It’s driving me crazy,’” Spilman says. “Obviously that last group is a pretty miserable group. Most people don’t fall into that group. Most people are in the mild level of symptoms, where they notice it and it occasionally irritates or distracts them.”

Repeated, loud noise exposure can lead to permanent damage to the inner ear, but Spilman says that alcohol coupled with loud noise can also exacerbate the issue—not ideal for those that frequent concerts, or on the Fourth of July. “There are tiny hairs in there that pick up the vibrations of sound, but when you hit them with a high enough pulse of energy, you actually kill them,” he says. “Not every time, but repeatedly the tiny hairs die off and you have spots in your ear that aren’t picking up sound anymore.”

Spilman says that one theory for the symptoms of tinnitus is that when the brain sends signals to the ear, it doesn’t receive anything back from particular spots. The perceived, ongoing, ringing may come from that signal. But tinnitus doesn’t always stay forever. It can fade away, or it can come and go. Regardless, Spilman says the best thing to do after loud noise exposure is give the ears a break to prevent permanent injury.

People who develop tinnitus are often exposed to sounds louder than noisy traffic—particularly those who work in construction, with firearms or in the music industry. But tinnitus can happen to anyone, regardless of workplace or background. Prevention mostly involves hearing protection. Over-the-ear headphones and earplugs are the best preventative measures to take for long periods of loud noise, but they aren’t always used since standard noise-reduction earplugs can degrade the quality of music.

While basic foam ear plugs are the go-to inexpensive solution to protect hearing, they block out sound rather than filtering it. This is probably why many people choose not to wear ear plugs, because they can “spoil the experience.” There are plenty of cheap, hi-fidelity ear plug options that don’t block sound altogether, but just let less sound through. Although they’re more expensive than foam ear plugs, they’re still available at around a $10 starting price.

Beyond preventative measures, there aren’t many fixed one-time solutions for those experiencing tinnitus. One of the first steps is called masking, or playing loud background music or white noise to cover up or “mask” the noise. For people with more hearing loss, hearing aids, counseling and biofeedback can help teach the brain to ignore certain signals. Not all services are covered by general health insurance, though, especially for more extreme cases.

Many seek therapy or support groups for tinnitus, and there are research links between tinnitus and anxiety, depression, self-harm, or even suicide. It’s the most common disability for veterans. Around 1.5 million vets live with tinnitus, and in 2012, the country spent $1.2 billion on tinnitus-related compensation to veterans, according to the American Tinnitus association.

“You’re cured if it never comes back, right? But it’s not like we can do an X-ray and it’s gone,” Spilman says. “When you get it and you have good hearing, there is a very good chance that you will resolve it—especially if you don’t injure your ears again. Once you have hearing damage, you’ll probably be living with it, but it’s still very common that it fades away and disappears. Even if that happens, is it cured? We don’t know, it could come back.”

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Cate Le Bon performs at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 7, at Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $15 adv/$20 door. 479-1854.

WEDNESDAY 7/3

GOSPEL

PAUL THORN

8 p.m. Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. $25. 704-7113.

METAL

ASEPTIC

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

FRIDAY 7/5

BLUEGRASS

RISING APPALACHIA

8 p.m. Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $37. 423-8209.

INDIE

HAND HABITS

9 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $15 adv/$17 door. 429-6994.

SATURDAY 7/6

PUNK

DIEGO’S UMBRELLA

9 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $12 adv/$15 door. 479-1854.

COMEDY

MEKKI LEEPER

7 and 9:30 p.m. DNA’s Comedy Lab, 155 S River St., Santa Cruz. $20 adv/$25 door. (530) 592-5250.

SUNDAY 7/7

CELTIC

OLD BLIND DOGS

7:30 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $22 adv/$25 door. 427-2227.

MONDAY 7/8

AMERICANA

THE HA!

9 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $10. 429-6994.

TUESDAY 7/9

WORLD

THE TURBANS

7:30 p.m. Michael’s On Main, 2591 Main St., Soquel. $10 adv/$12 door. 479-9777.

rabe333.com.

Cafe Delmarette, 1126 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. 420-1025, cafedelmarette.com.

Popping Birichino

Birichino, 204 Church St., Santa Cruz. birichino.com.

Farmers’ Market Breakfasts

santacruzfarmersmarket.org. $45.

Truck Stop

YESTERDAY

Silver Mountain Vineyards, 402 Ingalls St. Suite 29, Santa Cruz; Silver Mountain Drive, Los Gatos. 408-353-2278, silvermtn.com.

Cruise on the Rhine with Lester Family Vineyards

Info: Contact Margaret Miner at Barefoot Travel Agency, VinoDestinations, mm****@dr************.com, or 925-399-4269.

North Coast Coffee Roasting will be pouring fresh, free cups of joe starting at 7:30 a.m. during the TAC Skimblast Contest at Seabright Beach on Saturday, June 29. Their coffee is available at local grocery stores including Staff Of Life, New Leaf and Shopper’s Corner. northcoastroasting.com.

*Info: Contact Margaret Miner at Barefoot Travel Agency, VinoDestinations, mm@dr********.com, or 925-399-4269.*