Page 612 – Good Times

Music Preview: Froth at Felton Music Hall

Aaron Carnes

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July 30, 2019

Music Preview: Froth at Felton Music Hall

The members of Froth nearly released a blank record once, just because the idea sounded hilarious to them. This was before the band actually existed, but singer/guitarist Joo-Joo Ashworth and a group of guys he was hanging around with would go to shows and tell people that they were a band called Froth. None of them played instruments, though, so they thought a great practical joke would be to release an actual vinyl record with an album cover that said “Froth” in big, bold letters, but had no music on it.

“This guy at a record pressing plant said that he would do it for us for free because he had a blank mold,” Ashworth says. “He was dating my aunt, but then they broke up and it never happened.”

Froth did become a band later, mostly with other members. When Ashworth started to jam with this new group of guys, everyone was basically starting from scratch.

“It was definitely not serious at first,” Ashworth says. “Once the first record got put out, that clicked in—‘Oh, this is a band.’ But at the same time, every band is a real band, and every band isn’t a real band, you know what I mean?”

Now that Froth just released its fourth record Duress, they are more of a real band than a not-real band. The early records were psych-pop in the vein you’d expect from Burger Records, which released the group’s second album. For Duress, the band has evolved quite a bit and now incorporates a lot of shoegaze elements. It’s simultaneously more pop-oriented and more experimental in its layering of instrumentation and sonic nuancing.

Despite its beginnings, Froth has developed into a meticulous project where every sound is given a lot focus and care.

“Some of the songs we were working on for months and months,” Ashworth says. “We would throw it down and bring it back later. We took a bit of time dialing in the sounds. I like the process of knob twiddling.”

The latest record came after a quiet spell for the band. There was no official declaration of a hiatus, but the members were kind of off doing their own thing. Ashworth was working on a solo album, but eventually he started to wonder if the songs could work as a Froth record, despite going in a different direction.

“I think it turned out cool. I don’t think it was too far off from what we were doing before,” Ashworth says. “Maybe some of it is left field. One or two songs.”

Songs cover some oddball topics, too, like lead single “Laurel,” which explores the brief 2018 Laurel vs. Yanny craze, where a sound clip sounded like Laurel to some people and Yanny to others.

“I don’t know if there was cultural significance for me. But I thought it was interesting that it can so specifically mark the time,” Ashworth says. “Those weeks with Yanny and Laurel were like a thing.”

Another song explores a condition he and drummer Cameron Allen share called “Alice in Wonderland Syndrome,” where one perceives large and small objects as one as they fall asleep. The song treats it with a light-hearted, stream-of-consciousness view.

“It’s like this weird, overwhelming perception,” Ashworth says. “[The song] is a superficial discussion about it. It’s so hard to write about what the feeling even is.”

Overall, the music isn’t anything heavy; it’s more of a sonic adventure. The group digs deep into what a rock trio can sound like with this album, so much so that they barely recognize the band they were when they were still learning how to play their instruments.

“Just listen to the new album. Don’t worry about the old ones,” says Ashworth. “Especially the first one.”

Froth performs at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3, at Felton Music Hall, 627 Hwy. 9, Felton. $15 adv/$18 door. 704-7113.

Rob Brezsny’s Astrology July 31-August 6

Rob Brezsny

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July 30, 2019

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Rob Brezsny’s Astrology July 31-August 6

Free will astrology for the week of July 31, 2019

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Dear Diary, last night my Aries friend dragged me to the Karaoke Bowling Alley and Sushi Bar. I was deeply skeptical. The place sounded tacky. But after being there for 20 minutes, I had to admit that I was having a fantastic time. And it just got better and more fun as the night wore on. I’m sure I made a fool of myself when I did my bowling ball imitation, but I can live with that. At one point I was juggling a bowling pin, a rather large piece of sweet potato tempura, and my own shoe while singing Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir”—and I don’t even know how to juggle. I have to admit that this sequence of events was typical of my adventures with Aries folks. I suppose I should learn to trust that they will lead me to where I don’t know I want to go.”

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In his poem “Wild Oats,” poet W. S. Merwin provided a message that’s in perfect alignment with your current astrological needs: “I needed my mistakes in their own order to get me here.” He was not being ironic in saying that; he was not making a lame attempt to excuse his errors; he was not struggling to make himself feel better for the inconvenience caused by his wrong turns. No! He understood that the apparent flubs and miscues he had committed were essential in creating his successful life. I invite you to reinterpret your own past using his perspective.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Even if you’re an ambidextrous, multi-gendered, neurologically diverse, Phoenician-Romanian Gemini with a fetish for pink duct tape and an affinity for ideas that no one has ever thought of, you will eventually find your sweet spot, your power niche, and your dream sanctuary. I promise. Same for the rest of you Geminis, too. It might take a while. But I beg you to have faith that you will eventually tune in to the homing beacon of the mother lode that’s just right for you. P.S.: Important clues and signs should be arriving soon.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): What would a normal, boring astrologer tell you at a time like now? Maybe something like this: “More of other people’s money and resources can be at your disposal if you emanate sincerity and avoid being manipulative. If you want to negotiate vibrant compromises, pay extra attention to good timing and the right setting. Devote special care and sensitivity to all matters affecting your close alliances and productive partnerships.” As you know, Cancerian, I’m not a normal, boring astrologer, so I wouldn’t typically say something like what I just said. But I felt it was my duty to do so because right now you need simple, basic, no-frills advice. I promise I’ll resume with my cryptic, lyrical oracles next time.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Let’s check in with our psychic journalist, LoveMancer, who’s standing by with a live report from inside your imagination. What’s happening, LoveMancer? “Well, Rob, the enchanting creature on whose thoughts I’ve been eavesdropping has slipped into an intriguing frontier. This place seems to be a hot zone where love and healing interact intensely. My guess is that being here will lead our hero to breakthrough surges of love that result in deep healing, or deep healing that leads to breakthrough surges of love—probably both.”

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo figure skater Scott Hamilton won an Olympic gold medal and four World Championships. He was a star who got inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame and made a lot of money after he turned professional. “I calculated once how many times I fell during my skating career—41,600 times,” he testified in his autobiography. “But here’s the funny thing: I also got up 41,600 times. That’s the muscle you have to build in your psyche—the one that reminds you to just get up.” In accordance with current astrological omens, Virgo, I’ll be cheering you on as you strengthen that muscle in your psyche during the coming weeks.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): What’s the story of your life? Psychologist James Hillman said that in order to thrive, you need to develop a clear vision of that story. How do you do that? Hillman advised you to ask yourself this question: “How can I assemble the pieces of my life into a coherent plot?” And why is this effort to decode your biography so important? Because your soul’s health requires you to cultivate curiosity and excitement about the big picture of your destiny. If you hope to respond with intelligence to the questions and challenges that each new day brings, you must be steadily nourished with an expansive understanding of why you are here on earth. I bring these ideas to your attention, Libra, because the coming weeks will be an excellent time to illuminate and deepen and embellish your conception of your life story.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Artists are people driven by the tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide,” wrote psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott. I think that description fits many people born under the sign of the Scorpio, not just Scorpio artists. Knowing how important and necessary this dilemma can be for you, I would never glibly advise you to always favor candid, straightforward communication over protective, strategic hiding. But I recommend you do that in the coming weeks. Being candid and straightforward will serve you well.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian poet Aracelis Girmay writes, “How ramshackle, how brilliant, how haphazardly and strangely rendered we are. Gloriously, fantastically mixed and monstered. We exist as phantom, monster, miracle, each a theme park all one’s own.” Of course that’s always true about every one of us. But it will be extraordinarily true about you in the coming weeks. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you will be at the peak of your ability to express what’s most idiosyncratic and essential about your unique array of talents and specialties.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Sometime soon I suspect you will arrive at a crossroads in your relationship with love and sex—as well as your fantasies about love and sex. In front of you: a hearty cosmic joke that would mutate your expectations and expand your savvy. Behind you: an alluring but perhaps confusing call toward an unknown future. To your left: the prospect of a dreamy adventure that might be only half-imaginary. To your right: the possibility of living out a slightly bent fairy tale version of romantic catharsis. I’m not here to tell you what you should do, Capricorn. My task is simply to help you identify the options.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): How many handcuffs are there in the world? Millions. Yet there are far fewer different keys than that to open all those handcuffs. In fact, in many countries, there’s a standard universal key that works to open most handcuffs. In this spirit, and in accordance with current astrological omens, I’m designating August as Free Yourself from Your Metaphorical Handcuffs Month. It’s never as complicated or difficult as you might imagine to unlock your metaphorical handcuffs; and for the foreseeable future it will be even less complicated and difficult than usual for you.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): People who sneak a gaze into your laboratory might be unnerved by what they see. You know and I know that your daring experiments are in service to the ultimate good, but that may not be obvious to those who understand you incompletely. So perhaps you should post a sign outside your lab that reads, “Please don’t leap to premature conclusions! My in-progress projects may seem inexplicable to the uninitiated!” Or maybe you should just close all your curtains and lock the door until your future handiwork is more presentable. P.S. There may be allies who can provide useful feedback about your explorations. I call them the wounded healers.

Homework: Fantasize about ways you could make money from doing what you love to do. Report results! freewillastrology.com.

Roomful of Teeth Reinvents Vocals

Christina Waters

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July 30, 2019

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Somewhere near the start of the 21st century, inquiring singer, music explorer and California native Brad Wells began foraging well outside the standard repertoire of the harmony and melody performed by Western choral groups since the Renaissance.

After surveying the performance galaxy of music from other cultures—ones in which much more than vocal chord vibration is used to produce sounds—Wells started holding auditions for what would become Roomful of Teeth in 2009.

Next came commissions of exploratory work for the group’s precise set of skills and sound effects, then a 2013 Grammy for the ensemble’s recording of Partita for 8 Voices, composed by Roomful’s mezzo-soprano Caroline Shaw. The group’s reputation soared. They performed all over the world, and as Wells had stipulated from the very beginning, each singer made a living wage.

Roomful of Teeth has been called a lab experiment for the human voice. The sounds they are capable of creating using teeth, tongue, throat, and lips can range from stabbing percussion to shimmering whispers and lusty yodels. Each singer is classically trained, yet Bach would be astonished at the sounds they produce. Floating high above all the action of the lower voices is the effervescent soprano of Esteli Gomez, a Santa Cruz native who first studied music at Aptos High School with choral director Meri Pezzoni.

“This really is new and exciting music,” says Pezzoni, a UCSC music graduate. An accomplished singer and pianist, Pezzoni recently formed a woman’s vocal group, Amica, now rehearsing for its second annual concert.

Having performed with countless choral groups in the Bay Area, Pezzoni suddenly wanted to do an all women’s group. “Instead of a book club,” she says with a laugh, “we have a singing club with a very high skill level.” Pezzoni has kept in touch with Gomez since the days when she was a student in Aptos. “She started with me in junior high, and sang for six years as one of my soprano soloists.”

After Aptos, Gomez went to Yale School of Sacred Music, where she got involved in Baroque music. Pezzoni vividly recalls Gomez’s “beautiful soprano voice and great phrasing. She was always a superstar,” she says.

The allure of singing with other voices in a choral ensemble is powerful, says Pezzoni.

“You’re either a soloist or you’re not. If you’re drawn to singing with others, it becomes your passion, and it can often begin in high school, where choirs get to travel and you sing with your friends. There’s a sense of belonging, of being a family,” Pezzoni says. She’s preaching to the choir, since I too began choral singing as a kid (and was in a madrigal group with Pezzoni several decades ago) and haven’t stopped.

Roomful of Teeth continues to find alternative kinds of sound and music, says Pezzoni.

“These musicians are always trying to push the envelope,” she says. “They’re astonishing.”

Roomful of Teeth will perform at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music on opening night (Friday, Aug. 2, 8 p.m.), when they’ll appear with the festival orchestra and mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton in the world premiere of ‘When There are Nine.’ They will also be part of the festival’s free Community Sing (Saturday, Aug. 3, 4 p.m.). Finally, there is a chamber concert devoted entirely to their radical choral music (Sunday, Aug. 4, 7 p.m.). Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church St., Santa Cruz. cabrillomusic.org.

Love Your Local Band: Emily Lewis

Aaron Carnes

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July 30, 2019

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Last year, Emily Lewis released her debut solo EP Dreamtrax—a heartfelt, emotive, harmony-rich Americana record. While she’s baring her soul, she’s hoping to connect with other people feeling the weight of darkness crushing them, and also emphasize the importance of being in touch with one’s own feelings.

“A lot of the themes that come out in my songs are universal,” Lewis says.

She’s been playing music for 22 years in various groups, though more seriously the past eight years. Her most recent group was a duo with Naia Graham called Sweet Medicine that formed in 2012. It was a folk-oriented project that Lewis says played “medicine music.” She’s a believer in sound healing, and wrote these spiritual songs utilizing healing techniques she learned. They’d play yoga retreats and retreat centers.

“We incorporated chants and mantras into our music,” Lewis says. “We also wrote new material, which were lullabies for adults in a way.”

But Lewis had a lot of other material, including the emotional, intimate songs on this new record. In “Grief” she sings, “Grief comes in waves/sleepless nights. Belly Aches/sometimes the waves overtake me/I am lost at sea.”

She sees her solo music as its own form of sound healing, as well.

“I see my music as a way of connecting people to their own emotional experience,” Lewis says. “It gives people permission to express what they’re feeling.”

7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 31. Michael’s On Main, 2591 Main St., Soquel. $10. 479-9777.

Theatre Review: ‘Into The Woods’

Lisa Jensen

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July 30, 2019

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Don’t believe in fairy tales? You may change your mind when you see Into The Woods, the second production of the summer season at Cabrillo Stage. While the show itself takes a somewhat sardonic view of the flip side of “happily ever after,” and cautions us to be careful what we wish for, the Cabrillo production is so teeming with the magic of live theater, it’ll make a believer out of anyone.

The blockbuster musical from Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine is a fairy tale mashup that examines the tropes of the genre—true love, quests of honor, virtue rewarded—before and after the tales’ traditional happily-ever-after conclusions. It’s a gift of a show, but also a challenge, from Sondheim’s fiendishly clever and intricate (but often tongue-twisting) lyrics to creating the necessary magical mood by means of stagecraft alone. Fortunately, director and choreographer Janie Scott and her intrepid team are up to the task in this beautifully sung, wonderfully atmospheric production.

“Once upon a time … ” intones the onstage narrator to start things off. Andrew Ceglio is a formidable presence throughout in the role, observing the action with cool aplomb. (He also plays the Mysterious Man running loose in the woods with unhinged glee.) Against a gorgeous, eerie, cleverly functional forest backdrop from scenic designer Skip Epperson, the principal characters are introduced.

Young Jack (played with eager innocence by Jackson Brivic) lives with his exasperated mother (Alice Christine Hughes) and his best friend, their cow Milky White. (Yes, it’s a guy in a cow suit, but Isai Centeno brings humor and a touch of genuine pathos to the pantomime role.) They wish they weren’t so poor that they have to sell the cow.

Cinderella (Ashley Rae Little) rakes ashes out of the grate for her mean, social-climbing stepmother (Melanie Olivia Camras) and vain, twittery stepsisters (the fractious comedy duet of Morgan Peters and Catrina Contini) and wishes she could go to the prince’s festival. Little captures Cinderella’s feisty fortitude, and possesses perhaps the loveliest, most ethereal voice in a cast of strong singers.

The hard-working village baker (Ian Leonard) and the loyal baker’s wife (Melissa Harrison) wish more than anything for a child. But they can’t produce one, because the witch next door (Kristen Hermosillo) once visited a curse on the baker’s long-gone father. This salt-of-the-earth couple grounds the more fantastical elements in the show, with Harrison an especially strong presence in what may be the most demanding and pivotal role.

But the curse may be lifted if they obtain for the conniving witch some magical objects—a quest that sets the rest of the plot in motion. Into their orbit skips gluttonous, reckless Red (a very funny Brittney Mignano) with her basket of goodies for Granny. Rapunzel (Amy Young) is imprisoned in her tower by the doting witch, who longs to be her surrogate mother.

The prince who discovers her (Michael Stahl), and the smitten prince who doggedly pursues Cinderella after the festival (David Jackson) turn out to be brothers, equally fickle in their romantic attachments. (“I was raised to be charming, not sincere,” explains Cinderella’s prince.) The princes’ ironic duet “Agony” is a highlight, as is the dueling wordplay of Cinderella’s prince and the baker’s wife in “Any Moment,” deep in the woods. Jackson is also great fun as the slinky wolf with designs on Red.

Maria Crush’s costumes are storybook-perfect. Kyle Grant’s lighting design is effective throughout, from the way the treetops overhanging the stage are lit to create depth to the sudden blackout inside Granny’s cottage when things get too gruesome. Scott has imaginative staging solutions for tricky elements, like the arrival of a giant (well, part of her), or a carriage full of revelers, complete with prancing horse. When one of the princes tours the village, he slides along on an ornate carousel pony.

Scott conjures a winsome, witty production of this tale of bittersweet enchantment. It’s everything an audience could wish for.

The Cabrillo Stage production of ‘Into the Woods’ plays through Aug. 18 at the Crocker Theater, 6500 Soquel Dr., Aptos. 479-6154, cabrillostage.com.

Santa Cruz Shakespeare Now Foodie-Friendly

Christina Waters

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July 30, 2019

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Santa Cruz Shakespeare Now Foodie-Friendly

Grab a glass of chilled Birichino Malvasia Bianca and an avocado and jack cheese sandwich from The Buttery, and enjoy the spectacular view from the picnic tables overlooking the Monterey Bay. You’re at the Delaveaga Grove, where Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s 2019 season now includes tasty food offerings and a brand new wine and beer bar, featuring the wares of such local favorites as Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard, Sones Cellars, Birichino, and others.

Some nice choices of light meals you can enjoy with your theater date while perched on one of the 22 picnic tables with views the folks in Iowa would kill for: the Buttery’s Cobb salad, a chicken-romaine classic, a turkey and swiss sandwich, and more. Perhaps a coffee and something from Pacific Cookie Company will hold you all the way through the second act.

Of course you can stop by and order items at the concession window, or simply pick up a glass of wine—the handsome stemless glassware comes engraved with Santa Cruz Shakespeare on the bowl ($3 extra). Nicer than plastic.

Or you can have your order waiting for you. Here’s how that works: Pre-order fresh sandwiches and salads when you purchase your tickets, and your food items will be waiting for you at the concession area, better known as the Q-Hut Café, as early as 90 minutes before the show. Don’t forget that pre-orders must be placed online or at the Box Office no later than 6 p.m. two days in advance of your performance. It’s your best bet, since there’s limited daily delivery of non-reserved meals. Terrific expansion of the longstanding tradition of eating and drinking while enjoying Shakespeare—just the way the Bard himself did.

Wine Discoveries at Soif

I tasted my way through a galaxy of new-school wines from a new generation of Santa Cruz Mountain winemakers at a brilliant little Soif event last weekend. On offer were not only dozens of fresh-edge ideas in locally made wines—natural methods, unexpected sources and very low-intervention craft—but eight winemakers themselves, pouring and charming the tasting crowd. Practicing their rockstar marketing moves, the young oenologists were happy to explain what they were up to. Very exciting.

Ryan Stirm was one of the assembled who works, shares and conceptualizes collaboratively with his colleagues, trading technical know-how, experiments and grapes to refine each others’ vintages. A favorite was Stirm Wine’s 2017 Kick-On Vineyard Riesling ($24), with a gorgeous ginger ale nose and 13.5% alcohol gravitas. “It was a ripe year,” he grinned. “Next year’s Riesling will be much lower alcohol.” I was fine with this well-balanced structure.

Equally impressive was a 2018 Clarksburg Chenin Blanc made by Megan Bell of Margin Wines, using grapes sourced entirely from the Santa Cruz Mountain appellation. Brimming with the lively acidity you expect from this grape, it offered a floral opening leading to green apples, gardenia and quince, all in ultra-light, crisp 12% alcohol ($28). You’ll find Margins Wines at Bad Animal, The Cremer House Home, Vinocruz, and of course at Soif.

I was smitten with Madson Wines’ PM Staiger Vineyard Chardonnay 2016. At 13.1% alcohol, it’s a racy, non-oaked beauty ($32). Light, grape-driven, sustainably-made, experimental, and lower alcohol seem to be this generation’s motifs. These are feisty, often-elegant creations well worth searching out. Also impressive was an excellent new school 2017 Moonmilk Chardonnay (not oily or heavily oaked) from Florez Wines, made by James Jelks from Scotts Valley grapes. Perfection at under 13% alcohol.

Film Review: ‘Lost and Found’

Lisa Jensen

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July 30, 2019

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In a season traditionally ruled by superheroes and mayhem, what a pleasure it is to discover a quiet, quirky little comedy like Lost and Found. In this Irish anthology of seven interconnected stories, the characters are refreshingly life-sized as their stories play out in and around the Lost and Found room at a suburban Irish train depot.

It was written and directed by Liam O Mochain, who also gives himself the featured role of Daniel, a new hire on the job whose story threads in and out of all the others. Unlike other anthology stories like The Red Violin or The Yellow Rolls Royce, the narrative doesn’t revolve around the fortunes of a single item as it passes from one owner to the next. Rather, it centers on a handful of people going about their daily lives, whose small interactions gradually knit the larger story together.

Daniel works weekend nights tending bar at his uncle’s neighborhood pub. But for a day job, he applies to the Lost and Found department, a small outbuilding connected to the station. It’s his first day on the job, working alongside Joe (Brendan Conroy), a genial, feisty little leprechaun of a fellow who pretty much leaves Daniel on his own to sort out what to do with items brought in from the passing trains—everything from a wallet and jewelry to a wooden leg and a gurgling baby in a pram.

Most of the characters who figure in the later stories are introduced in this opening sequence. The movie’s segments are divided by separate titles, like short stories, and as their plots unspool, the subject matter is sometimes tragic—death, illness, loss—but the movie never loses its whimsical sense of humor as it grapples with the foibles of human nature.

In “Ticket To Somewhere,” an extremely polite yet befuddled senior (Liam Carney) gradually arouses suspicion as he haunts the platform, asking kind-heated travelers for help finding his lost ticket or his lost wallet so he can visit his ailing wife (and/or daughter) in hospital. It turns out to be a very moving story, especially when ticket-taker Moya (Norma Sheahan) comes on the scene.

Wistful family drama coincides with comedy in “The Tent,” in which Daniel attempts to fulfill a promise to his aging granny. As a 7-year-old girl, she was sent out of Poland by her family and relocated to Ireland in 1939. Asked to retrieve a childhood bracelet she had to bury in the backyard before she left, Daniel sets out to camp overnight in a field now belonging to a hospitable but understandably bewildered German couple.

In the funniest story, “The Proposal,” Daniel’s friend Gabriel (Seamus Hughes) plots a romantic vacation with his girlfriend Sile (Aoibhin Garrihy). But the details are top secret—he’s planning to pop the question in mid-flight—so even Sile doesn’t know where they’re going. And Gabriel’s desperate and increasingly futile attempts not to let anyone spoil the surprise—neither ticket clerk nor airport security—leads to a mounting cascade of comic catastrophes.

Another comic highlight is “Bar Makeover.” It’s the saga of Daniel’s slow-burning Uncle Podge (a very funny and irascible Donncha Crowley) and his dogged attempts to lure elusive customers by repeatedly changing his decor—from Tiki bar to Asian to Australian (renamed “Skippy’s,” with a kangaroo logo and an endless loop of “Tie Me Kangaroo Down” on the jukebox). He does finally fill the place up, but not in the way he expected.

Other stories concern a will and a wedding, but no spoilers here about those. Filmmaker O Mochain is a personable onscreen presence as Daniel, game in the face of whatever absurdity comes his way. He and the rest of this very deft cast—along with a buoyant, almost Klezmer-like soundtrack—keep things rolling along.

LOST & FOUND ***(out of four) With Liam O Mochain, Norma Sheahan and Brendan Conroy. Written and directed by Liam O Mochain. A Gravitas Ventures release. Not rated. 96 minutes.

Food & Drink Magazine 2019

Georgia Johnson

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July 25, 2019

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Our dining scene has a bit of a chip on its shoulder—and not the savory, delicious kind.

Despite all the culinary talent here over the years, Santa Cruz County has never really been taken seriously as a dining destination. But sometimes all it takes to change conventional wisdom—and attract attention to all of the interesting other things that are happening here—is one high-profile addition to the foodie landscape. Some like … a three-star Michelin restaurateur moving into the neighborhood? Exactly.

That’s why David Kinch’s latest endeavor Mentone is the most anticipated opening in this area in a long time. But what exactly does the Manresa mastermind have planned for us? Find out in Christina Waters’ interview in this issue. And while you’re at it, check out Georgia Johnson’s profile of the Dueck brothers, who are trying to bring a similar kind of transformation to Watsonville’s scene with the Hangar. Can it be the kind of culinary hub that South County has been lacking?

While we’re on the subject of big changes, Tabitha Stroup—who we’ve written about in the past as the culinary innovator who turned her small, artisan Friend in Cheeses Jam Company into a national business—is doing something truly different with her newest company, and trying to change the world in the process. You’ll find all that, plus breakfast, the spritzer trend and more in this issue. Let’s dive in!

STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR

FEATURED STORIES:

David Kinch On New Restaurant Mentone

Could the Hangar Become Watsonville’s Abbott Square?

Terroir in a Jar Finds Life for Farms’ Unsellable Foods

Santa Cruz County’s Best Breakfasts

Sweet Curls Reinvents Santa Cruz Ice Cream

Spritzer Trend Comes to Santa Cruz

FULL ISSUE:

David Kinch On New Restaurant Mentone

Christina Waters

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July 25, 2019

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This area’s most anticipated restaurant opening of the year is about to launch in Santa Cruz County.

Aptos Village is the home of chef David Kinch’s latest culinary adventure, Mentone (pronounced “men-tawn-eh.”). The chef and creator of three-star Michelin restaurant Manresa, Kinch has lived in Santa Cruz for the past 22 years. And while his heart belongs to the Central Coast, right now his mind is fixated on the French/Italian Riviera and the town of Menton, where Mirazur has just captured its third Michelin star.

It’s one of Kinch’s favorite dining spots, so to celebrate the honor, he’ll join Mirazur chef Mauro Colagreco for some culinary creativity. “We’ll be cooking on the beach for 120 lucky people,” Kinch says with a grin.

So smitten is Kinch with this stretch of cinematic Riviera that he has named his new Aptos restaurant after Menton. “It’s the Italian version of the French town’s name,” he explains. This region was part of the Republic of Genoa right up until 1860, when it became part of France. Hence the co-mingled cuisines from Italy and the south of France at the new restaurant—Mediterranean coastal cuisine spun through Kinch’s own California vision.

The Inspiration

“It reminds me of our stretch of coastline,” Kinch says of the azure European coast discovered while visiting friends on culinary visits and cooking odysseys. Anyone who’s visited the South of France, or the Ligurian coast between Nice and Genoa, can understand exactly why he would be taken by the bold, sun-drenched flavors of the region.

After all, this is the place that gave us focaccia, salame and pesto. Far from the concept-intensive world of Manresa, this Kinch eatery will be casual enough to highlight pizza—fueled by Kinch’s inventiveness and the freshly milled flour from Manresa Bread, the bakery branch of Manresa powered by superstar baker Avery Ruzicka.

The Place

Why Aptos? “My business partner Andrew Burnham found this opportunity,” Kinch says. “And he urged me to buy the building.” The chef has been steadily building his brand since he opened Manresa in Los Gatos in 2002, and the restaurant earned its first two Michelin stars in 2007 (it was upgraded to three in 2016). Kinch had been looking for a new restaurant space in downtown Santa Cruz for a few years. Bywater, the more casual, New Orleans-inspired restaurant he opened in 2016, is also located in Los Gatos.

“I wanted to be on this side of the hill,” Kinch says. “I like expanding our reach. I think we can fill a need.”

He also looks forward to a minimal commute. “Right now, I’m waiting to build—just waiting for the final signing,” Kinch says. “We spent most of last year working on this. They’ve built the shell. It just needs finishing inside.” The food entrepreneur says the end result “will evoke the area we were inspired by, as well as our own Central Coast.”

The Setup

Yes, there will be a full bar, “with a lot of amaros and Italian wines,” he says. The chef at Mentone will be Matt Bowden, currently Executive Sous Chef at Manresa. “If I’m in town, I’ll be in the kitchen, too,” says Kinch, happy finessing the pizzas. “We’re going to be doing five pies using a Mugnaini wood-fired oven. We have our own mill, and can now mill our own grains.” The flavor and freshness, he contends, cannot be rivaled. “I’m developing pastas—we’ll make lots of pastas,” he says. “It’s going to be simple. It’s going to be food inspired by the region.” Authentic, yes, “but with my own spin.”

“We’re having a lot of fun working on this,” he says. “Andrew Burnham is a great business partner. He’s my partner at the bakery, and with the restaurants. Andrew’s business expertise allows me to work the food side.”

The Menu

Kinch’s concepts can be subtle, and tend to defy categorization. But the seasons and the geographical setting are invariably folded into his menus. He shows me a glamorous shot of actors Catherine Deneuve and Marcello Mastroianni at the height of their cinematic fame and beauty. “That’s on our brand,” he says with obvious pleasure. Two film stars, one French, one Italian. That’s the sizzle Kinch wants for Mentone, accessible and appealing.

There will be pesto, farinata, ratatouille, pizza, and, “We’re developing our own focaccia,” Kinch says.

The new spot will be kid-friendly, headds, “like a trattoria.” Dinner-only at first, six nights a week, with perhaps a brunch on Saturday and Sunday. “We’ll have take out,” he promises.

Kinch fans can look forward to “a lot of custom salames, like culatello, coppa,” specialty charcuterie that will be made for Kinch in the Bay Area. “And a wine list that harmonizes with the food. It’ll be a short wine list, 30 reds and 30 whites, Provencal and Ligurian wines. Some Sicilian whites, Dolcetto d’Alba, a Cotes Ventoux, and of course Bandol.” Cioppino? “Definitely. But Central Coast style,” he says. “We’ll make it with Dungeness crab and abalone from Monterey.”

Kinch is elbow-deep in tinkering and experimenting with pastas for the Mentone menu. “I’ve perfected cacio et pepe,” he says with an impish grin. “And I’m working on pesto. Pesto is one of the greatest sauces.”

Kinch wants the best and freshest produce from local growers for Mentone. “We’re working with several organic growers now,” says the chef, who famously had biodynamic specialties grown exclusively for his restaurant. He’s especially excited about using custom-grown Genovese basil. The magic chemistry of garlic, olive oil, pine nuts, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and basil is one of Italy’s greatest gifts to cuisine. “Our trenette al pesto [made with three different varieties of basil] will have a California spin,” says Kinch. And then he reveals the secret California ingredient in his pesto, which I will not divulge.

The Star

Anthony Bourdain once described Kinch’s cooking as “wildly creative … beautifully presented and surprisingly minimalist—very, very tasty.” Kinch keeps living up to that assessment.

After learning everything he could in top kitchens in New York, San Francisco and Europe, Kinch opened a small, Catalan-inspired dining room in Saratoga in 1995 called Sent Sovi, which is where I first tasted his cooking. Then came Manresa, where the Michelin stars began to accumulate, as did international culinary guest chef gigs and James Beard awards, including Best Chef: Pacific in 2010. Born in Philadelphia and raised in Louisiana, Kinch opened Bywater as a spicy love letter to the Cajun and Creole foods of his New Orleans roots. But now his imagination has zeroed in on the Mediterranean climate of his current home.

Fit and tanned, drinking iced green tea at the Delmarette, Kinch has just returned from two weeks of cooking and eating in Toulouse, Marseilles, Genoa, and the Dolomites. “I’m doing less and less guest chef gigs,” he insists, suddenly looking reflective. “I’m getting near the end of expansion, and I don’t know what I might do next. There’s still a lot of French bistro cooking I’d like to do. But I tend to take baby steps,” he admits. “I like to get everything lined up and worked out in advance.”

There are a lot of reasons Kinch enjoys living here. “It’s close to the ocean, it’s got the university and all the activity that goes with that,” he says. “I’ve lived in Manhattan and in San Francisco. I don’t want a big city anymore. I need a separation between my personal and professional life.”

Food is the focus of his life, and it always was. “I fell into that rabbit hole early on, and pretty hard. I’m always curious. And I’m not afraid to learn.”

But Kinch says he needs to recharge a few times a year. “Especially as I get older,” says the 58-year-old chef. “For me, it’s always a beach. I relax, surf, sleep a lot, have a rum drink at two in the afternoon. It helps to reorganize my priorities. I try to do that twice a year.”

His favorite thing to do is having great restaurant meal. “Fine dining—that’s where the ideas are,” he says. What he loves is not so much particular dishes, but “experiencing the whole place, the chef’s vision.”

Kinch says he tries not to travel during the summers so he can stay home in Santa Cruz. “I’ve got the beach, I cook at home. Simple picnic foods—pastas, tomato salads, roast chicken, very simple.” But right now, he’s not exactly kicking back. In addition to overseeing the finishing touches on Mentone, he’s just signed a second cookbook deal and currently spends the mornings working on recipes. “The manuscript is due in November, and then photography for the cookbook will start.” He suddenly remembers, “I’ve got a busy travel schedule in November.”

On that note, Kinch zooms off on his powder blue Vespa looking every inch the seaside—Santa Cruz—Italian.

Mentone

Location: Aptos Village

Size: 3,000 sq. feet; seating for 100

Chef de Cuisine: Matt Bowden, executive sous chef at Manresa

Special features: Full bar; Italian and California wines; Mugnaini wood-fired pizza oven

Cuisine: French/Italian/Coastal California—pasta, pizza, cioppino, focaccia, custom salames

Ambience: Casual; family friendly

Opening date: Late summer/early fall 2019

Other David Kinch projects: Look for the upcoming Mineta San Jose Airport installation of California Market by David Kinch—a dining, bakery, coffee and bar experience curated and designed by the James Beard Award-winning chef.

Update: This story previously misstated the birthplace of David Kinch and misspelled the name of Avery Ruzicka.

Terry McAuliffe on ‘Send Her Back,’ Dem Debates

Steve Kettmann

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July 24, 2019

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Terry McAuliffe on ‘Send Her Back,’ Dem Debates

Editor’s note: This conversation with former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is part of this week’s GT cover package on the legacy of Charlottesville and McAuliffe’s upcoming Bookshop Santa Cruz event.

STEVE KETTMAN: The timing on publication of this book seems uncanny. Your subtitle is ‘Taking a Stand Against White Nationalism,’ and your main subject is racism. This month, racism has dominated the headlines, with Congress passing a resolution condemning Trump for his racist attack on four Congresswoman, the first time the House of Representatives has rebuked a President in more than 100 years.

TERRY MCAULIFFE: Racism has never gone away. For a very long time, many people felt we had dealt with racism, and it wasn’t an issue. It wasn’t a problem that existed in America today. What happened in Charlottesville ripped the scab off, and people realized that racism is still prevalent, and not nearly enough has been done to deal with the issues behind racism, inequality in schools and housing and access to health care and a racist criminal justice system, and on and on. We don’t need more words. We need more action.

As a former Democratic National Committee chairman, you’ve been around a lot of Democratic debates. What was your take on the first two Democratic debates, held in late June?

I was disappointed in the first two debates. The candidates didn’t talk enough about the issues that affect everyday Americans. I heard no discussion of issues of K-12 funding for education, and no discussion of how to address failing infrastructure, which is crippling cities around the country, and no discussion of workforce development and workforce training and no real discussion on lowering the costs of prescription drugs. Our education system was built for the industrial revolution, and hasn’t transformed for a 21st-century economy. And I heard no discussion of the ballooning budget deficit that’s going to cripple our children’s future.

What about the way racism was addressed? Were you at all surprised at the way California Senator Kamala Harris came at Joe Biden?

Listen, when you’re the front runner, you know everybody is going to come after you. Vice President Biden should have been prepared for that. I thought Bernie Sanders was going to use the debate to go after Biden. But Harris obviously prepared very well and executed in knocking Joe Biden off his game. The goal of the debates is to have a break-out moment, and she clearly had a break-out moment.

Biden set himself up by making that comment early in June about the “civility” of the good old days when he worked with openly Segregationist Senators like James Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia. Was that tone-deaf of Biden?

There was no reason for him to bring Herman Talmadge and James Eastland into the discussion. They were racists. I understand what Biden was trying to do, he was saying that even with these vile individuals in the Senate, he was able to work with them on legislation to move the country forward, but he could have made that point a different way. Jim Eastland actually said that African Americans were “an inferior race.” He should never, ever be cited in any example except one talking about racists.

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7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 31. Michael’s On Main, 2591 Main St., Soquel. $10. 479-9777.

The Cabrillo Stage production of ‘Into the Woods’ plays through Aug. 18 at the Crocker Theater, 6500 Soquel Dr., Aptos. 479-6154, cabrillostage.com.

Wine Discoveries at Soif

LOST & FOUND ***(out of four) With Liam O Mochain, Norma Sheahan and Brendan Conroy. Written and directed by Liam O Mochain. A Gravitas Ventures release. Not rated. 96 minutes.

FEATURED STORIES:

FULL ISSUE:

The Inspiration

The Place

The Setup

The Menu

The Star

Mentone