By the time drummer Sput Searight started Ghost-Note with Nate Werth, he’d already dabbled in more genres than most musicians do in a lifetime. Not only was he a member of the kaleidoscopic jam-fusion band Snarky Puppy, but he’d also worked with Snoop Dogg, Timbaland and Kendrick Lamar.
All of that was just a prelude for Swagism, Ghost-Note’s second album.
It’s a dizzying, decidedly 21st-century jazz album, fully funked and respectful of no boundary. Interwoven equally with inspirational monologues straight out of Gil Scott-Heron and a whole bunch of zany phone calls, Swagism is post-G Funk, post-Tarantino, post-To Pimp a Butterfly jazz music.
But it was almost something else entirely. Searight and Werth spent more than a decade playing as drummer and percussionist in Snarky Puppy. The two played thousands of shows together, developing a uniquely collaborative style along the way.
“After shows, people would be like, ‘What song was that you guys were playing? What kind of groove was that? Was that rehearsed?’ But we just made it up on the spot,” says Searight. “After a while, we just started cracking jokes about putting out a record, saying it was going to be on our new release. We sat down and talked about it one day and were like, ‘We really should do that.’”
In 2015, the pair started working on music together. Later that year, they released Fortified, their first album as Ghost-Note.
“Initially, we wasn’t a band,” Searight says. “We were just two guys. Two percussionists that put out a record. It kind of gradually evolved into a band when people were asking us to come out and perform live. And the more we did that, the more interesting it got.”
Eventually, the ensemble grew to include Nate’s brother, Nick Werth, who plays an instrument called a “xylosynth.” “It’s pretty much like a vibraphone,” Searight says. “But he’s more like a DJ, the way he plays it.”
The xylosynth quickly became a central part of the band, and Searight and Werth set about writing an album for this new arrangement, a weird futuristic hybrid of electronics and percussion. This was the album that Ghost-Note was originally going to record. Then, less than a month away from the session, their xylosynth player told them he wouldn’t be playing on the record anymore.
The album was shot. But the studio time was already booked.
“We went into the studio dry,” Searight says. “With nothing, literally—a couple of ideas that we were conjuring up from other projects and stuff like that. But we didn’t have a game plan until the day we got there. And then we basically just threw out ideas, went in and recorded, started fleshing ’em out, and they started growing organically.”
Searight and Werth followed their instincts, chasing down ideas as they came. Clearly, they had some good ones, because the result is one of the most fun jazz albums in years.
“Everything we were playing in the studio was funk,” Searight says. “We didn’t really go that direction on purpose. That just kind of organically happened. The record just kind of got really funky.”
This willingness to take jazz in a more pop direction is part of what makes Swagism such a thrilling record. Check out the grimey synths and hi-hats in third track “Pace Maker,” or the almost J-pop melody on unabashed dance track “Fragile.” Taken as a whole, Swagism is a bracing reminder that jazz music isn’t a stuffy affair meant to be enjoyed in a turtleneck. It’s alive, engaged with the moment.
“It’s just freedom of expression,” Searight says. “We pride ourselves on being creative at all times.”
Ghost-Note plays at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 14, at Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $15. 479-1854.
“Eat Tacos, Be Happy,” insists the menu at Snap Taco, downtown’s frenetic new outpost for “New School tacos.”
The former Assembly space on Pacific Avenue is now home to hipster-industrial booths, a slender banquette for duo diners and a stable of group-friendly roundtops balanced on revamped metal drums. From the colorful facade, I expected all high-wattage, Baja-inspired tones inside. There are occasional painted stripes and leafy palms, but the design is filtered through a surprisingly muted north-of-the-border aesthetic, with a bit of Boardwalk kitsch thrown in.
The concept wants to be easy: you step up to the front counter, order, pay, and wait for a text to pick up your order. Meanwhile, you can grab a seat near the Instagram-friendly red neon “Tacos” sign or under the outdoor patio’s tin roof and debate whether it’s late enough for one of those good-looking cocktails from the bar. At lunch last week, we ordered the day’s special citrus-honey gingerade ($4) and wow, was it delicious! Great with Snap’s complimentary warm chips and citrusy-but-unexciting salsa.
The four tacos we’d ordered arrived nestled tightly in a metal tray. It was hard to tell which was which, and to keep the guts from spilling out. The salsa verde ($4.50) we ordered was quite good, a terrific accent. Two of the street-sized tacos (at least) are needed for an actual meal, which along with a la carte salsa, refried beans and a soda or Verve coffee will run $20 or more.
The Baja-style fish taco ($4.95) was delicious with its succulent interior, crisp batter, guajillo chile salsa, black beans, and cabbage. This is a good taco, as is the Tiki BBQ Pork taco ($3.95) with its zippy pineapple salsa. Less interesting, though adequately executed, were the ground beef Old School Taco ($3.95) and Carne Asada ($3.95) with pickled red onion, cilantro and cabbage.
For locals looking for a change of pace, out-of-towners seeking accessible options and selfie addicts, Snap Taco is one of a new wave of fast-casual restaurants paring down the costs and formality of table service dining, and is the latest offering from the entrepreneurs behind Penny Ice Creamery, the Picnic Basket and the late full-service Assembly.
I look forward to future meals at Snap Taco when the new restaurant disorientation and menu overload have died down—five exceptional tacos, rather than 10 scattered options. Snap’s menu is loaded with items that are vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, and gluten-free. Seating verges on chaotic, but that can be eased. The colors could also be kicked up a notch to amplify the ambiance—or maybe after a few cocktails everything looks brighter.
Snap Taco, 1108 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. Open daily 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. with regular food and drink specials. eatsnaptaco.com.
Pop-Up Breakfasts
Summer means al fresco Farmers Market breakfasts—wildly popular and selling out fast!
On June 29, Kenny Woods of 1440 Multiversity will cook at the Scotts Valley Market ($45). On July 20, Gema Cruz of Gabriella Cafe welcomes breakfasters at the Westside Market ($45). On Aug. 10, Katherine Stern (longtime La Posta chef) will get your Westside morning started with tomato and roasted corn salad, pork loin and potato biscuits ($45), and Sept. 14 Kendra Baker of Penny Ice Creamery cooks at Westside Market ($75). Breakfast starts at 10 a.m.
Matthias Schoenaerts has a great face for the movies.
With his long, crooked nose and hooded-yet-piercing eyes, he can seem completely impassive, almost catatonic. And yet a cascade of tightly controlled responses flicker across his face at the tiniest compression of his mouth or flattening of his eyebrows. It’s a face worth watching, and the Belgian actor who first came to prominence opposite Marion Cotillard in Rust and Bone is the best reason to see The Mustang.
With Robert Redford in the saddle as executive producer, The Mustang was workshopped through the Sundance Institute as the feature film debut for director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre. Working from her original story idea, actress-turned-filmmaker Clermont-Tonnerre (who wrote the script with Mona Fastvold and Brock Norman Brock) spins a tale of wild horses, regret and redemption set in a high-security prison complex out in the middle of the Nevada desert. The analogy between wild-spirited mustangs and incarcerated men who have lost their freedom is pretty standard stuff, yet the nuances of character, story and subtle, yet profoundly felt emotion keep viewers involved.
Schoenaerts stars as Roman, a wary, tight-lipped prison inmate so taciturn he makes Clint Eastwood look like a chatterbox. After 12 years in the system, he’s recently been transferred to a new facility en route to being gradually reintegrated into society. (The movie was shot in and around the former Nevada State Prison in Carson City.)
It takes a while to find out what Roman is in for. He’s not exactly the type to chum up to his fellow inmates and share his life story—especially not with his jittery roommate (Josh Stewart). Nor does he cozy up to the prison therapist (Connie Britton), who tries to break through his protective psychological armor; we also see her conducting a session on “restorative justice,” the new buzz phrase for what used to be called “anger management.” Beneath his stoic demeanor, Roman radiates a potential for volatility that no one wants to push too far.
His story plays out against the larger backdrop of a wild horse round-up out in the surrounding desert, where mustangs are herded by helicopter into a holding corral adjacent to the prison. There, select inmates are assigned to break and gentle the animals for auction as part of their rehabilitation process under the watchful eye of program director Myles (Bruce Dern), a crusty, cantankerous old horse trainer.
Initially assigned to shovel manure around the compound, Roman is drawn to a particularly obstreperous animal so fierce he’s shut up in a pen by himself, away from the other horses. Apparently, the feeling is mutual; Roman doesn’t know any better than to enter the pen, and when the two of them size each other up, curiosity—not bloodshed—ensues. Myles decrees that Roman should enter the program, and with the help of gregarious fellow inmate and trick-rider Henry (an appealing Jason Mitchell), Roman and his mustang slowly establish the fraught, prickly bond of kindred spirits.
There are no particular surprises in the story; the tenderness with which Roman bonds with his horse begins to seep—very gradually—into his fractured relationship with his angry, abandoned grown daughter (Gideon Adlon), who occasionally visits him in prison with papers for him to sign. But Clermont-Tonnerre’s storytelling is thoughtful and stirring with lovely moments, like the first time the horse unexpectedly nuzzles the frustrated, frazzled Roman.
And then there’s Schoenaerts, whose haunted eyes take in everything, revealing the merest glimpses of feeling buried beneath his posture of menace. Schoenaerts has had a long, varied career in European film, from the steroid-pumped protagonist in Bullhead to romantic leads in Far From the Madding Crowd and A Little Chaos (he also played a slinky art dealer in The Danish Girl), and it’s always interesting to see what he’ll do next.
The other compelling aspect of the movie is its loving tribute to iconic wild mustangs from producer Redford, the horse whisperer himself. It’s these spirited animals whose freedom he (and we) care about most.
THE MUSTANG
*** (out of four)
With Matthias Schoenaerts, Bruce Dern, Jason Mitchell, and Connie Britton. Directed by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre. Written by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, Mona Fastvold and Brock Norman Brock. A Focus Features release. Rated R. 96 minutes.
John Locke recently invited me to his Birichino tasting room in downtown Santa Cruz to try a new release. And what a wine!
I was bowled over with his 2018 Pétulant Naturel Cinsaut. But then, Locke likes the challenge of making something different, and this outstanding wine meets all the criteria.
Grapes are harvested from the Bechthold Vineyard nestled in the Mokelumne River area of Lodi. Planted in 1886, this vineyard is dry-farmed and the oldest Cinsaut on Earth. We should give thanks to Birichino owners Locke and Alex Krause for always tracking down the very best grapes.
Locke and Krause founded Birichino in 2008 with the aim of attaining the perfect balance of “perfume, poise and puckishness.” Their playful way with words is echoed on their wine labels, too, but they’re serious when it comes to making a fine product.
“Forecast: cloudy with a chance of amazeballs,” they say of the Cinsaut, adding that it’s supposed to be cloudy since the wine is unfiltered as it finishes fermentation. “Pétulant Naturel is Birichino’s querulous answer as to how to produce a complex and delicious lightly ‘pétulant’ wine using traditional lo-fi methods that don’t require luxury-group-funded production equipment, nor marketing fluff.”
In other words, this talented duo are making a “vividly refreshing and fragrant wine—with a special savory richness” and selling it for a mere $25.
When you enter the portals of Birichino’s fascinating tasting room, note the live carnivorous plants decorating the space. If you have never seen a Venus flytrap, then now’s your chance!
Birichino, 204 Church St., Santa Cruz. 425-4811, birichino.com.
High Time for Tea
The Aptos Chamber of Commerce is presenting a High Tea, Fashion & Shopping event to benefit Caroline’s, a nonprofit thrift shop in Aptos.
Fashions will be provided by Cinnamon Bay Clothing, Fleet Feet Sports, Hopscotch, Kickback, O’Neill Surf Shop, Pacific Wave, Sockshop & Shoe Company, Xandra Swimwear, and more. A buffet spread will include sandwiches, scones and chocolate-dipped strawberries—with bottomless mimosas for $25. Tickets $60.
Sam Khanal and his two business partners opened the first Ambrosia India Bistro in Monterey 12 years ago.
Now the restaurant has four locations, including one in Aptos and another in Scotts Valley, which opened in 2016. Khanal, whose favorite dish is the rack of lamb, lives in San Jose and drives 100 miles a day on average. He enjoys offering slightly different menu items at Ambrosia’s various locations.
To hear Khanal tell it, cooking Indian food requires some grit. Ambrosia has one lentil dish, for example, called dal makhani, that must be soaked overnight before seven hours of cook time. “Small flame. That’s the beauty,” he says. “You need to have a lot of patience when you cook.”
Which is your favorite location?
SAM KHANAL: All of them.
You can tell me.
All of them, but I’m trying to spend more time here in this restaurant [in Scotts Valley]. This is more like my baby, like how a newborn needs more attention. With specific customers, you need to treat them well—that kind of thing. I’ve been in business since 2007, so my Monterey restaurant already took off. I don’t need to be there 24/7, whereas this one’s about 2-and-a-half years old.
What’s it like sharing ownership with two partners?
If you have understanding partners, it’s a very good idea, because obviously you can’t go around to all four locations and be present there all the time. They come here once a week. I go there once a week. They have different eyes to look at things, and so do I.
What’s your favorite alcohol and food pairing?
Our food goes well with the dry Riesling. It’s not too sweet, and it kills the spice. It goes well with vindaloo. For the red drinker, we have a Petite Sirah.
For the first time, the annual UC Santa Cruz Climate Conference will bring together prominent ocean scientists and leading social-justice advocates to discuss the environmental and equity dimensions of the crisis. The conference will focus on local, state and national efforts to pursue climate justice; the panel discussion will be followed by an interactive opportunity to learn about UCSC research and opportunities for local action. Panelists include UCSC professor Gary Griggs, sustainability and climate action manager for the City of Santa Cruz Climate Action Program Tiffany Wise-West and more.
INFO: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 11. Rio Theatre. 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. climateconference.ucsc.edu. Free, online registration required.
Art Seen
The Tammi Brown Band
Local hero Tammi Brown was raised in the gospel and jazz traditions—roots that blossomed when she discovered the grace and power of great women in soul, R&B and pop. Brown has continued to spread her musical wings with Grammy-nominated vocal ensemble Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir, SoVoSó, and in opening for Dr. Maya Angelou and Joan Baez, as well as co-producing her single “That’s How it Goes” with 13-time Grammy nominated jazz fusion artist Tom Schuman of Spyro Gyra. Brown will be performing with her band as part of Tandy Beal and Company’s ArtSmart Arts Education Program.
INFO: 11 a.m. Saturday, April 6. Veterans Memorial Building, 846 Front St., Santa Cruz. tandybeal.com. $15 adult/$10 child.
Friday 4/5
Felix Kulpa ‘Pro-Community Visions and Voices’
With work from 10 member artists, the Felix Kulpa gallery will be transformed into a thought-provoking space for visitors to look, listen and be heard. Just in time for First Friday, the exhibit centers around pressing issues like affordable housing, definitions of personhood, and the health of our ecosystems. In April and May, the collective will host a number of events, workshops and conversations in the exhibition space, exploring the powerful intersection of creative collaboration and civic engagement through drawing, painting, fiber sculpture, and video installation. Areperia 831 will be there slinging delicious vegan Arepas and other Venezuelan food.
INFO: 5-8 p.m. Felix Kulpa Gallery and Sculpture Garden, 107 Elm St., Santa Cruz. 421-9107, felixkulpa.com. Free.
Friday 4/5-Sunday 9/22
‘We’re Still Here: Stories of Seniors and Social Isolation’
Loneliness and social isolation affect 1 in 3 seniors in Santa Cruz County. Many seniors contact just one person a week; some said they see a visitor less than once a month. The new exhibit, curated entirely by Santa Cruz senior citizens, sheds light on this local crisis and gives visitors the tools to help. It also shares solutions to loneliness from different cultures and families around the world. It’s not your typical exhibition; over 180 seniors, advocates and organizations created this show themselves in partnership with the MAH.
INFO: Museum of Art and History, 705 Front St., Santa Cruz. 429-1964. santacruzmah.org. $10 general admission/free on First Fridays. Photo: Gina Orlando.
Wednesday 4/3-Sunday 5/26
‘Vote! Your Vote is Your Voice / ¡Vote! Su Voto es Su Voz!’
Pajaro Valley Arts’ latest exhibit is inspired by images and stories from Monterey Bay artists and activists who worked in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, and on Latino voting rights issues in Watsonville in the 1970 and 1980s. Contemporary art, historical images, artifacts, educational events, and films illustrate ordinary people taking courageous stands for democratic values. The exhibit features selections from the Stanford Library’s Bob Fitch Photo Archives and Maria Gitin’s civil rights archives, showcasing their experiences as young voting rights workers in the South.
INFO: Show runs through Sunday, May 26. Opening reception 2-4 p.m. Sunday, April 7. Pajaro Valley Arts Council, 37 Sudden St., Watsonville. Free.
Working at a community newspaper that focuses as much as possible on local news, it’s always interesting when a story in Santa Cruz County offers a new or different perspective on an issue that’s being talked about at a national or even international level.
Sometimes a local story reveals an issue that should be discussed at a national or international level, but isn’t—and that’s the case this week.
It all started when a reader called the office to tell Georgia Johnson that the man she’d just bought cigars from in Midtown had an interesting life story that GT might be interested in writing about. That tipster was right—a former translator for the U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan, Sayed Nadim Hashimi does indeed have a remarkable story—but I doubt she could have suspected that her call would lead to this eye-opening exploration of the issues that translators face after they’re done with their service.
It’s a prime example of why we love tips from readers; they are the starting point for some of our most important stories. I hope you enjoy this one.
Thanks to Jacob Pierce and the Good Times for covering the recent Santa Cruz City Council conflicts between progressives and moderates over agenda-setting and issues (GT, 3/13). I also thank all council members for their largely thankless, sparsely paid toil on our many urgent city issues.
Without repeating the details of the situation, I have suggestions to improve it.
Rather than focusing on accused wrongdoing and political labels, I’d like the council to cooperate, and to resolve their differences and address those issues that affect us all so deeply.
A major part of the controversy is the currently established (but not legally required) process of agenda setting by only the mayor and city staff—an undemocratic and inefficient way of dealing with the enormous job of setting a city government’s priorities. One solution would be to replace that protocol with a rotating three-member city council group, changing composition each meeting, determined by lot and not by rank such as mayor or vice mayor. That group would meet with staff to compose an agenda with all items requested by council members, possibly rationing times for each and all items so as to include all of the city business we have elected them to deal with. Other democratic solutions could be proposed as well as this one.
In order to put contention behind and effectively conduct business, all council members, including mayor and vice mayor, need to learn how to work together, as does any group with tasks. I suggest they set time apart from council business meetings to consult with expert facilitators in both group and meeting process and in how to reach out to each other to reconcile their personal and political differences. Most call this a retreat; if a full-scale retreat is not immediately possible, reconciliation may be done on a smaller scale. For example, the council members can meet with each other in pairs, or in groups less than four (in order not to violate the Brown Act prohibition on elected government bodies meeting in secret in quorums).
For our collective and individual sake, I think most of us, and the council members themselves, prefer that they solve these problems rather than continue them. I invite the public to support our council in finding creative solutions to an apparent but unnecessary showdown.
Carol Long
Santa Cruz
For the Birds
A recent story in Good Times (2/26) suggested that “there has been sort of a sea change in recent years with offshore-wind farms, as the graver existential issue of global climate catastrophe has trumped concerns about pelicans flying into windmill blades.” Are we really no longer concerned about pelicans?
Prominent environmental groups want wind energy development off the shores of California to happen “the right way.” But, what is the right way?
At American Bird Conservancy (ABC), we advocate for “Bird-Smart Wind Energy,” which means finding locations for turbines away from high-bird-collision-risk areas; conducting independent, transparent pre-and-post-construction monitoring; executing effective mitigation by wind energy facilities to minimize bird mortality; and providing compensation for the loss of protected birds. ABC recommended this strategy in our comments to the task force for California offshore wind.
We can combat climate change through responsible renewable energy development off the coast of California, while protecting pelicans and other marine birds and wildlife from potential harm. ABC is partnering with other environmental organizations and developers to ensure that offshore wind facilities and healthy marine bird populations can co-exist.
The future for California’s birds depends on responsible energy developers and regulators following Bird-Smart principles. Developers have already acknowledged that the benefits of wind energy need to outweigh its costs. They set a precedent by offering funds to offset impacts to the Morro Bay commercial fishing community. Now’s the time to think about something similar for birds.
HANNAH NEVINS & HOLLY GOYERT | AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY
Corrections
Corrections from our Best of Santa Cruz 2019 issue: Alderwood’s daily happy hour is 4-5:30 p.m., with late-night happy hour available Friday and Saturday nights only. Regarding Alderwood’s corkage policy, the first two bottles are complimentary; after that, the corkage fee is $25 per bottle. Also, Oswald no longer serves abalone. Finally, the correct address of Connoisseur is 111#D Dubois St., Santa Cruz. We regret the errors.
PHOTO CONTEST WINNER
Submit to ph****@*******es.sc. Include information (location, etc.) and your name. Photos may be cropped. Preferably, photos should be 4 inches by 4 inches and minimum 250dpi.
GOOD IDEA
The recent “Saving Democracy” forum has been released on the podcast “Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good.” Dan Schnurr, a politics professor at USC and UC Berkeley, implored audience members to remember that “there’s a difference between being evil and being merely incorrect—and realizing that the person we’re disagreeing with isn’t stupid or evil.” He said we should remember that our opponents are concerned about the same issues we are.
GOOD WORK
The Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History has been hanging its Art of Nature exhibit, with its full unveiling set for First Friday on April 5. The show, now in its 30th year, features work from more than 30 Bay Area artists. There will be live artist demonstrations and free admission both this Friday and Friday, May 3, from 5-7 p.m. The show features everything from watercolors of fungi and herbs to highly detailed depictions of insects and colorful crustaceans.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“The term ‘jumbo shrimp’ has always amazed me. What is a jumbo shrimp? I mean, it’s like ‘military intelligence’–the words don’t go together, man.”
Santa Cruz live music highlights for the week of April 3.
WEDNESDAY 4/3
INDIE-POP
SWEET SPIRIT
Founded and fronted by A Giant Dog frontwoman Sabrina Ellis, Sweet Spirit finds the Austin musician exploring the more unabashedly pop side of indie rock. Big, swaggering and just a little bit country, Sweet Spirit go for something along the lines of the New Pornographers-meets-Spoon. Appropriately, Spoon’s Britt Daniel (a fellow Austinite) was an early supporter of the band, inviting Sweet Spirit to open their They Want My Soul album release show. With each release, Sweet Spirit has upped the pop stakes, leading all the way to the recently released Southern, New Wave-y, ultra-catchy “Los Lonely Girls.” MIKE HUGUENOR
With three decades of recording and touring under his belt, James McMurtry is one of the most recognizable names in folk rock today. His last album Complicated Game was hailed as an “Americana masterpiece” by Rolling Stone, and McMurtry dropped the online-only track “State of The Union” last year, in which he bemoaned how politics have divided the nation. MAT WEIR
INFO: 8 p.m. Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $30. 423-8209.
THURSDAY 4/4
INDIE-FOLK
CASS MCCOMBS
Cass McCombs has a lot to say, having released over 14 albums since 2002. No matter which genre he chooses to express himself—from quirky folk ballads to road trip psychedelic rock or even jaunty emo pop—it all ends up sounding like the bits and pieces of a strange person’s fever dream. Nothing is ever quite straightforward with McCombs’ decidedly folk-rock flair; even when it seems like you’re listening to a mere classic rock tripping-acid rip-off, the off-kilter prose will throw you for a loop, causing you to question whether you have been properly appreciating the possibility that Cass McCombs is a musical mastermind. AMY BEE
Space Jesus has brought the “Temple of Noom” tour to our neighborhood with a friendly request for anyone within earshot to kindly jump up and bow down to our lords and lady of low frequencies. Thank you, Space Jesus—may he ever keep our ears bleeding and our hearts jammed in our guts. Naysayers are invited to enter the Temple of Noom to quiver and quake at the awesome power and never-ending progression of dubstep, techno, electronic, and any other far-flung genre our lords and lady choose to bring to the decks. True, believers, we welcome you. AB
Over a decade ago, when Canadians Tarun Nayar, Sanjay Seran and Ravi Binning formed Delhi 2 Dublin, they were really interested in taking traditional Indian instruments like the tabla and dhol and mixing them with the electronic rave music they loved. The mixture was hypnotic. As the group evolved, they really sharpened their pop game, writing some epic, amphitheater-level electro-pop jams. The music has gotten more accessible, but they’ve really been able to use these elements to talk about issues that matter to them, like what it’s like growing up as children of immigrants in Canada. AARON CARNES
The idea of finding “magic in the other” is a throughline that connects all jam bands, from titans of the genre like Phish and the Dead to fringe jam artists like My Morning Jacket and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Made up of members of Phil Lesh & Friends, Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers, and Jolie Holland’s band, Magic in the Other conjures a cosmic jam, each musician bringing their own bit of magic to the jammy table. MH
Tim Bluhm is back on the road and even releasing a new album. Some might consider that a miracle. Back in 2015, he shattered his pelvis and nearly lost one of his feet in a speed-flying accident. Recovery has been slow, with numerous surgeries. How has he processed all this life-changing, traumatic pain? If you want the full picture, his new album Sorta Surviving is a hefty one. AC
The acoustic trio Väsen has earned an avid following among musical adventurers over the past three decades. Featuring Olov Johansson on the keyed fiddle nyckelharpa, Roger Tallroth on 12-string guitar, and Mikael Marin on viola, the group has influenced and inspired progressive American string players with an intricately textured blend of traditional terpsichorean melodies and beautifully wrought original compositions. Väsen has become an international creative force moving far beyond folk music circuits. The trio is touring in advance of a new album, Brewed. ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: 7:30 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $22 adv/$25 door. 464-9778.
SOUL
DASH
When thinking about great cities to spawn party-rock bands, Bozeman, Montana probably doesn’t come to mind. After listening to Dash, that might change. Barely a year old, this fledgling band has already recorded their first album, Super, and won several awards around their hometown, including Best New Local Band. Blending rock, funk, country and a little soul—mixed with a, ahem, dash of reggae—it’s hard to peg this quartet with just one label. MW
INFO: 9 p.m. Blue Lagoon, 923 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $5. 423-7117.
Two years ago, Gerard Egan and Carolyn Sills—both from the Carolyn Sills Combo—were hired to be DJs on KPIG.
At first they dutifully followed the station rules and only played music from the station’s song database. But at a certain point, they figured why not sneak in some of the obscure ’40s and ’50s country, western, surf, blues, and rockabilly music they had stashed away in their collection, telling stories of these once-huge, now-forgotten songs of yesteryear.
But then the station manager caught on. She liked it so much she gave them their own show, The House Of Twang, which lands on one random Sunday per month.
“At first, I thought she was busting me for breaking the rules. But she said, ‘No, it’s great! These are really cool songs that you don’t really hear on the radio,’” Egan says. “She basically cut us loose to play whatever we wanted.”
People really responded to these old songs, particularly the old country songs, which don’t really sound exactly how most people recognize country music. They have a bit more dance-y, jazzy feel to them.
When Egan decided six months ago to start playing the occasional solo show, he thought it would be cool to bring these songs to the stage. Not just playing the old songs, but also talking about them for live audiences and giving them some context.
He mostly covers artists from the ’40s, like Merle Travis, Bob Wills, Al Dexter, Skeets McDonald, and The Maddox Brothers & Rose, as well as a couple originals that he and Carolyn have written. Travis’ distinct style of picking, where it sounds like two guitars at once, is the foundation for what he does.
“It’s like a one-man hillbilly orchestra kind of thing,” he says. “The music doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s just fun. It’s kind of like jazz with a cowboy hat in one sense. It’s stuff that I feel is timeless. I feel like I’m doing a small part in keeping that history music alive and breathing some new life into it if I can.”
INFO: 8 p.m. Friday, April 5. Michael’s On Main, 2591 Main St., Soquel. $12. 479-9777.
When Sayed Nadim Hashimi first joined the U.S. special forces as an Afghan translator, he was replacing a longtime translator who had been killed on a mission. Hashimi knew the man, and volunteered to bring his clothes and belongings back to his family in Kabul. He remembers going to the home, where the man’s 5-year-old daughter asked him when her father was returning.
Eight years later, Hashimi, now 27, has moved to the U.S. and lives in Santa Cruz. He works at a local tobacco shop, and although he rarely gets days off, he’s thrilled to be finally living in America with his wife and new baby.
Hashmi went on over 100 missions throughout Afghanistan during his three years as a translator in the Mission Essential Personnel (MEP) program with U.S. special forces. For his service, he was promised a shot at a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV)—a chance to move to America. Sometimes the missions lasted for days without food or much rest, Hashimi remembers. They worked seven days a week for 12 hours a day and were required to be on call 24/7.
“There were many times like that where we were facing an ambush and arrested Taliban spies,” Hashimi says. “I was on a mission where the Taliban shot an RPG at a helicopter, there was a soldier trying to jump out, but he and 11 other soldiers ended up dying.”
He wore a bulletproof vest and helmet and carried an AK-47, despite the fact that he’d never held a gun before. He says it wasn’t the policy of his company to carry weapons, and they only get a week or two of training on military organization—not on operating in battlegrounds. Regardless, soldiers often gave them guns anyway because of dangerous conditions and the fact that translators were often considered traitors by the Taliban—and thus targets.
“On my first mission, my captain at the time in the special forces, he got shot in an ambush,” Hashimi says. “Two other interpreters got shot, too. It was my first mission, one of my first days, and still someone got shot. It could have been me. It could have been anyone.”
The New York-based nonprofit International Refugee Assistance Project estimated that in 2014, an Afghan interpreter was killed every 36 hours. Having moved to the U.S. just last year, Hashimi says he wants people to remember his Afghan co-workers who have died serving the U.S., and also their families, who often do not receive any government support beyond a few thousand dollars—a modest amount compared to the $100,000 that U.S. military service members families are eligible for as part of a death gratuity program and other allowance programs.
“I saw thousands of young Afghan soldiers die or get seriously injured, losing their hands and feet,” Hashimi says. “Facing that all, that sacrifice, was hard. But you have to lose some things to get some things. I live here now and am trying to not be a part of those days anymore. Now, I want to help the families whose sons died on the missions.”
Hashimi was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. His family fled to Pakistan to escape the Taliban in 1992. As one of nine children, he helped his family operate a grocery store in Pakistan before they returned to Kabul five years later. He was in fifth grade when they returned, and eventually took a Youth Exchange Study exam in hopes of traveling to the U.S. as an exchange student. After failing the exam, he says his only other option was to join the special forces and hope that they would eventually grant him an American visa.
Hashimi signed up for MEP at 19-years-old in June 2011. He waited one year to apply for his visa, eventually leaving his position as a translator in December 2014, once he was granted the special visa. He was one of over 7,000 Afghan natives granted an SIV in 2014, over 2,300 of whom immigrated to California.
Hashimi found his way to Santa Cruz after a stint in Fremont, where he has extended family, and took up a job at a local tobacco store. Even getting here seemed like a huge risk, but one worth taking.
ESCAPE ROUTE At 19 years old, Sayed Nadim Hashimi signed up to work as a translator in the Afghan war with the idea of one day earning a special visa to start over in the U.S. PHOTO: JULES HOLDSWORTH
“I saw that I could fight for the country, and if I stayed alive, then I could go to the United States,” he says. “So the day after I finished school, I went with three other classmates and joined MEP.”
MEP, now known as Mission Essential, is a government contractor serving intelligence and military clients. As one of the primary companies providing translation services for the U.S. government, MEP has been responsible for recruiting and screening thousands of interpreters headed for the battlefield. Hashimi’s translator number was in the 14 thousands, and he says he now knows translators with numbers as high as 22,000. “It goes for a long time,” he says. “If they need somebody, they will hire them and they get a number.”
MEP pays interpreters a maximum of $900 a month to accompany front-line troops into action. Hashimi says for the times that he wasn’t on active, hazardous missions, he got paid a salary equivalent to about half that amount, $450 a month. In the past, MEP has been accused by former employees of abandoning wounded employees and sending physically unfit interpreters to the front lines. MEP’s press spokesperson did not return multiple requests for comment in the weeks leading up to the publication of this story.
“Those classmates that I had signed up with, a week or two after they saw the battlefield and soldier injuries, they quit. It was just me left between us four friends,” Hashimi says. “I stayed because I wanted to help my family, fight for my country and eventually come to America.”
After passing his interview in the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan in 2014, he says he waited for three more years to get his visa—though according to U.S. law, the process shouldn’t take longer than nine months. Getting a visa requires 14 lengthy steps, including that applicants prove they are in danger based on their service with the U.S.
“A lot of people get denied visas, and I know a lot of people still that are waiting to apply for a visa,” Hashimi says. All the while, many of the people waiting for SIVs are in life-threatening danger.
Afghans are increasingly the top recipients of SIVs. According to the Refugee Processing Center, more than 97 percent of the 3,234 people who immigrated to the U.S. under the SIV program since Oct. 2018 are Afghan nationals. The highest number of Afghan SIVs awarded in a year, more than 16,800 visas, was in 2017. The 2019 U.S. federal budget authorized 4,000 additional SIVs for Afghan applicants. That would be good news for those applying for a visa, but the problem for hopeful immigrants is that the U.S. State Department may not be able to accommodate the extra visas because of a backlog in the long vetting process.
“It is important to note that the issuance numbers in FY 2017 were more than any other year in the program’s history,” a U.S. Department of State spokesperson told GT in an email, which “resulted from a Department surge to keep up with past demand. We do not expect to issue as many Afghan SIVs in FY 2019 as we did in FY 2017.”
But these numbers only tell part of the story. Many of the people who thought they would be able to move and begin a new life in the U.S. because of their service will be severely delayed or unable to.
“All immigrant visa applicants, including SIV applicants, are thoroughly vetted to ensure they do not pose a threat to the security of the United States,” the U.S. Department of State official said. “Our goal is to issue every SIV as quickly as possible, while maintaining national security as our highest priority. Depending on the facts of a case, we sometimes need additional time to thoroughly evaluate the application.”
Increasing scrutiny—and at times intense cynicism—of immigrant and refugee motives has become a hallmark of the Trump Administration, which has impacted visa applicants from Syria to Venezuela. Yet there is little data to back up claims that recent immigrants pose any increased threat to homeland security.
“To my knowledge, since the SIV program started in 2008, and with coming up on 75,000 SIVs and their family members resettled, not one has ever been charged with any terrorist-related charge,” says Kirt Lewis, chief operating officer of No One Left Behind, a national nonprofit aimed at helping wartime allies who are displaced and in need of assistance. “I don’t know how much better of a public safety track record we can reasonably ask for.”
Hashimi says he knew of many translators who were stopped or killed by the Taliban for working with the U.S. He remembers one instance in particular, where a suicide bomber actively sought out a translator to kill.
BATTLE HARDENED Hashimi was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. Before he returned home and began work with U.S. special forces, his family fled to Pakistan to escape the Taliban in 1992.
“Many of these people, especially those who served as interpreters, are hunted and killed, tortured, or both,” says Jason Gorey, executive director of No One Left Behind. “To my knowledge, no accurate data exists regarding how many Afghan and Iraqi wartime allies have been killed for working with U.S. forces after they stopped their work. Based on anecdotal information, especially due to ISIS in Iraq, I believe we can safely say it is in the tens of thousands—with hundreds killed after applying for and while waiting for their Special Immigrant Visa.”
Hashimi says he doesn’t often try to get in contact with impacted families in Afghanistan, since he doesn’t feel like there is much he can do. He says it makes him sad because many of those caught up in the danger and visa delays are young, stay-at-home mothers who have lost their husbands.
“I try not to talk about it. It makes me hurt. It makes me cry when I think about those young women,” he says. “There was a man I knew who asked for vacation to see his babies. He died for the U.S. government in a car with other U.S. soldiers. Those soldiers are taken care of, but the man who died, he has a family also—and his family will not be supported.”
Although they are often eligible for much more, Afghan and Iranian families typically receive a one-time payment between $2,000-$5,000 from the employer for a killed servicemember, Hashimi and Michael Silverman, associate at Military Justice Attorneys, said. But under the U.S. Department of Labor Defense Base Act, Afghan translators working for contractors like MEP are insured and eligible for more workers’ compensation if injured or killed.
“In a nutshell, anytime an employee is injured or suffers a psychological injury, these insurance companies are responsible for it, and that is also the case for the death of an employee,” Silverman says. “What we have found is that many times the employer will pay a small stipend for an interpreter who is killed and not inform the family that there is insurance that will cover it.”
Silverman, who works closely with No One Left Behind, says his firm represents many clients from Afghanistan and Iraq who have severe, debilitating psychological trauma from working as translators many years ago. Some have already moved to the U.S. and are trying to start a new life here. Although these clients were eligible for compensation and psychological support under the Defense Base Act, they often never received it because they didn’t know about it.
“People understand that they have seen horrible things and that it will impact them, but what they don’t know is that it’s treatable, that they can get to a point that they can live with all of the things that they have seen,” Silverman says. “Literally, we have clients who were on the verge of agoraphobia, who will only leave the house when they have to. I had a client in Afghanistan who hadn’t left their house in years. And the majority of them moved here under SIV.”
According to the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, there have been only around 60 death insurance claims filed for MEP LLC from 2001 to 2018. Hashimi himself says he and his coworkers know of “probably hundreds” of translators who were killed or critically injured while working for MEP.
“The people that die, if they are not Americans, then the government forgets them,” Hashimi says. “They shouldn’t. It’s not easy to do that job. We know that we might die, but we do it to support family, fight for the country and move to the U.S. These families don’t have anyone to support them, because for many people, their only financial support is gone and they don’t get any help from the country that they fought for.”
Likewise, the families of those who die while serving often do not receive the visa benefits that translators do. In order for families to be eligible for American visas, they must apply and travel with the MEP worker, like in Hashimi’s case.
“The say ‘no one left behind’, but how can you say that when I know all of these people, families, who are stuck in Afghanistan without support. They get left behind,” Hashimi says. “I want to fight for those people. I feel that it’s my job to not forget them.”
