Davis Banta, director of Mountain Community Theatre’s Evil Dead the Musical, bursts through the large wooden doors of the Park Hall in Ben Lomond and on to the deserted street. Banta is buzzing with Bob Fosse energy, because “it’s choreo day.”
Which is to say that this week, all week, the cast is rehearsing complicated dance moves and finessing their choreography. “It’s the big number,” Davis blurts out, before running back into the 102-year-old theater.
For those unfamiliar: The wildly successful Evil Dead movie franchise spawned everything from sequels to video games to, well, a musical. In 2003, on an original stage in Toronto, Evil Dead the Musical came to life. For traditionalists, the combining of several Evil Dead movie plot lines to create a stage play might seem heretical. But when you’re talking about a bunch of college kids who find a book in an old abandoned cabin that summons a, possibly, Sumerian demon, heresy is the name of the game (or book, in this case).
Every age needs a hero, and in the world of the Evil Dead, it’s Ash Williams. The role of Ash, as he is commonly known, worldwide, was played to horrific perfection by actor Bruce Campbell. In the abandoned wooden theater of Ben Lomond, our local champion, playing the role of Ash, is Marcus Boardman. Sitting on the steps of the theater, dried blood on face, chainsaw parked close at hand (IYKYK), Boardman looks every part the hero.
“I grew up here (in Ben Lomond) and was part of MCT when I was a kid,” Boardman grunts. It’s obvious that Ash is the one talking through Boardman’s skin, and there is resistance about bringing up Stephen Sondheim’s name. When demons need to be extinguished around every corner, it’s better to stay in character.
Inside Park Hall, the actors of Evil Dead the Musical are slowly going through the dance moves. You hear “5, 6, 7, 8” louder and louder, and the shadows on the wall, from the stage lights, take on an ominous shape. Truly not a show for the squeamish. There will be blood. A lot of blood. Those so inclined can pay a bit extra to sit in the “Splatter Zone.”
RIGHT HAND MAN Marcus Boardman stars as Ash Williams in ‘Evil Dead the Musical.’ PHOTO: Davis Banta/Right Hand Creative.
Evil Dead borrows from the French horrors of the Grand Guignol, but with a lot more campy humor. That is, the original Evil Dead films, which encapsulated director Sam Raimi’s vision—not the more recent reboots. And while this might seem like a lot of trivia you don’t need to know to enjoy the show (just go and be scared and laugh), the demons are in the details, according to the engine that drives this ship of horrors, producer and artistic director Greg Roe.
“I’ve been a fan of the Evil Dead franchise since the 1980s,” Roe says. “Evil Dead 2 was my first introduction to comedy-horror, and it has become one of my favorite film genres. And I’ve followed the franchise through every film and the Ash vs Evil Dead TV show. And I own some set-used props, Evil Dead merch, and even a board game. So, I’m basically an Evil Dead geek. We have posters of the first three movies above our TV in the living room, and my wife and my wedding vows got read out of a Necronomicon prop. So, fortunately, my wife is a geek too.”
Roe recalls, “A few years ago, in 2018, I saw a production of Evil Dead the Musical in San Jose. I went twice that year. I met the writer of Evil Dead the Musical there, George Reinblatt, along with a couple cast members from Ash vs Evil Dead, which was in its final season.
“At the time, I thought it would be really fun to be involved in a production, making props, playing guitar or bass in the band,” Roe continues. “But life happened, then the pandemic happened.”
Last year Roe took his daughter (“finally old enough”) to see Evil Dead the Musical in Folsom. “The closest production we could find. It was very different to the San Jose production, but still fantastic. Then around January of this year, I checked EvilDeadtheMusical.com to see if there were any productions in the SF Bay area. There wasn’t. So, that started me on my journey to make it happen. I do it out of my sheer love of the whole franchise,” Roe concludes.
As you walk down the quiet, too quiet, street of Ben Lomond, in the distance you can hear director Banta barking commands: “It’s choreo week, everyone. And I know it’s tough, but next week is blood week and that will be a lot more fun.”
Evil Dead the Musical will be performed Sept 20–Oct. 20 at Park Hall, 9400 Mill St., Ben Lomond. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm, plus a Halloween show Oct. 31 at 8pm. This show is for mature audiences. mctshows.org
Chef, co-owner and Paris native Muriel D’Agostino named her popular Adorable French Bakery after Julia Child’s common refrain, “It’s adoooooorable.”
Child’s now looking down from her kitchen studio in the sky and saying just that as Adorable has debuted two new storefronts to peddle D’Agostino’s authentic, child-friendly and Child-friendly French treats like dark chocolate eclairs, cast iron sourdoughs and vanilla frangipane galettes.
The from-scratch goodies have made AFB nothing less than a farmers market juggernaut, serving 11 markets on Saturdays alone (including Westside and Scotts Valley) and 12 more on Sundays (like Live Oak and Los Gatos).
Its croissants are so good, in fact, the San Jose Mercury News named its flaky beauties among the very best in the Bay Area, despite the fact AFB is based down this way. And Adorable dives deep into the category, with butter croissants, chocolate croissants, double chocolate croissants, cinnamon vanilla croissants, vanilla raisin croissants and—perhaps the most inspired—almond Sacristan-style croissants.
AFB also has coffee stalls slinging everything from double almond croissants to Detroit-style pizzas on UC Santa Cruz and Stanford campuses, but never had a restaurant to call its own.
Now it has launched into a brand new—and brave new—era with not one but two brick-and-mortar spots for the people.
The former Malone’s Grille (4402 Scott Valley Drive, Scotts Valley) is now an Adorable French Bistro, as is Vinocruz Winebar + Kitchen (4901 Soquel Drive, Soquel).
Both are open 7am–7pm daily for coffee and the parade of pastries and other baked goods, with Vinocruz doing sit-down service midday and evenings and the Scotts Valley spot adding its own bistro program within a month.
D’Agostino’s husband/co-owner/baker Nicolas Lossky says the eateries are part of a logical evolution.
“We have this great production center with 26 people creating all this great food,” he says, referring to their 254 Portrero St. headquarters. “It just made sense to dispatch it to a storefront.” adorablefrenchbakery.com
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
Huge food news for small operators: The Santa Cruz County Supervisors just gave Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKOs) the go-ahead, starting Jan. 1, 2025. The two-year pilot provision empowers home chefs to prepare food for sale from their own kitchens. The ever-helpful El Pajaro Community Development Corporation (23 E Beach St., Suite 209, Watsonville) aims to offer training on earning a MEHKO permit in the coming months. Meanwhile, nonprofit home food entrepreneur advocate Cook Alliance offers an eight-week course that also awards grants upon completion to assist people with opening a MEHKO, and has a comprehensive FAQ rundown on the whole opportunity up at its website, cookalliance.org.
NEWS BUFFET
The rebuilt Capitola Wharf celebrates its official grand reopening—the completion of an $8 million project in the wake of the ruthless storms in early 2023—2:30–5pm on Wednesday, Sept. 25, with food trucks, live music from the Joint Chiefs, and ceremonials from Capitola Mayor Kristen Brown and other local leaders. This year the village also celebrates 75 years as a city, capitolavillage.com…As Good Times reported last month, Barceloneta is now Ibiza (1541 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz)—starring daytime salads and wraps—but retains the same mom-and-pop team behind it. It also holds onto Barceloneta’s soul, as Chef Brett Emerson will dish up its signature chicken paella for a special World Paella Day dinner Friday, Sept. 20, that also features Spanish wines and appetizers and the signature Ibiza salad that helped inspire the switch ($75), ibizasantacruz.com…Julia Child, sizzle away: “This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook—try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and, above all, have fun.”
After years of being a plumber, when Paul Faraone’s knees couldn’t take it anymore he decided to pivot on his professional path. He not only co-founded a startup company aimed at preventing future wildfires, he also dove into the food industry and opened River Dogs with his business partner, Chris.
Located behind Joe’s Bar in Boulder Creek, River Dogs offers ample patio seating amid an ambiance of live music, redwood mountain redolence and laid-back, welcoming feels. They take hot dogs seriously, featuring diverse authentic selections. The true Chicago Dog is their signature, as real as it gets outside the Windy City. A steamed poppy seed bun cradles all the things: a natural casing Vienna beef hot dog combined with yellow mustard, fluorescent green sweet relish, onions, pickle spear, tomato, sport pepper and a dash of celery salt.
Further hot dog hits include Polish, chili cheese and classic, and they also have Italian sausages, the chicken Bacon Cheddar Explosion and the hot sauce-infused Mega Shred with pineapple and pork.
What is River Dogs’ lore?
PAUL FARAONE: My son and I used to enjoy going to a local Boulder Creek hot dog stand owned by a retired couple. We got to know them pretty well, and then one day the previous owner, in the midst of chopping onions, set his knife down and went AWOL for a couple weeks. During this time, my son and I helped his wife out, and when the husband returned, they decided to offer me ownership. I approached my neighbor, Chris, asking if he would like to be a partner. He said yes, and here we are five years later with the business continuing to grow.
Tell me about the catering side.
We do many large events here in the Santa Cruz Mountains, such as the Redwood Mountain Faire, Mountain Sol and the Locomotion Festival, as well as school events like open houses, back-to-school nights and sports games. We do corporate events in the Bay Area and private events like birthdays, anniversaries and weddings. We are very community-based and focused; we have a lot of passion for the beautiful Santa Cruz area that we are lucky enough to call home.
Last week at the Homeless Garden Project’s First Friday event, I was handed a bar of soap by the mother-daughter team who made it. They said the herbs used to craft it came from Deerhaven Farm in Bonny Doon, where their family has been harvesting lavender for 36 years.
Impressive as that was, as I thanked them politely, I secretly wondered, do I really need another bar of soap? But then again, who doesn’t? It’s an everyday item we don’t give much thought to.
Driving home, the subtle scent of lavender emanating from the bar was familiar and calming. It’s one I use and recommend for stress relief. The next day, interest piqued, I checked out their website, and realized the Deerhaven story is bigger than soap, although that piece alone is impressive.
David and Mary Jessen and daughter Natalia Jessen Flechsig are a study in coexistence—one that weaves together their relationship with the land, their community, and with each other.
From soil to habitat, traditional farming packs a resource-draining punch. David Jessen knew this well, having grown up working in Santa Cruz Mountains vineyards since he was a kid.
As an adult he got into viticulture, installing and managing vineyards and consulting with local growers. When the Jessens acquired their land, they contemplated growing grapes. But because of the deer population and the many other maladies that can affect grape growers, it would require extensive fencing. And then there was the lavender.
David says, “I had installed some lavender for Bonny Doon Farm, our neighboring ranch down the road, and through that we became aware of how robustly it grows here.
“We had a few plants around our swimming pool that thrived in the sandy soil, and the deer don’t eat it so we didn’t need to disrupt their habitat,” David continued. “Mary started making cuttings and went from about three plants to 30 plants and 30 to 100 as she kept planting more fields.”
After selling her handmade soaps at Rodoni Farms for years, Mary began selling fresh and dried bouquets, expanding to include a wholesale list of florists.
When the couple attended a lavender fair, they realized they could steam distill their plants to make essential oil. They bought it a little still and began producing and selling lavender oil, which Mary added to her soap recipe. They began using lavender buds for sachets, and the business just expanded.
In 2006, Mary happened to be in downtown Santa Cruz. It was pouring rain and there was a woman waiting outside without an umbrella. Mary drove her to work on Swift Street—and discovered the Homeless Garden Project.
There was no storefront back then, but she was invited inside. It was late autumn, after the harvest, and she walked into a big room where a group of trainees sat around a table making wreaths.
Mary explains, “I was surrounded by this group of people and they were interested in me. But I was also interested in what they were doing. I felt this amazing connection.”
The wreaths were made of birch limbs, Mary recalls, and she happened to have a birch tree. “I remember coming home, cutting the limbs and bringing them back and then thinking, maybe I could teach them to make our everyday salve. It’s good for your knee and your elbows. I showed them how to make it and I believe to this day it’s their number-one seller.”
Mary later taught trainees how to make soaps, which are also now part of the Homeless Garden Project’s retail offerings.
Also working with Mary is daughter Natalia, who moved back to town with her young kids. Natalia was familiar with basic herbal medicine and developed healing salves, which were added to the product line.
Today Deerfield has expanded into more wholesale accounts, but here’s where it gets interesting. They’ve capped their growth, despite demand.
The three of them agree that growing too large would jeopardize the quality they strive to maintain. And they also want to avoid disrupting their ecosystem.
David says, “The farm is at the center of the ecological reserve. We have a very unique relationship with the ecology, meaning the plants and animals and how they interact with the growing and farming operation. The animals have accepted us on their territory and it really is a deer haven. We don’t have to fence the lavender, so they still get to migrate through the fields.”
Wildlife aside, the Jessens say working with family is number one. At one point, when Mary’s mom was living there, they had four generations on the farm.
If the Jessens’ lives sound like a series of Shangri-La moments, recall that Bonny Doon has seen two major fires since they’ve been there. Yet their deep knowledge of the native ecosystem helped them protect themselves and their lavender.
David explains, “Fire is a tool, and we’re currently hoping to work with some of the local tribe members to do a cultural burn on the meadow.”
Because the Jessens are here to stay. “We have the equipment, we have the infrastructure. And you know what? We love our lifestyle. So as far as the fire is concerned, you know, there’ll be another one within 20 years and we’ll be ready.”
Portland, Oregon–based Nick Gamer came to wide notice as a guitarist in Japanese Breakfast but has since moved away from the sparkling indie pop of that group and toward a darker and more cinematic style of Americana. Pedal steel guitar figures prominently in his music, which bears the influence of (or at least shared influences with) Sweetheart of the Rodeo–era Byrds, Emmylou Harris and celebrated troubadour Lucinda Williams. With a dozen original songs, Gamer’s solo debut, Suburban Cowboy, was released in 2022; the songs were composed during the depths of 2020’s wildfire season. Kaya Moody and Richard Gans are also on the bill. BILL KOPP
Concord-born McCombs released his debut EP in 2002 and has maintained a steady stream of releases since then. Often described as indie folk, art pop and alt-country, McCombs is difficult to pin down—perhaps by design. This critic’s favorite has toured with acclaimed acts, including the Meat Puppets and John Cale, and, underscoring his gift for words, he also published a book of poetry, Toy Fabels. His most recent release is a 2023 collaboration with Bay Area educator Mr. Greg titled Mr. Greg & Cass McCombs Sing and Play New Folk Songs for Children. Papercuts open. BK
Join author Elizabeth Acevedo to celebrate the paperback release of her book Family Lore, available for purchase and signing at the event. The novel explores one Dominican family told from the perspective of three sisters. One family member, Flor, can predict the day someone dies, and she decides to hold a living wake. Her motives are unclear. The story follows the family—and exposes secrets—through the three days leading up to the wake. ISABELLA MARIE SANGALINE
INFO: 7pm, Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. Free. 423-0900.
FRIDAY
ACOUSTIC
JOE ROBINSON
After growing up in a farmhouse in rural Australia, Joe Robinson’s virtuosity on the guitar won him first place in the World Championships of Performing Arts in LA. Eventually, it brought him to America’s country music capital, Nashville, Tennessee, where he was much in demand as a session player. These days, when he’s not touring, he hangs his hat at a ranch house in Montana, where he teaches guitar to over 20,000 students online. He’ll bring his fretboard wizardry, which must be seen to be believed, to Santa Cruz for one night only.
KEITH LOWELL JENSEN
INFO: 7:30pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $30/adv, $35/door. 427-2227.
ELECTRONIC
MARK FARINA
There’s one trusted name in house music: Mark Farina. The DJ ignited the electronic scene (or “rave scene” as we used to call it) with his signature mushroom jazz style, house music washed in acid jazz with elements of funk and hip hop mixed in. In SF, he cohosted a weekly “Mushroom Jazz night” that quickly evolved to over 600 fans, solidifying the Bay as the home of the genre. His ongoing Mushroom Jazz series has been a staple in house music since ’96 and last month, he dropped Vol. 20. Anyone who thinks DJs just “push a button” needs to see the artistry and attention Farina brings to the party. Local Raindance DJ Little John opens. MAT WEIR
Imagine the villain in a gore-filled horror flick chasing a frat bro down the local high school hall at midnight. The prom has not gone as planned. Blood is splattered all over the lockers. Just as our antagonist is about to turn the corner into a dead end, ensuring the guy in the letterman jacket’s messy doom, the terrifying hulk of something not-quite-human stops and notices the soundtrack. They bob their grotesque head along approvingly before pulling a microphone out of nowhere and begin to screech along, expressing in song the pain that drives them to such monstrous violence. This is the sound of LA’s Suicide Queen. Catch them with Monster God and Chase the Monster. KLJ
INFO: 7pm, Blue Lagoon, 923 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, $10. 423-7117.
FOLK
RITA HOSKING & SEAN FEDER
If you’re looking for country-folk music that’s clever, charming and uplifting, even as it hits head-on everything that’s going terribly wrong in our world, Rita Hosking can scratch this itch. Her collection of public service messages about climate change adaptation and mitigation, funded by a California Arts Council grant, is an absolute delight and worth seeking out on her website (the tracks can’t be shared on for-profit streaming services until after the grant period). Joining her on this collection and in concert is frequent collaborator, vocalist, banjo and dobro player Sean Feder. KLJ
Riddle me this: How are bossa nova, soul, rock, jazz, samba and Brazilian music related? Two words: Marcos Valle. At 19, the talented and prolific Valle was named Brazil’s Leading Composer of the Year and 61 years later, the musician shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, Valle is releasing his 32nd album, Túnel Acustico, days before the Rio show. If it’s anything like the previously released single, “Bora Meu Bem,” fans can look forward to the 80-year-old giant in peak form, dropping funky basslines over smooth, soulful, poppy jazz. It’s no wonder he’s internationally recognized as one of the masters in his genre, recording with names like Diana Krall, Oscar Peterson and the recently deceased Sérgio Mendes. MW
INFO: 7:30pm, Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $53. 423-8209.
MONDAY
INDIE
FIDLAR
It seems Fidlar was always destined to get big. Their songs about partying, teenage shenanigans and drugs gained attention early on, with Stereogum naming them one of the “40 Best Bands in 2012.” Later that year, Fidlar debuted on Last Call with Carson Daly and, in 2013, dropped a self-titled full-length that was almost immediately accepted by younger millennials. It’s a dissociative thing to say the band turned 15 this year, but sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. To celebrate, Fidlar released their fourth LP, Surviving the Dream, this week, so fans at the show will surely be served a couple of previously unheard songs for the first time. MW
When you look up at the starry sky, what do you see?
Some look up waiting to catch a UFO, the first sign of a landing craft that will explain the enduring mysteries of how and why we are here.
Some say they have already made contact with intergalactic life forms and others are more skeptical, thinking those claims are unsubstantiated.
Daniel Sheehan, who is speaking as part of a UFO festival this weekend, may give another level of doubt to the doubters. He’s been there, at the highest levels of government, and has seen the evidence that we have made contact with extraterrestrial life and he’s pushing hard for the government to release the evidence and stop persecuting whistle blowers who know the rest of the story.
This could be the biggest news of our lives and Santa Cruz is the perfect place to have it unveiled. In our cover story, writer Mat Weir interviewed Sheehan and gathered enough information to open the minds of even the strongest doubters.
It’s been depressing watching businesses go under post-COVID and under impossible competition from online shopping. But here’s some good news. The local Adorable French Bakery is expanding big time to two new locations. Catch the details in Mark C. Anderson’s dining column and bon appétit.
Also on the food front, they are eating dogs in Boulder Creek. You heard me. Really, dogs. But not your pets. Located behind Joe’s Bar, River Dogs takes hot dogs seriously with diverse, authentic selections. Check out the info you need in Andrew Steingrube’s latest Foodie File column.
Speaking of hot, Keanu Reeves was in town Sunday for a sold-out Catalyst show. Writer Mat Weir got up close and personal with the star’s band and posted a review on these pages and on our website, GoodTimes.sc.
It’s not too soon to let the scares begin. Evil Dead the Musical invades Ben Lomond and writer DNA sent in a review. Sounds like one not to miss.
More good news: The Santa Cruz City Council has extended rent protection that will help the lower-income people living in the St. George Apartments downtown, who were on the verge of losing it all. Check Josué Monroy’s account in our news section.
Thanks for reading and keep your eyes on the skies.
Brad Kava | Editor
PHOTO CONTEST
FEED ME A couple hanging out by all the seafood at the Municipal Wharf. Photograph by Jo Koumouitzes
GOOD IDEA
Grey Bears will be holding its 51st Annual Harvest Festival Celebration Sept. 21, from 11am to 3pm on the Grey Bears campus at 2710 Chanticleer Ave. The Harvest Festival is a free community event that welcomes more than 600 attendees and is dedicated to celebrating the abundance of Santa Cruz County and honoring the vital role and cherished presence of our senior community. This event includes a complimentary barbecue meal for all attendees, as well as live music, free fresh produce, free books, and senior resource partner agencies including Meals on Wheels, Second Harvest Food Bank and Central Coast Center for Independent Living.
GOOD WORK
All 10 campuses in the Santa Cruz City School District have placed on the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s list of America’s Healthiest Schools. The list recognizes schools in a wide-ranging set of categories relating to the programs and supports available to students.
Santa Cruz City Schools’ Bay View Elementary, DeLaveaga Elementary, Gault Elementary, Monarch Elementary, Westlake Elementary, Branciforte Middle, Mission Hill Middle, Costanoa High, Harbor High, Santa Cruz High and Soquel High have all been recognized in the categories of School Wellness, Nutrition/Food Access, Physical Education and Health Education.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“The politicians were talking themselves red, white and blue in the face.” —Clare Boothe Luce
I am writing to share feedback I have on two articles in the 8/28 issue of Good Times.
I believe both the Beach Party Shut Down and Grabbing Attention articles had racist undertones that should be prevented in future articles.
In the Beach Party Shut Down article, it seems very unnecessary to state the race of the person who was allegedly responsible for the shooting. The fact that it was a Black man adds no value to the overall point of the story and only enforces the stereotype of Black men being a danger to society.
In Grabbing Attention the quote from John Kyle about the intersection stating “it reminds me of back in the day, when I used to go to Mexico and it’s a free for all.” This doesn’t add a lot of value to the story and again enforces stereotypes of Mexico being unorganized and a lawless land.
My intent is to call out how these two articles are enforcing negative stereotypes to a predominately white audience and encourage the team to edit articles with that in mind to prevent this from happening in the future.
Lisa Colombo
ONLINE COMMENTS
RE: Keanu Reeves at the Catalyst
Dogstar was so fantastic! Keanu was super humble and was obviously enjoying himself playing music. I didn’t think I could admire him more. Great band! The sound system was good – better than a recent concert I saw at another local venue.
Also, it was my first time at the Catalyst in a long time and it was great. Staff were all really cool. Down side was the poor ventilation and the bathroom was atrocious, but I guess it’s to be expected??
Monica Nociolla/Facebook
Your town might be cool but not as cool as Keanu bringing his band to a club in Santa Cruz.
Helen Andrea Hudson/Facebook
Love that he came to our 831 & he and his band mates rocked the house !!!
Michelle Frias/Facebook
That is an icon club when you get to that stage you have made it
Roger Boucher/Facebook
CORRECTION
The article “Lords of Vance” (Sept. 4) contained an error. Garry Tan did not “applaud the Chilean dictator Pinochet’s tactic of throwing political enemies out of helicopters.” That was instead Tan supporter Lee Edwards, who Tweeted this earlier this year. Edwards has since walked the comment back, saying on April 12 “this was supposed to be a sarcastic shitpost.”
Nonetheless, in May of this year, Tan—who, as mentioned in the article, has come to play a major role in San Francisco politics—“liked” a Tweet that contained an image of a masked man aiming a rifle at Oakland Mayor and Hmong woman Sheng Tao.
X has since blocked visibility of who likes posts.
Santa Cruzans who don’t believe in UFOs and think accounts of those who have seen them are crazy might feel differently after seeing a speech by Daniel Sheehan this coming Saturday at a mini festival called the Intergalactic Gathering, which also features bass music, dancing and art.
“The silicon chip and entire computer movement came out of the Roswell crash,” Sheehan says. “Also all of the fiber optics and some of the night vision equipment [the government] has come from UFO crafts.”
I know what you are thinking….but this speaker has some amazing credentials.
Sheehan is a Harvard Law graduate who was also a professor at UC Santa Cruz during the 2010s and taught classes such as “The Trajectory of Justice” and “Alternative Theories to the JFK Assassination.”
His résumé includes working as an attorney on fundamental cases concerning the Pentagon Papers, Watergate, the Attica Prison riots, the Iran-Contra scandal, Three Mile Island, the Greensboro Massacre and the Karen Silkwood case.
But most relevant to this Intergalactic Gathering—held at the 418 Project in Downtown Santa Cruz—Sheehan has inside access to the government’s UFO investigations and is fighting to ensure the public can see long-hidden documents.
“I was shown the Top Secret portions of Project BLUE BOOK,” Sheehan says confidently and matter-of-factly over the phone, speaking about one of the U.S. government’s original UFO investigation projects.
“That’s where I saw the photographs of the crash retrieval—the UFO crash retrieval. There was no doubt of what it was. You could tell this UFO crashed into the field and there were US military personnel all around it taking pictures and film of it while they were trying to drag it out.”
Sheehan was referencing the time in 1977 when he was special counsel to the Congressional Research Service study on all the information the government had on the UFO phenomenon, sanctioned by President Jimmy Carter. Since then he has become one of—if not the—leading attorneys on UFO (or, as the military now refers to them, Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon or UAP) disclosure. For 20 years he represented Steven Greer’s Disclosure Project and currently represents ex-military official turned whistleblower Luis Elizondo.
On Saturday Sheehan will discuss some of the latest, up-to-date information about UAPs, what the government has known for years and how he and his New Paradigm Institute (a 501(c)(3)) nonprofit are working to pass legislation in Congress to give future whistleblowers more protection to speak out.
“It’s important for regular citizens to know what is going on so we can participate in the decision-making process,” Sheehan says. “But most people don’t feel like they know what is going on because you turn on the TV and it’s all propaganda.”
In true Santa Cruz style, the event is more than just a discussion on non-terrestrial crafts and beings. After Sheehan drops what is sure to be some major truth bombs, Bay Area self-described “Alien Bass DJ” Shlump (the alias for Michael Petzel) is going to spin some new music and old favorites for an identifiable fun party. The lobby will act as a transition zone with live art and vendors.
“Everything that Danny is talking about is serious, real and to be respected,” says one of the promoters, Michael Smith, of Points Collected. “So we wanted to choose some musical accompaniment that reflects that. [Shlump] has gone down the wormhole and knows all about disclosure and his way of creating music showcases that.”
Phoenix Rose of Heart Tribe Presents—the night’s other promoter—agrees.
“It’s a really unique opportunity to fuse serious information about this topic and music that highlights that type of energy,” he says. “It’s bridging two different crowds that have a lot more in common than they think.”
The idea came about when both Smith and Rose were discussing ways to throw a different kind of event with Sheehan’s son, Daniel Paul Nelson. Also a musician, Nelson has known and worked with Smith for over 10 years and became close to Rose after working with Heart Tribe Presents on a touring art project that sent 55,000 signatures to North Dakota’s state attorney’s office in support of dropping charges against Dakota Access Pipeline protesters.
“The idea for this event is to make sure Santa Cruz knows what’s going on concerning UAPs,” says Nelson, who is also the Lakota Law Director of Special Projects at the Romero Institute—Sheehan’s nonprofit law and public policy center located in Santa Cruz and the parent organization to the NPI.
For over 25 years the Romero Institute has been based out of Santa Cruz and was voted “Best Non-Profit” by Good Times readers in 2019 and 2021 with a “Runner Up” status in 2023.
Today the Romero Institute champions three causes: the Lakota People’s Law Project (relating to issues surrounding the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act as well as water issues surrounding the 2016 Dakota Access Pipeline), Greenpower (relating to issues of renewable energy and climate change) and the New Paradigm Institute.
“The New Paradigm Institute is dedicated to disclosure,” Nelson says. “We’re working with a team of pro bono attorneys to write legislation and lobby for Congress.”
It was created in 2023 as a public policy and watchdog group originally to aid and follow the UAP Disclosure Act (which was later passed into law as part of the National Authorization Defense Act for Fiscal Year 2024) led by U.S. senators Chuck Schumer and Mike Rounds.
“We’re setting up citizen groups globally to pressure lawmakers and produce events to raise consciousness about UAPs,” Nelson says. “We recently just put forward a draft for whistleblower protection legislation.”
The electronic music world has never been a stranger to the idea of UFOs, extraterrestrials and the paranormal. Go to any gathering, rave, renegade or Burning Man and one is almost guaranteed to find some sort of “alien” symbolism, art or reference and Shlump is no different.
His tracks are mixed with heavy bass and robotic sounds that seem to come straight out of science fiction. His latest track, “Drum Beats Go Like,” which dropped this past May, puts the listener in the point of view of someone being abducted on an interstellar craft with an X-Files theme style opening and wave after wave of heavy, radiated beats.
“‘Alien Bass’ really describes the type of dubstep and electronic music I make,” Petzel explains. “It has a psychedelic, ethereal, spacey feel to it because the music I’m drawn to is a bit unorthodox and strange.”
Interested in UAPs and the existence of extraterrestrials since childhood, Petzel even named his latest tour the Alien Trip Tour. Although he’s never had an extraterrestrial or paranormal experience (“But I’ve always wanted to!” he exclaims), Petzel is a true believer.
“It’s crazy ignorant to not think there’s life on all different levels and scales out there,” he admits. “The universe is so vast and we only have knowledge of the tiny blip. Who knows what is out there?”
Ask Danny Sheehan, and he’ll tell you there’s a lot more people who are closer to the truth than they’re telling us.
SEEING SAUCERS Santa Cruz will hear from whistle-blowers and bass DJs at this event. “It’s bridging two different crowds that have a lot more in common than they think,” says Phoenix Rose. PHOTO: Romero Institute
AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE
Despite known Ufologists (as UFO researchers are called) like Steven Greer and engineers like Bob Lazar—who claims he worked on reverse engineering non-human technology for the U.S. government and went aboard a recovered non-human craft—the modern UAP disclosure movement dates back to Dec. 16, 2017. That’s the day The New York Times published a groundbreaking article that said not only has the Department of Defense—and other national security organizations—known about UAPs and non-human species, they have been actively lying to the American people about their efforts to investigate the phenomenon.
The article centered around information provided by Luis Elizondo and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Christopher Mellon. Elizondo is a veteran, former senior intelligence officer, special agent and former head of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), a covert program initiated by the late Senator Harry Reid to investigate UAPs within the DOD.
According to the Times, the Pentagon allocated $22 million of its budget to AATIP between 2007 and 2012, when the government—at the time—said the program was shut down. However, Elizondo says 2012 is just the year the government funding went dry and the program continued through the Office of Naval Intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency.
“There’s a super, above Top Secret program the CIA has called ‘Golden Dome,’” Sheehan tells GT. “It’s able to discover where the UFOs are even when they are still masked and have not rheostatted down to a lower vibration frequency we can see or pick up on radar.”
The Pentagon would later confirm AATIP’s continuance after 2012 along with its successor program, the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force (UAPTF), which is now currently the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (or AARO, named because many of these unidentified crafts can fly through the air and water with ease). As written by law, AARO has to report directly to Congress.
“There’s a [non-human origin] base off Baja, under the water,” Sheehan says. “Dozens and dozens of UFOs have been monitored coming and going from that particular place, underwater. They know they are being monitored by the U.S. military and our nuclear submarines so they’re being fairly obvious about their presence.”
Along with Elizondo and Mellon’s 2017 testimony, three videos from U.S military surveillance equipment and fighter jets were released by Elizondo through the DOD.
In the videos one can clearly hear the highly trained fighter pilots mesmerized at what they’re seeing. In the now famous “GIMBAL” video, what appears to be the outline of a classic flying saucer is seen flying through the air then smoothly rotating as if on a video gimbal (hence the name). It was taken in 2015 by pilots from the USS Roosevelt, who can be heard saying, “Look, there’s a whole fleet of them!” and “They’re all going against the wind! The wind is 120 knots [138 miles per hour] out of the west.” At one point the object turns at a 90-degree angle without losing altitude.
On Aug. 20 of this year, Elizondo published Imminent, his memoirs about his time in AATIP, what he’s seen and the reasons surrounding his decision to go public. What makes this book even more interesting is that it was approved by the Department of Defense and features a minor few national security redactions throughout. In the book, Elizondo asserts the reason officials are still withholding information is due to issues of national security. As of this writing Imminent has spent the past two weeks on the New York Times’ Best Seller list, hitting number one for the week of Sept. 8 and moving to number six the following week.
Since 2017 more and more videos and information have been released by the government along with more whistleblowers testifying under oath to Congress about the existence of off-world crafts and beings. Even Blink-182 guitarist Tom DeLonge quit the band in 2015 to co-found To The Stars Inc. (formerly To The Stars Academy of Arts & Sciences), a hybrid entertainment and information organization focused on UAP disclosure. After leaving AATIP, Elizondo went to work for DeLonge’s company, which produced the History Channel hit show Unidentified: Inside America’s UFO Investigation, hosted by Elizondo.
Some whistleblowers—such as former United States Air Force intelligence and UAP Task Force officer David Grusch, who testified to the House Oversight and Accountability subcommittee last year along with former U.S. Navy (USN) fighter pilot Ryan Graves and former USN commander David Fravor—claim the government is in collaboration with private aerospace companies and not only has crafts but also “biologics” going back “decades.”
Since Grusch’s testimony, more than 40 individuals from the intelligence and military communities have testified before Congress concerning UAPs.
In other words, the national security state has a retrieval program, multiple crafts and the non-human pilots, living and dead. But this is something Sheehan says he has known for years.
“I interviewed a man I knew as Oscar Wolfe—who also used the name Elmer Stein—that was an Army clerk typist in Project Blue Book,” he says. “He talked to me at length about being in the actual presence of a live E.T. that was being interviewed by his commander. He told me he was able to read the notes of previous interviews and the E.T. said he was one of a number of beings from different star systems that were part of a program inside the Milky Way Galaxy. They were monitoring planets where life had gestated to determine what level they were at and what their state of technology was.”
He says when the extraterrestrial was asked who was in charge of the program it said, “You would refer to him as God but it’s a lot different than you think it is.”
Sheehan says since then whistleblowers within the government have identified multiple, intelligent, non-human species.
“There’s about five or so that we know about. Different people have asserted they’ve seen different ones,” Sheehan continues. “And they appear to be from different star systems throughout the galaxy.”
In a 2023 public report, the Pentagon admitted to over 300 UAP incidents since 2021 all with multiple credible witnesses and/or picked up by multiple sensor systems. Again, unless it is an entire disinformation program by the Pentagon, these are credible claims that Congress has taken serious enough to enact legislation concerning the matter. This all stems from whistleblowers and groups like the NPI pushing for the American people to have the right to know if this is real and if these UAPs pose a threat.
One of the topics he will almost certainly touch on Saturday is Oct. 20, 2024. That’s the deadline for when all agencies of the government must turn over all of their information on UAPs gathered since Jan. 1, 1945, to Congress and the National Archives as signed into law by President Bident last year.
A BIG DAY COMING On 10/20 the New Paradigm Institute’s going to have a two-hour live stream for “Disclosure Day” with noted ufologists. PHOTO: Romero Institute
“All six of the United States Military Services, all 18 of the United States Intelligence agencies and all 34 of the United States Defense Department agencies,” he says. “That’s all the internal memos, the reports, all the meetings’ notes, all the telephone messages. They have to compile everything they’ve ever had, file it all, and put it into a digital format with a searchable index.”
Danny Sheehan’s Roots
Although he’s been a Santa Cruz resident for the last quarter of a century, Sheehan grew up in the small town of Glens Falls, New York (which he says had only 3,000 people at the time). It was the 1950s, a time when Americans were enthusiastic about their government, capitalism seemed to open up doors of endless possibilities and the future seemed set for the stars.
“It was one of those wonderful places to come from,” he remembers. “I learned right from the very beginning you could participate in things and make changes, not just be a spectator.”
Sheehan was accepted at Boston’s Northeastern University before transferring to Harvard University. He graduated in 1967 with a degree in American Government Studies and worked for Bobby Kennedy’s fateful 1968 presidential campaign. During that time Sheehan also attended Harvard Law School and graduated in 1970 with a Juris Doctor degree.
“I had Henry Kissinger for foreign policy and John Kenneth Galbraith [post-Keynesian economist and diplomat] for economics,” he says, adding that because of his education, transitioning from small-town politics to the national scale seemed natural.
However, his college years also opened his eyes as to how politics worked.
“Kissinger opened up his first lecture saying, ‘If there’s any man in this class who doesn’t believe our United States government doesn’t have the right to lie, cheat, steal or even kill to pursue our own self interests as a nation-state, you shouldn’t remain in this course.’”
Sheehan adds a laugh of disbelief.
“So I thought, ‘Whoa, this is really bad,’” he says. “I realized there was this antagonistic, dialectical dynamic that people in the national security state were trained to engage in.”
I WANT TO BELIEVE
Skepticism intact, he is working now to protect those who are afraid to speak out against the government and the whistleblower legislation NPI is trying to get passed into law.
For now, Sheehan hopes to close the gap between his generation and today’s youth concerning what he considers to be his life achievement in an illustrious career.
“This is going to have the most far-reaching impact on the future for everybody on the planet,” he says. “This is the most extraordinary piece of information in almost all of our human family’s history.”
Info: 8pm Saturday, 418 Project, 155 River St., Santa Cruz. $25.
The bittersweet poetry of Tennessee Williams casts a spell in The Glass Menagerie, the fourth production in theSanta Cruz Shakespeare 2024 season.
What a pleasure it is to finally have one of my longstanding wishes come true and see a play by one of America’s most distinguished and controversial playwrights produced by this company. An early work strongly based upon the playwright’s own troubled youth, Menagerie is a perfect place to start. But hopefully this company’s affair with Williams will continue.
The work earns its reputation by leaving an emotional echo that continues long after the lights have gone down. Much of the enchantment must be credited to Charles Pasternak, as skilled a director as he is actor. His light touch with this script is matched by his ability to supercharge the powerful tensions that electrify his actors. Bravo to all.
Repertory casts its spell once again. Tom, played by the agile Will Block, introduces the characters, including himself, his mother Amanda (Marion Adler), sister Laura (Allie Pratt) and “a gentleman caller” (Charles Pasternak). That symbolic gentleman caller is “the long-delayed but always expected something that we live for.” Thanks to the nimble performance by Block, we are able to occupy his narrative overview as well as his entrapment in a life shared with two lonely, abandoned women. Underscoring everything is Tennessee Williams’ love letter to those who are, as he says, different. Despite the misty chill of opening night, the audience hung on every moment of the SCS cast’s plunge into familiar dreams in a heartbreaking scenario.
Deception, illusion and longing perfume the poignant moments of the play. Living in the past, and worn down by disappointment, mother Amanda eternally replays her giddy girlhood as a belle in the deep south.
In seclusion forced by her awkward limp, Laura lives in a timeless present of music played on the old phonograph and a collection of tiny glass animals that she endlessly polishes, rearranges and cares for.
As the playwright’s surrogate, Tom alone lives for the future, the future he can’t wait to escape into, the future that will take him away from this cramped tenement, and a meaningless job in a shoemakers warehouse. Tired of escaping into Hollywood movie adventures, he wants to live a real adventure.
When Tom invites a work friend, Jim, home for dinner, his mother’s obsessive fantasies for Laura’s future spin into high gear. Fussing and reminiscing, preening and nagging, Marion Adler’s Amanda practically levitates with excitement over the prospect of her daughter finally enjoying some attention that she herself craves. This explosion of pent-up longing, her character’s desperate anticipation—a gorgeous eruption of emotions—left the audience breathless.
Williams lets his own character explode in stunning tour de force. Unable to endure his mother’s hovering, relentless criticism, Tom unleashes a cascade of truth-telling sarcasm about what he really does with his evenings. Block is a powerhouse in this pivotal revelation, channeling Tennessee Williams’ own sense of helpless rage over his literary aspirations.
As the gentleman caller, director Pasternak orchestrates a delicate exchange of dreams, coaxing the painfully shy Laura into smiles, even laughter. Here Allie Pratt’s Laura drifts in and out of internal reverie and lucidity. So many colors appear in her characterization of the sweet, troubled Laura. It is an appealing performance and a tribute to both actor and director. Their scene dancing together by candlelight conjures real magic, a moment as timeless as Laura’s fragile glass animals. The final moments embody great theater.
Watching this taut production in the Grove, at night, heightened the intimacy this play requires. And the illusion was polished by the seamless production team. Scenic design by Michael Schweikardt was punctuated by the impeccable costumes of B. Modern, the magical lighting of Marcella Barbeau and Luke Shepherd’s sweet nostalgic sound work. Together they have given the quartet of players a setting that takes us back 80 years into the world Tennessee Williams recalled with poet’s eye and the heartache of a misfit artist. This great artwork is about the people for whom we sacrifice, and the point at which we can sacrifice no longer. Tom can leave his stultifying life but he can’t escape the past, and those he loved and abandoned.
The Glass Menagerie is a haunting play, performed with insight. Such a bold move on the part of Santa Cruz Shakespeare, expanding itself into a longer, richer season. We are incredibly lucky. Here is professional work, enchanting and provocative, performed in a eucalyptus grove in a small community on a northern California Riviera. Don’t even think about taking for granted the presence of this evolving theater company.
The Glass Menagerie, directed by Charles Pasternak, Santa Cruz Shakespeare Grove, DeLaveaga Park, through Sept. 28. Full-moon performance 7pm on Tuesday, Sept. 17.
An evening of powerful poetry and a new anthology of work by Latino poets—plenty of reason for celebration next week. Organized by Circulo de Poetas & Writers, the event—titled Bringing the National and Local Together—offers a panel of word artists celebrating the publication of the Library of America’s new anthology, Latino Poetry.
Through readings and in conversation Latino poets—two national and two local—will explore a wide range of issues from ancestry and identity, to voice, resistance, family and community.
“The event is free and open to the public as a way of outreach to the greater Santa Cruz community,” explains Adela Najarro, executive director of the Circulo. “Cabrillo College has set up daily events in honor ofnationwide Hispanic Serving Institution week. This is the major evening event.”
Bringing their deep experience and reputations to headline the evening’s discussion will be acclaimed American Book Award winner Lorna Dee Cervantes and Blas Falconer, a professor in the graduate program at San Diego State University.
Cervantes earned her PhD at UCSC’s History of Consciousness program, and has deep roots in the Santa Cruz writing community. Cervantes and Falconer will be joined by Cabrillo instructor Vicky Bañales and local poet Christopher Rendon, for readings and a conversation moderated by poet and Circulo Director Najarro.
Cervantes is a haunting presence in this anthology, even in so much good company. Like those of so many of her fellow writers, her words in Visions of Mexico While at a Writing Symposium in Port Townsend, Washington bite as much as they dance:
“ … there are songs in my head I could sing you songs that could drone away all the Mariachi bands you thought you ever heard songs that could tell you what I know or have learned from my people but for that I need words …”
The important new anthology of Latino poetry includes work from the historical record dating back to the 1600s, and moves on through to the present documenting the power and English language diaspora of Latino poetry. The beautifully edited and printed 650-page book offers text in English and Spanish on facing pages where relevant.
Latino poetry has woven a rich tapestry for nearly five centuries, and while recognition of this powerful work has grown in recent years,the questions confronted by Latino poets—questions of exile and belonging, language and identity, struggle and solidarity, labor and landscape—continue to gain urgency.
Panelists will read their work and selections from Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology and then answer questions posed by the moderator. Questions will explore one or more of the eight core humanities themes: ancestry & identity, language, voice & resistance, first & second homes, family & community, music & performance, labor, and eco-consciousness.
Using a round-robin format, the “national” and “local” poets will share the stage and their insights into Latino poetry. The event will be repeated on April 5, 2025, from 1 to 4pm, at the Watsonville Public Library with a different set of panelists.
Latino Poetry: Bringing the National and Local Together takes place Sept 12 from 5:30 to 7:30pm at Samper Recital Hall, Cabrillo College. Free.
By Elizabeth Borelli
Last week at the Homeless Garden Project’s First Friday event, I was handed a bar of soap by the mother-daughter team who made it. They said the herbs used to craft it came from Deerhaven Farm in Bonny Doon, where their family has been harvesting lavender for 36 years.
Impressive as that was, as I thanked them politely,...
