Giveaway: Broken Shadows

A&E
Music

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May 23, 2018

In 1971, jazz saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Ornette Coleman (above) recorded Broken Shadows, an album that featured jazz greats Don Cherry, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden and more. The album wouldn’t be released, however, until 1982. Paying tribute to Coleman—and particularly that lost album—is Broken Shadows, a group comprising saxophonists Tim Berne and Chris Speed, bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King. Broken Shadows reworks iconic Coleman tunes, finding fresh angles along the way.

INFO: 7 p.m. Thursday, June 14. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $26.25/adv, $31.50/door. 427-2227. WANT TO GO? Go to santacruz.com/giveaways before 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 7 to find out how you could win a pair of tickets to the show.

Love Your Local Band: BB Sinclair

A&E
Music

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May 23, 2018

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The roots of local dream-pop surf group BB Sinclair stretch back to an unexpected place: Iceland. Primary songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Fernly Mueller-Tuescher, who is originally from Aptos, spent a year in Iceland from 2016 into 2017. While there, she was pretty lonely, and spent her time writing a lot of music.

“I wrote it locked away in a bedroom in the winter. It’s a lot of introspective melancholy songs,” Mueller-Tuescher says. “I’m bad at keeping diaries, so I was trying to turn out a couple songs every week, preferably almost one every day, to sort of be processing day by day. I was trying to do that through music, then I ended up writing songs that sounded really nice.”

Upon returning to the Santa Cruz area, she spent some time working toward feeling better and improving her mental health. But those songs nagged on her. Initially she played them on a synthesizer with just vocals as a solo act called “Fernly.” The music was catchy, the lyrics very open and honest.

“It was almost like folk music with electronic instruments,” Mueller-Tuescher says.

Then last winter, Mueller-Tuescher met Jillian Bean White (bass), Lauren Diquattro (drums), and Melody Egbert (synth), and turned her solo confessional project into a pretty rocking band with elements of synth-pop, twee and surf. The group in its current lineup played its first show earlier this year. Currently, they’re working on their debut full-length, which they hope to have out this summer.

The group members also have a common bond in identifying as queer, and are also one of the few boyless bands in town.

Though much of the music was written back in Iceland, Mueller-Tuescher doesn’t feel they are as lonely and sad now as they seemed back then.

“We’ve changed them around,” she says. “It’s a lot more reading like an old diary, which is a little embarrassing in front of a bunch of people. But it’s also very satisfying in the way it affects people in its honesty.”

INFO: 9 p.m. Thursday, May 24. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $8. 429-6994.

What Does the Future Look like for the UCSC Arboretum?

A&E
Art

Christina Waters

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May 23, 2018

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What Does the Future Look like for the UCSC Arboretum?

Martin Quigley, Director of Gardens and Grounds at the sprawling UCSC Arboretum is a man with a mission. Well, perhaps quite a few missions. He wants the Arboretum’s collections to be sustainable and well-groomed. “It’s been cleaned up and injected with hidden gems,” he points out, on a vigorous hike through the aromatic acreage, currently in full opulent bloom. “There were many people in charge in the past,” he notes, “each in a different area—siloed—there was no overarching theme.” “The original plantation was 90 species of eucalyptus, a showcase for Mediterranean climates. But,” Quigley recites his personal mantra, “it’s a garden!”

Given his horticultural roots, the grounds director is determined to recapture a sense of intention, rather than the “let it be natural” mentality he believes to have unleashed rampant botanical laissez-faire. “No more invasive species,” he insists, as we sweep through the eye-popping collections of banksia, grevillea and protea loaded with extraterrestrial blooms. “It was just a collection,” he notes, “but it’s gotta be intentional.” Opening things up and cleaning things out have indeed offered vistas, nooks, terraced cacti and succulents, plus dramatic secret regions of shade where art installations afford sanctuaries for meditative thought. He is not afraid to prune and delimb dying eucalypti, “You need to anticipate replacement,” he warns, “Don’t wait for death!” Quigley is also keen on the controversial but necessary plans for expanded parking. “It’s going to be a game-changer,” he promises. Added parking will allow fuller access to collections, trails, and facilities for an expanding membership eager to explore an Arboretum more beautiful than ever. Admitting that his project, as many other institutional showpieces, is “understaffed and underfunded,” Quigley has a one-word response to the question “What do you need?” “Money!” he says. Tending his ground “every day,” Quigley has plans. “We’re going to re-open some of the views to the Monterey Bay,” he says. He’s also incorporating artworks, such as the bronze sculptures Raven and Wolves, by Sharon Loper, and a swirl of woven eucalyptus branches entitled Spirit Nest, by Jayson Fann. In barely three years at the helm, horticultural planner Quigley—trained in literature, with a Ph.D. in plant ecology—is just getting started. Enjoy the astonishing progress he’s making, just up the hill at the UCSC Arboretum.

SOUND EXPERIMENT

FOREST (for a thousand years) is a mesmerizing and deceptively serene 28-minute sound installation creating a magical space linked to the UCSC Arboretum through June 30. Originally commissioned by dOCUMENTA (13) in Kassel, Germany, the undulating soundscape is created by more than 30 digitally-programmed speakers placed within a small forest. Tuned for the acoustics of each forest in which it is installed, the piece is at once site-specific and timeless. Renowned for their soundscape installations, Canadian artists Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller collected and curated the sounds for this work on their island home off the coast of British Columbia. The results are uncanny. Seated within the circle of speakers—which are placed and hung from trees adjoining the Arboretum—the listener experiences a flood of primal sounds, forest groanings, night birds, animal cries, floods, storms, crickets, birds, and on to marching armies, artillery, bombs, airplanes, wagons, stampeding horses, and finally an exquisite choral crown of sound, a Nunc dimittis composed by Arvo Part and performed by an Estonian chamber choir. A rich, surprising, and ultimately moving meditation on the interweaving of human life with the richness of the planet itself. In less than a half hour you will experience a forest in its ancient and future uses and guises. Do not miss this remarkable experience. arboretum.ucsc.edu. Noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Included in Arboretum visit $5.

UCSC Students Reinvent Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’

Cover Stories

Christina Waters

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May 22, 2018

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UCSC Students Reinvent Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’

“It’s a fairytale—it doesn’t have to make sense,” says Sheila Willey with a grin, her face glowing from rehearsal antics. The tall, graceful opera director is referring to one of the best-loved operas of all time, The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, playing May 31-June 3 at the UCSC Recital Hall. Willey is busy fine-tuning the comic opera of good versus evil, love versus hardship that was a hit from the minute it premiered in 1791, two months before Mozart’s death. Performed by a cast of students from the university’s respected opera program, the spring production is becoming a popular tradition with local music and theater lovers.

“The spring production is a full calendar year in the making,” says Willey. “My job is to spend the summer getting the design team coordinated. Then rehearsals begin!”

Mozart’s beloved opera came together as a sort of vaudeville creation the composer contributed to a Viennese theater company led by Emanuel Schikaneder. Mozart kept writing little comic bits, spoken dialogues, and songs, duets, and quartets, while Schikaneder—who “borrowed” freely from medieval romances and French essays—created the libretto. Eventually a freestanding Singspiel (spoken and sung) opera was born.

That first performance must have been a wild ride. Schikaneder sang the lead role of Papageno, Mozart’s sister-in-law sang the torturous coloratura role of Queen of the Night, and Mozart himself played the glockenspiel and conducted. No elite target—not royalty nor religion—was safe from the opera’s delicious symbolism.

The fun lies in not taking too seriously any of the circuitous story about noble lovers Tamino and Pamina, and their earthly counterparts Papageno and his darling Papagena. The Magic Flute has it all—a wicked queen, a love-sick prince, and the erratic saga of two rather silly and delightful pairs of lovers. Trios, duets, and solos—plus a few chorus scenes—abound in this, one of the world’s most famous operas. But there are also compelling vocal challenges: Mozart wrote music in this opera for the highest female voice, as well as a notoriously low bass role. In between, it’s singable by most levels of skill—hence it’s perfect for students in the UCSC Opera Program.

UCSC Magic Flute Christy Conway, Kylie Smith and Magda Travis — **HEY LADIES** Christy Conway, Kylie Smith and Magda Travis play the Three Ladies who serve the Queen of the Night. PHOTO: KEANA PARKER

A Year in the Making

Planning for the 2018 season, Willey—collaborating with her UCSC colleagues Emily Sinclair and the opera’s orchestra conductor Bruce Kiesling—had to select an opera that “young students could sing. It’s an undergraduate program after all. And we had to figure out what the orchestra could do.”

That meant plenty of background research. “I spent time reading through the score,” Willey explains, “reading about the opera and performance practice, watching productions on video.”

She also collected images to draw inspiration from other designers about how the final sets and costumes would look. Collaborative brainstorming helped to tease out the themes that would then be translated into set design. Thanks to an alliance with San Francisco’s Academy of Arts University established by her opera program predecessor Brian Staufenbiel, costume design was taken on by a graduate design class. “They get credit and experience, and we gain wonderful costumes. The university provides the venue and my salary. The production—sets, lighting, costumes—is entirely donor funded,” she says.

UCSC Magic Flute Josiah Bartel — **FLUTE OF HIS LABORS** Josiah Bartel rehearses his role as Papageno in the UCSC Production. PHOTO: KEANA PARKER

Opera 101

“Students go home for the summer with audition arias to work on,” Willey says. “We cast it in November. Then they spend one quarter just learning the music—they have to memorize it, after all, and in German.”

Willey herself lived in Germany for three years as a child, before returning to her native Iowa, and attending Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. Once Willey finished her graduate work at UCSC, studying voice with Patrice McGinnis, she focused on teaching by giving private lessons in the Bay Area. “It was a lot of commuting,” she says. “And then I married Colin [Colin Hannon, pianist/accompanist with a variety of Bay Area Music groups], and we had kids.” She began teaching voice at UCSC in 2014.

Heading up the spring opera, Willey wears many hats. “In our vocal studies, I help them learn to sing Mozart, and as director I work on character development.

We have a student dramaturge who has built a website about the original 18th century production.”

The website also has lots of resources for the cast, including topics dealing with misogyny and 18th century racial stereotypes about Africans, both of which make the opera a challenge for 21st century performance.

“We have done some tweaking to the text,” Willey admits, “to make it something students can feel comfortable with. I struggle with that a lot. We made Pamina [the Queen of the Night’s captive daughter, who she sends Prince Tamino to rescue] not quite so dependent.” And the villainous slavemaster Monastatos will not be a Moor in blackface. “It really was how people in Europe thought back then,” she says of the character’s uncomfortable racial stereotypes.

Rehearsal Magic

“What’s so easy about staging Mozart is that all of the directions are in the music. He just wrote in the stage movements and the emotion—the emotion is very relatable. I tell the students it’s about love. And it is,” says Willey.

She is moved by transformations opera can inspire. “Just watching the students, who might come here with no concept of opera, and then to see them do this”—she points to a room full of performers in T-shirts and torn jeans. “It unlocks something, it’s thrilling, and it’s an honor to help that emerge in the students.”

Rehearsals commit students to a year of work, two days a week at three-hour rehearsals. All of spring is spent staging, and the end of the school year culminates in performance.

Opera is the complete artwork, director Sheila Willey Hannon contends.

“In charge of hearts and minds—it’s a lot to do,” she says. The biggest challenges? “Getting the flow, and the entrances. The dialogues will be spoken in English, the singing in German. Papageno’s part is really the most work—there’s so much text.”

Zade Dardari performs Papageno, who accompanies Prince Tamino on his quest, in the performances, and agrees with the director that “Papageno is quite the challenge. That’s not to say he isn’t delightful,” says Dardari. “The quick-paced, patter-based, and overly dramatic moments are just absolutely a thrill ride.”

He admits that the German language is a challenge. “But also fully embodying the clown that is Papageno. Who knew that being yourself could be so exhausting?” Dardaris is currently a voice major, with two previous operas under his magic belt—last year’s Orpheus in the Underworld and the fall performance of Xochitl and the Flowers.

Why is Mozart such a good choice for students? “There’s very little opportunity for boredom,” says Willey. “It’s essentially comedy, it doesn’t take itself very seriously. Yet Mozart is a genius—there are those moments that give me goosebumps every time.”

Willey likes to work with her singer/actors, encouraging them to bring their own ideas into the mix. In rehearsals, she dashes up to the stage to demonstrate movements, and then invites players to come up with their own decisions. In rehearsal, Willey works inventively, demonstrating movements and reinforcing successes. A soprano sings a gorgeous line—“experiment with that,” Willey suggests. “Act it out—put a pause in between the words.” The line is sung again, with a pause between two phrases. “That was a thousand times better,” Willey says.

“I think one of my strengths as a performer is a passion for communication,” she says. “And I hope I inspire the students to connect and share their passion with the audience. The rewards of being a teacher are great—maybe greater than being a singer. Art is something we need.”

UCSC Magic Flute director Shiela Willey leads rehearsal — **SET TO LAUNCH** Willey leads rehearsal as ‘The Magic Flute’ prepares for its debut May 31. PHOTO: KEANA PARKER

A Passion for Performance

“I’m new to opera,” says sophomore music major Olivia Adolph, who performs the role of Second Spirit in Thursday and Saturday performances of Flute, “and it’s been exciting getting to learn exactly how it differs from the singing I’m used to. Everything in opera has to be learned inside and out. We have to know not only the music, but what it means, the emotions it portrays, and how it relates to the rest of the opera. It’s really demanding and much more comprehensive than most of the other singing I’ve done, with great importance placed on acting.”

Like the other performers, Adolph praises her director. “Sheila is extremely dedicated, and has a very clear vision about our production of The Magic Flute, and I’m very excited for everybody to see what we’ve been working towards,” she says.

Singing the Queen of the Night, Bay Area professional soprano Ann Moss observes, “It’s such a physical role—the elaborateness of the costumes, the heavy headgear, the raked stage. But I’m excited about performing it.”

How do you prepare for one of the most explosive arias in this repertoire? “In certain ways the stars have to align,” she jokes, “but also you have to take care of the voice. And not eat too much.”

Moss says she works with student composers and singers frequently, “and I have to say that these kids have it going on,” she says with a nod toward the UCSC singers rehearsing, “They are the future of music. And I can tell you they are not being groomed to have a diva complex.”

The Magic Flute

Directed by Sheila Willey and conducted by Bruce Kiesling, featuring a score by W.A. Mozart and comic libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. Sung by UCSC music and opera students. Costumes by the Academy of Arts University’s design students, set and lighting by Legend Theatrical, hair and makeup by Jessica Carter. Sung in German with dialogues and supertitles in English. 7:30–10 p.m. UC Santa Cruz Music Center Recital Hall.

Four Strong Candidates Challenge Caput in South County

Local News

Georgia Johnson

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May 22, 2018

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Four Strong Candidates Challenge Caput in South County

While mounting his effort to win the Santa Cruz County Supervisor District 4 seat in this year’s election, City Councilmember Jimmy Dutra has made meeting people face to face a priority. “I wanted to make sure I personally reached out to as many voters as possible. The community really appreciates it,” he says.

It’s a trait that may come in handy, given that it’s also a strength of the man he’s challenging, Supervisor Greg Caput. After successfully mounting a campaign against then-incumbent Tony Campos in 2010, Caput held off his opponents, including Dutra and former Watsonville Police Chief Terry Medina, four years ago.

And even after eight years on the job, Caput often doesn’t look the part of a local politician. His tie isn’t always straight, nor his hair always combed. In meetings, he asks questions about basic information that often come off as confusing to others in the room.

Nonetheless, his successful re-election campaign four years ago demonstrated that what can come across as a lack of savviness to political insiders has translated to relatability for many Pajaro Valley voters. Caput campaigns hard, speaking with locals in Spanish and remembering people’s names. He says he’s already knocked on 4,000 doors this year.

Not to be outdone, Dutra says he and his mother, Terry Tavarez-Dutra, have knocked on more than a combined 6,000 doors since January.

Caput had made passing term limits a part of his campaign in 2010, but he was never seconded by any of his fellow supervisors, and the issue never came to a vote. He had originally said he would only run for two terms, but after getting calls to run again, he’s asking voters for four more years. Whereas other supervisorial districts seldom draw serious challengers, District 4 is shaping up to be one of the hottest races of the year.

Like in 2014, Caput is running against a formidable field of challengers—Dutra again, as well as City Councilmember Nancy Bilicich, City Councilmember Felipe Hernandez and Watsonville YWCA Executive Director Leticia Mendoza. The candidates are taking shots at the incumbent’s leadership, questioning his ability to take on the issues facing the Pajaro Valley area.

Dutra, who finished third in 2014, has now garnered nearly four years of city council experience and just graduated from USC’s school of public policy. Dutra, who accuses Caput of not being “present,” is also currently the first openly gay city councilmember in Watsonville.

“As I have been walking around the county and talking to people, their biggest issue is that Caput doesn’t respond,” he says. “People have had major road issues and there has been no attention brought to that. I am going to be someone who is going to respond to the people in the district for issues that have gone unaddressed for so long.”

The primary is June 5, and if no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote getters will advance to the November ballot. Dutra says that even though Watsonville is home to major companies like Driscoll’s, Granite Construction, West Marine, and Martinelli’s, serious equity issues persist in South County.

Even as Caput confounded much of the local political establishment, he did earn the endorsement of former county treasurer and state legislator Fred Keeley four years ago. This year, however, Keeley’s endorsing Felipe Hernandez, who Keeley believes has a better sense of the community than Caput does.

“Greg is a good guy. He is somewhat unusual, he is a different kind of guy,” Keeley says. “He’s not a big policy guy, he doesn’t have much impact on the board of supervisors, and I think that’s another major issue for people in the fourth district. But I haven’t changed my view of him. I changed my view of who is the best person to represent the district.”

Southern Charm

Another candidate, Leticia Mendoza, is currently South County representative on the Cabrillo Community College District Board of Trustees and executive director of the Watsonville YWCA. She says South County routinely misses out on major transportation and educational investment opportunities. Originally from Mexico, Mendoza moved to Watsonville at age 15 and went to Watsonville High School. After getting her doctorate in Urban Planning from Columbia University, she moved back to Watsonville in 2009.

“It is important to have more representation on the board of supervisors,” she says. “Caput has been there eight years already, and I haven’t seen much of a change in South County.”

When Mendoza accepted a position as director of the YWCA, the facility was about to close, and she helped to turn it around, she says. Mendoza says her background in planning and public administration makes her a strong candidate. “I decided that either I should get involved or stop complaining, so I got involved,” she says. “I’m happy with the work I have accomplished at the Y, and now I think it’s time I move forward and apply what I know.”

Caput says he isn’t phased by the other four candidates vying for his spot, and is focused on his own campaign and making sure everyone is represented and heard.

“I am running on who I am and I am running on my voting record,” Caput says. “I will continue to speak out. Even though I am on the short end of votes 4-1 on the board, it’s important someone speaks up and represents other opinions, because minority opinion today might be the majority opinion later in the future.”

Caput considers his largest successes to be the construction of a local mental health facility, currently underway, and a dental clinic in Watsonville, as well as a funding increase for the Santa Cruz County Immigration Project, for those applying for U.S. citizenship and documentation.

If elected, Caput says he’ll remain committed to the Pajaro River flood protection project, which would ensure 100-year flood protection for the Pajaro River levee.

Meeting in the Middle

Watsonville City Councilmember Nancy Bilicich has termed out of the council, having served more than nine years representing the city’s easternmost region. Though she says she’s proud of what she has accomplished, Bilicich is ready to move on to tackle countywide issues and has ideas to get South County voters more involved in the issues before the Board of Supervisors.

“All of the [board of supervisors] meetings are in Santa Cruz, and they want more involvement from the Watsonville community, so why can’t we meet in the middle?” Bilicich says. “It’s very difficult for our residents to go all the way to Santa Cruz.”

Although Bilicich doesn’t have a specific location in mind, she hopes to convince the board to hold some meetings in Aptos or Mid-County.

Having served 10 years as the director of Watsonville/Aptos/Santa Cruz Adult Education, Bilicich says her connections make her a great choice for the District 4 seat. “Collaboration is a key. It’s just like being on the City Council. If you want to get somewhere, you can’t always just have one vote,” Bilicich says. “I have a good relationship with [District 2 Supervisor] Zach Friend, and then it just takes one more person. I have worked with them all on the zone 7 flood project and would like to continue that relationship and expand it even more.”

Bilicich says that she’s proud of the street sweeping program she implemented as mayor. She supports the rail trail plan to build a bike and pedestrian trail alongside the county’s coastal railroad tracks. One of her top objectives, she says, is completing the Pajaro River flood protection plan. “I want the levee finished,” she says. “We have the largest senior community in the county, and those people have to pay high flood insurance and they are always worried about the rain. We can’t expect it’ll happen someday anymore, it needs to happen now.”

Like Dutra and Bilicich, candidate Felipe Hernandez is a sitting Watsonville City Council member. As with some of his opponents, Hernandez says South County isn’t getting a fair share of resources. Hernandez points to a lack of county parks. There’s only one county park in the area, compared to “double-digit parks” in other districts, he says.

“The city only has one soccer field, the school district has closed down access to their fields,” he says. “Soccer is not just soccer. It’s a need that we have in the community because 34 percent of our community is under 19, and we need to find things for them to do.”

Hernandez adds that he feels there’s “a better way to represent this district, beginning at the point of addressing this inequity. That’s a good starting point.”

He hopes to create more communication and collaboration among city and county leaders, especially to tackle the hot-button issues, like homelessness and transportation. “I think that if we work on these issues as a region, we will find better solutions,” says Hernandez, who also supports the rail trail.

When it comes to housing, Hernandez supports the $250 million affordable housing bond planned for the November ballot. He says the housing crisis throughout the region is putting an extra squeeze on the Pajaro Valley.

“In Watsonville, we are getting a lot of transplants from Santa Cruz, and that says something,” he says. “We need to address more affordable housing in Santa Cruz.”

Update 5/24/18 2 p.m.: A previous version of this story misreported that supervisor candidate Leticia Mendoza is the executive director of the YMCA. She is the executive director of the YWCA.

Visual Endeavors Plans Light Installation for Ebb and Flow

A&E
Art

Wallace Baine

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May 22, 2018

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Visual Endeavors Plans Light Installation for Ebb and Flow

Until recently, the Soquel Avenue bridge over the San Lorenzo River had no conceivable connection with Wrestlemania, Coachella or Colorado’s famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

But thanks to the upcoming Ebb and Flow River Arts Festival, the modest Soquel Avenue bridge joins a list of platforms on which the technologists at Visual Endeavors practice their art.

Visual Endeavors is a Santa Cruz-based tech start-up that designs lighting for live music concerts, dance shows and other spectacles, including the over-the-top performances of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE). On June 1, the two artists at Visual Endeavors—Aron Altmark and Rachel Stoll—will mount an installation on the bridge that connects downtown Santa Cruz to Ocean Street. It will essentially be a LED light show above the bridge, designed to both dazzle with aesthetic pleasure and to educate with data visualization on the health of the river.

Ebb and Flow is a two-day arts festival that celebrates Santa Cruz’s relationship with the San Lorenzo River, launched in 2015 and administered by Arts Council Santa Cruz County. This year, the festival takes place June 1 and 2 with a First Friday kick-off, a procession along the river, a dance party, and other events. But the legacy of the festival will be the lighting display on the bridge, which is expected to be up for months after Ebb and Flow has ebbed.

Visual Endeavors began in Southern California, but in 2016, the company’s founder Altmark and his creative partner Stoll were both looking to get out of L.A. Stoll, a native Angeleno, had always had fond memories of visiting Northern California. “Aron and I both like mountain biking,” she says. “We visited here, thinking about [relocating] and we kinda said to ourselves, ‘What if we just did it?’”

Before moving its base of operations to Santa Cruz, the company was doing well in L.A., serving a client list that included touring musical acts (many in iconic venues such as Red Rocks), big-ticket festivals, corporate events, dance performances and Wrestlemania. Ebb and Flow, however, is a change of pace for the company. Stoll says that the lighting display on the Soquel Avenue bridge is her company’s calling card to the community and the first effort in what the company hopes is an ongoing contribution to public art in Santa Cruz County.

“We’re very excited to see what possibilities come out of this,” she says.

Visual Endeavors is a vivid example of the growing presence of visual spectacle, especially when it comes to lighting, in live entertainment and other avenues of public life. At one time, razzle-dazzle lighting effects were considered an add-on at rock shows; now, they are expected to be an integral part of the package. Retail spaces, shopping districts and other urban public spaces are facing increasingly difficult competitive pressures and many are turning to lighting effects and other visual displays to attract more people.

Holographic technology, virtual reality, augmented reality (in which real spaces are overlaid with digital effects through a device), lighting effects made possible by inexpensive LEDs and increasingly sophisticated software—are all part of a barely imaginable future that could transform public spaces as profoundly as digital effects have transformed the online world.

“There is so much growth in so many areas,” says Stoll. “That’s what’s so exciting about where we are now. The technology is always changing. There’s always a new product, a new programming advancement. The question now is, does the market want it?” Referencing Steven Spielberg’s 2002 sci-fi epic that envisioned a world beyond computer screens, Stoll says, “Are we going to be living in a Minority Report world?”

Along with the lighting display on the Soquel Avenue bridge, Visual Endeavors will also present an interactive art show at the Radius Gallery at the Tannery Arts Center, through the month of June. The gallery show will include an art piece featuring imagery of the bridge display that can be altered through interactive engagement with the viewer, along with a sculpture and a mixed-media piece that uses recycled material and lighting technology. All of this bleeding-edge tech will be put to use to a very low-tech purpose: to connect a public place to the natural world from which it springs.

“It will be such a different world in 10 years,” says Stoll. “Will we have another renaissance of public spaces? How do we redesign spaces in terms of urban planning? What’s our current philosophy about these connective spaces? How do we create places oriented around people?”

Ebb and Flow River Arts Festival 2018

Friday, June 1: First Friday artmaking and live performances at Abbott Square, Santa Cruz, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Procession to the river with the Post Street Rhythm Peddlers, 8:50 p.m. Unveiling of public art on the Soquel Avenue bridge and dance party at the river, 9:20-11 p.m.

Saturday, June 2: March to the River, participatory one-mile march for all ages, costumes of river wildlife encouraged, noon. Celebration with food trucks, artmaking and live performance by Bandaloop and others, Tannery Arts Center, 12:30-4 p.m.

More info: ebbandflowfest.org.

Gemini Festival of Goodwill, Humanity & World Invocation Day: Risa’s Stars May 23-29

Risa D’Angeles

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May 22, 2018

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Gemini Festival of Goodwill, Humanity & World Invocation Day: Risa’s Stars May 23-29

The New Group of World Servers (NGWS) prepares this week for next Tuesday’s full moon festival, also called the Gemini Solar Festival of Humanity, Goodwill & World Invocation Day. Occurring at 7:20 a.m. (West Coast time) May 29, at 8 degrees Gemini, it is a time in which the NGWS, along with the Christ (present World teacher) and Hierarchy (inner spiritual world government), distribute to humanity the Shamballa force (blessings of Love from the Father, our God, Sanat Kumara from Venus).

This blessing, via the Buddha at the Wesak Festival, is the Will-to-Good, which, when received by humanity, becomes Goodwill. It has been held in trust by the Christ, the Hierarch and the New Group of World Servers since last month’s Wesak Festival. It is therefore a most potent time for humanity and the Earth.

At each of the Three Spring Festivals (Aries, Taurus & Gemini) the Spirit of Resurrection releases forces to Restore (Aries), Enlighten (Taurus) and Reconstruct (Gemini) the Livingness of humanity and Earth. The Gemini Festival harmonizes all dualities and polarities; thus, it is also the Festival of Right Human Relations.

“Each year at the Gemini festival, the Christ preaches the last sermon of the Buddha to the assembled Hierarchy and everyone recites the Great Invocation, Mantram of Direction for Humanity. The Gemini festival is a festival of invocation and appeal for cultural, religious and spiritual unity. It represents the combined work of the Buddha (Eastern teachings) and of the Christ (Western teachings)—creating a synthesis.

“In the future all three Festivals will be kept throughout the world and through them, a great spiritual unity will be achieved and the Great Approach (Reappearance of the World Teacher), so close at this time, will be stabilized by the united invocation of humanity throughout the planet.” (A. Bailey)

ARIES: This month you focused on values and possessions while seeking a meaningful state of security. There’s a possibility of identifying only with what you physically possess. But consider more deeply your worth and value. That you are valuable. This identity is a first step. Then focus on creating a secure and sustainable foundation, built to last, that supports all of life with sensitivity and comfort. Share, too.

TAURUS: You must anchor yourself awareness as a calm and innovative leader who offers important information to the world. Everyone who listens acquires a new level of curiosity and intelligence. Through stability, research and discipline, you provide needed direction for others. You are a “light bearer.” Self-identity begins with having true knowledge. You are the mentor and teacher for this.

GEMINI: You are radiant when you serve others. Your love opens the hearts of everyone, especially those with closed hearts due to hurt and trauma. Because of this task and gift, you require times of reflection, seclusion and rest. Your understanding and compassion brings healing balm to those in need. Do not allow yourself to feel lonely. You are not alone. Your Soul, your angel and all of us, stand with you.

CANCER: You have very high hopes and goals, sometimes (oftentimes) unexpressed. It would be good if you could communicate what’s in your heart. Sometimes you have a tolerance of others. Sometimes not. More and more you’re called to unify the heart and mind. This calls for a focus not on emotional choices but on true knowledge. Your close friendships are most important. Keep them close.

LEO: What goals, successes and accomplishments are you seeking? It’s important to realize ambitions hold a secret purpose. When we recognize our ambitions, our energy is focused and concentrated. All levels of leadership are important for you. Leadership unlocks creativity. Some Leos are shy. They are quiet yet powerful leaders. It’s about ambition which becomes aspiration, which is identity and purpose.

VIRGO: Virgos turn their focus to the environments around them, especially to gardens and the well-being of the kingdoms (mineral, plant, animal). Virgos have very high ideals. They can control their restlessness, use their vast state of organized knowledge and become quite curious and adventurous. You realize, while being with humanity, that we are all brothers and sisters in one family.

LIBRA: Desires for experiences have become more intense and concentrated. The usual way of life is not enough. You want to go deeper, wider and higher. Everything unexplored becomes magical and fascinating. Like the Hierarchy (inner world government), you move in two directions—inner and outer realities; diving into deep waters, rising up to heaven itself—creating the Cross of Life. Libra balances all levels. Stay in balance.

SCORPIO: For the next month or so you will take pride in creating harmony with all interactions and relationships. You will need to be close to loved ones, perhaps one in particular. You drop one or more of your veils of protection, know you’re safe being vulnerable and begin to say what you truly, deep down, want and need. Social skills become easier. Peace results. This is a rare time for you. Observe it carefully.

SAGITTARIUS: All that you do concerning your work and profession relates to your sense of identity. Each day it’s most important to have activities planned and to produce work that is your very best. It is also important to create Right Relations with all of the kingdoms. If these are not practiced each day, you somehow feel less than, and sadness and loneliness follow. Upon waking each morning plan your day with intention to be a good steward to all you contact. The results are surprising.

CAPRICORN: You have special and unique qualities combined with a deep level of creativity. Call forth opportunities to express yourself each day. Often you communicate with a dry sense of humor, a bit of drama and lots of fun. Eventually those who need to, notice you, and this leads to new work ventures and adventures. Recognition (and compensation) calms your sense of restlessness. Children are most important.

AQUARIUS: You are private and protective about your personal life, home and family. You seek to find a deeper sense of security and a foundation from which you can work. You want to integrate all life endeavors under one roof. This is most practical and allows for creativity. You seek emotional attachments so that your heart is not lonely. Find a home first. Fill it with all that you love. Plant a garden, even a small one. And trees. Friends come by. They love you

PISCES: You take walks each day because you need a change of scenery, you need to touch life in all its forms, but especially you need nature, trees, the sky and garden devas. You adapt well, but only to a point. You are a teacher needing to teach. You are curious about others, asking questions a lot. Others don’t understand this. You understand sharing. Sometimes you’re sad. You need music all the time. Kirtan.

Rob Brezsny Astrology May 23-29

Rob Brezsny

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May 22, 2018

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Free will astrology for May 23, 2018.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): The Aries poet Anna Kamieńska described the process of writing as akin to “the backbreaking work of hacking a footpath, as in a coal mine; in total darkness, beneath the earth.” Whether or not you’re a writer, I’m guessing that your life might have felt like that recently. Your progress has been slow and the mood has been dense and the light has been dim. That’s the tough news. The good news is that I suspect you will soon be blessed with flashes of illumination and a semi-divine intervention or two. After that, your work will proceed with more ease. The mood will be softer and brighter.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Do you know what you are worth? Have you compiled a realistic assessment of your talents, powers and capacities? Not what your friends and enemies think you’re worth, nor the authority figures you deal with, nor the bad listeners who act like they’ve figured out the game of life. When I ask you if you have an objective understanding of your real value, Taurus, I’m not referring to what your illusions or fears or wishes might tell you. I’m talking about an honest, accurate appraisal of the gifts you have to offer the world. If you do indeed possess this insight, hallelujah and congratulations! If you don’t, the coming weeks will be an excellent time to work on getting it.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Now is a favorable time to worship at the shrine of your own intuition. It’s a ripe moment to boost your faith in your intuition’s wild and holy powers. To an extraordinary degree, you can harness this alternate mode of intelligence to gather insights that are beyond the power of your rational mind to access by itself. So be bold about calling on your gut wisdom, Gemini. Use it to track down the tricky, elusive truths that have previously been unavailable to you.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): “A poem is never finished; it is only abandoned,” wrote poet W. H. Auden, paraphrasing poet Paul Valéry. I think the same can be said about many other kinds of work. We may wish we could continue tinkering and refining forever so as to bring a beloved project to a state of absolute perfection. But what’s more likely is that it will always fall at least a bit short of that ideal. It will never be totally polished and complete to our satisfaction. And we’ve got to accept that. I suggest you meditate on these ideas in the coming weeks, Cancerian. Paradoxically, they may help you be content with how you finish up the current phase of your beloved project.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I highly recommend that you spend the next three weeks hanging out on a beach every day, dividing your time between playing games with friends, sipping cool drinks, reading books you’ve always wanted to read, and floating dreamily in warm water. To indulge in this relaxing extravaganza would be in maximum alignment with the current cosmic rhythms. If you can’t manage such a luxurious break from routine, please at least give yourself the gift of some other form of recreation that will renew and refresh you all the way down to the core of your destiny.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Contemporaries of the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras told colorful stories about the man. Some believed he was the son of a god and that one of his thighs was made of gold. When he crossed the Casas River, numerous witnesses testified that the river called out his name and welcomed him. Once a snake bit him, but he suffered no injury, and killed the snake by biting it in return. On another occasion, Pythagoras supposedly coaxed a dangerous bear to stop committing violent acts. These are the kinds of legends I expect you to spread about yourself in the coming days, Virgo. It’s time to boost your reputation to a higher level.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): My counsel may seem extreme, but I really think you should avoid mildness and meekness and modesty. For the immediate future, you have a mandate to roar and cavort and exult. It’s your sacred duty to be daring and experimental and exploratory. The cosmos and I want to enjoy the show as you act like you have the right to express your soul’s code with brazen confidence and unabashed freedom. The cosmos and I want to squeal with joy as you reveal raw truths in the most emotionally intelligent ways possible.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): French novelist Honoré Balzac periodically endured intense outbreaks of creativity. “Sometimes it seems that my brain is on fire,” he testified after a 26-day spell when he never left his writing room. I’m not predicting anything quite as manic as that for you, Scorpio. But I do suspect you will soon be blessed (and maybe a tiny bit cursed) by a prolonged bout of fervent inspiration. To ensure that you make the best use of this challenging gift, get clear about how you want it to work for you. Don’t let it boss you. Be its boss.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Ancient civilizations waged war constantly. From Mesopotamia to China to Africa, groups of people rarely went very long without fighting other groups of people. There was one exception: the Harappan culture that thrived for about 2,000 years in the Indus River Valley, which in the present day stretches through Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. Archaeologists have found little evidence of warfare there. Signs of mass destruction and heavy armaments are non-existent. Art from that era and area does not depict military conflict. One conclusion we might be tempted to draw from this data is that human beings are not inherently combative and violent. In any case, I want to use the Harappan civilization’s extended time of peace as a metaphor for your life in the next eight weeks. I believe (and hope!) you’re entering into a phase of very low conflict.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Every human being I’ve ever known, myself included, has to wage a continuous struggle between these pairs of opposites: 1. bad habits that waste their vitality and good habits that harness their vitality; 2. demoralizing addictions that keep them enslaved to the past and invigorating addictions that inspire them to create their best possible future. How’s your own struggle going? I suspect you’re in the midst of a turning point. Here’s a tip that could prove useful: Feeding the good habits and invigorating addictions may cause the bad habits and demoralizing addictions to lose some of their power over you.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “Some books seem like a key to unfamiliar rooms in one’s own castle,” said author Franz Kafka. I suspect this idea will be especially relevant to you in the coming weeks, Aquarius. And more than that: In addition to books, other influences may also serve as keys to unfamiliar rooms in your inner castle. Certain people, for instance, may do and say things that give you access to secrets you’ve been keeping from yourself. A new song or natural wonderland may open doors to understandings that will transform your relationship with yourself. To prep you for these epiphanies, I’ll ask you to imagine having a dream at night in which you’re wandering through a house you know very well. But this time, you discover there’s a whole new wing of the place that you never knew existed.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Just for now, let’s say it’s fine to fuel yourself with comfort food and sweet diversions. Let’s proceed on the hypothesis that the guardians of your future want you to treat yourself like a beloved animal who needs extra love and attention. So go right ahead and spend a whole day (or two) in bed reading and ruminating and listening to soul-beguiling music. Take a tour through your favorite memories. Move extra slowly. Do whatever makes you feel most stable and secure. Imagine you’re like a battery in the process of getting recharged.

Homework: Send news of your favorite mystery—an enigma that is both maddening and delightful—to Freewillastrology.com.

Preview: Frazey Ford to Play Catalyst

A&E
Music

Cat Johnson

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May 22, 2018

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When Frazey Ford’s name is mentioned, it’s usually followed by “founding member of the Be Good Tanyas,” the Canadian all-female folk trio that wowed the world with its engaging brand of alt-country.

But the Be Good Tanyas disbanded almost 10 years ago, and Ford has been hard at work growing her own music project since then. When asked if she gets tired of being attached to a group that hasn’t been around for a decade, Ford says definitely not—she’s proud of the work she and the other members—Samantha Parton, Trish Klein and Jolie Holland—did, and credits the band for launching her music career.

“It was a beautiful project,” Ford says. “I really value that experience and those artists.” Still, there’s a part of her that’s always ready for the next thing, she says.

“It’s been a natural thing for me to move forward and expand in different areas,” she says, “but I’m still really moved by the music we did … There was a period [where] I needed to distance myself from it to better define myself, but I feel very proud of that era.”

Now an acclaimed solo singer-songwriter, Ford has two albums under her belt. Her solo debut, Obadiah, released in 2010, saw her blurring the line between folk and soul music, drawing comparisons to Dolly Parton, Ann Peebles and Feist.

In 2014, she released Indian Ocean, then spent the next two and a half years touring the album, which features the Hi Rhythm Section, which is often credited with creating the Memphis soul sound as Al Green’s band.

After touring Indian Ocean, Ford took eight months off to decompress and explore other creative passions. She sewed, painted, did pottery, and focused on raising her teenage son.

“I was just sort of forgetting about it all for a while,” she explains.

A multi-dimensional artist who likes to experiment with creativity in all its forms, Ford finds that in order to move forward artistically, she needs to let go of who she has been.

“It’s important to let go of the story of who you are to a certain degree, in order to be open to who you may become next,” she says. “You don’t want to be too attached to who you’ve already been. As your art cycles into the world, you don’t want to confuse that reflection back with who you are now.”

When Ford is in a songwriting cycle, she writes consistently. When she’s not, she walks away until the muse strikes. When it comes time to put together an album, there are generally songs that have been “percolating,” but for the most part, she writes specifically for an album.

Ford’s newest tune is a cover of Funkadelic’s, “Can You Get to That.” It’s a somewhat unexpected choice for a folk-pop songstress, but Ford makes the song her own. She was inspired by memories of planting trees as a youngster—something she describes as a right of passage in British Columbia.

“I used to listen to music out in nature, doing hard labor under a hot sun,” she says. “Sometimes you’d have these mystical experiences where it’s just you and the labor. It becomes a potent moment.”

One of those experiences was listening to “Can You Get to That,” and Ford decided to create her own version. It’s the first single from an album she’s currently recording at Afterlife Studios in her hometown of Vancouver.

While working on the album, Ford is going to the beach, playing shows, raising her son and walking her dog. It’s all part of her attempt to stay true to her own process and not get caught up in expectations around her art.

“You have to let go of the persona you embody as a public person or performer,” she says. “You have to forget about who you think you are in order to get back to the pureness of creation.”

Frazey Ford will perform at 9 p.m. on Sunday, May 27 at the Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $18/adv, $20/door. 423-1338.

VinoCruz: Local Libations Meet Well-Crafted Bites

Christina Waters

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May 22, 2018

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VinoCruz: Local Libations Meet Well-Crafted Bites

Wine tasting is one thing. Wine tasting along with a creative variety of Happy Hour enticements … that’s our idea of a Happier Hour.

If you’re smart enough to check out the intimate VinoCruz tasting room—devoted solely to fine wines made in our Santa Cruz Mountains viticultural region—and if you do so during the 3-6 p.m. Happy Hour, you’ll be deliciously rewarded. How rewarded? Check this out: Tap & Taco Tuesday offers $5 tacos and $2 off beer on tap. Wednesdays during Happy Hour enjoy 25 percent off the Winery of the Month selections (Integrity Wines are this month’s featured premiums). Thirsty Thursday generously gives us 20 percent off all by-the-glass libations—wine, beer and cider! And Flatbread Friday—now a big local favorite event—features half off all of the house flatbread pizzas. Very good house flatbread pizzas, that is. So now you know what you’re doing for your next Happy Hour excursion. I’ve done the thinking—you do the drinking. VinoCruz is located at 4901 Soquel Drive, in Soquel. Open 3-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 3-10 p.m. on Friday; noon-10 p.m. on Saturday and Noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday. Closed Monday. vinocruz.com.

Extreme Cream

Product of the Week: Peak Yogurt. The name says it all. Not just a name, Peak Yogurt is also a description of the product, a yogurt so creamy it makes ice cream taste like skim milk. Think of it as extreme yogurt, yogurt without apologies, yogurt for grownups. How does it do that? This all-organic product made from the milk and cream of pasture-raised cow offers us the unbelievable experience of triple cream content—16-percent milk fat. That’s quite the opposite of “low fat.” If yogurt were a triple-crème Brie—one with extra cream added to bump up its butterfat content—it would be Peak Yogurt. Thick, creamy, with a very clean finish, this San Francisco product fearlessly embraces butterfat content. Peak Triple Cream Yogurt just might be the ultimate experience in yogurt. So thick you could (almost) stand a spoon straight up in a container, Peak Yogurt is currently available for $2.65 at New Leaf Markets. The day I looked for Peak Yogurt, it was available in flavors of Plain and Vanilla. A Strawberry version is also made by the Peak people. The Vanilla version is barely sweet (using teensy amounts of organic cane sugar), impossibly decadent in its creaminess. The Plain version could easily substitute as an organic version of sour cream. You think I’m exaggerating? I invite you to try it for yourself. OK, so there are a few calories involved here. But life’s too short to not indulge in this sensational yogurt. peakyogurt.com.

Wine Wanderlust

Make plans to check out the new developments in Aptos Village on June 9 while tasting wines by 10 of our top local wineries. The Aptos Wine Wander concept is cozy; the wines will be poured at a variety of Aptos Village businesses located on Soquel Drive and Trout Gulch Road. Wine Wanderers will be encouraged to walk business-to-business to explore the shops and sample wine. “We are excited to be a part of this whimsical, community-oriented event that draws people into locally owned businesses while showcasing the amazing wines made in our region,” said Mary Gourlay of Barry Swenson Builder, which is developing the Aptos Village Project. The event is 1-4 p.m. on Saturday, June 9. Proceeds benefit local elementary schools, and tickets (including commemorative glass) are $35 in advance and $40 at the door. Essentially, this allows those who have been curious about the ongoing construction in Aptos Village to take a peek, while checking out their favorite existing businesses and sampling some of our best regional wines. scmwa.com.

Good TimesGood Times

Good TimesGood Times

SOUND EXPERIMENT

A Year in the Making

Opera 101

Rehearsal Magic

A Passion for Performance

The Magic Flute

Southern Charm

Meeting in the Middle

Ebb and Flow River Arts Festival 2018

Extreme Cream

Wine Wanderlust