I’m Mexican, so my family celebrates Christmas in a big way. We make buñuelos, the Mexican dessert, and tamales from my grandma’s recipes. We all make it together, and I love that time of year.
Julia Lopez, 18, Biology Major, UCSC
MEKEDESE
My family gets together to break our fast after fasting for a month or two before Easter. It’s mostly meat dishes, the things we don’t eat while we’re fasting. My favorite is Doro Wat, a kind of spicy Ethiopian chicken stew.
Mekedese Kebede, 19, Political Science Major, UCSC
SAMUEL
Every Thanksgiving my Mom makes a Seafood Gumbo and collard greens and ham hocks—all the things that throughout the year we don’t eat. Then at Thanksgiving we go crazy.
Samuel Sweat, 28, Recording Artist / Professional Drummer
ANGELEE
Every Christmas my mom and I would make lumpia, which is a Filipino dish like a fried spring roll. We would make like 50 of them for a party and get together at night to roll them.
Angelee Montances, 19, Film / Psychology Double Major, UCSC
SARAH
For birthdays in Chinese culture, you eat Chang Shou Mian, Long Life Noodle. The longer the noodle means the longer you’ll live. You slurp one noodle for as long as you can and not stop in between, because that’s a bad omen.
Sarah Zhang Field, 20, Film Major at UCSC
KAREN
Celebrating Shabbat and lighting candles for the Shabbat queen and breaking the Challah, the braided bread, to share with everyone. The candles giving light are all about the queen Goddess they don’t want to admit.
I’ve lived in Santa Cruz long enough to think I’ve seen it all.
Nope.
That’s one great thing about our county: there are enough unusual and hidden spots to keep even lifelong locals surprised for life.
We called on a real-life magic man, magician Joshua Logan, to find hidden gems for our cover story, and as great as it is, there are probably still more surprises to be had. Which are your favorites? Drop us suggestions at ed****@*******es.sc.
This story not only tells me I need to get out more, it’s also like a tour guide to bring friends and family and impress them with our secrets. You can also catch a lot more tips in our summer Visitors Guide on newsstands through the summer.
One thing this shows is how connected our area still is to nature. Will that feel different with all these high rises downtown? At least there are plenty of places to escape to.
On the music front, Little Feat is returning to Santa Cruz, with one member left from the band that headlined the County Fairgrounds in 1979 with founder Lowell George and opening act Bonnie Raitt. Does anyone remember that one?
On the foodie front, you can save on a trip to Asia by getting some authentic ramen at the Hokkaido Ramen House. Back in the day, great Asian food was rare here and now we are getting some top-quality restaurants.
What’s “organic moonshine roots music”? We’ve got the story on Valerie June, a prolific Southern songwriter who plays the Rio this week.
Ready to get that summer reading list going? You may want to start with Christopher Moore’s latest New York Times best-seller, Anima Rising, his 19th novel. He’s coming to town to speak about it…a must-not-miss event.
So many people, so many cultures. This week’s Street Talk column digs into how our polyglot of people celebrate their homelands.
And finally, all I’ll say is hair color, where? You’ll have to check out the story.
Thanks for reading.
Brad Kava | Editor
PHOTO CONTEST
DOG DAY Cute pup hanging out in Capitola, eyeing the tourist canines. Photograph by Sevag Mehterian
GOOD IDEA
A different kind of protest will be held at the Santa Cruz Lighthouse at 1pm on June 21, called “Free the Chest.” It’s a chance for everyone and anyone to hang out without a top on. “Join us for a top-optional picnic at Lighthouse Point to celebrate, normalize and free the breast,” say the posters for the “All Gender Topless Sit In.”
GOOD WORK
The Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County has secured a $7 million Forest Health Grant from CAL FIRE to implementan ambitious, regionally connected suite of on-the-ground forest health projects spanning public and private lands throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains.
It will support forest management on 830 acres of high-priority landscapes in a “ring” around populated areas, adding reforestation and cutting invasive species, reducing hazardous fuels, and restoring native habitats.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“A lie will travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” –Attributed to both Mark Twain and Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Good Times states “Gay Rights are human rights,” as Good Times magazine completely censors the True Love Christian Festival. Not one article on the True Love Christian Music & Art Festival in the five years of advertising in the magazine. Each year the festival has grown over 100% but not one article. Yet, Good Times does a whole magazine on gay pride to convince our youth and children this is normal and fun. Being once a radical liberal myself and seeing the utter complete destruction it did to my life and others, it was not fun and certainly not normal.
I challenge you Good Times editorial staff Dave Kava, Rob Darrow, Kyara Rodriguez, Alice Morrison and Riley Nicholson. Come to a True Love Christian Festival and find a real True Love that will never leave you or forsake you and not some physical lustful love that lasts for just a moment and ends with a massive heartache that impacts you for the rest of your life.
Life is amazingly short, choose wisely, the Bible has words of life-saving wisdom. Please come and experience what True Love is all about. TrueLoveChristian.com
In His awesome service,
Simon Cassar | Associate Pastor Calvary Chapel Aptos
DON’T MAP AND DRIVE
—even if you’re just checking directions. The decision reinforces that any handheld phone use behind the wheel is considereA California appeals court has ruled that holding a phone to view maps while driving violates the state’s distracted driving lawd a violation, including map use. According to Zutobi’s 2025 Distracted Driving Report:
In 2023, 357 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver in California.
That’s 1.27 deaths per 100,000 licensed drivers.
Distracted driving accounted for 8.8% of all fatal crashes in the state.
Zutobi co-founder Lucas Waldenback offered this commentary:
“This ruling sends a strong and much-needed message. Even when drivers think they’re just glancing at a map, the risk is enormous. A moment of distraction can be fatal. Your eyes are off the road for an average of 5 seconds when interacting with a phone—at 55 mph, that’s like driving the length of a football field blind.
“It’s essential to set your GPS or route before you start driving, or pull over safely if you need to make adjustments. The data shows how devastating distracted driving continues to be—and small changes in behavior can save lives.”
Ana Zakharova | PR & Communication Manager | Zutobi
ONLINE COMMENTS
PRIDE PARADE
Thank you for sharing photos from this awesome Pride parade! I had front row seats and still enjoyed the recap.
Yes, thank you sooo much for the valuable information! I believe in this wholeheartedly. Micro-dosing has definitely begun to help me in my everyday life.
Twenty-seven real, walkable spots—trailheads, bluffs, murals, tide pools and long-closed swim holes—where wonder still slips through the cracks. Bring sturdy shoes, a sense of care for fragile places, and, where noted, an eye on tides, ticks and private property lines.
1. Sunset Trail, Quail Hollow Ranch
The last bench lives up to the trail’s name: dwarf redwoods at your feet, sandhills drifting gold behind you, the whole San Lorenzo Valley in front.
Feel: like you’ve found the lookout your future self will visit in a dream.
INFO: 800 Quail Hollow Road, Felton. Park by the ranch house (8am–sunset), hike uphill past the stables. Spring ticks are real—long pants help.
2. The “Other Path,” Land of Medicine Buddha
Skip the signed Eight Verses Loop. Just past the prayer flags, a narrow track drops left into a pine-soft ravine humming with birdsong.
Feel: like stepping into someone else’s peaceful secret.
INFO: Park on Prescott Road, walk through the front gate, trail starts beyond the stupa. This is an active retreat—move quietly and respectfully.
3. Sunday Flow Jam at Lighthouse Point
Sunset on West Cliff draws poi spinners, jugglers, slackliners and the occasional magician. Waves provide the soundtrack, dogs the applause.
Feel: like orbiting something creative, human and alive.
INFO: Lighthouse Field, West Cliff Drive. Show up an hour before sunset on Sundays; jams are informal but consistent.
4. Jade Street Park at Golden Hour
After 4pm, the Capitola Community Center lawn turns into one big living-room picnic: volleyball nets popping, kids on scooters, card tricks traded for laughter and astonishment.
Feel: like everyone’s invited and nobody’s trying too hard.
Off Spring Street, a faint spur funnels into towering ferns and still air. Seasonal mountain lion closures (January–March, some years) keep it extra-quiet.
Feel: like nature just whispered your name.
INFO: Spring Street trailhead. Walk slowly, notice everything.
6. Natural Bridges Tide Pools
Low tide exposes a maze of anemones and purple urchins. Rinse your shoe soles on the way out—washing off any hitch-hiking germs helps protect sea-star habitats in the next tide pool.
Feel: like eavesdropping on the ocean’s private thoughts.
INFO: 2531 W. Cliff Dr. Check tide charts; sturdy shoes, minimal stepping on the critters.
7. UCSC Secret Swing
Past the Great Meadow, near the treeline, a rope swing (when it hasn’t been cut down) arcs above Monterey Bay. Fog can roll in mid-flight and vanish by landing.
Feel: like flying inside your own memory.
INFO: Trail spur off Empire Grade at Twin Gates. May be absent—bring a sense of humor.
LIKE HISTORY HUMMING UNDER SALT SPRAY Waves pound the cliffs along the path to Wilder Ranch. Photo: Richard Stockton
8. Wilder Ranch Ohlone Bluff Loop at Dusk
Start in the eucalyptus grove, wander cliffside single-track; golden hour melts cows, clouds and coastline into one big painting.
Feel: like the planet queued a private show for you.
INFO: Wilder Ranch State Park. Easy 2-mile loop from main lot.
9. Abbott Square Evening Jam
Downtown’s open-air courtyard flips personalities hourly: bao + beer, string quartet, fire spinner, repeat. Sit anywhere and stay curious.
Feel: like catching lightning in a coffee cup.
INFO: 725 Front St. Courtyard officially closes 10pm.
10. Santa Cruz Mission Hilltop
Adobe walls whisper history; the vista above downtown grants instant perspective.
Feel: like stepping out of the timeline for a breath.
INFO: 144 School St. Grounds close 5pm sharp.
11. Arana Gulch Tarplant Bend
Late June–August, the endangered Santa Cruz tarplant—tiny, bright and stubborn—turns one curve of path pure yellow. The rest of the year there are cows at the Gulch, put there to help grow the tarplant. They have helped the endangered species grow healthily.
Feel: like stumbling into a living watercolor.
INFO: Agnes Street entrance; paved path, bend is ~0.3 mi in.
LIKE NATURE PRESSED THE PAUSE BUTTON On the path to Neary Lagoon. Photo: Contributed
12. Neary Lagoon Floating Walkway at Dawn
Mist coils off still water while egrets stalk breakfast. City noise doesn’t make the invite list. Dogs aren’t, either.
Feel: like nature pressed the pause button.
INFO: 111 Washington St. Boardwalk opens at sunrise; no pets.
13. Moore Creek Sandstone Labyrinth
Behind upper meadows, beach pebbles form a hand-laid spiral. Sometimes storms erase it—then hikers rebuild.
Feel: like solving a puzzle with your feet.
INFO: 255 High St. gate; follow signs toward coast overlook, listen for creek. Step lightly off-trail.
14. Hidden Beach Driftwood Arch (Aptos)
Winter swells stack timbers into a rough arch; by late spring it’s gone. Duck through for a perfectly framed horizon.
Feel: like walking through a portal the sea drew in pencil.
INFO: Hidden Beach Park, 1500 Park Dr. Best seen at low tide, Dec–Mar.
15. DeLaveaga Quarry Lookout
Past disc-golf Hole 16, a scramble reaches an abandoned sandstone cut. Loose rock, big views, bigger echoes.
Feel: like climbing backstage catwalks of the forest.
INFO: Branciforte Drive entrance; veer left at tee box, use caution.
16. Twin Lakes Jetty Bench
A lone whale-mosaic seat faces the harbor mouth; pelicans dive so close you flinch. Storms occasionally remove the bench—your mileage may vary.
Feel: like renting a private theater to watch tides change.
End of Fifth Avenue, beside Walton Lighthouse stairs.
17. Pelton Avenue Mural Stairway (Seabright)
Step-by-step sea-life mural by Yeshe Jackson unfurls toward the sand; late-day light ignites the blues.
Feel: like descending through a moving postcard.
INFO: Pelton Avenue stairs at East Cliff Drive.
18. Wilder Ranch Old Dairy Ruins
Crumbled concrete walls and rusted hardware frame crashing surf like a proscenium.
Feel: like history humming under salt spray.
INFO: From main lot, hike 1.2 mi north on Ohlone Bluff Trail; stay outside fencing.
19. Seascape Bluff Pocket Meadow
Between cliff-top homes, a 30-ft meadow with a lone Monterey pine offers front-row moonrise.
Feel: like the coast saved you a VIP seat.
INFO: Park at Seascape County Park, Sumner Ave. lot; short spur left along bluff.
20. Nisene Marks Maple Cathedral
A ring of giant big-leaf maples off Split Stuff Trail turns to golden stained glass mid-October.
Feel: like standing in a breathing kaleidoscope.
INFO: Porter Picnic Area; 0.6 mi up Split Stuff, unmarked gap on right.
21. Mission Hill Mosaic Staircase
Ceramic tiles of waves, sunsets and foxes climb from High Street to California Street—a community art love letter with skyline payoff.
Feel: like walking up through a storybook spine.
INFO: Base at 200 High St. Best colors at golden hour.
22. Moran Lake Tide Cave
Minus-tide only: a moss-draped alcove under the south cliff frames the beach like theater curtains.
Feel: like the ocean let you backstage.
INFO: 227 Moran Lake Rd.; descend south stairs, walk 200 yards. Check tide tables first.
23. Shark-Fin Cove View Ledge (Davenport)
A five-minute scramble above the old cement-plant tracks lands you on a fang-shaped outcrop. Fog below looks like dry ice.
Feel: like riding the dorsal fin of California.
INFO: Pull-out 0.7 mi south of Davenport on Hwy 1; cross tracks, angle right uphill.
24. Soquel Demo Forest Gate 1 Overlook
Before the single-track plunges, a serpentine shelf serves a 200-degree skyline from Monterey Bay to Mt. Umunhum. Weekend mornings buzz with bikes—be prepared for rugged trails and share the space.
Feel: like zooming out on Google Earth—no screen required.
INFO: Highland Way to Gate 1, walk 0.4 mi on Road 1.
25. Valencia Creek Orchard-Swing Ruins (status uncertain)
Local lore says a lone plank swing hangs from an ancient pear tree beside mill foundations. Sometimes it’s there, sometimes not—but the ivy-wrapped stones still transport.
Feel: like scooping a century of stories in one arc—if you find the rope.
INFO: Trailhead at Valencia Road and Aptos School Road; creek path 0.3 mi. Respect private boundaries.
James Vergon’s Nostalgic Picks
James Vergon—lifelong local and longtime admin of Santa Cruz’s largest Facebook community, who’s put countless hours into curating and moderating local stories—swears these shuttered swim holes still hum with memory if you know where to stand.
26. Lompico Fresh-Water Pool Ruins
Concrete basin and diving platform sit mossy under redwoods; laughter echoes if you listen hard enough. Viewable from the road only—private land beyond the gate.
Feel: like paging through a sun-bleached scrapbook—only it’s yours.
INFO: End of Lompico Road near Redwood Lodge Road. Please stay outside fences.
27. Old Ben Lomond Swim Hole (Junction Park)
The dam’s gone, but riverbank scents of redwood needles and cold tannin water remain. Stand on the smooth rocks behind Junction Park and time-travel to summers past.
Feel: like the water kept your childhood on file and loans it back for a minute.
INFO: 50 Mill St., Ben Lomond. Follow path to river; tread lightly—this is still a backyard for wildlife and locals.
Josh Logan is a magician who grew up bouncing between NorCal and SoCal and has called Santa Cruz home for 20 years. He’s performed worldwide and for many companies around Silicon Valley, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz, under the mentorship of Paul Harris, the “Wonka of Magic.”
In the 2000 film Songcatcher, the title character is a turn-of-the-century musicologist who collects folk songs. In a way, Valerie June is a modern-day version of that. But rather than curate traditional music, June’s quest is a more spiritual journey that finds her channeling inspiration that can develop over years for a single song or poem before it ends up getting recorded or put down on a page.
That is the blueprint for Owls, Omens, and Oracles, the fourth studio effort from the woman whose full name is Valerie June Hockett. Produced by singer-songwriter M. Ward, these 14 songs took a circuitous route to completion, and in the process were soaked in the innocence and idiosyncratic whimsy that this daughter of the South has dubbed “organic moonshine roots music.”
“The songs always take way longer than the actual recording,” she admitted in a late-March interview. “‘All I Really Want to Do,’ ‘Love Me Any Ole Way,’ ‘My Life is a Country Song’—those are all like 15 to 20 years old. Songs like ‘Joy, Joy!’ and ‘Endless Tree’ were written within the last four years. Songs come to me when they come to me. They kind of give a giant exclamation point and jump off the page when they’re ready to be recorded. I just kind of sit patiently and let them develop and become what they want to be until I say, ‘Okay, it’s time.’ They have personalities, lives and live far beyond the songwriters. But the actual recording process? We had 12 days. We were in there in July—12 days right after my mom turned 70. We went out to L.A. and we made it happen.”
Speaking with June, one can’t help but get drawn in by her bubbly optimism, sense of wonder and a honeyed Southern drawl that exudes warmth. She’ll be the first to admit that “I honestly love working in a world of magical things from fairies to four-leaf clovers to adventures. But I also like to bring those things into reality, almost in the way that an author like Octavia Butler would write about the future that can be.”
It’s no surprise that there is a degree of mysticism attached to the title of Valerie June’s latest project that began with a visit from an owl that appeared two or three times over a year and a half by the pond behind her Tennessee home. It got her thinking about the iconography of wisdom and vision associated with this raptor.
“Owls symbolize mystery, so kind of not knowing what’s going to happen, but having a feeling that you can see as far as you can and hoping for something meaningful, particularly given these times that we’re living in,” she said. “It seems so much like my messenger animal. The oracle is just a reminder for me and all of us that we are ultimately the oracles for those coming in the future. Because everything we do, whether we’re loving, wishing sweet things, being joyful or nasty, nasty folks—whatever we want to do—it’s creating that future for others. Very much the messenger, but we also have responsibility and accountability for what it looks like to live in a different kind of world—a world of joy. It’s a lot of responsibility, you know.”
For Owls, Omens, and Oracles, Ward proved to be an invaluable resource. It just so happened he was someone the 43-year-old singer-songwriter had an enduring admiration for Ward long before the duo met up when the former asked June to contribute a song and perform on “Livin’ On a High Note,” the 2016 Mavis Staples album he was producing.
“I would be cleaning houses or working at the cafés making lattes and his song would come on the radio like ‘Helicopter,’ ‘Undertaker’ or anything and I would stop all these things I was doing,” June recalled. “It’s like my world stopped when I heard his music. It was after performing ‘Undertaker’ with him at the Newport Folk Festival and the Hardly Strictly Folk Festival about 10 years ago that I told M. that I’d love to make a record with him and he said he was absolutely on board.”
Ward was willing to go above and beyond the recording studio to help June achieve her vision with Owls, Omens and Oracles. When she had the idea of asking Norah Jones to play on the harmony-kissed “Sweet Things Just for You,” but was too shy to ask her longtime friend, erstwhile producer Ward quickly volunteered to make the call. (“She said, ‘Oh yes, darling, absolutely, I’ll sing on it.’ She’s so humble and sweet.”)
Same thing when it came to having the Blind Boys of Alabama take a turn on the call-and-response “Changed.” (“When M. and I were in the studio working on ‘Changed,’ we said we needed male voices on this one. We said we had to call the Blind Boys—fingers crossed, fingers crossed. And yup, they said yeah.”)
As rock solid as the new album is, June is pumped to hit the road. With many miles under her belt, from playing solo shows and loads of festivals, the multi-instrumentalist is ready to raise the roof.
“We are going to show out, I’m telling you,” she said with a quick laugh. “Folks think they’ve seen me, but they ain’t seen me because I’m finally so ready. I’ve been playin’ all this time. It used to be that I would get on stage and ask if this was okay if I sing like this, do this move or play this note? Nah, I ain’t thinkin’ about nothin’ but getting up there and showing out now and being my full self because I’m just like there. I’m there in my life.”
She added, “I met an older gentleman at my last show and he was talking about speaking your mind when you get older. I thought, ‘I get that, right now at this age.’ I’m finally at the age where if I don’t feel something, I’m going to let you know fast. If I love something, I’m gonna let you know fast and it’s not a good or a bad thing, it’s just the way it is.”
Valerie June plays at 8 and 10pm on June 17 at the Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. Tickets: $40-$53. pulseproductions.net
In the annals of American rock bands, Little Feat is one of the more criminally underrated acts to arrive on the scene. Launched by the initial quartet of vocalist/bassist Lowell George and bassist Roy Estrada (originally from the Mothers of Invention) along with keyboardist Bill Payne and drummer Richie Hayward in 1969, the band has gone through myriad changes with Payne the only original member left standing.
While peers like the Allman Brothers, Grateful Dead and the Eagles may have reaped significant commercial success, Little Feat has occupied its own niche thanks to a sound that mixes blues, rock, New Orleans funk, jazz and country. It’s a big part of why Payne has kept the Little Feat legacy going for nearly six decades.
“I’m very protective and territorial about the group because I’d have to play in 10 different bands to play the width and span of music that Little Feat plays,” Payne said in a mid-April interview.
That determination has seen Payne and his compatriots survive the deaths of George (heart attack in 1979), Hayward (lung disease in 2010) and longtime guitarist Paul Barrere (liver cancer in 2019). That said, Little Feat’s core of Payne, singer/percussionist Sam Clayton, bassist Kenny Gradney and multi-instrumentalist Fred Tackett (all members since Little Feat reformed after an eight-year break in 1987) have rallied to release Strike Up the Band, the group’s 17th album and first collection of original material since 2012’s “Rooster Rag.” The addition of guitarist Scott Sharrard in 2019 and drummer Tony Leone the following year provided the latest creative shot in the arm for the band.
“When Tony and Scott got into the band, Fred Tackett and I looked at each other and thought that there was nothing this band couldn’t play,” Payne said. “We can tackle anything we want to play right now and that wasn’t always the case. For both of them coming into this band, growing up and listening to us—there is a pressure they felt and articulated a couple of times—they knew the shoes they were walking into. But to their credit, they’ve taken it on as their own.”
Last year’s Sam’s Place introduced fans to Sharrard and Leone via a platter made up of predominantly blues covers sung by percussionist Clayton that included standards by the likes of Muddy Waters, Little Walter and Willie Dixon. For Strike Up the Band, Grammy Award-winner Vance Powell (Chris Stapleton/Phish/Jack White) was tapped to produce. Decamping to Powell’s Tennessee-based Blackbird Studio and Sputnik Sound, Little Feat whipped up 17 songs in a three-week dash with 13 jams making the cut. For Payne, having the band join forces with Powell was the key.
“Some of my favorite parts were working with Vance for the first time,” Payne said. “I’ve never worked with anyone that’s quite that quick in the sense that he was two to three steps ahead of me almost the entire way. I really felt like I didn’t have to say anything. I’d start to say something and then he’s already there. A couple of times I was able to interject something and then he’d suggest to try something and I’d give it a shot. Most of all, I was happy that people were having fun recording this project.”
That unmistakable Little Feat feel for irresistible grooves is embedded throughout Strike Up the Band. The horn-soaked lead single “Too High to Cut My Hair” chugs along in a manner reminiscent of vintage Tower of Power, while the opening jam “4 Days of Heaven, 3 Days of Work,” a Payne/Sharrard/Leone co-write, bears those unmistakable Feat slide guitar runs that conjure up the ghost of the late George. Elsewhere, Payne dipped into his trove of songwriting collaborations with the late Robert Hunter, emerging with “Bluegrass Pines,” a kind of New Orleans-flavored tango featuring guests Molly Tuttle, Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams that has nary a shred of bluegrass woven into it despite the title. It all allows for even more eclectic song choices fans can expect from the Little Feat set lists on this tour.
“We’re going to play a couple of songs from Sam’s Place along with classic Little Feat songs people expect to hear,” Payne said. “And then we’ll play some songs off of Strike Up the Band. A fourth pillar or leg in this thing is to have a deeper dive into our catalog. There are so many songs we don’t play and Scott is a real champion of that, as am I. I’ve always wanted to play more songs than less in terms of what we have at our disposal. And I don’t mean more songs necessarily in the set. I think another part where Little Feat really shines is being able to construct songs and insert jams into them.”
Little Feat plays at 8pm on June 13 at the Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. Tickets: $65/$95 Gold Circle available at pulseproductions.net.
Christopher Moore’s latest New York Times best-seller, Anima Rising, is his 19th novel. And it is not better or worse than those that came before, but is an equally unique, brilliant work of art. Yet, that doesn’t really get to the kernel, or near the sum of the totality, of Moore’s prolific output.
In other words, it’s difficult to dovetail Moore into a distinct category. Bookstores and libraries hinge on this kind of ill-conceived convenience, but sometimes it even works in an author’s favor. “I was lucky to be shelved with general fiction rather than with genre fiction,” says Moore from his home in San Francisco. “I think it’s helped my career more than anything. I might have perished if I had been put on the dragons and elves shelves. And while certainly some of my books would fit there, I think that the books gained a wider audience because I wasn’t.”
If you search AI, as if you have a choice, Moore’s work, his oeuvre, if you will, is readily processed as absurdist fiction, which is absurd. That is, if you know anything about absurdism in literature, which apparently AI and reviewers do not, but Moore does.
“That’s just a symptom of people not being able to really pigeonhole me,” Moore says. “So they use that as a term. I don’t reject it, and I don’t adopt it. If you look at the real absurdists, like Alfred Jarry, from the turn of the century, and stuff like that, I don’t fit into that genre.”
So where does Moore fit in? In my opinion, Christopher Moore is one of America’s not-sung-enough, top-tier “absurdist fiction” writers. Following the footprints in the Isles sand of British writers like Terry Pratchett, who sadly passed in 2015, and Neil Gaiman, who has been unceremoniously dethroned, and beloved American author Tom Robbins, who left us earlier this year, it’s time for Moore to take the heavyweight title. And his latest, Anima Rising is a contender for the crown.
Imagine Vienna in 1911. It’s a heady time. Gustav Klimt, painter of such well-known beatific, glimmering paintings as The Kiss, is very happy, holed up in his studio, with models both ethereal and oddly supernatural.
Klimt by all accounts is a kind man, who loves life, though many details shared in Anima Rising come from inference. “Klimt didn’t write about, or talk about, his art or his life. And so everything had to be gleaned from other people’s impressions of him. Fortunately, there are a lot of photos of him, having fun with his friends and so forth.That informed how I created the character and fleshed him out. It was a disadvantage that he wasn’t analytical about his own work and when asked about it, he said ‘everything you need to know about me, you can get by looking at my paintings. And the only thing I’m interested in is people, and specifically women, and that’s that.’ The character that I wrote makes Klimt seem like a very affable guy who enjoys life. Vibrant,” Moore says.
As you learn, in Moore’s sage afterword, Vienna at the turn of the century was a “genius cluster,” chock full of wildly influential couch doctors like Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, symphonic gurus like Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss, and a host of (soon to be) renowned architects, (evil) world leaders, and of course artists. It’s in this landscape Moore composed one his most laugh-out-loud funniest books, and true to form, brimming with a Mandelbrot of smaller characters.
This seamless blend of unique historical people and factoids comes, mostly, from the exceptional imagination of Moore. Even the minor characters resonate with an observable humanity, rarely given the detail, in such short passages, in any modern literature. “I had a good teacher, who basically emphasized that all good writing, all good fiction, was going to be based on character. And so I always pay attention to that, even if the character only has a few lines. I polished and learned [how to do this] when I was writing Lamb [2002] because there are twelve apostles, and probably four or five that don’t even have a line in the Gospels. They don’t say a word. They’re just names. I had to create everything else from that,” Moore relates.
For Moore fans, there are burning questions about a sequel to Lamb (not going to happen), and when a film adaptation is coming for any of the 19 novels. And maybe that transference of novel to screen is just what might push Moore into the center of the attention economy—but will fans be happy with cinematic adaptations of their still-underground favorite bestseller’s novels?
Don’t worry, fans—Moore knows what he’s doing. “You are either going to take the money and give up control, or you’re not going to take the money,” Moore dispenses. “The decision is made on the day that you do it. Am I happy that Disney has shelved my first novel (Practical Demonkeeping) for 35 years? Nope. Was I happy to go from being a waiter to a full-time writer overnight? Absolutely. And those are the kind of decisions that I’ll have to make when the opportunities come.”
Christopher Moore speaks at 7pm on June 17 at London Nelson Community Center, 301 Center St, Santa Cruz. Tickets: $37–$47 (includes book) at bookshopsantacruz.com.
THANKFUL FOR MOORE Christopher Moore reads from his latest novel at the London Nelson Center, June 17.
Your definition of home is due for revamping, deepening and expansion. Your sense of where you truly belong is ripe to be adjusted and perhaps even revolutionized. A half-conscious desire you have not previously been ready to fully acknowledge is ready for you to explore. Can you handle these subtly shocking opportunities? Do you have any glimmerings about how to open yourself to the revelations that life would love to offer you about your roots, your foundations, and your prime resources? Here are your words of power: source and soul.
TAURUS April 20-May 20
Do you have any frustrations about how you express yourself or create close connections? Are there problems in your ability to be heard and appreciated? Do you wish you could be more persuasive and influential? If so, your luck is changing. In the coming months, you will have extraordinary powers to innovate, expand and deepen the ways you communicate. Even if you are already fairly pleased with the flow of information and energy between you and those you care for, surprising upgrades could be in the works. To launch this new phase of fostering links, affinities and collaborations, devise fun experiments that encourage you to reach out and be reached.
GEMINI May 21-June 20
I’ve always had the impression that honeybees are restless wanderers, randomly hopping from flower to flower as they gradually accumulate nectar. But I recently discovered that they only meander until they find a single good fount of nourishment, whereupon they sup deeply and make a beeline back to the hive. I am advocating their approach to you in the coming weeks. Engage in exploratory missions, but don’t dawdle, and don’t sip small amounts from many different sites. Instead, be intent on finding a single source that provides the quality and quantity you want, then fulfill your quest and head back to your sanctuary.
CANCER June 21-July 22
Let’s talk about innovation. I suspect it will be your specialty in the coming weeks and months. One form that innovation takes is the generation of a new idea, approach or product. Another kind of innovation comes through updating something that already exists. A third may emerge from finding new relationships between two or more older ways of doing things—creative recombinations that redefine the nature of the blended elements. All these styles of innovation are now ripe for you to employ.
LEO July 23-Aug. 22
Leo psychotherapist Carl Jung was halfway through his life of 85 years when he experienced the ultimate midlife crisis. Besieged by feelings of failure and psychological disarray, he began to see visions and hear voices in his head. Determined to capitalize on the chaotic but fertile opportunity, he undertook an intense period of self-examination and self-healing. He wrote in journals that were eventually published as The Red Book: Liber Novus. He emerged healthy and whole from this trying time, far wiser about his nature and his mission in life. I invite you to initiate your own period of renewal in the coming months, Leo. Consider writing your personal Red Book: Liber Novus.
VIRGO Aug. 23-Sept. 22
In the coming weeks, you will have chances to glide deeper than you have previously dared to go into experiences, relationships and opportunities that are meaningful to you. How much bold curiosity will you summon as you penetrate further than ever before into the heart of the gorgeous mysteries? How wild and unpredictable will you be as you explore territory that has been off-limits? Your words of power: probe, dive down, decipher.
LIBRA Sept. 23-Oct. 22
When traditional Japanese swordsmiths crafted a blade, they wrapped hard outer layers around a softer inner core. This strategy gave their handiwork a sharp cutting edge while also imbuing it with flexibility and a resistance to breakage. I recommend a similar approach for you, Libra. Create balance, yes, but do so through integration rather than compromise. Like the artisans of old, don’t choose between hardness and flexibility, but find ways to incorporate both. Call on your natural sense of harmony to blend opposites that complement each other.
SCORPIO Oct. 23-Nov. 21
Scorpio journalist Martha Gelhorn (1908–1998) was an excellent war correspondent. During her six decades on the job, she reported on many of the world’s major conflicts. But she initially had a problem when trying to get into France to report on D-Day, June 6, 1945. Her application for press credentials was denied, along with all those of other women journalists. Surprise! Through subterfuge and daring, Gelhorn stowed away on a hospital ship and reached France in time to report on the climactic events. I counsel you to also use extraordinary measures to achieve your goals, Scorpio. Innovative circumspection and ethical trickery are allowed. Breaking the rules may be necessary and warranted.
SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22-Dec. 21
My spirit guides enjoy reminding me that breakthrough insights and innovations may initially emerge not as complete solutions, but as partial answers to questions that need further exploration. I don’t always like it, but I listen anyway, when they tell me that progress typically comes through incremental steps. The Sagittarian part of my nature wants total victory and comprehensive results NOW. It would rather not wait for the slow, gradual approach to unfold its gifts. So I empathize if you are a bit frustrated by the piecemeal process you are nursing. But I’m here to say that your patience will be well rewarded.
CAPRICORN Dec. 22-Jan. 19
“Sometimes I’ve got to pause and relax my focused striving, because that’s the only way my unconscious mind can work its magic.” My Capricorn friend Alicia says that about her creative process as a novelist. The solution to a knotty challenge may not come from redoubling her efforts but instead from making a strategic retreat into silence and emptiness. I invite you to consider a similar approach, Capricorn. Experiment with the hypothesis that significant breakthroughs will arrive when you aren’t actively seeking them. Trust in the fertile void of not-knowing. Allow life’s meandering serendipity to reveal unexpected benefits.
AQUARIUS Jan. 20-Feb. 18
Are you interested in graduating to the next level of love and intimacy? If so, the coming weeks will be a favorable time to intensify your efforts. Life will be on your side if you dare to get smarter about how to make your relationships work better than they ever have. To inspire your imagination and incite you to venture into the frontiers of togetherness, I offer you a vivacious quote from author Anais Nin. Say it to your favorite soul friend or simply use it as a motivational prayer. Nin wrote, “You are the fever in my blood, the tide that carries me to undiscovered shores. You are my alchemist, transmuting my fears into wild, gold-spun passion. With you, my body is a poem. You are the labyrinth where I lose and find myself, the unwritten book of ecstasies that only you can read.”
PISCES Feb. 19-March 20
What deep longing of yours is both fascinating and frustrating? To describe it further: It keeps pushing you to new frontiers yet always eludes complete satisfaction. It teaches you valuable life lessons but sometimes spoofs you and confuses you. Here’s the good news about this deep longing, Pisces: You now have the power to tap into its nourishing fuel in unprecedented ways. It is ready to give you riches it has never before provided. Here’s the “bad” news: You will have to raise your levels of self-knowledge to claim all of its blessings. (And of course, that’s not really bad!)
Homework: What mediocre satisfaction could you give up to make room for a more robust satisfaction? Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com
Storytellers Ray Vietti and Alex Salcido have been weaving together tales from the heart in their Americana group The Harmed Brothers for over a decade. City mouse Salcido, from Los Angeles, and country mouse Vietti, from Missouri, found a soulful kinship and have created a sound that spans across American highways and byways. Weathered harmonies, yearning strings, and warm, organic finger-plucking fill the air as they sing of heartbreak, redemption, and the journey down this road we call life. SHELLY NOVO
For the last thirty years, Suga Free has been killing it, from rocking house parties and clubs to earning guest spots with A-listers Xzibit and Snoop Dogg, as well as working with Bay Area legends E-40, Mac Dre, and the one-and-only Too Short. In addition to his impressive list of guest spots, the hard-working rapper has also managed to crank out seven studio albums of his own, cracking the Hot 100 with 2004’s The New Testament (The Truth). His style is laid-back while simultaneously rapid-fire, tongue-in-cheek, and all his own. KEITH LOWELL JENSEN
INFO: 9pm, Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $32. 713-5492.
COMEDY
DEFLATING FASCISM
There is a new crisis every day. It’s important to laugh during these uncertain times. To push back against the current administration, Bay Area sketch comedy troupe Dangerous Neighbors returns to Santa Cruz with a new satire called Deflating Fascism. The show combines absurdist humor, political satire, and live music into a single night of entertainment. See what happens when DOGE social security cuts hit the local chess club or when “real Americans” do jobs previously done by immigrants. All the proceeds go to Indivisible Santa Cruz, which is actively defending democracy. There are performances on June 13, 14, 20, and 21. ISABELLA MARIE SANGALINE
INFO: 8pm, SC Actors’ Theatre, 1001 Center St., Santa Cruz. $20. 431-8666.
SATURDAY 6/14
INDIE
TUNE-YARDS
There is a certain wizardry to Tune-Yards, not just in the duo’s technical choices, but in the eclectic, otherworldly sound they’ve created by incorporating synth, ukulele, syncopated inflection, and diverse, infectious rhythms. Their newest record, Better Dreaming, invites the listener to leave everything on the dance floor, with raw energy and lyrics that call for collective action and to dare to dream of an anti-fascist future. Tune-Yards’ focus on collective joy and dance floor liberation delivers an undeniably powerful live experience. SN
After opening the Several Paths Together photo exhibit earlier this month for First Friday, Indexical is proud to present the artist in a different light. Bill Gomberg, the San Francisco artist behind the photography, is also a renowned musician, whose experimental range is as diverse as one would expect. From synthesizers to acoustic location recordings to digital beats, Gomberg embraces it all and delivers his music with as much soul and intention as his photography. This particular set will most likely embrace the beauty and aura of Several Paths Together, which showcases 10 photographs of the same locations around the Bay Area during different times of the day and seasons. MAT WEIR
INFO: 8:30pm, Indexical, 1050 River St., Studio #119, Santa Cruz. $16. (509) 627-9491.
SUNDAY 6/15
COUNTRY ROCK
ALBERT LEE BAND
When it comes to country artists, Americans like to keep things homegrown. After all, who knows more about country music than someone from the country? The one exception might be British-born Albert Lee. Growing up in Blackheath, London, Lee learned how to play the piano from his musical family. When he was a young teenager, he was enamored by the rock ’n’ roll sounds of Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis, which sparked a lifelong love for rock and country music. Throughout the decades, Lee has been a “musician’s musician” playing with the likes of Eric Clapton, Emmylou Harris, Deep Purple, Willie Nelson, Rodney Crowell and Nick Lowe. MW
Starting as Mike and the Moonpies, this Austin-based country band built a local and regional following based on epic, marathon shows. The group’s 2019 album, Cheap Silver And Solid Country Gold, was recorded at Abbey Road Studios and featured the London Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, the group appeared for the first time at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry. In 2024, the band changed its name to Silverada, releasing a self-titled album that finds them moving beyond traditional country sounds and experimenting with flavors of rock and psychedelia. BILL KOPP
Tyreek McDole is a Haitian-American vocalist and a rising star in the jazz community. A native of St. Cloud, Florida, he started on percussion and trumpet before deciding to apply his rich baritone voice to his music. An Oberlin Conservatory of Music graduate, McDole studied under LaTanya Hall, Gary Bartz and Billy Hart. In 2018, he won Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Outstanding Vocalist Award at that year’s Essentially Ellington competition. In 2022, McDole won the Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition, the first male vocalist to do so in more than a decade. His fantastic debut album, Open Up Your Senses, was released on June 6. BK
INFO: 7pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $42. 427-2227.
TUESDAY 6/17
AUTHOR TALK
CHRISTOPHER MOORE
Christopher Moore’s latest book, Anima Rising, set in 1911 Vienna, promises a mad scientist, painter Gustav Klimt, and an undead woman on a journey of self-discovery. The New York Times best seller isn’t afraid to go off the deep end and take historical figures as well as his readers with him. Hear the author read parts of this madcap tale himself when Bookshop Santa Cruz brings him to the London Nelson Community Center this week for a Q&A and book signing. KLJ
INFO: 7pm, London Nelson Community Center, 301 Center St., Santa Cruz. $37. 423-0900.
A helpful thing happened this week in the heart of some of the most productive farmland in the state. On June 9, various reps from the Pajaro Valley Collaborative—a partnership of 26 nonprofit advancing health and wellness, economic mobility and civic engagement—gathered to provide context around proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), aka CalFresh in California.
As I noted here last week, SNAP works wonders in preventing hunger and medical bills, with $1 spent resulting in as much as $10.64 in health care costs averted.
It also provides a bunch of benefits for local farms and businesses, as Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau VP Peter Navarro points out.
“Santa Cruz County farms vary in size, crop and background—but they share one critical truth: They rely on stable markets, consistent labor and policies that protect the people and systems that keep them running…” he says. “If these cuts to SNAP go through, more fields will go unplanted, more food will go unharvested, more family farms will go under, and more working families will go hungry.”
Hopefully that clear-eyed wisdom helps plow through all the current noise specifically designed to distract and divide.
The one and only Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is unleashing seasonal excitement, including July 11 and July 25 “summer luau” celebrations with a nine-station tropical buffet, live music and Polynesian dancers. Then there’s free movie Fridays at 9pm, June 13–Aug. 8, with kettle corn, corndogs and taffy on offer; new-for-2025 summer long bowling passes, $22 for two games a day (though that doesn’t include shoes or weekends); and half-priced arcade games 9–11am June 16–Aug. 8; plus summer discount nights Monday–Thursday with 65% off wristbands June 16–Aug. 7. Fresh culinary partnerships with popular local purveyors also await, with Sumano Bakery laying down the sourdough for crab sandwiches, coffee savants Cat & Cloud brewing joe, Sugar Bakery doing cookies and Driscoll’s supplying the berries for fresh-juiced strawberry lemonade, beachboardwalk.com.
POURING IT ON
Venus Spirits celebrates its oldest and most flavorful whiskey to date with its third annual Pig Roast for Whiskey Folks, a “backyard-style bash” 2–6pm Saturday, June 21, at the distillery (200 High Road, Santa Cruz), with 1pm early access VIP $100 and general admission $45—and limited release of the caramel-toffee-toasted-oaky whiskey available while bottles last, vennussspirits.com…It’s across the bay, but the new Snack Shack from the same team behind neighboring Margaritaville and Pete’s in Capitola has a glorious summer thing going with smashburgers, Straus Family Creamery soft serve and Hebrew National hot dogs on Martin’s Famous potato rolls, all overlooking Lovers Point Park and Beach, snackshackloverspoint.com…Marianne’s Ice Cream is in the running for USA Today’s 10 Best nationwide, as are Marini’s Candies and Pacific Cookie Company—vote for three sweet community classics via 10best.usatoday.com…From the Wacky-or-Wack? File: Rhode Island distillery Industrious Spirit Company has debuted a Pizza Vodka macerated with herbs, spices and tomatoes, distilled, then infused with mozzarella…Ralph Waldo Emerson, take it from here: “What is a farm but a mute gospel?”
Valerie June’s quest is a spiritual journey channeling inspiration that can develop over years for a single song or poem. Valerie June brings her “organic moonshine roots music" to the Rio Theatre, June 17.
Tyreek McDole is a rising star in the jazz community, a winner of the Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Outstanding Vocalist Award and the Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition. In concert on Monday at Kuumbwa Jazz Center.
