Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

Throughout history, humanity has created rituals and celebrations that reflect the different seasons. The rituals mirror, indicate and signify the different aspects of light and dark, allowing humanity to maintain a rhythm with nature, the heavens, past, present and future and with each other. Lent (from “lencten”—when days lengthen), just before spring, is one of those ritual times. Lent begins this Wednesday. Lent is 40 days and 40 nights of purification preparing us for spring, Easter, resurrection, and the Aries Spring Festival.

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, a ritual of reminding us that we are spiritual beings clothed (temporarily) in form and matter. The Ash Wednesday ritual—the priest places a cross of ashes (made from burned palms) on the forehead (Ajna center, third eye, place of spiritual direction) of parishioners while saying the words, “From dust thou art (you were made) and unto dust thou shalt return.”  These words remind us that the body, made of matter, will return to the Earth. However, within our body (within each cell) the Spirit of God dwells—the spark of Life, the Light of Life, the Pisces Light, that saves the world. During Lent, preparing for the new life of spring, we cleanse, purify, change habits, and prepare to make ourselves new.

Thursday Jupiter opposes Uranus (Libra/Aries). Oppositions tell us things new and expansive are appearing and we must not resist, but accept and integrate them. They are the new Aquarian energies coming forth, the template of the new world. We are told those who resist will be left behind. Venus turns stationary retrograde early Saturday morning, retrograding through April 15. More on Lent and Venus retrograde next week.  


ARIES: You begin to look at your professional and social self, abilities and successes in different and more powerful ways. This will have a long time effect in your life. People around you also see a difference. A capacity of healing comes forth and you achieve what you have hoped and wished and worked hard for. You will be responsible for the collective transformation of the world at some time. For now, you’re in training.

TAURUS: New ideas, philosophies, journeys, cultures all become important. Some Taureans consider moving to a simpler way of life. Some consider a monastery. And others to a place of higher learning. Some become teachers and professors of philosophies that support the new culture and civilization and future communities. Step into your visions. They are your future.

GEMINI: It is good to make a study of life’s transitions, of death, the bardos, rebirth, reincarnation and all that occurs when we have completed a life on Earth. Understanding life after death has a lasting and hopeful effect on daily lives. Realizing there actually is no death, but only a continuation of life in a different realm. A good book to review is The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche.

CANCER: A transformation on how you perceive other people and the world around you is occurring. There’s a new sensitivity and the need to have deeper interactions and cultivate new associations. As you do this more and more those you allow into your life will begin to recognize you as valuable and as a mentor. You are to assist in the collective evolution of all of humanity. Cancer is the womb that nurtures all new life. You become a “relater.”

LEO: You recognize new levels of awareness concerning your health and well-being, ways to better live daily life and how to serve yourself first in order to then turn and adequately serve others. It’s important to rise with the dawn’s light, to stand in the morning and evening light. It’s also important when one eats, what one eats, and the pure water one drinks in order to keep the body functioning electrically. Then healing occurs.

VIRGO: What creativity means for you and your ability to bring your creative self forth is important for you now. It’s essential to visualize and to know its value. Visualization is in reality the etheric externalization of our creative imagination. Ponder upon this statement. You are to identify yourself as creative and to share all creations and inspirations with the various kingdoms around you. You are their inspiration.

LIBRA: There is a transforming quality that occurs when we nurture ourselves. The ability to nurture others unfolds. But first we must feel cared for and nurtured within the self. You’re very able to provide the nurturing you need and tend to your wounds (feelings of not being nurtured). Then you’re able to offer nurturing towards others (family, friends, home). You can “build a lighted house for all to dwell in and to be nourished.”

SCORPIO: Your communication has been transforming self and others and it will continue. New and innovative thinking and ideas flow through your mind, into your communication and they change all those around you. There will be a capacity to disseminate information that supports a personal—then a collective—transformation. You, having been silent, hidden and quiet, actually become the communicator.

SAGITTARIUS: Security and material wealth are important powerful themes in your life. Your world is often seen through the lens of these two needs. It’s important now and in times to come to secure, maintain and expand your resources so that you have a safe future. It’s important to use your resources to expand the collective, to provide for not only yourself but also those in need. You become the gift giver. Think precious metals.

CAPRICORN: A new identity, a new perception of self, perhaps even your appearance and how you present yourself to the world is slowly changing and will have long and lasting effects. Capricorns are constantly in leadership training. Presently there’s a deep and profound self-development, a sense of personal power and a taking control of one’s life. Eventually all things hidden within emerge into the light of day.

AQUARIUS: It’s important to take care of your health each day. To follow all laws and obey all rules. It’s good to pursue yoga, prayer and meditation, offer acts of goodwill at all times, forgive and ask for forgiveness, be kind and develop compassion. Prepare for a cycle of change to occur and remember to value the spiritual essence of each individual.

PISCES: There is a need to focus on one’s hopes, wishes and dreams. You feel the need for community, for friendships wide and deep and spacious. An unexpected change has occurred in relationship to friends, groups and colleagues. You seek to transform the world in ways not thought of before. Create a journal of ideas. Move forward on these impressions. Ask for help implementing them. All that we ask for, appears. Eventually.

 

Rob Brezsny’s Astrology March 1—7

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): I predict that you will have earned the title of Master Composter no later than March 26. Not necessarily because you will have packed your food scraps, wilted flowers, coffee grounds, and shredded newspapers in, say, a deluxe dual-chamber tumbling compost bin. But rather because you will have dealt efficiently with the rotting emotions, tattered habits, decrepit melodramas, and trivial nonsense that has accumulated; you will have worked hard to transform all that crap into metaphorical fertilizer for your future growth. Time to get started!

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): It’s a good time for you to wield your emotional intelligence with leadership and flair. The people you care about need more of your sensitive influence. Any posse or tribe you’re part of will benefit from your thoughtful intervention. So get out there and build up the group morale, Taurus. Assert your healing ideals with panache. Tamp down the insidious power of peer pressure and fashionable nonsense. You have a mandate to wake up sleepy allies and activate the dormant potential of collective efforts.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): If you were ever in your life going to be awarded an honorary Ph.D. from a top university, it would happen in the next few weeks. If there were even a remote possibility that you would someday be given one of those MacArthur Fellowship “genius” grants, now would be the time. Likewise, if you had any hopes of being selected as one of “The World’s Sexiest Chameleons” or “The Fastest, Sweetest Talkers on Earth” or “The Planet’s Most Virtuoso Vacillators,” the moment has arrived. And even if none of those things happen, I’m still pretty sure that your reputation and status will be on the rise.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You’re wandering into places you’ve always thought you should be wary of or skeptical about. Good for you! As long as you protect your innocence, I encourage you to keep exploring. To my delight, you have also been fantasizing about accomplishments that used to be off-limits. Again, I say: Good for you! As long as you don’t overreach, I invite you to dream boldly, even brazenly. And since you seem to be in the mood for big thinking, here are other revolutionary activities to consider: dissolving nonessential wishes; transcending shrunken expectations; escaping the boring past; busting irrelevant taboos.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I did a good job of raising my daughter. She turned out to be a thoughtful, intelligent adult with high integrity and interesting skills. But I’m not sure my parenting would have been as effective if I’d had more kids. I discussed this issue with Nathan, a guy I know. His six offspring are all grown up, too. “How did you do it?” I asked him. “Having just one child was a challenging job for me.” “I’ll tell you my secret,” Nathan told me. “I’m a bad father. I didn’t work very hard on raising my kids. And now they never let me forget it.” In the coming weeks and months, Leo, I recommend that you pursue my approach in your chosen field, not Nathan’s. Aim for high-quality intensity rather than scattershot quantity.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In her poem “Not Anyone Who Says,” Virgo writer Mary Oliver looks down on people who declare, “I’m going to be careful and smart in matters of love.” She disparages the passion of anyone who asserts, “I’m going to choose slowly.” Instead she champions those who are “chosen by something invisible and powerful and uncontrollable and beautiful and possibly even unsuitable.” Here’s my response: Her preferred formula sounds glamorous and dramatic and romantic—especially the powerful and beautiful part. But in practice it rarely works out well—maybe just 10 percent of the time—mostly because of the uncontrollable and unsuitable part. And now is not one of those times for you, Virgo. Be careful and smart in matters of love, and choose slowly.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): The poet Rainer Maria Rilke bemoaned the fact that so many of us “squander our sorrows.” Out of self-pity or lazy self-indulgence, we wallow in memories of experiences that didn’t turn out the way we wished they would have. We paralyze ourselves with repetitions of depleting thoughts. Here’s an alternative to that approach: We could use our sadness and frustrations to transform ourselves. We could treat them as fuel to motivate our escape from what doesn’t work, to inspire our determination to rise above what demoralizes and demeans us. I mention this, Libra, because now is an excellent time to do exactly that.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): It’s time for the Bliss Blitz—a new holiday just for you Scorpios. To celebrate it properly, get as buoyant as you dare; be greedy for euphoria; launch a sacred quest for pleasure. Ah, but here’s the big question: Can you handle this much relief and release? Are you strong enough to open yourself to massive outbreaks of educational delight and natural highs? Some of you may not be prepared. You may prefer to remain ensconced in your protective sheath of cool cynicism. But if you think you can bear the shock of unprecedented exaltation and jubilation, then go ahead and risk it. Experiment with the unruly happiness of the Bliss Blitz.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In his book The Horologicon, Mark Forsyth gathered “obscure but necessary” words that he dug out of old dictionaries. One of his discoveries is a perfect fit for you right now. It’s “snudge,” a verb that means to walk around with a pensive look on your face, appearing to be busy or in the midst of productive activity, when in fact you’re just goofing off. I recommend it for two reasons: 1. It’s important for your mental and physical health that you do a lot of nothing; that you bless yourself with a healing supply of refreshing emptiness. 2. It’s important for your mental and physical health that you do this on the sly as much as possible; that you avoid being judged or criticized for it by others.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I wish your breakfast cereal came in boxes decorated with Matisse and Picasso paintings. I wish songbirds would greet you each morning with sweet tunes. I wish you’d see that you have more power than you realize. I wish you knew how uniquely beautiful you are. I wish you’d get intoxicated with the small miracles that are happening all around you. I wish that when you made a bold move to improve your life, everyone greeted it with curiosity and excitement. And I wish you would let your imagination go half-wild with fascinating fantasies during this, the Capricorn wishing season.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “You’re a different human being to everybody you meet,” says novelist Chuck Palahniuk. Now is an excellent time to contemplate the intricacies and implications of that amazing truth—and start taking better advantage of how much freedom it gives you. Say the following statements out loud and see how they feel: 1. “My identity isn’t as narrowly circumscribed as I think it is.” 2. “I know at least 200 people, so there must be at least 200 facets to my character.” 3. “I am too complicated to be completely comprehended by any one person.” 4. “Consistency is overrated.”

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Your immediate future is too good to be true. Or at least that’s what you, with your famous self-doubt, might be inclined to believe if I told you the truth about the favorable developments that are in the works. Therefore, I have come up with some fake anxieties to keep your worry reflex engaged so it won’t sabotage the real goodies. Beware of dirty limericks and invisible ladders and upside-down rainbows and psychic bunny rabbits. Be on guard against accountants wearing boxing gloves and clowns singing Broadway show tunes in runaway shopping carts and celebrities telling you classified secrets in your dreams.


Homework: What’s the best surprise you could give yourself right now? Testify at freewillastrology.com.

Opinion February 22, 2017

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EDITOR’S NOTE

I wish things were a little bit different for this week’s Surf Issue. Admittedly, we had a little bit of fun at Cartel Management’s expense last year when writing about how they bungled the addition of a women’s heat to the Titans of Mavericks surf contest planned for this year. But we were genuinely excited to see the results, and disappointed when the legendary big-wave surf contest was cancelled for 2017. So perhaps it’s a bit of wish fulfillment on our part to feature Santa Cruz’s Sarah Gerhardt in this year’s Surf Issue, since she was scheduled to compete in that first-ever women’s heat. But the truth is, we’d be happy to tell Gerhardt’s story any year. She has a great one, having been the first woman to surf Mavericks, back in 1999. In her interview with Jacob Pierce, she shares an interesting take on the developments this year, as well as some first-person perspective on the thrill of surfing big waves.

Something new for our Surf Issue this year is a story with more of a historical focus—but then, when it’s the crazy history of Jack O’Neill launching hot air balloons from Santa Cruz beaches, we can hardly be expected to resist. And we’ve also profiled the important work that local marine-eco group Save the Waves is doing around the world. It’s a great line-up, and as usual, a fun issue for those of us putting it together. We hope it’s just as much fun for you.

STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Read the latest letters to the editor here.

Wild Edge

Re: Green Screening (GT, 2/1): While city leaders are working on a Draft Parks Master Plan, they’re simultaneously crafting a Draft EIR for a development which could destroy a de facto park.

Ocean Street Extension, which stretches beyond city boundaries, provides city and county residents with quiet refuge immediately after turning off at the cemetery. The rural, bottlenecked street, once called “Italian Gardens,” is lush with organic farms, leading into redwood forest and access to the San Lorenzo River. For obvious reasons, the street is utilized regularly by joggers, walkers and cyclists from beyond the immediate neighborhood. For many of these visitors, the area adjacent to the cemetery is the jumping-off point (i.e., parking) while others utilize it simply as a quick pullout point to make phone calls or eat lunch in their vehicles—PG&E, Davey Tree, Xfinity and other commercial vehicles are frequently seen there. This spot is also crucial for overflow parking during funeral services with large attendance, such as occurred with the services for the slain SCPD officers several years ago.

So, what’s the threat? A proposal for 10 three-story buildings in a 40 unit condo-complex on the hillside next to the crematory, of which only 15 percent will be “affordable.” Parking along the cemetery would become severely limited and will create new hazards for pedestrians and cyclists. The development is not along a city traffic corridor. There is no bus service. The bike lane? Gone, in order to squeeze in a dangerous new intersection with an extended turn lane; Graham Hill Road commuters, take note.

The deer that graze on that hillside know where the wild edge is. Tell our city leaders that you know too. All too often, we don’t know what we’ve got ’til it’s gone.

Teresa Aquino

Santa Cruz

Null and Voids

My response to your cover story on young “culinary masterminds” (GT, 2/15) was disbelief that Santa Cruz diners are craving chicken feet or offal. What would most likely be more welcome would be some or all of the following:  a good Spanish restaurant, a good Vietnamese restaurant, a good New Orleans restaurant (a step beyond the casual Roux Dat), a Peruvian restaurant, and most of all a real New York-style deli. Someone please fill these voids.  

Judi Riva

Santa Cruz

Friendly Fire

Strange that our new president is demonizing NATO and insulting our allies. Shortly after 9/11, I saw a televised interview; it was a German pilot and his international crew describing the protective patrols that he and his team were flying over the Golden Gate Bridge. Our NATO allies were flying protective missions on the West Coast (and, I assume, on the East Coast, as well). Do we really want to disrespect our NATO alliances?

Shirley Marcus  

Capitola

CORRECTION

GT’s story “Uncommon Ground” reported that Debora Wade filed a temporary restraining order against her neighbor Micah Posner. It should have also reported that a judge threw the restraining order out and ordered Wade to pay $500 toward Posner’s legal fees. We regret the omission.


PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

Submit to [email protected]. Include information (location, etc.) and your name. Photos may be cropped. Preferably, photos should be 4 inches by 4 inches and minimum 250dpi.


GOOD IDEA

OPEN ART
Robbie Schoen, director of the Felix Kulpa Gallery on Elm Street, suffered a massive stroke on Friday, Feb. 10. Fans and friends of Schoen have raised $25,000 so far through an online fund to support Schoen’s rehab. In the past few days, he has been talking and following simple directions. For updates and to give, visit youcaring.com/robbiesrehab. Donors can also bring or mail checks into any location of Santa Cruz County Bank.


GOOD WORK

LIGHT ON INJUSTICE
A candlelit vigil at Watsonville Plaza on Sunday, Feb. 19, marked the 75th anniversary of the President Franklin Roosevelt’s executive order to send Japanese Americans to internment camps. Speakers included Mas Hashimoto from the Watsonville-Santa Cruz Japanese American Citizens League, Mayor Oscar Rios, Police Chief David Honda and Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo. 135 people attended the Presidents’ Day weekend event.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“If you look at the media coverage and surfing magazines, the one thing that really stands out is how hard it is to find a photo of a girl in a magazine, unless it’s an ad. It’s kind of strange.”

-Lisa Andersen

What do you think of the dating scene in Santa Cruz?

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“It’s great! If you are willing to put it out there, people are willing to accept you.”

Jonathan Stern

Santa Cruz
Farmer

“It’s an absolute mess. With Tinder and online dating, I feel like all men are very distracted. I am old-school, and I think chivalry should not be dead. ”

Roxann Burdick

Santa Cruz
Cosmetologist/Salon Owner

“You’ve got to be a gentleman. The guys today are expecting too much, they’re entitled.”

Jason Burdick

Santa Cruz
Business Owner

“I made a system. One tap means ‘he’s all yours.’ Double-tap means ‘leave him alone.’ Triple-tap means ‘I’m spun out on that guy. Don’t touch him!’”

Michelle Wilczynski

Santa Cruz
RN

“Drier than the Sahara desert.”

Kicksaw

Santa Cruz
Research Assistant

Santa Cruz Music Picks Feb 22—28

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WEDNESDAY 2/22

EXPERIMENTAL

BADBADNOTGOOD

A trio of nerdy jazz kids geeking out on hip-hop doesn’t exactly scream “winning recipe for band.” At least, that’s what a panel of music instructors thought when Canadian three-piece BadBadNotGood submitted some jazz renditions of Odd Future songs for a college project. As fate would have it, Odd Future ringleader Tyler, the Creator felt differently. He helped make the group indie darlings after hearing some of these tunes. With the later addition of a sax player, the four-piece has managed to experiment its way through some of the most fascinating genre-anarchistic pieces to come from just about any young band working these days. AARON CARNES

INFO: 8:30 p.m. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $22/adv, $25/door. 429-4135.

 

THURSDAY 2/23

JAZZ

MIGUEL ZENON

As a founding member of the SFJazz Collective, MacArthur “Genius” Fellow Miguel Zenon has spent a good deal of time in the Bay Area over the past decade. But the Puerto Rican alto saxophonist and composer doesn’t often get a chance to perform out with his blazing New York band. Featuring Venezuelan pianist Luis Perdomo, Austrian bassist Hans Glawischnig, and Puerto Rican drummer Henry Cole, the ensemble has mastered Zenon’s buoyant mélange of folkloric Puerto Rican forms and post-bop vocabulary. While he’s focused on big-concept multimedia projects in recent years, Zenon designed his stellar new album Tipico as a showcase for his prodigious bandmates. ANDREW GILBERT

INFO: 7 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $25/adv, $30/door. 427-2227.

REGGAE/WORLD

J BOOG

Jerry “J Boog” Afemata, a reggae singer of Samoan descent, was born in Long Beach and raised in Compton, California. Steeped in Samoan culture and as the son of a Samoan chief, Afemata was nicknamed “Boog” by his siblings because he could never sit still for long. The artist has shuffled back and forth most of his life, living and traveling between Hawaii and California nonstop since the release of his debut album Hear Me Roar in 2007. He’ll be sharing the stage with Bob Marley’s 23-year-old grandson Jo Mersa Marley, as well as Jemere Morgan and Westafa. KATIE SMALL

INFO: 9 p.m. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $30/adv, $35/door. 429-4135.

 

FRIDAY 2/24

SOUL

SOUNDCHECK

One reason small clubs exist is that all big, mind-blowing bands start out as small, not-quite-blowing-your-mind-yet groups. Soul Journey Ent. is a local organization committed to fostering the talents of Santa Cruz’s untapped, soulful talents, and Soundcheck is the culmination of those efforts. The groups performing at Soundcheck run the gamut from soul to funk to hip-hop to reggaetón. The event features Mark London (solo debut), DJ Monk Early, Play P and the Prince, and 2 Fly Music Grp. Keeping the evening flowing is funnyman MC Mean Dean, who’ll be playing master of ceremony. AC

INFO: 9 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $12/adv, $15/door. 429-6994.

 

FRIDAY 2/24-SUNDAY 2/26

RAGTIME/JAZZ

SANTA CRUZ RAGTIME FESTIVAL

A lively take on the jigs and marches played by African-American bands in the late 19th century, ragtime served as a high-energy, syncopated bridge between John Philip Sousa and the dawn of jazz. The Santa Cruz Ragtime Festival celebrates all things ragtime, including its favorite son, Scott Joplin, with a multi-venue, multi-genre event showcasing the area’s stylists working to bring the once-beloved sound back into popularity. This year’s lineup features Elliott Adams, Ramona Baker, Andrew Barrett, Michael Chisholm, Danny Coots, Kylan DeGhetaldi and many more, and takes place at spots throughout Santa Cruz, including Calvary Church and Parish Hall, Lúpulo Craft Beer House, Woodstock’s Pizza, and the sidewalks of Pacific Avenue. CJ

INFO: 12 p.m. Friday-4 p.m. Sunday. Various locations. $25-$90. Information: santacruzragtime.com

 

SATURDAY 2/25

ROCK/BLUES

BONNIE RAITT

At the inaugural Santa Cruz American Music Festival in 2015, Bonnie Raitt did what she does best: play rock and blues jams; tell stories about legendary artists she’s worked with throughout her career; shred her guitar as only the best blues women can; and win over fans again and again with her humor and humility. The standout moment came during her hit song, “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” a weeper about lost love. Raitt brought the largely-beer-fueled crowd to a hush and left them hanging on every heartbroken word she sang. It was grace, beauty and pain personified. CJ

INFO: 8 p.m. Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church St., Santa Cruz. $59-$101. 426-6966.

CUMBIA/AFRO-LATIN

LA MISA NEGRA

Hailing from Oakland, La Misa Negra, which means “Black Mass,” or “Black Ritual,” blends cumbia with Afro-Colombian dance music to create a high-energy party and celebration of music, dance and Afro-Caribbean culture. An audience favorite in the Bay Area, La Misa Negra boasts an irresistible rhythm section, ace horns, unforgettable accordion work and relentless groove-ability. If you’re in the mood to sweat your worries away and celebrate the beauty and power of cultural and musical fusion, don’t sleep on this one. CJ

INFO: 9 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $9/adv, $12/door. 479-1854.

 

MONDAY 2/27

SOUL

TONY LINDSAY

Best known as vocalist for legendary rock band Santana, Tony Lindsay is a Grammy-winning singer and bandleader in his own right. Born in Kingston, New York, the Bay Area performer is one of the standouts of the local soul, rock and jazz scenes. On Feb. 27, Lindsay brings his Soul Soldiers, featuring vocalists Fred Ross and Will Russ, Jr., to town to perform hits from Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers, Lou Rawls, Sam Cooke and Donny Hathaway. CJ

INFO: 7 & 9 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $25/adv, $30/door. 427-2227.

 

TUESDAY 2/28

PSYCH-ROCK

TEMPLES

Described by Clash magazine as “’60s experimentation smashing stunningly into the present day,” Temples is a four-piece indie rock band from Kettering, England. The band’s second and most recent album, Volcano, has been a huge success in Europe, and takes the group’s catchy psych-pop to a new level of craftsmanship. While lead singer James Bagshaw’s vocals are reminiscent of MGMT and the Shins, a distinct, late-Beatles influence weaves throughout their songwriting and hairstyles—all four members resemble exotic plants. KS

INFO: 7 p.m. Don Quixote’s, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. $25. 335-2800.


IN THE QUEUE

DAVID WILCOX

Celebrated singer-songwriter. Wednesday at Kuumbwa

DEADPHISH ORCHESTRA

Tribute to the Grateful Dead and Phish. Friday at Moe’s Alley

STAR LA’MOAN

Gypsy swing, jazz, blues and more. Friday at Poet and Patriot

LIONEL HAMPTON

Legendary jazz vibraphonist, pianist and percussionist. Sunday at Don Quixote’s

JEFF TURNER

Hip-hop out of San Jose. Sunday at Catalyst

Giveaway: Molly’s Revenge St. Paddy’s Day Show

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Local band Molly’s Revenge has brought its unique brand of traditional Irish music to audiences in Santa Cruz and beyond for exactly 17 years this St. Patrick’s Day. A beloved act that’s working to keep Irish music alive and well, the band regularly joins forces with the Rosemary Turco Irish Dancers to create unforgettable, high-flying performances. As original member David Brewer told GT last year, the group “blasts high-energy Celtic dance music in a really lively and entertaining way.” On March 17, the show comes to Felton. Come early for corned beef and cabbage.


INFO: 8 p.m. Friday, March 17. Don Quixote’s, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. $17/adv, $20/door. 335-2800. WANT TO GO? Go to santacruz.com/giveaways before 11 a.m. on Friday, March 10 to find out how you could win a pair of tickets to the show.

Love Your Local Band: Al Frisby

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Anyone who waltzes into Aptos St. BBQ might just get a lesson in American roots music—if, that is, they see Al Frisby, who performs there every Wednesday. Frisby moved to Santa Cruz from the South in the ’90s, and has been performing ever since.

Some people know him for the satirical comedy songs he’s written, but at Aptos St. BBQ, he plays strictly old, pre-blues American roots songs. He does it on upwards of 15 instruments, one after another, from banjo and accordion to various guitars, and shakers he hands out to children. Some aren’t even instruments, technically, like a plastic bag used for percussion.

“I surround myself with a big arsenal of instruments,” says Frisby. “I’m very grateful for places that employ me that see there’s magic in supporting this old type of music. They could just hire a guy that’s playing Eagles songs. A couple riffs off of ‘Hotel California’ would probably get you more claps than I’ve got in my whole career.”

Frisby is the right man for this music. He didn’t discover it one day—he’s been surrounded by it his entire life. In fact, he didn’t originally set out to be a musician—he was quite content being a boatmaker. When he realized his gift for instrumentation, and his encyclopedic knowledge of obscure folk songs, he decided it was up to him to bring this music to the people.

“A lot of these songs that I’m doing, you’re not going to find anybody else playing them. These are the crème de la crème of the whole folk movement,” Frisby says.


INFO: 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22 and Saturday, Feb. 25. Aptos St. BBQ, 8059 Aptos St., Aptos. Free. 662-1721.

New Santa Cruz Orchard the Latest Greening Effort

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On a recent Saturday, local volunteers dug plots for a public orchard in Mike Fox Park, just off Riverside Avenue. The project is being spearheaded by the Santa Cruz Fruit Tree Project (SCFTP), the organization that led the charge to install 12 trees inside Riverside Gardens Park years ago.

The new dig began with a modest 17 people, but grew quickly. Some volunteers came with thick gardening gloves, others brought their own shovels and wheelbarrows. Within the hour, more than 50 people were busy building gopher baskets and digging plots for saplings.

“We’re hoping that over the years, people from the community will come and learn to tend the orchard and take pride and ownership in the project,” says Debora Wade, one of the committee leaders for the project.

Wade and others also hope the orchard and garden will bear fruit to feed the public, saying vacant pieces of land can be better utilized as community gardens than plots for topiary plants. The new project is a result of the SCFTP’s previous success with the Riverside Gardens Park orchard. Organizers worked with city officials to expand the idea, leading to the plan for Mike Fox Park.

Efforts to cultivate community gardens in Santa Cruz are in step with decades of community garden growth across the nation. Los Angeles County boasts more than 125 gardens within its borders, and New York City’s five boroughs have more than 600 gardens. Officially, the city of Santa Cruz manages five gardens, according to the Parks Master Plan for 2030.

Residents digging the plots at the new orchard say they were drawn by the idea of community united around shared green spaces. Robert Markstein, a 60-year-old downtown Santa Cruz resident, admits he’s a terrible gardener, despite having several fruit trees in his own backyard. He credits the rich soil in Santa Cruz for whatever success he’s had, recalling an era when the city was more orchards than dense housing.

“If we live in an area where the soil is so fertile that all you have to do is plant trees and they’ll grow, then why are we not doing that so everyone can have access to food?” asks Markstein.

But the push for community garden spaces has had its setbacks, as well. The Beach Flats Community Garden, a stone’s throw away from the new orchard, has been at the center of controversy in recent years. In 2015, the Seaside Company, which owns the land, opted not to renew the city’s lease on the plot of land. That prompted outrage from residents, which pushed the Seaside Company to preserve 60 percent of the garden through a three-year lease. It left the door open for the company and the city to discuss and negotiate the garden’s future.

In a discussion of the Parks Master Plan on Feb. 7, Santa Cruz City Manager Martín Bernal said the city would discuss keeping the garden on the existing site permanently. Officials are also surveying the neighborhood for alternative sites.

Seaside Spokesperson Kris Reyes said there were no current negotiations happening but reiterated the company’s commitment to working with the city.

As you may recall, the city has committed to finding a permanent solution to this issue, and we look forward to hearing from them regarding their ideas on how to achieve this goal in the future,” Reyes said in an email.

The city’s search for a solution to the Beach Flats dispute reflects the growing sense that it’s amenable to greener practices. Drew Glover, founder and director of the organization Project Pollinate, said the city recognizes and is beginning to support organic gardening and food justice.

But Glover points out that the community garden spaces aren’t limited to efforts from the city. Project Pollinate is partnering with community organizations to create pollinator gardens for bees, monarch butterflies and other animals.

Beyond benefitting the animals, the gardens are spaces for residents to learn about best gardening practices and for marginalized communities to access organic produce, Glover said.

“I hope the city makes it a point in the Parks Master Plan to incorporate language and plans to direct city planners to implement large plots of land as organic gardens and orchards,” Glover says.

First-Hand Stories of Standing Rock

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At this point, most locals will immediately recognize Curtis Reliford’s white-and-red truck with a trailer in tow. Hand-painted signs along the sides, it can often be found blaring songs like “Love Train” and “A Change is Gonna Come” all through town, with Reliford wearing his trademark red shirt, overalls and a straw hat pretty much wherever he goes.

Since 2005, the Santa Cruz transplant has been trekking across the country for his Follow Your Heart Action Network, delivering food, clothing and anything else he can load into his trailer. In the past 12 years, Reliford’s been on a constant road trip—a “journey of kindness,” as he calls it—visiting the Hopi Indian Reservation, victims of post-hurricane flooding in his native Louisiana and, most recently, the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota.

Reliford will host a two-hour discussion on Sunday, March 5 at the Peace United Church with Spotted Elk, who joined Reliford on his last trip to Standing Rock, a journey that took four days of driving across seven states.

Armed with warm clothes, the two men brought supplies to help the “water protectors” camped out on the front lines to try to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline.

His “missions of love” first began shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and left Reliford feeling compelled to help his brothers and sisters stuck in flooded communities with no food, water or power. During that time, he made 13 trips, delivering 8 tons of donations.

“I didn’t like the way the government was treating [New Orleans’ citizens],” he remembers. “So it was a heart-driven, adrenaline rush and wake-up call for me.”

Since then, he has delivered truckloads more of food, clothes, toys, bikes and home goods. Reliford will pick a destination and gather as much as he can through donations to Follow Your Heart Action, his 501c3. Reliford also brings whatever extra food, clothing and children’s toys he has to migrant workers in Watsonville and Monterey counties. In the past three months, he’s been a mainstay at local protests—his big truck appearing at both the November marches against President Donald Trump and the local Women’s March on Washington.

But he says politics has nothing to do with what he’s trying to do.

“I don’t want to get into politics,” he says. “It’s about a journey of kindness, a message of love and peace, and an empathy for all people. We’re here on this Earth to share, to promote joy and random acts of kindness.”


Curtis Reliford and Spotted Elk’s free discussion is at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 5 at Peace United Church. For more information about the event or how to support Reliford, visit followyourheartactionnetwork.com

Predicting the Oscars Race

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The Oscars are almost upon us; time for my yearly attempt to pretend I know anything about what Hollywood is thinking.

After last year’s #OscarsSoWhite kerfuffle, every acting category this year features at least one person of color, and four out of the nine Best Picture nominees revolve around non-white-bread protagonists. Let’s hope it’s not a temporary reaction, but a genuine trend toward equality and diversity. (Not to mention resistance to the current political climate.)

Let’s take a look at who may (or may not) go home with the gold:


BEST PICTURE La La Land. Damien Chazelle’s reinvented musical comedy is the one to beat, having already cleaned up at the pre-Oscar awards. Process out the four nominees that didn’t win nods for their directors, and it’s a five-movie race, including Hacksaw Ridge, Arrival, Moonlight, and Manchester by the Sea. I’d be just as happy if either of these last two won, but I loved La La Land, too.

BEST DIRECTOR Damien Chazelle, La La Land. He’s already been anointed by the DGA, an almost sure-fire precursor to Oscar gold. If it were up to me, I’d split the award between Chazelle—for the sheer audacity of getting a movie musical made at all—and Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) for such a smart and precise look at contemporary black lives told in such an original, unexpected way.

BEST ACTOR Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea. He doesn’t say much, but he’s definitely got the buzz at the center of this haunting drama. Actors in comedies (much less musicals) are not taken as seriously as actors in dramas, so no gold for Ryan Gosling (La La Land) or the mighty Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic). Perennial contender Denzel Washington (Fences) already has two Oscars; Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge) is the also-ran.

BEST ACTRESS Isabelle Huppert, Elle. Emma Stone (La La Land) may have some buzz, but in the pre-season accolades she’s won, she wasn’t up against Huppert. (They split the Globes for Musical/Comedy and Drama). You don’t find such gutsy roles for women of a certain age in U.S. films, and Huppert’s fearlessness onscreen and formidable career should sway Academy voters. (She’d get my vote.) Natalie Portman (Jackie), Ruth Negga (Loving), and annual nominee Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins) round out the category.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Mahershala Ali, Moonlight. This may be the Academy’s one chance to honor this much-nominated film, and Ali (my favorite) grounds the movie with his solid, charismatic presence. Upset candidate might be Dev Patel (so appealing in Lion), or maybe even the much-beloved Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water), over Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea) and Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals).

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Viola Davis, Fences. She’s already won all other awards in this category, and she’ll persist over a very strong field: Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea), Naomie Harris (Moonlight), Nicole Kidman (Lion), and Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures).

BEST SCRIPT (ORIGINAL) Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea. Lonergan so deserves it for his moving story, sophisticated storytelling, and unexpected humor. I think he’ll edge out the scriptwriters for La La Land, 20th Century Women, Hell or High Water, and The Lobster.

BEST SCRIPT (ADAPTED) Luke Davies, Lion. Just a hunch, but this is a popular movie based on an irresistible true story. It might just squeak by over the scripts for Moonlight, Arrival, Fences, and Hidden Figures.

MISC: While I don’t perceive the popular La La Land as Oscar bait in the acting or script departments, I’d be very surprised if it didn’t dance off with the gold in the music categories: Best Song (probably “City of Stars,” this being Hollywood, and all), and Best Original Score. (Although I’d give the latter to Nicholas Britell, for Moonlight—especially those edgy string interludes, as profound and immediate as a heartbeat.) Also, look for La La Land to score for Production Design and Cinematography. But it might lose out in the Best Costume race to Madeline Fontaine’s retro ’60s-chic clothing in Jackie.

The Academy Awards will be handed out Sunday, Feb. 26. If my predictions don’t pan out, I’ll be available on Monday, Feb. 27, to blame them on alternative facts.

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

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Opinion February 22, 2017

Plus Letters to the Editor

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MIguel Zenon - Santa Cruz Music
The best live music in Santa Cruz County for the week of February 22, 2017

Giveaway: Molly’s Revenge St. Paddy’s Day Show

Win tickets to Molly's Revenge at Don Quixote's on March 17 on SantaCruz.com

Love Your Local Band: Al Frisby

Al Frisby
Al Frisby is playing Wednesday, Feb. 22 and Saturday, Feb. 25 at Aptos St. BBQ

New Santa Cruz Orchard the Latest Greening Effort

Santa Cruz Fruit Tree Project
Local community garden movement bears fruit on Riverside Avenue

First-Hand Stories of Standing Rock

stories from standing rock - follow your heart action network
Local activists discuss their trip to protest site at Peace United Church

Predicting the Oscars Race

2017 Oscar Predictions - La La Land
Unlike 2016, variety and diversity highlight this year’s Oscar race
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