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Thanks a Million
Better sit down for this one. In a time of discouraging belt-tightening, it’s a joy to be able to share breaking news of enormous generosity. The Santa Cruz Symphony is thrilled to announce a...
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Music as Memoir
By Sean Rusev Musician David Bazan, aka Pedro the Lion, is not a Santa Cruz local. Now 48, he lived here during eighth grade. Yet his recall is formidable: the enchilada sauce with the #8 at El Toro...
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Kicking Back
‘That’s the thing about country music over other genres,” Coleton Joe Tidwell says, before pausing and taking a final drag from his cigarette. As he exhales he adds the butt to a small pile he’s been...
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Philharmonik Audio
The Philharmonik, a musician currently based in Sacramento, believes that in today’s music world, there are only two paths to success. “You either have to have a plethora of talents that you .can use,...
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Cloud Free
While the hardcore punk counter-culture movement has been around for decades with bands like Black Flag and Suicidal Tendencies leading the scene in California, the genre has taken on a new swagger....
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Unsuspecting Sounds
For someone who knows nothing about Seattle sludgy doom metal band Year of the Cobra except for their recordings, it’s easy—and understandable—to assume they are a full quartet. Their songs are built...
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Love of Music
Last month, a screening of Stop Making Sense—Jonathan Demme’s 1984 Talking Heads concert film—lit up the UCSC Quarry. This weekend, Talking Heads keyboardist/guitarist Jerry Harrison joins up with...
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Electric Mud Rolls into Woodhouse Brewery on Saturday
Get ready to rock out to old-school vibes and guitar-driven originals as San Diego–based Electric Mud makes their Santa Cruz debut. Named Best Rock Band in the San Diego Music Awards, Electric Mud has...
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Rowdy Mystic
The coolest question that I could get asked is to describe the change that happens to the music when certain perches get ascended to,” says Rushadicus, aka the Cello Goblin. “Um, like metaphorical...
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It’s a Funny Country
Mighty Mike Schermer returns to town, playing Aug. 22 at Kuumbwa with guitarist Kid Andersen and vocalist Lisa “Little Baby” Andersen. All three are dropping new albums that night, and Schermer’s is a...
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Cali Crooner
When Aaron Frazer first began singing as a teenager, he was embarrassed of people hearing him practicing. “I learned to sing while listening to Black Keys albums in my ’98 Honda Civic in high school...
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Sofia Isella—from Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour to the Catalyst
Just weeks after opening for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, to a crowd of 90,000 at a sold-out Wembley Stadium in London, Sofia Isella is hitting the road on her first-ever headline tour with her first...
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Fountain of Sound
For those looking for a modern-day version of the Doors with the swagger of indie rock greats like the Strokes, consider the Growlers. The band, which started in the beach town of Dana Point in 2006...
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Sonic Explorations
Sin Nombre is a refreshingly tight-knit ensemble of seven, or eight, or nine folks who crisscross genres, change up instruments, bring in impromptu guests, improvise at every show, and make the...
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Keanu Reeves Plays Santa Cruz
In a “most excellent” display of rock, Dogstar—featuring Hollywood outsider favorite Keanu Reeves on bass—played to a sold-out Catalyst main room last night. The air was more electrified than the...
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Local DIY Label Shallow Dive Releases Benefit Compilation
“I can personally say it’s really difficult to convince people to listen to marginalized music,” Rip Florence says before taking a sip of water. “But there is an opportunity in Santa Cruz for people...
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Hanging in the Balance
“I mean, basically this is the sci-fi future,” states Clifford Dinsmore as he takes a sip of his soda water. “This is the culmination of the fictional account of what people have been warning might...
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Worldly Rhythms
Another date this could be pegged to: Oct 19 at Woodhouse The experience of watching a group of artists get together and create something raw and heartfelt is like no other. Some may go so far as to...
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Next-Gen Blues
By Bill Kopp Ally Venable is not your typical blues guitarist. At 25, she’s a seasoned veteran, having released a debut EP, Wise Man, in 2014, and following up with five albums. Venable is also a...
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Swing Shift
Cellist Pablo Casals is arguably one the greatest musicians the world has ever known. At the age of 80 he was asked why he continued to practice five hours a day. Casals answered, “Because I think I...
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