The post rock & roll generation needs little convincing that the guitar is an instrument worth its weight in gold. It contains worlds unto itself, but the buzzsaws and the walls-of-sound, the trippy feedback loops and shoegazey swirls which no longer ring false to the modern ear can seem worlds away from the staid conservatism many associate with the world of classical music.
Articles by Juan Guzman
Jewel Theatre’s ‘Blithe Spirit’ Skewers Snobs
A specter haunts the Condomine household, but the incorporeal emanation of Charles Condomine’s first wife is the spirit with which Blithe Spirit, which plays at Center Stage through May 20, concerns itself the least. Instead we are invited to laugh at the vanity, arrogance, pretense and pomp of the English middle class.
Bassnectar’s UCSC Connection
When Lorin Ashton, better known by his stage name Bassnectar, performs at the Catalyst this Sunday and Monday, May 6-7, it will be a sort of homecoming. Since graduating, the UCSC alum has since gone on to become one of the biggest names in the electronic and digital music scene, but he remembers the city fondly as the place that nurtured his creative spirit.
The 2012 Secret Film Festival
Hundreds packed the Del Mar on Saturday night, April 14, for the Seventh Annual Secret Film Fest, a delectable 12-hour run of movies from around the world. Among the eclectic mix were Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope, Morgan Spurlock’s surprisingly poignant documentary about the annual convention of comic book geeks, and The Raid: Redemption, an Indonesian martial arts thriller wherein a rookie cop must bust out of an apartment building full of underworld thugs after a special task force mission goes horribly awry.
First Friday Art Tour Holds 100th Monthly Event
It’s hard to believe Santa Cruz will celebrate its 100th First Friday Art Tour on April 6. The tour, founded back in 2003 by intrepid artists Kirby Scudder and the single-named Chip, has since exploded into a citywide phenomenon that attracts thousands every month. “It’s far exceeded my expectations,” says Scudder.
Jewish Film Festival: Week Two
The Santa Cruz Jewish Film Festival continues this weekend with screenings of films by and about Jews. On Sunday, 100 Voices follows a group of American hazzan, or Jewish cantors, as they travel on mission to Warsaw’s Grand Theatre, Poland’s grandest opera house, where they will perform a concert of traditional Jewish music to a mostly non-Jewish audience. As their personal stories unfold we are confronted with a culture torn asunder by the most horrific single crime ever perpetrated against a people.
Jewish Film Fest Kicks Off
The 12th annual Jewish Film Festival kicks off its multi-weekend celebration of culture and tradition from Israel and points beyond. Here are a couple of highlights from the first weekend.
City of Santa Cruz Poised to Ban Plastic Bags, Styrofoam Sales
Plastic bags and Styrofoam are going to be scarce sights around these parts soon. On Monday, March 19, the day before a plastic bag ban went into effect in unincorporated Santa Cruz County, the city of Santa Cruz proper took steps to outlaw single-use plastic bags and the sale of polystyrene cups, coolers and peanuts. The public works commission unanimously passed the measures, paving the way for city council to vote on them.
A Student’s View
It’s 4:30am Wednesday, not yet daybreak, at the intersection of Hagar and Coolidge on the UCSC campus. Already a few dozen intrepid protesters have gathered to block access to campus from the main entrance despite the chill of dawn and undoubtedly short-circuited sleep cycles. Soon word comes from the other entrances: they have been effectively blocked, and the protesters have their first victory before the sun has even appeared on the horizon.
Debate on Desal and Growth Coming to Head
Stormy seas lie ahead for proponents of the city’s plan to build a desalination plant, and the name of the thunderhead is UC-Santa Cruz. On March 7, the Santa Cruz County Local Agency Formation (LAFCO) decides whether or not to extend water rights for the university’s proposed expansion into the North Campus natural reserve area.
