Massive SCMF thank yous and a suggestion on how to lessen the homeless population.
Thank You, SCMF
Re: “Santa Cruz Music Festival Makes Bold Debut”: A giant thank you to the three young men who created this incredible event. And thanks to the nine downtown venues that provided stages and the over 90 musical acts who came from all over the country. This was a music lover’s dream. Pacific Ave. was alive and giddy. The lineup for each stage was truly inspired.
Some highlights for me:
4:30 at Motiv: LittleJohn, our local house music impresario, spinning a set so advanced—multiple genres spanning over 50 years—but never once lost the most sublime groove for the young Santa Cruz glitterati.
6:35 at Kuumbwa: Roadkill Ghost Choir. Almost front row seats for this band from Florida, fronted by a longhaired shaman with a soulful voice. These guys made beautiful, haunting melodies and brought them to a wall-of-sound psychedelia. I was in love after the first 30 seconds. The beginning of the second song brought goosebumps and ended with a lonely trumpet solo that had me in tears. By the end of their set, I knew the world was going to be OK.
11:15 at the Catalyst Atrium: The Coup. Seriously heavy music, challenging the “powers that be” head on with a most electrifying performance by the band, the sensual ball-of-fire, Silk-E, and, especially, the world-class charisma and star power of Boots Riley. And who knew Boots is also one of the greatest dancers on Earth?
This Festival rocked and worked: a published program, on schedule performances, short sets, short walks, no lines, no over-packed venues, great sound production and only $30. The first time out, this event is already something to emulate. Who are these masked men and where did they get these mad skills?
Thanks again for a major cultural event in Santa Cruz history.
Mark Peabody
Santa Cruz
SCMF: Thank You
Wanted to take a minute and thank you for the great cover story on the first annual Santa Cruz Music Festival (July 10). The event made a lot of good noise, our attendance goals were met and we look forward to SCMF 2014. A big thanks for all the effort, time and energy that everyone put into SCMF 2013.
Additional thanks: The City of Santa Cruz, all of our generous sponsors, willing venues and all the people who attended the 2013 event.
Brian Crabtree
SCMF General Manager
Modest Proposal
Thanks for your ongoing coverage of the scourge of homelessness in Santa Cruz, and our iron-fisted City Council for making their best effort to drive the undesirables out of town.
Unfortunately, despite their laudable attempts to cut all services and send Santa Cruz’s finest to kick every illegal camper down the road, so far the transients don’t seem to be leaving.
We can’t just keep multiplying forever, and expecting to feed every degenerate who puts out their hand. I submit therefore a Modest Proposal for solving the problem: instead of feeding the homeless, we start eating them! I know, some of your readers may find the idea unpalatable, but I can assure you that even older homebums soften up nicely cooked slowly into a stew, or baked into a casserole.
One way or another, it’s clear that our Council has yet to solve the Homeless Question. The time for band-aid ideas like criminalizing sleeping and begging is over; what we need is a Final Solution to the problem. If the liberal vegetarian crowd won’t let us implement my proposal of Reverse Soup Kitchens, at least can we agree to fence off an area of the Pogonip for them to free-range in?
For our safety, for our kids, it’s time to take our town back!
Steve Schnaar
Santa Cruz
