Hi friends,
So, OpenAI’s chatbot is apparently in the market for a new celebrity voice to mimic. ScarJo is so predictable. Let’s enlarge our thinking here. How about Gilbert Gottfried, Tom Waits, Fran Drescher, Kristin Chenoweth, Sam Kinison, Dame Maggie Smith, Chris Tucker … c’mon, let’s hear your ideas.
Now, on with the show.
This Just In!
Newly booked shows this week include a new date from the Preservation Hall Jazz Band at the Rio Theatre on Aug. 19. The brilliant guitarist Adrian Legg comes to the Kuumbwa Jazz Center on Sept. 16. Author Amy Stewart comes to Bookshop Santa Cruz to discuss her new book, a gift to all those who love trees, July 24. Singer-songwriter Son Little is due at Kuumbwa on Aug. 17. And the Peter Asher show at Kuumbwa originally scheduled for this weekend has been postponed and rescheduled for Oct. 6.
Be sure to check out Lookout’s carefully curated and constantly updated planning guide, Down the Line, for the staggering riches and amazing choices awaiting Santa Cruz audiences. It’s our look ahead at the best shows, concerts and events through the rest of the year at clubs, stages and venues all over the county.
Here they are, nine necessary know-abouts for the week ahead. It’s the first-weekend-of-summer B9:
New chapter for the MAH?
The Museum of Art & History in Santa Cruz will have an interesting summer, as its board of trustees launches a search for a new executive director to replace Robb Woulfe, who has announced he’ll leave most likely by the end of the year.
Largely because of the shifting position that museums generally have occupied in the larger culture, replacing a leader often means forging a new direction or vision (of re-confirming an existing one), and the MAH board is beginning its search by gathering public comment.
How can you participate? You can state your opinions in a new online survey that the museum has established, eight open-ended essay-style questions about what it is about the MAH that you like, what you might want to change, etc.
The MAH’s board chair, Jorian Wilkins, said that about half of the board — seven people — have been enlisted to serve as a search committee for a new E.D., along with a member of the museum’s staff. She said that the board has not yet determined whether it will bring in an outside consulting firm to help with the candidate search. Most of the trustees, she said, are relatively new to the board and were not involved in the previous E.D. search, in 2019.
“There’s a deep desire at this point to gain some community wisdom, and just be better informed as we go about this important work,” she said.
For well over a decade now, dating long before Woulfe’s tenure, the MAH has been at the center of a, shall we say, vigorous debate over what a museum is, who it is meant to serve and what role it’s meant to play in the community. Woulfe has to be acknowledged for his tenacity in getting the MAH through the pandemic, certainly not a job he signed up for. But, as the search for a new leader gets underway, I suspect the debate over the direction of the MAH will again roar to life. This is the central (literally so when you think of its place downtown) arts organization in this county. Let’s all make sure everyone’s voice is heard about where the MAH will lead us in the future.
Come out for Trivia Night
Q: What’s fun, centrally located, relaxing, and potentially intellectually stimulating (and also, free)? A: This is not a toughie. It’s our monthly summer Trivia Night series! I’m proud to serve as host for the third year of our summer series, which begins June 5 at the happy-hour time of 6:30 p.m. in the lovely setting of Abbott Square downtown. Then, it’s the first Wednesday of each month, through September.
Sure, we’ll do Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay stuff, but also movies, music, science, politics, anything and (almost) everything.
Just to get you warmed up, here’s a question from last year: At least four downtown Santa Cruz businesses reference 1960s pop songs in their names. What are they?
Love Me Two Times (Doors song), Good Vibrations (Beach Boys song), Pizza My Heart (“Piece of My Heart” by Janis Joplin), Go Ask Alice (a reference to Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit”). So far, my request to change the name of Lookout Santa Cruz to Spirit In the Sky has gotten nowhere.
Study up, register, and bring a few friends.
Dipper’s big moment
Congratulations to the folks at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for a spectacular fireworks display last weekend to mark the 100th anniversary of the Giant Dipper. Many locals got great shots of the fireworks over Main Beach last Saturday, none, however, better than those of Felton-based photographer Michael “Mickey” Singer.
This summer, we’ll be looking at various cultural representations and depictions of Santa Cruz’s most famous landmark, as the Boardwalk celebrates the Dipper. This week, let’s take a look at the album cover for The Mermen’s magnificent 2019 album “A Murmurous Sirenic Delirium” (try saying that one fast three times). It shows the Giant Dipper in the surf — which if ever comes to pass means the world has much bigger problems. The old roller coaster doesn’t touch the water, but you have to believe it would add a fun wrinkle to the ride.
Remembrance time
As we approach another Memorial Day, I wanted to take a moment to remember at least a couple of painfully young Santa Cruzans who sacrificed their lives in service. I had the privilege to write about the lives and careers of a few of them, including:
Soquel High School graduate Morgen Jacobs, who died in serving in Iraq in 2004, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery at the age of 20. And, Scotts Valley Marine Joey Spence, who also died in Iraq, at 24 in 2005.
Please take a moment to learn about the short lives of these courageous young men. Blessings to all the local families who lost a loved one in military service.
Earworm of the Week
In our march through pop music’s greatest duos through the decades, we’ve reached the 2000s, and yes, I have to do it. I have to wave the flag for Flight of the Conchords. Bret and Jemaine occupy a special place in my heart — maybe the only New Zealanders who have a space in that admittedly limited piece of real estate. The Conchords are comedians, yes, but darnit they’re musicians, too. And they are really the only challengers to the great Weird Al Yankovic in the criminally underpopulated genre of laugh-out-loud pop music. With these guys, of course, they themselves are always the butt of their own jokes, and they’ve mastered the art of skewering the pretensions of (self-important male) pop singers by sacrificing themselves. Love you, Bret and Jemaine. There are too many jewels in the canon to count, but let’s take a visit with the hilariously moronic “street-tough” vibe of “Think About It.”
All the Earworms in one place
For those who’ve been following my Earworm of the Week, I’ve assembled a playlist that contains them all.
That’s all I got, friends. Come at me with comments, ideas, complaints, or thundering insights. Thanks to all Lookout members for your faith and support, and please, spread the word on what we’re doing.