Celebrate Wavy Gravy’s Birthday with a Quarantine Concert

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Celebrate Wavy Gravy’s Birthday with a Quarantine Concert

Poet, activist, cultural icon and lifelong clown Wavy Gravy always makes a big deal out of his birthday, often hosting massive concert events that raise money for his beloved SEVA Foundation.

Those popular concerts draw hundreds of friends and fans together at venues like the Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley and the SOMO Events Center in Rohnert Park. Obviously, those concerts are not going to be possible during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Instead, Wavy Gravy invites the public to help him celebrate his 84th birthday this weekend with a special online “Quarantine Concert.” Featuring a collection of never-before-seen archival videos from the past 12 years of shows, the “Quarantine Concert” is viewable online now through Sunday, May 17, at Seva.org.

Folks who have attended Wavy’s previous birthday parties can attest to the massive array of stars that are always on hand, and the performances collected in the video include David Crosby and Graham Nash’s intimate acoustic rendition of the Crosby, Stills & Nash song “Guinnevere;” Dr. John and Buffy Sainte-Marie’s spirited piano/tambourine duo that begins with “When the Saints Go Marching In,” goes into Dr. John’s hit song “Iko Iko” and ends with a “Happy Birthday” outro; and an extended jam with Chris Robinson, Bob Weir and others playing the Grateful Dead’s song “Sugaree.”

The two-hour concert video, introduced by Wavy Gravy, also includes appearances by Ani DiFranco, Blind Boys of Alabama, Bonnie Raitt, Hot Tuna, Jackson Browne, Jason Mraz, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Poor Man’s Whiskey, Roy Rogers, Rising Appalachia, Ruthie Foster, Steve Kimock and Steve Earle.

Funds raised from donations will go to SEVA Foundation, which Wavy Gravy co-founded in 1978 with Dr. Larry Brilliant (a leader in the World Health Organization’s smallpox-eradication efforts), spiritual philosopher Ram Dass and others. The foundation provides eye care to communities around the world with little to no access, partnering with doctors and hospitals to perform acts like cataract surgeries that restore sight for as little as $50.

Catch the “Quarantine Concert” this weekend at Seva.org. Happy birthday, Wavy!

2020 Sonoma County Israeli Film Festival Continues in Virtual Form

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2020 Sonoma County Israeli Film Festival Continues in Virtual Form

For its fifth year, the Sonoma County Israeli Film Festival was meant to run through the month of March at the Rialto Cinemas in Sebastopol.

Featuring four films, this year’s fest focused on a bevy of themes including gender identity, love and aging as well as the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict; except the festival only got through a single week before Sonoma County’s shelter-in-place took effect to limit the outbreak of Covid-19.

Like many other events that could adapt to the internet, the festival–hosted by Jewish Community Center Sonoma County–recently transformed to a virtual streaming series, letting ticket holders to the canceled screenings still watch the festival’s films from home.

This week, the Virtual Sonoma County Israeli Film Festival is offering a film not previously included in the 2020 lineup, 2014’s The Dove Flyer, available for streaming between Sunday and Monday, May 18–19.

Next week, the festival concludes with a bonus streaming of another new-to-the-festival film, 2004’s Turn Left at the End of the World, available May 25–26. This streaming is complimentary for any existing ticket holders to any of the festival’s films.

Both The Dove Flyer and Turn Left at the End of the World deal with universal themes of immigration, clashing cultures and love, and both are critically acclaimed for their mixtures of drama and humor. Get tickets to the online screenings here.

Remembering pop icon Little Richard

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Richard Penniman has departed the stage! Known as Little Richard, with his self-proclaimed moniker “The Architect of Rock ’n’ Roll,” another pioneer has left us. Along with recording artists, both black and white, including Sam Cooke, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Fats Domino, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis, whose respective songs and rhythms graced our lives, Little Richard left us with some great visual and musical memories.

Rooted in Southern gospel and R&B, the sound Little Richard helped pioneer transitioned into what was known as “race music” and eventually evolved into rock & roll. Little Richard brought to it a flair for the flamboyant. With his “Boston Blackie” pencil-thin mustache, large pompadour, outlandish costuming and physical gyrations on the piano, he “shocked and awed” his audience.  

Where Elvis Presley, with his choreographed hip-shake, was the distant storm observed off the coast, Little Richard had already made landfall with hurricane strength, bringing his sweat and sexuality to the stage. He was a “dangerous” man! His influence was undeniable. Many recording artists acknowledged “borrowing” from him. One only has to look to the 1960s, with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Sly and the Family Stone; to the ’70s, with Elton John, David Bowie and Bruce Springsteen; and to the ’80s, with Prince. Neil Young stated, “Little Richard? That’s rock & roll.”

He was not without his demons. Raised in a religious environment, he suffered; unable to reconcile his music, his “effeminate” behavior—especially during the 1950s—and being a black man in the South. Drug usage also took its toll and caused him to take extended time away from the stage, to perhaps reflect and again seek solace in his religion. He became a preacher for a while.  

But, like the true artist with all the contradictions, Little Richard eventually returned to his true calling and learned to rise above and hopefully accept his place in the universe. 

We certainly did!

“Wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop-bam-boom!”

E.G. Singer lives in Santa Rosa.

In the Neighborhood

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It is rather unsettling, to say the least, to read that a reporter is using his so-called credentials to ignore and make light of the Shelter in Place order (“Town and Country,” May 6). It means: Shelter. In. Place. It does not mean go to other small towns and wander around and spread whatever virus you might have. 

Would Mr. Howell like it if I came to his neighborhood with my brown bag lunch, walked around his house a few times and then sat on his lawn or at his curb and ate my lunch and breathed on his family? Please, stay in your own neighborhood. Shelter in your own place. Not in mine.

Julie Gargliano

West Marin

Vegans and Big Pharma

The author of this article (Open Mic, May 6) says “the root cause of Covid-19 is … eating meat.”

Don’t ever run an idiotic column like this again. The author is a self-described physicist who’s “in software.” He is an expert on absolutely nothing related to meat or Covid-19.

Don’t ever again insult our intelligence as readers—or as billions of people around the world who eat meat every single day and don’t die of Covid-19. 

Frankly, you used to be an “alternative newspaper“ that fought against established medicine and big institutions. Now you’re just regurgitating the same propaganda from Big Pharma and big medical/government institutions. You buy the BIG LIE of Covid’s grossly exaggerated death rates, hospitalization rates, infection rates, with no concern for your readers or the journalistic skepticism you always brag about.

What the hell happened to this publication?

Rex Allen 

San Rafael

Novato Theater Company celebrates centennial online

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Novato Theater Company celebrates centennial online

Novato Theater Company was just days away from opening their ambitious staging of the Who’s “Tommy” when Marin County’s shelter-in-place orders shuttered the production in mid-March.

“It was a very dark weekend in my life,” says director and choreographer Marilyn Izdebski. “You nurture this baby and right when it’s going to open, you know, it was horrible.”

Izdebski, who is also president of the company’s board of directors, adds that the lack of information regarding the sheltering timeline has put everything on hold at NTC.

“We postponed ‘Tommy,’ we cancelled ‘Sordid Lives’ [set to open May 21], we had our next season all mapped out, and we can’t even go forward with our next season until we know when and if we can open,” Izdebski says.

Novato Theater Company also rearranged another major event—their own centennial celebration—held this month. The gala event, “Sharing the Spotlight,” was to be a sit-down dinner and showcase featuring theater stars from all over Marin.

Now, “Sharing the Spotlight” is a live-streaming fundraiser happening online Saturday, May 16, at 7pm. Hosted by actor and longtime NTC-member Mark Clark, the streaming gala will feature a variety of live and recorded musical performances from the homes of several NTC members and alumni, as well as special guests from other local groups, all accompanied by an online auction with special, one-of-a-kind items.

Like many other arts groups in the North Bay, Novato Theater Company has operated under many names and resided at several different venues during its 100 years. Shirley Hall, the company’s longest-running member, first joined the organization in 1966.

“I think it’s grown a lot from just being a little community theater with a lot of shows written by members of the theater, into doing wonderful productions of musicals and plays over the years,” Hall says.

Hall was set to star in this month’s production of “Sordid Lives,” and while she laments that production’s cancellation, she is confident NTC will survive the sheltering.

“They’ve been homeless twice through no fault of their own, and now we have other challenges facing us, but the theater company seems resilient, as is obvious for all the years they’ve been here,” she says.

Until theaters can return to normal, online events like NTC’s “Sharing the Spotlight” will continue to engage local audiences from a safe distance.

“We have a tremendous responsibility to our patrons, our members and our staff to wait until it is absolutely safe to re-open,” Izdebski says. “I don’t think theater is dead, but it’s going to be on hiatus for a while and it’s profoundly sad, I think. We as a people need theater in our lives to express the emotions that are part of the human experience.”

‘Sharing the Spotlight’ streams live on Saturday, May 16, at 7pm. Visit novatotheatercompany.org for details.

Left Edge Theatre Offers Online Twist of Annual Showcase

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Left Edge Theatre Offers Online Twist of Annual Showcase

Left Edge Theatre always likes to involve the public in planning next season’s shows with their annual spring fundraising Season Showcase.

Usually, the theater company takes to the stage at their space in the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts and presents several scenes from plays in consideration for the forthcoming season, and the attending audience votes on those they most want to see fully produced.

This year is anything but normal, and the ongoing shelter-in-place has kept audiences away from local theater. Left Edge knows that the show must go on, and the group is moving the Season Showcase online for a virtual event happening over Zoom.

Tickets are limited and going fast for the two online showcases, happening Saturday, May 16, at 7pm and Sunday, May 17, at 2pm. $30. Visit Left Edge Theatre’s website for tickets and watch the video below to get hyped for the showcase.

[embed-1]

North Bay Favorites to Play Heartfelt Virtual Variety Show

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North Bay Favorites to Play Heartfelt Virtual Variety Show

West Sonoma County’s beloved Occidental Center for the Arts often hosts live music, readings, art exhibits and more, though the sheltering orders have shuttered the nonprofit venue and others like it.

This weekend, the OCA takes to the web to connect with the community with the Arts In Our Hearts Virtual Variety Show, featuring a cavalcade of performers. Hosted on Youtube, the free streaming show will feature popular North Bay artists like Stella Heath, Emily Lois, Kevin Russell, Laurie Lewis and a dozen others live from their homes.

This event is free to all and will be shown on YouTube. Tune in on Saturday, May 16, at 8pm, and get more details at Occidental Center for the Arts’ website.

HopMonk Holds “In the Meantime” Concert Series

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HopMonk Holds “In the Meantime” Concert Series

With locations in Sebastopol, Sonoma and Novato, HopMonk Tavern is a North Bay institution that usually hosts weekly concerts featuring local and touring stars. Yet, the Covid-19 sheltering has kept the stages empty at all three locations since mid-March.

The folks at HopMonk Tavern know there is no substitute for live music, so they are offering the next best thing with their new online concert series, “In the Meantime.”

Between their Sebastopol and Novato locations’ social media sites, the series will host artists and acts performing live from their homes, and the schedule includes Alison Harris on May 14, Megan Slankard on May 15, Dirty Cello on May 16, Bob Hillman on May 20 and several other performances slated through the end of the month.

Visit the Facebook pages of the HopMonk Sebastopol and HopMonk Novato locations for a full schedule and details.

Letters: Oil Crisis

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Letters: Oil Crisis

For the first time in history, the price of oil dipped below zero on April 20, 2020. For those of us who have felt impotent to do anything about a changing climate, hog-tied by our demand for fossil fuels, it’s reassuring to see investors for once noticing that oil is indeed less valuable than the food we eat. The move also shows that we can cut our global consumption of oil considerably—we just need the collective impetus to do so.

A critic asserts that while this is true now, our dependency will return as soon as our communities resume normal activities. Perhaps. But this pandemic is more than just a hard stop on our economy, it’s a confrontation of systemic hazards we’ve collectively accepted. Beyond our dependency on fossil fuels, a far more insidious villain is the illusion that we can do nothing to change these structures. We must change our priorities and embrace a new ethic in lockstep with each other. Stephanie Beard

Stephanie Beard


Santa Rosa

Nickel and Dimed

It’s been more than 30 days since Congress passed the third stimulus bill and more than half of us still have yet to receive a dime. Rent and mortgage is past due. $1,200 falls miserably short of what we all need for two months sheltering, and well less than every other industrialized country has given their citizens.

But why is it that YOUR Congress seems much more worried about giving money to big corporations and rich people than making sure that you survive? Does your representative seem outraged? Does your representative seem fine with you falling behind on rent and into debt? If so, then do you really have any representation? It’s time to vote out incumbents.

Jason Kishineff

American Canyon

Diet and the root cause of Covid-19

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Diet and the root cause of Covid-19

The ravages of Covid-19 are with us daily. Worldwide there are over 2.5 million cases, with the U.S. in the lead. Soon 1 million Americans will be sick with Covid-19. The impacts on people, the economy and business are terrible and shock us. The inadequate response to this pandemic is obvious. Some say Covid-19 was unprecedented, but experts have been warning about it for a long time.

The root cause of Covid-19 is never mentioned in the media: eating meat. Eating pangolins or bats from wet markets in China caused this one. There have been very close calls recently with extremely lethal viruses from factory-farmed chickens and pigs. And there is always Ebola. The total value of the U.S. meat industry (about $1 trillion per year) is less than the bailout package. The economics alone say we must take a hard look at meat-caused deaths. It’s simply not worth propping up the meat industry at all costs. Current meat-eating practices make Covid-19 the first of a series of diseases likely to jump to people; look for another within a few years.

Is this a unique event with singular circumstances that will not be seen again, or is it the new normal? It is comforting, but untrue, to say our meat is clean and safe, unlike China’s. Some animal infections that attack people (zoonotic) are new and others—like anthrax—have been around, and some have started here in the U.S. Ebola jumped to people in Africa, where eating wild animals—“bush meat”—is common. Robust international responses have so far contained every Ebola outbreak.

When or if Covid-19 is finished it’s very unlikely that everything will return to how it was before. Hopefully China will eliminate “wet markets,” where animals are slaughtered on the spot, hopefully our agriculture will eliminate extravagant use of antibiotics, hopefully unhealthy conditions for food animals will be improved and, most importantly, hopefully everyone will reduce or eliminate meat-eating. This will fix the root cause of novel and traditional zoonotic diseases and keep them from sickening and killing people.

John W Cruz, PhD is a physicist who turned to software, retired and now lives in Sebastopol.

Celebrate Wavy Gravy’s Birthday with a Quarantine Concert

All-star archive of concert video is available to watch online through May 17.
Read more

2020 Sonoma County Israeli Film Festival Continues in Virtual Form

For its fifth year, the Sonoma County Israeli Film Festival was meant to run through the month of March at the Rialto Cinemas in Sebastopol. Featuring four films, this year's fest focused on a bevy of themes including gender identity, love and aging as well as the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict; except the festival only got through a single week...
Read more

Remembering pop icon Little Richard

Richard Penniman has departed the stage! Known as Little Richard, with his self-proclaimed moniker “The Architect of Rock ’n’ Roll,” another pioneer has left us. Along with recording artists, both black and white, including Sam Cooke, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Fats Domino, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis, whose respective songs and rhythms graced our lives, Little...
Read more

In the Neighborhood

It is rather unsettling, to say the least, to read that a reporter is using his so-called credentials to ignore and make light of the Shelter in Place order (“Town and Country,” May 6). It means: Shelter. In. Place. It does not mean go to other small towns and wander around and spread whatever virus you might have.  Would Mr....
Read more

Novato Theater Company celebrates centennial online

Novato Theater Company was just days away from opening their ambitious staging of the Who’s “Tommy” when Marin County’s shelter-in-place orders shuttered the production in mid-March. “It was a very dark weekend in my life,” says director and choreographer Marilyn Izdebski. “You nurture this baby and right when it’s going to open, you know, it was horrible.” Izdebski, who is also...
Read more

Left Edge Theatre Offers Online Twist of Annual Showcase

Left Edge Theatre always likes to involve the public in planning next season’s shows with their annual spring fundraising Season Showcase. Usually, the theater company takes to the stage at their space in the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts and presents several scenes from plays in consideration for the forthcoming season, and the...
Read more

North Bay Favorites to Play Heartfelt Virtual Variety Show

Occidental Center for the Arts hosts the online event on May 16.
Read more

HopMonk Holds “In the Meantime” Concert Series

With locations in Sebastopol, Sonoma and Novato, HopMonk Tavern is a North Bay institution that usually hosts weekly concerts featuring local and touring stars. Yet, the Covid-19 sheltering has kept the stages empty at all three locations since mid-March. The folks at HopMonk Tavern know there is no substitute...
Read more

Letters: Oil Crisis

For the first time in history, the price of oil dipped below zero on April 20, 2020. For those of us who have felt impotent to do anything about a changing climate, hog-tied by our demand for fossil fuels, it’s reassuring to see investors for once noticing that oil is indeed less valuable than the food we eat. The...
Read more

Diet and the root cause of Covid-19

The ravages of Covid-19 are with us daily. Worldwide there are over 2.5 million cases, with the U.S. in the lead. Soon 1 million Americans will be sick with Covid-19. The impacts on people, the economy and business are terrible and shock us. The inadequate response to this pandemic is obvious. Some say Covid-19 was unprecedented,...
Read more
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