Jazz Up Your Memories of Prom

Jazz Freaks

Blue Note Napa’s Summer Session series kicks off this week with Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade. Blue Note Summer Sessions has a new home this year at The Meritage Resort in Napa. As its new home, Meritage offers enhanced traffic infrastructure with more onsite parking, plus upgraded culinary offerings and added hotel accommodations, which should all be welcomed by attendees and nearby residents alike throughout the expanded five-month program. Tickets available through bluenotenapa.com. 6:30pm, Friday, May 19, The Meritage Resort, 875 Bordeaux Way Napa.

Novato

Vocal Bliss

At a recent Beatles-themed performance, Anna Moss hit the stage with a cover of “No Reply” that vaulted the early album deep cut waaaay up our long list of favorite Beatles songs. It was spiritual and straight bad-ass. Hailing from Arkansas and living in NOLA, Moss is touring with Anna Moss & the Nightshades. Opener Aviva le Fey is no slouch either. Expect to swoon to bass forward heart songs. 8pm, Saturday, May 20 at HopMonk Novato Session Room, 224 Vintage Way, Novato. $20 advance, $25 day of show. All ages. Tickets at wl.seetickets.us/HopMonkNovato.

Santa Rosa

’80s Prom

“Do you wanna go to the prom with me?” “Like, DUH!” Crimp your hair and put on your cummerbund; you’re invited to the Totally Tubular ’80s Prom at the Flamingo Resort. Cut loose and dance the night away in this ’80s extravaganza, with pop up performances and a rad dinner buffet. And don’t forget—dress to impress! You may just find yourself to be king and queen of the prom! Prom starts at 7pm, Saturday, May 27. Tickets are $85. Flamingo Resort, 2777 Fourth St., Santa Rosa.

Healdsburg

Music Memory

“A Night to Remember with Charles Lloyd and Gerald Clayton” closes the season for The 222 with Lloyd on sax and Clayton at the keys. Celebrating his 85th year, Lloyd rarely plays such an intimate-sized venue. The promoter emphasizes, “This is a once in a lifetime experience and will be sure to be a memorable evening of extraordinary music.” 7pm, Saturday, May 27 at The 222, located at 222 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg. Tickets are $150 to $250 and are available online at the222.org/charles-lloyd-gerald-clayton-duo.

Comedy of (Bad) Manners

Noël Coward classic in Healdsburg

Eccentric families have long been a source of humor for popular entertainments, from TV’s Addams Family to film’s Royal Tenenbaums.

Kaufman and Hart’s You Can’t Take It with You may be the preeminent stage production on the subject and has become one of the most produced plays since its premiere in 1936. But Noël Coward beat them to the punch a decade earlier with Hay Fever. The Raven Players bring Coward’s Bliss family to the Raven Performing Arts Theater’s stage in a production that runs through May 28.

Meet the Bliss family: Father David (Steven David Martin) is a novelist hard at work on his latest tome. Mother Judith (Ashley Kennedy) is a recently-retired stage star contemplating a return to the theater. Adult siblings Sorel (Aimee Drew) and Simon (Troy Thomas Evans) banter with each other while lounging around the estate.

With amorous intentions on their minds and unbeknownst to the other, each family member has invited a guest for the weekend, much to the consternation of harried housekeeper Clara (Beneicka Brown). Sandy Tyrell (Bohn Connor), a pugilist-in-training and admirer of Judith’s, is the first to arrive. Richard Greatham (Matt Farrell), a “diplomatist” with whom Sorel is taken, arrives with Jackie Coryton (Kate Edery), who David has invited to interview for his book. Socialite Myra Arundel (Jeanette Seisdedos), Simon’s invitee, is the last to arrive.

The weekend leads to couplings and de-couplings and re-couplings before the guests all come to the same conclusion—the Blisses are all too in love with themselves to have time for anyone else. Exit, stage right.

Director Katie-Watts Whitaker has a good ensemble at work here. The material is slight, and there really isn’t much of a plot, so it’s all about the characters. Each cast member does well with theirs. Drew gives the most grounded performance as Sorel, while Connor gives an intricate physical performance as the brawny boxer.

Evans’ spoiled Simon, Kennedy’s flighty Judith, Farrell’s befuddled Richard, Martin’s pompous David, Edery’s confused Jackie and Seisdedos’ scheming Myra aren’t the most sympathetic of folk with which an audience can identify. But there’s always Brown’s put-upon housekeeper (even if she makes lousy haddock.)

Hay Fever is the kind of show where one ends up laughing at people and not with them. It’s a comedy of self-centeredness and egotism. What a relief to know that since its premiere almost 100 years ago that those kinds of people no longer exist.

Right?

‘Hay Fever’ runs through May 28 at the Raven Performing Arts Theater, 115 North St., Healdsburg. Thursday-Saturday, 7:30 pm; Sunday, 2 pm. $10–$25. 707.433.6335. raventheater.org.

The Look: North Bay Fashion Ball Returns

The North Bay Fashion Ball features local labels that provide affordable outfits without trying to match some mainstream trend of the current retail season.

Featuring four designers from Sonoma County and one label from the East Bay, the fashion show is designed to do just that, bring together a community of independent fashionistas to literally strut their stuff.

Cinncinatus Hibbard organized the first Ball last year. This year, Hibbard has taken one of the label chiefs, Lena Claypool of Petaluma’s Buck Lucky, under his wing with the hopes of passing the event’s stewardship on to her.

“This is a lot more personal [than a big runway show]. The main point of this event is having a good time, being with your friends and supporting a good cause,” said Claypool.

With an emphasis on vintage and recycled materials, queer representation and diversity, one can bet on a display way more dope than the society pages of Vanity Fair.

“All of the designers are so different,” said Claypool. “There’s something for everybody here because we’re all so different. And it’s not going to be like a Paris runway where everyone looks a certain way. [Our 50 local] models are not fitting one mold.”

“I think fashion is the vocabulary of an expanded language,” said Hibbard. “We’re inviting people to dress their fantasies and aspirations and mystical visions. It’s about fashion as a starting point for becoming, for new stories, new outcomes and empowerment.”

The event will kick off at the Phoenix Theater with the Santa Rosa Junior College Dance Team performing to DJ beats for a crowd of young, queer and POC folks who do not often have an event to call their own in these parts. Closing out the eve will be local diva Audio Angel driving her seven-piece band, The Good Intentions, through sweet, sweaty power ballads. Bigger is better? Quoth Audio Angel, “Trust the expansion.”

There will also be an “Open Runway Category,” where the audience is invited to walk the runway. Best dressed in the category will win a tiara and “document certifying their hotness,” said Hibbard.

Closet Case

Everything on the runway will be for sale, from the following labels:

Hot Couture Vintage Marta Koehne has, in her 40 year career, seen the vintage industry change from period specificity to anachronistic, post-modern and genderless.

Disguise the Limit Jenny DeYoung, owner of the recently closed Disguise the Limit, is using this event to step into the next phase of her career, reviving her fun, gay, sexy line of festival wear.

Dainty Rascal Suzy Berry owns both the Dainty Rascal label and Heart of Gold Rescue Horse Sanctuary in Forestville.

Heterogross Each year, the event invites a teacher to exhibit and enrich the artistic dialogue in art and fashion. Label owner JH divides his time between Oakland and the Philippines.

Buck Lucky. Lena Claypool’s collection is inspired by Marie Antoinette and the court of the Sun King.

The 2nd Annual North Bay Fashion Ball is at 6 pm, Saturday, May 20, at the Phoenix Theater, 201 Washington St., Petaluma. $20. Tickets are available at the door and online at bit.ly/fashion-ball.

Sculpting Appreciation

What Fourth Graders See

With clipboards, pencils and an illustrated map in hand, Cloverdale Jefferson School fourth graders set out on a tour of the Cloverdale Sculpture Trail.

Over the course of two weeks in April, I met Jonni Conway, Stephanie Fernandez, Emilie Barrow and Anna DeLaney’s fourth grade classes sharply at 9:10am in front of M.C. Carolyn’s Big Red Candy Apple, at the entrance to the library.

After a brief introduction of the trail, we followed the map through town with a stop at each sculpture, ending up in front of Pierre Riche’s Salvaged Horse, where they examined it and spotted how many old tools were used in its creation.

On the reverse side of the map, specific questions unique to each piece were asked, which opened the conversation up to more questions by the students. I was impressed by the depth of their answers and questions. They studied each piece carefully and answered thoughtfully.

At Stan Huncilman’s piece, Hekate, the question was: This sculpture was created for everyone to see something different. What do you see? The hands shot up, and their answers were interesting and varied, such as: binoculars, a giant camera, a ship, an engine, a propeller, a man with glasses.

At Sculpture Jam’s Derrick, in front of Papa’s Pizza, it didn’t take long for the students to figure out how to make him speak and make noises. Derrick was the crowd pleaser due to the fact he could talk, was made out of found objects and focused on sustainable energy.

When asked why they thought David Mudgett’s piece, The Disc, was voted best of show by the judges, some shouted “because it is so cool.” Hard to argue with that answer.

It was wonderful to witness their enthusiasm for the Sculpture Trail and their acknowledgment of how fortunate Cloverdale is for having public art in our community.

One student asked, “Why doesn’t every town have sculpture on their sidewalks?”

Janet Howell is the trail coordinator for the Cloverdale Sculpture Trail.

Your Letters, May 17

14th Amendment

Excellent Open Mic by Miriam Gindin, “False Choice” [May 10]. I support the use of the 14th Amendment, Section 3, for removing insurrectionists from offices, and barring insurrectionists from candidacies (you know to whom I am referring). But that provision, as delegated to Congress to enforce, requires a two-thirds vote of each house. That is never going to happen, especially today.

But I read with interest how a judge in New Mexico ordered a county commissioner to be removed from office. It seems that this is an area we can work on to help restore our democracy (to some extent).

Surely there is one federal judge, perhaps several, who would be willing to enforce this important section of the Constitution?

Barry Barnett

Sonoma

EDITOR’S NOTE: Due to a change made during the editing process, last week’s cover story [“Finally Seen,” May 10] misrepresented the number of women, girls and two-spirit people reported missing with the federal government. There were 5,712 such reports as of 2016, not 5,712 reports filed in just that year.

Real Astrology, May 17

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries dramatist Samuel Beckett, winner of the prestigious Nobel Prize for Literature, wrote 22 plays. The shortest was Breath. It has no dialogue or actors and lasts less than a minute. It begins and ends with a recording of the cry of a newborn baby. In between, there are the sounds of someone breathing and variations in the lighting. I recommend you draw inspiration from Breath in the coming weeks, Aries. Be succinct and pithy. Call on the powers of graceful efficiency and no-nonsense effectiveness. Relish the joys of shrewd simplicity.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In the coming weeks, you Bulls must brook no bullies or bullying. Likewise, you should tolerate no bullshit from people trying to manipulate or fool you. Be a bulwark of integrity as you refuse to lower your standards. Bulk up the self-protective part of your psyche so you will be invincibly immune to careless and insensitive spoilers. Your word of power is build. You will align yourself with cosmic rhythms as you work to create situations that will keep you strong and stable during the next 12 months.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): How much do you believe in your power to become the person you want to be? Ninety percent? Fifty-five? Twenty? Whatever it is, you can increase it in the coming weeks. Life will conspire with you to raise your confidence as you seek new ways to fulfill your soul’s purpose. Surges of grace will come your way as you strive with intense focus to live your most meaningful destiny. To take maximum advantage of this opportunity, I suggest you enjoy extra amounts of quiet, meditative time. Request help from the deepest core of your intelligence.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Early in the 19th century, cultural researchers Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm gathered an array of old folk stories and published a collection of what we now call fairy tales. Because the two brothers wanted to earn money, they edited out some graphic elements of the original narratives. For example, in the Grimms’ revised version, we don’t get the juicy details of the princess fornicating with the frog prince once he has reverted to his handsome human form. In the earlier but not published stories of Rumpelstiltskin, the imp gets so frustrated when he’s tricked by the queen that he rips himself apart. I hope you will do the opposite of the Brothers Grimm in the coming weeks, Cancerian. It’s crucial that you reveal and expose and celebrate raw, unvarnished truths.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Is there a job you would love to have as your primary passion, but it’s different from the job you’re doing? Is there a calling you would delight in embracing, but you’re too consumed by the daily routine? Do you have a hobby you’d like to turn into a professional pursuit? If you said even a partial yes to my questions, Leo, here’s good news: In the coming months, you will have an enhanced ability to make these things happen. And now is an excellent time to get underway.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo-born Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) was a versatile virtuoso. He excelled as an essayist, biographer, playwright, editor, poet and lexicographer. How did he get so much done? Here’s one clue. He took his own advice, summed up in the following quote: “It is common to overlook what is near by keeping the eye fixed on something remote. Present opportunities are neglected and attainable good is slighted by minds busied in extensive ranges and intent upon future advantages.” Johnson’s counsel is perfect for you right now, Virgo. Forget about the future and be focused on the present. Dive into the interesting work and play that’s right in front of you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I would love you to go searching for treasure, and I hope you launch your quest soon. As you gather clues, I will be cheering you on. Before you embark, though, I want to make sure you are clear about the nature of the treasure you will be looking for. Please envision it in glorious detail. Write down a description of it and keep it with you for the next seven weeks. I also suggest you carry out a fun ritual to formally mark your entry into the treasure-hunting chapter of your life.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In the coming weeks, you’ll be guided by your deep intelligence as you explore and converse with the darkness. You will derive key revelations and helpful signs as you wander around inside the mysteries. Be poised and lucid, dear Scorpio. Trust your ability to sense what’s important and what’s not. Be confident that you can thrive amidst uncertainty as you remain loyal to your core truths. No matter how murky this challenge may seem, it will ultimately be a blessing. You will emerge both smarter and wiser.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): If you take the Bible’s teachings seriously, you give generously to the poor and you welcome immigrants. You regard the suffering of others as being worthy of your compassionate attention, and you express love not just for people who agree with you and share your cultural traditions, but for everyone. Numerous Biblical verses, including many attributed to Jesus Christ, make it clear that living according to these principles is essential to being a good human. Even if you are not Jewish or Christian, Sagittarius, I recommend this approach to you. Now is an excellent time to hone your generosity of spirit and expand your urge to care for others.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In 1982, Capricorn actor Ben Kingsley won an Oscar for his role in the film Gandhi. Then his career declined. In an animated movie in 1992, he voiced the role of an immortal frog named F.R.O.7. who worked as a James Bond-like secret agent. It was a critical and financial disaster. But Kingsley’s fortunes rebounded, and he was nominated for Academy Awards in 2002 and 2003. Then his trajectory dipped again. He was nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor for four separate films between 2005 and 2008. Now, at age 79, he’s rich and famous and mostly remembered for the great things he has done. I suggest we make him your role model for the coming months. May he inspire you to emphasize your hits and downplay your misses.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I’m devoted to cultivating the art of relaxation. But I live in a world dominated by stress addicts and frenzied overachievers. Here’s another problem: I aspire to be curious, innocent and open-minded, but the civilization I’m embedded in highly values know-it-all experts who are very sure they are in command of life’s secrets. One further snag: I’m an ultra-sensitive creator who is nourished by original thinking and original feeling. And yet I constantly encounter formulaic literalists who thrive on clichés. Now here’s the good news: I am a successful person! I do what I love and enjoy an interesting life. Here’s even more good news, Aquarius: In the next 12 months, you will have a knack for creating rhythms that bring you closer than ever to doing what you love and enjoying an interesting life.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Most of us suffer from at least one absurd, irrational fear. I have a daft fear of heights, even when I’m perfectly safe, and a manic fear of mosquitoes dive-bombing me as I sleep, an event that has only happened four times in my life. My anxiety about running out of money is more rational, though, as is my dread of getting sick. Those worries help motivate me to work hard to earn a living and take superb care of my health. What about you, Pisces? Do you know which of your fears are preposterous and which make at least some sense? The coming weeks will be a favorable time to get a good handle on this question. Ask yourself: “Which of my fears are misdirected or exaggerated, and which are realistic and worthy of my attention?”

Homework: Make a pledge to the person you’ll be two years from now: a beautiful promise. NewsletterFreeWillAstrology.com

Falcon! Record Release at Big Easy

Falcon! is a three-piece rock outfit grounded by a North Bay duo who created music careers by moving far afield.

Shannon Ferguson and Neil Rosen grew up together in Petaluma as the ’80s became the ’90s, playing music together since age 14. When they wanted to “make it,” the pair were among an exodus east that moved to Brooklyn, New York. They landed in Williamsburg specifically, back before that was a thing.

“Williamsburg was really supportive. It wasn’t expensive to live there at all. Neil and I both waited tables back then. It was pretty easy and pretty inspiring,” Ferguson reminisced.

Rosen agreed, saying, “New York always had a rock & roll culture. At that time, people were still in the spirit of punk rock and Velvet Underground. It was a positive environment for making music.”

“We’re pretty lucky. Kind of being inspired by that, like, time in the ’90s; that’s the language that we kind of speak together, musically. Nic Brown came to us later as a super talent. He’s a really, really great drummer,” added Ferguson.

Now, Falcon! is celebrating their new EP, Thank You Enough, their first new recording in over a decade. The six-track EP was brought to life in West Marin, at the mysterious location known only as Panoramic House. A recording studio at the edge of the continent overlooking the sandy expanse of a remote beach, the space was created for vibes. As studio owner John Baccigaluppi put it, “I just always enjoyed helping friends make records in weird places.”

The process of creating the EP was a perfect mix of meticulous planning and spontaneous inspiration. “We did have [some] half ideas on this release,” revealed Rosen.

Said Ferguson, “Yeah, my favorite song on the record [‘Living on a Radius’], we wrote in like a day. Like on the spot.”

Their new music blends vintage synthesizers, sweeping guitars and bombastic drums. Their songs, such as “Dreams” and “Thank You Enough,” uniquely intertwine layers of sonic textures.

The band is having a record release party this coming weekend at the home of many an album debut, the Big Easy in downtown Petaluma. The vibe of the room is built for it. “It’s intimate, but there’s a certain grandness, a theatricality with the red velvet curtains and old world underground feel,” said club owner Roger Tschann.

The melodic, lo-fi album is the band’s first release in a decade. The boys are happy to be back at it together.

“I don’t think we would do it if we weren’t the best of friends. Like our wives get along, and our kids get along. So it all kind of works in this moment, at this time right now, that we’d be doing the band again,” said Ferguson. “It’s super inspiring and super fun.”

Falcon! plays 7pm, Thursday, May 25 at the Big Easy, 128 American Alley, Petaluma, as well as 7 pm, Saturday, May 27 at Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $15.

U.S. Supreme Court supports California’s animal welfare proposition

Because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Thursday, May 11, California’s Proposition 12 can stand—which means the pigs can, too.

In 2018, California voters approved the ballot measure to ban the sale of meat and egg products from farms that did not raise their “veal calves, breeding pigs and egg-laying hens” in spaces that give them room enough to stand up and turn around. The proposition was supposed to go into effect in 2022, but two out-of-state organizations, the National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation, sued to stop the measure.

The Supreme Court sided with California voters in a 5 to 4 ruling that didn’t follow the typical conservative-liberal split. In the majority opinion, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that rather than California regulating out-of-state businesses unconstitutionally, it is the businesses that are attempting to restrict a state’s ability to “regulate goods sold within their borders.” He was joined by Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas.

Wrote Gorsuch: “Consider an example. Today, many States prohibit the sale of horsemeat for human consumption…. Under the lead dissent’s test, all it would take is one complaint from an unhappy out-of-state producer and—presto—the Constitution would protect the sale of horsemeat.”

In their partial dissent, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Brett Kavanaugh said that the measure would place a “substantial burden against interstate commerce.”

Roberts, in his opinion, wrote: “Petitioners identify broader, market-wide consequences of compliance—economic harms that our precedents have recognized can amount to a burden on interstate commerce…. California has enacted rules that carry implications for producers as far flung as Indiana and North Carolina.”

Because 99% of the pork Californians eat comes from out of state, opponents of the proposition argued that the measure gave California an outsized role in restricting interstate commerce, running afoul of the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause. Producers estimated their costs would rise by 9% to comply with the rule, and the Biden administration stood with the pork producers, saying the measure would throw “a giant wrench into the workings of the interstate market in pork.”

Supporters of Prop. 12 argued that because the measure didn’t give California farmers and producers any sort of advantage, it wasn’t unconstitutional. It’s also common for states to pass regulations on what kinds of commodities are sold in their state. This session, legislators are considering a bill that would ban the sale of food products in California that contain certain chemicals linked to health issues.

In practical terms, the proposition will expand the industry standard of space for pigs from 14 to 20 square feet to a requirement of at least 24 square feet. Though some animal welfare advocates say the measure didn’t go far enough to protect animals, others nonetheless celebrated last week’s ruling, calling it the country’s “strongest farm animal welfare law.”

Kitty Block, president of the Humane Society, in a statement, said, “It’s astonishing that pork industry leaders would waste so much time and money on fighting this commonsense step to prevent products of relentless, unbearable animal suffering from being sold in California.”

Mendocino County repeals controversial public records law

Over the past year, Sonoma County’s northern neighbor has become the latest frontier in the ongoing fight over the public’s access to government records.

Indeed, Mendocino County won national acclaim in the form of a 2023 Foilies Award, a contest administered by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) meant to “recognize the worst in government transparency.”

The reason for the honor? Last July, the county’s Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance which critics argue illegally discourages access to county documents through the California Public Records Act (CPRA). Under the new law, Ordinance 4507, the county required a deposit from the requester of between $20 to $150 per hour of staff time, which the county estimated would be spent locating or reviewing records.

“Aside from being potentially unlawful, Mendocino County’s fee ordinance is an affront to its residents. It treats all records requests as hostile, resource-wasting inquiries rather than a central mission of any public agency committed to transparency,” the EFF stated when recognizing the county’s ordinance.

In less than a year under the new law, the county assessed fees of over $76,000 on the Mendocino Voice, an online local news outlet, according to a joint statement from the First Amendment Coalition (FAC) and the ACLU of Northern California released last week.

In late April, a coalition of journalists and advocacy groups threatened to sue the county over the ordinance if it did not repeal the ordinance post haste. Perhaps bowing to pressure, the Board of Supervisors repealed the law at their Tuesday, May 9 meeting, though a few elected supervisors continued to gripe about the cost of the staff time it takes the county to fulfill formal records requests.

“We’re glad the board of supervisors repealed this law. Public records belong to everyone no matter how wealthy. Democracy depends on freedom of information, but information is not public when only the rich can afford it. We hope other counties with similar laws will listen to the public and abolish these undemocratic laws,” David Loy, FAC’s legal director, said in a statement released after the board’s meeting.

Seven other California counties—Los Angeles, Shasta, Siskiyou, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Santa Cruz and Ventura—have passed laws charging “illegal fees” for public information, according to an analysis by the FAC and ACLU of Northern California.

Drive to Eden

NYC’s Sputnik plays James Dean event

Films, fine wine, movie stars and race cars—Are we in Hollywood? Cannes? Nope. Geyserville, where enthusiasts of James Dean are putting a new spin on celebrating the onscreen icon—literally.

Fans of the original rebel without a cause, are invited to celebrate the cinematic legacy of James Dean (and his love of Porsches) at the 1st Annual Drive to Eden Vintage Car Show at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Geyserville this Saturday.

Present at the event will be champion racer and Porsche Hall of Fame alum Lew Bracker, a friend of Dean’s and author of Jimmy & Me: A Personal Memoir Of A Great Friendship. Likewise, Sputnik the New York City-based band will perform from their recently released concept album inspired by the actor’s legacy.

“I would say he was kind of a creative muse to me when I was younger,” says Sputnik vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Genie Morrow. She first became aware of Dean thanks to a picture of the actor that roused her curiosity as a teen. She thought he looked cool and her mother affirmed that observation.

“I liked that he did his own thing and didn’t really follow the trends of the time, and he kind of forged his own way in Hollywood,” she says. “And I always just thought he was really innovative.”

Having become acquainted with Dean’s pal Bracker and pouring through his book, “…It sort of opened this whole portal back to James Dean again. And it’s just kind of a blur of creativity from there. I would say he’s very much, he’s influenced me a lot creatively.”

Morrow channeled the lauded method actor’s innovative approach while translating her inspiration into music. After meeting some of Dean’s friends and relatives at different events throughout the country.

“That was kind of floating around in my consciousness. And because we had more time, because we were shut in [due to the pandemic], I started just getting songs. Songs were coming through about Jimmy, about Jimmy and Lew racing cars, about Jimmy going back to his hometown in Fairmount, Indiana, and it was almost like a lot of dreams coming through music,” she recalls.

Working with her collaborators in Sputnik—Nigel Rawles (drums), Mic Rains (guitar), Pemberton Roach (bass), and Joe Drew (trumpet/keyboards)—the album began to coalesce. Word got out about the project and soon the band was invited to perform at an annual James Dean memorial in Fairmount.

“So I ended up singing in this church that James Dean went to on his memorial last September, and his cousin was in the front row,” Morrow recalls.

Since then, Sputnik has honed their James Dean-themed material at a variety of events, though Drive to Eden promises to be extra special as it kicks off a classic car cruise to Mendocino where portions of Dean’s star turn in East of Eden was shot. Music lovers will be happy to know that Sputnik will return to Dean’s orbit there and other venues to come.

The 1st Annual Drive To Eden Vintage Car Show begins at 10 am, Saturday, May 20 at Francis Ford Coppola Winery, 300 Via Archimedes, Geyserville.

Jazz Up Your Memories of Prom

Jazz Freaks Blue Note Napa’s Summer Session series kicks off this week with Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade. Blue Note Summer Sessions has a new home this year at The Meritage Resort in Napa. As its new home, Meritage offers enhanced traffic infrastructure with more onsite parking, plus upgraded culinary offerings and added hotel accommodations, which should all be welcomed...

Comedy of (Bad) Manners

Noël Coward classic in Healdsburg Eccentric families have long been a source of humor for popular entertainments, from TV’s Addams Family to film’s Royal Tenenbaums. Kaufman and Hart’s You Can’t Take It with You may be the preeminent stage production on the subject and has become one of the most produced plays since its premiere in 1936. But Noël Coward beat...

The Look: North Bay Fashion Ball Returns

The North Bay Fashion Ball features local labels that provide affordable outfits without trying to match some mainstream trend of the current retail season. Featuring four designers from Sonoma County and one label from the East Bay, the fashion show is designed to do just that, bring together a community of independent fashionistas to literally strut their stuff. Cinncinatus Hibbard organized...

Sculpting Appreciation

What Fourth Graders See With clipboards, pencils and an illustrated map in hand, Cloverdale Jefferson School fourth graders set out on a tour of the Cloverdale Sculpture Trail. Over the course of two weeks in April, I met Jonni Conway, Stephanie Fernandez, Emilie Barrow and Anna DeLaney’s fourth grade classes sharply at 9:10am in front of M.C. Carolyn’s Big Red Candy...

Your Letters, May 17

Click to read
14th Amendment Excellent Open Mic by Miriam Gindin, “False Choice” . I support the use of the 14th Amendment, Section 3, for removing insurrectionists from offices, and barring insurrectionists from candidacies (you know to whom I am referring). But that provision, as delegated to Congress to enforce, requires a two-thirds vote of each house. That is never going to happen,...

Real Astrology, May 17

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries dramatist Samuel Beckett, winner of the prestigious Nobel Prize for Literature, wrote 22 plays. The shortest was Breath. It has no dialogue or actors and lasts less than a minute. It begins and ends with a recording of the cry of a newborn baby. In between, there are the sounds of someone breathing and...

Falcon! Record Release at Big Easy

Falcon! is a three-piece rock outfit grounded by a North Bay duo who created music careers by moving far afield. Shannon Ferguson and Neil Rosen grew up together in Petaluma as the ’80s became the ’90s, playing music together since age 14. When they wanted to “make it,” the pair were among an exodus east that moved to Brooklyn, New...

U.S. Supreme Court supports California’s animal welfare proposition

Amber Kipp/Unsplash
Because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Thursday, May 11, California's Proposition 12 can stand—which means the pigs can, too. In 2018, California voters approved the ballot measure to ban the sale of meat and egg products from farms that did not raise their "veal calves, breeding pigs and egg-laying hens" in spaces that give them room enough to...

Mendocino County repeals controversial public records law

Mendocino County Board of Supervisors - May 9, 2023
Over the past year, Sonoma County’s northern neighbor has become the latest frontier in the ongoing fight over the public’s access to government records. Indeed, Mendocino County won national acclaim in the form of a 2023 Foilies Award, a contest administered by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) meant to “recognize the worst in government transparency.” The reason for the honor? Last...

Drive to Eden

NYC’s Sputnik plays James Dean event Films, fine wine, movie stars and race cars—Are we in Hollywood? Cannes? Nope. Geyserville, where enthusiasts of James Dean are putting a new spin on celebrating the onscreen icon—literally. Fans of the original rebel without a cause, are invited to celebrate the cinematic legacy of James Dean (and his love of Porsches) at the 1st...
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