Author Appearances

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Author Appearances

In person: Novelist Isabel Alende comes to Sonoma on Sept. 21.

Photograph by Marcia Lieberman

Author Appearances

WANT TO MEET the people who push the pens that bring you the best books on the shelves? You’re in luck: some of the most fascinating authors on the contemporary scene will swing through the North Bay in the coming months.

Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood (most famous for The Handmaid’s Tale) reads from her new book, The Blind Assassin, on Sept. 14 at Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. Also on the Book Passage calendar: iconoclast and author Gore Vidal reads from Golden Age, his latest entry in a series of narratives about the American empire, on Oct. 5. Vidal appears at Olney Hall at the College of Marin, 835 College Ave., Kentfield. Call 415/927-0960 for details.

Renegade theologian and author Matthew Fox reads One River, Many Wells on Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at Readers’ Books, 130 E. Napa St., Sonoma. Readers’ Books also brings Isabel Allende to town on Sept. 21. The acclaimed novelist (Daughter of Fortune) will appear at the Sebastiani Theatre, on the Plaza, Sonoma. Tickets are $7 in advance and $10 at the door. For details, call 939-1779.

Political columnist Molly Ivins teams up with author and essayist Anne Lamott (Bird by Bird and Traveling Mercies) for a unique onstage conversation on Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. at the Marin Center, Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. Tickets are $18. But the teamwork doesn’t stop there. The Marin Center also plays host to author Michael Ondaatje (The English Patient) and Russell Banks (The Sweet Hereafter), who will discuss fiction and film on Feb. 28 at 8 p.m. For details, call 415/472-3500.

A pair of big-name novelists from Northern California are the highlight of the fall schedule at Copperfield’s Books. Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City) appears on Oct. 21, and Alice Walker (The Color Purple) makes an appearance on Oct. 23. Reading locations are still to be announced. For details, call 823-8991.

From the August 24-30, 2000 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

Jimmie Dale Gilmore

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Jimmie Dale Gilmore

High plains drifter: Singer-songwriter Jimmie Dale Gilmore.

Cosmic Cowboy

Texas troubadour Jimmie Dale Gilmore rides into the Mystic Theater

By Greg Cahill and Alan Sculley

“I’M A DUAL personality,” says singer-songwriter Jimmie Dale Gilmore with a quiet laugh. “You know, I’m sort of the new kid on the block–enjoying a newfound success–and I’m the jaded veteran. I guess you could say I’m watching it unfold through both sets of eyes.”

It’s an unusual situation, to be sure.

Nearly 35 years ago, Gilmore’s now-defunct band, the legendary Flatlanders, helped pave the way for the retro- and alt-country sound with an innovative blend of country, folk, blues, and rock styles. Shunned by the Nashville establishment, Texas troubadour Gilmore has long been a critics’ darling. In 1991, Rolling Stone selected him as country artist of the year in its prestigious annual rock critics’ poll. And USA Today–and another 100 or so newspapers–named his 1991 major label debut, After Awhile (Elektra), country album of the year.

Gilmore’s two most recent CDs have been viewed as if they came from two different worlds. At least that seems to be the consensus in the music press and among many of his fans. Braver New World, released in 1996, was widely viewed as a major departure for Gilmore. Produced by T-Bone Burnett, that album had an edgy feel and experimented liberally with instrumentation and sonics, frequently featuring chiming electric guitars, horns, and echoed background tones. It also included some of the rawest, hardest-rocking performances Gilmore had ever committed to tape on songs like “Black Snake Moan” and “Outside the Lines.”

By contrast, his newly released One Endless Night is being touted as a classic Gilmore album. The disc is largely acoustic in its sound and more traditional in its approach, and it highlights more of the melodic folk and country side of Gilmore’s music. It draws material from such diverse sources as the late country folkster Townes Van Zandt, rocker John Hiatt (a stunning version of “Your Love Is My Rest”), the Grateful Dead (“Ripple”), and even Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht (a radically transformed take on “Mack The Knife”).

Gilmore, however, says it would be a mistake to consider the two CDs polar opposites. He used a description of Buddy Miller, guitarist for the Emmy Lou Harris band and the producer of One Endless Night, to help put the similarities between his two most recent CDs into perspective.

“What I noticed was that Buddy truly loves the real traditional kind of romantic American music,” Gilmore says. “But at the same time, he’s a real rock ‘n’ roller. He has a flair for the really edgy kind of music. So to me, if it happens that a record or even a song, a particular song, falls a little further one way or the other on that spectrum, it’s still within the compass of what appeals to me.

“So that’s kind of the way I look at it.”

FAME AND FORTUNE may have proved elusive over the years, but Gilmore hasn’t complained about the attention–though, he admits, being a critics’ darling is a mixed blessing.

“It could be bad if it creates giant expectations that they don’t figure I measure up to next time around, which is always possible,” he says. “But I never let that affect what I’m doing, because all the stuff I’ve done in the past was a result of relentlessly sticking to my guns and doing what I know I’m capable of.”

Certainly, Gilmore’s distinctive sound is an acquired taste. Yet those who venture beyond his affected old-timey vocals–a plaintive, nasal twang that harks back to his west Texas roots–will find some powerful songs and performances.

Raised in Lubbock, Texas (home of Buddy Holly), he grew up in a region that has spawned such renegade country acts as Joe Ely, Nanci Griffith, and Butch Hancock. In that neck of the woods, folks often point to a rash of UFO sightings–the notorious “Lubbock lights”–to explain the presence of so many cosmic cowboys and cowgirls.

In 1971, Gilmore, Ely, and Hancock formed the Flatlanders, a band that combined modern lyrics and traditional instrumentation (including a musical saw). Their 1972 recording (released only on eight-track tape) quickly vanished but became an instant cult classic. (In 1990, Rounder Records reissued the album as More a Legend than a Band.) A thousand honky-tonks later, Gilmore resurfaced in the mid-’80s on the Oakland-based Hightone label.

But it was After Awhile, part of the Elektra/Nonesuch’s short-lived five-part “American Explorer” series, that rekindled Gilmore’s solo career.

“I felt flattered to be included and almost like I didn’t really belong there,” he says. “But it sure has been a great stepping stone.”

Indeed, the acclaim led to a five- album deal with Elektra. “You know, I’d just like to make enough money to keep a real good band going,” Gilmore says. “It’s not like I have anything against money, but it’s never been the real driving force in my life–although I wouldn’t mind finding a money tree.

“But in terms of artistic integrity, money allows me to keep a band together, write songs, and record–and that pretty much ties all my ambitions together.”

Jimmie Dale Gilmore performs Friday, Sept. 1, at 8:30 p.m., at the Mystic Theater, 21 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma. Tickets are $18. 765-2121.

From the August 24-30, 2000 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

Sandra Bernhard

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Sandra Bernhard

Mother of a show: Even having a daughter can’t blunt all the sharp edges on comic Sandra Bernhard, who brings her one-woman show to the LBC Sept. 1.

Suddenly Sandra

Comic Sandra Bernhard shows off her softer side

By Patrick Sullivan

WHO’D HAVE GUESSED? Turns out comedian Sandra Bernhard is like one of those football players that confuse us so much. You know the ones: On the field, they wreak bloody havoc, ferociously demolishing the opposing team and sending quarterbacks out of the game in body bags. Then, when a timid sports reporter catches up with them later in the locker room, they turn out to be pretty regular people. A little quiet. Even sweet.

Of course, Bernhard isn’t exactly tame, but she certainly isn’t as edgy over the phone as you might expect from her reputation.

“I think people are a little bit intimidated by me,” Bernhard admits with a laugh. “You know, I’m not exactly a wilting flower, so I think they’re a little bit scared of me sometimes.”

Speaking from a hotel room during a stop in San Diego, Bernhard is in the middle of explaining why she doesn’t have much trouble with celebrity stalkers. But she’s also just put her finger on one factor that helped catapult her out of the teeming ranks of the ’80s stand-up crowd and into the world of multimedia celebrity.

It’s the 45-year-old comedian’s curious combination of tough talk and emotional vulnerability that keeps audiences hungry for more, whether Bernhard is delivering her humor in the form of a semi-autobiographical book (she’s had three published, including the most recent, May I Kiss You on the Lips, Miss Sandra?), on television in her former role as the lesbian character on Roseanne, or in her current hugely successful stage show, which combines stand-up comedy with cabaret-style musical numbers.

Bernhard made a triumphant Broadway debut with “I’m Still Here . . . Damn It!”, the show she’ll be bringing to the Luther Burbank Center on Sept. 1. According to the critics, this performance piece doesn’t stint on venom: The New York Times calls it “an angst-driven, foul-mouthed, poison-laced joy ride” through the worlds of fashion, rock, and religion. We expect jokes about Mariah Carey, but Bernhard even goes after Mother Teresa.

But the emotional vulnerability is there, too. And that, according to Bernhard, may actually be more surprising to audiences who have become numb to the in-your-face antics of modern comedians.

“I tend to go against the grain because when I start to see that everybody’s trying to shock, I try not to,” Bernhard explains. “I just do stuff that’s subtler, more emotional, and I think that shocks people.

“In one of my books, the line was ‘Love is the only shocking act left on the face of the earth,’ ” she continues. “I think that being real, being honest, being emotional are all things that disarm people, much more than just being a smartass.”

And if you want to hear this edgy comedian get really mellow, ask her about life with her 2-year-old daughter.

“You have to really cultivate your patience level to extreme highs because when they need something or want something or can’t comprehend something, you have to be there to explain and be patient,” Bernhard says.

Has becoming a mom changed her outlook on life? In a way, answers Bernhard.

“I think it’s just given me another level of confidence and inner strength more than anything,” she says. “In terms of my point of view, that’s always evolving anyway. But certainly when you have a kid, you want the world to be an even safer, smarter place than when you were on your own, ’cause you want your kid to grow up into some semblance of sanity and happiness.”

BERNHARD began her stand-up career at the tender age of 19, working in comedy clubs in Los Angeles. Two years later, her first big break came along when she was made a regular on the short-lived Richard Pryor Show.

Making the rounds on the country’s comedy circuit in those days offered equal parts stultifying boredom and dangerous misadventure. Bernhard had to be prepared for anything, as she explains in Love, Love, Love, her second book: “I usually drove alone, and I carried a gun that I had to use when a club owner set me up in the parking lot with a couple of guys who tried to rip off my $1,200 in cash. They backed off quickly, but after that I threw the gun into a garbage can at a Sunoco station on some dismal turnpike, knowing all too well I was probably on the verge of using the damn thing.”

Her career has come a long way since those dangerous days. She has several high-profile film roles under her belt (most notably as a psychotic fan of talk-show host Jerry Lewis in King of Comedy) and writes regularly for magazines ranging from Spin to The New Yorker. She also hobnobs with the biggest names in pop culture, including Madonna. That relationship, which was once very close, took on a new dimension in the public’s mind when Bernhard came out as a lesbian some years back.

These days, Bernhard doesn’t have too much to say about the Material Girl: “We haven’t hung out in many years, but when I see her, it’s all pretty cordial,” she explains.

After her daughter, Bernhard’s biggest joy in life seems to be collaborating with her music director, Mitch Kaplan, to create the songs that form an integral part of her stage shows.

“My first love was music, and I really wanted to be a singer, which I kind of ended up being, but I took a more circuitous route by starting in the stand-up world,” she explains.

She also continuously revises and refines the comedic portion of her act. That means that the “I’m Still Here . . . Damn It!” she stages in Santa Rosa won’t be quite the same as what audiences saw on Broadway.

“The outline is the same, but since then I’ve rewritten quite a lot of the material and there’s a lot of new stuff,” Bernhard says. “Also, there’s a lot of improvisation, which makes it more current and gives people a little more than what they think they’ve seen already.”

Bernhard also has a new show in the works. She has already performed “Songs I Sang in the Kibbutz” at a comedy club in New York, and she soon expects to take it on the road.

“Some of it’s kind of ironic, and some of it’s really serious rock and roll,” Bernhard says. “And it goes all over the place musically, from Bobby Womack to three original compositions to AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long.”

“But as always,” she continues, “it comes together in some sort of unexplained way.”

Sandra Bernhard performs Friday, Sept. 1, at 8 p.m. at the LBC, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. Tickets are $18.50-$25.50. For details, call 546-3600 .

From the August 24-30, 2000 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

Studio Be

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Studio Be

On the edge: Kristi Jacobs stars in Ball of Fame at Studio Be.

Four Play

Studio Be’s staged readings offer intimate drama

By Patrick Sullivan

THE BAD NEWS about Studio Be’s new theater space is that you could easily miss the first 10 minutes of a production trying to find the place. Or, if you’re a directions-challenged theater critic, the first half hour.

Located on Fifth Street in a building that is literally beneath Highway 101 (hint: if you think there can’t possibly be a theater in that direction, you’ve probably found Studio Be), the new space lacks most of the amenities many local theater companies take for granted.

There is no raised stage, there is no sound system, and the company’s artistic director, Lennie Dean (whose longtime efforts in the local theater scene earned her an Indy award from the Sonoma County Independent last year), is still looking for money to finish paying for the folding chairs that seat her audience. But the good news is that Dean’s collaborative, process-based program has found a home at all.

Currently, the theater is offering, as part of its Second Stage series, a production that features staged readings of four original one-act plays by local playwrights working in Studio Be’s writing program. And judging just by the last two pieces, there’s enough promise in this company to overcome any disadvantages posed by the space.

Rough Truth offers a dramatic confrontation between lovers who are at the end of their relationship. Now in their 60s, Allen (played by Bob Thomas) and Leya (Eileen McCann) have been together for 12 years, but have never married. Leya sees their relationship as permanent, but she’s dismayed to learn that Allen doesn’t.

“I think we have something deeper than marriage,” she tells him, only to wince when he replies, “I think we have something different than marriage.”

Crisis comes to this relationship (as it often does) in the shape of a third party. It seems that Allen has found true love with a 72-year-old woman, a fact that sends Leya into a fit of rage and bewilderment.

The world-weary Allen would prefer to handle the whole thing his way: in a low-key, unemotional manner. Why don’t I go next door until you cool off, he suggests. “Call me a whole sack of motherfuckers,” he continues. “That usually helps.”

“How about grandmotherfuckers?” Leya replies with some heat.

Since this is a staged reading, the two actors spend most of the play seated in their chairs with scripts in hand. But Thomas and McCann still find room to act, offering a compelling portrayal of sharply contrasting viewpoints. They make this script’s witty dialogue crackle with the characters’ deeply felt emotions.

Less polished and compelling, Choices seems to be at an earlier stage of development. But there is considerable promise evident in Lennie Dean’s short but dramatic tale of a distraught woman who receives a totally unexpected visitor from her troubled past.

Sheila Groves plays Amy, who is going about her household chores and weeping when the play opens. Brian Bartlett plays the ambassador from an earlier, almost forgotten period in her life. His sly, sarcastic voice is the perfect prod, forcing her to come to terms with an issue that she thought was buried long ago.

The readings conclude with a post-show discussion that involves the audience, the actors, the playwrights, and the directors. During the lively exchange, one audience member pointed out that the conclusion to Choices felt a bit forced, which it certainly does.

But finding the rough spots in these works is what the discussion is all about. Indeed, that’s one of the major attractions of the Second Stage series: if you’re interested in the process by which plays reach the stage, you’ll love the fact that this series takes you under the hood, letting you see what’s inside and even tinker around a bit by giving feedback to the playwright.

And in this age where most events on the arts and entertainment scene put us firmly in the role of spectators, that’s a refreshing change of pace.

This installment of the Second Stage reading series continues on Aug. 25 and 26 and Sept. 1 and 2 at 8 p.m., with a show on Aug. 27 at 2 p.m. at 206 Fifth St., Santa Rosa. A $5 to $10 donation is suggested. 569-8206.

From the August 24-30, 2000 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

Margaret Biever Mondavi Opera House Theater

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By Paula Harris

SONOMA COUNTY isn’t the only region experiencing arts venue expansion. Over in downtown Napa, organizers broke ground last week on the new Margaret Biever Mondavi Opera House Theater, a 475-seat facility located on Main Street. Built in 1879, the original opera house has been closed since 1914–but is slated to reopen in 2002.

“It’s a jewel of a theater, with a beautiful auditorium, golden-age carpentry, and a balcony,” says Michael Savage, newly appointed executive director of the Opera House Theater. If his name sounds familiar, it should: Savage, a Calistoga resident, has worked as managing director of the San Francisco Opera for the last six years.

Renovations will include extending the back by 25 feet to increase the size of the facility and putting in a tower in which to hoist scenery. The look of the original façade will be retained. The major improvement will be the addition of the Opera House Cafe, a full restaurant and two bars, with a seating capacity of 200-plus, which will also be used as a venue for performances and special events.

Savage says programming for the nonprofit facility will include not just opera, but also operetta, musical theater, dance, plays, symphony music, chamber music, recitals, and poetry readings.

The total project will cost between $10 and $11 million. “We still need to raise $2 million,” says Savage. Most of the money raised so far has winery ties. The major donor is the Mondavi family, which has gifted $2.2 million. Joseph Phelps of Joseph Phelps Vineyards is another big donor.

Savage says he is excited by the current emphasis on cultural arts in the North Bay. “All this activity feeds on itself and creates momentum,” he observes. “We will be a very versatile regional theater and hope to collaborate with other regional theaters in the Bay Area in planning events and sharing artists.”

As for patrons, Savage says the Opera House Theater will promote tickets sales on the Internet and draw in tourists planning to visit the Wine Country. “We are hoping that our catch area will be much greater than just the local areas. We want to increase the attraction worldwide,” he says, adding that when the San Francisco Opera first put ticket sales on the Internet, the first customers were from New Zealand and Sweden. “The Internet has revolutionized how you promote arts events,” he says.

From the August 24-30, 2000 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

Cultural Arts Series at the Luther Burbank Center

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Cultural Arts Series at the Luther Burbank Center

Ending on a high note: Executive director Claudia Haskel, who announced her resignation last month, has helped engineer dramatic changes at the LBC, designed to make the venue more competitive in a rapidly changing market.

Photograph by Michael Amsler

A Brand-New Start

New seats, a new cultural arts series–the Luther Burbank Center is raising the curtain on the future

By Paula Harris

THE CURTAINS ARE GOING UP at the Luther Burbank Center for the Performing Arts. Literally. A small cadre of workers mills around the wet-paint-scented main auditorium. Two jeans-clad men clamber up a metal ladder, reaching up to hang a brand-new heavy black backdrop across the back of the stage in the Ruth Finley Person Theater. A young guy with long blonde hair, wearing a rumpled T-shirt and shorts, tests the new spotlights, flipping them on and off, intermittently flooding the small stage with hot, eye-tearing illumination.

Are there any backstage jitters? Perhaps . . .

For nearly two decades now, the LBC has been a major hub of live entertainment and cultural activity in Sonoma County. Now the sprawling complex, once the home of the Christian Life Center church and located on a 52-acre site in north Santa Rosa, is undergoing a long-needed facelift–both physically and in terms of programming.

Indeed, what strikes you immediately is that the former seating–uncomfortable wooden church pews that lingered for years–is gone. In its place lie gently curving rows of thickly padded maroon fabric seats with armrests, enough to seat 1,560. The new color scheme of teal, maroon, and black gives the auditorium a classy but warm ambiance.

“It’s remarkable to see the transformation,” says the LBC’s executive director, Claudia Haskel. “It’s absolutely an image change. Walk in the theater and you’ll see immediately the image is no longer a church. It’s a stunning performing arts facility.”

The first phase of the LBC $883,000 facelift, completed last year, focused on upgrading the facility’s climate-control system, painting the exterior of building, and refurbishing the main lobby, all at a cost of $450,000.

In addition to replacing the pews, workers in recent weeks have recarpeted the interior, reconstructed areas to meet disability requirements, painted the interior, replaced the stage curtains, installed new spotlights, and resurfaced the parking lot–at a cost of another $433,000. The work is almost complete, and the LBC reopens Sept. 1 with a concert by irreverent comedian Sandra Bernhard.

Fall into Fun: New season brings fresh faces and old favorites to North Bay art scene.

High-Tech Hall: Santa Rosa Symphony readies for move to state-of-the-art music center.

Vintage Gem: Napa begins renovations on the Margaret Biever Mondavi Opera House Theater.

Author Appearances: Noted contemporary writers are slated to swing through the North Bay in the coming months.

The remodeling is clearly happening at an opportune time, since the LBC is facing one of its biggest challenges since its inception in 1981–the impending loss of one of its most prestigious tenants. In two years, the Santa Rosa Symphony moves to a flashy new music hall on the Sonoma State University campus (see “High-Tech Hall” on page 19) in Rohnert Park.

But the physical improvements aren’t the only change at the performing arts center. The LBC, which is run by a nonprofit organization that relies on community funding, has also responded to the symphony’s move by boldly launching a new high-end subscription series with a focus on the cultural arts.

The diverse performing arts series, titled “Wine Country Great Performances,” kicks off next month and features such renowned headliners as Grammy-nominated cabaret singer and pianist Michael Feinstein, the Bulgarian Women’s Chorus, jazz artist David Benoit, and world- famous mime Marcel Marceau. All this at a venue best known just a few years ago for its Nashville country acts.

“The focus of the series is to present the best opera, classical music, theater, jazz, and literary artists available and to put that together in a subscription series to encourage people to explore and expand their musical and theatrical horizons,” explains Haskel, who says she has long dreamed of creating such a program. “We’ll continue to present popular entertainment,” she continues, “but we want to emphasize the growth of our cultural arts programming.”

In the past, the LBC’s programming department seemed to shy away from booking performances that clashed or competed with the Santa Rosa Symphony. That’s going to change.

“Most definitely” the Santa Rosa Symphony has been part of the cultural core of the LBC’s programming, but since the symphony is leaving the building, we’re beginning to book a stronger series of cultural programs through our own programming department,” Haskel says. “And our intention is to build the cultural programming up over time so that the subscription base is a sellout.”

Haskel also sees a way to cash in on the demographic changes currently taking place in the county. Wealthy professionals are moving north, attracted by the expansion of the telecom industry and other high-tech fields in Sonoma County and fleeing soaring housing costs in San Francisco and in Marin County. The LBC is betting that these newcomers haven’t lost their appetite for the finer cultural offerings to be found in big cities like San Francisco.

“A lot of people are relocating to Sonoma County and have a desire to attend performing arts programs here rather than in the city because of the traffic and their busy lives,” Haskel observes. “What we want to do is provide the same level of cultural programming in a more intimate setting with greater comfort and ease for our patrons.”

To that end, the LBC has also recently introduced a pre-performance dinner program, where patrons can, for between $35 and $45, dine on an in-house catered “theme” meal in the lobby. There is no restaurant on the LBC campus, although Haskel says she is open to the idea.

IT’S ALL VERY IMPRESSIVE–but can the LBC’s dramatic changes ensure the nonprofit’s viability in an increasingly competitive local entertainment market that offers audiences more choice than ever before?

LBC’s current main rivals, the Marin Center in Marin County and the Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa in Lake County, are giving the LBC a run for the money. The Marin Center, entirely funded by the county of Marin and now in its 29th season, continues to draw in the big names. Meanwhile, Konocti grabs many of the country-and-western headliners that were once a programming staple of the LBC.

“We’ve had competition from both of those venues from the early ’90s,” acknowledges Haskel.” Our programming has been directed to fill a niche that isn’t being replicated by programming elsewhere.”

Another potential competitor will emerge in 2002 when the Margaret Biever Mondavi Opera House Theater opens its doors in downtown Napa (see “Vintage Gem” article.)

Haskel says the LBC has dealt with competition by focusing on cultural program development, such as the Children’s Performing Arts Program which attracts approximately 35,000 children to the center each year.

“The latest surge of programming at the Marin Center is primarily rock,” Haskel adds. “We’re also focusing in that area now to bring in more rock acts, but really we’re a performing arts center. Konocti and Marin, the acts they’re booking are primarily acts from the ’70s and ’80s, and we’re focusing on current rock and the performing arts.”

As for the country music programming, Haskel explains that the LBC continues to book country acts, but that the music is sprinkled among some 10 other genres being covered by the center.

“If you pulled out the programming schedule for the year you’d see 12 country acts on it,” Haskel says. “Yes, some of the acts are going to Konocti, but we’re still doing our country programming. It’s just mixed in with everything else. Ten years ago the LBC was programming mostly country, so that’s what people were used to seeing.

“Konocti’s competition was stronger three years ago,” she continues. “It’s not something that’s on our minds.”

Haskel adds that most competition for rock acts comes from East Bay and South Bay amphitheaters that are double- and triple-billing shows.

JIM FARLEY, Marin Center manager since 1979, also downplays the competition between the main rival venues. “It appears to me that there’s more competition within Sonoma County than between Marin and Sonoma counties,” he says. “Our market is Marin and the Bay Area. We serve a different market and community, and often we book acts that aren’t in Sonoma County.”

According to Farley, the real competition lies in capturing patrons’ attention when they have a wealth of choices and more leisure time.

“I don’t worry about competition but about trying to best serve our community here, [staying] attuned to what the community is interested in, providing it, and also challenging audience tastes,” he explains. “Over time, things play themselves out, audiences and communities change. Our job is to stay in tune and serve them. Life goes on: the daily challenge to select the programming and present it.”

Still, Farley acknowledges that the LBC has blitzed Marin County with publicity for its new upcoming cultural arts subscription series. “It’s been very aggressive marketing here in Marin County,” he comments. “More aggressive than anything I’ve seen. It’ll be interesting to see if a lot of Marinites go.”

Haskel says that promos for the new “Wine Country Great Performances” series went out to Marin, Napa, and Mendocino counties. “Our primary target was the Highway 101 corridor,” she says, adding that 28 percent of the LBC’s audience comes from out of the county, up from 25 percent last year.

ALTHOUGH there have been numerous rumblings and rumors to the contrary, the Luther Burbank Memorial Foundation, the LBC’s governing board, has squelched any possibility of relocating the center to downtown Santa Rosa.

“We have 20 undeveloped acres, we have immediate access to Hwy. 101. There is no better location for expanded performing arts growth in the county than our facility, and our board recognizes that,” Haskel says. “We can park with ease on this property. We’re as accessible from Mendocino County as we are from San Francisco. It’s very difficult to get an audience of 2,000 people in and out of a location in a downtown area.”

In addition, the board has recently made public a master plan for the center that includes a hotel and a new theater. The 25-year plan, which was required by the county before it granting the LBC a sewer hookup, is an ambitious one. But Haskel can see it happening sooner rather than later.

“The likelihood of the hotel coming to fruition is probably in the next five years. The likelihood of a theater is in the next 10 years,” she says. “And the purpose of the new theater is to present traveling Broadway performances, fully staged ballets, more opera, and expanded seating to attract larger acts. It’s an exciting goal for Sonoma County and the North Bay.”

BUT HASKEL, who’s been at the LBC’s helm for the past six years, won’t be around to help further the facility’s transformation. She is heading for the exit door. She leaves her job in November to embark on other pursuits–such as obtaining her black belt in karate–and taking off for an extended trip abroad. Time will tell how the LBC will fare, but Haskel leaves on an optimistic note.

“We’re faced with challenges that are great. We’ve always been faced with challenges that are great, and they’ve always made us stronger and better, and I presume that’s what will happen with the transition that we’re going through now,” she says. “We’ve had our best box office sales this summer we’ve had in the last six years. The perspective we have is that it’s going to be our best year ever.

“If you take one walk in the theater, you’ll see what I mean,” she concludes. “It’s the unveiling of a whole new phase of life for the LBC.”

From the August 24-30, 2000 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

North Bay Art Scene

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North Bay Art Scene

Strings attached: Roy Rogers and Shana Morrison continue their collaboration for a show on Sept. 3 at the Sausalito Arts Festival.

Photograph by Susan Schelling

Fall into Fun

New season brings fresh faces and old favorites to North Bay art scene

By Greg Cahill, Shelley Lawrence, Patrick Sullivan, and Marina Wolf

DON’T BE AFRAID. That deep rumble you hear in the distance isn’t the sound of approaching thunder–so everyone in Rio Nido can relax, at least for the moment. No, the only storm front headed our way is the deluge about to be unleashed upon the North Bay by the fall arts season. And make no mistake: the end of summer will bring a flood of activity to our area. Before you know it, we’ll be up to our eyeballs in the arts, happily swimming through the high seas of culture with the likes of Marcel Marceau, basking on a river of notes at the Russian River Jazz Festival, and enjoying liquid of another kind at the 15th annual Something’s Brewing beer tasting. Read all about it in our selective preview below, but just make sure you’re back on dry land before your skin starts to prune up.

September

Sandra Bernhard Alternately fierce and tender, the provocative comedian serves up sizzling standup and cabaret tunes in “I’m Still Here, Damn It!” Sept. 1 at 8 p.m. LBC, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. $18.50-$25.50. 546-3600.

Sonoma Film Institute Only an institution devoted to the life of the mind could build such a strong program of hard-to-find and provocative cinema. Indies, classics, foreign-language films: SFI has them all. The season opens Sept. 1-2 with The Mirror, an Iranian feature that follows a confident little girl through the streets of Tehran. Sonoma State University, Darwin Theatre, Darwin Hall, 1801 E. Cotati, Rohnert Park. $4.50/general; $4/seniors, non-SSU students, SFI members, and children under 12. 664-2606.

Jethro Tull The legendary rockers land in Marin County after playing more than 2,500 concerts in 40 countries. Come listen to front man Ian Anderson, who introduced the flute into rock music, and be wowed. Sept. 1 at 8. Marin Center, Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. Tickets are $28-$50. 415/499-6400.

Cajun Festival Sonoma County and Louisiana swampland are nothing alike, but that has never stopped the Sebastopol Rotary Club from entering into some of the customs–boiling crawfish and dancing your boots off–with unabashed glee. The Iguanas, Gator Beat, and Crawdaddy lead the way with hot Cajun and zydeco dance music, while the feast goes on all day. Saturday, Sept. 2, noon to 7 p.m. Laguna Park, Morris St., Sebastopol. $7/general, $5/advance; children get in free. 823-3032.

Studio Discovery Tour There is that feel of discovery to finding art in the country, like finding a jewel in the deep, dark woods. Consider this tour a treasure map to the goodies, displayed in studios by the 20-plus members of the North Coast Artists’ Guild, who are doing wondrous things in sculpture, paintings, art furniture, and even video. Pick up tour maps at various locations in Gualala, Sept. 2-3 and 9-10, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 884-1608.

Sausalito Art Festival Walk the waterfront and absorb the art, if you can: with more than 20,000 works of art on display, the overload potential is high. But then there’s food, wine, and music, too. Saturday’s lineup includes Vivendo de Pão, Roy Rogers and Shana Morrison, and Jimmy Cliff. Sunday brings in Legion of Mary, the Tubes, and Irish folkies Greenhouse, while Monday’s performers include Angela Strehli, the Tommy Castro Band, and zydeco from Tom Rigney and Flambeau. This year, the festival is offering free shuttle service from Santa Rosa, Petaluma, and Greenbrae. Sept. 2-3, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sept. 4, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sausalito waterfront. $15/general, $7/seniors, $5/youth; children under 5 get in free (but keep them out of the pottery aisle!). 546-BASS.

Jazz Jammin’ The name is long–the Traditional Ragtime and Dixieland Jazz Appreciation and Strutters Society–but the reason for being is short and sweet: good old-fashioned jazz. Members meet monthly for dancing, jam sessions, and frequent guest performances. The fall’s first meeting is on Sunday, Sept. 3. Later programs: Oct. 1, Black Diamond Blue Five; Nov. 5, Jubilee Jazz Band. All concerts go from 1 to 5:30 p.m. Moose Lodge, 2350 Santa Rosa Ave., Santa Rosa. $8/general, $5/members. 526-1772.

Los Lobos The Latino rockers return to Sonoma County to deliver their unique mix of R&B, Tex Mex, and pure rock ‘n’ roll. Sept. 5 at 8 p.m. LBC, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. $28.50. 546-3600.

Meet the Stars The universe may be chaotic and random, but it is nothing if not awesome in its scope and explosive beauty. Get up close to the cosmic canvas at SRJC’s planetarium shows, running every Friday and Saturday at 7 and 8:30 p.m., and Sundays at 1:30 and 3 p.m. “Ten Years of Hubble” opens the season on Sept. 8, with a look through the sky-directed eyes of the Hubble Space Telescope. Santa Rosa Junior College, Lark Hall, Room 2001, 1501 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa. $4/general, $2/students and seniors (no children under 5, please). 527-4371.

Operatic Education Some music requires serious thought to get the full impact. That’s the theory, at least, behind the lectures and discussions hosted by concerned North Bay opera buffs. Proceeds from the Sonoma County chapter of the San Francisco Opera Guild series benefit Opera à la Carte, bringing music to operatically impoverished schoolchildren throughout the county. The series begins Sept. 8, with a morning presentation on Verdi’s Luisa Miller. Other lecture topics: Sept. 18 at 2 p.m., The Tsar’s Bride; Sept. 21 at 7 p.m., The Ballad of Baby Doe; Oct. 2 at 10:30 a.m., Dead Man Walking; Nov. 2 at 7 p.m., Semele; Nov. 13 at 10:30 a.m., Der Rosenkavalier. Locations vary. Meals are often packaged with the lectures, with suggested donations ranging from $20 to $25, and reservations are required. 546-4379. . . . the Jarvis Conservatory in Napa raises the curtains on its lecture season on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. Under the direction of maestro Hugo Rinaldi of the Marin Opera, students will cover a classic curriculum of La Bohème, Otello, Manon Lescaut, and Don Giovanni. All classes are held on Monday evenings, Sept. 11 through Oct. 16, at the Jarvis Conservatory, 1711 Main St., Napa. The course fee is $30–what a deal!–but early registration is recommended. 255-5445.

Napa Wine and Crafts Faire Yet another point on the arts-and-crafts show circuit, made glorious by the sun and the promise of Napa Valley wines. Live music and fun for the kids, plus a beautiful drive. Go on. You deserve it. Sept. 9, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. First Street, downtown Napa. Free to view; expect to pay for your food. 257-0322.

Rosalie Sorrels The prominent country-folk singer-songwriter teams up with bluegrass great Mollie O’Brien for a CD-release party (they’ve both got new albums) that’ll knock your socks off. Sept. 9 at 8 p.m. Community Center, 390 Morris St., Sebastopol. $17/reserved seats, $13/general advance, $15 at the door. 823-1511.

Bridge over troubled waters: Dee Dee Bridgewater performs Sept. 9 at the Russian River Jazz Festival.

Photograph by Philippe Pierangeli

Russian River Jazz Fest Sometimes dreams do come true. A lot of local jazz fans grumbled about the smooth jazz (pronounced “pop”) and chardonnay haze that had come to obscure this venerable event, which in the past has showcased the likes of bebop pioneer Dizzy Gillespie. The people spoke , and the programmers listened. The top acts featured at the annual festival–now in its 24th year at Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville–are mostly rooted in straight-ahead jazz and are far more innovative than recent offerings. The Chick Corea Trio, vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, percussionist Poncho Sanchez, singer Kevin Mahogany, and the Mel Martin/Harold Jones 17-piece big band will shine on Saturday, Sept. 9. The Sunday, Sept. 10, lineup features saxophonist Branford Marsalis, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, vocalist Flora Purim and percussionist Airto, and the Omega Aires Gospel Singers. The gate opens at 10 a.m. Advance tickets are $40 each day, $70 for both. 869-3940.

Art in the Park Now there’s a happy thought: art in nature. No matter how often it’s done, the Petaluma Arts Association does it one better in an intimate exhibit surrounded by beautiful Victorian ambiance and music radiating from the turn-of-the-century (that’s last century) gazebo. Sept. 9-10, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Walnut Park, between Fourth Street and Petaluma Boulevard at D Street, Petaluma. Free. 763-2308.

Waterfront Jazz Set up the lawn chair and put on your hat for a sunny day of nothin’ but jazz on the banks of the Petaluma River. Youth bands swing in from 10 a.m. to noon; then the Peter Welker All-Star Band takes the stage with instrumental talent from eight famous bands. Sept. 9, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Foundry Wharf Green, Second and H streets, Petaluma. $10/advance, $12/general; free to children under 13. 769-0429.

A Divine Madness Local filmmaker Robert Pickett taps the intense intersection of life and art for his newest feature film, in which a community theater runs through the paces in a production of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. Can you get too far into a character’s skin? You be the judge at the film’s world premiere. Sept. 10 at 1 p.m., followed by Q&A and a champagne reception. No-host bar opens at noon. McNear’s Mystic Theater, 21 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma. $15. 569-8206, ext. 3.

Making progress: Rebeca Mauleón.

Progressive Festival It’s a day in the park for progressive causes, with antiwar activist Daniel Ellsberg (famous for releasing the Pentagon Papers to the press, thereby helping to end the Vietnam War) heading up the impressive list of speakers. Info tables abound, and Rebeca Mauleón and Darryl Cherney add a musical touch to the proceedings. Sept. 10 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Walnut Park, Petaluma Boulevard South and D Street, Petaluma. Free. 763-8134.

California Small Works What can you fit into a cubic foot? That’s the question posed to artists through SMOVA’s annual tribute to tiny works, in an exhibit that opens on Sept. 11 and runs through Dec. 10. None of these works would be allowed on a roller coaster: exhibit requirements stipulate measurements of no more than 12″x12″x12″, and that includes the base and/or frame. What a relief to know that in art, at least, size doesn’t matter. (Artists: Ship your own entry by Sept. 7, or hand-deliver it Sept. 9-10; call for prospectus.) Luther Burbank Center, SMOVA, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. 527-0297.

Harry Belafonte The world went bananas when this sunny singer hit the airwaves with calypso back in the ’50s. Well, the Caribbean charisma is still going strong, with the added support of African and Third World rhythms. Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. Marin Center, Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. $28-$42. 415/472-3500.

Something’s Brewing More than 20 specialty breweries from across Northern California come together to pour a river of finely made beer down our grateful throats at the 15th annual Something’s Brewing beer tasting. The event, which benefits the Sonoma County Museum, also features samples of local food and, in a very responsible move, cab rides home. Sept. 15, 5:30 to 8 p.m. $28/door, $25/advance. 579-1500.

On the ball: Sebastopol artist Daniel Oberti’s Spheres (#1) is among the many works featured at Art for Life, an auction benefiting the AIDS charity Face to Face.

Art for Life Where common decency and uncommonly good art meet: that’s the Art for Life Exhibit and Auction, which has been leading the fundraising fight against AIDS for a dozen years now. More than 250 artists will chip in, with works ranging from traditional paintings to weird-ass recycled sculpture, to be auctioned off for funding AIDS programs in the county. Preview the offerings for free Sept. 13-15, and then come to the auction on Sept. 16 at 3:30 p.m., for wining, dining, and a musical contribution from the Ben Hill Quartet. Friedman Center, 4676 Mayette Ave., Santa Rosa. $50. 544-1851.

Sonoma County Book Fair Local literati hit it big with a gathering of authors whose works are worthy of any reader’s bookshelf. Greg Sarris (Grand Avenue and Watermelon Nights) and Gerald Haslam (The Great Central Valley and Condor Dreams) head the lineup, and they’ll be joined by Jean Hegland (Into the Forest), Jonah Raskin, and Sonoma County Poet Laureate Don Emblen. If you’re a wannabe, check out the publishing panels. Sept. 16, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Old Courthouse Square, downtown Santa Rosa. Free. 579-2787.

Glendi This is the family reunion you’ve always wanted to have, with sweaty, good-natured dancing that no one will criticize and savory ethnic food, from Russian to Eritrean, that everyone will like (none of Uncle Pete’s weird coleslaw, either). Once again, Annoush ‘Ellas and Edessa provide the foot-stomping music at St. Mary’s Orthodox Church’s 12th annual community party. If you go to this, don’t plan anything for the rest of the weekend. Sept. 16, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sept. 17, noon to 6 p.m. 90 Mountain View Ave., Santa Rosa Ave., Santa Rosa $5/adults; children under 12 get in free. 584-9491.

River Appreciation Festival Let us pause and give thanks for the Russian River. . . . All right, now on to the hikes, barbecue, and educational yet fun activities that have made this festival a popular fall event. Proceeds benefit the Sonoma County Environmental Center, Friends of the Russian River, and the Russian River Environmental Forum. Sept. 16 from 3 to 6 p.m. $35. Sponsorships are available, and reservations strongly recommended. 578-0595.

Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival Art, just art, and lots of it, along with a mellow lineup of jazz, blues, and folk music, makes the 44th annual festival a worthwhile stop for any art groupies. Take it easy, though: the Christmas arts and crafts fairs are just around the corner, and you’ve got to build your stamina up slowly. Sept. 16-17 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Old Mill Park, Mill Valley (shuttle buses run continuously from Tamalpais High School), $5; children under 12 admitted free. 415/381-0525.

Poetry Walk Tread warily on the streets of Petaluma this day, because poetry is on the loose. Of course, if that’s what you like, then go for it. Susan Brown, Ron Salisbury, Diane di Prima, and Jonah Raskin are among the readers at locations all around downtown, starting at Deaf Dog Cafe (134 Petaluma Blvd.) at noon. Sept. 17, noon to 6 p.m. Free. 763-4271.

Jewish Films More than almost anything else in the 20th century, film helped shape how minority communities viewed themselves, confronting and creating identity and culture. This fall the Jewish Community Agency of Sonoma County brings together five definitive works, along with guest speakers. The festival opens on Sept. 21 with Kadosh and continues through Dec. 14. The other films are The Harmonists, A Walk on the Moon, The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, and Yana’s Friends. Rialto Cinemas Lakeside (551 Summerfield Road, Santa Rosa) and Sebastiani Theatre (476 First St. E., Sonoma). $7.50/general, $5/students under 18, and $32.50 for series pass. 528-4222.

Golf with Alan Shepard There may be more to life than golf, but golf can tell you everything you need to know about life in this lighthearted stroll through 18 holes of comedic self-searching. Sept. 21-Oct. 8; Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays-Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. $16/general, $13/youth and seniors, $11/Thursdays. 588-3430.

Band land: The Old Blind Dogs.

Celtic Festival Heigh ho and torry-lorry-lor: the Sebastopol Celtic Festival is back for another crowd-pleasing weekend of total-immersion Celtic culture, Sept. 22-24. Music and dance are the big draw, of course, and the schedule is too packed to list everything here. The opening concert features the Karan Casey Trio and Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill. Saturday brings John Whelan, Mary Jane Lamond, Beginish, and Orla and the Gasmen during the day, and Alasdair Fraser and Dervish at night. On Sunday, give a little listen to the Old Blind Dogs, Crasdant, and Mary Mclaughlin. Ask also about workshops in flute, step-dance, Gaelic voice, bagpipe, fiddle, and more. Community Center and Laguna Youth Park, 390 Morris St., Sebastopol. $78/reserved full-festival pass, $68/general full-festival pass, $20-$25/Friday night, $23-$28/Saturday night, $17/Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Day workshops open to seniors and youth at reduced prices. Passes can be purchased in Sebastopol at Copperfield’s Music and at the Community Center. 829-7067.

Randy Newman Lately he’s been branching out into movie soundtracks, from Pleasantville to Babe: Pig in the City. But the pop tunesmith has always known what his listeners really like: short people, rednecks, and just sailing away. Sept. 23 at 7:15 p.m. Osher Marin Jewish Community Center, 200 N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael. $35/general, $30/JCC members. 415/479-2000.

Puppet Festival Here’s animation at its original, low-tech finest: limp objects brought to life with just the twitch of a string. Parasol Puppets and Coad Canada Puppets share the program in two performances, and puppet masters from both companies lead a backstage workshop for all ages. Performances are on Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. and Sept. 30 at 3:30 p.m.; workshop is from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 30. Jarvis Conservatory, 1711 Main St., Napa. $20/general, $10/children 12 and under; $5 for workshop admission. 255-5445.

Camera Art 2 Fifty Sonoma County photographers show their views through the shutter, with techniques ranging from most traditional black-and-white photography to digital and experimental forms, at Silver Stone Gallery’s popular festival of photography. Sept. 23-24. Montgomery Village Shopping Center, Santa Rosa. Call for exhibit hours. 541-7117.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo The talented Zulu choir, best known for its backup vocal work on Paul Simon’s “Graceland,” brings precise, expressive harmonies to Marin County for the seventh time. Sept. 24 at 3. Marin Center, Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. $18-$28. 415/499-6400.

Junior College Arts and Lectures Not only does the JC offer college-level courses at an unbeatable low fee, but their lectures are usually free, which means that anyone with a mind to learn, can. The semester starts with a reading of Buddha poetry on Sept. 25, a slide show and discussion on art and subconscious thought on Oct. 2, and a didjeridu performance and lecture on Oct. 16. And that’s just the first three weeks! Most sessions take place at the Santa Rosa campus at noon in the Newman Auditorium; selected lectures are repeated at 7:30 on the same day in the Mahoney Library on the Petaluma campus. Call today for your copy of the Fall Community Education catalog to check out the whole semester of possibilities. 527-4371.

A Brand-New Start: New seats, a new cultural arts series–the Luther Burbank Center is raising the curtain on the future.

High-Tech Hall: Santa Rosa Symphony readies for move to state-of-the-art music center.

Vintage Gem: Napa begins renovations on the Margaret Biever Mondavi Opera House Theater.

Author Appearances: Noted contemporary writers are slated to swing through the North Bay in the coming months.

October

B.R. Cohn Music Fest It’s handy to be the manager of the Doobie Brothers. That way it’s really easy to book them for your festival. Sharing the bill are Little Feat and the Sy Klopps Blues Band, featuring Neal Schon and Terry Hagerty. Oct. 1, starting at noon. B.R. Cohn Winery, 15140 Sonoma Hwy. 12, Glen Ellen (parking at the Sonoma Developmental Center). $50/door, $45/advance; and leave your picnic at home. 800/330-4064.

Harvest Fair No one could forget the agricultural heritage of Sonoma County, but the Harvest Fair is nonetheless a welcome refresher course on the wine, food, farms, and art that have made the county what it is today. Events include a tasting of the wine-contest entries, an art show and sale, displays of everything from apples to animals, and of course the World Championship Grape Stomp. Now that’s entertainment! Oct. 6-8. Sonoma County Fairgrounds, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa. $5/adults, $2/children ages 7-12; advance tickets $2; winetasting tickets available for purchase. 545-4203.

Sculpture Jam III Watch as teams of live-action superheroes take on huge chunks of inanimate objects and wrestle 3-D art out them! Hmm . . . is a sculpture smackdown on the way? The Sebastopol Center for the Arts brings back its popular in-situ sculpture event. Recall that last year’s event resulted in the controversial piece of sculpture dubbed The Door to Hell by critics, and given that this year’s theme is “Totems, Shrines, and Icons,” we’d advise you to be prepared for anything. Oct. 5 from 6 to 8 p.m.; Oct. 6 and 7, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Live music, demos, and refreshments all come with admission, which is free. 829-4797.

The San Francisco Comedy Competition The stars of tomorrow often shine first in this famed comedy free-for-all, which features a semifinal round in Sonoma County. Fair warning: this event always sells out early. Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. LBC, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. $24.50 or $26.50. 546-3600.

Festival Fantasia Billed as a Middle Eastern extravaganza, this seventh annual installment of dance and music seems to be venturing further afield for its performers: this year’s roster includes a Brazilian dance workshop and a drumming class with Vince Delgado that covers mambo to baladi and back. But with more than 100 belly dancers on tap, along with ethnic foods, live music, and open-dance-floor times, the Middle East emphasis is still going strong. Saturday, Oct. 7, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 8, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Community Center, 390 Morris St., Sebastopol. $10/advance, $12/door, $5/teens; children under 12 admitted free. 824-0533.

It’s alive! Sculptor T. Barny opens his studios during ARTrails, the annual tour that takes you behind the scenes of artistic creation in Sonoma County.

ARTrails If there were no map for this open-studio tour, no signs on the street posts, no flyers at the coffee shops, you’d still be able to find your way around by putting your nose to the ground and following the aroma of well-done art. In its 15th year, the tour has more than 130 artists around the county cleaning up their lairs and putting out their best work. Oct. 14-15 and 21-22, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pick up a full-color catalog at locations around the county and hit the trail: it’s free! 579-2787.

Notable talent: Jeffrey Kahane.

Santa Rosa Symphony Under the skilled direction of Jeffrey Kahane, the Santa Rosa Symphony has taken on a three-season theme, presenting the symphonic highlights of the 20th century. Last year it was the early part of the century. This season, Kahane and company move into the middle third of the 1900s, with a season opener on Oct. 14-16 that features Prokofiev’s stirring Fifth Symphony, along with Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1, with pianist William Wolfram, and the world premiere of Kenneth Frazelle’s newest commissioned work. Concert times vary, as do ticket prices for the seven-concert series. Prices for individual shows run from $19 to $39. . . . And don’t forget a little something for the young’uns in the symphony’s Discovery Series, mini-concerts at symphony rehearsals, followed by a Q&A session with Kahane. Concerts are on selected Saturday afternoons at 3:15 p.m. On Oct. 14, listen as “The 20th Century Meets the 21st.” Luther Burbank Center, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. Tickets for the series are $42/adults, $30/youth; individual tickets are $7.50/adults, $5.50/ youth. 546-8742.

Headlands Center for the Arts The generals probably turned in their graves when they saw what’s become of their old stomping grounds. The Fort Barry buildings on the headlands of Sausalito are now the Headlands Center for the Arts, a thriving collective of visual, verbal, and performing artists who get a little crazy from time to time. Like the fall open house, on Oct. 15 from noon to 5 p.m. (admission and inspiration are free). Or the Mystery Ball 2000 fundraiser, with extravagant art installations and performances, costumes, and a dinner/dance. Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. Reservations are required by Oct. 25. Admission to the ball is $85-$125 per person, with some artist discount tickets available for $35. 415/331-2787.

Marcel Marceau The world’s most famous mime brings his legendary act to Sonoma County as part of the Luther Burbank Center’s new Wine Country Great Performances series. Oct. 19 at 8 p.m. LBC, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. $35-$45. 546-3600.

Savage Jazz Dance Company This fleet-footed company from Oakland returns for another evening of high-energy dance to the greats of jazz: Davis, Mingus, and Monk. The acclaimed Marcus Shelby Orchestra supports two world premiere pieces by director Reginald Ray-Savage. Oct. 20-21 at 8 p.m.; Oct. 22 at 2:30 p.m. Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. $22/general, $19/youth and seniors. 588-3430.

Santa Rosa Community Concerts In an age of skyrocketing ticket prices, great music at accessible prices is a rare treat. Fortunately, this community-based music organization is truly committed to bringing the classics to the masses, kicking off its season on Oct. 1 at 7:30 p.m. with the St. Petersburg String Quartet and American pianist Justin Blasdale. On Oct. 29 at 3 p.m., the American Boychoir thrills with rich sound from impossibly high-pitched voices. Other performers include tenor Rodrick Dixon, violinist Philip Quint, a London piano duo, and the Firebird Balalaika Ensemble. Luther Burbank Center, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. $17.50/general, $60/series, $25/series for students. 546-1152.

Chamber Music Notable talents perform music in intimate settings at several different venues around the North Bay. The Redwood Arts Council’s 20th season starts Sept. 30 with the critically acclaimed St. Peterburg String Quartet at the United Methodist Church, 5090 N. Main St., in Sebastopol, and continues with a performance by violinist Monica Huggett and guitarist Richard Savino on Oct. 20 at the Occidental Community Church, Second and Church streets, Occidental. 874-1124. . . . Russian River Chamber Music starts its season on Sept. 23 with a performance by the Oakland-based American Baroque, and then, on Oct. 21, catch the Shanghai String Quartet–both events at the Federated Church, 1100 University St., Healdsburg. 524-8700. . . . Santa Rosa Junior College presents two fall performances: on Sept. 22, catch pianist Eric Zivian, violinist Ian Swensen, and celloist Jean-Michel Fonteneau. Pianist Brian Ganz performs works by Chopin, Beethoven, and Andrew Simpson on Oct. 6 and 8 at SRJC’s Randolph Newman Auditorium, 1501 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa. 527-4249. . . . The Navarro Trio performs piano works by Beethoven and Smetana on Oct. 29 at Sonoma State University’s Sunday Chamber Music Series in Ives Concert Hall, 1801 E. Cotati Drive, Rohnert Park. 664-2353.

November

Ethnic Arts Showcase Music and dance from around the world get the spotlight here, with performers tackling traditions from the Middle East (Dance Journey), Brazil (Carnaval Spirit), Africa (Sandor and Okili), the British Isles (Katie Hendrickson), and Turkey (Kajira Djouhmana). Expect the food and crafts to add to the whirlwind experience. Nov. 3 at 8 p.m.; doors open at 7 p.m. Community Center, 390 Morris St., Sebastopol. $12/door, $10/advance. 824-0533.

Red and the Red Hots These sizzling swingmeisters have performed with Dolly and Cher, but they’ve got heat enough of their own to power through the best of Duke Ellington and Count Basie, as well as their own original numbers. Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. $19/general, $16/youth and seniors. 588-3430.

David Benoit The contemporary jazz artist pays homage to Charles Schulz and the characters from the cartoonist’s Peanuts comic strip with “Here’s to you, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years!” Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. $26-$36. 546-3600.

Ives Quartet It’s known internationally for bold interpretations of classical and contemporary composers, but for Sonoma County this fall, the quartet is going for the all-American angle, with Arthur Foote’s romantic Quartet No. 1, Antonín Dvorák’s Op. 96, “The American,” and Quartet No. 2, composed for the quartet by Eric Sawyer. Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. $22/general, $19/youth and seniors. 588-3430.

Festival of Harps A cast of international performers brings these angelic instruments down to earth at the 11th annual celebration of stringed things, including Celtic and classical instruments, the Chinese konghou harp, the Latin-style harp of Paraguay, and a full stage of the Bay Area Youth Harp Ensemble. Nov. 18 at 8 p.m. Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. $20/general, $17/youth and seniors. 588-3430.

From the August 24-30, 2000 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

Dwight Yoakam Performs at the Marin Center

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Dwight Yoakam Performs at the Marin Center

Musical maverick: Dwight Yoakam performs this week at the Marin Center.

Back in the Fast Lane

Dwight Yoakam revs up his career

By Greg Cahill

DWIGHT YOAKAM, whose last big hit was 1994’s “Fast As You,” is hurtling down an L.A. freeway, car phone pressed to his ear while he chats about the new projects that he hopes will jump-start his stalled recording career.

Yoakam is no stranger to the fast lane. After rising out of the San Fernando Valley honky-tonks 20 years ago, the Kentucky native helped launch the neotraditionalist movement that revived the insipid Nashville sound, scored a slew of hit country singles, and netted an armful of gold and platinum records.

These days, Yoakam is pedal to the metal. He’s back with his first album in three years–the oddly titled live solo-acoustic CD dwightyoakamacoustic.net (Reprise)–a new website, a fresh perspective, and a nationwide tour that brings him this week to the Marin Center in San Rafael. The concert will feature five new songs from the forthcoming Tomorrow’s Sounds Today album, still in the works and due out at the end of the summer.

Tooling down the road and on the tail end of a marathon publicity blitz for his concert tour, Yoakam is bright, enthusiastic, and affable while anticipating the future.

“I’m feeling great,” he says. “The tour dates are going fantastic.”

Little wonder. With the country-music charts dominated by slick pop divas like Faith Hill and cookie-cutter urban cowboys, the scene can sorely use Yoakam and his spirited honky-tonk anthems cut in the mold of Merle Haggard and Buck Owens.

Indeed, the new solo album–a retrospective of his 15-year career–has been hailed for its intimacy, with Yoakam putting his distinctive stamp on each well-worn tune. “I was performing some of those songs last year in concert,” he explains. “The audience response to it was very positive, and we thought that it would be something we could do, not so much as a retrospective, but as a special communication to a core group of fans. I had no idea that it would generate the type of interest that it has.

“You know, the first three years that I was on tour, it really felt like I was introducing this music to the audience on any given night. From the time we were out from 1994 and on, I realized that it was less like introducing myself to new audiences than it was like visiting a friend.

“So this album became a note to that friend, as opposed to a formal letter.”

The solo acoustic sets also took on a new meaning for the singer and songwriter. “It was almost as if I was experiencing the songs for the first time,” he says.

OVER THE YEARS, Yoakam has proved uncompromising. He built a reputation as a Nashville renegade, dismissed by country writer Holly Warren as a stylish Hollywood cowboy. At 43, he’s still a country-and-western sex symbol with a knack for boot-scootin’ across the stage in a pair of faded skintight Levi’s (28-inch waist, 36-inch leg) while humping his guitar and peeking seductively from beneath an oversized white Stetson that hides his balding plate.

It’s an image that catapulted the honk-tonkin’ troubadour into superstardom.

But Yoakam packs solid musical credentials. Ostracized from Nashville in the late ’70s for being “too country,” he moved to L.A. in 1978 and formed the Babylonian Cowboys. Pete Anderson–who still plays lead guitar in Yoakam’s band while handling album production duties–joined the following year. The band made its mark in rowdy honky-tonks, eventually moving into L.A. punk clubs and playing on bills with X, the Dead Kennedys, and the Butthole Surfers. But it was his association with Los Lobos and the Blasters that endeared Yoakam to the then-burgeoning roots-rock audience.

In 1986, he released his critically acclaimed debut, Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. (Reprise). Its first single, a cover of Johnny Horton’s “Honky Tonk Man” and the title track, rocketed to No. 3 on the country-and-western charts. As Rolling Stone noted, he proved that straight-ahead country could go platinum.

As the head of the neotraditionalist country movement, Yoakam followed that success with a string of Top 10 hits. Although his 1996 album, Gone, went gold, it failed to produce any country hits. And 1997’s Under the Covers, a collection of cover tunes, found Yoakam artistically adrift, courting the swing craze and failing to connect. A Long Way Home, released the following year, featured bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley but only a couple of high points.

Meanwhile, Yoakam starred in a handful of well-received film roles, including one as the protagonist in 1996’s Southern Gothic killer flick Sling Blade. “I hope it continues as a means of expression,” he says of his film work. “As an actor, you’re only as good as the material and the skills of the filmmaker in whose hands you find yourself.”

Last year, he tested the waters as an auteur, writing, directing, and starring in South of Heaven, West of Hell, a western set for release later this year. He also plans to write another screenplay in the spring.

Yet music continues to be his first love. “It is as much, if not more so, a gratifying experience and something that’s inseparable from me as a person,” he says enthusiastically. “I began writing songs while I was touring and capturing every musical thought that I had on tape on a Walkman because I realized I didn’t have the time to set aside months alone to just write. It freed me and brought me back to the realization that I have a stream of musical dialogue with myself on an endless basis. It’s been with me since such an early age and is so ingrained as a part of my thought process that I was almost oblivious to it. But I discovered that I didn’t need a formal relationship with the song–I just needed to develop the thesis statement so I could then go back to it. And that’s what’s led me to the material on A Long Way Home and also on this album, Tomorrow’s Sounds Today.

“Coincidentally, I hadn’t thought about this before, but I’m struck by the significance of that title–I’m capturing tomorrow’s sounds today in the moment that they occur, even if they aren’t fully realized.

“It’s the horizon effect.”

On that note, his cell phone beeps for call waiting, and Yoakam bids farewell before heading off down that long open highway.

Dwight Yoakam performs Friday, Aug. 18, at 8 p.m. Marin Veterans Auditorium, Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. Tickets are $28&-$50. 415/472-3500.

From the August 17-23, 2000 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

The Demise of the North Bay’s Agricultural Heritage

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The Demise of the North Bay’s Agricultural Heritage

West county state of mind: Kokopelli Farm owner Shepherd Bliss contends that in the rush to accommodate growth in Sonoma County, many of the simple pleasures that lured us here in the first place are being lost forever.

Photos by Michael Amsler

Dispatch from the Farm Front

One farmer’s views on the demise of the North Bay’s agricultural heritage

By Shepherd Bliss

GIANT YELLOW BULLDOZERS have pounded the ground loudly behind my small, green, west Sonoma County farm for weeks. As I patiently pick berries, aggressive builders widen a narrow, dirt country lane (where neighbors used to stroll amid majestic oaks) to clear the way for more huge, expensive houses. Eager developers cut down tall black oaks and spreading valley oaks to make room for a shiny new road in this once secluded community. They shatter our rural peace, bringing stress to an otherwise serene scene. Not since serving in the U.S. Army during Vietnam have I endured such relentless shaking of the ground.

This feels like war against the land and its many natural occupants–further ordering it for human control, domination, and habitation.

The beauty of the oaks and the meandering lane have been replaced by monotonous, one-dimensional levelness. “What’s that new freeway doing back there?” one regular customer bemoaned.

I miss quietly sauntering down that rolling country lane and resent the spread of gated estates into formerly more open communities.

My farm has been invaded by working machines. My soundscape has been occupied by loud, ugly noises that have replaced the songbirds. I put on earmuffs to keep the sound out, but I still hear it and feel it rattling my dishes. There is nowhere to hide; this is my home.

Wildlife has fled roadside habitats and come to the property to which I hold title. Though they have damaged my crops and livestock in search of food, water, and shelter, I receive them and know that their stay will be temporary. When humans build, we displace much of nature and wildlife, most of it silent and invisible. Innocent animals must then find new habitats, if they can. Uprooted vegetation, of course, perishes.

I walk the land each day, feeling directly with my feet, watching life grow. I touch animals, plants, and soil each day, feeling them with my bare hands. Sights and sounds are less beautiful here than they used to be, and I smell more pollution in this country air. Stars are less visible at night. These things get to me. Sometimes I am rough, forcefully pulling “weeds” from the ground and protecting livestock from predators. My feelings are more raw and close to the surface than when I lived in the city. Memories of loss emerge. So what follows is not always diplomatic.

I get angry, beneath which is a deep sadness.

IN THE EARLY 1990s I bought this rundown farm outside Sebastopol and restored it to a viable business with the support of such groups as the Community Alliance with Family Farmers. I could never afford such a farm today, with prices for land driven so high by the alcohol-beverage and high-tech industries.

Formerly independently owned local wineries have been bought up by powerful “spirits” corporations like Seagrams, Brown Forman, and Allied Domecq, and integrated into the global alcohol industry. The British Allied Domecq recently moved into its new 6.6-acre warehouse in Windsor, the largest single building in Sonoma County and a sign of similar monstrous buildings in the future. Mammoth high-tech corporations from around the world are buying up small, local telecom startups for billions of dollars. Alcohol-beverage and high-tech incursions are the one-two punches to Sonoma County’s environment, local agriculture, and rural legacy.

I usually appreciate the harvest–working hard outside all day, seven days a week, sunup to sundown, falling asleep under tall, fragrant redwood trees. In addition to my crops, my field is full of poppies, lupines, and other wildflowers that blow in with the wind, and even supports coyote bush and oaks planted by jays and squirrels. Working the land, looking into the skies, and extending my body brings both exhaustion and serenity. But the 2000 harvest has been an assault on my senses and psyche–tiring me out and making me irritable.

People follow the local Farm Trails and come directly to Kokopelli Farm for organic berries, apples, eggs, and tours. I enjoy bringing a full, aromatic tray of berries up from the field and watching mouths and eyes open wide as saliva begins to flow. “Yum, yum” sounds of appreciation follow. People from the city come to the farm and pick their own, emerging with a wide smile surrounded by a deep purple color. Or they gather eggs of various sizes and colors from over 15 breeds of free-ranging hens, noticing how my jungle fowl look like raptors from the age of dinosaurs. People return home refreshed by this rural, pastoral experience among abundant plants and instinctual animals. They savor the unpredictable elements, such as wind–that exuberant dance partner of the trees.

Soothing farm sounds from chickens, cows, horses, wild birds, and blowing leaves were supplanted this year by loud earth-moving machines with their manufactured sounds of “progress.” Headaches and a wounded feeling replaced my usual farm pleasures. The high-pitched pinging of huge machines going backwards and warning of danger is especially damaging. I moved to the country seeking solitude–away from such relentless industrial ravages. Now Sonoma County is being suburbanized by various forces, including the high-tech gold rush.

As a result, this year the median price of homes in Sonoma County increased more than anywhere else in the nation, and Forbes magazine listed us as the country’s third most dynamic economic region. This is not good news for the wild birds, native plants, and small farms already here, many of which will be displaced. Sonoma County has been discovered, internationally, for its income-producing capacity. Tremendous growth will follow.

We are accelerating down the Silicon Valley highway.

Santa Clara County used to have a rich, vibrant agriculture based on over 6,000 small family farms. Now it offers congested traffic, the highest housing costs in the nation, and the most federal Superfund hazardous-waste sites in the United States–but hardly even a fruit stand.

I AM ACCUSTOMED to seeing mainly trees out back, a few black-and-white milk cows, a couple of large golden Belgian workhorses, and many quail and deer, as well as hawks, vultures, and various other birds. Occasionally I see a fox, skunk, raccoon, mink, snake, gopher, badger, or other nocturnal animal. After the months of destruction to build the road and houses, I wonder how things will change. I have been busy planting trees along my perimeter for years, but I will never be able to hide the cars, the swelling tide of people, and all the activity they bring.

The “spoilers,” to use California poet Robinson Jeffers’ description, are multiplying. In “Carmel Point,” Jeffers laments, “This beautiful place defaced with a crop of suburban houses. How beautiful when we first beheld it.”

We are losing the beauty of Sonoma County, as have other areas once they are “discovered” and transformed.

I used to enjoy driving around, especially in the west county with its scenic, diverse beauty. Now I feel nature receding, as huge houses and regimented, precise vineyards replace forests and orchards. I never know when I am going to turn a familiar corner and see some new industrial vineyard or starter castle. A sense of loss gnaws at me. Being surrounded by trees is inspiring, but all the building in the county saddens me.

Giant corporations, such as Finland’s Nokia, the world’s largest maker of cell phones, plan to fill in wetlands to build office complexes. Petaluma has already filled in many wetlands, including those violated to construct its main telecom center, ironically named “Redwood Business Park.” Redwood trees are beautiful, but this faux “Redwood Park” is ugly. The best buildable land has already been built out.

The telecom gold rush has just started and threatens to destroy much of the county’s remaining natural beauty and existing rural culture. More global corporations will follow.

Sonoma County’s sense of place is changing, rapidly and dramatically, but not for the better. The natural environment here historically has been diverse–rugged coast, redwoods and oaks, rolling hills, rich soils, ample rain. Into that came an agriculture that developed a rural culture around it. Both the original natural environment and the rural legacy are now threatened, especially by the high-tech onslaught and the wine monoculture.

THE ALCOHOL-beverage industry’s talk of aerial spraying of highly toxic pesticides to combat the glassy-winged sharpshooter, a vineyard pest recently discovered in the North Bay, poses another threat to traditional farming. Such spraying would harm organic gardens and farms, doing considerable “collateral damage” to beneficial insects, and to animals, humans, and our county’s soul.

Even the possibility of spraying is unsettling, especially since authorities can declare an “agricultural emergency” and trespass on private property without permission. We already have an “agricultural emergency,” but it is not caused by a tiny “pest.” As recently as 10 years ago, wine accounted for only 20 percent of Sonoma County’s agricultural revenue; it is already over 50 percent and moving toward Napa’s 90 percent. The wine monoculture is Sonoma County’s “agricultural emergency.”

Although scientists and environmentalists warned against transforming Sonoma County’s diverse agriculture into a monocrop, the alcohol-beverage industry took a gamble. It may lose that gamble, though its political operatives in Washington, Sacramento, and Santa Rosa have pledged millions of our tax dollars to try to bail it out and to punish those of us who follow organic and sustainable farming practices. A better solution would include a moratorium on planting any more vineyards in Sonoma County for now.

More people with their technology and machines means less nature. Exotic, non-native plants–including wine vines–draw “pests,” such as the glassy-winged sharpshooter. Even if this particular insect is eliminated, others will follow to restore nature’s balance to an overcultivated region where more of nature is pressed into service to humans. The Pierce’s disease that the sharpshooter brings is not new; it decimated 40,000 vineyard acres in California in the l880s, and no cure is yet known. Chemical agriculture is on a collision course with nature. The sharpshooter is more a symptom of a larger problem than the problem itself.

Perhaps the glassy-winged sharpshooter is actually a gift horse in disguise. Perhaps this tiny insect and the arsenal that is being prepared to combat it will wake up more people to how degraded our view of nature has become, as if it exists mainly to serve business and the global economy–at any cost, even that of our own health and soul.

INSTEAD of merely delivering a blow against the alcohol industry, perhaps the sharpshooter’s hit will be against industrial/ chemical agriculture by stimulating a mass movement against it. I have heard more talk of civil disobedience against aerial spraying than I have heard in a long time. Trainings for local nonviolent action against spraying are now scheduled to start.

In saying these strong things about the alcohol-beverage industry, I do not mean to dismiss the many good vineyardists and authentic growers in the wine industry. A sustainable wine industry will be built on the labor of such good farmers, even if the sharpshooter harms the current overplanted industry.

This year I lost my main customer–a local grocer with three stores who sold out to a huge chain. Though promising it would continue to support local farmers, that chain now imports fruit from Europe and Latin America.

I feel things closing in on me, a way of life dying.

Death is as common on farms as in wars. Plants and livestock are vulnerable and perish. Growth can emerge from death and decay. But it is hard to get used to death, especially the death of woodlands and orchards mowed down to accommodate houses and industrial vineyards, the twin threats to Sonoma County’s quality of life and environment.

I drive up to the graveyard on a hill in the town of Bloomfield and to a cemetery outside Graton, still surrounded by apple orchards, but probably not for long. So much is dying in Sonoma County today that we will not be able to bury it all in the area’s small rural graveyards–signs of the past. Many deaths accumulate in my soul, settling into a place where their lives will be remembered.

New farmers used to come to Sonoma County every year. We would welcome them and educate them about the tasks of tending the ground and its bounty. Most food growers can no longer afford land here. The local economy is being replaced by the global economy. We are losing control of the making of decisions that influence our lives and the land that we live on.

Now Sonoma County gets many new high-tech people and some new winemakers each year. But the wine industry has only a small agricultural component; most of those who prosper in wine are not farmers with dirt under their fingers, but lawyers or businessmen good at making money.

Some of my neighboring farmers have already moved away–seeking the country living they once had here. I recently lost my best source of manure for fertilizer. Traditional farmers depend on a network of relationships with people, plants, animals, and the elements; when those relationships end, a local farm economy is endangered.

Sonoma County is becoming what Kentucky farmer Wendell Berry calls a “colony.” Berry describes “the power of an absentee economy once national and now increasingly international.” He observes, “The voices of the countryside, the voices appealing for respect for the land and for rural community, have simply not been heard in the centers of wealth, power, and knowledge.”

The colonization of Sonoma County is changing our socioeconomic structures and culture. I wonder if global corporate power and all its wealth will make it difficult to pass legislation–such as the modest Rural Heritage Initiative, the growth measure that will appear on the November ballot–that would help preserve rural culture by keeping control of Sonoma County’s future in the hands of local people.

Small family farming is unfortunately on the way out–in Sonoma County, across the state, and throughout the rest of America. Our culture has been based on that agrarian tradition. I already miss the vibrancy I once felt and lament the loss. Remnants will remain. A few hardy farmers will continue in agriculture, in the old ways.

Blessings to them.

Shepherd Bliss is the owner of Kokopelli Farm. He has written for the Independent on the corporatization of the wine industry and other topics.

From the August 17-23, 2000 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

Plans For A Wine Country Casino

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Plans For A Wine Country Casino

At a crossroads: The architectural model for the proposed $100 million gaming facility details the location of the mammoth–175,000-square-foot–casino and hotel complex. Neighbors and public officials want it built someplace else.

Roll of the Dice

Critics take a stand as Pomo tribal leaders push ahead with plans for a Wine Country casino

By Jeremy A. Hay

REG ELGIN, a spry 61-year-old former Marine, leads a visitor down a dusty road alongside a small, roughly triangular canyon, the sides of which are grown thick with manzanita, madrone, scrub oak, and small pines. Elgin is spokesman for the Dry Creek band of Pomo Indians, and the canyon is part of the tribe’s reservation, the Dry Creek Rancheria–75 acres of steep, arid hillside overlooking the Alexander Valley.

The canyon, located above the winding, two-lane Highway 128, is also the future site of a project that Elgin says represents the tribe’s hopes and dreams for a more prosperous and healthy future–a planned $100 million casino, hotel, and restaurant complex.

“We have an opportunity now, and it’s called economic development,” says Elgin, a full-blooded Pomo. “We will go from nearly zero income to a place where we can afford to offer tribal housing, educational scholarships, youth programs, and health services.”

The tribe’s partner in the development is Mark Advent, a Las Vegas casino designer and developer who is best known for his opulent New York, New York casino on the Vegas strip. Advent’s vision for the project, Elgin says, “has probably come as close as anyone to mirroring our hopes and dreams for a world-class casino, with none of the neon and glitz and gaudiness, with nothing up on the hill where people could see it, with no visual or noise pollution.”

A photograph of the model of the casino shows a flat, five-story terraced structure rising from the very bottom of the canyon, surrounded by sloping walls of trees and foliage. Tennis courts and two rectangular four- or five-story buildings are located on the flat roof of the larger base. The mammoth structure sits well below any of the surrounding ridgelines.

According to Advent, the casino itself, together with the restaurant and hotel facilities, will occupy about 175,000 square feet, while the entire structure, including parking areas, will top out at about 1 million square feet. The design, he says, was “inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s principles of blending the environment in harmony with the architecture.

“We will aspire to greatness, Elgin says, “and we will get that.”

LARRY CADD, a lifelong neighbor of the reservation, sees in the proposed casino–which is expected to operate around the clock, seven days a week–an entirely different prospect. He and other Alexander Valley residents opposing the project say it will bring with it overwhelming traffic problems and may signal the beginning of the end for the valley’s bucolic existence.

Cadd, whose house sits about 500 yards from the proposed site, doesn’t argue with the Pomos’ right to develop the casino on their land, and he agrees that “it will be out of sight for me and the majority of people.”

But he says the tribe, like any property owner, has a responsibility to consider the project’s impact on the surrounding community.

“It’s not just a matter of building a casino and having a little traffic problem,” he says. “It’s a matter of absolutely, completely jamming the road shut, which is going to interfere with their own ability to operate their business, and it’s the beginning of the commercialization of this area.”

On March 21, 14 days after the passage of Proposition 1A, which legalized Nevada-style gambling on California’s Indian lands, Sonoma County supervisors, while acknowledging they have little or no say in the matter, unanimously approved a resolution that “strongly opposes the establishment of an Indian gaming facility in Alexander Valley.”

Casino opponents have formed a task force to look for what they hope will be a more suitable location, and have asked for help in that effort from Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Arcata, as well as other local politicians. Two weeks ago, local opponents of the Dry Creek casino joined protesters from throughout the state on the Capitol steps to ask Gov. Gray Davis to help curtail the gaming facilities.

During the 1990s, casino foes successfully defeated a pair of planned Indian gaming facilities, one in the Fountain Grove area of Santa Rosa, the other just a mile south of Petaluma.

A meeting with tribal leaders, task force members, and representatives of Thompson, Assemblywoman Virginia Strom-Martin, D&-Duncans Mills, and state Sen. Wes Chesbro, D-Ukiah, is scheduled for Aug. 29.

Tribal leaders and Advent, their partner in the project, agree that the rural hillside isn’t the best possible location. It is out of the way, is difficult to build on, and has inadequate water and sewage. But they note with some irony that their limited options result from historical events that are hardly the fault of the tribe, whose reservation was created by the government in 1915.

“Would we prefer to have a location that would be more accessible and visible in a more commercial district? Sure,” says Advent. “Would the Dry Creek band of Pomos, when they were displaced and their homelands taken from them, would they have preferred to be in a more accessible location? Sure. But that’s not an option.”

THE 1988 federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act gave Indian tribes permission to operate gambling businesses on their reservations. But the act also said that, with few exceptions, gaming is not allowed on land acquired after 1988 and placed into trust for a tribe.

“We hope they’re successful in finding an alternative site,” Advent says, “and if the task force were to create a legal solution, we would certainly work together and be open-minded to that kind of alternative.”

Cheryl Diehm, a district representative for Thompson, says the congressman has said that “if everyone agrees, and if suitable land can be found to be put into trust for the tribe to locate their casino on, [he’ll] work in Washington to make that happen.

“We have to come up with something that’s attractive to the tribe and the developer,” says Cadd. “Everyone has to be happy with it, otherwise it won’t work.”

What would be the first Indian casino in Sonoma County was one of dozens of similar projects unveiled by tribes around California in the wake of Prop. 1A. Many of those plans are now being opposed by people who argue that because Indian lands are considered sovereign and largely exempt from state or local regulations, the casinos may be built without regard to their impact on surrounding communities.

ACCORDING to Elgin, in recent years, the Dry Creek Pomos had received as many as a dozen offers to help develop a casino project on their reservation. Some three dozen Indian casinos were already operating throughout the state, some for almost a decade, often in a sort of ongoing legal shadowland while battles were fought in court and with the Wilson administration over what level of Indian gaming was allowed. Elgin says the tribe opted, despite the millions of possible dollars at stake, to wait both for the right offer and until the legal coast was entirely clear.

“At no time did we ever think about flouting the law and hoping we’d get away with it,” he says, suggesting that the tribe’s restraint in the past should help reassure critics that the casino development will go forward in a manner sensitive to the surrounding community and area.

“We’re not thumbing our nose at people,” he says. “The future of the valley includes us. We go to the same schools, shop at the same stores, use the same banks.”

An environmental impact report commissioned by the tribe and showing how it intends to mitigate the casino’s impact on traffic and address the water and sewage difficulties will be completed by Aug. 21, Elgin says, in time for a question-and-answer tour of the site scheduled for county officials.

Meanwhile, an interim casino is slated to open next spring. Preliminary site work is already under way and five of the 12 Pomo families living on the reservation have been relocated to new homes.

Construction on the permanent casino complex is tentatively scheduled to begin next summer.

From the August 17-23, 2000 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

Author Appearances

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The Demise of the North Bay’s Agricultural Heritage

West county state of mind: Kokopelli Farm owner Shepherd Bliss contends that in the rush to accommodate growth in Sonoma County, many of the simple pleasures that lured us here in the first place are being lost forever. Photos by Michael Amsler Dispatch from the Farm Front One farmer's views on the...
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