Fair Thee Well

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San Rafael

Marin County Fair

Taking place from July 3 to 7—this year’s Marin County Fair will have as its theme, “Make A Splash,” celebrating water, with events and exhibits focusing on ocean waves, conservation, sea level rise and marine life. A fine arts and photography exhibit, concerts, 28 free carnival rides, sheepdog trials, a petting zoo, pig races and nightly fireworks are all back. New attractions include the Butterfly Kingdom, a tractor pull at the pig racing arena, frisbee dogs, Latin Heritage Day and an expanded Fair Pride Day. Concerts include En Vogue at 7:30pm, Wednesday, July 3; the Splashback Music Fest from 3:30 to 9pm, Thursday, July 4, featuring tribute bands Tainted Love, Super Diamond, Petty Theft and Foreverland; Daya at 7:30pm, Friday, July 5 (Pride Day); Ziggy Marley at 7:30pm, Saturday, July 6; and Los Lonely Boys at 7:30pm, Sunday, July 7. Tickets are $25–$30 and available online. On July 3, special free admission is available for children 12 and under, seniors 65 and over, and veterans with ID. Marin Transit will offer free rides on all bus lines throughout the fair, and the SMART Train will provide late rides after the fireworks. Located at 10 Ave. of the Flags, San Rafael. Visit MarinFair.org.

Santa Rosa

Johnny Otis Art

Calabi Gallery invites one to experience the new music-inspired show featuring the visual art of Johnny Otis, the godfather of rhythm and blues. An opening reception is scheduled for 3 to 7pm, on Saturday, July 13. The exhibition runs from July 11 to Aug. 31. R&B and jazz musician Otis was also an accomplished painter, sculptor and cartoonist. The show also includes music-themed artwork by artists such as Pele de Lappe, Mike Henderson, Raymond Howell, Emmanuel Catarino Montoya, David Park and more, along with a selection of vintage rock ballroom posters. Calabi Gallery is located at 456 10th St., Santa Rosa. More information at bit.ly/otis-art.

Petaluma

The Heard Eye

North Bay funk/rock maestros The Heard Eye begin a monthly residency at The Big Easy beginning at 7:30pm, Thursday, July 11. The venue is located at 128 American Alley in Petaluma. The Heard Eye’s debut album, Funkalypse, continues to make waves nationally and internationally, with nearly 100 college and non-commercial radio stations across the U.S. having added the album to their rotations this past spring (not to mention over 200,000 streams on Spotify). This self-financed, self-produced and self-released album began as a remote recording project during the Covid lockdown and evolved into a glowing, growing star on the horizon. As German magazine Sonic Realms put it, “A storm is brewing in the world of music.” For more information, visit bigeasypetaluma.com.

Napa

Weber & Hill

Nationally known stand-up comedian Myles Weber returns to Napa’s Lucky Penny, teaming up with Jarrett Hill for a live show as they prepare to film a new special. Weber, a Vallejo native, who has racked up over 60 million views across online platforms, was featured on MTV’s Greatest Party Story Ever Told, and has two Top 10 Dry Bar Comedy specials. Hill is an artist, professor and award-winning journalist who has contributed to The New York Times, NPR, Variety, NBC News and CNN. He is also the co-author of the NAACP Image Award-winning book, Historically Black Phrases: From “I Ain’t One of Your Lil’ Friends” to “Who All Gon’ Be There?” The comedy begins at 7:30pm, Saturday, July 6, at the Lucky Penny, 1758 Industrial Way, Napa. Tickets are $32 and are available at luckypennynapa.com.

Born on the Faux Pas of July

When I met Ron Kovic

In one of my more embarrassing literary moments, Eugene Ruggles, a lauded local poet who haunted the halls of the then-single-occupancy-residence Petaluma Hotel, was behind the wheelchair of his mustachioed literary cohort, famed anti-Vietnam War activist and author Ron Kovic.

Kovic’s memoir, Born on the Fourth of July, had just been adapted into the Academy Award-winning film of the same title directed by Oliver Stone. It starred Tom Cruise as Kovic, who was costumed with an era-appropriate mustache, though unusual for the generally clean-shaven actor.

Suffice it to say, this was a lot of star wattage to unpack in front of Aram’s Cafe circa 1989.

I was familiar with Kovic thanks to Cruise’s film commercials, which I saw on cable TV. This is where I also became familiar with the work of Ernie Kovacs, the innovative 1950s counterculture television comedy pioneer whose shows were re-airing on cable’s Comedy Central. Like Kovic, Kovacs was similarly mustachioed.

One can see where this is going.

So, when I happened upon them near the cafe, Ruggles, always generous (and always, in my experience, a few sheets to the wind), introduced the Golden Globe award-winning Kovic to me in his staccato and slurred pronunciation.

I could make out the two syllables of the last name—opening with a percussive K and hinged on a V—but the vowels were lost on me. The man’s mustache, however, triggered something in my unconscious that bolstered my confidence (I was new to meeting celebrities then). So, I shook the man’s hand, looked him in the eye and sincerely thanked him for his contributions to comedy.

Kovic and Ruggles looked quizzically back at me before continuing down the street.

Moments later, a few paces along my merry way, I realized why.

Happy 4th of July.

(And happy birthday, Mr. Kovic—with belated apologies—and to my brother, who is getting treacherously close to 50!).

Daedalus Howell is editor of the ‘Bohemian,’ ‘Pacific Sun’ and a passel of magazines, as well as the writer-director, most recently, of ‘Werewolf Serenade’—more at dhowell.com.

Free Will Astrology: Week of July 3

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): The “nirvana fallacy” is the belief that because something is less than utterly perfect, it is gravely defective or even irredeemably broken. Wikipedia says, “The nirvana fallacy compares actual things with unrealistic, idealized alternatives.” Most of us are susceptible to this flawed approach to dealing with the messiness of human existence. But it’s especially important that you avoid such thinking in the coming weeks. To inspire you to find excellence and value in the midst of untidy jumbles and rumpled complexities, I recommend you have fun with the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi. It prizes and praises the soulful beauty found in things that are irregular, incomplete and imperfect.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You are coming to a fork in the road—a crux where two paths diverge. What should you do? Author Marie Forleo says, “When it comes to forks in the road, your heart always knows the answer, not your mind.” Here’s my corollary: Choose the path that will best nourish your soul’s desires. Now here’s your homework, Taurus: Contact your Future Self in a dream or meditation and ask that beautiful genius to provide you with a message and a sign. Plus, invite them to give you a wink with either the left eye or right eye.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Last year, you sent out a clear message to life requesting help and support. It didn’t get the response you wished for. You felt sad. But now I have good news. One or both of the following may soon occur. 1. Your original message will finally lead to a response that buoys your soul. 2. You will send out a new message similar to the one in 2023, and this time you will get a response that makes you feel helped and supported. Maybe you didn’t want to have to be so patient, Gemini, but I’m glad you refused to give up hope.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): The Fates have authorized me to authorize you to be bold and spunky. You have permission to initiate gutsy experiments and to dare challenging feats. Luck and grace will be on your side as you consider adventures you’ve long wished you had the nerve to entertain. Don’t do anything risky or foolish, of course. Avoid acting like you’re entitled to grab rewards you have not yet earned. But don’t be self-consciously cautious or timid, either. Proceed as if help and resources will arrive through the magic of your audacity. Assume you will be able to summon more confidence than usual.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): All of us, including me, have aspects of our lives that are stale or unkempt, even decaying. What would you say is the most worn-out thing about you? Are there parts of your psyche or environment that would benefit from a surge of clean-up and revival? The coming weeks will be an excellent time to attend to these matters. You are likely to attract extra help and inspiration as you make your world brighter and livelier. The first rule of the purgation and rejuvenation process: Have fun!

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): On those rare occasions when I buy furniture from online stores, I try hard to find sources that will send me the stuff already assembled. I hate spending the time to put together jumbles of wood and metal. More importantly, I am inept at doing so. In alignment with astrological omens, I recommend you take my approach in regard to every situation in your life during the coming weeks. Your operative metaphor should be this: Whatever you want or need, get it already fully assembled.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): When Adragon De Mello was born under the sign of Libra in 1976, his father had big plans for him. Dad wanted him to get a PhD in physics by age 12, garner a Nobel Prize by 16, get elected President of the United States by 26 and then become head of a world government by 30. I’d love for you to fantasize about big, unruly dreams like that in the coming weeks—although with less egotism and more amusement and adventurousness. Give yourself a license to play with amazing scenarios that inspire you to enlarge your understanding of your own destiny. Provide your future with a dose of healing wildness.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Your horoscopes are too complicated,” a reader named Estelle wrote to me recently. “You give us too many ideas. Your language is too fancy. I just want simple advice in plain words.” I wrote back to tell her that if I did what she asked, I wouldn’t be myself. “Plenty of other astrologers out there can meet your needs,” I concluded. As for you, dear Scorpio, I think you will especially benefit from influences like me in the coming weeks—people who appreciate nuance and subtlety, who love the poetry of life, who eschew clichés and conventional wisdom, who can nurture your rich, spicy, complicated soul.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The coming weeks will be prime time for you to re-imagine the history of your destiny. How might you do that? In your imagination, revisit important events from the past and reinterpret them using the new wisdom you’ve gained since they happened. If possible, perform any atonement, adjustment or intervention that will transform the meaning of what happened once upon a time. Give the story of your life a fresh title. Rename the chapters. Look at old photos and videos and describe to yourself what you know now about those people and situations that you didn’t know back then. Are there key events from the old days that you have repressed or ignored? Raise them up into the light of consciousness.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In 1972, before the internet existed, Capricorn actor Anthony Hopkins spent a day visiting London bookstores in search of a certain tome: The Girl from Petrovka. Unable to locate a copy, he decided to head home. On the way, he sat on a random bench, where he found the original manuscript of The Girl from Petrovka. It had been stolen from the book’s author, George Feifer, and abandoned there by the thief. I predict an almost equally unlikely or roundabout discovery or revelation for you in the coming days. Prediction: You may not unearth what you’re looking for in an obvious place, but you will ultimately unearth it.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Aquarius-born Desmond Doss (1919–2006) joined the American army at the beginning of World War II. But because of his religious beliefs, he refused to use weapons. He became a medic who accompanied troops to Guam and the Philippines. During the next few years, he won three medals of honor, which are usually given solely to armed combatants. His bravest act came in 1944, when he saved the lives of 70 wounded soldiers during a battle. I propose we make him your inspirational role model for the coming weeks, Aquarius. In his spirit, I invite you to blend valor and peace-making. Synergize compassion and fierce courage. Mix a knack for poise and healing with a quest for adventure.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): What types of people are you most attracted to, Pisces? Not just those you find most romantically and sexually appealing, but also those with whom a vibrant alliance is most gracefully created. And those you’re inclined to seek out for collaborative work and play. This knowledge is valuable information to have; it helps you gravitate toward relationships that are healthy for you. Now and then, though, it’s wise to experiment with connections and influences that aren’t obviously natural—to move outside your usual set of expectations and engage with characters you can’t immediately categorize. I suspect the coming weeks will be one of those times.

Homework: Who is the most important person or animal in your life? I invite you to give them a surprising gift. Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com

‘Kinds of Kindness’ is Kind of a Chore

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Here’s a quick “Test Your Entertainment-Biz Marketing Skills” quiz. How many aware, intelligent moviegoers wake up in the morning with the thought, “Gee, I’d like to see a really good allegory today”?

The obvious answer: None. Narrative films in the allegorical vein are generally one of the surest “morning after” conversation killers known to humanity. Leaving aside Star Wars, the complete Miyazaki Hayao filmography and anything by Carl Th. Dreyer, allegories tend to loom in the imagination as a dose of medicine. They are odd smelling and of dubious artistic value, but somehow are to be taken for our own good. The latest conspicuous example: Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness.

Hot on the heels of last year’s sensationally digressive fantasy Poor Things, filmmaker Lanthimos—no doubt encouraged by Emma Stone’s Best Actress Oscar—decides to reunite Stone and co star Willem Dafoe in a three-part meditation on … uh … life itself, bafflingly titled Kinds of Kindness.

It’s an anthology of three shortish stories all starring Stone, Dafoe, Jesse Plemons, Margaret Qualley and Hong Chau, and co-written by Lanthimos with frequent collaborator Efthimis Filippou. Together they add up to almost three hours of screen time, triggering lots of head-scratching in the helpless audience. The adjectives “pretentious” and “obscure” barely begin to describe it.

Despite its title, Kinds of Kindness has some of the meanest points of view of any release this year. Is it ironic? Maybe, maybe not. In the first vignette, an item from the “Office Hell” file, a meek corporate junior executive named Robert (Plemons) is thoroughly humiliated by his inscrutably cruel boss (Dafoe) via intentional car crashes, ridiculous “gifts”—a broken tennis racquet—and the wicked machinations of femme fatale Qualley. Luckily—or is it?—Robert finds an ally in another car-crash victim (Stone).

And then there’s the case of Daniel, a mild-mannered but secretly kinky small-town policeman (Clemons again) whose life comes unglued, bloodily, when he starts believing that his wife Liz (Stone), survivor of a recent catastrophe at sea, is an impostor.

After absorbing these first two skits we begin to detect a thematic pattern amidst Lanthomos’ thickly applied absurdity: People controlling other people. Shades of David Cronenberg, The Twilight Zone or a low-wattage David Lynch imitation. Sexual eccentricity, a vital element of Poor Things, gets pasted into these latest stories almost absentmindedly, as if the director were meeting a pre-established quota instead of acting out an original creative impulse.

There’s another drawback. Within the costumed historical settings of The Favourite and Poor Things, Lanthimos was able to spin his tales of domination versus indomitable will in the ideal “long ago and faraway” framework, with extravagant visuals to match. By comparison, the contemporary life of pitfalls and subterfuge in sterile offices and bizarrely trendy homes in Kinds of Kindness seems dull and repetitive. The world is a corrupt and unjust place in all Lanthimos’ films, but the two period pieces make it look romantic.

Part three of the Kindness trilogy, comparatively speaking the strongest and most coherent, focuses on a deranged physician named Emily (Stone) and her tropical cult of corpse-revivers, constantly on the lookout for “uncontaminated” victims, dead or alive, on which to practice their dark arts. Like the evil Dr. Josef Mengele from Auschwitz, Dr. Emily is particularly interested in twins. She’s also fond of hot-rodding around in her purple Dodge Charger.

Into the mad doctor’s web fall a pair of identical sisters (both played by Qualley) and a pitiable dog called Linda. There’s also a bit of business about an empty swimming pool and an Orgone Box-style cleansing cabin at the beach. The film is drenched in composer Jerskin Fendrix’s forbidding solo piano and choral music, exactly what we’d expect from a cheap horror flick. In fact all three episodes could function as genre parodies, none of them nearly as much fun as Poor Things. Kinds of Kindness is more of a misconceived malpractice farce.

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In theaters

‘La bohème’ Closes out Cinnabar

La bohème is sometimes referred to as an opera for beginners. In practice, that means that many people recognize its straightforward plot, with relatable conflicts, as the source material for the Jonathan Larson Broadway smash, Rent. So, staging it as the very last performance at the “little red schoolhouse” in Petaluma, where operas have been produced since 1972, seems a wise choice.

In collaboration with San Francisco’s Pocket Opera, Cinnabar Theater artistic director emeritus Elly Lichenstein took Puccini’s classic and moved it forward in time. Still set in the Latin Quarter of Paris among the “artist” class, it now takes place sometime in the early 1950s. A war-torn and economically gutted city, this Paris seems somehow more familiar than Puccini’s late Victorian France and, for that, somehow more poignant.

Added to the update in time periods is Pocket Opera’s new translation from the original Italian into English. Though the translation intends to make the plot more easily understood, in this case the audience could still benefit from subtitles.

Another big change this production makes, and also its most notable, includes the cast—a true multi-ethnic mix of people. Importantly, they are highly trained and very talented. Of special note is Melissa Sondhi as Musetta, a fun and infuriating character with a big heart who lends some much-needed humanity to the story. Sondhi embodies all of those characteristics without sacrificing any of the annunciations that other actors traded for perfecting the more technical aspects of their roles.

Diana Skavronskaya performs the role of Mimi. While fantastic to listen to and technically brilliant, her powerful presence tended to overwhelm the small space. On top of that, Nicholas Huff, who plays Rodolfo, is a more naturalistic performer. This made for some mismatched moments.

Another mismatch occurred with the costuming, by Donnie Frank. Frank’s choice to costume Mimi—a woman so poor she cannot afford a match—in expensive and pristine clothing proved odd.

Nitpicky issues aside, in the end this play is still a fitting finale to one chapter and a promising window into the future. Even those who think opera is only for the elite, or for rabbits in drag, should give Cinnabar Theater’s production of La bohème a chance.

They might be surprised at the emotions evoked by Puccini’s music and the performers’ obvious love of the craft.

‘La bohème’ runs through July 7 at Cinnabar Theater, 3333 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma. Fri, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm. $50–$75. 707.763.8920. cinnabartheater.org

Annual Survey Shows Rise in Homelessness

Sonoma County’s preliminary point-in-time count data showed an 11% increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness in 2024 compared to 2023, but County officials are hopeful a new program will address the growing need.

Through a partnership between Sonoma County, the cities of Santa Rosa and Petaluma, and homelessness prevention nonprofit All Home, a $2.6 million program tentatively called “Keep Sonoma Housed” is set to launch this summer. The program, a two-year pilot, will provide hubs throughout the County to serve as access points of services for people at risk of falling into homelessness.

Michael Gause, Sonoma County Department of Health Services’ Ending Homelessness team manager, said that the support could range from emergency rental assistance to help with utility payments, along with case management services.

“The gap we have noticed over the last year or two is the lack of a unified prevention program,” he said.

Gause said the County and Santa Rosa have each committed $500,000 to the effort; Petaluma is contributing $300,000 and All Home has matched that with private philanthropy dollars for a total of $2.6 million. The city of Santa Rosa will be the lead agency for the pilot.

“A common misconception about homelessness is that people want to be homeless. That’s not the case,” Gause said. “There are a variety of different reasons—a lot of homelessness can come from a sudden emergency or could come from years of trauma. It’s a multi-layered, multifaceted issue that really affects people differently.”

DHS said possible causes for the increase in homelessness in 2024 included the closure of Covid-19-era sheltering and supportive programs in late 2023 when state and federal funding ended, along with issues like the continued lack of affordable housing and homelessness prevention programs.

Supervisor David Rabbitt said that while he would have liked to see lower numbers, Sonoma County’s increase in those experiencing homelessness was not surprising, as many counties throughout the state are experiencing similar outcomes.

“We need to continue to invest in proven strategies to decrease our unhoused population and ease the burden on our communities,” Rabbitt said.

The final and full PIT count report will be available this summer, but preliminary figures show a total of 2,522 people experiencing homelessness as counted on the day the count was conducted, Jan. 26, from 5-10am. This was up from 2,266 in 2023—a year when the PIT count showed a 22% decrease over 2022.

“Department of Health Services staff worked so hard during the pandemic to house people and then to rehouse them once the Covid-generated programs started closing, but when the funding disappeared, large numbers of beds disappeared as well,” said DHS director Tina Rivera.

Rivera highlighted some positive outcomes from the 2024 PIT count, including a decline in homelessness for families. She also expressed excitement to launch the Keep Sonoma Housed pilot.

“We are hoping to stop people from becoming homeless in the first place,” she said.

How Regulators Stopped AT&T from Killing Landlines

California’s Public Utilities Commission today rejected AT&T’s application to stop providing landlines and other services in areas where there is no other option.

Its 4-0 vote came after a judge determined the application by AT&T California was “fatally flawed.”

AT&T is the “carrier of last resort” for California, an official designation that means it covers most major cities, rural communities and the land of more than 100 tribal governments. To find out if your home is in that area visit bit.ly/att-map. The commission first labeled AT&T a carrier of last resort nearly three decades ago.

More than a dozen speakers during the public comment period at today’s meeting supported keeping AT&T’s carrier-of-last-resort designation and landlines. Previously, more than 5,000 public comments were written in response to AT&T’s application and nearly 6,000 people attended eight public forums held earlier this year. Numerous commenters said that, due to inconsistent cell coverage in their area, their landline is their primary means of communication with family, medical providers and the outside world in the event of an emergency. Those concerns are particularly important for senior citizens, people with disabilities and people who say they are sensitive to electromagnetic activity.

AT&T argues that the people its landlines now serve in the areas in question can turn to voice over internet service offered by cable providers or to mobile phone service offered by wireless providers like Verizon.

Steve Hogle lives in rural Sonoma County and told the commission today that spotty cell phone coverage was a danger to his family during the 2019 Kincade wildfire.

“If we didn’t have a copper landline we would’ve not known about the evacuation and the extremely serious fire that went through here and most of our property,” he said. “I don’t want [voice over internet service] because if there’s no power, there’s no internet, and all these things are of extreme importance to the safety of this community.”

The company has attempted to end carrier-of-last-resort designation obligations in roughly half of U.S. states, but those efforts don’t always stay within the confines of the law, according to federal prosecutors. In 2022, AT&T Illinois agreed to pay a $23 million fine to resolve charges it attempted to influence former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan.

The commission’s decision does not bring an end to the carrier-of-last-resort debates in California. AT&T and roughly a dozen members of the California Legislature have publicly expressed support for Assembly Bill 2797, which would effectively bring an end to some carrier-of-last-resort obligations.

The California State Association of Counties, Rural County Representatives of California and Urban Counties of California said last week that they oppose the bill, adding in a letter to the bill’s author that it would “leave large swaths of the most vulnerable Californians without reliable and affordable access to basic telephone service.”

The Public Utilities Commission also voted 5-0 today to begin proceedings to change rules for companies that are designated a carrier of last resort. It’s time to modernize those rules said commission president Alice Reynolds, because a lot has changed in the past 30 years, including a shift toward cell phones and away from landlines, and the commission’s mandate now includes making high-speed internet access universally available.

“I’m hopeful that through this new rulemaking, we can really modernize these programs and move towards the future to meet our broadband for all objectives,” she said ahead of the vote.

Duke of Uke: Jake Shimabukuro performs in Napa

Jake Shimabukuro doesn’t want to take any credit for the ukulele boom over the last decade as thousands have picked up the four-stringed Hawaiian instrument.

But the “Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele,” who not so coincidentally broke through to the mainstream with a viral video of his performance of George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” in 2006, literally sees his influence on generations of ukulele players at every show. And he might again when he brings his Tradewinds & Rainbows Tour—with “very special guest Henry Kapono, and featuring Jeff Peterson”—to Napa’s Meritage Resort on June 29.

“Whenever we play in a new venue, the people there will be saying ‘There’s so many people that brought their instruments to the show tonight. Are they going to play along or something?’” Shimabukuro said in a recent interview. “No, they don’t play along or come up [on stage]. They’ll bring them to the signing booth after, and I’ll sign them. They’ll say, ‘We’ve never seen that before.’ It’s just kind of a fun, fundamental thing that happens at the shows. I love that.”

Born in Honolulu, the 47-year-old Shimabukuro was a star in his home state and Japan for more than a decade before “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” garnered widespread notice, launching him on the path to becoming the world’s most famous ukulele player.

But his journey with the four-stringed instrument began decades before anyone heard him play.

“I first picked it up when I was four because my mom played,” Shimabukuro said. “She taught me a few chords, and I just loved it. But I was always so shy, I would never play in front of people. When I got older, I took lessons.

“I always loved playing, but I would only play for my mom and dad,” he added. “I never dreamed of being onstage; I never even wanted to. But it was my passion. I would try to get home from school as soon as I could, so I could practice.”

In high school, Shimabukuro met some other ukulele players and began to play with them. But he resisted those who urged him to play at school assemblies and talent shows.

“I was like, ‘No, no, no.’ But somehow, eventually they talked me into it,” he said. “Then I started doing some of those things. And I just really enjoyed performing in front of people, which was a big surprise to my family and even myself because I was always very shy.”

Talked into making a record by his high school music teacher, Shimabukuro heard himself on the radio shortly after graduating from high school and became the ukulele player in Pure Heart, a trio that, with its 1999 debut album, won four Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, the Hawaiian equivalent of a Grammy.

When the band broke up in 2002, Shimabukuro went solo, signing a deal with Sony Japan. Then, just before posting “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” which received more than 15 million views, he moved into the U.S. market, opening for Jimmy Buffett and seeing his albums climb to the top of the Billboard World Music Charts.

Those albums contain a mix of Shimabukuro original compositions, cover songs and collaborations with the likes of Gov’t Mule’s Warren Haynes, Dolly Parton and, on the recently released Grateful, many of Hawaii’s top musicians.

The songs from Grateful figure prominently in the show that Shimabukuro and electric bassist Jackson Waldhoff are bringing to venues around the country.

“We’re definitely playing a lot of the music,” he said. “They’re the instrumental versions because I can’t sing to save my life. We definitely do all the instrumental stuff. But we also try to do a lot of the vocal tunes as well, some of the other classics on there like ‘Kawika.’

“Hopefully, one of these days we’ll be able to bring a lot of the artists on the album … and we can perform these songs live,” he continued. “We did that in Hawaii, not all of them, but we got a lot of them, for a [fire] relief effort. But it would be great to be able to take them out with me on the road. It would be really special.”

The rest of the show is split between Shimabukuro’s original compositions—which he says he’s becoming ever more confident in performing—and his attention-grabbing covers.

“Maybe 40%, if not 50% of the show is original songs, but I like to mix in the covers because, for me, when I’m listening to new artists it’s always so exciting when I hear something that I’ve already heard before and I can hear their interpretation of it,” he said. “It makes it a lot easier to connect with the audience, so I love throwing those in.”

Those covers are selected because they’re personal to Shimabukuro, who grew up listening to his mother’s collection of records from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s before discovering songs on his own, often while working at a record store.

“Whenever I do a song like ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ or if I get to do something like [Queen’s] ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ or [Leonard Cohen’s] ‘Hallelujah,’ to me it’s the equivalent of a sports fan wearing their favorite player’s jersey,” he said. “I remember growing up, you know, you would wear your No. 23 Chicago Bulls Michael Jordan jersey, or my son loves Steph Curry’s, and wears his jersey.

“As a musician when you cover another song of another artist, it’s like putting on your George Harrison jersey or your Queen jersey or your Leonard Cohen jersey,” Shimabukuro said. “You’re kind of celebrating your appreciation and admiration for these amazing artists that inspired you and influenced you.”

Jake Shimabukuro performs at 7pm, Saturday, June 29, at Blue Note Summer Sessions at Meritage Resort, 850 Bordeaux Way, Napa. 866.370.6272. meritageresort.com

Lost Church in Trouble

Musician Josh Windmiller drives fundraiser

The Lost Church, your Bohemian “Best of” Sonoma County venue, is moving house! A conflict with Santa Rosa’s erratic permitting department over the 4-year-old venue’s converted garage space has moved forward plans to seek a permanent downtown location.

According to Crux bandleader and L.C. fundraiser Josh Windmiller, the space in the old Press Democrat building always served as a proof-of-concept. Their pandemic-tested model roundly proved itself with the hosting of 134 shows of all genre stripes during the last year and the organizing of the beloved Railroad Square Music Festival—a free all-day music festival staging 20-plus local bands and bandas.

CH: Tell us about the unique position this venue has in the scene.

JW: There are many more artists who need a 75-seat theater than there are who need a 750-seat theater. The Lost Church serves these grassroots performers who form the cultural foundation of any community. Our small size also allows us to keep our costs for running the theater low, allowing us to have lower prices and to take chances on up-and-coming performers.

CH: We understand the importance of music. What is the importance of local music?

JW: Local music has an important impact on the identity and economy of any community. It is through this medium that we share our stories with one another, see a broad representation of the cultures around us and share physical space together.

CH: While there are plenty of one-off parties and record releases, could you name some of the series? And bring in our local poets, local comedians and local storytellers that you show.

JW: There is the Full LP series, where local artists come together to play their favorite albums cover to cover; Minor Beats Youth Open Mic; StandProv, which is half stand-up/ half comedy improv; Found Poets; A Melodious Affair, which teams hip-hop MCs with a live band; and Stanroy Song Service—songwriters in the round playing songs and telling the stories behind them.

We are kicking off our new venue fundraising campaign with an open house block party Saturday, June 29. There will be a marching band, classic cars, a variety show revival, Moonlight beer, tacos and more!

Help Out. The narrative of a cool thing starting up and crashing down in downtown Santa Rosa is a broken record. Change the narrative! Scan this QR for links to donate, watch old Lost Church shows or hear Josh Windmiller’s music—it’s our sound.

Scan me.

Remembering Donald Sutherland, Peacemaker

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The world just lost a great actor and a notable peace advocate—Donald Sutherland, who died on June 20, 2024, at age 88. Known for films like Kelly’s Heroes, MASH and The Hunger Games, his influence extended far beyond the silver screen. He tirelessly campaigned for peace and social causes.

His outspoken opposition to the Vietnam War led him to back the Indochina Peace Campaign, a movement aimed at halting U.S. aggression in Vietnam and fostering peace in the region. He also co-organized the FTA—officially Free the Army, often written with a different F-word—tour with Jane Fonda.

This series of anti-war shows, performed worldwide for American troops, provided a counter-narrative to the pro-war United Service Organizations tours. With Fonda, Sutherland produced a documentary about their FTA tour. It featured skits and anti-war songs, interspersed with Black G.I.s talking about their experiences of racism in the Armed Forces.

Despite being the target of FBI surveillance and attempts to undermine his anti-war activism, Sutherland’s commitment to his cause remained unshaken, even when the documentary he co-produced with Fonda about their FTA tour was abruptly removed from American cinemas. His unwavering spirit and unwavering dedication to his principles made him a prominent figure in the anti-war movement.

Sutherland’s anti-war campaigning continued, and he criticized the policies of George W. Bush’s administration. At the Venice Film Festival in 2019, alongside Mick Jagger, he criticized global political leaders for failing to address climate change. “They are ruining the world,” Sutherland said. “We have contributed to the ruination of it, but they are ensuring it.”

Donald Sutherland’s legacy as a peacemaker and contributor to the arts, social causes and the anti-war movement remains a testament to the power of conviction. It leaves an indelible mark on the world.

Chris Houston is president of the Canadian Peace Museum and a columnist for The Bancroft Times.

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Remembering Donald Sutherland, Peacemaker

The world just lost a great actor and a notable peace advocate—Donald Sutherland, who died on June 20, 2024, at age 88. Known for films like Kelly’s Heroes, MASH and The Hunger Games, his influence extended far beyond the silver screen. He tirelessly campaigned for peace and social causes. His outspoken opposition to the Vietnam War led him to back...
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