May 22nd, 2013
What it’s like to laugh with the Dalai Lama

By WALLACE BAINE Making the world a better place is...

May 21st, 2013
Sister of the ’70s

By WALLACE BAINE Time spent traveling is usually nothing but...

May 19th, 2013
Two days of magic at the Santa Cruz Blues Festival

Twenty-one years down the road, finally those unpleasant memories of...

May 16th, 2013
What’s going on in Scotts Valley?

By WALLACE BAINE There was a time in this fair...

May 15th, 2013
Remember the man they called ‘Manny’

By KIRBY SCUDDER   Manuel Santana passed away at the...

May 15th, 2013
The very contemporary Ms. Allende

By WALLACE BAINE Despite what her luminous bestselling novels might...

May 12th, 2013
A vacation dilemma: To unplug, or not to unplug

By WALLACE BAINE Today, there are two of me. The...

May 10th, 2013
Al fresco at its finest at Kelly’s

By ANN PARKER Now that summer is fast approaching, I...

May 9th, 2013
Sandy on the fire

By WALLACE BAINE To most of us, “home” is a...

May 9th, 2013
Is this Santa Cruz’s finest singer/songwriter?

Once my heart was made of bone/white as ivory, smooth...

May 8th, 2013
Audiafauna reborn as ‘feral fauna’

By KIRBY SCUDDER In the United States, electronic music was...

May 6th, 2013
America’s most underrated great guitarist?

By WALLACE BAINE To understand the phenomenon of Junior Brown,...

May 6th, 2013
Time’s up for testosterone

(Originally published Sept. 25, 2011) By WALLACE BAINE Hey, Testosterone....

May 5th, 2013
The first gay icon

By WALLACE BAINE There was a time in the 1890s,...

May 3rd, 2013
Finding the heart of Watsonville … through food

By WALLACE BAINE Ask any Watsonville resident where the center...

May 2nd, 2013
Playing ‘bang bang’ with Zig Zag

By KIRBY SCUDDER “Bang bang,” “grinding,” “bust out,” “bling bling,”...

May 2nd, 2013
The righteous fury of the gods meets high school

By WALLACE BAINE The Furies were a trio of figures...

May 2nd, 2013
What climate change?

By WALLACE BAINE There isn’t a lot of artfulness in...

May 2nd, 2013
Cabrillo’s bow to Kronos

By WALLACE BAINE The Kronos Quartet, one of the famous...

May 1st, 2013
Rowdy one night, romantic the next

By ANN PARKER The Davenport Roadhouse is something of a...

April 29th, 2013
The power of Pinter

By JOANNE ENGELHARDT To analyze a Harold Pinter play, it’s...

April 28th, 2013
Worst job in the world?

By WALLACE BAINE Wow. I mean, honestly, where do I...

April 25th, 2013
The musical legacy of Bob Brozman

By WALLACE BAINE Blues guitarist and ethnomusicologist Bob Brozman, one...

April 25th, 2013
When Jewel Theatre met Shakespeare Santa Cruz

By WALLACE BAINE For fans of Jewel Theater, it’s a...

April 25th, 2013
Memorializing the ‘Tree Circus’?

By WALLACE BAINE One is a largely forgotten Swedish-born rancher,...

April 24th, 2013
When you only want Greek

By ANN PARKER When cravings for Greek food snuck up...

April 24th, 2013
Kirby Scudder: Kevin Devaney brings new performance poetry scene to Santa Cruz

A poetry slam is a competition at which poets recite...

April 23rd, 2013
My letter to ‘Dear Leader’

By WALLACE BAINE To: Kim Jong-un, Big Cheese, North Korea...

April 18th, 2013
Malick’s magical thinking

By WALLACE BAINE Odds were good that the last film...

April 18th, 2013
A new monthly event called FEAST seeks to connect artists directly to supporters … with dinner

{APRIL 26 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The Santa Cruz Institute...

April 18th, 2013
Theater run amok! Cabrillo College plays host to a festival chock full of local theater productions

{ THROUGH MAY 12 Fridays at 7:30 and 9:20 p.m....

April 18th, 2013
With the help of Santa Cruz’s Barry and Shelley Phillips, Coleman Barks unlocks the magic of Rumi

{ APRIL 22 7:30 p.m. First Congregational Church, 900 High...

April 18th, 2013
Echoes from Boston, across the country in Santa Cruz

By KIRBY SCUDDER This past Monday I was working on...

April 18th, 2013
After many years as solo artists, husband-and-wife duo Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison come together in the studio

{ SUNDAY 7:30 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St.,...

April 18th, 2013
At least in Santa Cruz, National Dance Week is an occasion for celebration of dance of all kinds

By WALLACE BAINE Santa Cruz is moving. In fact, it’s...

April 18th, 2013
Jess Walter’s ‘Beautiful Ruins’ mixes Hollywood romance and Hollywood satire

{ APRIL 19 7:30 p.m. Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific...

April 18th, 2013
Orchard School in Aptos has been teaching kids circus skills for years; now it’s ready to put on a show

{ APRIL 19-20 Friday at 7 p.m. Saturday at 2...

April 17th, 2013
Christa Martin: Making original art with found wood and sailcloth

Last week, I took a look inside Enter Through the...

April 12th, 2013
‘FashionTEENs Santa Cruz’ to show off the creativity and fashion sense of Santa Cruz County’s next generation of artists

{APRIL 17, 7 p.m. Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church...

April 12th, 2013
Santa Cruz’s favorite Brazilian jazz singer Claudia Villela looking to re-invent herself

{MONDAY 7 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa...

April 12th, 2013
The new documentary ‘Room 237′ teases out meanings in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror classic better left hidden

By WALLACE BAINE I think we can all agree that...

April 11th, 2013
Barry Phillips reflects on his long and close association with the great Ravi Shankar

By KIRBY SCUDDER “Six degrees of separation” is a theory...

April 11th, 2013
Sharon Took-Zozaya’s STAMPING ZEBRA DANCE THEATRE and Carol Fields’ VIZ-ART-DANCE presents: It’s About Time

Three performances by two intriguing dance companies in the multi-media...

April 11th, 2013
Beck comes to Santa Cruz; May 19 show at the Rio

Platinum-selling superstar Beck has just been booked to play the...

April 10th, 2013
Christian Marclay’s ‘The Clock’ is a hypnotic 24-hour marathon that will change your conception of time — at least for a while

{ THROUGH JUNE 2 San Francisco Museum of Modern Art,...

April 9th, 2013
The Boardwalk announces its summer music line-up featuring old faves and a few fresh faces (Camper Van Beethoven, ABC)

One of the most successful musical acts ever to emerge...

April 8th, 2013
Christa Martin: Carlos Dye and his playful approach to ceramic art; also, Robert Larson and Jeannine Niehaus

By CHRISTA MARTIN I recently spent some time visiting with...

April 6th, 2013
In the new exhibit ‘The Dinner Parties,’ the Sesnon Gallery explores how artists are interpreting new trends in food and cooking

{THROUGH MAY 11 Opening reception, April 10, from 5 to...

April 4th, 2013
Remembering the late Roger Ebert

Film critic Roger Ebert died on Thursday in Chicago. He...

April 3rd, 2013
To mark the 2013 home opener in San Francisco, we remember the last home game played by the Giants — Game 2 of the World Series

To borrow from George Harrison, it’s been a long, cold,...

April 3rd, 2013
Writer and comedian Fred Reiss reveals a different kind of cancer memoir in his combative, darkly honest ‘Today Cancer, Tomorrow the World’

By WALLACE BAINE There are many in the cancer community...

April 2nd, 2013
The force of nature known as Antsy McClain is the subject of a small but devout cult following — with an upcoming PBS special, that might change

{APRIL 6, 7:30 p.m. Henry J. Mello Center for the...

April 1st, 2013
Mountain Community Theatre pokes fun at life in the theater in the spirited and sweet-natured ‘Moon Over Buffalo’

By JOANNE ENGELHARDT Playwright Ken Ludwig writes his Broadway shows...

April 1st, 2013
Joe Sherer gives cycling apparel a much-needed upgrade; Plus, Neno Villamor, Tom Jacobs, opportunity at MAH

By CHRISTA MARTIN Joe Sherer had been an avid bicycler...

March 30th, 2013
Twenty years after its release, it’s time to declare the comedy ‘Groundhog Day’ one of Hollywood’s greatest spiritual allegories

By WALLACE BAINE To all those of the Christian faith,...

March 30th, 2013
Former P-Funk keyboard wizard Bernie Worrell is one of the true innovators in the art of the synthesizer

{ MONDAY 8:30 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa...

March 29th, 2013
Think you represent a face of Santa Cruz? A new art installation called ‘We Are Santa Cruz’ wants to hear from you

{ APRIL 5, 2 to 9 p.m. Santa Cruz Civic...

March 29th, 2013
Shocker at Moe’s: The inside story on Michelle Shocked’s bizarre performance art appearance

By WALLACE BAINE For a woman who named herself “Shocked,”...

March 28th, 2013
Kirby Scudder: Hundreds come out to bid adieu to the Davenport Gallery

By KIRBY SCUDDER The town of Davenport – population 408...

March 28th, 2013
Moe’s Alley fills the cancelled Michelle Shocked date with a ‘celebration of diversity’; Shocked to show anyway?

When Moe’s Alley cancelled tonight’s scheduled Michelle Shocked appearance, that...

March 28th, 2013
A stunning new exhibit at the Museum of Art & History titled ‘Photo ID’ explores the rich psychic territory between identity and photography

{ THROUGH JULY 7 MAH members only reception Friday 6...

March 26th, 2013
Poet Patrice Vecchione finds reconciliation with the ghost of her mother in her new book of poems ‘The Knot Untied’

By WALLACE BAINE One of the major turning points of...

March 25th, 2013
Santa Cruz’s Adam Scott is not on the A-list yet, but he’s moving in that direction

Artist and illustrator Vicky Trochez has re-fashioned the entire cast of...

March 25th, 2013
Nathan Goodman’s assemblage art looks to the past for inspiration; also, Mimi Cahalan and ‘Carcasses and Companions’

By CHRISTA MARTIN I’ve never been much of a history...

March 25th, 2013
After a week of silence, Michelle Shocked releases an apology and a transcript of what she said went down at Yoshi’s

Folksinger Michelle Shocked lived up to her name when she...

March 23rd, 2013
A century before the mass-media age, bad boy John C. Frémont was America’s biggest tabloid star

By WALLACE BAINE You can see it from downtown Santa...

March 21st, 2013
The son and daughter of Beat literary icon and star of ‘On The Road’ Neal Cassady reveal the man behind the myth

{ MARCH 22, Q&A session with Jami Cassady Ratto and...

March 21st, 2013
All Glen, all summer: Shakespeare Santa Cruz drops inside show for new season

By WALLACE BAINE It’s all Glen all the time for...

March 20th, 2013
Crepe Place the center for new emerging musicians

By KIRBY SCUDDER Santa Cruz, became an established capital of...

March 20th, 2013
Ben Lomond’s former hot spot Ciao Bella has been transformed into the tasteful (and tasty) Casa Nostra

{ WHERE: 9217 Highway 9, Ben Lomond. HOURS: 11 a.m. to...

March 18th, 2013
SuicideGirls is the millennials’ answer to Playboy — with the women in charge

By WALLACE BAINE We Americans are still not at peace...

March 18th, 2013
Michelle Shocked concert cancelled in Santa Cruz following anti-gay slur in San Francisco

By WALLACE BAINE Veteran folksinger Michelle Shocked, long considered a...

March 15th, 2013
Writing coach and author Constance Hale makes the case that the secret to clear, vivid and lively writing is in the verbs

By WALLACE BAINE It was Adam in the Garden of...

March 14th, 2013
Improv classes at the Fun Institute aren’t just for people who want to be better actors; they’re for people who want to be better people

By WALLACE BAINE It’s called “Last Letter, First Letter” and...

March 14th, 2013
The savvy Santa Cruz fashion and style blog ‘The Penny Rose’ looks back at its first year.

Santa Cruz-based designers and fashionistas have a place to catch...

March 14th, 2013
Restaurant Review, Pino Alto: Cabrillo College’s student-staffed restaurant goes to the head of the class

By Ann Parker APTOS — Each year, I eagerly await...

March 14th, 2013
For 40 years, Linda Burman-Hall has sought to re-create exactly how people experienced music in the pre-Revolutionary era at the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival

{MARCH 16 7:30 p.m. Music Center Recital Hall at UC...

March 13th, 2013
Kirby Scudder: Abra Allan keeps Santa Cruz moving at Motion Pacific

Back Flap, Chug, Dig Ball, Flea Hop, Pickup Change, Railroad,...

March 13th, 2013
The South West Regionals of the U.S. Barista Championship comes to Santa Cruz and local boy Keith Garrett is ready to represent

{ MARCH 15-17, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; 10:30...

March 13th, 2013
Art project places playable pianos throughout Monterey County

By DENNIS TAYLOR Herald Staff Writer Eleven ornately decorated pianos have...

March 12th, 2013
Two new wildly different musical projects show the artistic appetite of Santa Cruz-born twins Remy and Pascal Le Boeuf

{ MARCH 21 7 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar...

March 11th, 2013
Christa Martin: Learning the ropes of social media for artists with Karen Kefauver; plus stage designer Eve Warnock and collage artist Lisa Hochstein

I’ve written several times about the “Business of Art” seminar...

March 11th, 2013
Newly named Artist of the Year Susana Arias takes center stage in an exhibit featuring all past Artists of the Year

{ THROUGH APRIL 14, Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery, 37...

March 8th, 2013
Want to honor the Santa Cruz police officers killed in duty? Then, live courageously and live free

By WALLACE BAINE On Tuesday, Feb. 26, I had a...

March 7th, 2013
Lorraine Kinnamon’s Te Hau Nui dance school fires passion for island dance in mainland dancers

{ MARCH 10, Two shows, 1 and 5 p.m. (remember...

March 6th, 2013
The 1960s-era psychedelic band Autosalvage picks up the pieces and finds a new audience at Austin’s South by Southwest

By JAYME KELLY CURTIS The phrase “keep the faith” recently...

March 6th, 2013
Kirby Scudder: Robert Blitzer has turned a West Side industrial warehouse into one of Santa Cruz’s most intriguing art spaces

By KIRBY SCUDDER In 1954, the Wrigley Company began construction...

March 6th, 2013
Police Memorial Procession for Sergeant Loran “Butch” Baker and Detective Elizabeth Butler. Santa Cruz, CA.

8:45 AM Thursday morning a Three mile long Police Memorial...

May 13th, 2013
The MUSE – Body Art Festival. August 16, 17 & 18

The MUSE Santa Cruz Body Art Festival (at the Tannery...