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8:30 a.m. Audubon Society Field Trip See Event Description

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8:30 a.m. Alzheimer’s Resource Center Volunteer Training See Event Description

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9 a.m. Arcata Farmers' Market Arcata Plaza

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9 a.m. Speakers' Symposium College of the Redwoods

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9 a.m. Humboldt Botanical Gardens Foundation Speakers’ Symposium College of the Redwoods

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9 a.m. Humboldt Botanical Gardens' Speakers' Symposium College of the Redwoods

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9 a.m. Fall Rummage Sale Arcata United Methodist Church

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9:30 a.m. AAUW Meeting See Event Description

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9:30 a.m. Little River State Beach Restoration See Event Description

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9:30 a.m. Sierra Club Headwaters Hike See Event Description

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10 a.m. Lanphere Dunes Guided Walk See Event Description

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10 a.m. 5th Annual Synergy Fair Arcata Community Center

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10 a.m. Go Green and Boost Your Bottom Line Wharfinger Building

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11 a.m. Sustaining Excellence and Enthusiasm in Health, Relationships and Work Carlo Theater (Dell'Arte)

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noon KEET's Kids Club Morris Graves Museum of Art

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1:30 p.m. Humboldt County Historical Society Humboldt County Library

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2 p.m. Arcata Marsh Field Trip Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary Interpretive Center

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4 p.m. Woodside Preschool’s 36th Wine and Ale Tasting Gala Adorni Recreation Center

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4:30 p.m. Harvest Dinner and Bazaar Humboldt Grange

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5 p.m. A Toast to Music Christ Episcopal Church

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5:30 p.m. Elvis and the Hound Dogs + Stolen Taxi Trinidad Town Hall

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6 p.m. The Tumbleweeds Chapala Cafe

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6 p.m. Arts Alive! Various Locations

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6 p.m. Day of the Dead Exhibition Ink People Center for the Arts

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6 p.m. Bar None 10th Anniversary Eureka Labor Temple

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6 p.m. Randy Spicer Piante Gallery

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6 p.m. Gallery Open for Arts Alive! Four Paths Gallery and Studio

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6:30 p.m. ShinBone (Blues R&B) Eureka Theater

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7 p.m. Mike Craighead and Sari Baker Old Town Coffee & Chocolates

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7 p.m. Harvest Concert Arcata Presbyterian Church

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7 p.m. 2 Left Feet Dance Project Redwood Raks World Dance Studio

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7:30 p.m. Joe & Me Cafe Mokka

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7:30 p.m. Cyrano de Begerac Eureka High School Auditorium

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7:30 p.m. Torch Song Summit Eureka Women's Club

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7:30 p.m. Jeff DeMark and the LaPatinas Westhaven Center for the Arts

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8 p.m. Stones in His Pockets Arcata Playhouse

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8 p.m. Humboldt Bay Brass Band Fulkerson Recital Hall at HSU

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9 p.m. Synergy Six Rivers Brewery

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9 p.m. Arts Alive! with Akaboom Sound Pearl Lounge

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9 p.m. Tempest WAVE @ blue lake casino

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9 p.m. Back In The Daze Dance Party Central Station Cocktail Lounge

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9 p.m. Swingin' Country Band (country) Bear River Casino

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9 p.m. The Zygoats + Alder Camp (rock) The Lil' Red Lion

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9 p.m. DJ Knutz (funk) Muddy's Hot Cup

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10 p.m. Music by DJ Sidelines

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10 p.m. DJ Icy Hot Aunty Mo's Lounge

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10 p.m. These United States (indie folk) Humboldt Brews

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11 p.m. Hellbound Glory The Alibi Lounge and Restaurant

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  • Trouble In Mind Trouble In Mind
Trouble In Mind

Trouble In Mind

By Mark Shikuma

By Hayes Carll.

Lost Highway.

"...sometimes it's necessary to go a long distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance correctly."

— Edward Albee, from The Zoo Story

Though only in his early 30s, Hayes Carll seemed to have taken the long way 'round. But his way. The Texas singer-songwriter follows in the long line of the Lone Star State's tradition of hard-worn songwriters who share an equal love for folk and country — Townes Van Zandt, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Guy Clark, to name a few. After developing his chops from playing the bar/club circuit from Galveston to Houston, Carll gained a following and garnered critical attention with his debut, Flowers & Liquor in 2002. Turning down a multi-album deal with Sugar Hill Records, he released his 2005 sophomore effort, Little Rock, under his own label, Highway 87 Records. It reached No. 1 on the Americana charts. Even with this type of attention, Hayes Carll ain't exactly a household name — even in his home state.

Things may change with the release of Carll's new record, Trouble in Mind. Carll displays all of his influences, including Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones, with his thick Texas drawl delivery. What gives Carll's songs distinction is his poetic lyrics, often intertwined with an ironic and hilarious sense of humor (check out "She Left Me For Jesus"). His songs, like many great country and folk songs, are great stories, observations from across a long bar, sticky with spilled drinks. His keen eye for description brings to mind Lucinda Williams. Songs of heartbreak, drifters, barflies and journeymen all fall under Carll's talent for an excellent turn of phrase. In "I Got A Gig," Carll sings, "There's an old lion tamer parked behind the bar / Hundred pounds of weed in a stolen car / Oil patch boys and girls who went to college / Rules you don't break and laws that ain't acknowledged ... Pills in the tip jar, blood on the strings / Oh Lord, I never thought I'd see these things / I got a gig, baby."

Producer Brad Jones is a seasoned engineer and session instrumentalist noted for his alignment with the pop side of Nashville. Jones and Carll have assembled a crack band, featuring old-school session players like drummer John Gardner and the legendary pedal steel player Al Perkins (who played with Gram Parsons and the Flying Burrito Brothers, among scores of others), along with younger generation session folk like guitarist Will Kimbrough, who worked with Kim Richey, Amy Rigby and Todd Snider. The sound is smooth, without being polished. And with songs such as a cover of Scott Nolan's "Bad Liver And A Broken Heart" (with the guitar contribution of former Georgia Satellite Dan Baird) and "A Lover Like You" (which hints at Dylan's "Leopard-Skin Pill-box Hat"), Carll pulls off his rock 'n' roll roots with drunken snarl that rivals Paul Westerberg.

Trouble in Mind is a record that proudly pays homage to a number of musical influences, but the songs and delivery are purely of the gifted songwriter's. And besides, it's a satisfying and fun record to listen to, back to front. It is unmistakable that Hayes Carll has gone a long way and come back a short distance "correctly."

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