The metaphor was unfortunate, even if it did declare itself a metaphor. The subhead in the Times-Standard preview of Wednesday night’s Winter Ruckus 4 promised "six exciting acts that plan to metaphorically burn the place down." Of course the hardcore hip hoppers, Tech N9ne, Potluck, LCA, Subnoize Souljaz and Blaze Ya Dead Homie do not […]
Bob Doran
Freelance photographer and writer, Arts and Entertainment editor from 1997 to 2013.
Posted inMusic
Off and running
It’s been a while since Thad Beckman lived here in Humboldt. The blues guitarist/songwriter left for Texas a few years back – Austin to be specific – and then moved on from there to Portland, Ore., home to a substantial Humboldt ex-pat community, not that he’s exactly part of it. When I got hold of […]
Posted inEat + Drink
The Humane Iron Chef
My brother-in-law Chris first hipped me to Iron Chef, a Japanese cooking show he described as "surreal." Originally titled Ironmen of Cooking, the TV program featured a mythical "Kitchen Stadium" maintained by an equally mythic Chairman Kaga, who pitted his team of Iron Chefs against illustrious challengers in a timed battle/race to prepare a collection […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Manifest Destiny
I should have seen it immediately. The clues were right there in Chris Durant’s splashy piece in the Times-Standard at the end of December. The headline, "Crooks pull elaborate casino heist" was accompanied by a clever graphic with the three suspects’ mug shots embedded in a slot machine. The photo of Peter Daniel Collins wasn’t […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Popeye and Provence
Provenance: It’s not a word you usually associate with food, but this last year, and I’ll guess in the years to come, it’s become something increasingly important to know. You hear it a lot on shows like Antiques Roadshow . It might be the tale someone tells of how an old sword was passed down […]
Posted inNews
Making Wood Sing (test)
They’re tucked away in workshops large and small, in converted garages and industrial parks all over the county. They’re Humboldt’s luthiers, skilled craftsmen turning slabs of wood into exquisite acoustic and electric guitars, banjos, mandolins and less familiar stringed instruments. Their market is international, ranging from world famous musicians to casual pickers. A few of […]
Posted inMusic
Natural Ball
For some guitar players it’s BB King, Eric Clapton or maybe Jimi Hendrix who provides inspiration to rip out a stinging lead run. For a young Bobby Radcliff, growing up in suburban Chevy Chase, Md., it was "Magic" Sam Maghett, a funky bluesman from Chicago. While still a teenager Radcliff ran away from home and […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Ema Gyaru
The exhibition filling the Thonson Gallery at the Morris Graves Museum of Art titled "A Bridge to Japan: Orr Marshall Retrospective" is a tribute to the breadth and scope of work by the Eureka-based artist. Marshall says his path to Japan began in the mid-’60s at Oakland’s College of Arts and Crafts where he was […]