As many of you parents know, finding the time to make it out to live music shows can be just as difficult as staying awake/sober until the 9 p.m. start time. This isn’t completely exclusive to the breeders in our community, but applicable to all of us at the mercy of aging. Young and underemployed? […]
The Setlist
Our picks for the week’s best live music plus interviews and music news.
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Getting Better
Congratulations, you’ve survived the “holiday season.” My apologies to those that didn’t survive. For the rest of us, our extended families have left town, our Christmas trees are dying and we’re broke. Sure, the kids liked their presents, but that will fade in a few more days, leaving us to wonder why the hell we […]
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2016
The holiday season has come to a close; another year behind us, and more importantly, another year in front of us. Another successful circumnavigation around that glowing nuclear orb we call the sun. Without turning this into an astronomy lesson, we are roughly in the same location in relation to the sun that we were […]
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Connect More
Allow me to take a quick moment here to thank Monica Topping for writing the Setlist these past two weeks while I was out of town. I am rarely out of town, and the few times that I am, I tend to bring work with me. So having some time off (a vacation I’ve heard […]
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Scores to Settle
It’s not every week that a musician whose work has been featured on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and CSI plays live in Arcata. Keyboardist and bass player George Sarah has collaborated with members of Bauhaus and Save Ferris, and wrote a score for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, performed by the Beijing Modern Dance […]
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Energize
There’s something about those couple of weeks leading up the end of the year, when it seems like half the people you pass on the sidewalk are stressed — holiday shopping and finals will do that to a person — and the other half are excited for Santa, family time and a break from school. […]
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The Sonic Time Machine
A few days after Thanksgiving, I was with a friend and fellow musician listening to some music that stopped me in my tracks. It wasn’t new to me, but let’s just say it had been a while since I last heard it. (I won’t get into it, but let’s just say it was obscure enough […]
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Time to Give Thanks
The idea of being grateful for all that we have daily is a nice one. Perhaps a naive one as well. Granted, it only takes a few seconds to reflect upon the innumerable wonders of our time, but the ridiculous modern lives we find ourselves in don’t often leave much time for our minds to […]
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The Real Shit Will Rip You Up
For those of you that have been reading this column in weeks past, you’ll be familiar with the reoccurring themes: Out-of-town talented musician is coming to Humboldt, check them out; or, local — and starving — musician is still here, check them out. This column will focus on the latter. Humboldt is terribly lucky to […]
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On the Road Again
We’re lucky here in Humboldt. Not only do we have a wealth of talented local musicians, but we also find ourselves roughly smack dab between San Francisco and Portland. We’ve got much more going for ourselves than some podunk town outside of Los Banos on the I-5, so we can forgive touring bands for seeing […]
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Music & the Ecosystem
Music is like glue. It’s what keeps us together. Try and think back to the last time you went out where music wasn’t involved. Took the missus out to dinner? There was probably forgettable music playing in the background. Got a massage? Remember that gentle major-key harp music with no dominant chords? My point is […]
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All Hallows’ Eve
Hey kids, Halloween’s on Saturday. Of course you know that, but did you know that it’s also your parents’ favorite holiday? That’s right, Halloween was once a children’s festivity, with the occasional parent dressing up to humor/embarrass their kids. After stealing some of your candy, parents realized that pretending to be someone else for a […]