Dirt, Drones and Cowboys
“When public toilet seat is warm from previous ass, do you become comforted or leap off in fear?” Experimental poet CAConrad posed this question to an audience of creative writing students and faculty members at the Humanities Lecture Hall last Thursday night. It was one...
‘This Pleasant Purgatory’
In Tony Assi’s bedroom hangs a wooden sign with one curious word written in yellow paint and light bulbs: CATFISH. In smaller black lettering underneath the light bulbs reads another word: STUDIOS. The sign, which Assi made himself, glows brilliantly when turned on, but fills...
A Layered Beat
Childhood friends Dylan Webber, Seiji Komo and Nathan Kocivar grew up in Ocean Beach, San Diego, about 35 miles south of Assi’s hometown in North County. Though they bonded over different musical genres than the members of Tony Tricks did — focusing instead on reggae,...
Photo Gallery: Santa Cruz Music Festival
The third annual Santa Cruz Music Festival hit downtown last weekend, with a line-up stacked with over 100 bands. The local and semi-local acts included headliners RJD2 and G Jones, alongside burgeoning bands of UC Santa Cruz students like Tony Tricks and Adult School. The...
Snaps and Slams
Tucked into a hallway next to Cowell Dining Hall, you’ll find people hungry for more than just food. There was a full house on Wednesday night inside Stevenson Fireside Lounge — a hidden community of kindred spirits eager to devour poetry. About 90 students and...
The Art of Remedy
When Dr. Tracee Laing traveled to Haiti with suitcases full of medication, she wondered what to do with the empty luggage she’d be left with on her flight home. Her proximity to a community that produced beautiful, intricate metalwork inspired her to fill her suitcase...
The Delta Meets the Bay
As The California Honeydrops took to The Catalyst’s main stage, the house was already packed to the rafters. The acoustic folk trio Steep Ravine opened the show, and 20 minutes after their set ended, the San Francisco quintet along with an accompanying percussionist came to...
‘Drink More Water’
Giddy fans packed tightly around The Catalyst’s Atrium stage last Wednesday night as they anxiously awaited hip-hop artist and poet Mick Jenkins. Jenkins released his third mixtape “Trees & Truths” in 2013, which garnered widespread attention due to its bold lyrical content with lines like,...
Santa Cruz Music Festival Set to Rock Downtown
Back for a third year in a row, Santa Cruz Music Festival (SCMF) will sprawl across downtown Santa Cruz venues including The Catalyst, Woodstock’s Pizza, Motiv and other locations to round out 15 total stages and 13 hours of musical mayhem on Oct. 10. This...
The Power of Poetry
You can hear with your eyes — proven by a phenomenon known to many as the McGurk Effect. In the silence of the Impact Hub, an Oakland venue, three women standing on a stage are illuminated. What you are about to hear will make you...