A decade ago Santa Cruz was caught up in Durbin Mania. Restaurants and bars were packed with people watching our local heavy metal kid rising through the ranks of television’s American Idol season 10. A former cupcake shop handed out Durbin cakes to crowds at Pizza Hut on 41st Ave as fans cheered his performances of Carole King’s “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” and Muse’s’ “Uprising.”

He placed fourth in the TV contest, but was a winner here.

His homecoming concert at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk drew 30,000 fans, the largest concert ever held in Santa Cruz.

Writer Kristen McLaughlin set out to find out where he is now for our cover story. And the answers are surprising, from making soundtracks for an exercise bike to playing in eight bands, to working with one of the top music producers in the business, Alan Parsons, who engineered Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.

He’s returned home to our county and in a great success for a musician—particularly one whose career started by selling pizzas at Domino’s—he’s bought a house in Watsonville.

 “I love finding new ways to make music a career,” he says. “My entire philosophy ever since I knew I wanted to do music for a living, I knew I didn’t want to live on tour. I want to be a working musician, supporting my family and doing what I love.”

.Looking for a green new meal in Felton? You’ll want to read Andrew Steingrube’s Foodie File about Emerald Mallard, a French-accented high crust dining establishment gunning for some Michelin stars.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more exotic blend of music than that served up by the Hu, Mongolian musicians adapting their traditional sounds to heavy metal. If you check out Bill Kopp’s story you might wonder if they should enter American Idol. Why not?

Where do the Monarch butterflies go in the summer and why do they come to Santa Cruz, aside from all the dispensaries and home brews? You will get the answers in Richard Stockton’s article about the upcoming Monarch celebration at Natural Bridges State Park. You’ll also get good news on the new bridge that restores the plural to the park’s name.

You can not only see the 1940s history of Santa Cruz come to life, but you can travel back in time to be a part of it, when you see Who Killed Simon Braggart?—the 418 Project’s fall offering, written about by Mathew Chipman.

Check it out and be a star, which we know you already are.

Thanks for reading.

Brad Kava | Editor

PHOTO CONTEST

ON THE FENCE Four amigas hanging out at Arana Gulch. Photograph by Maria Choy.

GOOD IDEA

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved a two-year pilot program to permit Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKOs) to operate in Santa Cruz County. MEHKOs are small-scale food service operations that can serve and deliver food from a home after meeting certain requirements and obtaining a Health Permit.

MEHKO accepts applications starting Jan. 1.

“This is an exciting opportunity to support our residents in their efforts to earn additional income and share their culinary talents with the community,” said Supervisor Bruce McPherson.

GOOD WORK

Cabrillo College will host Hostile Terrain 94, a free exhibit focusing on the humanitarian crisis at the border. Participants can share stories about how they have been impacted by U.S. border enforcement policies and migration. It has been exhibited in more than 120 locations across five continents.

Dr. Jason de León, UCLA professor and director of the Undocumented Migration Project, will speak. He has written two books, The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail and Soldiers and Kings.

Cabrillo will feature the exhibit at its Aptos campus Oct. 14–Dec. 6. A reception and artist’s talk will take place Oct. 16 followed by a book signing and viewing of the exhibit. Free and open to all.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I don’t understand why saying unhoused
is better than saying homeless.”
—comedian Josef Anolin