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Henfling's Down For the Count Henfling's has closed its doors, following the failure of owner ALBERT KENT and prospective owner CRAIG MEYER to strike a deal in the sale of the club. The future of the club is completely uncertain, leaving well-known and well-loved Henfling's International Music Series booking agent TOM MILLER high and dry. While Kent, Meyer and the HENFLING FAMILY, who still own the property, try to negotiate a workable plan, Miller is moving quickly to find venues for the shows he's already booked, even as he keeps his options open to find a new permanent home for the International Music Series. "Most of the artists are choosing to relocate to the Brookdale Lodge, and it could be that's where I end up being," says Miller, "but there are so many different clubs calling and asking me to work with them, I'm going to keep it open." What follows is a list of gigs relocated to the Brookdale Lodge. Jan. 19: JANIS JOPLIN'S BIRTHDAY BASH FEATURING SERENITY; Jan. 20: GITANOS; Jan. 25: JOHN JORGENSEN; Jan. 26: TIM BLUHM. Felton Free Radio on the Up and Up Elsewhere in the San Lorenzo Valley, the folks behind the FELTON RADIO ACCESS MOVEMENT (FRAM) are hosting an awareness-raising (and fundraising) event to benefit FELTON INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY RADIO, a project that will follow in the footsteps of the SANTA CRUZ RADIO ACCESS MOVEMENT (SCRAM), the group that helped get FREE RADIO SANTA CRUZ back on the airwaves. FRAM will create a FELTON FREE RADIO node to "give voice to our local issues and struggles," including, but not limited to, the current water debacle. The event takes place this Friday, Jan. 21, at the Felton Community Hall, and will feature a screening of O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?, live music by local old-timey musicians, and addresses by FELTON FLOW, FREE RADIO SANTA CRUZ and SANTA CRUZ INDYMEDIA. Suggested donation $5; email [email protected] for more details. Mike Connor Lovers, Dreamers, Me Why are there so many songs about rainbows? More importantly, how can there be so many Muppets songs I don't remember? I could only think of "Rainbow Connection," "Movin' Right Along," the theme song from the TV show and that time ALICE COOPER came on and sang "School's Out." But the DEAD HENSONS remember way more than that--hell, they don't even count "School's Out" when they're trying to fill out a setlist. Diehard Muppets fans might consider the Sesame Street songs they did at their ATTIC show Friday night to be cheating. I say if you can get it together to do a band that does nothing but songs from JIM HENSON shows and bring it to my town, you can do whatever the hell you want. One guy at the show told me he's campaigning for them to include songs from FRAGGLE ROCK, so go figure. Judging from their show, I'd say this band has a second career as a THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS cover band waiting for them if they ever get tired of the Muppets thing. And that's what's great about them: they have an orthodox devotion to the wide-eyed, kid-centric worldview of the songs, and a completely unorthodox approach to delivering them. Another thing: it's nice to see people doing something interesting with this "tribute band" concept, rather than just dressing up like another goddamned metal band. Between the Dead Hensons, CONSPIRACY OF BEARDS--the Bay Area barbershop group that sings only Leonard Cohen songs--and ME FIRST & THE GIMME GIMMES, there's hope for the cover band yet. Steve Palopoli [ Santa Cruz | Metroactive Central | Archives ]