Remember those bumper stickers asking to “Keep Santa Cruz Weird”?

One way to do that is to make sure we have a thriving arts and music community. Do we have one now?

We surely have more going on here than in the highly populated big city over the hill, but are high prices putting our music scene out of business?

The things that keep music flowing are basic: affordable housing, soundproof or tolerant practice spaces, and clubs that encourage fans who want to hear original music—not just deejays and cover bands.

Sean Rusev’s cover story this week focuses on one up-and-coming local band, Trestles, and what it takes for the quartet to survive the pitfalls our once affordable county puts young bands through.

In case you were wondering how bad renting or owning here is, the San Francisco Chronicle shocked its readers recently with a study that points out that Santa Cruz is worse even than San Francisco for finding affordable housing.

It would take a middle-income home buyer 21 years to save enough for a down payment in Santa Cruz versus 17 years in San Francisco, it says. Santa Cruz County had about 105,100 homes in 2014, according to estimates from the California Department of Finance. By 2024, that had increased by just 2,500 units, or 2.5%. Over the same period, the Bay Area increased its housing stock by 7.4%, putting Santa Cruz at the top of the most unaffordable places to buy.

What’s that mean for bands, who, let’s face it, can make as little as a few hundred dollars a night at a gig?

It can be as tough as living in a car—which, yes, some have had to do—or living with their parents. Some, sadly, have had to make the exodus out of town, including one of the bands appearing on the local music disc talked about in the article.

Santa Cruz has tried some cutting-edge approaches, such as the Tannery Arts Center, which is an affordable home to artists. We have more than a handful of venues supporting local performers and we have promoters offering slots to local musicians at no charge to audiences, including Abbott Square, the Capitola weekly music stage, the Midtown festival, the new Wharf festival and some of the best downtown street performers anywhere. They all deserve your praise and support.

Thanks for reading.

Brad Kava | Editor

PHOTO CONTEST

HOOFIN’ IT Newborn calf at Arana Gulch, Valentine’s Day—the newest member of the grassland management and tarplant recovery team. Photograph by Matt Freeman.

GOOD IDEA

Knut Johnson, senior counsel with law firm Singleton Schreiber, has joined forces with Erin Brockovich, film director and consumer advocate and environmental activist, along with Moss Landing residents in filing a lawsuit against Vistra, PG&E and other energy companies over the Jan. 16 fire.
The lawsuit states that the fire “resulted in toxic emissions that jeopardized the health and safety of thousands of residents and businesses in the surrounding area.”
Vistra employees said the fire suppression system failed, and called it “outdated and ineffective at stopping thermal runaway or extinguishing lithium-ion fires.

GOOD WORK

U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.), members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), joined all Democratic members of the Committee in demanding answers from Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy about the abrupt cutoff of funds for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation approved California’s five-year NEVI Deployment Plan on Sept. 29, 2023, granting the state $384 million for critical zero-emission vehicle infrastructure along its highways, but the Trump Administration has illegally frozen the NEVI program.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Any organization created out of fear must create fear to survive.”
—Bill Hicks