Remembering Terminator 2--25 years later

25 years ago today, Terminator 2 was released--I still have great memories of going to see the movie with my family on opening day, where we caught an afternoon matinee at the Del Mar Theater in Santa Cruz. I remember feeling the anticipation of the crowd as the lights went down and then the haunting opening sequence leaving everybody in quiet awe.

Then, as the title was revealed and the theme music started playing, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s name appeared on the screen and somebody in the front of the theatre suddenly yelled out, “Arnie! Our Leader!” and the entire audience busted up laughing. I remembered that moment many years later on the night he was elected Governor of California, wondering if it was somehow a strangely prophetic event, haha!

Needless to say, it remains, in my opinion one of the greatest Sci-Fi films ever made, and one of my favorite movies of all time.

So, here we are 25 years later to the day, and what am I doing? Watching T2 with my family of course, quoting along with all the classic lines, laughing and cheering!!! Hasta la Vista, baby!!! 

R.I.P. Carolyn Cassady

Beat Generation icon Carolyn Cassady passed away yesterday at her home in London.

Back in 2006, I had the honor of meeting and interviewing her in San Francisco for an article about the opening of an exhibit that featured the original scroll manuscript of Jack Kerouac’s “On The Road.”

She was a very humble, down to earth and classy lady, and I had the pleasure of getting to know several members of her family as well, all great people.

In tribute to Carolyn, here is the text of my original articles that were published in March of 2006 by the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

“On The Road Manuscript on Display in San Francisco”

Written over the course of three manic weeks back in 1951, Jack Kerouac’s seminal novel “On the Road” became a watershed in American literature, launched the author’s long-fermenting writing career, and helped define a generation of disaffected Americans, later to be dubbed the Beats.

Not published until 1957, the book chronicles the wild travels and exploits of characters Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty, which were based in part on the author and his friend Neal Cassady. 

When the original manuscript was pounded out in a New York City apartment at a feverish rate, according to legend the session was fueled by amphetamines along with Kerouac’s naturally racing mind. To enable himself to write without the interruption of constantly changing single sheets of paper, he taped together long strips to create what eventually became a nearly 120-foot long scroll—which has itself become an iconic symbol of artistic rebellion and modern literature.

A 36 foot section of the scroll is currently on display at the San Francisco Public Library, along with an extensive collection of photographs and artifacts that tell the story behind one of the most famous books of the 20^th century. 

The scroll was bought at auction in 2001 by Indianapolis Colts owner James Irsay for $2.43 million, and has been on an 18 city tour across the United States since 2004. The opening ceremony for the San Francisco exhibition drew a variety of visitors, including some of the central figures in the Beat world, such as Carolyn Cassady and Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

“The exhibition brings back a lot of memories, I think it’s very well done,” said Cassady. “It’s always very strange for me because I just loved two men who were bums, really,” she added, laughing. 

Cassady perhaps knew these men better than anybody else—she was married to Neal Cassady, and had a relationship with Kerouac for a period of time as well. Back then, however, she was often more concerned with the challenging demands of raising three children than thinking about the literary aspirations of the men around her.

“We had no idea anything like this would ever happen, I mean, I wouldn’t have even read Kerouac’s books if I hadn’t known him. I thought he was a brilliant writer, but the subject matter is not my kind. So I really was sort of the mother—‘now don’t you do that!’ I think that’s why they came back all the time, they were nice little Catholic boys who had to be punished, and I served that purpose,” she chuckled.

Cassady published a well-received book of her own in 1990—a collection of memories about her life with the Beats appropriately titled ‘Off the Road’—and she has been at work revising and adding material for an updated edition due out next year. She has also been involved with the long-time coming production of the film version of “On the Road” that is also tentatively set for a 2007 release.

When Irsay took possession of the manuscript, he hired Jim Canary, head conservator at Indiana University’s Lily Library, to look after the scroll. Canary, who specializes in Tibetan scrolls and artifacts, said that the offer was one he couldn’t refuse.

“To me, it’s been like a dream opportunity. I was a big fan of Kerouac and Gary Snyder, and I hitchhiked out here in ’71 for the first time, and it was because of reading ‘Dharma Bums.’”

The scroll, which is unfurled in a long and narrow glass case for protection, is showing signs of it’s age; the edges are tattered in certain sections, it’s color is turning a brown-yellow, and shoddy repairs made by somebody in the past stand out in a few spots. 

But for all it’s physical imperfections, the manuscript is still very much a thing of beauty— the beginning of the novel is slightly different than that of the published book, the handwritten corrections and notes in pencil made by Kerouac glean a look into his thoughts about editing, and the overall feeling of Kerouac attempting to capture in words what joy, kicks, and darkness he saw in life around him practically emanates from the scroll.

Ferlinghetti, who in addition to his own works of poetry helped spread the word of his generation as the owner of City Lights Books, hopes the high profile resurgence of interest in “On the Road” can be a positive force in modern society.

“With the state of America today, the world needs a Beat message more than ever: anti-materialistic, anti-militaristic, anti-consumer culture. If the Beats were alive today they would be totally against this technocratic consciousness. The country could use a touch of Buddhist contemplation.”

“Child of The Beats Embraces Her Legacy.”

As a young child growing up in San Francisco and Los Gatos, Jami Cassady didn’t know anything about her father Neal Cassady other than simply that—that he was her dad. 

He went to work for the railroad during the day, came home to play with her and her siblings, took her to ballet classes, gave her presents for her birthday; all things that a normal father and daughter relationship would have. She had no idea about the side of Neal that would later be canonized in Jack Kerouac’s books and made him a counter-culture hero to the Beat generation and the hippie followers of Ken Kesey—the Neal Cassady that drove across the country in search of adventure, that had multiple lovers, that was in and out of jail—and worked for a short time at the Hip Pocket, the precursor to Bookshop Santa Cruz. To Jami Cassady, who now lives in Capitola, he was just ‘Dad.’

“I knew absolutely nothing,” Cassady says. “Now that I’ve read mom’s book, I go, ‘Oh! That was going on?’”

The book she refers to is “Off The Road,” by her mother, Carolyn Cassady—one that gives a behind the scenes look at the real life events that inspired much of Kerouac’s writing.

“He tried so hard to be our dad, and that’s all we knew, was he was our dad. It wasn’t as romantic or exciting as it seems now,” she laughs. “Reading my mom’s book, I learned way more about it than I ever really knew.”

As for Kerouac, who often visited the Cassady household both before and after the publication of “On the Road,” Jami thought of him as ‘Uncle Jack’ and remembers him often sitting in their living room reading a book.

“He was just always there, and he’d go sleep out in the backyard with a railroad lantern and stuff. You know you don’t even think…my mom never ever wanted us to know anything about any of these people. When I grew up, and when dad was in San Quentin for two years, she told us he was on a railroad trip. I was 10 years old—who are you going to believe? I had no idea.”

Aside from some experiences in the 1960’s with Neal and his associates in the Merry Pranksters, Jami never really delved into her father’s or Kerouac’s legacies until fairly recently, when she was asked to take part in a reading commemorating the fortieth anniversary of “Big Sur” in 2001.

“That was the first time that I actually read one of the books was for this thing. That was the first time that I went, ‘This is part of my legacy, I’d better start getting up on it,’ so then I really started getting into it. We just started saying, ‘Hey, this is a huge, fabulous wonderful thing,’ and it’s just amazing, the legacy of the literature. Now they can’t stop me,” she laughs. “Now my mother writes me and goes, ‘You know more people than I do, what the heck?’”

In addition to reading and learning about her family’s history, and those of their literary friends, Jami also collects as much memorabilia on the subject as she can. Indeed, an entire corner of one room in her house is devoted to the collection; it is a virtual Beat museum in and of itself. Books, pictures, CDs, buttons, videos, posters and other knick knacks fill a large bookcase and line the walls. Some items have been given to her by people she meets at events celebrating the Beats, some she and her husband Randy have picked up on their travels.

Certain pieces are more personal, such as book, “To a Young Dancer” by Agnes De Mille, who was a famous choreographer that Jami looked up to when taking ballet. The tome was a gift to her from her father for her 15^th birthday, and on the inside cover, in his unmistakable handwriting is inscribed, “To Jami, 1/26/65. Wishing you a big happy 15^th, but more, wishing you a big life long happy.”

Although Neal Cassady, who would have turned 80 on February 8^th, struggled with drinking and drugs, and died in 1968 at the early age of 41, Jami was relieved when her father passed on.

 

“We were really glad that he finally got to go because he was not happy, he was very unhealthy, and it was time. He was tired, very tired. And he had to live up to all this…” pointing to the books chronicling his exploits—or at least a fictionalized version thereof that many people weren’t able to differentiate from the real Neal Cassady.

“He hated that, he hated that he was in “On the Road”—‘That’s not me, I’m not like that.’”

She points to his book “The First Third” as a way to get to know the real person behind the mythical façade.

“This is the book that made me know my father. I’m glad he got to write that.”

Raised in a family that strongly believes in reincarnation, Jami seems certain that the loving spirit of Neal Cassady lives on to this day. A smile comes to her face while she gazes over the assorted pictures of her dad, and she says, “He’s still here.”

           

Nirvana's "In Utero" 20 Years Later

September 21^st, 1993. Hard to believe it’s been 20 years now. I was 14, and had just started my Freshman year at Santa Cruz High School.

My friends and I had been anticipating the release of Nirvana’s new album “In Utero” since April, when we had seen them in concert at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, and they had played a slew of new songs—most of them, actually—from the forthcoming album, which they had finished recording not long before the show.

Once the name of the new album—yes, we had problems pronouncing it correctly at first—and the release date of September 14 had been announced, we began planning on how to get our hands on it at the earliest possible opportunity.

At the beginning of the month, I was riding in the car with my mom and listening to the local rock station when the DJ announced that he was going to play the first single from the new Nirvana album—as the opening notes of “Heart-Shaped Box” streamed out of the speakers, I implored my mother to drive as quickly as possible to our local record store, thinking that “In Utero” had been released early, and was already in stores.

Since we happened to be fairly close to the store, we made it there in just a few minutes, and I remember bounding out of the car just as the feedback ceased and the pick scrape ended the song, and bursting through the doors of the store.

I quickly looked around at the front shelves where new releases were displayed; not seeing “In Utero” I turned to the counter and excitedly asked the guy at the register if they had it—he shook his head, and told me it wasn’t coming out for another couple of weeks.

I told him that I had just heard it on the radio, and that it must be out already. He smirked and then explained that radio stations usually get new singles in advance of the commercial release, to help promote sales of the album when it is eventually released to the public.

Looking back on it now, in the age of iTunes and internet pirating, it all seems so quaint, but for those of us over the age of 30, we can remember a time when you couldn’t access a song simply at the touch of a button.

In fact, I remember going home that afternoon and sitting in front of my cassette/radio boom box and waiting for them to play the song again; eventually, they did, and I was ready with a blank tape to record it. This was also in a time before I could afford something like a piece of stereo equipment with a nice digital tuner and antenna, and therefore the recording was rather bad; the reception wasn’t all that great, and static filled the gaps when the signal got weak.

But, I had my first recorded taste of the new album, and played it over and over again. 

A couple of my friends—whom I had gone to the Nirvana concert with earlier that year—were also excited, and when the big day finally came, we made our plan. We knew the record store wouldn’t be open before school started, so we decided to run down there on our lunch break—our school had an open campus policy, and we knew we could get back in time without getting in trouble.

We hurried to now-defunct Cymbaline Records in downtown Santa Cruz only to be told that the shipment was delayed, and it would be another week before they got it.

The following Tuesday we again made the trek downtown on our lunch break. This time, my impatience lead to my asking the friend with a Discman (I didn’t have one yet) to bring it along with us so I could listen to a song or two on the walk back to campus.

We got to the store, saw that an “In Utero” promotional poster was in the window, and we ran inside.

I quickly grabbed a copy off the rack, plunked down my money, and went outside to tear into the packaging (they had things called CD long boxes back then, kids) taking a cursory look at the CD insert and artwork, and threw the disc into the player.

While the album opens with “Serve The Servants,” I really wanted to hear “Rape Me”—Nirvana had opened with that tune at the concert I had seen them at—a benefit for Bosnian rape victims—and I had been waiting to hear it again ever since.

Walking back up the hill to campus, the opening chords and haunting intro played out before my ears were filled with the thunderous bass and drums and Cobain’s plaintive and caterwauling wailing. I was blown away.

Once the song was over, and after seeing my expression, my friend demanded his Discman back for a few minutes so that he too could listen. I complied, and by the time we were back at school, we had the soundtrack for the new chapter in our lives we had just embarked on.

Of course, it was also the end of an era. None of us could have predicted at the time that this was to be the last time we would be looking forward to hearing new Nirvana music (posthumous B-side and demo releases aside).

Maybe I’m just turning into a jaded old music writer, but it’s exceedingly rare these days for me to get genuinely excited about an upcoming new music release; however, I am really looking forward to what the 20^th anniversary reissue of “In Utero” will hold. 

The super-deluxe edition promises a re-mastered version of the album, a new re-mix by done by Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Steve Albini, a host of unheard demos, and finally, the long-awaited DVD release of the full live concert filmed in December of 1993 on the “In Utero” tour for an MTV special.

It may have been two long decades since these memories took place, but while listening to “In Utero” today, all of the same emotions—anticipation, curiosity—are flooding back—although I have to admit to a bit of sadness as well. It’s another reminder that there will never be another new Nirvana record, the finality of an artistic vision cut all too short.

While we can never know what may have been, one thing is for sure—come this Tuesday, September 24^th, I’ll again be running out on my lunch break to the nearest record store and picking up “In Utero,” eagerly awaiting to hear what sonic treats await. 

“In her false witness/we hope you're still with us/to see if they float or drown
Our favorite patient/a display of patience/disease-covered Puget Sound
She'll come back as fire/to burn all the liars/and leave a blanket of ash on the ground”

Hello there, Thanks to an extrememly busy but productive work schedule, it's been quite a while since I've posted anything here--while I am in the process of re-designing my website and collecting my work to properly post on this blog, here are a couple of links to see my most recent work for the San Francisco Bay Guardian and Santa Cruz Sentinel. Cheers, Sean McCourt August 2012

Pioneering Animation of Sleeping Beauty

(Article published in today's San Francisco Examiner)

One of the most beloved Disney animated features ever made, “Sleeping Beauty” took nearly a decade to reach the screen from the time that initial production started until it was released to critical and audience acclaim in 1959. An almost obsessive attention to detail and quest for quality were among the reasons behind the long timetable, which ultimately resulted in a visual richness and exquisite sense of style that has remained virtually unmatched ever since.

San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the film with a special exhibit, “Once Upon A Dream: The Art of Sleeping Beauty,” featuring everything from original model sheets and copies of pencil sketches to behind the scenes photos and actual animation cels from the production of the fairy tale classic.

Disney artist and illustrator Ron Dias, whose personal collection provides the bulk of the material for the exhibit, looks back fondly on his time spent on the film and the creative design of the production, which was handled quite differently than previous Disney projects in that everything had to adhere to the lush designs of one person, Eyvind Earle.

“Walt, being the innovative person that he was, was always looking for something different and new. He was actually worried I think that everything was looking quite moldy-fig and having the sameness to it.”

“Sleeping Beauty” was the first major project that Dias worked on, joining the Disney team in 1956 at the age of 18, working as an Inbetweener and Clean Up Animator, where he helped draw the intermediate frames to create the seamless animation that gave life to the characters of Princess Aurora and the devilishly evil Maleficent.

“It had to be precise and exact, or it would jitter and jump—and we had to make sure that we were looking at the model sheet at all times, because she was designed so differently than any other character,” says Dias. “We had to make sure that it not only moved smoothly, but did not look awkward. When you look at a character you look at their face, their eyes, and a mouth that’s moving, and she moved smoother than almost any other female character.”

Visitors to the exhibit can catch a glimpse of the great efforts that went into such a lavish endeavor, back before the time of modern computer animation when talented artists had to hand paint each individual frame, giving it a look and feel that no computer program could ever hope to achieve. The exhibit also features examples of Dias’ later work, including animation cels and concept art from films such as “The Little Mermaid,” “The Secret of NIMH,” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”

In the years since he stopped working on feature films, Dias has done many projects for both Disney and other notable companies, providing artwork for books, DVDs, limited edition lithographs, and even theme parks. He still gets fan mail from people of all ages, and loves to meet the people who have grown up with his art.

“I’m finally beginning to realize how many people we all have touched, and we’ve put so many smiles on faces—that’s really a wonderful thing.”


If You Go:

“Once Upon A Dream: The Art of Sleeping Beauty”
Exhibit open through January 10, 2010
Where:
Cartoon Art Museum, 655 Mission St., San Francisco
When:
Opening reception with artist Ron Dias, Saturday, August 15, 7-9 p.m.
Regular gallery hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Tickets: Reception is free; regular admission $2-$6
Contact:
(415) 227-8666, www.cartoonart.org, www.rondias.com

Pissed Jeans Hit Bottom of the Hill

(Preview published in today's San Francisco Bay Guardian)

Specializing in a brash, raucous, and infectious brand of rock, Allentown, Pa.'s Pissed Jeans mix fuzz-drenched rhythms and caterwauling vocals. The band's latest album, King of Jeans (Sub Pop), hits record store shelves today. The standout blistering ditties include "She Is Science Fiction," "Request For Masseuse" and "R-Rated Music." Here's hoping the group sears your ears with live versions tonight.(Sean McCourt)

With Mi Ami and Hissing Wound.

9 p.m., $12. Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. (415) 621-4455, www.bottomofthehill.com

Brian Posehn Brings The Laughs To San Francisco

(Preview published in today's San Francisco Bay Guardian)

Getting his start doing stand up in Sacramento and San Francisco, comedian Brian Posehn has also added his hilarious talents to a wide variety of other media; he has starred in TV programs such as "Just Shoot Me," "Mr. Show," and "The Sarah Silverman Program," and has had parts in several films including Rob Zombie's "The Devil's Rejects.” A devoted fan of both horror movies and heavy metal, Posehn co-authored the graphic novel “The Last Christmas,” a tale about Santa after the apocalypse, and he released the album “Live In: Nerd Rage” (Relapse Records) in 2006, featuring the side-splitting parody song (and even funnier music video) "Metal By Numbers," where he skewers modern “false metal” with his searing lyrics and growled incantations of “Cookie Cookie Cookie!” (Sean McCourt)

8 p.m. Thu.; 8 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. Fri.-Sat. $18.50-$20.50. Cobb's Comedy Club, 915 Columbus Ave., SF. (415) 928-4320, www.cobbscomedyclub.com.

Welcome To The Nightmare: Stellar Corpses Unleash New Album

(Article published in today's Good Times)

Though most people may like to think of Santa Cruz as a quiet beach town, some locals know the area also has a dark side—one part fictional, as seen in the cult classic vampire movie The Lost Boys, notoriously filmed here in the 1980s—the other very real, as seen during the 1970s when a string of serial killers terrorized the mountain communities that surround the city.

It should come as no surprise then that a band that embraces the more monstrous side of things has been born here: Stellar Corpses have been making a name for themselves locally and globally for nearly four years, mixing psychobilly, punk, rockabilly, surf rock and more, while striving to avoid any pigeonholes. Featuring Dusty Grave on vocals and guitar, Matt Macabre on drums, Dan Lamothe on bass, and Emilio Menze on guitar, Stellar Corpses released their debut EP, Respect The Dead, in 2007, toured Europe in 2008, and a new full length album, Welcome To The Nightmare, has just come out on Fiend Force Records, exploring a fuller breadth of styles.

“There’s something that everyone will like on the new album, we have such a wide variety of stuff that we listen to—everything from Jimmy Buffet to Slayer,” Macabre says.

The instrumental title track kicks things off in high gear for the album, followed by the shout-along anthem “My Shadow.” “Cemetery Man,””One More Day” and “When You Don’t See Me” are among the other standout tracks on Welcome To The Nightmare, which is being unveiled at this week’s CD-release party at The Catalyst.

“Our predecessors, the guys who were doing rockabilly to start with, they were taking country and the blues and doing their own thing with it,” says Grave. “We just feel like we’re continuing that tradition, and being true to ourselves.”

That independent attitude has fueled the band’s journey down a darker, richer path—chances are you won’t hear many other area groups play a song like “Hale Bopp,” a frightfully catchy tune that tells the infamous tale of the mass suicide of the Heaven’s Gate cult, set to a Bo Diddley-on-steroids beat.

Info Box:

Stellar Corpses’ CD Release Show
Friday, July 31st
9 p.m.
$10-$12
The Catalyst
1011 Pacific Ave.
Santa Cruz
(831) 423-1338
www.catalystclub.com
www.stellarcorpses.com

Who Ya Gonna Call? Ray Parker Jr. Set To Perform At The Boardwalk

(Article published in today's Santa Cruz Sentinel)

With an instantly recognizable tune and the familiar refrains and shout along responses of “If there’s something strange/ in your neighborhood/ who ya gonna call?” the “Ghostbusters” theme song likely brings back a flood of fun memories for anybody who grew up in the 1980s, or was a fan of the hit movie and much-played music video.

Written and performed by Ray Parker Jr., the theme song for “Ghostbusters” opened the blockbuster movie about a group of somewhat zany paranormal investigators starring Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson and Rick Moranis. Released in 1984, fans have been celebrating the 25th anniversary of the film with the recent release of a special edition Blu-ray DVD and a new high-tech video game that came out earlier this year, both featuring the catchy theme song.

“We didn’t know it was going to be a record, we didn’t know it was going to be anything. To be quite honest, today we’re talking about like it’s a big deal, but at the time I was doing it, it was not a big thing,” says Parker, who is performing at the Boardwalk on Friday night.

Prior to getting the “Ghostbusters” gig, Parker was known in the entertainment business for a string of well-received songs as a solo artist, as well as having a reputation for being a stellar studio musician, having performed with people including Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Barry White, Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross among many others. Near the end of the production of the movie, the producers and director approached him to write a theme song for the horror-comedy.

“They liked my other songs, and so they just wanted me to write one for the film—who knew it was going to be that big—I thought I had big records before, but that was like hitting the ball out of the park,” says Parker.

“They showed me the film, they didn’t have any music in it yet, the director kind of described what he was looking for, and I only had a few days to do it, because they were running out of time—the film guys always start late on the music—and that is the song that came out of it.”

Parker wrote, recorded and produced the song in a mere two and a half days, recording in a Hollywood studio he owned at the time, playing almost all of the instruments himself, aside from a few overdubs that his friends helped provide.

“That was my girlfriend and her friends yelling [‘Ghostbusters’] in the background, so I got them on it,” laughs Parker.

The accompanying music video for “Ghostbusters” ended up being a star-studded affair, featuring Parker singing on a variety of neon and mist filled sets, while the cast members danced and sang along with him in Times Square, and celebrities who weren’t even in the film turned in appearances, such as Chevy Chase and John Candy.

“It was a lot of fun to make, especially the New York scene with all the Ghostbusters guys and me, and it was sort of a monumental video. We got on MTV at a time when they said they weren’t playing any black music on MTV.”

Parker, who is still recording and touring a good portion of the year, recently released his latest solo album, “I’m Free” and spent part of the summer touring in Europe, performing at events including the Montreaux Jazz Festival. He still enjoys playing the “Ghostbusters” song, and says he looks forward to meeting his fans on the beach tomorrow night.

“I think the song is a huge blessing, ‘Ghostbusters’ seems to transcend time. I have a son who is 8 years old; he and all of his friends know it. As the new kids grow up, they all like that song, it’s really interesting.”


Info Box:
Ray Parker Jr.
6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Friday, July 31
Free.
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
400 Beach Street
Santa Cruz
(831) 423-5590
www.beachboardwalk.com

USS Hornet Splashdown 2009

(Preview published in today's San Francisco Bay Guardian)

USS Hornet Splashdown

In July 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to ever walk on the surface of the moon, and the famous quote, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" was relayed around the world to an enthralled television audience. When the historic Apollo 11 mission was over and it was time to return to Earth, their capsule landed in the Pacific Ocean, where the aircraft carrier USS Hornet was the main ship to recover them. Today, the Hornet has a place of honor in San Francisco Bay as a floating museum, and the majestic ship is hosting a special three-day event, Splashdown 2009, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of these groundbreaking accomplishments. Aldrin and several other crew members from the mission will be on board, sharing memories with visitors, who can also enjoy interactive exhibits, displays, receptions, talks about current space exploration, and more. (Sean McCourt)


6–10 p.m. (Sat/25 and Sun/26 10 a.m.–5 p.m.), $6–$25
USS Hornet
707 W. Hornet, Alameda
(510) 521-8448
www.uss-hornet.org

More Than A Decade Later, The Dude Abides

(Article published in today's San Francisco Examiner)

When the Coen Brothers' bizarrely brilliant comedy “The Big Lebowski” was initially released in 1998, it didn’t fare so well at the box office. In the decade that has passed, however, it has become a bona fide cult classic, inspiring such fervent fandom that in 2002 the first "Lebowski Fest" was held in Louisville, and the event has grown every year since.

Bay Area fans can join in on the celebration of the film that starred Jeff Bridges as the Dude, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, and Julianne Moore with a host of events this weekend at “Lebowski Fest San Francisco,” which is part of a 15 city tour put together by Will Russell and Scott Shuffitt, who came up with the idea of the festival while working as vendors at a tattoo convention.

“To pass the time we were quoting lines from ‘The Big Lebowski.’ Low and behold, the people next to us joined in and started quoting along with us,” says Russell. “We had this moment where we realized that we were not alone in our obsession and love of the movie, and we were like, ‘If they have this tattoo convention, why can’t we have a ‘Big Lebowski’ convention?’”

Russell and Shuffitt, along with some friends, rented out a run-down bowling alley and invited people to come dressed as their favorite characters and to have a good time—the turnout was much bigger than they had expected, and the festival has continued to grow in popularity, and now travels the country.

“It just keeps getting bigger and weirder and it’s a lot of fun. There are still plenty of surprises and several moments where I’m left scratching my head,” says Russell.

Friday night’s festivities will include a costume contest, trivia contest, and of course, the mass consumption of white Russians while bowling, or rolling rocks, as one would say in the parlance of Lebowski-speak. The party continues on Saturday night as the Fox Theater in Oakland hosts live music acts including Har Mar Superstar and a screening of the motion picture that started it all.

Russell and his cohorts have even written a book about the “Lebowski” phenomenon, “I’m A Lebowski, You’re A Lebowski,” (Bloomsbury, 2007) which lead to their first and only interaction with the Coen Brothers.

“When we asked if we could write the book, they sent a one sentence official response, which was, ‘You have neither our blessing nor our curse.’ It was very Coen-esque I guess,” Russell laughs.

If You Go:
Lebowski Fest
Where:
Classic Bowling Center, 900 King Drive, Daly City
Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland
When:
8 p.m. Friday,
7:30 p.m. Saturday
Tickets:
$22.50-$32
Contact:
www.lebowskifest.com

Ramblin' Jack Elliott Plays Felton

(Article published in today's Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Legendary folk singer Ramblin' Jack Elliottt has been making music and traveling the world sharing his songs for more than five decades now—and at age 77, he shows no signs of slowing down. Having befriended and played with everybody from Woody Guthrie and Johnny Cash to Bob Dylan and Kris Kristofferson, Elliott has influenced multiple generations of songwriters and musicians and won many awards along the way, including the National Medal of the Arts, presented by President Bill Clinton in 1998.

Born and raised in New York City, Elliott became fascinated with cowboys after seeing a rodeo at Madison Square Garden as a young boy. Unhappy with school and the prospects he was facing in the city, he ran away from home at age 15 and after hitchhiking out of the area, he ended up joining a rodeo—a stint that lasted just a few months, but it gave him his first exposure to folk music, courtesy of the rodeo’s resident musical clown.

“When I got home from that trip I found an old guitar in the closet and started playing some of those songs that I heard him singing, which were mostly hillbilly songs—they didn’t call it country-western at that time.”

After honing his playing skills while listening to radio stations that broadcast western music, Elliott discovered the burgeoning folk music scene in Greenwich Village, and eventually befriended Woody Guthrie, for a time moving in with the Guthrie family, soaking up as much musical knowledge as he could from the seminal writer of “This Land Is Your Land.”

On a road trip across the country with his mentor, Elliott discovered that the power of Guthrie’s songs and the messages he conveyed through them did not sit well with certain portions of the American population, even in his home state.

“A lot of the good people in Oklahoma loved Woody Guthrie and were very proud of him, but there was another large element of Guthrie haters—he narrowly escaped with his life after we stopped at a café in Okemah for a cup of coffee.”

Fifty years on, Elliott continues to travel and play with a fiercely independent spirit gleaned from his heroes, and he comes to Don Quixote’s on Wednesday supporting his latest album, A Stranger Here (Anti Records), which has been receiving rave reviews from fans and critics alike since its’ release this past April. The 10 tracks that make up the album are all cover songs; the collection is comprised of not folk, but pre-war and Depression-era blues tunes by artists such as Son House, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Reverend Gary Davis.

Elliott actually played with and met some of these blues masters when he was an up and coming young troubadour in the early 1960s, such as an encounter he had with Mississippi John Hurt at the Newport Folk Festival.

“He admired my Martin guitar—he had a kind of inexpensive guitar that he owned, and he asked me if I would mind letting him use my guitar. I said ‘You sure can, I’d be honored for you to play my guitar.’ He took it with a big ear to ear smile, and said, ‘Thank you, if they calls you for it, I’ll give it back to you, if they calls me for it, you give it back to me.’ Kind of hard to figure out what that means,” Elliott laughs. “But it all worked out.”

Even though the songs were written several generations ago, their melodies and messages still resonate with modern audiences, which Elliott attributes to a few key facts.

“It’s direct, it’s very simple, it’s undeniably true and it’s kind of rough— I think it appeals to people that must be tired of all the phony B.S. that’s so popular in music now.”



If You Go:

Ramblin’ Jack Elliott
Wednesday
July 22
7:30 p.m.
$18-$20
Don Quixote’s International Music Hall
6275 Highway 9
Felton
(831) 603-2294
www.donquixotesmusic.info

Remembering "Creature From The Black Lagoon" star Ben Chapman

(Article published today on the website of the San Francisco Bay Guardian)


Having roared and clawed its way into the hearts of film fans around the world when it was first released in 1954, the Universal monster classic Creature From The Black Lagoon has endured for generation after generation, seeming to grow in popularity with every passing year. Filmed in glorious black and white, the tale of the ancient half-man, half-fish—better known as the Gillman—cleverly uses the unique aspects of the colorless medium to effectively create a creepy atmosphere, particularly with the manipulation of shadows and lighting. Believable cast interaction, a monstrous musical score, and above all a great story make Creature From The Black Lagoon a picture to remember—and it’s clear from the multitude of collectibles, video releases, actor appearances and screening events that faithful fans have done just that.

The iconic and intricately designed Gillman suit was brought to life in the scenes above water by the late Ben Chapman, who gave the character a sympathetic feel through his body language and natural motions—a feat that no modern CG effect could hope to recreate.

Chapman, who passed away last year at the age of 79, visited San Francisco in October of 2006 for a special event at the Castro Theatre celebrating Creature From The Black Lagoon, meeting fans and sharing memories with the audience. I had a chance to speak with him then.

“One of the things that made it successful—and it shows—is that we were all very happy. It was a great crew, great people. I would get up in the morning and I couldn’t wait to get to the studio.”

That genuine love for what he was doing guided Chapman throughout his life—from his early days as a dancer and contract actor to his last years spent travelling the world and meeting his adoring fans, he always had a positive outlook on things.
Born in Oakland, his family moved back to their native Tahiti when he was young, but returned to the Bay Area when Chapman was 12, settling in San Francisco while his father worked as a merchant marine. Chapman had fond memories of living in the city, where he went to Lowell High School from 1942-1946.

“San Francisco during the war years—oh what a town—even the bums on the street had money! That town never slept.”

Chapman learned Tahitian dancing and singing from family, and after graduating, moved to southern California, where his brother in law had a traditional dance group. Around the same time, he joined the Marine Corp Reserves, and he was eventually called up to fight in the Korean War, where earned several medals before coming back to civilian life and rekindling his entertainment career.

“In 1952, I was working in a nightclub at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, and some people from Universal Studios came in looking for a group to do some music and dancing in a musical short for the Miss Universe Girls.”

When getting ready to film a scene, the director asked Chapman to step out of the background and play a chief, sitting in a large throne and saying a few lines in Tahitian—which he spoke in addition to English and French. When the short was completed, some of the studio heads asked about Chapman, and offered him a contract.

“They were thinking about bringing back the tropical movies, about the islands, and they were going to groom me for it. I used to come into the studio when I wasn’t working, and say hello to everybody. I came in one day and there was a casting director for cowboys and stuntmen-type people, and she asked me if anyone had talked to me about an Amazon picture. I didn’t know what she was talking about, but she made a few phone calls, and told me to come back the next day.”

The following afternoon Chapman returned, and he was taken to a meeting of studio executives, who simply asked him to stand up and turn around so they could get a look at him. After doing so, they thanked him and asked him to come back again the following morning.

“I came back the next day and she had a contract waiting for me for $300 a week, and that’s how I got the part—a lot of people think there must have been a big audition and this and that—but no, there was no big thing about it.”

“I’ve always been very lucky in my life of being in the right place at the right time—the same thing happened in combat, when I was in the Marine Corp in Korea, there were a few times I should have gotten killed, but I was just in the right place at the right time.”

When Chapman joined the production of Creature From The Black Lagoon, director Jack Arnold was scouting locations to shoot in southern California, but couldn’t find any place with clear enough water for what was needed for the underwater sequences, so he went to Florida, and found an ideal spot in Wakulla Springs. To save time and money, the studio decided to shoot all of the underwater parts in Florida with a second unit and stunt doubles, while the main actors filmed their scenes at the Universal Studios back lot.




How To Make A Monster


The Gillman is one of the most recognizable creature creations of the silver screen, the result of clever imaginations and hard work at the Universal Studios makeup department. But it was the six foot five inch tall Chapman who wore the costume and truly brought him to life for generations of fans.

“It was foam rubber, it was very light, and it was very pliable; it was like an outer layer of skin. They took a Plaster of Paris impression of my body and then they sculpted all the different pieces, and they simply glued them right on to this costume. To get into it would take two to three hours; you had to fit it just right, so that there were no wrinkles. I couldn’t gain weight or lose weight,” remembered Chapman.

“It was extremely hot though—if we were working where there was water, that was no problem, I would just jump in the lake or the pool, but if we were on a sound stage, I had a guy over in the corner with a hose, and I’d go up to him and ask him to hose me down, until I could feel my body temperature going down.”

The hands and feet of the creature were worn like gloves and boots, while the iconic mask slipped over his head, and sealed with a hidden zipper in the back. Some days’ shooting schedules required that Chapman keep the costume on for long periods at a time—the longest stretch being 14 hours straight.

Although the suit was very light when dry, there were several scenes that called for the Gillman to come out of the water, and when fully soaked, the foam rubber outfit would absorb liquid like a sponge, greatly increasing the overall weight, and making it difficult for the actor to move about.

“There’s that one scene at night where I climb up the side of the boat, and then I get up so far and there’s a lantern, and I hit the lantern, and dive back into the water. When we were filming on the soundstage, I swam over there and I tried to pull myself up, and Jack [Arnold] said, ‘Come on Benny, pull yourself up!’ and I said, ‘I can’t!’”

The water there was about 7 feet deep, so they got a ladder and put it under the surface, so as Chapman was pulling himself up on the rope, he could climb step by step at the same time, assisting him with the ascent, while still giving the appearance that he was only using the rope. If one looks carefully at the end of that scene, however, it’s easy to notice that when the Gillman falls back into the water, he doesn’t fall straight down—lands on something below, and then dives off to the side—a blooper that Chapman laughed about when revealing it.

The bulkiness of the suit in the water didn’t stop the young actor from playing around on the set, however—Rock Hudson would sometimes visit and bring various studio guests to see the location on the back lot, and one day Chapman told him that he would have a surprise waiting for them. As the guests arrived on the shores of the manmade lake, he swam out to the middle in full Gillman costume and submerged except for the very top of his head. He slowly moved in closer and closer, until the depth was only a few feet, and he leapt straight up out of the water and roared at the shocked people getting a tour.

“Word came up that I couldn’t do that anymore—they said the studio was afraid someone was going to die of a heart attack,” Chapman laughed.

Another behind the scenes story that he liked to tell was regarding the poor vision he had to deal with while wearing the costume—the makeup department had designed different sets of eyeballs to go in the mask for varying shots; some had larger holes for Chapman to see out if, others, for close-ups, had no openings at all, and a crew member would have to shine a flashlight at the actor so that he would know what direction he was supposed to be walking in.

In the famous scene where he was carrying Julie Adams through the caves of his underwater lair, he couldn’t see clearly in the dimly lit surroundings, and he accidently bumped her head into one of the fake rocks.

“I couldn’t see, I had no idea what was going on, then there was this kicking, and people yelling, and I was going, ‘What? What’s going on?’ and they grabbed Julie out of my arms. But she was a trooper, we patched her up, and we got that shot.”

Another challenge that Chapman was faced with was how to give the Gillman a personality—the actors portraying the other monsters in the classic Universal canon could use dialogue and (underneath their makeup) facial expressions to convey a sense of their characters. The Gillman costume completely obscured all of Chapman’s features, even his eyes, so he had to find a way to bring the creature to life.

“It’s very tough for an actor if he can’t use his face, so what I had to do was use body language to get what we wanted—a sympathetic view. He was the good guy, they were the bad people. The black lagoon was his home, and they invaded his home by coming in there with the boat. If you went home tonight and found a bunch of people in your living room having a party, how would you feel?”

Chapman pointed to the Marilyn Monroe movie The Seven Year Itch as proof that audiences had the sympathetic reaction to the Gillman right away.

“That famous scene where her dress blows up in front of the theatre—if you look just ten seconds before that dress blows up, when the scene opens it shows them walking out of movie theater, and above them in huge letters was Creature From The Black Lagoon. She says, ‘I feel so sorry for the creature.’”

Chapman was friends with Peter Lawford, known for being a member of “The Rat Pack,” and one day he was over at Lawford’s house for a party. Monroe was also there, and the two began talking.

“We were sitting there, but I didn’t want to say, ‘Well, you know, I played the creature,’ so I thought, ‘How can I get her to know?’ I started talking about The Seven Year Itch and said ‘There’s that one scene where you and Tom come out from the theater—what was that movie that you saw?’ and she replied, ‘Creature From The Black Lagoon.’ Peter was walking by, and said, ‘Oh, by the way, Marilyn, you know Benny here played the creature.’ She looked at me and said, ‘You did!?’—that just made my night, I floated away.”




A Universal Legacy


“When people ask me what made Creature From The Black Lagoon so successful, I go on and on,” said Chapman. “First of all it was a perfect cast; everybody was perfect for the role that they portrayed. The story still holds up today, because the story is of those scientists trying to figure out where man comes from.”

The classic cinematic techniques that were used in the film were another factor that Chapman attributed to the movie’s longevity.

“We left a lot of it to your imagination. In that movie, I kill several people, but you don’t see it. You don’t see blood and gore, you don’t see me kill a person, and you don’t see that person die. We leave it to your imagination, and that’s the way movies were made. In my day we made real movies with real stories and real people.”
Chapman fully embraced the Creature From The Black Lagoon phenomenon, and attended fan conventions and screenings throughout the globe, meeting his fans that grew up watching the movie.

“We enjoy sitting there and talking with them, and making ourselves accessible, having pictures taken. I enjoy people, I’ve always liked working with an audience—I love my fans, it’s simple as that,” said Chapman. “I feel very blessed that I was able to live and work in that era, I wouldn’t trade it for all the money in the world.”


Info Box:
Creature From The Black Lagoon in 3-D
Friday, July 10
Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway, Oakland.
www.paramounttheatre.com
Doors at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m.
$5.

Paying Tribute to Paul Williams, A Pioneering Rock N' Roll Writer

(Article published in today's print and web edition of the San Francisco Examiner)

Paul Williams has been called the father of rock journalism; he launched "Crawdaddy!" which was one of earliest magazines to cover the changing world of rock n' roll before the revolutionary Summer of Love, and he played a part in some of the most influential musical and cultural events of the 1960s.

Unfortunately, Williams is now suffering from early onset dementia, brought about from brain injuries he received in a bike accident nearly 15 years ago. He requires full-time care, and his many friends and fans are coming together to help his family cover the costs and to lend their emotional support. At a benefit show on Sunday night, John Doe, Jello Biafra, Mojo Nixon, Mark Eitzel, former Rolling Stone scribe Ben Fong-Torres and more take to the stage for song and spoken word to pay tribute to the groundbreaking writer and publisher.

“The fact that he has such passion for the music and for particular artists, his style would just leap in there, with no attempt at what might be considered objective journalism or criticism,” says Ben Fong-Torres. “Whatever he felt was right out there, naked, and I think that made his writing more special and appealing to people and unique in the field of rock writing, which he helped pioneer.”

Williams founded the independent magazine “Crawdaddy!” when he was only 17 years old, and he became part of the fabric of the '60s rock counterculture, not only writing about it, but also participating in many historic happenings—from driving to Woodstock with the Grateful Dead, to staying with John Lennon and Yoko Ono during their “Bed in for Peace."

“[Williams] showed me that music writing can and should come from a very personal place, that of a fan, and it can oftentimes lead to some pretty out there, existential stuff,” says Jocelyn Hoppa, current Editor-in-Chief of “Crawdaddy!”

“He set the tone for how writing about rock music should take a more serious approach rather than just what an artist’s favorite color was; Paul's writing was a conduit into how the art of the musical experience lived within the listener.”


If You Go:
Paul Williams Benefit
Where: Red Devil Lounge, 1695 Polk St., San Francisco
When: 8 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: $20
Contact: (415) 921-1695, www.reddevillounge.com

The Haunted Hornet Ghost Quest

(Article "Ghost Chattin' With Kristyn Gartland" published today in the San Francisco Bay Guardian)

Having survived the ferocious naval campaigns of World War II, the U.S.S. Hornet now stands as a living museum in Alameda, where guests can learn about the ship’s role in history, and, according to several eyewitness accounts, one can also catch a glimpse of the ghostly spirits of her departed crewmen. The 893-foot long aircraft carrier has recently been featured on paranormal-themed television programs such as the hit Sci-Fi channel show “Ghost Hunters,” where spectral apparitions were said to have been spotted roaming the decks in the dead of night.

Fans of that show, along with “Ghost Hunters International” and A&E’s “Paranormal State,” are all in for a special treat this weekend, when respective cast members including Kristyn Gartland, Donna LaCroix, Angela Alderman, Chip Coffey and more will be on board giving lectures, meeting with participants, and even leading late night expeditions aboard the floating bridge to the past.

Kristyn Gartland, who works as the case manager for The Atlantic Paranormal Society, or TAPS, the group featured on “Ghost Hunters,” joined the team after going through a long series of personal experiences and incidents at her own home.

“I guess I had stuff happening for years, but I just didn’t understand it—my grandmother had died, and I used a Ouija board; I brought in a whole bunch of stuff using that, so I became a client.”

The ongoing nature of her experiences brought her in contact with Jason Hawes, the founder of TAPS, who eventually invited her to join the team, which he founded in 1990.

“It just kept going for years and years, so Jay said to me, ‘I don’t know why you don’t just join the group, and help us,’” Gartland laughs.

In the seven years since joining TAPS, Gartland has seen her fair share of unexplained phenomenon—but she has also had to sort through a lot of reports and requests that are rooted in easily explainable reasons, such as improper mixing of prescription medication.

“There are a good majority that we can say ‘This isn’t paranormal’ over the phone, and that is based on years of experience doing this, so we can debunk a lot.”

There are, however, still a good deal of situations that require a physical visit; in these cases Gartland will delegate the response based on location and severity. Some of the more active cases end up broadcast on the “Ghost Hunters” show, which has been on the air since 2004.

“We get requests from all over the country, and other countries as well. We get a ton of emails, and I have to go through them and set them up, either with us doing it or another group that’s closer to them, and we just kind of go from there.”



Of all her experiences and travels with the TAPS team, one place that stands out in particular to Gartland is the Trans-Allegany Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia, a now-closed hospital for the mentally ill originally built in the 1850s.

“That one gave me the creeps,” she admits, although she says that easily startled nerves are not something that a seasoned paranormal investigator usually has after several years of experience—but even they can still get an uneasy feeling when hunting around in the dark.

“I don’t like to use the word scared because it’s kind of stupid if we’re going into stuff if we’re scared, but there have been places where I have been uneasy, and a lot of it has to do with the fact that you’re walking around in a dark place, that you don’t know where you are, you have no idea where the lights are, where the exits are, anything like that, should something happen.”

The other times that she is a little more cautious are the cases when a location is reported to be haunted by inhuman entities, more commonly referred to as demons.
“Those are the ones that if you know for a fact that you have something that is inhuman, you know going in that you take the chance of getting hurt badly,” says Gartland.

During her visit to the U.S.S. Hornet on Saturday, Gartland will be giving an abbreviated version of her “Paranormal 101” class that she often teaches back at TAPS headquarters in Warwick, Rhode Island.

“I talk about the different kinds of haunting, what they normally will do, what you’re going to experience with each haunting, how you should deal with each type of category that they’re in. I do that because everybody thinks for some reason that they’re home has a portal to hell—and we have to explain to them that that is not the case,” she laughs. “It definitely gives people a new outlook.”

Gartland has been to the Hornet once before, when the “Ghost Hunters” crew taped an episode onboard the ship last September. Although she says that she didn’t have many personal experiences while investigating, she does feel that it is well worth checking back on.

“There was just a feeling of constantly somebody watching you, it was kind of weird. If it wasn’t for all the people on that ship, we wouldn’t be able to be where we are now, so it’s a grateful feeling to go back there and be able to investigate again and hopefully catch some stuff.”

Her teammates on the program, did, however manage to catch several strange goings on, including chasing a shadowy figure that seemed to vanish into a locked watertight door that apparently hadn’t been opened in years.

After Saturday’s daytime programming, which will also include an audience Q&A session, meet and greet opportunities, and other lectures, people who have purchased a special package ticket will be able to stay onboard the Hornet overnight and investigate the ship with Gartland and her companions. She has participated in several events like this before, and as one would expect, there are sometimes goof offs that don’t take the experience very seriously, but there are also those who come in acting and equipped like die hard professionals.

“Every once in a while we do get a group of people that really just have no interest in investigating, but it’s to be expected. Then we get a few that show up with more equipment than we own,” she laughs.

Gartland enjoys meeting with her fans, both those who simply like watching “Ghost Hunters,” and those who reach out for more personal and deeply felt reasons.

“I like doing these because we do get to meet people that have said to us, ‘I was never able to talk to anybody about this until the show came out,’ and it’s kind of cool to get to meet the people that finally could say what they needed to say, and feel accepted.”

As the popularity of paranormal-themed programming seems to be ever increasing these days, one could extrapolate that the acceptance of people who claim to have had an encounter with a ghost or otherworldly spirit has also increased. For those who are still afraid to tell their loved ones or seek help locally, Gartland says they can go to the TAPS website and find contact information for the nearest member of the TAPS family.

Gartland points out that TAPS and her team members are not out to convince non-believers of the existence of ghosts or the afterlife; instead they offer what they say is the evidence they’ve gathered over the years, and people can take a look at it and make up their own minds on the matter.

“You don’t want people to think that you’re just out to make them believe—when you believe is usually when you have a haunting, and then you go, ‘Oh my God, I need some help!’ It’s kind of like religion; you don’t want someone to feel like you’re a bible pusher, so I don’t want to be a paranormal pusher.”

“Haunted Hornet Ghost Quest,” Saturday, June 27. 10:30 a.m., U.S.S. Hornet, 707 W. Hornet Ave., Alameda. $50 and up. www.hauntedhornet.com

"THEM!"-- Atomic Ants Terrorize The World In 1954 Sci-Fi Classic

At the height of the Cold War, science fiction films and monster movies were often based around themes that involved the ongoing arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union; the bulk of them revolving around the unexpected results of nuclear weapons testing. One of the best of these films was “Them!” a campy romp about giant mutated ants that were born in the New Mexico desert from the fallout of the domestic testing of atomic bombs during World War II.

The film, which was released 55 years ago today, is still a highly entertaining piece of science fiction—the special effects may be somewhat crude, but the well-written storyline and convincing acting still provide for an engaging and fun viewing. James Whitmore, the Tony- and Emmy-winning actor who passed away earlier this year, stars as a small-town cop that encounters a colony of nightmarish ants that have begun to wreak havoc on the region’s residents. James Arness, who also filled the title role of the rampaging alien in 1951’s “The Thing” and later starred in the hit TV series “Gunsmoke,” joins the fight against the ants as an FBI agent sent in by the U.S. government to help the local authorities.

The genre’s requisite eccentric scientist is portrayed by Edmund Gwenn, who won an Academy Award for his role as Santa Claus in the 1947 holiday classic “Miracle On 34th Street,” while Joan Weldon stars as his daughter and the leggy love interest for Arness’ character.



Throughout the film, the arrival of (or at least the allusion to the nearby presence of) the ants is heralded by a high pitched shrieking, which, along with “Creature From The Black Lagoon,” (also released in 1954) likely provided the influence for Steven Spielberg to insert John Williams’ theme music every time the shark in “Jaws” is about to make an appearance.

Fess Parker makes a cameo as a pilot who spots a flying Queen ant in the air, and is locked up in a mental hospital to make sure that he doesn’t make his story public. Walt Disney saw Parker in this role when the film was released and quickly offered him a contract, leading to Parker’s best known part, that of Davy Crockett in several Disney productions throughout the rest of the 1950s.

The dark and serious tone of “Them!” is occasionally broken up with some comedy relief, such as when Whitmore and Arness are interviewing a drunk in the alcoholic ward of a hospital who has seen the ants. When seeing a member of the military that has accompanied the two men, the man seams to offer up a serious deal to help them, but then starts jumping up and down in bed, chanting “Make me a sergeant, charge the booze!”

One of the most hilarious moments in “Them!” however, comes from a line which is delivered devoid of any humorous tone; when Gwenn’s scientist is speaking with Whitmore and Arness after the army has bombed the ants’ first nest in the New Mexico desert with cyanide, they ask him if he thinks that all of the ants have been killed. He responds by saying, “Yes, I think the nest was thoroughly saturated.” Arness then looks at his fellow actors and says, “If I can still raise an arm after all this is over I’ll show you just how thoroughly saturated I can get.”

The climax of the film takes place in the tunnels connecting the concrete sections of the Los Angeles River, where the surviving ants have attempted to start a second colony. Although the ending almost feels a little rushed, it does provide a solid conclusion to the storyline, and in fact, it even throws in a plot twist that viewers back in 1954 probably wouldn’t have been expecting—the death of one of the main characters and heroes of the movie.

“Them!” is widely available on DVD today, and for fans of classic science fiction and monster movies, it is definitely worth a watch. You might even think a little differently the next time you see a trail of ants crawling along the kitchen counter or making their way towards your unattended picnic basket.

Will Clark and the San Francisco Giants Lead A Fight Against Autism

As an increasingly common diagnosis among children in the United States, Autism is affecting more and more families every year; an event being sponsored by the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park tonight aims to raise money for research into the disorder, and to reach out to those with Autism and their loved ones.

“Autism Awareness Night” will benefit community-based groups that help with the fight against Autism, and the club also hopes to help educate fans with pre-game festivities and distribution of informational materials during the game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Former Giants slugger Will Clark knows first-hand the challenges facing families with autistic children—his son, 13 year old Trey, was diagnosed when he was two and a half.

“After he was diagnosed we’ve been trying to get him as much help and therapy and treatment as possible, and he has responded extremely well,” said the six-time All-Star first baseman.

Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests. According to recent Centers For Disease Control And Prevention numbers, 1 in 150 young children today are at risk of having an Autism Spectrum Disorder, a group that also includes Asperger syndrome, Rett syndrome, and others.

Life as a professional baseball player required Clark to travel extensively during the season, keeping him away from his family, and providing one more hurdle to overcome.

“I think the biggest challenge was that I was gone and everybody was at home,” said Clark. “The burden fell upon my wife when I was on the road, so it made it a little tougher in that regard for her.”

Clark, who played for San Francisco from 1986-1993, and retired from baseball in
2000, returned to the Giants this season to work as a special assistant in the team’s front office, mentoring younger players with the trademark intensity that earned him the nickname “The Thrill”—the same quality with which he approaches the fight against Autism, having appeared at many public events over the course of the last decade along with his wife, Lisa.

“Once I retired I was able to pitch in and help a little bit more, and take some of the burden off of her and at the same time, having a father figure around helped my son develop quite nicely,” said Clark.

In addition to the festivities on the field, fans who purchase tickets for the “Autism Awareness Night” section will receive a special edition Will Clark jersey shirt, with proceeds from each ticket sale benefiting Athletes Against Autism and Autism Speaks, two groups that strive to raise funds and awareness for Autism research, along with education and treatment programs.



“We’re trying to educate the fan base as best as we can,” said Faham Zakariaei, Special Events Manager for the Giants, who added that there will be information about Autism posted on the scoreboard’s giant screen between innings.

Several sports teams and institutions are beginning to hold Auti
sm awareness events; NASCAR held the “Autism Speaks 400” race in Dover, Delaware last month, and many Major League Baseball teams will host a similar event this season.

“There a quite a few baseball players that have autistic kids, so it’s starting to hit the baseball family quite a bit,” said Clark.

Fans can also visit an informational booth to find out about Autism in general, the signs of Autism, and the many initiatives, services and fundraisers provided by the local community and groups such as Autism Speaks, who will be holding several upcoming walks later this year.

“We hope fans will take away knowledge of what services are available in the area, and how they can get involved with local fundraising events,” said Monica Segot, the Northern California Walk Coordinator for Autism Speaks.

This is the second year that the Giants will have hosted “Autism Awareness Night,” which organizers are hopeful will be as successful as last year’s, both in fundraising and in getting the word out about the prevalent disorder.

“This is not only an outreach for families that need help—this is a big problem now in the United States,” said Clark. “And if anything it’s getting bigger, so it would benefit a lot of people to be aware of it.”

For More Information:

www.sfgiants.com/specialevents
(415) 972-2298
www.autismspeaks.org
(707) 778-3840
www.athletesagainstautism.org

Dave Alvin Pays Tribute To A Fallen Friend

(Article published in the print edition of today's Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Roots rocker Dave Alvin has played with a wide variety of bands and in a number of musical partnerships over the years; from the early days of barnstorming with the Blasters, X, and the Knitters to his later mainstay groups such as the Guilty Men, the guitar slinger and songwriter extraordinaire has forged many a fruitful relationship with his fellow musicians, both on and off the stage.

One such powerful friendship was with Chris Gaffney, who played accordion and guitar with the Guilty Men, on top of a long career as a songwriter and singer steeped in the rich traditions of Americana music. The two men became close friends through the years, and when Gaffney was diagnosed with cancer in early 2008, Alvin and his other friends came to his aid, setting up a website and playing gigs in an attempt to help pay for his costly medical treatments. Unfortunately, the 57-year old Gaffney succumbed to the cancer just a couple of months after initially getting the diagnosis.



Gaffney’s death hit Alvin and all of his friends and family hard, but from the outpouring of their emotions and vetting of their grief has come two new records, Man of Somebody’s Dreams: A Tribute To Chris Gaffney, and Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women, both released earlier this month on Yep Roc Records.

The former is an inspiring celebration of Gaffney’s life and work, featuring a host of top notch musicians that called him a friend; Los Lobos, Alejandro Escovedo, Boz Scaggs and John Doe are among the many people paying homage by performing their own renditions of his songs. Alvin, who produced the album in addition to contributing the track “Artesia,” says that he views the tribute CD as his way of giving his departed friend the shot at making it he never had.

“Chris never even got a shot to screw up. I’ve known a lot of musicians, and some people got their shot and screwed it up, other people I’ve know have gotten their shot and it just didn’t work out, and then other people I’ve known got their shot and became very successful. Since he was my closest friend, and a guy that I just had limitless respect for as a musician and singer, the project for me became, ‘This is going to be Chris’ shot.’”

The tribute album was released the same day as Alvin’s debut with the Guilty Women, his new band that came together for a show at last year’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco. Alvin brought the group together after deciding to take a break from playing with the Guilty Men, the band that he had played with Gaffney in for so long.

“I just thought, well, we’ll put this on the backburner for a little while, and just do something different. When the people from Hardly Strictly called, that was the little kick in the butt that I needed, just to change things up.”



Though he had worked with most everybody in the new band at some point in the past, the collective members of the Guilty Women had not played all together before that first gig, which happened to be in front of several thousand people in Golden Gate Park. Alvin says that due to differing home bases and schedules, a formal rehearsal just wasn’t feasible, so the group simply came together about an hour before hitting the stage and practiced in a tent, going over the basic structures of the songs that he wanted to play.

“It went really well, it was a little bit like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute—it was an extreme sport,” laughs Alvin. “I like unpredictability—it just keeps things interesting; there’s a certain way that people play when they don’t know what’s coming. If you know what’s coming you’re going to go a certain way, and you get locked into it, and sometimes it’s good just to break that all apart.”

After the enthusiastic response from the audience and an offer to do an album came around, Alvin wanted to keep the same vibe as that first concert, so the band approached the recording process in the same way—no prior rehearsals. The resulting collection of songs has an infectious and liberated live feel to them, from the opening track, a re-worked version of the Blasters’ classic “Marie, Marie,” through a number of Alvin originals, covers, and tunes contributed by members of the new band.

The album ends with a boogie woogie blues version of “Que Sera Sera,” which Alvin says encapsulates the feeling and tone of many of the songs on the CD.

“Take away all the schmaltz from the original version by Doris Day, and the fatalistic nature of the lyrics—the way I view it—it’s sort of the ultimate expression of a blues philosophy in a non-blues song. It’s kind of the theme of the album.”


Info Box:

Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women
7:30 p.m.
Rio Theatre
June 18
$22.
831-479-9421
www.snazzyproductions.com
www.riotheatre.com