THE GOODTIME WASHBOARD 3 WITH BING CROSBY. That’s my old trio with Wayne Pope, Bing Crosby, me and Pete Arnott during our appearance on Bing’s Hollywood Palace nationwide TV show from April 1, 1964. Also appearing on that show was Louis Armstrong, Nanette Fabray and Red Buttons. photo credit: from my own photo collection Additional information always welcome: email photo@brattononline.com

MY SHOW BIZ HISTORY. Long before moving to Santa Cruz in 1970 I was nearly immersed in show business, and almost but never full time.

Starting with our Palomar Jug Band in Pasadena circa 1957 we played a lot in LA’s Pershing Square and even the fabled Shrine Auditorium. Moving to Berkeley and trying to achieve an education and maturity at UC Berkeley two fellow students and friends Pete Arnott and Wayne Pope started a trio called The Goodtime Washboard 3. I’m mentioning all of this because this weekend we’ll be re-uniting for the first time in 39 years for The Arhoolie Record Company’s 50 th anniversary celebration in Berkeley. http://www.arhoolie.com/50th-anniversary.html

We formed the trio because another friend and co-student Chris Strachwitz told us a local beer hall The Monkey In on Shattuck Ave needed a band. Chris Strachwitz is the brain and brawn behind Arhoolie Records. As you can see from the historical photograph above The Goodtime Washboard 3 went on to considerable fame (no fortune) and I was with them until moving to Santa Cruz. We played San Francisco’s Purple Onion, The Hungry I (opening for comedian Shelley Berman) and did hundreds of gigs with stars like Milton Berle, Mel Torme, Herb Shriner, Ray Bolger and we recorded some 45’s and three albums, one for Fantasy and two for Capitol Records (in Frank Sinatra’s studio!)

BIGGER SHOWS. We joined The Bohemian Club in San Francisco where I was the token Democrat and played with even bigger stars. It led to meeting and having Bing Crosby invite us to play on his Hollywood Palace with Louis Armstrong, Nanette Fabray, Red Buttons and heavies like that. This is a part of that show back in 1964 watch how Bing puts on thimbles and joins our group.

ABOUT ARHOOLIE RECORDS. Arhoolie Records is one of the premier roots record labels, bringing you the best in Blues, Cajun, Zydeco, Tex-Mex/Tejano, Gospel, Jazz, Country, Bluegrass, and regional music from around the world. Arhoolie Records was founded in 1960 by Chris Strachwitz. Through the years, Mr. Strachwitz has recorded both known and obscure artists, and brought their music to wider audiences. Among the notable and varied musicians who have recorded for Arhoolie are Big Mama Thornton, Flaco Jimenez, Clifton Chenier, Lightning Hopkins, Mance Lipscomb, Earl Hooker, Michael Doucet dit Beausoleil, Lydia Mendoza, Rose Maddox, the Treme Brass Band, the Savoy Family, Del McCoury, and many more. Check out: http://www.arhoolie.com/

ARHOOLIE SATURDAY NIGHT FEB 5 SCHEDULE

ARHOOLIE SATURDAY NIGHT FEB 5 SCHEDULE

TREME BRASS BAND. The Treme Brass Band will be part of The Arhoolie Celebration next Saturday. They’ll be in a Berkeley Parade, at 4:00pm: Parade with the Treme Brass Band from New Orleans. Downtown Berkeley – starting in the northwest corner of Civic Center Park near the intersection of Martin Luther King Blvd and Center Street, proceeding up Center to Shattuck Ave., stopping in front of the Downtown Berkeley BART station, continuing down the east sidewalk of Shattuck, turning left on Addison St., and ending in front of the Freight & Salvage. FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Weather permitting.

WATER, WATER IS NOT EVERYWHERE & LAFCO. From a well trained source.. The Santa Cruz City Attorney recently fired off a letter to LAFCO, the Local Agency Formation Commission, which is considering proposed policies to guide LAFCO’s future decisions where water supply and water quality issues are involved. The City Attorney claimed in his letter to speak “on behalf of the City,” though he never asked the City Council to review and approve his message. Vice Mayor Don Lane, who also happens to be an Alternate Member of LAFCO, thinks that this is just fine, if Mr. Lane was quoted correctly in the Sentinel. There are really two issues: (1) is the City Attorney right in claiming, as he pretty much does, that LAFCO doesn’t have the legal right to adopt policies to guide its decision making where water supply and water quality issues are involved? (2) Does the City Council think that the Council should be telling the City Attorney what to do, or does the Council prefer to be told by the City Attorney what the City thinks?

The last question is by far the most important one. No Council Member has objected to the City Attorney’s action, and Vice Mayor Lane (again, if quoted correctly by the Sentinel) has declared affirmatively that it’s just fine for the City Attorney to take positions “on behalf of the City” without checking first with the City’s elected officials. Why do we bother to elect these folks, if the bureaucrats are actually running the joint?

LAFCO meets on Wednesday, February 2^nd, in the Board of Supes room 4the floor County Building to take up the issues.

DESAL ALTERNATIVES EXPERT ON WATER USES AND SOURCES

Desal Alternatives is presenting Conner Everts. Conner Everts is the Executive Director of the Southern California Watershed Alliance and Co-Chair of the Desal Response Group, working on the environmental response to ocean water drinking water plants. He is on 8 boards including being chair of POWER, Public Officials for Water and Environmental Reform and senior advisor to the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water. He was elected to the Casitas Municipal Water District representing the Ojai area and president of the Ojai Basin Groundwater agency. Desal Alternatives event is Wednesday, Feb. 16, 7:00 p.m. Unity Temple 407 Broadway (near Ocean)
Free and open to the public

SENTINEL’S DE-SAL STORY. (REPEAT) De-sal issues are tricky and contain many sides…In case you missed this…The Sentinel printed this great article saying just about everything that water users and voters need to hear. PAUL GRATZ, RICK LONGINOTTI and DAVID STEARNS wrote it. They ask, and answer the question, we should all be more aware of…Is seawater desalination the solution to Santa Cruz’s water supply needs? View Full Story here

TREME BRASS BAND. The Treme Brass Band will be part of The Arhoolie Celebration next Saturday. They’ll be in a Berkeley Parade, at 4:00pm: Parade with the Treme Brass Band from New Orleans. Downtown Berkeley – starting in the northwest corner of Civic Center Park near the intersection of Martin Luther King Blvd and Center Street, proceeding up Center to Shattuck Ave., stopping in front of the Downtown Berkeley BART station, continuing down the east sidewalk of Shattuck, turning left on Addison St., and ending in front of the Freight & Salvage. FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Weather permitting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOGUbUqfmfY&feature=related

PATTON’S PROGRAM. Gary talks for three days about LAFCO Water policies. He tells and asks what they are, who decides what and most importantly does the public get to say anything about how their water is doled out? He tells about California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA and what that entails. HE closes by telling about a conference for professional planners happening in Monterey. (Gary Patton is “Of Counsel” to the Santa Cruz law firm of Wittwer & Parkin, which specializes in land use and environmental law. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. Gary has his own website, “Two Worlds / 365” – www.gapatton.net )

EAGANS DEEP COVER. Tim’s full- color weekly stab at life and our affair with monitors gets deep…scroll down.

LANDAU’S PROGRES. Saul writes that Media Loves Massacres not Foreclosure Stories. He opens with, “The Tucson massacre yielded the media and politicians weeks of fodder for their nattering mills. Yes, Americans hate violence and love guns, just as we stand for peace and practice non-stop war. It’s not hypocrisy. We are two nations – at least – living under one crowded flag. Does anyone think Americans have a gene that produces more mass killers than other nations? When was the last time Portugal, Norway or New Zealand had a gun-driven massacre? In this country we have yearly mass killings – with guns. Read it all here…

Saul Landau is an Institute for Policy Studies fellow whose films are on DVD from roundworldproductions@gmail.com

LISA JENSEN LINKS. This week at Lisa Jensen Online Express http://ljo-express.blogspot.com Lisa gives explicit instructions such as…”reflect on butter on your popcorn and turn off your cell phone; we’re here to talk about movies—those anointed (or ignored) in the recent Oscar nominations, a new series of Italian classics from the Dante Society, and two of the best movies of 2010 that you need to run out and see right this minute! Lisa Jensen has been writing film reviews and a column for Good Times since 1975.

BIUTIFUL. (repeat) BIUTIFUL. I’ve never met or heard from anybody who doesn’t like Javier Bardem and this film like Innaritu’s other greats Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Babel is superlative and perfect. Biutiful is filmed in the bad parts of Barcelona and tells the saga of a poor guy taking care of his kids anyway he can. It should be an opera. Go down to the Nick and wait for it…it’s worth it.

ANOTHER YEAR. Mike Leigh films are unlike films by other directors, and you can’t say that about many directors anymore. Happy Go Lucky, Vera Drake, Topsy Turvy etc. Another Year nails a family life for four seasons, and you’ll never forget it. Masterful and near perfect. Go for it.

CLOSE TO HOME. There’s a big show of paintings by Charles Prentiss on display February 4 – 27, 201, at Michaelangelo Gallery – Exhibitions1111-a River Street

Santa Cruz, CA 95060 831-426-5500 call for gallery information. And they say ,”Please join us for the opening reception of “Close to Home” at Michaelangelo Gallery

Friday February 4, 6 – 8:30 pm. You can see more of Charles’ works at his website

SANTA CRUZ BAROQUE FESTIVAL PRESENTS ENDANGERED CRYSTAL
The Baroque Festival launches its 2011 Season, Endangered Musics, with Concert I, “Endangered Crystal,” featuring William Wilde Zeitler playing glass harmonica. Invented by Benjamin Franklin, the pure, ‘heavenly’ sound of the glass harmonica (or “armonica”) became immensely popular in the late 18th century. William Zeitler, one of only about a dozen performers of the instrument worldwide, will share classics and some original compositions, along with 18th-century flute, oboe, strings, and organ. And Darryl Coe brings his Drehorgel (monkey organ) to Santa Cruz and with it a piece of European street life (sorry, no live monkeys). More endangered music, instruments, and wildlife follows in 4 subsequent concerts this spring. Saturday, February 12, at 7:30pm at the UCSC Music Center Recital Hall (UCSC Campus)

Ticket Outlets: UCSC Ticket Ofc (www.santacruztickets.com, 831-459-2159), SC Tickets Civic Center Box Office, and SC Baroque Festival (www.scbaroque.org, 831-457-9693).

UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE. Each and every Tuesday from 7:00-8:00 p.m. I host Universal Grapevine on KZSC 88.1 fm. or on your computer (live only, or sometimes old programs are on “blog”) at WWW.KZSC.ORG. On Tuesday, February 1^st County Supervisor John Leopold will interview me about my showbiz career, especially the re-union of our original “Goodtime Washboard 3” happening Feb. 5^th at Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage and I’ll interview him about his work with Arhoolie Records and The Grateful Dead. Kinan Valdez from El Teatro Campesino will be on February 8^th, and in the second half hour Ellen Murtha and Randa Solnick will explain why banking locally makes sense and helps our economy. February 15^th Ellen Kimmel will talk about her unique views, programs and experiences with the elusive concept of Wellness. Any and all suggestions for future programs are more than welcome so tune in and keep listening.

QUOTES. “Self–decapitation is an extremely difficult, not to say dangerous thing to attempt”. W.S. Gilbert. “I had a terrific idea this morning but I didn’t like it”. Samuel Goldwyn. “I can believe anything as long as it’s incredible“, Oscar Wilde.

DEEP COVER. Tim addresses today’s youth and uses the word Avatar!!!