Tu-Ner in Tune with Sweetwater

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Tu-Ner in Tune with Sweetwater

“Tu-Ner for Lovers” is the latest release from drummer Pat Mastelotto, guitarist Markus Reuter and bassist Trey Gunn.

Fans of King Crimson need no introduction to the trio, as they already released the highly ambitious Contact Information two-disc record set via the MoonJune Records label last August.

Although the new collection comes out just days before the guys hit the road starting on May 9 in Phoenix, Arizona, Marin County and its neighboring residents will be delighted to know the Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley is among one of the first five shows on their abbreviated itinerary.


For the uninitiated, drummer Pat Mastelotto has proven himself quite the ambidextrous drummer, having played with such disparate acts as Mr. Mister, XTC, David Sylvian, The Rembrandts, Kimmo Pohjonen, King Crimson and Stick Men.

Trey Gunn, who is known in many musician circles as the master of the Warr guitar, also has an impressive resume, having worked with King Crimson, David Sylvian, Robert Fripp, Brian Eno, Happy Rhodes, Puscifer, Tool and John Paul Jones.

Guitarist Markus Reuter is also a versatile musician, having conquered the Chapman Stick and then later the U8 Touch Guitar. Reuter has quite the catalog under his belt and has released numerous solo albums along with collaborating with Gary Husband, Robert Rich, J. Peter Schwalm, Mark Wingfield and Devin Townsend’s touring band.

Others may already know him from his work with Stick Men (also with Pat Mastelotto and Tony Levin from Peter Gabriel and King Crimson fame), TRUCE (with Asaf Sirkis and Fabio Trentini) and the fabulous Markus Reuter/Tim Motzer/Kenny Grohowski project.

We caught up with drummer Pat Mastelotto while in preparation for yet another run of shows.

Pacific Sun: Tu-Ner has a brand new album coming out May 3. How long have these songs been brewing in the background?

Pat Mastelotto: The new album coming out is taken from our live tour last September. They’re basically improvs. We do play songs and several from the King Crimson catalog that Trey and I participated in. We also do others from Trey’s back catalog, Markus’ catalog, some stuff from Tu and Tu-Ner, along with a Stick Men song. However, we are more excited to put out the freshest jams. We put some of the strongest moments together, mixed them in a blender and came out with a cohesive combination of tracks taken from several of the shows.

PS: You’ve been making music on and off with Markus Reuter for 19 years now. Will we see more music from the duo aside from Tu-Ner?

PM: We’re always up to this and that, so even behind the scenes we’re helping each other with different projects. Will there be another duet? I’m not sure. I couldn’t predict that right now, but I am trying to arrange a time for Markus to come join me and record later this year or early next year.

PS: Tu-Ner’s latest is fantastic but begs the question: Will you be playing these compositions verbatim or throwing in even more improv?

PM: Ha! Besides playing songs, we play some of the more epic King Crimson pieces that Trey and I were involved with, as well as some Stick Men material and stuff off of Trey’s and Markus’ solo records. However, the band is largely a vehicle for improvisation, research and development.

Will we play the last record “verbatim?” The short answer is no and highly unlikely. That stuff was all played off the cuff. It was improvised, and then we did some editing as it was being mixed. Those are all live performances. You can expect something very similar, but not the same. The shows are unique and vary depending on the vibe of the venue.

Tu-Ner plays Sweetwater Music Hall, located at 19 Corte Madera Ave. in Mill Valley. Doors open at 7pm, and the show kicks off at 8pm, Tuesday, May 14. Tickets are $30 advance and can be purchased at sweetwatermusichall.com. All ages are welcome. For more info, visit Tu-Ner.com.

Mariah Nielson: Curator, Art Historian

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Mariah Nielson: Curator, Art Historian

Mariah Nielson is the director of the JB Blunk Estate, as well as Blunk Space, a gallery dedicated to expanding the pioneering sculptor’s lasting legacy. She also happens to be his daughter.

What do you do?

Aside from my work with JB Blunk and Blunk Space, I’m also a curator and design historian.

Where do you live?

Inverness, in the house my father built using salvaged materials in 1959, the place where I was born in 1978.

How long have you lived in Marin?

I was born and raised in Inverness but moved away when I was 16. After almost 30 years living in San Francisco and Oakland and abroad (Japan, Paris, London), I’ve moved back home.

Where can we find you when you’re not at work?

On a plane or at the Blunk House.

If you had to convince someone how awesome Marin is, where would you take them?

The Point Reyes Lighthouse, walk on South Beach, lunch at Marshall Store, coffee at Toby’s in Point Reyes Station and a studio visit with sculptor Bruce Mitchell.

What’s one thing Marin is missing?

Nimble public transportation and affordable housing.

What’s one bit of advice you’d share with your fellow Marinites?

Don’t take the beauty and privilege of this place for granted.

If you could invite anyone to a special dinner, who would they be?

My father. I have a lot of questions to ask him about his work and creative process.

I’d also like to have dinner with Tupac Shakur and the writer Jacqueline Johnson.

What’s some advice you wish you knew 20 years ago?

Don’t worry.

What’s something that in 20 years from now will seem cringeworthy?

Sweatpants.

Big question. What is one thing you’d do to change the world?

Infuse all world and corporate leaders with empathy.

Keep up with Nielson via jbblunk.com and blunkspace.com or at @mariah_nielson on Instagram.

Nish Nadaraja was on the founding team at Yelp, serves on the San Anselmo Arts Commission and attempts to play pickleball at Fairfax’s Cañon Club.

Random City: The Curious Case of San Rafael

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Random City: The Curious Case of San Rafael

The city of San Rafael has a long and eclectic history, full of oh-so-many curiosities and curios to reflect on, celebrate and maybe even question. From the Museum of International Propaganda to the origin story of both Jedis and the highest of holidays, 4/20, San Rafael sure does pack a veritable pinball machine’s worth of points of interest from which to bounce.

The San Rafael of now is home to a vibrant and bustling culture and community. Its streets play host to some of the most delicious restaurants, super snazzy bars and a certain sense of joie de vivre that’s very unique to the city.

Current cultural hype aside, San Rafael’s real claim to fame may very well be in its undercurrent of well-rounded randomness. This city’s tidbits of history, culture and miscellaneous crisscross such a wide array of seemingly unrelated topics that to put them in one place is almost chaotic.

So, let’s embrace the chaos and jump right into this rabbit hole spotlighting San Rafael’s truly fascinating, multi-faceted cultural cornerstones.

This story, like many, is best if told from the beginning. And since Californian history didn’t spontaneously combust into existence with the arrival of colonists with writing implements, the real beginning of San Rafael has to start with an acknowledgment of the native civilizations and citizens who were local to the land long before colonization irreversibly changed the course of history.

San Rafael itself was officially founded in 1817 by Spanish settlers on a mission to, well, make missions. The San Rafael Chamber website describes this act of colonization by highlighting the benevolent origin story of the naming of San Rafael by Spanish settlers: “The mission and city are named for the Archangel Raphael, the Angel of Healing…[and] the mission was originally planned as a hospital site for Central Valley American Indians who had become ill at the cold San Francisco Mission Dolores.”

This description of Spanish settlers nursing Native Americans back to health sure is heartwarming. As is this totally neutral description of the success of the mission’s religious coerci—ahem, conversion: “San Rafael was later upgraded to full mission status in 1822. The mission had 300 converts within its first year, and 1,140 converts by 1828.” For an alternative source on the early history and diversity of San Rafael, check out the Friends of China Camp State Park website at friendsofchinacamp.org.

Leaving 1817 (the year Jane Austen died and both Henry David Thoreau and San Rafael were born, for added context), let’s instead fast forward a bit to a more modern timeline with significantly more upbeat facts.

In the 1970s, San Rafael took to the spotlight of strange claims to fame when the master of sci-fi movie making himself, George Lucas, arrived in Marin. Of course, just about everyone and their grandmother knows about this now historical tidbit of California’s cinematic legacy. But a list of San Rafael’s most amazing and strange things would not be complete without at least mentioning the crown jewel: the creator of Star Wars himself.

And although the streets of downtown are (regrettably) lacking in the kitschy Star Wars decor department, there’s no time like the present to start a new cultural trend of representing a more intergalactic spirit with cardboard cutouts or no-context Wookiee costumes.

But before anyone gets too comfortable talking shop about Lucas and Star Wars, it’s time to touch on another topic and embrace the chaos by pivoting to pot. To be more blunt, let’s talk about San Rafael’s historical ties with cannabis, hashish or, to use slang for the more old-fashioned folks out there, the devil’s lettuce. Stoners of every generation can rejoice in knowing that the term 4/20 is said to have originated in San Rafael, all thanks to a group of high school kids called The Waldos who, as legend has it, gathered daily to smoke weed together after school at 4:20pm.

Star Wars and weed may be part of what puts San Rafael on the map for famous factoids, but they certainly don’t overshadow the Grateful Dead’s historical spotlight. This rock band’s connection to San Rafael is a cultural cornerstone locals aren’t likely to forget anytime soon. But, as a refresher, the Grateful Dead are among the most renowned rock bands of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. While much of this band’s prolific career took place across the bridge in San Francisco, its ties to San Rafael are as local as local gets.

With drugs and rock ’n’ roll out of the way, we can finally focus on what really matters in San Rafael—the Museum of International Propaganda. It’s at this museum where visitors can get a shift in perspective through history’s most influential relics. And hey, who knows, maybe learning about propaganda and its international effects could be useful in the world’s current political climate.

Oh, and if all of these unrelated San Rafael facts aren’t enough to tickle readers pink, then perhaps what will do it is knowing that the 11th top employer in San Rafael is, according to Wikipedia, Guide Dogs for the Blind. That’s right—on a list with major medical companies and supermarket chains and other such Goliaths of capital gain stands a literal underdog of hundreds of people who make it their business to train pups and graduate guide dogs.

Then there’s the fact that the most recent and random piece of history that San Rafael can add to its cap of truly bizarre feathery folderol is a silver coin the size of a dinner plate.

So, between Star Wars, weed, propaganda, puppies, treasure and the Grateful Dead, what other cool claims to fame can San Rafael locals call their own? Well, aside from Frank Lloyd Wright’s celebrated design of the Marin County Civic Center, there’s also a lovely canal running the length of much of the city that, apparently, is not the ideal spot for locals to go swimming in to beat the heat this summer.

Instead of diving right into the canal, one can instead experience the plethora of unique attractions that make San Rafael such a fun city to live in and frequent. One such fun upcoming event is the annual Art Walk, where local artists and art lovers can enjoy the best of San Rafael’s inspired works. The Rebound Bookstore really embraces the random spirit of San Rafael, as well as its roots in cultural advocacy and art. On the opening night of this year’s Art Walk, for instance, Rebound Bookstore is opening its doors to host an Activist Photo Exhibit amidst the store’s eclectic decor and goods.

San Rafael’s overall randomness may seem unrelated, but it makes for a culturally rich city, community and culture worth celebrating and, even better, anticipating. After all, the city is likely to have more than a few more cool tricks up its sleeve.

Rafael Reborn: A City Renewed?

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Rafael Reborn: A City Renewed?

Last year, this time, I was sitting at Above Fifth, the rooftop bar at the AC Hotel, enjoying the drinks, apps, more drinks, and mulling the bright fate and future of the city of San Rafael.

I was with some media co-conspirators, and the question arose—is San Rafael experiencing a renaissance?

The consensus was that it might be, especially if we said it was. Admittedly, the shaping of public opinion is better suited to the work of publicists at best, propagandists at worst, and not from the purview of a jeroboam of journos (to use the collective noun).

But the question remains—is San Rafael having a renaissance? The answer is yes—but not because some bylined drunks can “copypasta” a press release. It’s because the city is perfectly poised as an equidistant destination between San Francisco and Wine Country on the 101, and canny local entrepreneurs have the good sense to capitalize on this fact by offering the best of both in a single municipality.

Why has it just happened now? Timing is everything—Wine Country price points and pretension had to overripen, and San Francisco had to hit the skids. If anything, a rooftop bar downtown is at least one indication a renaissance may be happening.

San Rafael has always been a happy place.

Consider this: St. Raphael, from which San Rafael takes its name, is the patron saint of “happy meetings.” (Of course, it can be debated whether it was a “happy meeting” between the missionaries and the people who lived here for a millennium prior, before the place was re-christened for an archangel.)

Also, does a renaissance—a rebirth—necessarily have to be preceded by a death? If so, when did San Rafael die so that it could be reborn? I’ll submit to you that it didn’t die per se so much as wrap itself in a chrysalis that it might metamorphosize like a butterfly—from a suburb to a city, perhaps even a budding metropolis in its own right.

This transformation, though quiet and slow, was inevitable, and now that it’s here, it beckons a flurry of culture, commerce and connectivity that promises a vibrant urban future. Or at least that’s the hope. No one can plan a city, but it can be made as inclusive as possible for those who want to be there, because a city is its people, from the ground floor to the rooftop bar.

San Rafael doesn’t need a media conspiracy to earn its wings.

Daedalus Howell is an AI, licensed by dhowell.com.

No Nukes: The Nuclear Age is Already Over

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No Nukes: The Nuclear Age is Already Over

Either nuclear weapons kill us or we move beyond them, soon. Via mass death or the building of a new security system, the nuclear age is finished.

The nuclear deterrence system that the world presently relies upon for its security is rotten, evil, completely unworkable and obsolete. It is a nuclear war waiting to happen, a war no one can or would win. But we remain ostriches with heads deep in sand, waiting passively for an inevitable holocaust apparently too big to prevent.

The United States, based on core principles like the value of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, should make a precious gift to the world and sign the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. It would be the first of the nine nuclear powers to sign, and the initiative would be welcomed with relief and jubilation by the vast majority of the world’s citizens.

It is an important fact that Putin, a leader as ruthless in his own way as Hitler, has more nuclear weapons at his disposal than any other nation, but so far, and may it continue, he has not used them. Why? Is it because he fears our nuclear weapons? Or is it because in spite of his gross deficit of compassion for Ukraine, he knows that turning swaths of that nation into radioactive desert does not fit any sane conception of military conquest?

Of course “conventional” war itself is equally insane. The October 7 Hamas attack and what has followed is a tragic case in point. The immense loss of life in the Israeli military’s “conventional” response can only concentrate our minds upon what the massive loss of life in a nuclear war would look like.

A world beyond war itself is possible. Viable alternative security systems have been elaborated in great detail. But we can take a sensible step in that ultimate direction quite safely, which is to unilaterally start backing off the nutty, silly, irrational hair-trigger nuclear system presently holding the whole world hostage.

Winslow Myers is the author of ‘Living Beyond War: A Citizen’s Guide.’

Your Letters, May 1

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Your Letters, May 1

Four-twenty

Thanks for the 420 history (April 17 Pacific Sun). There was another early pot fellowship at San Diego State College back in 1965. We were “The Eagles” because one of us called a meeting by announcing that there would be “a gathering of eagles” that evening, signaling that we would get high and “fly.”

I was “The Condor,” as I was tall, skinny and had come into the circle a little later than the others, who had met at Point Loma High School. We hung out at a large table in the West Commons, where we discussed literature and philosophized about women. It was summer school. We later called it “The Long Pot Summer of ’65.”

Our Mexican pot came in 1-ounce baggies for $10 and was full of sticks and seeds that we could germinate. “Colas” and “buds” were unheard of. We wore Dr. Pepper bottle caps stuck to our shirts, using the old cork liners inside. The corporate name meant a prescription of Dr. Pepper to be swallowed at “10, 2, 4,” but our joke was a double entendre for taking a puff at those times.

We did not become widely known. But just think, if the rock group, The Eagles, had existed and known one of us back then.

Daniel Keller

San Rafael

Driven Mad

The CEO of Tesla says the firm is not a car company. Rather, Tesla is a tech firm. If Tesla builds tech (robotics, self-driving applications, etc.) the way it has built cars, then we should be worried, given the tech “glitches” Tesla has had to overcome.

Gary Sciford

Santa Rosa

Viano Quartet, Open Studios, and Sean Carscadden

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Viano Quartet, Open Studios, and Sean Carscadden

Mill Valley

Viano Quartet

Chamber Music Marin spotlights the Viano Quartet in their 2023-24 concert series, offering audiences a transformative experience with some of the globe’s finest classical talent at pocket-friendly prices. This season, the quartet is set to bridge the gap between ensemble and solo performance, crafting a harmonious blend that highlights individuality within a unified sound. The upcoming performance features a compelling lineup of classical masterpieces, including Beethoven’s beloved and profound “String Quartet in E minor, Op. 59, No. 2, ‘Razumovsky.’” Each piece promises to showcase the quartet’s fiery, narrative-driven style, creating a musical journey that promises to resonate with new audiences and seasoned aficionados alike. 5pm, Sunday, May 5, Mt. Tamalpais United Methodist Church, 410 Sycamore Ave., Mill Valley. Tickets are $48 (youths 18 and under are always free). To purchase tickets, visit chambermusicmarin.org.

Marin County

Open Studios

The Marin Open Studios is back for its 31st edition, inviting art aficionados to explore over 250 local artists’ workspaces across Marin County. Scheduled from 11am to 6pm, May 4 and 5 and May 11 and 12, this self-guided tour offers a unique opportunity to interact with artists directly and purchase original creations. The diverse array of participants includes sculptors, painters, photographers and jewelers, with 22 new artists joining this year. Preceding the main event, the Marin Open Studios Preview Gallery is open through May 12 at the Sausalito Center for the Arts (750 Bridgeway, Sausalito), featuring a preview of the artists’ work. More details and studio directions can be found at marinopenstudios.org.

Sonoma

Carscadden Comes Home

Sonoma’s own Sean Carscadden, a three-time winner of the Norbays for “Best Americana,” returns to his old stomping grounds for a second annual birthday bash show at the venerable Sebastiani Theatre. The lauded performer turned 40 last year and put on a sold-out show at the venue. Spurred by this success, Carscadden intends to reprise the vibe with a new show beginning at 8pm, Saturday, May 11, at the Sebastiani, 476 1st St. East, Sonoma. Over the last 12 years, Carscadden has produced five sold-out shows at the Sebastiani. The upcoming date will feature a range of musical stylings from New Orleans funk, soul, blues and Americana. Tickets are $25 and are available online at seancmusic.com/shows. Special ‘surprise’ guest performers are promised…

Petaluma

Petalumans of Yesteryear

Beginning Saturday, May 4, and continuing every week through October, the Petaluma Historical Library & Museum offers “living history docents”—the “Petalumans of Yesteryear”—dressed in period attire and leading guided tours of historic downtown Petaluma. The docents will detail the history of the bustling river town from the Gold Rush to its days as the “Chicken and Egg Capital of the World.” Petaluma’s architecture (including eight sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places) will be explored, among other historic attractions. The tours are free, though a $10 donation is appreciated. To register for a tour and for more information, visit bit.ly/petaluma-living-history.

Free Will Astrology: Week of May 1

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Free Will Astrology: Week of May 1

ARIES (March 21-April 19): The world record for jumping rope in six inches of mud is held by an Aries. Are you surprised? I’m not. So is the world record for consecutive wallops administered to a plastic inflatable punching doll. Other top accomplishments performed by Aries people: longest distance walking on one’s hands; number of curse words uttered in two minutes; and most push-ups with three bulldogs sitting on one’s back. As impressive as these feats are, I hope you will channel your drive for excellence in more constructive directions during the coming weeks. Astrologically speaking, you are primed to be a star wherever you focus your ambition on high-minded goals. Be as intense as you want to be while having maximum fun giving your best gifts.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I don’t casually invoke the terms “marvels,” “splendors,” and “miracles.” Though I am a mystic, I also place a high value on rational thinking and skeptical proof. If someone tells me a marvel, splendor or miracle has occurred, I will thoroughly analyze the evidence. Having said that, though, I want you to know that during the coming weeks, marvels, splendors and miracles are far more likely than usual to occur in your vicinity—even more so if you have faith that they will. I will make a similar prediction about magnificence, sublimity and resplendence. They are headed your way. Are you ready for blessed excess? For best results, welcome them all generously and share them lavishly.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In accordance with astrological omens, I recommend you enjoy a celebratory purge sometime soon. You could call it a Cleansing Jubilee, or a Gleeful Festival of Purification, or a Jamboree of Cathartic Healing. This would be a fun holiday that lasted for at least a day and maybe as long as two weeks. During this liberating revel, you would discard anything associated with histories you want to stop repeating. You’d get rid of garbage and excess. You may even thrive by jettisoning perfectly good stuff that you no longer have any use for.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Graduation day will soon arrive. Congrats, Cancerian! You have mostly excelled in navigating through a labyrinthine system that once upon a time discombobulated you. With panache and skill, you have wrangled chaos into submission and gathered a useful set of resources. So are you ready to welcome your big rewards? Prepared to collect your graduation presents? I hope so. Don’t allow lingering fears of success to cheat you out of your well-deserved harvest. Don’t let shyness prevent you from beaming like a champion in the winner’s circle. PS: I encourage you to meditate on the likelihood that your new bounty will transform your life almost as much as did your struggle to earn it.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Ritualist and author Sobonfu Somé was born in Burkina Faso but spent many years teaching around the world. According to her philosophy, we should periodically ask ourselves two questions: 1. “What masks have been imposed on us by our culture and loved ones?” 2. “What masks have we chosen for ourselves to wear?” According to my astrological projections, the coming months will be an excellent time for you to ruminate on these inquiries—and take action in response. Are you willing to remove your disguises to reveal the hidden or unappreciated beauty that lies beneath? Can you visualize how your life may change if you will intensify your devotion to expressing your deepest, most authentic self?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): If human culture were organized according to my principles, there would be over eight billion religions—one for every person alive. Eight billion altars. Eight billion saviors. If anyone wanted to enlist priestesses, gurus and other spiritual intermediaries to help them out in their worship, they would be encouraged. And we would all borrow beliefs and rituals from each other. There would be an extensive trade of clues and tricks about the art of achieving ecstatic union with the Great Mystery. I bring this up, Virgo, because the coming weeks will be an ideal time for you to craft your own personalized and idiosyncratic religious path.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Hidden agendas and simmering secrets will soon leak into view. Intimate mysteries will become even more intimate and more mysterious. Questions that have been half-suppressed will become pressing and productive. Can you handle this much intrigue, Libra? Are you willing to wander through the amazing maze of emotional teases to gather clues about the provocative riddles? I think you will have the poise and grace to do these things. If I’m right, you can expect deep revelations to appear and long-lost connections to re-emerge. Intriguing new connections are also possible. Be on high alert for subtle revelations and nuanced intuitions.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): It’s fun and easy to love people for their magnificent qualities and the pleasure you feel when they’re nice to you. What’s more challenging is to love the way they disappoint you. Now pause a moment and make sure you register what I just said. I didn’t assert that you should love them *even if* they disappoint you. Rather, I invited you to love them BECAUSE they disappoint you. In other words, use your disappointment to expand your understanding of who they really are, and thereby develop a more inclusive and realistic love for them. Regard your disappointment as an opportunity to deepen your compassion—and as a motivation to become wiser and more patient. (PS: In general, now is a time when so-called “negative” feelings can lead to creative breakthroughs and a deepening of love.)

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I assure you that you don’t need “allies” who encourage you to indulge in delusions or excesses. Nor do I recommend that you seek counsel from people who think you’re perfect. But you could benefit from colleagues who offer you judicious feedback. Do you know any respectful and perceptive observers who can provide advice about possible course corrections you could make? If not, I will fill the role as best as I can. Here’s one suggestion: Consider phasing out a mild pleasure and a small goal so you can better pursue an extra-fine pleasure and a major goal.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I invite you to take an inventory of what gives you pleasure, bliss and rapture. It’s an excellent time to identify the thrills that you love most. When you have made a master list of the fun and games that enhance your intelligence and drive you half-wild with joy, devise a master plan to ensure you will experience them as much as you need to—not just in the coming weeks, but forever. As you do, experiment with this theory: By stimulating delight and glee, you boost your physical, emotional and spiritual health. 

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Aquarian author Lewis Carroll said, “You know what the issue is with this world? Everyone wants some magical solution to their problem, and everyone refuses to believe in magic.” In my astrological opinion, this won’t be an operative theme for you in the coming weeks, Aquarius. I suspect you will be inclined to believe fervently in magic, which will ensure that you attract and create a magical solution to at least one of your problems—and probably more.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Which would you prefer in the coming weeks: lots of itches, prickles, twitches and stings? Or, instead, lots of tingles, quivers, shimmers and soothings? To ensure the latter types of experiences predominate, all you need to do is cultivate moods of surrender, relaxation, welcome and forgiveness. You will be plagued with the aggravating sensations only if you resist, hinder, impede and engage in combat. Your assignment is to explore new frontiers of elegant and graceful receptivity.

Homework: Tell yourself the truth about something you have not been fully honest about. Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com

Singer-Songwriter Margo Price at Mill Valley Music Fest

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Singer-Songwriter Margo Price at Mill Valley Music Fest

In 2016, Margo Price put out Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, an album of hardcore honky-tonk songs that put a singer-songwriter spin on traditional country.

The next year, her All American Made album moved away from the straight country, adding a shade of R&B to the mix. Then 2020’s That’s How Rumors Get Started shifted Price into classic rock territory.

Now Price has released Strays II, an expanded version of the album she released earlier in 2023. It spins ’60s/’70s psychedelia into a genre-defying, roots-music amalgam, continuing the process of constant reinvention that Price acknowledges she got from music’s master changeling, which she will also bring to the Mill Valley Music Festival come May 11 and 12.

“That’s been one of the biggest tools in my toolbox that I’ve definitely got from (Bob) Dylan. And it’s scary as hell,” Price said. “You know, you make a record, there’s finally a breakthrough—my first album was incredibly kind of ’60s/’70s traditional country, pedal steel, walking songs and fiddle and all that stuff. I think a lot of people just really expected (me) to stay in that lane and just do that forever.

“But in a way, as Dylan saw folk music as a vehicle—it could take him where he needed to go. I kind of felt that way with country music,” she said. “I had been a student of folk, blues, rock ’n’ roll and all those things in the melting pot. I think Dylan is kind of the ultimate figure. If somebody can do any genre, it’s him.”

Price made those comments during a recent on-stage interview earlier at the Switchyard during The World of Bob Dylan conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma, an event that explored Dylan’s influence on her and her relationship with his music.

That influence was pivotal after Price moved to Nashville, Tennessee, from rural Illinois, where she spent hours under a famous Dylan 1966 poster listening to Dylan’s music, going beyond the greatest hits she’d previously absorbed.

“I just dove in headfirst and started listening to all the albums because my parents were trying to convince me that I needed to go to Belmont (University), look at this music degree and all this stuff,” Price said. “And I think just listening to the entire Bob Dylan catalog was a better use of my time than educational pursuits.”

“I always kind of feel nobody can do what Bob Dylan can do,” she said. “But of course, you try to take pieces and vignettes in his sketches, things that he’s done. It just makes me feel less afraid to use any vocabulary and track any tempo or just even doing songs differently.”

Price, 40, wasn’t born when Dylan released his now-classic ’60s songs. Nor was it likely she heard many of them on the radio growing up. But when she discovered Dylan as a teenager, she found her favorite song and more.

“We’ve covered so many songs, things, deep cuts that nobody would ever do from like Basement Tapes or like Hazel,” said Price. “So much of that is just in my subconscious now. It’s just in the fiber of my being and, really, learning,” she added. “Now, obviously, I think it’s important to write your own songs and have your own voice and do your own thing. But when I was young and coming up with this, every single song that I covered, it was kind of like trying on a new outfit. See how that fit, you know? Then from there, you could construct your own.”

For more information about the Mill Valley Music Festival, including the complete lineup and tickets, visit millvalleymusicfest.com.

Cinematic Science at Rafael

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Cinematic Science at Rafael

Everything I know about life, I learned at the movies. This includes my tenuous understanding of the natural world. Fortunately, a new series, “Science on Screen,” is here to fill the estimable gaps.

Pairing film screenings with scientific discussions, the series is hosted by local media personality and playwright David Templeton in conversation with a variety of science-adjacent luminaries—including award-winning novelist Nina Schuyler, whose 2023 science-fiction tome, Afterword, was named one of the Top 100 Notable Books by Shelf Unbound.

Their conversation is part of “Aging, AI, & Making Connections In A Technological World,” and follows a screening of Robot & Frank, a 2012 film that finds an irascible old man (Frank Langella) paired with a caretaker robot he despises.

Daedalus Howell: As a writer, sometimes of sci-fi, why do you think AI has such a grip on the public imagination, and why is it so grim?

Nina Schuyler: In many ways, AI is a better human. Like the speed of light, it can go through vast datasets and find patterns that point to possible solutions… It’s like a new god, and the techies promise that the future is not just bright, it’s radiant. But then, where do humans fit in?

DH: It feels like we’re in a sci-fi story right now—are we finally in a “life imitating art” moment?

NS: In my novel, Afterword, I wrote about a female mathematician who uses AI to bring back the voice of her dead lover. I started writing in 2019, and shortly after, it was published. What I imagined is now possible. You can talk to the dead.

Every time I discuss AI, I preface it with “all of this could be outdated in a couple of months.” …So you’re right. We’re in a life-imitating art moment. Be careful what you imagine.

DH: What’s the best-case scenario for our current trajectory with AI?

NS: The best-case scenario is that AI collaborates with humans, working with us to solve significant issues: political, medical, climate and social. The efficiencies created by AI are passed along to consumers in the form of cheaper goods.

Sufficient laws and guardrails are put into place to prevent harm, and humans are fairly compensated for their data, which is used to build AI. To help sort disinformation from information, AI-created content is labeled.

‘Science on Screen’ launches at 7pm, Wednesday, May 1, at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, 1118 4th St., San Rafael. Tickets are $8.50 CalFilm members, $10.25 for youth and seniors, and $14 for general admission.

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Cinematic Science at Rafael

Everything I know about life, I learned at the movies. This includes my tenuous understanding of the natural world. Fortunately, a new series, “Science on Screen,” is here to fill the estimable gaps. Pairing film screenings with scientific discussions, the series is hosted by local media personality and playwright David Templeton in conversation with a variety of science-adjacent luminaries—including award-winning...
Read more
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