On a rainy Saturday night at the McHenry Library at UC Santa Cruz, several hundred Deadheads gathered to share their appreciation—and fundraising dollars—as The Grateful Dead Archives unveiled a special preview of the exhibit, entitled “The Attics of Our Lives.”

A wild buffet of gourmet cheese, oysters and mini-burgers was washed down with wine as the house band—a symbiotic hybrid of local Dead tribute bands Slugs and Roses and China Cats—ripped through an evening of instrumental classics. Larry Graff (lead guitar), Paul Garcia (drums), Scott Cooper (guitar), and Roger Sideman (bass) provided the soundtrack for the festivities, embedding songs like “Crazy Fingers” with noodling worthy of the missing maestro.

Reggae kings, See-I, tear up Moe's Alley

The diverse musical ingredients that make up See-I, an eight-piece group spliced from the DNA of the world-renowned Thievery Corporation, were stirred up, cooked, scorched, and seared at Moe’s Alley Thursday, Nov. 3.

A flambeau fusion of roots reggae, dub, funk, soul, and even a little Bad Brains on the side (both bands hail from Washington, D.C.),  was served up by lead vocalists, Roots and  Zeebo Steele. As the two chatted, rhymed, and harmonized the night away, the energy remained stoked from the grooving audience.

Songs traveled the See-I trajectory, spanning seamlessly from a cover of “We Need the Funk," to an original dub-dancehall tune, to a rocking tribute to Gregory Isaacs. Four members of the group continue on the roster of Thievery Corporation, while the other four extend the band’s musical pallet into the realms of New Brazilian, old school funk, and just about anything else with profound bass and rhythm.

Chris Rene cranks up the heat, advances to top 11 on ‘The X Factor’

Feel free to exhale, Santa Cruz—Chris Rene is still in it. The 28-year-old singer/songwriter proved once again this week that he has “The X Factor” in the bag.

Surrounded by a cloud of smoke and actual flames, Rene cranked up the heat during Wednesday’s episode on Fox with a crowd-pleasing rendition of the Carpenters’ 1971 hit “Superstar.”

Besides missing his trademark ballcap, Rene’s performance had the same heart and confidence that made him a standout during the auditions back in September. Rene even put his own spin on the classic by incorporating a short original rap into the lyrics—a creative move that had the judges and the audience (who gave him a standing ovation) craving more.

“I’m so proud of you, Chris,” said Paula Abdul, following the performance. “You are honest, you’re transparent with your thoughts, you can always work harder. This you found your groove in, this was your song and you owned it.”

Third annual Sea Glass Festival hits The Boardwalk this weekend

Krista Hammond has always had a passion for sea glass.

“My mom would tell me to go look for sea emeralds,” she says. “As young as I can remember, I always kind of picked it up and put it in my pocket.”

Hammond has managed to turn her lifelong interest into a profitable business. She founded her company, Santa Cruz Sea Glass, with her husband Tony Berkowitz in 2006. The two connected over a shared passion for surfing and the tiny treasures they found hidden on beaches.

If you missed it, The Ryan Montbleau Band played a jaw-dropping set at Don Quixote’s on Oct. 28. But for a group that once played an average of 200 gigs a year, what else would you expect? “We’re sort of always on the road,” Montbleau admits. “I almost don’t even know what it’s like to be off.”

The six-piece from Boston, which formed in 2006, has since backed off the manic touring of its youth, playing a mere 160 dates a year now. Delivering a genre-bending soul, alt-country, reggae mash-up with jam band energy, RMB has evolved into a musical snail carrying its home on its back. “It’s been basically the same guys for eight years. I think we have some semblance of a family on the road,” Montbleau says. “We have to live with each other.”

Think ancient history is, well, ancient history? What about if it’s in your own backyard?

More than 200 students, archeologists and history enthusiasts turned out for a lecture at the Cabrillo Horticulture Center on Thursday, Oct. 27. The riveted audience members furiously scribbled notes as a panel of archeologists and experts discussed historical sites on the Central Coast. Dusty McKenzie, an archaeology and anthropology instructor at Cabrillo, was inspired to organize the event after getting a sense of what he says is a public misunderstanding of California’s native residents at a recent Santa Cruz City Council meeting. The community’s response was in reaction to ancient remains found of a young Ohlone girl, the local Native American tribe, at a proposed building site.

The film is based on Jay Moriarity, a longtime Santa Cruz resident and legendary surfer who passed away in 2001 during a diving expedition in the Maldives. Moriarity was a world-renowned big wave surfer, earning his reputation at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay when he was only 16 years old. The film will focus on Moriarity’s surfing career, as well as the relationship between him and his mentor, Rick “Frosty” Hesson, played by Gerard Butler.

Santa Cruz’s Chris Rene snags a spot in the top 12 on ‘The X Factor’

Santa Cruz local Chris Rene got one step closer to a $5 million recording contract on Tuesday night’s episode of “The X Factor” … if only by a hair. The 28-year-old garbage collector and recovering drug addict performed Rose Royce’s 1978 low tempo R&B number “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” in front of a packed auditorium of screaming fans.

Yet the song selection by “X Factor” judge L.A. Reid was a questionable one, following an explosive performance by fellow contestant Brian Bradley, a.k.a. Astro. The 14-year-old opened the show with an energetic rendition of Kriss Kross’ 1992 hit rap song, “Jump,” making it difficult for Rene, who came second in the line-up, to match the energy in the room.

The enticing aroma of freshly made chili laced with salty ocean air greeted visitors to the boardwalk this Saturday, Oct. 22. More than 50 teams competed for glory—and the accompanying prize money-- at the second annual Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Chili Cook-Off.

The Prodigal Son, Ryan Adams, Returns to Santa Cruz a Changed Man

Ryan Adams opened his sold-out show at the Rio Theatre on Monday, Oct. 17, with “Oh My Sweet Carolina,” off his 2001 release, Heartbreaker. It seemed symbolic as he sang, “I gambled up my life,” with a voice that has never been clearer. Watching Adams sip from a mug of tea and rummage through a binder of dog-eared songs on stage, proved the rumors are true: Adams—known by many for his drug and alcohol abuse—is a new man.