Which Witch is Wicked?

It wasn't a great shocker to discover there was a witch in my family, 16th century. Plagued by intuition, vivid dreams, and constant introspective thought, it actually makes perfect sense. I suppose it's no accident that Halloween is my favorite holiday and I'd dress like a witch more than once a year if I had my way. According to my cousin (the family historian) my ancestor, Mercy was sentenced to death for not following suit. Supposedly, a few town's people's crops and herds died after a run in with her. Coincidence? Probably. Still pretty cool though. She was issued a reprieve and lived instead, good news for me or else I wouldn't be here.

No surprise, that going to see the Broadway musical Wicked with my witchy family at The Orpheum, was a thrilling experience for me. It was in a word: superb. I was a little nervous too; I am not a big fan of musicals. I love the Wizard of Oz, but others had told me it was nothing like it and that I might be disappointed. After seeing it I recognize the grave differences between the two - but none of them are disappointing.

It was rich in its story lines, costumes, and sets, and beyond just its visual elements - it was smartly written. A political tale of good and evil, right and wrong, leaders and followers, a nation of fear, equal rights, animal rights, discrimination, prejudice, ethics, and standing up for what you believe in - it was hard for me to imagine how anyone could be disappointed. I won't say too much more, except that it makes you question the definition of the word: wicked.

Mercy was considered a witch because she didn't believe what the others did. How sad that people were/still are persecuted for having a different point of view. Wicked was inspiring and when I wasn't enthralled with the show, I was starring at the ceiling! The Orpheum Theater in itself an architectural work of art. I spent the entire intermission looking up. The show was magic. Anyone who can, should go before it is gone.

A special thanks to my cousin Rod for making it happen.

SUPPORT: the Phoenix Theater, go to the Guitar Gala

The Phoenix Theater is a place that is important to me. My reasoning for this is extensive but mostly, I feel that Petaluma would be lacking something without it. I was lucky enough to spend many a night at the theater in my youth, watching shows. Because it was right there in town it was easy to go. Do you have any idea how impossible it is for a 14 year old kid to get to the city to see a band perform? I do and I haven’t forgotten.
So many concerts, I might not have ever seen if it weren’t for the Phoenix. Those of you who grew up in the area know what I am taking about. But, have you been to the Phoenix lately? I have, just last year. I went to see hip-hop legends Too$hort, Method Man and Red Man, and for my friend and war casualty Kawika’s memorial. I love the place, it holds memories and it’s got its charm, but is in need of some definite renovation. And since this theater has given so much to the community, it’s only right that we pull together to participate in preserving this historical location and the wonderful programs it offers our youth.
The Phoenix has organized its Carnival and Guitar Gala, scheduled to take place this Saturday. The event will feature close to 20 guitars donated by the Gibson Foundation. Each one has been designed by a different artist, three of whom I know personally: Ricky Watts, Jared Powell and Josh Faure-Brac. I can’t begin to express the pride I take in knowing these three creative individuals and to be blessed with their astonishing work. Other artists include the likes of George Lucas, Seth Green, Stan Lee, Les Claypool, and many others. Please visit, phoenixguitargala.com for the full list.
“I knew in my heart and soul it was something I needed to contribute to. It's such an honor to be a part of this show, with so many great people contributing,” Ricky Watts told me. The artist and local visionary also helped in designing the poster that added to the overall look and feel for the Gala’s promotion and website. “How could I say no? Gibson Guitars donated all the materials and it was a dream come true to deface my very own Les Paul,” he joked.
The Gala is this Saturday, February 28th, at 7pm. It will feature a live Internet auction, cocktail party, silent auction featuring artist memorabilia, and appearances by a few of the artists. Tickets are only $30 each, $50 per couple and information can be found here. 100% of all proceeds will go towards supporting free after-school music, theater and arts programs for at-risk youth of the North Bay and will help to maintain our one and only Phoenix Theater.
Remember: the mission of the Phoenix is to, “foster the emotional, physical and social development of the young people we serve, specifically at risk youth, by enabling them to create and engage in programs for music, the arts, and health and wellness, while preserving and improving the historic Phoenix Theater as a resource for youth and the community at large.” Let that ideal live in your heart and let’s work together to keep it going. After all, children are our future; I was once a Phoenix punk kid who turned out alright.

Can't get no satisfaction?

Maybe I can, at least for today. My life is complete again... Sirius has “Rolling Stones Radio.” 24 hours of Rolling Stones' songs, on channel 12. It takes so little. Am I my parents’ daughter, or what?
Unfortunately, it is only temporary. It's a nice distraction from my otherwise crumbling future, however. Rolling Stones Radio is a limited offering, they are using it to promote, “Shine a Light” www.shinealightmovie.com/ , a documentary about the Stones, directed by Martin Scorsese. It is no surprise they paired up; Scorsese uses their music often in his brilliant films. The movie opened last weekend and as far as I can tell, is only playing in select theaters. Love the Stones, love Scorsese, and just plain can’t wait to see it. Did I mention that I read that the film was shot during Bill Clinton’s birthday bash 2006? Bill Clinton - love him. The reviews say the film is complete with concert footage, close-ups, vintage interviews, and most importantly their wonderful songs.

"There's no time to lose, I heard her say, "Catch your dreams before they slip away." Dying all the time, lose your dreams and you will lose your mind. Ain't life unkind?" -The Rolling Stones, Ruby Tuesday

The Stunner Brothers Stun

Forward:
The first time I met Jon, of the Stunner Brothers I was downtown in my home town. I hit my girlfriend's arm and said, “Look at that guy.” She replied with, “Who the one with the corn rows and crazy glasses?”
Oh yes.
After a few drinks, my liquid courage had kicked in so, I walked right up to him and said, “Hey, I think you are the finest guy in here.” I can’t believe I used the word “fine,” but never-the-less that’s what I said.
He laughed and said, “Yeah right? Are you serious?” At that point, I thought it would be a good idea to give him my phone number. Knowing that my gift for solid communication usually fails me when I am tipsy, I figured that I would probably never hear from him again.
Months later, I received a text message from some random phone number telling me to go to YouTube.com, type in "Stunner Brothers" and watch the video. There it was the Stunner Brothers classic, “Piggin’ Out,” starring Jon Boy and KC.
I laughed really hard and called my friend and told her to watch it. When I went to their website and realized it wasn’t just some joke, and that they were really trying to go somewhere with it, I decided that I wanted to write about them. Because everyone has a dream but it is those who pursue it that inspire me. Hence the interview with the Stunner Brothers…
So who are these #1 Stunners really? The Stunner Brothers are two guys from Novato, named Jon Boy and KC who pull crazy skits and videotape them. For now they are mostly an Internet phenomenon- promoting their comedic footage and music through Myspace and on their website: http://www.stunnerbrothers.com/ but will eventually be releasing a collection of their work on DVD.
They met a few years ago at a strange time in life- one in which they were both homeless. Jon had just gotten kicked out of his grandma’s house and KC kicked out of his mom’s. At the time, Jon was sleeping on the floor of his buddy’s house (the buddy was also a friend of KC’s). In the next day or two, KC came and started sleeping on the floor too and they’ve been friends ever since. Now roommates, best friends, compadres, Stunner Brothers- they have realized that people find them highly entertaining.
Late-night after partying one night, they went through a fast food drive-thru. A cop was in line in front of them, but they were having too good of a time to care. They had the music blasting and were dancing in their seats. “We were going nuts to it- bumping, going crazy to it,” KC told me, “holy shit dude, we hella go crazy.”
At that point the idea was born. Jon came home from work one day and told a few friends that he and KC were going to become the Stunner Brothers. “We go out and do wild shit, record it and see what we can do,” Jon said.
On a visit down to Santa Cruz, they were walking down the street doing what they call the “model walk,” which is basically strutting around in sunglasses and telling girls that they are hot. “The girls were just eating it up,” KC said and Jon finished his sentence with, “and guys wanted to fight us.” They came across a stage where a DJ was playing, jumped up and started dancing, even though they weren’t invited. A few girls decided to join and they ultimately became the show.
A constant show they are; they started bringing the camera pretty much everywhere they went. Some of the footage has been planned while others are shot at random. The videos include Piggin’ Out, Kay-Z, Work Like a Cholo, Mackin’ 101, Statuatory, Cold Stone, Club Envy, Big Trouble in lil’ China, Dialin’ Dealer, and their newest, The Breakup. All of which can be found at: http://www.stunnerbrothers.com/ . Each clip is a unique piece of comedy that leaves their audience in disbelief, laughing uncontrollably, at times feeling uncomfortable, and ultimately completely stunned.
Their most popular, Piggin’ Out, came to be after they had pretty much gotten booed off stage following a performance of their music at open mic night. KC told me, “We did a few of our songs, we weren’t well rehearsed, and it just all fell apart. We got really embarrassed and got the hell out of there, but we redeemed it.” Completely random, while on their way home, they saw cop cars parked out front of a gas station and decided to pull in. They shot the video in the quickie mart and when they left were immediately pulled over.
In Work Like a Cholo the idea was premeditated and well thought out. “We didn’t have the balls to do that one for a while,” KC said. The reaction to it, in San Rafael's canal was not all that inviting, initially. “It took Jon to start singing in front of that taco truck to actually get people to loosen up a little bit, and to let us put our arms around them.”
“I figure we stun people when they watch us and when they see us, and we wear stunners as well, so I guess it’s a pun,” Jon said. Some people hate on them for wearing their stunners and some people laugh. Regardless of the response, they feel that they have made it a standard to wear stunner shades inside a club, even if it is nighttime. Jon told me, “I’ve been wearing glasses since I was twelve, before stunners even came out, night and day, all day long,” and then busted into a Ain’t Nothin’ but a G Thang lyric by Dr. Dre.
The On 1 Mix Tape, DVD will include the videos from their website and should make its debut next year. The person responsible for putting it all together is their editor, Warner Brown. He is their editor, graphic designer, and web producer. His talents are exuded in putting the footage to music, inserting things that work well, and taking others out and the videos wouldn’t be anything near what they are without his genius and dedication.
Once the DVD project is complete the Stunners hope to start off by selling them out of the trunk of Jon’s car and after that who knows? Their website, stores, theaters- sky’s the limit. They also have a CD to come out later and T-shirts are on sale currently. Their ultimate goal is to get enough good footage to eventually enter into a film festival of sorts, where they could discretely be there watching the reaction of the crowd. Not everyone will be able to handle the Stunners comedy, but one thing is for sure they’ve got honesty for sale and that’s pretty refreshing and commendable.
“I want to push it as far as it can go. I don’t give a fuck what people think.” Jon told me. “We do a lot of this stuff to get out our insecurities.”
Unfortunately, the Stunner Brothers have recently parted ways. KC has decided to further pursue his music career and Jon has gone off to film on his own. Which is a sad thing; they are very different and yet truly compliment one another. Will KC return to the Stunner Brothers? At this point, it is unknown.
They also wanted me to include the fact that KC currently lives in a closet of their apartment.

- Adrienne is an SSU Alum and former writer for the STAR. You can check out the full story, as well as many others, at her blog: azydoesit.blogspot.com.

*I am honored to say that this story (with a few edits) made it back into my college newspaper, the SSU Star.