Can all-ages music venues make a comeback?

music … it was everything.

It was how I navigated the chaos of adolescence, how I developed my own interest in music and how I met some of the greatest friends I’ll ever have, including my wife. I can’t imagine who I’d be today without that nurturing environment that celebrated individualism as much as it did communitybuilding.

That environment is virtually non-existent in our region today. In this two-part series, I will discuss the scarcity of allages venues with local performers, promoters, venue owners and, of course, the youth.

“There’s a lack of all-ages venues, and we need them. It’s important for the future of music, especially with the lack of music education in our schools,” notes promoter Christine Lommori of Lommori Productions.

For decades, Lommori has put on countless shows at local venues. She recalls a time when more businesses were open to all-ages shows and how that helped to cultivate much of today’s local music scene.

“I used to do all-ages shows at Lindee’s every Sunday. Bourbon Street too – they regularly had all-ages shows. That’s where I first met Vince Lay and Forrest Day.”

For years, the under 21 crowd was the driving force behind the local music scene thanks to places like Bourbon Street, Concord Depot and Under the Capri providing a safe space for the youth to come together and express themselves. Sadly, these places are no more.

Today, the younger crowd must travel to Berkeley or San Francisco to experience anything reminiscent of what once thrived in our own backyard.

One Concord business owner is working to change that.

Jeff Settle, owner and CEO of NuWater USA, recently decided to use his commercial space in North Concord to double as an all-ages venue with an emphasis on metal, punk

With many flowers in bloom, your August garden is calling

August in the garden is filled with flowers, fragrance, fertilizing and addressing some landscape troubles.

There is always something to do for those who enjoy gardening. Monthly installations and chores help keep the landscape interesting and tidy.

The flowers of August are many: coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, salvia of all types, sedum, coreopsis and gaillardia.

Coneflowers, also called echinacea, come in colors of red, pink, orange, yellow and white. They have daisy-shaped petals that surround a dark center that cones up as the flower matures. Bees and butterflies cannot get enough of this perennial. Install in partial sun for best results.

Black-eyed Susans are also daisy-shaped flowers available in yellow, gold, orange, burgundy and occasionally a cherry wine color. They’re also bee- and butterfly-friendly. Find blackeyed Susans in the nursery under the name rudbeckia.

Salvia thrives in our hot environments, and there are many colors and shapes of flowers to consider. Durning summer, Mystic Spires and Salvia Leucantha (Mexican sage) are mostly available. Sedum is a succulent-like perennial with tall, robust selections that also hit the scene during summer.

Sedum Autumn Joy is a sturdy garden favorite, as well as Brilliant.

Threadleaf Coreopsis brings a whimsical look to the garden, with tiny, thread-like leaves holding bounties of yellow, russet, orange or bi-color simply shaped flowers. This perennial is herbaceous and gets better every year.

Fragrance is an important element of gardening for many. You can enjoy some of the landscape’s best fragrances in the early morning, before the heat. The smell of water on the asphalt, the fragrance of the oleander flowers, coneflower blossoms, panicle hydrangeas, star jasmine, the foliage of the tomato plants – these smells evoke childhood memories.

Summer vegetable gardens should be fertilized. Depending on the condition of your vegetables, you’ll need different products. With lackluster growth, consider applying a layer of earthworm castings beneath your plants. For poor leaf color, water deep less often and fertilize with a 5-7-3 formula with a hardy quantity of calcium. If you have great-looking plants but poor flowering or small vegetables, use a highphosphorus type fertilizer. And pay attention to the calcium content.

Although it has been a warm summer, we still must fertilize our landscape. Feeding your plants lets them know that you love them and helps them deal with the stress of summer.

As the temperature increases in August and September, we turn to fish emulsion at the nursery to feed our plants. Fish emulsion is water-soluble and easy for all the plants in the landscape to digest. Fertilize plants that have been watered first.

If a plant is weeping and appears stressed, skip the fertilizer and wait until you see signs of recovery before you feed.

This summer, many local crape myrtle trees and shrubs have been experiencing an outbreak of aphids. This garden pest is different than the ones that are on your roses in the spring. The crape myrtle aphid secretes a honeydew that coats the leaves and dirties the rocks, concrete, other shrubs or cars that park beneath the crapes canopy. If left unattended, the leaves of the crape myrtle can eventually get a fungus called sooty mold, which can defoliate it and kill young branches.

Treat infected trees with heavy sprays of oil-based insecticide. Apply this type of product every few days during the wee hours of the morning or the evening. If your trees and shrubs are quite large, you can use systemic insect control. As always, follow package directions or ask a professional for help.

Nicole is the Garden Girl at R&M Pool, Patio, Gifts and Garden. You can contact her with questions or comments by email at gardengirl94517@yahoo.com and other heavier genres. The Black Rat has already hosted a number of very successful allages shows.

“I believe that kids need to go somewhere where they can find other kids just like them,” says Settle. “That’s what they’re looking for, you know? ‘Hey, you guys are just like me; you’re into the same music, the same weird style …’

“Kids are just trying to fit in, and the school system certainly isn’t helping there,” he adds. “They don’t all fit together. Some kids need to find a place where they can listen to metal, listen to punk and just be themselves, if just for one night.”

Settle is optimistic that places like the Black Rat will help pave the path for a more inclusive music scene that doesn’t alienate youth.

“We are the changers. If we can’t help guide the kids and have a place for them to be themselves, and to hopefully one day be the next changers, we aren’t going to have anything at all.” Part 2 of this series will appear in the September issue.

Contact Dave Hughes at MrDaveHughes@gmail.com.

Grandfather’s work in Spanish bar inspires Concord novelist

KARA NAVOLIO Correspondent

A chance meeting at the library got Concord resident Ana Galvan writing her first novel. She was at the library for a workshop on pruning roses and ran into a friend who encouraged her to come to a creative writing class.

That was in 2014; now Galvan has written 16 books and poetry collections and teaches her own classes on writing. Her latest book is “Meet Me at Chicote” (Amazon 2021), a historical fiction novel based on her grandfather – who was a barman at the famous Madrid cocktail bar on the Gran Via.

In its early days, Chicote was frequented by artists, writers and bullfighters, including notables such as Ernest Hemingway, Frank Sinatra and Salvador Dalí. The bar has been there almost 100 years now and is a protected landmark.

“I was discussing Hemingway’s books with one of my students when we came across a short story called ‘The Denunciation,’ where the setting is this famous Spanish bar Chicote,” said Galvan. “I told my student that my grandfather worked there, and it was at that moment that it dawned on me that my grandfather may have known Hemingway … or served him a cocktail.”

She became hooked on the 1930s in Spain, and her story was born with a lively cast of characters who visit this bar in the pre-Spanish Civil War era.

In researching the book, she found a recipe for a cocktail from the bar called “the Galvan,” named for her grandfather by owner Perico Chicote. She also found photographs

See Galvan, page B6

POOL, DARTS, LIVE MUSIC and GOOD FOOD

Mon - Sat 11 am to 1:30 am

Sun 10 am to 1:30am (during football season)

August/Sept.

Fri - Aug 18 . . . Big Thang

Sat - Aug 19 . . . Union Jack and the Rippers and ACDZ plus guest Unearthed

Fri- Aug 25 . . . . Bay Area Grooveline

Sat - Aug 26 . . . Journey Revisited and Def Leppard Revisited

Sun - Aug 27 . . Fuego Fest all day

Thurs - Aug 31 . Mariah Angeliq

Fri - Sept 1 . . . . On the Rocks plus guest

Sat - Sept 2 . . . Nu Metal Sing Along

Fri - Sept 8 . . . . The UnOriginals

Sat - Sept 9 . . . The Passion Project: An Unknown Showcase

Regular Weekly Schedule

Sunday - Corn Toss Open Tournament 1:30 p.m. ($10 to play). Indie Rock Bands at 7pm (no cover)

Monday - Open Mic Night hosted by Joey Nunez and Vince Lay (no cover)

Sign-up by 8:30

Tuesday - Country Line Dancing with DJ Delta Dave (no cover) 8pm

Wednesday - Karaoke With DJ SolRok (no cover) 8pm start time

Fri - Sept 15 . . . AP Band

Sat - Sept 16 . . Annie Sampson singing Blues

Fri - Sept 22 . . . PTK Band

Sat - Sept 23 . . Almost Dead, Monster God, Blackwulf, Gurschach & Captive State

Fri - Sept 29 . . . TBA

Sat - Sept 30 . . Pinball Wizards and Liid Sky

The Unoriginals - Sept. 8

Thursday - Salsa & Bachata Dance lessons from 7-9 p.m. with instructor Lorans Latin Dance Academy from 9 p.m. on is open dancing with Latin DJ Tonee Salsa/Bachata/Merengue/ Reggaeton ($10 cover after 9pm)

Saturday - Aces Cracked Poker League (free to play) 1pm

Downtown Concord, 2045 Mt. Diablo St. between Salvio and Pacheco Ample free parking is available in the Salvio Street garage.

925-685-9515 www.vinniesbar.com